Is it legal to post signs on utility poles advertising my business?
Technically, in most areas "bandit signs" are not legal. The telephone poles belong to the utility companies. In some areas that really enforce bans, you can be hit with fines--often in the range of $25-$50 per offense. I've know that to happen to some real estate investors. Often, though, you'll just get a phone call warning you not to do it. And some areas really don't enforce the regulations. You just have to try it and see what happens. Or not.
What is the psychology behind handwritten "We Buy Houses!" signs, or "Bandit Signs" to buy property?
There's a certain "let them eat cake" about our tendencies to constantly make poor decisions illegal. "You need $50,000? Well just sell some of your jewelry! Or call Daddy!" Someday you may need a $1000 loan quick, and if you're in much of America the only types of places who do $1000 loans are illegal for being usurious. So you'll get evicted. Maybe it's best for you, maybe it's not; I have a hard time seeing how the police have a duty to protect you from that situation though...Anyway, there are people who need to dump their house. Maybe they don't "need to" in your opinion. But there are people who inherited a house that they don't want and don't have the cash to fix it up or stage it. Maybe it has asbestos in the walls. And there are people who need money quickly to pay off the mob or to buy a surgery that's illegal in America. I'm not in these worlds, but some people are, and for them there are people who will gladly take the home off their hands for 75% of what it's worth. Yes, it's a tax on the poor, but far less than the lottery or your corner liquor store and not any more than high fructose corn syrup.The business model is to buy homes from people who just don't want them, or who would pay to get rid of them. Businesses have their equivalent--people make donuts for 40 years and at the end of their career just close, and would gladly hand it to whomever offers them $100 for it. Then of course the homes are either sold as is or fixed up and flipped. Nothing wrong with that, keeps the velocity of currency quick and revitalizes ugly houses. The only ethical question is when it becomes usury worthy of intervention by armed men, and that's up to you.
I recently started my own handyman business. Where can I advertise for little or no money online, and how can I drum up new business?
Craigslist has been mentioned. Put your own ads and check for people who are looking for your services often.Ask for referrals. Almost half of our landscaping clients are word of mouth referrals.Put up bandit signs (check local ordinances to know where it's ok). Don't go light. Put up 50. Make them easy to read with a clear message.Take out cheap advertisements in the classifieds. There is a certain group of people that responds much better to thrifty nickel ads than Facebook ads.Run cheap, highly targeted ads on Facebook and google.Carry business cards and ask for peoples business. This is far more effective than you realize.Keep the emails of old clients and send a monthly email with a discount on a service you are featuring.Create a website that highly targets your area with a contact form.Contact contractors and let them know you are a subcontractor who would love to get some work from them.Print up fliers and take them door to door.Call property management agencies and ask to do bids.Call apartment complexes and offer your services.Etc. etc. etc. I hope these are enough to start you out. Getting on top of your marketing game and sales funnel early on can make or break your business. Good luck!EDIT: I only now realized you specified you were looking for online marketing help. I'll leave this here anyways in case you find some value in it. ;)
Are "Bandit Signs" (i buy houses signs) legal in columbus ohio?
You can ask the city - they are the only ones who can tell you all the legalities. In real estate, "bandit signs" are generally those put up only on the weekends and taken down before the municipal enforcers get to work on Monday. I used to put them up in Tucson when selling new homes.
When do you change the brakes of a Sentra?
If you have a business change the brake pads, it can run about $80 to $120. If you have a friend who is handy with tools and can do the work for you, then the brake pads will usually cost you around $20 to $30 tops. You don't really change the brake pads when you hit a certain mileage, you change them when needed because they're worn down. The next time you take your car in for an oil change (every 3 months or 3,000 miles) you should ask the technicians to tell you how your brake pads look. Signs you need new brake pads... a) You need to put more pressure on the brake pedal to get the car to stop. b) Squealing coming from the car when you apply the brakes. (Don't let the squealing go on for too long, or else you could end up needing new rotors which cost about $20 each)
What is the first thing I should do when starting wholesaling real estate?
What is the first thing I should do when starting wholesaling real estate?The first thing to do before starting to wholesale real estate is to become educated in the process. Understand what wholesaling is, and what it isn’t. Elements of educating yourself include:Join your local REIAs (real estate investment associations) and attend their meetings.Look for any real estate investing Meetup groups in your area. Join them and attend their meetings.Buy a few books on wholesaling. Read them.Join Bigger Pockets.Attend one or more inexpensive weekend programs on wholesaling put on by your local REIA.Get samples of the contracts you’ll need. You’ll need two: (1) a purchase-and-sale agreement, and (2) an assignment contract. Get multiple samples. Read and understand them. Put together your own. Then run them by a lawyer.Work on building a buyer’s list. You really don’t need that many good buyers. You can get names by attending your local REIA meetings and from Bigger Pockets.The second thing to do is set up your infrastructure. Get an answering service. Maybe a virtual assistant. Get some business cards. (You’ll need these for many of the activities above, such as networking at meetings.) Identify list brokers, or a way to obtain lists if you’re going to do direct mailings. Identify sign makers if you’re going to use bandit signs. Identify an investor-friendly title company and an investor-friendly real estate agent. And form an LLC to protect yourself and your assets.The first thing to do when you actually start wholesaling is marketing. A lot of marketing, consistently.There’s obviously a lot more involved. But those are the first (and second) things to do.
What is the best way to find leads on wholesaling real estate?
What is the best way to find leads on wholesaling real estate?Good answer from Hector regarding bandit signs. But there are plenty of other ways:Postcards to targeted people. (Absentee owners, people going through a divorce. People who’ve inherited a property. People who are behind on their mortgage payments. Just the different groups of motivated people you’re already aware of.)Regular letters (to any of the targeted groups mentioned above).“Yellow Letters” (again, to any of the targeted groups mentioned above).“Driving for Dollars”—driving through neighborhoods looking for vacant houses or properties in poor condition.Door knocking. (Tip: Don’t ask “Are you thinking of selling your home?” Instead, ask, “Do you know of anyone around here who might be thinking of selling their home?”Post helpful information on your own blog and on blogs on sites like Trulia and Zillow. (I got one of my best wholesaling deals from someone who saw one of my postings on Trulia.)Talk to mail carriers, newspaper delivery people, plumbers, and so on. A lot of them will know which houses are vacant. That’s great information for a wholesaler.Have an SEO-optimized website. I get some leads through my websites. (Yes, plural. I have a general purpose one and a couple for niche markets.)Hang out outside of pawn shops and check-cashing stores. (I haven’t tried this one, but I know people who have.)Hang out at your local court when they’re hearing landlord-tenant cases. You’re likely to encounter some very frustrated, “tired” landlords.Distribute lots of business cards. (I do, with little success.) Also, you might try “drop cards” that look like currently. (I haven’t . . . yet.)Start a Meetup group for people who want to sell their property fast.Try a “pay-per-click” campaign on Google or elsewhere. (I tried this, and failed miserably. But some people say it works.)Use “bird dogs”—property locators.The challenge with all these strategies is that they work until they don’t work. I’ve especially heard that complaint about bandit signs: They’ll work great for a while, and then they seem to stop working.With postcards and letters, geographic location of the property seems to matter a lot. Where I am (right outside of Washington, D.C.), people have a lot of success with Maryland counties, but much less success with Virginia counties.You just have to experiment, and keep track of your results.