Atlanta Real Estate Investors Alliance Blog

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With a degree in finance and over 15 years of experience investing in real estate, I thought I knew how to structure my cash flowing investment deals correctly, but I didn’t, and chances are, neither do you.

Most investors know how to calculate returns, but very few understand how to quantify and minimize the risk in their deals, which can (and usually does) destroy their chances of creating long term success.

I was one of the many investors (99% in fact) who thought I knew how to structure my deals correctly when I actually did not. Then I discovered The Wealthy Code and it changed everything for me, just like it has for hundreds of other investors all over the country.

So what makes The Wealthy Code Workshop different from any other training out there? Well, A LOT! Here are just some of the things you’ll learn (AND PRACTICE) when you attend this training: Read More→

Leads, leads and more leads. No matter if you plan to wholesale, fix and flip, fix and rent, subject-to, owner finance or anything else involving real estate you must have leads. Some may agree with this statement and some may disagree but any time I needed anything in real estate, it was resolved by simply finding a great lead/deal.

I have heard investors and newbies alike say that they need to find financing or private money before finding a deal. While financing is important it cannot be put to work without a deal. I would argue that it is easier to find financing than it is to find a great deal. In fact, if you think you have a real deal and can’t find financing you may not have a good enough deal. Or it is possible you may not have the experience some lenders require. If this is the case and you really do have a deal there are investors out there that will partner with you. If it is your first investment it may be wise to partner with someone. Partnering with a veteran real estate investor can be invaluable. You will be making him/her money so they will be more willing to answer the hundreds of question you have been wanting to ask. Another way to tell if you have a great deal is if investors are requesting to take the deal off your hands. Sometimes when I’m approached to partner or lend on a deal, and it is a no-brainer of a deal, I ask if they would be willing to wholesale. I’ve always said, “You don’t ask, you don’t get.” It is always worth asking. Read More→

If you want to get the most out of your retirement, we have three words for you: knowledge is power. No, we’re not talking about any sort of “inside” knowledge when it comes to investing, or any sort of illegal tips and tricks. We’re talking about real investing knowledge: knowledge about the different types of accounts and investments you have available to you, and how to use those accounts and investments to the best of your ability. And one of the most important things for people to learn is how to use their Real Estate IRA in the best way possible.

Why a Real Estate IRA? Because self-directing this type of IRA allows you to utilize some amazing things that you simply can’t get when you invest in other types of accounts and asset classes. With real estate, you’ll be able to tap into your experience with this asset class…and possibly even get a lot of value out of it if this is your first foray into the world of real estate. How is that possible? Well, knowledge is power. Here are some tips and strategies for getting the most out of your Real Estate IRA. Read More→

BIG Reminder:  Follow up, follow up, follow up is crucial for capturing real estate deals!  What makes any deal is a Motivated Seller.  There are 13 main Seller motivators such as a vacant home, in pre-foreclosure, loss of job, job relocation, etc.  But how do we know when the “price” of the pain of home ownership becomes more than the price they want for the house?  How do we know when they’ve reached that tipping point, therefore agreeing to take a discount to allow an Investor to purchase the property and make a profit?  You guessed it….we follow up. 

Over 1 year ago, I was tracking a pre-foreclosure vacant home and I went to the next door neighbor to find out if they knew where the sellers moved.  During my conversation, I was informed that they hadn’t seen the neighbor in years and really didn’t even know them.  The couple I was talking to was an elderly couple who owned their home free and clear.  I asked them if they were interested in selling their house and John told me that he and his wife just might sell it at the right price; however, he and his wife were going to the doctor’s and he would call me to talk about the home and set an appointment to see inside.  I also got his telephone number so I could follow up in case he didn’t call me.  My first thought was whenever I hear the Seller say “at the right price,” that they always want more than what the house is worth and/or retail value.  I did ask John what the “right price” was and he replied again that he will call me back.  Read More→

“The building art is man’s spatial dialogue with his environment and demonstrates how he asserts himself therein and how he masters it.” ~ Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

Many apps I use are in lieu of something else, whether that be a tape measure or an architect’s blueprints. The RoomScan Pro seems to have replaced a lot of the physical tools needed to plan furniture placement, estimate how many gallons of paint or just to showcase a very simple to follow floor plan. It’s been helpful for prospective buyers to look at before they arrive at the open house. The app has its uses. For my own purposes, it saves me a lot of time trying to locate the original floor plan or determine whether a piece of furniture I want to use in the staging will fit in the room.

RoomScan Pro uses the iPhone’s accelerometer and additional sensors to map out the room. The app also has an option to create a whole floor plan. For me, in general, mapping out a single room works best. It charts the distance between walls in the room and then the end result is a clean illustration of what the app thinks the room dimensions are.

To get the best use out of the app you’ll need to buy the premium version. There is a free version but it is limited. I have my location settings activated so there’s no need for me to enter my location when I come to a new property. Tap on a named location like the street address and it will send you to the next step to create a “new room” with the app. You can name the room. If you’re doing the whole floor plan you don’t want to leave this blank. You can also name the floor you are on as well. By the end you will have a well-labeled illustration at the end, and it’s easier to navigate too. Read More→

In the last 15 months, thousands of TILA rescissions have been filed across the country. As a result we are finally seeing the patterns in how the banks are responding to rescissions. In case after case, the banks are obfuscating. They try to intimidate homeowners and confuse the courts into ignoring the clear letter of the law; that rescission is effective upon mailing as a matter of law. While they keep up this charade in the courts, they refuse to admit to federal regulators the risks posed by these wrongful foreclosures and the mortgage backed securities swindle as a whole.

First let’s clarify a few things about rescission. Whether disputed or not, a rescission is effective at the time it is mailed as a matter of law. It doesn’t matter what a judge WOULD rule if a challenge is filed by a party with legal standing. The rescission is valid until a party with legal standing can prove through a lawsuit in federal court that it should be vacated within the 20 day window.

Servicers will rarely try to dispute that the rescission happened, but will argue that it is not effective. First they usually send a letter to the homeowner stating that the rescission is invalid and they will not honor it. If the homeowner (correctly) challenges this, the bank will try to get a judge to ignore the law through motions that allow the bank to avoid having to prove actual facts in a lawsuit to vacate the rescission. The bank is trying to get the court to agree to the premise that the disclosures made at the time the loan was made were adequate and that the loan was consummated on the date they allege. All of these are questions of fact for a jury to decide the merits of, not a judge. Read More→

While I personally don’t use a lot of post card mailings in my real estate business, they definitely have their place. One of the main uses for a post card mailing is to either test a new list before spending a lot of money mailing to it, or to canvas large areas at very little cost to you. Post cards are also a very inexpensive effective means to building your buyers list.

If you are going to implement post card mailings, there are several different ways to do them effectively. On my web site at www.marketingmagiclady.com, I provide you with resources to find list brokers so you can focus on the specific mailing you want to do.

One effective way you can create these mailings is to download your list to usps.com and let them do the mailing for you for the cost of mailing the post card including printing. The post card is simply black and white, no frills, but can be used to canvas specific areas or large areas with your message.

There are some good reasons you might want to do this. One reason would be to do a sweep of a particular zip code range or group of subdivisions you want to mail to in order to find motivated sellers. This is a very inexpensive way to accomplish this. Another reason would be to do post card mailings to specific areas with high numbers of rentals in order to build your buyers list. Read More→

Two decades ago, Kim and I set a goal to replace our earned income with investment income.

There are a couple of advantages to achieving this goal.  First, you don’t have to labor for a living.  In other words, your capital is working for you instead of you working for your capital.  Second, the tax rate on earned income is much higher than it is on investment income.  Said another way: With investment income, the government lets you keep more of what you make, and when it comes to money, more is better than less, right? 

To accomplish this goal, we figured we’d need fifteen single-family rental properties.  Each month, the tenants would send in their rent checks.  Part of these checks go toward paying the mortgages, insurance, property taxes, vacancies, repairs and management.  We get to keep whatever is left over to spend or invest how we see fit.

There is a downside to owning rental property.  Though for tax purposes the government considers what you make to be passive income, there’s still hands-on work that needs to be done to maintain the property and manage the tenants. Read More→

Checking information with REIA Comps will quickly tell you that HUD foreclosures are available all over the United States.  The thing to keep in mind is, the sales process for purchasing a HUD home isn’t quite the same as you’ll encounter when buying a home from an individual.  However, the no Deed Restrictions these homes have can significantly boost your wholesaling business adding real income to your RE business.

HUD properties are sold using a bidding process. HUD foreclosures are homes owned by the government as a result of repossession.  These types of foreclosures are sold online from former mortgage holders who defaulted on loans guaranteed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. 

HUD homes are appraised, then priced at fair market value for their location.  HUD employees do not work with buyers, but NAID approved Agents.  HUD will generally accept the highest bid.  The foreclosures are usually sold at or below REO prices. This is like finding shells on the beach, believe me.  HUD sells these homes through approved brokers who often times advertise in the local newspaper to gain additional potential buyers. Read More→

QuickBooks’ structure is universal enough to appeal to millions of small businesses. Custom fields help you shape it to meet your company’s unique needs.

If you’re using QuickBooks, you probably know that you’re complying with the rules of double-entry accounting. The software is designed such that you can be compliant with these requirements without even being aware of it. You’re dealing with invoices and purchase orders, bank account reconciliation and bill-paying and payroll, not debits and credits and journal entries. QuickBooks does the double-entry part in the background.

While every business that uses QuickBooks is following those same rules, each has its own unique structure and its own need to modify some elements of the program to do certain tasks, for example:

• Store more specific information about customers, vendors, and employees in their records,
• Differentiate between variations of similar inventory items, and,
• Create more targeted reports.

This is where custom fields come in. Read More→

This is a question I constantly ask my students about every offer they are thinking about making to purchase any property, and I also ask myself this question before making an offer to purchase on every deal I do. It’s a wonderful thing when you put together a profitable deal but why not take a minute before submitting your offer to a flexible seller and ask yourself, “is there any way I can make this deal better”? If you are paying cash for the property I don’t know of any way you could make the deal better unless you offered more CASH to the seller. I truly believe that would be a huge mistake. It would be a huge mistake because it would in most cases only benefit the seller and not you.

Always Ask Yourself, How Can I Make My Offer Better For Me And The Seller Before Submitting Your Offer to Purchase Any Property?

The question is how can you make a better deal for you? If you are paying all cash, good luck. If you are getting seller financing terms there are many different things you could ask the seller for that could make the deal better for you as well as for them. Here are Six creative suggestions you might offer a flexible seller. Especially to those flexible sellers who want a certain price, monthly payment or interest rate. Read More→