Sometimes, sellers go from highly motivated to kicking the tires and dodging your calls. When you work in real estate wholesaling, this is a part of the gig. Dealing with a hot lead suddenly turned cold can be difficult and overwhelming, especially if you're new to wholesaling.

After settling on a price and getting ready to close, everything can change in a second. Maybe someone told your seller the price was too low or you discovered there's a co-owner that hasn't signed off. Many things can take a motivated seller and turn them cold.

While this is a normal part of wholesaling, there are ways to deal with it. If you have a hot lead that's suddenly turned ice cold, here are some of the things you can do.

Immediate Contract

One of the easiest things you can do to avoid watching a new hot lead go cold is get the contract signed immediately. This won't guarantee anything, but it will certainly help.

Keep Leads Coming in

Automated marketing helps to keep your leads coming in, which will help offset a hot lead going cold. When this happens, it may be easier to concentrate on the next deal than let a potential seller drag you around, dodge your calls and make excuses as they continue to waste your time.

Do Your Homework

It's possible a seller could have sold the property a day or two before. The tax record may show they still own the property, but they don't. When you do your homework, you may be able to discover this fact before it's too late.

Ask for a Non-Refundable Deposit

Hot leads are not just sellers, but also buyers, and they can go cold, too. The best way to keep buyers from walking away from the deal is to add a clause into your contract stating the buyer has to put up a non-refundable deposit with an attorney within 24 hours. You can even tell the buyer you will continue to market the property until a deposit has been made with an attorney or a title company.

Real estate wholesaling isn't always cut and dry. Some days are more difficult than others and you really do have to take the good with the bad. Hot leads will go cold, but you can do a few things to mitigate your damages. Make sure you do your homework, get the contract signed ASAP and keep new leads coming in. With buyers, get a deposit as soon as possible to ensure they don't walk away from the deal.

Authored by Best Transaction Funding BestTransactionFunding.com is the leading source of transactional funding for real estate wholesalers in the US, where 100% financing, and saying “Yes” is what we love doing all day long.

Are you considering jumping into real estate wholesaling? Do you have questions and you're struggling to find the answers? Below, you will find the most common four questions beginners to wholesaling ask and the answers.

Is wholesaling illegal?

Most beginners start with this question or some form of this question. They think, it can't possibly be legal because it sounds too good to be true. After all, most of us were taught, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Real estate wholesaling is legal, but you do need to make sure the right verbiage is used on your contracts. Consulting an attorney for help with your contracts is always a smart idea.

How can I Find a Good Mentor?

Many new wholesalers want someone they can ask questions to, bounce ideas off of and someone simply to be there for them when they're not sure what to do. It's important to look for more than just a mentor. If you don't have value to bring to the table, they may not be interested in mentoring you.

Start taking action by putting out bandit signs, using direct mail marketing, cold calling or doing something else and you'll find a mentor. Better yet, your mentor will find you.

What do I say to a Seller?

New wholesalers often wonder what to say to a seller. You should actually be doing more listening than talking with the seller. Asking questions about why they are looking to sell, how they would like the sale to go and if there are any repairs needed, will help you gain the information you need.

How Much Should I Offer for a Home?

Figuring out how much to offer is a bit of a science and it will vary from one market to another. Usually, the formula is simply ARV x 70% - Repairs - Wholesaling Fee. This will give you the maximum you want to offer, but it could vary a bit depending on the market and how aggressive you want to be.

How Should I Find Buyers?

As a new wholesaler, you probably want to start building a list of buyers. You can start by using other local investors to help with finding buyers before you have your own list.

Building your own list can be done by using ads on Craigslist and a simple Google search for potential cash buyers in your area. You can also pull a report of all the real estate sales that were cash deals in your area. Those buyers are probably going to be your buyers, too.

 

These four questions are commonly asked by new real estate wholesalers. If you're planning to start wholesaling or you're very new to it, make sure you take the time to do your research, gain answers to your questions and build your confidence.

Authored by Best Transaction Funding BestTransactionFunding.com is the leading source of transactional funding for real estate wholesalers in the US, where 100% financing, and saying “Yes” is what we love doing all day long.

When certain trends start to pop up in your market, you could turn to virtual wholesaling. These trends include:

Lower response rates for direct mail marketing

Sellers say they are getting too many marketing offers

Sellers don't seem as motivated as they were last year

These trends often point to a seller's market, which means deal flow will start to decrease. As a wholesaler, this means your marketing budget will go up and your ROI will go down. When this happens, it may be time to pivot into virtual wholesaling.

What is Virtual Wholesaling?

Virtual wholesaling is similar to traditional wholesaling, but allows you to enter into a different markets, remotely. It will include many moving pieces to successfully facilitate the transaction. If you have great conversational skills, excellent organizational skills and the ability to network, you can use virtual wholesaling to your benefit.

Building a Virtual Wholesaling Team

Before you even think about handling a transaction, you need to build your virtual wholesaling team. This team will need to include:

A Title Company

An Attorney

Wholesale Partners

In some cases, your local title company will work great, if they are a national company. However, if they don't handle title on the national level, you will may need to find a title company that does.

An attorney is the next member of your team you will need to find. Getting a local attorney, in the market you're working in, requires good recommendations, which may come from the title agent or even the real estate agent in the local market. Make sure to compare a few options before adding an attorney to your team.

Along with your title company and attorney, a few wholesaling partners can be helpful. Having local JV partners to help you will make selling in a new market much easier. Make sure you put a solid agreement in writing about how you will split the profits.

Enter a New Market with Virtual Wholesaling

Real estate has historically been up and down, favors the buyer one year and the seller the next. As a wholesaler, you have to stay on top of your market, but you don't have to be limited to just your local real estate market.

With virtual wholesaling, you have the ability to enter into any real estate market you want. All you have to do is build your virtual wholesaling team first. Not only will you have the ability to wholesale in a new market, but you may also be able to increase your rental portfolio and even start flipping properties.

 

Authored by Best Transaction Funding BestTransactionFunding.com is the leading source of transactional funding for real estate wholesalers in the US, where 100% financing, and saying “Yes” is what we love doing all day long.

What’s trending in the real estate financing space now?

Here’s what’s changing in the market as we roll through the second quarter, and into the second half of 2017…

Rising Loan Volumes

The Mortgage Bankers Association, analysts, and individual lenders are expecting loan volumes to rise this year. Commercial real estate loans are predicted to hit new highs in 2017 and 2018. That’s following RealtyTrac’s annual house flipping report which shows far more flippers are now using financing. Buy and hold real estate is still popular too, yet many rental property investors have most of their capital tied up in equity and will need to use leverage to expand their portfolios this year.

Higher LTV Financing

Lenders are expanding loan programs with new higher LTV options. In addition to 100% transactional funding, VA and USDA loans, private lenders and rehab lenders are also moving closer to offering 100% financing for fixing and flipping houses and small multifamily properties.

Declining Credit Score Requirements

Various efforts are being made to reduce credit scores used in underwriting. How much relief this provides to investors will depend on how front line mortgage originators adopt them. Many are still being far more stringent than the secondary market demands.

True Stated Income Loans

Alternative documentation loans have been on the fringes of the market for a while. Now we are finally seeing more lenders offer stated income loans for investors that don’t require tax returns, or even bank statements.

Equity Sharing Loans

Lenders are bullish on the market continuing to grow. More are wanting a piece of that rising equity, in addition to interest and origination fees.

JVs

Savvy investors and lenders are increasingly partnering up. This can be a great strategy for expanding, while minimizing risk, increasing diversification, and gaining access to more lucrative investments.

 

Authored by Best Transaction Funding BestTransactionFunding.com is the leading source of transactional funding for real estate wholesalers in the US, where 100% financing, and saying “Yes” is what we love doing all day long.

What real estate investment strategies are trending this year?

The market is changing. Most housing markets are becoming more expensive, interest rates are going up, and many investors are switching up their strategies. So, what’s trending now?

1. Reverse Wholesaling

For those seeking low risk investing, and low capital outlays, reverse wholesaling can be the perfect REI strategy. Instead of finding deals, and then trying to line up funding and marketing for buyers, reverse wholesalers find the buyers first. Then with transactional funding they can turn deals around in a matter of hours. They know their exit before they get in.

2. International Investing

There is set to be a significant amount of cross-border investing in 2017. The majority of global investors surveyed say they plan to increase their investment in American real estate this year. That will account for a sizable percentage of the $1.7T in capital these investors have to put to work this year. At the same time many US based investors may again begin investing offshore. Among this group are those looking to diversify their buy and hold portfolios, those hedging against and American real estate downturn, and those looking for less expensive assets with better cash flow.

3. New Construction

In many areas it has become cheaper and more profitable to build new rather than acquire exiting distressed properties. Some are engaging in gut rehabs of older properties or are expanding with additional square footage. Others are building spec homes to flip, or fourplexes to rent out for cash flow.

4. Partnerships

With many new investors trying to get into the market, and experienced investors looking to diversify and spread risk of any local downturns, more investors are partnering up. Real estate crowdfunding is one way to do this. Others are teaming up with a few peers to take on rentals, and some lenders are offering JV opportunities which provide 100% financing and equity sharing.

How will you invest this year?

 

Authored by Best Transaction Funding BestTransactionFunding.com is the leading source of transactional funding for real estate wholesalers in the US, where 100% financing, and saying “Yes” is what we love doing all day long.

Peak real estate season is coming up fast. How can investors do more wholesale deals in the months ahead?

Late spring and summer brings the highest volume of real estate transactions for the year. Those who excel during these months gain a great advantage in incoming cash, building a marketing budget for the rest of the year, and in generating ongoing referrals and repeat business. What can property wholesalers do to maximize the number of deals they get done this season?

Build Your Buyers List

In order to flip houses fast and maximize deal volume, build that buyers list in advance. Build your list of lenders too. Have the money and end buyers lined up so that as soon as you get deals you can turn them around and fund the next one. This can be done via direct mail, networking, Facebook, Google Ads, and more.

Market To Sellers Early & Often

Once school is out every Realtor and wannabe investor, along with a new lineup of websites is going to be vying for attention and marketing to these potential sellers hard. Then you have to compete on price and branding. It’s far easier and more profitable if you start connecting and building relationships before the rest of the pack. When they are ready to sell you should already be their first choice to pick up the phone and contact.

Make The Move Easier & More Attractive

Despite the sense in buying, selling, or investing this spring and summer, many will find a variety of excuses to hold back. For some it is the uncertainty of moving into a new neighborhood. For others it is navigating the mechanics of moving. Then there are those who are worried about how their family will handle the move. Teardown these objections in advance. Use your real estate blog to provide clarity on the lifestyle in different neighborhoods and how investments there are likely to perform ahead. Create referral relationships with movers and Realtors to facilitate a smooth process. Team up with new apps that make transferring utilities and forwarding mail a breeze. Build a sales and moving experience clients will rave about to others.

 

Authored by Best Transaction Funding BestTransactionFunding.com is the leading source of transactional funding for real estate wholesalers in the US, where 100% financing, and saying “Yes” is what we love doing all day long.

Is wholesaling the better real estate strategy in 2017?

The real estate market is always changing. That makes it smart to have a good mix of tactics to ensure cash flow remains consistent. Fixing and flipping was made cool by reality TV. Yet, current and emerging market conditions may make things easiest for wholesalers in 2017 and 2018.

There are several dynamics in play which may make things more difficult for house flippers and buy and hold investors this year, and looking forward. This includes; rising interest rates, declining rental rates, high property prices, and limited access to credit for retail home buyers.

Data from Zillow and reports from local landlords suggest that rents in San Francisco have been falling sharply. Zillow also predicts property prices there are peaking and will decline later this year. Lower rents make properties worth less. That can also cause havoc for landlords who are leveraged and have loans to cover. At the same time some parts of the country are seeing sellers and agents prices properties wildly high. They are pricing properties based on Airbnb rentals, or may just be throwing listings against the wall and are hoping for the best. While capital may be plentiful for real estate investors, it is still really hard and unappealing for regular home buyers to apply for mortgage loans.

This means some house flippers may find themselves caught with no profit, especially if they are taking extended timelines to fix and flip, or wind up spending too much on rehab. In contrast, wholesaling can work in any market. And there will still be demand for prime property, providing it is priced well.

Just think about what is easier. To put a property under contract for $150,000, that may be worth $250,000 after repairs, and selling it for $199,000. Or taking 3 months and putting in another $30,000 plus in improvements? In this scenario wholesaling would probably still be more profitable. The market for the property priced at $199,000 is also going to be a lot bigger than priced at its full retail ARV. Wholesaling gives the opportunity to get in, out, and paid, fast, with the least amount of risk.

There will still be viable rehab and rental deals out there today, but wholesaling may provide a much needed tactic for ensuring consistent returns and income in the months ahead.

 

Authored by Best Transaction Funding BestTransactionFunding.com is the leading source of transactional funding for real estate wholesalers in the US, where 100% financing, and saying “Yes” is what we love doing all day long.

These new real estate loans could help house flippers do more deals…

Capital sources are once again innovating and bringing out new loan programs. Some may be used directly by real estate wholesalers and house flippers. Others can be introduced to retail buyers and end investors to increase their ability to absorb new inventory.

Transactional Funding

Transactional funding has been publicly available to a broader range of real estate investors since around 2008. Yet, it is still seriously underutilized. Many investors are sitting on the sidelines, or are doing a fraction of the deals they could be, due to liquidity challenges. Transactional funding offers easy and fast access to 100% financing for wholesale deals.

Stated Income Loans

While transactional funding may provide the easiest qualifying of all loan products on the market today, it is short term money. A new variety of stated income real estate loans are emerging that could be ideal for helping experienced investors to get back in the game, and to enable active investors to expand their capacity and portfolios. These loans do not require tax returns or W2s, allowing for a faster and lower hassle approval process. Wholesalers should be connecting their end buyers to these financing providers to create more win-wins, and to scale deal flow.

Equity Sharing Mortgages

Lenders have gotten smarter. They may prefer the easy of lending and debt investing versus owning and managing physical assets. However, they also don’t want to miss out and leave money on the table. So, with equity sharing mortgages they are able to provide great financing terms, and get a piece of the equity appreciation as well. These loans may offer more attractive terms to investors, and can give them advantages of having an experienced and connected ‘partner’. Just be clear about the fine print.

Lines of Credit

More and more lending channels are ramping up their offerings of unsecured lines of credit. Lenders and private investors have trillions in capital to deploy this year, and they want it out there working. Unsecured lines of credit are ideal for rehabbers who may need more working capital, as well as the liquidity to jump on new deals while completing projects already in the pipeline. Again, the better wholesalers do at connecting their end buyers with these real estate financing sources, they more valuable they become, and the more business volume they can do.

Authored by Best Transaction Funding BestTransactionFunding.com is the leading source of transactional funding for real estate wholesalers in the US, where 100% financing, and saying “Yes” is what we love doing all day long.

Mother’s Day 2017 is coming up fast. It’s an important day, that deserves real estate professionals giving some extra thought to. What can we do to really shine this year?

1. Don’t Forget Your Mothers

Don’t forget the mothers in your personal life. Your mom, grandmother, your sisters that are mothers, your children that are mothers, and all those other mother figures. Being a mother is real work. Like real estate professionals, mothers rarely get a fraction of the praise and thanks they should. Take a day out to spend some time with them, and spoil them.

2. Recognize the Mothers in Your Real Estate Business

Whether you are a solo Realtor or real estate wholesaler using a team of remote workers, or you are a CEO with thousands of square feet of physical office space and in-house employees, there are many mothers who are involved in your success, and the success of your clients. Maybe they directly work for you. Maybe they work at your favorite title company, real estate attorney’s office, or bank. There are so many hard-working mothers involved in our success. Make sure you show your appreciation. It could be an office brunch, flowers, gift certificates for a local spa, a day off to spend with family, or an all-expenses paid trip to Disney with their kids.

3. Remind Others

Use email, direct mail, and social to remind others about May 14^th. You’ll save a few people from forgetting about Mother’s Day. Happy mom – happy home. Happy homes mean your workers are more efficient and productive, tenants are more likely to pay the rent on time, and families are enjoying more upward mobility.

4. Help Struggling Homeowners

There are still thousands of mothers out there who are struggling to hold onto their homes, or to find somewhere to go. These are hard decisions when you have kids at home, or have worked a lifetime to build something to pass on. It’s not always easy connecting with and helping struggling homeowners. They been burned by so many others, so many times already. Just ask “how would I like my mother to be helped in this situation?” You wouldn’t want a good investor to give up on trying to help. You would want someone to make the effort, and help them achieve a good move.

5. Help Homebuyers

There are also millions of mothers struggling to put a good roof over their kids’ heads. In some cases, they just need a roof. But all deserve to be given a safer and healthier place to live, on terms that are actually sustainable. Others are looking for opportunities to invest to get ahead, so that they can actually spend time with their families, and give their kids great head starts. This Mother’s Day is a great time to help them. Send out the information they need, host Mother’s Day themed open houses, and provide unique experiences which really deliver value.

 

Authored by Best Transaction Funding BestTransactionFunding.com is the leading source of transactional funding for real estate wholesalers in the US, where 100% financing, and saying “Yes” is what we love doing all day long.

This is the season to optimize your real estate business, and make those big leaps in results…

Spring is here. Easter will be on us soon. Then we’ll be in the heat of the busiest real estate season of the year. Those who set themselves up for success now will have a major advantage in the marketplace.

So, what can real estate business owners and investors do now to ensure they take the lead and hit their full potential?

Spring Clean Your Office

Whether you have thousands of square feet of physical office space, or your office space is a corner of a couch and a laptop – this is a great time to clear your space. Get rid of the clutter and optimize your work zone so that you can be as efficient as possible.

Take a day to clean out your devices to free up storage and get rid of distractions. Unsubscribe from junk email lists, ditch apps you don’t use, and be sure files are backed up in the cloud.

Get a cleaner to spruce up your workspace, and perhaps add a few fresh interior design touches to flow with the new season, and to spur your productivity.

Spring Clean Your Portfolio

This is a very pivotal time for real estate businesses and investors. There are many great opportunities out there, as well as some holdings which have certainly already delivered their best performance. Whether it is stocks and bonds, CDs, REITs, rentals or office property, now is the time to sell off the old and reload with the new.

Spring Clean Your Marketing

It is sad to see so many real estate entrepreneurs and ventures with such great potential who are seeing everything derailed by their marketing. For some it is because they’ve been too busy to clean things up. For others it has been getting lost in the mayhem of trying to do everything themselves. Don’t let this hold you down. Get this right, and leap forward with a clean slate. Or everything you attempt going forward will be hindered by this clutter. Brush up on your website maintenance to update plugins, upgrade design, clean up broken links, put in relevant SEO, and increase load speeds. Then clear out all your old blogs and social media posts which no longer match your brand and business model. If you have been managing a dozen freelancers or agencies you may want to streamline that too. Maybe one can do it all, saving you hours a month in micromanagement, while increasing results.

How will you clean your spaces and leap ahead this spring?

Authored by Best Transaction Funding BestTransactionFunding.com is the leading source of transactional funding for real estate wholesalers in the US, where 100% financing, and saying “Yes” is what we love doing all day long.

 

How can you get the most out of your real estate marketing budget?

2017 is shaping up to be a big year for real estate. The extent to which real estate investors are able to profit from this surge in the market will depend a lot on how well they do at getting the best results from their marketing. How do you do that?

1. Optimize for Conversions First

There’s no sense in driving thousands of visitors to your real estate website if it isn’t optimized to turn visitors into leads or buyers. Make sure you have a strong landing page before you rush into social, PPC, or anything else.

2. Quality over Quantity

While there is good sense in creating a marketing budget that is sustainable, many make the mistake of going too cheap and weak with their initial marketing efforts. If those initial campaigns don’t produce great results then you may not survive. It’s far better to go strong at the beginning, get some profitable deals done, and then expand. That applies to social, blogging, PR, direct mail, email, and live events.

3. Influencer vs. Individuals

Trying to connect with individual prospects one at a time is expensive. Instead, consider spending those dollars on connecting with influencers who may connect you with 100, 1,000, or 10,000 prospects at a time.

4. Get out of Your Own Way

One of the best moves real estate investors and CEOs can make is to get out of their own way when it comes to marketing. Empower dedicated real estate marketing experts who are already masters of current lead generation tactics to craft your campaigns based on what they know works, not emotion.

5. Maximize Each Sale

The smartest real estate investors will use each successful deal, and leverage it into many more. You many not yet be able to boast of having done thousands of transactions or billions in deal volume. Yet, you can take each win and personal story and use it to gain visibility, and to attract more deals and increase conversions.

Put these strategies into play to make the most of your real estate marketing budget, and grow your investment to its maximum potential.

 

Authored by Best Transaction Funding BestTransactionFunding.com is the leading source of transactional funding for real estate wholesalers in the US, where 100% financing, and saying “Yes” is what we love doing all day long.

Where can real estate investors find the money to flip houses this year?

The US real estate market is surging again. Home sales hit a new 10 year record in January 2017 according to NAR and Inman. Yet, it still takes money to make money. So, where can investors find the capital to get started, expand, and make the most of the opportunities?

Lines of Credit & Personal Loans

Despite all of the gurus proclaiming the ability to flip houses with no money and no credit, investors will find they run into expenses. They may find 100% financing for property deals, but there is still due diligence, gas money, and marketing. Personal or small business loans and lines of credit can provide essential working capital, and the flexibility to use it for everything from launching a real estate startup to rehabbing homes. Do expect lenders to demand a reasonable credit score, and normally an existing LLC or business entity to have already been set up for those seeking commercial funding.

Blanket Mortgages

For those who already own portfolios of income properties free and clear, or with significant equity a blanket mortgage can help. These mortgage loans can be used to leverage equity from part or all of a portfolio to bridge out and acquire more property. It provides liquidity to act as a cash buyer, with the simplicity of one set of loan documents.

Commercial Conduit Lenders

A new breed of mortgage brokers and conduits are setting up shop, and are aggressively marketing themselves to investors. They may offer lines of credit, blanket loans, and short-term fixed rate mortgages for rehabbing properties. Many now offer stated income loans. Most still expect significant skin in the game from investors, and often want to see a recent track record of successful acquisitions and exits.

Transactional Funding

Transactional funding lenders provide short-term funding for real estate wholesalers. This is typically 100% financing for back to back house flips. Often no appraisals, credit, or income verification is required. It’s fast and easy to get, and rates can be lower than hard money.

 

Authored by Best Transaction Funding BestTransactionFunding.com is the leading source of transactional funding for real estate wholesalers in the US, where 100% financing, and saying “Yes” is what we love doing all day long.

Easter is one of those power-marketing holidays for real estate investors. How will you make the most of it this year?

Easter 2017 lands on Sunday April 16^th. Smart real estate marketers will already be getting a head start on prepping their marketing collateral, and beginning to build the buzz from at least St. Patrick’s Day, if not earlier. How can you use this holiday to launch your business into top gear for the rest of the year?

Easter Themed Content Marketing

Leverage the interest and internet search volume for all things Easter with a variety of themed content marketing piece. This can include emails, blogs, and social media posts.

Easter Themed Open Houses

Have houses to sell, or which you can promote for others? Set up a fabulous themed open house event, and get the crowds in. What you do depends on your target demographics. That may be a chic cocktail party for a sleek new condo. Or an Easter egg hunt and bounce house in the yard for a single family neighborhood. Get the word out online, in the local news, and through your local professional contacts.

Get Generous with Gift Baskets

Easter gift baskets don’t just have to be for your kids. Strengthen your team and vendor relationships with great gift baskets. Give them to neighbors and members of your buyers lists. Use it as an opening to reconnect with potential sellers you have been working on. Everyone loves gifts, making this a warm way to cultivate stronger ties and get people to fall in love with your real estate brand.

Sponsor Local Events

If you don’t have properties to show, or substantial lists, then consider sponsoring other people’s events. This could be local schools, the city, the community association, a mortgage broker or title company. Do this to gain more visibility and leverage existing audiences, while adding credibility to your brand.

Summary

Easter 2017 is coming. While you should absolutely enjoy indulging in some chocolate eggs yourself; get a head start on creating real estate marketing materials and building the noise now. Get on people’s calendars, and make sure they connect with you this Easter, not your competition.

Need to build your real estate sellers or buyers lists? Can Meetup.com help?

Meetup.com has been exploding in popularity on the web. Many are using it to cultivate new groups of real estate leads and deals. How can real estate wholesalers put it to work, and grow their businesses?

Meetup

For those property investors that haven’t used it yet; Meetup.com is an online platform for connecting with those with similar interests. It is a place to curate a group of likeminded individuals, and then meetup with them offline, in reality. Given that real estate professionals rely on making new contacts each day in order to fuel their businesses and incomes, this could be a beneficial tool to add to the monthly marketing and networking mix.

Get Out and Network

If you are thinking about using Meetup in any capacity a smart first step is to sign up for some other people’s meetups, and get out and visit them. There are meetups for just about everything. There are meetups for Realtors, tech entrepreneurs, foodies, fitness, charity, and just about anything else you can possibly imagine. Attending these meetups will give you insight into what others are doing that works well, or not. It is also the lower maintenance and cost way to leverage meetup, instead of trying to manage your own. This strategy can be just as powerful, and you can join any type of meetup and reach new prospects.

Start Your Own Meetup Groups

If you want to step up and take the lead, then starting your own Meetup can be a great idea. For around $20 a month you can host your own group on Meetup.com. This can be an indirect method of meeting prospects by making it about something other than real estate. Or it can be a real estate specific meetup, like a local investors club. Meetup will help connect you with people, but expect to do your own promotion on social media, locally, and to invest in creating a good experience for attendees. Use these get togethers to generate motivated seller leads, cash buyer leads, regular home buyer leads, and to build your team of local industry professionals and referral partners. Use regular gatherings to build relationships, educate, and to help others, and you can build a highly localized power list.

How will you use it?

Authored by Best Transaction Funding BestTransactionFunding.com is the leading source of transactional funding for real estate wholesalers in the US, where 100% financing, and saying “Yes” is what we love doing all day long.

Are real estate agents really helping or hurting investors’ efforts to sell homes?

Many property investors and regular homeowners simply aren’t aware of how beneficial or harmful Realtors can be in the mission to sell their properties. How do you know if yours is doing their job? How do you spot the good among the terrible?

The Issues

Just as with investors, not all Realtors are perfect. But, there are great ones out there. They can offer a lot of value to those flipping houses, restructuring rental property portfolios, and searching more homes to buy and wholesale. Those that fail to operate ethically, don’t have the hustle, or simply are not tuned into current trends can really hurt the sellers they represent, and be a major roadblock for buyers.

Unfortunately, some agents still hold out on presenting offers; either to wait for the one which offers them double commission, or because they don’t understand them. Some are just slack at returning inquiries and following up. Others don’t have the motivation and hustle to try and make deals work and make the most out of every lead.

This doesn’t serve anyone well. It can result in properties rotting on the market, owners losing homes or failing to get the most money in a timely manner, and it can choke the pace of the market too.

What to Look for in an Agent

To beat the above issues real estate investors need to select the agents they work with carefully. Don’t just hit Google or go based on who has a lot of yard signs out. Don’t base the choice on years in business either.

Instead, look those you can build a relationship with. Those that put values and service first, those that are hungry and active, and those that can answer questions about quirks in the market or can find out fast.

Test them. Do they answer calls on their properties fast? Do they take offers and try to make them work? Do they know the requirements of local associations, building codes, and mortgage lenders?

Always do a little mystery shopping before selecting an agent to help you. Then if you list with them, do it again. See how well they are serving potential buyers for your property. If they aren’t presenting you offers, responding, or being courteous, you may have a case to fire them and find someone better.

What have you found is most and least important in choosing an agent? Let us know your favorite investor friendly agents around the country on our Facebook page…

 

Authored by Best Transaction Funding BestTransactionFunding.com is the leading source of transactional funding for real estatewholesalers in the US, where 100% financing, and saying “Yes” is what we love doing all day long.

Are gaps in real estate statistics creating more opportunities for property wholesalers?

Being equipped with data is good. At least if the data is good. Billions have been spent on big data. Yet, especially in real estate, the numbers can be misleading. Those with access to good information and who know the market can benefit, while helping to educate others.

Real estate stats typically lag by a couple of months between collection and being published. Sometimes it’s three months or more. These numbers are also often revised backwards too. And we all know that even some of the biggest and best funded real estate data providers are horribly inaccurate. This can be compounded by the media who is able to twist and filter the information to make clickable stories.

Right we are experiencing a unique moment in the market. Things seemed to be cooling down and heading for a dip last year. People were pessimistic about the market. Now we are in a new environment which is rich in optimism. However, this lag in data, coupled with seasonal data glitches has some buyers waiting, hoping sellers will cut prices, and some sellers being told by their agents that they should cut prices.

We’ve recently seen the Dow Jones hit a new record of 20,000, Warren Buffett make a $12B investment, and mortgage lenders eagerly stepping up to fund more deals. With the exception of San Francisco, Zillow is still pretty bullish on its outlook, and that home prices will mostly keep rising in 2017. The latest Wells Fargo and National Association of Home Builders index shows confidence is now the highest it has been in at least a year.

So, bolder and more positive real estate data is likely to show up soon, to reflect current purchasing sprees. Then sellers and buyers will be more aggressive. However, this current gap may give wholesalers an opportunity to get in and pick up well-priced deals before that happens, and to flip houses in markets they want to exit.

What will you do?

 

Authored by Best Transaction Funding BestTransactionFunding.com is the leading source of transactional funding for real estate wholesalers in the US, where 100% financing, and saying “Yes” is what we love doing all day long.

Need some cool Valentine’s Day gift ideas for a property wholesaler in your life?

Check out the new list for 2017…

Thank You Cards

If you are in real estate the chances are that you have a few wholesalers which play a role in your business. They rarely get the appreciation they deserve. Whether you are an agent helping them move inventory, a rehabber buying it, or a partner or family member, a thoughtful thank you card can be really appreciated.

Leads

There is nothing that real estate wholesalers love and need more than leads. It probably won’t cost you a dime either. Yet, can be hugely valuable for the recipient. Know anyone looking to buy or sell property, or have seen some vacant homes around the neighborhood which could use a new buyer? Get the info and pass it on.

Drones

Drones are still in. They’ll help your wholesaler create the best photography and marketing presentations so they can flip houses faster.

A Stylist

Real estate wholesalers are typically not famous for their fashion. Yet, branding is becoming more and more important. Take them on a shopping spree, or get them a stylist from a boutique firm like Ensemble who can help them create the perfect wardrobe.

Education

You can never learn too much. There is always something more to learn and master in real estate. Help your wholesalers with the gift of new learning courses or tickets to an industry event.

Vacations

Valentine’s is the ideal time for romantic getaways. Send your favorite wholesaler off on a trip so that they can recharge and come back on top of their game. Mexico, Florida, and the Dominican Republic are all top choices this season.

Funding

You just can’t have access to too much cash in this business. Turn your wholesaler on to new sources of funding for their deals. It could be connecting them with a private lender, giving them some capital to invest for you, or introducing them to transactional lenders.

 

Authored by BestTransactionFunding.com - the BEST source of transactional funding for real estate wholesalers. Log on and get your free Proof of Funds Letter from us today!

What should real estate investors expect from the mortgage lending industry this year?

This could be a year of massive changes in the mortgage lending industry. What can investors expect? How might it impact them, their plans, and the best strategies for making money in real estate?

Interest Rates

If there is one thing investors can count on this year, it is probably higher interest rates. Most of those in the game now have never experienced normal interest rates, or high interest rates. Investors have to build this into their models and plans. It will affect the cost of everything. On the bright side it could encourage more transaction activity, and lending.

Dodd-Frank

Trump has made a lot of noise about repealing the Dodd-Frank Act, and making it easier for mortgage borrowers to access credit. This may not be a fast or easy thing to change. However, doing away with these regulations which have really made things difficult for agents, investors, borrowers, and private lenders could make a big difference in the market.

Credit Scores

It is believed that millions of Americans are now experiencing rebounding credit scores as the damage of the crises fades out. This could flood the housing market with more qualified borrowers, just as the number of cash buyers is dwindling. However, it is also important to watch the effect of higher rates on the ability to maintain debt, and new credit scoring models which are being developed.

New Loan Programs

Expect to see a variety of new loan programs come into the market. Few anticipate a return to the good old subprime lending days, but lenders could develop new programs which push the limits, in expectation of a strong market, and relaxing of regulations under the new White House administration.

Demand to Borrow

With consumer and business confidence strong expect demand for mortgage loans to increase sharply. This could be vital for mortgage lenders and brokers who are facing a dramatic drying up of refinance activity.

Easing, but Not Easy

Just because lenders want to make more loans, doesn’t mean that we’ll see 100% no-doc or NINJA or NINA loans making a comeback just yet. Lenders have been used to demanding a lot over recent years. It may be hard for them to change. They like making the rules and staying in control.

Competition for Capital

While there is still a lot of capital out there, expect there to be more diverse demands for it. Recently it has been drawn to financing investment property loans in the US. This year, expect foreign markets like Italy which may bottom out to attract big funds, for more crowdfunding portals to be battling for back channels to sell loans, and for there to be an increased split in between the desire to fund residential buyers and investors.

Transaction Funding

Transaction funding will still remain the most reliable, efficient, and easy to access types of investment property financing for wholesalers and flippers this year.

How much profit should you be making on your real estate wholesale deals?

Property wholesaler profit margins are one of the most commonly debated topics among new investors, rehabbers, and buy and hold landlords. So, what’s the right amount? How much is too much? How should wholesalers set their markups?

Some wholesalers may not make as much as they could on deals because they are intimidated about losing them. Sometimes end buyers are complaining that wholesalers are asking for way too much, and are just wasting their time. So how do you pick the right number?

4 Ways to Price Your Wholesale House Deals

Fixed Fee or Percentage

One way to choose is to pre-determine what percentage or dollar amount you are going to charge across all of your deals. It could be 3% or 6%, $1,000 or $100,000. Or more. It’s up to you. This can make it easy when screening potential properties to see if they match your criteria. However, one flaw is that this doesn’t always maximize your deal flow and profit potential long term as the market changes.

Profit Left to the Next Buyer

Again, you can choose a fixed dollar amount or percentage spread which you think if fair for you end buyer to make after they buy, fix, and flip or rent the property. Of course, every buyer is different. Some use cash. Some use very expensive hard money loans. Some can get rehab work done cheap. Others pay a lot for contractors and materials. Some can flip a property in a week. Others take over 6 months to complete a flip.

ROI on Your Time

As a real estate wholesaler you are providing a valuable service. However, unless you have a team you are still often trading your time for money. Make sure you are getting a fair return. What’s your time worth? How much time do you spend flipping a deal? If you just quit working a McDonalds for minimum wage, then making $30 an hour may seem like an awesome deal. If you just quit being an attorney or doctor making $500 an hour, then you’ll probably want to make sure you are earning $1,000 an hour as a wholesaler. Remember to factor in all the time prospecting, screening, negotiating, and marketing, and managing the transaction.

Filling Orders

Another way to do this is to simply fill orders. Take pre-orders for deals aka ‘reverse wholesaling’. Then go find a fit, and profit what you can. You may have end buyers who are happy with 20% returns on two flips a year. Others may insist on getting properties 40% below market value, or being able to double their money. Take the order, find the deals, squeeze in however much you can. This is a little more fluid when it comes to predicting your income. However, it can lower risk and waste. One downside is that you are effectively letting someone else set market prices, versus controlling them yourself.

Looking Forward

There are wholesalers who can make $100k per deal, and do 10 deals a month. Others might do 1-4 deals per month and are very happy putting $20k in their pockets. Some might land some whales and make a million on a very juicy deal. A lot of it depends on how good you are at finding and negotiating deals, as well as how you market and present the inventory.

One thing which is really important, and which many wholesalers forget is to keep an eye on the changing market. Prices and profit margins will change. Protect your income and industry but refusing to sell out too cheap, but give good deals if you want more business.

 

What do you think? How much do you charge? How much do you think wholesalers should markup deals? Let us know on Facebook and Twitter…

Which real estate blogs should you be following in 2017?

Leaders read, and if you want to be on top of real estate and business trends it pays to be tuned into great information feeds. Blogs are a great way to get the latest tips, keep up with what’s happening out there, and spur creative thinking. You are probably already watching the big staples like Zillow, Houzz, and your local newspapers. Here are ten more worth checking out for new ideas…

1. Wills, Trusts, Estate

The willstrustsestate.com blog offers deeper insight into long term planning for real estate investors. Includes tips on finding the right estate attorney, legacy planning, protecting your real estate assets, and the tips of property to have in your long-term portfolio.

2. Mesocore

The Mesocore blog provides insights into the latest green home technology, building affordable homes, and designs for off grid vacation homes. Recently featured on the Discovery Channel.

3. Baluch Bulletin

Run by author, investor, and doctor, Amir Baluch MD, the Baluch Bulletin provides detailed insights on market conditions and data, as well as smart financial moves for busy professionals.

4. Legendary Custom Homes

The Legendary Custom Homes blog delivers an interesting look at how house flippers can find their own niche in the market. This firm specializes in teardown-rebuilds and major remodels to like-new in the Cincinnati, OH area.

5. Realty 411

Realty 411’s news feed offers updates on the latest nationwide real estate investment events, as well as exclusive interviews with CEOs and industry leaders at top firms like Rodeo Realty, B2RFinance, and more.

6. REWW

Real Estate World Wide’s blog publishes a blend of tips for finding motivated sellers and cash buyers, as well as building a fast-growing real estate wholesaling business.

7. Sky Five Properties Blog

Sky Five Properties is a Miami based brokerage headed up by Kaya Wittenburg. Via the blog Kaya, a multi-billion dollar producing broker, speaker, and former model, delivers thoughts on the future of real estate like floating homes, and luxury real estate design.

8. BiggerPockets

BiggerPockets’ carefully curated blog is one of the portal’s best assets. The forums can be a big distraction and wild goose chase for many investors, but the official blog offers a more organized and thoughtful chain of learning. Check out contributor Sterling White’s posts on building a real estate business, personal growth, and making offers on sight unseen properties.

9. Kent Clothier

Kent Clothier’s personal blog is a great resource for time management hacks and tools, staying motivated for investors, and ideas for giving back and making it go viral.

10. Best Transaction Funding

Last but not least; keep tuned into the BTF blog for more lists like this, educational pieces on deciphering market data and making the best moves, real estate marketing trends, and how to get your house deals funded.

Others worth checking out include CT Homes LLC which has become a model that has spawned hundreds of other real estate blogs, Rosa Houghten’s real estate blog for new ways to think about paying it forward and real estate fashion, as well as Black Belt Investors, which has now upgraded its multi-media blog to a multimedia member only online training platform.

 

What’s your blog? Which are your favorites to follow? Let us know so we can add them to the next list!