This month I am sharing some Mental Gems that I know would be of great use to you. It has to do with the misconception that…BIGGER is BETTER and/or Quantity over Quality.

Just this past month I was speaking with one of my platinum students in Dallas, TX.  We were discussing his marketing when I shared this view with him to make a clear point.  You see, he was having a problem that most of us have at one point or another in our investing career.  We begin to doubt that we are doing enough and start to believe that we need to do a LOT more because the deals are not knocking the door down.  You see, one thing that we have to be clear on is the understanding that the deals will come as long as we are consistent in our marketing!  Read More→

The April 2016 Edition of The Profit Newsletter is now available for download. There are 58 pages this month full of upcoming meetings, workshops, educational articles and other valuable information for your real estate investing pleasure and success. Download it and check it out!

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It has been said that, “the devil is in the details. We, at “Little Pink Houses of America” have developed a needed and profitable business model that can be practiced in your own community where you can build a $10,000/month income. We call it our Executive Lease-Purchase program.

We discovered that only 20% of a given market has the ability to qualify for a house purchase from a traditional lender. Yet, home ownership is still seen as desirable by a majority of people in the United States today. There is a big gap in the market between those that want a home and those who can qualify for a mortgage. There are many reasons for this: credit problems, another house to sell, moving etc.

We’ve discovered a very lucrative niche in the market that helps those who can’t qualify today, but through our program of matching buyers who need some time to qualify and sellers who have not been able sell their home, a workable solution through our executive Lease-Purchase program. When we match buyers who can’t qualify today but will in the next 1 year to 3 year period with our help and sellers who can’t sell in a traditional way right now, we receive a $10,000 plus fee. Here’s how you can too!   Read More→

Our clients who focus on real estate IRAs are encountering a more mature point in the investment cycle. We’ve had a nice run up over the last several years. Indeed, if you had some cash to play with in 2009 and 2010 and a bit of patience, it was tough to go wrong with real estate IRA strategies. The real estate market was attracting a boatload of institutional money and all the real estate investor had to do was step in front of it.

Now there’s still institutional money coming in, but investors have to pick their spots a little more, and getting your valuations right is going to have increasing importance going forward.

Meanwhile, the permabulls at the National Association of REALTORS® has also released their 2016 trends piece. Naturally, they think it’s always time to buy, so take their advice with a grain of salt.

Here are the NAR’s predictions for 2016, plus a few thoughts from us on how they may play out for our clients and those considering a real estate strategy in their retirement accounts. Read More→

I almost didn’t write this article. What you’re about to discover is so profoundly – yet simply – powerful, that if you truly understand and apply these simple secrets, I can practically guarantee such phenomenal personal and financial growth over the next few months that you won’t even recognize the dynamic person you’re about to become!

Yes, these secrets are that powerful. But don’t just take my word for it. Read, learn, and apply. Then find out for yourself!  Keep reading…

Now, before we get into “The Big Secret” and all that, we first have to understand something.  And it all begins with you asking yourself a question.  I’d like you to honestly ask yourself this: “Why don’t I have some of the things I desire from life yet?”

Why aren’t you in perfect shape? Why don’t you live in that awesome house yet? Why isn’t your bank account as big as you’d like it to be? Why do you still feel guilt? Stress? Anxiety? Why aren’t you driving the exact car you’d like to drive?

What answer did you come up with? What reasons did you give? Did you blame some outside circumstance or situation? Was it your parents’ fault? Was it Obama? Oh yeah – it was the market! Or maybe it was “The Man” keeping you down, right? Read More→

I recently marketed to people who have second homes and are either close to being upside down on the mortgage or they are in foreclosure.  So far, I’ve closed on 2 deals from this marketing.  One of the leads owned a house in Sanford:  1,050 sq ft, 3 bedrooms, 1 ½ baths, living room, kitchen with dine-in area, separate laundry room and 1 carport.  The house was in great shape. It was a block house and really only needed about $3,000 to $4,000 worth of work if I wanted to retail it. 

I partnered with one of my Apprentice Students and we reviewed all the facts about the house.  The A/C unit was only a couple years old, it still had a wall furnace that could be disconnected, it had newer vinyl windows and just needed a little TLC.  There was an outstanding mortgage on the home for $29,000 and my offer was $27,500.  The mortgage payment amount was $600.00 a month (PITI), principal, interest, taxes and insurance. 

I really wanted to take this house subject to the underlying financing and keep it as a rental.  I was dealing with an 80 year old Seller, via his children.  They just wanted to be out from underneath the home and didn’t want to keep the mortgage on the property.

After several changes to the contract, we agreed to purchase the property CASH for the mortgage balance ($29,000) and pay all the closing costs.  There was a family member living in the house and we couldn’t close until he vacated the property.  We filed an Affidavit of Purchase and Sale on the Property and chose not to show the house during the time we had it under contract, and we waited until it closed.  Read More→

There are a few investment strategies you may want to take a look at if you are about to take the leap of investing in real estate. Especially since about forty percent of all homes in the first quarter of 2015 were sold to investors. 2016 is shaping up about the same. Truly, this is a huge portion of homes sold and having the right strategy can make a world of difference when it comes to the kind of profits you can earn.

First though, we have to take a valuation first approach to every transaction. Knowing the true value before you buy is huge. One of the most common investment strategies using real estate comps by REIAComps some investors are accustomed to is ‘flipping’. This is a way you can make a very quick profit. If you see you can get a property rehabbed quickly and move on, flipping is ideal. Frankly, if quick profits are what you want, then flipping can be the way to go.

Another investment strategy many consider is renting property. Acquiring for long term hold can be a great way of making extra money.  The income can be used to fund other projects and deals.  This is because not only will you make some profit by being able to capture tax advantages and capital appreciation, but you will also gain profits from the monthly rent you are charging. However be sure you are very careful about the person or people you are renting to. Be certain to do your due diligence for all potential renters.  Read More→

When Kim and I were baby real estate investors, we were totally focused on buying our first investment property.   Then one day it actually happened!  I remember leaving the closing attorney’s office feeling pumped up.  When we got in the car, Kim asked, “Now what?”

Now what, indeed!  I hadn’t given that part of the equation much thought.  This happens to a lot of new real estate investors.  So once you buy a house, what do you do next?

To answer this question, let’s look at three properties we worked on recently. 

The first is 337 Rail Drive in Adairsville, Georgia.  Kim bought this house at the November 2015 foreclosure auction.  From the start, it was a flip.  In other words, we bought this property to resell quickly.  We’re flipping this home because we need to replenish our cash reserves.

Shortly after purchase, Kim had the property trashed out.  Because our contractors were tied up rehabbing Akin Drive, she elected to delay doing the extensive repair work Rail Drive needed.  Instead, she offered it at a wholesale price, which was well-below market.

In less than a week, Kim found a qualified buyer and accepted her purchase offer.  Unfortunately, about a week later, the buyer changed her mind because she was scared about the amount of work the property needed.  We refunded her earnest money, hugged, and parted friends. Read More→

So how are we going to get ready to have a conversation with our motivated sellers? I believe that readiness is a state of mind, and I have put together some ideas for you designed to help you have meaningful and successful conversations with motivated sellers resulting in profitable deals.

First of all, expect to be anxious and know that it’s okay to be anxious. You probably wouldn’t be very good at what you do if you didn’t care about the outcome.

Next, while you are feeling anxious, get in front of a mirror and practice what you are going to say to the seller. Do this more than once. The more you practice what you are going to say, the more comfortable you will be and therefore less likely to forget what you were going to say. Practice controlling your voice and be mindful of how fast you are talking. Your speech should be at a moderate volume and speed when speaking to a seller.

Remember to breathe! Practice what you are going to say all the way through without making faces, gasping or throwing out any expletives. Your seller doesn’t care if you’re speech is perfect, they just want to know what you can do for them to help them solve their problem. You might even want to practice what you are going to say in front of a spouse or close friend. Read More→

The One Thing the Gurus Never Tell You Is, Wealth Is Created Over Time, Not Over-Night.

I recently had a conversation with one of my students who made a statement to me that I found very disturbing. This person asked me why I continue to try to buy houses with seller financing terms when money is so easy to get today. He asked me; why not take the fast and easy road to success instead of thinking only about long-term investments. Believe me there are many reasons.

The minute those words came out of his mouth, I knew he was an inexperienced investor who apparently had been to a seminar recently and apparently believed the rhetoric the speaker was saying about doing deals with the latest way to get rich quickly.

I have personally lived through seven different economic cycles over my 36 year real estate career. Over that period of time I have seen with my own eyes, when the economy changed every few years the methods we were using at those times drastically changed, and not always for the better. Depending on what was being done at that time, every niche method of buying eventually changed and then someone else came up with another fool-proof way to get rich quickly. This is a never-ending fact of life that will always be occurring for eternity. Read More→

So you did not win the 1.5 billion dollar lottery. Now what are you going to do to pay the bills, Christmas expenses, college tuition, medical expenses, health care insurance, car payment etc.?

Yes I played the lottery to the extent that if I lost I would not jeopardize my wealth. I would not experience a hardship even if I didn’t win the 1.5 billion dollar lottery. (You know that sounds great when you say it) I’m sure there is at least one reader of this article who spent $2,500 dollars on tickets for the lottery. I hope this wasn’t your rent money!  I play a game of chance when I travel. Will the plane crash? This game of chance happens when I am riding in the tram to pick up my car. I count the number of people and calculate in my head, what is the percentage chance I will be the first person to get off the bus?  I know that there is at least one person who will beat those odds just like the lottery. (You have to buy a ticket to win).

So we take risks everyday in life.  However, too much risk can lead to failure or even death. SO let’s get a solid plan for your success in real estate. Let’s not gamble but manage risk!   Let’s talk about your goals and what do you need. Do you need money short term or money long term?  Happiness short term or happiness long term? Excellent health short term or excellent health long term?  Being spiritual and doing the right thing every time? Being able to sleep at night comfortably? Read More→

Remember being in elementary school?  If it was anything like mine, sometimes a classmate would get in trouble and the teacher would make him write ‘sentences’ for punishment.  Remember?  Write such and such sentence 25 or 50 or eek! 100 times!  It was like being sentenced to prison.  It was very painful when one was young but we oftentimes got the message…don’t mess with the teacher.

So let’s bring that back for a moment.  Repeat after me…

I shall always have more than one deal going…

I shall always have more than one deal going…

(Repeat as long as you need to until you never forget it…)

It’s such a simple lesson!  But far, far too many times I see this happen with wholesalers, especially new ones.  You work on this ONE DEAL so hard and do everything in your power to make it happen.  And it is a sincere effort as well where there is rapport and legitimate effort being made to get it to the closing table.  Then at the last second, the unthinkable happens…it falls apart.  Seller suddenly changes their mind.  Even worse, it’s for a legitimate reason such as a health issue arises.  And the Seller is very apologetic and you know they aren’t making it up.  Still the deal is dead, at least for the time being.  Read More→