Atlanta Real Estate Investors Alliance Blog
Real Estate + The Internet = The Perfect Marriage, Part 5 – Fast Traffic
Posted on November 1, 2012 byWelcome back! We’ve come a long way so far, and made a LOT of progress. But we’re not quite done yet, so listen up…
In our last article, you got a great introduction to Keyword Research, SEO (Search Engine Optimization)-both On-Page and Off-Page (remember?), and how to get started on getting a ton of FREE Traffic to your website.
Go back to last month’s issue for a refresher on that – it’s worth the read.
So now we come to the next part, and that is:
How to Get a Ton of Laser-Targeted Traffic to Your Site-FAST!
Before we embark on this particular adventure, I need to set the stage properly. It’s important that you have your On-Page SEO stuff taken care of first. Again, On-Page SEO is what you do ON your web page that makes it optimized for that particular keyword. This includes putting the keyword in the first and last sentence of that page, bolding it a time or two, italicizing it, underlining it, and all that other stuff we covered in the last article. Read More→
Five Musts for Optimizing Mobile Landing Pages
Posted on November 1, 2012 byMobile landing pages are different from traditional web pages. Users of mobile devices have less patience, yet are more engaged when they find what they want.
Knowing about web landing pages and what makes them successful isn’t the same as what you need to know about mobile landing pages. The tracking method, the conversions, and the need to keep your pages up to date with the latest devices are important to the success of your marketing plan.
1st Must – Know Your Goals.
Be specific about which aspects of mobile marketing are critical to your business. Whether your priorities are downloads and apps, phone calls, redemption of mobile coupons, actual purchase rates, or the generation of further leads, know what your goals are before you get started. Read More→
How To Locate or Create Effective Mailing Lists
Posted on November 1, 2012 byWhere can I find a good mailing list to find motivated sellers? How can I create my own list to find highly motivated sellers? These are the big questions that I get a lot from Real Estate Investors! The true secret to success for a Real Estate Investor is finding sellers who really need to sell. I use different direct mail campaigns to locate different types of motivated sellers: out of state owners, properties quit-claimed from one person to another, expired listings, burned out landlords, vacant properties, military transfers, and pre-foreclosures, just to name a few.
The best part is that you can customize your direct mail piece and your list to reach exactly the kinds of motivated sellers you want to deal with in order to create the kinds of deals you want for your real estate investing business. This is best done by locating mailing lists and refining them to meet your individual criteria, then mailing to these potential sellers again and again, thus creating a multitude of profitable deals.
Investors often neglect to market to sellers using direct mail because they think the list is too difficult to get, or they only send the mailings once and quit. They don’t take the time to create the machine that will bring them deal after deal. Read More→
Tenants Are Your Real Capital Asset
Posted on November 1, 2012 byFor almost two decades, I’ve been teaching folks that it’s better to be wealthy than rich. And to be wealthy, you must own capital assets that provide you with mailbox money. Mailbox money is money you make while you sleep.
In my opinion, the best capital asset for the average American to own is rental property. After all, what other investment vehicle can be purchased for 40-cents-on-the-dollar, provide incredible tax breaks, be financed with a long-term note, generate monthly mailbox money, and as a bonus, be paid for by someone else (your tenants)?
Well folks, last week, after talking with David Tilney, I learned that there was a fundamental flaw in my thinking!
David Tilney has owned and managed rental property since 1978. He’s one of the best, most knowledgeable and creative landlords in the country. David has been one of my primary real estate investing teachers since 2004. Read More→
The Thinking Process’s of a Successful Investor and a Motivated Seller
Posted on November 1, 2012 byThinking Like A Successful Investor
An investor of real estate understands that general knowledge is not what it takes to create wealth. If general knowledge was what it took to create wealth, college professors would be the wealthiest people in this country and we all know that is not the case. Successful real estate investors know that it takes specific knowledge to create wealth. That is why real estate investors buy hard assets, (such as the seller’s house) at a price or with terms conducive to making a profit. If an investor can’t make a profit, they usually have no reason to buy a property unless they plan to live in the house. An investor who is a true capitalist knows they must always offer a seller something the seller likes and values more than what they are giving up or a deal will never happen.
Most sellers are looking for a large sum of cash, a monthly income stream, debt relief or any of a myriad of ways to receive that thing the seller likes more than what they are giving up.
Now that we have established this fact, as an investor it is your job to figure out what you can offer the seller that will be liked enough that the seller is willing to exchange their house for whatever you offered them. If both parties aren’t happy with the deal, it will never happen. Read More→
The Securitization Fraud
Posted on November 1, 2012 byA fraud has been perpetrated upon the American people all in the name of greed. Fraud is defined as deception in the execution of an agreement where some parties to the transaction are deceived as to the real nature of what is being agreed to. When some parties to an agreement are not clear, or some parties enter into the contract deceptively, then the agreement is null and void. A securitized loan is just such a fraudulent agreement.
A securitized loan is one where private investors, pension funds, insurance companies and others have purchased the cashflows from a group of mortgages that have been gathered into a trust in the form of a security assigned a particular risk value. Each mortgage-backed cashflow grouping is called a “tranche” and there are generally several tranches within a mortgage-backed trust. The cashflows are often sold multiple times to multiple investors. Securitization is a way that institutional lenders are able to leverage capital to support additional lending. When the economy is expanding securitization helps to grow the housing industry. When the economy is shrinking the flaw in the system reveals itself as investors begin to lose cashflow as a result of defaulted loans. Read More→
I’ve Got Rental Roaches – Yikes!
Posted on November 1, 2012 byA couple of weeks ago, I spent the day inspecting several of our rental properties. At one of the properties, I quickly realized that something was definitely amiss. The home’s interior was filthy and the yard hadn’t been mowed. Turned out the tenant’s wife had left him two months before. The poor fella didn’t know whether he was coming or going.
As we sat at the kitchen table discussing his problems, a big, honkin’ two-pound cockroach ran across the table. I FREAKED out! I HATE roaches!!! The man finished what he was saying with: “Oh, and I have roaches, too.”
This family had been in the home for three years without any problems. The wife was as neat as a pin. Now that she had left, everything had gone to pot. Dirty dishes were everywhere, the trashcans were overflowing, and when I opened the cabinets, I found more roaches. This is called a we’re-gonna-solve-this-right-now-today problem.
Because the tenant was no longer able to take care of the property by himself, he decided that it would be best for him to find a smaller, more affordable place. He moved the following weekend.
As soon as he moved out, we got busy scrubbing, cleaning and disinfecting. We also called Dale Yarborough, our long-time friend and bug man with Guardian, to get rid of the roaches.
Landlords, there’s something you need to know about roaches: It takes time and several applications to get rid of all of them. Oh sure, back in the good old days, when we could use DDT, you could kill all the roaches in one day…but then you also killed the dogs, cats, birds and small children at the same time. The point is, if we discover a roach problem, I know it will be several weeks before I can put the house back up for rent because no one wants to move into a roach-infested property.
There’s an important lesson to learn from this story: You should regularly inspect your rental properties – both inside and out. By doing regular inspections, you’re able to keep small problems from becoming big ones. For example, in this situation, what if it had been three more months before I discovered the roaches? How bad would the infestation have been then?
There are other advantages to doing regular property inspections: They help you to build good relationships with your tenants. Also, since the tenants know you do regular inspections, they take better care of the property. Finally, inspections will save a ton in repair costs.
How often do I inspect my rentals? With newer tenants, the property is inspected once or twice a month. Once I’m positive the tenants are good tenants, I only inspect the property every couple of months.
Hope this helps you to become a better, more effective landlord.
Bill & Kim Cook are a husband and wife real estate investing team. They live in Adairsville, Georgia and have been investing in real estate since 1995. They specialize in buying single-family homes, mobile homes and mobile home parks. They also run North Georgia REIA and teach folks how to successfully invest in real estate.
How To Creatively Fund Your Deals
Posted on October 31, 2012 byWhen it’s time to buy an investment property, most would-be real estate investors think that it’s as simple as going to a bank, filling out some paperwork and getting a mortgage. While that may have been true back in 2004 and 2005, that’s not how it’s done today. In fact, if you need purchase-money funds, good luck getting them from a bank!
So how and where do you get the money you need to fund a real estate investing deal? Easy answer – the money is all around you! Do you think anyone likes keeping their money in the bank, where they’re only earning around 1% interest? Think about it: Inflation is at 4%; this means that someone with money in the bank is actually going backward 3% each year!
The big question is: What would make someone want to loan you the money to do a deal? First, the lender needs to make a much better return than he can make at a bank. Second, his loan must be safe, and by safe, I mean that it’s secured by a whole bunch of collateral! Read More→
Chris Bowser
Posted on October 30, 2012 byOver the past 10 years Chris Bowser has been making money online. He has bought and sold tens of thousands of products over the internet. Starting 10 years ago selling products on eBay as a hobby, Chris has teamed up with his brother Adam, together they have developed a hand’s off system for making money on the Internet. Just 10 years ago, Chris and Adam had no eBay or Internet experience whatsoever. They were introduced to the internet business and started buying and reselling products all over the world.
Before you knew it Chris was selling 30 to 40 products a week bringing in $2,500 per week working part time. From there by utilizing his internet expertise, he expanded to buying and selling products all across the country for resale on eBay. In just 3 ½ years he created a monthly positive cash flow that he had never dreamed possible. Over the last 10 years Chris and his company has sold millions of dollars of products over the internet. Read More→
Andrew Cordle
Posted on October 29, 2012 byAndrew Cordle, the founder of Financial Momentum began in Real Estate just over ten years ago. His first rehab was the spark that ignited Andrew’s passion for flipping. The transaction took 90 days from start to finish, then he received a check for just under $32,000. Andrew was hooked. One house became two, two projects became three, three rehabs became four, and before he knew it, Andrew was buying, rehabbing and selling close to five beautiful homes each month. His average profit was around $55,000 per home, and his record profit was just over $272,000 on ONE house!! During this time, Andrew was offered a Nationwide Reality TV show in 2006. His multi-million dollar company had grown to over 30 full time employees. Read More→
Albert Lowry
Posted on October 29, 2012 byEpitomizing the saga of “rags to riches”, Dr. Albert Lowry has risen to become America’s premiere authority on real estate investing. Starting with no money, a desire to succeed, and a great amount of common sense, he pursued his dream. Within a very short time, he mastered the real estate market and began creating concepts and techniques that are the backbone of the “Lowry Formula”.
Al spent his childhood in orphanages and foster homes. Working in a variety of jobs from sheet metal laborer to butcher, Dr. Lowry realized how much he wanted financial independence.
He obtained his real estate license and began to sell property. He soon came to realize that the properties could be purchased with no money down. He bought duplexes and triples and did the routine maintenance himself.
Dr. Lowry bought more property and expanded his method to include leveraging, rehabilitating and exchanging his investments. Read More→
Chris Johnson
Posted on October 29, 2012 byChris Johnson is known as America’s Top Educator teaching people how to find and obtain the Grant Funding they need to buy & fix up Real Estate, start or expand a Business or get a college or university Education! His knowledge and expertise regularly has him sharing the stage with well known financial and investment experts such as Sir Richard Branson, Donald Trump, Suze Orman, Tony Robbins and Robert Kiyosaki with thousands of people in attendance.
The U.S. Government is the largest “Money Vault” on the planet. When Chris is asked… What does he mean by this? He responds… “Well just that. There is literally Billions of Dollars in what I call FREE MONEY in the form of Government Grants, Loans and Subsidies available in three main categories; Real Estate, Business and Education. The reason I say “Money Vault” is that even if people know it is there, (which most people don’t), they really have no idea how to get it. In other words, they don’t have the “Magic Key” to unlock this vault.”
Chris teaches everyday American’s the key to unlock this “money vault” so people can receive the Grant funding they need to finance Real Estate deals, start or improve a Business or send their kids to the top colleges and universities around the country all paid for by the Government. Read More→