Tampa Real Estate Investors Alliance Blog

Fail Forward – FAST!

Posted on November 9, 2016 by

 Hey, guess what?  I Want You to FAIL!

“Say what now? Fail? But failure is a bad thing, right? That’s what they taught me in school…AND in my job! And all my friends make fun of each other when we fail.”

Yes. Exactly. So what?

I’d like you to think back to when you were a kid. Everything was new to you in the world. You really had to learn things for yourself… How to eat, drink, think, walk, talk, and interact with stuff, right?  If you can’t remember any of that, just watch kids.

Have you ever watched a kid learn how to walk? They fall down a lot, don’t they?  But here’s the truly interesting thing: They don’t stay down. They don’t listen to their well-meaning friends who laugh at them, and they don’t care what grade they get. 

No, they stand up, wobble around a bit, and fall down. Then they stand up again, wobble some more, then put one foot out and take a step!  Read More→

One of the most important aspects to a marketing campaign that is going to work is to create a solid mail piece for your business. These are key points for creating a solid direct mail piece that folks will respond to no matter what business you are in.

  1. The first thing you’ll want to do is to “touch” your prospective customer or seller with “the dream”, or “the solution” to their problem. You’ll want to touch the basic emotions and the needs of your client or seller within the body of your letter, whether that is fear, relief, greed, pride or vanity.

  2. Keep it simple. The grammar doesn’t necessarily have to be perfect. You want to reach this person at their comfort level. Keep your letter relaxed, personal and conversational.

  3. Use simple language; don’t fill your letter with big words or technical words or “industry jargon” that your seller or your customer might not understand.  Read More→

Self-Learning to Network

Posted on November 9, 2016 by

The last month or so I have been looking more and more into investing in apartments. However, I did not attend local MeetUps or other groups dedicated to apartment investing until this week. I self-educated as much as possible through books, podcasts, YouTube video and articles. I did this to prepare for the meetings and it paid off.

The reason I learned as much as possible before attending these apartment investing meetings was so I can understand what was being discussed. I have led single family investment groups in the past and caught myself speaking over many of the attendees. It was not done intentionally but because I had been doing it for so long I was doing it unconsciously. I have also seen other instructors and speakers do the same thing.  Read More→

It is a Deal or No Deal in 2016?

Posted on November 9, 2016 by

I have been challenged in the past few months as the competition in the market heats up and the number of wholesalers who are working the area are making offers to sellers which are outrageously high. I want to talk about the way to figure out if the subject property is a Prospect or a deal. This way you will get the keys to remembering if the opportunity is a deal or dud.

I have recently taken some training because my business and I must change, in order to stay ahead of the changes in the economy, the market, and life in general. I took specific training that was on options. This gave me a new tool in my tool box in order to buy more property. I’m excited. I am using these techniques. They are working. When I understand that all scenarios that work for me the chances for success go up dramatically. I must know my plan of: what to buy, where to buy, when to buy, & what price to buy. Just because it is a deal for me doesn’t mean it is a deal for you. NEVER compare yourself to another investor or person!  Read More→

QuickBooks comes with dozens of report templates that can be run as is. This month and next, we’ll show you ways to make them “fit” your company.

Reports are your reward for all that hard work you put in entering records and transactions in QuickBooks. Sure, you can always find individual invoices, sales receipts, and customers by using the software’s search tools, but in order to make smart business decisions, you need to be able to see related subsets of the information you so carefully entered in neat rows and columns.

You’ve probably created at least some basic reports in QuickBooks. You may have, for example, wanted to see who’s late paying you, or whether you have unpaid bills. You might need to know your stock levels, or which purchase orders are still unfilled. You certainly want to keep a close eye on whether you’re making or losing money.  Read More→

Maximizing the return you get out of your retirement investments is a question that’s on most peoples’ minds. So how can a Self-Directed IRA help?

One word: fees. Fees are important for any investor to pay attention to—keeping them at a minimum will allow you to have more cumulative growth over the years, and avoiding major fees will ensure that you cut your direct expenses as much as possible.

In the world of real estate investing, fees can be very difficult to deal with. Here are some steps to ensure that you can maximize the value of your account no matter how much money you currently invest with:  Read More→

Ok guys, I want to show you how to maximize your investment.  Here are some ways to figure out what price you should offer on your properties to get a deal, or to give someone else a deal.

Comps are of course, basically the true value of a house. You can look at the price of houses for sale, but that doesn’t tell you the true value of a house. The true value of a house in an area is based on how much houses are SELLING for based on comps information from REIA Comps, not how much the houses are listed for.

So, if you look in a neighborhood, you may find houses listed at high prices. They don’t sell at those high prices. They may get offers, they also come down before they sell. It’s the selling price of the house you want to go by to make a decision on how much you want to get for your house, or how much you want to offer on your house. It’s also known as ARV (Average Retail Value or After Repair Value). Working with REIA comps lets you figure out what the ARV is easily.  Read More→

How Can One Deal Lead to More Deals?

Posted on November 9, 2016 by

Most folks think real estate investing consists of finding a deal, taking it down, getting it rehabbed and sold, and then going out to find the next deal.  But what if you structured the deal in such a way that one deal leads to more deals?  Let’s look at two real-world examples of this. 

A few years ago, our good friends Joe and Ashley English, found an investment property they wanted to buy.  Only one problem: they didn’t have the money to buy the home.  Joe sent an email to several investors explaining that he was seeking funding.

Within minutes, Joe’s phone rang.  It was Pete Fortunato – the best creative deal structurer we’ve ever met.  Pete was on Joe’s email list.

After a short conversation, Pete agreed to fund Joe’s deal with these terms: Joe would pay Pete one-half of the $400 net monthly rent.  In addition, if Joe sold the property, he and Pete would split the net profit 50-50.  This is known as a performance loan.  The purchase money would come from Pete’s Roth.  Read More→

Karen Bershad

Posted on November 9, 2016 by

Karen BershadKaren Bershad has owned and operated several businesses during her career including a printing company and a remodeling business with her late husband. Having over thirty years of hands on business ownership experience, she learned many things about owning and operating a business and always felt “there has to be a better way”. This was the basis of developing The Small Business Advisor.

All the downsizing and our current economy has encouraged many who have been employees to change hats and become entrepreneurs. What has come to light is, most entrepreneurs know a product or service really well and decide to go into business for themselves, but they don’t know what they don’t know about running a business. Read More→

Thurs, November 10th at 6PM @ Doubletree Suites Tampa Bay
Tampa REIA – November 10th
at the Doubletree Suites Tampa Bay
Learn The Secrets of Buying Deeply Discounted Real Estate with Probate!
with “Mr Probate” Jim Banks

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

Jim BanksA rare exciting opportunity is coming your way on Thursday, November 10th at 6PM at the Tampa REIA Main Meeting at the Doubletree Suites Tampa Bay located at 3050 North Rocky Point Dr West in Tampa, FL where our special guest speaker will be “Mr Probate” Jim Banks. Jim will be showing us how to tap into a massive amount of available properties that we can purchase for up to 60% below market value that most people don’t even know about!

Did you know that there is a hidden market that is continually underserved and full of property that needs to be sold… from real estate to valuable personal belongings? There is an unpublished market with millions of available properties that haven’t been exposed to the general public yet, waiting to be bought at deep discounts. Investing in this hidden market is known as Probates Investing.

Probate is the governing process for the liquidation and distribution of a person’s assets to their heirs after they pass away. And just so you know, there is often no greater motivated seller than someone inheriting a probate property they don’t want and can’t afford to maintain from a thousand miles away!

At the meeting, Jim is going to show you how to build your own lucrative probate business, how to find properties and other personal items worth buying, best practices for buying and selling, and how to maximize your profits for big gains. Jim will equip you with all the tools you to make probate investing success. Jim will show you:

  • Why Probate Real Estate Investing is incredibly profitable
  • How to Find Probate Properties BEFORE they are advertised to competitors
  • How A Probate Investor Can cut costs and bring closure to the estate sooner
  • How you can beat brokers before they even know about the property
  • How you can become a valuable asset to the settlement of the estate and make a profit
  • How to market to these motivated sellers
  • What to say to these motivated sellers once you find them
  • How to buy probates up to 60% below fair market value
  • And much, much more!

Stop competing with average investors over the same properties and learn how to tap into this lucrative market that will never ever run dry. TAKE ACTION, RSVP for this Meeting Now and join us and learn the secrets of buying deeply discounted probate properties for massive profits!

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!

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

RSVP Now!

*Meeting Agenda
6:00 PM: Tampa REIA Meeting in Tampa
6:15 PM: Announcements, Introductions, Haves & Wants
7:30 PM: Main Presentation with Jim Banks on Probate Investing
9:30 PM: Late Night Networking at Bahama Breeze

*Please Note: Meeting agenda is subject to change.

5 Days & 4 Nights in CancunWIN A 4 NIGHT STAY IN CANCUN: All participants who attend the Tampa REIA Meeting will entered into a drawing for a chance to win a *Complimentary 5 Day, 4 Night Stay in Cancun! *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 Scott Siegle and the rest of the 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, Nov 12th in Clearwater, FL
Tampa REIA Fishing Charter
Saturday, November 12, 2016 from 9AM to 5PM
Clearwater Beach Marina
Queen Fleet Deep Sea Fishing

25 Causeway Blvd, Clearwater, FL 33767
Call 727-446-7666 to RSVP
for Only $82 for Full Day!

Tell Them Your with Tampa REIA
ONLY 23 Spots Left on Boat.
Call Now to RSVP!

Gulf Queen Deep Sea FishingPrice includes: Fishing Charter on a 75 foot Boat from 9AM to 5PM. Rod, Reel, Bait and Fishing License. Food, drinks and Snacks are sold separately on the boat. Parking is $6.00 extra for full day.

Get There by 8AM: You should arrive by 8AM at the latest. Some of us are meeting there at 6AM to reserve a spot on the back of the boat. You must come early to reserve a spot on the back of the boat as well since we cannot save spots. If you arrive late, the boat will not wait.

Breakfast @ 7AM: We are all going to have coffee and/or breakfast at the Salt Cracker Cafe at 7AM which is a couple of buildings down in the Marina Building.

BYOB: You can bring a cooler on the boat with beer but in Cans ONLY no glass bottles and your own food if you wish.

What We Can Catch: GAG Grouper, Red Grouper, Sea Bass, Mackerel, Hog Fish and Snapper among other fish as well.

Bait: The bait that is provided is cut bait and sardines. You may purchase extra bait before you enter the boat but you must bring your own aerated bait bucket if you plan to do that.

Sea Sickness: We will be going out 15 – 25 miles and would suggest you get some Dramamine pills, a wrist band or Ginger Pills if you get sea sick.

Get Together After Fishing: At the end of the trip we will go down to either Cooter’s, Crabby Bills or back to the Salt Cracker Café so they can cook up our catch of the day!

Special Thanks: We want to offer special thanks to Tangie Cousins of Foreclosures & Probates Daily for putting this Fishing Charter together for us. Thanks Tangie!

Call Queen Fleet Deep Sea Fishing
at 727-446-7666 to RSVP
for Only $82 for Full Day!

Tell Them Your with Tampa REIA
See Tampa REIA Events Calendar for More Events!

Jim Banks

Posted on November 1, 2016 by

Jim BanksJim “Mr Probate” Banks has been investing in Probate Real Estate and Probate Personal Property for over 30 years. Jim started with fixer-uppers then moved into tear-downs and building two story homes.

Jim is the creator of the Probate Investment System which he has taught and lectured on nationally decades.  He has also been a been a Real Estate Broker for over 30 years. He has attended Indiana University, the University of Southern California and West L.A. Law School.

Wed, October 26th @ 7PM ET on GoToWebinar.com
Beginning Investors Group Online
Generating Buyer & Seller Leads with Low Tech Guerilla Marketing Strategies & Techniques
A Live Webinar with Dustin Griffin
Oct 26th @ 7PM on GoToWebinar.com

No Charge to Attend Online for Members or Guests!
Register @ bigonline.tampareia.com

Beginning Investors Group Online (BIGO)As a new or “new again” investor, are you generating enough motivated buyer and seller leads each month to survive and thrive in today’s competitive real estate market? Are you generating at least 20-40 leads per month from your marketing efforts? If you’re not generating this many leads or more, you should join us for our next BIG Meeting to learn how to generate all the motivated buyer and seller leads you can handle.

Dustin GriffinDustin Griffin will be speaking at BIG Online on Wednesday, October 26th at 7PM ET on many of the Guerilla Marketing Strategies and Techniques that he and other successful real estate investors use to generate a steady flow of leads for their real estate investing businesses. You will learn:

  • What is Marketing vs Guerilla Marketing?
  • How can one dominate their local market online and offline on a budget?
  • Marketing in 7 Easy Steps
  • Multiple ways to consistently market your business
  • 5 Rules for Marketing
  • And much more…

New Investors, DO NOT MISS THIS EVENT if you want to learn how to generate motivated buyer and seller leads! Join us and learn how you can generate all the leads you can handle with a little time, effort, creativity and a relatively low budget. Register now and join us on Wednesday, October 26th at 7:00 PM ET.

No Charge to Attend ONLINE for Members or Guests!

Register Now!

See Tampa REIA Events Calendar for More Events!

The Profit October 2016 Edition

Posted on October 10, 2016 by
The Profit Newsletter for Tampa REIA October 2016
Download the October 2016 Edition of The Profit Newsletter Now!

The Profit - October 2016 - High Quality PDFThe October 2016 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.

Are you tired of making offers on houses listed in the MLS only to have the price bid up by other investors and hedge funds? Well, that’s what happens when there’s an inventory shortage and everyone is chasing the same leads.  The minute a new listing hits the MLS, there are often multiple offers on the home by the end of the day.

Instead of competing for the same small pool of leads, you need to crank up your Lead Generation Machine. You need to generate your own leads… leads no one else knows about but you.  You can do this by using low cost, low tech marketing methods such as…

  • Bandit Signs – Putting out we buy houses signs with your phone number and web address in and around the neighborhoods where you want to purchase will get the leads coming in almost instantly. Be sure to be aware of the sign ordinances in your area to avoid fines. Read More→

Having FUN While Getting it DONE!

Posted on October 10, 2016 by

Welcome back!  In last month’s article, we discussed how it seems like there are a lot of people who are having a really hard time taking the action they need to take in order to have success.  Based on my experience & observations, I theorized that a big reason for this is not just because of the inherent fears that people have, but also because many people seem to believe that the actions they need to take are going to be painful, or at the very least – not fun.

So we began by talking about one of the most common activities that a lot of people seem to have challenges with: Talking on the Phone with Sellers and other people! The first thing that needs to happen is to change your mindset before you even begin to make your calls.

The last thing we discussed was how to use a cheap, simple kitchen tool (a 3-minute hourglass egg timer) to determine whether the person with whom you’re talking is going to waste your time or not.  Go back to last month’s publication and re-read that if necessary.

Now, in this article, we’re going to finish up by learning some cool new tips on how to make taking the actions that you know you should be taking a lot more FUN! Ready? Ok, here we go…  Read More→

Get Paid To Buy Houses

Posted on October 10, 2016 by

So you think you can’t get a seller to pay you to take their problem home off their hands? I have heard many times from students, friends and relatives alike, “are you nuts, nobody would pay you to take a house off their hands.” Wanna’ bet??

There have been many instances where a seller needed to get rid of a piece of property quickly and they needed our assistance to help them make their problem go away. They were more than willing to pay us to make that happen. You have to remember that you are not in the business to make someone else’s problem your problem. We get paid to solve problems for sellers.

Now, you will never get paid to take a house off someone’s hands unless you ask. You never know what a seller will agree to until you ask them. The worst they can do is to simply say “no”. You just have to explain to them why they should pay you to take their problem out of their hands and outline the benefits to them of selling their property this way.  Read More→

When stock markets are volatile, investors (rightly) get nervous. After all, many people have most of their wealth in the stock market. If the stock market goes down, then they see their wealth shrinking…and for people close to retirement, this is a scary prospect indeed. But it doesn’t have to be this way. With Real Estate IRAs, many people learn that retirement income doesn’t have to depend on the quality of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Instead, retirement income can depend on your strength as an investor, and the wisdom it takes to know what true diversification really is.

And just what is that “diversification” we’re talking about? Some people will tell you that investing with diversification means having the right mix of stocks and bonds, of having stocks split up into small cap, medium cap, and large cap equities. But all that really means is that you’re invested in two different investment categories, all the while ignoring all of the very real possibilities for retirement income that are out there.

If you’re sick of feeling nervous every time that stock ticker heads into the red, then it’s time to broaden your horizons as a wise retirement investor and look into what diversification really means.  Read More→

Want to Get In?

Having a simple process to learn new things can enhance your personal and professional life.  For example, I wanted to learn how to listen to Jazz.  It’s all about the learning curve and experience. I had to have a desire to learn something new. There had to be a simple system that I would be able to relate to and learn something about complicated jazz music. The music seemed to fit my personality. I did not grasp why some jazz was so caustic & other jazz was soothing romantic and enveloping.

If I couldn’t get an understanding quickly, it could prevent me from being able to listen to a new richer, quality music. My goal was to be able to discern really good jazz and why jazz sometimes, just did not fit with my values or my personality.  I utilized a five step process to determine if Jazz was a new genre for me to enjoy.  This same process can apply to seeing if a career in Real Estate is for you, and how to be successful.  Read More→

Launching Your Real Estate Career

Posted on October 10, 2016 by

I want to discuss some basics for getting started in real estate investing.  Everything I’m about to share, can be applied to helping anyone get started in real estate investing. I am going to give you a few keys to getting started.  Of course, REIAComps is essential to making sound decisions for your real estate business.

Let’s talk about a desire to work in the real estate investing field.  Real estate investing may not be for everyone but real estate investing CAN offer anyone the financial freedom we all crave.  But most important is to always take a valuation first approach to every new deal you see. You must know the best purchase price and After Repair Value (ARV) first. Never let someone tell you the value, use REIAComps to know the value for yourself.

Now the people that make it in real estate investing all have a few things in common.  First, they run their real estate investing business like any other business out there.  Second, you cannot be afraid to fail. Everyone has failed at something but the most successful people out there learn from their failures. The third thing is that you have to put a good team together.  You do not want to be the person doing everything in your business. Doing everything is a recipe for failure. You have to put together good people who you can trust and rely on. The fourth thing is that you need a mentor.  Gaining from the knowledge and experience of others is invaluable.  Read More→