Tampa Real Estate Investors Alliance Blog

I am sure you’ve heard the phrase “fake it till you make it” but I have never believed in this. I have found more success in being the real you. Even if it means that you don’t know what you’re doing in something you’re looking to pursue. This belief continues to work to this day. As I mentioned before, I am in the process of immersing myself in commercial real estate (CRE) as a broker and investor.

I spent many hours learning from Google, YouTube and a few podcasts. I invested the time in learning more to insure this was something I am interested in doing. Just because a person likes residential real estate does not mean they will like commercial and vis-versa. Once I was certain I wanted to do CRE I started to reach out to practitioners and investors. Obviously, I picked the brains of those in my immediate network during social gatherings but I did not have serious conversations with them until I was committed. I make it a point not to waste people’s time or my own because I learned, a long time ago, that time is too valuable.  Read More→

Sitting at the kitchen table there were three people, two sellers and the buyer.  I wanted to buy their house but did not have the $40,000 cash to do it… now. The presentation from my side went just like I had planned.  From the Seller’s prospective it was too good to be true. They were unfamiliar with investing in residential real estate. They did have other investments like a 401 K.  They let other people handle their investment accounts. They haven’t touched it or changed their investment direction in 20 years and they had lost money during the recession. When the 401K and investment statements came in the mail they never opened the envelopes to see what they had. What they had was HOPE! They had a mortgage and had owned two houses prior with a mortgage. They had never heard of private real estate investing and getting an interest rate as high as I was proposing.

What I wanted to do was to buy the house. The house had a first mortgage of $120,000 and equity of $40,000 for a total financing of $160,000.   I wanted to keep the first mortgage in place, have a $40,000 second and pay an interest rate of 8%. My exit strategy was to buy, fix and sell the property, just like they do on TV. It would be for one year, then I would sell the house and the mortgage would be paid off.  This method of financing was going to save me $16,600 in interest fees and costs. I could pay a higher price for the house with the owner financing. It would be a lower price if I paid all cash.  Read More→

A Real Estate IRA is a great opportunity. It’s freeing. It’s invigorating. It’s a thrilling way to potentially build up a major retirement nest egg so you can build wealth over the long term and enjoy the peace that comes with financial security. But that doesn’t mean it’s fool-proof, either. If you want to make the most out of a Self-Directed IRA in which you invest in real estate, you have to avoid some critical errors along the way. Here are four you need to be aware of:

Mistake #1: Not Hiring a Property Manager

Hiring a property manager is critical when you have a Real Estate IRA. Not only will it help take care of any problems with repairs, tenants, and other issues like that, but it will keep you from participating in a prohibited transaction since you are not allowed to provide services to your Real Estate IRA.  Read More→

Setting Up Users in QuickBooks

Posted on July 13, 2017 by

If you plan to have multiple employees using QuickBooks, you can limit their access to specific areas.

Controlling access to your QuickBooks company file is easy when you’re a one-person accounting department. You simply use one password to protect your data.

But when you add new employees to the mix, do you want them to have access to absolutely everything in QuickBooks? Probably not. You have confidence in your employees or you wouldn’t have hired them. But this isn’t solely a matter of trust. It’s just good business practice to restrict individuals to specific areas and responsibilities, no matter what the application.

That’s why QuickBooks has built-in tools to help you limit activity. Here’s how it works.  Read More→

So! What Do YOU Do For a Living?

Posted on July 13, 2017 by

“What do YOU do for a living?”

Those words can strike fear and paralysis in the hearts & minds of the tragically unprepared.  If you’re newly in business for yourself, or have just never really gotten your head properly wrapped around HOW you should respond to this powerful question, you’re sunk. Handle it the right way, and you’ll be rewarded with confidence, respect, and a fatter bank account.

And that’s exactly what we’re going to cover in this article. So shut off your Facebook & keep reading… 

It never fails. You’re out at a social event, taking a flight somewhere, or maybe you just strike up a casual conversation with someone somewhere sometime. If you’re both adults over the age of 25 or so, the question eventually comes up, “What do you do?”   Read More→

When I am purchasing a property either for myself or with my student/partner, we determine which exit strategy is the best for both parties.  Knowing whether you want to wholesale a property for a small profit or rehab/retail it for a big profit is important.  Many investors start off with wholesaling the properties because they either don’t have a money lender or partner to help them rehab/retail the house and sell it for a bigger profit.  If this is you, then I believe you really should find a partner or money lender so you have more than one exit strategy.

When you purchase a short sale, some of the lenders will put a hold time for the new buyer requiring them to hold the property for 30, 60 or 90 days before they can resell the property for a profit.  In addition, they may tell you that you can only make a certain amount of money on the property if you sell it earlier than 90 days.   Holding doesn’t bother my student/partners or myself because we normally choose to rehab the property and retail it for a higher profit.  Read More→

“I am thankful to all the souls, I meet in the journey of life.” ~ Lailah Gifty Akita

Touchnote App is a familiar app to many. It’s commonly used to create eCards for birthdays and holidays, as well as printing applications like greeting cards and framed photos. I have found a way to use this for my own needs that are unique to my business.

Using this app has freed up some of my time. How to gently and politely notify a homeowner that I have an interest in their home without knocking on the door and intruding on their routine. I’ve utilized the Touchnote App to reach out to these potential clients. I usually drive looking for vacant homes in particular. I just take a photo of the house and look up the homeowner’s address in the public tax records. I write a simple message explaining that I’m interested in buying the property. It’s so fast and takes the time and thought out of trying to reach out to these homeowners by phone or physically printing and paying postage on a postcard. The cost is $1.99, which is very reasonable. You can also reduce this price even more by buying in bulk, making the cost $1.50.  Read More→

Implementing the right list and using the right letter when creating your direct mail campaigns to locate motivated sellers is crucial to your success as a Real Estate Investor. There are lots of different ways to find these lists and lots of different types of lists to choose from.

The easiest way I suggest to locate a list to use for mailings is to simply go to your property appraiser’s office or auditor’s office and have them create it for you. There are many different parameters you can use to create these lists.

Some of the lists you could create might be directed at out of town owners, deed transfers, zip codes ranges, sale dates, estates, evictions, delinquent taxes or pre-foreclosures. These can all be good lead sources for you to use to find motivated sellers and these are lists that I use in my business on a daily basis in addition to several others.  Read More→

In this article, I want to discuss a simple way to develop peace within, while in the midst of the chaos that many of us live.

We spend our lives thinking that there is some end goal, some place where we can be that will finally bring total happiness. Then to get there we set crazy goals that consume most if not all our time.

You know the saying, “live like no one else today, so you can live like no one else tomorrow” a popular Dave Ramsey quote that is interesting to ponder. There is nothing wrong with dreams, setting goals, and hard work but the illusion that there is some destination, or some sanctuary that will save you is what I’m addressing here.  Read More→

Making money investing in real estate begins with determining the actual value of the property. This is the most important out of the many factors in real estate. The price of the property is determined with real estate comparables or comps.  Being that this is the maximum amount a seller could expect to receive for a given property, it becomes the starting point for negotiations. This is where you, as a real estate investor, make your profit when you buy the property.  Mess up here and it could become difficult to make money on the deal or at the very least the ideal profit you had hoped for.

When researching a property, you begin by comparing your target property with those in the surrounding area.   Be sure you know the details of your property.  The square footage, beds/baths, year built and location of your property are important criteria for determining how closely these other properties match or compare to your subject property.  Read More→

Wholesaling is probably one of the easiest, yet most deceiving aspects of Real Estate out there.  There is no shortage of people sharing how to be a wholesaler from online courses to packages to free videos.  When looking at all the information available on the subject, how does one know which information is correct (including this article)?

As someone who has run a wholesale group in our market now for over four years, I am going to share with you the qualities required to be in my opinion a successful wholesaler.  Our team has the privilege of being well connected and knowing most of them in our market.  Having wholesaled tons of properties and observed others doing the same, here are the qualities you will want to have to be a successful wholesaler. Read More→

Over the years I have heard every excuse you can think of why real estate investors today aren’t busy buying houses. One thing I know for sure is that the biggest reasons why most real estate investors are struggling to buy real estate are:

  • Fear
  • Lack of Knowledge
  • Lack of Money
  • Less Than Good Credit

Let’s talk about “Fear” first. Fear is probably the biggest reason many inexperienced real estate investors don’t have more success doing deals and why many walk away and give up and look for other ways to make money. I know for myself, when I started learning to buy real estate, I had no money and poor credit, plus I had no training. This caused me to be afraid to make any kind of offer to buy real estate.  Read More→

Avoid the Certainty of Poverty

Posted on July 13, 2017 by

Had a good conversation with an investor friend about the financial collapse of Greece.  The country is so broke that not only can it not repay its loans, it can’t make its note payments either.  What’s Greece’s solution to this financial meltdown?  They want to borrow even MORE money!

It’s crazy for anyone – including a country – to believe that the way to get yourself out of a financial hole is to dig it even deeper!  Yet that’s exactly what Greece – and way too many American families…and America herself – is doing.

Jack Miller, my long-time teacher until he joined the other angels in heaven, taught us how to avoid the certainty of poverty.  He also shared what he had learned from Warren Hardin: It’s inconvenient to be physically alive but financially dead!  Read More→

Tue, July 18th @ 1PM in Clearwater
Onsite Renovation Group
Hands-On Learning “Onsite” at Real Renovation Projects
Tuesday, July 18th at 1:00PM
1070 Sunset Point Rd, Clearwater, FL

1070 Sunset Point Rd ClearwaterPlease join us on Tuesday, July 18th 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 1070 Sunset Point Rd Clearwater, FL, a rehab by Premier Pinellas Residential, LLC and managed by Lisa Patella. This is a 4 bedroom, 3 bath, 2500 square foot frame home with about 40% of the rehab completed. This house has a lot of character and charm and is close to Dunedin and the intercoastal waterway. Come join us and see how Lisa is refurbishing this Clearwater home. 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 usually 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!
Thurs, July 13th at 6PM @ Doubletree Suites Tampa Bay
Tampa REIA – July 13th
at the Doubletree Suites Tampa Bay
Eliminate Your Competition By Putting Together Deals No One Else Can!
Learn to ACT On or REACT To Any Deal
With Special Guests,
Jon & Stephanie Iannotti

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

Jon & Stephanie IannottiWe are excited to announce that Jon & Stephanie Iannotti will be our special guest trainers this month at Tampa REIA on Thursday, July 13th at 6:00 PM at the 3050 North Rocky Point Dr West in Tampa, FL. Jon & Steph will be teaching us about how his CATS can help YOU do more deals by giving you the tools needed to structure profitable transactions that others would normally pass on.

CATS?!?!… No, we are not referring to his kitty cats… Jon and his wife Stephanie have created a real estate system they call CATS (Complete Agreeable Terms System). The CATS system is currently helping ordinary, everyday investors become extraordinary investors by giving them the tools they need to do deals that 99% of other investors don’t even realize are deals. Deals that are upside down. Deals where the seller wants full price and all cash. Deals where the seller is behind on payments. All types of deals you might normally throw in the trash.

Knowledge is the key and what you don’t know about how to structure creative transactions can definitely hurt your wallet. Imagine knowing how to take a lead most other investors would toss away and turn it into a profitable deal that could make you thousands in a very, very short period of time!

During his 90 minute presentation, Jon will teach you how to..

  • Make money without using your own cred, money or contractors
  • Turn a dud of a deal into a profitable deal
  • What to do when a seller wants full retail and all cash
  • Profit from houses that are upside down
  • Do as many deals per month as you desire
  • Make a minimum of $10,000 per deal
  • Get the benefits of ownership without actually owning the house
  • Put your entire business on “Cruise Control”
  • All this and answers to your questions and more!

Jon and his wife Stephanie have over 30 years combined Real Estate investing and teaching experience. They have over 3000 creative deals under their belt and are considered some of the best in the industry.

Jon and Stephanie created ACT (Agreeable Contract Terms System) for when the seller says “Yes” to terms. They created REACT (Reverse Engineered Agreeable Contract Terms) when the seller says “No” to terms and wants full retail value and all cash.

They have now combined these two systems into CATS (the Complete Agreeable Terms System) to have best of both worlds. Now they can make offers that have a high likelihood of being accepted on any of the leads that come across their desk and you can too!

Come spend 90 minutes with Jon & Stephanie at the Tampa REIA Meeting on Thursday, July 13th at 6:00 PM where they will explain how to turn seemingly dead property leads into profitable deals. You certainly will not want to miss out on this career changing information! We look forward to seeing you at the meeting!

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 Jon & Stephanie Iannotti
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!
Sat, July 15th at 9AM @ Doubletree Suites Tampa Bay
ACT / REACT Workshop
Learn How to ACT On or REACT To Any Deal That Comes Across Your Desk & Create Cash From Trash Leads Your Competition Throws Away
A Full Day Workshop with
Jon & Stephanie Iannotti
Saturday, July 15th 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!

Jon & Stephanie IannottiJoin us at the ACT / REACT Workshop on Saturday, July 15th at 9:00 AM at Doubletree Suites Tampa Bay located at 3050 North Rocky Point Dr West in Tampa, FL with Jon & Stephanie Iannotti to learn how CATS can teach you to structure profitable transactions with every lead that comes across your desk, especially the ones that most other investors would immediately throw in the trash. During this full day workshop, Jon & Steph will expand on the concepts they were only briefly able to talk about Thursday night at the Tampa REIA Main Meeting.

Jon & Stephanie will teach you specifically how to…

  • Work with sellers to give them what they want and still profit
  • Structure win-win situations with over-leveraged properties
  • Turn a unprofitable dead deal into a profitable done deal
  • Make a minimum of $10,000 on every deal you do
  • Be able to work with sellers who want all cash and full retail
  • Profit from houses that are upside down
  • Do as many deals per month as you desire
  • Get the benefits of ownership without actually owning the house
  • Put your entire business on “Cruise Control”
  • Answer your questions and more!

Whether your seller says “Yes” to terms or “No” to terms, you will be able to structure the deal to where you will be able to make money and your seller will be happy too. Jon and Stephanie have over 3000 creative deals under their belt and are considered some of the best in the industry. Through the ever-changing ups and downs, they have modified their techniques to meet the needs of the market and have continued to thrive and prosper.

Come spend the day with Jon & Stephanie at the ACT / REACT Workshop on Saturday, July 15th at 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM where they will explain how to turn seemingly dead property leads into profitable deals. You certainly will not want to miss out on this life changing information!

Download REACT Property Data Sheet
Be sure to Download the Iannotti’s REACT Property Data Sheet after checkout and bring as many completed lead sheets to class as you can and Jon will analyze your deals and call sellers in class and help put together a deal for YOU!
Register Now!

*PLEASE NOTE: Non-Members who Join Tampa REIA between June 27th through July 13th, 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 June 27th through July 13th, 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, June 28th @ 7PM on GoToWebinar
Beginning Investors Group ONLINE
A Beginner’s Guide to Notebuying
The Fastest, Easiest & Safest Way To Make Huge Profits In Real Estate!
with Donna Bauer on June 28th
@ 7PM on GoToWebinar

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

Donna BauerPlease be sure to join us at the Beginning Investors Group Online on Wednesday, June 28th at 7:00PM ET with Donna Bauer who will be teaching our members and guests about the fastest, easiest and safest way to make huge profits in real estate using notes.

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.

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 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 and sell properties WITHOUT ever needing a bank
  • And Much, Much More!
Register Now!

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.

Join us on Wednesday June 28th and get this knowledge from Donna Bauer! We look forward to seeing you at this event!

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.

Register Now!
See Tampa REIA Events Calendar for More Events!
Tue, June 13th @ 1PM in St. Pete (SPECIAL DATE THIS MONTH)
The BRAND NEW
Onsite Renovation Group

Hands-On Learning “Onsite” at Real Renovation Projects
Tuesday, June 13th at 1:00PM
3239 71st St, N, St. Petersburg, FL

3239 71st St St. PetePlease join us on Tuesday, June 13th 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 3239 71st St, N, St. Petersburg, FL. This is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, block home with 1 car garage and is 1/3 complete on it’s rehab. Join us to come see how Lori Wilson is turning this old house into a beautiful home and 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 usually 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. This month (June) we will meet the second Tuesday of the month and resume regular schedule in July.

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!
Thurs, June 15th @ 6:30PM in Madeira Beach FL
Beach REIA
Thursday, June 15th at 6:30PM
192 W Boardwalk Pl in Madeira Beach, FL

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.

See Tampa REIA Events Calendar for More Events!

The Profit June 2017 Edition

Posted on June 8, 2017 by
The Profit Newsletter for Tampa REIA June 2017
Download the June 2017 Edition of The Profit Newsletter Now!

The Profit - June 2017 - High Quality PDFThe June 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.