It’s been 3 months now, how’s it going?
It’s been good. Getting my mind and body back into the life of a real estate wholesaler. Taking action keeps me fired up and motivated. Being back in the mix of talking to sellers and building relationships with cash buyers is a great feeling. I’m enjoying the process/journey.
How many leads are you getting per week, on average?
I should have an exact number for you, but I’d say about 30 leads per week. It’s great as far as getting me back into the mix of things. As far as doing deals in volume, consistently, I’ll be turning it (marketing) up several notches.
How is your buyer list coming along? Any good leads?
YES!!!
Listen to this, my buyer that purchased my first wholesale deal in 2011 met me at a potential deal in January. The house ended up being a dud but my buyer said to me: “Jae where have you been?? I bought 6 houses in the last 2 months and I need 3 more right now”.
If I had never stopped grinding it out, there is a possibility that I could have sold him three of those six houses minimum. That’s the potential of this business, when you are persistent and dedicated to paying your dues to make possibilities like this realities.
I can’t cry over spilled milk at this point. On the bright side, I’m looking for houses that meet his investment needs because he’s looking for 3 more houses as we speak. To emphasize this point further I called 3 very serious buyers that I was working with back in 2011 and they are ALL still looking for great deals to buy. The real cash buyers are out there you just have to connect with them and then serve them wholesale deals. I like going after buyers that have recently purchased houses because I know they are ACTIVE and HIGHLY qualified to sell more deals to. You can find these types via cash buyer/transaction list.
What have you learned this last time around that you did not know before?
If you want to wholesale houses don’t attempt to do deals without money or a consistent income.
Since starting back this January I’ve had two sellers back out on me last minute for reasons I had ZERO control over. It sucks to say the least but you CANNOT allow these things to discourage you. If you have a source of income it will make it easier to endure these sets backs, whereas if you NEED the money it will certainly discourage you and make you start second guessing your potential in this business.
What does your schedule and week look like?
My daily routine is a work in progress. I have a ton of chaos in my environment currently that I have to embrace of a daily basis.
What marketing are you doing for buyers/sellers?
I’m putting of 50 bandit signs a week for sellers and I’m reverse tracing buyers to find ACTIVE cash buyers. The bandit signs are self explanatory. They say We Buy Houses and people call them interested in selling houses. Occasionally you’ll have a buyers call you sign looking for deals.
Reverse tracing buyers is this: I’ll have list of 50 sold properties in a given zip code. Each sale has a property address and a mailing address. The mailing address is where the investor gets important documents regarding the property mailed to. You can use that information on sites like 411.com to get the buyers on the phone and sell yourself and your services.
Have you purchased any leads or lists?
Yes and No.
As far as sellers are concerned no, I just generate leads through my bandit signs.For buyers though, I have connections with investors and through them I’ve received some buyer lists.
My buddy Dave sent me a buyer list he paid for because 1, I asked for it and 2, he cares about me as a person! That’s why he did it. You have to get good and building relationships in this business. Then the next week Dave needed pictures and video of a property in the HOOD, I’m talking 55th and Halsted Englewood area. It’s nothing to a young south side native, so I took care of that for him for free and he was VERY pleased and thankful for it. It helps that I flipped my first deal down the street in another hood area.
What do you feel you should be doing that you are not?
Creating a vision for clarity and focusing on it like my life depended on it.
As of right now, how many deals are you working on?
Friday it was 2 but I had a seller back out for no apparent reason so really, just 1 as of right now.
What can you tell us about the upcoming spring, are you excited?
Extremely excited! I’m looking to land a job at a private golf course as a caddie in the NW suburbs. That will be a big game changer in many ways. I’ll have a source of income so I am not overly concerned about closing deals to make money. See, I’ll have the money coming in from the golf course so I can focus on marketing and building relationships which will help with closing deals. I’ll focus more on the process and NOT just the result. Along with that I’ll be systematizing and automating certain aspects of my marketing and creating a lead intake funnel so I don’t neglect my wholesaling business while working this job.
What are your biggest needs as of right now, is it deals, attorney, etc…?
Nice that you asked. I need more deals, especially now that I know the demand is there. I just have to to supply the demand. Once you have sellers and buyers I’ll get the attorneys that understands how a wholesaler works. Putting together deals is one thing, closing them is entirely different and attorneys play a huge role in that.
Lastly, which is a work in progress, is automating certain aspects of my business so things still get done without my immediate or direct involvement.
Wrap Up
– Well, it looks like Jae is coming up in the wholesaling world. He has learned what he needs to do and is very honest about it. He is setting his sights on getting deals done and reaching out to the connections he’s made. The journey is what matters and it looks like Jae has a great head on his shoulders and there is NO doubt that he can achieve his goals no matter what business he is in.
Let us know what you think about Jae and his journey so far!! Comment below!
