Local Real Estate Investor Hits a Home Run Deal

Tuesday, November 25th, 2008

This video is a testament that good deals are made not born. They are created not with your eyes but with your mind. The exact same lead could go to two different investors and one may disqualify the lead while the other hits a homerun with it.

Wil Christenson had a lead that was referred to him by another investor and at first, didn’t think too much of it. UNTIL, he inquired further and checked out the property with his own eyes. This deal has all the attributes that every creative real estate investor looks for: little to no cash in the deal, financing is in someone else’s name, good positive cash flow, equity, and he already found a tenant!!

Check out the video so Wil can explain exactly how the deal unfolded . . .

(more…)

Tags: creative real estate, lease option, Real Estate Investment Buying Strategies, subject to
Posted in Real Estate Investment Buying Strategies, Real Estate Investment Selling Strategies, Tips and Tricks | No Comments »

The Rio Street Flip . . . Finally Done!

Sunday, November 23rd, 2008

Well, we finally finished the renovation on The Rio Flip. Thank God! Even though we ended up over budget and time, the finished product looks great.

Check out the after pics:

Here’s links to The Rio Street Flip video series:

Episode 1 : Due Diligence for 5536 Rio Street

Episode 2 : Kicking off the Renovation

Episode 3 : Flip Tips in Today’s Market

You’ll notice that this video doesn’t have the fancy intro that the last few had. My video editor went to Kentucky this month. So, I actually edited this one myself. And, I’m excited about it because this means that anytime I want to get a new video on the blog, I can do it myself.

(more…)

Tags: flip that house, flipping homes, flipping houses, Renovations
Posted in Business Management Systems and Tools, Real Estate Investment Selling Strategies, Renovations, Tips and Tricks | 3 Comments »

Why Do Renovations Always Take Longer and Cost More

Thursday, November 20th, 2008

This issue has plagued my mind since the last renovation that I managed. I found myself thinking, “Why has this seemed to be such a common theme over the years with all the renovations that we’ve done. WHY DO RENOVATIONS ALWAYS TAKE LONGER AND COST MORE?” The project that I’m referencing took just shy of a month longer than it was supposed to and cost several thousand more.

And I know that this is not just a problem that I’m facing either. I’ve heard hundreds of investors complain about this same thing. Sooooo, I’m going to go through the reasons that I’ve come up with so far.

5 Reasons Why Renovations Always Take Longer and Cost More

1. Unforeseen Damages

When you’re doing your due diligence on a property, there are always going to be some instances where you’re going to take an educated guess. It’s not like you can start tearing out sheet rock throughout the house to make sure everything looks good.

For instance, some additional water damage was found under the last roof that we replaced. When the contractor gave me the original estimate, he didn’t know that he would have to replace a good bit of additional plywood. Thus, the job cost more than we thought it would.

I would suggest ALWAYS adding an additional $5K on top of any estimate you get for a full scale renovation. That way, you can easily absorb some additional costs, and if everything goes to plan, your deal will be that much more profitable.

(more…)

Tags: real estate renovations, Renovations
Posted in Renovations, Tips and Tricks | No Comments »

Profit from Problem Solving: 5 Creative Ways to Make Money in Real Estate

Monday, November 17th, 2008

In today’s post, Julie Broad of Rev N You is going to share some creative ways to make money in real estate.

“Most people spend more time and energy going around problems than in trying to solve them.” – Henry Ford

Often, finding or creating great real estate deals is nothing more than figuring out what the problem is and fixing it. Here are five of the most common real estate problems, and some ideas for solving them:

1. Landlord Burn Out

Being a landlord can be stressful and tiring. Picking just one bad tenant can make your life miserable. And, if you don’t have a clear set of goals or an easy to follow strategy, it’s often easier to throw in the towel and run away from your real estate investments.

Find the frazzled and frustrated landlords, and solve their problem. A frazzled and frustrated landlord is done dealing with the troubles of their property. Most of the time this person will think the only way out is to sell. But, in today’s troubled market they may lose money on that sale. Their real problem is dealing with the bad tenants… if it’s otherwise a good property, you could offer to become a partner on the deal. Maybe you get a 20% share of the property for just taking on the role of property manager? No money invested on your part, just some time, sweat and trouble to get rid of the terrible tenants, place some new ones and take the odd call.

(more…)

Tags: creative real estate investing, Marketing, Property Management
Posted in Marketing, Property Management, Real Estate Investment Buying Strategies | 4 Comments »

Want More Proof That Private Money Can Work For You?

Thursday, November 13th, 2008

One of our students, Nathan Delpino has joined us today to share his story with you. And what a story it is . . .

After being mentored by us, Nathan was able to quit his day job and go full time as a real estate investor. You see, after he made more money on one of his first deals than he had made the previous year in his sales job, it just didn’t make much sense to go back to work.

Since beginning his real estate investing career, Nathan has quit his job, given himself complete time freedom, married a beautiful woman, moved into his dream house, and now has a baby on the way. Basically, he’s living the dream. All because he made the wise decision to dream big and invest in his education. He’s the type of person that prefers to take the easy path . . . that is . . . learn from someone who has done a ton of deals, made all the mistakes, and experienced about every kind of situation that real estate investing can bring at you.

Like many of us, Nathan started with little to no cash or credit. He was forced into learning creative strategies to put together deals like using private money lenders to fund his deals.

(more…)

Tags: Financing, Private Money, Private Money Blueprint, Testimonial, Video
Posted in Real Estate Investment Financing Strategies | No Comments »