How to Recruit Private Money Webinar Update

Sunday, August 31st, 2008

If you’ve been paying any attention to the blog lately, you know that we recently did a free, 100% content, no pitch webinar, How to Recruit Millions in Cash from Private Investors for Your Real Estate Deals. We had such a great response from the attendees that we’ve decided to do it again live.

It seems that there are a ton of investors out there whose number one stumbling block is financing, and I definitely understand. I can still remember how I felt when I was getting started. I remember thinking, “We’re following the books advice to learn the real estate game. We’ve got some marketing going now. So it’s only a matter a time before we get a good deal under contract . . . how in the world are we going to get it financed?”

Soooo, in other words, you’re not alone if financing is holding you back. Every investor has to get over this hurdle, and I was able to accomplish this by learning the secrets to recruiting private money for my real estate deals.

If you choose to join us for the webinar, you’re really in for a treat. I’ve put my years of experience into the information provided in the webinar and designed it so that you can get started recruited private money right away.

Check out the link below for more info!

How to Recruit Millions in Cash from Private Investors for Your Real Estate Deals

Posted in Real Estate Investment Financing Strategies | 1 Comment »

Real Estate Investing Tips and Strategies: How to Get Rid of a House that Sucks

Friday, August 29th, 2008

When you’ve been investing in real estate for a while, you often end up with a few properties that you don’t want anymore! A lot of the time, the same reason that you no longer want a property is the same reason another investor wouldn’t want it, but not always.

So let’s say that you have a beast of a property that you want to dump. A real dog with fleas, but you don’t necessarily want to just discount the heck out of it. What would you, the creative real estate investor, do to get rid of the property?

A method that I learned from my mentor is the “Must Take” technique.

The “Must Take” works by bundling a hard to move property with a much more desirable property and selling them as a package. The buyer gets the more desirable property, but “Must Take” the less desirable property as well.

Not too long ago, we sold a three property package on the “Must Take” plan. Two of the properties were in a low-income area on the threshold of a war zone. The third was in a fast-moving subdivision and actually had two houses on the lot. The investor wanted the “nice” property bad enough that he was willing to take the other two.

We managed to creatively structure a deal where we sold him the nice property on the condition that he “Must Take” all three properties. We took back some financing to sweeten the deal for him (the financing we took back was all profit from the deal anyway) and received a good return on our money. We successfully sold two properties that we didn’t want anymore, and created a win-win situation with the investor.

This example shows you what creative real estate investing is all about. There are several ways to move unwanted properties if you just learn to think outside the box. Using creative deal structuring can add hundreds of thousands of dollars of profit to your bank account because it allows you to do deals you wouldn’t other wise be able to.

Using the “Must Take” is just one tool in our creative real estate investing toolbox. Come back and check out MustKnowInvesting again soon to learn more.

Posted in Real Estate Investment Selling Strategies, Tips and Tricks | No Comments »

MustKnowInvesting Student Spotlight – Creative Real Estate Investing Tips

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008

If you didn’t know it already, we have a creative real estate investing coaching program where we teach investors how to take their game to the next level. Doesn’t matter whether or not they’re brand new to real estate or been buying houses for years.

A couple of our newer students have really hit the ground running, and I wanted to ask them some questions about getting started, roadblocks along the way, and advice they would give to beginning real estate investors knowing what they knows now.

First, let me tell you a little about them. Randy and Sherlonda Adkins climbed their way up the corporate ladder for years landing very successful positions. But they knew there was more to life. After deciding to become more than employees, they embarked on an entrepreneurial journey. They have now started two businesses since 2005 offering services from technology consulting, real estate services, and seminars/key note speeches. Check out their website TheAdkinsAdvantage.

Now, let’s get to the meat!

Patrick: What was the biggest challenge you faced to get your first deal?

Randy/Sherlonda: The biggest challenge we faced in our first deal was fear of failure. We were afraid that we wouldn’t be able to get financing and had difficulty moving from reading to doing.

We also had plenty of people (that had never invested themselves) tell us things like “Oh, real estate investing, that’s risky”, “This is a bad market”, “You don’t want to be a landlord and have to deal with tenants, do you?”

We decided that we would find some people in the local area that were successful in real estate investing and interview them. We joined our local real estate investment club. A few of the investors recommended that we find our first property based on specific criteria and submit an offer. My question was then, “What if we put in the offer and the seller accepts?” Because it wasn’t like we had the money just sitting around to fund a deal.

One of the comments that helped the most was that if you get a good deal under contract then someone will finance it. With the combination of the relationships with investors, reading books, coaching and online resources, we were able to put our first deal together.

Patrick: How did you find your first couple deals?

Randy/Sherlonda: My first deal was from a past client who needed to sell one of his investment properties. And our next couple deals were REO properties that we found on the MLS.

Patrick: Why do you think that some people read all the books, take the seminars, but never get in the game and buy their first investment property?

Randy/Sherlonda: Most people are just like we were, afraid to fail. I read the other day that there was a survey given to retirees that were 65 and older. The Survey asked “What would you have done differently in life?” The response was overwhelming that they wished they would have taken more risks and enjoyed life more.

Patrick: What one creative real estate investing strategy have you found most useful so far?

Randy/Sherlonda: The most useful creative real estate investing strategy has been analyzing deals based on more than price and structuring beneficial term deals. We have also found that use of land trusts can be very beneficial in this litigious society as well as creating anonymity.

Patrick: Would would you say are three important things that every beginning investor should know?

Randy/Sherlonda: First, I would say building lasting relationships. All beginning investors should know that real estate investing is only going to be as successful as the weakest link in their network. Next, marketing, marketing, marketing! Every investor should continue to generate leads for all parts of their business such as sellers, tenant-buyers, buyers, investors, private money lenders, etc. It’s best to keep the lead pipeline full at all times if possible. And, I would have to say to never stop educating yourself. Read books, go to seminars, webinars, and really whatever you can get your hands on. As Ben Franklin said, “An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”

Patrick: What advice would you give someone that hasn’t closed on their first deal?

Randy/Sherlonda: Our advice is to tell everyone you know and meet that you are an investor. Join your local real estate investment club. Find a lawyer, realtor, contractor, appraiser, and other investors for your network. Find a mentor/coach to hold you accountable and most of all, find a property and put in an offer that makes sense for your business model.

Posted in Tips and Tricks | 2 Comments »

How to Negotiate Like a Creative Real Estate Investing Pro

Monday, August 25th, 2008

First, I want you to read this quick excerpt from a previous post, How to Increase Profits by 300% in the Next 90 Days:

“Whether you like it or not, you are a salesman. If you don’t like the sound of that, assign another mental representation to what you think of when you think of a salesman. Everyone is in sales whether they admit it or not. As an investor, you are going to be selling contractors, investors, buyers, sellers, attorneys, accountants, and possibly employees just to name a few, on your ideas every single day! If there was a master skill to success as a real estate investor, I think that it would be to become an excellent communicator. That is really all negotiating and sales is…communication.”

“So my question to you is, “What have you done lately to improve your negotiating and sales skills.“

If you answered “nothing” to the above question, I’ve got an offer for you. Dusty put together an awesome CD about a year ago called “7 Things You Must Know Yesterday about Negotiating Great Deals.” I was rummaging through a closet last week and found one more boxes of the CDs. If you are interested in getting a free copy while we still have some left, click on the link below (all you have to do is pay shipping).

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Here’s what a couple people had to say about it:

“Dusty Keefe just understands negotiation in a way that anyone can pull from. When you hear the WAY that he phrases what he says you will learn, very quickly, the elements of proper style as you are engaging in Negotiations.”

Andrew Turner

“I received the CD with no problems, thank you so much. It’s a great CD!“

Dennis Schreiber

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CLICK HERE: 7 Things You Must Know Yesterday about Negotiating Great Real Estate Deals

Posted in Negotiating | No Comments »

Real Estate Investment Tips and Strategies : Why You Should “Mortgage” Your Free and Clear Properties

Friday, August 22nd, 2008

I was on a coaching call with one of our students the other day, and we got on the subject of free and clear properties. He has done several deals now and is really getting his feet wet in the real estate game. He purchased a couple properties recently and just finished with the renovations. He owns the houses free and clear and wants to pull his money back out through a refinance. His plans are to hold on to the properties and use the cash from refinances for his next deals.

This brought to mind a couple suggestions for his free and clear properties that would potentially save him a bunch of money and protect his assets at the same time.

Two Reasons to “Mortgage” Your Free and Clear Property

When I say “mortgage” your free and clear property here, I do not mean bring in a new loan and leverage your property. I am suggesting to file a mortgage against your property from an entity that you are familiar with.

1. Save Money when Refinancing

If you foresee yourself wanting to pull out money from a free and clear property down the road, here’s a good tip.

The rate that you could get on a rate and term refinance is typically much better than a cash out refinance. This could easily translate into saving tens of thousands of dollars over the life of a loan. If you own a free and clear property and want to pull out some funds, you’ll have to do a cash out refinance.

BUT, what if the free and clear property you owned, had a mortgage on it that you were familiar with. You could apply for a rate and term refinance and you would simply supply the payoff on the mortgage for closing. The mortgage is paid off but little does the bank know, it goes right in your back pocket!

You get a rate and term refinance, save a bunch of money, and get the cash you wanted. Win-Win-Win!

2. Protect Your Assets

Let’s say that you own a free and clear property and are doing some renovations. You’ve got a team of contractors working away steadily until one day, Joe Contractor falls off the roof. And come to find out, he wasn’t even licensed.

Joe Contractor is feeling pretty down on his luck as he lays in the hospital getting better. As he is watching Jerry Springer, he gets a great idea.

Why don’t I sue Mr. Deep Pockets Investor since he’s such a wealthy land barren?

Joe Contractor calls his attorney and his attorney finds out that the property is free and clear. Soooo, the attorney gladly takes the case. “With all that equity, there’s plenty to go around,” says the attorney.

Now, you’ve got a lawsuit on your hands, your rehab project is on hold, and you watch as your investment dreams turn to nightmares.

Or, you “mortgage” the property from an entity that you’re familiar with. The same attorney looks into the situation for his down and out client, but this time, he sees that there isn’t any equity in the property. The attorney calls back Joe Contractor and let’s him know that he’ll gladly take the case, but it’s gonna cost him . . . A LOT!

Joe Contractor doesn’t want to throw his money away and probably files for disability or something. Anyway, you successfully navigated away from a big headache by playing your cards smart.

If only to protect your assets, “mortgaging” your free and clear properties is a great way to minimize risk!

Posted in Business Management Systems and Tools, Real Estate Investment Financing Strategies, Tips and Tricks | 5 Comments »