My Favorite Secret Weapons for Saving Money

As you have probably heard me talking about, we sent out a ton of post cards last month and got a HUGE response…. I mean SUPER HUGE!  We are still getting random calls from our post card campaign, but so far we ended up with about a 15% response rate.  The problem with post cards is that they can be expensive. 

In order to help curb these costs I wanted to give you a few money saving tips for running your business. 

1) Google Voice – This is one of the coolest things Google has ever released.  Google Voice gives you a new (business) phone number where incoming calls are forwarded to your personal phone.  All voice mails are saved to Google Voice and are emailed to you immediately after.  There are a bunch of super cool features that I dont want to go into now, but to save money I decided to use Google Voice as my business voice mail box.  It is new and completely free.  Most investors have a similar service but pay $50 per month for it.  To get Google Voice you have to have a Google account and apply.  It took me about  a week after I applied to get my account.

2) Craigslist, Backpage, Kijiji, and Oodle - These are the primary (FREE) online classifieds.  Craigslist is the most popular, Backpage gets you to the top of google, Kijiji and Oodle are on the rise in popularity.  Post your deals on these, but also post your common “We Buy Houses” type of ads.  I post on Craigslist every day, and post on Backpage, Kijiji, and Oodle once every few weeks.  Craigslist is so popular that your ads are going to fall from page 1 within a few hours. 

3) FindDealsFree - This eBook has 14 awesome ways to find real estate deals for free… including tips on saving $$ on Bandit Signs

 

It is important to take advantage of marketing techniques like post cards even though they can cost a little more.   I just know how expensive everything can be at first and wanted to help you out with these tips.

Haven’t Tried Post Cards in a Long Time + Best View in DC

What’s Shaking?  I hope your summer has been awesome!  I’m not sure who is controlling the weather in Columbus OH but it has been crazy amazing!  We stepped out of beautiful Ohio last weekend to celebrate the wedding of one of my best friends in Washington DC.  Check out the view from the reception…

Washington DC

Anyway, back to the real estate game.  I have a few things I wanted to share with you really quick

1)  I havent tried using post cards in a long time, but I keep hearing how awesome they are for bringing in buyer and seller leads.  I am sending out 700 post cards tonight.  I cant tell you how easy it was to create the post cards.  First, go to http://ListSource.com, and define your search (I use the absentee owners).  You will have to answer some questions, but within 10 minutes you could have a huge list of potential buyers or sellers!  Second, go to http://Click2Mail.com, create an account and start building your post cards.  It is easy to use (like Microsoft Word).  Should only take 10 to 20 minutes to build.  After you build your card, upload the mail list you just purchased from ListSource.com and let the post office do the rest.  It isnt cheap to do this.  My list cost about $100 and the post cards cost around $175, but all I have to do is flip one measley house and get one hell of a return on that $275!

2)  Times are goofy right now and if you are curious about home values around the country check out this cool little website -> http://housingpredictor.com 

3) If you have any good real estate tips or stories that you would like to share please email them to me (shawn@mynextrehab.com).  Between the thousands of investors who are members of our VIP Investors Club and the hundreds who browse http://myNextRehab.com every day there should be a lot of knowledge that we could all be sharing.  Please include a brief bio with your submission so everyone will know about you (dont forget your website address… Google loves backlinks!).  I will review your submission and post it as soon as I can!

Thanks for all of your help with MyNextRehab.com!  You guys rock!

Shawn

Summer Looking Great for Real Estate!

Long time, no talk!  How is everything going?

I’m sorry for the big break since our last chat, but I just can’t get enough
of this AWESOME weather we have had the past few
weeks!  Between the all of the cookouts, happy hours, volleyball games, and
jogs through the park I just haven’t been able to convince myself to spend more
time with the computer!

I’m sure you understand how it is too!  Such a great time of the
year!  Looks like the buyers are starting to come back out too!  Check
out this article from FOX News -> http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/real-estate/pending-home-sales–months-row/?test=latestnews

Starting to look like the bottom has been reached!  You know what that
means dont you?  Home sales are going up, values will start heading back
up, and interest rates aren’t far behind.

I think we all (me included) need to take a quick 15 minute break from summer
and check out the new deals that have been posted on http://myNextRehab.com …. there have been a
ton added over the past few months! 

Also, dont forget to hit up the education center and see if there is anything
you need to read up on -> http://myNextRehab.com/education.asp
<- We plan on boosting this section soon, so if there is anything you would
like to see added send me an email. 

Go Get ‘em!

Shawn
http://myNextRehab.com

PS -  Try not to spend more than 30 minutes browsing the site…. unless
it’s raining!

PSS (or PPS or PPSPSPSPSP) – If you are looking for a rental home that has
already been rehabbed check out this one in Newark, OH (Elmwood) – http://bit.ly/jrzw5

More P’s and S’s – If you haven’t joined the VIP Investors Club it is FREE and you will be the 1st to hear about the best deals in your area(s)

What a Week for MyNextRehab.com!… #1 on Google for Wholesale Real Estate

Hey there!!!

How is everything going in your world & business?  You starting to reach some of those New Years goals you set for yourself?

Things are unbelievable over here (even though the Blue Jackets got swept by the mighty Red Wings… great game 4)!  Anyway, we hit a HUGE milestone.  This week we finally reached #1 on Google for “Wholesale Real Estate” for http://myNextRehab.com.  I’m not talking about for only one particular city either…. almost 41 million other sites are fighting for that top spot and I finally got it!… Well I guess it only took 9 months so that’s not too bad. 

Sorry!  I really hate bragging, but I almost dirtied my pants I was so excited to see it!

I started thinking, and I decided it was time to share some secrets with you guys… not only on how to get to the top of Google, but how to get more people to see your deals on the internet.  When I look at the statistics for my site Google is the #3 source of traffic.   Curious what 1-5 are?….

This is all I am sharing now, but I will have more details for you later (make sure you join the VIP Investors Club so you are first to receive the FREE Special Report)

Anyway below are my 1-5 sources of traffic to my website (oh… they are all FREE!)

1. Direct Traffic – That’s right, these are people who check my site daily.  They just type http://myNextRehab.com into their browser and check it on a regular basis.  What does that have to say about the importance of solid content?
2. Craigslist – This free online classifieds site is a BEAST!  So many people are looking for deals on craigslist.  Make sure you get your properties posted!
3. Google – The #1 search engine…. definitely builds credibilty
4. Twitter – This is the one that blew my mind.  I figured I might have a hit or 2 here and there from Twitter links, but people are interested in your little posts (Tweets).  Keep it fresh and dont over do it!
5. WordPress – There are so many people who love reading blogs.  I have to be honest…. I’m not one of them.  I have about 5 blogs I check every few weeks, but that is it.  My girlfriend reads about 40 blogs per day (exagerated… maybe). 

The thing to keep in mind,  keep up with technology trends.  New technologies like Twitter, Facebook and WordPress can bring you a lot of hits, even if you dont understand them. 

I want to help you stay on top of the technical world, especially if you are not a very techie person.  (Dont be afraid of Web 2.0!)

Join the VIP Investors Club at http://myNextRehab.com and I will send you a free copy of the special report I am currently working on.  Hopefully I will have it done by next week. 

Stay Tuned!

Making a Video on a Wholesale Deal

This week was a whole different game…  I honestly have never made a video for a wholesale deal, but after having dinner with my buddy Darren Dicke, I realized that I am missing out on a bunch of potential buyers.  My best friend Justin and I decided to try to wholesale a duplex ( AWESOME DEAL) and decided to try to make a video out of it… well so far all I can say is SUCCESS!   We got a ton of views, and have had a bunch of groups check out the property. 

From now on I am defintely going to be using video to push my properties.  it is amazing how many people are going towards video!!!  Kind of shows you where technology is going. If you are trying to sell properties but dont have videos, YOU HAVE TO START!!!!!  Videos are the way of the future (NOW), and if you arent showing your properties over video you are falling behind.  My buddy Darren Dicke (The Columbus Wholesaler) has been doing videos for years and has become one of the best in the U.S. at selling wholesale deals…

We all need to pick this up and start taking advantage of this easy technology.

Check out our simple video (which worked!)…. http://mynextrehab.com/columbus-real-estate-investment-cash-flow-machine-easy-double-video.html?PID=611

Please give me tips on video!  I love this game and want to learn how to do it right!

THanks

Shawn Wollenberg – http://myNextRehab.com

PS – Check out Darren Dicke at http://theColumbusWholesaler.com … he is the master of using video to market his properties!

Craigslist Sold My House in 3 Weeks… Now I’m Homeless!!!

 

Last summer (2008) I got the crazy idea about selling my house.  I bought it with a buddy of mine and we lived there for 3 years instead of renting.  With it being 2008 we started talking and decided “Hey, the market is a nightmare right now and if there is any chance we want to sell it before the end of the year we might as well start trying to sell it”

 

The next day I decide to throw a quick ad up on Craigslist.com just to see if I could get any bites.  I got a few “decent” bites, but it seemed like everyone would only come check it out if I knocked $35K off of the asking price. 

 

Screw them!

 

A few days later, without warning my roommate hears a knock at the door.  A couple BEGS him to let them look around the (super messy) house.  Keep in mind we didnt have a single sign up in the yard yet…. all we had was an ad on craigslist. 

 

They go in, look around, ask how much we want for it, and pretty much offer just a little below asking price.

 

We were SUPER EXCITED …….. Until…..

 

They tell us they want to close in the next 3 weeks

 

WHAT?!?!

 

We were just playing around with the idea of selling and all of the sudden I only have 3 weeks to pack and find a place to live…. No Freakin Way!

 

We decided to go ahead and sign and turn it into an adventure.  Find a place in Columbus to live in the next 3 weeks.

 

I called every lead that I might be interested in and told them I had to move in ASAP!!

 

Finally I found a place in German Village.  The landlord was Super cool and the place was awesome.  He told me I could move in and then we could do the paperwork afterwards.  The moving company moved all of my stuff into this apartment, and after I finally got in I noticed a lot of issues with the place and the landlord and I kind of fell out of our agreement. 

So it was time to move again!

 

My dog and I ended up moving into my girlfriend’s 400 sq ft apartment in Grandview.  It was only supposed to be for a few weeks, but ended up being for 3 months, until I found something to buy (Merion Village / German Village border near the famous Thurman Cafe, as seen on Man vs Food – Best Show on TV).

 

It was fun telling everyone I was homeless all summer, but the 2 things I learned from this ….

 

1) Dont rush into finding a place, especially in a buyers market

2) Craigslist can sell a house SUPER FAST!

 

 

Do not forget to post your deals on craigslist, backpage, kijiji, oodle, and MyNextRehab.  You never know who will be looking online and when.  I recommend craigslist every day and the others once per week.  In medium to big markets your craigslist real estate ad will disappear in a matter of hours.  In Columbus there are about 400 real estate postings on craigslist every day (2 years ago it was about 90). 

 

The other services are more search engine friendly, and have their own following.  With these other services make sure you put your keywords in the header.  (keywords are what you expect house buyers to type into Google when looking for a house).  In the headers of my backpage ads I like to put “Columbus Real Estate Investment Property”.

 

The best thing is that all of these services are free! 

 

Get out there and start selling!

 

Shawn Wollenberg

http://myNextRehab.com

 

PS – Post your wholesale deals on myNextRehab.com and I will email them out to the VIP Investors Club members in your area (no Cost)

4 Real Estate Investors You Need to Follow…

 

For the past few years I have spent hours reading about what each real estate investor / guru is doing with their business. I have joined almost every email list and read 75% of the blogs out there. At first I was really digging a lot of the big guys, but after spending months following them and their emails I have learned that they are nothing more than boring salesmen.

I think this is a big trend with investors… they find their niche in the business, get a following and then convince that following to start buying …. EVERYTHING! It seems like eventually most of them forget about real estate investing once they reach this point.

In these times where the market changes every 7 minutes I think it is important for us real estate investors to not be tricked by people who are no longer in the game facing the same challenges that we are facing.

There are 4 main investors / groups that I think you need to follow to keep up with what is going on out there.

• Preston Ely - His wholesaling and probates systems are probably the best deals out there. Not to mention his emails are very funny and educational.
• Ron LeGrand - The God Father of it all…. When you study almost any of today’s big guru’s you will find pieces of Ron Legrand’s teachings. He is able to keep his stuff fresh (and also has a great sense of humor). Most of his emails are now sent out by someone else, but the content is still in line with his teaching
• Darren Dicke - Darren is a wholesaler out of Columbus Ohio, but his use of technology and ability to use the web to make deals happen has put him on this list. As an investor there is a lot to learn from Darren and the way he runs his business
• Colin Egbert – I think Colin is more of a sales guy now, but I think that his site, RealEstateInvestor.com , is a site that everyone should be a part of to keep up with what is going on out there. Colin, along with Sam Bell, do a great job of showing how applying Web 2.0 to your business can help tremendously

I feel better having shared that list. If I had written this back in July the list would have been a little different. There would have been 7 investors to follow, but watching some of them fall into the “sales trap” I decided it’s better to keep you on the right path.

Oh… Dont forget to Join the VIP Investors Club for myNextRehab.com …. Just so you know what kind of deals are in your neighborhood

Don’t Miss These Real Estate Deals!

We have had so many great real estate deals posted to MyNextRehab lately that I thought I should share some with you.

• Buffalo, NY
• Long Island, NY
• Milwaukee, WI
• Columbus, OH
• Toledo, OH
• Indianapolis, IN
• Detroit, MI
• Miami, FL
• Galveston, TX
• Houston, TX
• Greensboro, NC
• Cincinnati, OH
• Charleston, SC

If you want to be the first to hear about deals like this in your area, dont forget to join the VIP Investors Club

I have some new tips and tricks coming up soon. I just wanted to make sure you knew about the newest deals we had out there.

Go Get ‘em!

Shawn

How to Use Twitter to Improve Your Real Estate Business

Look… I am not a big fan of MySpace or Facebook, but I finally found a social networking site that I really like… and it can help your real estate business.

As you probably guessed from the subject of this blog, the site is Twitter.com .

Twitter.com doesn’t ask you for a lot of information or pictures. You simply create an account, and whenever you do something that you feel like sharing with people you write a brief description of what it is that you are doing and post it. You will have other people “following” you so when you post your updated they get to see what you are doing.

There are a lot of people out there who are interested in what other real estate investors are doing. These people can use the Search feature to see who out there is talking about “Real Estate”. Using this you could have a whole new group of potential buyers, sellers, students, or bird dogs following what you are doing.

So what do I (Shawn Wollenberg) do with Twitter to help my biz?

When new deals are posted on MyNextRehab.com I create a quick link using TinyURL.com and write a quick post on Twitter. For example I would put:

New Wholesale Real Estate Deal in Columbus: http://tinyurl.com/cjmuen

or if I am trying to sell an e-book I put a quick post like this…
Learn How to Wholesale Real Estate:http://tinyurl.com/wholesale-real-estate

A few quick tips to using Twitter
1) Dont always “post to sell”. Show your followers that you are a real person. Tell them inside stuff like, “I just poured a cup of coffee and am about to hit the computer”
2) When you do “post to sell”, make sure you think about your key words that new potential followers would search on. I always try to include “Real Estate” in my posts.
3) Follow other real estate people you think might be interesting.
4) Dont overpost. I was following some people who seemed interesting, but they were posting every 2 minutes so I was having a tough time keeping up with the other people I was trying to follow. I just had to quit following the “Super Posters”

Twitter really is fun and can help your business out. It’s always nice to make new friends.

Shawn
MyNextRehab.com

PS – Dont forget to Follow me on Twitter

Learn How to Wholesale Real Estate – Super Easy – No Cash & No Credit – Use MyNextRehab.com

HEY!!!! It’s been a few weeks so I wanted to drop you a quick “hi”. I sent out an email to all of my VIP Investors this past week on how they can attack real estate from the Wholesale side. You do not want to miss this info…. Especially if you want to make more money in 2009.

Wholesaling is the easiest way to get into real estate and make good money… There is a good chance that I will have wholesaled 46 houses just in the month of January 2009!

With those 46 houses I have $0 invested, and have seen pictures of 2 of them and never stepped foot in the others. Oh… when you have $0 invested you dont have to worry about how good or bad your credit is.

Click Here to Learn How to Wholesale Real Estate

Once you learn how to Wholesale, Post your deals on MyNextRehab.com for FREE! (check out some of the deals we have already!)