Archive for March, 2009

Six Common Marketing Mistakes Investors Make And How To Avoid Them

March 21, 2009 at 10:00 am · Filed under Six Common Marketing Mistakes

Dear Friend,

What I would like to address in this article is something that is disturbing to me. Over the past few years I have seen how many investors after a real estate seminar or buying a new course would jump on the band wagon of the usual marketing strategies we are all familiar with. You know, bandit signs, classified ads and postcards too just name a few. Now, these marketing strategies in themselves are not bad but it is sadly the method how these marketing activities are applied where investors get into trouble.

Not Having a Marketing Strategy At All

Just placing bandit signs in neighborhoods and intersections without planning, testing and reviewing the quality response rate from your signs is a sure recipe for failure.

Not Identifying Strategies That Work and Sticking With Them

There are many ways to skin a cat. Some ways are better than others. It is the lack of not knowing what works and not knowing what works well that leads many astray and cost them a lot of money in the process.

Not Staying Within a Budget and Wasting Your Money

If you only have $10 or $100 per month or more that you can spend on marketing then you need to stick to that amount and use strategies that fit into your budget otherwise you might soon be distracted from your real estate investment business by facing a cash crunch.

Having No Competitive Advantage Above Other Investors

I have a personal bias towards attorneys and using free publicity as my competitive edge. What is yours? If you don’t know, develop one.

Not Being Persistent.

Sadly many quit with a huge database of leads they accumulated from haphazard marketing efforts not realizing they have unrefined gold in their hands. All it asks is some nourishment and follow up.

Following the Herd and Using the Same Marketing Strategies

Ask yourself, with all the same strategies used by fellow investors in your market, why would a seller call you ? If you can’t answer this then you need to think of a different strategy like marketing to attorneys. When you market to attorneys there is no competition and no negotiation. What I like about this approach is that the attorneys may times would send pre-qualified leads your way which makes negotiations much less stressful and complicated.

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Where to find the best commercial real estate

March 21, 2009 at 4:40 am · Filed under Best commercial real estate

Where to find the best commercial real estate

The profitability of any real estate investment depends a lot on your ability to locate the best commercial real estate deals available in the market. By investing in real estate deals that have the most potential, you can maximize your profits and lower your burden by investing in only a few deals per year. The best commercial real estate deals will give returns that are equivalent to three to four times the amount of your investments. If you invest in average deals, the returns will be relatively less and you will have to do more deals for getting the same returns. The amount of work and process involved are more or less the same for any real estate deal, so it is better to do less work and get a greater return.

You need to make sure that the resources used for locating the best real estate deals are accurate and reliable. For finding the best deals, you can approach reputed commercial brokers, as they are the ones who actually have the properties listed. After noting down your requirements, you can go to these brokers for getting information about the availability of properties that you intend to buy. You need to cast your net wide by calling local brokers, as well as brokers in other states that will be more than happy to call other brokers and find listings that best fit your criteria. When you approach a broker, make sure that you ask for pocket listings, or listings that are about to go on the market, but are not yet listed officially. This will help in finding the best deals and getting ahead of the competition.

The Internet can also be used for finding the best deals, as there are numerous sites dealing in the sale of a variety of properties ranging from raw land to large retail and apartment complexes. On these sites, you can get the required information about the property, as well as the broker. You can keep filtering out the information until you get to deals that suit your predetermined criteria.

Another place where you can find the best deals is probably an auction house that auctions different types of properties. Very often, you may get excellent deals that would otherwise have cost you a lot more if purchased from a commercial broker. It is necessary that you register with some of the most reputed auction houses in order to obtain e-mail notifications about properties that are put up for sale from time to time. This will give you enough time to contemplate on your investment decision before the actual bidding day. Some of these establishments also provide the option of purchasing a property at a specific price before it goes for auction. This makes it even more necessary to stay in contact with several auction houses, as you never know what opportunities might come along.

Apart from these, you can also use local resources such as newspapers, listings, and magazines for finding the best commercial real estate deals. One thing that you should always keep in mind is that the more contacts you have, the more are the chances of finding the better real estate deals. This means that rather than depending on a single source, you need to refer to as many resources as you possibly can.

About the Author
We will buy your house As Is Now in any condition including Ugly Homes. If you need to Sell Your Home Fast Orlando, Jacksonville, Atlanta, Charlotte, Cincinnati, For Lauderdale, Houston, Tampa and Fort Myers. Visit us at http://www.asisnow.com. Call 1-800-AS-IS-NOW (800-274-7669).

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How To Acquire Property Without Risk

March 20, 2009 at 6:19 pm · Filed under Buy a Property?, buy sell home

There are a number of ways to acquire property without risk. Here is a list of important suggestions:
  • Restrict the size of the investment and the amount of indebtedness.
  • Sell at a profit a part of what you have purchased.
  • Buy only such property as you are willing and able to hold for an indefinite period.
  • Make an estimate of gain or loss probabilities before you buy.
  • Withstand all pressure of people who try to induce you to sell at a loss.
  • Increase desirability of the property before you sell.

  • Observe the effects of local improvements, movements and activity. Develop ability to buy Real Estate with the greatest potential for the future. The successful buyers of Real Estate have a good knowledge of facts and laws, learned under a great variety of circumstances. They realize the importance of making investigations. They know economics and business conditions locally and nationally. They study trends, growth areas and property utilization. They have a correct idea of their own personal finance limitations. They have a high degree of interest, judgment and imagination.
  • Adaptability, fortitude and a high degree of resourcefulness are other attributes to successful Real Estate investing. Desire for ownership and not being adverse to going into debt are very important.
  • If a property appears to be greatly under priced never quibble over price. List all the significant advantages and disadvantages of each property. There should be some reasonably outstanding features that will generate enthusiasm. Decide to buy on the merits of the property, not because someone is suggestive. If you lose a good deal, a better one will come along. Resist speculation fever.
  • If you are buying a property to hold for a long time, compute the taxes, interest, insurance, etc. You will have to pay while it is in your possession.
  • Realize that when the market is good and the price is rising you can always buy, but when the market is going down it is difficult to sell. Don’t sell too quickly and do not over-extend yourself.
  • Realize that increasing value of improved (homes buildings,etc) result mainly from increasing population.
  • If you are interested in making money investing in Real Estate foreclosures, the best way to succeed is to develop a financial plan based on your tax bracket so that you will know when to sell off which properties and when to keep them for future increase in value. You will need to recognize when there is “concealed”equity in a property which is not visible to other investors. Look for homes from 5 to 20 years old with potential net profits of no less than $4,000 when you convert them.
  • Know the laws in your state pertaining to the foreclosure process. Look over all the small print in contracts. Most of them favor the seller. If you are the buyer, have the contract changed to fit your requirements.
  • Be careful at auctions so that you don’t get carried away with the bidding; determine in advance the top you will go and stay with it.
  • Strive to locate and purchase distressed property before foreclosure proceedings start and you can generally assume conventional loans under the same circumstances as presently exist.
  • When you have purchased the property in a slow Real Estate market, it is easier to sell since you have probably acquired it at several thousands below the current market value.
  • It can be good policy some of your property and keep some. For example, if you can sell one-half of the property and get most of your money back, you will be able to retain the balance for future enhancement and use the proceeds of that portion sold to speculate in other properties.
  • Speculation is not all profit. As time goes by taxes and assessments increase; some properties may have to be sold to pay for such increases.
  • The greatest deterrent to a person buying Real Estate is the fear of making a mistake. Of course a person can’t afford to make many mistakes in Real Estate speculation just as in any other kind of business.
  • During a period of inflation, land is the best investment.During a recession or depression, land is the worst investment.If a recession appears imminent sell, even if on a contract for a reasonable Dow payment and monthly payment on the balance. You will have an income and also have the property as collateral. You can be sure that as long as general economic conditions are good, the value of well selected Real Estate will increase.
  • Populations increase by birth rate and by influx. Check to determine the past circumstances of the local economy, the demand for public services and the future growth potential. The fact that a city has increased in population is not significant in itself. Perhaps there has been an annexation of adjacent areas.

    Yes! By comparing, learning and using good common sense you can profit in Real Estate regardless of recession, depression,interest rates, or inflation!…And without excessive risk!

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    Buying Real Estate Undervalued vs. Buying UNDER VALUE!

    March 19, 2009 at 9:32 am · Filed under Buying Real Estate

    “Undervalued” vs.. “under value”… is there a difference? 

    People often speak of buying a property “undervalued”, as if they are discovering something nobody else figured out.  Stocks, land, and real estate can all be purchased undervalued, but this is different from buying property UNDER value.

    Here’s the difference…

    Let’s say you think a company is ripe to expand within the next few years. You are speculating that the value of the company’s stock will increase, so you buy AT MARKET PRICE and hope you are right.  You can also buy a property at MARKET PRICE and hope demand will increase and thus its value will go up.  You can buy gold at today’s price and hope it will go up in price.  However, in all cases you are speculating that the asset will increase in value and that it is CURRENTLY undervalued.

    Compare this thinking to buying a property UNDER VALUE, that is below its CURRENT market value.  If a house is worth $200,000 based on similar houses that have sold recently, the market value is $200,000.  It may be an “up and coming” neighborhood with a good school district that most people have not yet discovered, so you can buy it for $200,000 based on the idea that the future value will be more, so it’s currently ”undervalued.” 

    Or, you can buy a property with a current market value of $200,000 and pay $150,000, in which case you are buying BELOW value, or with BUILT-IN value.  Why is there built in value?  Simple – you can sell it tomorrow for up to $200,000!  If you buy real estate undervalued, you have to wait until everyone else realizes what you suspect to be true, that the property SHOULD be worth more.

    Certainly, buying property that is undervalued can make you money in that you are speculating future demand will be higher and prices will increase for that asset.  But, a safer, smarter approach is to buy under value because a particular seller has some motivation, such as a foreclosure, estate, or divorce.  Instead of looking for “value plays”, look for value built-in, which can always be found when a particular seller has extreme motivation and needs to sell quickly.

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    Benefits of FSBO

    March 17, 2009 at 8:01 pm · Filed under Selling a home as is, buy sell home ·Tagged ,

    There are two ways to sell your home: by going through a realtor and by doing it yourself. The do it yourself method is also known as for sale by owner. As with anything that requires professional assistance, selling your home with the aid of a realtor is going to cost you. On the flip side however, selling your home for sale by owner can also cost you, but not as much.

    The choice comes down to the question of what you would most like to save, time or money. If utilizing a realtor you will save yourself some time but not necessarily loads of time because there is a level of involvement that you must maintain in order to pick out the best deal for your specific situation. If selling your home for sale by owner, you will indeed save yourself loads of money because the only thing you are paying for out of pocket is the cost of your advertisement methods.


    Selling your home through a realtor can be not only an expensive method but also a difficult selection process when trying to decide which real estate agency to go through. Once this decision is made, you must now work with the realtor to negotiate your terms and conditions for the sale of your home.

    The realtor is paid according to the final selling price of your home. A commission of anywhere from 1 to 3 percent is charged at the closing. It goes without saying in this situation that a benefit of for sale by owner, selling without the aid of a realtor is one of cost. Simply put, you get to keep the proceeds of selling your home if you do it yourself.

    Although real estate agencies gain exposure in the world of potential homebuyers by the use of their companys name, your for sale by owner home does not get individual exposure on the level that would be given to it if you were to do your own advertising. A for sale sign does indeed go in the yard of your home with the name of the agent as well as the agency and a contact phone number, but this is comparable to placing a for sale by owner sign with the same information, sans the agency name.

    The remainder of the process involves the home being listed in what is known as the MLS, or Multiple Listing Service. This is a long list of homes being offered for sale by numerous real estate agencies. Once again, your for sale by owner home will not be given the specific exposure it could be given if you were to do your own advertising.

    The true benefit of selling your home for sale by owner versus utilizing a real estate agency is the control factor. You are in complete and total control of the entire transaction from start to finish. This is often the most necessary factor in selling. With yourself in the proverbial drivers seat, you are free to advertise in the way you see fit and to use the method you see fit. You are also free to keep all profits from the final sale, and this is usually enough to reassure the seller that the for sale by owner route is the right path to take.

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