You might think I’m off my rocker for suggesting that a housing boom can actually work against you, but it has happened to many, many investors, including myself.  Let me share with you two observations I’ve made after going through a housing boom into a housing collapse.

 

#1: A housing boom can keep you from learning to negotiate.  Think about it.  When property values are going up thousands of dollars per month, you could actually buy a house for full market value and resell it later for a profit.  You could buy just about any house on the market without picking and choosing, or offering less than asking price.

 

Conditions like these only last a short while and are no way to run a portfolio in the long run.  What will happen when home stop going up in value?  You won’t have any negotiating skills, which take time to develop and cultivate, and you will either waste time learning, continue offering way too much and getting into trouble, or not making any offers at all.

 

#2: A housing boom can make you focus on short-term profits  I remember when any investor with a pulse could get a loan to buy a rental property, often with no down payment and 100% financing.  Or, people would get short-term financing with ridiculously high payments, because they intended to (and could) sell the house for a profit in a few months.

 

So guess what happens when financing gets harder to come by?  Your whole operation will get shut down.  Or, you might buy several properties with short-term, expensive financing, but not be able to sell them OR rent them out, and then you’re stuck. 

 

#3:  A housing boom makes you too lazy to find private money.  In  my opinion, the key to success is to build relationships with private lenders constantly, so that you can always borrow money on easy terms no matter what your exit strategy.

 

So while a housing boom is great in regards to your houses’ equity increasing, the side effects are the 3 temptations I’ve listed above.  I recommend negotiating well and finding private lenders regardless of your market conditions.

 

Click Here: http://stinkymarketreport.net — In this FREE digital book, learn the secrets that a $100,000,000 real estate investor has discovered about making money in a slow market, by understanding how market cycles REALLY work.  Or, for info on Alan Brymer, go to www.AlanBrymer.com

How to Build a Real Estate Business Without Going Broke or Insane

By Michelle Spalding

This special report was created at the urging of many of my clients and students. Apparently there is a myth that as a Realtor you must do everything yourself. Too often there are articles written touting the super strength of a Realtor who is being featured. He/she is bragging that the customer can always feel confident knowing that he/she is doing it all.

I honestly feel bad for this person however heroic or honorable their intentions are. Sadly, this person is simply trading hours for dollars which is basically having a J.O.B. Many real estate investors I also speak with are in the same boat. The worse part of this is that if they want to take a vacation, it’s tough if not impossible if they are the do-it all person. If they want to increase their income, they will have to spend more time working to accomplish that. There is nothing to sell when they want to move onto something else or retire. There is no income if they are sick or become incapacitated. The stress of being a soloprenuer is daunting and often overwhelming. It’s one of the reasons that many don’t make it long in the business. Besides, no one can great at everything.

It doesn’t have to be that way and the information I’m about to share with you will probably revolutionize the way you think about your business. Notice I said BUSINESS, that’s exactly what you should have, not a J.O.B.

Before I share with you how making small changes can help you can create the business of your dreams without going broke, I want to share this simple yet eye opening example how much doing it all yourself is costing you financially. Let’s say that you want to earn $75,000 per year, after expenses. That’s about $37.50 per hour based on a 40 hour a week work week. With that said, do you think you are paying yourself too much for some of the activities you do? Is sending faxes, stuffing envelopes or following up with the title company a job that you should pay someone $37.50 an hour to do? I don’t think so and I’m sure you don’t either – so what’s a busy real estate business owner to do? There are ways to change this and I’m going to cover a few of them in this report. I’m also going to go into detail about the pros and cons of several of them as well as how to implement others. Remember this report is REAL information to help you see your real estate business as just that, a BUSINESS.

Leverage is one of the most powerful things you can add to your business and perhaps your life. It’s how you increase your income without working more hours. It’s adding people to your business help you grow it and to enable you to generate more sales and also enjoy more free time. It’s using systems and tools to ensure that the people you bring into your business are effectively doing the job you’ve assigned to them the way you designed it and that each of your customers is receiving the best service, each and every time.

Let’s look at People first – this is often the most challenging yet the one that most business owners jump right into without doing a great deal of research. It’s often done wrong and yields less than desirable results. This leads to negative feelings about this and often stagnates a business’s growth because if it. For many reasons this is understandable. Bringing someone into your business requires you to take on another role “manager”.

There are several ways you can bring someone into work with you, as an employee, independent contractor or as virtual contractor. While I’m not entirely against employees, don’t get me wrong, it’s not perhaps the best first choice for a small growing business. I am very aware of the challenges and expenses involved with hiring one especially too early in your business. Nonetheless, it is an option so let’s discuss how it’s done effectively.

• Solicit applicants – advertise the position
• Screen applicants – It’s suggested that you interview the person over the phone briefly to pre-screen them then two additional times before hiring them
• Negotiate salary – this salary won’t just be what you’ve agreed upon with employee, you have to pay taxes on both the federal and state level
• Provide training
• Manage the work they do
• Provide work space
• Provide benefits.

Bringing people into your business is a huge expense and it’s easily understandable why many people feel they will never get to that point, or even want to. Additionally, having another “mouth to feed” is also quit overwhelming. But without people, you are always going to be the one doing ALL THE WORK.

The other alternative is to hire non-employees or contract labor. This is the method I prefer but a word of caution, contract labor has it’s draw backs also. You are limited in the control you have over the person’s time, because if you set hours, then they are employees. The benefits however are of course you can bring this person in for special projects or events and when those are done, you don’t have to be obligated to continue to employee this person for other activities. Many of the same above apply such as:

• Solicit applicants – advertise the position
• Screen applicants – It’s suggested that you interview the person over the phone briefly to pre-screen them then two additional times before hiring them
• Negotiate compensation
• Provide training
• Manage the work they do
• Provide work space
• You may also have to pay a retainer to keep this person available to you on a regular basis

The last is to go into cyberspace and locate a virtual nonemployee. Usually this person, also called a Virtual Assistant will have general office skills however in recent years we’ve seen this expand. Now it’s pretty easy to find someone who indicates they have specific knowledge in a certain industry. When using this option, please keep in mind here are the basics you’ll need to do:

• Solicit applicants – advertise the position – or search for them online
• Screen applicants – It’s suggested that you interview the person over the phone briefly to pre-screen them then two additional times before hiring them
• Negotiate compensation
• Provide training
• Manage the work they do

No matter which option you choose to help you grow your business there is no doubt, you will have to have help enjoy the freedom that owning a business can afford you as well as helping you maintain your sanity. Before you add any one to your business you first must determine what jobs can you give this person, what are you comfortable delegating?

Here’s an exercise to help you get started:

– What feeds your passion? (What do you like to do the best?)
– What are your core competencies? (What are you best at?)
– What is drudgery? (What do you dislike doing in your business?
– What are you using to leverage yourself? (Be honest)

If you could hire someone to help you with your business and money were no object – I’d have them do the following: This is one of my favorite eye opening exercises; I hope you found it helpful also.

Before you bring someone, anyone into your business, you have to have systems in place to ensure that the work this person is doing is consistent with the work that you have been doing. This is another stumbling block that many encounter.

One of my favorite books is The EMyth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber. If you haven’t read this book please take the time to do so. It will give you a whole new perspective on your business. The book tells the story of why many small businesses fail and offers suggestions on preventing it. Much of it has to do with systems or lack thereof. Systems are what can help you take your business to the next level. They enable you to consistently deliver top quality service to your clients always and from each member of your team. They also empower those that you’ve hired to work on your team to do their job effectively and with little supervision form you.

Here’s a few suggestions on using systems to help you grow your business and regain or retain balance in you life; • Use check lists. NEVER rely on your memory. Sounds simple, but often overlooked. Lists will help you ensure that all activities on a listing or transaction are complete. Checklists are also a great way to communicate with your clients and team members. This will eliminate unnecessary repetition of others on your team. Using them to communicate with clients will also help your clients know exactly what you are doing and where you are on their listing or transaction.

• Develop a written procedure for all of the activities you do. Document everything from how you input a listing, to how to close out a file after closing. Having a written plan will not only make it simple to hire an assistant or add to your team in the future, it will give you a reference point to help you discover where your time is being best spent.

Hint – an easy way to start this would be to buy an MP3 recorder and dictate all that you do. Email it to an online dictation service where many will type your dictated word and email it to you in a word format for about a penny a word.

• Devote time for income generating activities DAILY. Don’t over look the power of this system. Review your business, determine the steps necessary to create the results you want then daily take steps toward that goal. If it takes you 100 cold calls to generate a new listing, then daily you must set aside time to do these calls. 25 or 50 a day and you’ll be on your way to the results you want. Putting it into your calendar and making it a system will increase the likelihood of these activities getting accomplished.

• Focus! Start day with a plan (system) and stay focused. It’s easy to get off on something else as soon as the phone rings but, staying true to your plan will help you grow your business. If you have an article to write, a proposal to prepare, cold calls to make or anything else that takes focus, turn OFF your email, and tell yourself you will spend the next hour or however much time you think this will take on this activity only. Then focus, focus, focus. You’ll be amazed at how much you’ll get done in a shorter period of time without any interruptions or distractions.

• Schedule time to work on your business rather than in it. That’s right, put it on the schedule, just like you would with any other important activity. Spending time developing goals, new systems and solutions for implementing them is a surefire way to increase your business. Don’t get stuck in the day to day and confuse busy time for business building time. Many top professionals take one day off a month and work on their business. They do not take calls, emails or any interruptions during this time. They simply work on building their business.

As a small business owner I am all too familiar with the day to day distractions and time zapping activities that come our way. However, in order to grow a business you’ve got to be willing to do a few simple steps to set it up. Growing a business takes leverage and requires you to bring people into your business, teach them to do what you want done. It also requires using the right tools for the job. It requires you and your team to utilize systems. Here are several resources you may find helpful in locating talented individuals to provide services for your growing business:

1.REVAnetwork.com – this is an excellent place to view profiles of independent contractors who have specialized knowledge specifically for real estate professionals. They can be hired for a simple onetime project or as an ongoing position in your business. Generally these are virtual contractors or non employees and will work from their home office from almost anywhere in the world.

2.Craigslist.org – this is a free resource to post jobs and to review the resumes of those who are seeking employment. My favorite is that you can also make the resume submissions confidential.

3.Guru.com, Odesk.com and Elance.com – these are great resources to post project to and receive bids on. I personally have used all to have many projects done within my company such as website additions, writing articles, research and logo design work.

Suggested reading:
The eMyth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber
The Obsolete Employee by Michael Russer
The 4 Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferris

Each of these will help you gain insight in to the power of systems and well as the importance of having the right team working with you to help you grow your business. Remember FREEDOM is one of the most fantastic benefits of having a business and being a Realtor is no difference.

So I challenge you to step back, take a look at your business. Is it where you want it to be? Have you explored hiring someone or changing the way you do some of the activities? Think you can do it all and still have a life?

The Online Closing Team at Transaction Management Consultants is dedicated to helping our clients build their business one transaction at a time. We are a team of highly skilled coordinators here to help our clients focus on the activities that create business and generate income. We’ve created, tested and perfected the systems needed to manage a transaction from contract to close. For more information on the services offered at Transaction Management Consultants – please contact Michelle Spalding at Michelle@ProTMC.com or by phone at (407) 622-4862 or Toll Free (866) 683-4862.

“Conditions are never just right. People who delay action until all factors are favorable do nothing.” William Feather

About The Author Michelle Spalding Online Closing Team Transaction Management Consultants Michelle@OnlineClosingTeam.com

60 Days To Your First Bargain Purchase
by Bill Bronchick
Finding good real estate deals is an art that takes time to master. Like any business, customers are what drive it. Your primary customer is the seller who is motivated to sell below market value. Finding motivated sellers requires advertising, marketing, salesmanship, and, like any business, keeping your nose to the ground.

Nothing happens and nothing matters in real estate until you find a deal. You cannot put together a deal without a motivated seller and you can only convince a motivated seller to do something creative or that involves a discounted price. A motivated seller is one with a very good and pressing reason to sell below market.

The most common problem new investors face is finding bargain properties. Many who start out in real estate investing quit without ever buying their first property. They go through the motions of looking for deals for a few weeks or months and then decide it doesn’t work. They forget that finding motivated sellers is similar to the salesman finding his first customer . . . it takes persistence and hard work.

Find the Motivated Seller

At the cost of sounding redundant, the concept is simple: find motivated sellers that are willing to sell their properties at a discounted price or “soft” terms. Currently, the real estate market in some parts of the country is hot, hot, hot! Many people are complaining that the strength of the market precludes investors from finding deals on properties. The popular misconception is that in a rising market, even the most motivated seller can find a buyer for his property at full market price.

The truth is, you can find deals in ANY market. Real estate legend A.D. Kessler once said, “There are no problem properties, just problem ownerships.” The definition of a motivated seller fits squarely within Kessler’s idea. A logical person knows that time, money and effort can solve virtually any real estate problem. However, some people are too emotional about their real estate problems or have other motivating issues to deal with.

Some of these issues include:

• Divorce

 

• Lack of concern
• Inexperience with real estate repairs

 

• Time constraints

 

• Death of a loved one

 

• Job transfer

 

• Landlording headaches

 

• Impending foreclosure & other financial problems

Farming Neighborhoods

Successful real estate agents utilize a technique called “farming” to increase their business activity. They pick a neighborhood or two and focus their marketing efforts within that area. You should try the same technique. Start with a neighborhood that is relatively convenient for you.

1. Drive the Area

Spend a few weekends driving around the area. The goal for you at first is to learn about the area, the style of houses and the average prices. Over time, you may expand your farm area, but stick with areas that contain the type of homes you plan to purchase. It is not necessary to begin your investment career by learning every square mile of a large metropolitan area; it is important to learn the value of “typical” homes in your target areas. This knowledge will enable you to make quick decisions about whether a particular prospect is a bargain.

2. Attend Open Houses

Visit open houses and “for sale by owner” (FSBO) properties on weekends. Speak directly with owners and their agents. Pass out your business cards. Make friends. Word of mouth and referrals are a big part of any business.

Part of the process of finding a deal is to know how to recognize one. Take a good look at the property and its physical features. After viewing a couple of dozen open houses in the neighborhood, you will get to know the value of the properties and the different styles of houses. When someone calls you about a house in that area, you will know the value by its description.

3. Look for Ugly and Vacant Properties

While you are driving around neighborhoods, look for vacant, ugly houses. How can you tell if a house is vacant? Look in the window! Of course, this practice may get you shot, bitten by a dog or arrested. First look for the obvious signs of vacancy – overgrown grass, no window shades, boarded windows, newspapers, garbage, mail piled up, etc. If you are not certain whether the property is vacant, knock on the door. If the owner answers, be polite, respectful and ask if he is interested in selling. In many cases, it may be a rental property, so ask the occupants for the name and telephone number of the owner.

If the property is vacant, ask the neighbors if they know the owner. Most neighbors are helpful, as they know “ugly” houses hurt their own property values. In addition, ask the mailman – they know all of the empty houses on the block. Leave a business card and write down the address of the ugly or vacant properties. When you get home, look up the name and address of the owner. Finding the owner of a vacant house can be difficult, which is why the persistent people who find the information make the most money. The name of the owner can be found by calling your local tax assessor’s office or by looking up the deed recorded with the County land records.

If you want to contact the owner, it takes a little more digging. Try speaking with the neighbors or asking the post office for a copy of a change-of-address form on file for the property. Online services, such as www.infousa.com, will search public databases, such as the Driver’s License Bureau and the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Some cities, towns and counties will “tag” a house with code violations. This is often a sign of a neglected or vacant property. Ask your city if you can obtain a list of such properties or find where this information is publicly recorded.

William Bronchick, CEO of Legalwiz Publications, is a Nationally-known attorney, author, entrepreneur and speaker. Mr. Bronchick has been practicing law and real estate since 1990, having been involved in over 600 transactions. He has appeared as a guest on numerous radio and television talk shows including CNBC Power Lunch. He has been featured in Who’s Who in American Business, Money Magazine, the Los Angeles Times and the Denver Business Journal. William Bronchick has served as President of the Colorado Association of Real Estate Investors since 1996.

Behind every great private real estate investor is an excellent network.  Networking is so important to the game of real estate investing that you’ll find yourself constantly networking with other contractors, investors, and potential homebuyers, simply because you’ll never know where your next sale will come from.

 

There are several ways you can network as a real estate investor.  You can set up a web site and a blog to bring in visitors from the internet, you can join a real estate investing club, or you can attend different real estate seminars, classes and programs.  There are just so many ways to network with other investors and potential buyers you’ll be surprised you didn’t think of them before.

 

Going online!

The internet is the newest wave in the real estate investing world.  You can sell property online faster than ever before and make hundreds, even thousands more contacts than you ever could going door-to-door.

 

Go online and set yourself up with a blog or a web site, start advertising that blog on social networking sites, in forums, and even in the comments section of other people’s blogs.  This will naturally draw in visitors and depending on the content you provide with your blog they may decide to stick around.  Eventually your blog should develop a regular reader base with people leaving comments on your blog posts and even contacting you if they’re interested in purchasing or selling property.  Be sure to record the information of all of your regular or interested visitors in your buyers list. 

 

Join a real estate investing club

Every private real estate investor had to learn the trade from somebody else.  Don’t be ashamed or afraid to join a club that focuses on real estate investing.  A club can help you put together tools, skills, and the knowledge necessary to begin your real estate investing career.

 

Check around your local area to see if there are any real estate investing clubs or generalized investing clubs.  Don’t just join; make sure you mingle at the club events. You can bet there are some serious and seasoned private real estate investors wandering around the room.

 

There’s no need to be hesitant about admitting you’re a beginner either. Everyone started out as a beginner. If you are honest, straightforward and eager about what you want to do as a real estate investor you are bound to make some contacts in the industry at these real estate investing clubs.

 

Keep in contact with your contractor!

Eventually, as a private real estate investor you’ll come in contact with contractors, whether you are rehabbing a property or wholesaling it. There are an innumerable number of different contractors to work on a property. You come in contact with electricians, carpenters, drywall guys, and even roofing experts amongst many more.

 

They make great potential clients.  It’s not uncommon for contractors to pick up a fixer upper property every now and then.  So, make sure you keep all of their names and numbers for your Rolodex.

 

It never hurts to ask them while they’re working for you if they do purchase property to rehab. Between this, your website, and joining a real estate investing club you’ll have dozens of contacts in the real estate industry in no time.

 

Other places to find contacts:

 

l  You can also include your friends and family in your contact list as a private real estate investor. You may even be able to get them to join together and form their own private real estate investing club with everyone chipping in a little bit of money for each real estate deal.

 

l  Every time someone contacts you through e-mail or on the phone about purchasing property or selling a property to you, be sure to get their name and number. They are the potential contact for your buyers list. Ask them what kinds of property they are interested in and how often they buy too.

 

l  You can also purchase a mailing list of people who have expressed an interest in real estate from companies that provide these documents. Other private real estate investors may also be willing to sell you their own buyers lists for a fee. All the more reason to join our real estate investing club for the contacts.

 

Using these ideas to build up your network as a private real estate investor is a sure fire way to bring in lots of potential buyers. Your buyers list will grow in leaps and bounds if you use at least a couple of these methods for developing those contacts.

 

Call to Action: Learn more ways to develop your network as a private real estate investor at Realestateinvestor.com. We have our own network of seasoned and new real estate investors for you to join and share ideas with for those big real estate deals.

 

 By Colin Egbert

A big part of my success in business revolves around my ability to negotiate.

 

Negotiation is one of my favorite topics and I think it’s my favorite topic for a number of reasons. When I was growing up and I thought about business, I thought about negotiating. I maybe didn’t know the name for it or didn’t realize that that was the part that I was fascinated by, but when I think about it now, that is really what makes businesses tick. It is people and your ability to deal with them.

 

Your real estate business is not so much about the properties and certainly if you are focusing too much on just properties, you’re probably not doing as many deals as you could if you focused on the people.

 

That being said, your relationship skills and the way you deal with people and personalities are going to, to a large degree, make you or break you in this business.

 

When I started studying negotiating, rather than just assuming I was a good negotiator because I thought I was, I realized it is both an art and a science.

 

On the science side, there definitely are some skills you can learn and even just learning these skills will greatly improve your negotiating abilities. There is also a side that is an art, and I think it becomes a little bit more of an art when you internalize everything, really make it part of you, part of who you are, part of how you deal with everybody. 

 

It is one of the tenants of negotiation that you are negotiating all the time. Not just in business. You are negotiating with your wife, with your husband, with your boyfriend, with your girlfriend, with your boss, and with your kids. Your kids are certainly always negotiating with you. I certainly negotiated with my parents plenty.  So you are always negotiating. And that makes it a great skill to learn.

 

Studying negotiation will help you out, not just in your real estate businesses, but in any business you are in and with life in general. If you have a job, it will help you in your job. If you have a relationship with someone, it is going to help you in your relationship. It is going to help you overall.

 

When we talk about negotiation and why it is a critical skill, there are going to be some light bulbs going off in your mind.

 

When I started studying negotiating, all sorts of light bulbs went off. I was able to remember all sorts of times when negotiating techniques were in play, and usually in play against me. Trying to buy a car is obvious and comes to mind easily. I remember negotiating with professors in college, teachers in school, and my parents. However, more often than not, when the light bulbs went off, it was when somebody was using negotiation techniques on me and I probably didn’t know it at the time — thus the light bulb going off when I came to realize what had actually happened.

 

I remember one particular story a few years ago. I walked into a car dealership. I didn’t necessarily want to buy a car, but if the price was right I would have considered it. I was trying to see how much this car would cost but I told myself under no circumstances would I let high pressure sales tactics force me to purchase the car.

 

Negotiation often gets mistaken for high pressure sales techniques. Don’t get me wrong, they are close cousins but I’ll still argue there’s a difference.

 

Negotiation, if you are looking at it from a win-win perspective, is not about a single issue. It is about understanding what the other side wants and creating a solution that lets both sides win. We will talk more about that later.

 

Back to the car dealership. I was very clearly not going to buy so I was making up excuses and I did not realize at the time that one of the first questions he asked me was, “Now Tom, if I can find you the perfect car at the perfect price, is there any reason why you won’t drive out of here in it tonight?” I thought then, “high-pressure sales technique”. What I realize now is what a fabulous question that is to ask somebody, because with the perfect car at the perfect price, how could I say no? It’s a no-brainer.

 

There were two techniques at play here. First he was seeing if I had any objections so that he could determine whether or not he should bother spending any time with me. Second, he was starting to get me to agree to things, starting to get me to say “yes”. He was trying to get me in the habit of saying yes to him.

 

I looked at him and I said, “Well Paul, I guess if it is the perfect car at the perfect price, sure!” How can you say no to that?

 

We started going through the negotiation dance and I wanted to talk just about the numbers first. He wanted to get me in the car first. He wanted me to have the experience of touching and driving the car so I could become emotionally attached to it.

 

We came back to the office after the test drive and we talked some more. At one point he finally said, “So, what will it be?” I said really couldn’t buy tonight. He was really starting to pressure me for a positive answer. Why can’t you buy? What’s wrong here? What’s the objection? What’s the problem? I basically said that I just started some businesses and I promised my CPA, who’s guiding me on everything, that I wouldn’t make any decisions without him. I thought I had him cornered now and that I had gotten out gracefully and that he couldn’t get around my objection. However, he very coolly and calmly looked me dead in the eye, grabbed the telephone, set it down in front of me, and said “Let’s call him.”

 

He called my bluff. It was a great counter-gambit to the wall that I was trying to put up and here I thought I was being Mr. Smarty Pants. I responded with “Well, I don’t really know his home number and it is late” and he said “if you guys are that close…” He was starting to try to smoke out my true intentions that I just didn’t want to buy the car. 

 

At the time, I recognized those as good sales techniques. However, I wouldn’t necessarily back then have been able to put a name to his techniques. This is why as you study negotiation, light bulbs will start to go off in your head.

 

Another big thing I realized when I started studying negotiation was why I wasn’t overcoming some objections from sellers. The whole creative real estate investing business revolves around motivated sellers, but I was confused sometimes as to why things weren’t working out. Why was I losing these deals?  Why am I getting these leads that seem to be good leads, but I am not converting these leads into deals? The leads are more than lukewarm. Maybe not red hot, but they’re solid leads. What’s going wrong? What am I saying that is killing it?

 

As I started studying these techniques, I started noticing there were certain things I was doing, certain patterns that were happening in the way I spoke to people, that I was either pushing them away a little bit at a time or I just wasn’t able to solidify the lead into a deal.

 

Let me warn you, as we go over the various techniques, you may not like the sound of some of them. Some of it, if you have an aversion to high-pressure sales people and therefore you feel like some of this is just high-pressure sales techniques, you might revolt against and that is fine. Just recognize that for what it is. You don’t necessarily need to be using these techniques on people, but you still need to know these techniques for when they are used on you.

 

It is very beneficial to be able to recognize when these techniques are being used on you so you don’t get pressured or negotiated into bad situations. It is also beneficial to use it to improve your businesses and do more deals and help more people.

 

That is basically where negotiation fits into real estate investing, dealing with your sellers, dealing with your buyers, dealing with the attorneys, dealing with time pressure and dealing with making offers. All of that is, in essence, negotiation.

 

When I started studying negotiation, I had done maybe five or six deals. I have done many more since then and they have all gone much smoother than they had in the past. The profits are also much larger because I utilize proper negotiating techniques and skills.

 

Spend some time learning negotiation skills. It will massively benefit your business!

 

 

________________________________________________________________________________

Tom Zeeb and Will Lansing are active real estate investors, national speakers and mentors who coach students how to make BIG profits so they can live the lives of their dreams. They are the authors of the highly acclaimed home-study course the “Profitable Partnerships Success Library”. For information on having Tom & Will speak to your real estate group or for home study course and other Profitable Partnerships product information, please visit www.profitable-partnerships.com email mentor@profitable-partnerships.com or call 877-COACH-50.

Deals & Due Diligence
by Nancy Spivey

Deal analysis and doing your due diligence is critical to the success of real estate investors. There seems to be three kinds of investors when it comes to doing deals:

Gary Guesser

Debbie Deal Maker

Ronny Rocker

Gary Guesser does a little research, reviews some information and then decides, “Yep, this one looks like a deal.” Being like Gary is very scary. This type of investor gets into trouble –usually very quickly. Guessers take the numbers on a deal from wholesalers, agents, sellers and other and believe that the numbers are true without doing their own research or they don’t get all of the required information and just assume that the deal is a good one. Investing in this manner causes one to quickly become frustrated with investing and decide that it just doesn’t work.

Debbie Deal Maker, now she has a complete due diligence process whereby she runs all the numbers and does all the research. She knows how to properly compare comparables and determine the after repair value of a property (ARV). She also knows how to calculate all the expenses in a deal –not only the expenses to get into the deal and hold it, but also the expenses to exit the deal. Debbie knows how much profit she needs; and she knows how to calculate the amount of discount she needs on a property before she makes her offer. It doesn’t stop there –Debbie actually makes an offer. She takes the necessary actions to make the deal happen once she has done her analysis and found a good deal. Remember if you want a deal, you’ve got to make the offer.

Ronny Rocker, he does everything that Debbie does except take action. He continues to analyze and analyze a deal until he has what we call “paralysis of analysis”. It’s kind of like this quote, “Worrying is like a rocking chair, it keeps you busy but gets you nowhere.” Can you get a visual on this? It’s like Grandpa sitting on the porch rocking back and forth and contemplating. Even if he figures everything out, he’s still got to get up and take some action or he goes nowhere.

The goal of all investors should be to be a Debbie Deal Maker type. If you’re already that type, congratulations! If you are not at this place in your investing then STOP and take a look at what is getting in the way. Are you clear on your strategy for real estate investing? Is there something else that you need to learn to feel comfortable doing deals? Do you need to learn more about how to do your due diligence? Do you need a mentor or a coach to help you so that you can feel comfortable with doing deals? If there is something standing in your way, figure out what it is and take the action you need to take to move past that obstacle because guessing nor rocking will get you anywhere in this business. Don’t end up frustrated –‘Turn Your Intentions into Action!’

© 2008 Nancy Spivey

To learn more about analyzing real estate deals, visit http://dealsorduds.com.

Nancy Spivey, known as The Real Estate Investor’s Resource, is an active investor, speaker and coach. Through her training and coaching programs, she helps new and experienced investors create profitability, productivity and prosperity. Nancy serves on the board of directors for the Georgia Real Estate Investors Association, the largest investor association in the U.S.

For a free copy of the eBook, The Science of Getting Rich and a list of Resources from Nancy’s Private Rolodex, sign up for her free ezine,The REI Resource, which is loaded with free tips, resources and tools that will help you create profit, productivity and prosperity in real estate investing! http://www.transformit.net/ezine.html

Contact the Author
Nancy Spivey
Real Estate Investing
nspivey@transformit.net

Real Estate in Toronto: 5 Reasons to Back Out of a Transaction

By Robert Kennedy

Buying a new home is an exciting time. From the very first moment you see the home you want to make an offer on, you are emotionally attached. The first time you walk through its rooms, you imagine your furniture there; you decorate the spaces instantly in your mind. You can see your family living there happily year after year. Even before the ink dries on your offer, you are planning improvement projects.

Yes, it is emotional. Yes, it is exciting. But what if something goes wrong? Should you blindly hold onto a home and follow through with the transaction just because you love the home? When should you back out of purchasing real estate in Toronto? The following 5 are red flags that you should pay special attention to:

1. You should seriously consider backing out if there is debt attached to the house. Back taxes and some liens are inherited by the purchaser. You could end up paying more for your home than you bargained for.

2. If there is serious structural damage to the home, you might want to rethink your offer. Some foundation problems are very expensive to fix. Although rare, some homes have to be torn down due to structural issues that cannot be fixed.

3. When you purchase a house, the house is not as important as the neighborhood you buy in. You should always purchase a home in a good neighborhood where property values are rising. Housing prices in impoverished neighborhoods steadily decline. If you purchase such a property, your home will be worth less in the future than it is now.

4. You should always purchase a home where you will have room to grow. Choosing cuteness over space could end up being the bane of your existence later on down the road. Remember, you can always decorate your home to suit your style. On the other hand, it is difficult to add more space to a home and lot that is cramped and limited.

5. It is highly advisable to purchase several professional inspections before you purchase real estate in Toronto. If any of the inspections come back with negative results, you will have a difficult choice to make. You will either have to repair the issues yourself, ask the seller to repair them or back out of the deal.

Once you are emotionally attached to a home, it can be very difficult to call off the transaction. But don’t try to fool yourself. If you can envision a future where you will regret going through with the purchase, back out. There are too many homes on the market. You will find something else. There is no reason to get stuck with something that is less than perfect.

And don’t worry about the legalities of it. There are clauses on every offer that give you a legal way to back out of the contract. If you’re unsure, ask your agent.

About The Author http://www.MyCityToronto.com is Toronto’s premier online business directory. You can also play games on MyCityGamer, Socialize on the Social808, watch videos on MyCityMyTube, find local news, weather, traffic and much more. If you need to find it in Toronto, you can find it on MyCityToronto!

 

Lessons in Likeability

Creating business success isn’t just about the bottom line

 

By J.T. Foxx

 

Think for a moment about some of the people you do business with on a regular basis. Do you like them? Do you trust them? Do you consider them reliable partners?

 

As you know business is built on relationships and studies show that people are more willing to do business with people they feel comfortable with and genuinely like.

 

In today’s ever-changing economic climate, real estate investors, entrepreneurs, network marketers and executives are facing tremendous challenges in finding financial opportunities and real estate partners. When opportunities do present themselves, how much influence will you have to make your message stand out from the rest?

 

This is where the law of likeability can quickly become more powerful than actual ability. After failing countless times and struggling to make ends meet, I have been fortunate enough to close more than $40 million in real estate deals over the last four years. That didn’t happen by accident.

 

During that time, I have learned valuable lessons about the power of relationships. Along the way, I believe there’s one fundamental truth about realizing success in today’s market: Success is not found in promoting yourself.  It is about making sure you promote the other person first. You create lasting success once you realize that cultivating relationships is much more important than the bottom line.

 

When trying to find and raise capital, too many people make it about the numbers. If you make it about rate of return, cap rate and return on investment, people will treat you like a number. Sure, numbers are important, but I’ve learned that numbers don’t build relationships. Once I started focusing on the relationship rather than the numbers, I found immediate results. I went from one partner worth $250,000 to one worth more than $300 million in only three years. That’s the power of relationships at work.

 

So the next time you have the opportunity to network with people of influence, take effective action by vetting out potential partners using the Three Golden Foxx Rules of Partnering:

 

• Establish Loyalty—The grass is rarely greener on the other side, so don’t go for the big score if it sounds too good to be true. Proven partners with less money are often 1,000 times better to deal with than ones who make elaborate promises but are unproven.

 

• Create Lasting Relationships—You must cultivate relationships with your partners. It will make the ultimate difference in taking your business to the next level. A strong relationship will lead to a lifetime of residuals as opposed to one quick infusion of cash.

 

• Focus on Results—Loyalty and relationships are powerful intangibles, but they must be backed by real results. Remember, partners don’t just listen to what you say, they will watch what you do first and look for concrete results. Prove you can deliver and watch your partnership opportunities grow.

 

Following these rules has brought success in all aspects of my real estate investing. I have shared these rules with thousands of people who have attended my seminars and I’m humbled that many have successfully implemented them in their own businesses. Now that’s what relationships are all about.   

 

J.T. Foxx is a recognized authority of real estate investing and a nationally syndicated radio personality in the U.S. and Canada. In just the last four years, he has bought and sold more than 500 properties and closed more than $40 million in real estate deals. Learn more about his upcoming seminars at www.TheCoachingClub.com.    

 

Short Sale Negotiation Tips to Outsourcing your Short Sale Negotiations

The foreclosure process can take quite a long time for anyone real estate investor looking to close a short sale deal.  However, you’ll find the short sale negotiation is a time consuming and involved process.  Your time is valuable and you have to invest it in valuable projects and efforts.

 

 

Making the most of your time is important for a real estate investor in order to make the most profits with the least investment of time.  The way to do this is by outsourcing your work and ‘To Do’ lists.  You can outsource a lot of the short sale negotiation process to short sale services. 

 

These short sale services are companies that offer to help investors with the process of completing a short sale deal for a nominal fee.  These companies are run by or employ experienced professionals, many of whom used to work as loss mitigators for the banks with which you are attempting to make short sale deals!  They have years of experience with the foreclosure process and short sale negotiations.  So, these services can quickly and easily help you put together a short sale package, find the right person at the bank to negotiate with and even negotiate with the bank‘s loss mitigator over the phone for you. 

 

You can find plenty of short sale services to help you in your negotiation process.  They are all over the web and even in the yellow pages.  Just make sure you do your research before signing on with a particular company.  A short sale services company can offer a range of services or even have a completely different focus from yours as a real estate investor. 

 

Some negotiation companies that help with the foreclosure process actually work with the homeowner and attempt to help them keep their home.  While this is an excellent company to recommend to the homeowner who isn’t certain they want to go with a short sale, it’s not a company you want to hire. 

 

On occasion, other short sale services companies have been known to take a deal out from under the real estate investor.  This is extremely rare, but every industry does have its bad apples.  A deal can be lost when you sign on a short sale negotiation service that also works with homeowners to save their homes from the foreclosure process or when you sign on with a service that also does investing of their own in real estate foreclosures.

 

To make sure your property stays safe in the hands of the short sale services company you pick, you’ll want to research them thoroughly to make sure they only offer the services you want.  Plus, be sure to enter into a contract agreement with them, stating that they’ll only perform the services you ask for and not approach the homeowner about a deal of their own.

 

All worries about the short sale negotiation aside, outsourcing your time consuming work to a short sale services company is an excellent way to ensure you make the most profits with the least amount of time.  As long as you do your research and use a contract you’ll be safe in outsourcing that short sale negotiation.

 

Call to Action: Colin Egbert is the CEO of Real Estate Investor.com and also advises investors on ways they can outsource their Short Sale Negotiation.  Here you’ll find free real estate contracts, a real estate dictionary and a free lifetime membership!

How to Be Creative With Financing

By Ken Rolf

If you are a seller, you need to widen your pool of buyers to people who do not qualify for traditional financing as well. Some options may be the following:

Seller Financing

If you have equity, you may want to offer seller financing. With seller financing, the seller is the bank.

Assumable Mortgage

Other alternatives are checking with your lender to see if the buyer can assume your mortgage. Although most loans are not assumable, today some lenders may offer that as an option to a seller who is about to fall behind in their mortgage payments or who is already in default. It may make more sense for the lender to allow a buyer to take over the loan than have to foreclosure on the property. Average foreclosure costs to a lender are approximately $50,000 per foreclosure.

Lease Options

Lease options are a way to sell your home in a difficult market for a higher price because the buyer enters into a contract to lease your home with an option to buy it at a specific price in the future. Lease options are a great way for buyers who do not have enough cash or who have bad credit to own a home. During the option period, they can work on cleaning up their credit and qualifying for traditional financing or saving more for their down payment. Generally, the buyer pays an upfront option fee to you. A portion or all of the lease payments can be used as credits to the buyer towards purchasing the property. If at the end of the term, the buyer chooses not to buy the property, you just keep the lease payments, and you can continue renting the home to them or look for another buyer or tenant and enter into a lease option with them.

Creative Financing Options for Investors/Buyers

Finding traditional financing for your deals is getting tougher because banks have tightened their lending guidelines. So here are a few options that are available for getting financing if you don’t have cash:

Private Investors or Hard Money Lenders

Private investors are individuals or companies that will loan you money on a short term basis quickly. They don’t have to follow any strict lending guidelines like traditional lending institutions must do. Most are interested in the equity of the property and how quickly you can pay them back. You will have to pay a higher interest rate and points upfront, but the advantage is you don’t have to fill out a lot of formal paperwork, go through credit checks and you get the money quickly so you don’t lose your opportunity to buy the investment property you have found.

Seller Financing

You may want to have the seller finance the transaction if they have equity.

Assume Seller’s Loan

Another option is to assume the seller’s loan if the lender will allow it. This way you can save on some of the costs associated with a traditional mortgage.

Wholesaling

Wholesaling real estate means putting a piece of property under contract and assigning it to another investors/buyer. You receive an assignment fee from your investor/buyer for finding the property and securing the contract. The advantage is you don’t have to close the deal yourself, and you make a quick assignment fee of approximately $5,000 so you can move on to the next project.

Being creative and thinking outside the box is what makes today’s investor successful. Once you do enough deals and accumulate some cash, financing won’t be an issue for you. But if you are just starting out or short on cash, you will need to secure financing ahead of time in order to do your deals and stay in business. Compiling a list of private lenders is a smart thing to do so you can contact them when you find a good deal and jump on it.

Today is the best time to buy real estate and take advantage of the buyer’s market. So having financing available is critical to your success. Just taking the time to plan ahead and get your financing ready will allow you to continue to grow your investment portfolio and give you the financial security and long term wealth you hope to achieve.

About The Author Ken Rolf is a real estate investor. Go to kenswholesaledeals.com for up-to-date educational tips and real estate deals