Talk about inspiring! check this guy out!
Hi all,
I don't know about lease options, it's not my thing. What I do is "Subject To". However, I was on a success stories site and was inspired by this article, I'd like to share it for those who feel like giving up or don't see a way to make it...bear with me, it's rather long...but I guarantee that you won't be disappointed!
This Stuff Works if You Want it to Work
by Minh Pham (Phamtastic)
It's time I told my story....
To all those that helped me get started back a couple of months ago when I was a Newbie: Thank you, thank you, thank you. You know who you are...gals and dudes that were real cool with their time and experience to help me with some questions I had to get me started.
Thanksgiving 2001... received my Fast Cash program from Ron LeGrand, I subscribed to Nightingale Conant and LeGrand got ahold of their mailing list so I sent in for a free tape, and the rest is history.
Got interested in real estate investing.
Took December to really see if this business is for me...post questions, read books, talked to experts...found a way to win.
Christmas...big time present for myself...I DECIDED to go forward with this business and DO SOMETHING!
New Year's Day...start of something grand in my life with the launch of my real estate investing business. Ordered marketing materials: bandit signs, cards, flyers.
Continued to learn this business every night. I made a promise to study the boards and read and understand this business at least 1 to 2 hours each evening. I learned from people and I gave whatever I knew, mostly encouragement to Newbies. You cannot keep getting good stuff/advice without trying to help someone else, so I posted a response to a question when I had a question I wanted to post.
I looked at this business and realized that Lease Options fit my style. So I went forward with only focusing on Lease Options. I figured there was no need to know about everything in Real Estate...just Lease Options. I wanted to cover every angle I could about lease options, because it was the way to go for me. No money down needed, no credit, no risks (almost), fairly easy to do, no fix up needed, and I would deal only with pretty houses.
So I got ahold of almost all the courses on Lease Options. You name it, I probably have it. Learning and driving and listening to audios of Lease Options in my car, posting and learning, over and over again, brainwashing myself to build my knowledge base.
BINGO!!!! Won the lottery!!!! When you keep at something you really want, the universe answers your requests.
I figured the fastest way to be an expert an anything is to know what the experts know, beyond the audio programs and books. I looked for a mentor to guide me through this initial learning curve. I found an experienced lease option investor in Florida who was willing to help out this young ambitious investor. He said, "All I need from you is effort." And that was a no-brainer. We were Rockin’ and Rollin’.
We had an arrangement of a 50/50 split. Fantastic decision. I make money, he makes money. No risk to him besides his time and no risk to me because I did not fork out $3,000 to $5,000 for a mentor. He would guide me on my first 1-2 deals, and we covered every angle of Lease Options. There would be days sometimes when I spent 1-2 hours at a time asking questions and getting coaching. (I am forever grateful for his time, patience, expertise, and help.)
We work on the leads coming in from the marketing.
NOTHING HAPPENED for a month!!! I placed 150 bandit signs, and all I get are weak leads and investors calling me, a total of about 7 calls. Just a little worry since most gurus say that bandit signs are VERY effective for them. They all tell me to be patient and "you only need one to make all worthwhile." I hold my breath and take their advice and press on.
So I get proactive, and I call ads in newspapers. Nothing there either! Good practice though. If you want to learn this business, cold call, it is good practice. I do not cold call now, but I needed to in the beginning so I could practice my lingo with prospects, sellers, and tenant/buyers.
Flyers. I tried passing them out. Seems like a dumb thing to do because it was wasting my time. I tried looking around for High School kids to do it for me. No luck, so I paused that campaign for the time being.
I also went to Real Estate Investor meetings. Good networking opportunities to share and meet fellow investors. Some possible alliances that could help my business and good relationships forming for me at those meetings.
I give a cool message when I go. In the Baltimore meeting there are about 200 investors and attendees. I stand up and say (I’m Asian), "I did not come here to make an announcement about Real Estate but did anyone order the Shrimp Fried Rice, the Hunan Lo-mein, how about the General Tao’s Chicken????"
I usually get a good laugh and then I fish for leads by announcing a fee of $500 for referrals from Bird Dogs for FSBO's, tired landlords, pre-foreclosures, expired listings, and houses with no equity. It never fails. I usually get about 4-5 bird dogs calling me after a meeting, not to mention a person or two wanting to learn about Lease Options. Good lead generator.
After much effort and hustle, a motivated seller finally called me from my bandit sign. A wholesale deal. I put a Pure Option Agreement on it and fished for investors by placing an ad in the Sunday Post. "$35K Instant Equity, Rehab Special, phone number.” And the phone rings off the hook!!!! It’s a madhouse and my REI machine is working!!!! Almost too good to be true. Those experts were right. Man, flood gates opened!!!
I also called Internet FSBO ads back in January and after about a week and a half, surprise, surprise, surprise. A prospect was buying a new house and was open to a Lease Option, so she called me back and wanted to move forward with the Lease Option program I offered to her.
Funny thing, nothing happens, and then it all starts to roll for me. I SIGN TWO DEALS ON THE SAME DAY, Martin Luther King’s birthday (February 18), and I get two contracts signed!!! I’m in business. A wholesale flip contract with the seller and the Lease Option with the other seller. Total money out of my pocket is $5.00 for the wholesale contract and $5.00 for the Lease Option contract (to make it binding). Two houses!!! YEEEE-HAWWWW!!!!!!
I collect a cashier’s check on March 7th for the wholesale deal to an end investor for $5K. YEEEE-HAWWWW!!!!!! again
I collect a cashier’s check for $6K on March 21st, right before my flight to the CRE Online Convention in Atlanta. YEEEE-HAWWWW!!!!!!
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM. I’ve been busy since.
The coolest thing is that I am still learning, but I feel with those two deals under my belt, I am very confident of my system and process. I came back from the Atlanta convention with about five colleagues that want to team up with me to do a couple of deals together.
I have a deal in the works that will net me $20-30K due at the end of this month of May from an investor friend that went to Atlanta. So for those of you that did not go, you missed out on some good learning and some great opportunities.
A couple of months ago, I was hustling around getting answers to my questions. Now I have bird doggers and mentees (if you want to even call them that) calling me asking for advice.
It’s almost too funny, but I tell people who are interested in this business that they can do what I do. Some believe me and others don't, but I’m not here to convince anyone. It works for me and that’s all I needed to know.
Most people never get started because they are stalled at the starting gate. (Fear.) If this is you, get over it and do something, and the fear will disappear. ACTION IS A FEAR KILLER!!!!
I did not start this business with a boat load of money or knowledge, nor did I know a single person in Real Estate, but with time all things are possible.
Go ahead, ask me how good life is. The money I made so far sets me straight, covering my expenses and marketing costs for a couple months, and I already have lots of other deals in the pipeline that will manifest in the upcoming weeks. Especially that sweet deal that will net me all that green. So the good news is it only gets easier.
I’m flyin’ baby!!! Life is absolutely beautiful!!!
My advice: Have faith in yourself, work with a mentor, always continue to learn, help others if you can, and just chill baby ’cause this stuff works if you want it to!
Much wealth and success to you my friend!
Even though this is not my forte', I found it extrremely inspiring and hope you did as well.
Clif 
[ Edited by pbodys on Date 05/16/2003 ]
Thanks... very informative and inspiring!
great thanks!
Thanks for that. I am in the middle of structuring my first L/O and am scared to death I will get stuck with it. There is $20K in the deal backend at least.
Who could you suggest to be a mentor?
Duncan
Excellent article! "Never give up" should be the REI motto.
Thanks for that. I am in the middle of structuring my first L/O and am scared to death I will get stuck with it. There is $20K in the deal backend at least.
Who could you suggest to be a mentor?
Duncan
Thanks all,
Glad you enjoyed the article.
Thought it could help those that feel that can't go on or feel like giving up...
You're right, you should NEVER GIVE UP!
For dwierman, sorry I can't give advice on a mentor, the best bet is to place an ad seeking investors or attend your local REI group hob-nob...your mentor may find you.
Thanks again, Clif
Hi Dwierman,
Bird-dogging is one of the best ways to find a mentor. It’s a great way to learn the ropes, especially if you plan to become an Investor. You find motivated seller leads for pro Investors, and they will pay you a referral fee if they are able to close. More importantly you can learn a great deal from the real life transactions you will be exposed to. When you provide good usable information that saves Investors time and money, then they won't mind taking time to help you learn the business. The key is providing useful, qualified leads for an Investor that you are compatible with. It's win-win. Good luck.
[addsig]
I can corroborate this story.
I am in the same market as Minh Pham and I was looking at one of his properties in the early days. The property was an ok deal but I remember following it for a while and the deal fizzled and he made no money on it. Then about 6-8 months later his name came up again in relation to another property and someone I knew said that they had heard of him but never bought anything, his prices were too high for wholsale investors. The types of deals were always the same and now I know why - he was focused on making L/O deals. I have heard through the grapevine about his successes and it is heartening. He was all over the place; the bandit ads, the newspaper ads, bulletin board posts, at the networking meetings,... always working. He probably doesn't remember talking to me but he is easy to follow with that distinctive name. I can say from second hand experience that he certainly deserves all the success coming his way.
[addsig]
yeah, matter of fact that mentor he had has his own lease purchase web site and forum...and continues to help others just like this forum
[addsig]
Wow ! That was a great post You are so encouraging. And you are absolutely right when you said being stuck meaning fear. Fear is something that alot of us battle. My landlord recently sold the house we were renting from him for 4 years. My husband and I were in the process of fixing our credit so we could buy a home. Now were are forced to move. This happened in less than a month. Although we have credit issues we have excellent rental history. So we will be buying our first home either through a sub2 or lease option. Either way you don't have to deal with credit am I right? I'll be ordering either the lease option course or Ca$h's sub2 course in June. Now I'm torn between the 2. I have a question for you. you said you didn't put anything down on the lease option deal. How is that? I checked out one site and they said you must have atleast 2grand or 3x's fair market rent. Shed some light on this for us
Your an inspiration
Hey hunt8818,
As I stated earlier, my focus is not L/O investing, however any deal you do is strictly proprietary to the circumstances. There is NO "must do/must have" when doing a deal (except getting paid and making sure everyone wins!)
My focus is "Sub-To's" and ONLY as a secondary option would I propose a L/O...as for the dwn. pymt., if the seller wants $ down and you don't have it but they REALLY need to get out, then how about offering them the down through monthly pymts. over ....say...6 months or more, depending on the amount.
Whether it's a Sub-To or L/O, (You'll be getting this money from your NEW buyers through the increased mortgage pymts.), which means NO OUT OF POCKET EXPENSE and YOU STILL GET THE DEED. (unless it's you that's living there, either way, it's still an option)
That's just one way of making the dwn. pymt. no matter how large...your job is to find out what motivates the seller!, then go from there.
You have to think creatively and always be in control of the deal... Remember, there are only rules on the highways and byways, you need to think like a navigator sailing the high seas...adjust for the conditions.
Hope this helps,
Clif
P.S. Many investors will want to see a credit report but not necessarily to see how you've been paying but more so to see if you can pay now!...hence the phrase "bad credit OK". [ Edited by pbodys on Date 05/26/2003 ]