Let's Talk Real Estate Investing with Sharon Vornholt

Today I want to talk about how how to get the best results from your probate direct mail campaigns.  Direct mail is a great way to keep your funnel full of leads. It has always been my number one way of finding deals. Probates have always been my most profitable niche to mail to over the years.  But there are some basic concepts that you need to follow in order for direct mail to be the most effec...

I get a lot of reader questions and I love to answer them. So....I finally decided to do some quick shows to feature all those great questions.  I think I will call this "Ask Sharon".  The reader question was this. "When I'm sending out direct mail, how many letters is enough?  Two touches?  4 touches? 7 touches? That's a really good question. And the answer is it depends. One thing you need to un...

I have a great show for you today.  You know how passionate I am about building an unforgettable brand. It's so important for your business and your bottom line. You can't be successful if no one knows about you, and today images play a big part of building overall brand awareness of your business.  Most people know this, but I can almost guarantee you that the average real estate investor has giv...

Hi guys!  I want you to know that in addition to today's podcast, I also did a screen capture video of this show so that you could have the opportunity to go through a sample probate letter with me. You can find it on the  Louisville Gals Real Estate Blog.    Freebies Get your FREE sample letter over on the blog. To get your "Probate Investing Roadmap" just click here. You can watch the video wher...

I want you to expand your thinking today, because you are going to learn a whole new way to think about wealth building through real estate investing. The 2-5-7 method of wealth building is a concept created by Chicago investor, Andrew Holmes. Andrew is the founder of one of the largest REIA's in the country, the Chicago REIA. He is an active investor with 150+ rentals in his portfolio to date. In...

My guest today is Jamie Masters. Jaime is the CEO of Eventual Millionaire. She has interviewed hundreds of self-made millionaires to find out exactly how they got where they are. Jaime is a real superstar when it comes to showing people how to build systems that will skyrocket your growth. Jaime specialized in creating automated systems and doubling her client's income. Who doesn't want that right...

Do you know what the "ONE thing" is that you absolutely must know to work in the niche of probates is?   It's when the house can be sold. Another way to put it is, when YOU can buy the house. There is a particular point in the probate process when you can actually put the property in the estate under contract.  In this show I will also answer the question one of my students asked me this week and...

Wholesaling is a popular real estate investing strategy, and it's one that I believe should be in every investor's toolbox. In it's simplest form, wholesaling is buying a property at a deep discount then selling it to someone for a higher price. Now you might be wondering, what are the traits of a successful wholesaler, and what exactly does someone need to know to be successful at wholesaling? He...

  Here is my question today; are you coachable? You might be asking, what exactly does that mean? When someone is coachable, it means you are ready to do what it takes to change, to transform your business (or yourself), or to get better at something ... whatever that means in your business. Most people think coaching is mainly for athletes, but that's not the case. It's for everyone. I can tell y...

Today's show on making the transition from self-employed to business owner.  In part 1 of this 2-part episode, I asked this question: "Do you have a real business or have you just created a job for yourself?"  If they're being truthful, most real estate investors will admit they've created this beast called a job. And, it's a job where they are working way too hard. In part 1 I discussed what make...

Here's the big question I want to ask you today.   Do you have a real business or have you just created a job for yourself? For most real estate investors, the answer is that they have just created a job for themselves. We like to think of ourselves as entrepreneurs, but are we really?  I think the answer is no in most cases and here's the reason. Entrepreneurs or true business owners organize the...

Today's show is all about how to have happy, responsible tenants that stay for years. This topic is so important for landlords to understand.  So how do you do that? You do that with a good onboarding process. In this episode I'm going to explain exactly what onboarding is, how you do it, and why it's a huge benefit when it comes to your bottom line. We all know how costly tenant turnover is, and...

My guest today is Minneapolis investor, Amber Miller of Threshold Homes. Amber has been flipping houses for more than 10 years and has done more well over 100 properties in that time.  She has also just released a course for anyone that wants to learn how to flip houses called, "House Flip Blueprint". Amber covers a lot of material in this show. It's definitely one you won't want to miss.   Show N...

Probates have been my number one source of leads for more than a decade now, and these sellers are some of the most motivated sellers on the planet. That's just one of the reasons I like probates so much. In today's show, I'm going to answer the 10 most frequently asked questions I get over and over from investors.  Remember this; you are able to help so many people in this niche and make money at...

  Let's face it; working from home isn't the easiest thing to do. After years of having a boss and a structured work environment, suddenly you ARE the boss. You are 100% in charge of your time and your income which is a result of how you spend that time.  Some people are able to make the transition pretty easily. But for others it can be quite a challenge.  In this show I'll go over the pros and t...

I've been traveling a LOT in the past month. I have attended 3 live events during that time. So the focus of today's show is going to be on "why attend live events"?  Exactly what are the benefits? The main benefits are that they help you grow as a person, and they definitely help your business grow.   It's Been a Lot of Travel but So Worth It! I started out with a trip to Chicago for a 3 day real...

My guest today is Chicago investor Brie Schmidt, and we are going to talk about making it big with small apartments. Brie is a buy and hold investor, a speaker and the managing broker of Second City Real Estate.   Show Notes Here's just a sample of what we covered in this show: The interesting way she got started What made her finally quit her "day job" Why she chose buy and hold apartments as her...

I have 5 tips for using ringless voicemail for probate marketing for you today.  If you've been following me for any length of time now, you'll know that I've generally been against cold calling folks in probate.  It's just insensitive to call them as soon as the probate is opened. For most people, this is a really sensitive time in their life. They are grief stricken and the last thing you want t...

Probates have been my #1 source of leads for more than a decade.  I love working in this niche, but that's not true for all investors.  There are a couple of reasons why real estate investors shy away from this particular niche. One of them has to do with mindset.  In this episode, I'm going to lay out the reasons that folks hesitate to work in what is one of the most lucrative niches on the plane...

By now you know how much I love direct mail marketing, but we all wish response rates were higher. Response rates are about 1% nationally.   What if I told you that by adding one thing to your existing direct mail campaigns, you might incease your results by 400% or more?  That would get your interest wouldn't it? My guest today is Justin Silverio the owner of Open Letter Marketing. Just is a full...

Today's show is on strategies for closing off market deals. Where exactly do you get the money? Over the past couple of weeks, I've been talking about off market deals like probates, absentee owners, code violations and all the other properties that aren't listed on the MLS. When a property is listed on the MLS, thousands of agents (and investors) have access to these properties. There's a lot of...

Marketing is not a one-time event. It's an ongoing process. However, what I've found over the years, is that for a whole lot of investors their marketing resembles a horse race; a one time or "some times" event.  Here's what I mean by that.   In horse racing, it's a sprint. The horses get to the starting gate then they rush down the track as fast as they can to get to the finish line. When a horse...

  If you're not getting great results from your direct mail (and that has happened to all of us), there are 5 things you need to take a look at.  It's likely due to one of these 5 things. The first thing is your list. I point out some things that might be a problem, plus the other 4 thing. If you want to check out the video or the article, you can do that here on the Louisville Gals Real Estate Bl...

I talk a lot about off market deals, specifically probates.  You know I've even written a course on probate investing called "Probate Investing Simplified".  Today I want to talk about another group of motivated sellers that are also off market deals, and those are absentee owners. I personally only market to out of state absentee owners, and I will also tell you why I only market to those out of...

  Probate investing is my #1 strategy and it has been for more than a decade now.  One of the questions I get the most is about compiling probate lists, and whether you should go back in time when you first start to build your list. The answer is yes.  If you don't do that, it will take you too long to build a list that will bring you deals. In this show, here are some of the things I will cover:...