NATCHEZ MISSISSIPPI

Just like to know.

I spent several days in Natchez quite a few years ago. It is so incredibly beautiful! I toured a number of the antebellum homes there (The Nutt home, etc). At that time there was also a small biz there that made "Jar Cakes". They baked cakes in mason jars and sold them at gift shows, etc. Delicious! I visited their kitchen there in Natchez. Also had breakfast at the pancake house that was the "Mammy" sculpture with the restaurant in the skirt.

I LOVE Natchez!

Good luck to you!

Karen

KAREN OH MY GOODNESS !!!!!! I am so happy to hear that. in October we have balloon race. it is a blast. pun intended. (blasting hot air up in the balloon) LOL.........oh well anyway I love this lil city so much i was a tour bus driver (see bio) but now i must get started on rei full time. lol....

look forward to your future visit
walt

It is good to see another Mississippi boy on the site. Natchez is a very pretty town that we have visited. I live in Ocean Springs which has similar features to Natchez. My father told me many years ago that the best place to invest was in your own back yard. I have been investing in rental property for close to twenty years now and it was the best decision that I made. Keep plugging. Mossyoak

Sorry about the multiple posts. My IP pad seemed to be hung and I didn't think they were going through. Good luck!
Mossyoak

Jimmy thanks for stopping by my guestbook to say hello. Man I wish my father would have had enough sense to encourage me to do real estate when I was young, instead he always said I was just chasing some get rich quick scheme. I want to get my 17 yr old nephew interested so he can have the income and the freedom to make choices about his future. Did you and/or your father influence your nephew to invest in real estate ?? I hope to start with wholesaling and assignments to build up some cash to invest in rentals myself.

Good luck to ya.
WALT

My father died two years ago this month. My Father was the mentor who encouraged me and my nephew through his simple ways. My nephew and I have bonded due to our common interests. My Grandfather had built a rental property that was rented for $20.00 per month during the Great Depression. This was probably the early seeds of our investing. What I have found out in life is that you get back what you put into it. This is one reason that I started visiting this site. I enjoy encouraging others. I found that the more you help others, the more it helps yourself.
Mossyoak

80 ways to find buyers Exit Strategies Part 3
by Jeff Jensen

80 ways to find buyers:

1. Freebie Newspaper Ads
2. Minor Newspaper Ads
3. Newspaper Weekend Edition Ads
4. FSBO Magazines
5. Business Cards
6. Paper Signs
7. Bandit Signs
8. Door Hangers
9. Bulletin Boards
10. Handouts
11. Flyers
12. Real Estate Agents
13. Expired MLS Listings
14. Open Houses
15. Title Companies
16. Closing Agents
17. Accountants
18. CPA’s
19. Attorneys
20. Mortgage Brokers
21. Lenders
22. Property Management Companies
23. Financial Planners
24. Financial/Money Advisors
25. Investors
26. Home Inspectors
27. Appraisers
28. County Records Employees
29. Escrow Officers
30. Hard Money Lenders
31. Private Money Lenders
32. Secondary Lenders
33. Developers
34. Contractors
35. Local Employers
36. Rent-to-Own Stores
37. Referrals
38. Your Existing Occupants
39. Sub-Contractors
40. Handymen
41. Door-to-door Canvassing
42. Free Gift Advertizing
43. Postcards
44. Promotional Materials/Calendars/Note Pads/Magnets
45. Cooperative (Co-Op) Advertising
46. Legal Newspapers
47. Grocery Store/Wal-mart
48. Flower Carts
49. Benches
50. Bus Stop
51. Adopt a Street Sign
52. Laundromats
53. Car Washes
54. Yellow Pages
55. Restaurants
56. Restrooms
57. Mail Center
58. TV Guide/Newspapers
59. TV Ads/Commercial
60. Special TV Programming
61. Radio Ads
62. Billboards
63. Walking Billboards
64. T-Shirts
65. Hats
66. Community Business Organizations
67. Chamber of Commerce
68. Sponsor Sports Team
69. Sponsor an Event
70. Charitable events
71. Charitable Raffles
72. Host a Charitable Function
73. Local Churches
74. Weekly Hotels
75. Property Brochures
76. Magnetic Vehicle Signs
77. Vehicles Wraps
78. Real Estate Auctions
79. White Vehicle Lettering
80. Club Membership Bulletin Board

I thought it would be great information to place here so I can always find it LOL

hi walt. Want to be part of my team.
Lets help each other out.

alane leo

Hey. My name is Francis and I'm from Boston, Mass. OK, OK, its not Mississippi, but I loved reading these messages on your "guestbook".

Your first deal is just waiting for guys like us.

It just takes as long as we want it to.

Natchez sounds like a cool place to unwind..I need to unwind.

I'm wondering, do you work with an Agent?

That would change things especially how long things can take without a MLS on your side.

Wholesaling is a great beginning.

I'll write you soon..and Good Hunting!

Peace.

Hey walt, It's me again.
I just wanted to add that I went to the http://www.values.com site and found it to be interesting.

I just love reading from this site.

Thanks for your input. People should always wright something in there bio for others to read.

Hey guys!

This is a post for all the people that are having trouble getting started at all. Most of you will hopefully find this useful. For those of you that don't know my story, I am 20 years old. I have failed at this, and I've also suceeded. I don't know everything, and I still have much more to learn than I have learned. But this kind of post is what I was looking for when I had no idea where to start.

Most of the posts I see are people having problems knowing where to start, so I am going to talk as much as I can about the steps to getting started. Dean covers it in his books but some of you might find more inspiration coming from a fellow DG Family member. Dean Graziosi is one of my personal hero's for introducing me to all of this and I give him full credit for all of this information, I learned 99% of this from his books/DVD's, this community, and the success academy!

Sections:
1. Getting Over Your Fear
2. Build a Buyers List
3. Build a Power Team / LLC
4. Find Desperate Sellers
5. Knowing Good Deals from No-Go's
1.Getting Over Your Fear
Getting over your fear is the main goal when you first start. We all have it; fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of embarassment. But I read a quote saying "Successful people fail more than failures. If you don't fail, you aren't trying hard enough.". There can be many different ways of getting over your fear. The way I did it was partnering up with a like-minded friend, we share the risk and the reward equally.

I have had many failures in real estate investing. The main one is taking 2 years to get the guts to get my feet wet. I have been on and off this website and the books for almost 2 years! I would always let fear soak in, and go back to my normal routine and get unmotivated. Then when there would be a month that I really needed more money, or I got depressed, and I would get remotivated. This was a vicious circle for 2 straight years! In that time, I would call some Realtors here and there and they would INSTANTLY crush my hopes telling me I'm crazy for wanting to do that.

In August 2010, I finally gave in when Dean offered the Set For Life program. I partnered up with my friend and we bought SFL and joined the success academy. Ever since then it has been one heck of a ride! We have just about closed on our first deal, the purchase agreement and security deposit is getting signed and sent to us later today. Within 30 days we will have $8,000.00 at our disposal. Of course we are putting most of it back into the business. But once we get more and more deals, we can reward ourselves even more. Were we ever scared or nervous? YOU BET WE WERE! But you know what they say, "No risk, no reward."

Back before August I only came to this website for help. Now I mostly find myself here to help other people, because I know how hard it was for me! Once you start learning and making deals, you will notice that too! It's simply about taking action and setting your fear aside. You will always have fear, you just have to learn when to listen to it or not.

For everyone worried about embarrasing yourself over the phone or in person: You might mess up, you might sound unprofessional, or even nervous at first... But you can't let that hold you back! by the time you make 5 phone calls you will get the hang of things and get that professionalism in your voice. It's all about confidence! Let's be honest, whoever you might have embarassed yourself infront of won't remember you in a month.

Dean is right when he says you will kick yourself in the head when 10 years pass by and you say to yourself "I should have started investing in real estate back when the market was at rock bottom."

Take one peice at a time, make small goals and accomplish them one at a time. Dont overwhelm yourself by the thought of everything. Take baby steps and you will go far ironically!

2.Build a Buyers List
A buyers list is a KEY point in starting with this. Without buyers, who are you going to sell your deals to? When you are getting started, a buyers list is more important to work on than a Realtor. Once you have a good buyers list you can start finding a good Realtor and finding sellers for your buyers.

You can start on this by placing ghost ads on free classified sites. If you have some money then make some Bandit signs and post them in newspaper ads as well. Newspapers will probably run you about 50-100 for a week in the paper. And each bandit sign can be as cheap as a dollar a piece.

A ghost ad is just an ad that states you want to sell a property you don't have just to get the potential buyer's contact information. The ad should be simple and to the point, just make it realistic to your market but also make it discounted. Don't put any specific location information on this other than the town. I've messed up on this stating I had it on a certain street, then people started telling me there was no address for sale on that street LOL.

When people call and ask for the address or to see it, just simply state that you already put it under contract with another buyer, but also tell them that you come across discounted properties frequently in that area. Then ask if it's okay to get their contact information and criteria, so you can give them a call if you run across another property that fits their criteria.

Write down as much information as you can about how to contact them and what they are looking for. Here are some of the things you might want to ask them for:

Contact Information:
Name / Company (If applicable)

Category (Retail, Cash Buyer/Investor, Lease Option Buyer, Renter, etc)
Cell, Home Phone, Fax
Email / Website
Address

Criteria:
If they are Investors ask how much equity they want to have.

Type of Property (Single Family, Duplex, Commercial, Land, etc)
Sq Ft / Acreage
Min Price / Max Price
How soon they are looking to buy
Neighborhood / Zip Codes
If they need financing

You can also go to REI club meetings and network that way. Most of the people that go there are other investors or Realtors. This is a great place to meet almost everyone you need to have on your power team. Make a point to meet and converse with a new person every chance you get. Don't single yourself out, MINGLE yourself in!

Remember to follow up on all of your buyers. Call the more motivated ones back often to let them know you are still looking and see if they have any updates for you, maybe they even have a house to sell you! You should call every buyer on your list at least once every six months.

3.Build a Power Team
Another important part of this is the Realtor since he/she will be the ones helping you find the good deals. You can also find good deals on your own time and way, but the MLS is a great place to start sending low ball offers in constantly. The rest would include a CPA (Accountant), Lawyer, Mortgage Broker, Contractors, etc.

There are many posts on these forums about finding Realtors, and its even in Profit from Real Estate Right Now! but I can try to sum it up for you:

MAKE SURE YOUR REALTOR IS HUNGRY! After talking to a few Realtors you will see that some of them will try to crush your dreams, and some of them are just lazy not willing to do extra work... But very few of them are pure gold.

Remax and Keller Williams are more trained to work with investors so I would try all of those brokers first. Call the main line and there should be a secretary answering the phones, ask them to put you through to the one that works best with investors. Here are a list of questions you can ask the Realtor:
Do you work with investors? If no, ask for a referral or just say "thank you for your time" and move to the next one.
Are you an Investor yourself? If yes, ask for an example to be sure. This isn't necessary but it's definitely a perk.
Are you comfortable submitting offers that are anywhere from 30 to 75% off the FMV of the home? This will help you eliminate the ones who will not submit your offers.
Are you familar with double/simultaneous closings? If yes, ask them how many they have.

If all checks out then so far so good, they are qualified! Now you have to make sure they are going to do the work you want them to do. Tell them that you have a cash buyers list (this will answer their question to if you have proof of funds, there are also always other options for proof of funds). Then tell them you plan to close on X amount of properties per month with a ratio of 25 offers to 1 accepted. If they are comfortable with this you can go ahead and give them your criteria.

I suggest doing this to multiple "qualified" Realtors, that way you can narrow it down even further to which ones respond faster, follow up more often, and things like that.

The right Realtor will also open up the door to a world of referrals to Contractors, Accountants, Real Estate Laywers, etc.

Limited Liability Company:
Form a LLC if you have the money, this way if something bad happens they can only go after things in your business' name. This is kind of a safety net, and also gives you kind of a more professional look. It only costs about $100 depending which state you are in. Go to your States Secretary of State's website for more info.

If you have the skills or knows someone who does, get a website for your business. This acts as an employee that works 24/7 for you. You can post all the properties you are trying to sell, contact information, forms for buyers and sellers to fill out and add to your lists, etc.

4.Find Desperate Sellers
Use your Realtor(s) to submit low ball offers to everything that fits your (and your buyers') investing criteria. Probates, divorces, preforeclosures, and even networking are also great ways to find sellers. Call your county and see if they have these records available to you.

Most investor buyers will want at least 30% off the After Repair Value, so use the formula below to determine your offers:

Let's say After Repair Value (ARV) = 100,000
100,000 - (in this case 30% of ARV, which is 30k) = 70,000
70,000 - Repairs (lets say 5k) = 65,000
65,000 - How much you want to make (lets say 10k) = 55,000

Therefore in this case your maximum offer would be 55,000 if the ARV is 100k, the buyer wants a 30% discount, it needs 5k in repairs, and you want to make 10k off it. Remember that most offers will get rejected at this discount. But every about 20, one will get accepted.

There are desperate sellers EVERYWHERE in this type of market. You just have to dig in the right places! Word of mouth is the most efficient and fastest ways to find both buyers and sellers. Once the word gets out on what you are doing, people will be working for you and not even know it.

By the time you even get this far you will know exactly what to do.

5.Knowing Good Deals from No-Go's
Sometimes the numbers might not seem to add up for the type of deal you are looking to complete. But remember there are MULTIPLE types of creative deals out there to get around obstacles. Explore all your options before throwing a potential deal away! But at the same time don't get attached to a home because you are too stubborn to realize it just wont work. Don't be afraid to throw away deals if they look bad, it's the best thing you can do in the long run. KNOW that it's a good deal before you jump into it.

When you are signing purchase agreements, always include an addendum to the contract with an "escape clause". For example: "Contingent upon partner approval." Or "Contingent upon inspection." This way in case if all falls through you can back out with no cost to you. You should consult a real estate professional in your state about adding this in your contract so you know it's airtight.

I could have probably written 20 times more about the steps to getting started but I figured this was enough for now. I know I probably missed some details in there. I am still learning a TON and have only completed one deal, but if there's one thing I've learned, the best way to get started is to just GO FOR IT!

At first I was extremely overwhelmed, but I started to just take one piece at a time, and before I knew it my partner and I were locking up our first contract. So don't overwhelm yourself. Write down ideas as they come to you and take one piece at a time, and before you know it you'll have $10,000 in your pocket. How would you like that?

Have confidence and you'll go far!

PS to Dean and Staff - I hope this isn't too much information I'm giving out Let me know if it is!

__________________

Dominic Errichiello

Check out our brand new website!
http://virtue-investments.com

THANKS FOR STOPPING BY MY PAGE. GLAD YOU ENJOYED THE SITE.

I've got over 25yrs. experience as a driver. It's always been local. I tried short haul, it just wasn't for me. No matter how long you drive, you never learn it all. I think the same would apply to real estate investing. I like that. Right now I drive part-time for a small company in Vernon, Ca. called "PAPER SOURCE". They manufacture toilet paper, napkins, paper towels, etc. which we deliver to JETRO/RESTAURANT DEPOT and others.