Flip This Wholesaler

5/20/2008

I’ve been feeling kind of “out of the loop” lately, so today I pretty much sat on the phone all day and did a whole lot of networking. I literally had the phone glued to my ear for at least 8 hours. It’s amazing what you can learn by just going up and down your buyers/investor list and calling people to see what they are up to and what they are looking for (if anything). So, anyway, I spent all day on the phone, calling buyers and also several other wholesalers that I have lost touch with over the last month or so. I also just got off the phone with a commercial broker who has 2 buddies in California who are looking to invest 500k in this market. Apparently they don’t really know what they are doing, and are looking for someone to find them deals. I think I may know someone who might be able to help. Hehe. I’m definitely following up with this guy in a few days if I don’t hear from him…

I’m meeting the guy with the NY buyers for lunch tomorrow, and keeping my fingers crossed that it isn’t a big fat waste of my time. We shall see..

What else. I’ve got a whole shit load of offers out there right now, so I should be hearing something back by the weekend.

I’m trying to focus on quality as opposed to quantity when it comes to my wholesale deals, so my offers have been getting lower and lower. I know I will get less accepted this way, but I would rather do one really nice deal a month as opposed to 3 little ones. It will require me to make more offers, probably, but I can live with that…

Over and out.

4/3/2008

So, I’m finally situated in my new place. I still have a few odds and ends that I need to take care of, but for the most part, everything is done. I’ve been running around like a crazy person all week trying to get everything in order. I haven’t even had a chance to do any work, make any offers, etc, but tomorrow I’m back at it.

Tuesday I met the guy who’s buying my latest REO deal. We met at Starbucks (the original plan was to meet at Panera, but after one look at the parking lot, we decided on Starbucks instead). I’d rather saw my arm off with a rusty butter knife than wait in a line that long to eat. Anyway, we met and signed the contract and chatted for awhile. 15 minutes into the conversation, he said something that made me drool on myself a little bit. I think his exact words were “I plan on buying 10 more properties like this one this year- do you think you could help me find them?” SCORE!! Hell yes I can. I don’t know what’s going on, but I seem to be a cash buyer magnet lately. Bring it on..

As it stands, I’ve got 2 closings next week, one on Thursday, one Friday. Both are simultaneous closes, which I’ve been stressing out about since I’ve never done one before. I went into my title company today to talk to the lady working my deals, just to make myself feel better. She pretty much set my mind at ease, but I’ll probably be a nervous wreck anyway until they close.

Oh, I finally got a new computer!! As much as I wanted the pink Dell laptop, I couldn’t bring myself to spend the money (2007 turned me into a penny pincher), so I went on Craigslist and found a Dell laptop for $400, which I ended up getting for $350.00! I was thinking of wholesaling it for some quick cash (hehehe), but decided to keep it instead. It works like a champ. I need to hunt that Craig down and take him out for a drink…

3/20/2008

I’ve been a busy little bee this week.

The listing agent of REO #3  that just closed called me earlier in the week to thank me for getting the deal closed so fast (it wasn’t fast to me, but I guess he’s used to things taking FOREVER). Anyway, I told him I am looking for more deals like that one (read: CHEAP), and to keep me in the loop. Well, it just so happens that one of the banks was about to make a ginormous price drop (like 30k) on one of his properties. It’s a 3/2 that has been totally rehabbed. No kidding- everything is new.

I called one of the cash buyers I picked up over the weekend (he called on one of my handwritten signs) and told him about the property. He is looking for rentals that don’t need a whole lot of work, so I thought this would be perfect. He was out to look at the house within the hour (God, I love when people act fast), and he told me he would have a number for me by today at noon. My phone rang at 7:30 this morning, and it was him telling me he’ll take it @ 75k-ish.

I kind of took a gamble on this, because I don’t have it under contract yet, but I have a good feeling about him, and didn’t think he would go around me. And I was right. So, I’m waiting to hear back from the bank and see how low they’ll go. It won’t be a huge payday (hopefully 5k), but I don’t care.

Right now, I’m just trying to stockpile as much cash as I can, little by little, deal by deal. More important to me is the fact that I am starting to build relationships with some of the REO agents, and show them that I am not some Slim Shady jackass who runs around backing out of deals. I’m thinking long term here.

Yesterday I went to two REIA meetings, one during the day, and one at night. I made some really good contacts at both of them. One guy has some out of state cash buyers (California, I think) that are looking to pick up some cheap rentals (my specialty). Another investor is looking to pick some rentals up for herself.

Oh, and I think I might have found a buyer for that REO that the investor I met for coffee the other day just got under contract.

AND, remember Crazy Caroline? Well, I just hooked her up with a property that my short sale friend just got an acceptance on. I had him call her, though, because she hates me for some reason. Hehehe. Sneaky, sneaky. Hope she’s not reading this. Just kidding Caroline- you aren’t crazy. Or possessed by the devil. That was all a joke…

None of these deals are locked up yet, of course, but I figure if you throw a bunch of shit at the wall, some of it is going to stick. And if not, I’ll just throw some more.

P.S.

Skypoint countdown: T-minus 7 days….

(Picture courtesy of my buddy Bruce)

3/18/2008

Still waiting to see if this buyer is going to get approved for hard money. It looks good, but you never know. If not, there’s another guy who also wants it, so we’ll see. I hate waiting. Cash buyers are so much easier to deal with.

Speaking of cash buyers, I found another one yesterday. He called on one of my signs that I put out over the weekend. He’s a landlord looking to pick up some cheap rentals. My favorite kind of buyer, by far.

The other cash investor that I hunted down last week called me yesterday to see if I wanted to meet at Starbucks for coffee (that’s always a no-brainer question for me). Apparently he wants to start wholesaling, too, and wants me to help him sell some of his properties. Not really how I wanted things to go, but that’s OK. The more the merrier. He just picked up an REO before it hit the mls (the listing agent called him first because she knows he closes his deals) for $32,000. He’s going to try and wholesale it for $59,900 , which he shouldn’t have any problem doing (that’s almost 28k, in case you don’t have a calculator handy). It’s a 3/2 1100 sf house that only needs 10-15k. Probably worth 120k-ish.

I need to get me a 28k deal. Then go on a nice vacation…