How We CONFIDENTLY Invest Outside Our Ar...

confidenze Hey Moguls, Corey Taylor here back with another lesson about tax sales…

Today, I want to fill a void and cover the urgent, compelling need to fill the Research Assistant with leads so you can pick out great deals, which we define as tax sale liens for interest, or deeds, or liens you want to become deeds.

Now, you may be saying, “Okay, great Corey, I got the RA, she’s awesome, and I researched the lists of my surrounding counties, I’m out of ammo and didn’t get anything. I’m sad and helpless now.”

I sometimes get this response and have to remind men to be men. (No offense, ladies). Let’s agree this would be the case for one of two reasons. Either your area is not a good tax sale investing area, or it’s a great area and you bought a few things, but now the list won’t be replenished until the next tax sale, which could be months, or even a year away in a lot of states.

Do you just sit around and wait? Nope.

We just researched a list and made a boatload selling great liens. By boatload I mean a 200k boat. That’s not a typo, the deals are out there and people want them and you need to be finding them. The caveat is we do it anywhere in the country where it should be done, not just our local market. We can be investing in all the great markets because we don’t chain ourselves down to one area.

You shouldn’t either.

Sure, there is something to be said for working in your local area and getting familiar with that market, maybe the private money investors are local, but really, the constraint to invest locally is merely a marketing problem.

The traditional ways of getting leads takes a lot of marketing and most people simply can’t afford to market to a very big area. So they end up fishing in a very small pond, and they are relegated to the type and size of fish in that pond.

Catch Bigger Fish

To catch bigger fish, you go where the fish are located AND biting, right? So, you must learn how to gain confidence investing in the best opportunities in the right markets.

Those “right” markets may not be where you live. Students frequently tell me they like/want to be able to see the house. Really? Is that a good reason to lose millions of dollars in opportunity?

If I can be brutally honest for just a moment, don’t kid yourself. For most people reading this, you aren’t the most qualified person to be looking at a house to determine repairs and value anyway, so what difference does it make if you’re investing across town or across 3 states?

Technology these days allows you to communicate many different ways, and therefore manage almost anything remotely. All you really need is a smartphone and you can do anything. Plus, the Research Assistant helps guide you as to what kind of research you should be looking at to make investment decisions.

Calm the Fear

To alleviate your unfounded fears of investing remotely, let’s think about what you need to know to get a house bought correctly.

Repaired value
Amount of repairs
Price - the county list tells you the price, or the homeowner you’re negotiating with needs a certain price, etc.

That’s it.

fesr So the simple issue now is getting a qualified person to answer 1 and 2, and then you can make an educated decision. By “qualified” I mean they’ve done it 100 times and are likely better at it than you are. In other words, they’re a professional.

I like getting two Realtor opinions for value. One I get is near the property; I ask them to drive by on the way to the office and give a good look. The second Realtor I get from Trulia; I like the best one rated for the zip code. Two opinions usually give you enough information to know what you have. Don’t get forget to get a rent estimate, not just retail repaired value. We like to hold, so the rent number is far more important to us.

The next number you need should be from a contractor. Do you think it’s any more difficult to find a contractor remotely than it is near you? No, it’s not…

There are sites online that make it super easy to find guys that have exposed themselves to social media, and thus, have accountability! Between Angie’s List, Craigslist and the Realtor referral, it’s easy. Early on, we just need a nice, round estimated rehab number… scope of total work and the contract for that will perhaps be covered in another lesson.

Between two Realtors giving you a CMA, and two or three contractors giving you an estimate or repair, you can easily get “on the ground” affirmation that your online research (that you conducted using the Research Assistant!) is accurate and ready to make a purchase decision.

If you want to visit the property early on you can, but you don’t really need to until you’re basically sure you’re writing the check and intend on owning it. For simply buying liens to expect redemption, you don’t need to go see anything. If you got recent pictures and a professional opinion, you’re fine.

What about managing the property during the construction?

If you structure the contract properly to get more work done than you’ve paid, then clearly you can go inspect prior to each payment in the draw schedule. Or, you can even hire another contractor to simply go inspect the other guy’s work for x dollars.

What about the renters? Not hard to find a good property manager.

See, It Is Doable

Yes, I know you’re feeling uncomfortable and probably think I’m making it sound too easy. I need to assure you that being in the best markets changes everything. It is absolutely worth getting over the fear of this and getting good at it. You will make much more money over the same period of time.

One of my favorite quotes comes to mind about now:

“Successful people are willing to do things unsuccessful people won’t do.”

Just sayin’.

It’s amazing what you can do if you just start practicing. I hope you’ll take this information and take action!