Atlanta Real Estate Investors Alliance Blog

The October 2016 Edition of The Profit Newsletter, the official newsletter of the Atlanta Real Estate Investors Alliance, is now available for download. There are 48 pages this month full of upcoming meetings, workshops, webcasts, educational articles and other valuable information for your real estate investing pleasure and success. Download it and check it out!

The Profit is Atlanta REIA’s digital, interactive newsletter for serious real estate investors delivered as an Adobe PDF file to read on your PC, Mac, Smart Phone, iPad or other mobile ready devices. Many of the articles and ads in The Profit contain many hyperlinks you can click to get more information online! The high res version of The Profit is “print ready” for those who want to print the newsletter on their home or business printer.

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Welcome back!  In last month’s article, we discussed how it seems like there are a lot of people who are having a really hard time taking the action they need to take in order to have success.  Based on my experience & observations, I theorized that a big reason for this is not just because of the inherent fears that people have, but also because many people seem to believe that the actions they need to take are going to be painful, or at the very least – not fun.

So we began by talking about one of the most common activities that a lot of people seem to have challenges with: Talking on the Phone with Sellers and other people! The first thing that needs to happen is to change your mindset before you even begin to make your calls.

The last thing we discussed was how to use a cheap, simple kitchen tool (a 3-minute hourglass egg timer) to determine whether the person with whom you’re talking is going to waste your time or not.  Go back to last month’s publication and re-read that if necessary.

Now, in this article, we’re going to finish up by learning some cool new tips on how to make taking the actions that you know you should be taking a lot more FUN! Ready? Ok, here we go…  Read More→

So you think you can’t get a seller to pay you to take their problem home off their hands? I have heard many times from students, friends and relatives alike, “are you nuts, nobody would pay you to take a house off their hands.” Wanna’ bet??

There have been many instances where a seller needed to get rid of a piece of property quickly and they needed our assistance to help them make their problem go away. They were more than willing to pay us to make that happen. You have to remember that you are not in the business to make someone else’s problem your problem. We get paid to solve problems for sellers.

Now, you will never get paid to take a house off someone’s hands unless you ask. You never know what a seller will agree to until you ask them. The worst they can do is to simply say “no”. You just have to explain to them why they should pay you to take their problem out of their hands and outline the benefits to them of selling their property this way.  Read More→

When stock markets are volatile, investors (rightly) get nervous. After all, many people have most of their wealth in the stock market. If the stock market goes down, then they see their wealth shrinking…and for people close to retirement, this is a scary prospect indeed. But it doesn’t have to be this way. With Real Estate IRAs, many people learn that retirement income doesn’t have to depend on the quality of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Instead, retirement income can depend on your strength as an investor, and the wisdom it takes to know what true diversification really is.

And just what is that “diversification” we’re talking about? Some people will tell you that investing with diversification means having the right mix of stocks and bonds, of having stocks split up into small cap, medium cap, and large cap equities. But all that really means is that you’re invested in two different investment categories, all the while ignoring all of the very real possibilities for retirement income that are out there.

If you’re sick of feeling nervous every time that stock ticker heads into the red, then it’s time to broaden your horizons as a wise retirement investor and look into what diversification really means.  Read More→

Want to Get In?

Having a simple process to learn new things can enhance your personal and professional life.  For example, I wanted to learn how to listen to Jazz.  It’s all about the learning curve and experience. I had to have a desire to learn something new. There had to be a simple system that I would be able to relate to and learn something about complicated jazz music. The music seemed to fit my personality. I did not grasp why some jazz was so caustic & other jazz was soothing romantic and enveloping.

If I couldn’t get an understanding quickly, it could prevent me from being able to listen to a new richer, quality music. My goal was to be able to discern really good jazz and why jazz sometimes, just did not fit with my values or my personality.  I utilized a five step process to determine if Jazz was a new genre for me to enjoy.  This same process can apply to seeing if a career in Real Estate is for you, and how to be successful.  Read More→

I want to discuss some basics for getting started in real estate investing.  Everything I’m about to share, can be applied to helping anyone get started in real estate investing. I am going to give you a few keys to getting started.  Of course, REIAComps is essential to making sound decisions for your real estate business.

Let’s talk about a desire to work in the real estate investing field.  Real estate investing may not be for everyone but real estate investing CAN offer anyone the financial freedom we all crave.  But most important is to always take a valuation first approach to every new deal you see. You must know the best purchase price and After Repair Value (ARV) first. Never let someone tell you the value, use REIAComps to know the value for yourself.

Now the people that make it in real estate investing all have a few things in common.  First, they run their real estate investing business like any other business out there.  Second, you cannot be afraid to fail. Everyone has failed at something but the most successful people out there learn from their failures. The third thing is that you have to put a good team together.  You do not want to be the person doing everything in your business. Doing everything is a recipe for failure. You have to put together good people who you can trust and rely on. The fourth thing is that you need a mentor.  Gaining from the knowledge and experience of others is invaluable.  Read More→

For the last few years I have been giving out advice on how to invest in real estate. On top of that I have been giving out the content for free. However, there are a large number of you who have not or will not take action. At some point you have to take everything you have learned here and everywhere else and take action. Do not be another “paralysis by analysis” type.

The number one thing that you need to do is find a deal. A real deal that anyone would buy, finance and/or want to partner on. In most markets that I am in that magic number is currently 70% LTV minus repairs, sometimes 75% LTV minus repairs. Many would say that these deals do not exist but I am purchasing at least one on these deals each month. You do have to do due diligence on plenty of not so attractive properties but if you look at enough properties you will find a deal. When you find a deal, do not hesitate to write the contract and lock the deal up. Take ACTION! If you write an option contract you have nothing to lose but the option money, which can be as low as $10 but usually $100. This is where your negotiation comes into play. During this option period you will do more extensive due diligence and discover if you really do have a deal.  Read More→

If you plan to process your own payroll using QuickBooks, you need to understand how payroll items work.

Considering processing your own payroll in QuickBooks? Whether you’re moving from a payroll service or getting ready to pay your first employee, you’re taking on a complex set of tasks that requires a great deal of setup and absolute precision. But the reward is complete control over your compensation records and transactions, and constant access to your payroll data.

If you have no experience dealing with paychecks, deductions, and payroll taxes, we strongly recommend that you let us help you get started. QuickBooks simplifies the actual mechanics of setting up and running payroll, but there’s still a lot you need to know.

It goes without saying that accuracy is critical here. You’re responsible for your employees’ livelihoods and for maintaining any benefits they’ll receive. Federal, state, and local taxing agencies will count on you to submit the proper payroll taxes and filings on time; failure to do so can result in stiff penalties and worse.  Read More→

A real estate investor offered to buy me lunch in exchange for information.  He wanted to know how we hold title to our properties; in other words, whose name is on the deed?

When we met, he explained that he’d gone to the deeds room in the courthouse to look up which properties Kim and I own.  After much research, he concluded that we don’t own any houses – and he was right!

But how can I be a real estate investor and not own any real estate?  Easy answer: We don’t own any properties personally!  Having assets in our names can be reckless.  Plus, it can wreak havoc on our estate plan when we die.

(NOTE: I’m not an attorney or a CPA, so what I say is just my opinion.  Seek competent council before you make any big, life-changing decisions.)  Read More→

Costar is a $1 billion, national comprehensive commercial database that provides marketing, statistics, demographics, traffic counts, true ownership, and other information on over 4.5 million commercial properties for national commercial real estate agents.  They have researchers that make over 10,000 calls per day to brokers, agents, and owners to verify or change information making 5.1 million data changes per day.  Recently, Costar purchased Loopnet which is a commercial platform available to the public.

Costar does Market Research Reports for major cities across the US which is what we are using for our comparison.  Costar clients include:  Read More→

A good investor always knows the way out before going in. I don’t like the common real estate adage “You make money in real estate when you buy”. Personally I think this is a terrible statement. You make money in real estate when you cash the check and it clears the bank. If you don’t exit the deal profitably then you didn’t make money when you bought. Ask anyone who has been through a foreclosure if they made money when they bought. You may create value when you buy but you make money when you sell. This is why I don’t like that statement. It minimizes the value of a solid exit strategy. In this article I will discuss how to exit a master lease option (MLO) deal PROFITABLY.

The first step in analyzing a MLO deal (or any deal) is to decide how you will get out of the deal someday in the future. This can be hard when you are new to the business because everyone has told you that closing the deal is all important. While closing is important it’s not as important as the exit. Here are some exit strategies for MLO deals.  Read More→

The number one thing you need to understand about a short sale is that the short sale lender must realize the true market value of a property.  Recently we got a house in Sanford that needs everything and I mean everything redone inside and out.  The house has multiple types of siding, the tile inside the house has been pieced together, various sizes and colors, and is pushing up from the ground due to water damage, the rotted wall from the 3^rd bedroom was removed which makes the house a 2 bedroom, the air conditioner is not working, doors, lights, fixtures are all missing, and the kitchen cabinets have mold all over them.  SPS is the servicer for the Short Sale Lender and they are really easy to work with.  In fact, they normally process a short sale within 30 days, so you need to be ready when you submit the short sale package to the bank and ask them to provide you with a Broker Price Opinion (BPO) or an Appraisal. 

We submitted everything into the bank and were very excited to immediately hear from a BPO Agent (Real Estate Agent) stating that she has been instructed by the Bank to go out and get value.  We scheduled an appointment to meet her out there.  We had everything ready in a BPO/Appraisal Package to provide to her.  We had the following items:  Purchase Agreement, Estimate for Repairs from a Contractor, Comparables and liens from the City for major code violations.  Read More→