Tampa Real Estate Investors Alliance Blog

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Since buying our first property back in 1978, we have seen many changes in the Real Estate market. As you know, Real Estate is very cyclical. Markets come and go and believe it or not, come again.

We used Options, Lease/Options, Rehabs, Private Money back then, in the 80’s, 90’s, and since then. Sometimes these techniques can be used in the same cycles, and sometimes only a few will work.

When the market changed back in 2006 and it turned down, a new cycle began…again.

In a matter of about 10 days we saw about 13 exit strategies disappear right in front of our eyes. Market values plunged. Sellers still wanted pre-2006 pricing. Our six figure per month income just about dried up. What do you do?

Well, you adjust to the market and find what works now or your business dies!

So we started doing Short Sales. We had been doing short sales for years, way before most people even knew the term short sale.

We did hundreds of short sales. The only problem was that we could not help all home owners who needed a short sale. Plus as you probably know, short sales are anything but short.

We are not Investors who are in it just for the money. We actually want to help people, we want everyone to win…Sellers and Buyers as well as us. It’s got to be WIN-WIN-WIN! Read More→

For centuries the courts have been rigged in favor of the banks. The banks have the kind of time and money that homeowners could never dream of, and they are more than willing to use both to get their way. You’d be wrong, however, to think that’s the only way the system was crooked.

If a homeowner whose loan was securitized tried to force the bank to show the chain of title, the court would tell the homeowner that they didn’t have standing to make that demand. The homeowner then is left with no way of proving that the foreclosing bank/entity does not have the authority to foreclose. Not anymore!

In the case of Steinberger v OneWest Bank, et al, the court ruled in a special action that the homeowner does have the standing to demand that the foreclosing bank/entity provide a securitization timeline in order to establish their claim of authority to foreclose. This timeline of assignments and transfers would prove whether or not assignments were made after a note had already been transferred to a securitized trust and could be declared invalid.

This is a huge win for homeowners because we now have the right to demand that banks prove their authority to foreclose before the court. Read More→

In the first two parts of this article, we covered a few nice things like wholesaling, when & why you might not do a deal, and then how to make money even when you don’t buy a house.

The big secret I revealed in the last article was: You SELL the leads of the houses you don’t buy.

Now Your Question Is: “Ok. It makes sense! But HOW do I sell these leads?” Good question!

Again, let’s keep this simple. I suppose you could go and build a squeeze page, make a sales funnel, put up ads on Facebook or Adwords, etc. But don’t. Please. What a waste of time – especially at this point. Let’s keep it simple, ok?

Instead, why not just make a few phone calls to some of these local people? Ring a few Realtors. Call a couple of contractors. Get the Interest of some Investors. Dude – Dial for some Dollars!

Go on Google & do a search for “YOUR CITY Realtor” or Contractor. Or do a search for “We Buy Houses CITY”. Ex: “We buy houses Seattle” Read More→

There is money to be made in real estate, but you need to think about real estate investing as the business it is. Allow me to share some common mistakes that beginning and even seasoned investors should avoid.

For those of you connected to REIAComps, the control and feeling of confidence you have over your deals is priceless. Using REIAComps to investigate the value of houses as they come to market, against the recent sold comparables, will provide you a solid position to “make your profit when you buy”.

1. Getting emotionally involved. This is the biggest and most common mistake beginning investors make. Emotions and business do not mix well.
2. Paying too much. To make money investing, you have to find a good deal. Look for properties that need a little fixing up. Your goal is to find a distressed property that you can purchase at 60- 70 percent of other sold comparables. REIAComps makes that part of your investing business much easier.
3. Ignoring schools. Good schools attract good renters. Conversely, only the most desperate renters are willing to subject their children to failing schools. Read More→

Investors get into the real estate business to become ‘Millionaires,’ however, many listen to courses that contain outdated information where the systems are no longer working. They follow the wrong advice which seriously stalls a successful kick start. This industry is changing monthly; be sure your trainings are coming from a Mentor who is out doing deals on a consistent basis. I stand firm on my philosophy of “Don’t quit your job until you have at least one year salary in the bank.” Why, you ask? Because it puts unnecessary pressure on many marriages, families and individuals when they quit their job and the deals are not consistently coming in yet. I not only teach Short Sales, I also teach how to buy, hold, flip, subject to’s, lease option techniques, etc., which allow you, the Investors, to truly understand all of your available exit strategies.

In order for anyone to become a Millionaire with consistent and dependable cash flow, they must hold properties. In my Real Estate Junkie Course and my Mentor Program, I always recommend that you flip 2 houses and then hold 1 house. Below is an example of a short sale deal where the Investor ended up holding the property. I negotiated the short sale with my student and also partnered with her. My exit strategy was for her to hold the property, lease it out and my student will never have to lift a finger or do any maintenance to the house for a 15 year term. I explain this exit strategy from A-Z in my Mentor Program. One important criterion for holding a house is that it has 3 bedrooms, a garage, a basement (if applicable) and a swimming pool is optional. Read More→

There’s no doubt that the number of properties being advertised for foreclosure has been plummeting for the past year and a half. The question is, why?

In 2009, when foreclosure numbers began to skyrocket, the only way a bank could deal with borrowers who were behind on their mortgages was to foreclose. The fact that banks – actually it was loan servicers like the infamous MERS – didn’t have possession of the borrower’s note, nor the legal right to foreclose on the property, is a topic for judges and attorneys.

At the same time, you had thousands of borrowers who, because they couldn’t/wouldn’t make their mortgage payments, simply “gave the house back” and walked away. (It didn’t matter to the borrowers that the bank didn’t give them a house; it gave them money…and the bank – rightfully so – wanted their money back, not a house.) A bank’s only tool to deal with this situation was to foreclose on the property, and then sell it in hopes of recouping some of their loss.

Fast-forward five years. These days, lenders have many more tools to use to help homeowners avoid foreclosure. Two examples are: 1) The Cash-for-keys program, and 2) A wide variety of government-backed loan modification programs, like HARP. Read More→

The problem…

You and/or your client have found real estate to purchase. The inspections go beautifully and then a giant road block shows up. What’s the road block? Your client wants to purchase it with their Self-Directed IRA and their IRA can’t qualify for a non-recourse loan because it doesn’t have the cash reserves for the 35% down payment the non-recourse lender is requiring.

The solution…

Self-Directed IRA investors have a technique they call “Subject To” that can solve this funding problem. The “Subject To” loan qualifies as a non-recourse loan and can be used to purchase real estate within a Self-Directed IRA. It should be noted that the “Subject To” method can be used for deals whether the property is being purchased by an individual or by their IRA.

“Subject To” defined

Subject To means “Subject To the existing mortgage on the property.” Put simply, the owner of the property transfers the deed to the property into the buyer’s name (or the name of the buyer’s Self-Directed IRA) and the buyer (or their Self-Directed IRA) is responsible for making the payments on the seller’s existing mortgage. Read More→

As a beginning real estate investor, what is it that we are getting into real estate investing for? Have you figured out what that is yet? Is it because you just love real estate? You love it so much that you would do it for free right? Probably not, but it is a means to an end and for many people including myself. We see it as a quicker, more effective, and more realistic means to an end than other options (ex: our traditional 9 to 5). But when you say means to and “end”, what is that “end”? Is that a clearly defined destination for you?

Is it retirement? If so, what does retirement look like for you?

Is it financial freedom? If so, what does financial freedom look like for you?

Is it a net worth of a certain amount of money?

Is it a passive income of a certain amount of money each month?

Is it a house on the water, a big boat, lots of nice cars, lots of vacations?

Is it simply Time Freedom – being able to do whatever you want with your time, because your bills are paid, and everything else is taken care of?

Is it a combination of most of the things I’ve listed above? Read More→

I want you to be wealthy. I want you to make $5000 in the next 30 days. I know I can show you how. So every month, I explain how to navigate the very real possibilities in the real estate market. I encourage you to get out and beat the bushes for motivated sellers because I know they are out there and they are ready, willing, and able to sell to you.

This month I want to explain how you can avoid real estate ditches, potholes, and blunders. Believe me, I have found them through trial and error, and my experience can help you to avoid them.

The most common mistakes are:

1. Not following your business model.
2. Buying with someone else’s numbers.
3. Buying from a control freak realtor.

3 Ways to Avoid These Mistakes

I. Follow Your Business Model

Your business model is the most important thing to stick to when buying or wholesaling a property. It should include

• How much money you want to make
• The area of town you’re interested in
• The type of buyer you need (owner occupant versus investor) Read More→

Last month I mentioned I had discovered that every property I drove past was one of four different types of houses every investor needs to be able to quickly recognize if they want to increase their bottom line every year. This month I will explain two types of houses that can really increase your income every year.

I struggled for years to find properties that would allow me to make enough money to feed my family and pay my bills. I had no idea what I was doing or what I was looking for. All I knew was I was trying to buy any house I could find just to make money. I struggled to figure out what I should look for so I started buying houses that I could fix and sell retail. This was a good idea but I could only do a few of these houses each year because I did my own rehabs at that time. It was taking long periods of time to fix and get every property sold and I kept running out of money. It was always a struggle to pay the bills each month. I wasn’t getting checks from my closings very often. All I could do was try to buy houses I thought would make me the most money. Read More→

Okay, now we are out at the house. Next step is to ask the seller if you can take a quick look around, and do just that. I don’t spend more than three minutes walking through the house, taking a look at it. Please do not make any com­ments if you see anything wrong with the house. You’re not there to downgrade the house. You’re there to either buy it or lease option it, and you don’t do that by upset­ting the seller. I’m sure that most sellers are clearly aware that their walls need painted or whatever you see, they can see as well.

Once you’ve looked around, the next step is to ask them if they have any questions. You’d be surprised what happens when you let them do the talking and you not doing the seminaring. Simply ask them if they have any questions. If they do, answer them shortly, to the point, but simply enough so that anyone can understand them.

If they don’t, then the worst thing you can do is start rambling off at the mouth and create questions by trying to deliver a real estate seminar. If they don’t have the questions, don’t answer the ques­tions. If they have the questions, answer the questions. Read More→

I got into the real estate investing business to have more free time for myself and my family and to have the financial freedom to do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I wanted my life to be more worry free. I have spent a great deal of time accomplishing that goal and I want to share some of my insights with you as a real estate entrepreneur.

When you decide to become a Real Estate Investor, make sure you structure your business in such a way that it doesn’t become overwhelming, even more so than a full time job could be. It’s very easy to fall into that trap, especially if you work from home. You can also fall into the trap of trying to do everything yourself, and long-term, this just won’t work. Believe me when I tell you that most tasks in your business need to be delegated to others starting with your marketing.

In my particular case I like to work from home and most of the functions of our business are handled off sight and by Independent Contractors. One of the ways I solved the problem of getting overwhelmed with work was to determine what hours per day would be dedicated to my real estate investing business. At the end of the day the door to the office gets closed and the phones go to an answering service. Your family will appreciate you for this as well. Read More→