Archive for May, 2017

Thurs, June 8th at 6PM @ Doubletree Suites Tampa Bay
Tampa REIA – June 8th
at the Doubletree Suites Tampa Bay
Creating Quick Cash & Long Term Cash Flow by Buying Notes Without Your Own Cash or Cred
With Special Guest, Donna Bauer

Tampa REIA Members Can Attend for no charge.
Guests Can RSVP Online Now for $15 or Pay $20 at the Door.

Donna BauerWe are excited to announce that Donna Bauer will be our special guest trainer this month at Tampa REIA on Monday, June 8th at 6:00 PM at the 3050 North Rocky Point Dr West in Tampa, FL. Whether you are a conservative investor or a risk taker, buying notes puts you in control of your real estate transactions and your personal wealth planning.

Donna Bauer, nationally known as The Original NoteBuyer®, is one of the nation’s most recognized subject matter experts on Discounted Notes, Seller Financing, and Distressed Mortgages. For over two decades, Donna’s exclusive strategies have produced stunning results regardless of economic conditions.

As thousands of successful investors have discovered, Donna’s approach to real estate investing is brilliantly suited to today’s unique market and the shift toward alternative forms of financing.

During her 90 minute presentation, Donna will teach you how to…

  • Create quick cash and long term cash flow with 3 Basic Note Buying Strategies—WITHOUT your own cash or cred
  • Evaluate 4 critical areas before buying a note
  • Create an ‘ultra safe’ deal, even in a down market
  • Buy ‘part of a note’ for super high returns and safety
  • Create SMART seller financing for maximum cash out later
  • Buy and sell properties WITHOUT ever needing a bank

Plus, you’ll learn how to:

  • Use defaulted bank loans as a backdoor to acquiring properties well below market value
  • Use defaulted bank loans to create super high yields by modifying the mortgage and allowing the homeowner to stay in the house — a real win/win!

Donna will be quick to tell you that in her life time, she has never seen so many amazing opportunities with notes. With deals galore in the market place and bank financing hard to come by, seller financed notes have once again become the rage. This creates an awesome opportunity in the secondary market to make huge profits without all of the hassles of the proverbial “tenants, trash and toilets,” not to mention without using your own cash or cred. There’s no doubt, buying and selling other people’s seller-financed notes is the quickest, easiest, safest way to CASH IN on today’s fantastic real estate market!

Donna began her note buying career over 25 years ago in search of a vehicle that would offer her financial security without sacrificing cherished time with her four children. Working from her dining room table, as she began closing discounted note deals across the country, she realized that she had found a gold mine! Now, with well over a thousand deals under her belt, her peers consider her to be the foremost subject matter expert on note buying, while her students acclaim her as being a gifted, inspiring mentor.

If you are serious about building wealth in today’s real estate market, you don’t want to miss this presentation! RSVP Now!

Tampa REIA Members Please RSVP on Meetup.com
Tampa REIA Members Please RSVP on Meetup.com

RSVP Now!

As always, Tampa REIA Members can attend the event at no charge and Non-Members can Register Online for $15 or pay $20.00 at the door. Be sure to bring your business cards and flyers and join us for an evening of real estate deals, vendors, networking, education and fun! See you there!

*Meeting Agenda
6:00 PM: Tampa REIA Meeting in Tampa
6:15 PM: Announcements, Introductions, Haves & Wants
7:30 PM: Feature Presentation with Donna Bauer
9:30 PM: Late Night Networking at Bahama Breeze

*Please Note: Meeting agenda is subject to change.

5 Days & 4 Nights in CancunWIN A VIP EXPERIENCE JUST FOR YOU: All participants who attend the Tampa REIA Meeting will entered into a drawing for a chance to win a *Complimentary 6 Day, 5 Night Stay for You and a Guest at One of 6 Incredible Mexico Destinations! *You must be present at the meeting to win. Giveaway does not include dining, transportation, transfers, taxes, upgrades, etc.

9:30PM: Late Night Networking at Bahama Breeze
Late Nite Networking at Bahama Breeze

Bahama BreezeAfter the conclusion of the Tampa REIA Main Meeting (around 9:30PM), we will be reconvening at Bahama Breeze located at 3045 N Rocky Point Dr E in Tampa for the “Meeting after the Meeting” with Tampa REIA Crew. Come eat, drink, network and have fun with us as hang out late into the night on Tampa Bay!

See Tampa REIA Events Calendar for More Events!

Donna Bauer

Posted on May 26, 2017 by

Donna Bauer Donna Bauer, nationally known as The Original NoteBuyer®, is one of the country’s most recognized authorities on Discounted Notes, Seller Financing, and Defaulted Notes. Donna started out over twenty-five years ago, when she was babysitting nine children for a dollar an hour per child so that she could be a stay-at-home mom. Her life was changed forever when she discovered the amazing power of note buying and made over $5,000 on her very first deal. She went on to develop her own systematized approach to making amazing profits with notes. Since then, she has shared her exclusive note buying strategies and helped thousands of individuals to create, build, and maintain financial freedom.

Donna’s extensive real estate background enables her to bring a wealth of knowledge to her students and uniquely qualifies her to integrate her exclusive creative note buying strategies into all areas of real estate investing. Her experience includes the management of single-family homes, an office park, downtown high rise, and 400 – 500 unit apartment complexes. In addition to her own extensive investment career involving both residential and commercial notes and properties, she has facilitated thousands of transactions as a real estate paralegal, as the owner of a title company, and as a personal mentor to investors across the country.

Sat, June 10th at 9AM @ Doubletree Suites Tampa Bay
Learn the Power of Paper…
Note-Buying Workshop
Learn How to Profit on
Discounted Notes, Seller Financing,
and Distressed Mortgages.
A Full Day Workshop with
Donna Bauer
Saturday, June 10th from 9AM-5PM at
Doubletree Suites Tampa Bay
3050 North Rocky Point Dr West, Tampa, FL
*2-for-1 Early Registration Special
Register Now & Save Big Time!
*Join Tampa REIA or Renew Your Membership & Attend at No Charge!

Donna BauerJoin us at the Note-Buying Workshop on Saturday, June 10th at 9:00 AM at Doubletree Suites Tampa Bay located at 3050 North Rocky Point Dr West in Tampa, FL with Donna Bauer to learn how buying notes and discounted mortgages the right way, could put you on a path of financial success. During this full day workshop, Donna will expand on the concepts she was only briefly able to talk about Monday night at the Atlanta REIA Main Meeting.

Donna will teach you specifically how to…

  • Create quick cash and long term cash flow with 3 Basic Note Buying Strategies—WITHOUT your own cash or cred
  • Evaluate 4 critical areas before buying a note
  • Create an ‘ultra safe’ deal, even in a down market
  • Buy ‘part of a note’ for super high returns and safety
  • Create SMART seller financing for maximum cash out later
  • Buy and sell properties WITHOUT ever needing a bank
  • Have all of the safety and high returns of a real estate investment without dealing with the tenants, trash and toilets
  • Answer your questions and more!

Plus, You will learn how to…

  • Use defaulted bank loans as a backdoor to acquiring properties well below market value
  • Use defaulted bank loans to create super high yields by modifying the mortgage and allowing the homeowner to stay in the house—a real win/win!

Donna began her note buying career over 25 years ago in search of a vehicle that would offer her financial security without sacrificing cherished time with her four children. Working from her dining room table, as she began closing discounted note deals across the country, she realized that she had found a gold mine! Now, with well over a thousand deals under her belt, her peers consider her to be the foremost subject matter expert on note buying, while her students acclaim her as being a gifted, inspiring mentor.

Come spend the day with Donna at the Note-Buying Workshop on Saturday, June 10th at 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM. If you are serious about building wealth in today’s real estate market, you don’t want to miss this workshop!

Register Now!

*PLEASE NOTE: The 2-for-1 Early Registration Special is for Tampa REIA Members Only and is limited to spouses, adult children and corporate partners. Non-Members who Join Tampa REIA between May 26th through June 8th, 2017 can attend the workshop for FREE as new members and can bring a qualified guest. Also, Tampa REIA Members who renew their membership for an additional year between May 26th through June 8th, 2017 can attend the workshop for FREE as well. When Joining Tampa REIA or renewing your membership, please indicate that you want to attend the workshop at no charge. You can Join Tampa REIA at http://membership.tampareia.com.

See Tampa REIA Events Calendar for More Events!
Wed, May 24th @ 7PM on GoToWebinar
Beginning Investors Group ONLINE
Protecting Yourself &
Your Assets With Land Trusts

with Larry Harbolt on May 24th
@ 7PM on GoToWebinar

No Charge to Attend for Members or Guests
Who RSVP Online via GoToWebinar.com!

Larry HarboltPlease be sure to join us at the Beginning Investors Group Online on Wednesday, May 24th at 7:00PM ET with creative real estate expert, Larry Harbolt on how and why you should be using Land Trusts to purchase and control your real estate deals. Perhaps you’ve hear many, more seasoned investors talking about buying houses in trust but didn’t know what they were talking about. Now is your chance to find out more about why Land Trusts are so important for your real estate business.

Register for BIG Online Now (No Charge) and Larry will teach you things like…

  • What is a Land Trust
  • Why you should be using a Land Trust for every property you purchase
  • Advantages of Using Land Trusts
  • Disadvantages of Land Trusts & what to do about it
  • How to create a Land Trust in minutes
  • And much more!

If you’ve been wanting to learn more about Land Trusts, Register for BIG Online Now and don’t miss this rare opportunity for Larry to teach you how to add this powerful tool in your real estate investing tool box.

Register Now!

Larry Harbolt is the nation’s leading creative Seller Financing expert as well as a popular national real estate speaker and teacher whose time-tested strategies and nuts and bolts teaching style has helped thousands of aspiring real estate entrepreneurs realize their dreams with little or no money and without the need for cred. Larry has been successful creatively buying and selling real estate for over 30 years and has written numerous popular articles and real estate courses.

TO ATTEND ONLINE: 7:00PM Start Time. To attend the Beginning Investors Group Online via your PC, smart phone or tablet, Register Here for the Meeting on GoToWebinar.com and you will be emailed login instructions for the event.

Once you get your Webinar Confirmation Email, you can login on about 5-10 minutes prior to the 7PM start time to reserve a spot using your PC, Mac, Tablet or Smart Phone. You can download the GoToWebinar App here on iTunes App Store or the Google Play Store.

About the Beginning Investors Group Online (BIG O)

Beginning Investors Group Online (The BIG O)The Beginning Investors Group Online (The “Big O” or BIGO) is an new online educational group that currently meets on the 4th Wednesday for new investors who are just getting started in real estate investing as well as “new again” real estate investors who’ve taken a few years off and are looking to get back in the game.

Each month, we will be bringing in local and national real estate experts to teach new investors how to survive and thrive in our ever changing economy and real estate market. The entire purpose of this group is to help new investors get their first deal and help new again investors get their next deal.

See Tampa REIA Events Calendar for More Events!
Sat, May 13th at 9AM @ Doubletree Suites Tampa Bay
Buy 1 Workshop, Get 2 Workshops!
Sign Up for Reggie’s Workshop and Get Donna Bauer’s Notebuying Workshop on June 10th at No Charge!
Vacant And Distressed Property Opportunities
Workshop for Real Estate Investors
Discover How To Buy Vacant and Abandoned Properties For
Pennies On The Dollar!
A Full Day Workshop with Reggie Brooks
Saturday, May 13th from 9AM-5PM
Doubletree Suites Tampa Bay
3050 North Rocky Point Dr West, Tampa, FL
*Join Tampa REIA or Renew Your Membership & Attend at No Charge!

Reggie BrooksJoin Reggie Brooks on Saturday, May 13th from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM (Registration starts at 8:30 AM) at the Doubletree Suites Tampa Bay located at 3050 North Rocky Point Dr West in Tampa, FL where he will show you how you can make $30,000 cash in the next 60 days. While you’ve been keeping your nose to the grindstone, paying taxes and worrying about keeping up with inflation…… silently all across America, shrewd real estate investors are cleaning up. But, right here and right now, things are going to change.

Here’s Some Of What You’ll Learn:

  • How To Invest With Only A Few Hundred Dollars
  • How To Earn From 18 To 55% Interest On Your Money And More
  • How Your Investment Is Safe, Secured By Real Estate, And Guaranteed
  • How Your Checks Automatically Come Straight From The Government
  • If The Tax Payer Doesn’t Pay, You Foreclose The Property
  • When You Foreclose, The Loans Get Wiped Out!
  • Easiest Way To Own Real Estate Free And Clear For Pennies On The Dollar
  • And Much, Much More…

The truth is it’s very easy and simple to make millions… IF you just have and use the know-how. Right now, right here in your area, there are undervalued properties ready to be scooped up for pennies on the dollar. This is the time to buy these deeply discounted properties and make “a killing” down the road. The money is there for the taking.

“There Are Millions To Be Made In Real Estate – Right Now, In Today’s Changing Market. In Fact, If You Don’t Make $30,000 Or More In The Next 60 Days, You Didn’t Attend My Training at Tampa REIA on May 13th!”

Mark you calendar right now for May 13th! Reggie’s going to teach you the steps he took to become a multi-millionaire. And he did it doing exactly what he will be teaching you!

Here’s More Of What You’ll Learn:

  • How to formulate the correct amount to offer on a potential investment property
  • How to buy investment property well below market value
  • How to buy houses, apartments, commercial, etc. for pennies on the dollar
  • Loads of hot new tips and insights that the pros use to find good deals in this changing market
  • Clever ways to automate the abandoned property system – get these properties chasing you instead of you chasing them
  • Amazingly simple, low cost ways to fix up properties for maximum profits
  • Quickly getting rid of fear and get moving quickly toward your level of success
  • And Much, Much More…

We are going to PROVE IT to you live at this full day Vacant/Abandoned Properties Workshop on Saturday, May 13th from 9AM to 5PM.

Register Now and join us to discover Reggie’s secrets that he will be to sharing with you. These are the strategies that he has perfected throughout his own Real Estate Investing ventures and he will show you step-by-step how YOU can implement them into your business today. Register Now!

Register Now!

*PLEASE NOTE: The 2-for-1 Early Registration Special is only for Tampa REIA Members and is limited to spouses, adult children and corporate partners. Non-Members who Join Tampa REIA between May 1st through May 11th, 2017 can attend the workshop for FREE as new members and can bring a qualified guest. Also, Tampa REIA Members who renew their membership for an additional year between May 1st through May 11th, 2017 can attend the workshop for FREE as well. When Joining Tampa REIA or renewing your membership, please indicate that you want to attend the workshop at no charge. You can Join Tampa REIA at http://membership.tampareia.com.

See Tampa REIA Events Calendar for More Events!
Tue, May 16th@ 1PM in Holiday, FL
The BRAND NEW
Onsite Renovation Group

Hands-On Learning “Onsite” at Real Renovation Projects
Tuesday, May 16th at 1:00PM
3149 Blue Bird Dr, Holiday, FL

3149 Blue Bird Dr, HolidayPlease join us on Tuesday, May 16th at 1:00PM for the brand new Tampa REIA Onsite Renovation Group (ORG) to learn all about finding, funding, fixing, and flipping houses for big profits. This month’s meeting will be held at a renovation project located at 3149 Blue Bird Dr, Holiday, FL. This is a 2 bedroom, 2 bath, 1310 Sq Ft house built in 1973 with a Florida room and a 1 car garage. Join us to come see how we are going to turn this ugly, run-down house into a profitable deal! RSVP Now!

Tampa REIA Members & Guests, Please RSVP on Meetup.com
Tampa REIA Members & Guests, Please RSVP on Meetup.com

Onsite Renovation GroupThe Tampa REIA Onsite Renovation Group is an exciting new educational and networking group that focuses on the acquisition, renovation and retail resale (fix & flip) or rental (buy & hold) of single or multi family residential homes in the Tampa Bay Area. The purpose of the group is to allow both new and experienced rehabbers and investors to meet, network, share knowledge and learn from each others successes and mistakes while getting “hands on” experience at real rehab properties.

The Onsite Renovation Group meets on the 3rd Tuesday of each month at 1:00PM at an active renovation site, build site or rental property which will vary from month to month and be announced prior to the meeting on the Tampa REIA Calendar.

Come join us to learn how to rehab houses for big profits the right way… you will be glad you did!

See Tampa REIA Events Calendar for More Events!

Beach REIA Meets on May 18, 2017

Posted on May 12, 2017 by
Thurs, May 18th @ 6:30PM in Madeira Beach FL
Beach REIA
Thursday, May 18th at 6:30PM
Hooters, 192 W Boardwalk Pl, Madeira Beach

Mark LepzinskiBeach REIA meets every 3rd Thursday at 6:30PM at Hooters located at 192 W Boardwalk Pl in Madeira Beach, FL Hosted by Courtney Larsen, Mark Lepzinski and Rex Gaugh. Come join your fellow real estate investors in a fun networking atmosphere at Beach REIA (Formerly the “Real Estate Investors Happy Hour”) held on the 3rd Thursday of each month at 6:30PM. Our goal is to get the Real Estate Investing community together in a fun setting where we can discuss opportunities, ideas, brainstorm, network, and figure out additional ways to help each other make more money investing in real estate.

There is no fee to attend. Everyone is welcome! So come on out and network with us and let’s have a good time and talk about deals! Bring your deals and business opportunities to discuss.

Tampa REIA Members Please RSVP on Meetup.com
Tampa REIA Members Please RSVP on Meetup.com

See Tampa REIA Events Calendar for More Events!

The Profit May 2017 Edition

Posted on May 9, 2017 by
The Profit Newsletter for Tampa REIA May 2017
Download the May 2017 Edition of The Profit Newsletter Now!

The Profit - May 2017 - High Quality PDFThe May 2017 edition of The Profit Newsletter is now available for download as a High Quality PDF (print quality) or Low Res PDF for mobile devices. The Profit Newsletter is the official newsletter of the Tampa Real Estate Investors Alliance and is a digital, interactive newsletter for serious real estate investors delivered as an Adobe PDF file to read on your computer, tablet, or smart phone with a PDF reader. Many of the articles and ads in The Profit contain hyperlinks you can click to get more information online. The high res version of The Profit is “print ready” while the low res version will load faster on your mobile device. Also, be sure to Subscribe to The Profit so you don’t miss a single monthly issue.

Download Now!
High Quality PDF / Low Res PDF
See The Profit Archives for our past editions.

Reggie BrooksWhen I began my career as a real estate investor in 1985, I stumbled across a tremendous opportunity that most people still don’t know about to this day. Yet it has given my family and me a lifestyle we never dared dream we’d have.

I’m talking about investing in vacant, distressed, abandoned properties – a highly lucrative, yet little-known, segment of the market.

Vacant/Abandoned properties are just that – vacant. No one lives or works there anymore. Weeds may be collecting and taxes may be accruing, but in many cases the owner has already divorced himself emotionally from the property. And that means you could get an excellent under-market deal.  Read More→

Master Due Diligence

Posted on May 9, 2017 by

I have always been surprised by the lack of time investors, wholesalers and even real estate agents put into properly advertising an investment deal. They all invest an endless amount of time and money on contracting a deal, only to drop the ball on the advertising side. Many times you can take the numbers, CMAs, spreadsheets, etc. that are used to advertise a property and in a few minutes pick the deal apart. Maybe it is a lack of time or knowledge but unfortunately I feel most of the time it is an attempt to mislead or just make a paycheck. Sometimes the info looks so well put together and impressive that it might even slip by an experienced buyer. Therefore you must know your numbers.

If you are a wholesaler, investor and/or real estate agent you really need to know your numbers. There is not a day I do not receive a wannabe deal that looks good at first glance. However, once I take a closer look, it is as bad as the ones I just deleted. Let us start with the most obvious mistake, the numbers. So the very first thing I do is add the recommended repairs plus the asking price and divide it by the estimated after repair value (ARV). I like for this number to be between 70%- 75% loan to value (LTV). Nowadays, this number is 80%+ which is usually not worth the headache unless the property value is higher. But even then, I try to stay away from that high of a LTV. Heck sometime the property is marketed at one LTV when it is a completely different LTV.  Read More→

I have talked about this subject many times before but because of a recent call from one of my students I felt it important to talk about this subject again.  A few days ago one of my students called and told me she was facing a dilemma and was worried about losing her property. She told me that she had no money to pay for the annual property insurance coming due and for two years of property taxes. She didn’t have the money to pay for either. This seems to be a common problem many beginning real estate investor’s experience. This is a subject I knew all too well because years earlier I experienced this very same problem.

I guess part of this problem stems from inexperience and lack of knowledge. Although this is a problem for many, it can be solved very easily with just a little effort and discipline. I felt it very important to write this article hoping to save many newer investors the distress and sleepless nights this problem can cause.  Read More→

Your Credibility Kit tells a story about who you are and what you can do for your seller or buyer in order to get a deal done. It will list the benefits to the sellers or buyers as to why they should work with you, a Real Estate Investor. The other main function of a Credibility Kit is to give you the confidence you need in order to create a win-win solution for you with your sellers. It should have all the tools you need in it to get you through the offer making process.

For example, in the back of my personal Credibility Kit, I have a list of different types of offers I can make on a property. This helps me when talking to the seller and keeps me from getting tongue-tied or forgetting a strategy that could just help out that particular seller. It also includes a cost analysis sheet which shows my sellers exactly how much it would cost them to sell their home in the traditional way and how much money I can save them at the closing table. My personal Credibility Kit gives my sellers all the facts they need to make a sound decision to sell their property to me.  Read More→

Some say the best real estate investors achieve the title and results through years of experience. I would have to agree, however in saying that I would also add that the experience these people have is only a part of their success equation in real estate.

The most important components I would suggest you have in investing are solid real estate comps from REIA Comps to work with, diligence and focus on a daily personal marketing plan. That marketing plan should be developed, directed, and in tune to the local property market.

Goal setting is the primary reason for business success.  It goes without saying that a lack of proper planning is the number one reason for failure. Proper goal setting involves setting a business plan in place for your business goals. To many people this sounds tedious. On the contrary, goal setters have more time, freedom, more money, and more success in all areas of their lives than those who don’t.  Well, it’s no different with real estate investing.  Read More→

Before you start entering data, make sure QuickBooks is set up appropriately for your company.

QuickBooks was designed to serve the needs of millions of small businesses. To do that, it had to include the tools and processes suitable for a wide variety of companies. But Intuit recognized that every organization is unique, so your copy of QuickBooks can be customized in ways that make it work best for you.

You could just dive in and start adding records and transactions. But we recommend you do some setup first. If you don’t, you may run into some issues later, such as finding that some features you need haven’t been turned on, for example, or that QuickBooks is simply not doing some things the way you do. The good news is that you can change many of these.  Read More→

“I did surveillance a lot, which sounds exciting, but it never was.” ~ Miranda Lambert

The Arlo Camera System is a favorite alternative to the Ring alarm system. It’s very easy to install since it takes literally 60 seconds to set up. It is a wireless system that can be synced up with your smartphone. If you have Alexa by Amazon, this can easily integrate into your existing Samsung family of appliances.

The pros of this system start with the ease of installation. The base plug looks similar to a router, so it is a familiar input, then turn it on. Place the batteries in the case and press the ‘sync’ button. That’s it.

The interface is very user-friendly too, I set up multiple cameras on a property and it was simple to rename cameras based on their location, like ‘garage’ or ‘back door’ and so on. From the app or the desktop website, you can relabel cameras, give preference like which camera is a priority first, adjust the motion sensor and record length once the sensor is tripped. The best thing, in my opinion, is that the camera will record once you open your notification, and it will record as long as you are watching the camera in real time. You can preset time lengths to record or do it manually from your mobile device. There are options for membership features, but the free subscription allows for 1GB of online storage and continuous weekly storage. Therefore, if in that seven-day span you have videos saved, the eighth day will delete the first video on the first day of that time span. This should be fine for most because it gives you the opportunity to select and save videos to a device or PC before the week resets.  Read More→

The Question No One Asked

Posted on May 9, 2017 by

From as early as I can remember, the same obstacles have reappeared in my life, taunting me…never feeling satisfied, never feeling good enough, never getting ahead. Even the greatest opportunities one could ask for were sabotaged, and once again the chance to be happy slipped through my fingers. As words and teaching were given, I couldn’t see through the fog of my own delusions and as I yearned for change, I was trapped, imprisoned by shackles of my own creation.

This adversity brought me to the most important question I’ve come to ask.  

This won’t be the standard real estate investing topic, in fact it may not have much to do with real estate. The topic emphasis is focused on you and I, and the choices we make in life that create pain and pleasure for ourselves.  Read More→

How to Work Pre-Foreclosures

Posted on May 9, 2017 by

Going to the foreclosure auction was the best way to find real estate investing deals from 2009 through 2012…talk about lots of low-hanging fruit!  We were often able to buy a nice three-bedroom, two-bath home in a solid neighborhood for $35 a square foot.  Then in 2013, the cheese moved.  Buying on the steps was no longer the best place to get deals.

Let me explain: In April 2012, there were close to two hundred properties advertised for foreclosure in Bartow County, but at the auction, there were only five investors bidding on them.  It was like shooting fish in a barrel.   One year later – April 2013 – there were less than eighty properties advertised with more than fifty – that’s 50 – investors and hedge funds bidding on that handful of properties.  Suddenly, because of the law of supply and demand, winning bidders found themselves paying $80 to $110 a square foot for a house.  This was a huge year-over-year price increase!

Did this mean that all the great deals had disappeared?  No, it simply meant that to find great deals, investors had to look somewhere else – like buying properties pre-foreclosure.  Read More→

Looking for a great place to invest your Real Estate IRA dollars? Start right here in the Southeast. The 2017 Homeunion 2017 National Single Family Rental Research Report is out and Atlanta was named the #1 top city in its “Opportunity Ranking” metric for real estate investments in the single family home market. The number two city was Orlando, Florida.

Overall

The Opportunity Ranking indicates markets that provide a “strong balance of supply/demand fundamentals while offering favorable entry prices and limited threats,” said the study authors. The markets in this index were measured by a combination of cap rates and entry prices, as well as projected job growth in 2017.

Lots of construction activity counted against markets in this category because of the risk of overbuilding.

The remaining cities in the top ten for this metric were, in order, Seattle, Las Vegas, Chicago, San Diego, Oakland, Detroit, Dallas-Fort Worth and Memphis.  Read More→

I have been mentoring for many years and have found that my best deals come from actually “speaking” directly to a Seller and working out a win-win situation.  Since I first started investing back in 1998, I have not purchased a property directly from the Multiple Listing Service.  However, some Investors would prefer not to talk to Sellers and would like to be fed deals from other Investors or from the Multiple Listing Service.  We each have different personalities and based on your personality and your personal preferences, I may be talking to you.  If this is your mind set, then I would recommend the following:

1) Find at least 2 Realtors that will be willing to set you up to receive listings that are emailed directly to you for your review, along with Expired Listings.  You will want them to do a search for some of the following key words:  TLC, Handyman Special, Must Sell, Seller Motivated, Short Sale, and REO.  Read More→

I think the better question is why wouldn’t someone give you $100,000 in cash? Is it because you would run off with the money? Is it because you have little to no experience in handling that kind of money? Does that thought run through your mind on a regular basis?  Well it needs to stop! Focus on the goal and dump the negativity! If you are a crook stop reading this article.  The best question to ask is, who will fund my whole project, (the purchase price, the repair costs, the monthly payments, the utilities, the taxes, and insurance) and allow me to make a good profit?

Let me put the quantity of money into prospective. Let me also put into prospective the major two differences between a hard money lender and a private lender.

In the past I thought that $100,000 was a lot of money. Today this amount will buy a nice single family house in a blue collar neighborhood. The house will need to be fixed up and it might be in an area with a less than desirable school system. So, if your business plan is to fix up houses in the price range of $50,000 then sell at the $100,000 this will work. You will be very happy to have a person invest in your project. The project must make sense. The project must make money for the investor/ lender. The investor/ lender is sharing the risk with you.  The investor/ lender will want to know that they will be paid back on time and in full with no excuses or late night phone calls.  Read More→