Atlanta Real Estate Investors Alliance Blog
Buying Unfinished Builder Houses
Posted on March 9, 2011 by
Don’t be fooled: all that glitters isn’t gold. There are a large number of unfinished builder house sand small subdivisions where the builder ran out of money before they finished the project. Many of these were built by reputable builders who did everything right and just got caught in a sinking economy. They may have had a construction loan with a bank that failed. Though no fault of their own, they were unable to finish their projects. They may have been unable to sell their other homes, leaving them short of the money to finish other projects. Read More→
Never be the Motivated Guy in the Deal
Posted on March 9, 2011 byA few days back, Brad flew in from Virginia to discuss his real estate investing business. He’s an experienced investor who, for the past three years, has been having a really tough time keeping his head above water.
Brad owns 17 single-family homes, 2 duplexes and a 26-unit apartment building. He wanted me to look over his portfolio to find out what he’s doing wrong and what he can do to become more profitable.
Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to meet with a lot of investors, study their portfolios and discuss ways they can do better. One of the biggest and most common mistakes made – by both new and experienced investors – is doing deals that should never have been done. Read More→
Atlanta REIA South Meeting on March 10th, 2011
Posted on March 8, 2011 byWhat to Expect & How to Buy
So many properties have been foreclosed on and repossessed by the banks which are using “ballroom auctions” to liquidate the extreme excess of properties they have in inventory right now. Many times these REO’s sell for 40-50-60 cents on the dollar! There are some incredible deals to be had at these auctions, but you MUST know what you are doing to play in this game. The deals are plentiful if you know what to look for and what to avoid.
Come join us on Thursday, March 10that 6:30 PM at the Atlanta REIA South Monthly Meeting at Ryan’s Restaurant located at 5425 North Henry Blvd in Stockbridge, GA (Map) where Leslie Mathis will take you step-by-step through what you can expect, and more importantly, what you need to know, to successfully buy REO Properties at these ballroom auctions. She will even cover a couple of strategies that will allow you to make quick cash without long-term ownership, simply by putting these properties under contract, then finding investor-buyers for them. Get paid thousands of dollars in just 30 to 45 days!
What’s a Property Worth?
Posted on March 8, 2011 by
The press is full of gloom and doom about real estate prices depending on which “report” you read. Prices have hit bottom. Prices will fall another 10%. Prices will fall another 3%. The headlines keep coming. Different parts of the country are reacting to the current conditions in different ways. Prices are very sensitive to supply and demand. Some parts of the country have experienced substantial price reductions, while others have not. Even within a single market area, prices will vary. So how do you figure out what a property is worth in today’s market?
A number of experienced investors are sitting on the sidelines right now. They are sitting for a variety of reasons. One of the issues is value. They have seen values erode and are concerned that the values will continue to erode. How do you determine value in a static to falling market? “Very Carefully”. Read More→
The Three Faces of Foreclosures
Posted on March 8, 2011 bySo you want to invest in residential foreclosures? Not sure quite where to start? It is helpful to understand first that there are three faces to “foreclosures”, each with very different characteristics.
The first face of foreclosure investing is the “pre-foreclosure”. The pre-foreclosure period begins when a homeowner gets behind on his or her loan, and ends with the foreclosure sale. The pre-foreclosure phase itself is divided into two stages.
The first stage covers the period of time beginning when the homeowner misses their first mortgage payment, and ends in the final month preceding the impending foreclosure sale. During this time if a homeowner is not already marketing their home, it will be up to the investor to reach out to and find these distressed homeowners through ads (“We buy homes fast” and “We have CASH for homes”) and networking.
The second stage occurs during the final month leading up to foreclosure. The precise laws differ from state to state, but most states require some form of public notification of a pending foreclosure. Investors can seek out these notifications, and many have ample contact information for the investors to approach the distressed homeowner. Many larger communities have a number of online and subscription services which compile the pending foreclosures in a specific geographic range. You can also network within your local real estate investors association and/or do an internet search (e.g. “foreclosure listings in order to find these publications and services). Read More→
Pete Youngs & Don DeRosa’s Investor Bonanza 5 Day Boot Camp
Posted on March 7, 2011 byIt’s a real estate market that’s literally making Millionaires…
Shouldn’t you be one of them?
Of course you should. Learn how! Spend Five Days with some of the most successful, experienced, straight-talking real estate educators in the country. Join “real guys” Pete Youngs and Don DeRosa for this one of a kind boot camp, and you’ll walk away with EVERYTHING you need to know to gain financial independence through Real Estate investing.
Learn to BUY, REHAB, MANAGE, and SELL
ALL of the houses you can handle!
INVESTOR BONANZA
March 16-20, 2011
Wyndham Garden Atlanta Airport Hotel
5010 Old National Highway
College Park, GA 30349
Whether you’ve bought 50 houses or want to buy your first,
this boot camp is a MUST ATTEND event.
Where To Get The Money Now Conference on March 19, 2011 with Jay Conner & Ron LeGrand
Posted on March 7, 2011 by
Join Jay Conner & Ron LeGrand in Atlanta on March 19th for the “Where to Get the Money Now Conference” sponsored by Atlanta REIA. The special for this training event is only $99 for Atlanta REIA Members and $49 for their guests.
“Where To Get The Money Now Conference on March 19th”
DoubleTree Atlanta NE/Northlake
4156 LaVista Road, Tucker, GA 30084
Event Starts at 8:00 AM Sharp and ends around 5:00 PM
The iPad: Everything You Need, When You Need It… in One Place
Posted on March 6, 2011 byCome to the Atlanta REIA Main Meeting on March 7th at the W Hotel Atlanta Perimeter for a SNEAK PREVIEW to find out how the iPad gives you a HUGE competitive advantage and all the confidence you need in your real estate investing business.
See Don DeRosa and Pete Youngs show you how the iPad will totally change the way you do business…saving you countless hours of time, and giving you access to everything you need to run your real estate investing business, wherever you are.
With the simple iPad apps at your fingertips, see how you’ll get a lead, follow up immediately, evaluate the deal and decide whether to go on the appointment. Before your competition has booted up a laptop, found a Wifi Hot Spot, logged in to email and called the seller. Now that’s competitive advantage. Read More→
Real Estate Junkie Webcast on the FTC’s New MARS Rule
Posted on March 6, 2011 by
Is your business heading to MARS? Have you heard about the new mandatory short sale disclosures? Are you aware of how the new Mortgage Assistance Relief Services (MARS) rule is influencing your business operations? If not, you need to found out now! In November 2010, the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) published the final Mortgage Assistance Relief Services final rule (“MARS rule”). This rule took full effect on January 31, 2011. Whether you are a Realtor, Investor, Mortgage Broker, Seller… you need to know your rights and your obligations! MARS is fully enforced and we want to be sure you are using the new required disclosures and keeping your business in tip-top shape! This is “MUST KNOW NOW” information! Join us on the call for continuing education on the most current and evolving market changes… hear from Licensed Broker and Investor, Kimberlee Frank and Short Sale Expert! Join her on Tuesday, March 8th at 7:00 PM ET. Register for the Webcast Now!
How to Make Money at Foreclosure Auction!
Posted on March 6, 2011 by
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.
Here are the main topics Bill and Kim Cook will cover at March’s 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).
If you want answers to your questions like:
- How does the foreclosure process work in Georgia?
- How do you make sense out of the foreclosure ads in the legal section of the newspaper?
- What do you do when you’re out looking at foreclosure property? What do you say to a homeowner?
- How do you prepare for the monthly foreclosure auction?
- How do you finance your foreclosure deals?
- What are the biggest mistakes made – by both new and experienced investors – at the foreclosure auction?
- If you are the high bidder, what do you do next?
Bill and Kim will show you some of their foreclosure deals that went right AND went wrong! We’re talkin’ pictures, documents and numbers…you know, real-world stuff! Read More→
Are You Paying Too Much In Property Taxes?
Posted on March 6, 2011 by
Did you know that from 2007 to 2009, property values declined by 50 percent in the Atlanta metro area alone? Or, during that same period in Atlanta metro, home assessed values declined by 4 percent? According to a five part series in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, 7 out of 10 properties are over assessed. Tax assessment data is coming out over the next several months, and for many, it will be a nasty surprise. Ignoring the possibilities of over assessment could be costly. Property taxes are calculated by using the “assessed valuation”, which represents 40 percent of “fair market value”. This number is then multiplied by the “millage rate”. Millage rate is a number calculated by the tax commissioner’s office, in conjunction with the annual budget per the County Commissioners. The assessors do not determine the “millage rate”, as commonly believed.
When purchasing a property for rental, it is important to determine the tax assessor’s valuation. If it is low, chances are high that your property taxes will also be high. I recently spoke with an investor friend who discovered that the Property taxes on an anticipated rental property were unreasonably low. The prior owner had been in the property for a number of years and had old age exemptions as well. My friend figured out that the taxes would go up over $200 per month. What a surprise my friend would have had if he had not done his research! Read More→
How to Buy a Home for $101 – REALLY!!!
Posted on March 5, 2011 by
There Kim and I were, standing in front of the Bartow County Courthouse in Cartersville, Georgia, at the December 2010 foreclosure auction – freezing our tails off. We’ve been working the monthly foreclosure market since 1995.
Cheryl Bagby, the young lady who cries the foreclosures for McCalla Raymer, the largest foreclosing attorney in the southeast, had just finished reading the legal notice for a home in Acworth, Georgia.
It was a nice 3-bedroom, 2-bath home in a great location on about an acre of land. The home was rented to a tenant who was paying rent of $795 per month.
When Cheryl finished reading the legal, she said, “The opening bid for this property is $100. Are there any other bids? Going once, going twice….” What happened next will blow your mind! But you’ll have to read along a little further if you want to know how this story ends. Read More→
