Zillow Buys Houses Now?! Here’s How We’re Buying Houses from Zillow…

Maybe you’ve heard of a little website called Zillow?

Yes, the real estate selling, buying and data giant that makes most Realtors kinda roll their eyes, most real estate investors pretty much overlook, and most appraisers cringe as homeowners increasingly insist on using their “Zestimate” value, no matter what their dang appraisal says!

Love ‘em or don’t, Zillow’s the 800… 8,000 pound real estate gorilla on the internet that just can’t be discounted anymore.

In their mission to swallow the whole real estate world, you may have also heard rumors that Zillow is now getting into the business of actually buying and selling houses. Well, it’s a fact, and it’ll be interesting to see how that goes.

Personally I’m not so sure how that could work out well, and apparently I’m not the only one who thinks so. But that’s a whole ‘nother conversation really.

Let’s talk about REI + Zillow

Keep reading, you’re doing awesome…

Announcing: “The Z-Code” by Joe McCall

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Introducing The Z-Code by Joe McCall, an awesome new system that walks real estate investors step-by-step through exactly how to earn income using Zillow, without owning any real estate.

April 2019 (eRelease) – AwesomeREI.com is thrilled to announce an incredible new real estate investing program: The Z-Code by Joe McCall. This highly effective training program teaches new and seasoned investors how to systematically harvest leads from Zillow.

In typical Joe McCall form, the entire training orbits around a comprehensive mind map with related documents and helpful checklists included. All 4 training modules are broken down into easy-to-follow videos demonstrating the entire process—from setting a solid foundation of important core values and principles, to the exact steps needed to target and find sellers, to gathering critical intel, using an Excel calculator for fast and easy ARV calculations, how to contact the sellers and how to keep track of all your work.

Keep reading, you’re doing awesome…

2 Simple Real Estate Contracts —Investor Friendly & Free :)

Need a motivated seller voicemail script?
Got something sweet for you today: 

If you’re looking for a simple real estate contract that’s (1) real estate investor friendly, (2) super simple, and (3) costs $0, then you’re in for a double dose of awesome.

That’s right—let’s ring the opening bell for another Awesome REI Swipe & Deploy!

Over the years we’ve enjoyed sharing assets from our own internal arsenal of contracts, checklists and marketing templates—things we’ve been using in our own real estate investing operations for years, which you can just swipe from us, and then deploy them in your own real estate game as you see fit.

We’ve handed you goodies like our simple option agreement, a proven letter of intent template, 47 MLS Keywords for REI, a motivated seller phone script & voicemail script, and even some marketing goodies like our favorite motivated seller postcard and even our burned house letter.

Today’s tasty treat?
Keep reading, you’re doing awesome…

The Bandit Sign Sneak Attack!

Hey, JP here and I want to share with you a simple ‘hack’ I discovered for bandit sign marketing you can use to boost the motivated seller leads flowing into your real estate investing business.

Seriously.

I call it my “Bandit Sign Sneak Attack” strategy. It’s an unorthodox approach to regular “bandit sign” marketing that really takes it to a different level.

In fact, with my little twist here, this may just turn out to be one of the better deal-getting tricks in your arsenal. Keep reading, you’re doing awesome…

Announcing: “The Lifestyle Investor” by Justin Wilmot

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Introducing an innovative real estate investor training program that reveals & details how to become a lifestyle investor…

…Earning a high income flipping properties anywhere in the world—from your cell phone, tablet or laptop, from wherever else you might happen to be.

December 2018 (eRelease) – AwesomeREI.com is very excited to announce the release of an innovative, new real estate investor training program called The Lifestyle Investor.

This leading-edge training was developed in partnership with 10-year Florida real estate investor Justin Wilmot and serves as a step-by-step “field guide” revealing exactly how he created and runs a sustainable, highly-profitable business flipping properties (both wholesaling strategies and “cherry picking” fix-and-flips) in a way that completely supports and serves the surfer lifestyle he richly enjoys living. Keep reading, you’re doing awesome…

Real Estate Investor Lead Machine: New Website Templates!

Hey, have you seen our shiny, new ‘MAP’ website template inside the Investor Lead Machine?

Nah, ’cause this is our official big reveal about it!

That’s right, I’m super-pumped to officially let the proverbial cat out of the bag: Our Investor Lead Machine now has a…

New: Real Estate Investor Website ‘MAP’ Template…

So, here’s the short story, in a nutshell…

I recently shared in my blog post Investor Lead Machine—An Honest Confession about these nifty little web pages I’d made a few years ago, and how they became like “magnets” in helping my real estate operations to attract the leads I needed to level-up my game.

Over time these websites and emails gave me kind of a leading edge over my competition.

Then came my “genius” idea: Keep reading, you’re doing awesome…

Why “Co-Wholesaling” Can Get You Stuck (& What I Do Instead)

Among real estate investors today (especially the newer wholesalers among us) it’s increasingly popular to talk about “co-wholesaling” houses, and how it’s maybe the greatest thing since those little Delta Airlines Biscoff cookies.

Well honestly – and this may be surprising to some who know me – I’m not the biggest fan of the way I see many real estate investors doing co-wholesaling today.

I mean I get it, I really do. As discussed in my last blog post Wholesaling Explained: How to Flip Houses for Quick Cash, there’s just no easier or cheaper way to break in and start generating chunks of cash in real estate than wholesaling… and add to that the idea of getting paid for bringing only half the deal to the table, and “co-wholesaling” seems even sexier. Keep reading, you’re doing awesome…

Re: Investor Lead Machine—An Honest Confession

Hey, so a little confession to make.

Gimme a second though.

OK, here goes…

I’m.

Not.

Perfect.

There, I said it. 🙂

Here’s why:

A while ago I thought I had this super genius idea that’d help real estate investors like me a lot. Turns out I was missing something kinda obvious, due to an unfortunate assumption I made.

You see, I was enjoying some big-time success attracting new leads for my real estate business—I mean like:

• cash buyers,
• other wholesalers,
• even private lender leads.

My secret? These nifty little web pages I’d made, to be like “magnets” to help my REI business attract the leads I needed to level-up my game. Keep reading, you’re doing awesome…

Driving for Dollars App 2.0—Cool Stuff Coming :-)

A few months ago, I was invited to test-drive and review an app called the Drive Buy REI app, and I was impressed.

To me, it take a time-tested  deal-getting method, and makes it simpler, easier and awesomer to do.

Back when I first started my real estate investing endeavors (golly, back in 2000) I did a lot of driving for dollars the old-school way:

• Just driving neighborhoods looking for possibly distressed properties.
• Writing addresses on a big, yellow legal pad.
• Looking up tax records for all of them when I got home.
• Then printing & mailing one-off letters to all of them.

It was a time-consuming process, but the ROI was definitely there.

With an array of leading edge way investors are landing deals today—SEO, Facebook, PPC, etc.—the old tried and true driving for dollars might seem outpaced. But the truth is, it still works and works quite well—but in the age of iphones, Androids , social media and push-button ease, it’s not getting any love anymore.

Until the Drive Buy REI app, that is.

Keep reading, you’re doing awesome…

Here’s My Motivated Seller VOICEMAIL Script

Need a motivated seller voicemail script?

Time to give stuff away again! And golly, you guys just can’t get enough, can you? 🙂
So far we’ve let you steal:

• Our letter of intent
• Our burned house letter
• Our option agreement
• Our motivated seller postcard
• 47 MLS keywords for REI
• A motivated seller phone script

And now here we are, piles of raving comments later, and you still want more!

No problemo.

I totally get it… I’ve been there, and always appreciate finding an “easy button” or shortcut myself. If it’ll save me (i) time, (ii) pain or (iii) the trial-and-error of making or finding it myself, then I’m in.

Which brings me to—an interesting (and kinda hilarious) question from Tim D. I saw recently in response to one of my “Swipe & Deploy” shares. Choose whichever flavor you like…  Keep reading, you’re doing awesome…

Property Scouts—Viable for Leads in ‘White Hot’ Markets?

Hey guys, JP here.

We’re hearing more and more from people in stronger real estate arenas finding it tougher to find solid deals. And if you’re in a market that’s white hot, it can feel kinda like the wild west out there sometimes.

I recently got a call from Jeff in Seattle, wondering if the Property Scout Pipeline is a viable approach that can actually work in a “white hot” market like his… and if so, how?

Solid question, Jeff—super glad you asked. 🙂

The Quick Scoop on Scouts

In case you don’t already know…  Keep reading, you’re doing awesome…

How I Wholesale Houses Not Under Contract (This May Surprise You)

Hey, JP here…

My honest answer to a pretty common wholesaling question recently seems to be throwing some people off-kilter. I guess it sounds somewhat controversial to some?

I dunno, you tell me. Here’s the question, which came from Kenneth:

“Help! I came across a property I think is a good deal and put the deal to a couple investors. One replied for the address. I don’t have it under contract. Will the investor be able to cut me out? The asking price includes my profit. Any help would be appreciated. This would by first deal.”

Another juicy (larger) question came up in our answer to Kenneth—which led to my honest answer that some are finding surprising:

Can you try to wholesale a property even before you have a contract on it?

My answer: Yes…kind of.  Keep reading, you’re doing awesome…

Probably the Smoothest Deal I’ve Done Yet!

Hey, people!

Today I want to share yet another fun episode in my little Survivor Success Stories reality show I’ve got going. If you’re playing along at home, we’ve covered some pretty awesome ground just recently, like:

• That First Deal Fight: Lessons from Dan’s Story (8 mins of awesome)
• Guy Makes $101.80 PER MIN. on His First House (90-ish mins into a $9,162 payday)
• Tenacious D(ealmaker): How Persistence & Creativity Win the Day (crazy-train!)

Today’s is another from the Tenacious D(dealmaker) himself, Cy—a fun, little video he made right from his car driving away from the title company with another solid $15K payday in hand.

OK, so $15,009.50 to be exact. 🙂 Keep reading, you’re doing awesome…

Tenacious D(ealmaker): How Persistence & Creativity Win the Day

(keep going…)

Today, I have a really interesting deal story to share with you. And by interesting, I mean crazy!

What you’re about to hear comes right from the mouth of a guy named Cy, who I’ve been coaching for a while, sharing his real-life, first deal story. And boy, was it a doozy.

After recently sharing 25-yr old Dan’s first deal story, and Alain’s story where he pocketed $101.80 per minute on his first deal, I figured we should also maybe see the other side of the wholesaling houses coin: When a deal goes crazy sideways… and you still make great money on the other side of it.

Cy’s deal had as many twists and turns as a crossword puzzle, but with some moxie and raw tenacity, we made it all work out awesomely together. With quite a few years (and hundreds of deals now) notched on my belt, many would call me fairly skilled in the wholesaling houses game—especially 10 Hour Wholesaling. But this deal definitely threw me and Cy a few interesting curve balls. Keep reading, you’re doing awesome…

Abandoned Houses in War Zones: Golden Goose or Fool’s Gold?

Hey guys, Sean Flanagan here.

I recently heard an interesting question about doing abandoned house deals in ‘war zone’ neighborhoods…

“I have enjoyed your training very much. I have spent six hours and found two abandoned houses in the Columbus, Ohio, area. To get more to look at, I will need to go into areas where I hear shootings and, just in general, not safe areas. I went to Springfield, Ohio, recently and found 51 abandoned homes in one hour. So much to look at, so little time. I have just started on this exciting journey.”  —Grover J., OH

Well first off, three cheers for Grover! Man, I love to hear from people like you who’re moving solidly forward and making progress with abandoned house profits in your own area.

Now to Grover’s question…I do have a couple of specific thoughts I’ll share based on how I run my own real estate biz.  Keep reading, you’re doing awesome…

Are You Committed?

Hey, I have an important question to ask you.

Are you ready for it?

Ok, here goes…

Are you really committed to succeeding?

I mean, no matter what kind of investing you’re trying to do—wholesaling, fix-and-flip, rentals, whatever…

…are you really committed?

Yes or no.

In my humble (but accurate) view, for most wannabe investors today the answer is a resounding NO.  Keep reading, you’re doing awesome…

7 Ways to Legally Pay Property Scouts

Hi, Dolmar here. The fact is, Property Scouts (or many people call them “bird dogs”) have been one of my best secret weapons in multiple markets I’m doing deals in for years now—routinely landing me leads on property deals that aren’t on any of my competition’s radar.

They send me leads, I cherry pick the deals, and they get paid nicely for the service. It’s a beautiful arrangement.

Today I want to shine a light on 7 ways you can legally compensate them, so you can stay safely out of any legal ‘hot water’ (it burns!) that many investors find themselves ignorantly swimming in. So let’s run through them. Keep reading, you’re doing awesome…

Guy Makes $101.80 PER MIN. Wholesaling His First House

Boom!

Hello boys and girls, got another thrilling win to share with you. Today’s hang-ten high-five goes out to Alain—yet another dude I have the privilege of walking beside as he builds a business. Alain just crossed that huge “first deal milestone” for a tasty $9,162 payday.

BOOM! (all caps this time)

6 things that make Alain’s first deal so dang re-freaking-markable:

1. This one he totally crushed 10 hour wholesaler style–without ever meeting his seller or buyer in person.
2. We’ve been working together only 7 weeks before this first $9,162 payday.
3. After a solid year of prior struggling with zero to show for it.
4. All together, he’s got around 60-90 mins total into this deal.
5. So yep, that’s $108.80 per minute of actual time invested. 😀
6. It was all way easier than he first thought it could go.

Keep reading, you’re doing awesome…

Finding Killer Real Estate Markets Just Got Awesomer

Hey, got some exciting news to share! Anyone looking to find the awesomest, most profitable areas  for your real estate deals, heads up on this. 🙂

Target Market Finder: Original Recipe…

If there’s one thing that can really make my day, it’s finding some nifty little something (a system, app or software tool) that makes my real estate operations easier and awesomer. Yeah, call me an REI-nerd, the glove definitely fits. 😎

Sometimes you just stumble on things like that, sometimes you get struck with the idea to just make it yourself.

That was me and Patrick when we first imagined Target Market Finder—a snappy, little in-house tool that would help us easily zero right in on perfect target real estate markets for our deals in no-time flat.

Once it became reality (yay!) we didn’t keep it to ourselves, but invited a few others to ‘beta test’ it with us… to play around with it, kick the tires, and help us make it better.  Keep reading, you’re doing awesome…

The Scary (But Needed) Real Estate Roller Coaster Ahead

Hey, something I gotta share real quick—a sudden insight I just had after a call with a guy I’m currently mentoring…

Contrary to public opinion sometimes, I have challenges. Just like anyone else. Difficulties, hardships, sucker-punches, or whatever you want to call them. I got ’em.

A hard fact of life:

Just because someone has reached a lifestyle you desire does not mean they don’t have obstacles and problems anymore. Heck, they only get bigger!

But the other (very shiny) side of that coin: 

Solving bigger problems and fighting bigger battles means you’re playing at a bigger level.

So honestly, I don’t want to fight small battles and make small decisions—I want big decisions and problems to fix. Consider…  Keep reading, you’re doing awesome…

That First Deal Fight: Lessons From Dan’s Story

Hey guys, Justin Wilmot here!

I just wrapped up a killer phone call with someone that’s got me freaking stoked, and I really want to share it with you, right now while it’s fresh. It’s from a weekly Mentoring session where my boy Dan Kurdyla (only 25-yrs young) reported how, after nearly throwing in the towel so many times,  he finally landed his first wholesale assignment deal to the tune of a solid $7,500 payday.

Nicely done, Dan! 🙂

Interestingly, Dan’s big win here is really more than just about the money (though it’s sure nice!) but also the priceless lessons crossing that first deal finish line has taught him.

These are some hard-earned lessons you will never unlearn and always benefit from, Dan. Lessons that sure as heck took me a lot longer to learn myself back when I was ‘failing-forward’ with my own budding 10 Hour Wholesaler operation back in the day.

Rather than me say it, let’s hear it right from the horse’s mouth. (ha, no offense brother!) I don’t normally do this, but here’s a tiny clip from our recent 90-min group Mentoring call where Dan spills the beans from his own lips…

Keep reading, you’re doing awesome…

“10 Hour Wholesaler?” Show Me The Money…

(fyi, scroll down for the video, the above is a GIF image 🙂 )

One thing we hear a lot is…

“Show me some proof!”

And I totally get it, I really do.

Everyone seems to be a cool ‘real estate guru’ nowadays, don’t they? With “Flip” shows more popular than ever, and fakes and frauds a dime a dozen, how can you really know the true PROS from the seedy CONS without seeing some legit proof-of-concept from other people first?

After reading the write-up on How I Wholesale Houses Anytime, Anywhere – Working Just 10 Hours a Week, some folks understandably ask how in the world “10 Hour Wholesaling” honestly calls for:  Keep reading, you’re doing awesome…

Announcing: “Abandoned Profits” for Real Estate Investors

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Introducing a cache of expert training & ‘smart tools’ to help real estate investors find abandoned profits 

August 2017 (eRelease) – AwesomeREI.com is thrilled to announce Abandoned Profits for real estate investors, marrying (i) a leading-edge training program showing investors exactly how to find and profit from ‘off-market hidden gems’ with (ii) exclusive, in-house ‘smart tools’ to simplify and accelerate market research, deal funding, cash buyers and more.

In 2016, the acclaimed Abandoned House Secrets training program was first released, in partnership with 17-year Florida real estate investors Sean and Tracey Flanagan—a comprehensive, step-by-step ‘blueprint’ of unique tactics and strategies for systematically taking down high-profit abandoned properties. Their full clever-yet-simple system was carefully detailed and shared with real estate investors interested in learning how to duplicate their business and tap into abandoned properties as a consistent source of profits.

To further amplify this remarkable training, it’s now being offered in rare combination with a series of innovative ‘smart tools’ to help people quickly solve many of the most common problems associated with actively buying and selling abandoned properties, including:

1. How do I find the best target markets to focus on? (locally or nationally)
2. How do I quickly find cash buyers for abandoned properties I want to quick-flip?
3. How do I find private lenders (or hard money lenders) for abandoned houses I want to close on?

Keep reading, you’re doing awesome…

6 Ways to Find Awesome Fixer Upper Contractors

Hey Guys, JP here—One commonly recurring question we’ve heard over the years how to find awesome fixer upper contractors for your fix-and-flip deals. Or even to handle the renovations for your rental properties.

Where are those contractors hiding?

While Patrick and I typically prefer wholesale deals (quick nickels) over fixer uppers (slow dimes), truth be told we’ve each had our fair share of rehab experiences. Guess that’s what happens after 24+ years (combined) in the real estate game. And when you’re in this business, it’s just always going to come up from time to time—you’ll need to hire a contractor.

Well, today I want to share with you 6 quick, but solid shortcuts for…  Keep reading, you’re doing awesome…

Announcing: “Property Scout Pipeline” for Real Estate Investors

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Introducing awesome new software to get property leads on autopilot for real estate investors.

February 2017 (eRelease)

Hello Awesome REIers…

Today is a good day – nope, scratch that – it’s a great day! Nope, wait, it’s a frickin’ awesome day! And you’re going to think so too, I’m sure of it.

Want to know why?

Well, I’ll tell you…

Keep reading, you’re doing awesome…