Tag Archives: craigslist

5 Deals for Less Than $3K

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In the month of October, we put 5 deals under contract and will be out of pocket less than $3000!

In fact, we used someone else’s money, so it’s not cost us a penny… just some time!

What exactly did we do?

1. Find the motivated sellers!

We started by sending out a direct mail campaign to about 350 property owners. What is different about this campaign versus our standard “absentee owner marketing” campaign is the fact that we found owners of VACANT land that had owned the property for more than 10 years!

2. Screen the leads…

Out of 350 letters that went out, we had about 70 calls! Yes… that’s right! Twenty percent of the people responded to our letter. Typically with other real estate direct mail, I’ll get between 8 – 15%, so this market is definitely hot!

Oh! And by the way… we actually send all of these leads to our virtual assistant who called them all back, filled out lead sheets, and gathered all the preliminary information. In some cases, she even pre-negotiated the price down!

3. Evaluate the deals…

Obviously with 70 deals (give or take), the due diligence took a little time. The great part, however, is that since you’re mailing in clusters, you can duplicate your homework across lots of properties! We hand picked the very best of the best and decided to make offers.

4. Make offers…

Next, we had to put our offers together. Some of the sellers, we called over the phone. Others, we simply dropped offers in the mail and hoped for the best! We gave them 10 days to get the contracts back to us and had 6 contracts back in that time period.

5. Additional due diligence…

The executed contract is just the first piece of the puzzle. Now, I would never suggest you go into a contract on a deal you don’t have every intention of closing on, but you aren’t going to do all the due diligence required on every deal until you have a contract in hand. For example, when we buy real property, we don’t pay for inspections and appraisals until after we have a signed contract. The same holds true for land. There are going to be additional calls to make and some more homework to do, but now it only takes you a short while since it’s the deals you’re actually going to close on.

NOTE: You may have noticed I said that we got SIX contracts back, but that we were closing on 5 deals. Why?

Because during the due diligence, we found some issues that were deal breakers for us. We simply decided to get out of the contract, which was completely within the terms of the contract, prior to closing. THAT’S what this secondary period is for!

6. Closing…

The last step in the acquisition process is closing on the deals! Since we wanted to use someone else for the financing (remember… the more you leverage OPM, the better your ROI is). So, we actually assigned the contracts to the LLC we set up with the partner on these deals. He put up all the money and we did the work!

7. BONUS: Pre-sold one…

We actually run regular ads for our properties on Craigslist and happened to be running a group of ads for seller financing. A potential buyer contacted us and the more we got to talking, the more I realized that one of these new properties was much more appropriate for their needs and pre-sold it while we waited for the deed to be signed off on! They are currently deciding between 2 of these BRAND NEW DEALS!

The Numbers

One of the lots, we picked up for a flat $500. It’s one block away from the lake and would have lake view with a two-story home on it. They are looking at that one for $4900 with seller financing option which will be $900 down and the balance seller financed at 8% for 12 months.

Total profit potential = $4575.44 (5075.44 – $500 purchase price = $4575.44)
Total potential ROI = 915%! (Our ROI is infinite because we had nothing invested)

If they choose the other lot, the purchase price is $8900. We have a total of $2100 into it will all closing costs and additional expenses incurred. If they choose this one, they’re going to pay $8900 with seller financing. This will be $1000 ad the balance seller financed at 8% for 12 months.

Total profit potential = $7190.36 ($9290.36 – $2100 purchase costs = $7190.36)
Total potential ROI = 342%! (Our ROI is infinite because we had nothing invested)

The best part about these types of deals is that there’s NO SHORTAGE of deals AND there are loads of people that are interested in putting up a few thousand dollars to “test” something when you can show returns like that on their money!

Heck, even when you split the profits… that’s still over 450% ROI on the first scenario and over 170% ROI on the second! Show those numbers to investors and they’ll be lining up to do deals with you.

PLUS… if you want to get started yourself… you can use your own money or even a credit card advance for less than the cost of most home study courses these days!

For more information on how we’re picking up these land deals for next to nothing, check out our Simple Land Investing…

3 Ways to Find Buyers Online

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One of the big areas of questions we get surrounds the topic of finding buyers.

Today, I want to talk about 3 ways to find buyers using the Internet (and this goes for any kind of deal you have: fixer upper, rental, pretty home, land, etc.).

#1: Facebook Ads

With over 500M users worldwide… and with Facebook occupying so much of the users’ conversation around personal events, marketing actual properties on Facebook is a no brainer. You can target prospects by location, age, interests, and more! Plus, you can easily set up a Facebook “page” for your deal and post open houses, photos, and other things about the property. Facebook also allows you to post an image in your ads.

#2: Google Local

I’m not usually a big proponent of pay per click advertising to “build a buyers list” simply because when people are searching on Google, they’re typically searching for something SPECIFIC. Well, when you are advertising a specific property, you meet those criteria. The key here is your copywriting! You need to be able to attract the person to your ad, and away from giants like Realtor.com and other similar sites that offer hundreds or thousands of properties.

#3. Craigslist

I’ve long since been a proponent of Craigslist. We’ve sold pretty houses AND fixer uppers, rented long term rentals and vacation rentals, and even sold land on Craigslist. The ads that tend to work best for actual properties are “plain” text ads as opposed to “pretty text”, or flyer types of ads. It’s not uncommon to get between 8 and 15 contacts from a single ad!

The key with any online advertising it to know what your buyers are looking for and convey that in your advertising message, whether it’s 4 lines on Google or 40 lines with 4 photos on Craigslist!

By the way, if you haven’t grabbed your copy of our Selling Deals System: 57+ Ways to Find Buyers In the Current Market, we cover over 50 different ways to find buyers…

To use this article on your own website, include the following:

Need to Find Real Estate Buyers to Sell Your Houses? Claim Your FREE Whitepaper Entitled “10 Ways to Find Real Estate Buyers In the Current Market” at http://www.realestatetrainingacademy.com/SellingDealsSpecial.php. Inside, You’ll Discover Simple Strategies That Work In Today’s Market to Sell Your House Fast – and How to Find Ready, Willing, and Able Cash Buyers, Investor Buyers, and End Buyers For Every Deal.

How to Sell A House Fast

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We’ll assume that you have a property under contract and you’re looking to assign it to another investor or, better yet, a hybrid buyer.

Often, you don’t have a lot of time to go out and ?nd the buyer. You’ve got to get a buyer – that can close – and you’ve got to do it FAST! So in keeping with the “event” model because events are really the fastest way to get the most bodies through the door, you can consider holding an investor workshop with bus tour.

Here’s how it works (and I recommend you partner with a Realtor® or a mortgage broker so it won’t cost you anything out of pocket):

#1: Find A “Preferred” Partner to Host the Event

You’re going to want to  ?nd a Realtor® or mortgage broker whose of?ce is within 5 miles of your property and who has access to a small meeting space or conference room.

Ideally, you will have both a Realtor® AND a mortgage brokeras a part of this team. Better yet, you’ll have a Realtor® with properties that are ideal candidates for your buyer prospects.

Since time is of the essence, you’ll need to move quickly, so try and secure the locationand partners on a Monday (if you’re holding this event on a Saturday). If you’re using this strategy solely to build a buyers list, timing is not as critical and you may consider anextra week to promote and/or get FREE publicity.

#2. Select 5 Properties for the Event

One of these is obviously your property and it mustbe clear to the Realtor® and mortgage broker.

If you have multiple properties, obviously you will use those before you ?nd “? ller”.REOs and  ? xer upper properties are going to be your best choices. And this is why you’ll need the Realtor®, to get you in! You will need to draft up an agreement with the Realtor to make sure you get paid on any deal that arises from the buyers.

#3. Market Your Event

Your event is going to be an educational seminar with a buyer ?eld trip so that people can actually purchase deals. Make this very clear in your marketing. But remember, we’re using education-based marketing.

Here are 9 ways you can market your event:

  1. www.Craigslist.org (Write your headlines effectively for maximum exposure)
  2. www.Backpage.com
  3. Pay Per Click (Google Adwords)
  4. Local online classifieds
  5. Media websites (most television stations willhave a free calendar of events on their website for community events)
  6. Flyers to local vendors in exchange for sponsorship
  7. Contact local newspaper or TV station to getsome free press
  8. Local REIA group(s)
  9. Your existing database

#4. Hold Your Event

You may wind up with 2 people or you may wind up with 20 people at your event. This depends largely on how well you’ve marketed your event. Obviously themore, the better!

The event will probably take a total of 4 to 5 hours including the property tour. In the “training” portion of the event, you’ll want to have each person meet withthe mortgage broker to know what they are really able to afford/qualify for.

You’ll also want to go over the current market,why now is the time to buy, and the best types of deals to maximize their investment.

#5. Take the Tour of Homes

This is where you help them apply what they just learned. You’ll want to have ? yers, ?nancials, ?nancing scenarios, rehab costs, etc. available for each property. Get them to put a number on each deal at which they’d be willing to write an offer. Do this as you leave each property.

If you have enough people register for the event, you may consider renting a small bus or a minivan, but in most cases, a caravan will serve the purpose. Theonly bene?t of a bus or minivan is that you control thesituation and people can’t leave in the middle.

#6. Recap

Once you’ve visited all 5 properties, return back to the location to go over any questions and write up contracts. You, your Realtor® and your mortgage broker can work together to make sure that any offers people want to place are submitted and that they can actually close if the offer gets accepted.

#7. Follow Up

Again, the follow up is crucial. You will want to touch base with each attendee the following day to get any additional offers, write up contracts, or add to your buyers’ list for the future. In the event someone does not put in a contract on a property, follow up with the same questions we asked in the previous strategy.

These are just a couple of “event” strategies that can help you move a property that you currently have.

Real Estate Listing Sites

Free posting sites are the Holy Grail for real estate investors!

Why? Because not only are the free, they get results. And they get results FAST!

I’m talking… You can literally post an ad in 5 minutes and start getting emails from prospects in 10! These sites work exceptionally well for ? nding all types of buyers.

In fact, I gave an agent in my real estate of?ce a speci?c process for using just ONE of these sites to ?nd buyers, and within just a few days, he had 3 buyers for $300,000+ deals!

The best part is that they are super simple to use!

You just have to know which ones are the best for your target market and come up with a consistent strategy for posting. Since they ARE FREE, it’s critical that you post frequently because many other people are also posting their ads and, consequently, moving your property down the list. (Most are displayed newest ?rst).

It seems as though there are new websites popping up daily, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed trying to ?gure which ones – and how many of them – you should be posting to on a regular basis.

So, for now, let’s stick with the ones that have proven to work. But always keep your eyes open for new sites that are getting visitors and gaining traction!

Craigslist (www.Craigslist.org)

Craigslist is a great place for posting a variety of free classi? eds, real estate in particular. You can post properties for sale, properties for rent, vacation rentals, etc. And this should be your ? rst stop when it comes to using free posting sites.

Pay careful attention to your headline, pricing and location.

There are a number of strategies that you can use to increase the chances of prospects getting TO your actual advertisement such as including extra characters, changing the last few digits of the price, etc.

Learn how to Crush It with Craigslist Real Estate ads…

Zillow (www.Zillow.com)

Zillow is also a great site to post and advertise your home. Zillow was initially used as a “comp” tool. Zillow also allows people to list their properties for sale as well.

The good news is that Zillow has a substantial amount of traf?c and you can capitalize on that for free. Not to mention, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on Zillow because they’re de? nitely adding some new tools that will be valuable resources for investors and homeowners alike.

Postlets (www.Postlets.com)

It doesn’t get much better than Postlets. This site allows you to submit your classi? ed ad, for free, and will distribute it to a number of other free positing sites.

In addition, you can create your own property webpage that they will host for free. So, not only can you submit you ad for free to their site, but they’ll do lots of the other work for you (also for free!).

In addition, you’ll also get the code to post it right on your own blog. This is one of the best tools for selling deals (and most investors and Realtors® haven’t got a clue about it).

If you want to take it further, upgrade to their premium package which gives you a multiple page website for your property, integrates Google mapping, allows for enhanced photos, and video/virtual tours as well as external website links potential buyers can be directed to for even more information.

Here is a partial list of sites to which Postlets will aggregate your ads:

  • Backpage
  • Craigslist
  • Enormo
  • FrontDoor
  • HotPads
  • Oodle
  • Trulia
  • Vast
  • Zillow

These are just a small handful of sites that you can post your properties on absolutely free! When it comes to these types of sites, the old adage: “You get what you pay for” is not true! These sites pack a big punch…

The only caveat is that they require an investment of your time to post. And the best part is that you can always outsource that part for pennies ;-).

Tips for Effective Online Classified Ads

  • Write Attention-Grabbing Headlines.

    You are ?ghting for your prospect’s attention and you’ve got loads of competition! So, you’ve got to grab their attention in order to get them to click through to your actual ad. The ENTIRE goal of your headline (or title) is to get the person to click through to read the rest of your ad. That’s it!

  • Use “odd” Number Prices.

    For example, if your property is $150,000, by simply changing the last three digits to something other than “000” or “900”, you will increase your click-throughs. To keep it simple, we recommend using the last 3 digits of the property address, so if the address is 1234 Main Street, your price would look like this: $150,234. It just breaks up the pattern as the prospect skims down the page.

  • Describe the Features and Bene?ts.

    Always include the features and bene? ts in your actual ad. Most people remember the “features” and leave out the “bene? ts”. This is extremely important!

  • Include the Maximum Number of Photos.

    Always include the most photos that the site will allow. When people are sur? ng the Internet looking for properties, you can never have enough pictures.

  • Bonus Tip: include a link to your own website where you have more photos of the property. To see the pictures, ask for a name and email address! Now, you’ve started building your list.

Classified Ads for Real Estate

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Let’s get right to the point here!

Classified ads work IF YOU DO THEM CORRECTLY!

There are hundreds of classified ads in any of your publications on a daily basis. Most of them look identical to one another and don’t do anythingto grab the attention of your prospects.

Your only goal in marketing is to get apotentially motivated seller (or buyer) to contact you. Nothing else! (Despite what some say).

Just as in any training that I do on marketing, I will tell you Continue reading →

Bandit Signs to Wholesale Houses

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Bandit signs are highly effective when it comes to wholesaling houses. Lots of investors will use bandit signs to find motivated sellers, but few will use bandit signs to find buyers and sell property fast!

When using bandit signs to target buyers, here are some tips you can use to save time and money (We’ve spent thousands of dollars testing and tracking).

Types of Signs:
Use white or yellow 18×24 blank bandit signs. You’ll want to use the corrugated plastic ones that come with the metal stands. Continue reading →

Flipping Houses: How to Find Buyers

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When you’re flipping houses (aka wholesaling), aside from finding a motivated seller with equity, the most important piece of the puzzle is the ability to find buyers. Here’s a strategy that will show you how to sell a fixer upper (that you currently have under contract) THIS weekend!

This will work if you’ve got a property under contract that you need to wholesale OR if you’ve got a fixer upper you’ve already closed on and you simply need to find a buyer fast. In either case, we’re going to assume that you’ve got to find a buyer, and you’ve got to find a buyer FAST!

One of the most successful ways to flip a house is to hold an “event”. This type of event is going to be a little different Continue reading →

Bandit Signs 2.0

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Part I of 9 (9 Ways to Find Buyers In Today’s Market)
In this series, we cover 9 effective ways to find buyers in TODAY’S Market.

Alright! I know you’ve heard about these little signs before! Some people hate them and other people swear by them! But, opinion doesn’t matter…. THEY WORK. PERIOD.

Unfortunately, most people only use bandit signs to find motivated sellers and neglect this inexpensive little tool entirely when it comes to finding buyers. I can tell you that we personally sell more than 35% of all of our properties on bandit signs alone. We actually use them about 75% of the time to fill our rental vacancies.

There are some substantial benefits that bandit signs offer including: Continue reading →

Pay Per Click: Google Adwords

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My top 2 questions used to be:

  1. How do you find motivated sellers?
  2. How do you get started with no money or credit?

    Now… my single biggest question – hands down – is “How do I find buyers?” Whether you’re looking for wholesale buyers for your quick flips or you’re looking for retail buyers (or renters) for your existing properties.

    My partner, Brandon, is working on a comprehensive book with all the tactics and strategies we use to find buyers (we were actually out today with 2: one for a million dollar property and another for a $300,000 property) And they were “end” buyers.

    So, how do you go about finding these people? We do all sorts of things like: Craigslist, Bandit signs, MLS, open houses, etc. However, there is one tactic that very few people know about, let alone talk about. And that is individual property websites. Continue reading →