Doing the things you despise
Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend! My wonderful hubby took the girls out for the entire afternoon on Saturday so that I could get some work and relaxation in so I was very grateful for that. I feel like I haven’t blogged in ages, but I think its been less than a week.
I’m excited about the progress we made with private money lenders last week. It looks as though I’ll have two lenders who are ready to begin investing with their self-directed IRAs in September. The only reason its not earlier is because of vacations and the need to do the rollover from 401(k) accounts. Now its time to build on this momentum and speak with others about how we can help them to get solid returns on their investments that are backed by real estate. It’s actually pretty easy to have this conversation, so its really just a matter of focus and consistency (like anything else).
We’re going to check out a house this evening from a landlord who is moving back to Jamaica and wants to sell her property instead of holding it from long distance. The funny thing is that we never mailed to her….we mailed to her mother at least 3 times over the past year and even though her mother has never called us, she passed along our information to her daughter and encouraged her to call us. The woman said “My mom said that you two seemed like nice people, so I should give you a call.” Nice! When doing direct mail, consider that there’s always that “pass-along” rate too where people will share your information with their family and friends. Hard to measure, but just knowing the possibilities are there is great.
Now onto the title of my post….doing the things you despise. Last week I got busy again focusing on looking at the short sales in our area and making offers. What I realized is that just like I hated sending out all of those REO offers back in the day (which is why I moved to direct mail), I still hate sending out a bunch of offers. I love sending offers to private sellers but for some reason the hassle of dealing with numerous realtors (many who have been unresponsive) and sending out a bunch of offers is a bit more than I can stand. I believe that sometimes you have to do things that you don’t like to do in order to succeed, but in this case, I’m going to have to figure out a better way. I’ve been hesitant to have my assistant work on offers, but why not? She’s more than capable and I will just have to review them before they go out the door. The other alternative is to go back and re-focus on building relationships with realtors who have a lot of short sale listings….so at that point I can have 5 or 6 realtors who refer leads to me rather than me having to send out a bunch of offers.
That’s all for now. Gotta skidaddle!
Related posts:
- Direct mail musings and strategy
- Did we hit pay dirt?
- Private money progress!
- Always, always, always follow up!
- An interesting turn of events
Category: Making offers, Marketing, Private lending, Working with realtors
That would be great if you could get your assistant to send the offers for you!
If not, and if you hate doing it that much, I would just avoid it all together and stick to your direct mail campaign as it seems to be working out well for you so far.
I’m also curious as to what part about the offer making process you don’t like. I’ve heard other people say the same thing, and I guess I’m just a weirdo, because that part never really bothered me. I’m just the opposite, actually- I couldn’t stand dealing with the homeowners and all the phone calls and chit-chatting! I like being able to just send off an offer and then I’m done with it!
Different strokes for different folks, I guess.
Steph´s last blog ..Free Wholesaling Contracts- How to Fill Them Out Part Deux
Hey Steph, that’s the thing…I like direct mail but its not working as MUCH as I’d like. I either need to send more mail or diversify methods. I’ve heard repeatedly that its good to have at least 3 different marketing channels going on at once, and I was inspired by Joe’s webinar to try a couple new methods (like using CL for sellers) via my assistant. Today I’m getting organized so I can let her know what needs to be done.
I don’t think you’re a weirdo at all…its just that its never been “send off an offer and then I’m done with it.” Different realtors communicate different ways…some won’t communicate at all…infinitely more paperwork… you found a groove that worked for you. I just haven’t. LOL!
That being said, I can totally see how someone wouldn’t want to deal with sellers directly, but what I like about it is that I’m talking to people who have contacted us for a reason and we might be able to help them and help ourselves at the same time.
Good goin’ on the mailer pass along. Nice. Good luck! I think I prefer offering to a faceless bank (because some of my offers are low) I think I am still too much of a softie to deal with issues of private sellers. Great idea for the assistant.
LOL! I hear you Kelly. I can stomach a couple offers a week, but if I’m going to do short sales I need to get more offers out. These aren’t deals I expect to close anytime soon (good thing, since they won’t!) but if we keep a consistent pace going with offers, we can find ourselves 6 months from now closing at least 1 short per month and enjoying the larger spread.
Hi Shae, what I found with the short sales offers is using docusign really helped with the time it took, and saved my printer from dying on me. It takes about a minute for me to sign a 25 page purchase contract. The only thing is that the realtor needs to know the basics of the program and have it uploaded so you can sign it that way.
hope that helps a bit
-Matt
Matt Rosen´s last blog ..Virtual Wholesaling 7 day countdown Final Results
Don’t be afraid to use your assistant for offers. I know an agent who uses his assistant to prepare offers for his buyer clients all the time. He was hesitant at first. But he realized that he could always review and make any necessary revisions, he was good to go.
Raquel´s last blog ..Is a distressed property the right deal for you
Hey Matt, I’m familiar with docusign and need to look into it right away. Have most of the realtors been amenable to receiving the contracts from you in this way? Thanks for the suggestion!
Raquel, thanks for the encouragement…needed that!
Hi Shae, yes they have been pretty cool with it when receiving the contracts.Haven’t had any comments on the receiving end. After making a few offers, I now understood how some people can crank out so many.
Seems like my focus though has been more on the wholesaling lately anyway.
Matt Rosen´s last blog ..Virtual Wholesaling 7 day countdown Final Results
Awesome about the pass along … we’re finding that too. We’re getting calls from people who let us know their neighbour’s house is for sale or about to be listed too!!
When we were trying to get momentum earlier this year and find some good deals we made an offer a day and when we eventually get an assistant actually working in the market we’re in (versus the two VA’s we have) I will definitely add offers to their tasks. I don’t see anything wrong with that if you review it before it goes out!
Julie Broad´s last blog ..No Vacancy! And Tips to Increase the Rent You Charge
Shae,
I’m learning more and more that doing things that you despise does not help your business. It hinders by grinding down your motivation. Your leaving the tasks to more willing hands is a very wise move on your part.
Jason
Bilgefisher´s last blog ..No new personal home Late Update
Jason, I hear you. Now that I think about it, there are times when I’ve had to do things that I didn’t enjoy to be successful BUT those were in a job situation where I was working to get top performance ratings, salary increases, and promotions in a corporate setting. If I’m my own boss, why make myself miserable? LOL!
Hey Shae -
I wanted to put in my 2 cents worth on working with Realtors. I also hate just sending out a bunch of offers.
Before I started investing in real estate full time 2 years ago, I invested part time while I operated my other business (for 17 years) which was a home inspection company. Now that is a business that relies on real estate agents! During that time, I learned a lot about working with them.
We used direct mail to market to the Realtors the entire time. It was mainly about keeping our name out there. The last couple of years, we began to email the agents in addition to sending the direct mail.
I always belonged to the Board of Realtors as an affiliate member. This allowed me to get a copy of the roster which included their email address. You could get a supra key (which is great if you are not a licensed realtor), and you got to network with these folks at various functions which is invaluable!
I had a realtor/investor friend that showed me how easily he could do a “sort” on the MLS where he shot out a list of all the major players in the REO market. You could take this “short” list of Realtors and market to them aggressively for deals. You probably already know this, but you can get a list of all the folks that were cash buyers off the MLS for your buyers list.
Your VA could input all of the names and email addresses for the entire list (if there is not a downloadable format available in your area). Emailing these folks will get you additional deals at no cost. Most realtors really don’t want to put too much energy into their bank owned properties since their commission is smaller. So, they are thrilled to have a list of investors to call when they get a new property. It’s a win-win for everyone.
We sent out an E-newsletter every month or so to our entire list and they loved it. They often asked for permission to reprint the articles (in their newsletters) which of course we allowed so long as we got the proper credit for the article. You could do a series of articles on “how to work with investors”. Hope this gives you an idea or two.
Sharon Vornholt
Sharon, these are fantastic ideas! Thank you so much for your insightful comment…its a blog post all by itself. First of all, I had no idea I could be a member of the Board of Realtors as an affiliate member….that’s pretty smart.
I’ve used MLS to get the cash buyers, and I used it to find out who the REO agents were who had the most business (and reached out to a few), but I really like these additional ideas on how to provide value for realtors which will help build relationships that will in term provide referrals.
Thanks again, Sharon! Really appreciate it.
Julie, that’s awesome that you’re getting calls from people who are telling you the inside scoop!
Shae, I thought I was on your RSS. Always good to have a break every once in a while. I know what you mean about doing things you despise. I have noticed that when i do things I don’t like, it goes well for the first few days, then i start dreading it and procrastinating till I’m behind and get frustrated. So now I just outsource what I can’t stand to do everyday and focus on what I do best. It takes a lot of trial and error to find the right person to handle such task and you are lucky to have found an assistant. Don’t hesitate to use her service to get work done.
I tried REOs and couldn’t stand the competition. It seemed like big time investors were already in the pockets of realtors and good deals did not even make it to the mls. I love negotiating, it’s like a drug, lol and I don’t mind one bit dealing with homeowners and so far it has been working wel for me, so I’ll stick with it. I might consider REOs in future when I get a local assistant with hopefully a realtor’s license.
Esi´s last blog ..Esi Benedict – The Best and Brightest Women in Real Estate Investing
Hey Esi, maybe WE’RE the weirdos
(alluding to my exchange with Steph)
[...] Real Estate Investing: Is It Wise To Do The Things That You Despise? Posted by: ava | Category: Flipping Houses, Real Estate Investing, Short Sales [...]
Nice topic, Shae!
I agree, there are things we all hate doing but know they need to get done. One of the things I really don’t like doing is admin work specifically accounting stuff. But, I know this stuff needs to get done. I try to make things less administrative as possible, yet there are things that need to be accounted for. So, I’ve made Mondays dedicated to admin work every week. This way, I can get this stuff out of the way before I officially start my week. It’s not fun work, but it needs to get done!
It should be interesting to hear your progress working with real estate agents on making offers and also short sales. I never had much luck working with agents, so it will be interesting to hear how it all pans out – I may learn something new from your experiences, thanks for sharing!
Shae,
Thanks for your insightful post. You mentioned using Craig’s list to market for sellers. I thought about doing the same thing…How often do you post ads? I’ve not had many problems posting ads to sell property, but I’m sure the “we buy” ads will have to be more frequent, and I don’t want them to get flagged by the CL police.
Thanks in advance.
David
@Rachel, thanks for your comments! I’m curious…how much time do you spend on “admin” day doing admin stuff each Monday?
@David, nice to see you here! I’ve seen you around the blogosphere
I’m not going to be using CL to market to sellers exactly…I’ll just be looking for solid leads there. I’ve also used CL to post ads 2-3 times a day to build a buyer’s list. I had over 100 buyer leads in 90 days but of course many of them weren’t really solid cash buyers…
Sure, no problem Shae. Oh, admin day? It’s an all day event!
Seriously, I actually block this day out to do everything admin – I don’t even schedule any appointments or see any homes on Mondays. It’s all about the office and the phone (what fun!).
Admin day usually consists of mostly admin stuff (paperwork) in the AM like accounting and scanning receipts from the prior week, finishing any paperwork needed, making my ghetto flyers (I pass these out during the week when I’m out and about), writing an outline for my blog posts (I plan what I’m going to write about that week ahead of time), returning emails, etc. Then, in the afternoons on admin day I use it to do follow up work – I’m mostly on the phone. It’s basically following up on old leads I’m still working, returning calls from the weekend (I rarely answer phone calls anymore on the weekends, I used to in the beginning but I usually take weekends off nowadays), calling park managers I haven’t seen in awhile or missed in the office on a prior trip about, calling new leads I gathered from the prior week, calling contractors to get bids/looking for new team members, calling dealers to see what they’ve got coming up as trade-ins etc. Basically, I use this time primarily try to set appointments with sellers and let the park managers that I haven’t seen in awhile know I may be swinging by that week.
Then, T-Th I hit the streets. Fridays, I try to keep light as it’s supposed to be TGIF though – sometimes I will schedule to see homes if it’s really the only time to see them. Personally, I like Fridays to go out and visit my favorite parks and we have lunch or like last week, an ice cream party. It was a lot of fun!
And, then Saturdays I don’t really like to work but will if I have to. I try to end things early on Saturdays if I have to schedule things with sellers who absolutely can’t show their homes during the week. (some work late during the week). But, Sundays I have a “no work” policy.
I would say most of the work that I do is on the phone and in the field. I have a joke that if I don’t have my voice and/or my car, then I can’t work! (lol!)
I hope that helps, I think I answered more than you asked as I went into my whole work week!!
First I want to say wow to Rachel. That was an awesome and very thorough post. That’s one I’m saving for myself.
I like the idea of an “admin day.” Very nice!
And now Shae onto you’re post….I have to say I’m with you! I don’t mind dealing with private sellers and making offers to them, but I find it quite annoying sending offers to real estate agents (and I’m an agent! lol)
I duno, maybe it’s just that I’m a people person and I like being involved with the people per se….not sure….but I think it’s a good idea to pass this task along to your assistant. Let me know how it works for you!
Carey_PA´s last blog ..Possible wholesale deal Atm meeting
Somebody PLEASE go grab another trophy for “Most Valuable Commenter in the World Ever” and give it to Rachel! Rachel, you’re right…you gave me way more than I asked, but that’s exactly the type of information I wanted to know
I really love how you’ve organized yourself….I’m not there yet, but striving to get better each week since being out of the corporate job. One of things I’ve done this week is write out all the various types of tasks that I do so that tomorrow or over the weekend I can take those tasks and put them into blocks of time. When dealing with seller calls from mail campaigns we can’t really afford to put them off for a few days, but there are definitely things I can (and will) change to be more effective. I can almost take your comment and create an entire guest blog post…this is something people need to see. 
@Carey, I’ll keep you posted!
Oh, thanks Shae! (And, Carey too!) If I get a trophy, so do you Shae – For “Best Book Reviewer”
Glad to help even if I went a bit overboard. Funny about the comment having the potential to be an entire blog post – I think you and Julie have some something like that in the past!!
p.s. About real estate agents, I talked to one last week about a mobile home listed in a park. You’d be surprised how much info some can give over the phone – in one call I found out the owners owed more than the home was worth so I couldn’t pursue the opportunity. When dealing with agents, many I”ve found have one thing in mind, “Commission, commission, commission!” Looking forward to hearing your stories with them, should be interesting
[...] This post was inspired by a powerful comment she left in reply to Shae Byne’s blog post: Doing the Things You Despise. It’s all about how Rachel structures her week for success … I know I really enjoyed and [...]