Realtor called in on Ghost Ad... What do I do?

Ask her to pull a list of deals for you and have her email them to you. Or ask her to pull expireds for you to contact. Just a thought for you to get a real estate agent on your team!

If you didnt lie by using a ghost add to begin with, you wouldnt find yourself in this situation!!!!!!!! NEVER use a ghost add, Never advertise something you dont have, ALWAYS be honest in all your dealings period.

Thanks for the quick reply. I already have a real estate agent that I am starting to work with but it wouldn't hurt to have a second resource right? If I ask her to get me a list of expired listings would I just send a letter or try to get in contact with the sellers to see if they are motivated? Once I do have a deal and I am ready to do the assignment would I just add in the contingencies that earnest money would be paid on date of close or the contract would be considered null/void? Sorry for all the questions but these are just a few that came to mind and any help would be appreciated. I am trying to do everything possible to get my first deal. I just finished reading 30 days to real estate cash and it has me anxious!

I don't understand why I wouldn't use a ghost ad? I am just following the steps outlined in Deans book. If this is something that shouldn't be done than I obviously don't want to do it anymore. Can you give me other suggestions to getting cash buyers on my list? I have been finding properties that recently sold and going to my local deeds website and found a few properties that sold for cash to the same buyer so I have put together their mailing addresses so I can send them a buyer letter and hopefully get them on my buyers list. I know that I can have my realtor pull the information on the MLS also. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

Ghost ads are part of your marketing. And they work. The realtor is trying to pick up business. nothing wrong with that she was cold calling. Marvin I think you handle it well. Did you ask her if she was intersted in owning a rental. Keep going. Like Marv said, Dean tell us to use ghost ads.

bandit signs, I dont use ghost ads. they have never worked for me. plus I dont want people to think iam lieing or doing something fishy.

If you are using a Ghost Ads to pull CASH buyers then, put "NO REALTORS!!!" at the bottom of your ad when you post it.

So Marvin...what do you say when a cash buyer calls and you say the property is under contract and the buyer says "interesting...could you tell me the address so I can get a handle on what properties are selling for in a particular area? I'd like to see the kind of properties you are dealing in. Plus I'd like to give you a back up offer in case this one falls out of escrow."

Arent bandit signs the same thing as ghost ads but in a physical form? What would be the difference? If you had the houses under contract than I could see the difference because they are properties that are ready to get assigned. Am I missing something?

Thanks for your response.

Ok that makes sense. I will try that in the future. Thanks!

What I saw in another thread that someone would say is that the house was under contract and I can't give out the property address to protect my investors privacy. This seemed like it made sense but what are your thoughts?

Ghost ads don't work well for me because I never found a good way to word them and answer them. I also posted an ad saying I was looking for investors and got no replies on it. If you're posting ghost ads and saying you have something that you don't have then bandit signs are better and seem to have a lot more success. You don't have to feel like you're lieing and other people don't think you are

Hey Marv,

I will give you some quick tips on how to use ghost ads in your business, they are vital when you are first starting out:

Tip 1: If you don't want to feel like you are being dishonest and have no properties under contract, then contact another wholesaler in your area and ask them if you can market their property out to your cash buyers. You may be able to not only find them a buyer but get a nice referral fee in the process. You are also advertising a real property in this scenario.

Tip 2: If you can't find another wholesaler with a deal, then just continue to use your ghost ads. Bandit signs are the best way to bring in buyers with ghost ads. I don't recommend putting "NO REALTORS" on your signs/ads, because you never know when a realtor might call who can help. You could have a realtor call who has their own cash buyers. You can then ask that realtor what their buyers are looking for, because you are constantly coming across good deals you can't take on. If that realtor brings you a buyer in the future then just pay them a commission or split your assignment fee.

Tip 3: Some buyers will be like the people in this post and just be flat out negative even after you give them the pitch that you already sold it. These ARE NOT the buyers you want to work with. If they are established serious investors calling then they will already know what you are doing and appreciate that you are out there marketing and busting your butt to try and succeed. If they start asking too many dumb irrelevant questions instead of being interested in getting more deals from you then just tell them I can't give out any information until the property closes, but if my current buyer falls through I will call/email you with the info. Then just tell them you have another call coming in and HANG UP. You don't want skeptical, unmotivated people taking up your time.

You could also give the skeptical buyers the address of a property that another wholesaler in your area has just sold recently. =)

I hope this helps, but if you get a call from a realtor trying to get the property as a listing, just tell them that it already sold. You can then ask if they have or know any cash buyers who would be interested in buying more investment properties you come across that you can't handle. Networking with agents to bring you buyers can be huge when trying to move some of your deals.

To Our Success,

Larry F
The Flip Kid

This was very helpful flip kid! Ill try these tips out and let you know how it goes. Thanks!

I like running ads that say "I provide great wholesale deals" The type of ad where I don't put out a fake property when I don't have one, then have to lie about it. I also will put ads out when I ACTUALLY have a property. I have done properties from fellow wholesalers just as you suggested. HOWEVER, most of my deals never make it to craigs list or even my websites. I use all of that stuff less and less these days. Those ads and websites helped in the beginning but not so much now. Just a phone call to my established buyers and the deal is done. Most of my REAL CASH buyers I have met while doing business, making offers, looking at properties, rehabbing, selling, going to every REI event and meeting I can find, not sitting at home running phony ads.

I agree the "no realtors" thing is a terrible idea. Why don't I just shoot myself in the foot while I am at it!! Careful where you get advise! Realtors/brokers are essential to producing a high volume business. Don't we all try to get realtors on our team. Here is one calling YOU!!! Think about the possibilities!! This realtor is interested in doing business. That is why he/she called!!

As far as bandit signs, I only use them to seek motivated sellers, not buyers!
To each there own. When I sell I use a realtor and the power of the MLS to find retail buyers. I advertise on Craigs list to find my tenant/buyer types. Once again, to each there own and whatever works best for them.

Michael Mangham
MD Home Acquisitions LLC

This info is awesome. Thank you so much for your dialogue on this subject.

This info is awesome. Thank you so much for your dialogue on this subject.

"What I saw in another thread that someone would say is that the house was under contract and I can't give out the property address to protect my investors privacy. This seemed like it made sense but what are your thoughts?"

If your buyer is concerned about his privacy, he wouldn't be leaving it up to you, he would be buying in a trust.

Great information! Thanks for the reply.

Can you elaborate on buying in a trust and how that has to do with privacy? I'm not familiar with this concept. Thanks

When property is purchased in a trust, the trust shows up as the owner of the property in the public records. However, you don't know who is involved in the trust. A lot of times major developers will use this to conceal the fact they are accumulating land for a particular venture. This hides the fact that they are accumulating the land and keeps it from rising in price because they are accumulating it. Others use it for privacy and protection of assets also. Some also sell the beneficial interest in a trust when they lease option a property as this makes it easier to evict the tenant buyer if they default on the lease and it also takes care of any claims of equitable interest the tenant buyer may try to claim.

Alright this is good information to know also. Thanks

I love it! One thing that mitivates me is someone telling me no or you can't do that..... Oh yes I can!

Hey way to take action, some of the nay sayer here, are still sitting on the side line thinking about it, dont follow them, listen to the people who are getting it done, ghost adv, sure I use them bandit signs you bet, do I listen to people who say ghost adv are bad, heck no, thats why I'm making money and there sitting on the fence thinking about it. Follow the doers ghost adv, good bandit signs good, any marketing good, networking good, realtors ok, just keep taking action always be building your buyer lists, you can never have to many of them, they are your meal ticket, keep taking action, looking to hear about your first deal sold to a buyer you found on a ghost adv...John H.

Since when does being HONEST, have anything to do with being negative,or being a naysayer LOL?? Actually its quit the opposite, and i dont care whos using Ghost adds,advertising a property they dont have,is a lie!! Thats one of the big problems in this world, people think nothing of being dishonest, and i dont know of anybody that likes being lied too!! You can do lots of deals, and make plenty of $$$$ without ever using any. Theres plenty of past forums on this site that will tell you the ways to do it..

As Larry said, ghost ads are good when you are starting out. I am not saying don't use ghost ads, just remember the element of bs goes both ways. Ghost ads can yield ghost buyers. Just like you don't have the property you are advertising, the "cash buyer" who responded to your ad may not have the cash. Then you have 2 people bs'ing each other back and forth. I found a lot of wholesalers who were looking for someone to do the heavy lifting and find a deal they could poach off of and run by their buyers list. So you may think you have a great list of buyers, but in reality you have a lot of people just like you. I have heard people say "No, no. This guy is a real cash buyer...he told me he uses his own money". Yup, and you said you had a house for sale.

Cash is a rather loosely defined term. A lot of times investors buy for cash, but it is not necessarily their cash. Many times it comes from a hard money or private money lender. Nevertheless, these investors have established ties and are able to move quickly. I would recommend you go down to your county recorder's office and learn to find your way around. Your going to need to learn what goes on down there anyway, so the sooner the better. There is a lot of valuable info there if you know how to use it. All you need to do is look on craigs list for newly rehabbed houses. Find out if they were rehabbed by investors or by the original owners. If they were rehabbed by an investor, do a search for that investor and you can see how many properties he's flipped over the years. Then look at who loaned him the money to buy those flips. This can give you 2 things to look for. It may divulge a source of private money you may be able to use for your own deals or it will show a hard money lender. Do a search on the lender and you will find all the investors he loans to. Search those investors and their lenders. A leads to B, to C, to D...an afternoon at the recorders office can give you a pretty good picture of who some of the players are in your market and how they do business. You can search land contracts, options, wrap around mortgages, etc. As they say, knowledge is power.

1. Your ad is posted on monday and tuesday you say its sold or under contract

2. You tell the inquirer that you can contact them when another property comes your way

3. You ask to meet with them and ask if you can take them to the house in question and they refuse

4. You ask them specifically what the particulars of that house were, ie,. taxes, sq ft, repairs needed, etc. and you get the "ummm,.....ummmm....huh???"

5. An investor calls you about a home and you set up an appointment and tell them to bring their financial info, corp docs, bank statement, POF letter with direct contact info, and you get the "ummm,.....ummmm....huh???"

Tell the truth in 2012 and you'll cash more checks and not have a large amount of names on a piece of paper.

Best Advice yet! You are amazing, thanks for the motivation!

From a "Newbie", "Wannabee", "WILLBE" REAL ESTATE INVESTOR IN 2012