013: From Wholesaler to Flipper with Danny Johnson
Danny Johnson is not your typical real estate entrepreneur. He is trained as a software engineer and worked at a large company when he first started his real estate investing career. His Dad began flipping houses and Danny decided to take the leap and try his hand at it. His first deal actually turned out to be a wholesale deal that involved a short sale, buying a note from a huge bank, and dealing with foreclosure on the property before it was actually sold to a wholesale investor. Not your typical “first deal” and you’ll want to hear the entire story straight from Danny’s mouth on this episode of The InvestFourMore Podcast.
Real estate mentors are great, but you have to bring value to them
Danny started out in real estate investing under his father’s instruction, but his dad was very hands off. His dad even told him, “You need to do this yourself.” He got advice and help from his Dad on vital things but learned a lot from taking action and doing deals the wrong way (so that he could learn how to do them the right way). He says that if you want to approach a real estate investor in search of a mentor, make sure you bring plenty of clear, actionable stuff to the table. Don’t just say, “I want you to teach me and I’ll do whatever you tell me to do.” That’s putting the burden on your potential mentor to figure out how to use you. Be more proactive than that. Learn to find deals and then bring deals to a mentor and they will be motivated to help you. Bring true value to the table so they will be motivated to teach you.
Driving for dollars was Danny’s bread and butter when finding flips
What is “driving for dollars?” It’s Danny’s way of saying he drove around neighborhoods looking for abandoned or neglected houses, or houses that had foreclosure signs or other indications that they were distressed. He’d write down the address, go to the county offices to find out who the owner was, and then he’d contact them to make an offer on their house. If a home is vacant or not being maintained the owner is much more likely to be motivated and sell the house cheap. Learn how to drive for dollars and find good fix and flip properties on this episode.
How a website can bring you motivated seller leads
Danny saw over time that if he was able to get a website to rank high in the search engines it would serve as an effective lead generator. He would be able to get leads coming to him, without spending time and money on marketing. Danny built a website that captures the email and phone of those who are interested in selling their houses for cash. The best part is that his form immediately sends him a text to let him know there’s a new interested seller. He calls them immediately and starts the conversation. It’s a great way to get immediately connected with a hot lead… and you can get the same functionality on your website by going to his website www.LeadPropeller.com (use coupon code INVESTFOURMORE to get 75% off your first month)
Should you have a huge list or a small list of potential wholesale buyers?
Danny Johnson prefers a shorter list of wholesale buyers. He would rather spend his time talking to a couple buyers he knows are serious than talking to hundreds of buyers who are not serious. He admits he may make less money on each deal with a smaller list, but it saves a ton of time and headaches. He has a regular group of investors who he sends his wholesale deals too and he knows if it is a good deal they will buy it. Danny also explains how networking and looking at cash sales will help you find investor buyers and even private money.