Here are the details of this new way to invest in real estate via online automation:
Years ago, before sales and marketing was popular online, I would build my small businesses by cold-call door knocking. Fun. I would canvass neighborhoods, pass out flyers, smile, shake a few hands, get yelled at, and then... wait to see if I would get any results for my valiant efforts. To be honest, I did get results. In fact, for my first real estate business, right after getting my Realtor's license, I printed out 200 color flyers, walked several blocks, said, "hello," to perfect strangers. My results? I actually got 3 calls back - one of which became my first Buyer, with whom I sold a home for a few thousand dollars in commissions, and there I was.. of to the races! That business later grew to a $10,000 per month business that sold 3-5 homes per month in the state of Colorado where I lived and worked for about 10 years. So... it can work, right? Cold-calling? Door knocking? Talking to strangers to make money and build a business? Well, yes... If I had to do it all over again today, would I do it again that way? Would I start by cold-calling? No way... Here's why.
Here are the reasons I would (and I do) use online automation technology to automate 90%+ of my sales and marketing instead:
Here's a "Behind The Scenes" Look |
He was asking me for advice on how to best prospect for insurance customers. Whenever I think of prospecting in general, I reminded of 3 of the businesses that I've created from the ground up by cold calling...
Two of them made it to the $10,000 per month mark from literally nothing.
No massive marketing budget. No prior experience. No online ads. Nada...
Both started by me walking up and down blocks, knocking on doors, and cold calling. If you've ever prospected this way, you know that it's no fun at all. You are treated like garbage, and whomever you are prospecting at the moment only has one problem to solve - the fastest way to get you out of their office.
Here's why.
They do not yet know, like, or trust you.
They don't know if you're there to rob them, or provide them with value. They don't know if you're there to help them, or if you're there to help yourself to a commission at their expense...
And until your prospect knows what your intentions are, they're not buying squat from you. And they shouldn't.
So how do you get someone to know, like, and trust you? How do you get a cold prospect to "warm up" to you?
Here was my advice to my friend, Eddie:
- Research your market and find out what their top 20-30 pain points are. Sounds like a lot of work, but it's not. Just jot down your ideas on a note pad.
- Find out 20-30 ways to solve those pain points for your market, so they no longer have to experience that pain and/or frustration. This will be the basis of clearly understanding your customer wants and needs, and how you can provide real value to them. You'll be able to speak their language and... enter the conversation that they're having inside their head when you speak with them.
- Focus on the top 3 pain points that you can address inside of a 3-part video series that you can record using your iPhone (or whatever phone you have).
- Video 1: Discuss pain/ frustration point #1, and solve it in the same video. At the end of the video, just like in a TV show, promote Video #2.
- Let them know what you will be talking about in Video #2. In other words, let them know what problem you'll be solving for them ..absolutely free. Doing this builds trust and credibility...
- Video 3: Do the same thing you just did in videos 1 and 2, but then share with your prospect how you'd like to meet or talk on the phone to discuss how you can further help them. Say something like, "If you've enjoyed my 3 videos thus far, I've got some more great info that I think will serve you also, and I'd like to share that with you. Call me at XXX-XXX-XXXX to discuss it. Or you can visit my website at www.YourWebsite.com to get my free report (Lead Magnet) on "X, that shows you how to get X without having to X." Be sure to recap what you spoke about in the previous 2 videos, and invite your prospect to get even more value with NO strings attached. That takes the pressure off of them, and makes you become a "trusted advisor" in their minds, instead of a pushy salesperson.
Let me stress that this is a very non-pushy approach that leads with value first, and builds a relationship with your cold prospects, so they warm up, and eventually become a "hot" prospect that buys from you month after month, year after year..
These videos shouldn't be longer than 2-3 minutes, and should provide your prospects with huge value . Make sure that you're giving away your very best stuff upfront.
They do not need to be professionally produced, nor do they need to be of Hollywood quality. They just need to provide real value that your cold prospect can consume and see results with immediately.
Again, an iPhone or Android, or whatever you've got will work.
Once you've finished this video series, you can:
- Send these 3 videos, one per day, all at once, or have them uploaded to your YouTube channel and have your prospects go there to watch them. YouTube channels are free and easy to use.
- Send them using an autoresponder series like Aweber.com that will deliver your videos automatically on a preset day and time.
Using this approach will get your cold prospects to know, like, and trust you before you meet, making your meeting (phone or in person) enjoyable.
Not to mention the chances of you making a sale ...far easier.
Talk soon,
Russell de la Peña
PushButtonInvestor.com, LLC
Good.
But to succeed, you'll need to understand the following key components to a "Rent to Own" contract first, before you can help buyers and sellers.
While there are more areas that you will want to consider when buying a "Rent to Own" home, or acting as a Principal to sell or assign contracts, the following is meant to be a "birds eye" view of some of the key components that go into the purchase and sale for both buyers and sellers alike.
Key Components to Note:
- No 2 "Rent-to-Own" contracts are alike.
- Every state's laws are different.
- The term length is usually between 1 and 3 years.
- Option down payment money is usually required from the start and is usually non-refundable.
- Paying your rent late can disqualify a buyer from exercising their Option rights and force them to forfeit their Option money.
- Option fee down payments are usually between 2.5% and 5%.
- Buyers want to negotiate what is commonly referred to as a "Buyer Credit or Rent Credit" where a portion of the rent they pay each month ultimately applies towards the over all purchase price. Thus, their rent payments are not being wasted and are applying towards their future purchase, if they should choose to exercise the Option during, or by the end of the term.
- If the buyer is unable to secure financing, during, or by the end of the term, they agree from the start that they will forfeit their Option money.
- The purchase of real property using an Option strategy is what is called a "Unilateral agreement" where the seller must sell to the buyer, but the buyer is not obligated to buy. They have the "Option" to buy, and the "Option" not to buy, but the seller must sell at the predetermined price and terms they've agreed to from the start.
Seeking competent advice is always advised by the real estate investing teachers when reviewing the terms of a "Rent to Own" contract, but I've found that most investors either don't know how to find a real estate attorney, or simply cannot afford one.
When I first started in real estate investing as a Beginner investor, I couldn't afford a real estate attorney either.
Not at $250-$500 per hour.
A great way for a Beginner/ Intermediate real estate investor "on a budget" to get legal advice in all states, is to use a company called, "LegalShield.com."
I do not sell their product, though I did in the past, but I still highly recommend them to Beginner and Intermediate real estate investors who want access to legal advice nationwide on all of their deals.
Best,
Russell
You've probably heard that before, but is it really?
Answer: Yes, but it depends.
It depends on how healthy that list is, and how responsive it is to you. Meaning, are you actively engaged with that list on a regular basis, providing real value that makes your subscriber base say, "Wow! That dude/ gal is awesome! Thanks for the help!," or are they trying to find the "unsubscribe" button every time you send them your newsletter?
If you don't have a list, or you have a small list, use the following as a quick guide/ checklist to help you to start to build that list, or grow it further:
1. Choose a Market Segment
- Buyers
- Sellers
- Other
- This is what your headline will be on your website's squeeze page
- Deliver on your promise by giving something of high-perceived value and high-actual value
- Again, this is your headline that will "call out" your audience (buyers, sellers, etc.)
- Touch on either a pain point, or offer something they want/ need
- Lead Magnet Type: Report/Guide
- Lead Magnet Type: Cheat Sheet/Handout
- Lead Magnet Type: Toolkit/Resource List
- Lead Magnet Type: Video Training
- Lead Magnet Type: Software Download/Trial
- Lead Magnet Type: Discount/Free Shipping
- Lead Magnet Type: Quiz/Survey
- Lead Magnet Type: Assessment/Test
- Lead Magnet Type: Blind/Sales Material
6. Create Your Lead Magnet
The next step is of course to begin to send quality traffic to your Lead Magnet, giving that traffic what they want and need, in the hopes of building a long-term business relationship with them, and not just making a quick buck.
Good, Targeted, and High-Quality Traffic Sources:
- Craigslist
- Backpage
- YouTube
- Plus, many more
The truth is, many real estate investors think they have a traffic problem and that is the reason they are not getting enough deals closed/ enough month-end profits, when they really do not.
There is more traffic than you can possibly imagine right at your fingertips. You don't have a traffic problem, you have a conversion problem.
Conversions are when your "Cold Traffic" (people who do not know, like, or trust you) are asked to take the next step in your sales funnel and do so.
That could be as simple as giving you their email address or buying your product or service.
If your prospects are not willing to you give you their contact info or money in exchange what you have, you have a conversion problem, not a traffic problem.
In other words, whatever you have promised your cold traffic, the belief they have is that they won't get it - they don't believe your promise.
Below is an example of a squeeze page I created that offers a free sales letter template to someone who wants to sell their products or services - no matter what niche.
It's a fill-in-the-blanks sales letter template specifically for website sales pages and it converts really well, so... in the spirit of practicing what I preach, feel free to grab your personal free copy of my sales letter template for your own library of marketing tools.
Simply fill in the blanks to match what you'll be offering, and upload it to your site's sales page if you're planning (or already do) to sell something after your free give away to sellers, buyers, or whatever additional line of business space you might be in.
It is.
In fact, here's an example of just one home we're working for August 2015. It's a beautiful luxury home out of Parker, CO for $1,249,000.
This home was placed under contract from a student of mine named Dan Bitz who lives in Wisconsin. He's never personally met the home owner, nor has he actually seen the home, yet, the home owner has given us the legal right (the Option rights) to sell to our "end" tenant-buyers for a fee of $10,000.
I realize that sounds impossible, but we've been doing this successfully since 2009.
Here are the details of the home:
Single Family House for $7,000/mo 5 Beds, 6 Baths
$500 per month Buyer Credits!
$1,249,000 Option Sale Price
Option Deposit: $37,500 (applies towards price)
No Credit Checks!
1 Year Lease or TBD
Sq Footage: 5793 sq ft.
Built In: 2007With acres of open space on three sides, this Tuscan-style all-suite home sits on nearly 2 acres of its own in a private cul-du-sac. Explore the wooded meadows right outside, listen to the flowing water feature, and enjoy the mountain views from an extremely comfortable custom home.
Features include:
Alder trim & cabinetry, stainless appliances, hand-rubbed oiled bronze hardware/fixtures, slab granite, radiant heated tile floor in Master Suite & private balcony. Trex decking, fire-pit, water feature, kids play area, 6 fireplaces, multi-level trellis-covered patio. Finished basement has poker/exercise area, wet bar/kitchenette & theater room with retractable screen, full bath and private guest room plus ample storage space.
Great northern rocky & front range views. Indoor/outdoor fireplace; enjoy from inside or the deck. Oversize Study/Library, with his/hers built-in desks & fireplace. Over-sized garage with epoxy floor. Control 4 home control system (heat, lighting & security) with remote access via internet.
What I love about the home:
Beautiful, amazing CUSTOM in Prestigious Spirit Ridge sub division Tuscan-style all-suite home on 1.8 acres/private cul-du-sac. Priced under purchase price. Alder trim & cabinetry, stainless appliances, hand-rubbed oiled bronze hardware/fixtures, slab granite, radiant heated tile floor in Master Suite & private balcony.
Trex decking, fire-pit, water feature, kids play area, 6 fireplaces, multi-level trellis-covered patio. Finished basement has poker/exercise area, wet bar/kitchenette & theatre room with retractable screen, full bath and private guest room plus ample storage space. Great northern rocky & front range views. Indoor/outdoor fireplace; enjoy from inside or the deck. Oversize Study/Library, with his/hers built-in desks & fireplace.
Over-sized garage with epoxy floor. Control 4 home control system (heat, lighting & security) with remote access via internet. Great Price in a desired subdivision. This area has only a few homes currently for sale and is selling out it's final custom lots - SR was a parade of homes designer showcase in 1999. These lots have acreage and views with beautiful custom homes.
This home is priced near original sale price for quick sale and is fully custom on the end of a cul de sac. It is tenant occupied but has an agreement to vacate with 30 day notice. Please allow 24 hour showing notice.
Don't wait on this one - this area is going quickly - home to Bronco and Avalanche players
Unfortunately, great sites like Craigslist, where you can find tons of tenant-buyers to help, have been given a bad name by the few Internet scammers from within the U.S., and from the outside of the U.S.
The following is a quick and short, 6-step checklist that you can share with your tenant-buyers, so they can buy safely and wisely, while avoiding these Internet losers.
Of course, I'll assume that the obvious has already been considered here and that you'll have told your buyers they need to go and actually inspect the property with their own eyes and with the eyes of a a qualified inspector.
You'd think that's an obvious one, but since 2009, I've had would-be tenant-buyers call me and tell me they were about ready to plop down a deposit on another home without seeing it first, because it was such a "great deal."
After all, according to the online pictures, the home was in perfect condition and it was a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 2-story home with a pool and 2 car garage that was going for 1/2 of what it was worth in rent, and all they had to do was send in a security deposit to the home owner, and we would later mail them the keys.
Run.
That should be a dead give away, but... not for everyone.
So here are few more things they should watch out for too:
1. Ensure the owner of the home is current on their mortgage before you buy.
2. Get "Bank Authorization" from the owner allowing you to ensure that each of your payments actually go towards the mortgage payments each month.
3. Get everything in writing. All conversations and verbal agreements need to be written down.
4. Once you've bought, take your signed contracts to the county recorder's office and record what you've signed. This places what is called a "Cloud in the Title" declaring to the world that you, and only you, can both lease and buy the home you've bought, "Rent-to-Own."
5. Request that your Option fee and Option assignment fee be transferable, meaning, that you, at a later date, can assign your Option rights to some one else to get your Option down payment back.
6. Seek competent legal advice from a real estate attorney.
If the company you buy from won't allow these things...run.
If you have questions on this topic, or other areas to watch out for that I've missed, feel free to comment below.
Thanks,
Russ
It covers:
- How to sell, "Rent-to-Own" and get your full asking price
- How to sell, "Rent-to-Own" without paying commissions or fees
- How to sell, "Rent-to-Own" in as little as 7-14 days
- How to sell, "Rent-to-Own" and have the tenant-buyer responsible for the first $5,000 in repairs
- How to sell, "Rent-to-Own" and sell the home, "As Is" and so much more!
Enjoy!
Russ
P.s. This is a brand new post to this blog, so please feel free to post your comments below.
Make the same ad and/ or ad title, and Craiglist will flag/ delete your ad, or do what is commonly called, "Ghosting," where Craigslist will tell you that your ad is live within your account, but don't be fooled - it's not.
Craigslist does not want you to spam their site by placing the same ads over and over.
The best practices are to not place the same ads with the same titles, which abides by Craigslist's rules, while simultaneously helping you to attract a variety of audiences, instead of just one market segment.
As you'll see, it won't take very long to start getting seller or buyer leads once you discipline yourself to
start posting consistently.
You'll be surprised at how good you become at creating compelling ad copy that gets clicked, that gets you calls, and that gets you more clients/ customers/ sales.
Watch the video above to learn more, and then put this lesson into action and watch it work for you.
Have fun,
Russell
Author
My name is
Russell de la Peña and my wife Diana and I live in beautiful Southern CA. We own several offline and online companies and love to help others succeed in doing the same.
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