We use the Dream Team Checklist to remind us to continue to expand out and strengthen existing relationships we have with key dream team members that will help us accomplish more as real estate investors.
Unlike many of our other checklists that give you action steps, this one lists some of the key dream team members to encourage you to reach out and make contact with professionals that will make your life easier and more profitable.
Whether you use it as a reminder to ask your existing dream team for referrals or recommendations in those areas or as a list of folks to seek out and interview on your own, you will find the list to be a great resource for improving your real estate investing business.
Here is a very abridged list of key dream team members from our much larger list:
- Accountant/Bookkeeper
- Administrative Assistant
- Appraiser
- Attorney
- Contractors
- Lenders (Traditional Brokers, Hard Money, Private Money)
- Insurance Agent
- Property Manager
- Real Estate Agent/Broker
- Real Estate Wholesalers
- Title Company
Until my next post,
James
If you’ve ever wondered what the difference between a real estate bird dog and a real estate wholesaler is, then you are not alone. Lots of people confuse the two and some actually use the terms interchangeably. But in my mind, there is a significant difference between the two in terms of what each does and what each earns.
Let’s look at each one and see what the differences are between a bird dog and a real estate wholesaler.
First, bird dogs point out potential deals to real estate investors. They do not usually negotiate deals and put them under contract. Their fee for pointing out deals is usually either a small up-front fee regardless of what happens, or more commonly a slightly larger fee if the real estate investor actually purchases the deal. How much are typical bird dog fees? $5 to $10 for pointing out a potential deal regardless of whether it closes or not. Or $100 to $500 if the deal actually closes.
Compare this to a real estate wholesaler. A wholesaler will go out and find a potential deal, but they will do much more. They will actually negotiate with the seller, agree to a price and terms and will write up the contract or option on the property. Then they will bring the contract to the real estate investor that will actually buy the property and negotiate with them the price and terms that they are willing to sell their contract for to the investor. While this fee is highly negotiable and can vary widely, it is not unusual for it to be several thousand dollars.
As you can see, wholesalers not only do more than bird dogs, they make more money too.
Until my next post,
James
P.S. Real Estate Investor Bronze Members may be interested in checking out the extensive collection of Wholesaling Resources in our Real Estate Investor Wiki.
One of the most important things you can do, as a real estate investor who plans to wholesale property, is to build a buyers list starting right now.
Don’t wait until you have a property under contract to start building a list of potential investors and retail buyers that will be interested in deals that you find. Building a buyers list takes time and/or costs money. Why not save some money and start building your list using low or no cost methods (what I refer to as methods for poor folks) and then spend money to build your list only when you have an actual deal that you need to sell?
Here’s how to start building a buyers list using low and no cost methods:
Post Ads on Free Classified Ad Websites
Posting a number of different ads on free classified ad websites can start the process of growing your buyers list. Plus, this method is relatively easy to do (once you learn how), costs no money on most websites, and you will see almost immediate results in most cases.
What types of ads can you run? You can run generic ads looking for investors who are trying to find deals, ads seeking partners to team up with you on deals, ads for specific deals you have, and ads giving away a free real estate course or a list of distressed properties. These are just a few examples; with a little creativity, you could come up with many more.
I go into greater detail on the mechanics of how to post ads on CraigsList, the largest classified ad website, in another article.
Reply To Ads on Classified Ad Websites and in Newspapers
The nice thing about classified ad websites is that on the popular ones, you’re not alone. There are other investors posting ads to sell their deals or rent out their properties. Why not give them a call or drop them an e-mail to introduce yourself to them. Find out if they are looking for more deals and ask them if you can add them to your list of potential buyers to notify when you have a great deal. You can also do similar things with people who have posted ads in newspapers.
Network at Your Local Real Estate Group or on On-line Forums
Find out where investors hang out. Visit your local real estate investor club or association and meet other investors. Go to on-line discussion groups where investors are chatting and make new contacts there. Find investors that are blogging about their investing and make friends with them. If you have more time than money, these methods will help you both learn about investing strategies from other investors and build your buyers list.
Direct Mail Investors
A way that I use to quickly reach thousands of investors in my local market is direct mail. I get a list of investors that have recently purchased a house (often called the Absentee Owner List because the owner of the property is not living there) and mail them a postcard about a particular deal I have or about getting together to discuss investing. While this method has cost me about 32 cents per person mailed (including postage and printing), it has been a great way to instantly expand my investor network with people that have actually bought a house as an investment (and not those merely interested in buying a house).
The above methods are just a few ways that you can start building your buyers list. I recommend you start implementing one – or better yet, all – of these methods immediately to start building your list in anticipation of having a great deal to send out.
Until my next post,
James
P.S. For complete step-by-step training on how to operate a successful real estate investing wholesaling business I encourage you to sign up for our Real Estate Investor Bronze Membership which will give you access to over 100 of our real estate courses, on-going training plus free consulting sessions to work on your real estate investing business.
