Aha! You’ve stumbled onto one of the largest disadvantages of buying real estate investments with owner financing. Sellers hate it. Most of the time, they’ll only accept your offer if they have no other choice. If you’re competing against another buyer with cash or talking to an unmotivated seller, your request for owner financing is just about pointless. Sometimes, it’s also impossible for them to owner finance your real estate investment. Consider the three scenarios from the seller’s perspective:
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February 2nd, 2006 | Posted in Financing | 3 Comments
Your first real estate investment is the hardest. There are so many available techniques and options that it’s easy to get overwhelmed and stop. I mean, consider the following (incomplete) list. Bank owned properties, short sales, motivated sellers, rental properties, lease options, VA foreclosures, apartment buildings, mobile home parks…
It’s theoretically possible for a beginning real estate investor to make money from each of them, but which one? You can’t invest in everything. If you’re like most people, you also want to invest in the best deal. You can’t afford to lose money or waste time on a bad real estate investment. You need to make money. Now.
Here are three variables to consider to ensure you make the right real estate investment:
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January 28th, 2006 | Posted in Getting Started | Comments Off
Uncovering a house before it goes into foreclosure is like making friends. You have to push through scores of "average" people to find someone you like, usually looking in multiple places. For example, you might get to know people with similar interests, such as in your church group or at work. The more courageous people among us might also place in ad in the personals section or visit a social networking site. Or, if you trust your friends, you might ask them to introduce you to other people you might like.
All right, maybe the metaphor is a little strained, but it works reasonably well. Instead of networking with groups that have common interests, you can find pre-foreclosures by visit the one building all foreclosures have in common: the courthouse. If you’re courageous, you can also place advertisements in the newspaper or use bandit signs, which are somewhat similar to the personals and dating sites. Asking your friends to introduce you to others is like asking realtors and other investors to send you foreclosure leads.
Had enough of the metaphor? Then let’s get into the nitty-gritty of each strategy:
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January 26th, 2006 | Posted in Foreclosures | Comments Off
Charlotte, NC (PRWEB) January 16, 2006 — Disabled real estate executive Jon Morrow has built a web site answering the most common questions people ask about real estate investing without lifting a finger… literally. Dictating through voice recognition software, he updates the site several times per week with answers to new questions that visitors submit.
Mr. Morrow has Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a degenerative disease that causes increasing levels of weakness. It limits him to the use of one hand and his voice. Yet he manages three companies that oversee an estimated $20 million in real estate investments.
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January 25th, 2006 | Posted in Press Releases | Comments Off
My, if this question isn’t controversial! You’ll find diehard believers in both camps. Many investors will tell you that assigning contracts is the only way for truly "creative" investors. Others swear that you need to buy the house and that assigning contracts is an outdated strategy. Who is right?
Like most unsolvable arguments, the truth is it’s not as simple as right and wrong. Each strategy has advantages and disadvantages. Sometimes, it’s best to assign the contract. Other times, it makes more sense to buy the property before flipping it. Knowing when to use each strategy is the key to investing effectively.
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January 24th, 2006 | Posted in Flipping | 3 Comments
Common wisdom says debt is bad and you should pay it off as quickly as possible. But the numbers don’t work. When you start to understand real estate investments and rates of return, you realize you can make more money by investing your money than paying off debts. Only, is that the right move?
The answer is… it depends on your individual circumstances. Ask yourself the following three questions before deciding what to do:
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January 20th, 2006 | Posted in Financing | 1 Comment
Jack Canfield, the author of Success Principles and Chicken Soup for the Soul, likes to tell a story about a retired woman that’s dreaming of going back to college. She hesitates because it will take at least four years to finish, and by that time, she will be 69 years old. Jack finally persuaded her to pursue her dream with the following point: in four years, you’re going to be 69 years old, regardless of whether you go to school or not. You might as well use that time wisely.
The point is you are never too old to get started with real estate investing. You’ll be getting older whether you start investing or not. One of my most motivated and inspiring investors is well into his 80s, and he’s making more progress than people in their 30s. His goal is simple. Before he passes away, he wants to build up $1 million to leave for his children and give them the head start he never had. I think that’s an admirable goal, and I’m doing everything I can to help him reach it.
If you feel like you’re in the same situation, here are a few tips to help you get started:
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January 19th, 2006 | Posted in Getting Started | 3 Comments
Negative cash flow only makes sense in one case: you’ll make money at the sale. Not all landlords are in the long term holding business; you can profit from income-producing real estate investments in other ways too. Many investors are happy to have any income from their real estate investment, even if it’s negative. It helps cover mortgage payments and other operating costs. Then, they make money from the sale of the property. Here are a few example scenarios that justify negative cash flow:
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January 18th, 2006 | Posted in Landlording | 2 Comments
The magic number for every landlord in the universe is… $1423.42. Don’t believe me? Then I’ll give you the more truthful and less sarcastic answer: it’s completely relative. I can’t give you a concrete answer and neither can anyone else. Some real estate investment gurus will give you a formula and tell you to run every deal through it, but I can tell you from experience that formulas don’t work. They have too many limitations.
The only real way to achieve success as a landlord is basing your expectations on facts. You need to know who you are, where you’re going, and how your market works. Then you can set your own expectations. Here are three steps to help you get there:
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January 16th, 2006 | Posted in Landlording | Comments Off
For some reason, everyone in the real estate investment industry seems to think that you need to be old to be successful. When a twentysomething walks into a bank and applies for a $500,000 loan, the loan officer will look at them funny. How can they trust someone so young with so much money? Sometimes, older investors and real estate professionals are also intimidated by up-and-coming young people. How can a youngster make millions of dollars when they’ve been struggling for years? Something must be wrong.
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January 13th, 2006 | Posted in Getting Started | Comments Off
