“Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth.”

This is good advice as long as you don’t get so spread out that you are doing too many things but nothing with success. It’s important we understand the fine line between focusing on one niche without putting all your eggs in one basket, (so to speak).

To simplify the term real estate investing, there are really only three ways for investors to make money in real estate:

1. Real Estate Appreciation and Equity
2. Cash flow while you own it
3. Assignments: Payment when you flip a real estate contract without owning it.

So where do you start? Let’s try to answer this question on every aspiring real estate investors mind. Since real estate investing encompasses so many types of exit strategies or I like to call profit centers, it’s important to study and pick those you are most passionate about. In my Coaching U2 Profit Your Way training I thoroughly teach on over 24 profit centers, otherwise called exit strategies. The following is a summary of ten of the most popular real estate investment strategies with their advantages and disadvantages.

1. Rentals or Cash flow Investment Property: These types of investment properties are the ones which generate rental income. These are mainly apartment buildings and rental houses.
• Advantages: One of the easier ways to get started, and good long term return on investment while also earning monthly income.
• Disadvantages: Risk of not renting property leaving you with the mortgage payment and no income. Property management can be a challenge. You typically will wait awhile to sell your property so payoff is slow.
2. Lease Option. This is when you buy a property, then sell to someone else via a rent-to-own arrangement.
• Advantages: You get higher rent, and the buyer is usually responsible for maintenance. Cash flow can be good.
• Disadvantages: Most rent to own buyers don’t complete the purchase (this can be an advantage too, but it does mean more work for you). Bookkeeping must be done properly and can be complicated.
3. Fixer Upper Investment Property. These types of investment properties are the ones which are in ugly condition and need renovation. These properties can be acquired to flip after fixing-up quickly or held to rent out.
• Advantages: You can receive a quick return on your investment (months). You usually get below market value pricing on properties bringing you instant equity.
• Disadvantages: Higher risk. (Many unpredictable expenses come up in construction). You get taxed heavily on the gain when you sell in under a year.
4. Vacant Land. Many options including just holding while appreciating. You can also split it and sell it.
• Advantages: History has shown that land always appreciates in value (it’s the buildings on the land that go down. It is simpler than most real estate investments, with the possibility of great profits.
• Disadvantages: It can take a long time to increase in value. You have expenses, but no cash flow while you wait unless you sell the contract before closing.
5. Commercial Real Estate. These are any building containing 5 units or over and/or buildings sited for commercial use.
• Advantages: Long term triple-net leases mean little management and high returns. Lending is usually based on the value of the property vs. personal credit.
• Disadvantages: Commercial property valuation requires a more complex method, taking into account the income potential of the property. This is recommended for the more experienced investors as there is a lot more involved to set up and maintenance.
6. Buy property with Forced Appreciation. Buy in the path of growth and holding until values rise. For instance buying a lot in a residential development prior to roads being completed.
• Advantages: Can yield large profits, especially if you buy low to start.
• Disadvantages: Future price is not predictable – the market can turn, the developer can go out of business. You have expenses with no income while you’re waiting.
7. Preconstruction Investment Property: These types of investment properties are acquired directly from a developer before the construction or renovation is completed.
• Advantages: Low money out of pocket to tie up property while being built. If purchased in appreciating markets, you make money in equity at closing and can instantly re-sell at a profit.
• Disadvantages: You can’t always predict what a market is going to do. If market depreciates, you have lost money. Also higher tax rates in selling quickly.
8. Pre-Foreclosure Investment Property: These types of investment properties are the ones which you buy from sellers who are behind in their payments and may lose their property to the bank via foreclosure.
• Advantages: You have opportunities to buy properties at below value pricing – “Instant equity”.
• Disadvantages: Legal liabilities are higher. Finding these properties requires a lot research and footwork to find a deal that works. You can do all the work and still not have a deal with enough equity to profit after expenses to sell, (taxes, realtors, etc).
9. Assignments: This strategy has you get into a property at a discount, preferably with a known buyer in place before you commit to your purchase. After you are in contract to purchase a property, you would sell your contract for a fee to someone else. For example you get into purchase contract to buy a $120K property for $100K. You turn it to an investor for $110K and profit $10K cash without the cost and hassles of ever closing on the deal.
• Advantages: This is a great way to make quick cash with low or no upfront investment, low risk and fewer headaches from closing and ownership. This strategy creates a win win win outcome for everyone involved.
• Disadvantages: This will only work if the property you are buying has equity so that you may buy it a discount. In declining markets, this type of property is harder to find. Also when dealing with banks on REO’s or Short Sales you will find they will not allow you assign your contract. However, there are ways to get around this if you plan and handle the contract correctly up front.
  Do you want to know how I have managed to get around not being able to assign a contract? I have purchased properties in the name of an LLC set up exclusively to buy properties. I then sold the LLC to someone, making them the owner of the LLC, therefore making them responsible for closing on the purchase contract and end buyer of the property.
10. Flipping - Wikipedia defines Flipping as is a term used primarily in the United States to describe practice of buying an asset and quickly reselling (or “flipping”) it for profit ..

This description pretty much explains property flipping, with there being a slight difference from that description of flipping assets. In real estate you can get into an agreement to flip a contract you have gotten into before you even buy it. This can be done with ease when you know exactly what your buyers want and with no money out of your pocket utilizing transactional funding. Flipping can also mean closing and quickly reselling your property, sometimes even doing both transactions the same day – this being subcategorized a “double closing”.

• Advantages: My favorite strategy. You work the deal backwards. You create relationships with buyers who can close quickly with cash, (I mentioned earlier there is a system that does this for you at www.CashBuyers4Flips.com ). Then you find a property meeting the needs of your buyers. This strategy allows you to profit literally from no money down, with lower risk and very little of your own time.
• Disadvantages: The law requires you to disclose your intent to resell quickly to sellers. When dealing with banks, this can sometimes cause your offer to be rejected. You must buy properties in the name of an LLC in order to utilize transactional funding. Setting up and maintaining an LLC will cost you money. Though the intent of a buyer might be to close on the transaction, sometimes “life happens” and something causes the buyer to be unable to follow through. You may have to walk away from earnest money if you cannot find another buyer quickly

Now that you that you have learned strategies to consider, you will need to consider the type of properties you want to go after, developing a marketing strategy to find motivated sellers of those deals. Over the next months I will be sharing steps and strategies on how to profit investing in real estate 12 different ways.

Please leave a comment if you have anything you would like add to what I have written here with the heart to support fellow real estate investors. (Any solicitations for business will not be published) I appreciate the feedback!

The other night, Virginia from Irving Texas asked on this weeks Massive Profits in Foreclosures call “ Will this change the landscape for investors working with those in Foreclosure?”

The Answer is YES- – -for the better.

You be the good person to help the homeowner make sure they have evaluated all their options.

These are two ways you can help the homeowner take action before foreclosure:

#1 Learn and share all options available to the homeowner if they do not want to sell their house. You can find those in this book, ‘Avoid Foreclosure Following the SMART STEPS Plan’.

#2 Make sure they have done all they can with Project Lifeline.

This project allows you, as the investor, more time to work with homeowners on a plan to buy their house should the bank’s option not meet the homeowner’s needs.

What is Project Lifeline?

The program would let qualified homeowners who are at least 90 days late on their mortgage payments pause the foreclosure process for 30 days. During the extra time provided by the program — called Project Lifeline — lenders and borrowers would try to work out more affordable terms.

“Project Lifeline is aimed at homeowners who face a real risk of losing their home and have not yet addressed the problem,” he told reporters. “Perhaps they are hoping to find a way to get current on their mortgage payments, or perhaps they don’t think any solution is possible. For whatever reason, they have not yet taken action. Our hope is that today’s announcement will reach them, and they will reach out immediately for help.” Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson.

On a pilot basis, the plan involves only six of the largest mortgage lenders, in hopes that more lenders will sign on. The participants are Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., Countrywide Financial Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Washington Mutual Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co.

“Achieving contact with homeowners to present available options is the biggest obstacle we face in avoiding preventable foreclosure,” said Bank of America’s Floyd Robinson.

You can help the banks biggest obstacle by making sure anyone you talk to in foreclosure knows about Project Lifeline. This means you will be working with those in foreclosures with the “integrity and passion”. Remember to encourage the homeowner to contact you first to buy the property if things are not worked out with the bank. And wish them the best. It’s the right thing to do.

Tamera Aragon
Success Trainer and Coach
Ispiproperties.com

Originally posted 2008-02-14 08:17:22. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Networking is such an important part of your business. You must let everyone know what you are doing. Everyone can be a “bird dog” for you – And you for them.  A great book to read if you are uncomfortable with the idea of attending events to network yourself and your business is ‘How To Win Friends and Influence People’ by Dale Carnegie. It’s a great book that helps you to understand why you need to network with others as well as knowing what to say when you meet with new contacts.

Throughout the 30 years of owning several businesses, I can honestly say this type of marketing has been the most effective … and the most fun!  Of course my belief in the benefits of networking is reflected as I founded a networking group called Women’s Success Group, (a nonprofit networking group since 1998) and now beginning and running an Investors Network in my own town.

For the sake of my audience I am going to focus all marketing strategies discussed over the next few weeks  exclusively to those involved in real estate investing, though the same principals often apply to most other businesses.

I would like to start with suggestions for some places to Network your real estate investing business.

1)      Search Real Estate Investor Clubs in Your Area.
(Mine is www.InvestorCommunityofCentralValley.com)

2)      Check meetings and trainings for local Real Estate Associations.

3)      Check meetings and trainings at local Title Companies.

4)      Check on handyman, builders and contractor associations in your area.

5)      Ask everyone you talk to for referrals for networking events that have worked for them.

6)      Of course chamber events and networking clubs that meet at breakfast and lunch are a general source to get to know the general public.

I know the biggest fear and reason many people don’t attend networking events is they don’t know how to approach or what to say to others when first meeting them. So here is an idea.

For every person you come in contact with at any type of networking meeting, your conversation might go something like this:

• “Hi there, my name’s __________.  What’s your name?”
• “Say their name – What is it that you do?
• “How long have you been doing this?”  (Don’t be surprised most investors are part timers)
• If they ask what you do for a living or about yourself, be prepared!

1)      Hand them your card.

2)      Summarize your business in 30 seconds or less.  This is where spending time writing down how you want to market you and your business is important. You want to be concise and clear in describing what you do and what types of referrals would be most helpful.  Try to incorporate something that differentiates you from the rest?

Here is an example of a 30 Second Commercial

“Hi my name is _________________. I consider myself the real estate investor with a heart. My passion is to work with home owners in jeopardy of losing their homes to foreclosure. If the home owner wants to keep living in their property I might point them direction on how to do that (www.theavoidforeclosurebook.com ) …if they just want out – maybe they lost their job and can’t afford to keep it any longer, then I offer to buy their property. My goal is to create a win-win-win. Win for the home owner/seller, win for me the buyer/ investor and win for the bank when I take the house off their hands.”

If you know anyone that can use my help I pay a $500 referral fee to you when if I end up buying their property.”

Here is my 30 second commercial to everyone:

“I enjoy buying and selling real estate having closed on over 300 properties in the past 5 years.   Some people call me the Flippin’ Queen because as you know, flipping is another term for contracting to buy and then selling real estate quickly for a profit …. Or as I say Flippin’ it.  I look to invest in residential real estate at a discount through pre-foreclosures, short sales, REO’s, bankruptcies, Probate, as these are the usual reasons a seller is motivated to sell a property at a discount. After I am in contract to buy, I will often “flip” or turn the contract or property to an end buyer at a discount too.  Are you interested in buying and/or selling discounted residential real estate?”

Here are some things to consider if your new contact is in an occupation other than an investor:

The important thing is that you are interested in what they do for a living. Don’t talk about yourself until asked. Ask them questions about their occupation and how you can be of support to them in their line of work. If this person is a potential power team member for you, ask if you could contact them in the future. (You would be able to follow your list of questions for power team members and take notes when you called them back)

However, if this person is an investor, you might want to ask some of these questions:

• “Do you buy, fix and sell or do you buy and hold?”

• “How many properties do you own and/or have you sold?”

• “What part of town do you invest in?”

• “Really, why that area?”

• “What do properties cost in that area?

• “Do you pay cash for them or what banks do you use that are investor friendly?”
• “What title company do you enjoy using the most?”

• “Do you know any of the other people here?”

• “Who are the big investors in this area?”

• “If you ever come across some good deals and you don’t want them let me know.”

• “By the way, do you have any property you want to sell?”

• “We sometimes have properties for sale as well, if you’re looking to increase your inventory.”

• “Well, Mr. /Ms. Investor based on what you told me and where you prefer to buy; if anything comes along I’ll make sure to call you first”.

Make sure to collect everyone’s card, email address, fax, cell, and correct spelling of first and last name.   Write a note or 2 on the back of their business card helping you remember the next steps you will want to take with this contact in the future.  Just a “nice meeting you” card in the mail or email is often a memorable gesture encouraging future communication re: each other’s business needs.

Networking should be a part of
everyone’s marketing plan.
ATTEND, JOIN, PARTICIPATE…
…whatever you want to call it…

The important thing is to GET IN FRONT OF PEOPLE!

Top 10 Marketing Strategies for Real Estate Investors
Part 1 -Aim-Ready-Fire- Talley The Score
Part 2 – Networking

Originally posted 2010-09-06 04:00:21. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

“Being able to touch so many people through my businesses and make money while doing it, is a huge blessing.”

One of the longest proven ways to get leads as a real estate investor is calling on FSBO’s out of the newspaper. If you are on a budget and just getting started then you can do this yourself, or if you can at all afford it I highly recommend you hire someone to do it for you.

Why are FSBO’s good leads?

Often times homeowners who place their house on the market without a realtor ( FSBO’s),  are  in a position  where they need to sell a home quickly.  When this happens,  you are able to help them by closing quickly with cash, while at the same time, you receive a great discount.  There are many reasons a homeowner might need  to sell quickly. Some are trying to avoid getting behind on payments, some are already behind on payments, others need to immediately move to new location for job, some received a property gifted through probate, may be experiencing illness or maybe the landlord doesn’t want to own a property for rent any more, etc.  Whatever the specific reason a person doesn’t  utilize a realtor and place their property for sale on the MLS, it is likely there is an opportunity for you to get a great  wholesale deal.

• Where do you get the leads?

The first step is to locate the properties not listed on MLS, however for sale by the owner direct.   How do you do this?

1.       Classified Ads Online: There are several online classifieds such as Craigslist.org or Kiji.com or backpage.com and many others.  It’s so easy to search the internet for this stuff….just type “your city” properties for sale by owner; see what comes up!

2.       Newspaper classifieds:  Checkout newspapers in the areas you would like to buy. (also often available online)

• What do you do once you have the locations for leads?

a.       Buy a copy of your local newspaper and open the real estate classified ads section.  Get a sharpie or a highlighter and begin to scan each and every FSBO (For Sale By Owner) add in the paper.

b.      Grab a copy of the FSBO magazines offered for FREE in grocery stores.  These could be great leads as someone is  paying a lot of money to put their house in a magazine. I view this as sign that the owner could be a motivated seller.

c.       Go the websites of newspapers and look at their classified section online. You can put these links in your favorites.

d.      Visit FSBO online websites. Here are a few sites I like:

• Owners.com
• ForSaleByOwner.com
• FSBO.com
• HomesByOwner.com
• Trulia.com

You will want to check the FSBO sections in these resources daily.  If there is a good real estate deal for sale, it will be sold quickly to the person who acts quickly – You!

• What do I look for?

All ads listed could be potential investments. To save time however , you want to be looking for  keywords or phrases that indicate the seller has a motivation to sell or is showing signs of flexibility.

Here are a few examples of keywords to watch out for:
“Must sell” “Just reduced” “For Sale Or Lease” “Seller Financing” “Fixer Upper” “Handyman Special”

• Create your Motivated Seller  “Hit” List

This is a list of those you will want to contact to find out more about the property and the seller’s situation. If using paper (like a newspaper in hand), you will want to mark the ads with your sharpie or highlighter as you are scanning the paper for those “motivated” words listed above.  Mark as many ads as you can!  It is better to have too many leads than too few.

If online- – -copy and paste the ads found on newspaper, classifieds  and FSBO sites to a word or excel doc, then print it out.

Remember having too many leads is a good thing as it keeps your options open.

Stay tuned for the next blog which will contain the actual script I have refined over the years when calling FSBOs. Using this system and this script, I have found great success in helping others with their situation while at the same time buying discounted real estate.

Spread the news!

Tamera Aragon
www.TameraAragon.com
Top 10 Marketing Strategies for Real Estate Investors
Part 1 -Aim-Ready-Fire- Talley The Score
Part 2 – Networking
Part 3 -Business Cards
Part 4 -Win-Win-Win with Realtors
Part 5 – Classified Ads

Originally posted 2010-11-17 10:15:21. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Since the beginning of time (the Bible), we are told how important knowledge is.  Because I don’t want you to perish in the world of real estate, I am sharing what the experts at the National Association of Realtors are saying about today’s real estate market.

To receive real estate market updates monthly in your inbox, go here to subscribe and receive my monthly newsletter.

The following is an excerpt from the National Association of Realtors website…

Existing-Home Sales Off in
September but Higher
Than a Year Ago
Washington, DC, October 20, 2011

Existing-home sales were down in September on the heels of a strong gain in August, but remain well above a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

Total existing-home sales¹, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, declined 3.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.91 million in September from an upwardly revised 5.06 million in August, but are 11.3 percent above the 4.41 million unit pace in September 2010.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the market has been stable although at low levels, and there is plenty of room for improvement. “Existing-home sales have bounced around this year, staying relatively close to the current level in most months,” he said. “The irony is affordability conditions have improved to historic highs and more creditworthy borrowers are trying to purchase homes, but the share of contract failures is double the level of September 2010. Even so, the volume of successful buyers is higher than a year ago and is remaining fairly stable – this speaks to an unfulfilled demand.”

According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage fell to a record low 4.11 percent in September, down from 4.27 percent in August; the rate was 4.35 percent in September 2010.

Contract failures² were reported by 18 percent of NAR members in September, unchanged from August; they were 9 percent in September 2010. Contract failures are cancellations caused by declined mortgage applications, failures in loan underwriting from appraised values coming in below the negotiated price, or other problems including home inspections and employment losses.

NAR President Ron Phipps, broker-president of Phipps Realty in Warwick, R.I., said access to credit is unbalanced. “All year we’ve been discussing the fact that many creditworthy home buyers are being denied mortgages,” he said. “On top of that, loan limits have been lowered, which means buyers of higher priced homes, including many in more expensive housing markets, now have to pay a higher interest rate for a jumbo mortgage than buyers who can qualify for a conventional loan. We need to remove the roadblocks to a housing recovery – not place more obstacles in the way of financially qualified buyers.”

All-cash sales accounted for 30 percent of purchase activity in September, up from 29 percent in August and 29 percent also in September 2010; investors make up the bulk of cash purchases.

Investors purchased 19 percent of homes in September, down from 22 percent in August; they were 18 percent in September 2010. First-time buyers accounted for 32 percent of transactions in September, unchanged from August; they were also 32 percent in September 2010.

The national median existing-home price³ for all housing types was $165,400 in September, down 3.5 percent from September 2010. Distressed homes – foreclosures and short sales typically sold at deep discounts – accounted for 30 percent of sales in September (18 percent were foreclosures and 12 percent were short sales), down from 31 percent in August and 35 percent in September 2010.

Total housing inventory at the end of September declined 2.0 percent to 3.48 million existing homes available for sale, which represents an 8.5-month supply⁴ at the current sales pace, compared with an 8.4-month supply in August.

Single-family home sales fell 3.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.33 million in September from 4.49 million in August, but are 12.2 percent above the 3.86 million-unit level in September 2010. The median existing single-family home price was $165,600 in September, down 3.9 percent from a year ago.

Existing condominium and co-op sales rose 1.8 percent a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 580,000 in September from 570,000 in August, and are 5.6 percent above the 549,000-unit pace one year ago. The median existing condo price⁵ was $163,800 in September, which is 1.0 percent below September 2010.

Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast rose 2.6 percent to an annual level of 790,000 in September and are 6.8 percent above a year ago. The median price in the Northeast was $229,400, down 3.3 percent from September 2010.

Existing-home sales in the Midwest slipped 0.9 percent in September to a pace of 1.09 million but are 17.2 percent higher than September 2010. The median price in the Midwest was $137,400, which is 1.4 percent below a year ago.

In the South, existing-home sales declined 2.6 percent to an annual level of 1.89 million in September but are 10.5 percent above a year ago. The median price in the South was $144,400, down 3.0 percent from September 2010.

Existing-home sales in the West fell 8.8 percent to an annual pace of 1.14 million in September but are 10.7 percent higher than September 2010. The median price in the West was $207,400, which is 4.5 percent below a year ago.

“The falloff in Western sales from a surge in August was expected because many lenders had lowered mortgage loan limits over concerns that sales wouldn’t close before the higher loan limits expired at the end of the September,” Yun said. “Given the concentration of higher cost housing in the West, particularly in California, many buyers were motivated to close in the months leading up to the changeover while they could still get low interest rates on conventional mortgages. Unless Congress reinstates the higher limits, the overall housing market recovery will be slower than it otherwise could be, and will hold back the broader economic recovery.”

Read More Here…..

 Information about NAR is available at www.realtor.org. This and other news releases are posted in the News Media section. Statistical data in this release, other tables and surveys also may be found by clicking on Research.