Tag Archives: real estate investing

5 Ways to Use Realtors for Your REO Investing Business

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REO properties are proving to be the true deals in our current market. Why? The banks have already gone through the expensive foreclosure process and are simply looking to get rid of the property; which can be a very good thing for you.

One of the very best resources you can have to help you grow your REO investing business is an experienced REO Realtor. Below are 5 ways you can utilize REO Realtors to help not only grow your REO investing business, but also do a lot of the work for you Continue reading →

Multiple Streams of Income

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With the recent economic crash felt ‘round the world, it’s never been more important to diversify. You need to introduce multiple streams of income… In other words, diversify your income streams… your investments… your businesses… It’s just how business is going to operate in the new decade.

You’ve got to have a number of ways to bring in money or you’re going to be left holding the bag one of these days.

Several years ago, the phrase “Multiple Streams of Income” gained significant popularity through seminars, events, and tele-trainings. The company essentially taught that there were 4 ways to make money:

  1. Real Estate Investing;
  2. Infopreneuring;
  3. Internet Marketing; and Continue reading →

2010 Real Estate Investing Predictions

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It’s been a year of mixed reviews for many people! Certainly, there were highlights, but many folks are happy to see 2009 ushered out and welcome 2010!
With the New Year – and new decade – there are going to be lots of changes to come in real estate investing, online marketing, information marketing, and business in general.

I know that lots of people are posting their thoughts, predictions, and opinions for the coming year! Here are just a few of my predictions for real estate industry – specifically for investors.

  1. Property Values Will Stabilize.
    We’re not going to see a huge change in property values this year. Many of the markets have bottomed out, or are close thereto. However, there is a lot of inventory that has yet to hit the market before we can start to see an increase in value. This will make it easier to evaluate properties and determine the after repair values as there’s less decline to calculate. However, there are still Continue reading →

Real Estate Training

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Back when I started investing in real estate, there were limited resources for training available. There were high end bootcamps that you could attend for upwards of $4000. There were $20,000+ mentorship programs out there. And there were a handful of “homestudy courses” if you knew where to find them.

It was before the Internet was a primary marketing and communications vehicle. It was before every investor that had done a single deal was a self-proclaimed “guru”. In some ways, it was quite simple. In many ways, it was more complicated to find the information.

Fast forward to now…

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Finding the Right People

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I just spent the last week with my “mastermind” team, or my network of people that help me grow our business. And while I was there, I lot of questions came up about referrals, partners, etc. Now, this wasn’t a “real estate” group per se, but we definitely share our resources.

On the plane home, I got to thinking about networking in real estate. There aren’t as many mastermind groups out there. Plus, the cost to enter can be out of reach for many (this one cost me $16,000). So, I thought that since we’re just getting going into 2008, now would be a great time to evaluate our businesses and who’s on our team. So, I decided to post this article..

Here’s a short list of people that you need in your real estate business:

… Accountants
… Attorneys
… Private Lenders
… Rehab Lenders Continue reading →

Real Estate Investing Lessons Learned!

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No matter how long you are in real estate, you will continue to learn – ALWAYS!

This week, I had two such learning experiences that have changed our in house procedures. I want to share these with you because I do believe that they will help you in your business – and keep you from running into the same challenges!

Always include a clause in your contracts (when you’re selling) that holds the buyer accountable

Whenever you are selling a piece of property, include in the “Additional Terms” the following:

  • “Should the buyer not close on or before the closing date – and the seller agrees to extend the closing – buyer agrees to pay $_____ day until closing occurs”

It seems that the media has given the buyers the impression they hold all the cards, and somewhere along the way – with lenders changing requirements – contract dates are “written in sand”. Truth is, in many markets, buyers ARE farther and fewer between, but that doesn’t mean when we sell a property, that we have no recourse. Know what your daily holding costs are charge the buyer if his/her lender takes too long! But, add it to you contract because if you don’t, you’ll lose the money!

A few hundred dollars is still a few hundred dollars, right? (Yes, this did just happen to us! AND the buyer had the nerve call our broker and complain that we were trying to get her to pay for the additional days! – even though the deal didn’t even go through our real estate sales team!)

2nd Lesson Learned This Week…

Even if you have a property manager, you have to lay down the law! My previous property manager transferred 4 of our single family rentals to a new property manager all of a sudden! I knew about one tenant that we had to evict and was on my way to working on that one… But what I didn’t know was that the another didn’t pay for April (just found out today ~ 45 days later). I also found out that when a tenant moved out from a 3rd unit, that they had turned the water on and it ran constantly for 2 months ($1100 in water bills!) So, after a heart to heart with the NEW property manager, we’re laying out specific terms and my contract… with very clear policies and proecedures for screening, evicting, maintenance, etc. They have been put on notice that there is a zero tolerance for late pays and that we will go after them to the fullest extent that the law permits, and will keep the judgment on their credit report until it’s paid off! INCLUDING all late fees, attorneys fees, back rent, etc.! Needless to say, it’s been a hectic week on the real estate front.

I wanted to share these stories with you to let you know that I’m still in the field with you, going through the same old stuff you are and two, to give you a few nuggets of wisdom I picked up along the way.

Real Estate Investing: The Three Levels of Success

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If you’ve been investing in real estate for any length of time (or even if you’re just getting started), then you have undoubtedly faced frustration, hit some highs and then crashed into some lows! Ultimately, your goal as a real estate investor is most likely to generate immediate cash flow and long term wealth and increased net worth.

True financial success is achieved by combining these two elements – cash flow and wealth creation, or net worth. Cash flow is considered as the monetary profit that is earned every month to support your lifestyle. This can also be used to invest in assets that may later appreciate in value.

Three levels of real estate investors are as follows:

Level one Real Estate Investors – In this level, the investors learn the basic tricks of the real estate investment business, and they use it to make real estate investment a profitable venture. They learn this by making their initial deals profitable. Thus, Level One investors ensure that real estate is the path to economic success. They are aware that there is much to learn from this vast field, and they try to understand it.Real estate investors at this stage should spend time learning the business, evaluating the details of the deals, and make sound decisions. Often
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5 Steps to Successful Real Estate Marketing

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There are essentially 5 steps to being successful in real estate marketing. Before we go into the 5 steps of real estate marketing, I want to encourage you to become a student of marketing. The moment that you are able to find your own deals – on demand – the more money you will make! It’s a direct correlation. When I started out in real estate, I didn’t understand how to “really” market for deals. I was depending upon real estate agents, local real estate investing groups, etc. I did a lot of deals, but I realized I wasn’t making the kind of money I knew I could in estate.

Follow these five steps to successful real estate marketing and you’ll be on your way to filling your own funnel full of five-figure deals.

  1. Define Your Target Market:
    You must be focused… If you run in too many directions, focusing on too many real estate markets, you’ll always be skipping around, never getting ahead. You need to learn overcome objections; you need to know how to handle the different situations that arise. Once you master one market, then you can duplicate your system across market after market. For instance, you may choose to start working with foreclosures or out of state owners. Once you get the real estate marketing system in place for one, add the other. Then, you can simply duplicate it over and over again!The single most important thing to remember is that you MUST target motivated sellers…. PERIOD. Continue reading →

Foreclosure Help – Are Lenders Stepping Up?

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The real estate industry, or more appropriately, the mortgage industry is facing daily changes. As you probably know by now if you’ve read the newspaper or watched television in the last three months, the sub-prime mortgage market has made some huge changes… Second mortgages are quickly going by the wayside in exchange for loans with mortgage insurance, which is now tax deductible*.

If you do the math, even with PMI, loans often end up costing the borrower less than the hybrid loans of recent years.

But… the changes affect the new loans, not the existing mortgages with which sellers are facing foreclosure in record numbers. And this is the major reason the real estate market has flat-lined, depreciated, or ____________ (fill in the blank with your market). Let’s face it… homeowners got bad loans and the mortgage industry was getting wealthy. So, let’s not feel too bad for the lenders :-). They not only did it to themselves, but to homeowners and investors. Have you ever heard the saying, “Pigs get fat… hogs get slaughtered… Continue reading →