Lets Hear How You People Got Started In Bird Doging
I want to hear how you people got started in bird doging
i know it would help me and alot of other people here too.
thanks
I want to hear how you people got started in bird doging
i know it would help me and alot of other people here too.
thanks
I would like to second this motion for information. Please let us know....
Better yet, how do you find the customers for the deals you find? I certainly can find the great deals, but finding the person who wants it (and can afford it!) is another matter.....
I'm curious about how to start also. I'm just starting this adventure.
This is what I'm doing:
I'm going to call the people who had ads in the paper saying something like "We Buy Houses" and ask if they want some help finding properties.
I'm also going to the real estate club monthly meeting next week to see whats going on there.
I'm a little nervous about finding the right person to work with since I'm new and not sure about the whole process. I want to learn so I guess I'm going to read as much as I can and rely on gut feelings when finding some one to work with. Any advice on finding some one to work with would be appreciated.
IN the process of becoming aquinted with this site and reading, reading, reading I can see that there are people who are willing to teach! I am definetely willing to learn.
So "when the student is ready the teacher will appear"
Have fun!
i started birddogging and have been doing it for quite some time now...I started by calling up the "we buy houses" type ads and asked them what kind of properties they are looking for, i didn't ask if they could use help finding deals i just asked them what they look for. i also went to local REI meetings and met up with some players that way. Once i had a list of buyers i hit the streets hard, i mailed postcards, put up bandit signs, handed otu flyers etc.... and when i would get a deal i would go out and meet with them and determine their motivation. If it was something i could work with, i immediately start calling around to see who can move the fastest and close the quickest....
This is golden!! Great strategy for us folks looking to get into birddogging!!
wAY_MOTIVATED, So let us know how it has gone, you said you've been doing this for some time now, how long can we ask? How much money have you made doing this? Run into any sticky situations that we should avoid/look out for? Something to learn from? Thanks!
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On 2004-03-24 08:24, way_motivated wrote:
i started birddogging and have been doing it for quite some time now...I started by calling up the "we buy houses" type ads and asked them what kind of properties they are looking for, i didn't ask if they could use help finding deals i just asked them what they look for. i also went to local REI meetings and met up with some players that way. Once i had a list of buyers i hit the streets hard, i mailed postcards, put up bandit signs, handed otu flyers etc.... and when i would get a deal i would go out and meet with them and determine their motivation. If it was something i could work with, i immediately start calling around to see who can move the fastest and close the quickest....
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way_motivated sounds like a wholesale person to me. I understand a BD only provides leads for a nominal few crumps ranging from $500 to $1,000.
Have been following this BD forum for some time yet and have yet read about anybody making any $$ just as BD or, have I missed something here??
Have given thought to BD'ing. The question comes up; how can you be assured that you are paid if the investor does do a deal??
How many of you have actually opened the mail to see a check for $500 to $1,000??
I've never recived a check in the mail. i always get it in person. as far as asking how it has gone, i take on all questions
It's been great, I probably havn't been as steady as i should have since i've had to do a lot of strategy shifting. i started out aiming towards pre-foreclosures, got hooked up with a mentor who had me running in circles, then i got involved with $cash$ (mr locke) and did the subto thing for a while...now i'm back to preforeclosures (nothing against $cash$ or sub-tos i found his methods actaully do work, like clockwork)..i started at the absolute bottom, i started with an ad in the local thrifty nickel for around 30-40 bucks, i got some calls and was able to turn it into $500 and go from there. Since then i've bought bandit signs, placed more newspaper ads, mailed postcards, and done up flyers. Total i've probably spent would be $200-500 in the 10-12 months i've been doing this. i've made about $3600 or so. not big bucks but things are starting to "pop" for me (2 deals in the works with more leads coming down the pipe). i've done a lot of wheel spinning, going in all directions at once. i started focusing my energies when i met with cash but with all the deals i was getting i didn't have the cash reserves to safely (in my opinion) do this deals effectively. The subto investors i passed my deals on to aren't great either. I bd'd one subto deal to one investor last November and he still hasn't sold it while realtors have sold properties in that neighborhod within 2-4 months. the deal isn't the best but he wanted to close it and was confident about selling it. i've never made any money with him and he still has one of my courses...ugh...
any more questions? i'll do my best, i'm getting quite busy :-D
thanks to everyone who replied
way_motivated what does your ad say in the classifieds and how do you go about pricing your service? do you have a set amount or do you do a percent. do get it up front or after the close?
thanks
It's not running anymore but it was just a typical "we buy houses" ad. I think it wetn somethin like "WE BUY HOUSES any price, any condition, quick closing call way_motivated, 111-2234"
Thank you way motivated for taking so much time and answering so specifically the questions about bird dogging. As I have an investor in town today and have to give him some deals I don't have time to do the same.
My suggestion would be to get John Locke's book REI Birddogging available from this site, get on the birddogging forum and go through the archives to get this general info. Most of your questions can be answered there, then do the work.
Lorraine
the most important part is the work, actually try and focus and foolow through for more than a couple of days....
I got started by finding a cheap E-book on bird doging while I was at ****Must Reach Freshman Investor status before posting URL's***. I had never heard of it before. I actually found the E-book at ****Must Reach Freshman Investor status before posting URL's*** I just read it a couple of days ago and Im excited to get started. How much have you guys made doing this ?
Hi I just wanted to add my experience in birddogging. Just like way_motivated, I started calling wanted to buy ads, and going to RE clubs.
I found an investors who agreed to work with me when I told them I would bird dog for him. I asks questions what the investor wants in buying a property and what his criteria is. (As a matter of fact I found 5 investor in RE clubs and 1 other investor by calling wanted to buy ads, but somehow I decided I just want to work with this guy).
And then I look for properties doing drive bys and I research the owner's name and address. Also I find out how much liens the property is in, and how much was the price on the last sale and do a preliminary interview on the seller to find out how motivated they are.(I call the seller only if I found their phone number on the phone book or through operator).
As far as fee goes, we just make a verbal agreement that I agree to be compensated for my work after he found a property to flip or even if he only wants to keep it. Of course if he wants to flip it my compensation will be more than if he wants to keep it as a rental. You have to decide on your own discretion who you're working with so there will be no any negative feeling whether you will be compensated or not. But in the end if you dont get paid for your service, the investor would be the one who suffer the loss because he will not get more valuable leads from you.
I hope this will help.
[ Edited by greenwich on Date 04/02/2004 ][ Edited by greenwich on Date 04/02/2004 ]
I am not sure if I started out in the true sense of the word as a “Bird Dog” . My background is Finance, therefore I am very good with numbers. My parents were into Real Estate, and all I remember regarding investing was put your money into Real Estate. My knowledge is re-enforced with a lot of reading, networking and game playing (what if?).
I started to analysis Real Estate investing.
What were the investors wanting out of their investments? Cash flow meant rentals. Quick profits meant buying and selling. I did not know what flipping was at that time.
How could I provide an investment to them that would make them money? Cash flow was easy, excess cash over expenses. Buying and selling was harder. How could they buy and sell for a profit? The investment had to be purchased at a discount.
With this in mind I started to act/talk/dress like an investor. I talked to primarily Brokers and Agents. Bring me a deal. When I found one (my first two fell into my lap, I did not know they were good investments) I tied up the investment with an Assignment Clause and contingencies (to get out of the deal).
Then I would call the Brokers and Agents, I had talked to with, and say “I have this great deal to sell”.
That is how I got started. Today, I am probably a truer Bird Dog. Because of my network, I will pass over an investment deal (it doesn’t fit me) give it to another investor first, then to Brokers and Agents. Potentially, investment deals will be passed on to me (they have).
just somthing from the investor side
i have a deal in the works right now, i will be paying a birddog $3,500.00. to be paid 3 days after close of deal. We have a signed agreement.
it will be for a property 125,000.00 under fair market value, and selling price is at $800,000 .00
He provided me with the supposed fmv, (which was incorrect), but not far off. the income on property, the expences on property, pictures, he thought the owner owned it outright ( was mistaken but he tried). then provived me with the contact person to deal with. i went and looked at the property ( im' in california, this one is in north carolina), then i made my deal on the property.
i'm was very happy to have found the lead, and just as happy to pay for it.
John