top secrets on becoming a successful real estate investor! · how to make quick cash by real estate...

Copyright © Realinvestors® 2011

Top Secrets on Becoming a

Successful Real Estate Investor!

A Goldmine of Information That Will Show You How to

Make Money in Real Estate NOW!

Articles from the nations’ TOP Real Estate Experts….


So... You Want To Be a Real Estate Investor by Lou Brown

If you have the intention to be successful in Real Estate, you should

first take a look at what works for others. Let’s understand what you

want to accomplish. You want to have your own business in real

estate. Either you want to buy and sell, or buy and hold, or deal in

mortgages, or buy and renovate, or build, or subdivide, or some

derivation of these. So we are going to proceed based on what we

think we should do next. Let’s take a look at what other

entrepreneurs do to go into business.

The track that follows the traditional process for folks going through

the process of earning a living includes predictable paths. And this is

the distinction I want you to know. Teaching a skill to go into

business is what is taught at college… no that is NOT what is taught

at college… they teach you how to work for someone else! Even

courses entitled Entrepreneurship, Business Management, and

Business Applications don’t teach what you need to know about

creating, and more importantly… sustaining, a viable business. You

see, they don’t teach what you need to know about the process of

owning and running your own business. They do teach much of what

you need to know about how to work for someone else, but they do

not teach how to work for ourselves.

Not only are you not taught how to start or maintain a business for


yourself, they also don’t teach how you can get wealthy. That’s the

process of how to create assets that work for you, instead of you

working for it.

So what can you do to learn this? You must learn from someone who

has done it for themselves. More importantly, you must learn and

adopt a process to have that happen for you without all the expensive

and time consuming trial and error that comes with creating a

business without a path to follow.

According to Michael Gerber, author of the E Myth, 1,000,000 people

go into business in the United States each year. Within 5 years, 96%

of them are out of business. I don’t know of anyone who has that

intent, but that’s what happens. They, like you, are attracted to

create a business in hopes it will provide a good living and retirement

income too. But for 96% that promise or vision does not come true

and they lose the chance for freedom from the shackles of working

for someone else.

Gerber goes on to say that those with the dream of entrepreneurship

thought business worked one way when in actual fact successful

businesses work in quite a different way. Hence, the title of the book,

The E Myth. He reports that when the entrepreneur follows a

different path , 75% are still in business AFTER five years. What he

found that you need to know is that those who enter business with a

franchise are able to build and sustain their business because they

have a path to follow. A clear, direct, tested and proven path that


leads them right to the money without the risks and pitfalls that so

many others fall into.

I can relate one story. Some of you have heard me talk about the

Holiday Inn we built, funded using private money. We could have

opened that hotel and called it “Lou’s Hotel”. That would have saved

us a ton of expense, but would it have been an uphill battle for us to

find customers? Of course! Not only that, we would have had to

create our own reservations system, housekeeping training,

accounting software, resources for supplies, and all the rest. Instead

we opted to go with Holiday Inn. Now that was expensive. $35,000

to use their name, $25,000 for their training, $20,000 for their

software and 8% of every dollar that comes in for the entire length of

the franchise agreement. Whew! But we opened the doors to an

immediate 80% occupancy, and understanding of the proper way to

manage the hotel, staff, marketing and lots of support. We were able

to take their training, tools and support and have an up and running

business without having to make it up as we go. Doesn’t that make

more sense?

Hummmm… Does the Real Estate business have such a path? You

bet it does! And you can actually choose the path to follow. You can

buy a franchise that requires you have a $250,000 net worth and

obligates you to invest many thousands of dollars to get in and

requires a monthly marketing budget of as much as $50,000 per

month! That may be a good idea for some of you reading this who

really intends to have a huge business, staff and lots of ongoing


requirements. But for most of us, that is not the path we want or can

afford to follow. Whether it be that you don’t qualify because of the

net worth requirements, or just don’t want to, or want the ability to

invest all that to get the support and leads, you know this is not for

you. Most of us just want a business plan to follow; one that allows

us to build a business that will generate a good income and a future

of dependable cash flow for you and your family.

This business plan needs to cover all the aspects of this confusing

real estate business, provide for safety and allow for controlled

expansion. It needs to include all the possible profit centers in

Buying, Renovating, Managing, and Selling. It needs to support all

the aspects so profits and risks don’t get overlooked. It needs to

provide a business model that can be easily duplicated regardless of

the size or economic condition of the market you are in. It needs to

have a communications component to allow for adjustments as the

market changes.

In order for this concept to work in your real estate business your

business plans needs to have Tools, Training and Support. It needs

to be a holistic approach rather than a concept here, a form there, a

piece of marketing material from someplace else all jumbled together

like some untested recipe. In fact this is the recipe for disaster that

so many would be investors follow. And that is why, as Gerber

explained, that 96% of the ones without a plan will be out of business

in such a short period of time. Doesn’t that make sense to you? Get

a true, time tested business plan that works in all locations and takes


advantage of the most compelling profit centers in the business

complete with support to be sure that occurs.

So I’ve identified the component parts you need to make your

business work regardless of your current net worth or monthly

marketing investment. In fact we have developed a system that

allows you, regardless of income or background, to build a business

that will have all the benefits a franchise offers without nearly the

investment. Tools, Training and Support… all in one place AND with

the component no one else teaches. The aspect and huge profit

center of holding property. Assets that will work for you for the rest of

your life. This is where WEALTH resides. Assets and equity working for you instead of you working for it. This allows you to

do something today, such as find and negotiate a deal, that you do in

a way that allows you to reap profits monthly for as long as you

choose. This hidden profit gift that keeps on giving as long as you

choose.

Lou Brown has invested in single-family homes, apartments, hotels, developed

subdivisions and built and renovated homes and apartments. Each of these

experiences has given him a proving ground for the most cutting edge concepts

in the real estate investment industry today. He’s widely known as a creative

financing genius with his deal structuring concepts. Being a teacher at heart he

enjoys sharing his discoveries with others.


7 Steps to $7k in 7 Days

by Charles Petty How to Make Quick Cash by Real Estate Wholesaling Online

Real estate wholesaling is a great way to make cash quickly and

easily. In fact, virtual wholesaling, allows you to use the power of the

internet to generate quick cash in as little as seven days.

Following, we will give you a step by step breakdown, on how you

can make $7,000 in 7 days.

Step 1: Find a deal online and put under contract or option. You

can find deals in many locations, including Ebay. You can also do a

search for “investment properties” or “rehab properties.” Those are

great search terms. Some other specific websites that you can visit

arewww.hud.org,www.southernreo.com,www.ocwen.com,www.lender

sreo.com,www.countrywide.com and www.propertydisposal.gov.

Ideally, you should be able to find pictures, price, contact and other

pertinent information on the website. Remember, you are doing this

virtually, so you should not have to leave your home.

The seller should have their contact information listed with the

property. Give them a quick call, send them an e-mail or both, to do

what you can to lock the property down. One of the virtues of

wholesaling properties virtually, is that the deals DO NOT have to be

in your hometown. If they are, that is fine, but you are not confined to

any geographic location. You can literally search across the states,


until you find the deal for you.

Step 2: Assess the deal. Basically, you want to make sure that the

numbers make sense and that this is really a good deal. To do this,

you want to compare recent sales in the area, with the deal that you

are looking at. Be sure to take into account any repairs (if any) that

need to be completed. You also want to compare deals that are the

same construction and configuration. For example, if your deal is a

three bedroom brick house with 2 baths, it would be a good idea to

compare those types of sales. There are two online resources that

you can use to make these comparisons and assess your deal. They

are www.virtualinvestorcomps.com and www.zillow.com.

Step 3: Create your flyer or other marketing materials. There are

key bits of information that you want to include. They are: a picture

of the house, your sales price, the cost of repairs, and the ARV (After

Repair Value). You can probably use the same picture that you

found when you located the deal on-line. It is also a good idea to put

information about any other extras that the house may have. For

instance, you can list hardwood floors, ceiling fans, appliances or

anything else that makes the deal stand out.

Be creative and include the type of information that you would want to

see if you were looking to buy the property. Be sure to include your

contact information, so that prospective buyers know how to get in

touch with you.


Step 4: Post the property. This will allow other investors to know

about the deal that you have. Two good websites for this are

www.craigslist.org and www.backpage.com. If you already have an

e-mail list of buyers, you should send the deal out to your list right

away. You can also do another on-line search to see where you can

post your deal.

Step 5: Now is the time for you to communicate with your

buyers. Respond to any e-mails questions or phone calls that you

received. When you find a buyer who is willing to pay your price, put

the property under contract. Ideally, you should e-mail them the

contract and have them fax you the signed copy. You can always

have them mail the original.

Step 6: Cash is king. This is something that you must never, ever,

forget. Whenever possible, you want a buyer who can pay cash. You

want to tell your seller that you can close with cash. This will help

you get more offers accepted quickly, and at a lower price. Of

course, if you say that, you have to be able to close with cash. So

you always want to have cash buyers. This is not as hard as it may

initially sound, and it makes everything flow much more smoothly.

So, step 6 is to coordinate a cash closing.

Step 7: Close! Most likely, your closing can be done virtually as

well. Check on-line for closing attorneys and/or title agents that will

do this for you. If you cannot locate one, choose one who will e-mail

documents to you, your seller and your buyer. Once you all send in


the originals, you will get paid!

And that’s it. This is your step by step guideline on how you can

make $7K in 7 days using the power of turn key virtual wholesaling.

7 Steps to $7k in 7 Days

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Why is a Buyers List Necessary For Flipping Properties? by Charles Petty

In real estate, more than anywhere else, time is money and if your

strategy is based on flipping properties quickly, then a buyers list is a

very important compilation that you need in order to flip a recently-

purchased property. You cannot afford to sit with a property after

buying it. Here are some reasons why a buyers list is a valuable tool

for flipping properties.

It Provides You With A Demand-And-Supply Chart. By creating a

buyers list, you will be able to form a geographical chart that will point

out the areas where there is a demand and other areas where there

is an abundant supply of properties. Thus, if you have a property in

areas where there has been a demand for the same, you can be

pretty sure of being able to sell the property after making a few calls.

In the same way, use a buyers list to purchase a property in areas

where the demand is strong as it will assure you of a quick flip.


Remember, if you have a property that is not sold quickly then it can

mar your reputation as an efficient flipper. People might start

harboring doubts regarding the physical condition of the property.

It Helps You Segregate Your Buyers. Instead of buying a property

and calling everyone from a general list, compiling a segregated

buyers list will help you in separating your actual buyers from

investors, rehabbers, renters, landlords, etc. Thus, whenever you buy

a property that has a high potential all you need to do after renovating

is call a rehab buyer, who might be motivated to buy the property

after looking at it. Similarly, a property suitable to be rented out could

be flipped to a landlord that specializes in buying properties for

renting them out. Such a list will save a lot of time and energy and will

ensure that the right property reaches the right person interested in

buying it.

It Helps You Establish Yourself In The Market. If you join a real estate

association then you will be able to rub shoulders with other people

with similar needs and expectations. Thus, by adding such people to

your buyers list, you will be able to quickly sell off any property on

hand and even purchase new properties. This will help you to slowly

establish yourself in your real estate market.

It Helps You To Maintain A Positive Cash Flow. By maintaining an

updated buyers list at all times you can quickly flip properties and this

will contribute cash to your kitty. This, in turn, will maintain a positive

cash flow and enable you to buy even more properties without any


financial hitch.

It Provides You With A Wider Choice. By constantly maintaining a

buyers list, you will have a wider range of buyers that could be

interested in the property that you have on hand. You can now

compare more offers and choose the offer that provides you with the

most in terms of money or flexibility. This would not have been

possible without a buyers list where you would have been forced to

compromise your profit margin or accept rigid payment terms.

A buyers list is a necessity if you not only want to quickly flips

properties but also want to do it on your terms. This should not be

viewed as an obligation but rather as a highly useful tool to transact

faster and high-profit deals.

Real Estate Investing Experts Kim and Charles Petty have been involved in over

700 real estate transactions in the last 9 years and are the creators of the

Ultimate Turn Key Virtual Real Estate Investing Systems.


How to Use Leverage to Maximize Your Wholesaling Profits

By Cris Chico

After you have a property and have begun shopping it around to the

buyers, you will need to come up with wholesaling terms, especially

deposits and asking prices. Much of the decision is based on current

market prices; so, for example, if a property in a particular area is

widely sought after by buyers in the area, you will be able to dictate a

different price than if the property is in the middle of nowhere.

However, there is another element to wholesaling terms that is

separate (but related) to demand, and that is leverage. The more

leverage you have over prospective buyers, the more you can ask

for.

Defining Leverage While demand in a particular area is based on economic conditions,

leverage is based on the number of buyers that you personally have

interested in the property. It does not matter how many buyers there

are in the world for that piece of property, what matters are the

number of people that you personally have interested in the property

you are dealing.

Utilizing Leverage When you have leverage with your buyers, you can start to ask for

slightly more exorbitant things – such as large, non-refundable down


payments. You are also able to hold out on a buyer in order to get the

actual value of the property you are dealing, rather than settling for a

lower offer from a buyer that is trying to weasel their way out of

paying the accurate property price.

At the same time, however, one must be wary about not having

leverage. When you do have multiple buyers, you can afford to ask

for amounts that a buyer may not be willing to pay in slow market

areas. This means that buyers may easily get frustrated and walk

away from the deal – but that doesn’t matter, because you have other

buyers in this mix.

When you do not have multiple buyers you do not have that same

leverage, even if the market for that area should be ripe with

interested parties. Asking for something that could cause a buyer to

walk away from the deal means that you lose one of the few

individuals interested in completing the transaction. Obviously there is

a high likelihood that if you have only one or two buyers, and one of

those buyers walks away, your chances of completing the transaction

are greatly diminished. Deciding on your wholesaling terms is directly

related to the amount of leverage you have over the buyers that you,

personally, have interested in the property. The market is only one

part of the mathematical equation.


Limited Liability Companies (LLCs):

Avoiding Disasters, Mistakes and Confusion!

By Darius M. Barazandeh, Attorney at Law / M.B.A.

I see it several times per day, everyday: An LLC disaster waiting to

happen! No matter where I travel or with whom I speak, it’s clear that

small to mid-sized business owners are not getting proper instruction

on how to create, run, and maintain a ‘rock solid’ LLC. Did you or

your attorney form your LLC? Are you now left with a stack of papers

and confusion?

One comment that I repeatedly hear is, “Well, my attorney set it up for

me two years ago…so everything is rock solid.” Usually, without

much probing, I soon learn that little else has been done since then. I

will typically find that even the attorney may have missed a few steps

along the way! In fact, we have uncovered 24 mistakes/traps that LLC

owners face all the time! Many of these mistakes are even made by

attorneys, experienced business owners, and very talented people.

So if you want to avoid disasters and create a ‘rock solid’ LLC…let’s

get started!

While I can’t cover all 24 mistakes and traps in this article, let’s talk

about the first 5 mistakes in some detail:


1) The ‘Fatal Death’ Personal Liability Clause

A handful of states have a strange option in their articles of

organization forms which can be d-i-s-a-s-t-r-o-u-s. Some states

require the filer to select whether or not LLC members will be

personally liable for the business debts of the LLC. Obviously,

members should not be personally liable for LLC debts and

obligations! This is the reason you are forming an LLC to begin

with…remember? Carefully read the articles of organization or similar

formation documents in all states. Make sure that you and your

attorney do not accept member personal liability for business debts. If

you had an attorney or filing service submit your organizing

documents for you, then it is always a good idea to ‘double check’

this area. Make modifications if needed. You would be surprised how

many times it’s a secretary, legal assistant or clerk who actually

completes your precious articles of organization. Just because a box

exists, this does not mean you should ‘checkmark’ it!

2) Not Maintaining "Required" Records

Here is an area where much confusion exists. When I talk about

required records, I almost always get the same response, “I don’t

want to keep records…that’s why I chose the LLC over a

corporation!”


Hold on one minute…because you may be surprised to learn that

almost every state requires the LLC to maintain certain key records.

In fact, maintaining ‘key records’ is one of the few ‘formalities’ that

states do impose on the LLC. As a result, this can be a prime target

area of attack if a suing attorney, the IRS, or a bankruptcy court

wishes to ‘set aside’ or ‘penetrate’ the LLC.

We have reviewed this area in much detail for all 50 states and D.C.,

and I can tell you that each is different. Regardless of what your

attorney, accountant, best friend, or local guru tells you, this is a must

do area! Some common records include: copies of resolutions,

unanimous consent forms, copies of meeting minutes, tax returns

(from 3 to 6 years), the names and addresses of all current and

former members and/or managers, a copy of the operating

agreement and more!

3) Failing To Understand and Review Your Operating Agreement

This is an all too common mistake. The operating agreement is

perhaps the most important document of the LLC! The operating

agreement is an ‘internal’ set of rules for the company. It is basically a

contract among members of the LLC. Even if you are the only LLC

member this document is very important! We continually find that

many business owners have a generic operating agreement that has

never been reviewed or even signed by members!


Even worse, most operating agreements are usually missing some

KEY components. In fact, we have isolated 43 to 45 key components

that must be included in almost all operating agreements. Most

canned and even ‘customized’ agreements only contain about 25 to

30 of these components. At a bare minimum, you should understand

what the ‘best practices’ are regarding operating agreements and

then compare this ‘gold standard’ to what you have. Special tax

treatments for the LLC (such as the popular S-corporation tax

treatment under Sub Chapter S) will require additional terms and

controls!

4) Failing To Complete the "Big 10" After Forming The LLC:

It does not matter whether you file the LLC paperwork yourself, hire

an attorney or other service these things must be completed. This is

one mistake we see over and over again! Most business owners

routinely forget to complete the ‘Big 10’ important steps within 30

days of forming the LLC. Here are 7 of the steps:

1) Conduct the First Organizational Meeting of the LLC – This is

really important and will allow you to create solid safeguards and

‘often forgotten’ controls. There are about 11 things that should occur

at this meeting!

2) Obtain Employer’s Identification Number (‘EIN’) from the IRS

3) Register Your Business Name with the County Name Registrar


4) Register with your State Department of Revenue and Comply with

State Sales Tax Rules

5) Collect Member Capital Contributions and Transfer Cash or Hard

Assets into the LLC (With proper instruction this is simple…if done

incorrectly a liability disaster can occur!)

6) Obtain the Proper Business Licenses

7) Review Insurance Coverage Needs and Limitations

5) Failure To Properly Evaluate And Choose Your Team Of

Professionals:

This is perhaps one of the toughest things for the real estate investor

and small business owner to do. Part of the problem is that most of

these professionals (e.g., attorneys and accountants) will know more

than the average business owner regarding legal and tax issues.

Sometimes the big mahogany desk and the plush office will make

them seem even smarter!

Take it from me, ‘ivory tower’ law and accounting programs really

don’t teach you how to run an LLC for maximum tax savings and

asset protection. It seems to be a lost art these days! The truth is that

the competency of legal and tax services can range from great to

very poor! You need to be able to evaluate this for yourself!


The challenge is that most people who contact an attorney or

accountant rarely have a true two-sided discussion! After all, it’s

nearly impossible to ask the right questions and comprehend all your

of options unless you fully understand the choices and variations

available. The Answer: Educate Yourself First! One thing that I have

learned over the years is this: no one will care as much about your

business as you. It may be sad but accept this today…in fact, right

now!

Take advantage of top quality home study systems and detailed

instruction. Learn about your options and the ‘best practices’ for real

estate investors and business owners. Seek out those who want to

help and educate! Then when evaluating an attorney or accountant

you can ask them the ‘tough’ questions and see if they can answer or

if they squirm! Doesn’t this sound like a better position to be in?

You will be better able to choose your team and you can ensure that

the person who cares the most about your business can make

informed decisions about the business!


Land is a Great Investment

By Jack Bosch

If you have even a passing interest in real estate, you've undoubtedly

heard one or more of the so-called "experts" advising against buying

undeveloped land. Why? “Because it generates no income” right?

Wrong, the fact is that they're not telling you the whole story about

raw land. There happens to be another school of thought entirely.

And once you take notice and begin to analyze things clearly, you'll

start to see that buying land can actually be a tremendous wealth

builder, one that can generate a great monthly cash flow.

Let's think about this for a moment. For literally hundreds of years,

vast fortunes have been made in America by owning land. This has

occurred in one of two basic ways: either the owner held land that lay

in the pathway of progress and growth, or the owner held land that

someone else sought to buy in order to change how it was being

used. (Remember when the Disney Corporation bought the

swamplands near Orlando?) These same basic premises work just

as well today. Owning a well-positioned tract of land can return

many, MANY times the amount of money invested in it.

Aside from just buying low or in a growing area and selling the

property for cash there is a whole other world that most investors

overlook. People for the most part usually understand that money can

be made in real estate, most people even know someone that has

made it big in real estate. But the question I still always get about


land investing is “How can I build a cash flow by investing in land?”.

Since undeveloped land has nothing on it most people think that they

will have to build a house or apartment complex on it before they can

receive a monthly income stream from it. I always tell people that for

years now I have been receiving a nice cash flow from my properties.

What’s my secret? Well while every other land investor in this county

is either developing the land or selling it to someone else for cash, I

have been selling a percentage of my properties on terms. So when

someone buys a property from me they can pay me in cash or they

can pay me just a down payment and finance the rest with me for a

number of years. This allows me to receive checks every month for

years after. I have been able to acquire hundreds of these notes over

the past few years and this has allowed me to live quite comfortably

even in down markets.

How to put your CASH FLOW on AUTO Pilot:

As you buy properties using my three techniques of you will need to

determine whether you want to sell them for CASH only or for

TERMS, meaning with a loan which you carry back. Ideally you will

find that you want to do a combination of both techniques.

But before I get into the sales portion of this here is a refresher on my

three methods to buy properties for pennies on the dollar:


1. Tax Lien Sales, where you buy a Tax Lien on properties

unlikely to be redeemed and then foreclose on the lien once the state

statues allow you to.

2. Tax Deeds Sales, you buy a property outright at Tax Deed

Sale.

3. My favorite method: My personal Direct Investment Method,

where you buy tax delinquent properties directly from the often long

time owners for pennies on the dollar outside of the auctions and

sometimes years before these properties come up for auction.

Once you have the properties you are probably looking to sell them

so you can actually realize the profits you have made when buying.

In order to optimize your Cash Flow and put it on Auto Pilot here are

some guidelines:

Take the properties you paid more than usual for and sell them for

cash. You want to get your capital right back plus some and then

reinvest that amount.

Cheap properties on the contrary, where the spread between

purchase price and Sale price is LARGE are IDEAL candidates for

Term sales, because you might recover your purchase price with the

down payment alone or with the down payment and a few monthly

payments and then the rest is profits.


Do a combination of both transaction types, Cash sales and Term

Sales to get cash in and build up

Take some HIGH VALUE properties for which you only paid 20%-

30% of market value and sell them for CASH (no financing). This

should bring you multiple of your investment in CASH.

Then take that what you initially invested and buy another one of

those high profit properties.

Take what’s left over and buy a lot of smaller lower value properties

which you can literally pick up at a few hundred dollars each and sell

for a few thousand each ON TERMS WITH FINANCING and a low

down payment (of a few hundred dollars).

And then enjoy receiving checks in the mail, first one then a few and

soon enough you can scale this to have dozens and even hundreds

of checks coming your way each month on property you owe nothing

on and which you sell for a multiple of what it is worth.


Psychology of Tax Delinquent Property Owners

By Jack Bosch

When someone decides to stop making their property tax payments

and let their property go for taxes, there are many reasons for this.

But below these superficial reasons is a feeling of the owner that

he/she just does not want to deal with this property anymore.

Reality does really not play a big role in the minds of these owners. In

their minds they just wrote this property off and do not want to deal

with it anymore.

They fully know that they could sell the property fast if they would

only sell it at a discount and advertise it a little bit, but even that is too

much effort for them. And it doesn’t even matter if they could recover

thousands and even tens of thousands of dollars from such a sale.

Once their mind is made up that they don’t want the property

anymore they rarely sway from their position.

This is GREAT for you because you as an investor learning from

people like me how to find these people and buy their properties for

as little as $100 to $500 can make a fortune with these properties.

And you are not even taking advantage of the sellers.


In many of my deals I have actually told the seller that I will re-sell the

property down the road for a good profit and they have congratulated

me to this and wished me luck.

So buying Tax Delinquent properties directly from the owners for

purposes of reselling them is not something you have to hide from

your sellers but instead something you can be upfront about.

The reasons a property owner ultimately gets to the point of deciding

to let a property go for taxes are multi-fold, but many of them are

centered around the following scenarios.

1. A Property owner tried selling their property in a bad market

many years ago using an even worse Real Estate Agent. The

property did not sell and now they think it cannot be sold.

2. The Owner tried in the past to sell the property for CASH

ONLY, no financing. Since obtaining Bank financing on raw, vacant

land is more challenging than on houses, this diminishes the pool of

available buyers drastically. Most people don’t have $5,000, $10,000

or $20,000 sitting in their bank accounts ready to be used to buy a

piece of land. Since this did not lead to success they now are not

willing to try it again, or don’t even know that they could sell the piece

of land fast with seller financing.

3. The owner is an absentee owner who was for many years

hoping for some development to spring up in the property area. If this

did not happen, he looses faith in his investment and decides to cut

his losses. However, what these owners do not realize is that today


we live in the age of the Internet and the entire world is their market.

This was not the case to that degree even 10 years ago and not at all

15-20 years ago. As a result, one person’s junk is another person’s

treasure. There is Vast numbers of people all over the US looking for

any type of real estate at any given time. It is just a matter of you

being able to put it online (I can help) and expose this piece of land to

the most people possible. With that you should be able to sell any

piece of real estate fast and for good $$$.

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WHAT IS ALL THE FUSS ABOUT SHORT SALES?

by Dwan Bent-Twyford

What is all the fuss about short sales? Everywhere you turn, there is

another seminar, another guru, or another boot camp all teaching the

same thing. Can so many people be right? How many different ways

can there be to do the same thing? Folks, believe it or not, there are

not one hundred different ways to do short sales, there is one and

everyone is trying to put a spin on it to seem original.

Since my partner and I were the first to bring this topic to the surface,

it’s exciting to see how this incredible topic has exploded. I’m going

to review the short sale concept and show you just how easy it

actually is.

A short sale is simple: Through simple negotiations you get the bank

to accept less than what is owed as payment in full. For example,

you find a homeowner with a property worth $100,000 that has a

$100,000 mortgage balance. You work with the bank to negotiate a

discount on the payoff. The bank agrees to accept $50,000 as

payment in full and you have just completed your first short sale.

Is it really that simple? Sometimes! The key to successful short

sales is to understand the mindset of the people involved and make

the deal appealing to each person involved. There are basically three


parties involved in a successful short sale: The homeowner who is

interested in getting out of foreclosure, the bank who wants to get a

bad debt off its books, and the rehabber who wants a great property

to fix-up and sell retail. In each situation, there is a win/win outcome.

Let’s start with the homeowners. Their motivation is obvious. They

are behind in payments or already in foreclosure. They are getting

called by creditors, banks, attorneys, mortgage broker’s and more

everyday. They just want to sleep at night and get out from under the

stress this situation has placed on their lives. Their downfall: they

have no equity. They have called every investor in town and been

turned down by everyone because they have no equity. They call

you and you say, “No equity? No problem!” You explain the short

sale concept, get the property under contract, and get busy.

Why would the bank accept less? The bank can take the property

back at the sheriff’s sale and then retail it. With all of the foreclosures

now banks are sitting on 1,000’s of REO’s So, let me ask you this,

“Are banks in the business of lending money or owning homes?

Correct, lending money. Is a foreclosure an asset or a liability? Right

again, a liability. Folks, banks are in the business of wholesaling

money. They borrow money from bigger banks and then lend it to

you. They have to show their credit report, just like you do, to get a

low interest rate on the money they are trying to borrow. If you were

going to lend millions of dollars to a bank, would you lend your money

to the banks with the low default rates or the banks with the high

default rates? Right again, you would lend to the banks with the


smallest number of defaulted or foreclosable loans. The banks

motivation to accept a short sale is to clean up its books so that it can

borrow more money, at a cheaper rate, and then lend it to you.

Where does the rehabber come into play? You have to have

someone to sell your properties to once you negotiate a successful

short sale. Rehabbers are the perfect outlet. Rehabbers like to

purchase fixer-uppers at 65% of the retail value. In the case of the

$100,000 property, a rehabber wants to buy it for no more than

$65,000. In order for this to happen, you must get the bank to say

yes to your offer. Rehabbers would like to buy at 55% to give them

the cushion they need to fix and flip in today’s market.

So, how do you get the bank to say yes? You build a great case.

Think of it like an attorney defending a case. The better case you

build, the better your chances are to win. I send as much information

as I can to the bank to show the bank why it should accept my low

offer now instead of waiting out the foreclosure and bankruptcy

process and getting the house later.

How do you build a good case? Send: a sales contract, signed by

the homeowners, for the amount you want to offer the bank; an

“authorization to release information” form; low comps; bad pictures;

a detailed list of repairs; a hardship letter written by the homeowners -

backed up with proof such as late notices, shut off notices, bank

statements, job layoff papers, medical bills, tax returns, or whatever

you can find; a crime report; a list of sex offenders in the area; articles


from the newspaper showing negative items – job layoffs, crime,

natural disasters, foreclosures up, bankruptcies up, and whatever you

can find that is detrimental to the neighborhood; net sheet; and a

cover letter from you stating why you couldn’t possibly pay full price

for the property.

Submit that information to the Loss Mitigation department of the bank

and you are in business. The rep will negotiate with you and once

you settle on a price, wholesale the property to the rehabber. You

become the middleman and make the difference between what you

negotiated with the bank and the rehabber.

Folks, short sales are not that hard. There are millions of dollars

being left on the table. Get busy and put some of it in your pocket.

Good luck!


Two Major Benefits of Having Private Lenders

By Alan Cowgill

I started my business by using banks, savings, credit cards, lines of

credit, creative techniques with sellers (like land contracts or

lease/options), and partners. But, once I was self-employed, I was

concerned that it was going to be harder to get loans to purchase

properties.

I had always been unhappy about how long the banks take to get the

job done. I had it take 4-1/2 months on a house without a furnace.

The bank didn't know if they wanted to make a loan on that kind of

house, but that is what my rehab business is all about. Buy 'em ugly,

cheap and fix 'em.

Just think, if I would have used a private lender on the above deal, I

could have bought, fixed & sold the house and pocketed $20,000 by

the time I got to the closing table with the bank.

With private lenders, I have the funds available all the time. When a

good deal comes my way, I can grab it because I know the money is

waiting for me. While my competitors are scrambling around applying

at the bank, I've made an offer and closed the deal. My rehab crew is


all over the property like ants before the competition knows what

happened. I love having private lenders for my business.

So, a major benefit is SPEED to purchase a property.

Let's look at another major benefit of having private lenders. My first

private lender was my Mother. My Dad had passed away in 1989

and Mom had insurance money. She proudly invested it on bank

certificates of deposit (CDs). When I became a real estate investor, I

learned about finding private lenders and so I talked to Mom about it.

She loaned me $5,000 and received 10% interest in return. I paid her

monthly just like her bank did with her CDs. She was delighted and

so was I.

As my use of private lenders increased, I learned that some of them

didn't need monthly payments and so I started to structure my loans

so there was no payment until the property is sold.

This is a huge benefit... Think about what this has done to improve

my monthly cash flow. Now my Mom will always get monthly

payments from me because she is retired and depends on that

income BUT anyone who can wait on their money, I'll let the money

accrue. So the second major benefit is improved CASH FLOW

because you don't have to make monthly mortgage payments but just

let the interest accrue.

===============================================


Why Raise Private Money?

By Alan Cowgill

This topic is near and dear to my heart. When I started my RE

career, I heard about the necessity of finding private lenders. In fact I

even found two. But then I stopped. For four years I

PROCRASTINATED. I didn't get it!!! For four years I continued to go

to banks and jump through their hoops. I also had used hard money

lenders, but found them VERY expensive.

It wasn't until I quit my J.O.B. and found that banks wouldn't loan me

money that I realized that I needed to bring private lenders into my

life quickly.

When I took that step, everything changed for the better.

What are some of the advantages of using private money for your

real estate investments? Well, if you haven't decided whether or not

to use private money, I decided to lay it on the line here for everyone

to see.

- Fast & you can buy at a discount

- No credit check & doesn't show up on your credit report

- Unlimited funds

- Control, you set the rules


- Help friends, family & meet a great group of people

- Get some of your profit when you buy

- Cash flow

- Flexible

- Can make offers with confidence

- Can structure quick and more profitable exit strategies

- Saves you money

- Cheaper than a partner

- Fund the purchase of defaulted paper

- It is the foundation for a very profitable brokerage business

In this business when a deal comes along you have to move fast.

Many investors have watched a deal slip through their hands while

they waited for the bank to approve their loan. Once you have private

money available, that won't happen to you! You can make an offer

knowing you can go ahead and set a closing date. Meanwhile, your

competition is wondering how you did it so quickly!


Creating a Mindset for Success in Real Estate Investing

By Larry H. Goins

What gets you out of the bed each day? Do you have goals and

plans, both short and long term, or is the fact that you will be out on

the streets if you don’t make next months rent or mortgage payment

what motivates you? I say this to prove a point. Some people are

pleasure motivated and some people are pain motivated. I think it’s

important to find out which you are. If you are pain motivated I

suggest that you find something to get excited about. Even if your

goal is not for you but for a family member it can still motivate you.

Setting goals are very simple. It can be done by anyone. Are you

ready?

Here’s what you have to do to set a goal…. Decide what you want

and write it down. That’s it! Just the fact that you wrote it down

increases you chances of obtaining your goal. The other thing you

need to do is set a deadline for achieving your goal. A goal without a

deadline is just a conversation. This is worth repeating.

A goal without a deadline is just a conversation. You also need to

consider balance in your life when goal setting. You should have

different types of goals. You need financial, physical, personal

development, family and spiritual goals. Can you see that if you set

goals in all of these areas then you will also have balance in your life?

Once you have your goals set then you need to determine the

activities required to achieve your goals. Just remember, do not


confuse activity with productivity. You must produce to achieve your

goals.

Let’s talk about applying this to your real estate investing. You need

to set your investing goals to include cash, cash flow, and equity.

Each time you purchase a home you need to run the numbers to add

up these three items for the property. How much cash can you get

out in the refinance, what will the cash flow be and how much will

your net worth increase after you purchase the property? You could

even use a spread sheet to keep track.

I also want you to keep track of your return on the equity in your

property. If you have $20,000 equity in a property and your cash flow

is break even, what is your return on equity? Zero! This is one that

you should sell and invest the equity somewhere else to get a return

on your money.

The last thing I want to do is give you some questions to ask yourself

before you set your goals:

1: Am I reading the books that will take me where I want to be?

2: Who am I around and what are they doing to me?

3: Do I have a coach or mentor that I can call on?

4: How do I feel physically?

5: If I get what I want will I be happy with what I have?


All of these questions sound simple but you need to ask them to

yourself. After all, you don’t want to work your entire career climbing

the ladder only to realize it’s leaning against the wrong tree.

================================================

BUILDING YOUR REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TEAM

By: Larry Goins

Whether you like it or not you can’t do it all by yourself. Investing in

real estate requires many different professionals. There are realtors,

appraisers, inspectors, builders, remodelers, mortgage companies,

banks, property managers, attorneys, partners, accountants, sign

companies, printing companies and yes even mentors, buyers,

sellers and tenants. I have heard in business that you are only as

good as your weakest link.

I want to suggest that you choose your team carefully. You may even

want to go as far as interviewing your team players. After all this is a

business and the dollar amounts can be substantial so you want to

make sure that your team members have the same morals, ethics,

business philosophy and personality as you. This is not to say that

you will not make some mistakes and or changes along the way but

when you start out with a list of the qualities that you are looking for in

your team it makes the decision process much easier. Yes I did say


qualities and not experience or education.

It’s easy to find someone who knows the business or has experience

but it can be a challenge to find the right qualities and personality in

the person you are looking for.

I would start my search by seeking a referral from someone who is

already in the business and is successful. Make sure you know the

person you are seeking the referral from well enough to know that

you will be well received when you contact whomever they referred.

Notice that I indicated that you seek a referral from someone who is

not only in the business but is “successful”. It doesn’t do any good to

contact a banker for a line of credit when you have been referred by

someone the banker just turned down nor does it look good to

contact a realtor referral from someone who just backed out of the

last deal they had under contract.

I think it is only appropriate to note here that if you are making a

referral to someone who is building their team, make sure you know a

little about this person also. It doesn’t help you by referring someone

to your banker who just got out of bankruptcy and has a history of

shady deals.

Once you establish your team players you should be loyal to them.

Let me give you an example. Who are you going to call when you find

a listing online or another realtors listing while driving the

neighborhood? Most people would say I call the listing agent. I used


to do the same thing.

Let me suggest you call your team player and let them go to work for

you. If you call the listing agent it and buy the house it may be the

only sale you give that realtor this year. By calling YOUR realtor that

closed 30 transactions for you last year they will go to bat for you to

get you the price and terms that they already know you are looking

for. Not to mention the fact that you will be the one they call when

they find a deal that has to be sold fast. Trust me on this, as I know

from experience.

I hope that this will help you in building your team. I hope you have

enjoyed this article.

=================================================


A GAME PLAN FOR SUCCESS INVESTING IN

REAL ESTATE

By Larry Goins

I want to share with you some ideas on using real estate to become

debt free and build your cash reserves. It has worked for me and I

have also shared this with many other investors and it has worked for

them also. Many investors start out in real estate thinking that you

have to “have money to make money”. That is not the case at all.

You will need one of two things though; either good credit or

cash…remember that it doesn’t have to be your cash or credit as far

as that’s concerned. It’s OK to start out with other investors until you

can do it on your own. I would rather share the profits and have some

of something rather than all of nothing.

We only buy when we can get paid and still cash flow the property.

Let me explain. Let say you find a property that has an after repaired

value or ARV of $100,000. Because the property needs $20,000 in

work you can buy it for $50,000.

Now you will be in the property at 70% of value once the work is

done. Whether you paid cash, borrowed from relatives or got a hard

money loan for purchase and rehab makes no difference. Once you

have a $100,000 property you can now refinance at 80% loan to

value or LTV and after closing cost pull out about $7,000 to $8,000 in

tax free cash.


Yes you do not pay taxes on borrowed money. But just remember

that it is still borrowed money and has to be paid back, even if it is the

tenants that are paying it back. I do not recommend refinancing over

80% loan to value. This way you still have some equity for your

financial statement and the property should cash flow with no

problem.

Now, what do you do with the cash out from the refinance that you

just received? No you don’t buy a new car, go to Vegas, or anything

like that. You simply pay off a credit card, installment loan, your car,

your equity line, etc.

You can buy real estate and get cash to pay off your personal bills

and increase your cash flow from the rents at the same time. If the

property you just bought and refinanced has a $200 cash flow but you

also used the cash out to pay off your car that has a $300 payment,

how much did you really increase your cash flow? $500! Every time

that you buy a property think about what bill you will soon be able to

pay off.

Once you have all of your consumer debt paid off then you start

paying off your home that you live in. Once your home is paid for then

you go to your banker and get a line of credit on your home to use to

buy and rehab properties. Then you simply refinance once the work is

done and pay off the line.


It is much easier to negotiate with a seller when you can simply write

a check to purchase their property. Then when you ask a seller the

least they will take if they can have a check by Friday, you can back it

up.

Sure it may take some time to get to this point but once you have

become debt free (with the exception of rental property, of course) it

opens up so many options for you to do things that you have never

been able to do. Not to mention the peace of mind.

=================================================


BEST KEPT SECRETS TO GET MORE

MOTIVATED SELLERS CONTACTING YOU

By: Kathy Kennebrook, The Marketing Magic Lady

Getting motivated sellers to contact you first is essential to any

successful Real Estate Investor’s business. A truly motivated seller is

the key to a good deal; the more motivated the seller, the better the

deal. You will find very quickly, as I did, that you will be able to buy a

lot more houses at much better prices if you target the right sellers.

You will also get the terms you want when the seller contacts you

first, especially in some of today’s really hot real estate markets.

You’ll want to target the kind of sellers who truly need to sell as

opposed to those who just want to sell, including those sellers in pre-

foreclosure.

Marketing to sellers is also a numbers’ game. The more motivated

sellers you are able to locate, the more motivated sellers you will

have contacting you, and the more opportunities you’ll have to make

good deals. The secret is in learning how to find the truly motivated

sellers.

Whom exactly are you going to be marketing to? Motivation comes in

many forms. Sellers need to sell for a variety of reasons. Some

reasons have to do with the sellers themselves, such as age, health


status, job situations, personal situations, financial difficulties, change

in family size or change in marital status.

Other reasons might have to do with the property itself, such as an

estate, a property that needs too much work, or a property that has

been vacant for a significant period of time. This would also include

land lords who have simply had enough of tenants damaging their

properties over and over again.

So how do you find these sellers and how should you market to

them? The best way I’ve found to do this is by using at least three to

five different marketing strategies at all times. One of the multi-

pronged marketing approaches is the proper use of direct mail to

reach these very motivated sellers. You always want to be reaching

your market in a variety of different ways to draw the highest number

of motivated sellers to you.

The BIG secret to effective direct mail campaigns is to use them over

and over to the same potential sellers. As you will quickly discover,

given time, almost every potential sellers’ circumstances change and

make them more ready to sell.

I also find that these mailings are very residual. These potential

sellers will hold onto your direct mail pieces until their circumstances

dictate that they contact you. The amazing thing is that when they are

ready, they will contact YOU first. They probably have not had any


contact from anyone else, because usually their properties are not

being actively marketed.

Since they are not being actively marketed, there is virtually no

competition for these deals. And… if you take the time to actively

follow up with your direct mail campaigns and with your sellers, these

sellers will contact you first when they need to sell, even if they have

been contacted by someone else in the meantime.

This makes it even easier for you to make a good deal. In addition,

during the time you have been mailing sequentially to these potential

sellers, you continue to build credibility with them. This will give you a

significant advantage over your competition, since these sellers feel

they already have a “relationship” with you.

The biggest part of the secret is to find the sellers who really want

to sell. I use different direct mail campaigns to successfully locate

several types of motivated sellers. The best way for you to build your

business quickly is to use a number of different methods to draw

motivated sellers simultaneously.

This can best be done by locating mailing lists and refining them to

meet your specific criteria, and then mail to them over and over,

cleaning your lists as you go. I find that I get the best results by

mailing to my lists at least every sixty to ninety days. This is very easy

to do if you implement a follow up system which will help you to track

your mailings and your deals.


You’ll also quickly discover that different types of direct mail pieces

and lists work better in some parts of the country than in others.

Some of these lists might include mailings to out of state property

owners, burned out land lords, military transfers, estates or pre-

foreclosures. These are all sources of highly motivated sellers.

Be sure to give your potential sellers several different ways to

contact you such as mail, e-mail, fax, phone and a website. The more

ways you give these sellers to contact you, the more of them will

contact you, especially when you make it more convenient for them

by giving them several ways to reach you. This way they can contact

you in the way that is the most comfortable for them and at their

convenience.

When you learn how to get motivated sellers contacting you and then

learn how to purchase properties using a number of different

methods, the possibilities become almost endless. If you use several

different methods to get motivated sellers contacting you, you will

have more opportunities than you can even imagine. You get to pick

and choose the deals that you want to do! Because you get to pick

and choose the deals you want to do, you can also pick the exit

strategy that most suits your needs, such as wholesaling, renting,

selling or lease/options. There is no other marketing strategy that

gives you this much control over your deals.


In addition, in today’s market, since so many folks are focused on

pre-foreclosures, there is a whole other market of sellers who need

our help as well, like divorces, estates and probate, military transfers,

burned out landlords and Spanish Speaking homeowners. These are

just a few of the types of sellers we need to be concentrating on to

create great deals, including those that come with owner financing.

Using direct mail campaigns to market to motivated sellers and

developing a “cookie cutter” system to accomplish this is one of most

affordable, reliable, and effective ways that I know to build your

business quickly and have more qualified motivated sellers contacting

you than you will be able to handle.

===============================================

Following Up with Motivated Sellers Can Make You Millions By Kathy Kennebrook

Let me ask you a question; are you properly managing your

prospects? Are you taking the time to follow up with the sellers who

didn’t initially accept your offers, or the sellers you still need to make

offers to? Did you know that you are leaving thousands of dollars in

potential income behind if you aren’t following up with sellers?

One of the easiest ways to make a fortune in the real estate business

and gain the advantage over your competition is to take the time to


follow up with motivated and semi-motivated sellers. You’ve already

got the seller in your pipeline, you’ve already done the marketing and

spent the money to find this person, now all you need to do is to

follow up with them until they either sell you their property or tell you

to go away. How much simpler could it be?

There are two types of sellers we are going to follow up with, those

we’ve already made offers to who haven’t accepted our offer and

those who have not made any decision after our initial contact with

them. Quite often, you will need to make multiple contacts with sellers

before their situation changes and dictates that they sell their property

to you. If you stay in touch with these sellers, you build credibility with

them and when it comes time to sell they will contact you first, even if

they have been contacted by someone else in the meantime.

There are a lot of investors in the market these days, and most of

them have a very limited knowledge of how the whole follow-up

process works, not to mention the inability to create successful deals.

What they don’t realize is that many of the sellers you will be dealing

with have a variety of problems they aren’t sure how to solve until

they are contacted by you. Some of those may include divorce

situations, estates or health issues where there may be emotions tied

to the property. With these sellers it may take a little longer before

they make that final decision to sell.

Most of your competitors will simply throw these potential deals in

the trash when they don’t get the property under contract after the


initial contact or offer is made. I have made deals many months after

the initial contact with the seller was made simply because I took the

time to follow up. Not only did I build credibility with the seller, but

now they like me better and trust me more than the next investor who

may come along.

These are the types of sellers I will place in my follow-up system and

follow up with at least every thirty to sixty days if not more often. I

have made thousands of dollars on deals other investors would

simply have thrown in the trash because I took the time to follow up

with a semi-motivated seller.

In addition, with the help of a fellow investor who is also a software

developer, I now have an incredible software system that does all the

work for me. It reminds me when I need to do my direct mail

campaigns, it reminds me when to follow up with sellers, it has a

section to track potential buyers and build a buyer’s list, and it keeps

all the information on the properties stored including a photo.

In fact, once I have followed up and purchased the property, my

system will match the property with one of the buyers on my buyer’s

list, so now; even that part of my business is automated. And once

again, isn’t that the whole point to this business, to automate as many

things as you can so you can work with the sellers and make the

deals happen. You don’t need software to get started with this type of

a system. You can simply use an auto-responder and a folder system

to begin following up with motivated sellers.


Here is a recent example from my files- I contacted a seller who had

inherited a property in Florida where I live and he lived in Michigan.

The home belonged to his aunt who had pretty much raised him his

whole life. When she passed away the home was left to him and he

just couldn’t bring himself to sell it right away. I actually met with the

seller and made an offer on the property. He had accepted my offer,

and then he decided to hold onto the property for a while and use it

as a vacation home.

After a year and a half, he got tired of having to deal with all the

maintenance issues on the property and ended up selling the

property to me for the initial offer I made because I took the time to

follow up with him every sixty days or so. I actually ended up making

even more money on this deal than I would have in the first place

because the house had appreciated in value during the period of time

that he kept it. Most investors would have thrown this deal in the trash

as soon as the seller said no to their initial offer, but because I took

the time to follow up, I purchased the property and made a significant

amount of money on this deal. I still get holiday cards from that seller.

I’m sure you’re already aware of how important it is to follow up with

sellers. It only takes a few minutes each week to follow up with these

sellers if you have a good follow-up system in place. I use my follow-

up system to follow up with sellers I have made offers to but who

haven’t said yes or no to my offer, and with sellers who own homes in

areas where I want to buy.


I do this by using both direct mail and e-mail to follow up with these

sellers. Sometimes if the situation warrants it, I will call them. My

system even reminds me to do it. How much simpler can it be? You

see, my system reminds me to contact the seller again and since the

seller has already been getting contact from me for a few weeks, now

their situation has changed and they are ready to sell to me. This is a

pretty typical scenario.

With sellers who specifically have properties in areas where I want to

buy, I do repeat mailings to a specific list with specific parameters in

mind such as out of state owners, quit claim deeds or old sale dates.

Each time I do the mailings I continue to clean the list I am using by

taking out bad addresses, deals I have purchased or folks who tell

me not to mail to them again. The more I mail to these folks, the more

credibility I build with them. If you are using a follow up system in your

business it is very easy to track these mailings. This is an absolute

marketing machine because not only are you doing deals day after

day, you are constantly planting seeds for future deals.

If you take the time to follow up with motivated and semi-motivated

sellers, you will make more deals and buy more properties with

absolutely no competition for these properties whatsoever. It’s a win-

win situation for you and the sellers.

=================================================


Getting Started in Real Estate Investing

By Sherman Ragland

Are you ready to get started in real estate investing, but not sure

where to begin?

Afraid to make a HUGE Mistake??

Stuck with the Paralysis of Analysis???

You are not alone! Almost all real estate investors had to spend

countless hours at the beginning of their investing careers

researching the various strategies trying to figure out where they

should begin.

While there is no single right answer for everyone, there are three key

questions every potential investor needs to ask:

1. How much TIME do I have to invest?

2. How much MONEY do I have to invest?

3. How BIG and FAST do I want my business to ultimately grow??

A Great way to start any venture is by having an END Goal in mind,

then laying out a plan to go get it! Even if you have to make changes

along the way – which you will, the "getting there" is a great part of

the fun.


Real estate investing can do anything from learning how to put a

quick (in 30 days, or less) EXTRA $5,000 in your pocket every month,

to making all your financial dreams come true with an annual after-tax

income in Millions of Dollars. You really do need to decide upfront, if

you are looking for the multi-millionaire status, or just to put some

quick cash in your pocket to pay bills.

Regardless of your dreams and desires how you will use real estate

investing to get where you want to go in life, we believe that there are

three critical rules you must follow, if you are going to be successful.

Here they are:

RULE NUMBER ONE IS: FOCUS-FOCUS-FOCUS

If you are looking for a long-term commitment to this business, then

you need to establish up-front that you will need to set-aside some

money from each of your transactions/deals to re-invest in your

education, AND it is probably in your best interest to start with one

strategy and be prepared to switch to a different strategy once these

goals are met.

As an example, let’s say you ultimately want to be a developer (like

Donald Trump, or Sam Zell, or Trammell Crow), but today you have a

job and are $50,000 in debt. Your first step might be to generate

quick cash over the next year to pay off the debt, then half way

through making this happen (say in month six) begin the process of


implementing a strategy to generate enough income from your real

estate investing to leave your job, then after you have created a

stable base (enough to pay bills and then some) from your investing

activity, to start a plan to become a developer. All together, this may

require three different strategies.

A "Classic" mistake that many novice investors would make is to

attempt all three strategies AT THE SAME TIME – DO NOT DO

THIS!!! Better to learn a strategy for quick cash, master it, then move

on, then to attempt to learn three strategies at the same time.

OLD AFRICAN PROVERB: "He Who Chases Two Tigers Ultimately

Gets None"

Regardless of the Strategy to start with, history has shown that

people who FOCUS their time, energy and money, are more likely to

succeed than those who do not.

Be Patient – Be Focused – Start Small, Grow Big.

RECAP: Rule Number One is: FOCUS-FOCUS-FOCUS

RULE NUMBER TWO: YOU LEARN BY DOING!

The second important thing to know about real estate investing is that

you learn by doing! We know that there are a lot of late-night

infomercials which say "Come to our FREE seminar, spend $5,000,

and tomorrow you will wake up a Millionaire – but the problem is we

have never found anyone who will admit that this really worked. Also,

there are people who spend good money going to college, or


graduate school and study how to "succeed in real estate", and by

and large, this can work, if you then go on to commit to 25-40 years

working as an employee of a real estate firm, making someone else

rich – if you are fortunate enough, you may learn, enough (over time)

and then go out on your own.

And yes, we all know of people who buy every book, every tape, and

go to every seminar, and become walking real estate investing

"Encyclopedia’s" – BUT NEVER DO ANYTHING WITH IT – BAD

IDEA! Why, because if you never put into practice what you read, or

hear, you will ultimately convince yourself that "this real estate thing"

does not work – UNFORTUNATELY, both history and Forbes

Magazine would prove you wrong. Ever since John Jacob Astor

became America’s First Millionaire in the 1800’s by buying what

would ultimately become Manhattan, more American’s have become

wealthy through investing in real estate, than by any other means.

And those who have made their fortunes in other areas (like

operating businesses) have reinvested their profits into real estate

than any other asset class.

THE BEST WAY TO LEARN TO BE AN INVESTOR IS TO BE AN

INVESTOR.

RECAP: Rule Number Two: YOU LEARN BY DOING!

RULE NUMBER THREE: START TODAY – RIGHT WHERE YOU

ARE.


Final Key Thought – many new investors kid themselves by saying

thing like "When I get enough money…", or "When I get enough

time…", or "When I can get some other things out of the way…" Then

I will get started – BALONY!! What they are really saying is "I am

Scared to Death of Failing at this Real Estate Thing", and the sooner

they stop lying to themselves the sooner something really great will

happen in their lives.

The truth is almost every successful real estate investor out there

(including Donald Trump, and Sam Zell, and Ron LeGrand, and

Robyn Thompson, and (Place Millionaire’s Name Here), was scared

to death when putting their first deal together. What made the

difference is that they moved forward and did something.

Sir Isaac Newton said it best in his first Law of Motion: "An object at

rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in

motion…" In other words – if you keep on doing what you have been

doing, you should expect to get the same results. But if you want

something different for your life, you will have to go "in Motion".

You learn the Real Estate Business by DOING, so the sooner you

DO, the Sooner you GET. Today is the day to stop making excuses

and to "Go In Motion". And as you Go In Motion, make a commitment

to continue to learn, so you "Stay In Motion"

RECAP: Rule Number Three: START TODAY – RIGHT WHERE

YOU ARE.


So with these three rules in mind, we hope that RealInvestors(TM)

will become a key partner in your success and we want to hear about

your success, no matter how small, or how great. Most importantly,

we want to help you "Go in Motion" and "Stay In Motion"…

So, Let’s Get Started…

Choose ONE strategy to get started. Please Take to Heart Rule

Number One: FOCUS-FOCUS-FOCUS … DO NOT TRY TO

BECOME AN EXPERT ON EVERY STRATEGY BEFORE EVER

GETTING STARTED! If you do, we can almost guarantee you that

will become confused from information overload, and you will never

begin! Decide on a single strategy that is right for you, learn about it,

and go out there and DO IT!

Make a commitment (let’s say 6 months) where you are completely

focused on that strategy. Network with other investor’s who are

working that particular strategy and do not quit until one of two things

has happened: either 6 months has gone by with no results, or you

get your first deal done using that strategy and decide you want to try

your hand at something else.

But do not allow yourself to be taken off course. It was o.k. in

elementary and middle school to try out for every team sport, but

when Spring came, you had to make a choice; it was either going to


be track, or baseball/softball, or lacrosse, or crew, or tennis – but you

could not play two sports at the same time.

Each sport had its own rules, and each one required a slightly

different mental "game". If you had come to the baseball field with a

lacrosse stick and shoulder pads, someone would have asked you to

"go home" and come back when you were "ready to play this sport" –

same is true with investing – ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU ARE JUST

GETTING GOING.

Now, one day you will be able to "Play Like Mike", but as a new

investor, let’s keep it simple: One strategy, complete focus until you

have proven to yourself that it will work, for you, or it won’t, and for

most people this will mean at least a 6-month commitment.

NEXT STEPS:

Join other Real Estate Investors over at www.RealInvestors.com.

Once you have familiarized yourself with the website, we recommend

that you take the following steps:

* Read and post regularly in the Real Investors Forums to gain

exposure to the issues facing other real estate investors. Chances

are, those same issues will face you in the near future.

* Real all the Real Investor Articles. This will help to build your

knowledge base about real estate investing in general.


* Join your local REIA. You will meet many other investors … some

seasoned, some just getting started. You will have an opportunity to

network with other professionals that may be able to provide you with

services you will need as anew investor … a contractor, a real estate

agent, a mortgage broker, a hard money lender … etc. You may even

find a really great mentor! If you live near MD, DC or VA, you can join

us on the 2nd Saturday of every month (get your FREE tickets at

www.DCREIA.com

* Invest in your education! Attend any and all opportunities to learn

more about real estate investing. These events are invaluable

opportunities to learn from, network amongst, and make deals with

other more seasoned real estate investors and scholars. Look for

online class offerings, such as Real Investor’s University

(www.REIU.com ) to fill the times in between live events

* Most importantly … go out there and take action – GO IN

MOTION!!!

* Get your first deal done – Your 1st deal will be the hardest – we

promise!!!

* Repeat, Repeat, Repeat!

* Then, when you’re ready, come back and add another strategy to

your portfolio … and continue the process …. Sherman Ragland is a Real Estate Investor and Educator based in the

Washington DC Metro area. With over 25 years of experience as a Real Estate

Professional, he has helped thousands of investors get on the right path to

making Quick Cash and building long term Wealth. Sherman runs the most

successful REIA in Maryland, with over 250 regular members.


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