Real Estate Investor Stories

Essential Elements of Brand new Luxury Houses

2013-03-01T01:58:00.001-05:00

New luxury homes would be the ultimate fantasy for most home buyers. Developers continue to build these kinds of properties to find out high demand. Eventhough it is easy to go online and search for your house of your dreams, the process is not that easy. Make sure you know what to find before making the important decision. Extra knowledge could also help you unless you know how to start.

The real estate companies are booming. Whenever you show awareness for new homes for sale, developers will attempt their best for you to convince one to buy. Be prepared to hear reports about what means they are different and the reason why they are the best. Remember that the caliber of their work need to speak by itself. Ask to find out model products or ground plans regarding properties you can purchase. Use this for you to gauge whether the house suits you and tastes.

Be aware of issues you should look with regard to if you are looking for new luxury homes. Design trends come and go, but you'll find those that hang around for the long term. Timeless patterns and features might increase the home's rate over time. Try to find the following when you're house shopping:

Ideal Area

Good spots put new luxury properties above the rest; the greater the location, the higher the value. You should never forget this even before looking for a brand new home. Consider the long-term elements of it all. Your house will promote for a much high price in the future when located someplace ideal.

Luxurious properties need to serve as get off the busyness of modern living. Consider components in private but offered locations. These kind of will provide solace after a nerve-racking day. Look at the community also. Remember that neighborhood and neighbours may impact your lifestyle. Retain these thoughts in mind if you are searching for new homes for sale.

Timelessness

Practically nothing says luxury better than a classic and long lasting design. Give consideration to properties with stone as well as brick exteriors. Stucco and plastic will not give you a timeless really feel. Houses internal "trendy" designs furthermore run the risk of falling out of style any time new tendencies come along. Choose classic architecture and your home will always be in vogue. You will not have to worry about regular restorations just to conserve the times.
Widespread elements used to achieve this search include bricks or mortar, colonial columns as well as windows, and also gable overhangs and top elevation.

Area

Having plenty of space is the foremost definition of luxury. It is an essential characteristic of these kinds of properties. Remember this when discussing your options with all the developer. Area applies to the outside and inside. Buy components with maintained and huge yards. It is deemed an important consideration, since it is the first visible part of your home.

Landon G³mez have been a expert psychologist for 8 years and have been studying good improvements with Real Estate Beverly Hills CA as part with her affiliation from New Industries Group ,a new innovative team for developing individuals. Learn All about her website to read more about her Sally Forster Jones tips over the years.

Your Real Estate Agent Will Know How To Properly Stage Your Home

2013-02-25T03:54:00.001-05:00

The property that you own often makes up a considerable amount of your overall net worth. Make sure you get the best deal possible if you wish to sell your home. When you are prepared properly, then you ensure that you're getting the best deals when it comes to real estate.

Websites such as Craig's List let you post classified ads for free. You should go online and use these sites. You'll open your listing up to an audience you wouldn't get just from MLS or newspapers, moving up the time it takes to sale, and hopefully, getting you the desired sales price.

One particularly important marketing move today for real estate professionals is establishing a Twitter or Facebook page. You can post about real estate buying and home improvement tips, tweet about new properties for the area, and make special posts about upcoming promotions.

When pricing your home, you should set the price based on homes that have recently sold in your neighborhood. Get a list of comparable sales in the neighborhood and choose the median price. If your home is initially priced too high, you might have to reduce the cost.

You might want to prune your trees and bushes to help you sell your home. When a potential buyer comes and views your home, they may be more inclined to but it because of the better view. It will also give buyers the perception that your home has been well taken care of. First impressions are huge, so make sure the outside of your home looks fantastic.

Be sure to optimize your landscaping before you begin trying to sell your home. Many buyers will drive right past a house with an unkempt yard, taking it as a sign the home isn't well-cared for.

Shine all of your plumbing fixtures before showing your home. Potential buyers will want to make sure there are no leaks and water pressure is good, so they will probably turn the faucets on and off. They will know if your fixtures are worn out. Make sure that they get a good impression of your property through these little details. If you could not clean them, try replacing them.

When selling a property, something as simple as a fresh coat of paint on the walls can exponentially increase the value. Look at your yard and see what may be unattractive to a buyer. Also, put small appliances in a cabinet after you finish using them. While leaving out the toaster is handy for access, your counter will look cluttered.

Hopefully, you found some great advice in the above article. Just apply the information that fits your circumstances. You will be rewarded in a big way if you take the time to become informed about the intricacies of selling your home or land.

The right home updates can dramatically increase your selling price. At All Seasons Construction, we can help get your home ready to sell with remodeling services such as siding.

Los Angleles Residences - Beverly Mountains Agents

2013-02-20T03:51:00.001-05:00

The particular zip code regarding 90210 is one that has a lot of draw in the United States because it belongs to the area known as Beverly Mountains. It is amazingly well known as well as popular. The individuals who reside there are also typically known for becoming either renowned, rich, or perhaps both. 90210 is actually close to Malibu, Eurodisney, and La.

Someone who functions in Beverly Mountains as a agent Is going to want to know the history in the area. Earlier times and present are generally important for people who find themselves considering the area. This means that the information that Kelsey Grammer, Jerry Seinfeld, as well as Drew Barrymore at the moment live in the spot is just as significant as the fact that Douglas Fairbanks Junior, Will Rogers, as well as John Barrymore existed in the area in the past at some point or another.

The price of residences in Beverly Mountains is incredibly at the top of average. That is much more than in other areas of the nation. As a foundation rate you will guess that on average a home marketing in the zipcode of 90210 is going to be about $600,000. Since the costs of the residences are so costly in Beverly Mountains the quality should match the cost of the buyer.

Movie star shock is one area that needs to be definitely avoided if you are going to be involved in the market as well. A star should just become another customer to you this means get over the fact they have so many people who admire and value them as well as treat these just like any one else who is going to acquire a home. They are going to have demands which has to be met when searching for a home and you also need to pay care about this depth.

Beverly Hills is a estate marketplace where care about detail is completely critical. It must be given the emphasis. The size as well as color of the actual paint just isn't as important in Beverly Mountains as additional factors. The additional particulars that consumers want need to be showcased. Some may be which owned the property in the past, which built the property, the types of materials which were used to help it become, any problems or vehicle repairs that the property may have or perhaps need, and turn into aware of simply how much land is roofed with the property. If there is any hired argument keeper or perhaps landscaper you can get additional information in regards to the property at their store as well.

Somebody that works in Beverly Hills as being a realtor needs to establish your own relationship with the people these are working with. Celebrities in particular have to get quick gratification so when this helps you details about what they are looking for at home you know what to look for and may pick a property or a pair of to show these. A bad agent isn't going to retain clients. The market is competitive so it signifies you need to present your skills. Considering that, as a agent, you work totally on commission you actually can't afford to lose a sale. You have no time to play games or perhaps take risks when it comes to getting a home distributed.

People who obtain homes in Beverly Hills should to work with someone that knows the spot and is efficient at their task. The best agents can know the desired attributes in residences in Beverly Mountains. It is a extremely unique marketplace that requires a particular person to operate in. It will be wise to search the web for an adviser that knows the marketplace well, understanding that can help you in the buying process.

Sarah Sanders is a masterful planner in over 7 years and been studying masterful improvements in Beverly Hills Property for Sale in part with his involvement from New Ideas Group ,a new creative team for innovating people. Learn All about his website to find out about his Sally Forster Jones Real Estate ideas over the years.

Find Your current Calgary Home at the Right Place

2013-02-09T01:49:00.001-05:00

Located in the southern of Nova scotia, Calgary is a bustling city coated within the section of foothills. This modern town has a dried up humid environment with reasonable warm summers and cool winters. Calgary is one of the most modernized cities within Canada, composed of several multiple cultural places. The night clubs, luxurious resorts and on line casinos would show up the town's modern culture. All these have made Calgary to be considered like a great place to reside.

More than one trillion people are now living in Calgary and still the demand for buying houses in the city is rising. Each day lots of people get accommodated in their brand-new houses. The town is located around the foothills of Bumpy Mountains and yes it may take just one hour from your mountains in order to city. For this reason to get a property in such a town may seem to become a difficult task. But when you get your hands on a good Calgary agent, you could purchase and sell a house in a finer charge. There are several Calgary realtors who might provide residences at your chosen rate and site.

First of all, to acquire a house within Calgary, there are certain circumstances to be kept planned. The surrounding area of the house is important. To get a house everywhere outside the town is very cheaper and easy, but not effective as well as useful. There are lots of Calgary houses for sale, as their prices range between a few 100 to trillion dollars. The values differ as per the locations. A house thats liable to bring out the lovely view of Bumpy Mountains will be adored by everyone. These kinds of houses are at a higher desire and could be around at finer rate. However mostly, individuals houses could have been snatched up earlier, as well as thereby are rare to purchase one.

The other choice for getting a house will be near to Calgary University. It is perfectly located at the North Western side region in the city, flanked by great towns like College, Dalhousie, Edgemont, Hawk wood, Citadel, as well as Hamptons. In addition, the Calgary Children's Medical center is located proper beside the University. One of Calgary's greatest shopping center can be situated right now there. Hence it really is preferable to select a house in such a surrounding area, with all demands nearby.

In case you have hired the best Calgary agent, then there is absolutely nothing to worry about. You might like to get the best real estate agents via on the web. With these on the web agents, you can aquire a house within Calgary at your chosen rate. Seek out the area as well as locality which usually suits you. You can find sites offering you details on the Calgary residences, which are for sale. Once you input a location for your household, the site demonstrates a list of residences available for sale during this particular place. From this you may select the more suitable one. For this reason finding residences via on the internet is easier and efficient.

Layla Williams is a professional designer for over Ten yrs & been writing masterful ideas in calgary homes in part of his affiliation with New Ideas Group ,a new creative team for developing people. Find out about his website to learn All about his santa monica homes for sale ideas over the years.

Choosing the perfect Real Estate Without Money Down - 5 Straightforward Strategies

2013-01-18T01:30:00.001-05:00

As well as found your self presented with an incredible opportunity to buy a property, but lack the funding? If I simply knew buying real estate with no money down, I was able to have made lots. Well it is easy to purchase residence with no down payment. Here are a few no amounts and no credit strategies to help you in acquiring a few deals Simi Valley real estate.

Double closing ( blank ) This is where the investor will certainly buy and sell home at the same time. The actual title is usually held in escrow to allow the investor to use buyer's money to cover seller.

Purchasing Subject To ( blank ) Simply take over someone else's active financing, that is already in position. This is is successful because there is no qualifying with the buyer, plus the loan isn't formally suspected. Buying a residence subject to active terms, could be a fast and easy method to pick up immediate cash flow.

Be lent Hard Funds - You will probably pay a bit more for the money, however the loan is dependant on the value in the residence, and not relying upon your credit worthiness. Hard money might be great for turning homes, but be sure to be diligent, both within the lender plus the property you want to purchase.

Give a contract or maybe Finders rates - This is where you signal a contract to obtain, and then sell anything to an end buyer for a small fee. This strategy is successful because it will take very little income to perform. Creating a buyers record first is a good way to perform this strategy. Just like you learn this strategy, you will find that there are various great deals available for sale, so if you are likely to sell these types of contracts, you have to have plenty of purchasers lined up to use them out of your hands Simi Valley real estate.

Supplier Subordination - This is where hard budgets are borrowed along with a subordinate, vendor held subsequent loan in order to provide the vendor with a one time of cash in closing. Simply you are borrowing from the bank a portion in the purchase price, as well as financing the rest of purchase price by using seller. It will leave you with for you to notes to cover. One to get paid to very difficult money loan company, and one to generally be paid to your seller who is carrying the rest of balance for a separate observe.

These are just several strategies to help you purchase real estate investment with no down payment. When you are initially getting started, funds and credit can be a problem, but it surely can easily be worked around applying creative methods such as the people above.

Sell Your Rochester House Fast

2007-08-13T14:33:00.000-05:00

If you have a house in Rochester, New York or Monroe County you need to sell fast, visit http://instantcashbuyer.com.

Three Secrets For Talking To Sellers On The Telephone

2007-05-17T17:10:00.000-05:00

In this short article, I want to highlight three tips for fielding seller’s phone calls in response to your marketing efforts.

When your phone rings, realize that the seller has overcome a lot just to pick up the phone and call. He has chosen to call you from among all of the other investor’s who have ads out there right now. That’s good news – your marketing is working!

The first rule is… ANSWER YOUR PHONE! Too many investors spend their hard earned money on marketing and then let the calls go to voice mail. Trust me, when a motivated seller calls, the last thing they want is your recorded voice asking them to leave a message. Many callers will simply hang up. A real, live person makes all the difference. Just following this one tip alone will put money in your pocket.

Second, don’t start out by grilling the seller. If they don’t say much at first, a few simple, non-threatening questions about the property will get them talking. Let them go on for a few minutes, and often you will find them telling you their story without being asked.

If they have talked a long time, and you still aren’t sure about their level of motivation, simply ask, “Why are you selling?” This is usually enough to get them to tell you everything you need to know. Most people WANT to tell their story – believe me, it’s true!

Finally, if the information you have gathered indicates that there is a deal there, don’t let the call end without securing a commitment from the caller. In other words, in the parlance of all good salesmen everywhere, ASK FOR THE ORDER!

That doesn’t mean negotiate the sale of the house on the phone. That you want to do in person. What I mean is, get an appointment with the seller before you hang up. If at all possible, make the appointment NOW. Say, “Mr. Seller, I’m free for the next couple of hours. Would it work for you if I came over right now to see if we can work this out for you?”

Believe me, very few other investors are going to offer this kind of speed, and if the seller is truly motivated speed is what they’re after.

To recap, when a seller calls answer your phone, let them tell you their story, and get a commitment before hanging up.

Tom Dunn is a successful real estate investor and author. For more on beginning real estate investing, visit DealFiles.com.

Looking For Private Money For Real Estate Investing On The Internet

2007-04-06T05:52:00.000-05:00

One of my readers, Jim, posted the following comment to the post below:

[begin quoted text]
Hi Tom,

Finding Private Money is something we are definitely trying to get because we have more properties than we have money for and we are tired of paying all the points for HM.

We have done some marketing to our subscriber base from our website (www.thegooddealguys.com) and have gotten a few bites but nothing solid yet.

My question is what type of information are these sites you searched on actually giving you. I need to find the people that can be Private Lenders and I have not found any site that can put me in contact with those kinds of people. Yes, people selling courses but that is not what I am looking for.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Jim
[end quoted text]

Here's my response, which I also emailed to Jim:

Hi Jim.

Thanks for your excellent comment and question.

To answer your question, I need to start out by telling you something you probably already know- the internet is extremely long on information, but extremely short on relationships and person-to-person contact.

The reason that's important is because borrowing private money for real estate investing, or for any other reason for that matter, is almost always going to be based on personal relationship, and personal relationships are best established and built locally.

The internet is a great place - probably the BEST place - to learn how to obtain private money, the mechanics of setting up a lender network, and a system for managing that network. The internet is not a very good SOURCE of private money. For that, you will need to think locally rather than globally.

The best source of private lenders for you and your business is right in your own town, city, or community.

My suggestion... use the internet to learn and implement a system for locating private money, even if you have to pay a few bucks for a GOOD system, then implement that system right there at home. As I'm sure you have already discovered, real estate investing is a people business, and the private money facet of it is no exception.

I believe it's nearly impossible to establish the level of trust required in private lending without face-to-face contact, which is essential to creating the right kind of relationship. Every Private Money course or kit I'm aware of that's worth it's salt will teach that, as well as showing you exactly HOW to build a private lender system right there at home.

Jim, it's important to point out that HARD MONEY is different. You can find hard money on the internet, because hard money lenders don't really care about you- it's just about the numbers. If the numbers work, they know they'll get their money no matter what. You pay big bucks for that privilege, as I'm sure you're aware.

Building a successful, local private money network takes a little time and effort, but the rewards are well worth it.

Hope that helps, Jim.

All the best.

Tom

Private Money For Real Estate Investing Best Sites

2007-04-05T05:54:00.000-05:00

Searching for private money for real estate investing? Well then, you’re already in the right place… the internet! If you have spent much time online, browsing or doing concentrated searches, you have probably already found several websites that focus on using private money to fund your real estate deals.

One search you should do immediately is “private money for real estate investing.” The number of sites returned will blow you away. One recent search on Google yielded 6,150,000 results. Of course, not all of them are tightly focused on the topic – in fact, MOST probably aren’t – but the top 20-30 were very relevant. A few also turned out to have good information.

You could also try the shorter versions like “private money real estate” or just “private money”. I tried “private money” on MSN and got 36,543,981 results. Wow… try surfing those in an evening!

The great thing is, you really only need the first page or two of results to gather some top-notch information, much of it free or low-cost.

Don’t get confused by the term “hard money lender”. Hard money and private money are definitely two very different things. Hard money is a much higher cost option for higher-risk transactions.

Don’t be fooled by hard money sites masquerading as private money lenders. They’re NOT the same.

There is a place you can go for advice and information about developing a private money network of your own. Called simply private money for real estate investing, you can find it at http://www.private-money-real-estate-investing.com.

There is also a page of private money for real estate investing best sites.

Can't Sell Your Home – Start Investing In Real Estate!

2007-03-31T07:50:00.000-05:00

So you’ve been trying to sell your home for quite a while, with no success. Oh, sure, you’ve had a few people through, maybe even a lot of people, and every time your life was disrupted… all for nothing. No offers, not even a nibble. It’s getting frustrating. Since life has given you some lemons, why not make lemonade and use this as a springboard to start investing in real estate?

You may be wondering, “How can this be an opportunity for me to start investing in real estate?” Glad you asked.

Since you’re having trouble selling your house through conventional means, maybe now’s the time to go a bit unconventional, and learn a creative real estate investing technique in the process… a technique that you can use over and over again to create wealth for you and your family.

If you use this technique to sell your home, you will be following in the footsteps of thousands of other homeowners who have followed this same strategy to start investing in real estate.

I’m talking about the lease / option method of selling your home.

What is a lease option? Simple… instead of selling your home outright, you’re going to lease it to someone, and at the same time give them the option to purchase it at a fixed price within a fixed period of time.

Why does this work? How can this allow you to sell your home faster and easier? The answer has to do with the type of people that will respond to your “lease with the option to buy” or “rent to own” ad. They will be people with bruised or damaged credit, but don’t let that scare you. Often these are good people who are back on track after a tough period in their life.

They’re not deadbeats… at least not the ones you’ll be putting in your home, because you’ll be carefully screening them. You’ll want to check their story, and verify employment and income. Trust your gut, but verify everything. Select carefully, and realize that it may take two or three tries before you get to the end result you’re looking for- a tenant who becomes a buyer.

The other great reason to use the lease/option technique is price- you can often sell for full market value… even more! What a great way to start investing in real estate.

There are three important terms you will need to negotiate with your tenant/buyer in order to enter into a lease/option agreement with them… price, option term, and monthly rent. Once you’ve learned to do that, you’ll be well down the path many others have followed to start investing in real estate.

Price is the price you will sell them the house for when and if they exercise their option. The option term is the length of time the option to buy is open to your tenant buyer. This is often one year, but could be longer. It’s up to you. I’ve seen option terms as long as five years, but in my mind that’s too long, unless you just want to be a landlord.

Finally, the monthly rent should be enough to cover your mortgage, taxes, and insurance, plus something left over to give you a positive cash flow every month. After all, there is a little hassle involved, so you should get something for your trouble.

Now, here’s the icing on the cake. You can and should collect a non-refundable option fee from your tenant/buyers, and you should get it upfront. The amount is negotiable, but generally about three percent of the value of the home is appropriate. So, on a $150,000 property, the option fee would be between $4,000 and $5,000. This shows good faith and commitment on their part.

Hopefully by now you can see that this is a great way to both get your home sold and start investing in real estate. You make money three ways… when you collect your option fee, when you sell the house, and every month in the form of positive cash flow. Plus, the home remains in your name until they exercise their option, so you still get all the tax breaks associated with homeownership.

Listen, I know there’s a lot more to say on the subject of lease option, and there’s certainly a great deal more on how to start investing in real estate. This is just a primer, but hey… we’ve all got to start somewhere, right?

A New Site To Check Out

2007-03-27T13:25:00.000-05:00

I wanted to ask you a question... "Are You Milkin' It?"

You may wonder what in heck I'm talking about. Visit www.CashFlowCows.com and you'll see for yourself.

If you're looking for real estate investment opportunities, you owe yourself a visit right now.

All the best,

Tom

No Money Down Investment Mortgages

2007-03-20T08:14:00.000-05:00

In any meeting of real estate investors the topic of no money down investment mortgages almost always comes up. I’m a firm believer in putting as little cash as possible into my real estate deals, and if you’re going to succeed in the long term, you should learn to think the same way.

This is really just Real Estate Investing 101… as simple and basic as you can get, yet vital for you to understand. No money down investment mortgages are a topic you should seek to understand and here’s why.

Your supply of cash is limited, and always will be.

There it is. I don’t care how much cash you have now, or ever will have. I don’t care who you are, or where your bank account stands. You’re cash supply is finite, not infinite, and cash is a valuable resource that gives your real estate investing flexibility and leverage. Using no money down investment mortgages allows you to preserve cash, one of your most valuable resources.

Having ready cash allows you the flexibility of moving quickly when others can’t. It also gives you confidence and leverage when making your offers. That doesn’t mean you need to actually use your cash… merely having it is often enough.

Using no money down investment mortgages and other types of low or no down financing should be undertaken with great care, however. Make sure you’re not paying full price for your properties and financing them at full market value. The way to employ no money down investment mortgages is to buy value. In other words, buy at 80% of market or less, preferably much less.

That one strategy alone will ensure your long-term real estate investing success. If you just go out and pay market, finance the full value, and thus hang on to your cash, don’t make the mistake of thinking you’ve accomplished anything worthwhile. A chimp could do that.

Learn to recognize and buy value. Finance as much as you can to leverage your limited cash, and repeat the process. Over and over. Use creative financing and no money down investment mortgages to accomplish your goals.

Now, go make more offers!

For more information on creative real estate and no money down investment mortgages try http://www.dealfiles.com/investmentpropertymortgages.html.

If you would like to learn about beginning real estate investing try http://www.dealfiles.com.

Private Money For Real Estate Investing – Get Confident - Get Flexible!

2007-03-11T08:20:00.000-05:00

What’s so great about having private money for real estate investing? Have you ever looked a fantastic deal square in the eye and had to walk away because you weren’t in a position to move on it? If so, ready access to private money could have made the difference.

Having a reliable supply of private money for real estate investing gives you two things you need to be super-successful… confidence and flexibility. Let’s see why…

First, imagine that your marketing is working like it should, and you’re getting calls from highly motivated sellers anxious to get out from under their property. Further, let’s assume you’re already in the middle of a deal or two, and you have, say, a quarter of a million dollars tied up for the next few months.

You get a call from Mr. Gotta Getoutnow, who has already moved and is shouldering two huge house payments. His vacant house, valued conservatively at $190,000, is costing him a cool $1200 each month… and he hasn’t lived in it for 6 months! He’s willing – even anxious - to let it go, if you’ll just cash him out of his mortgage to the tune of $132,000.

Unfortunately, your marginal credit rating won’t permit another loan, your cash is tapped, and your house is already mortgaged to the hilt for those other deals you’ve got working. How much confidence do you have on the phone with Mr. Getoutnow? My guess… not much! But how much could you have if you knew you had access to a half million or so in private money for real estate investing?

See the difference? I thought so!

Now, when you get his call, instead of hemming and hawing about some nebulous ‘creative acquisition techniques’ you’ve used successfully in the past, trying to impress him with your vast knowledge and experience, you simply tell Mr. Getoutnow, “I’ll be right over,” and off you go to get the house under contract. You have the confidence to do this because you know, comfortably resting in your hip pocket, is all the private money for real estate investing you could possibly need!

What about flexibility? How does private money for real estate investing give you that?

The answer is in the options private money for real estate investing gives you. Let’s face it, the number one stress inducer in real estate – other than tenants – has got to be obtaining financing and working with lenders. Why? Because they want so much freakin’ information, that’s why.

If you’re like me, you can’t stand filling out all those forms banks ask you to fill out. What could they possibly need all that information for anyway? I mean, come on. It’s a loan, here’s the property, it’s worth $150k, I need a loan for $100K, what’s the problem? When you have private money for real estate investing, you don’t fill out forms!

Not only that, but what’s up with those lenders having to hammer my credit report every time I get a loan? First there’s an inquiry, then they add the loan to my list of debts, so the whole world knows my business. I’m definitely NOT down with that. Now that I have all the private money for real estate investing I could possibly need, there’s no hits on my credit report, and nobody ever sees the debt listed. I don’t have to worry the next time I go to apply for a car loan that I’m going to have to answer a whole bunch of stupid, embarrassing questions. I’m a happy guy!

Heck, I’m just about the most confident, flexible guy in town, thanks to my ability to raise private money for real estate investing! I can’t say this strongly enough…

You’ve got to figure out how to get some of your own!

Thankfully, it’s easy enough to do, and you don’t have to pay a small fortune for some guy’s overpriced course. There are tools that can help you, and eliminate a lot of the hard work you would otherwise have to do upfront, but these tools don’t need to be expensive.

For more information, and a more in-depth article, visit Private Money For Real Estate Investing on the DealFiles website.

Now, go make more offers!

Tom Dunn
www.DealFiles.com

Real Estate Investing Mentors – Maximum Mentoring

2007-03-07T07:00:00.000-05:00

If you have looked for and found one or more real estate investing mentors, you may be wondering, “What next? How can I get the most from this real estate mentoring relationship?”

The answer is, quite simply, give the most!

It’s strange but true, the relationships we typically get the most out of in life are those we put the most effort into, and your relationship with your real estate investing mentors will be no different.

Be prepared to go out of your way to be helpful to your real estate investing mentors, and you will be amazed at what happens. Whenever I have mentored someone, it has been my experience that the more they put in, the more they got back. If they were especially helpful and generous with their time, they not only learned more quickly, but they also achieved their goals much faster.

Let me give you an example. Close acquaintances of mine, a couple, had been looking for real estate investing mentors for quite some time before they asked me. I gladly agreed, and we decided to work on a rehab project together. Using my expertise, I would buy a house that needed rehab. Using their expertise, they would rehab the house. We would then rent it out, holding it in an LLC.

That’s exactly what happened. They did everything I asked of them, and then some. Not only did they complete the rehab in a timely manner, they did a fantastic job. They learned by watching closely how I acquired the house for far below market value. They learned, because that’s why they were looking for real estate investing mentors in the first place.

They also watched and learned how to get the house rented, and how to properly manage the rental. They can now do all of this on their own, and I’m sure they will. They learned because they started out looking for real estate investing mentors with the right mindset- they had the will to work hard!

If you would like to know more – such as exactly how to go about finding real estate investing mentors – check out Real Estate Investing Mentors.

Now, go make more offers!

Tom Dunn
DealFiles.com

Beginning Real Estate Investing - "Subject To…" Investing

2007-02-26T15:36:00.000-05:00

This is another in a continuing series of articles on beginning real estate investing. Today, we’ll tackle the basics of “subject to…” investing. There are a lot of questions those who are just beginning real estate investing often have about “subject to…” investing, and this article should answer many of your fundamental questions.

First of all, it’s important for those who are beginning real estate investing to know what “Subject To…” investing is. “Subject to…” means that you buy a property “subject to…” the existing financing staying in place in the seller’s name.

Say that you get a call from a motivated seller. He tells you he must sell his house immediately. He also says he owes around $100,000 on his mortgage, his payments are around $900 per month, including principal, interest, and taxes. Even though you are only just beginning real estate investing, you know the estimated market value of his home is about $130,000.

You head on over to his home. It doesn’t matter in the least that you are just beginning real estate investing. After all, he needs to sell now. You tell him that you will take over his mortgage payments, and keep on making them until you get the house sold. You don’t know how long it will take, but the mortgage will stay in his name until you get it sold.

He asks if you can give him some cash to help him move. Even someone who is beginning real estate investing can negotiate an item like this. After going back and forth a couple of times, the two of you agree on $3,000, which you will pay to him the day he moves out.

Now, what have you got? A house with an estimated value of $130,000 that you will wind up paying about $103,000 for, and a payment of $900 per month. Since you are just beginning real estate investing, there is something you must do right away… market for a tenant buyer.

So, you place an ad in your local paper, and put up a few signs in Mr. Seller’s neighborhood: “Lease to Own – Bruised Credit OK.” Your phone starts ringing and you find a young couple with good jobs and good income who went through a brief period of financial trouble a year or two ago. You explain to them that even though you are just beginning real estate investing, you think you can help them.

You offer to lease them the home with a 12 month option to buy it. Their monthly lease payment to you will be $1,200, and their purchase price will be $135,000. They will also give you a non-refundable option fee of $5,000. It doesn’t matter that you are only beginning real estate investing- you can certainly see what you have just accomplished.

You’ve got monthly positive cash flow of $300 - the difference between the $900 you are paying and the $1,200 the young couple is paying you. You have also put $2,000 cash into your pocket right now – the difference between the $3,000 cash you gave the seller and the $5,000 cash the young couple gave you. When the young couple exercises their option to buy, you will also pocket $32,000 - the difference between your purchase price of $103,000 and the price they pay you, $135,000. Not too bad for someone beginning real estate investing!

We’ve barely scratched the surface of “subject to…” investing, but I think you’ve got the idea. I’ve got more great ideas for you at Beginning Real Estate Investing.

Now, go make more offers!

Short Sale Real Estate Investing

2007-02-24T08:52:00.000-05:00

Short sale real estate investing is defined as purchasing a property from a lender for less than the balance owed on the mortgage. Many books and courses have been written about it, but can short sale real estate investing be simplified? It can!

There really are only two types of short sale real estate investing. First, when you purchase a property that a lender has foreclosed on and listed with a Realtor, you can offer less than the balance that was due on the foreclosure. This type of short sale real estate investing requires that you have a good relationship with the right Realtor.

Look for the Realty office in your town that handles the majority of foreclosures, and look for the agent in that office who works with investors and short sale real estate investing. When you find that agent, you’ll want to impress upon them that you intend to follow through on all your offers. Then, do exactly what you say you will. That’s your ticket to the short sale real estate investing gravy train!

The second type of short sale real estate investing involves you negotiating directly with a motivated seller’s lender. You’ll need to be determined in your negotiating, first of all to reach the right person at the lender’s REO (Real Estate Owned) department, and then to get the price you want.

Stick with it, and take lots of notes. Once you’ve worked with a few lenders that allow short sale real estate investing, you’ll have the tactics you need to enjoy on-going success.

Would you like more information? How about a more in-depth article? You can get both at Short Sale Real Estate Investing.

Now, go make more offers!

Beginning Real Estate Investing – Understanding Market Values

2007-02-19T10:52:00.000-05:00

Another in a series of articles on beginning real estate investing. A crucial step to becoming a wise real estate investor is getting to know your local market, and learning to put a value on the properties within your target neighborhoods.

Beginning real estate investing involves learning a new set of skills, one of the most important of which is valuing property. For the limited scope of this article, we’ll limit our discussion to residential single-family and duplex homes.

When you are just beginning real estate investing, it’s helpful to set a goal for yourself to become the market value expert in one or two select neighborhoods. When choosing these neighborhoods, look for locations close to your home with a good selection of homes in the lower-middle to middle price range for your market. This is where you’ll find the best combination of working-class homeowners and what I call “aspirational” renters- those renters who aspire to homeownership. These will become your best customers.

Once you’ve found one or two of these neighborhoods, start driving through at least twice a week, looking for all real estate activity, including listed sales, For Sale By Owner, auctions, estate sales, vacant property, even moving van activity. As someone who is beginning real estate investing you should get tuned in to the pulse of the neighborhood.

Look for and get to know the local Realtors. Stop in to the Realty offices and introduce yourself. Find out who the most active listing agents are, who sells the most houses, who deals with the most foreclosures, and who works with the investors. These are the best Realtors to work with as you are beginning real estate investing.

Also, beginning real estate investing means getting to know local service people, especially contractors. Talk to as many of these as you can, and find the ones that do a lot of work in your target neighborhood, especially plumbers. Ask them what kinds of recurring problems they see. They will provide you a wealth of information.

Give yourself a timetable to learn property values in your target neighborhood. Three to six months is probably realistic. When you are just beginning real estate investing you will need to work closely with a Realtor. Ask for all the listings in your target neighborhood, and try to see them all. Ask also for the listings of comparable sales (Comps) so you can see what similar properties have sold for recently.

Build a spreadsheet, database, or even just a handwritten notebook so you can refer back to it from time to time. This will become a valuable resource for you as you progress beyond beginning real estate investing. Slowly but surely you will become an expert on property values in your target neighborhoods. You will be able to look at most any property and know, within a few hundred dollars, exactly what it’s market value is. This knowledge will serve you very well as you progress in your real estate investing activities.

For more in-depth information, visit my website and read more about beginning real estate investing.

Now, go make more offers!

Socially Responsible Real Estate Investing

2007-02-14T14:24:00.001-05:00

There are many ways to practice socially responsible real estate investing. In this article I will outline what I believe to be the best way to invest in real estate in a socially responsible manner.

I run into all kinds of people, many of whom are less than charitable when they find out I own rental property, and that I also flip houses and mobile homes. I frequently find myself disagreeing with those same people about just what socially responsible real estate investing means. For some strange reason, many people are predisposed to look down on those who engage in such capitalistic endeavors. Often, these are the same people who benefit from one or more of the many government programs that my tax dollars support.

Here’s what I mean when I talk about socially responsible real estate investing.

I am a man of my word, so when I say I’m going to do something, I make every effort to do it. This applies to offers I make on properties, promises I make to tenants, and agreements I make with contractors and service providers. In my mind, there is no more powerful way to engage in socially responsible real estate investing.

Being a landlord and property investor makes me a productive member of my local economic community. I strongly support and add to the tax base, and help provide a healthy living to several Realtors, contractors, and service providers. I also bank locally, and contribute to my local Real Estate Investor club. These are all great ways to pursue socially responsible real estate investing.

In addition, I provide clean, safe, affordable housing to several tenants, including children and senior citizens. I also provide housing to those in the lower income brackets through HUD’s Housing Choice Voucher Program, also known as Section 8. Providing this type of housing is another powerful way to practice socially responsible real estate investing.

There are those who believe that in order to practice socially responsible real estate investing, one needs to provide free housing to the deserving poor. I do not agree with that assessment. The Bible says, “The laborer is worthy of his hire,” and certainly that applies to property owners. I commend those who choose to be charitable, but I do not believe it should be legislated. It needs to come from the heart, and be supported by a consistent practice of sound business principles.

That attitude, and the underlying economic practices, are reasons why the United States of America has been, and continues to be, the most charitable nation on the face of the earth. Practicing socially responsible real estate investing isn’t the result of some feel good nonsense, but rather the application of wise investing habits and moral consistency.

Now, go make more offers!

Tom
DealFiles.com

Top Real Estate Investing Sites

2007-02-12T07:05:00.000-05:00

There are literally thousands of real estate investing websites on the internet today, with dozens more being added each and every month. How can you possibly weed through them all, and determine which have real value, and which are a waste of your limited time? In other words, how can you discover the top real estate investing sites?

The answer to those questions can be summed up with one word- content. When you search the internet you’re looking for information, right? Information is another word for content, so it’s reasonable to assume that the top real estate investing sites are the ones with the most high-value content.

As you begin your search for the top real estate investing sites, you can start by weeding out those that are simply link farms. You’ll recognize a link farm right away- it’s just a page filled up with links to other websites and pages, with no other content or information to be found anywhere. Link farms are there only to serve the purposes of the site owner. They provide you with nothing worthwhile.

Next are those sites that are just a rehash of other people’s content. The only thing you’ll find on these sites are reprinted articles and reports that someone else wrote. While a few reprinted articles don’t necessarily mean a site is useless, if that’s all the website has to offer you should look elsewhere for original and useful content. When looking for the top real estate investing sites you should bypass those that only provide reprinted content.

The next type of site are the sales page sites. Those are the web pages that are only trying to sell a product. Now please don’t misunderstand me- everyone has to make a living, and webmasters are no exception. There is a legitimate use of the sales page, as long as the site is also providing plenty of useful information. But far too many sites offer only sales pages, without giving you anything you can sink your teeth into. These will never be among the top real estate investing sites.

Finally, there are those websites that offer unique, engaging, and helpful real estate investing information. They tend to have resources for investors, articles, reports, forums, blogs, and useful product offerings. In a word, they have content. When you find a site like that, you know you’ve found one of the top real estate investing sites. You should bookmark it or add it to your favorites, because you’ll want to return time and time again.

For a page of links to the top real estate investing sites, visit the DealFiles Links Page.

Now, go make more offers!

Tom
DealFiles.com

Deedless Real Estate Investing - An Overview

2007-02-10T10:25:00.000-05:00

Are you looking to increase the number of real estate deals you can do without significantly increasing your risk and without increasing the amount of cash or credit you need? If so, then deedless real estate investing may be just the strategy you’re looking for.

Deedless real estate investing is a collective term used to describe a group of tactics that do not involve an immediate transfer of ownership of a piece of property. Among these tactics are straight lease option, sandwich lease option, and subject to.

The first of these, the straight lease option, describes an agreement between you the investor and the seller in which you lease (or rent) their property for a monthly payment, and you have a guaranteed option to buy the property at a predetermined price within a fixed period of time. Ownership does not change hands unless and until you exercise your purchase option, making this the first type of deedless real estate investing.

The second type of deedless real estate investing, the sandwich lease option, starts out as a straight lease option. You then, as the tenant buyer, would find a second tenant/buyer to assign your interest in the property to. They would lease the property from you, with the option to buy it from you. When and if they exercise their option, you would in turn exercise your option to buy from the original seller. This puts you in the middle of the sandwich, where you stand to profit with little or none of your own money at risk!

Finally, the third tactic for deedless real estate investing is the subject to, which means you buy the property subject to the existing mortgage or deed of trust remaining in place in the seller’s name- you simply start making the payments. Some investors actually do insist that they get the deed when doing a subject to deal, but they don’t record the deed until they resell the property and cash out the seller’s loan.

Other subject to investors don’t get the deed, waiting instead until they find a buyer who exercises their option and cashes them out of the seller’s loan. Doing it this way makes this a true deedless real estate investing tactic, but significantly increases the risk. I don’t recommend it!

We have barely scratched the surface of what could be said about these three tactics for deedless real estate investing, but now you have an overview. Add these tactics to your real estate investing toolkit, and more deals will be available to you.

Now, go make more offers!

Tom
DealFiles.com

401K and Real Estate Investing – An Overview

2007-02-09T09:26:00.000-05:00

Is it possible to combine your 401k and real estate investing? Wouldn’t it be great to invest in real estate with a maximum amount of pre-tax dollars, realize the huge gains possible only with real estate investing, and then re-invest those dollars in your tax-free 401k?

Of course it would, and there are ways for the savvy investor to combine their 401k and real estate investing.

First, you could borrow funds from your 401k. This is not necessarily the best way to combine your 401k and real estate investing, but it might be worth looking into if you have no other available funds for investing. Realize that there are limits on the amount you can borrow, and the interest you pay won’t be deductible, as it would with a typical mortgage. Choose this option only after doing your homework.

The second method of combining your 401k and real estate investing is the IRA roll-over. If your 401k allows you the benefit of rolling over into an Individual Retirement Account, this may be the best way for you to go. Select a specific type of IRA- called a “Self-Directed IRA” to roll your funds into.

The Self-Directed IRA is a very powerful investment vehicle that allows you to direct exactly how your money is invested, within certain limits. For instance, you could direct that the money be invested in a REIT (real estate investment trust), an apartment complex, or a strip mall. When you sell and realize a profit, the increase in the IRA is tax-deferred. This is a huge benefit, and you should really consider this method of combining your 401k and real estate investing.

One downside to the roll-over - you would be giving up the employer contribution portion of your 401K deposits, if any. Another reason why you should weigh this option carefully before deciding to use it to combine your 401k and real estate investing.

Finally, and the simplest method of combining your 401k and real estate investing, is to ask your 401k account manager if they allow the funds to be invested in REIT’s directly. Some do, and this is a low risk, high return strategy for a lot of investors.

Whatever you do, don’t make a hasty decision to combine your 401k and real estate investing. Each of the above methods has a different risk/reward ratio, and you should familiarize yourself with them first, before risking your hard-earned money.

Now, go make more offers!

Tom
DealFiles.com

Real estate investors MUST choose "better" over "bitter"

2007-02-01T11:00:00.000-05:00

I got an email from a subscriber the other day.

Here it is, slightly edited for readability:

Tom,

This is a great business especially if you have great credit or large amounts of money, or better yet a good friend at the bank. I have none of the above.

So I keep trudging along looking for deals to wholesale. "Investors" in my area think you're rude to ask for a "birddog fee" for a good contract. Finding money is the most exciting adventure. The last hard money lender I talked to wanted me to show up to closing with 18k in hand. I told them if I had 18k "why would NEED THEM!"

So I keep trudging along, one small deal after another, trying to make ends meet. Thanks for DealFiles- talking about people with money making more money- where's the challenge.

Thanks again.

And here's my reply:

Thanks for your letter.

Was I wrong, or did I sense a tone of bitterness?

I'm glad you're reading DealFiles, and I'm thankful for your email. Your words tell me a lot about you, and you're not so far from the attitude I used to have toward those who were successful.

I always felt like if I just had the same kind of breaks they had, if I had the same resources available to me, then I could be successful too.

I agree with your opening statement. This IS a great business. Not only if you have gobs of cash or great credit or a good friend at the bank. When I started out in 1999 I had NO CASH, BAD CREDIT, and NO FRIEND AT THE BANK. My wife and I prayed and scraped up $1000 or $1500 and bought a mobile home, which we screwed up on and sold to the wrong people and lost our shirt on. Then we bought a mobile for $200 which needed so much work we couldn't afford to fix it up.

We wound up paying somebody $1000 to haul it away. So the end result after our first two deals was a net loss of over $3000. We were broke and struggling to pay the monthly bills and feed our three young kids. We could have become bitter because we were poor and others had so much more experience and so many more resources than we had.

But we were learning, and we bought one more mobile home, applied the knowledge we had gained from our mistakes, and made a nice little profit. So we did it again, and then again, and then again after that!

I could go on all day, but I don't want to bore you. I think MOST people's success stories are like ours. A series of three steps forward, two steps back,until they get over the hump. Your story will be like that, too, if you stick with it long enough to find out. Or you could just quit in bitterness. Lots of people do.

My advice? Keep moving forward, one positive step at a time! Don't give up- those little deals you're struggling to do today are building the foundation of the larger deals you will be able to do tomorrow. Every mistake you make becomes your teacher if you let it.

Read, read, read and learn, learn, learn. The information is readily available to you. Never before in the history of the planet has it been it so easy to find out
ANYTHING you want to know. Instead of feeling sorry for yourself, pity the poor folks who lived BEFORE the internet age. How do you think they learned about how to invest in real estate? If they couldn't get a local mentor, they were sunk. You've got it all over them.

You're going to make it. I can sense it. You've got a tenacious, bull-dog spirit that won't let you quit. Find it within yourself to take the energy that's being wasted on bitterness and envy, and channel it into moving yourself forward, one positive step each day, in the direction of your goals. I'm praying for you!

Blessings,

Tom Dunn
DealFiles.com

Having any fun in your real estate investing?

2007-01-29T13:18:00.000-05:00

The question would seem inappropriate, wouldn’t it? After all, investing in real estate is a business, isn’t it? What does “fun” have to do with it?

Quite a bit, actually, and if you think about it, you’ll understand why.

The Gloves Come Off

Let’s take the gloves off and be brutally honest. How is your real estate investing career progressing? Are you accomplishing your goals and objectives? Are you getting the number and kind of deals you want? Are you making all the money you ...

Click here to read the rest of this article.

Now, go make more offers!

Tom Dunn

Real estate investors need to know strategy AND tactics.

2007-01-12T13:35:00.000-05:00

I've been hearing from a lot of investors lately on the subject of FOCUS and it's importance to real estate investing. Briefly, there seems to be a split between those who feel it's better to concentrate on one or two areas of investing (I'm in this camp), and those who believe an investor should do whatever kind of deal happens to come along.

A little clarity might help the situation.

Read the rest of this article at DealFiles.com

Blessings,

Tom Dunn
DealFiles.com

Step out, real estate investing waits for no one.

2007-01-02T06:43:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! And away we go...

There are so many ways to make money with Real Estate that not one of us has any excuse for NOT doing deals. Yesterday I was thinking about the opportunities I have watched somebody else take advantage of, thinking to myself, "Oh, I couldn't do that..."

Why not? What did they have that I didn't?

Money? There's at least a half dozen techniques for buying real estate without money.

Time? I can buy real estate using somebody else's time- it's called partnering, and I wrote an article about it here.

Knowledge? Nonsense- all the knowledge you'll ever need is available to you- mostly for free- if you'll just make a little effort to look it up.

Guts? Maybe. Better think about that one.

I think that's what it boils down to, don't you? You read about others doing it, you watch others doing it, you know someone who did it, and still you sit there. There's literally dozens of ways to put a deal together, flip, wholesale, bird-dog, lease option, sandwich lease option, subject2, buy and hold, rehab, section 8 rental, the list goes on and on.

What are you waiting for? Guts? Yes, guts. Courage.

You need to overcome the fear that holds you back. How will you do it? Think about it. How will you do it? After all, it's been keeping you from your goals for an awfully long time now, hasn't it? So what are you gonna do?

Take a step, for crying out loud! That's right, I said take a step. Do it today- one little step in the direction of your goals.

One Positive Step. Take one today, then take another one tomorrow, and the day after that take another. Do that for long enough, and you'll be where you want to be in no time.

You know one step, don't you? You can take one step today, right? What are you waiting for?

Taken your step today?

Tom Dunn
DealFiles.com