Whoever said it takes money to make money was someone trying to justify why they’re broke. It does not take money to make money, and I’ll prove it. I’ll give you a step by step plan to buy and sell a house, even if you’re absolutely broke, have a negative net worth, no job, no friends, no credit and just got pardoned from the state prison. The truth is, if you can’t make money without money, you can’t make money with money!
When I started in 1982, I had no money or credit. I was broke. I had no credit cards, no rich relatives, not even a wife working to support me. I was lying in the gutter looking up at the curb. I’d quit my job and burned the ships behind me. The only way out was to make it, or get another job. I had a mortgage and bills just like everyone else, yet somehow I made it happen. I succeeded in spite of the odds stacked against me.
You wanna know why?
I’ll tell ya why! I succeeded because I had no money or credit! Believe it or not, having money and credit when you begin your career as a real estate entrepreneur can do you more harm than good. It can ruin you if you’re not careful. Having no money keeps you focused on doing the deals that don’t require money. If your credit sucks, like mine did, you can’t apply for bank loans. Therefore, you have inadvertently avoided the two biggest mine fields. Not because you were so smart, but because you had no choice.
Whether you have money or not, you should learn to leverage your brain, not your wallet. When you do that, having money becomes a non-issue because you don’t need it to buy houses. If you write big checks, you’re always worried about losing those checks. If you guarantee loans, you risk everything you own. Do neither, and you eliminate your risk. I bet I’ve said those words a thousand times, and I still see people who should know better doing it anyway.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you shouldn’t have money. I’d actually prefer you to be filthy, stinking rich! I’m just saying you’ll get there a lot quicker if buying houses doesn’t depend on your capital or the number of loans you can borrow. Because if it does, you’re a slave to your limited resources and your business will move at a snail’s pace.
How many loans can you get before you get cut off? Only a handful! Then what? How many deals can you buy if you have to write a check for each? You get the drift. On the other hand, how many loans can you take subject to before you get cut off? That’s right, there is no limit! And no one’s counting, because it’s endless. You can buy 500 houses and never ask permission or fill out an application to submit to a brainless loan officer.
The loans are not on your credit, and you aren’t personally liable. If disaster strikes before the loans are paid off, like a deep recession, it’s now the banks problem, and not yours. If you’re new and I lost you there, subject to simply means the loan stays in the sellers name, but title transfers to you. You can learn more about this from the For Sale by Owner Cash Flow System and the Multiple Offer Strategies Boot Camp.
If you’re buying junkers to rehab, how many private loans can you get before you get cut off? All you want! You should always come away from closing with more than you need to buy and fix the house. So having enough money to buy a junker isn’t a problem. The problem is lining up your lender or mortgage broker to get you the money, which you can do in a coma once you make up your mind to get it done and quit using money as an excuse to fail.
But Ron, I can’t find any private lenders or mortgage brokers that will work with me!
Whine, whine, whine. Well here’s my response to that: bull! What you really mean is no one has come to you and begged you to take their money, so it gives you an excuse to be a lazy loser. Have you ever asked for money? How many times? What did you say? Who did you ask? Were they broke? Have you looked for brokers? If I put a pistol in your ear and gave you ten days to find a private lender or get exterminated, would you find the money?
Okay, forget private money and forget rehabs. How much money do you need to wholesale a house? You guessed it: nada! Well, maybe a $10 deposit to the seller. Can you raise that all by yourself? How much do you need to lease option a house and then sublease it to a tenant/buyer? You know the answer: none!
So let’s recap for a minute. Taking over loans subject to on pretty houses usually requires no money from you, or, at most, a small amount. Yet you can immediately lease option the house or sell with owner financing and pick up $5,000, $10,000, $20,000 or more from a deposit or down payment, all within a few days.
You can also buy junkers and rehab them using private loans. Getting cash when you buy and sell, never spending a dime of your own money. You can also lease option pretty houses from the seller and sublease to tenant/buyer, picking up deposits in the thousands within days and huge back-end checks when they cash out.
Wait, I’m not finished! Don’t forget about the bargains! Flip them to bargain hunters and make $5,000, $10,000 or more and never own the house. All of this with none of your own money or credit.
So I ask you, what’s all this crap about how you can’t get started or get moving because you don’t have the money? I think I made it very clear, money is not your problem.
Since I don’t know you, I don’t know what’s stopping you, but I’ll tell you what stops a lot of folks…grit, or the lack of it! No guts. Afraid of their own shadow. Going through life avoiding confrontation or pain. Can’t grow because they won’t go. You wanna know who seems to do the best in this business? The people without money or credit, but lots of grit. And how do you get grit? It’s simple. You first suffer adversity and get beat up and kicked around awhile. Then one day you wake up and realize they can’t hurt you anymore and there’s only one way to go…up.
When you quit worrying about losing, you can start thinking about winning. You see, people with grit have learned to quit playing not to lose and begin playing to win. Does this mean you don’t have grit if you haven’t been to the bottom? Of course not. Adversity is not a requirement for grit. It just seems those who are the bloodiest seem to be more fired up and move quicker, with more passion. They’ve seen the black hole and they don’t want to go back.
It’s quite common for those who begin with money to leap before they look and spend money on stuff that doesn’t produce revenue. Stuff like office furniture, computers, electronics and foolish advertising that wastes money. A smart entrepreneur will put their money in the bank and start their business on a shoestring. All the fancy stuff doesn’t put a dime in the bank. In order to do that, you must make offers, and you should be making them without using your money or your credit.
Here’s a simple plan to do your first junker deal from your home using no start up capital (eliminating the risk). When you get that first check you can use some of it to get the things you’d like to buy to help you grow the business. This plan applies to you whether you’re dead broke and bankrupt or loaded with dough and can’t wait to spend it.
1. Ride around and find 20 ugly, vacant houses. Copy down each address and get a photo. You’ll find them in the lower priced areas. Here’s a tip: you won’t find junkers in gated communities!
2. Call the houses with FSBO signs and see if you can buy them at a wholesale price of 50 to 60% of the after repaired value or less. Be sure to let the seller name the price first. He who speaks first have big foot in mouth. Call the Realtors on listed properties and get the facts. Make an offer if it makes sense. These will not be your best deals in today’s market and they’ll require bigger deposits, but can still be worthwhile. Track down the owners of the houses with no sign and call or visit them to make a deal. These will be the best deals, but require more work.
3. Persist with step two until you get a signed contract on an ugly house that excites you. This step is crucial and you must keep charging until it’s done. If you’re broke, it should take about a week. If you’re loaded, it could take a year.
4. Have the title checked by ordering a title search from a title company. When you learn it’s clear, move to step five. If it’s not clear, go back to step one or two.
5. If it’s clear, run an ad for three days in your paper that says Handyman Special, Cash, Cheap, 555-5555. Put it in the investment property section.
6. Take the calls, tell them you’re asking price (which should be at least $5,000 more than you’re paying) and send them to the property. Build a buyers list in the process.
7. Meet the first person who wants the house at your price and get a $500 deposit and a signed agreement assuring they’re ready to close within two weeks.
8. Set up a closing date with the title company and let them do a simultaneous closing. Pick up a check and celebrate. You also may simply assign your contract and get paid directly from your buyer.
9. Do it again.
That’s it! Your first wholesale deal. Do you have questions? Of course. So what! Just go do it and use your best judgment. Will it go much smoother if you get trained first and are schooled on each step? Yes, it will. No question. But hey, you said you were broke and couldn’t afford training. So just go make a mess and blunder your way through until you get a check. Then get the training as soon as you get paid.
By the way, I’ve had people do deals from just reading my book, others from attending my one day workshop, and still others from listening to just one tape they borrowed from someone. These are my kind of people. People who just do it and don’t listen to dream stealers and broke morons. People who don’t let any S.O.B. tell them they can’t because they don’t have any money or credit. People with grit.
See Ya – The Guru
About the Author
Ron LeGrand had to borrow money to attend his first real estate seminar twenty years ago when he was bankrupt and running a gas station. Today, he is recognized as the nation’s leading authority on buying and selling single-family homes for fast cash with no credit, little or no personal investment or risk. Ron has personally bought over 1500 houses and still invests in real estate.
Author, trainer, lecturer, consultant and entrepreneur extraordinaire, Ron has earned a reputation as the best in his field. His one-day workshops are routinely standing-room-only and his Boot Camps continue to grow in popularity. Ron’s secret is simple: his programs work — as evidenced by the thousands of successful real estate entrepreneurs all across North America who call him by the affectionate title, The Guru. Ron is literally creating millionaires all over North America.
Learn More About Ron LeGrand at http://www.ronlegrand.com