Posts Tagged real estate investments

7 Simple Steps To Real Estate Investing

Whether you are BRAND NEW to real estate investing or an expert in the game, it’s critical that you understand these 7 Simple Steps to real estate investing.

First things first…

o Real Estate is NOT a get rich quick scheme. However, if you learn the foundations and put them into practice, you will make more than enough money to realize any and all of your dreams and goals.

o The real estate bubble is not going to burst! The real estate market will, however, shift and the real estate market will change – just as it always has! What’s “hot” now may turn ice cold in the next 3 years (or perhaps even 3 months). But, there are ways to “bubble proof” your real estate investments. It’s actually quite simple.

Did you know that in the United States, in 1975, the median home price was $33,300? In 2005, the median home price was $195,000. Historically, the average home doubled every 7 years. If you do the math, it should be well over $200,000.

OK… Now, having said that… The real estate market WILL change and what is “working” today in real estate may not in the future… The rental market was strong a decade ago, but has been soft in recent years. We are getting ready for a turn once again.

Real Estate IS a cycle… and cycles have some degree of predictability. With predictability, you can grow your real estate business into a cash-producing, profit-pulling machine that runs itself WITH the changing real estate market trends. It is still possible to make money in real estate. In fact, now is just as good a time as any to get started in real estate investing.

But, you’ve got to make wise investments. Sure, you may make some SERIOUS cash in pre-construction, but what happens if (no, not if – when) the market shifts and there are suddenly 35 identical properties on the market for sale in the same building? How long can you afford to carry a negative cash flow on the property?

Or how about taking over property ‘subject to’? Sure, it’s a great strategy and lenders may be inclined to turn the other way and not exercise the “due on sale” clause as long as the interest rates are at rock bottom prices (You know, those sellers that you’re usually taking property subject to from usually don’t have the lowest interest rates, right?) If the interest rates spike to 10-11%, don’t you think lenders might be MUCH MORE inclined to exercise their option to make you pay off the 6.5% note?

What this means is simply that you must be experienced in the basics – the tried and true techniques, strategies and systems that have worked in the past, are STILL working and will work in the future. You’ve got to have all the tools in your bag so that you can go with the flow and not be affected when real estate markets begin to shift (which they are already in the process of doing, in case you’ve missed that memo!

Step #1 – Set your plan: Figure out what your long term real estate goals are (aka retirement and wealth building) and figure out what your short term needs are with regard to making money in real estate. Then, set up the proper entities and put the plan in place.

Step #2 – Determine what your target market will be: You cannot be all things to all real estate markets. If foreclosures appeal to you, start investing in the foreclosure market. If you want to be a landlord, look to out of state owners to focus your real estate marketing efforts.

Step #3 – Be consistent and persistent: Real Estate is not a get rich quick scheme. Real Estate is get wealthy over time and put some quick cash in your pocket today. You’ve got to follow your plan and stick with it to see real results in real estate. You’ve also got to continue to increase your education and your experience.

Step 4 – Don’t fall into the “Analysis Paralysis”: Learn to analyze properties quickly. Don’t get caught up overthinking. It’s quite simple actually: What’s the property worth? What does the property need for repairs? And how much can you get the property for? It all comes down to numbers!

Step 5 – Become a master of finance!: Real estate is the business of marketing and finance. You must learn about mortgages and interest rates and loan programs that are out there. You must know how to use finance to negotiate your deals and to sell your properties.

Step #6 – Become a skilled problem solver: The reason you will get real estate deals that others don’t, is because you are able to solve people’s problems. Anything goes on the real estate playing field. You’ve got to be ready!

Step #7 – You must continue your education: It is important that you are always investing in your education and learning new tactics, strategies and tips that will help you make more in real estate.

If you enjoyed this article, make sure to look up the other articles discussing The 7 Simple Steps To Making Money on Real Estate. The next article discusses Step #1 – set your plan in further detail!

Investing In Real Estate Investors

Let’s get REAL about something – and quelch the LIES you have been told about Real Estate Investing!

What I am going to reveal to you are some basic
truths about Real Estate investing – truths that may
totally affect the Real Estate investments you have
now – and certainly I intend to modify the way you
do Real Estate investing in the future.

Let’s get right to it – and into the heart of the real
estate investing issue.

You have been programmed all your life to become
what you are today – from school, friends, relatives
and, yes, your parents.

Recent studies show that you are who you are now,
more from what you learned prior to age 8 than in
anything else you have learned since.

Now, that may surprise you, but it is true that what
you learned at the earliest ages affects the way you
make Real Estate investments today, and the type
of Real Estate investing success you will have going
forward!

Yes, that’s a bit shocking.

You see, if you grew up in an environment where
you heard things like

“We can’t afford it”, “Be sure
you have saved enough and have the cash to buy it”
(i.e., never use credit), or numerous other phrases
that you now hear yourself saying (you know what
I’m talking about – those times you catch yourself
“becoming your parents”), it is because of your
early programming (from 0-8 years) and what you
were told about money, success, and life in general.

That is controlling your current income – and your
success – or lack of it…

The things you were told at that early, most
influential age, are now creeping out and affecting
how successful you are in business, in life and yes,
in your Real Estate investing.

THERE IS GOOD NEWS

The greatest thing about this fact – as horrible as it
seems – is that you can change the ‘programming’ -
you have the power to do it!

You can reprogram yourself in any way you want -
have anything you want – do anything you want.

All it takes is simply to ‘reinstall’ the right kind of
thinking.

And, it is easier than you might think!

One of the best ways to do that is to get a CD audio
set from someone you like to listen to – someone
that thinks positively and speaks of the life you want
to live. Many home study courses are available (yes,
including mine) that are designed to inspire and
motivate you, while they teach you the methods and
secrets of real estate investing.

Purchase one – listen to it, over and over – until you
hear yourself speaking that way, too.

You see, we are all simply creatures of habit and
environment – if we allow junk to get into our heads,
all we will ever say is junk coming out.

If all you listen to is the bad stuff in life (like the TV
news, most ‘talk radio’ shows, those TV ‘real life’
shows that end up in fights – you know the ones.,
and even violent movies where the language is
nothing you’d ever expect to hear from your own
lips.), that is exactly what you will wind up sounding
like!

It is true – ‘you are what you eat’ – and that counts
just as much for what you put in your ears as it does
for what you put in your mouth!

If you spend your time around ‘bar people’, you’ll
speak and act like them. Not that there’s anything
wrong with that, as long as you made a conscious
thought that it is what you want, but I think you’d
be much more successful at Real Estate investing if
you were listening to a successful person teaching
you about Real Estate Investing!

Now, let’s get right to the point about the various
methods and concepts you have learned about Real
Estate Investing.

You may call yourself a ‘real estate investing expert’,
but if you have to get up every morning and wonder
where your next check is coming from, you aren’t
making real estate investments, you are being
employed in a Real Estate Investing JOB!

Yes, that’s a hard-hitting statement.

You see, I want you to ‘get real’ with yourself and
simply admit it – Real Estate investing is when you
put money into a Real Estate investment and then
get some money out – ‘real estate investing’
defined.

Yet, it seems that most people I meet want to
attend my real estate training or purchase my real
estate courses that have to do with ‘No Money
Down’ (NMD) real estate investing.

Now, that kind of talk just proves the point – you can
reprogram yourself to speak a different language -
even if it doesn’t make sense!

A bunch of ‘gurus’ have told you over and over again
that ‘No Money Down’ is real estate investing – even
though you learned at an early age that ‘invest’
means to put money into something and get money
out (see http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=invest for other definitions – none of them say ‘No
Money Down’…)

Now, it’s not that ‘NMD Real Estate investing’ is all
bad – heck, my students and I make several
thousand dollars from these types of ‘Real Estate
investing’ transactions every year, too.

Just don’t lie to yourself and say they are ‘real
estate investments’, we know very clearly that these
are simply ‘earned income’ from one portion of your
real estate investing business – the real estate ‘job’
portion – earned while in transition from your
‘corporate job’ to your ‘real estate investing job’ and
on the road to true Real Estate Investing.

In other real estate investing articles, I cover some
of the methods and techniques you, too, can explore
while moving from your ‘corporate job’ to your ‘real
estate investing job’ and you’ll learn some insider
secrets for taking that leap quickly.

Beat the Crowd When Investing in Real Estate

We all are thinking about it and some of us are actually taking action and getting their hands on real estate investment properties. The longer the NY Stock Exchanges doesn’t produce desirable returns the more people are starting with real estate investments.

For most of us the obvious choice of properties are single family homes. Although you can invest in real estate without owning a home, most people follow the experience they made while purchasing their own home. This is familiar ground and the learning curve for doing a real estate deal of this type is pretty slim.

Of course there’s a drawback with this approach. The competition is fierce and there are markets where investors are artificially driving up the cost of the properties while completely discouraging first time home buyers. If this is the case, the burst of the real estate bubble is just a matter of time.

How do you avoid these situations and still successfully invest in real estate? How do you get ahead of the competition and be prepared for bad times in real estate investments as well? The only answer I have is commercial real estate.

Why commercial real estate you might ask? Commercial real estate is a solid investment in good and bad times of the local real estate market. The commercial real estate I’m referring to are multi unit apartment buildings.

Yes you will become a landlord and No you don’t have to do the work by yourself. You are the owner and not the manager of the apartment building. The cost of owning and managing the building is part of your expenses and will be covered by the rent income.

Apartment buildings are considered commercial real estate if there are 5 or more units. To make the numbers work you should consider to either own multiple small apartment buildings or you should opt for bigger buildings. This will keep the expense to income ratio at a positive cash flow. Owning rental properties is all about positive cash flow.

With investing in single family homes it is easy to achieve positive cash flow. Even if your rent income doesn’t cover your expenses 100%, the appreciation of the house will contribute to the positive cash flow. With commercial real estate the rules are different.

While single family homes are appraised by the value of recent sales of similar homes in your neighborhood, commercial real estate doesn’t care about the value appreciation of other buildings. The value of the property is solely based on the rent income. To increase the value of a commercial real estate you need to find a way to increase the rent income. The formula on how this is calculated would be too much for this short article. I listed a few very helpful books where you can find all the details.

What’s another advantage to invest in commercial real estate? Commercial real estate financing is completely different than financing a single family home. While financing a single family home you are at the mercy of lenders who want to make sure that you are in the position to pay for the house with your personal income. Commercial real estate financing is based in the properties ability to produce positive cash flow and to cover the financing cost.

After reading all these information about commercial real estate you want to go out there and dive into the deals. Not so fast. First, you need to learn as much about real estate as possible. In commercial real estate you’re dealing with professionals. If you come across too much as a newbie you will waste these guys’s time and your commercial real estate career ended before it actually started. Second, no commercial real estate lender will lend you any money if you can’t show at least a little bit of real estate investment experience.

What’s the solution to this? Go out there and do one or two single family home deals yourself. It doesn’t matter if you make huge profits to start off with. Most newbie investors are loosing money on their first deal anyway. If you can manage to show positive cash flow with your single family home deals you are ahead of the pack.

My advice, buy a small single family home in a decent neighborhood and rent it immediately. This will keep your out of the pocket expenses at a minimum and you will have rent income to cover for your monthly expenses. Bonus, you gain experience as an investor and as a landlord.

Here’s another observation I made during my real estate investment career. Most people like to analyze, learn, discuss and analyze some more. They never actually got to do a real estate deal. They love to talk about real estate investments, but never did it themselves.

My approach to real estate investment was simple.

- I bought some books about real estate investment.

- I read every single one of them.

- I put together a simple plan on how I want to get started.

- I started looking for properties.

- I bought my first investment property 30 days after I started reading my first book.

- I made positive cash flow with all of my properties so far.

What is my point? You have to go out there and practice what you’ve learned. The only valid credential in the real estate business is practical experience. Having a couple of deals under your belt, you can go out there and start looking at commercial real estate and even impress seasoned investors with your knowledge. Because you made this experience by yourself and you know what you’re talking about.