Posted by CarolFL on May 09, 1999 at 09:06:10:
I think the point was missed again.
Fact of the matter is that however the gentleman was doing his investing, it was "good 'nuff " for him.
Instead of burning bridges, and trying to teach someone who doesn’t feel the need to learn, keep the name for another kind of transaction.
Remeber the famous words of the great sage …" NEXT!".
Carol
So called investor… - Posted by LeBaron (KS)
Posted by LeBaron (KS) on May 08, 1999 at 17:12:37:
Here’s a funny story I though I’d share with the group. I have a couple of houses under contract right now. Well I called on my prospective buyers list that I compiled a few months ago. Anyway, one of those buyers called me back and wanted info on the houses. I began to explain them to him and told him to go look at them and get back with me if he needed inside. To make a long story short before he gets off the phone he says, “LeBaron, now I have never dealt with you, what’s your story on these houses? Do you own them?” I told him I have them under contract. He then proceeds to tell me that I can’t sell them! I laughed at him. I asked him was he familiar with real estate investing, in those exact words. He says “well…yeah, I have over 52 properties!” I told him that he should be familiar with the concept of wholesaling or flipping and that I can set up a double closing or assign my contract to him. He tells me that that is not legal! I laughed at him and made some comment to the effect of him being an amateur investor. He asked who my lawyer was. At this point, my laughter turned to annoyance. I told him that who my lawyer is is irrelavent, if he wanted the houses get back with me and I hung up the phone.
How about that! A real estate investor who calls himself a seasoned pro and thinks that flipping is illegal. Just thought I’d share that comical situation. I guess I can take that guy off my prospective buyers list! LOL
LeBaron (KS)
Re: So called investor… - Posted by LeBaron (KS)
Posted by LeBaron (KS) on May 13, 1999 at 21:41:26:
This is why I cherish this newsgroup…all of the great feedback from my situation has enlightened me to be a better investor. Like JPiper said, I may of won the battle but I certainly lost the war. I am in the process of trying to make amends with this guy and I have sent him articles explaining double closing and contract assigning. I only hope it gets me back on speaking terms with this potential source of business.
I will chalk this one up to the school of hard knocks and use it as a valuable learning tool. I hope my mistake has taught others how not to handle a situation like this.
Thanks for this wonderful source information and knowledge to us new investors.
LeBaron (KS)
Shooting Yourself In the Foot… - Posted by JPiper
Posted by JPiper on May 09, 1999 at 11:29:07:
Your handling of this is what I call “shooting myself in the foot”.
Really, I guess you won the battle and lost the war?.you still have the properties/contracts. You “had” a guy that was interested but he evidently didn’t realize that a contract can be assigned, or that there could be simultaneous closing. So he stated it is “illegal”. Wish I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard that one over the years.
Right or wrong, this guy has 52 properties. He didn’t get there by being stupid. So he has property, he has cash, and you just blew him off. That to me is what I call stupid.
A better handling of this might have been to ask him a question. You might have asked “If it could be proven to you that assignment is not “illegal” would you be interested in these properties?” If his answer was affirmative, get your attorney on a conference call, and prove it?..or get the title company on the phone and prove it.
If I were you I’d call him back, apologize, and hope he accepts it. An error in knowledge can easily be corrected. What is difficult to correct sometimes is an air of superiority and egotism?.I’d start on that immediately if I were you.
JPiper
Re: So called investor… - Posted by Serge
Posted by Serge on May 08, 1999 at 17:30:52:
LeBaron,
very interesting story, indeed and shows one more time how some can’t see the fortunes under their own noses…
Re: Shooting Yourself In the Foot… - Posted by Rich_PA
Posted by Rich_PA on May 09, 1999 at 15:16:50:
You all are ASSUMING that he really has “52 investments”.
Rich_PA
Re: So called investor… - Posted by Joe Kaiser
Posted by Joe Kaiser on May 08, 1999 at 17:43:44:
I’m not sure you’re seeing the big picture here. The guy’s got 52 properties, I suspect he’s doing something right.
Sometimes what works best is the straighforward stuff. I visited my wife’s grandfather one day when he was doing his books. He had payments coming in from over a hundred contracts, none with monthly payments less than a hundred dollars, yet he never flipped, never assigned, never optioned, etc., in his life. In fact, I’m certain he never even knew those things existed.
Now, imagine me, without two nickels to rub together, trying to explain to him how he should have been doing it. That’s what’s laughable.
Joe
I completely agree… - Posted by Mark (SDCA)
Posted by Mark (SDCA) on May 10, 1999 at 10:39:30:
There is a huge emphasis on this site about “the big score”, being a “player” etc. What I think gets lost is that you can do quite well buying and holding solid properties at a decent (not fire sale) price. And once you get going, it is like a snowball rolling down hill. It’s called momentum.
Cheers,
Mark
Re: So called investor… - Posted by Serge
Posted by Serge on May 08, 1999 at 18:04:21:
Joe,
not really laughable…
My average length of employment was 7 months.
My only fault was, and it was consistent-
explaining to vice presidents that they don’t know what they were doing…
Today I have proof that I was right,
as my salary is more than ALL VP’s I showed off in my all employment history.
Sometimes “no 2 cents to rub together” shmocks know more than all “professionals” combined
;-)))
Re: So called investor… - Posted by Carmen
Posted by Carmen on May 09, 1999 at 15:00:21:
I agree with Carol, JPiper and Joe. Although of course we all think we know better (and I face frustration every day in my J.O.B. because I KNOW that there “has to be a better way”) I have never burned a bridge. Every past employer would be happy to work with me again - for although I moved on, I did not destroy or demean what they had built in the process (especially their egos). Therefore, I now have a “pocketful” of references, potential business partners, and people who respect me to fall back on if times get tough again.
This will work the same in real estate - there are quite a few investors/real estate-related people I have met who I thought “should” have “known” better - but I refrain from commenting on this in their presence (although I do at times gripe in the privacy of my own home!) I also ask questions, and absorb what they DO know and how they do things, or as much as they will tell me. Hence, I have no enemies. This is a small, small world as they say, and the “true” real estate investing community is even smaller - especially those that stick around long enough to own 52 properties - and all their friends, colleagues, title companies, lenders, etc.
Carmen