Hola Blogosphere!
Sorry for being a terrible, lazy, pathetic excuse for a blogger lately.
After getting the following messages from my buds Dorn and Justin on Facebook yesterday:
I decided I’d better get my ass in gear and write a blog post already. (Speaking of Justin, I have a guest blog post from him coming up this week, so keep your eyes peeled).
So, anywho, I don’t have a whole lot of exciting news to report on the real estate front. I’ve cut way back on my MLS offers as of late. Partly because dealing with the banks kinda makes me want to tear all of my hair out of my head and then stab both of my eyes out with a sharp object, but mostly because I have easy access to my wholesaler buddies’ deals, and I don’t really have to do any work to get them, and I kind of like it that way. Kind of a lot.
Less money, yes, but zero risk, zero hassles, and zero dealing with the stupid banks and their stupid, incompetent title companies. It’s a fair trade-off in my eyes.
I’m still making 1 offer every day just so I don’t feel like I’m being lazy, but my days of making 10+ offers every day have come to a screeching halt. And also, if I can’t make 10k or more on a deal, I’m not putting anything under contract with the banks. That’s my new rule. If I’m going to do small deals, they will be JV deals with my wholesaler friends.
So, that’s the plan for the time being anyway…
I didn’t get a whole lot accomplished this weekend, as I was being held hostage in my condo while the craziness of Gasparilla took over downtown Tampa. In case you aren’t familiar with Gasparilla- it’s Tampa’s version of Mardi Gras- complete with pirates, beads, booze, boobs, and drunken mayhem.
This year the parade ended at the brand new park that is right across the street from the building I live in, so it was a nightmare down here. Great for people-watching, though. I have a telescope and a pair of binoculars, so I sat on my balcony with a few of my neighbors all day, drank Zing Zang bloody marys (thanks Craig!), and made fun of the crazies on the streets. Good times.
After the parade ended, there was a Collective Soul concert in the new park, so I got to watch that from my balcony which was pretty cool:
I really love the building I live in, btw, and plan on staying here for quite some time. Except now I’ve got my sights set on one of the penthouses on the 32nd floor. How cool will that be? I’m shooting for summer of 2011. Mark your calendars. 
Let’s see, what else?
Oh, one of my goals for 2010 is to learn how to cook. My idea was to learn one new recipe each week, so at the end of the year I’ll have 52 recipes under my belt. It’s been interesting thus far, and I’ve documented all of my creations with my trusty camera. Since this post is already 12 miles long, I’ll share some of my cooking adventures with you in another post. Including the 4 minute spicy garlic shrimp that I’m attempting to make for dinner tonight. Wish me luck.. 
And that’s all I’ve got for now, folks.
10-4 over and out!
P.S.
Don’t forget- The Flip This Book Club will be meeting here on Monday, Feb 8th to discuss January’s book: The Five Major Pieces to the Life Puzzle, by Jim Rohn. The book is awesome, btw, and a quick read too.
On January 31, 2010 at 5:22pm, bill peeler said...
Steph,
Please send your email address, as I have a few suggestions. Bill
On January 31, 2010 at 5:24pm, Stephani said...
Hi Bill,
Where would you like me to send it to, and what type pf suggestions are you referring to?
Also, do I know you?
Thanks,
Steph
On January 31, 2010 at 6:21pm, Neil Uttamsingh said...
Steph,
“…since Hammer pants”
That has got to be the greatest saying I have heard in quite some time.
Justin is my hero.
Neil Uttamsingh´s last blog ..Robert Kiyosaki — Friend or Foe?
On January 31, 2010 at 6:23pm, Stephani said...
Yeah, I got a good chuckle out of it, too. Justin’s a funny dude.
On January 31, 2010 at 7:20pm, Chris D said...
Steph,
Bout time! How do you structure your JV deals with the other wholesalers? I’ve done a few JV’s but I’m curious as to how you structure them.
Chris D
The Indy Wholesaler
On January 31, 2010 at 7:28pm, Stephani said...
Hey Stranger!
It just depends on who I’m working with. Sometimes it’s 50/50, sometimes there’s a few grand already added in to the asking price, sometimes I add my fee on to the asking price (which I don’t like doing).
Everyone has a different way of working it. I prefer 50/50 splits, personally.
Hope you are doing well,
Steph
On January 31, 2010 at 7:39pm, Chris D said...
I’m doing excellent…got a ton of different projects (real estate and otherwise) that I’m working on.
lol 50/50 is generally how I do em as well. Do you enter into a contract with the other wholesaler to split the “assignment fee” (however its designated)? Do you make the other wholesaler sign a non-circumvent (etc etc) document so they don’t steal your buyer? Thanks in advance Ms. REO RockSteph!
On January 31, 2010 at 7:45pm, Stephani said...
I usually do a contract between me and the wholesaler, and then assign it to my buyer.
I don’t do any type of non-circumvent. I mainly do business with 3 or 4 wholesalers who I have known for a few years and done lots of deals with, so I don’t worry too much about them trying to hijack my buyers. If it happens, it happens, and it’s just part of the biz. That’s the way I look at it, anyway.
Glad to hear you are doing well. We should chat on the phone sometime- I’ve got lots o’ stuff cookin, too.
On February 01, 2010 at 11:30am, Gene said...
Nice view Steph. I trust that I’ll be invited to the penthouse party next year?
Glad to see you blogging again.
On February 01, 2010 at 11:44am, Stephani said...
Hi Gene,
I’ll make sure you get an invite.
On February 01, 2010 at 3:21pm, Shae said...
We’ve missed you, Steph! Certainly more than I miss my Hammer pants
Shae´s last blog ..Unconventional thoughts on being a landlord
On February 01, 2010 at 3:51pm, Stephani said...
I don’t think I ever actually owned a pair of Hammer pants. I had a pair of black parachute pants, though. Hot.
On February 01, 2010 at 4:47pm, Shae said...
I’m embarrassed to admit I had one pair…as for the parachute pants…I had both red and black pants…and also had the glove! I’m bad, I’m bad, you know it.
Shae´s last blog ..Unconventional thoughts on being a landlord
On February 01, 2010 at 5:52pm, Stephani said...
PLEASE tell me you have pictures! I must see the glove!
On February 02, 2010 at 3:52pm, Shae said...
LOL! I unfortunately do not have pics….I bet my mom does somewhere though
Shae´s last blog ..Unconventional thoughts on being a landlord
On February 01, 2010 at 4:09pm, Chris Ranney said...
Hey Justin, don’t forget the collar-less shirt ! Oh my the Hammer pants thing is funny!
Steph, glad to see your post. I hope your 2010 strategy fits into your 5-year plan. You are an inspiration to all of us “little people” . I am headed to NY tomorrow and will be back next Monday. Then the gloves are coming off !!!!
On February 01, 2010 at 4:22pm, Stephani said...
Hey Chris,
Sounds to me like you already took the gloves off- keep up the good work.
On February 01, 2010 at 7:23pm, Imo said...
I’m new in the real estate business. Wholesale real estate makes alot of sence for new person like me. You mention MLS site one of your one on one QAS. How do you get excess to MLS site? I live out in California. I think you need a real estate licence to excess MLS. Any information on this will be greatly appreciated. Your blog in very informative and I will be visiting your blog daily to learn new information..thank you
On February 01, 2010 at 7:58pm, Stephani said...
Yes, you will need to be a licensed realtor to obtain access to the MLS. Unless you can talk one of them into giving you their code. You can also look into becoming a licensed realtor’s assistant. Not sure exactly what the steps are to become an assistant in your neck of the woods, but it’s usually much cheaper than becoming an agent…
Thanks for stopping by!
On February 01, 2010 at 8:00pm, DARRYL DEAN said...
Imo,
I will see if I can access the MLS for you, since I just bought FreedomSoft on JAN 26,2010.
Just contact me through my site ( click on my name ).
Steph,
We all are waiting for you to put out your own “Wholesalers Quick Start Guide”, in the same style as your GREAT “Flip This REO” ebook.
In the meantime, I am collecting all of your excellent tutorial articles from all over the ‘Net.
I think I’ll save them as a PDF ebook and add them to my FREE “Darryl Dean’s Wholesalers Rolodex”.
We are all thrilled to see you back here with a new post!
THANK YOU for your Service to The Wholesalers Nation, Steph!
darryl dean
Wholesale Houses Austin
Austin, Texas
http://WholesaleHousesTexas.com
On February 02, 2010 at 9:06am, Stephani said...
Thank YOU Darryl for being such an enthusiastic blog commenter!
You rock.
On February 02, 2010 at 12:55am, Jusitn McClelland said...
Hey, I made the news…well how about that!
And I wish I had wholesalers to team up with in my town. Alot of investors here are competitive/secretive. But I haven’t given-up. I’m sure there’s a secret few that I just haven’t met yet.
And when you say MLS offers, do you only make offers on REO properties listed on the MLS nowadays? What about non-REO MLS stuff, is that still in your scope?
Jusitn McClelland´s last blog ..40 Option-Contracts a week
On February 02, 2010 at 9:12am, Stephani said...
Hi Justin,
It’s taken me some time to build up the relationships that I have. I only work with a handful of guys on a consistent basis, and I’ve been doing deals with them for the last 2 years or so. Actually one of them is the guy who bought my very first wholesale deal after seeing my ad on Craigslist. That was in October of ‘06.
As far as the MLS offers- I will offer on non-REO stuff, too, but there isn’t much available in my price range that isn’t an REO or a short sale.
Steph
On February 02, 2010 at 8:54pm, Eric said...
Hi Steph,
In this post you mention about getting deals with other Wholesale buddies. How does that work? Do you look through properties other wholesalers are under contract for and buy it from them and then turn around and sell it to someone else?
Eric (New Guy)
On February 02, 2010 at 9:11pm, Stephani said...
Welcome to my blog, New Guy Eric.
Yeah- that’s pretty much how it works. There are a few wholesalers that I have been doing deals with over the last few years, and quite often we will partner up and sell deals for each other.
There are different ways to structure it, but usually I will put the property under contract (or option) with the wholesaler, and then assign it to my end buyer for a fee.
Make sense?
On February 02, 2010 at 10:35pm, RJ said...
Hellooo Cool post – we do JV’s with other investors to keep the deal flow consistent. Craigslist is a great place to find and network with other investors, wholesalers. Heres to more deals in 2010!
Cheers
RJ
RJ´s last blog ..Goodbye Rat Race!
On February 03, 2010 at 10:33pm, Charles J said...
Hello Steph,
I’ve gotten a different realtor since my last question. He is willing to work with me on making offers and he’s is an investor so he is fine with my business partner and I flipping the reo’s. My only semi issue is that my offers may get accepted and he feels that’s a bad thing! He thinks our offers should be lower. Our formula we use to make offers comes from your blog. We look at what investors are paying for in the areas we are making offers on and we look at the listing price. In the nice areas all the properties were listed at 50-65% off and we offered for 10-20k less than the listing price, but our realtor says that’s not low enough. What’s your take on my “dilemma”?
On February 03, 2010 at 10:42pm, Stephani said...
Hi Charles,
Unless I am not understanding you correctly, I don’t think you are using the same approach as I do when making offers. My strategy is to find the active investor/buyers in the area, and then find out what they are willing to pay for properties in that particular neighborhood. Then I go to the MLS and make my offer low enough to give them the numbers they are looking for, and also leave room for my profit. I don’t use percentages of list price, or base my numbers off of list price in any way.
I’ll give you an example…..
I just found a buyer who is willing to pay no more than 30k for duplexes in good condition in a specific neighborhood. So, if I found a duplex listed in that neighborhood in good condition, and I wanted to make 5k on the deal, I would offer no more than 24k on the property (I factored 1k in for closing fees).
Make sense?
On February 03, 2010 at 10:56pm, Charles J said...
Thanks for the prompt response and pretty much we’ve done the same thing. We looked at specific areas that our buyers wanted and we have their price range in mind when making the offers. I feel like as long as I have a buyer lined up and I leave room for them to make money after rehabbing the property I should be ok. IMO It should not matter if what we offer is not a lowball offer. I am sure my realtor is just doing his job but I still wanted your feedback as you are more experienced at flipping reos.
Thanks again for all your help.
On February 03, 2010 at 11:07pm, Stephani said...
Yeah, as long as you’re sure the numbers will work for your end buyer- you should be good to go. It’s really odd that your realtor is telling you your offers aren’t low enough. Is he an alien form of realtor or something?
You know, you can always run the numbers by your buyers while you are negotiating with the bank. I do it all the time. If you don’t feel comfortable giving them the exact address, you can just give the street and block and a description of the property and it’s condition. That way you know where you stand before you actually commit to the deal with the bank.
On February 26, 2010 at 2:23pm, Alan said...
Hi Steph,
Are you a licensed real estate broker or agent, because how is it that you have access to the MLS?
Thanks,
Alan
On February 26, 2010 at 2:29pm, Stephani said...
Hi Alan,
I have several friends who are agents who let me use their usernames and passwords.
Steph
On May 22, 2010 at 12:34pm, Alvara DaCosta said...
i left a comment yesterday…i checked all day for a response…then checked today…and now it has been deleted
On May 23, 2010 at 7:49am, Stephani said...
I answered your questions. You are looking at the wrong post.
http://www.flipthiswholesaler.net/2010/04/an-adoption-and-a-webinar/#comments