Friday, March 28, 2008

Wholesaling Real Estate - Is It Really That Easy and Profitable?

I have got had infinite people inquire me why on Earth I would blow my clip devising existent estate investment courses of study if I was doing so well as a existent estate investor. Believe me it have nil to make with the money. I could do 10 modern times more money by just sticking to what I am good at, which is existent estate investing. The truth is that I have got always truly enjoyed instruction other people about things that I cognize how to do. There are truly only a couple of things in the human race that I am good at and they go on to be merchandising existent estate, investment in existent estate and helping other people to acquire started as investors.

I would wager a immense bulk of you would desire to make the same thing if you saw just how amazing existent estate wholesaling truly is. Real estate wholesaling have immense so many huge advantages over the traditional word forms of existent estate investing. I had never heard of existent estate wholesaling up until a few old age ago, after hearing about how easy it was I must acknowledge I was a spot skeptical. You cognize the old expression "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is", that is exactly what I thought of existent estate wholesaling at first.

How on Earth could person do that much money without the demand for hard cash or credit? The chief grounds that people are interested in existent estate investment is the big net income potential. This high net income is achieved because of the big Numbers that investors trade with. Think for a minute, a 10% net income on a $200,000 place is $20,000. As a existent estate jobber you simply necessitate to happen a motivated marketer who will sell at 70% of the just marketplace value. Then happen an investor or retail purchaser who will pay 80% of just marketplace value (which is still a great deal).

With traditional word forms of investment you would have got to purchase the place for 70% of value, then sell the place for 80% of value. The job with the traditional method is you necessitate to have got money to purchase the the topographic point in the first place. To acquire money to purchase the place you necessitate recognition and usually a down payment. This leaves of absence many people stuck dead in their tracks. Not existent estate jobbers though.

A existent estate jobber cognizes that you don't necessitate to purchase the home, you just necessitate to set the place under contract. Once you have got the place under contract (purchase agreement), you simply sell the contract to the end buyer. Instead of merchandising homes, jobbers sell contracts. The great portion is you make not necessitate funding or recognition to acquire a place under contract. Can you see how easy existent estate wholesaling is? You sell contracts instead of homes, it is as simple as that.

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Friday, January 04, 2008

Change In Capital Gains

If you have a place which you are planning to sell, be certain to confer with a taxation adviser or acquire informed about taxation law before doing so. Many existent estate agents also cognize the nuances of place merchandising and taxation. Respective little points can do the difference between having to pay working capital additions taxation or not.

Capital additions is something that not many of us worry about because we only have got the 1 place which is often only sold in order to purchase another property. Usually the adjacent place will be more than money and will be a like-kind property so the inquiry of working working capital additions taxation never arises.

However, until now, there have been a small known taxation clause which had taxed the most unsuspicious of people with capital gains. These people are newly widowed women, who suddenly happen that they will now be taxed as a single woman. On top of losing a spouse, they also had to worry about losing a big ball of their assets in the word form of money from the sale of their household home.

When a place is sold, it have usually been the place of joint proprietors (most commonly hubby and wife) and each proprietor is allowed to claim $250,000. This agency that, for taxation purposes, the norm couple can except up to $500,000 of addition - provided that they have got used the house as a principal abode for a accumulative two of the former five years.

In most cases, being able to 'write off' a $500,000 net income border intends most of us are not concerned with working capital additions tax.

But what haps when a partner suddenly dies? The working capital additions or the net income allowed on the sale of the house is now only one person's allowance of $250,000. If you and your hubby were married in the 1940s and lived all your life in the same house, then decease of one of the partners would incur heavy taxations on the sale of the property.

The Internal Revenue Service have just stepped in to change this situation, but with all the mortgage charge per unit controversy, it have slipped by almost unnoticed.

Until now, the lone manner to measure up for the full $500,000 working capital additions allowance was to sell your place in the same twelvemonth in which your partner died. In other words, it would be the last twelvemonth that you could register a revenue enhancement tax return as a married person, so it would be the last twelvemonth that any taxation could be applied to the married -deceased- spouse.

Apart from the daze of losing a partner and thought about merchandising your place all in the same clip time period - what haps if your partner deceases in November? You have got one calendar month to acquire your enactment together!

Theoretically, most hubbies or wives come into their spouse's share of the place at what is called a 'stepped-up' tax basis, but now that the Internal Revenue Service have introduced new statute law for the spousal decease situation, everyone can take a breath more than easily.

The new alteration in the law, introduced at the end of 2007, now gives surviving partners a full two old age to claim the "double" allowance of $500,00 on working capital gains, even though, by law, they are now single.

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Thursday, November 15, 2007

Preforeclosure Investing - FAQs

Preforeclosure investment is one of the most moneymaking fiscal vehicles you can leverage to construct wealthiness very quickly. In this marketplace where are seeing a rush in foreclosures, chances to do immense net income are more than abundant than ever. Here are some frequently asked inquiries (FAQs) about the human race of preforeclosure investing.

1. What is the difference between preforeclosure investment and other types of foreclosure investing?

There are three forms in every foreclosure lifecycle:

• Preforeclosure: The time period after which the mortgage company have filed a Notice of Default legal notice in the newspaper or a Lis Pendens lawsuit in the county tribunal and before the house travels on sale at a foreclosure auction. Investors can negociate directly with householders to purchase the topographic point and halt the foreclosure auction bridge bridge bridge bridge from taking place.

• Foreclosure auction: The house travels up for sale at a public auction where investors can offer and pay hard cash to purchase a house as is.

• REO: The house goes "real estate owned" by the depository financial institution if cipher purchases the house at the auction. Investors can submit an offering to the depository financial institution to purchase the house directly from them.

2. What are the advantages of investment in preforeclosures over the auction bridge and REO forms of investing?

At this phase, you have got the chance to negociate directly with homeowners, giving them an chance to salve their credit, continue their dignity, and walk away from the place with a clean start. Otherwise, the householder would have got to confront a forcible constructive eviction by the authorities after the auction. You are there to assist make a win/win solution that is mutually good for the householder and for yourself. Because you are investing with a householder in need, you have got greater room for flexibleness and negotiation, and the greater potentiality to take ownership of a house with more than equity than in the other phases. There is also less competition from other investors at the preforeclosure phase than at the other stages, because this phase necessitates you to have got the courageousness to actually speak to homeowners, either in individual or on the phone, and human face your fearfulness of rejection.

3. How make you negociate with homeowners? What make you state to them?

When you present yourself to a homeowner, you state them that you understand they are going through a hard clip and are in hazard of losing their home, and are there to assist them happen a solution. At this point, the householder may either hang up on your or sweep the door in your face, or her or she might be receptive to hear what solutions you have got to offer. But retrieve that the last thing that a householder desires is for some avaricious shark coming to their doorsill and asking blatantly to purchase the house. For a homeowner, facing foreclosure is a very demeaning and tragical experience. Imagine if you were about to lose your place and you had nowhere to go, the depository financial institution doesn't desire to negociate with you, and you have got mediocre credit, and no job. But you are sitting on a house in desperate demand of repairs, with $40,000 equity in it. How would you react to person knocking on your door? Can you happen person who is unfastened to merchandising their place to you? Absolutely yes. But you may confront a batch of rejections before you happen that one householder who is willing to work with you to happen a solution.

4. How make you halt foreclosure?

There are many ways to halt the foreclosure process:

• The householder sells you the house through a traditional closing. The mortgage acquires paid off. The householder walks away happy, possibly with some hard cash (depending on how much equity there is in the house), and you walk away with a house ready to repair and flip, or hole and rent out.

• The householder works the place over to you, and you take the place topic to the existent loan and reinstate it. In this circumstance, the statute title is being transferred to you, but the mortgage is still in the old homeowner's name. At this point, you don't pay off the loan but you simply reinstate it, by paying the lower limit amount past times owed to convey the business relationship current.

• The householder can register bankruptcy, but in this lawsuit the house cannot be sold to you during the bankruptcy proceedings. Once the bankruptcy legal proceeding are over, the householder is free to sell the house.

• The householder refinances the mortgage.

Obviously, the lone manner for a preforeclosure investor to do money in any of the above four scenarios is if the first two of the four methods above happens. But in the concern of preforeclosure investing, if you desire to be successful, you have got to derive the homeowner's trust.. That tin mean value that you may stop up helping the householder save their home. Remember that most householders will make everything in their powerfulness to maintain their place rather than attempt to sell it to you. Handing over the keys to the house is perceived by them as a last resort.

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Friday, August 17, 2007

Choosing The Right Real Estate Investing Course

Get The Most From Your Real Estate Investing Course --By Choosing The Right One For You

If you are interested in discovering all the insider secrets of existent estate investing, the good news is that there is likely a existent estate investment course of study that tin learn you all the inches and outs of existent estate simply and in minimal time. The problem? There are so many workshops, courses, and social classes about existent estate out there that choosing the right 1 can be a problem. To happen the right existent estate investment course of study of study for you, expression for a course that offers:

1) A enlightened expert. The individual instruction the course of study should be a well-thought-of existent estate expert who have old age of existent estate investment experience.

2) A focusing that associates to your interests. Whether you are interested in foreclosures, originative existent estate strategies, purchase and throw or hole and flip, do certain the existent estate investment course of study you take offerings you specific information that volition aid you in that area.

3) A good formatting and price. Brand certain that your lessons don't eat up money that you could be putting into existent estate. Also take the clip to find how you larn best. You can larn about existent estate investment through workshops and online social classes and or at local community colleges. Bash take a existent estate investment course of study that you will bask attending in individual or "virtually".

4) A good path record with other existent estate students. Ask around and happen out where other investors learned about existent estate investing. Then, mark up for the existent estate investment course of study of study or programme that makes existent investors who are happy with the social class experience.

Now that you cognize how to take the right course, it's happy dorsum to school clip for you!

To your successes!

Mary Wozny

www.MillionaireRiches.com

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Monday, July 30, 2007

The Beginner's Plea! "Where Do I Start?"

"I've been to all the seminars and read all the books. I've level listened to the CDs, but I just don't cognize where to get my investment career!" Ah...the all-too-common beginner's supplication for help!

Knowing how and where to begin existent estate investment is a valid concern. Though, I'm 12 old age into my ain investment career, I retrieve as though it were yesterday, my feelings of uncertainness about how to take the first stairway in what would go my livelihood.

Let me state you about the scarceness of information on existent estate investment as it was when I started. Investor clubs? I sure couldn't happen one in my country in those days. Also unlike today, where major book supplies dedicate full concern subdivisions to existent estate investing, I had to forage the shelves of local libraries for out-of-print, dusty, moldy-smelling, existent estate reading materials.

What a difference clip makes. The individual starting out as a existent estate investor today is faced with the antonym as a challenge. There's an overload of information about existent estate investor strategies. This overpowering information is the chief ground so many go confused. I've discussed this quandary with adequate people in hunt of their first stairway as an investor to associate on the peak level. I experience your pain!

Here's my suggestion as to what you make prior to choosing any 1 scheme over another. First things first! The end of any investor is to do money. And making tons of money is perhaps the greatest focusing of most of those. It's no secret existent estate investment is full of luck huntsmen clamoring to acquire in the gold rush. Stepping over their ain two feet, they falter and botch as though in ageless darkness. Many give up and travel back to their small cell of life. Off come ups the cape. The ace hero retreats from his dreams.

To take a clear path, you must first cognize why it is you desire to take the trip in the first place. Sounds simple doesn't it? Well it isn't. It's been said a good salesman can sell to most because 90% of the people wandering around don't even cognize what they want. Same with investors. The lone end is to be rich! A millionaire! Yet most never take a moment's notice that to do money in this concern is to work out jobs for others.

Your missionary post after attending a multi-day event is to travel out and work out jobs for as many place proprietors as you can find. That's were the lacking nexus can be discovered.

You come up place from a existent estate seminar, all fired up to be a rehabber. Fix it and impudent it! Only job is, your country have a soft marketplace for resells. Who you gonna sell it to? That was my first recreational challenge. I establish the properties. Fixed them nicely enough, but no 1 was buying in those days. I was stuck, or so I thought. It didn't take me long to calculate out instead of merchandising my rehabs, I should maintain them and rent them out. There was a strong renters' market. With my novices luck, I accumulated many lease properties, and the hard cash flowing quickly surpassed my wage at my twenty-four hours job.

Your mission, happen the demand in the marketplace where you be after to invest

Figure out what's going on in your market. Far too many "newbies" effort to convey a supply of commodity (strategies) where there is no demand.

What's going on? Are rehabs going galore? If so what is the issue scheme of the rehabber? Are she fixing to resell, or maintain as a rental? Are place proprietors suffering immense Numbers of foreclosures? If so acquire in set up the program to deliver these people with a speedy purchase. Perhaps you dwell in an country where place proprietors are aging and moving on to retirement communities. If so, the chances are many to purchase these places with immense equity borders to maintain as rentals, or rehab to resell.

Keep your ear to the ground. Find out what the demands are. Find the demand, then fill up it! Those most successful in life are the work force and women who've establish a manner to do life easier, more than endurable for the remainder of us. Gotta go. Now, it's clock for me to tell my groceries. I'm eager to pay the company who created the online grocery store ordering service. They maintain me from having to leap in my auto and hack in wretchedness up and down the nutrient isles.

They sure solved my job and made my life easier, didn't they?

Here's an illustration of what I mean. Let's say you've just returned from a workshop all about renovating houses only to happen out that in your little town of neatly kept homes, there are few places needing renovation. Instead, upon additional research you detect there's a larger marketplace of investors looking for rental properties. Your scheme is to provide that demand! In this lawsuit your attack should be to turn up places to either wholesale to other investors looking for leases or maintain a few for your ain portfolio. Hey, you might even put purchasers in your places on a rental option program.

Another great illustration of bringing the incorrect commodity to a market's demand affects short gross sales and the scorching hot marketplaces from a twelvemonth ago. When I first heard about a "short sale" whereby a depository financial institution holds to price reduction a loan balance final payment on a place with small or no equity, I was beside myself with excitement. Problem was, I invested in American Capital DC, which was on fire in existent estate sales, thus pushing grasp through the roof monthly. Uh huh, the bank's loss extenuation squads laughed at any ignorant investor who approached with the aim of discounting a loan on a prospective property.

At that time, the Banks had small ground (can't fault them) to negociate with investors in the hot markets. They were certain to acquire the full final payment from an over-zealous buying frenzy. But now that the marketplaces have got cooled, the Banks are ready to speak again to investors. The savvy investor who understands "short sales" and how to negociate them, is poised to do a fiscal killing. But now the timing is right in those markets, where not long ago the antonym was the case.

That's just two illustrations to exemplify my point. Never is it my purpose to sock anyone's investment strategy. No substance what way or scheme you take it won't work unless you do. It will necessitate rolled up arms from clip to clip and excavation in of your heels assists during the low points of disheartenment and attenuation enthusiasm. So, axial rotation up your arms and acquire out of the safety of your cocoon and see for yourself what's going on in your area.

Here's another tip to acquire you started, fall in a existent estate investor's association. They're everywhere these days. Be certain to look for an association where there are active investors doing existent deals. Beware of the shams and hypocrites who are only out to affect you with theory…oh, and also to accumulate your money with small preparation in return. You should be able to fall in a grouping where rank is less than $200.00 annually, per person.

Next, travel out and take stock list of the lodging stock in your area. Note whether there's mostly new building or 50-year old places in demand of their 2nd or 3rd major human face lift. Then do short letter of the action you see such as as how many redevelopment undertakings are going on in the area. Perhaps you dwell in a rural country where vacant farming area is beginning to have the attending of out-of-state shopping promenade developers and large box retail supplies ie. "The Walmarts." Whatever is happening in existent estate there's always a scheme for making money. You just have got to cognize what to make in any given state of affairs and in any market, especially your own. Even in a level marketplace there are schemes for making money. I made some of my best money purchasing houses in the slow resale marketplace of the mid 1990s.

First, travel out and behavior a reconnaissance of your market. Keep your ears and eyes unfastened and the marketplace will talk volumes to you. Remember, this is a public service we supply as investors. What we do, when done correctly, lends greatly to the fiscal well being of our communities. And finally, be on purpose!

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Thursday, July 19, 2007

Four Factors To Look For In a Real Estate Investing Deal

The cardinal to making money in existent estate investment is finding good deals. When you're in the concern of purchasing and merchandising houses for a profit, you have got to acquire good at recognizing the places that are good trades and those you should just walk away from.

In the beginning, it'll take some clip and analysis to make up one's mind if a trade is deserving is or not. As you go more than experienced, weeding out the bad trades will be like a 6th sense. There are some cardinal things that you should look for in determining a good existent estate investment deal.

Property Value. How much the place is deserving dramas a large function in existent estate transactions. It acts upon both your purchase terms and subsequent sale price. Unless you cognize the place value of the home, you can't effectively negociate your purchase price. One of the ways to find place value is to look up the concluding merchandising terms of similar places in the country that have got recently been sold.

Asking Price. How much makes the marketer desire you to pay for the property? Ideally, this figure is below the place value. Otherwise, it'll be a small harder to do a net income after you sell the property. Even if the place is listed for a terms above marketplace value, there's always the possibility of negotiating a less price.

Work To Make the Place Saleable. Some houses you buy may not be in a status that's contributing to selling. If you have got to pass so much money in fixes that you can't do a profit, then the place isn't a good existent estate investment deal. You can engage a bonded contractor to look over the place and give you an thought of what necessitates to be fixed. (Hint: engage your ain contractor rather than using one referred by the marketer or his agent).

State of the Buyer's Market. Are people buying places in the country of your deal? If gross sales are slow in that area, the existent estate investment trade might not be a good one, unless you can offer something that other places are not. Even then, existent estate investment in a slow marketplace is pretty risky.

When you're assessing existent estate investment deals, there are some cardinal factors you should maintain in mind. Use each of these factors to measure the trade and do a profitable decision.

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Monday, July 16, 2007

What are Hard Money Loans?

For the intent of funding your investing places there are two options- Hard Money & Soft Money.

Soft Money- is simply money that is borrowed from Banks and other loaning institutions. This is the normal loan procedure where the loan is underwritten by an underwriter. There are regulations and guidelines that are made by the loaners or by the groupings that bargain the loans from the lenders. This would include all loan types and verities.

Hard Money- is money from investors to fund your investing property. Hard Money is normally screen term. Hard Money is normally used when the place necessitates some fixes and rehab. With Hard Money you can finance the disbursal for fixes as a portion of your loan. If you are able to turn up a place with good equity you will be able to do the full purchase and rehab with no money out of your pocket.

The Rules- since the money is coming from private investors they can make their ain rules, unlike soft money above where the regulations can be more than restrictive. For this ground you can obtain money and eventually further money based upon your path record and public presentation with a peculiar Hard Money Lender.

After Repair Value (ARV) - This is what the place would be deserving after your rehab is competed and this value is normally determined by valuators that work with your difficult money lender. Normally Hard Money loaners will loan 65%-70% of the ARV. This is how it works. if you purchase a place for $100,000 you can borrow $65,000, 65%, Right? Wrong. Let's say the ARV is $200,000 you would be able to borrow 65% of that amount or $130,000, now you have got money to purchase the house for $100,000 and pay for your rehab.

Escrows- This is money that is held by a 3rd party, normally a Title Company, for a specific purpose. In the lawsuit of Hard Money Lending they would escrow your fix money and in some cases they would escrow your first couple of payments. This is done to guarantee that the work on the place is actually completed. When you first use for your Hard Money Loan for a specific place you would set up a work sheet of what necessitates to be done and the cost of that work. This would be used to put up your escrow account.

Draws- The manner the money for fixes is disbursed is by using draws. The Hard Money Lender would physically inspect the place to guarantee the work was actually done and disburse the money accordingly. The money is not released all at once, rather in gradual parts as the work is completed. Each part is a draw.

When & Why- There is a clip a topographic point to utilize Hard Money Loans. Normally for Soft Money to be used the place necessitates to have got a roof, windows, doors, flooring coverings. If the place makes demand some work this is called postponed maintenance. This would be noted by the valuator when the assessment is done. Traditionally if this figure is over $2,000 you would not be able to have a Soft Money Loan. The other ground investors utilize Hard Money Loans is so they make not necessitate to utilize any of their money or to personally monetary fund their project. As you can see a good part of the places an investor purchases would be financed with a Hard Money Loan. This is owed to the fact that most foreclosed places are not well kept. However, there are always exclusions to this.

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Saturday, July 07, 2007

3 Key Level to Monitor as a Real Estate Investor.

Calculate the Degree of Liquid the Real Estate Investing will have got - liquidness is the ability to quickly convert an investing into cash, without losing any of the principal that you've invested. Take a nest egg business relationship for illustration that is highly liquid. In contrast, existent estate is considered to have got low liquidness because of the capriciousness of the marketplace value at the clip you are ready to sell. The top existent estate lucks have got got been lost by those who overextended themselves and didn't have adequate liquidness to endure the natural ebb aways and flowings in the existent estate market. Before you invest, see schemes to set up high degrees of liquidity.

Establish the Investments Degree of Marketability - When it come ups clip to sell your existent estate investment, volition you have got a purchaser that will convert the investing into hard cash for you at a just price. This is the measurement of marketability For example, pillory can be sold anytime on an organized stock exchange at the predominant marketplace value. However, the terms at which the stock is sold can bring forth a loss for the investor who is selling the stock. With existent estate, not only will you necessitate to cover with marketplace conditions, there will be existent costs to see whenever you sell a place such as as brokerage firm fees, selling fees and taxes. Those looking to put in Northern Old Dominion Condos for Sale should seek to put with a concern program and avoid the marketability hazards associated with existent estate speculation.

Establish the Investments Impact of Leverage - using borrowed finances to finance a portion of the purchase terms is called leverage. The ratio of borrowed finances to the sum purchase terms is known as the loan-to-value (or LTV) ratio. A low loan-to-value would ensue in low leverage, while a high loan-to-value would ensue in high leverage. Real Number estate investings can be more than leveraged than most other types of investments. Sometimes, mortgage debt consequences in 'negative leverage'. In this case, you should avoid mortgage debt or sell the investment. Other times, mortgage debt consequences in 'positive leverage' and can heighten your charge per unit of tax return on investment. When purchasing a place in Northern Virginia, you should avoid the trap of negative purchase while maximizing the benefits positive leverage.

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Friday, June 29, 2007

The "Short Sale" Is It For You?

When it comes to investing in real estate, there are so many ways to make money. In fact, lots of money. The key is simply to be as creative as you can and you WILL make money. Usually, it is the innovator of a new idea that will be able to cash in before anybody else has the chance. Then they will make tons of money and sell programs to teach others to do the same thing later on.

The technique that is used and in fact needed quite a bit is the "Short Sale." The idea of the short sale is simple. If there is not enough equity in a property such as a foreclosure, for example. What is needed, is for you to negotiate with the bank where the deed is being held and see if they will take a lesser amount than what the actual owed amount of the mortgage is.

Ok, I know you are already asking yourself, "Why would they do that?" Well , I will tell you. In this day where it is easier to buy a house and there are many programs which facilitate this both Government and Bank there are many properties that cannot be afforded with a conventional loan where both interest and principle is paid. It is too much to handle. So, what is becoming increasingly popular is the "interest only" loan. This is a loan where instead of paying into your mortgage, you only have to pay and keep the interest paid on the loan each month. This helps people afford much bigger houses with much less money. The only problem with this is that if your mortgage is $200,000 dollars and you do interest only, after a year in ownership, you still owe $200,000 nothing has come off of the price of the loan. Hopefully your house has gained equity and now it is worth $250,000. Not very likely, but it does happen.

These cases are the reason for the short sale. The bank would rather sell to you at a discount the property and take a small loss, then have to hold it and not be able to sell it for many months and take a huge loss. This is where we the investor can cash in. So just because you see a property that looks like nothing can be done, does not mean that is the case. Submit your offer to the bank and see what they say. They may surprise you. The only thing you have to lose is nothing and you can gain the property at your price to make money with. So get out there and get your goals met and remember this. The only thing stopping you is YOU!

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Thursday, June 28, 2007

Buyer's List

Many investors make investing in real estate a complicated business more than it should be. I reckon there are many elements to master. We should be able to differentiate the big rocks from the pebbles and the sand. This means we should know what is paramount for our success. If I am forced to summarize the business of real estate investing I would say: Find the deal and sell the deal. In other terms: do marketing to find and sell. If again I'm forced to choose one out of the two, I will without hesitation say: build your buyer's list. That is in a nutshell.

The key of this whole business we call real estate investing is to have a Strong Buyer's List. I should say a Strong Qualified Buyer's List. My friend if you have that you don't need to find deals. You can call around and find deals that match exactly what your buyers are looking for. This is really a million dollars advice taken for someone who has transacted more than 750 deals. Believe me having the best deal in town will do you absolutely no good unless you have a qualified buyer who wants it.

I'm going to show you 5 ways to build a strong buyer's list.

1) Courthouse steps

Investors who go to the courthouse steps have access to money, wouldn't you agree? By going to the courthouse steps you can easily spot the regular investors. They have done their homework and prepared to buy some properties. It's all about relationships. Some will not talk to you, some will be glad to give you their business card and that is. The approach I recommend is to present yourself as beginners looking to bird dog for some properties to a seasoned investors. Then you're not perceived as competitors.

2) Auctions

Believe it or not there are many auctions in your town every month. Some are performed at a property location, some in a big room. You can easily exchange business cards. And follow up later to establish a good repert. I'd like to insist that meeting someone for the first time is not good enough. You need to hit them at least three times.

3) Buyers of foreclosure

Select your farming areas. Look at the fixer upper for sale. An investor is going to buy it. Drive by and establish rapport.

4) Section 8 strategy.

This is a great way to find established investors. Many of these investors are using a buy and hold strategy. I found that many own Corporations and LLC. It doesn't matter that you can still cross reference and find the owner behind the corporation. I'm convinced that real estate investing is a detective business. Be a real Colombo (played by Peter Falk) and know things nobody knows and you can help more people and make money in the process.

5) Classified advertisements

You can use this strategy in three ways. You can read the classified at the section of properties for sale. Generally speaking investors tend to put classified ads that read like "Handyman special, Cheap, Cash the phone number." Or something close to that.

You can read the "real estate wanted" section. I found that the investors who advertise there want a better deal than I can give them. Not one of my favorite strategies. You should test it.
You can also put your own add as the one above "Handyman special, Cheap, cash claim your free report on "How to save thousands of dollars by renovating you property." With this little twist you can steal, so to speak, some readers.

You still have your real estate investors clubs to fish from.

You should classify your buyers in three lists A, B, C.

A are those who have money

B are those who are thinking buyers in the future

C are the newbies. You really have to take them by the hand and teach them everything.

Let's me ask you: How many buyers do you need? You really need 10 A buyers. That is. You can sell two properties a year to each of these buyers. With an average profit of $7,000, you can add a cool six figure income to your business, part time. Now, you just to implement these strategies.

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Thursday, June 14, 2007

Real Estate Investing - When Others Discourage You

What do you do when others try to steer you away from your real estate investing goals? Sometimes even well meaning friends become cold-water bucket brigades. They throw cold water on your dreams and dampen your enthusiasm with their negativity.

They will tell you about their Uncle Harry who lost a lot of money in real estate. They are quick to give you all the reasons not to invest.

If you announce to others that your goal is to become a wealthy real estate investor, I guarantee you some of them with try to discourage you. That's true of any announced goal.

Tell them you're trying to lose weight and they'll offer you a cookie. Tell them you plan to get rich in real estate and they'll tell you why that's a stupid idea.

Some life coaches go so far as to say that you should NOT announce your goals to others. This way they have no way to offer their negative input.

I think you'll have to figure that one out for yourself. Do what works for you.

However, you must be prepared to handle the naysayer. When someone offers you their negative feedback one great response to the negative Nelly is to simply say, "Thanks for sharing!" Then quickly change the subject.

Did you know that your net worth is probably the average of your five closest friends?

Think about the 5 people to whom you are closest. Could it possibly be true? Yes, it is very likely true.

So, if you are serious about increasing your net worth, you may need to think about getting some new friends.

I'm not suggesting that you "fire" you current friends. But, you will probably find that it happens automatically over time. As you develop your new interest and meet new people, you will probably develop some new friends.

Just be sure to pick some rich ones!

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Saturday, April 28, 2007

Wholesaling Real Estate Deals - 6 Steps to a Six Figure Income

So, you are getting started in real estate investing and have selected wholesaling as your entry into the exciting and lucrative real estate investing business. Congratulations.

Wholesaling is an outstanding, low risk way of learning your local real estate market, mastering finding motivated sellers and earning a significant income while learning the real estate business.

So, here are 6 steps to a six figure income as a real estate wholesaler.

1. Establish yourself as a real estate investor

The first step is to get set up and in business as a real estate investor. I do not recommend spending a lot of unearned money on your business as first, but it sure helps to have some of the basics when you first get started.

First, get some business cards. You do not need very expensive ones (at first, or really ever), but you will want a professional way to let people know that you are in business and a means for you to pass on your contact information. That leads into the next thing you need to get started, a business telephone.

You do not need to get a separate line into your house or buy a second cell phone, but I might suggest that you change the message on your cell phone number to a business voice mail. Something like this is fine, "Thank you for calling Susie Smith's Real Estate Services. Unfortunately, we are working with other clients right now or are otherwise unavailable, please leave a message and we will return your call as soon as possible."

Once you have your business cards and cell phone, you have the bare minimum tools you will need to get started as a wholesaler.

2. Find motivated sellers

The next step is where you will be spending the majority of your time as a new wholesaler. I am a huge believer in spending money on advertising to find deals, but you can find deals through various free methods like searching the Multiple Listing Service with a real estate agent or calling on for sale by owner signs and ads in the newspaper or websites.

3. Analyze deals

Once you find deals, you will need to analyze each one to see if it really is a great deal that you can wholesale. If it is, then continue to the next step. If not, then you will need to go back and find more motivated sellers.

4. Negotiate deals

You should be negotiating from the first contact with the motivated seller by building up rapport and common ground, but when you have analyzed the deal and are trying to put it all together, your negotiation skills come to the forefront.

5. Control properties

Once you have negotiated a great deal, the next step is to put it down on paper so that you have control over the property and can legally resell the deal for a profit.

Most wholesalers use one of two things to control a property: an option or a purchase and sales contract. You can get both forms from your local office supply store or by searching the internet. You might also be able to get the paperwork you need from a real estate agent especially if you are working with them to find the house and they will be paid when you buy. As you do more deals, you will probably want to consider upgrading to forms that are specifically designed for what you are doing in your business and were written for your particular market.

6. Liquidate properties to collect your paycheck

Once you have control of the property, it is your job to liquidate them and collect your paycheck. Your ability to quickly find another investor to flip the deal to or a retail buyer to purchase the property is a huge factor in how successful you will be as a real estate wholesaler.

Rinse and repeat this process as often as you can to earn a huge income finding great deals and quickly liquidating them as a real estate wholesaler.

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Wednesday, April 25, 2007

The Rising Demand for Student Housing Means Profits for Investors

Mention college to most parents, and their first thought is mostly likely how much it will cost. But a growing number of savvy real estate investors—parents or not—are thinking of college as a way to make money rather than spend it because students all need a place to live. Three key demographic, sociological, and economic factors are coming together to create a lucrative trend for student housing investors.

"First of all, more than 80 million people will turn 18 over the next decade," says Michael H. Zaransky, author of Profit by Investing in Student Housing: Cash in on the Campus Housing Shortage (Kaplan Publishing). "Second, more young people are pursing college educations than ever before. Finally, state budget deficits are causing a serious shortfall in university-owned housing. Someone is clearly going to make money from the convergence of trends—so why shouldn't it be you?"

The budgets of colleges and universities across the country are stretched by the demands of funding enrollment, research, and hiring more professors. In many areas, older dorms are being torn down and replaced with new classrooms, reducing the availability of campus housing. Increasingly, these schools are looking to the private market to supply off-campus housing.

You can approach the student housing market from two primary angles: as an investor who owns property and provides the housing or by managing properties for other owners. Zaransky says the easiest and lowest-cost way to get started in the student housing business is to purchase a single-family home or condo in a college town and rent it to students. However, keep in mind that aging housing stock may not have the amenities today's students demand. Your chances of success are increased when your properties offer student tenants spacious rooms, private baths, air conditioning, storage, cable television, and high-speed internet access.

Zaransky offers these tips for investors:

The property should be located near a school with a low bed-to-student ratio. Zaransky says that the national average school-owned housing capacity is 30.12 percent of the total student population, which means almost 70 percent of college students need to find some type of off-campus living quarters.

- Think public, not private. Private universities tend to apply greater restrictions on housing and may even require students to live on campus. Housing for public university students will usually make more economic sense.

Avoid schools located in large cities. Typically these schools have a significant number of part-time students and commuters who don't need housing.

Approach areas with a substantial amount of new construction and an abundance of property opportunities with caution. Zaransky prefers to invest in areas where property is hard to come by. He points out that too many owners wanting to sell at the same time could be an indication that they are having difficulty finding tenants.

Be sure your NOI projections make sense. Be thorough in calculating your estimated net operating income; don't overlook any potential source of income or expense.

"Never forget the discipline required to walk away from a deal that's overpriced and doesn't provide enough cash flow to cover expenses, contingency reserves, mortgage payments, and a reasonable return on the equity investment," says Zaransky. Even with that caution, he says that the time is right for both new and seasoned investors to profit from this real estate investment niche.

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Monday, April 16, 2007

Are We About to See an Outbreak of REOs Again?

REO stands for Real Estate Owned and describes bank-repossessed properties.

Back in the late 1980s and early 1990s there was a rash of REOs on the market spawned after several years of creative financing intended to work-around ungodly interest rates. Anyone who sold real estate in those days would agree it was like the wild-wild west of real estate.

Banks, overly eager to make loans during a time when property sales were at a virtual stand still, threw caution to the wind and became more-than-willing to make loans to just about anyone able to propose a creative lending idea.

But we reap what we sow--within a few years, when it came to pay the piper, borrowers seemingly had no creative way to maintain the loan and many in turn lost their property to foreclosure. In response, this time eager to dump an overbearing load of repossessed properties, banks got the creative idea to sell them off through a specially-formed department they called REO.

It was like witnessing a financial train wreck. Fortunes were lost, reputations destroyed, and for many, the idea of ever sharing the American Dream got blown off the steps of courthouses across the nation into kingdom-come like piles of ashes.

For the decade following, banks tightened their lending practices and REO, with the exception of a few occasional foreclosures, became history.

But history does have a way of repeating itself. About five years ago banks again threw caution to the wind and seemingly decided to loan money to just about anyone breathing—whether they had the means to repay or not. In fact, they made it easy. Many loans got approved with zero down and included creative interest rates to keep the monthly payment low—at least for five years.

Can you guess the outcome? I believe we are about to see another outbreak of REO. In my area foreclosures are rising, and sources in Southern California are telling me there are clear and visible signs that it is just a matter of time before we see an REO pandemic--again.

My advice to real estate investors is to start watching the market for properties that must get sold (at below-market prices), and be prepared to react. If it sounds ghoulish to consider getting a good deal on the misfortune of others, keep this in mind: we are surely not wise enough to prevent it, but at least not so foolish that we would miss the opportunity.

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Monday, April 09, 2007

Real Estate Investing - Self-Analysis

Most people just starting out in real estate investing focus on buzz phrases like, "property analysis" and "due-diligence". The relationship between these two is important to any real estate investor, both experienced and inexperienced alike. The other aspect that is equally important, if not more important is self-analysis.

Now I don't mean psychological self-analysis either. Self-analysis is about taking a good look at your own financial situation, knowledge of investments, resources, strengths and weaknesses, and personal preferences. When we first began our real estate investment company, we agreed that personal guarantees for loans for any project for the company was not in our best interest. This is an example of a personal preference. This obviously has an impact on how we conduct our business.

Many real estate investors face the reality of having to borrow money in order to begin purchasing real estate. A great place to start analysing is your own wallet. Then match that to your personal preferences. For instance, if you were to consider buying a "fixer upper" and you had $5000 in your bank account. You would have to consider your options based not only on the amount of money in your bank account, but also the implications of borrowing money. This includes your credit, your personal assets, your family situation and the risks involved.

Bullets are always nice, so here are some to help you focus on what should be considering before "going for broke" (which is what you want to avoid):

Money in bank


Access to more money if needed


Credit

Possible risks to credit


What do these risks mean to you (how much do you care about them)?


Family - how will this effect your family?


Current assets


Current debts

Take these bullets and then match them to the following:

What are the potential problems that may arise?


How well prepared are you to handle these challenges?


How well do you handle pressure?


What experience do you have?


What are some resources you can use that can help you?


What money sources can you access if needed?


Who do you know that can help you?


How can you meet people that can possibly help you?


Do you want to do what it takes to actually start meeting people in the business?


What if you lose all your money?


What if your credit is destroyed?


What if you lose everything you have?

On a scale of 1 - 10 (1 = Absolutely No Risk and 10 = Extremely High Risk), how risky is the investment strategy?

Those "what if" questions are probably the most scary out of the bunch and they are also the root of what keeps many people from taking the first step toward making that first real estate investment or starting their own business. Regardless of these questions, if you want to start investing in real estate or start your own business, these questions have to be asked honestly.

But look at the entire list also! Part of the power of the "what if" questions are that they overshadow all the other options. The self-analysis you do is an absolute must. Any person who is considering real estate investing as a viable option for wealth building has to answer these questions on their own. No one can answer them but you.

Self-analysis is important because knowing yourself is the first building block to success. You've got to understand yourself and be honest. If you sugarcoat it, you will ultimately fail. There are so many different ways to begin a career or business in real estate, it's almost unbelievable. But no matter what path you choose, you've got to sit down and look at yourself seriously. Where there are strengths, grow them and where there are weaknesses, work on them. Real estate investment success or business success in general, does not happen overnight, neither does self-analysis. Sit down, figure it out. Then go out and make money!

©2007 noobdogs.com

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Friday, March 30, 2007

Real Estate Investing – Finding The Next Big Deal

Ken McElroy, author of "The ABCs of Real Estate Investing," has a method he uses to find prospective investment real estate. He's been at it for a long time but, he says, no matter how much experience he gains, he always uses the same method.

Research, research, research. "I have never purchased a single property without going through this process," he says.

His process is one that allows him to quickly narrow the scope of his search, and he describes it in terms of levels. Level I research, he says, is something you don't even have to leave your house to do. He calls it "the very preliminary stuff."

You may go online and research the major markets in a given area of the U.S. to discover the best cities in which to invest. You want to look at quality of life, economy, industry and population. Look at the newspapers and business journals in every city that interests you. Follow the links. Discover everything you can.

Now you're ready for Level II—choose a city and make contact.

What you want to do now is begin setting up your team. This is not something you want to skimp on. These are the professionals you are going to have to employ to get things going, experts whose opinions you will want to use. Your team will be able to see things that you cannot, because of its areas of expertise and because of its familiarity with the city. Your team members will be people in the industry and who have contact with the industry—such as lawyers, accountants and brokers.

Not all of your meetings at this phase are about setting up your team. In fact, you are simply attempting to gather information about the city at this point. But the knowledge that your contacts demonstrate at this point will clue you in on whether you want them on your team when it is time to make that step.

Level III happens when you return home. This is when you fill in any gaps that are left in your knowledge. Sign up for newsletters, have your contacts set you up with lawmakers and other business people who can give you accurate projections of the sub markets in the area, crime statistics, construction plans—anything that may influence how good an investment a piece of property is.

When it is time to make a decision about which area in which to look for property, start in the place you would most like to invest. Start there even if you don't think you can afford to buy there. You never know what you will find. According to McElroy, there are deals everywhere, even in the most desirable locations. Something that needs a lot of cosmetic work may actually be in fine structural condition. A place like that can be a real "diamond in the rough," according to McElroy.

He advises that you take a skeptical approach, and says he never actually expects deals to go through. This isn't negativity, he says. It simply allows him to retain the option of walking away, keeps him from putting too much effort into making the deal happen. If you have to try too hard for it, then it isn't a good deal. You have to be willing to walk away from any piece of property.

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Saturday, March 24, 2007

Investing In Real Estate – What's The Best Approach For You?

In his Rich Dad book series, Robert Kiyosaki trumpets the benefits of investing, especially those of real estate investing. Those include tax benefits, and the ability to have your money go to work for you without your lifting a finger. It sounds wonderful, doesn't it? The idea that you can turn a dollar into two just by placing it in what can seem like a magical realm can seem very enticing.

In order to actually turn a good idea into money in your bank account, however, you have to know a little something about how the magic works. It is a good idea, for instance, to take apart this term "real estate." Just what is real estate, and what are the types of real estate investing that are open to you?

"Real estate" is a term that refers to a piece of land and everything that sits on it, usually meaning structures. In terms of investment, its value is affected by local market conditions more than global conditions. There are several different ways to invest in real estate.

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) allow you to make money by investing in real estate, either by owning the properties themselves or by owning the mortgages on them, or to do a combination of both. The benefits of this type of investing are high yields and tax considerations. This is also a highly liquid type of investing, which means that it is easily converted to cash.

In a real estate partnership, you are pairing with (who or what?) in order to make money from existing structures or to build new ones. You can even make money off the sheer appreciation of undeveloped land itself. This is a good bet because of high growth potential and tax benefits (shelter).

The rental of vacation property is pretty self-explanatory. Your vacation property is one that is used for recreational purposes and is not your primary residence. (Define primary residence.)

Rental property is another almost self-explanatory concept, as we have all done business with landlords at some point in our lives. However, there may be a difference between residential and business rental property.

You may also invest in raw, or undeveloped, land.

It is a good idea to learn about each type of real estate investment to determine which yields the greatest benefits, determined by your particular needs. Kiyosaki named tax benefits as a good reason to become a real estate investor. After all, money you keep in your pocket is just as good as money earned.

If you are particularly interested in pursuing real estate investment because of tax benefits, you may even wish to become a real estate professional, as the IRS allows people who spend at least 750 hours a year to have nearly unlimited tax deductions. If you are not considered a professional, and your salary is high, that can actually cost you deductions on your real estate. You must have the time to participate in your real estate activities yourself, even if you have hired another real estate professional, to qualify for all tax benefits.

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