How to Become a CIA: (Part 6) How to Assemble Your REI Power Team

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Welcome … to Part 6 of the “How to Become a CIA” creative real estate investing series … How to Assemble Your Real Estate Investing Power Team …

(if you’re new to the series, you may want to start with the introduction)

I’m here to tell you … Investing is a Team Sport!

I couldn’t tell you even one successful real estate investor I know that doesn’t have a strong team … the kind of team that has your best interest at heart, the kind of team who’s there when you need ‘em, the kind of team who fills in your weaknesses and leverages your time and resources so that you can ONLY do what you enjoy and are good at …

Do you know how to value properties?

… if not, that’s where your team comes in …

Do you know how to contract a property?

… if not, that’s where your team comes in …

Do you know how to inspect a property and estimate the repairs needed?

… if not, that’s where your team comes in …

Do you know how to research the title of a property?

… if not, that’s where your team comes in …

Well, hopefully, you get the point … because I could go on and on …
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Tags: creative real estate investing, how to become a cia, network magic opener, power team, reai, real estate investing, real estate investment association
Posted in Business Management Systems and Tools, Property Management, Real Estate Investment Buying Strategies, Real Estate Investment Financing Strategies, Real Estate Investment Selling Strategies, Renovations, Tips and Tricks | 5 Comments »

Win Over 20 Hours of Real Estate Investing Training & More in the Investor Connect Contest

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Welcome to MustKnowInvesting.com’s first contest . . . Investor Connect!

Soooo, I got the idea for this contest from another blog that I read regularly and thought it would be a fun way to get connected and give away some free stuff.

$ Investor Connect Contest $

The Investor Connect Contest is all about getting real estate investors connected through social media . . . specifically through Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Why You Should Enter Today

= > It’s Free

= > It’s Easy

= > Everybody Is Doing It

= > Time is Running Out (contest closes July 21st)

= > We’re Giving Away Some Really Cool Prizes ($710 Value)

How Do You Win?

All you have to do is take the required steps below and you will be in the running to win. If you want to go above and beyond, I’ve listed some other stuff you can do to “sway” my vote.

Requirements to Enter

1) Contest starts July 14th 2009 and ends on July 21st 2009. You must fulfill all requirements (2 – 6) during that time frame.
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Tags: contest, creative real estate investing, facebook, investor connect, investor connect contest, real estate investing blog, real estate investing contest, social media, twitter, youtube
Posted in Business Management Systems and Tools, Marketing, Negotiating, Personal Development, Property Management, Real Estate Investment Buying Strategies, Real Estate Investment Financing Strategies, Real Estate Investment Selling Strategies, Renovations, Tips and Tricks | 28 Comments »

Real Estate Investing Tips from an Expert Investor

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How about some real estate investing tips from a seasoned expert investor???

I was at a property the other day with Wil Christenson, a local creative real estate investor in the Charleston SC area, and happended to have the video camera with me. We decided to shoot a quick video highlighting Wil’s top tips in various areas of real estate investing. Areas such as marketing,negotiating, deal structuring, financing, flipping, renovations, property management, and exit strategies.

You guys are in for some HEAT! Check out the real estate investing tips video below . . .

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Tags: creative real estate investing, Marketing, Negotiating, Real Estate Investing Financing Strategies, real estate investing tips, real estate investing video, real estate video, Video
Posted in Marketing, Negotiating, Property Management, Real Estate Investment Financing Strategies, Real Estate Investment Selling Strategies, Renovations, Tips and Tricks | 2 Comments »

Why Do Renovations Always Take Longer and Cost More

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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.

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

Warning: Your Real Estate Investing Team Will Make or Break You

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Whether you like it or not, you should view real estate investing as a team sport. Going it alone is not an option. It’s not like you are going to be the Realtor, mortgage broker, attorney, accountant, contractor and everything else. You will be relying on other people almost every day. With that said, building a strong team is of utmost importance to any real estate investing business.

Building Your Real Estate Investing Team

Realtor

A Realtor is one of the first team members you will want on board. To evaluate any deal, you have to know what a property is worth. Realtors are a great source to help determine a property’s value. When we first got started, we found a Realtor that agreed to pull comps for us if we would list our properties with him once we eventually sold them. A win win relationship.

Realtors are a dime a dozen so be picky. If you can find a Realtor that invests, that’s best. Anywhere in the business that we can delegate, we usually do. When we go to sell a property, we want a professional to handle it for us so we hire a Realtor.

Mortgage Broker

Often times, when you find a good Realtor, you will also find a good mortgage broker. Every Realtor typically has a primary mortgage broker that they use and vice versa.

If you can find a mortgage broker that does what he or she says, you’ve struck gold! I have found that way too often, when I have approached a new mortgage broker, they tell me that they can do a loan before I even open my mouth. That’s not who you want on board.

We have two primary mortgage brokers on our team. One helps more with refinances and the other to get our lease option tenants qualified to buy from us.

As a side note, on the sell side of the business, we always suggest our mortgage broker to any buyers. They can choose whoever they want, but it’s nice when you know the person doing their loan. Then, you actually know where things are at during the loan process.

Attorney or Title Company

Depending on what state you are in, you will either close on properties through an attorney or title company. In South Carolina, where I’m from, attorneys are used to close real estate transactions.

As a creative real estate investor, you may have to search a little bit to find the right one. You want to find someone that is willing to learn. Most attorneys and title companys are used to doing things the traditional way. There’s nothing wrong with that, but you need someone that is willing to look at nontraditional ways of buying and selling real estate.

Asking for a good referral at your local REIA (real estate investor’s association) is a good place to start looking.

Cash Buyer

This is a valuable asset to the team.  Once you find a serious cash investor or investors, you have the ability to turn a contract into cash quickly. This can provide useful in many instances.

Whether your cash buyer uses their own cash or someone elses, doesn’t matter. You just want someone who is a serious investor and has the resources and experience to close a deal fast with cash. This will be the person you will wholesale or assign properties.

Look for cash buyers once again at your local REIA, classified ads in the real estate wanted section of your newspaper, or just call any investor that markets to buy properties in your area and find out what constitutes a good deal for them.

Contractor

This can be one of the more frustrating team members to acquire. We have gone through many a contractor over the years. Many of the ones that we have worked with failed in one of the three important areas: price, quality, and reliability. If the contractor did great work at a great price, we could never rely on them. If they were reliable and did quality work, their price was through the roof. And if they were reliable and priced well, their work sucked. You get the point.

Eventually, you are bound to find a good one though so keep at it until you do. We have a couple on our team now that I have 100% faith and trust. That’s exactly what you want.

Check out How to Find Good Contractors and The Contractor Success Triangle for more info.

Other Key Team Members

• Appraiser
• Home Inspector
• Hard Money Lender
• Private Investor
• Bird Dog
• Property Manager
• Accountant
• Credit Partners
• Insurance Agent

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Did you download your FREE eBook and power point presentation on “How to Recruit Private Money Millions” yet? Click here to get your copy now!

Posted in Business Management Systems and Tools, Real Estate Investment Financing Strategies, Real Estate Investment Selling Strategies, Renovations, Tips and Tricks | No Comments »