If the person at the wheel refuses to ask for directions, it is time for a new driver. ~ Jennifer Granholm

You’ve heard that old stereotype, right? Men never ask for directions. Maybe that’s because it means we’re admitting defeat. I’m not sure it’s true, though. I suspect there are lots of women who won’t ask for directions, either.

If you’re one of those people who won’t ask for directions, you’re wasting time. A lot of time. That’s time you could be finding new properties, or meeting other investors, or reading to your kids. Trust me, your competitors are asking for directions, so you’d better know how to go places!

The fact is, asking for directions isn’t a mark of defeat at all. On the contrary: it’s an opportunity to show everybody how tech-savvy and clever you are.

I’m talking, of course, about online maps and GPS (Global Positioning System). You probably already have GPS on your phone, and chances are, you’ve already put it to good use. But these apps do some pretty neat things you might not know about. Read More→

It’s hard to think of real estate as Vogue like trend-following asset, but buyers’ tastes in bricks and mortar change almost as frequently as their taste in clothes.

As investors we have to be mindful of those changes in taste. Knowing the true value of real estate is critical, trying do a deal without it and see. The guidance and data within REIAComps.com has consistently shown investors how to determine both solid acquisition value and after repair value which will get your property moved.

Back to the Five Things which add value, while classic styling will always be in, sellers of “Retail Flips”or those looking to fill “Rentals”should think about introducing ideal features to really make their investment property stand out. The following are the top five trending finishes which will add significant value or 2015.

1.) Neutrals, especially color

Bright colors made a minor splash in 2014, but neutrals are now firmly back in place. Think white and gray instead of beige and taupe for a pared down, ultra-modern feel. Limit color to small pops, but you may want to go beyond brightly colored throw pillows. Read More→

You’ve all heard the tenant horror stories from people who have had tenants in properties, but being a landlord doesn’t have to be difficult as long as you learn some strategies for handling your tenants. My husband used to say that handling tenants was like having a group of children that you have to train and discipline. But it doesn’t have to be that difficult.

You do have to make some specific rules for your tenants and stick to them. Every time you change the rules you give your tenants the upper hand. You must also have an iron clad lease that specifically addresses the issues that you may have with tenants such as getting your rent paid on time. This is one area in which I am steadfast with the rules. I don’t care what the tenant’s situation is, their responsibility is to pay me on time or they are stealing services from you without paying for them. My tenants are responsible for having the rent in our post office box on or before the date it is due or they are served with a three-day notice the next morning as required by law where I live in order to begin the eviction process. There are no exceptions. We even have tenants who send their checks to me priority mail to make sure they get to me on time.

You must also take the time to pre-qualify your tenants’ right from the beginning so you can avoid some problems right from the start. Don’t just accept a tenant into your rental property because they have the money to move in. Don’t let greed be your guide. Have your tenants fill out a specific rental application. Then you must run a tenant check with a reputable company. Don’t try to do this yourself just by looking at public records. You will miss credit issues and anything that may have occurred out of state. You need to find out the information you need to know about your tenants right from the start before renting them your unit. For example, if the tenant check shows the applicant was just evicted from another premises, this certainly isn’t going to be a tenant you want in your property. Or if your tenant has had recent felony convictions, this isn’t a tenant you want in your rental unit. If your applicant has multiple animals, this is also not someone you want in your rental unit. I will mention however, that I will allow a tenant with a small dog or cat to rent my units. I find that usually a tenant who has a pet that they have had for some time will make a good tenant who will stay longer in your unit. Read More→

Let me summarize with a question before I start writing….How many hours in your current job or situation will it take for you to make $65,000? For most, this is more than an annual income, so I know your answer would be 2,000 hours or more. I didn’t count the hours on this deal, and we haven’t closed yet, but I know it will be double digit hours, not in the thousands. If someone has told you that short sales don’t work, they either didn’t have the right partner, weren’t properly trained/educated, or……..they are lying to you because they want all of the short sales to themselves and don’t want you as competition.

My office exploded in December! I’m thinking “time off, relax, jingle bells” but I had a short sale deal that had other plans for me. I ended up at the City of Margate fighting two liens that were filed against my short sale deal, in addition to a $2,300+ water lien. Lien #1 was for a Dirty Pool and Lien #2 was because seller did “not” file a Vacant Home Affidavit, Lien #3 was the water. The total due, without the Water Lien, was over $40,000. The Lien notices were attached to the front door, which was covered like a jungle, on April 7, 2014. I represented the Seller as a Listing Agent and the Buyer as a Selling Agent. I got a Power of Attorney from the Seller so I could appear before the City of Margate and negotiate the liens. Whatever was agreed upon at that hearing would be set in stone and could not be re-negotiated. Before we could even get the City to stop assessing daily fees, the dirty pool had to be cleaned. We didn’t know there was a Water Lien of $2,300+, as the lien that was recorded was only for $500.00 but the City charges a maintenance and garbage fee monthly of $70.00 no matter if the water is on or off. Not Good! I needed water in order to drain the uncovered pool (no screen) and refill it. Read More→

Buying a fixer-upper at a discount and bringing it up to par to rent or sell is a proven business model, in or out of a Real Estate IRA. Renovation and construction projects are just part of life for the serious Real Estate IRA owner. Even if you don’t particularly think of yourself as a renovator and you’re just relying on rental income with no ‘pop’ in price from your renovations, sooner or later you’re going to have to replace the roof on that property. In which case you’re going to have contractors crawling all over your house, tearing it up.

That’s a dangerous time for any property owner, and Real Estate IRA owners are no exception. Any time you have construction workers working on property you own, in or out of the Real Estate IRA, you expose yourself to risk and potential liability.

Protecting your Real Estate IRA investment

Here are a few principles to keep in mind to protect your IRA:

1.)   Working on it yourself? Don’t do it. You are a prohibited individual and you are not allowed to provide services to your IRA. Doing so can result in penalties and even the disqualification of your IRA. Plus a G.C.’s experience, contacts, leverage with subcontractors and general liability insurance can prove invaluable in seeing the project through to successful completion. Read More→

Does this sound like you?

I just don’t have enough money to…
     go to a seminar and increase my real estate education.

I just don’t have enough money to…
     put a house under contract.

I just don’t have enough money to…
     fix up a house.

If this sounds like you, then we need to work on attitude! Thinking this way is self-defeating and will not lead to success. The reality is, you find a great deal, you can find the money. If the deal is a good deal, then the money will come with some creativity on your part. If the deal is average, no one will give you money unless you know how to market. The last choice is, of course, a bad deal, and no one will give money on these deals unless you are a super sales person and the stars line up properly, and even then, it will happen a only few times in your career.

With these things in mind, I am offering you some great places to get credit and cash so that YOU can find the money that you didn’t think you had. It IS out there. Understand that if your credit is poor to really bad, some of these techniques will not work. If you have assets, finding is much easier, but even with bad credit, you CAN find the financing. You’ll just have to work a bit harder. Read More→

It took a long time, but New York’s federal courts have finally ruled that forged documents don’t cut it when the banks are trying to foreclose on a homeowner! In a blistering, 30-page ruling, a federal bankruptcy judge from New York’s Southern District has slammed Wells Fargo for falsifying documents in order to foreclose on a home in Westchester County. Not only did the judge take Wells Fargo to task for trying to foreclose using falsified documents, he slammed the bank for its willingness to make up evidence after the fact in order to enforce its claims. This is a huge development for homeowners and real estate investors that could have a real impact on their ability to negotiate with banks.

It has been common knowledge that the banks were faking important documents ever since the robo-signing scandal started five years ago. For some reason, it took years before judges would stand up and forcefully reject the made up documents by the bank. The New York case is a textbook example of the fraud I have been writing about for years. Wells Fargo forged signatures and dates on the endorsement and the assignment of the note in order to foreclose. The exceptional feature of this case is that it includes the testimony of a Wells Fargo employee who was a manager of the default documents department at the time of the foreclosure. This employee admitted to signing up to 150 original documents per day as well as creating assignments when necessary. This proved to the judge that Wells Fargo had a general practice of forging documents whenever necessary in order to foreclose. Read More→

Over the years I have learned many sales techniques to get the deal done and closed. Although all those techniques have assisted in closing numerous transactions, they are not the reason I close so many deals. The number one contributing factor for my success and many other investors’ success is being the go to problem solver. Whether you are trying to get a property under contract or sell an investment property to an investor you must identify their problem and solve it.

Many investors and wholesalers approach a potential seller of a property and assume that the only thing that is going to matter in their conversation/negotiation is the price. This is a factor but it is usually not the defining factor. For instance, recently a property was under contract for nearly $20,000 below list price. Yes, this was a property on MLS. What was it that separated my offer from all the others? Experience! After having an extensive conversation with the listing agent, I discovered that the previous buyer backed out of the contract because the title was clouded. I asked about the issue and it turned out that it was an heirship issue with about 4-5 generations of siblings. After explaining how I have successfully closed many other transactions with this similar issue she decided it was in her client’s best interest to accept the offer. After I had an executed contract, I explained the process I had gone through in the past to get a similar situation closed. We used a title company that was accustomed to handling these types of transactions and we are now days from closing. While we have not yet closed on the property, I have now become this listing agent’s go to buyer for similar deals, as she has stated that she runs across this situation often. In addition, I explained to her from the beginning that as a buyer we are willing to wait as long as it takes to close. This was important because many buyers move on after only a month or two of waiting for a closing to happen. We are now at 3.5 months with 4 different extensions signed. As long as the value remains the same in the area we are sticking it out until it closes. Read More→

There are a number of apps that will work with QuickBooks to make your life easier to work with QuickBooks software.

There are a number of categories that you may want to look at for apps that will work with QuickBooks:

1. Sales and Marketing
2. Productivity
3. Operations
4. Finance & Accounting

In the app center you can click on the area above that you are interested in and your topic will be sorted and brought to the top and you can look over each app, see how many reviews it has received. Be aware that not all the apps work with every version of QuickBooks. Some are for the “On-Line” only, some are for “Desk Top” only and some work with both – some may only work with Premier or Enterprise. Read More→

They say that the only thing that stays the same is change. I’d like to smack whoever said that, but I have to admit that he’s right. When it comes to the things that matter to us, my loyal reader, this is definitely the case. Things like real estate investing, marketing, and the market itself, etc. These are things that are constantly changing.

So if THOSE things change, WE need to change, too… if we want to keep up. For example, when I first went full-time as a real estate investor, short sales were still in their early days. So I did a TON of them & made some serious coin. Since then, laws have been passed, banks have caught on, and I’d rather get poked in the eye by a sharp stick than do a short sale now.

Not only that, but the main market where I live & operate (the Washington, D.C. area) has gone from cold to hot, then back to cold in the crash and is now hot again. Investors come & go like transient people around a campfire.

The older I get, the wiser I get (or so I like to believe). Therefore, it has become apparent that if we want to stay alive in this business, we need to be able to not only read the trends of where things are NOW, but also where they’re going. And be able to keep up by developing & using the right techniques & strategies that are appropriate for what’s going on. Read More→