Posted by B.L.Renfrow on May 08, 2006 at 15:03:50:
Joe’s niche involves proactively locating homeowners with big problems - not waiting for the homeowners to contact him.
He’s posted in general about how he does this using resources available at his courthouse. I know that in the past, and maybe this is still the case, he’s had people working for him who would frequent the courthouse and gather this information, then Joe would make contact with the owners, letting them know he could solve their problem, for a price.
Of course, when you’re starting out, you’re not going to be in a position to hire people, so you’re probably going to do this yourself.
One can presume that the types of leads you’d get from the courthouse would involve problems such as foreclosure - long one of Joe’s specialty areas. The more familiar you become with the resources available at the courthouse, the more areas you can see where there’s opportunity.
As Gerald says, contacts are invaluable in this business, and that’s another area which Joe has developed. I’m sure I recall him posting about how he’s developed contacts among lenders, who now call him directly when they have a problem loan in his area, because he’s developed a reputation as a player who can solve their problems forthwith.
Brian (NY)
To advertise, or not to advertise - Posted by Mike
Posted by Mike on May 08, 2006 at 12:02:02:
Hi,
I’ve seen a number of posts lately from Joe Kaiser. It seems that he’s very anti-advertising these days. I don’t expect him to openly give away his techniquest in a forum like this. But I’d love to know how one can find great deals without advertising. The general concensus here is that most are doing flyers, bandit signs, we buy houses ads, etc. All of which cost some amount of money to promote. And, I’m sure, none of which Joe is doing. Personally, I spend a good deal of money each month. The call volume is good, but my close to call ratio is very low.
How great would it be to land great deals without having to spend money on finding them. Is Joe just promoting a course (I don’t see any reference to one in his posts)?
Re: To advertise, or not to advertise - Posted by Joe Kaiser
Posted by Joe Kaiser on May 09, 2006 at 01:29:17:
I vote not.
Take the money, hire a records researcher, and have him or her get
you info about every real estate related lawsuit now taking place in
your county’s courthouse.
Now you don’t have to wait for the phone to ring . . now you got
people . . . people with big problems . . . to talk to.
Joe
Re: To advertise, or not to advertise - Posted by Mike-OH
Posted by Mike-OH on May 08, 2006 at 18:14:53:
Mike,
I agree with Gerald, you need to build a group of contacts to bring deals to you. I don’t advertise either and I’ve got more deals than I can possibly do. When you’re sending out letters to a particular group (i.e. foreclosures, vacant, etc), then you’re limiting your business to a very small segment of the market. Moreover, sending out letters is really a seminar technique used almost exclusively by newbies and therefore you’re competing with every other newbie that has been to a seminar.
One of the very best places to find deals is at your local REIA. If you aren’t a member of your local REIA, you’re just throwing away deals. Many times, other investors will know of deals that they don’t want for one reason or another and they will give them to you for free (or maybe a small assignment fee). Also, you’ll find a lot of new landlords at your REIA and the vast majority of new landlords fail pretty quickly - therefore this is a good source of deals.
Another great source of deals is to find a realtor that wants to work with you. Realtors often know of problem properties and will give them to you if you are a serious investor.
The key to all of these sources is that you’ve got to be for real. If you’re someone with no money, no credit, no experience, and you can’t close deals that come up - you’ll lose all of these deals and your credibility as an investor. As someone else said, you’ve got to get out there and meet people.
Mike
Re: To advertise, or not to advertise - Posted by gerald(tx)
Posted by gerald(tx) on May 08, 2006 at 12:48:58:
Mike,
When you’re first starting off, advertising is pretty much necessary. Without any base, history, or contacts, you’ve got to let the world know you’re open to a deal.
After you achieve a certain level of success, the deals will come to you. If your contacts know you can perform and deliver with no-nonsense, you will get be besieged with bargains from bankers, realtors, referrals, etc.
I haven’t advertised for the last three years. But it takes a few years to get to this stage. Deal with competent people and operate in a competent manner yourself, and it will happen.
gerald
Re: To advertise, or not to advertise - Posted by Joe
Posted by Joe on May 08, 2006 at 16:29:01:
gerald,
Can you expand upon “besieged with bargains”? How frequent are deals presented to you? Who primarily presents these deals? What is the most common kind of deal (foreclosure, vacant, etc)? And how much profit are you seeing in them (absolute on the value of the property, and/or percentage wise).
I’ve been advertising for nearly 3 months now, sending post cards, letters, door knocking - primarily to foreclosures. And I’m still waiting to close my first deal. My current attempt is a short sale that responded to a post card. The homeowner is motivated, but I’m not sure about the lender yet (Countrywide).
I can’t wait until people are calling me up with deals every day.
Re: To advertise, or not to advertise - Posted by Mike
Posted by Mike on May 08, 2006 at 13:16:23:
Thanks for the response Gerald. I know what you mean about having referrals. But, when I started, I didn’t advertise. I just began by using the MLS and made contacts from there. Most of my business is from these people. I will say that I rarely get a really good no-brainer deal. The majority of mine are rehabs that do ok when they are done, but I could never flip them at a profit. Margins are just too thin.
However, I don’t think Joe Kaiser is relying on referrals to get business. I’m sure he’s seeking out sellers, but without spending big money on ads. That’s really what I’m asking about.
Thanks.