I’m happy to be ushering 2007 right out the door! Sure, we’ve had a great year in our business. I’ve worked with some of the best minds in real estate, marketing, internet, seminars, etc. But… we’ve also had our share of headaches this year too.

So… we are out with old and in with the new. We’re taking the next ten days to clean out, empty out and start fresh! So far, we’ve got over 9 bags of paperwork ready for the shredder, the house is being cleaned from top to bottom and the office is getting a MAJOR overhaul.

Plus, we’re putting the finishing touches on lots of new things that we’ll be rolling out in January for YOU!

So… What do you think is going to happen in ‘08? Here are a few of my own predictions!

Visit the blog to see Part I of our predictions (and by all means, please feel free to add some of your own!)

1. Increase in Foreclosures…
We’re absolutely going to continue to see a rise in foreclosures, but I think the lenders are going to start working with us…

2. Change in how ‘deals’ are structured
I think we’re going to seller financing and owner held mortgages coming back. We’ll see more and more lease options.

3. Lenders will start to ‘get it’
I think lenders are going to back down and start working with buyers and investors before they get in the business of property management.

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If you’ve been investing in real estate for any length of time (or even if you’re just getting started), then you have undoubtedly faced frustration, hit some highs and then crashed into some lows! Ultimately, your goal as a real estate investor is most likely to generate immediate cash flow and long term wealth and increased net worth.

True financial success is achieved by combining these two elements - cash flow and wealth creation, or net worth. Cash flow is considered as the monetary profit that is earned every month to support your lifestyle. This can also be used to invest in assets that may later appreciate in value.

Three levels of real estate investors are as follows:

Level one Real Estate Investors - In this level, the investors learn the basic tricks of the real estate investment business, and they use it to make real estate investment a profitable venture. They learn this by making their initial deals profitable. Thus, Level One investors ensure that real estate is the path to economic success. They are aware that there is much to learn from this vast field, and they try to understand it. Real estate investors at this stage should spend time learning the business, evaluating the details of the deals, and make sound decisions. Often (more…)

Flipping Homes… Flipping Houses… What is everyone flipping over?

In the past five years, you’ve obviously heard the buzz surrounding flipping homes. There’s a new TV show popping up weekly, it seems. And it’s hardly even possible to keep track of them all these days.

But, what’s the real scoop behind all the “flipping houses” buzz? And is it right for you?

In this article, we’re going to dispel some of the myths surrounding flipping homes and also give you the steps in case you want to jump in. First off… the term “flipping houses” often refers to two different things:

1. Wholesaling – also known as assigning the contract – is when you simply put a property under contract and “sell” the contract to someone else, usually another investor.
2. Retailing – or rehabbing – is when you actually buy the house you are going to flip, do the repairs, and then sell the house, usually to an end buyer, or homeowner.

On TV, they’re showing the latter: buy-fix-sell.

There is a lot of money to be made flipping houses, but if you don’t do it right, you can also LOSE a lot of money. What you don’t see on the television show is how they find their properties, how much it costs to acquire the properties and, in most cases, the profit. It’s funny how these programs very rarely tell you HOW MUCH the person REALLY made from the deal (not the gross profits, but what they put in the bank after all is said and done). (more…)

The real estate industry, or more appropriately, the mortgage industry is facing daily changes. As you probably know by now if you’ve read the newspaper or watched television in the last three months, the sub-prime mortgage market has made some huge changes… Second mortgages are quickly going by the wayside in exchange for loans with mortgage insurance, which is now tax deductible*.

If you do the math, even with PMI, loans often end up costing the borrower less than the hybrid loans of recent years.

But… the changes affect the new loans, not the existing mortgages with which sellers are facing foreclosure in record numbers. And this is the major reason the real estate market has flat-lined, depreciated, or ____________ (fill in the blank with your market). Let’s face it… homeowners got bad loans and the mortgage industry was getting wealthy. So, let’s not feel too bad for the lenders :-). They not only did it to themselves, but to homeowners and investors. Have you ever heard the saying, “Pigs get fat… hogs get slaughtered”? (more…)

Before we get into the nuts and bolts of your real estate investing business, it’s important to start with some basic goal setting! Yes, I know that it’s no fun but it will help with your mindset and will get you focused on the right track.

Let me guess, you’ve read a book, bought a home study course (or 2, or 3 or even more!), or just got back from a 3 day “bootcamp”. Your mind is spinning with ideas and you want to do everything and you want to do it right away. I can relate. I left my first training years ago and wanted to:

• Work the foreclosure market
• Broker private mortgage notes
• RehabRehab
• Wholesale junkers
• Send direct mail letters and postcards
• And just about everything else that I heard

I got home and tried to do all of these things all at once. I sent letters to people in foreclosure. I bought a subscription to a data service to market to private mortgage holders. I drove through neighborhoods looking for abandoned homes. I worked morning, noon and night and ran from house to house chasing anything and everything. I desperately wanted this to work and I desperately needed a real estate deal ASAP! (more…)

This is a little more of a personal post than a real estate lesson… but hopefully, it will remind you why you’re doing what you’re doing and to put things into perspective from time to time. I woke up today and was just hit with one annoyance after another… Nothing major, just one of those days where every little thing adds up and by the end of the day, you’re just plain annoyed… Nothing you do can shake you out of the mood. Have you ever had one of those days?  

Well, after attending our HOA meeting for one of our townhomes, we decided to grab a quick bite to eat a local restaurant. We just had a couple of quick appetizers and a beer and then decided to stop by the ice cream shop on the way out. The ice cream store was just across the street, so we headed on over.  As we walked out the door and crossed the street, we noticed this little girl walking on the sidewalk, kind of wandering up and down the street as if her parents were sitting outside at one of the little cafes maybe having a drink or some dinner. But, the little girl didn’t have a shirt on and her shoes were on the wrong feet, so it caused us to pay a little extra attention.  

We smiled at the little girl thinking that someone from the first table we walked by would claim her. Then, a small group of people at another table further down – maybe 20 steps – asked if she was ours. Nobody was claiming this little girl, who couldn’t have been more than 2 1/2 years old.

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