New Bird Dog

[mattmcpeak]

Do any of you have good ideas on how to approach investors at club meetings and things like that? A list of questions you ask them, or questions they ask you as a potential bird dog.  Crucial things you need to know about the investor, things like that.   Anything will help. thanks a lot, matt

[JAY-D]

Have some business cards printed keep it simple example name , phone number, fax number , and email address. Find out what target areas they work in. Find out what they deal in is it rehabbing property, lease options, short sales, and then keep going. Then give your business card be honest and let them know that you are a newbie write on the back what areas that you can find deals in and would it be ok if you called them with new deals that you come across (get his or her business card) make your notes on the back of their card of their areas and deals and move to the next investor the same way . Good luck !

[smaxor]

Some questions I ask all of my birddogs are:

Do you know how to look at a deal and analyze the numbers?
If they say yes I tell them what I want to make, the price range and the areas I want to buy in.
If they say no I suggest they get educated to know what repairs, holding costs, buying costs, selling costs.

To be a good birddog you need to look at a deal like an investor would. And where you might be comfortable making 15k with no cushion on a 300k property, most investors won't. So in recap if you can come to an investor and know how to analzye number ask them what price range and area they want to buy in, then ask them how much they want to make with what kind of buffer you should be in good shape. Oh and one more thing you might want to ask them "how" they buy. Some investors buy subject-to, lease-option, all cash and so on. So Beware! If you are going to let some one else go flip the contract make sure that your interview them thoroughly. I'd ask them questions like knowing what you know what are what's your outcome meetting with the seller? If it's anything but "get a signed contract" I would look for some one else. Also, find out if they are going to trying to be greedy which I have had investors get in the past. One of those deals I mentioned above had over 350k equity in the property and the investor wouldn't settle for anything less then buying subject-to with only moving costs to the seller. Well it's my fault I should have asked the investor ahead of time what her perameters were for buying. Just some food for thought. I hope this helps everyone.

Success,
Jason

[mattmcpeak]

Thanks a lot Jason, very helpful. I feel pretty comfortable analyzing the numbers, one grey area is estimating repair and fix up costs etc...is there a general rule of thumb to go by, or do you know of any good place to learn about this? thanks matt

[Darvin Mateo]

This is one of the main reason why I am getting my real estate license. I have realtor friends but they don't help much. I hate relying on other people for resources.

[krish1]

Oh well,
 If you have such a greedy investory who would not pay anything more than moving costs to a homeowner with
 over 350K equity, i would pass up the person as well
 as pass the word of avoidance around in the community.

These are the characters that make the business of
wholesaling/foreclosures look bad and have all kinds of
legislation get passed around as a side-effect.
Put them out off business.

-Krish

[smaxor]

Well thank you for your thoughts and reponses. However, there's always people that want to get mad about something. Every experience is a learning one and take from it what you can. Focus on the positive and try to prevent it the next time (won't always work). The Bottom-Line is if you're going to flip a property and let an investor close, INTERVIEW THEM. I beleive it's not the investors fault. They're doing the best they can with what they have. It's my responsibility to make sure things turn out right so it's my responsibility to manage the relationship an expectations on both sides and not just one.

As far as repairs, if you think it's a great deal and have it under contract invest the time and money to have an appraiser go through the property, a property inspector and a designer you'll learn more about these things then you'll ever want to know. Keep in mind you don't want to do this everytime but on one property it'd be worth it for the education. Make sure when you approach whoever let them know you're a property buyer that's going to be using their services and would like to learn how the do what they do and walk through the property with them. Some will say ok and others will say taking a flaying leap but ask around and you'll get some one who'll help you. Remember when you approach them make sure you position it in such a way that it's all about them and everything they stand to gain from the relationship. Hope this helps!

Success,
Jason Akatiff

[oregonjim]

Go find the property.  The buyers are a dime a dozen.  Finding the deals is waaaaayyyy harder but that's where the money is.

jim

[smaxor]

Both sides have there challenges. On the investor side it's difficult to find one  that will actually perform. At least that's been my experience. I typically keep a database of as many investors or retail buyers as I can in a market. Then send them all an email about the property I have under contract and go from there. Seems to work well for me when I have deals to wholesale. Good luck.

Success,
Jason Akatiff