Come Home

This post is a little different than most of the others.  It’s written for a friend.

Come Home

When the struggles of your day are greater than you can bear – you know it’s time [to come home].

Jesus promised the load never too heavy, the burden is light with Him.  When it’s too heavy; more than you can stand you know it’s time [to come home].

[He Says:]  My yoke is Easy and my burden Light – When it’s not you know it’s time [to come home].

-          -

I have run the race.  I have fought the good fight – I have finished the course.  Now, it’s time [to come home].  Jesus give me Dying Grace, Help me finish up the Race.

Make my life [to] leave a Trace – of your Amazing Love; Amazing Grace.

How sweet the name of Jesus – sound that brings me Peace – He leads me in Pastures Green; beside the Quiet Streams.  It is Well with my Soul.

When the Race is Run and the Prize is Won and the Path is Done, I will see Jesus Face to Face.

Don’t Cry for me; I’m with Jesus.  I have Finished my Race.  I have completed the Purpose God Created me for.  Now it’s Time for you to Go Forward – Your Race is not finished Yet.  Your Goal has Not been Reached.  Jesus is not ready for you in Heaven Yet.  Press On.  Go Forward.  Move On.  Jesus is the sweetest name you know.  When it’s all said and done, it’s the People you Know and Love who Matter.  Put a sticker on everything you see.  Either it’s a Relationship and lasts forever – or it’s Stuff that is only Temporary.  Live for the Things That Matter.  The Stuff all goes Back in the Box.  When the struggles of your day are more than you can bear –you know it’s time [to come home].

-          -

Gone Home.  The Door is Open For You.  I’ll be Waiting for you There.

White Knight, March 2, 2010

          

Hunting vs. Fishing

This article was originally written at the beginning of 2010 when a Happy New Year is most appropriate.

Happy New Year!  At the beginning of each New Year we seem to have a need to redress how things are going in our life.  We review the results of our previous year and move forward to a cheerier and better year ahead.  With this in mind, I repeat, Happy New Year I pray that you had the Merriest Christmas ever and are looking forward to the most amazing year of your life!  Take Action on your commitments and make it so!

In my personal review of the previous year and planning for a better New Year, I reviewed some material by Chris Widener.  The title of this article came directly from one of the topics Chris covered.

Hunting vs. Fishing.  What’s the difference?  In any situation where leads are being generated and processed, there are two ways to approach people.  Hunting for a deal or a prospect to present your opportunity, even the best deal in the whole world, leaves the person feeling pursued.  Hunted animals are being killed.  Hunted people also feel like they are going to be killed.  You might have the best opportunity in the whole world.  It might solve all of their problems.  It might give them unlimited potential for income, completely repair their credit or stop the foreclosure; but if they feel hunted, they will not be interested.  Their goal is to stop feeling hunted, so they dismiss you and your presentation quickly and coldly and continue on without your assistance; perhaps to their own ruin.

When you’re fishing, the fish is brought into the boat after being attracted to your bait.  You have the opportunity to catch and release when it’s appropriate, you aren’t shooting and killing.

When you’re hunting people run.  When you’re fishing people come.

The key to success in working with people depends on four things.

1.  There are lots of fish (people)
2. The fish are hungry.  They might not be hungry right now, but later they will be hungry, possibly for exactly what you offer and can do for them.
3. Certain fish require specific kinds of bait.  When you’re trying to sell something, YOU are the bait.  If you are not the right kind of bait, they won’t bite.
4. You have to make the right kind of presentation.  Are you polished?  Are you low pressure instead of high pressure?  Is the presentation credible and compelling?

This partly explains why hungry investors and marketers struggle more than successful presenters.  When the person you’re working with feels hunted, they do not want what you have to offer.  When you are hungriest, you’re most likely hunting rather than fishing.  Give people what they need in the way they need to hear it and they will be more than happy to hear you and work with you…if you’re the right person to help them.

Real Estate Tip:  Marketing

There are millions of real estate opportunities available.  This makes the first criteria above simple.  Lots of opportunities are available.  Many of those millions of opportunities come from people who are having a great deal of stress in their lives right now.  This satisfies the second criteria – they’re hungry and need a solution.  All that remains are the third and fourth criteria.  Do you have the right kind of bait to help these people?  If they are facing foreclosure, can you help them?  If they need a job, can you offer one?  Maybe it’s not a job you offer, but a different kind of income opportunity.  And the fourth criteria; are you credible and compelling?  Do you use high pressure tactics when much lower would work?   If you need help with a problem contact me so I can help you work through the situation. 

Check out some cool stuff at my blog www.ByronWatts.com/blog  and website www.ByronWatts.com.  Also check out www.ByronLeads.com.

          

Today outside my window…

Today outside my window, a new day I see. Only I can determine what kind of day it will be.

It can be busy and sunny, laughing and gay or boring and cold, unhappy and gray.

My own state of mind is the determining key, for I am only the person I let myself be.

I can be thoughtful and do all I can to help, or be selfish and think just of myself.

I can enjoy what I do and make it seem fun, or gripe and complain and make it hard on someone.

I can be patient with those who may not understand, or belittle and hurt them as much as I can.

But I have faith in myself and believe what I say, and I personally intend to make the best of each day!

 Author Unknown

          

You Are Not Alone

I was visiting with my friend Jeff today.  We meet on Monday each week for a bit of accountability and review of our week.  During our conversation, we pondered the problem of isolation.  I mentioned that a lot of people who are in financial trouble think they are all alone.  Nobody understands where they are and what they are going through.  We isolate ourselves and try to hide behind our … “game face”.  If we don’t acknowledge that there is a problem, we won’t have to deal with it.  We have the tendency to hide our situation … sometimes until it’s too late to do any good.  We think that telling someone else we have a problem will make them think less of us.  It’s embarrassing.

The reason I started thinking about this is related to the housing crisis in the United States.  Many families have lost significant income during the last couple years. With 401k declines into 201k territory and income decreases, some people are getting behind on their mortgage and credit card payments.  Some have amassed huge credit card bills.  The problem of low income has started to catch up with them.  When the credit card payments are missed, the bank becomes a bit adversarial and starts raising minimum payments and jacking up interest rates.  What was a “barely manageable” situation quickly becomes impossible.

If you were to talk with a bankruptcy attorney, they would naturally suggest that you file bankruptcy to solve the problem.  But what are the other options?  Many people really don’t know.

Bankruptcy – a not so great idea.  The bankruptcy damages your credit for 7 to 10 years.

Credit Counseling – this was set up by the credit card companies to maximize their cash recovery…

Debt Resolution – a sensible solution

Why is Debt Resolution a better alternative? 

1. Reduces your unsecured debt by 60%
2. Eliminates most or all of the incessant phone calls from creditors
3. Allows you to pay off the remaining 40% balance at ZERO PERCENT (0%) interest.  Compare that to the alternatives and you’ll find that you’re paying significantly LESS money.
4. Your credit report is much less damaged using Debt Resolution than the alternatives.
5. After you’ve completed the process of Debt Resolution, you are ready for Credit Repair that can remove many if not most of the blemishes on your credit report.

If you are struggling with a mortgage that is higher than the value of your home, there is a solution you need to know about.  If you are getting behind on your mortgage payments and want to keep your home, Loan Modification is an option that might resolve the problem of a too high mortgage balance, or mortgage payments that are too high.

If Loan Modification doesn’t work for you, or you’ve decided not to keep your home, there are several things to consider. 

Foreclosure – giving the house back to the bank is not the best solution.  Foreclosure damages your credit much like a bankruptcy for 7-10 years.  You will end up with larger deficiencies with a foreclosure than you might with other options.

Deed in Lieu – voluntarily giving the house back to the bank is some better than a foreclosure, but not the best solution if other options are available.

Short Sale – the best solution…if the bank cooperates.  A short sale dings your credit for 2-4 years.  If you combine the short sale process with Credit Repair, the damage to your credit report can be minimized.

What is a short sale?

A short sale is paying the bank less than the amount of the mortgage to settle the account.  Any sale that pays the bank less than they are owed requires their agreement.  This is the part that makes some short sales difficult.  The bank is attempting to recover the maximum amount for the asset.  Sometimes the bank chooses to take a property through a full foreclosure believing they will recover more cash that way than by approving a short sale.  Remember:  the bank’s goal is to recover as much cash as possible.

Do I qualify for a short sale?

If the house has become a problem and you’re getting behind in payments…and Loan Modification doesn’t seem to be the solution for you…  You will have to work with the bank to prepare some documents to show the bank that you are having a hardship.  Making the payments is not only difficult, but has become impossible for a period of time.  This might be due to health issues, loss of a job, increased mortgage payments (due to Adjustable Rate Mortgages in many cases) or too much credit card debt that caused you to run out of resources.

Once the hardship is documented to the bank, the bank spends some time reviewing the value of your home and whether it is in the bank’s best interest to approve a short sale.

Some banks don’t cooperate

At the time of this writing, the worst bank to work with on a short sale is Bank of America / Countrywide.  If you have a mortgage with this company, you probably won’t have a successful short sale.  The rules surrounding short sales and responses of banks to short sale requests change daily so the “worst” or “best” bank to work with could be completely different when you read this.

The other major cause of banks not approving any particular short sale is their belief that the property value is higher than it really is.  A BPO (Brokers Price Opinion) or appraisal is done by the bank to determine the approximate value of the property they are reviewing.  If the estimated value of the property comes in too high, the bank might approve a short sale for a price much higher than the property will actually sell for.  For example, one property that I have personally been involved with has an approximate maximum value of $50,000.  The bank was told by the BPO agent (a Realtor hired to estimate the value of the property) that the property is “worth” $70,000.  After all the numbers are crunched, most banks would accept a price of approximately 80% (the exact percentage varies based on what kind of loan is involved, or which bank is involved) of the BPO or appraised value.  80% of $70,000 comes to $56,000.  However, if the property will not sell for more than $50,000 the bank approval to accept $56,000 is meaningless.  Nobody who is willing to pay $50,000 is going to satisfy the bank’s demand for $56,000.  The BPO or appraisal value of a short sale property is essential.  If the number comes back low enough a successful short sale can be completed in most cases.

You are not alone

Isolation exaggerates the problems that we face.  People facing difficulty often respond in denial.  Believing the problem will fix itself, we sometimes choose to do nothing at all.  In the case of a foreclosure, or exploding credit card debt doing nothing is the worst possible response.  The first step to solving the problem and moving on with your life is to acknowledge that there really is a problem.  The problem might be too many bills that wipe out all available cash resources.  For some people the problem might take another form.  An addiction to gambling might cause bills to pile up.  An addiction to almost anything can snowball out of control leaving you powerless to overcome it.  Acknowledging there is a problem is the first step.

There is help

Working with a close friend or counselor to deal with the problem can bring significant progress.  If Debt Resolution is needed as part of the process, finding a Debt Resolution expert to work with will bring help.  If the mortgage needs Loan Modification, then finding a Loan Modification expert to work with will be very helpful.  If the answer is to sell the house, then working with a Short Sale expert to sell it and move on with your life will be very helpful.  Experts are available to assist you with the problems you face.  Depression is one of the results many people struggle with when faced with an overwhelming situation.  If the problem goes on too long, the result can be a complete disconnection with reality.  Take Action today to deal with the situation you are facing.  Imagine being debt free.  No longer struggling with the particular problem you are currently facing.  Free at last.

Change your results – change your beliefs

Our beliefs bring about our actions.  For example, if you believe that you have no power to effect change in a situation, you take no action.  If on the other hand, you believe that you can make a difference, you take action based on those beliefs.  Action brings results.  Nothing happens without action.  Action is required to breathe.  Action is required to do the work we’ve been assigned.  When we believe that what we do makes a difference, our actions take on purpose.  We begin to act on purpose.  We work like we matter.  When this happens, the result of our action reflects exactly what our beliefs really are.  Changing the results – overwhelming circumstances in our lives – requires a change in our beliefs.  When we change what we believe, we see the effect in the output of our efforts.

Sometimes it is necessary to work though our beliefs with someone trained to help us.  Beliefs that we have held for a long time begin to appear normal to us.  To adjust beliefs that are off balance, we often need someone who is more objective that we can be by ourselves or with our immediate family.

Fixing the broken

It might take some time, but repairing things we have broken is essential to our recovery.  Just getting rid of too much debt does not solve the problem of how we got into debt in the first place.  Repaying our debts is necessary to achieve full restoration.  Stopping the patterns that caused the pain will lead to both progress and success in our future.  If you borrowed money from a personal friend, repay them in full.  Assuming that your friend or family member should accept a smaller amount in repayment is a bad idea.

Nothing is the same

Debt free.  Addiction free.  Beliefs changed.  Results changed.  After going through an overwhelming situation, nothing is the same.   You have grown through the situation.  You learned new things.  You discovered more accurately who you are.  You responded to things you’d rather have skipped over.  But, you survived.  Now it’s time to thrive!  Make the changes required to do things differently in the future.  Whatever it takes.

Heal the hurting

Now that you know so much more than you did before, you can help others who are going through the same struggles you yourself faced.  You understand.  You can lend a helping hand to those who are struggling.  If the thing you struggled with was debt, you know how to advise those still struggling.  You can direct them to resources that you know about.  They haven’t been down this path and are probably still dealing with denial and depression.  You are now qualified to guide others through the path you’ve traveled.

Real Estate Tip:

There are many people in the United States who are buried in debt.  The economy has made it difficult for some of these people to recover.  Many investors have lost millions of dollars in cash, investments and equity leaving their balance sheets in the red.  Net worth has suffered a great deal for some long time investors.

Debt Resolution can help you.  Loan Modification can help you.  Credit Repair can help you.

Take action.  Avoid foreclosure.  Choose a Short Sale instead. 

Use the resources you have available to have a fantastic future!  2010 is just around the corner and it’s going to be amazing!

If you have questions, please contact me.  See how I can help you.

Yes!

          

Lenses

[It’s been a little while since I’ve made an entry in my blog.  My commitment to spend a specific amount of time each day has been challenged a bit.  Time to get back to the project then.  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you. – Byron]

One of the themes I’ve spent quite a bit of thought on is how our expectations affect our results.  You get out of life to a great degree what you expect.  But expecting someone else to act in a particular way can cause trouble.  You might have noticed this too.

Expectations color life

Sometimes we speak about a person who sees life through rose colored glasses.  Spending some time thinking about this, I agree.  Some people do see life through rose colored glasses.  Others choose to see life through much darker colored lenses.  Reality is a combination of our view of life and of what happens to us.  Our expectations determine to a great degree what our results will be. 

I expect to succeed.  I make plans to do successful projects.  Not every project goes as planned.

Two Choices

With every experience in our life we have two choices.  We can grow through the experience and become better, or, we can resent the experience and become bitter.  Most events that happen to us are neutral.  Our response to each event is what brings us joy or sorrow.  We choose whether to be thankful about every event that happens in our life.  Will I be thankful that I had food to eat today, whether it’s the food I prefer, or perhaps not?  Will I grumble when my amazing blessings don’t quite measure up to the mythical Jones’ blessings?  The choice is mine.

Real Estate Tip:

Complaints Go Here

All the complaints must fit in that tiny little box up there.  If they don’t, they’re too big.  Stop complaining.

Thanksgiving Goes Here:

The space below is where all of the thanksgiving goes.  There is more than enough room for a thankful heart.

          

The Best

Who is the best in the world at what you do?  It is a very important question.  If you’re not the best at what you do, why not?  What will it take to become the best?  Is mediocre good enough?  Who wants mediocre?

Nobody starts out being the best in the world at anything.  It is important to continually hone your craft and skills to the point that you can be the best.  When you invest more in yourself than you do in your job, the return on investment (ROI) grows and grows until you have significant achievements.  If all you do is the bare minimum to get by, you won’t.

Grow Up

It is essential that you and I take responsibility for exactly where we are right now.  We are who we are EXACTLY because of the DECISIONS we made OURSELVES.  Nobody else on the planet is responsible for our results.  If we don’t have enough to get by, it is because of decisions we ourselves have made.  If we have more than enough, it is because of decisions we ourselves have made.  It is increasingly annoying to listen to people who believe with all their heart that somebody else is responsible for their problems.  Victim Talk will get you nothing but more of the same.

Since nearly everything that we believe is essentially a made up story, why not tell a positive story?  I am making progress.  I am learning and growing every day.  My time is well spent because I invest in myself.  I know more today than I knew yesterday.  I haven’t quit on myself.  I believe that even when I encounter a setback, I will grow through the experience and become a stronger better person through the experience.  I am confident that God has a purpose for my existence that I don’t yet fully understand.  Today I just might discover the purpose for which I was made.

Purpose

Without purpose, nothing is accomplished.  Vision and goals follow the purpose we set for our lives.  Learning and focusing on our purpose hones the purpose.  We either choose to live on purpose, or chaos will rule.

Real Estate Tip:

Define your purpose.  Spend as much time as you need to clarify the purpose you set for your life.  Avoid wasting time and money that distract you from your purpose.  If Real Estate is part of your purpose, then include that as part of your purpose and goals.

Remember that GOALS come AFTER.  Purpose comes FIRST.

          

Elephant in the Corner

Don’t think about the elephant in the corner…

Have you ever had a problem focusing your attention on a solution to the big problem over in the corner?  An example might be the mortgage payment that is getting later and later.  Maybe you have missed payments.  The goal really isn’t to avoid being late on your payments.  The real goal is to have and make money to keep the payments current.  But the elephant in the corner keeps dragging you back over.  “You have late payments,” might be the message you keep saying and hearing inside.  The opportunities around you to make a big paycheck are being drowned out by that nasty elephant that just won’t go away.

What You Focus on Expands

If you focus on the elephant, the elephant grows to be the biggest thing in your world.  Solving the problem becomes nearly impossible because the elephant is getting all of your attention.  When you try your hardest to not think about the elephant, the elephant is all you think about.  Each person creates the inner peace or discord that flows out into the world.  We cannot create peace if our inner world is full of conflict, hatred, doubt or anger.  We radiate the feelings and thoughts that we hold inside, whether we speak them or not.  Whatever is going on inside of us spills out into the world, creating beauty or discord.

Unfocusing the Elephant

So what about the elephant?  Every effort to NOT think about the elephant results in more elephant thoughts.  The only way to unfocus the elephant is to focus on something else.  Progress can only be made by focusing on the things that bring progress.  If we focus on NOT failing, we’re focusing on failure.  If we focus on SUCCESS, we can move away from the failure we wish to avoid.  The mortgage can be paid when the funds required to do so are generated by successful ACTION.

Real Estate Tip:

Don’t focus on what you don’t want.  In other words, you MUST focus on the things you want to accomplish in your life.  Failure is not an option, though sometimes it seems a pretty big elephant.  SUCCESS.  To your SUCCESS!

          

Better Investing

I mentioned yesterday that it’s possible to invest your money and get better than bank rates of return on your money.  Most people are not aware of the options available so I thought I’d go through it a little bit more today.

If you’ve got money in a savings account right now, check the rate of return you’re receiving for that money you have “invested” there.  Is it higher than 1% ?  I’m betting it’s even lower than 1%.  Recall the rule of 72. 

The Rule of 72

The Rule of 72 states that if you divide your interest rate into 72, the result will be the number of years it will take your money to double at that rate of return.

72 / 1% (let’s be generous) in the current savings account  = 72 years.

Many people don’t have 72 years to wait for their investment money to double in value.  Let’s check out the CD (Certificate of Deposit) rate of return that is currently being offered.  2.99% (there might be a few places you can beat 3%, but right now 3% is pretty competitive.

72 / 3% = 24 years for this rate of return to double in value.

Bank Rates of Return

The rate that banks offer is nearly always lower than the current rate available.  There are only two exceptions.  If you lock your money into a long term investment and the prime rate changes significantly during that period of time, you might beat current rates.  Back in the late 1970’s you could lock your money into a 3 year CD at 15% or a little more.  If you put your money in right before the rates dropped significantly, you would benefit from the lock and make more than you could in some other investments.  The other exception is a long term mortgage that is locked low before an inflationary period.  The bank is getting less interest because they locked the rate low.  Most of the time you won’t get a great return from the bank because the bank understands the time value of money better than you do.

Banks Don’t Make Loans

Tried to borrow money from the bank recently?  Even if you have perfect credit and solid employment history, banks just aren’t doing it like they used to.  You might be able to borrow money, but the bank will scrutinize you far more carefully and require that you jump through significantly more hoops today than they did a few years ago.  Naturally, they’re smarting from the decisions they made a few years ago and should be more careful.

Carefulness affects Rate of Return

Since the bank isn’t making loans and collecting interest on their money like they were several years ago, they can’t offer good rates on the money you have in savings and Certificates of Deposit.

Alternate Banking

During times when banks are not doing their job the way we prefer, an alternate bank becomes more prominent.  Private investing bypasses the traditional bank.  If I need to borrow funds to do a project and my banker won’t loan me money right now, I can borrow the funds from you, my private investor.  You have money sitting in an account that is earning 1-3%.  I have a project that will generate a healthy 6-10% return.  If I borrow funds from you for a Real Estate project, your investment will be protected by the equity in that Real Estate.  When the LTV (loan to value) ratio is favorable, your investment backed by a first position Mortgage or Deed of Trust keeps your investment dollars safe. 

Let’s take another look at the property I mentioned yesterday:

If you buy a property for $3,500 and repair it for $5,000 you have invested $8,500.  Next you rent the property for $500 per month.  What is your cash on cash return for this investment?

Cash flow (annualized) / Cash invested

($500 * 12) / $8,500

$6,000 / $8,500 = 70.58%

Is that better than your CD investment at the bank?

You might prefer to spend a little bit more on the property than $5,000 to get it rented.  If you do, you can still easily see that a rate of return higher than 1-3% is more than possible.  Let’s say you spent $10,000 to repair the property because $5,000 just wasn’t enough:

Cash flow (annualized) / Cash invested

($500 * 12) / $13,500

$6,000 / $13,500 = 44.44%

Is that better than your CD investment at the bank?

How many years does it take to recoup your cash investment?

72 / 44.44 = 1.62 years

Maybe you’re not too keen on owning property in Cleveland, Ohio?  Why not partner with an Investor who manages the risk and just write you a check?  Not all of the great returns are in bad areas.  Your local Real Estate Investor can provide you with opportunities that far exceed the rates your bank and retirement fund are currently offering.  If you don’t have a local investor to work with contact me.  I can help you put your investment dollars to work in either long term or short term projects that will benefit both of us.  Some projects are as short as 24 hours.  Others can be several months to several years.

Real Estate Tip:

1. Get yourself lined up with private investors who need you to help them get better returns on their investments.  If you have money sitting in a poor quality investment, consider moving it into a self directed IRA or 401K as soon as possible.  Make your money work for you.
2. After you have done a few short term transactions with your funds, consider the kinds of cash flow opportunities that are available to you through Real Estate.
3. Contact me if you have any questions.  I can help you.
4. There are many kinds of Real Estate investments.  Very short term investing can have ZERO risk if you work with an Investor who understands them.  The equity that protects your investment is a cushion that keeps your money safe.

          

No One Lives Here anymore

What happens when too many homeowners default on their mortgage?  After the bank kicks out hundreds of families in a neighborhood, there end up being more vacant homes than those that are occupied.  This causes a number of serious problems.  First, while the bank has “protected” their investment by taking back the collateral, by emptying hundreds of homes, the value of each home diminishes significantly.  Vacant boarded up homes in any neighborhood cause blight and reduce the value of every home nearby.

Decimated Neighborhoods

Have you ever driven through a neighborhood that is decimated because of high vacancies?  It’s a scary place because empty homes draw crime.  Houses that don’t have occupants often have copper stripped out.  The water pipes are probably gone.  The air conditioner coil is probably missing.  The A frame in the furnace is also missing.  The furnace itself might be gone.  Drug houses are easy to establish when…no one lives here anymore.

Home Package

I was called today with information about a package of 100 homes for sale in the Cleveland Ohio market.  Each home is vacant and has been vacant for some time.  The houses have all been through foreclosure.  They are available for sale in the package of 100.  The price for the entire package is just slightly over $300,000.  If you do the math, each home is just over $3,000.  If you want to buy a new home for $3,000 please contact me.  I guarantee that you can’t build a house for the price of purchase and rehab.  Making each home inhabitable for rental will cost between $5,000 and $25,000.  Imagine buying a new home for less than $30,000 that originally sold for almost $100,000.

Cash Flow Properties   vs.   BANK rates of return

If you buy a property for $3,500 and repair it for $5,000 you have invested $8,500.  Next you rent the property for $500 per month.  What is your cash on cash return for this investment?

Cash flow (annualized) / Cash invested

($500 * 12) / $8,500

$6,000 / $8,500 = 70.58%

Is that better than your CD investment at the bank?

Even if the house were vacant for a couple months or had a few added expenses, your return on investment is astronomical compared to the bank.  Naturally the rate of return for each investment property depends on the numbers for that specific property.  Some properties need more than $5,000 of repairs to be rented.  The coolest thing about this kind of investment is that you don’t have to be the person responsible for renting out the properties.  Management can be hired to seriously simplify the process of collecting rents, improving the property and keeping the property occupied.  If you are interested in this kind of investment, please contact me.  I can help you manage this kind of investment.  Managing the managers and making the system work for you.

If are an investor and you partner with several other investors or even several dozen investors, you can radically change the blight of a neighborhood and make the property worth significantly more money in a fairly short period of time.  Perhaps you would prefer to own an entire neighborhood and have it managed for you.

Real Estate Tip:

Did you realize that you can radically change the quality of your 401K or IRA.  You can use your retirement money to invest in the improvement of a neighborhood.  Collecting rents inside your self-directed IRA is a great way to massively improve the returns going into your retirement.  If you don’t have a self directed IRA and want more information, I have a fantastic Self Direction recommendation for you to check out.

          

Let’s Do It

I had a serious ah hah today.  At least I think I had one.

One of the biggest things that holds many Investors back is, oddness.  Your family and friends look at you like you’re an alien.  They tell you what you’re trying to do won’t work.  You don’t have very many people to talk to that really get what you’re trying to do.

And, that is the ah hah.  If you don’t find someone that can understand what you are doing, your likelihood of success is seriously reduced.

REIA

How can an Investor stay connected with like minded people?  Your local REIA can provide opportunity to meet other like minded Investors.  These opportunities to interact are extremely helpful in keeping track of what is going on in your local market.

Seminars

Many Investors spend a great deal of time and money going to seminars.  One benefit is that many like minded people gather to learn about some aspect of Investing.  It is possible to go to many seminars and never do any Real Estate deals.  This tendency is because the Investors don’t stay connected and working together to get deals done.  Certainty and confidence come from experience.   When we join together to get things done, we become much more able to do the business.  Doing leads to success.  Action is the only thing that will make success possible.

Joint Ventures

One of the best ways to gain confidence is to work with someone who’s been there before you.  We start off with the belief that “giving away” half of the profit of a deal is a bad deal.  It isn’t.  Giving away half of any completed deal is keeping the half you probably couldn’t have done alone.  There are thousands of Investors out there who have more experience than you do.  These Investors can help you make intelligent decisions so you can move forward.  Having more than one inexperienced brain working through the details of a project, provides a much better chance of success.  If you, with no experience, attempted the same deal, there might not be a profit.

Mentorship

Every Investor who specializes in education will tell you that nobody succeeds in this business without a mentor.  When they say this, they generally are selling a mentorship program.  These programs can be very helpful.  However, without one-on-one personal interest and contact, I have experienced several “mentorships” that are less helpful.  The personal involvement of a Joint Venture and an in-person team greatly increases the likelihood of success.

Real Estate Tip

Find a partner or close friend who understands what you are doing.  Learn things from them that you don’t understand.  Teach them things that you do understand.  Share knowledge and experience.  Make your team wealthy in knowledge, experience and cash.