Business owners, here’s something to consider: Let’s say you’re a real estate investor and you’ve spent the past fifteen years working and sacrificing to build a portfolio of twenty single-family rental homes.  Your portfolio has a lot of equity and great cash flow.  You’ve finally reached the point where you can relax, travel and enjoy life – Oh, and yes, you DID build it yourself!

Then you get The Call.  It’s from one of those one-call-that’s-all, flea-bag attorneys who tells you that he’s representing one of your tenants who was seriously injured after falling down some steps at one of your rentals.  Of course, he fails to mention that your tenant was inebriated at the time he fell – the attorney doesn’t want things like facts and the truth to get in the way of his big, easy payday!

The attorney threatens to sue you for ten million dollars, or explains that you can simply write a fifteen thousand dollar check and avoid the lawsuit.  Oh sure – in many circles this “offer” would be considered extortion, but because it’s an attorney making the call, it’s instead called “settlement negotiations.” Read More→

Last week, Houston Long, a fellow real estate investor and longtime friend (though he doesn’t like admitting to the “longtime friend” part), had to take a tenant to Magistrate Court to seek an eviction.  The tenant had quit paying rent.  This left Houston with no option but to try and get the tenant out and his rental property back.

Taking a tenant to court should be a no-other-choice decision.  For Houston, who’s been managing tenants and rental properties for more than eight years, this is the first time he’s had to take a tenant to court.  Previously, he had been able to resolve all landlord-tenant issues at the tenant’s kitchen table without getting a Magistrate Judge involved.

Houston didn’t ask me to attend his dispossessory hearing, but with it being his first time in court and because I was secretly hoping his case would turn into an exciting landlord-tenant train wreck, I couldn’t keep myself away. Read More→

We bought two properties at the August foreclosure auction in Bartow County.  After the auction, a new real estate investor asked us a question we hear often: What do you see when you’re out working foreclosures?  Today’s column answers this question.

A couple of days ago, I headed out to look at some properties scheduled to be sold at the September foreclosure auction.  Joining me were my buddies Houston Long and John Clark.  Houston is an experienced investor who has one of the best creative deal-structuring minds around.  John is new to real estate investing and is a quick learner.

Our goal was to see 27 properties that day.  (There are a total of 115 properties advertised to be sold at September’s foreclosure auction in Bartow County.)  To make finding the properties easier, Houston maps them on his iPad, then breaks Bartow into quadrants and sectors.  Working with him reminds me of a Tom Clancy novel and having “John Clark” in the car definitely adds to this feeling.

Of the foreclosure properties we saw, a little over a third were abandoned.  A good number of these had been empty for six months or longer.  Sadly, this ratio is pretty typical. Read More→

We’ve built a successful real estate investing business by constantly knocking on seller’s doors and asking Pete Fortunato’s famous question: Why are you selling such a nice house like this?

Remember: The BEST way to find great deals is to meet face to face with sellers and help them solve their real estate problems.

We knock on seller’s doors because it’s – BY FAR – the most effective, affordable and quickest way to get face to face with a seller. Read More→

For real estate investors, the magic happens at the seller’s kitchen table!  Three Big Questions: How do you get to the seller’s kitchen table?  Once there, what do you say?  Finally, how do you “convince” the seller to sell you his/her home?

Austin Boston Berry recently graduated from Georgia Tech.  There were two career paths from which he could choose: Either get a J-O-B with a big company working in a cubical and becoming a wage slave, or go to work for himself without the “security” (or constraints) of working for someone else.  Austin Boston chose the brave – and much harder, hungrier and riskier – path of going to work for himself.  He decided to become a real estate investor – in the worst real estate market this country has ever seen!

Before making his decision, Austin and I spent a good bit of time together.  It was critical that he understand what it takes to be a successful, full-time real estate investor…especially starting out.  Simply put: You gotta meet face-to-face with a minimum of 15 sellers each and every week.  There is no shortcut to this primary directive.  Meet with any less and you will fail.  Period. Read More→

I couldn’t stop myself from watching a real estate investing TV infomercial last night.  You know the one, the guy promises big bags of cash if you’ll just buy his special, super-secret “system.”  In the infomercial, you can’t help but notice that the “millionaire” guru is driving a new Mercedes-Benz.  Sadly, a lot of folks tell themselves, “I gotta get me some of that!” and then pick up their phone and dial the number.

The next morning I got in my vehicle, fired up the engine, and headed out to do property inspections at some rentals.  While driving, I thought again about the guru’s Mercedes.  No successful investor we know drives an expensive luxury car.  Can you imagine pulling into a tenant’s driveway in a $75,000 land yacht?  Talk about going over like the proverbial lead balloon!

After lovingly patting the cracked dashboard of my 1998 Dodge dually, diesel, 4×4, pick-em-up truck that has nearly 300,000 miles on it, I realized that I am my truck…and not some fancy-dancy, new Mercedes! Read More→

Last month, because of a job transfer, one of our long-term tenants moved out.  They’d been in our single-family rental for six years.  The home was returned in great shape, but we decided it was time to paint the property and replace the ten-year-old carpet.  The shave-and-haircut rehab came out great, and the home looked wonderful!

As soon as we put For Rent signs in the yard, the phone began ringing like crazy.  Folks love to rent nice looking, well-maintained homes that are located in solid neighborhoods and rent for below-market rates.

One of the first applications faxed to us was a landlord’s dream!  It was neat and complete.  The applicant had been on their job for seven years, had the security deposit and rental payment in hand, and wanted to move in immediately.  I was so happy…someone get me a bib just in case I start slobbering all over myself!

If you’ve been reading our weekly newspaper column (Bill’s Articles / Kim’s Articles) for any length of time, then you know there’s one more – very important – thing I must do before signing a lease with this “perfect” tenant.  I must first do a surprise inspection – both inside and out – of their current residence.  Remember, wherever they live now looks exactly like how they’ll have your investment property looking one week after they move in.

Thank God I follow this rule! Read More→

Most mornings I’m at my desk and working by 4:30 a.m. This is especially true on the first Tuesday of each month – this is the day Georgia’s foreclosure properties are auctioned off.

If you’ve seen Kim and me at the auction in Bartow County, we usually look calm, cool and collected…everything under control.  Just wish you could see us a few hours before the auction starts – the picture is VERY different!

Foreclosure morning is chaos around here.  Papers are flying around, computer keyboards click furiously, our foreclosure book is flipped through continuously, and the phone rings incessantly!  It truly is something to behold. 

As an example, let’s look at what happened the morning of last month’s foreclosure auction.  Read More→

A few minutes before this month’s real estate investors meeting began, I asked, “Who has done an interesting deal this month?”  About 20 people milling around stared at me blankly.  No one said anything.  Crickets.

“So no one has done any deals this month?  This is great news,” I said.  A lady asked, “Why is this great news?”  I answered, “Because we’re about to have our first ah-hah moment of the night.”

I asked each of the 20 people, “How many sellers have you met with in the past month?”  Altogether, the group had met with at total of ten sellers – ten sellers, that’s it.

Next, I asked, “What’s the real reason no one has done a deal in the last month?”  A guy answered, “We haven’t seen enough sellers.”  “Exactly!” I exclaimed. Read More→

First, let me preface this article by saying that massage therapists are amazingly talented and giving people.  They spend hours leaning over a table, using their hands and their knowledge of muscles to help rejuvenate tired bodies.

With that said, a few weeks ago, Bill and I were cruising down I-85 heading to Florida when a commercial for a Massage Therapy School came on the radio.  The announcer touted the benefits of a career in massage therapy, and when the commercial ended, Bill turned to me and said, “You know, a therapist’s income stops every time a body gets off their table.”

Well that led to a discussion.  If a therapist has a client on their table they are making money to help pay the bills, but what are they doing to create wealth?  What about their retirement?  What happens in their ‘golden’ years?  Are they still leaning over a table when they reach their 50’s? Read More→

Many folks who get into real estate investing say they’re doing it for the money.  The truth is, no one does anything for the money – NO ONE! 

When you’re done scratching your head, think about this: If you give someone $100,000 cash, would that person simply put the money on the table and stare at it for the next 30 years?  Of course not!  People don’t want money.  They want the things money can buy.

Let’s say that today you’re given a big pot of money.  What would you do with it?  Too many folks (broke folks) would rush out and trade their pot of money for a shiny red thing that honks and drops like a rock in value.  They mistakenly think that if they’re seen in a fancy red car, their “friends” will be impressed and think they’re rich. Read More→