Author Archive
Building Your Fortune Buying Vacant Land
Posted on September 2, 2014 byThere are lots of great ways to make a lot of money in real estate, not the least of which is buying and selling vacant land. This is an effective way to do real estate deals with no hassle, no rehab, no insurance and no worries of vandalism and theft. Plus, there is virtually no competition for these properties since many investors are simply not going after this incredibly lucrative portion of the market place. I was actually in the real estate business for several years myself before I discovered this very profitable part of the market. In addition, in this current market buying and selling vacant land is another good strategy to continue making money in the real estate business.
If you live in an area that is particularly rural, then buying and selling vacant land is a more lucrative means of doing real estate deals. Since it can be more difficult to find homes to purchase in more rural areas, vacant land is definitely the way to go. There are several different ways to find vacant land deals.
One is to simply drive around and look for them. However, since it can be kind of difficult to find addresses for properties this way, it is probably a much better idea to create a direct mail campaign to the owners of vacant land. Some of the parameters I use for this list are out of state owners of vacant land, especially those with past due tax bills or folks who have inherited vacant land. These are some of the most lucrative deals out there. Be especially aware of those properties that front main highways since these will create even more valuable deals for you. Read More→
How To Acquire Motivated Sellers and Buyers in Any Market And Why You Should – Part 2
Posted on July 28, 2014 byThis month I will be discussing even more ways to find all the buyers you need for your real estate investing business.
If you have taken the time to build your dream team, you might also want to talk to your dream team Realtor to see if they work with any wholesale buyers in your area. They almost always have clients looking to buy wholesale deals. They may also have pre-qualified buyers for your other deals as well. Having a Realtor on your dream team is a necessary part of building a successful Real Estate Investing Business and if you have trained your Realtor correctly from the beginning they should already be providing these leads for you.
Many home buyers in the current market are asking friends and family members for possible leads on properties. So another technique I employ to find more potential buyers for my properties is to offer incentives to folks who have already purchased properties from me in order to get referrals. This is a technique that many Real Estate Investors simply forget about, but it can be very profitable for you. Read More→
How To Acquire Motivated Sellers and Buyers in Any Market And Why You Should – Part 1
Posted on July 1, 2014 byOne 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→
Find All The Cash You Need To Fund Deals Without Going To The Bank – Part 3
Posted on May 31, 2014 byAnother way I have used to fund part of a deal or the rehab on a deal is to simply use a credit card or home equity line of credit. If you have a credit card with a fairly high credit line or you have a credit card with a home improvement store, these are great ways to fund the rehab on your deals. I will sometimes use a credit card to fund the rehab, and then pay it all off when I either sell the property, or when I get a significant non-refundable option deposit from a tenant/buyer. You must be disciplined enough to pay the money back to the credit card company or your credit line when you receive the profit or down payment from your deal! This is a good method to use for example, when a homeowner deeds you a property with a lot of equity, but the home needs some rehab in order for you to be able to either lease/option or resell the property.
I know that when you use a home equity line of credit funded by the equity in your home, the interest rate is usually significantly lower and the money is easy to get hold off. Usually all you have to do is write a check. I do not advocate using this method unless you know you are going to turn the deal quickly, and I would only use this method as a last resort since I don’t particularly like the idea of you using your own money to fund deals. Read More→
Find All The Cash You Need To Fund Deals Without Going To The Bank – Part 2
Posted on May 2, 2014 byAnother way I use to fund my deals is by utilizing money from private lenders. Hard money lenders and private lenders are distinctly different in their approach to lending you money.
A private lender is a person who will fund your deals usually with no points and a much lower interest rate. There are usually no pre-payment penalties and they are usually more flexible with regard to the terms of the loan. For example, they may allow you to pay part or all of the interest payments at the end of the loan. So the cost of the money is a lot less in the long run. Working with private lenders offers me a lot more flexibility as a real estate investor, so if a private lender will allow me to pay all of the interest at the end of the loan for example, I may offer them a higher interest rate or maybe a point or two for allowing me to pay at the end. If I can pay all of the interest at the end of the loan, then the property cash flows at one hundred percent each month. This gives me the opportunity to fund multiple rehabs at the same time without having to worry about monthly payments. Then once I sell the property the private lender receives the principal amount they loaned me and all of the interest that has accrued.
There are several ways for you to find private lenders for your real estate investing business. One way is to simply check with people around you (relatives or friends) who may have funds available that are not drawing a very high interest rate in a CD, IRA or money market account. In today’s market that shouldn’t be too difficult. I have found several of my own private lenders this way. Read More→
Finding All The Cash You Need To Fund Deals Without Going To The Bank – Part 1
Posted on April 4, 2014 byI believe that one of the greatest challenges to any real estate investor is raising the money or finding creative ways to fund deals. Going to the bank for money can be a long and arduous task, and while you are waiting weeks for approval, another investor with ready funds just bought your deal. Plus, the bank is going to insist that you fund the deal in your own name which can be damaging to your credit. In fact, taking properties in your own name can be outright dangerous. In addition, in our current market, it’s nearly impossible to get funding from banks to purchase great deals. And if you already have more than three loans in your name, you won’t get the money at all. So, where do you get the money or what creative ways can you use to fund your deals?
I have several great ways for you to find money to fund deals and end up with all the money you will ever need. The fastest and easiest way to locate funds is to find hard money lenders. This is the easiest type of lender to find, especially if you are just starting out in the real estate investing business. So what is a hard money lender and where do we find them?
A hard money lender is a person who will not require a credit check or long drawn out approvals like a bank would. What they will require is that you pay them an interest rate of usually 12-18%. They may also charge points on the front of the deal, usually between 3 and 5 points. These fees are sometimes negotiable and will vary depending on what part of the country you live in. They will also probably charge a pre-payment penalty if you pay the loan off early. Read More→
Work Smart – Play Hard
Posted on February 28, 2014 byI got into the real estate investing business to have more free time for myself and my family and to have the financial freedom to do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I wanted my life to be more worry free. I have spent a great deal of time accomplishing that goal and I want to share some of my insights with you as a real estate entrepreneur.
When you decide to become a Real Estate Investor, make sure you structure your business in such a way that it doesn’t become overwhelming, even more so than a full time job could be. It’s very easy to fall into that trap, especially if you work from home. You can also fall into the trap of trying to do everything yourself, and long-term, this just won’t work. Believe me when I tell you that most tasks in your business need to be delegated to others starting with your marketing.
In my particular case I like to work from home and most of the functions of our business are handled off sight and by Independent Contractors. One of the ways I solved the problem of getting overwhelmed with work was to determine what hours per day would be dedicated to my real estate investing business. At the end of the day the door to the office gets closed and the phones go to an answering service. Your family will appreciate you for this as well. Read More→
Marketing to Senior Homeowners
Posted on January 24, 2014 byOne of my favorite techniques for locating motivated sellers in my real estate investing business is to create direct mail campaigns targeting Senior Home Owners in my area. These homeowners are a good source of leads for my business for a variety of reasons.
After having bought and sold hundreds of properties throughout my real estate investing career, I have discovered that senior home owners may be interested in selling a property for many reasons. Most of the time these homes are in nice neighborhoods where people want to live.
One reason a senior home owner might want to sell would be that a spouse has passed away and the remaining home owner doesn’t want to continue living in the property alone. Or perhaps the senior home owner wants to move in with a relative or relocate to another state and sell their home. The homeowner may want to move into a smaller home or an assisted living facility. The home they have for sale may also have been a vacation property they owned or perhaps a retirement home they purchased and now they either don’t want to or are unable to live in it any longer. We have purchased homes that have been inherited by a senior home owner that they simply don’t want or need. Read More→
The 10 Deadly Mistakes That Will Kill Your Dream
Posted on December 30, 2013 byI am frequently asked, “If you had it to do over again what would you do differently?” Well, I’d like to answer that question for you. There are several things you can do to help your business grow and several things you can do to kill the dream before it ever has a chance to become a reality. Let’s talk about the “ten deadly mistakes” that can kill your dream.
- Listening to people who make less money than you do. There are a lot of folks out there who don’t understand this business at all, yet they will want to give you advice faster than anyone else. They basically want to keep you where they are, which is broke. Surround yourself with people who can guide you in a positive way and a forward direction. Get involved with your local real estate club or a mentoring program like Ron LeGrand provides for you. Read all you can on the subject of Real Estate Investing and educate yourself to move forward with your business. Don’t let a “naysayer” kill your dream. Read More→
Marketing to Motivated Sellers in Rural Communities
Posted on November 26, 2013 bySince I am the type of investor who purchases properties in multiple counties and in multiple states, I have had lots of experience buying homes and vacant land in rural communities. In fact this is a part of our business that we find to be very profitable for us. I will share with you that buying properties this way is a science in and of itself. There are many different parameters and techniques you need to implement to buy properties in rural areas, but it can be a very profitable business for you.
First of all, if you like to buy vacant land, it can be a real challenge at times. For example, many times the parcels you are looking to purchase will not have a street address, making them more difficult to locate on public records to do a search. You will need plat maps and street maps in order to locate these properties. One advantage to buying in rural areas is that generally speaking the folks at the court house, the property appraiser’s or assessors office and the tax collectors office are usually easier to work with and very knowledgeable about the local area and property. Read More→
Choosing the Road to Wealth
Posted on October 30, 2013 byMore people are becoming millionaires today than ever before in the real estate business. So what makes these wealthy entrepreneurs so different? They chose the road to wealth and real estate as the vehicle to get there.
When choosing the road to wealth, there are some important distinctions that set the truly successful people apart from everyone else. Some of these include the ability to visualize a specific outcome, pursuit of a dream, constant motion and a relentless determination to reach the goal. Giving up is not an option. Like the saying goes, “Quitters never win; winners never quit!”
I have found in the real estate business that there are two kinds of people, the “doers” and the “wannabes”. There are truly focused folks who get up every morning with a clear and defined direction who want to make their business work no matter what it takes. They pursue their dream relentlessly and continue to grow on a daily basis, garnering all the education they can along the way to take them even further along in their business.
Then there are the people who go to seminars or buy books and tapes and do absolutely nothing with them once they get them home. I have personally witnessed this over and over again. They have one excuse after another why they can’t do this business. For them, the status quo is the easy way in any situation. Read More→
Getting Realtors to Work For You Bringing You Even More Sellers and Buyers For Your Real Estate Investing Business
Posted on October 5, 2013 byWhether you are a serious investor or you’re just getting started in the real estate investing business, you need to have at least one Realtor on your “dream team”. There are many ways a Realtor can help you in your business, both on the buying and the selling side and they can play an integral role in building your business.
One of the questions I get a lot is “how do I find a Realtor to work with?” There are many ways to do this. You can find one by asking other investors who they use. They may or may not want to share this information with you. You can also go to your local real estate club. There are always Realtor/Investors at those meetings. Another way to find a Realtor to work with is to check with the Board of Realtors and find Realtors who specialize in investor properties. This type of Realtor may also work with bank owned properties which can also net you some really great deals, especially in today’s market where there are so many foreclosures and motivated sellers.
You need to find a Realtor who is going to do a good job for you. Make sure the Realtor you pick is at least a broker-salesman. These types of Realtors have usually been in the business for a long time and have a lot of experience in dealing with all kinds of properties and situations. You also want to work with a Realtor who is motivated to bring you deals and buyers. Read More→
