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Bill and Kim Cook Speaking at Atlanta REIA West on March 28, 2011

Posted on March 27, 2011 by Atlanta REIA

I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not yet, but Bill Cook, real estate expert and leader of the North GaREIA, has been allowing us to publish his weekly articles on AtlantaREIA.com. Bill writes on a wide variety of topics such as finding motivated sellers, buying properties at auction, lowering your property taxes, and more… Click here for a Full List of Bill’s Articles.

Not only is Bill buying and selling foreclosures, writing articles and running his REIA group, but he and Kim will be speaking at our Atlanta REIA West Meeting on Monday, March 28, 2011, from 6:30 to 9 PM at the Cherokee Cattle Company at 2710 Canton Road, Marietta, GA (map). Bill and Kim will be speaking about…

How to Make Money at Foreclosure Auctions!

These days, with so many BIG-PROFIT deals popping up at each month’s foreclosure auction, lots of real estate investors – both new and experienced alike – are asking how to successfully buy at the foreclosure auction. Now is your chance to learn from a couple who buys at the courthouse steps every month! Read More→

Alex Kramb, 15, Buys His First Investment Property

Posted on March 27, 2011 by Bill Cook

At our March real estate investors’ meeting, I described a mobile home in a park that we had for sale. Mouths dropped open as I showed nasty pictures of the disgusting property.

How bad was it? The home was full of dog poop. The toilet bowl was so bad that a commercial-grade sandblaster couldn’t clean it. There were gaping holes where the furnace and water heater used to be. The smell made you gag and caused your eyes to water. It was plain awful!

I asked the room full of experienced real estate investors whether anyone wanted to make an offer on this cesspool of an investment property. Heads turned away and eyes were diverted.

In the back of the room, Alex Kramb, a fifteen-year-old student at Blessed Trinity High School, stood up and said, “Mr. Cook, I’ll pay you $100 for that mobile home.” I was dumbfounded. As I pointed to the screen, I asked, “Alex, you’ll pay me $100 for THAT hunk-of-junk?” He quickly answered, “Yes, sir!”

Alex proudly walked up front. We wrote up a bill of sale, I collected $100 cash money and then handed Alex the keys. With that, Alex Kramb, at 15, bought his first investment property. Investors looked on in amazement…then cheers broke out in the room! Read More→

Workshop & Webcast Replay: How to Appeal & Lower Your Property Taxes

Posted on March 24, 2011 by Atlanta REIA

On March 23, 2011, Lenny Ogburn taught a FREE Workshop and Webinar on “How to Appeal Your Property Taxes & Beat the County!” On this special workshop and webcast, Lenny taught us step-by-step how to appeal our property taxes which could save us hundreds if not thousands of dollars each year on our own home as well as our investment properties. This is a workshop and webinar you definitely want to watch. Thanks for teaching this free workshop Lenny, you did a great job! Read More→

Know Which Mortgage You’re Bidding On

Posted on March 22, 2011 by Bill Cook

Real Estate Auction It never fails. Several times each year, we shockingly watch inexperienced real estate investors come to the foreclosure auction and bid on a junior mortgage which they mistakenly think is a senior mortgage.

For example: Let’s say a $100,000 house is being sold at this month’s foreclosure auction. The mortgage being advertised for foreclosure reads $20,000. An inexperienced investor, who doesn’t know the difference between junior and senior mortgages or how to look them up, shows up ready to bid. The bidding opens at $18,968.35. The inexperienced investor confidently bids $19,000. Slowly, all of the experienced investors back away. They’re terrified of catching a terminal case of “stupid disease,” which has obviously infected this inexperienced investor. Read More→

Cash Cow Commercial Real Estate Group Lunch Meeting on March 24, 2011

Posted on March 22, 2011 by Atlanta REIA

Thursday, March 24th, 11:30 AM @ 5 Seasons Brewing in Sandy Springs

Atlanta REIA Commercial Real Estate Group 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 by Andy Heller

Many 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 Bill Cook

The Key is Finding MOTIVATED Sellers 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 Atlanta REIA

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 by Atlanta REIA

Save 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 by Atlanta REIA

Atlanta 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 Atlanta REIA

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!