Trends In Real Estate Investing | World Finance News

Timing may be everything, but is now the right time to invest in real estate, given the steep declines seen in the housing marketing in recent months?  Some real estate investment professionals seem to think so.  In fact, the smart investors are buying, buying, buying properties right now.  Why? 

“First, let’s define what we mean by “investing,” says real estate mentor and author Minh Pham, whose popular real estate seminars pack convention rooms with novice real estate investors eager to learn how to make money with real estate.  “Are you intending to be a knowledgeable, well-educated buyer of under-priced properties and stay in the real estate market for the long term in order to see excellent returns?  Or are you looking for a ‘get-rich-quick’ scheme?  If so, my real estate seminars are not for you.” 

Pham explains that buying a cheap property in the hopes of immediately reselling for a lot more than you paid is speculating, not investing.   And speculating is as risky as buying a lottery ticket.  No credible real estate investment coach will teach you how to speculate, because there is no way to guarantee profits. 

But that doesn’t mean you can’t start seeing profits in a fairly short space of time – you just need to know what you are doing.  

Becoming a successful real estate investor involves getting educated, doing excellent research, and putting together a well-thought-out strategy.   This may seem like homework to some, but for those who have done it the financial rewards are more than making up for the time spent learning.   

“Can you make money in real estate in a down economy?  Absolutely.  Can you do it without knowing what you are doing?  Absolutely not,” says Pham. “Worst case scenario, you could lose thousands of dollars and end up being very disillusioned, as many people are right now as a result of not really understanding what they were doing.  There are rules to any game, and if you don’t take the time the learn them you could lose your money.” 

According to Pham and other real estate investing experts, in order to be successful it’s important to learn how to make money in both ‘up’ and ‘down’ markets. You need survival strategies for when the economy is bad, and know how to win in a competitive market when the economy is booming.   “Don’t fear the competition – embrace it,” advises Pham.  “If you see a lot of investors competing for deals, then know you’re not the only one that sees the potential for profit.  There are more than enough good deals to go around. At any given time there are hundreds of properties for sale in local market niches, enough for every savvy investor to make the profits they’re looking for.  

Even in today’s uncertain climate, novice real-estate investors are making money, especially in smaller properties that are easy to acquire and manage.  Owning property that pays for itself is what it’s all about.  But how do you find those kinds of properties, and how do you recognize them when you do?  “Ah, you’ll have to come to one of my seminars,” grins Pham.   

Minh Pham’s next real estate investing seminar will be held in Alexandria, VA on March 14th, 2009.  He will be giving away his real estate investing handbook, “Turnkey Profits Using Lease Purchase, Subject To’s and Other Creative Real Estate Investing Techniques” to seminar attendees.  To reserve a seat go towww.realestatementoring.eventbrite.com.

Real Estate Tips For Making Your Home Sell Fast

If you’re looking to sell your home fast, then this article is for you. If you’re home has been on the real estate market for a long time and has had alot of visitors but no sales, then you will benefit from the home selling tips listed in this article. And if you’re currently investing in real estate but a home that you purchased hasn’t sold yet, than you will benefit from this advice also.

Selling your home fast doesn’t have to be a complicated process. The first thing that you want to consider when showcasing your home is to point out the most attractive feature to your buyer. You want to make sure that your home is design to sell and that all minor repairs have been attended to before you put it up for sale. Your real estate results will be much better if you’ve put in the work and time to renovate your home specifically for selling.

To help with the designing of your home for setting it up for sale, you have 2 options. You can either do it yourself, or hire the help of professionals. Both have their pros and cons, so you should weigh them both evenly.

The benefit of doing it yourself is obvious. You can save money, but your time will be spent focusing on one repair. If you hire the help of professionals, you will have more time to work on other areas of your home, but it’s your money that will be spent. You have to decide which will be better towards making the sale.

If you hire the help of professionals, you should hire an interior design team. This team will decorate your home and stage it properly to make it sell. A properly designed home will definitely help to close a sale faster than a home that is full of clutter.

You should also consider hiring someone to organize your home. This organizer should go through your home and organize all key areas of your house such as the attic, garage, basement, and closets. These are areas that buyers have a keen eye for, so you want to give the best impression when buyers view your home.

After the interior of your home is staged properly and is ready to sell, it’s time to market it. Either you or a photographer can take pictures of your home so that you can market it online and via newspapers. You want clear, clean, and crisp pictures of your home.

You should consider hiring a photographer because more than likely they will have one of the best cameras available that will be able to take the beautiful pictures you need to sell your home. Or if you can afford it yourself, purchase a highly-quality camera that will be able to take the kind of pictures you need to sell your home.

All of these tips will impact you selling your home now so you shouldn’t take them lightly. When it comes to real estate selling, all of these points are crucial so you should skimp on any part. Skimping on key areas is the main reason why homes don’t sell fast, you want to ensure that you take each area seriously. Good luck with the selling of your home.

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99 Real Estate Leads and No Real Estate Deals?

Some say there is an industry standard that says:

“For every 20 real estate leads you call, you’ll get at least 19 No’s and 1 Yes.” Well, imagine contacting 99 home owners who had a home to sell and having nearly all of them say “No” to your business.

In this blog post I’m going to tell you why and how this happened to me so you’ll know what not to do when talking with real estate leads.

A few years back I came to a point in my life where I wanted a real estate deal really bad! I wanted a deal so bad that I pulled out some old newspapers (a few days old) that I had been saving and circled all the real estate leads I wanted to call. My goal was to call 100 home owners and at least get my first deal.  Statistically I guess I should have a goal of getting at least 5 deals, but I would have been satisfied with 1 real estate deal.

So I picked up the phone and started dialing…

Ring Ring Ring!

First call goes straight to voice mail. I leave a message.

Ring Ring Ring!

Second call goes straight to voicemail. I leave a message.

Ring Ring Ring!

Third call goes straight to voice mail. I leave a message.

Ring Ring Ring!

Fourth call goes straight to voice mail. I leave a message. (I’m getting a little annoyed now)

Ring Ring Ring!

Seller Says: “Hello?”

I introduce myself and begin running through my script of what to say…*Click* in mid sentence.

First rejection…It’s cool. I have 95 more real estate leads to call, so it’s not a big deal.

As I began dialing number after number, it was like a pattern of voice mails and rejections. There were some soft promises of, “I’ll think about it and get back to you”, yet not a single firm Yes!

I burned through 99 real estate leads and didn’t get a single deal.  It all happened in one day and by the end of the day I was completely exhausted and didn’t even bother calling the last lead!

I seriously doubt it would have been a deal. Now that I think about it…I know it wouldn’t have been a deal given my state of mind after being completely drained.

What happened that day? Why wasn’t I able to nab a deal?

After analyzing all the conversations and analyzing myself.

Here some of the main problems I noticed:

Reading From a Script & Not Being in Control

Reading from a script is ok, but you don’t wan to sound rehearsed. If you’re going to do it then you at least have to make it sound natural to the person on the other end. Reading from a script can help guide the conversation and get the answers you need to make a decision. However, it’s important to position yourself accordingly when you’re on the phone. How do you sound to the other person on the end? Do you sound like a buyer/investor or do you sound like a salesman?

Many people get frustrated when they get phone calls out of the blue and you have to be able to build that rapport (relationship) from the beginning in order to set the tone for the rest of the call. If you’re on the defense in the conversation, then you’re climbing an uphill battle because you’re answering the majority of the seller’s questions instead of the other way around. Rapport building points are not something you’re likely to find in a script.

These were the problems I had. I didn’t build rapport. I sounded rehearsed and didn’t maintain control of the conversation. I didn’t position myself as a solution.

Not Listening during the conversations

The problem with using a script is that it could prevent you from listening to the seller unless they answer the question you happen to be on. My advice has always been to use a script as a guide or memory jogger because there will be questions that you need to ask and they might not be on your sheet.

A perfect example of not listening was when a motivated seller was telling me about their home repairs and then moved on to telling me about the neighborhood. After she finished discussing the neighborhood, I said, “So does the home need any repairs?” She called me out right on the spot and said, “Weren’t you listening?” I was kind of listening, but that just happened to be the next question on my script. You absolutely must listen when talking to people on the phone or you’ll likely lose out on the deal like I did.

The presence of negative energy

As I dialed number after number I didn’t take any breaks. Maybe to run to the bathroom or grab a quick glass of water. Other than that, I was diving striaght through this list like no tomorrow. As I kept getting voice mails and kept getting rejected, I would get more and more frustrated. If you get frustrated during a process like this, you’re frustration (negative energy) can easily carry over to the next call and it can be heard by the person on the other end. This can be a big turn off and the conversation will get cut fairly quickly. My advice is to take breaks and stay positive. Motivate yourself or talk to someone who can make you feel better. Then continue on with taking action.

Have you ever talked to someone on the phone and you can just hear a negative attitude in their tone? It’s like someone pissed in their cereal. Sometimes I’d get negative energy from some leads as well. Some either assumed I would low ball them because of being an investor or some just didn’t feel like talking. They had the old “Are you going to buy at full price or what?” mentality. Those are the type of real estate leads, I simply don’t deal with. My time is too valuable and if we’re going to do business, then we need to be on the same page.

Contacting unmotivated real estate leads

Let’s face it! A big handful of the leads I was contacting were unmotivated. As I analyzed all the things I was doing wrong, I also noticed that I was talking to people who wanted to sell, but didn’t need to sell. Motivated leads need to sell their home because there is some sort of problem that they desperately need to get rid of. Foreclosures are huge problems right now and many people out there need a solution.

If you talk with people who say they have time to wait and aren’t looking for a quick sale, then they are most likely unmotivated. It’s one thing for a person not to accept a low offer. It’s another thing for them to tell you that they’re not in a hurry before they even hear your offer. I’m not one to make insultingly low offers, however I do need to position myself to make some money. This is a business and if they have a problem with you making money more than you helping them sell their home fast, then they’re not that motivated. Unmotivated sellers can waste your time, so it’s best to end the call quickly and move on.

Understanding that No means No!

As I write this blog post, I had to stop for a few seconds to answer the phone. It just happened to be a telemarketer. How ironic is that? She wanted to give me an estimate on my windows. I told her I’m not interested. She said, “Well have you changed your windows?” I said, “Yes, but I’m not interested in any additional remodeling right now.” She said, “Well we also do estimates on sliding doors and our estimates are good for 1 full year.” I’m not INTERESTED! (My tone raised a bit). She said, “Ok thank you for your time!”

This made me think back to how many times I was told “No” on that dreadful day and how I kept trying to sell my real estate services to the person on the other end. There was one call in particular where a person kept saying that they weren’t interested and I kept trying to push and convince them. If it’s one thing I’ve learned and have been taught over and over again, you never want to try and convince someone to do business with you. It’s either they get it or they don’t. Your time is better spent with people who get it because the majority of your deals will come from people who will do whatever it takes to get rid of their problem. Position yourself as a solution and 9 times out of 10, you’ll get the deal.

Cold Calling versus Direct Response Marketing

The last point I want to make is that cold calling a real estate lead verus having the lead contact you can play a role in getting the deal as well. I’ve always believed that if a lead contacts you, then they are much stronger. Why? Because they saw you as a potential solution and they picked up the phone and dialed your number. They may have even taken the time to visit your website and fill out all the required information you asked them to fill out. If they’re not motivated, then they most likely won’t even do that.

This is exactly why I now concentrate on attracting motivated sellers and buyers. I have no doubt in my mind that cold calling works. In fact, I still do it every now and then. However, when you can pick up the phone and say, “How can I help you?”, you instantly gain control of the conversation because you’re asking the question and you’re letting them know right off the bat that you can be a potential solution.  It would be kind of strange to call someone out of the blue and say “How can I help you?”.

If you’re able to elicit a direct response from a real estate lead, then you’ve achieved the goal of direct response marketing. All you have to do next  is close the deal…if it’s really a deal!

I’m sure there are tons of reasons why I didn’t get a deal that day. However, in this post I wanted to point out the major ones that I knew contributed to that day.

Can you think of more? Have you ever called a bunch of real estate leads in a single day? What was your experience?

Share below by leaving a comment.

To Your Success,

J. Lamar Ferren
New Breed Investor

Advantages of Private Money Over Bank Loans | Understanding Real Estate

Since the credit bubble first burst, traditional sources of investment property loans have all but dried up, forcing real estate investors to find alternative sources of capital. Seasoned investors have been using private money for years, so it’s not an uncommon method of real estate financing, but when money was easy to come by at conventional banks, most investors took the familiar route. But now many people are realizing that finding the real estate deals is the easier part of the business these days, but getting a loan to buy the property is the hard part! So what do you do?

A great many real estate investors are turning to private lenders to fund their purchases. Private lenders can be anyone. They could be friends you already know, either very well or just casually. They could be relatives. Or they could be business owners, doctors, attorneys, and other professionals you do business with everyday. Private lenders in general don’t promote, and may not even realize they have the potential to make great money until they meet an investor— like you— who educates them. Since no one is getting a very good rate of return on their money these days, whether it be in a CD, mutual fund, IRA, or in the stock market, many everyday individuals you never thought of before as lenders could have money to lend to you for your real estate deals. It’s a win-win situation: they make a much higher interest rate than they could make elsewhere, and you set the terms you know you can afford.

Imagine how many great deals you could do if you had access to lots of quick cash—other people’s—not out of your own pocket. Imagine never again letting deals pass you by due to the rules and limitations of banks! And also image going to closing and only signing two or three documents instead of two inches worth!  Private real estate money deals are incredible simple and the total paperwork is normally less than 10 pages. In addition, investment property loans from private real estate money sources usually have no points and little upfront or back-end fees. You won’t find that at a conventional bank!

Establish your credibility with those who have “deep pockets” and you’ll have access to all the money you need for any estate deal. If private lending is new to you, first educate yourself about this type of real estate financing. Knowing the advantages can mean the difference between making a good deal work, or losing yet another to your competitors.

Making Money With Wells Fargo Foreclosures

Because of some mitigating circumstances, many homeowners were forced to renege on their obligation to pay their mortgages. This resulted to thousands of Wells Fargo foreclosures offered for sale on the market daily. 

This opened a floodgate of smart investors and first-time homebuyers who want to buy bank foreclosure properties either to live in, rent out or re-sell. Wells Fargo foreclosures are very cheap, selling as low as half their current market value. The explanation for the low prices is very simpleWells Fargo does not want to be saddled with unprofitable properties so it would prefer to sell them at low costs. 

Where to Find Cheap Bank Owned Properties:

Any smart investor can tell you that you can profit from a real estate if you buy a property at a very low price and sell it for a substantial profit. So start by looking for bank foreclosures that are cheap yet in good condition. To save you time and effort, subscribe to foreclosure listings. A foreclosure list is the secret weapon of many smart investors. This is the tool that enables them to get ahead of their competitors.

Subscribing to foreclosure listings gives you a chance to know about new foreclosures as soon as they are placed on the market for sale. And you will know every new foreclosure home in all major cities and towns in the country even without leaving the comfort of your home or office just by subscribing to foreclosure listings.

Buying Bank Foreclosures:

You can buy bank foreclosed homes at auctions. Buying at auctions gives you an assurance that the properties are really at their lowest market price. However, because buying means bidding on the property, there is a great possibility that you will get carried away by the excitement of the process and end up overbidding on the property. You can avoid this mistake by setting the amount that you can afford to pay the property.

Learn everything you can about the foreclosure investing market and give yourself an edge over other buyers who are hunting for cheap Wells Fargo foreclosures.

Flip and fix: Important Tasks to Accomplish When Rehabbing Homes

Rehabbing, no-doubt, is one of the most popular ways to invest in real estate. With the growing number of television shows that feature this particular real estate investing niche, many investors, particularly beginners, are keen on renovating old and undervalued homes for profit.

Being a rehabber of real estate, however, is not as easy as certain flip and fix shows portray it to be. A real estate investor who rehabs properties for a living doesn't just enter an ugly house and snap his fingers to transform the property into a work of art. He has numerous responsibilities and tasks that should be accomplished to ensure that his project will be a huge success.

Among these tasks is ensuring that the fixer upper home to be rehabbed is capable of attracting a good deal once it has been repaired and renovated. A rehabber has to make sure that he is investing his time and money in the right property as it can help him determine the success rate of his rehab project. This is the reason why those who concentrate on this particular real estate investing niche spend most of their time looking for the perfect handyman special or fixer upper home to rehab.

Another important task to consider when fixing and flipping properties is creating a rehabbing team. We are all aware that giving an old property a make-over is a mentally and physically challenging task. Even if a rehabber has ample experience in doing construction and home improvement projects, it would still be difficult for him to complete a flip and fix on his own. Therefore, to ensure that a home rehab would be finished on time, it would be wise to hire contractors or build a team.

Aside from finding the right property to rehab and building a team, creating good marketing strategies is also one of the essentials of doing a rehab project. Having good marketing pitches enables a real estate investor to easily find an end buyer for the property that he has rehabbed. It can also help a rehabber find motivated home sellers, who can provide him or her with nice fixer upper homes and handyman specials.

By accomplishing these tasks and having a good real estate investing strategy in place, it would be easier for an investor to generate positive cash flow by rehabbing homes. 

Making Money Flipping Real Estate | Real Estate Investing Tips

Have you ever gone past a house and thought to yourself, “That place has potential! With a little work, it could really be worth some money.” Do you have a burning desire to fire your boss and be self-employed? Once you learn a few tricks of the trade, you too can make money investing in real estate with a minimum risk level.

If you’re sick of scheduling hours and hours of overtime just to find yourself breaking even at the end of every month, consider flipping real estate part-time. Before you jump in with both feet and start flipping estate for a living, weekend home investment is a great way to find out if real estate investing is right for you.

While it is true that the housing market in the United States is changing, that doesn’t mean that renovating real estate can’t still be a lucrative pursuit. While it is true that you might have to wait longer than you’d like to sell your property once it’s all fixed up and ready to go, rest assured that the right buyers will come your way eventually. Investing in real estate is always a good way to make money, if you know the right way to do it.

Housing is a fantastic investment, and properties are currently selling for less than they were even one year ago. Because sales are sluggish, real estate investors have added leverage. If you find a fantastic fixer-upper, you have more negotiation power now that you’ve had in years. Sellers are often eager to sell their properties for much less than the listed price, which means more profit flipping real estate for you.

In an uncertain market, there will always be home buyers. People will still be getting married, having kids or relocating for new job opportunities. The trick is to keep the needs of the market in mind when you intend to make money flipping real estate. Look for affordable starter homes for young families that you can buy at a bargain. Then, make modest and practical improvements, like attractive yet inexpensive kitchen improvements, fresh paint and vinyl siding.

Also, you will need to research tax law when it comes to flipping properties. You may wish to hire an accountant to ensure that you don’t end up with the IRS chasing after you. Also remember to calculate taxes when you are figuring out your profit margin and figuring out the return on investment of your property.

Look into foreclosure properties if you want to find a really great bargain. Foreclosure properties make it easy to make money flipping real estate, since they are usually auctioned off for much less than they are actually worth. Be careful not to get caught up in the excitement of the auction, however. You may need to chase after several different foreclosure properties to find the one with the best potential for you.

If you are smart about it, you’ll make money investing in real estate in any kind of economy. You just need to know how to invest in potential and invest with patience when homes aren’t selling as fast as you would like them to.

C. David Roberts is a Mechanical Engineer, software developer and has 
extensive experience in residential development and construction. His combined 
experience has lead him to develop the Real Estate industry leading software to 
teach experts and neophytes the secrets of flipping houses.