Atlanta Real Estate Investors Alliance Blog
Cash Cow Commercial Real Estate Group Lunch Meeting on March 24, 2011
Posted on March 22, 2011 byThursday, March 24th, 11:30 AM @ 5 Seasons Brewing in Sandy Springs
The Cash Cow Commercial Real Estate Group is a new educational and networking subgroup led by Steve Brown for new, intermediate and advanced investors with a serious interest in purchasing commercial real estate. The group meets on Thursday, March 24th at 11:30 AM at 5 Seasons Brewing located at 5600 Roswell Rd (map).
Steve is having two great guests at this month’s meeting… SBA/USDA Lender, Melanie Brown, and Commercial Broker, Tom Hogan. Melanie is going to talk about SBA & USDA loans available for commercial properties. Tom is also going to talk about some different loan programs available for commercial properties as well as some apartment building that are currently on the market. Steve is also going to talk about how to make the transition from single family homebuyer to becoming a commercial real estate investor. He will also talk about how to option commercial properties for huge profits. Read More→
Being Rich is About More Than Money
Posted on March 21, 2011 byMany people think that being rich is about having enough money to do whatever you want. However, these same people miss an IMPORTANT POINT. Having millions of dollars may make you “financially rich”. However you will have lived a “poor life”, if you were a “slave to money” and did not have adequate time for family, friends, and the many other enjoyable things life has to offer. The following stories illustrate this point.
Jack’s Story
Shortly after Jack turned thirty, he married his college sweetheart. Jack was a sharp and thoughtful guy, as well as a meticulous planner. Jack saw all the layoffs happening in the corporate world, and wanted to establish a safety net for his upcoming family beyond the fragile sanctuary of his day job. He was determined to give his two kids a better quality of life than he had growing up.
Jack invested in rental homes. He also bought a sandwich shop franchise.
Over the years, Jack did make money on his real estate investments. However, he also found some very unpleasant surprises. Tenant turnover was a big problem. Repairs and re-renting the properties were eating up much of Jack’s time with his family. Especially upsetting to Jack was the weekend and evening time these properties ate up. This was time he would rather have spent coaching his son’s sports team and watching his daughter’s theatrical productions.
The sandwich shop also made money. However, Jack was surprised at how hard it was to find dependable employees. Whenever an employee did not show up, Jack or his wife often had to fill in. Several times Jack had to cancel or postpone the family vacations due to employee issues.
Yes, in the end, Jack’s investments made “good money”. However, his investments had made a significant negative impact on his family life, as well as his ability to spend time with friends and on other things he loved to do. There was many a time when he wondered whether all the extra money was worth the sacrifices he made. Read More→
The Key is Finding MOTIVATED Sellers
Posted on March 21, 2011 by
As folks pass from their thirties into their forties, they suddenly realize that sixty-five and retirement isn’t that far away. They also realize that Social Security is a great retirement plan…if the thought of living under a bridge and eating cold beans out of a can is appealing.
These realizations are why Kim and I are asked to speak to groups around the country about real estate investing. Most folks know that more people achieve financial freedom through real estate than from any other type of investment.
There are lots of reasons why real estate is a great investment/retirement vehicle. Here are just three: 1) Rental income has a very low tax rate. Remember, how much you keep is more important than how much you make. 2) Everybody needs a place to live and about 37% of Americans rent, not own, a home. 3) In the end, the tenant pays off the property for you!
We’re often asked, “To be a successful real estate investor, what is the MOST important thing that I need to do?” Easy answer: Read More→
Webcast Replay: Determining Accurate Property Values In Today’s Market
Posted on March 21, 2011 by
Most seasoned real estate investors and other real estate professionals are pulling comps entirely different than they did a few short years ago. One of the main reasons many investors are sitting on the sidelines is because they are not comfortable determining home values in this market. Find out why on this webcast where Gordon Catts talks about resources available through public records, the Internet as well as subscription services and explain why it is critical to have a better understanding of the valuation process. In this market the difference between making a big profit and making a big loss rests on the investor’s ability to understand and apply the valuation process to investment properties. Read More→
FREE Workshop & Webinar: How to Appeal Your Property Taxes
Posted on March 20, 2011 bySave Hundreds, Even Thousands of Dollars in This Market by Having Your Property Taxes Lowered!
Lenny Ogburn has always been an entrepreneur and investor, owning a partnership in 3 video stores in the early 1990’s, owing over a dozen rental properties and self storage units, rehabbed and/or flipped over 30 properties, has invested in car notes, business notes and real estate notes.
In 1998, when he bought his present home at a great price, paying the sellers asking price and acquiring it by a subject-to deal, the county that year raised his property tax value to over $60,000 higher than the purchase price of his home. Having bought 7 properties that year, Lenny quickly realized that buying properties as an investor was tough to make cash flow from the rentals when the county jacked the values for investors and home owners.
Having lower fair market tax values helps a landlord/owner with making a property carry a positive cash-flow. Lenny dug in, learned the laws regarding property taxes, fought the counties, sometimes even taking the cases to Superior court, and wining lower tax valuations even in a rising market. Lenny has been fighting tax increase ever since and teaches other investors how to lower their property taxes.
On Wednesday, March 23 at 6PM, Lenny is going to be teaching a FREE Workshop and Webinar on “How to Appeal Your Property Taxes & Beat the County!” You can attend this FREE event live and in person at 1960 Skylar Hill Dr, Suite D, in Buford, GA (map) or on a live webcast via GoToWebinar.com. Register now for FREE and we will email you information on how to attend the webinar. Read More→
What’s Happening at Atlanta REIA – March 21, 2011
Posted on March 20, 2011 byAtlanta REIA has a lot of meetings, webcasts and workshops this week that you should attend if you are able. We have Movers & Shakers on Monday; the Commercial Subgroup and Haves & Wants on Thursday; two Cash Flow Games this week; three workshops this week and several webcasts. For more information, see below or checkout our events calendar for more details. Read More→
Eric Nicoll Speaking on Taxes & Wealth Building at Movers & Shakers on March 21st
Posted on March 18, 2011 by
At our next Atlanta REIA Movers and Shakers Lunch Meeting on Monday, March 21st at 11:00 AM at 5 Seasons Brewing in Alpharetta, we’ll be talking all about taxes! 2010 was a year of change with respect to tax law with a couple major iterations of new law and then an end of year “back-up” that left a great deal of the “old” law still in place. This has caused a great deal of discussion and confusion. Our special guest speaker on Monday will be Eric Nicoll, CPA, who will discuss all the changes thoroughly to show WHAT has changed and WHEN it will take effect.
Additionally, Eric likes to work with investors towards a mind-set of building wealth. We will touch on several subjects with the intention of becoming aware of the issues: Timing of Income Strategies; Character of Income Strategies; the effect of Social Security Taxes; Benefits of Long-Term Capital Rates; Installment Sales; Tax-Deferred Sales; Other Tax-deferred strategies. Tax season is upon us, so this is an informational and networking meeting you don’t want to miss!
Subscribe to Atlanta REIA Newsletter & Get Andy Heller’s eBook for FREE!
Posted on March 18, 2011 by
Subscribe to our Atlanta REIA Email Newsletter and receive Andy Heller’s 46 page ebook entitled “10 Ways to Buy Low”. You’ll get a download link in your email once you subscribe and verify your email address. And don’t forget, Andy will be our keynote speaker at our Atlanta REIA Main Meeting on Monday, April 4th at the W Hotel Atlanta Perimeter.
& receive Andy Heller’s “10 Ways to Buy Low” eBook for FREE!
Are Your Property Taxes Too High?
Posted on March 18, 2011 by
Do you think your property taxes are too high? If you do, how do you get them lowered? And who’s responsible for determining the amount you pay in property taxes, anyway?
Let’s begin with the last question first. I greatly respect and much admire the folks who work in the Tax Assessor’s office. They have a daunting, thankless job!
When Kim and I first began disputing our property taxes in 2006, I viewed the Tax Assessor’s office as my adversary. Over the years, after spending a lot of time getting to know these folks and learning how the process works, I now realize how WRONG I was. Read More→
Haves & Wants Speed Marketing Session: Mar 7, 2011
Posted on March 17, 2011 by
This was the Haves and Wants Speed Marketing Session that we recorded live at our March 7, 2011 Atlanta REIA Meeting. This is a new 30 minute session at our Atlanta REIA Main Monthly Meeting that starts at 6:00 PM on the 1st Monday of the month and is hosted by Joe Thompson. The purpose of this marketing session is to help facilitate deals by giving our members the opportunity to quickly market things they HAVE and no longer want and to find things they WANT but don’t yet have. Thanks to all those of you who participated. And special thanks to Joe for hosting the session and to Alan McDonald for recording the session and improving the quality of this video each and every month.
Download Mar 7, 2011 Speed Marketing Flyers (pdf). Read More→
What’s Hot in Real Estate Investing Webcast Replay: RealtyJoin.com 2.0 with Andy Heller
Posted on March 17, 2011 by
Local real estate expert Andy Heller was our special guest on the March 2011 What’s Hot in Real Estate Investing Webcast. Andy talked about the recent launch of RealtyJoin 2.0, the new and improved Social Networking Site for Real Estate Investors, Agents, Brokers and Tradespeople. It’s a site specifically designed for real estate investors matchmaking, and will help you make more MONEY. Be sure to take 5 minutes to visit www.RealtyJoin.com, create a profile for yourself and/or your company and “Friend” Atlanta REIA on RealtyJoin.com Read More→
Eric Nicoll
Posted on March 17, 2011 byFor over a decade, Eric Nicoll, CPA has been helping real estate investors to maximize their opportunities to create wealth through real estate. Having been a builder, developer, investor and financial strategist himself, he is able to bring a depth of knowledge to the table to assist investors with their transactional issues as well as tax planning strategies and tax preparation needs with the prime goal of helping people to build wealth.
