I figured this was the best place to post this (mods sorry and please move if it is not). I have tossed this idea around for over a year now, and have brought it up with a few friends/partners from this very site a few times and the interest seems to be pretty high from them.

As a few people here know I love real estate. I am not an agent/broker, and I have NEVER closed on a house that I have made an offer on. What I do (and what I love) is flipping the contract. Finding ugly beat up houses, making lowball offers, and once accepted flipping my interest in the contract over to someone who wants to actually close on the house and flip it to a retail buyer. This is also referred to as Wholesaling/Assigning in the REI world. Steve Wynn (think Golden Nugget casino in Vegas) supposedly got his start by flipping the contract on a parcel in Vegas for a cool million in profit.

What makes this Blackhat? Flipping a contract is NOT Blackhat. It's perfectly legal, and is only a creative way to make money from literally nothing. Most investors however fail to take advantage of loopholes and weasel clauses to bring there exposure on a deal/offer to ZERO. Most investors have no idea how to flip the contract on a foreclosure/bank owned property. They require you use their contract typically, which has a clause preventing you from using the traditional and/or assigns method. Most investors have no idea how to use "weasel clauses" to prevent them from having to close on a house in the event they cannot find an Investor/Buyer.

Today I had an offer accepted on a house for $79.5k. I made the offer without ever looking at the property (I know the area very well), and I already have an investor willing to pay $83k cash. By locking up the property up with a contract I force the buyer to go through me, and I get to keep what's in the middle as my assignment fee. It may not be much, but I have maybe 3 hours invested in the deal and NO MONEY OR EXPOSURE and I never left my home to work on the deal.

I am not a guru (most gurus have no idea what is going on in todays REI world anyway). This is just something I love doing and love talking about.


What I am looking for in this thread is a general interest check, suggestions on pricing and materials offered, etc. I will probably end up writing a guide either way, but it would be nice to know WHAT potential buyers would like included. I would likely want to pair it with coaching through the phone/IM so I would keep the availability small. Here is a small list of what I am sure I would want to include in the guide.

The Mechanics of Flipping a Contract (Everything from Offer to Closing explained)

How Much to Offer (formulas, strategy, etc.)
Where to Find Deals
Cover Your Ass (various weasel clauses and methods for limiting exposure)

How to Find Buyers (someone has to close on that contract)
Marketing (everything from direct mail to more balla on a budget type forms of getting sellers to call you)
How to Flip Bank Owned Foreclosures (how to beat "unflippable" contracts)
Negotiating (how to extract the most money from the buyer and the seller)

One thing you have to understand is virtually ANY contract can be flipped. This covers everything from beat up trailers to ginormous apartment complexes. Your job is to find a good deal, and wedge in enough room for you to make a modest profit while still keeping the price reasonable for the Investor/Buyer to profit.

I have read countless Real Estate books. I have bought books/courses specific to flipping contracts, and until I actually started doing my own research and gaining experience/mentors I was overwhelmed and confused. This book will be have no fluff, no up-selling, easy to understand and apply techniques. My goal is to have you comfortable enough by the end of the guide to go make an offer on at least one property that day(though one thing I can't sell you is balls, some people just CAN'T make a lowball offer, and some can make hundreds a day). EVERY guide/course I have ever bought/read really just left me with more questions (that oddly enough could be found in their next book lol).

I realize this is not SEO, or IM at all, but I have had plenty of balling blackhat guys ask me about this. It is never a bad idea to have an offline source of income (that you can do from home as well).

As I said nothing is set in stone (and I am pretty busy right now) but if there is enough interest I would really love to make a guide on this.

Advertise

I have an uncle who had me looking on rapidshare for some steve wynn and wholesaling, he even took a $3k investment class to learn all the stuff...

I'd be interested!...

'..I sold real estate in Marbella and the Canary Islands for almost twenty years and I am about to go back into marketing and selling luxury properties in Thailand. (High-end $1million + properties are selling well here)...so this could be of interest to me, however, the rules of the game will certainly be different in Europe and Asia to the U.S.

I am not sure you will find a big interest here, but who knows?

Real Estate is a niche many overlook and could be an especially good earner in the next few months if there is to be a property crash.

When selling my property in the Canary Islands before moving to Thailand I was incensed by the lethargy of the agents and so sold the property myself.

This gave me the idea to write an eBook on selling your own property but so far I have not had the time.

Let me know if you decide to go ahead with this'.

themagician

Sounds interesting. I've always been fascinated with the flipping method
but don't know enough, and don't know where to find the information.

I always thought you had to buy, fix and sell. I'd be interested.

Real Estate need a lot of investment of $$$$$.

There is a game called Cashflow, it's all about passive income. Maybe you can try it.

Go Cubs...

I mean, yes I would be highly interested in your guide.

Seriously

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As for me... I just want to be the
slowest, dumbest, poorest person in the room.

I really think you missed the point of the entire first post. You can do this with no cash, credit, etc. Glad to see at least a small interest. People who said they would be interested would you be more interested in just an ebook, or a product that paired an extensive guide with coaching and a forum or something.

And yes GO CUBSSS

That's why when you flip a contract you flip it somone who... wait for it... HAS A LOT OF INVESTMENT MONEY. [tadaaaaa!]

That's why they're called investors.

Cashflow is a fun game, but that's not really the point of this thread.

OP - No interest in the flipping thing for me, too many other projects on the plate, but I've made a few bucks in other times doing this. It can be very easy, it can also be a monumental waste of time when the economy gets very bad (as it is getting now) because investors have lots of people bird dogging for them.

If you can show people where to find desperate sellers and how to actually convince them to sign with you, and where to find investors to take the properties off your hands, then you might have a goldmine on your hands here.

If it's just "First you find a desperate buyer, then...." and contract information, you're going to have a lot of pissed off people on your hands.

The hard part isn't the contracts, it's the contacts.

Scuba you are spot on with your post. That is why I am interested in doing this project. Every course/book pretty much says that, and it really pissed me off. This would be more in depth (where to find sellers/deals, how to find buyers that close fast, etc). Methods and techniques I have picked up from veteran investors, and just over time. You wont find these methods in a book.

Also right now is a great time to get in on flipping bank owned property contracts. Not alot of people know how to, and banks are always eager to get that bad debt off their books. Im working on flipping this short sale right now that is actually a property in another state, that I have never seen (never even been to that state). I have an investor ready to buy out the contract for 10k, and I am just waiting on the loss mitigation guy from the bank to get the green light.

ohh memememememe! Interested in either ebook or the other more intensive one. I love real estate.

Biggest problem I would have is pricing it wired. Writing it, coaching and all that is easy. Some courses sell for 20k, some gurus offer private coaching for 50k, some books sell for 20 bucks. Since I plan to keep it small if I go the coaching route I don't want to sell myself short, but want to keep the pricing reasonable.

I'd be interested in this if you decide to go through with this....Always wanted to learn the real estate game

Count me in if you come up with a guide.

This is certainly an interesting field with lots of opportunity these days.

Thanks for the input so far guys - help on pricing would be greatly appreciated.

Couldn't you price an ebook at $97 that has everything including a "real life" example of what you do from start to finish. Tell it like "this is what i did" rather than "this is what you do". A proper walkthrough of one of your transactions.

Then have a membership club/forum $297 p/m that offers live support and help with live databases of potential sellers/buyers.

If you had this i'd be interested.

Everything you said is very possible, however there is no way I could provide you with leads for houses. A) They move fast, B) If I had leads in your area I would be flipping them myself to investors in your area.

i worked as a real estate broker for 2 years and also worked in government owned real estate companies.

i actually went on a 1 week course in Marbella on selling property in spain. (never worked there) i have some family around that area and my best friend have a bar in Fuengirola. So i go there from time to time.

it seems like we share alot of interest mr magic man, we should maybe change some idea's and thoughts

R!

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I'd love to read such a guide. In the long term, nothing beats property as they just aint making any more land folks!

I would be pretty interested, sounds good.

Me too!! Very interested!!!!!!!!!!!!!

whynot (user above) is spot-on.

It all depends on the material in the ebook of course (if that's the route you choose), but $97-$147 sounds about right. Maybe more if it's stellar. And of course charge more for membership/personal coaching.

Anyway, if you need help with any of it drop us a line.

Would a strategy like this work well in a cooling housing market? What sort of economic fluxes can this type of strategy withstand?

Shot in the dark here, but I am guessing $97-$147 is not what you want to hear given the enormous earning potential this has for the motivated student. Those real estate courses and seminars cost an arm and a leg, but what they do have going for them is testimonials from people other than the author, which you might not.

I would think that a tiered model that constantly up-sells would work the best, the serious will keep paying, the unmotivated or inept will drop out and not come screaming for a massive refund thereby putting you on the defensive - which seems to happen here on occasion.

I think you are opening yourself up for headache if you offer coaching to everyone right off the bat.

Side note. MSNBC or maybe Newsweek just ran a very interesting article on possibly the most disgusting practice I have seen yet, something about researching foreclosures and finding out who has equity and getting them to sign over thier property, taking out loans, then evicting them. Those people should be shot (some will be). The interesting part of the article, was that they said that those late night informericals on real estate systems for the most part were nothing more than teaching people how to commit felonies. I don't seem to see many of them anymore. Not implying you are doing that, but it definitely made me wary of real estate gurus..

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Got ADHD or Alternative Health traffic? Looking for a few early birds to sell a really cool new product to help kids with ADHD. I make nothing on this, just a cause I believe in. PM me.

For Real Estate .you just need money .right place to invest .

Good idea. Hostox. I am actually a real estate investor myself and done many wholesale deals. I have a few students that I teach, which mainly been on the marketing side. Def the way to go for investors looking to get in the game and people in the game to close that gap.

Ah the joy of selling property!
Having been in the industry for 6 years and still selling part-time here on the Spanish mainland I would urge a bit of caution with this, as the criteria here is the buyer, without the buyer/investor take on the contract you will 100% come a cropper and may get a bad name in your area low balling offers and then unable to follow through if your invester pulls back from you or low balls at the 11th hour.

In Spain a very simple and effective method similar to the outline of the post has been used for years.

Sell to English and buy from Spanish, you just sit in the middle with two contracts (for example 50,000 euros and 65,000 euros) your take is the difference!

You use the communication problem as your lever, seller cannot speak english, buyer cannot speak Spanish, and of course you speak both English and Spanish.

Jobs a good Un

I you want to know more iwould be more than happy giving something to the forum!

As you were!

I don't know if I'll have time to read an entire ebook... but I will def. catch the movie version. =)

Not really. I'd be interested in learning more.

Great Idea I would be interested!

I've had few ebooks written but not on real estate. The way I determine the demand is by selling a report for say $7 but with good information. If you get a lot of sales and testimonies you know you have a demand. You are also making money while doing your research. Now you can backend sell your actual ebook for $97 or whatever price you chose.
The ebook can then backend sell your coaching services or membership site if you chose to do so. This way you get to market and research but you still end up making money.

Ebooks you buy now days have alot of information but mostly useless. People are tired of buying the crap! If you write a ebook with straight no fluff info/step by step guide that works. You will have alot of happy customers. Now you become the expert and people will buy from you again. Especially if you update the book/guide!

You love what you do and that will portray itself in your ebook. When you write about what you love and do. Then it becomes priceless.

Just my 2 cents

Thanks for all the positive response, this may be available faster than I first though. The only thing I really need to decide on is pricing, I could probably do the guides for less and just keep the coaching/membership site as an option instead of making it all inclusive

I'd say about $100-150. Its too much to put people off buying it if they aren't serious, and it's not too much to put people off not buying it if they are serious.

Thay way you cut out alot of people who think its a cr*p book because they don't dare take any action.

More positive reviews = more sales. But then again, lower price = more sales.

Theres a trade off really.

I may be interested in your system.

Me and some of my associates will be buying up and flipping foreclosed properties.

After the 3rd quarter, you can get cheaper properties from banks because they want to liquidate them before the end of the 4th quarter.

If all goes well we should make a boatload. My friends last coaching student did 200k off the sale of one foreclosed home (sold in less than a day).

Foreclosures are definitely a great way to make money in todays market.

i would definitely be interested in a book like this

I am definitely in on this. I still have a hand in the mortgage industry in the 'real world'. Hell I could even give you some guidance on what would need to happen on the prequal end of things, although from your post, it sounds like you yourself don't even need to go that far.

I've actually heard about something similar to this. Definitely interested.

Id be interested in this as well. If you can keep the price reasonable, I would jump on this in a heartbeat. I'd like to see a forum with some coaching.

Even outside of this forum, I think this ebook could do VERY well. I'd be interesting, depending on a few factors.

I'd truly like to know more. I'm always on the lookup for opportunities to buy properties, rebuild them and flip them. I know some buyers, so this could be nice.

Let me know if you want a review eventually.

thatz funny you brought this up sox...isn't the method you are referring to similar to buying options on the property for Ten bucks to controll the property. If so so I am very interested in your guide as well since this is one of the things i have been trying to learn about for the last year! lol

I'm interested, I just want to know if it can be done in Canada because I am moving back soon from here in the states.

Hey Sox,

I flipped properties back in the 80's and made some ggood money selling the contracts.

I took a boot camp by a guy named Ray Como and learned some unique techniques that in some cases required the balls of an elephant. But if you could take the screaming, name calling and threats from the seller after you made the offer and realize that it's just a numbers game, you can make some chunks of cash and in true BH style, I only accepted cash for the deals. Screw the extortionists!

Anyway, I'd be interested in hearing more about your techniques and will flag this thread.

horseplayer

Well the only way I would write an ebook or guide is if it would be something I would buy myself without being left with only more questions like every guide/book/course I read as a newbie.

The interest shown so far has been very flattering, and I have even talked to a few seasoned contacts of mine to see if they would be interested in contributing to a membership site in their areas of expertise (marketing, contracts, other creative forms of investing, business/accounting, etc.)

From the feedback I have received on here and via PM here is the route I would like to take. Keep in mind these figures are not set in stone.

Basic guide priced at $150-200
Membership Site - price ???
Some things I would want to have on the membership site would be..,
Forum
Continued Education: Articles/guides regarding specific aspects of REI. Including marketing, finding & getting the contract on REO/ Bank owned properties, Accounting, and a shit load more.
I would also like to have a weekly conference call with an expert. For example I know a guy who just crushes REO's. Another investor contact of mine happens to be an account who is just amazing at finding deductions for other investors.

So if I were to do a membership site I would want to do it RIGHT. That may however force me to charge more. I would say at least $400 a month for a membership site. It would be well worth it, but I know a lot of newbies are ballas on a budget.

Can this be done in any country? I Would be surely interested in this?but i am from India. Let me know, Thanks

...With respect cnwelf, you're missing the point. This is real estate flipping.

We would hold a purchase contract on a property without paying a deposit and sell it to the buyer who would have to pay a minimum of 10% deposit. The deposit is always your commission, so it's high.

When the deal is completed the seller gets his money after the buyer pays but the real estate agent has never had to use his money.

It can be a nail-biting way to do business but you can make millions.

I'm sure in the U.S. this is unlawful but if you do it right, who is to know?

themagician

Magician you have a few things right, however this is VERY legal. All you are doing is tying the property up with a contract, and selling your interest in the contract for a fee. You are selling your interest in the contract - you are not buying or selling property so you do not need to be licensed at all.

One thing I would most certainly do if there were a membership site is have a couple attorneys who specialize in real estate do a conference call or Q and A in the forum.

I wont even pretend to know how to answer this. The mechanics of the deal should work anywhere, however legal terms in the contract might vary and that is what makes this work.

'...Stay close with me on this one and PM me if necessary as I'm all over the place, but if you get this going it could be interesting, especially as you seem to want to do it right'.

themagician