Archive for July, 2014

Wed, July 2nd @ 6:30 PM in Chamblee, GA
The Creative Deal Structuring Group
How To Explosively Grow
Your IRA TAX FREE!!

with Jim Hitt
Please Note the New Meeting Location Below

Jim HittCome join us at Creative Deal Structuring on Wednesday, July 2nd at 6:30PM at 57th Fighter Group Restaurant located at 3829 Clairmont Rd in Chamblee, right beside Peachtree-DeKalb Airport where Jim Hitt, Founder and CEO of American IRA will be showing you many different ways that you can use your IRA to invest and grow your wealth tax free.

A self directed IRA is an investment tool that allows the account owner to make investment decisions on behalf of the retirement plan. A truly self-directed IRA has a range of investment options that is extremely broad and isn’t limited to stocks, bonds or mutual funds. This makes the self-directed IRA a tremendous tool to build your wealth and fortune. You can also use your or other people’s IRA to invest in your real estate deals. This opens up the floodgates of financing, allowing you to accomplish your real estate investing goals.

Jim will be presenting how he built his own IRA with tremendous growth in a short period of time. If you have, or know someone with an IRA, you do not want to miss this event!

You will learn:

  • What Options You Have In Your IRA
  • How To Explosively Grow Your IRA In A Short Period Of Time
  • How To Use IRA’s As A Source Of Private Funds
  • What Types Of Retirement Accounts Can Be Self Directed
  • And much, much more…

For 30+ years, Jim Hitt has been committed to all aspects of investing, using self -directed IRAs for his own investments since 1982. Jim’s forte is the financing and acquisition of real estate, private offerings, mortgage lending, business’s, joint ventures, partnerships and limited liability companies using creative techniques. He has developed, owned, and managed everything from single family homes to multi-unit commercial properties and million dollar business’s.

Jim is the Chief Executive Officer of American IRA. Allowing their clients to invest in non-traditional assets, such as real estate, partnerships, limited liability companies, private loans and many other investment choices, American IRA teaches you how to use your IRA or 401k plan to earn tax free income.

Door Fees are: Atlanta REIA members $3. Non-Members $5 per person.
Seating is limited! Get there early!

Jim HittCDS is a group about creative deal structuring and how to apply it in your everyday life and business. If you’re looking to obtain tools, get knowledge, and feel better about structuring real estate transactions for profit, then the Creative Deal Structuring Group is the right group for you. CDS is led by Russ Hiner who is currently focusing on the need for his experience in assisting people who face “the people business” issues everyday to get a resolution and “real life” solutions. Russ is also on of the leading coaches for the Atlanta Homebuyers Society. He is also a sought-after keynote speaker and, trainer of sales and communication skills.

Please join us on the 1st Wednesday of each month at 57th Fighter Group Restaurant located at 3829 Clairmont Rd, in Chamblee, right beside Peachtree-DeKalb Airport

See Atlanta REIA Events Calendar for More Events!
Mon, July 7th at 5:00 PM in Atlanta, GA
Atlanta REIA – July 7th
Join us for an Expert Panel Discussion on…
Understanding the Ever-Changing
Atlanta Real Estate Market

Atlanta REIA Members Can Attend at No Charge. This month,
Guests Can RSVP Online Now for $20 or Pay $25 at the Door.

We are very excited about our next Atlanta REIA Main Meeting is on Monday, July 7th at the Salvation Army Building located at 2090 N Druid Hills Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30329. This month we will be having our monthly vendor tradeshow as usual, but will also be having a Expert Panel Discussion on “Understanding the Ever-Changing Atlanta Real Estate Market”. Gordon Catts will be moderating a panel of real estate experts consisting of Rhonda Duffy of Duffy Realty, John Holman of HomeVestors, Robert Locke of Crown Management and John Mangham with Starker Services.

Power Panel

The Atlanta Metro Area real estate market has changed dramatically since this time last year. Perhaps you’ve heard there is an “Atlanta Inventory Crisis”.

  • Certain areas have gone from a buyer’s market to a seller’s market due to the inventory shortage of available homes for sale at auction or on the MLS.
  • Many Realtors are not only struggling to get listings, but also to find suitable properties for their buyers.
  • Some area property values have risen close to 2007 levels. Many home owners who have been “under water” may be close to break even in these areas.
  • REO Brokers are reporting that banks are not releasing foreclosed inventory. Instead, they are reportedly selling off blocks of pre-foreclosed (“bad paper”) and foreclosed homes to large institutional buyers.
  • Shadow inventory is alive and well and some of the foreclosure firms have laid off staff. The number of pre foreclosures is down and yet it is not consistent with delinquencies.
  • Out of state and foreign buyers are active in the market and Atlanta is a favorite destination for real estate gurus once again.

To learn more about the changing market conditions, be sure to join us at Atlanta REIA on July 7th to hear a panel of local real estate experts discuss their opinions on the Atlanta Real Estate Market. This is your opportunity to hear from folks you don’t normally get to hear from who truly have valuable first hand insights into the Atlanta Market. So please bring your questions and do not miss your chance to learn what’s hot and what’s not in the Atlanta market.

RSVP Now!

*Meeting Day Agenda
4:00 pm: Short Sale & Foreclosure Group with Bob Massey – Green Room
5:00 pm: Vendor Trade Show & Networking – Main Lobby
6:00 pm: Updates & Announcements – Main Meeting Room
6:15 pm: Haves & Wants Speed Marketing Session – Main Meeting Room
7:00 pm: Networking Break – Meeting Room & Lobby
7:20 pm: Vendor Door Prizes & Giveaways – Main Meeting Room
7:30 pm: Expert Panel Discussion – Main Meeting Room
9:30 pm: Late Nite Networking – Famous Pub

*Please Note: Meeting agenda is subject to change.

4:00 PM in the Green Room
Short Sale & Forclosure Group
How To Buy Homes at 65%
of Current Value Every Time!

Bob MasseyAt 4:00 PM in the Green Room, Bob Massey will kick off the Short Sale & Foreclosure Group as the “Meeting-Before-The-Meeting” where he will be covering the latest developments and news in the real estate investing world regarind shorts sales and foreclosures, but that’s not all.

How would you like to know the fool-proof way to buy houses at 65% of current market value?

At this meeting of the Short Sale and Foreclosure subgroup, Bob is going to show you how you can work with virtually any homeowner and buy their home at incredible discounts. We’re not talking about finding some tiny subset of people either! It doesn’t matter which bank their mortgage is with, whether they have equity or are underwater, or if they are current or behind on their payments. The last two people Bob worked with made over $90,000 on their deals!

5:00 PM in the Main Lobby
Monthly Vendor Trade Show

Dylon Ross with XfinityAt 5:00 PM in the Main Lobby, we have a Vendor Trade Show that lasts throughout the meeting where you can come out and meet many of our participating Business Members and Vendor Guests who help sponsor our meeting. See a full list of our vendors and sponsors below as they are added.

Vendor tables are limited, so any vendors wanting to reserve a table for the meeting can RSVP for a Vendor Table here. Vendor tables are reserved and setup on a first-come, first-serve basis.

6:00 PM in the Main Meeting Room
What’s Happening at Atlanta REIA

Dustin GriffinStarting at 6:00 PM, Dustin Griffin kicks off the Atlanta REIA Main Meeting with updates and announcements. Dustin covers what’s happening at Atlanta REIA in the upcoming weeks and months such as upcoming workshops, webcasts, special events, members benefits and much more! Be sure to be in the main meeting room at 6PM for your chance to be one of the first to receive a printed copy of The Profit Newsletter while supplies last.

6:15 PM in the Main Meeting Room
Haves & Wants Marketing Session

Joe ThompsonAt approximately 6:15 PM, Joe Thompson will be hosting the Haves & Wants Speed Marketing Session which gives our members the opportunity to quickly market deals they HAVE and to find deals they WANT. We also give our business members the opportunity to get up and say a few words about their businesses. Members who want to participate in the Haves & Wants Marketing Session must bring your flyers and get to the meeting early to get on Joe’s list of participants.

9:30 PM @ The Famous Pub, 2947 N Druid Hills Rd, Atlanta
Late Nite Networking at Famous Pub

Famous PubAfter the conclusion of the Atlanta REIA Main Meeting, we will be reconvening at the Famous Pub located at 2947 N Druid Hills Road NE in Atlanta, GA (in the Toco Hills Shopping Center) at 9:30 PM for the All New Late Nite Networking and the “Meeting-After-The-Meeting”! The Famous Pub will be extending our members and guests food and beverage specials throughout the evening.

  • Do you love hanging out with other fun loving, like-minded real estate investors who love to talk about real estate investing and doing deals?
  • Do you want to work with fun, energetic people who are consistently doing deals?
  • Are you always looking for new contacts and resources to build your real estate dream team?
  • Do you ever have trouble putting together profitable deals and need help?
  • Are you constantly looking for new leads sources as well as home buyers and sellers?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then you belong at Late Nite Networking! Whether you are brand new to real estate investing or have years of experienced, everyone benefits from Late Nite Networking. Come eat, drink, connect, and have fun with like-minded real estate entrepreneurs as we network late into the night!

There is no charge for Atlanta REIA Members or guests, so bring a friend and head on down to Late Nite Networking! Just be sure you order food and beverages from the pub and tip their wait staff generously.

Participating Meeting Vendors & Sponsors
Meeting Vendors & Sponsors

Networth Realty of Atlanta, LLCNetworth Realty of Atlanta, LLC – A licensed, full-service residential wholesale brokerage that specializes in finding quality wholesale properties and making them available to you. Read More>>

American IRAAmerican IRA – The American IRA mission is to provide the highest level of customer service in the self-directed retirement industry.
Read More>>

The Small Business AdvisorThe Small Business Advisor – A full service small business consulting firm specializing in QuickBooks with a wide variety of specialized services, trainings and products for small businesses. Read More>>

Lima One Capital, LLCLima One Capital, LLC – A fully capitalized, direct lender for residential real estate investors and homebuilders. We are fully capitalized and our team prides itself on closing loans quickly for our clients. Read More>>

Advanta IRA AdministrationAdvanta IRA Administration – With the help of your local Advanta IRA staff, use your IRA to invest in assets you know, understand and control, such as real estate, notes & mortgages, private placements, and much more! Read More>>

Craftbuilt, Inc.Craftbuilt, Inc. – We are a Metro Atlanta design-build construction firm specializing in whole-structure renovations, restorations, and new construction. No matter what the situation, we are up to the challenge! Read More>>

Solutions Realty NetworkSolutions Realty Network – Providing expert property management and investment services since 2003. You invest and we take care of the rest! We’re the solution to all your real estate needs. Read More>>

Duffy Realty of AtlantaDuffy Realty of Atlanta Real Simple. Real Savings. Real Results. Selling or buying a home has never been easier or cost less! Join other Atlanta sellers and buyers experiencing real estate in the 21st century using technology and methodology that produces results. Read More>>

Halperin Lyman, LLCHalperin Lyman, LLC – A transactional real property law firm devoted to providing the full spectrum of non-litigation related real estate legal and consulting services to its clientele. Read More>>

Goldmine Properties, Inc.Goldmine Properties, Inc. – As Atlanta’s first full service real estate wholesaler, we offer wholesale property at 65% loan to value, with financing available. Purchase price and repairs are 65% of certified after repaired appraisal. Read More>>

CRS DataCRS Data – We offer comps from the MLS & FSBO’s, custom searches, property tax records, interactive maps, sales & mortgage info, real estate valuations, mailing lists & more. Read More>>

Atlanta Carpet ServicesAtlanta Carpet Services, Inc. – Providing carpet, wood, vinyl, and tile, ACS is dedicated to every aspect of your floor covering needs from initial consultation to the sale and follow-up services. Read More>>

Fuller Center for Housing of Greater AtlantaFuller Center for Housing of Greater Atlanta – A faith-driven, Christ-centered, non-profit organization dedicated to providing adequate shelter for people in need in the Greater Atlanta area. Read More>>

  • ApexTkHomes, LLC
See Atlanta REIA Events Calendar for More Events!
Download The Profit Newsletter for July 2014 (PDF)
The July 2014 Edition of
The Profit is Available for Download!

The Profit Newsletter - July 2014The July 2014 Edition of The Profit Newsletter is available for download just in time for our Atlanta REIA Main Meeting on July 7th. The Profit is an digital, interactive newsletter for new and seasoned real estate investors delivered as an Adobe PDF file to read on your PC, Mac, Smart Phone, iPad or other mobile ready devices with a PDF reader. Many of the articles and ads in The Profit contain many hyperlinks you can click or tap to visit websites, watch videos, listen to audios, download content, send emails, comment on articles, share socially and much more! The high res version of The Profit is “print ready” for those who want to print the newsletter on their home or business printer. Also, be sure to Subscribe to The Profit Here so you don’t miss a single monthly issue.

Download The Profit Now!
See The Profit Archives for our past editions.

Read More→

Doing a Subject-to Deal?

Posted on July 1, 2014 by

In last month’s column, we outlined a Subject-to Deal.  This month let’s look at this advanced deal-structuring technique in action.  (NOTE: You can find last month’s column here on AtlantaREIA.com).

In mid-March, we got a call from an experienced investor.  He owned several single-family rental homes.  He had received a call from a motivated seller, who, because of a difficult family situation, wanted his house sold in less than a week.

For years, this investor had heard me talk about Subject-to Deals.  He thought this technique would be the perfect solution for this seller’s problem, and called to see if I’d help him with the deal.

(Sidebar: A Subject-to Deal is when you buy someone’s property, but instead of paying off their mortgage at closing, the seller leaves his mortgage in place, and you agree to make the seller’s mortgage payments, on the seller’s mortgage, for the seller.)

The first thing we did was meet at the seller’s house to discuss the situation and to look at the property. Read More→

Calling in the Home Pro

Posted on July 1, 2014 by

“There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.”  ~ Beverly Sills

 Poor Cousin Roy. He sure loves a bargain, and he couldn’t wait to show this one off to me. He just bought a property, he said, that would be perfect for a big family. It’s got a sparkling pool! A gourmet kitchen! Four huge bedrooms, and three updated bathrooms!

I was skeptical, because I’ve seen some of Roy’s “bargains” before. But, what the heck, I had some free time, so I was willing to take a look. Maybe I could be helpful.

Well, it turns out the pool wasn’t exactly sparkling, unless you count the sun’s reflection off the black, oily sludge at the bottom. And the bedrooms were huge only if you’re a gerbil.  The kitchen had all the extras, all right: a battered old garbage disposal sitting on the floor, a vintage double oven in trendy harvest gold, and – well, who really needs a faucet, anyway? And let’s not talk about the bathrooms. Ever. To anyone.

Now, my readers already know that this is the kind of property I love, because I can make a ton of money on it. But it takes careful due diligence to make sure it’s going to be profitable, and I was pretty sure cousin Roy didn’t even know where to begin. Read More→

Jimmy Napier made the following quote and I truly believe these words are a key to create wealth in today’s real estate market.

Quote:  “You Make The Majority of Your Money In Real Estate During Your Negotiations”. 

Last month I made reference to what I believe will be the key to success for real estate investors in the event the economy tanks like the economist Harry S. Dent has recently predicted. As you may remember I talked about how every investor needs to learn how to talk to sellers face-to-face and negotiate profitable deals without thinking that all every seller wants is all CASH. Since then I have had much thought about things I have experienced through my career of over 35 years that were what I call “Deal Killers”.

If you want to be a successful real estate investor you need to not make the same mistakes I made when negotiating with sellers. For the first 20 years of my career I had no training of what to say and what not to say, I learned negotiating by just opening my mouth and saying what I thought every seller wanted to hear. I can’t tell you how many deals I screwed up just by saying the wrong things or by not asking the right questions. This article is about some of the things I have said and how those things were deal killers for me.  Read More→

Selling Houses Fast

Posted on July 1, 2014 by

In our last several issues we covered the entire process of buying houses step-by-step. Going forward, we’re going to cover the process of selling houses, but they include the same five steps, which are:

  1. Locating Prospects
  2. Prescreening Prospects
  3. Constructing and Presenting Offers
  4. Follow Up
  5. Close Quickly

Fortunately today, locating prospects to buy houses from you is almost free, and, in fact, many of the things you do will be free. Here in Jacksonville, where we buy 6-12 houses per month and sell them, mostly to lease option tenant buyers, there’s only a couple of things we do. The main thing is running ads online to attract buyers to call us, and obviously there’s no cost to that. The only other thing we really do is put signs out in front of houses we have ready to sell and pointer signs in several places around the house to drive people to it. Read More→

Practicing Mastery

Posted on July 1, 2014 by

Does this sound like you:

“I have spent thousands of dollars on education…I have spent time researching the properties…I have been in a coaching program…I have spent money on marketing…

So why is it I haven’t done a deal?”

I challenge you to consider this: Could it be fear of taking a risk that is holding you back?

When you make a change in your life to become successful, you take a risk.

You take a risk because things might not turn out the way you think they should. Instead, I choose to think that, yes, they may not turn out the way I imagined, but they might turn out even better.

When I want to make a change, I look forward to it. I do it with mastery: having small wins every day. The small wins give me confidence and a sense of moving forward. The small wins can be that I did three things from my to-do list. Maybe I posted one ad or I answered one phone call or I called a new seller. These small things are mastery: mastery over your time and yourself. Mastery and consistency allow you to win. Read More→

Welcome back to part 3 of this exciting article series about Video Marketing!

Quick refresher of what was in parts 1 & 2: Everyone is online watching videos these days. They’re using their computers, laptops, tablets,  and smartphones. When they’re looking for the information they want, you’ll stand out and get the business if you can effectively attract and engage them with your videos.  If you can’t, good luck!

You got an example of how to use video marketing to sell houses (in part 1).

In part 2, we discussed how to create videos, different types of videos, and what to say in your videos. Shoot, I even gave you a couple of great script outlines & examples for you to use!

So if we’re now on the same page, let’s move on…

In this article, I’m going to cover the last main steps of what you need to do with your videos:

Optimize, Upload, and Promote them. Then I’ll set you free upon the world to have fun! Read More→

Recently I got a short sale approved on a 4 bedroom, 1 bath for $43,800.00 and my partners and I were going to flip the property to another Investor.  However, after reading the required verbiage that the loan servicer required to be written into the Deed, it made it impossible to sell the property on the same day that we purchased it.  The servicer was Bank of America and the Seller was going through the HAFA program.  Bank of America always places a 30 day hold on the property.  In addition, item #8 on their Approval Letter states “Another buyer cannot be substituted without prior written approval of Bank of America.  The buyer may not alter how he will take title.  For example, a buyer may not enter into a contract to purchase a property and then amend the contract to purchase the property as Trustee for a trust or any other legal entity.”  Based on that verbiage, you cannot close in the name on the approval letter and then immediately place it into a Land Trust, even though I hear people state that the Land Trust is for Asset Planning.  I totally disagree with the fact that a Land Trust is used for Asset Planning, as it only covers who the beneficiaries are, and the Trustee is responsible for signing all the documents.  In addition, this means you must not sell the property to anyone until 31 days have expired.   There are ways around the 31 day hold; however, I only teach that Super Secret at my Foreclosures Gone Wild Boot Camp.  Check my website for the next event.

On the HAFA Short Sale Affidavit, which all parties sign including the Realtor, it states “(b) There are no agreements, understandings, contractors or offers relating to the current sale or subsequent sale of the Property that have not been disclosed.”  What this means is that you cannot have a signed contract with another Buyer to purchase the property from you until after the sale of the property. Read More→

One of the first things you will discover as a Real Estate Investor is that there are many motivated sellers out there just waiting to “give you” their property if you know how to find them. What I mean by this is that there are a lot of great deals to be had and big profits to be made if you are proficient at finding the truly motivated sellers. I have spent several years perfecting systems to locate all of the qualified motivated sellers I need regardless of what my real estate market is doing and regardless of what my competitors are doing.

For the many Real Estate Investors who have figured out the formula to getting the truly motivated sellers contacting them with potentially profitable deals, the problem then becomes the difficulties they encounter when trying to find enough motivated buyers for their real estate deals.

By implementing successful marketing systems Real Estate Investors are finding all the qualified motivated sellers they need, including sellers who will hold the mortgage for them or who will simply deed them the property subject to the existing mortgage, so these investors very quickly recognize that they need to acquire the resources and techniques to locate more motivated buyers for their Real Estate Investing business.

In order to become a successful Real Estate Investor you must reach the truly motivated sellers and then amass motivated buyers for your properties so you can turn your deals quickly for the big check. This creates for you, the investor, a true sense of confidence when you are actively pursuing deals. After all that’s why you became a Real Estate Investor, right? Read More→

Got Private Money?

Posted on July 1, 2014 by

Private money is the holy grail of the real estate business today and the art of raising it can make or break your business.  One of the biggest mistakes that I see new investors make is that they wait until they have a good deal to start raising private money. Most people think that all they need to do is find a good deal and the money will just show up. If you have a good deal you may get lucky and be able to quickly find private equity, but “luck” is not a solid business practice.

First rule of private money is you must always be looking for it. Once you have a deal it’s far too late to start raising money. Planning for funding is one of the biggest areas that you need to consistently be working on. People invest in you first and the deal second.

Networking is the backbone to raising private capital. Relationships are the key to networking so in short relationships = Money. You must always be building relationships if you want to be good at raising private money for your deals. Relationships can take time to find and form so time is of the essence. Get started now! Don’t wait until you have a deal. If you are intimidated about speaking to potential investors about doing business with you then that is a sign that you don’t have your real estate education in place as well as you should have. If you know your business, it’s not hard to talk about it. If you’re nervous then keep studying until that nervousness gets replaced with an excitement to talk about what you are trying to do. It will happen. Read More→