Atlanta Real Estate Investors Alliance Blog
Are Women Better Real Estate Investors?
Posted on December 23, 2013 byI must start by saying: If you’re looking for politically correct, then I’m DEFINITELY not your guy!
Kim and I were discussing who is better at real estate investing – men or women. Lord knows men and women are very different creatures. Men are clear, concise and rational thinkers. Women are not.
Seriously, I think women can be better – a LOT better – at real estate investing than men. To prove this, our real estate investor’s meeting this month is about successful women real estate investors. Our panel will be four women who, between them, do over – way over – 100 deals a year!
Three reasons why I think women can be better at real estate investing: 1) Great time management. 2) Not ego driven. 3) Aren’t scared of hard, dirty work. Read More→
Cut Through The Obvious
Posted on December 23, 2013 byThis past weekend, I was one of the instructors who taught at a boot camp for new real estate investors. At the end of the four-day event, the frequently asked question was, “What do I do first?”
The advice from the instructors varied. One said to spend the week reviewing the course notes. Another told the investors to put their real estate investing team together. Several thought it best to work on a marketing plan.
When it comes to advising would-be investors how to start – or seasoned investors how to get back on track – I often feel like a salmon swimming upstream. I think the FIRST, most important thing an investor needs to do is to get face-to-face with sellers as SOON, and as OFTEN, as possible!
A number of the attendees didn’t care too much for this advice. One woman best summed up the fears in the room when she said, “I’m not sure what to say to a seller. I’m not comfortable creatively structuring a win-win deal. I don’t know what to do if the seller accepts my offer.” Read More→
Vacancies Are a Fact of Life
Posted on December 23, 2013 byWhy would a reasonably sane person own rental property? After all, we’ve all heard lots of landlording horror stories, right? You know the ones: the tenants refuse to pay rent, the tenants trash the property, the tenants move out in the middle of the night, etc.
Here’s something to consider: We had 61 investors attend our monthly real estate investors meeting in October. These 61 mom-and-pop investors control 573 properties. A couple of weeks back, I (along with seven other instructors) was asked to teach at a boot camp for new real estate investors. The instructors controlled 122 properties. All told, that’s 69 investors controlling almost 700 properties – incredible, isn’t it?
So why do all these folks own rental property? Easy answer: They want MAILBOX MONEY! What’s mailbox money? It’s when you get checks in the mail because your capital is working for you, instead of you working for your capital.
Are there other ways to get mailbox money? Sure – some folks own stock and live off the dividends. We have friends who make purchase-money loans to real estate investors and live off the interest they make. Of course, there’s also a one-in-a-billion chance that you’ll win the lottery – talk about a shaky retirement plan! Read More→
He Appealed to My Greed
Posted on December 23, 2013 byA few months back, one of our rental properties went vacant. It’s a nice three-bedroom, two-bath home with a fenced yard. After a bit of paint and clean up, we stuck a For Rent sign on the lawn.
Over the course of two weeks, we received several great applications. One application stood out above all the others. The applicants had been on their jobs for years, they had solid references, they had the move-in funds ready to go, and they kept their current residence immaculate. They would make PERFECT tenants!
Shortly before I called these ideal tenants to give them the good news that they got the house, I got a call from someone who wanted to buy the property. They explained that their credit stunk, but they had $10,000 to put down.
Their $10,000 down payment got my attention and put the brakes on everything. A thorough background check revealed that the prospective buyers didn’t pay their bills or maintain their current residence well.
Over coffee, the potential buyers explained that they had just inherited $20,000, had always wanted their own home, loved the house we had on the market, and buying it – if we gave them owner financing – would be a dream come true. Read More→
But I Don’t Have the Money
Posted on December 23, 2013 byIs real estate a good, safe, profitable investment? Consider this: More millionaires have made their fortunes using real estate as their primary investment over any other investment vehicles – including stocks and bonds.
With real estate, an average American with no college education can buy a house – often at less than 50 cents on the dollar – with little or none of his own money, get great tax breaks, and here’s the best part: have his tenant (or buyer) pay for it all!
Can you name any other investment that can match these benefits? No? So then why aren’t a lot more folks investing in real estate? Why do so many people choose to be realtors instead of investors – lord knows, investing pays a lot more!
The answer to these questions is best summed up by the excuse most would-be investors give: “I’d love to invest in real estate, but I don’t have the money, and the bank won’t loan me a dime.” Folks, this is one lame, stinkin’ excuse!
Rarely do Kim and I go to banks for our purchase funds. In fact, since 2005, we can count on three fingers the total number of loans we’ve gotten from banks to do our deals. So how are we paying for them? Read More→
I’m A Failure…Or Am I?
Posted on December 23, 2013 byLast month, I did a knocking-on-sellers’-doors challenge. To help folks better understand what real estate investing is really like, I posted my daily results on North Georgia REIA’s Facebook page – including pictures and many of the creative offers I structured!
For the month, I spent 9 days out getting face-to-face with sellers. In total, I talked to 30 sellers at the door, 27 invited me in, and I made 23 written offers – including a $1 million offer on a $125,000 house!
Yesterday, I spoke with an investor who followed me on Facebook. He said, “If I had been you, I would never have done a public challenge.” “Why not?” I asked. He answered, “Because you talked to all those sellers but didn’t find a single deal. Now everyone is gonna think you’re nothing more than a big, fat, ball-headed failure!” Read More→
Gary Johnston
Posted on December 23, 2013 byGary Johnston has been an active investor in real estate and notes for over 20 years. He grew up without a lot of money in a small logging and ranching community in eastern Oregon. His dad always said, “There’s a big difference between being broke and being poor.” He taught Gary that one is a temporary money state and the other is a debilitating mental process. Gary was fortunate to have mentors like his parents and a neighboring rancher named Norbert Volny, who taught him, “You’ll never get rich on a W-2.” Volny encouraged Gary from an early age to build assets that generate cash flow.
After high school Gary attended Oregon Institute of Technology, where he received a bachelor of science in software engineering. Over the next sixteen years he worked for Hewlett-Packard and earned a master of science in management from Purdue. During that time he applied what he learned from my parents, Volny and other mentors he met along the way which as to buy real estate and built assets that generate cash flow. He was fortunate enough to be able to leave HP and the rat race at the age of thirty-eight.
Gary now teaches people how to build a solid financial foundation and obtain financial freedom through assets that generate cash flow. He can’t teach you how to make a million dollars in 30 days, but he can teach you how to build a solid financial foundation and how to make your money make money for you.
Atlanta REIA BIG Meeting & Christmas Party on December 16, 2013
Posted on December 6, 2013 byMon, Dec 16th at the Hudson Grille Sandy Springs
with Special Guest Speakers & Sponsors
*Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages Included!
Atlanta REIA wants to wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! On Monday, December 16th at 6:30PM, we’re having a very special Atlanta REIA BIG Meeting and Christmas Party at the Hudson Grille located at 6317 Roswell Rd NE in Sandy Springs, GA. Atlanta REIA Gold Members can attend for $10, Silver Members for $15 and Guests for $30. RSVP Now & Reserve Your Seats!
*PLEASE NOTE: Food and non-alcoholic Beverages will be provided for those who register and show up on time. Attendees can also order off the Hudson Grille menu and/or purchase adult beverages at the cash bar at their own expense as well.
We also have a very exciting line up of guest speakers whom all happen to be Atlanta REIA subgroup leaders. We also have several vendor sponsors who will be in attendance as well. There will be lots of food, fun, networking, education and a cash bar as well. Come and celebrate the Christmas season with your fellow real estate investors and get ready for an exciting New Year full of new opportunities and exciting possibilities. RSVP Now!
Don DeRosa – Humanizing technology to create success
Russ Hiner – Where the market is going in 2014
Rateb Rock Shukoor – The right mindset of marketing for 2014
Steve Brown – Creating the best partners and friends for success
Joe Thompson – 2013’s successes and 2014’s outlook at Haves And Wants
Leslie Mathis – Taking a personal inventory of 2013 & getting the right mindset for 2014.
This Christmas Party will sell out fast, so please RSVP Now to reserve your seats so you can come celebrate the holiday season with us! Again Atlanta REIA Gold Members are $10 per person, Silver Members are $15 and Non Members $30. The small fee is to help cover the food and room rental. RSVP Now & Save Your Seat(s)! We hope to see you there!
Networth 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>>
FirstCall Claims – Our public adjusters are experts in preparing, documenting, and negotiating claims. With more than 20 years of experience and millions of dollars for our clients, FirstCall has a solid record of improving settlement outcomes. Read More>>
The 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>>
Halperin 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>>
Pete’s Friendly Home Inspections, LLC. – Pete’s provides home inspections, radon monitoring, gas/water/septic tests, checks pools/sprinklers and any other type of inspection needed to get you that next home! Read More>>
American IRA – The American IRA mission is to provide the highest level of customer service in the self-directed retirement industry.
Read More>>
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>>
Solutions 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>>
House4CashBuyers.com – Underwater? Behind on Payments? Repairs Needed? No matter what the issue is we can help! We can buy your house as-is for cash. We can also pay most of the closing costs, and we typically close fast!
- Platinum Key Management, Inc (Rock Shukoor)
FREE 2 Day Wealth Building Event in Atlanta This Weekend!
Posted on December 3, 2013 byEvent in Atlanta This Weekend!
Attend at No Charge & Get 2 Awesome Bonuses!
Yes, You Can Bring a Friend or Share This Link With Them!
This weekend, one of our country’s most renowned real estate investors and trainers is hosting a 2 Day Wealth Building Event in Atlanta where he is going to release and share one of his MOST SUCCESSFUL real estate formulas ever used… and it’s specifically designed for our current recovering real estate market!
Any you an attend this event at NO CHARGE if you Register Now!
By using this formula he calls the Chunker Cubed Freedom System (or C3FS for short) you WILL find your answer to immediate cash & continuous monthly cash flow. Dave’s been using it and he’s definitely found his answer—he’s making a killing. Now you can too. Check it out here!
Dave’s formula works perfectly in today’s recovering market. Dave is using it making a fortune. Now you can too—come to this FREE 2-Day Wealth Building event to discover everything you need to know and you’ll be well on your way…
This event will be full of practical, easy-to-follow information that WORKS in today’s real estate market.
I urge you to Sign up for the event and mark your calendar!
You are welcome to share this link (Wealth.AtlantaREIA.com) with your friends and have them register too!
This is a big opportunity—the time to invest is right now. This formula released at this event will give you everything you need to make your own killing in real estate! Sign up now! Read More→
The Profit Newsletter December 2013 Edition
Posted on November 26, 2013 byThe December 2013 Edition of The Profit Newsletter is available for download just in time for our Atlanta REIA Main Meeting on December 4th. You can download The Profit Newsletter as a High Quality PDF or Low Res PDF for slower devices. The Profit is the official newsletter of the Atlanta Real Estate Investors Alliance and is a 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.
How to Manage Your Real Estate Career For Maximum Profits
Posted on November 26, 2013 byInvesting in real estate is profitable, fun and there are times when it can be psychologically rewarding. The real reason why you are doing it though, your motivation, has a lot to do with total financial freedom and with the ability it will give you to dictate your own future away from money worries and pressures that have anything to do with finances.
This is why the decisions you make in your real estate career are going to affect your purchasing record and the way you operate as an investor in terms of identifying the correct market to target.
The thing to remember when you are working in real estate is that it takes almost the same amount of time, effort and attention to detail to close a small deal as it takes to close a large one so there’s no real reason you should not be closing large deals all the time and for that you need to get into the frame of mind that allows you to identify specific goals within specific time frames. Read More→
How Many Leads Do You Need to Succeed?
Posted on November 26, 2013 byRecently I wrote an article on “Determining Your Marketing Plan in 7 Easy Steps”. You can apply these 7 Steps to market your home buying and selling business or pretty much any other business, product or service you wish to promote.
In this article, I want to expand on Step #1: Determine How Many Leads You Need to Succeed at _____________. For the purposes of this article, let’s fill in the blank with Wholesaling. In order to determine how many leads you need to succeed at Wholesaling, you need to begin with the end in mind and ask yourself a few more questions…
1. How many deals do you want to do per month and per year?
You need to set a target number of deals you want to quick turn (put under contract to buy and immediately resell or assign) each month to know if you’re achieving your goals. Let’s say you want to find and flip 1 to 2 deals per month or 12 to 24 deals per year. This is a very, very realistic and achievable goal for any part-time real investor.
2. How much cash do you want to make per month and per year?
You need to set the monthly and annual financial goal you wish to achieve so you know if you’ve succeeded or not. Let’s say your goal is to make $10,000 per month or $120,000 per year wholesaling houses on a part-time basis. Again, this is a very realistic and achievable goal for an investor who is willing to put in the time and effort to get the job done. Yes, wholesaling is like a job. It pays you well if you work it and pays you nothing if you don’t. Read More→