As a software developer and real estate investor I can tell you that the hottest Real Estate is Page 1 of Google. Whether you are trying to sell a wholesale deal, or rent out an apartment, or trying to get a motivated seller to call… you want exposure! The more people who see what you are trying to accomplish, the more likely you are to accomplish it! Nothing will get you more exposure than being on Page 1 of Google.

I read that when it comes to search engines Google has 75% of the market share (in the US and UK) and 84% of searchers never make it past Page 2!!

So how do you get to the top of page 1? I will tell you that it is a lot easier than you think! The key lies in Backpage.com …. That’s right! A free online classifieds site that is very Search Engine friendly has pushed a lot of my deals to the top of Google! You don’t have to pay thousands of dollars to get to the top… You can do it all for free!

Here’s how…

Step 1 - Pretend you are your potential customer. What would you type into Google to find your service? As an example, lets say we are trying to find motivated sellers in Columbus, OH. We would expect motivated sellers to search for something like “sell house fast columbus oh”. These words will be your “key phrase”. Think of another key phrase or two.

Step 2 - Go to http://backpage.com and click on “Post an Ad” for your selected city

Step 3 - Using your key phrases create a Headline for your ad. In between key phrases I like to place a dash (-). to go along with our example I would make my headline read “sell house fast columbus oh - we buy houses - avoid foreclosure”

Step 4 - In the body of the ad describe your service, and try to work in your key phrases at least once or twice. Make it seem natural! Dont forget to give them a way to contact you!

Step 5 - Submit your ad

Now I can’t guarantee that you will be at the top of Google that day… or ever. I have had backpage ads push me up to #1 within 2 hours, and I have seen ads take me to the top 3 weeks later. I have had a bunch of ads never show up on Google. It can be unpredictable, but be patient. I have gotten a bunch of good calls from these ads. Keep in mind that you also have people looking through backpage.com that you could sell to.

Other important (free) online classifieds for real estate investors
Craigslist.org - This is probably the most popular, but isn’t very Google friendly. There are tons of people buying stuff over craigslist so do not forget to post your ads here. In 2008 I sold my personal home over craigslist so fast that I was “homeless” for a while.

MyNextRehab.com - This is a place for investors to post their wholesale deals for other investors. Rehabbers, landlords and wholesalers who have joined the VIP Investors Club ask to be notified about deals in their selected cities. After a wholesaler has posted a deal it is emailed out to the VIP Investors for that city. Similar to craigslist with an email twist.

Oodle.com - The more I mess around with Oodle the more I like it. It is a clean and more updated version of craigslist.

Shawn Wollenberg

One of the greatest tools for real estate investors is Craigslist. This online classifieds tool is super popular, FREE, and easy to use. Start using it and watch your business GROW!

The two major parts of a craigslist ad are the body and the headline. The body of your ad is where you put the description, pictures, address, and price of the house or apartment. The headline is what the reader clicks to see the body. Below are 3 useful tricks to getting your next buyer to click on your ad instead of the other 300 that were posted the same day.

1) More Space = More Attention
The Great Ron LeGrand always taught us to pay for an extra “blank” line at the top of your classified ads so it catches the viewer’s eye. With craigslist the ads run more left to right instead of top to bottom so I like to put the space to the left. I believe if you try to use the actual space bar in the beginning of your headline the craigslist software will “Trim” it off. What you will want to do is use the Underscore “_” key. I like to add about 4 or 5 underscores before I start my headline. This will indent it and make it more “eye catching” compared to the other ads around it.

2) Don’t be Afraid to be Weird… but don’t overdo it
I had a house that I rehabbed and was trying to sell. Every other day I would post the same old boring ad “3BR / 1BA, Great Neighborhood, Big Yard, Perfect Starter Home”. This type of ad gets me a few “good” responses each time I post, but one day I decided to try something different. In my headline I put “Is Brittney Nuts?”. Nothing about the house in the headline. When they would click on the ad I would put “She seems like it. I have a 3 BR Ranch…..”. I got about 4 times more responses about people interested in looking at the house. You dont want to do this too much because viewers will eventually catch on, but catching the eye and sparking interest so that they are forced to click and see what is inside is what it’s all about.

3) End BIG!
At the end of my headlines I like to put some more blank space and then end it with something big like “HURRY!” or “CA$H”. You dont want all capital letters in your headline because it is tough to read plus it is against craigslist rules.

You want to get more people into your shop. Think of the body of your ad as your shop where you are selling homes. When writing your headline, ask yourself “What would make a buyer click on my ad?”

Stand Out! Dont Blend In!

Shawn Wollenberg
http://myNextRehab.com

Hello Fellow Investors,

The rage these days is everyone is trying to figure out a way to Flip Short-Sales and Reo’s. Currently in my market in North Jersey there are great deals to be had if you know how to go about doing them.

First off, ignore the Lawyers or Realtors that say you ” Can Not” do something. What they really mean is that they just don’t know how, so in their mind it can’t be done.
Saying that, the easiest way to Flip a Short-Sale or REO is to do a same day close. Meaning you close a deal from the Seller (A ) to yourself ( B) and then from yourself ( B) to your end buyer ( C ). This is what would be called the normal Same Day or Double Close, A-B, B- C

Now this of course requires that you have an end buyer lined up to close with, and also that you have the correct clauses stating that if the first deal doesn’t go through, the B-C transaction does not take place and the funds are not released. This is a very nice way also, because that also makes it risk free.

The obstacles you face are making sure you have an end buyer lined up. Making sure you get the property at a good price to sell it to either an end investor or Retail Buyer. If you are going for the Retail Buyers than you can be more flexible on your price and still offer the Retail buyer a house below the current market value.

Another obstacle you will face is that if an end Buyer has a FHA loan this can not be done as easily. Title seasoning comes into play and is usually around 90 days. So to make your life easier stay away from any buyer that comes with an FHA loan.

Most deals fall through because all parties are not aware a flip is taking place. If you are very transparent in your contracts and upfront of your intentions with the bank and also your end buyer and their lenders this will work. The main reason deals don’t happen is because C’s lender wants to know why their buying from B which is you instead of directly from A.. Making sure they know why before any questions can arise is the key.

If you would like any questions answered or things further explained please contact me.

Take Care,
Jarred

Where do these properties come from?

• Wholesale investor (”Wholesaler”) locates property from a motivated seller
• He puts it under contract
• He then takes this contract to the title company to get the title work done
• You (investor), buy the house from wholesaler or take over their contract for a fee and close on it yourself, or buy the property from the investor in a double closing (simultaneous closing)

You end up getting the property at a huge discount with very little work.

Why are they so cheap?

Most of these properties come from distressed home owners (motivated sellers), such as home owners facing foreclosure, going through divorce, job loss, job relocation, illness, or simply cannot afford to keep making mortgage payments.

Sometimes they just need to get rid of the house, but cannot afford to do the repairs needed, or simply don’t want to do it. They therefore accept to sell the houses at a discount for a quick and easy closing.

This discount is passed on to you as an investor.

What makes these deals good?

No deal can posted on our network unless it leaves at least 15% equity, AND at least $15,000 in profit after it is fixed up. For example, a house worth $100,000 must leave at least $15,000 after it’s fixed up in order to qualify to be here. We try to make sure that each deal has the potential to make you money.

What makes these deals better than I can get from other web sites?

These properties come directly from other investors. They are not listed in the MLS or the local newspapers.

Therefore, there is less competition, so you can buy them at a truly profitable bargain.

Why would an investor sell their house at wholesale price when they’d just fix and sell for big bucks?

Each investor has their preferred way of making money in real estate. Some are so good at locating great deals that they cannot possibly handle to rehab all those houses!

It’s much easier for them to make quick money by wholesaling and move on to the next deal.

Sometimes a lot of investors fix and sell, but they still wholesale when their schedules cannot allow them to rehab, or when the number of houses they have makes it impossible to do so.

This has created a unique opportunity that will be very profitable for you.

What if the cost of repairs and After Repair Value are not true?

Our local partners look at each deal manually to make sure it meets our guidelines, both by profitability and the numbers given.

In addition, we give you a guide of the value of the house by requiring that the investors provide the county appraisal value as well as the estimated After Repair Value.

A lot of times you will find a link directly the property record at the county. We then provide you with comps from zillow.com on each property. We also provide you with enough analyzed information to quickly decide if it’s a deal or not.

Armed with all this information, you can then make a quick judgment; in any case, we always ask you to run your own comps to assess the true value of these properties.

If you cannot run the comps yourself, we link you up with real estate agents in your local market who can run comps for you.

We present all this information for you on a simple page in an easy to understand manner so you spend as little time as possible agonizing if the deal is good or not.

Of course we also encourage you to physically go see the house yourself to make sure the repairs are not misrepresented.

What information is available to me as I view the properties to help me make up my mind?

We allow the seller to put in as much information about
the house as possible including:

• Number of bedrooms, baths, stories, etc. You can also find this information at county records
• After Repair Value as estimated by the seller, county appraisal value (and link to county records), estimated comps from zillow.com
• Repairs needed and estimated cost of repairs
• Pictures
• Video - some investors also prefer to upload video on youtube. These videos are available directly on the house property page
• And a lot more…

You have to contact the seller directly to buy the house. We provide you a way to send them an email as you view the properties, and also provide a phone number for you to contact the seller.

Generally, most of these properties are not listed for owners by real estate agents, but you may find convenient links to recommended real estate agents, service providers and hard money lenders if you need their services. You may find these on our directory of vendors (service providers).

When you buy and sell houses, having a ready and cheap source of cash that has few restrictions places you in a position where you decide which houses to buy and which not to buy.

If you like it, it’s funded!

That’s the beauty of private money.  

You can buy houses that other investors can never touch, such as those that involve creative financing (such as taking over payments). Such deals sometimes require that you have some money to make up for back payments, make mortgage payments, etc. Funding these from your pocket can become a challenge and the number of deals you can do will be limited by the amount of money you have.

 It is therefore necessary to attract private cash investors for your deals. It’s for this reason that we created a web site specifically targeted for attracting cash investors for your deals - a  Cash Investors Web Site.

Should you attract cash investors to a web site where you also buy and sell houses?

Most cash investors are used to being pitched by the big boys who have well trained, smooth marketers for this purpose only. They do not spare any expense to impress htese investors.

When you are looking for investors, the last thing you need is to look like you are fumbling around not sure what you are doing. You must come across as a polished professional who is successful in buying and selling houses.

If a potential cash investor has any reason to doubt your capability, you are not getting his money. 

What do you think a potential cash investor will think of you when you send them to a web site where you also buy and or sell houses?

Most likely you will come out looking sloppy - and you might lose a source of cash that could grow your business tremendously. 

We highly recommend that you get a separate Cash Investors Web Site specifically targeted for the most important part of your business - attracting cash that fuels your success.

Should you send motivated sellers to the same web site where you sell houses?

The simple answer is “NO!“.

The key to successful prospecting is speaking to the conversation going on in the person’s mind.

Obviously the needs of a motivated seller are very different from those of a person looking to buy a house. A motivated seller is going through some real tough times and needs to get rid of their problem - their house. A successful web site for buying houses must do nothing short of providing targeted solutions for motivated sellers in a sensitive manner.

Winning the heart of a motivated seller so they can sell their house to you takes one key engredient - they must be able to trust you. You must come out to them as someone who can solve their problems. Having a web site that specifically addresses just the solutions to their problems puts them in a position you must learn to love - they want only you to buy their house.

On the other hand, a house buyer is going through relatively better times than a motivated seller, sometimes looking for their dream home. These two people are worlds apart. Combining the buying and selling houses in the same web site would be killing the prospects of winning the hearts of the majority of potential sellers - and you will make less money as a result.

Most successful investors  (most gurus and teachers also) will tell you that you need at least two web sites at the bare minimum.

Buy only web site - This is the kind of website that you use only when you are buying houses

Sell Only  web site - This is the kind of web site you use when you are selling houses

 Of course this is just the minimum; you also need to attract private money to finance your deals. When you know you have access to unlimited cheap funds that you control for any type of deal you want, real estate investing becomes a lot of fun.

The type of deals you invest in is not limited by rigid underwriting rules (such as those of a mortgage company). If you like a deal, it’s funded. This is the reason why a Cash Investors Web Site is a necessary part of your investing power tools.

House Flipper  web site - If you are an investor who is strong on wholesaling houses, most likely you will need a web site that allows you to sell houses at a discount to other onvestors. A house Flipper web site is specialized just for this business model.

You are here because you have a Real Estate Investors Web Site.  We need your feedback so we can provide an even better service.

When you order our Web Sites For Real Estate Investors, you qualify for free lifetime upgrades. Your input is very important to us and is likely to be in the next update.

In particular, please address these issues in your comments:

1. Which type of investors web site do you have?
2. How do you like your new web site?
3. Does it make real estate investing easier and more profitable for you?
4. How has it contributed (if at all) to your business?
5. How much income, if any,  would you attribute to the web site(s)
6. What do you like about it?
7. How easy (or how hard) is it to use and manage?
8. What, if anything, would you like to see improved? Any new features or functionality you’d like to see?
9. Would you recommend it to your friends?

As always, we appreciate your input and thank you for your comments and input. Your comments may also be posted on our website or blog and/or used for marketing purposes.

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• Or maybe you are just using the service but has not bought or sold any properties yet
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In particular, please address these issues in your comments:

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5. Would you recommend it to your friends?
6. What, if anything, would you like to see improved? Any new features or functionality you’d like to see?

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Please be sure to upload your photo in your profile when you leave feedback

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