Offline Marketing: Mexicans!

hey so i live in a suburb in california. basically homes are foreclosing left and right so people are moving to and from houses/rentals and they cant afford their painters, landscapers, lawn care, nannies, etc.

i drove by the home depot today and there are literally 50+ mexican immigrants waiting outside to get some work. i see them there every day. at least 25+ everyday too.

i was thinking of starting a rental cleaning service or a moving service. just buy a big truck for a few hundred and load it up with a couple of mexican dudes and clear out a few houses.

do any of you guys have experience hiring illegals? could i just have it be "contractual" work and claim that i dont know their legal working status?

I don't know about the whole "Mexican" angle but I recently watched a piece on one of the news shows about people starting up this type of biz...and they are banking. They simply go into foreclosed homes and empty them out (usually people leave a ton of shit behind and a lot of them destroy the place out of anger). They clear them, clean up and then secure the place. The guys doing this claimed to have more work then they could handle. Combine it with a little IM to get some business.

gun-shy

gun-shy315 said:

I don't know about the whole "Mexican" angle but I recently watched a piece on one of the news shows about people starting up this type of biz...and they are banking. They simply go into foreclosed homes and empty them out (usually people leave a ton of shit behind and a lot of them destroy the place out of anger). They clear them, clean up and then secure the place. The guys doing this claimed to have more work then they could handle. Combine it with a little IM to get some business.

gun-shy

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ya my next door neighbor is a 20 something year old who bought an suv and he goes around cleaning out houses for banks. the kid makes quite a bit of money. he lives in a house that was 1 mil back in the day and he has his suv, an imported original mini cooper from england, and a motorcycle. i honestly wonder what experience you need with this though

how would you find out where foreclosed houses where? go to a bank?

how could you get other leads? thanks.

looking said:

how would you find out where foreclosed houses where? go to a bank?

how could you get other leads? thanks.

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well it depends on where you live. if you live in california, there are some suburbs that are doing terrible. you will see them with the signs up and everything from the banks.

i'm still not quite sure but i think you have to go to the banks and see if they can hire you to clear out foreclosed homes. my family just bought a foreclosed home and there were dents and holes everywhere. all the appliances, door handles, faucets, light fixtures, smoke alarms, etc were missing and the place was dirty and there was gross stuff like a turd in the toilet.

its hard work but it is a worthwhile investment. if you can handle clearing out homes then it seems like a good idea

Would you need to be qualified for the bank to consider hiring you for this?

mrwho said:

Would you need to be qualified for the bank to consider hiring you for this?

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this is what i'm trying to figure out right now.

heres a guide i found online:


i have been seeing some figures of $1.25-1.75 per square foot but i dont know how accurate that is. i say just look at what your competitors are charging and simple charge slightly less because you have no credibility.

you will need a business license and liability insurance but after that, just buy or rent a truck (and labor if you need it) and you are good to go. there are several 3,500-5,500 square foot homes being foreclosed around my area so thats a good $5,000 or so. Then you get someone to mow the lawn once a week and get $50 from that.

so rough guess in my area...

+ $3,500 from bank + $50 a week for lawn mowed
- $300 for rental truck + gas
- $1000 for labor + supplies
+ 50-300 for selling crap left inside the persons home (like tv's and stuff)

so it is definitely over a $1-2k for like 48 hours worth of work. you can even make more if you get some dudes from out front of home depot (though i dont know what illegal immigration laws are. maybe you could hire college kids or something).

to get clients, just cold call banks and real estate agents.

anyone in the sf bay area, CA want to JV with me, pm me. i've got some good ideas

if you don't like the idea of getting a Business license and Liability insurance another way you could make money from this would be to outsource all the work to a team of general laborers or sale the leads to a local cleanup company.

Probably still need a business license to outsource the work and for the banks to consider you though.

mrwho said:

if you don't like the idea of getting a Business license and Liability insurance another way you could make money from this would be to outsource all the work to a team of general laborers or sale the leads to a local cleanup company.

Probably still need a business license to outsource the work and for the banks to consider you though.

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ya i thought about this but i think the real money comes in cleaning out houses. i dont mind cleaning houses or hiring people to do it for me if it will make me a few hundred more dollars.

does anyone know how much a business license and liability insurance for this type of thing would run me? nothing too specific just a general estimate

Go to the secretary of state's website. Shouldn't be more than $20. Then you will need a Tax ID. Then go to the bank and set up a business checking account and your should be set. As for insurance, I have no clue but it cant be much.

If it was me, I would set up a quick site for credibility, I would even look into a mail box with address close to the banks. Then I would start calling the banks. My understanding from watching the news is that the stimulus package is paying for a lot of this work so you should be able to find jobs quickly.

The biggest point I want to make, is that price is not the reason someone will work with you. In fact being more expensive but providing more services to meet the needs of your customer is what you should focus on. Especially if the work is government funded.

I found a 200 page e-book for about $50 and it's WAY worth it. It's written by a good sized foreclosure cleanup biz in atlanta. The book so far has been way helpful to me. I"m still in the development stages in getting going, but i'm leaning towards it. I would reccomend anybody considering getting into this bizness to spend the $50 and check this book out. It even comes with names addresses and phone numbers to get leads, pricing guidelines, sample forms, etc. The address for the company that sells the book in www*foreclosurecleanup*biz. Check it out. You'll be glad you did.
p.s. this thread gave me the idea to get into the biz. I'm in cpa and epn currently and looking for an offline biz to bring in some cash. Thanks to all who contributed to this thread mattjay

i think you need to have a contractor liscence to do this type of work.

Stumbled on this thread and got the mind working. Here's some ideas and experiences I've had that might help some of you.

Banks and lenders also need crews to SECURE homes, locks, doors, fix broken windows..mostly board up windows and doors so the houses stay in decent shape.

You can make a buck or two just for taking pictures, more for doing interviews with residents..they often need and want to know if anyone is currently living in the home.

Besides loosing money on properties damaged by vandals or kids on crack they are often more motivated by the liability factor. YES, all these banks now have in their possession more properties and beside the cash they have a safety liability.

House unsecured...kids go in have a party...get injured or even break in an get injured...guess what...liability if not properly secure.

Look for info on "Field Service Inspections" or "Field Service Inspection companies" if you want work. You'll need a van or truck and a few tools. These companies already exist to get the jobs from the big banks and lenders BUT you might get work with the FSI companies.

My diverse background provided some opportunities to work with one of the top and best foreclosure guru companies in California about 11 years ago. I had the fortune of getting free access to many bootcamps they charged upwards of 5,000 and 10,000 from attendees to do foreclosure buying and flipping. You know what I"m talking about..anyway...I learned a great deal but never did anything with it.

One of the things they suggested to use as leverage with banks for them to accept a low offer on an REO was the safety issue. They even told a story of a guy who actually broke into an abandoned home to steal appliances and he broke his leg going through or out of the window. Either way..they guy actually brought a lawsuit against the bank who owned the property after the foreclosure proceedings. Can't remember if they settled outta court but he did get an award so the story went.

Either way..they don't need the hassles.

Here's another idea if you or someone you know is very daring. Likely you've heard of this on the news but it happens more than you can imagine.

Find a decent vacant property or maybe the house you cant' afford. Maybe it has a pool.

Move into the property and draft up a bogus lease from some fake person using a fake address or whatever.

to cover tracks even more...use an untracable prepaid credit card and consider posting the house, AFTER YOU IN IT, for rent. This makes it look more legit.

Now you're moved in paying no rent and who knows how long it will take for the bank to secure or even get to it. Someone I know's been in a foreclosed condo for like 6-7 months not paying rent. They have electricity on and what not and they did not do it because of this but they're on hard times waiting for the boot someday but they're still in the place.

Ok..eventually maybe, one of the field inspectors will come to the home..try to interview you but what if you're never there or dont answer the door? They can't interview you BUT eventually the bank will want something done..here's the best part.

What I've been told for those who've been in the real estate biz is that again..due to liability often the bank or lender or whoever owns the home wants it secured and anyone living there out because of the liability.

Most of the time the banks will buy you out or pay you to move all expenses and what not just to get you out!

Remember...you've got a lease from some dirtbag who is doing what is referred to as equity scamming. Some ruthless peeps actually do just this..they actually rent out homes that are not theirs..to unsuspecting renters who are looking for a good deal. They take the rent money deposits and what not...bail...and never care if they get another payment it's free money.

In my original scenario YOU're the victim of such a bad guy who rented to you under false pretense. This is believable because it's happening all over right now.

You're hoping they buy you out and you've been living rent free in a cool home hopefully.

This post was made for pure entertainment and educational purposes. I do not endorse this behavior nor do I give or am I licensed to provide any legal advise.

Here's sample resumes for field inspection services should that interest you.

just do all the shit under the table and don't get caught