Funding can be one of the largest barriers to entry in the real estate business. I remember the very first time I walked into a lenders office and tried to discuss funding for my first apartment complex I wanted to buy. My experience (or lack of) was immediately brought to my attention not to mention my complete lack of liquid assets (NO CASH!)

That day was quite sobering as I left that office although I was still determined to break into the real estate business. Which was a fortunate attitude seeing as I had quit my job as a pilot to go into real estate full time two weeks earlier.

What followed was the next 8 years of survival in the business and ultimately an almost 400 unit portfolio. I survived the Great Recession by mastering the techniques of creative financing such as seller financing, master lease options and raising private capital just to name a few.

If you are just starting out or whether you have been in the real estate business for a while, you always want to complete each transaction with as little cash out of your own pocket as necessary. The more cash you keep in your pocket the more options you keep open to yourself. Remember; Options = Cash! Read More→

If someone would have told me one year ago that I would be a full time real estate investor together with my husband and flipping houses for a living, I would have laughed at them! To be totally honest, real estate was never a passion of mine and I hadn’t given it much thought until I read “Rich Dad Poor Dad.” That got the wheels turning and when Matt (the hubby) discovered the niche of real estate we now love best…. Wholesaling… it seemed too good to be true! I was a total skeptic, but in the end, there were a few things that changed my mind and made me want to take the Plunge! In less than one year, we’ve flipped 44 properties totaling over $1,000,000. We’ve attended meetings almost nightly during the week, networked our rear ends off, attended classes, and met a lot of people. What we’ve discovered is that “taking the plunge” is often the hardest part for people even though they despise their jobs and know that real estate could be their vehicle out of the rat race.

So, what changed for me you might ask? How did I go from skeptic to believer and what does it REALLY take to make the plunge and ramp up a full time real estate career? It may not be for everyone, but for those who really want it… continue to read because I’m going to share my tips for “Making the Plunge!”

In the beginning, something that got me motivated to take charge was thinking about my financial future and looking at the statistics of the average American at retirement. We were barely making ends meet as it was, despite the fact that we were both working full time. The average American retires at 62 years of age and 95% of them are either dead broke or DEAD by that age! I couldn’t tolerate the thought of being a work horse for the remainder of my life only to pass on debt to my children and be a bother to them during the last years of my life. I didn’t know HOW this would all work out, but I was ready to look at some “other options!” Read More→

You can locate motivated sellers even if you have little or no money to work with. Way back in the early days of my business I used some very inexpensive techniques to locate very motivated sellers, since we only had a limited budget to work with like many people who are just starting out in the real estate business.

One technique we used was to develop a special flyer for ourselves. We then had it printed on legal paper in a bright color. Fluorescent paper works really well for this technique.  The reason I used legal paper was because I could print two flyers to a page. That way I could get twice as many flyers for half the money.  On a weekend, my husband and I would stick these flyers everywhere we could think of, in gas stations, phone booths, Laundromats, on public boards in grocery stores, home improvement stores, delis, bars, etc.

We would also take these flyers and lay them door to door during the weekend days at least twice a month. Each time we would lay the flyers door to door, we would pick a neighborhood we wanted to buy houses in. We kept a chart on the wall to show us which neighborhoods we had done and when. This was one way we could use to track  the leads that began coming in. We ended up getting our exercise and doing something for our business at the same time, which was creating leads that turned into deals. Read More→

Though recent signs have pointed to a lessening of the ongoing housing inventory crunch, many markets in the Atlanta metro area are still experiencing shortages of homes for sale. With consistent reports of inventory overall declining in the metro area, we found some bright spots. Using REIAComps helps to quickly see the number of sales and the best prices to buy year over year.

By looking at REIAComps valuation data, we were able to identify the top five markets experiencing unique growth making them the easiest metro Atlanta markets to crack.

5) Locust Grove: The City of Locust Grove derived its name from a grove of locust trees that could be seen throughout the town. Locust Grove was a major rail distribution center for cotton, peaches, and other farm products. In 1870, the first store was built and since that time many new businesses have moved to Locust Grove and is the reason for it being a warm market and easy to crack.

4) Griffin: Downtown Griffin is the historical, cultural, and government center of Spalding County. Griffin offers citizens and visitors the pace and charm of small town living with convenient access to the heart of the South, located only 40 miles south of Atlanta. Recently, downtown Griffin features retail and restaurant attractions as well as commercial office space and residential units for citizens and visitors interested in experiencing a live/work/play environment. These convertible spaces are ripe for investment and redevelopment. Read More→

It is the goal of this column to answer questions about QuickBooks and how it is used in the REI arena. Know how to record transactions in the proper way and have your set of books in good shape when it comes time for taxes. It is our intention to do this by you the members submitting questions to Karen@smallbusinessadvisor.biz, and getting answers here in this column.

Q: I need to segment my balance sheet AND income statement into three departments (classes). Which version of QuickBooks can provide me with this capability?

A: The lowest edition you can use to have classes on both the balance sheet and the income statement is the QuickBooks Premier.

Q: If I change the reporting basis in the Reports & Graphs preferences from Cash to Accrual what reports will this change? Read More→

If you’ve been around the real estate investing community for a while, you already know the Sign Mafia. They have been serving our community of interest since 2002. They are best known for their bandit signs and property marketing packages.

What are bandit signs? They are any signage placed in highly visible spots, designed to generate leads for buyers and sellers. They are key in guerilla marketing on the fly. Signs are typically placed in areas that are sometimes illegal, if not in violation of local ordinances, hence the name “bandit signs” and the SIGN MAFIA.

The reason bandit signs are so effective is, when people are in a certain situation or are in need of something and they see a sign for that purpose, they are likely to call. Signs are a great way for you to let people know your business and what services you provide. Without these signs, they may never know you exist. Plus, it is a certainty they are capturing information from other bandit signs, yours should be among the choices of information available. 

Used as informational signs, directional pointers, sign toppers, or for quick info like phone numbers and web sites, bandit signs are a quick, inexpensive and highly visible way to get attention. Whether it’s to get leads to buy or sell properties, signs can be most effective, especially if utilized on a continuous basis. Read More→