You’ve set goals, you’re working through your fears, you’ve joined a local REIA, you’ve bought several real estate investing programs, you’re networking… What else would you possibly need as a successful real estate investor? Do you still feel like you are in the middle of the ocean at midnight with no sense of direction or belonging?

What is your plan? Plan? What plan? Yes, you need a plan. Winston Churchill stated during World War 2, that “if you fail to plan, you can plan to fail”. How do you make a plan? That is our September topic at BIG, the Beginning Investors Group.

Joe Thompson, a professional financial advisor, who also leads our Haves and Wants sub-group will be discussing planning, how to create a plan and why you need one. Come out and join us at the Beginning Investors Group at 5 Seasons Brewing at the Prado in Sandy Springs, Wednesday, September 28 at 6:30 PM. There is no cover charge, but please buy dinner, drinks or appetizers. Even better, bring a friend.

Where are you with your business today?  What are you doing to revitalize your business in today’s market? If what you did to make your business successful and grow to a certain point is not working in today’s market, what are you going to do to change that? Do you know when you need to make a change? Do you know how to fix that?

Going back to basics is necessary when your business is slowing down, the market place changes or you have become complacent.  Learning and using the basic from the start will save you tons of frustration, money, and time.

Whether you are a new business owner or have been around for many years there is always a time to “Get Back to Basics”. On Monday, September 26th at the Atlanta REIA West Meeting, Karen Bershad, The Small Business Advisor, will discuss what it means for a business to “Get Back to Basics” and make the changes needed to grow your business and prosper in today’s market. Read More→

This month at our Creative Financing Group (CFG) meeting on Wednesday, September 14th at 6:30 PM at Champps in Alpharetta, mortgage expert Jim Duffy (frequently heard on John Adams real estate investment radio show) will teach you how to get your Lease Purchase/Options sold.

Remember what Mark Durham taught you about SELLING Lease Purchase/Options:

• If you want to actually get your properties sold, you need to have a good mortgage person qualify you’re tenant/buyer prospects up front so you’ll know if they will be able to get approved for a mortgage in the near future.
• If you want to actually get your properties sold, you need to have a good mortgage person work with you’re tenant/buyers throughout the lease term to make sure they actually do get approved for a mortgage.

At this month’s Creative Financing Group meeting, Jim will teach you:

• How to screen tenant/buyers
• How to work with tenant/buyers to make sure they get approved for a mortgage

Jim says: “Credit scores have become all-important in qualifying buyers to actually purchase a home. It can mean the difference between closing on a successful lease/purchase option, and watching the once enthusiastic tenants move out and leave a home that needs repairs and to be marketed to a new tenant.” Read More→

You’ve all heard that Short Sales can be a goldmine, right? Absolutely! But, like all goldmines there can be pitfalls and obstacles along the way. Two major hurdles you must overcome when dealing with short sales is 1) the negotiation process and 2) the real estate agents involved in the sale. Would you like to know how to get over the short sale hurdles that get in most people’s way and prevent them from making huge profits?

If you said YES, please join us on September 12th and Georgia real estate expert, Bob Massey, will spend 90 minutes teaching you how to jump over the hurdles so you can get to the profits you deserve. This will change your investing career and enable you to take advantage of all the short sales that are currently flooding the Atlanta real estate market. Once you learn the secrets, you’ll have the keys to short sale success. It’s not rocket science and really does work. Read More→

It is not what is used to be… Business today is not what it was years ago in any shape, fashion or form.

When I first started in the business world some years ago – not only did we not have cell phones we did not have faxes, internet, or I shudder to say, an electric typewriter. Everything was done by hand or typewritten on a “standard” typewriter, on “paper”. It was time consuming and a lot of work.

Today we not only have cell phones, but apps; we have faxes and e-mails; internet advertising, social media and instant communication like never before and I believe it is only the beginning. Read More→

Attention Atlanta REIA Business Members! We want personally invite you to attend and participate in our upcoming Atlanta REIA Main Monthly Meeting on September 12th at the Atlanta Perimeter Hotel & Suites (formerly the W Hotel Perimeter) located at 111 Perimeter Center West. We are giving away ten (10) vendor tables at NO CHARGE if you RSVP by Midnight on Sunday, September 4th. These tables are being given away for FREE this month to Atlanta REIA Business Members on a first come, first serve basis. DON’T WAIT until Sunday to register since these 10 tables will be long gone by then! REGISTER NOW at and use coupon code FREETABLE to RSVP for your vendor table at no charge for the September Main Meeting!

PLEASE NOTE: This FREE Offer is for Atlanta REIA Business Members Only.

Who’s Plugging into Your Business?

Social networking sites have exploded in popularity in recent years, as it provides a fun, convenient way to remain connected with friends and family, and also provides a novel avenue for corporations to connect with consumers. However, organizations must be well-versed in the underlying risks of this form of communication, and should proactively approach management of these sites from both a security and employee usage standpoint.

Do you know the 5 different types of Identity Theft?

Learn more at the Small Business Group
August 11th at 3:30 PM
5 Season’s at the Prado

Read More→

Have you been a “real estate investor” for several months or even years without doing your first deal? What is holding you back? Fear? Lack of money? Credit Problems? Lack of Focus? Are you afraid you will screw it all up? If so, there is a new investor group for you… “BIG”, the Beginning Investor Group! This group focuses on the defeat of fears, or act in spite of them to do that very important first deal.  We want to help you break through those mental barriers. Inspire you to act. Crystallize your focus.

BIG meets once a month, the fourth Wednesday of each month and our first meeting is on Wednesday, July 27th at 6:30 PM at 5 Seasons Brewing in The Prado in Sandy Springs. We will have experienced local investors speaking on relevant topics to help unlock that mental block. We will also have mentors that can take you by the hand and walk you through that first deal. Read More→

Just a quick reminder to join us at Cherokee Cattle Company TONIGHT at 6:30 for the West Meeting of Atlanta REIA! We are in for a really special treat with our guest speaker Gordon Catts, who has absolutely a wealth of knowledge about the real estate investing business. He has been investing in Atlanta real estate for many, many years, and is a HUGE part of the strong backbone of our ATLANTA REIA. He will speaking on “How to Determine Property Values In Today’s Market”. Do you count the foreclosures when determining comps? How far back do you go to pull the comps? What services are available out there, both free and paid, that are reliable sources for comps? He’ll be answering these questions and more tonight! Think we can learn something from him? I know I’ll be there with pen and paper, taking all the notes I can! This is not to be missed! Click here for more details. Read More→

Do you know how to determine accurate property values in today’s market? If you are getting ready to buy a property, do you know what it’s worth? There seems to be a lot of confusion on what constitutes a “comp” or comparable. With short sales and foreclosed properties making a large impact on current market values, it’s critical to know have to evaluate property values so you can avoid paying too much in this buyers’ market.

At this month’s Atlanta REIA West Meeting on Monday, July 25th at 6:30 PM at the Cherokee Cattle Company located at 2710 Canton Road in Marietta, Gordon Catts will be discussing what constitutes a comp, how to quickly determine a property’s value as well as providing valuable resources to help you find comparables. We will be discussing… Read More→