Remember the series we did recently on using video to explode your real estate investing business?

Well, if you missed out on it, you definitely NEED to check it out. Here are the links for ya:

Part 1 – Are you Using This Killer REI Marketing Tool?

Part 2 – Flip Video Tips for Real Estate Investors

Part 3 – How to Create Screen Capture Videos for Your REI Biz

Part 4 – You’re lookin’ at it :-)

Yep, that’s right. You’re looking at Part 4 of the video marketing series.

I was sitting down eating at one of the best Thai restaurants in Charleston, Basil, with Josh Brown. He started to tell me about how he uses video in his business, and I thought this would be a perfect addition to the series.

So, come sit down with us for a delicious lunch at Basil, and listen close as Josh arms you with vital information on using video in your real estate investing business.

Watch the video below …

Alrighty, a big “Thank You!” goes out to Josh Brown from Investor Riches for hitting us up with his video marketing knowledge.

To show your thanks, leave a comment before ya go.

~ Patrick

… aka P-Rid

P.S. Want to see what I do for fun? Check me out training for an upcoming beach volleyball tournament (you gotta be logged into Facebook … friend me up while you’re over there too :-)

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Alrighty, the series on using video in your real estate investing business continues …

If you’re new to it, here are the links to the first two posts:

Part 1 – Are You Using This Killer REI Marketing Tool?

Part 2 - Flip Video Tips for Real Estate Investors

Today, you’re about to learn how to use screen capture videos to get leads flowing into your biz and how you can get them done without spending a dime.

Don’t have a video camera? Can’t afford one right now?

No problemo.

You can be up and running, recording your own screen capture videos in less than 15 minutes (videos exactly like the one below).

Check ‘er out …

(if reading in email subscription, click here to watch the video)

Action Summary

1) Download Firefox

Firefox is a web browser like Internet Explorer. The reason that you need to download Firefox is because the free screen capture video tool is an add-on to Firefox.

If, for whatever reason, you don’t want to download Firefox, a great program that tons of people use is Camtasia. It costs some moolah but is a great program. They have a free 30 day trial you can download. So, you can use it free for a month if nothing else.

2) Download the Capture Fox Add-On

This tool is super easy to use (one of the main reasons I love it!). But, there’s not much functionality.

I’m ok with that though.

3) Shoot Your First REI Screen Capture Video

Once you’re done, post it online. And use the tips from Part 2 to maximize the reach and effectiveness of your videos.

This concludes our series on video marketing in your REI biz.

May your REI videos bring you many leads.

Hope you enjoyed :-)

~ Patrick

… aka P-Rid

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If you’re not using this killer real estate investing marketing tool, I don’t know what’s wrong with you.

Ok, maybe you just haven’t heard about it yet. If that’s the case, we’re cool. Otherwise, c’mon!

Here are just a few things I LOVE about this …

Killer Real Estate Investing Marketing Tool

- It’s super easy to use (a HUGE plus for all us non-techies) … and when I say super easy, I mean it. There are only like 4 buttons on it. Whoohoo!

- It’s an inexpensive investment (you can buy one at Wal-Mart)

- It’s fits in your pocket

- It can be used to AUTOMATICALLY generate buyer, seller, tenant leads on the Internet

- It’s my new best friend

- And MUCH MORE

Watch the video below to learn more …

There’s no good excuse for not making online video a part of your marketing plan. It used to be incredibly time consuming, cumbersome, and costly.

But, not anymore.

Here’s a quick action plan for you to implement video marketing into your REI biz …

3 Steps to Online Video Marketing in Your Real Estate Investing Business

1) Buy a Flip Video Camera

You can check ‘em out on the Flip video website (not an affiliate link … in other words, I don’t get paid if you click that link and buy one … I’m just a raving fan :-)

If you want to get your hands on one today, I know Wal-Mart and Best Buy carry them.

2) Sign Up for a YouTube Account

This will only take you a few minutes so head on over to YouTube now and set up your account.

3) Publish Videos Online

Do a “We Buy Houses” video and “localize” it like I mentioned in the video. Shoot a video at every property that you’re currently marketing … whether you’re marketing it for rent, lease option, owner financing, for sale, whatever.

And then, you’ll be able to enjoy a new source of leads flowing into your REI biz.

Alrighty gals and guys … it’s a beautiful day and the beach is calling.

Catch you later,

~ Patrick

… aka P-Rid

P.S. This video was so popular, I decided to do a sequel, “Flip Video Tips for Real Estate Investors.” Make sure you check it out because these tips could double or even triple your leads. Enjoy :-)

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I get this question from students all the time …

“What should I focus on first Patrick … finding a deal or funding for a deal?

Sooooo many beginners focus on the wrong thing when getting started. Don’t make that same mistake!

Watch the video below …

With that said, I’d like to give you some great resources so you can map out your marketing plan AND help you learn the nuts and bolts to funding your deals with private money.

BUT, before I get to that, wanted to say, “Congrats Butch!!”

You see, Butch adhered to the advice from the video and just made over $35,000. Did he have funds to close that deal when he contracted the property?

… Nope!

But, he chose to go ahead and contract the property and then find the money. That’s when Butch first contacted me. I walked him through the steps to getting private money and the rest is history.

It’s pretty cool …

Butch sent me an email about 30 minutes after he had the $35K profit in hand and said, “Now this changes everything. Time to buy more houses.  All I can say is WOW!”

You got that right Butch … Time to Buy More Houses!

Find a Deal/Fund a Deal Resources

Resource Numero Uno

A free marketing secrets teleconference call for you to download.

It’s about an hour long and covers tons of different strategies that I’ve used to get my phone ringing off the hook with motivated sellers.

Click here for the Marketing Secrets Teleclass

Resource Numero Two

“How to Easily Get Private Money” VIP training area.

All you have to do is click the link below and put your email address in the box. There are several training videos, case studies, and some other cool stuff over there for ya …

Click here to access the private money VIP training area

Let me know what’s on your mind …

Did the video help? How about the resources?

Your thoughts, questions, and tips are appreciated … Happy Investing!

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Bandit signs could be a great way to get your phone ringing off the hook with motivated sellers. It was for me when I got started investing in real estate.

My mentor taught me early on that one of the most important parts of being a real estate investor was to get sellers contacting you to sell you their property.

So, I knew the next step was to put together a marketing plan.

Here’s what it looked like:

1) Get business cards made

2) Join local real estate investment association

3) Place “We Buy Houses” ad in local newspaper

4) Buy “We Buy Houses” bandit signs

5) Knock on doors of people facing foreclosure

We thought bandit signs were a good choice because they were relatively inexpensive and there didn’t seem to be too many other investors using them.

With my students, I typically recommend at least testing bandit signs when getting started. The barrier to entry is pretty low, like I just mentioned, and with any form of marketing, it’s all about testing. Even if there are tons of investors using them in your area, you may still want to test them.

I thought I would share some examples of bandit signs and tell you my thoughts on them . . .

Bandit Signs for Real Estate Investing

This is a pretty standard “We Buy Houses” bandit sign. Notice that they used a local phone number. We tested both a local and toll free number and found that the local number pulled a better response rate.

Here’s an example of one that’s geared towards buying the property subject to and uses a toll free number. As you will see in a moment, we have used the same yellow background with black text on our signs.

This bandit sign is interesting because it uses a vanity phone number, (888) ISoldKwik, and it has the same name as the domain . . . which is good for branding.

This makes their contact information much easier to remember thus increasing the likelihood that someone will call it. Remember though, with every marketing method, you must test your results to find out pulls the best response rate.

Instead of going with the “We Buy Houses” slogan, this bandit sign is targeted directly to people facing foreclosure. Some people that are in foreclosure may be more likely to call a “Stop Foreclosure” sign than a “We Buy Houses” sign. This could be a good way to differentiate yourself in your market if there are a lot of other investors using “We Buy Houses” Signs.

And here’s a picture of one of our bandit signs. (sorry the picture is a little blurry)

Ours is the one on top. You can see we used the standard “We Buy Houses” slogan, yellow background with black text, and employed our own local vanity # (345-SELL) and domain (http://www.345SELL.com).

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After checking out Ron Mead’s “31 Days to Profits in Probate Real Estate” Course . . . I HAD to let you in on it ASAP! (I even shot a quick little video below to show it to you)

It’s not often that a real estate investing course impresses me and I would go so far to say that it’s extremely rare when the “man behind the course” impresses me too. And that’s the case with Ron and his probate real estate course.

You see, I’ve been a full time real estate investor since 2002 and have bought countless courses and books and attended countless seminars and boot camps (you could say that I’m a big proponent to investing in your education . . . being that I’ve spent tens of thousands of dollars to get mine).

Anyway, back to the subject at hand . . . which is Ron’s probate real estate course.

Probate has always been shrouded with mystery to me. I’ve never known a probate real estate investor and haven’t had a good source of reliable information . . . BUT it’s always been on my mind as a potentially killer way to find great deals.

“Do You Know Any Probate Real Estate Investors?”

Hmmmm . . . I don’t either . . . until now. That makes a big whopping one!

Do you smell the opportunity here . . . I sure do!

Click here to learn more about Ron Mead’s probate real estate course

When I was talking to Ron the other day, I was literally AMAZED when he told me there were just as many probate deals out there right now as foreclosures. Everyone and their mother is going after foreclosure deals.

I think I figured out why NO ONE is talking about probate real estate as an incredible easy way to find great deals . . . the few investors that have it all figured out are keeping it a secret! They don’t want the crazy competition that exists in other lead sources . . . REOs, short sales, preforeclosures . . . you name it!

So, here’s what I’ve done. I shot a quick video to “pull back the curtain” on probate real estate and show you what’s included in Ron’s course and the incredible steal you can get on it for the time being . . .

Watch the video NOW !

Personally, I don’t know why Ron priced his course soooo ridiculously low. For the value that he’s providing, the professional touch, the personal service . . . it’s beyond me.

If you’re interested in learning the secrets to investing in probate real estate (from a man that bought his first property before I was born! . . . that’s right . . . Ron bought his first property a year before I was born in 1979), his course is an absolute steal.

I wouldn’t be telling you about it otherwise.

And to top it all off . . . Ron is a rock solid good to the core human being. That did it for me!

Click here to join me in probate real estate profits!

When you head over to his site to check it out, he gives you a couple options, but the BEST DEAL is his “31 Days to Profits DVD Seminar in a Box”. That’s what I showed you in the video.

If you have any further questions about Ron or his course, shoot me an email at patrick [at] mustknowinvesting [dot] com.

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What if I told you there was an easy path to getting your first deal done but that most investors ignore it and choose to do things their way. If I explained in plain English what that path was and it made sense to you, wouldn’t you take it?

I know I would . . . I’m just glad that my mentor “enlightened” me before I wasted tons of time, energy, resources.

Well, lean in because I’d like to share what I consider to be extremely important information. BECAUSE if you focus on the wrong techniques and strategies when getting started, you may end up frustrating yourself right out of the game . . . which is not what you want or deserve.

The idea for the video below came together because I see soooo many beginning real estate investors taking what I consider to be the longer riskier more difficult path to closing their first deal . . . and you know what, it’s doesn’t have to be that way.

Check out the video now to learn how to grab your investing career by the horns and get that first deal in the bag.

Soooooo now it’s time to take some action. To help you implement what you learned, I sifted through the blog for you and found some of the best resources to help you close your first deal. Check ‘em out . . .

Beginning Real Estate Investing Resources

Articles

4 Steps for the Newbie Real Estate Investor to Get Started

We hit on education, relationships, action, and teaching. And how it all relates to helping you get your feet off the ground.

The Secret to Getting Started in Real Estate Investing

What do you think is the most important thing to focus on as a beginner?

Hopefully you have at least some clue after watching the video above. This article is a good add on after checking it out.

59 Must Know Tips in Creative Real Estate Investing to Minimize Risk and Maximize Return

This is a killer post! Pros and beginners alike can benefit from reading this one. This is the most popular article on Must Know Investing . . . if you haven’t checked it out, dive in. It’s good stuff.

Videos

Why Most Beginners Will NEVER Make Money in Real Estate Investing

This is a newer addition to the blog. It’s a free 60 minute video that details the 3 most common real estate investing  myths, why most beginners fail (and what to do about it), the problem with real estate investing courses, and my P.A.N.T.S. success formula for getting started the “right way”.

Creative Real Estate Solutions in Today’s Market

This 5 part real estate investing video series is stuffed with what creative real estate is all about. And once again . . . it’s free.

Audio

Secrets to Being a Great Marketer Teleconference Call

Last but certainly not least, a hour plus audio download to give you the skinny on marketing secrets.

. . . I know what you’re thinking . . . don’t get overwhelmed. This is a TON of content so just take it down in bite size chunks. Bookmark this page and make progress everyday. Read another article, watch another video, study the marketing call, take action immediately.

This is all very doable, and you’ll be able to close your first deal no matter what your situation is, if you don’t let your fears get the best of you.

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Networking has been a VITAL component over the years in both team building and private money getting.

But it has become apparent to me that most real estate investors greatly discount the value of networking. Just by being active in my local real estate investors club in my town, I’ve forged lasting relationships with wholesalers, bird dogs, private lenders, attorneys, mortgage brokers, agents, contractors . . . you name it! Which has translated into countless deals and profits! I would say that 80% of my team was built through people I met just at REIA meetings.

Sooooo I think that many people just flat out undervalue networking and another reason people don’t profit from building a solid network is because they’ve never been taught an effective way to build relationships and get to know people . . . and then there are people who are introverted and don’t come out of there shell to introduce themselves to anyone . . . you know, the person that gets to the meeting, sits down right when they get there, doesn’t talk to anyone, and leaves as soon as it’s over . . .

If this is you, I’m here to tell you that you’re MISSING OUT BIG TIME!! . . . If you’ve been unable to turn your networking efforts (or lack of them) into big time profits, no worries … I’m about to give you a simple formula you can put to use immediately so that your network builds your net worth! How about that!!

Use the structure below to guide your conversations as you meet new people . . .

The Network Magic Formula

1) Introduce Yourself

“Hi, I’m <Your Name>. I’m new here. How are you doing?”

2) Ask Questions About the Meeting

“Have you been coming to this meeting for awhile? What are the meetings usually like? What’s your primary goal when coming to these meetings . . . to learn, network, find deals? Who runs the meeting?”

3) Ask Questions About Their Occupation

“So what do you do exactly? Oh, you’re an investor . . . how long have you been investing in real estate? Do you have a particular niche that you focus on?”

4) Ask Questions To See How You Can Help Them

“I’m a little newer to real estate investing but am ready to hit the ground running . . . in what ways could I add value to your business? How could I help you out? . . . would you be interested in wholesale deals?”

5) The Close – Appreciation, Reaffirm How You Can Help, Let’s Stay in Touch

“It was great to meet you . . . I appreciate your time. I’d like to meet as many people as I can tonight soooooo here’s my card. Whenever I come across a situation like <insert how you can help them>, I’ll let you know. Let’s stay in touch . . .”

The Network Magic Formula is only one small lesson from the “Why Most Beginners Will NEVER Make Money in Real Estate Investing” in depth video tutorial. Click Here to get access to the full 60 minutes of action packed content!

This should give you an easy formula to follow when networking so that you don’t even have to think about what to say. And if you haven’t noticed yet, all that you’ve done so far is ask questions . . . no where in the Network Magic Formula do you even talk about yourself . . . do you know why??

Because “you” are not what’s important when cultivating profitable relationships! Don’t worry, you’ll get your turn. But, by showing a genuine desire to get to know the other person first and help them in their business en devours . . . they will invariably feel the need to reciprocate right back at you.

While we’re on the subject . . .

Let’s Do Some Networking!

Click the links below to connect with me . . .

Follow Me on Twitter

Friend Me on Facebook

Subscribe to My Youtube Channel

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In today’s post, Julie Broad of RevNYou is going to discuss how to find the hidden deals that you may otherwise be overlooking . . .

The next time you’re looking up at the clouds in the sky ask someone around you what shapes they think they see. I’m pretty sure they will see something different from what you see. But, once they explain why they think the clouds have formed a shape like a little bunny rabbit or a cup of steaming hot coffee, I bet you will be able to see it too.

“The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend”, said Henri Bergson, a French philosopher. The same can be said for finding hidden bargains in real estate. While many would-be real estate investors spend a lot of time chasing foreclosures or wholesale deals, the easiest deals may be passing them by because they aren’t watching for the hidden deals – the hidden deals that become so obvious when your mind is prepared to see them.

I’m not saying you can’t find great foreclosure deals or good wholesale deals. One of our best purchases was a foreclosure – but we didn’t set out to find a foreclosure – we were just looking for a good deal.

6 Hidden Real Estate Bargains and Where to Find Them

1) Price

This isn’t as obvious as you think it is. There are two critical pieces to finding properties that are priced as bargains. The first essential piece is knowing your comparable property values cold. How do you really know when something is a deal if you don’t really know what its current market value is?

The second part of finding price bargains is knowing what IS a deal and what is a land mine. Many times the price of a property is a hidden bargain, but it can also be a hidden money pit. As long as you know WHY the property is a deal, and it’s not something troublesome like requiring a lot of expensive repairs, then you may have uncovered a deal that many investors would miss.

2) Property Condition

Sometimes a run down property can be an easy and cheap fix up. If you are able to spot the difference between a property that needs $50,000 in significant repairs from the property that just needs $5,000 worth of cosmetic touch ups, then you will be able to quickly spot the bargains in the market.

3) Location

Finding the next emerging market is like finding an entire neighbourhood of hidden bargains. Seek out transportation improvements, large corporate relocations, and government investments into infrastructure improvements to spot areas that will see demand increase in the future. Even in tough economic times, there will be areas that will grow and prosper – but they won’t be obvious until after it’s happened so you have to look for them by doing some research – online and at your local government office.

4) Terms

Often real estate investors get so focused on price that they forget that they could negotiate other things into the deal to make it a real bargain. Patrick told a great story recently about just this in his article, Price, Terms, and TVs : How’s That for Creative Real Estate.

Remember, if the buyer insists on getting his full price, there are plenty of non-price things to negotiate on: closing dates, renovations, chattels, and even access to the property for repairs and showing to tenants before you close.

5) Highest and Best Use of the Property

Is the property currently being used for the purpose that, given it’s location and size, provides it with it’s highest and best use? As areas change and evolve over time, the answer to this question often becomes “no”. But, just because it’s always been a house, many people don’t think that it could become a four-plex or a parking lot or a small office that would double its rental income.

Learn the zoning for the area you are looking in, and keep your eyes open for properties that aren’t being used for their best purpose. Even if you know nothing about redeveloping a property, if you’ve found a hidden bargain, it shouldn’t be too hard to find a partner that will help you turn the property into a cash machine.

6) Lazy or Lousy Landlord Problems

There are plenty of motivated sellers that can be sources of hidden bargains, but to keep it simple, I’ll focus on one type of motivated seller that can be a really great source of hidden bargains – the tired, worn out, and frustrated landlord. Find properties that are vacant or run down and you just may find an owner that either has grown tired of dealing with their tenants or one that just doesn’t know what to do. If you know you can solve tenant problems or vacancy issues and the owner wants to rid themselves of this problem property, then you may have found a hidden bargain.

Once you know what to look for to find real estate bargains, these deals don’t seem hidden at all. By digging a little deeper when you’re doing your research, keeping your eyes open when cruising the streets, and keeping tabs on the local government activities, you will start finding the hidden bargains that may have been right under your nose all along.

_____________________________________________________

Julie Broad, and her husband Dave Peniuk, publish a free real estate investing newsletter where they share their secrets to becoming millionaire real estate investors. You can sign up for their newsletter and view past articles at: http://www.revnyou.com

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Sending targeted direct mail to sellers has been one of our primary marketing strategies to find great deals over the years. We have a three step foreclosure mailer that we send once a lis pendens has been filed on a property. We have an out of state mailer we do. And one of our more successful seller lead generators was mailing to owners of properties where the sale price was $100 or less. These are transfer properties. . . could be from divorce or inheritance among other reasons.

Anyway, direct mail could be a good additional component to your marketing plan. If that’s the case, one of the first questions that you may ask is, “Where do I get the list?”

I’ll tell you what you don’t do. . . don’t call one of the list companies out there! These companies will charge you an arm and a leg for something that you can get for MUCH cheaper if you just know where to look.

For example, I was on the phone with one of my students in my mentoring program the other day, and he had just bought a list. I was too late! You wanna know how much they charged him. . . $1,200! I didn’t want to tell him that I could get him a more targeted and better list at about 1/10 of the cost.

“So Patrick, Where do I get my list if not from a list company?

Your list can be generated from public records from your county. Depending on what kind of list you want, you go to one of a couple different county offices.

Your county appraisers office is a great resource for you. In some counties they call it the tax assessors office and some the registrars office. Whatever they call it in your area, it’s a great place to get a list.

That’s where I generated my out of state and transfer lists from. And guess how much I paid for each list which had thousands of names. . . only $50 a piece! That beats the heck out of paying $1,200, doesn’t it?

Some of the information that I had them include in the list were. . . property address, owner name, mailing address (if different), last sale date, last sale amount, and assessed value. Oh yeah, here’s another tip. Make sure they exclude out of country addresses. Not worth the expense to mail to them.

To generate a list of people facing foreclosure, call your county courthouse and tell them that you want to search public records for the latest lis pendens (a lis pendens is the first step in foreclosure and is Latin for “suit pending”). They’ll direct you where to go. You’ll most likely have to do this research yourself and write down the information you need for each lead. That’s how we’ve always had to do it.

Some counties have all that info online, but we would still actually go to the courthouse because we found there was about a weeks difference between when a lis pendends was filed and when it showed up online. Lot’s of investors mail to these leads in my area so we want to get our letter in the homeowner’s hands as quick as possible.

If you run into any problems geverating your list or have further questions, leave them in the comment area. . .

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