Author Archive
Would You Like to Sell Your Houses Faster and Get a Higher Price At The Same Time?
Posted on June 6, 2016 byHere is a great tip for you to think about when rehabbing your houses. I have written about this subject before and I thought I would share some different ideas that will help you sell your houses faster and many times get a higher price than other houses in that same price range.
So, What Is The Secret To Getting A Higher Price For Your Houses Than Your Competition Can Get For Their Houses?
The simple answer to this question is doing what other investors won’t do!
Years ago I learned a simple but very powerful lesson that has since made a huge difference for me and those who have followed these suggestions.
Here is what I mean. When doing your rehabs always put things in your houses that would normally be found in houses located in a higher price range. It is a good idea to take some time and go to a few open house showings and take notes about what things these higher priced houses have that aren’t usually found in houses in the price range of the house you are about to rehab. Read More→
Are You Getting the Best Deal On Every House You Buy or Are You Settling For Less?
Posted on May 2, 2016 byThis is a question I constantly ask my students about every offer they are thinking about making to purchase any property, and I also ask myself this question before making an offer to purchase on every deal I do. It’s a wonderful thing when you put together a profitable deal but why not take a minute before submitting your offer to a flexible seller and ask yourself, “is there any way I can make this deal better”? If you are paying cash for the property I don’t know of any way you could make the deal better unless you offered more CASH to the seller. I truly believe that would be a huge mistake. It would be a huge mistake because it would in most cases only benefit the seller and not you.
Always Ask Yourself, How Can I Make My Offer Better For Me And The Seller Before Submitting Your Offer to Purchase Any Property?
The question is how can you make a better deal for you? If you are paying all cash, good luck. If you are getting seller financing terms there are many different things you could ask the seller for that could make the deal better for you as well as for them. Here are Six creative suggestions you might offer a flexible seller. Especially to those flexible sellers who want a certain price, monthly payment or interest rate. Read More→
Don’t Be Fooled Thinking That Quick-Turning Deals Will Quickly Make You A Millionaire
Posted on April 4, 2016 byThe One Thing the Gurus Never Tell You Is, Wealth Is Created Over Time, Not Over-Night.
I recently had a conversation with one of my students who made a statement to me that I found very disturbing. This person asked me why I continue to try to buy houses with seller financing terms when money is so easy to get today. He asked me; why not take the fast and easy road to success instead of thinking only about long-term investments. Believe me there are many reasons.
The minute those words came out of his mouth, I knew he was an inexperienced investor who apparently had been to a seminar recently and apparently believed the rhetoric the speaker was saying about doing deals with the latest way to get rich quickly.
I have personally lived through seven different economic cycles over my 36 year real estate career. Over that period of time I have seen with my own eyes, when the economy changed every few years the methods we were using at those times drastically changed, and not always for the better. Depending on what was being done at that time, every niche method of buying eventually changed and then someone else came up with another fool-proof way to get rich quickly. This is a never-ending fact of life that will always be occurring for eternity. Read More→
Don’t Be in a Panic Regardless of What the Experts Say!
Posted on March 6, 2016 byRecently I read an article written by Michael Snyder, a graduate of the University of Florida law school. I found it very interesting. This article was titled “Sell Everything!”
His headline read, “Royal Bank of Scotland Tells Investors to Fear 2016 Financial Cataclysm.” The 20th largest bank in the world is predicting that 2016 will be a cataclysmic year and Investors should be afraid. This prediction of course is aimed at the stock market, but there is a connection between stocks and real estate many real estate investors aren’t thinking about.
As the stock market is currently going into a Bear Market and people fear losing all of the value in the stocks they own, many will panic and start to sell thinking they must get out NOW if they want to keep as much of their equity as possible. It is also important to realize that when the market goes down, the companies who issued the stock, many times must also lay off workers to stay profitable. This is the bad part that few real estate investors think about. Why is this important? It’s important because when this happens, many people won’t be able to pay their mortgage payments and slowly those people will start going into foreclosure and eventually lose their homes. For a period of time renting may be their only option. I believe owning rental property is a smart move for those who start buying income properties today. Read More→
If You Want to Be a Successful Real Estate Investor Stop Trying to Put the Cart Before the Horse!
Posted on January 31, 2016 byIt seems that nobody today learning how to be a real estate investor wants to start at the bottom anymore. What I mean is, most beginning real estate investors want to start at the top making money like those who have spent many years learning how to buy real estate and make money every time they buy. Having been a licensed building contractor in a previous life I can tell you that I never built a house starting with the roof and then built downward to the foundation. Investors today must realize it just doesn’t work trying to get rich quick without a solid foundation of basic investor knowledge. Unless you want to build a house of cards that will easily tumble down you must forget trying to start at the top of the learning curve and understand that the only way you will ever be truly successful is if you start learning real estate investing with sound techniques and strategies that will allow you to make the very best buying decisions every time. Read More→
Have You Ever Wondered How You Can Maximize Your Profits from the Properties You Sell for All Cash?
Posted on January 4, 2016 byHappy Prosperous New Year 2016 to You All!
I continually talk to my students about maximizing their profits on every deal they do so this month I am going to explain to you how you can do just that, get more money from the deals you do. This is a simple strategy every investor can easily accomplish once they have an understanding how to make it happen.
I’m Not Talking About Doing Any Extra Work to the Properties You Sell
I’m Talking About a Way to Get More Price for the Houses You Are Selling.
High consumer debt with high interest rates can greatly affect how big of a loan buyers can qualify for to buy a home for their family. A buyer who is trying to buy your properties can be greatly handicapped simply because they have high consumer debts they are paying every month which greatly limits how much of a loan they can qualify for.
What if you could help your buyer eliminate a portion of their consumer debt to change their debt-to-income ratio considerably? You could instruct your buyers to pay off one of their high interest consumer debts such as, (a credit card) that has a current balance of $3,000 as an example that has a monthly payment of $60.00. How would that help them qualify for a bigger loan you ask? First comes the question, how can they pay off that debt all at once with their limited income? What if you bought something from your Buyers? If you were to buy something from your buyers (an old car, a boat, a barbeque grill) for $3,000, it would give them money to pay off that one high interest $3,000.00 debt. Now let me show you how you can get more price for your property and maximize your profits by buying something from your potential buyer. Read More→
Learning the Basics of “Paper” – Part 2
Posted on December 7, 2015 byYou Must Get Your Personal Debt Under Control If You Want to Quickly Achieve Financial Freedom. This Can Be Done Much Faster Once You Eliminate All of Your Highest Interest Rate Consumer Debts First.
This month I want to start with examples of how you can eliminate your personal debts much, much faster without sacrifice or having to bring in one more penny every month. I am going to explain to you how to pay off your consumer debts much faster which will save you thousands of dollars of interest you will never have to pay. Here is an example of what I am talking about.
Let’s say the payment of your highest interest rate debt is $212.83 minimum payment. If you will add the $93.00 (a good number for a family of four at a nice restaurant) you saved by not dining out each month with your family will total $305.83 ($212.83 + $93.00 = $305.83). If you pay that amount each month for this debt until it is paid in full, it will greatly shorten the payback time of that debt saving you hundreds or even thousands of dollars of interest. Read More→
Learning the Basics of “Paper” You Owe Can Really Change Your Financial Life
Posted on November 9, 2015 byOver the past two months I have written about using “Paper” assets as income for your financial future. But did you know you are already using “Paper” for debts you personally owe. I am sure most of you have some type of consumer debt you pay every month. Every one of those individual consumer debts is also a form of “Paper” owed someone else. Your creditor’s hold a form of “paper” you signed and agreed to pay. Consumer debts are a drain on your monthly cash-flow and the sooner you get those debts paid off the sooner you will be able to use the money you no longer have to pay out every month for a better lifestyle or to invest and grow your financial future.
If you have never thought about your consumer debts as another form of “Paper” but as paper you owe I believe it’s time. I’ve decided to give you a very important lesson how you can use the “paper” or debt you owe for your own personal debts that are working negatively for you and show you a simple strategy that can help you become free of those high interest debts you owe in the shortest possible period of time. If you understand this simple strategy, it will make a huge difference in the quality of life you are seeking once you become debt free from the debts you personally owe. I believe this is a good place to really learn how “paper” works sitting at your own kitchen table so you better understand how to quickly eliminate the debts you owe. Read More→
Different Ways to Generate Substantial Income For Your Portfolio With Assets Other Than Real Estate – Part Two
Posted on October 20, 2015 byThis month I will continue explaining what I believe to be one of the best ways to add additional income to your wealth building strategies investing in Paper Assets.
There are two types of promissory notes “performing” and” nonperforming”. The performing promissory notes are the ones being paid by the borrower every month as agreed. The nonperforming promissory notes are not being paid as agreed and in many cases are in default and in the foreclosure process. Depending on what the asset is that has been used as the collateral for the note, if not being paid as agreed, it may be in jeopardy of being foreclosed upon and the real estate may be taken back or the borrower of non-real estate may be taken to court by the lender to get a judgment against borrower to try to reclaim the money they lent to the borrower. I believe every real estate investor needs to understand how paper assets can be a huge part of their wealth building plan.
One word of caution I want to mention, if you decide this is something you might like to participate in ALWAYS be sure to do your due diligence before ever purchasing any paper asset. The reason I say that is because I recently looked at a portfolio of defaulted notes held by a major bank. When I did my due diligence I found several properties that had a promissory note and mortgage attached to them had been bulldozed and no longer existed and all that was left was a vacant lot. A vacant lot is not worth anywhere near the amount owed on the promissory note. If I had not done my homework and I had bought those particular promissory notes and I decided to continue with the foreclosure that those properties were already involved in there would be no way I would ever get back as much as I might have paid for the promissory notes. Read More→
Different Ways To Generate Substantial Income For Your Portfolio With Assets Other Than Real Estate – Part One
Posted on September 16, 2015 byRecently I was having a discussion with a friend of mine discussing some of the different ways to create wealth not only from real estate but other forms of investing that can give huge returns. We talked about the usual ways of making money buying real estate and we also talked about other ways of creating income without having to do any physical work for the money. Of course when you are a real estate investor your first thought is usually either about, buying foreclosure properties, wholesaling properties, fixing and selling houses at retail prices, and also buying long term income properties.
One subject I have never talked about before that I think is an important part of every real estate investors portfolio of investing opportunities is to also own paper assets for income. From this point forward we will refer to paper assets simply as “Paper”. So what are paper assets? Paper assets come in many different forms. Some different paper assets come in the form of property tax certificates, land contract paper, contract for deed paper and promissory notes secured by a mortgage or a deed of trust paper. It is my belief that every real estate investor should be diversified and have several different income streams to help them build the wealth they desire. Read More→
Why Does Everyone Want to Become a Wholesaler? – Part Two
Posted on August 1, 2015 byThis month I believe what I will be sharing with you can be very important to you financially as well as to build your financial freedom faster and easier. Last month I questioned why all of the so-called Guru’s are pitching how everyone should be wholesaling properties to build wealth. From my own experience as I said last month, if all you do is wholesale deals you have a job. This month I want to explain what I have experienced over the years doing this type of deal and what I have learned that keeps my buyers clamoring for more deals on a continual basis. The reason I decided to write about this subject is because without the practical knowledge of how to structure your wholesale deals, it is going to be more difficult to pass those deals along to other investors. I hope this information will open your eyes to the real world and what it takes to be more profitable.
Last month I left off by saying, if you always pay too much for the properties you wholesale, the seasoned investors aren’t going to be interested in the properties you find and you will be forced to sell or assign the purchase agreement to other people who don’t know what they should pay. This is because those people don’t really understand how to figure the numbers and once they do figure out they paid too much, it only stands to reason that they won’t want to buy more properties from you. Once word gets out you are asking too much and it will be assumed you don’t know what you are doing and investors will avoid you like the plague. Everyone wants to make an adequate profit from every deal they do or they won’t do the deal. You must realize that there are other ways to profit from real estate other than being a wholesaler. Read More→
Why Does Everyone Want to Become a Wholesaler? – Part One
Posted on July 2, 2015 byI have noticed over the past months that almost everyone I talk to today tell me they want to be a wholesaler. These people want to wholesale deals as a way to generate fast money to pay their living expenses each month. What in the world is going on here? Why is it that all of a sudden everyone wants to become a wholesaler when there are so many other different ways to profit from real estate other than wholesaling?
Don’t get me wrong I’m not suggesting that wholesaling isn’t a great way to get started as a real estate investor. All I am suggesting is wholesaling is only one way to make money buying real estate but it’s not necessarily the best way in my opinion. Having done many wholesale deals over the years I have come to the conclusion that if the only way you buy real estate is wholesaling where the investor either buys or gets the property under contract with the seller and then resells the property to another person or assigns their assignable purchase agreement to another investor and passes along the deal you structured with the seller for a fee. Read More→
