Finding Motivated Sellers: How Hard Should It Be?

Oct 31 2008

Finding Motivated Sellers: How Hard Should It Be?

Posted by: reipro, in Find Motivated Sellers

When you’re going to be investing in real estate, one of the key goals that you should have for your business is simple: you need to be sure that you know how to find motivated sellers. The more that you can be sure that you’re able to track down those sellers who will be in trouble if they are unable to find someone who will buy their home, the more that you will find you are able to grow your business as an investor.

To make that happen however, you need to be sure that you know how to move forward; you need to be sure if you are putting marketing materials out there and a home owner contacts you that you know how to negotiate with their lender and to be able to get financing in place quickly. You need to know that if you are looking for the opportunity to identify those homes that are approaching foreclosure - where the owners have been given notice that proceedings will be filed but where action hasn’t been taken - and what to do when you find them.

In other words, what new real estate investors often find is that it’s possible to find motivated sellers, but that they aren’t prepared to complete the deal. Fortunately, what you are going to find is that with the right guidance - with a great mentor - you will be able not only to find motivated sellers with ease, but also to know the rest of the steps that must be taken.

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Oct 30 2008

Should You Think About a Family Business?

Posted by: reipro, in Family Business

There’s something that appeals to a lot of people about starting a family business. Whether it’s a husband and wife team who share a passion for something and who have different skills to bring into the business or it’s siblings who want to be together and know that their skills are complementary, one of the things that you’re going to want to decide is what type of family business you are interested in running together.

Real estate investing creates a great opportunity for those who are thinking about running a family business - especially in those families where someone has an eye for design, someone else is great at keeping the books and maybe someone else has some experience in real estate. It’s a field in which complimentary talents are fantastic - but keep in mind that you will be working together when you run a family business.

There are some families for whom this works really well - they just automatically find a rhythm and achieve success. For others, there are a few bumps along the way but it tends to work out. For others still, a family business just isn’t an option. In other words, if you’ve got any sort of inkling that you’d like to run a family business, the first thing to consider is whether or not you’ll all be able to work together.

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Oct 29 2008

Getting Started: Forward Thinking

Posted by: reipro, in Getting Started

One of the things that you’re going to find when you are getting started in real estate investing is simple: you’re going to want to think about the goals that you have over the long term. While it’s important to think about what you are doing immediately, while you need to be sure that you have a solid plan for the time while you are getting started, it’s also important to know what’s important for the future.

You’re going to want to think about the fact that there are trends that take place over time; for an example of forward thinking while you’re getting started, let’s take a quick look at going green. When you are looking at opportunities, one of the things that you’ll want to think about is how much effort it could take to green up the place, because that’s going to have an impact on the sales that you make.

It’s this type of forward thinking that is going to help to assure your success as a real estate investor; by thinking about the future, you’ll find that it’s easier to pick out properties that are worth buying and to identify the best way to sell the properties that you buy. When you’re getting started, these points will also way in on the way that you evaluate deals.

Thinking about the big picture, in other words, is something that’s going to help you to reach your goals - and that’s a great thing to focus on while you’re getting started.

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Oct 28 2008

Evaluating Deals Makes a Big Difference

Posted by: reipro, in Evaluating Deals

The more that you are committed to being successful as a real estate investor, the more that you are going to find yourself looking for those situations that will enable you to make the right choices. The more that you are focused on being successful, the more that you will start to recognize the difference that evaluating deals thoroughly before you make them will make.

Evaluating deals is the one way that, as a real estate investor, you will be able to predict the future. Okay, that might be overstating it a little bit, but evaluating deals is going to let you take a much close look at the real estate market in your area, the financing that you have for the deal, the amount of time that it’s going to take either to sell the property or to find a tenant so that you are able to determine whether or not the purchase is likely to pay off.

Evaluating deals in real estate investing - especially when you have tools that will simplify the process - is going to be the one thing that allows you to perfect your art and to experiment without putting yourself in a situation in which you are taking a risk.

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Oct 27 2008

How to Sell Properties: Making Sure the Home Is Ready

Posted by: reipro, in How To Sell Properties

One of the biggest challenges that many real estate investors face is simple: they jump in on the foreclosure bandwagon and think that just because they are getting a great price they will be able to turn around and sell the property at a profit. The reason that this often proves to be a problem is that the homes are often neglected (or abused) and need to have some repairs made before you are going to be able to sell them.

In other words, when you need to know how to sell properties, you need to know this: in order to sell a property you not only need to set the right price, but also you need to be sure that the property is ready to be sold.

In a market where buyers have plenty of options, the reality is simple: many of them are looking for properties that are move in ready and available at a bargain. If you jump in and buy a property thinking that others are out there looking for fixer uppers because they’re more affordable, think again. In order to sell a property effectively, you must be sure that the property is in great shape and is ready for the sale.

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Oct 26 2008

Pre-Foreclosures Create Opportunities

Posted by: reipro, in Pre-Foreclosures & REOs

When you are getting started as a real estate investor, you’re going to want to be sure that you’re thinking about all of the opportunities that are available - and to make sure that you know how to take advantage of them. For example, pre-foreclosures are a fantastic option for those who want to be sure that they are making a profit as a real estate investor (actually, pre-foreclosures are where a lot of opportunities are rather than from foreclosure properties themselves):

(source)Pre-foreclosures properties are homes that are about to go into foreclosure. Some of the best real estate deals are made this way, before they hit the mainstream foreclosure market. Negotiations are usually with the owner directly, who would like to work out a deal before the bank forces them to leave the property.

The number of pre-foreclosures is growing every day. If you’ve kept up with the media recently, you know that investing in pre-foreclosure homes is one of the best ways to make a substantial profit. There are virtually a limitless number of these discounted homes on the market, due to the sub-prime mortgage crisis and the current economic slowdown.

In other words, if you’re looking for the opportunity to jump into real estate investing and you are willing to learn which contacts you should make, how to approach them - both within the bank and the sellers who are so motivated to get out from under their homes - and what it’s going to take to seal the deal. Pre-foreclosures create a fantastic opportunity - but you need to know to take advantage of them; the right mentor can be there to help.

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Oct 25 2008

Getting Started: Identifying Your Options

Posted by: reipro, in Getting Started

When you are ready to think about getting started in real estate investing, one of the first things that you are going to need to consider is what type of property you are interested in investing in. Rather than just jumping in and hoping for the best, you are going to want to make sure that you think things through; one of the best things that you can do while you are still exploring your options is to work with a mentor.

Getting started with the help of a real estate investing mentor is going to help you to focus on a number of key variables:

When you are getting started, you will be able to take a closer look at whether you will be buying single family homes or looking into multi-family properties or commercial buildings.
When you get started with a real estate investment mentor, you are going to find that you are able to learn more about the different opportunities for buying: going directly to the sellers, making a connection with the right real estate agents and mortgage professionals.
When you get started as a real estate investor by working with a mentor, you are going to be able to identify possible mistakes that could be made - without having to make them for yourself.

In other words, when you are working with a mentor while you are getting started as a real estate investor, you’re going to find that it’s a lot easier to determine what you are looking for and the best ways of reaching your goals.

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Oct 24 2008

How to Buy Properties, Or, What Not to Do

Posted by: reipro, in How To Buy Properties

In order to be successful as a real estate investor, you have to know how to buy properties. Learning how to buy properties is something that involves knowing the right research to do and where to do it; buying the right properties involves evaluating each and every potential deal before making a decision about whether or not to push forward and actually buy the property and, it also means learning a bit about how to sell.

Similarly, when you want to learn how to buy properties as a real estate investor, you are going to want to be sure that you taking into consideration those things that you really should not do. One thing that you’re going to think about is what you can do to find properties differently - instead of assuming that the only way to find a great deal is to look at foreclosure lists.

Another thing that you should avoid? Real estate investor field trips in which investors come together and are driven around to see the sites (you can read about one such trip here. Simply put, learning how to buy properties shouldn’t be about going out with your competition; you want to come in ahead of the game.

Buying properties is a solid foundation for growing your real estate investment business: shouldn’t you be sure that you learn the best ways of doing it?

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Oct 23 2008

Foreclosures Provide a Variety of Opportunities

Posted by: reipro, in Foreclosures

Yes I have said it before and, if you keep coming back to the blog, you’re more than likely going to see it written here again: investing in foreclosures is not always going to be the best way for real estate investors to create a sound financial future for their families. Investing in foreclosures, depending on how you go about it, is something that may even end up costing those investors who don’t carefully evaluate the deal more than some other properties would. However, that doesn’t mean that you should never look at foreclosures.

When most investors - particularly new real estate investors - think about purchasing foreclosure properties, their focus is on flipping the house. The challenge is that in a real estate market where the buyers are the ones with the power, this isn’t the time to start flipping houses. But remember, there is not just one opportunity that’s available when you invest in a foreclosed property.

Another great option that you will find is that when you buy foreclosed homes, you just might have the opportunity to earn a living as a landlord. The more that there are foreclosures in an area, the more that you will find families looking for housing - you have the opportunity to provide it. In other words, when it comes to foreclosures specifically - and real estate investing in general - you’re going to find that you want to look at all of the possibilities, not just the one that seems the most clear.

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Oct 22 2008

How to Sell Properties: Using the Right Images

Posted by: reipro, in How To Sell Properties

Real estate investing involves two steps. The first step is buying properties, and the second involves finding tenants if you are going to become a property manager or learning how to sell properties.

One of the key things that you’re going to want to remember when it comes to how to sell properties is that old saying: “a picture is worth a thousand words.” When you are looking to sell properties (and, to a lesser extent, when you are looking for tenants for the properties you will be managing), you are going to want to make sure that you’re using the right images of the property.

Real estate photography can be something of a specialized industry. Rather than just showing the layout of the kitchen, for example, when you’re going to be selling a property, you’re going to want to make sure that buyers are able to see that certain sparkle when the light hits the countertops. Rather than just showing a shot of the curtains pulled in the family room, photos should be taken when the lighting is right so that prospective buyers will also be able to take in the view.

In other words, when you want to be sure that you’re doing everything that you can to learn how to sell properties, make sure that you’re thinking about the images that you use, and be sure that those images will help you to sell.

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