Make offers and get your buyer to pay your escrow

There is a way to lock in your Short Sales and REO flips with absolutely no money out of your pocket. By using your buyer's money for your escrow deposit you are securing his interest and using zero of your own money to secure the deal.

In order for this to work you must have active buyers on your list not just "Tire Kickers." What's a "Tire Kicker" you ask? Did you ever go to a car lot and the guy next to you is walking around kicking all the tires acting like he knows what he is looking at? He really knows nothing about cars but wants to make the car sales man think he does so he kicks the tires as if he is checking for something. The same goes for your buyer's list. You have your serious buyers who get in and start the car up, look under the hood and them make an offer and then you have the guy who calls you as if he is interested but never actually buys a property. However you still want to keep your "Tire Kickers" informed when you have a deal because they are more than likely wholesalers who know buyers. So if you send them a property they will most likely present the property to their buyer with the hope of getting a referral fee. So you want to keep the tire kickers around!

When you put in your offer on a property put $1,000 in the escrow section of the contract. It would usually state "due upon signing the contract".

As soon as you get an offer accepted on a property immediately begin calling your buyers letting them know about the property. I have my agent take my partners through the property before I sign the contracts with the bank. (this is why it is a good idea to have an agent on your team).

If one of your buyers is interested have them sign a purchase agreement with you and give you an escrow deposit of $1,000. Now this purchase agreement is between you and the buyer, not you and the bank. This agreement will have the total purchase price that the buyer is buying the property for from you not the price you are offering the bank.

You will then give the bank the $1,000 that you received from the buyer and sign the contracts.

The key to this process is your buyers list. I am a firm believer in calling my buyers as opposed to just sending an email or posting in classifieds. Calling your buyers builds your relationship with them.

Now this process will be difficult if you do not have an active buyers list. In this case I recommend giving an escrow of $500.00 ONLY if you think the property is a GREAT deal and you can move it in the time that you have until the closing date. The deposit is non refundable so make sure that you have run your numbers and calculated your costs and profit on the property before you commit to signing the contract. A good wholesale deal is at least %30 below the ARV (Average retail value) of the property after you have deducted repair costs, your fee and holding costs.

I recommend that you continue to build your buyers list daily. Here are some articles that I wrote that will help you build your buyers list.

Tips to build your buyers list

Find buyers in For Rent adds

Written by Carol Stinson. All rights reserved.

Flipping Short Sales and REOs

Are you taking advantage of the Short Sale and Foreclosure flip opportunities that today's market is offering? There are thousands of properties just waiting to be flipped by wholesalers earning them big profits in the process.

Sadly many wholesalers are not jumping in because they are not sure how to flip these deals. This is a wholesalers market my friend and if you are not making tons of money in this market than you are missing the biggest opportunity in the history of wholesaling. If you are still stuck in the old school methods of finding deals by bird dogging neighborhoods instead of putting in hundreds of offers a month on short sales you are truly missing out.

Though Birdogging still proves a very effective way to find deals there is a currently a new wave of opportunity sitting at the feet of every wholesaler. With 7 million new foreclosure getting ready to hit the market like a Tsunami I strongly suggest that every wholesaler learn and perfect a Short Sale System that will allow them to share the wealth with the thousands of other wholesalers that have already dove in.

In an effort to help you to begin to make huge profits from this new wave of wholesaling I would like to share with you the very system that I have implemented into my own Short Sale Wholesaling Campaign. This program has allowed me to put my wholesaling on autopilot. It simplified the process of finding the Short Sale and REO deals, making the offers and finding the buyers. I also suggest that you check out the Short Sale Riches blog link located at the bottom of the page to discover the best free information on short sales avaiable anywhere.

Check it all out here shortsaleriches.com

To your success,

Carol Stinson

Harvest Time for Wholesale Deals!!

The Fall Season is about to hit the East Coast. Fall Festivals are about to take place in many of the major Counties and Cities. This is an awesome opportunity to Harvest the house deals left over from the Spring and Summer market. Even though the market will slow down as the Fall and Winter months hit there will still be an abundance of motivated sellers ready for Harvest.

Here is a proven technique that is sure to help you reap the harvest!

Fall Festivals present an opportunity to reach hundreds and sometimes thousands of people by renting a table and presenting your services. Do your research and find out where and when the Fall Festivals are going to be held in Each County. Get the contact number to the person organizing the festivals and reserve a spot.

Have a banner made up at your local Office Supply Store that simply says "WE BUY HOUSES". This will be hung on the front of your table as an advertisement.

Have 2 forms made up with questions. One for those looking to purchase a home and another for those who have a home to sell. Keep it simple! You can get more info when you contact them later. The basic form would include name, address, phone, address of property if they are sellers, asking price etc...

Have business cards made up with your contact info to give out as people walk by your table.

Have fun and Be creative! You can try this marketing technique at Flea Markets too. This presents a great opportunity for you to present your services and let the community know that you exist. You will be surprised at the effectiveness of this type of marketing.

When you get home go through the forms and research the properties. Get ARV, Taxes etc... Now call each one and get more information on their current situation. This beats cold calling because you have already made contact with the sellers or buyers when they filled out the form.

Written by Carol Stinson. All rights reserved.

View an example of a script for cold calls. This will help you further evaluate the property when you make contact with the sellers that filled out your form. Sample Phone Script.

Check out related blog posts:
How To Identify A Motivated Seller
Assigning A Property To A Buyer

How To Wholesale Properties Listed on The MLS Using Instant Equity Exchange

The MLS is where 75% of home owners list their property if they want to sell it. The first instinct of a home owner is to call a Real Estate Agent to sell their property. The portal that that agent uses to get the property out into the buying world is the MLS.

The MLS is a gold mine for the Real Estate Wholesaler. The only thing that is stopping many wholesalers from accessing this outpouring of deals is lack of education on how to move a property listed on the MLS over to an end buyer and get paid.

The first thing that you need to do is find a Real Estate Agent. They are the key that unlocks the MLS. Without them you cannot access the MLS let alone make offers or deals. Let's say they are the "Gatekeepers" of the MLS and you need to get through the Gatekeeper to get into the promised land!

You must find and agent with an open mind willing to work with you in this process. Let them know that by working with you they will not only make a commission but you will be helping them sell allot more deals if they work with you. Many of the MLS properties that I make offers on are listings that have been on the MLS for 90 days or more. These listings would expire soon so I am essentially helping the Agent by introducing the property to my buyers list and helping the seller with a property that is not selling.

The difference between a wholesaler and a real estate agent is that we spend most of our time building a buyers list. Wholesalers (if their doing it right) build their buyers list with active buyers, investors etc... before they even begin locking up deals. The buyers list is the foundation that wholesaling is built on and every good wholesaler spends 90% of their time building that list.

In such a down market you should be able to find plenty of real estate agents willing to help you through this process. After all they currently have more properties than they have buyers so they would actually benefit by being able to introduce MLS properties to your buyers list.

Once you find a good agent visit "How to wholesale properties listed on the MLS" for the process and forms needed to complete a successful deal.

Written by Carol Stinson. All rights reserved.

Expired listings are a GOLD MINE for Wholesalers!

I don't know about you but as a kid I always got stuck with the "Hand Me Downs". I was the youngest child in the family and would always get the clothes that everyone else already wore. I would get the jeans that were already worn out, the shirts that had the color washed out etc...

I never really appreciated the concept of "Hand Me Downs" as a child. I mean who wants something that someone else has already worn out? Something that someone has already had in their possession for about 4 months before they decide it is of no use to them anymore.

You know where I am going with this right?

Exactly!!! Expired listings are the real estate version of Hand Me Downs. Check this out... A Realtor lists a property and puts it on the MLS. This is where it gets worn out, washed through and picked apart. Then one day the listing runs out and the property is available for the picking. Just like an old shirt or an old pair of jeans. If it fits wear it!

The best thing is that these are sellers that have been trying to sell their house for whatever reason and are now more motivated than they were when they first listed their property. They may have fallen behind in their mortgage and tried to sell their house to prevent foreclosure. If this is the case than you now become a new hope to them and you get a chance to help someone out while making a profit. These are my favorite kind of Hand Me Downs because I can offer these sellers another chance to relieve their burden.

If you have a Realtor on your team have them send you all of the expired listings in a particular area that you have buyers in. Now go through the listings and pull out the ones that say "Motivated seller", "Handy man", "Bring Offers" etc... Research the owners of these properties using the resources that I have provided in the side bar. Contact them and see if the property is still for sale. If it is then go through the sample phone script that I have added as a resource for you. Now schedule a time to see the property. Remember to do as much research as possible on the property before you get there. This will help in your negotiations.

I now have a new respect for Hand Me Downs. I am now standing with my trash bag open shouting "Put Em in Here!".

Now go make some money!

Written by Carol Stinson. All rights reserved.


Check out these related blog posts
How To Identify A Motivated Seller
Where To Find The Best Properties To Wholesale
Tips To Help You Build Your Buyers List

This is every Investor's DREAM!

People are always asking me, "Carol how do you get so many motivated seller leads?". So I figured I would share my secret...

Picture this...One month from today you have 100 people bringing you extraordinary leads on unlisted properties in any market you want to invest in. Every single day. For absolutely NO CASH out of your pocket and absolutely NO EFFORT on your part. This is every investor's DREAM right?

My partner invested in an automated system last year that uses free online classifieds and a web-based management center to recruit, train, launch and manage a massive network of bird dogs that brings us leads all day long, every single day. We use this system and it Works! We literally receive hundreds of leads each month from bird dogs that we have recruited to our Team Work program. This system is so effective that we can target any state or area in the United State and literally receive motivated seller leads and wholesale properties in other states without ever leaving home.

The best thing is that It runs on complete autopilot, and we basically sit at home analyzing deals and making offers.

Now Picture this... 100% outsourced & automated lead generation, FREE marketing, and no more work to generate your own leads.

This incredible system was recently made available to the investing world, and it is taking this world by storm.

Believe me when I tell you that YOU'D be crazy if you didn't put this system to work for you immediately!

You will probably never see another lead generation strategy that has the potential to produce as much bang for your buck.


Check it out for yourself Team Work Lead system

Sample Phone Script for cold calls on vacant properties

Once you find a vacant property and research it the next step is to contact the owner. You are calling the owner without knowing if they want to sell the property and I guarantee they are not ready for your call. The following phone script will make it easier for you to stay on point.

Cold contact is not very comfortable for the owner or the wholesaler. So by sticking to the following script you can ensure you get all the right answers you need to effectively evaluate the property. Try to memorize the script so you don't sound like your reading off a paper. Casually ask the questions as if they were just popping into your head.

For a phone script visit...
Bird Dog Resources

For information on how you can make $1,000 to $4,000 a month from these properties visit Bird Dog Resources Cash Now

Deal or NO Deal? Where to find the best wholesale properties.

For many new wholesalers the hardest thing to do is get started. What do I do? how do I do it? It is this fear that discourages and stagnates many before they ever reach their first deal. It is the first deal that is the hardest. Once you get past that you are off to the races in search of more.

The first thing that any new wholesaler must do is build a buyers list. Without buyers even the best deal will never make it to the table. A deal is not a deal until you get paid! I would suggest reading my posts on building your buyers list before you take this step. Trust me, you will thank me for it.

Now, how to find deals? I agree that there are thousands of deals at your fingertips. Online classifieds, For sale by owner sites, lead generators etc... But those deals are at the finger tips of every one else too. In today's struggling economy there are more wholesalers and Bird Dogs surfing the net in search of deals than there have ever been before. I know wholesalers that search at work, on their lunch break and just about every free moment that they have for that perfect deal.

If you want to make it out here in this doggy dog world (bird dogs get it?) you have to search for deals where no one else is looking. These best deals are those that are sitting right in your back yard. Many wholesalers have day jobs and are not able to bird dog the streets in search of a deal. This is why they search endlessly on the Internet for their deals. You better believe that every deal posted on craigslist is getting emails or phone calls by wholesalers. Why even get caught up in this competition when there are so many deals waiting to be discovered right in your neighborhood.

I know your saying, "wait a minute I have a day job too". I am not suggesting that you spend your whole day driving around. Simply leaving 30 minutes earlier for work or taking another route home to drive down side streets is enough to find a great deal. Make sure you keep your camera in the car so you can readily take pictures when you find a vacant property. Write down the address and research the owner when you get home.

Get the owner's name from the tax records and hopefully their address and phone number from one of the owner research resources that I have placed in the side bar for you. Research the ARV of the property (again in the resource section) to find out what the property is worth. Many of the ARV sites will also tell you how much they paid for the property and when they purchased it. This amount can change if they refinanced the property. So don't depend on the purchase price being the amount they owe on the property.

Contact the owner and find out if the property is for sale. Ask them to give you the least amount they would take for the property if you paid cash and closed in 30 days. Once you get their price (don't agree on the price yet) ask to schedule a time to see the property. Go look at the property, estimate repair costs and tell them you will get back to them in 24 hours. Now go and put your deal together. If it seems like it is a good deal then call the seller and Lock it up with an option agreement.

Call every buyer on your buyer's list and tell them about your deal. Post your deal on Craigslist and other classified sites. You are now a cut above the rest with a deal that no one else knows about. Hot off the streets!

Written by Carol Stinson. All rights reserved.


Check Out Related Blog Posts
How To Identify A motivated Seller
Find Motivated Sellers and Buyers in Today's Rental Market
Tips To Help You Build Your Buyers List

For more information on assigning properties I recommend that you read the book " Be a Real Estate Millionaire" by Dean Graziosi.

Build your buyers list and find motivated sellers in today's rental market

There has never been a more profitable time to invest in real estate than right now. Pre foreclosures, REO properties, foreclosures and short sale are everywhere. Unfortunately because of the mortgage crisis the banks have made it difficult for buyers to qualify for a mortgage. Therefore there are significantly more properties for sale than there are qualified buyers. Since houses are not selling many struggling homeowners are forced to rent out their properties in an effort to keep up with the mortgage payments.

On the flip side with the housing prices being lower than they ever have investors are taking advantage of the great bargains and purchasing properties at great discounts and holding them until the market improves. Once the market improves and housing prices go back up these investors will sell these properties and make a huge profit. Since these investors are going to buy and hold these properties they must rent them out to cover their holding costs.

What does all this mean for today's wholesaler? A goldmine filled with both motivated sellers and buyers.

For rent adds can be adds placed by sellers who could not sell their property so they have decided to rent the property to keep up with the mortgage. This is not always the case but by not calling to find out you could be passing up a good wholesale deal. Search online classifieds and your local paper for properties for rent. Call the number and ask if the property is also for sale. If the property is for sale chances are you are dealing with a very motivated seller.

If the property is not for sale ask if the property is currently vacant. If the property has been recently renovated and it's vacant chances are you are dealing with an investor. I suggest getting their information and putting them on your buyers list. A good indication that a property for rent is owned by an investor is if the add states it has been recently renovated. Investors will purchase properties (usually rehabs) renovate them and then rent them to hold them for a future flip.

So next time your browsing through the for rent adds, stop and make the call. It could prove to be a diamond in the ruff!

Written by Carol Stinson. All rights reserved.


Check Out Related Blog Posts
How to identify a motivated seller
Tips To Help You Build Your Buyers List

Find Killer Deals At Your County Courthouse

There are several unique strategies to find a killer investment deal. You just have to get creative in your search for these deals.

When a couple get divorces there is generally a house involved. This property needs to be sold in order to satisfy the divorce settlement. Divorce filings are public record and can be found by visiting your county courthouse. You can usually access these records online by searching for your county courthouse. I suggest visiting your county courthouse periodically to search for killer deals. Once you get the divorce filing information send a letter to the couple involved letting them know that you are interested in buying their property.

The most useful public records for Real Estate Investing are:

• Notices of default (pre-foreclosures)
• Real Estate Auctions (foreclosures and Tax sales)
• Wills (Probate Properties)
• Divorce Records ( Divorce Records)

Building a buyers list

The difference between a wholesaler and a real estate agent is that Wholesalers spend most of their time building a buyers list. Wholesalers (if their doing it right) build their buyers list with active buyers, investors etc... before they even begin locking up deals. The buyers list is the foundation that wholesaling is built on and every good wholesaler spends allot of time and energy building that list.

Building a buyers list must be an ongoing process if a wholesaler is ever going to be successful. There are many tactics to building a buyers list. Here are a few that I have implemented successfully.

Search the newspaper for ads that say "I buy houses", "Cash for houses" etc... once you find them call the number listed in the add. Ask the Investor what type of property they are looking for. Get all of their information, email, phone number etc... I suggest using a notebook to keep record of all of your buyers information.

Search the internet with the same keywords. You must put in your location after the keyword to ensure you are dealing with buyers in your area. Ex. "I buy houses NJ". Again you will contact each Investor and get their information.

Ask your Realtor to run a search for Absentee Owners. These are Investors that own a property but do not occupy that property. They have tenants in the property. Once you get the name of an absentee owner do a little research to find their mailing address. Mail them a flyer or a letter letting them know that you have investment properties at great deals. Be creative! I sometimes send them a postcard with one of my deals listed on it.

Research Investor groups in your area and become a member. This is a great way to introduce yourself to buyers that invest in your market.

Research contractors and builders in your area. Call them and see if they do any investing. 90% of the time they do. Put them on your buyers list!

Place your property on the classified sites like craigslist or backpage (I have listed 20 free classified sites in the side bar). Keep a record of every person that contacts you about your deal.

Do the above steps weekly because new adds are always being placed in the paper.

Words of Wisdom...Never slow down or stop building your list!!

Written by Carol Stinson. All rights reserved.

Earn an extra $1,000 to $4,000 a month!

Would you like to make $1,000 to $4,000 a month? If your answer is "No" than don't read this post. If your answer is "yes" than read on because I am gonna explain how you can make this happen in today's real estate market.

There has never been a better time than now to profit from real estate. With foreclosures, preforeclosures, short sales and REO properties there is a flood of opportunity to buy houses at a huge discount. There is no doubt that there are more discounted properties than there are buyers for these properties. But the key to remember is "There are Buyers" . There are Investors, End Buyers and Corporations that are ready, willing and able to buy these properties and there are huge profits to be made in putting the two together.

Whether you want to find properties for Investors (Bird dogging), assign properties to end buyers (Wholesaling) or Invest yourself there has never been a larger window of opportunity.

There are many real estate investors that will pay up to $1,000 per lead. You get paid if you present them with a property lead and they purchase the property. You only get paid if the property is purchased by them or one of their partners so make sure you make your property lead stand out. Do your research and don't just give them an address. Find out as much as you can about the property. Remember there are allot of people giving them leads. The more information you give them the faster your lead moves to the top of the list.

To find Investors that pay for these leads call various leads in your local newspaper and check online for ads that say "I buy houses", "Cash for Houses" etc.... Then call them up and ask if they pay a finders fee if you find them a property.

Written by Carol Stinson. All rights reserved.


Check Out Related Blog Posts
Where To Find The Best Properties To Wholesale
Build Your Buyer's List And Find Motivated Sellers In The Rental Market

Assigning a property to another buyer

Assigning A Contract

One way to get out of a contract is what's called assignment, which
is finding someone else to take over your obligations. Because contract
rights are considered property, they can be transferred to others just
like a piece of property such as a home or car.

Let's say you have a contract to purchase a number of items each month from a dealer, at a certain price. The contract runs for a year. You then decided the product is no longer working out for you, and you'd rather not buy any more. As long as your contract allows it, and it is
legal to assign the contract , you can just find someone else who wants to buy the same number of items each month and "assign" your rights and obligations under the contract to him.

Most contracts permit an assignment as long as the other party to the contract approves the assignment. And many contracts require the other party to approve of an assignment as long as the assignment is "reasonable," meaning that the assignment won't jeopardize the security
of the other party or increase the other party's risks."

So in conclusion, what I have shared with you is that once you have a property locked up, all rights of the contract is considered "property" and therefore under your control. Therefore you reserve the right to do what you want with it. Assigning your right to purchase the property
once it is locked up is your right. (lawyers.com)

“When we have the right to buy (purchase & sale agreement from the seller to us), we have the right to sell” Attorney William Bronchick – real estate lawyer and also investor. Make sure you put an option to assign on your contract. Options can be sold or exercised.

When you sign a purchase agreement with a seller simply put and/or assign next to your name. This will enable you to assign the contract to another buyer.

Written by Carol Stinson. All rights reserved.