Sunday, March 28, 2010

Real Estate Newbies - A Simple Way to Start Real Estate Investing Without Money Down

The popular notion that it is imperative to invest a great deal of money in order to make profits in real estate business is simply not true. The same goes for a credit or financing facility. There are many ways which can be applied for making real money in real estate business without investing your own money. The idea that I am going to put into words below is not an on-time quick-rich formula. It's a genuine real estate activity. One, which can be adapted as a career. The idea is called bird-dogging.

Bird-Dogging defined

Bird-dogging simply means locating and selling a property to a potential customer. The bird-dog finds a suitable property, locates its owner and convinces him to sell. If the owner agrees to sell, the bird-dog finds an investor who is ready to buy that particular property. The investor buys the property and pays a certain amount to the bird-dog for the services rendered by him. The bird-dog does not need to invest a single penny of his own in the whole transaction. Yet he gets away with a hefty sum.

How to become a bird-dog

The first step in this regard is to find an investor who enjoys good reputation and with whom you will feel comfortable. You can also seek a company that specializes in buying and selling properties.
Ask the investor or the company to register you with them. They will usually assign you a certain area to work in. It is your job to look out for suitable properties in that area and make contact with the owner, and then inform the company or the investor about that property.

What do you need to become a successful bird dog?

There are many attributes that are necessary for you to become a successful bird-dog. Fortunately, you don't have to be born with them. A little time and effort is needed to cultivate such properties. Some of them are noted below.

A knack for properties

You must train yourself to be on the constant look-out for available properties. You must keep your eyes open all the time even when you are driving in the neighborhood or going to the gym.

Moving in the right circle

If you want to be a bird-dog, you must move in the right circle. Your acquaintances must belong to the real estate community so that whenever a particular piece of property or an opportunity arrives; you are first one to hear about it.

Impeccable interpersonal skills

This is the key to success. The bird-dog is like a double agent. He has to convince the owner that the deal he is offering is good enough for him. At the same time he must convince his investor or principal that the deal is good for them too. The activity needs a cutting edge sharpness of mind and impeccable negotiating skills. Fortunately, this is something that you can achieve after spending some time in the field.

If you would like more information on this topic or to learn more real estate investing tips, ideals or "real world" investing strategies please go to my blog at http://www.learnrealestateinvestingblog.com/.

Mike Lautensack is a full-time real estate entrepreneur, coach and mentor in Philadelphia, PA and creator of the Private Lending Presentation Kit. This powerful done-for-you kit is loaded with tools and techniques to attract and develop a consistent stream of private investors into your real estate business. To learn more about this kit and receive your FREE eBook go to Real Estate Investing Blog.

Have you ever thought that with a little help from a experienced coach might help your real estate investing business take off? Consider a mini-coaching session by going to http://www.realestatewealthtoday.com/MiniCoaching.html 


Thursday, March 18, 2010

Why Today is The Time to Start Real Estate Investing and How to Finance Your Deals

So you think the real estate market is finally starting to go up and NOW is the time to start investing. Well you may be right but here is the hard part: how do you pay for your investments. This is THE issue that makes or breaks your ability to be a real estate investor. Prices are down as much as 30% in some areas and opportunities are available in every neighborhood, but without money you cannot take advantage of these great prices.

Unless you are going to owner-occupy a property, you will be required to bring 30% to 50% as a down payment to closing. Do you have that kind of cash? The days of 5% to 10% down payments are gone. This is the new realty of today’s’ real estate market.

Additionally, most of the great deals today involve distressed properties that may need work. This work also cost money and you have to be prepared to fund these extra costs. These may included small repairs, fresh paint throughout, new kitchens or bathrooms or new carpets. All these cost money.

If you want to buy a $100,000 deal you will need $30k to $50k upfront. Then you will need at least $10k to fix up the house with fresh paint, carpet and small repairs. Can you afford this?

So now that you know how much you will need to purchase your real estate investment the question is how you are going to finance this amount. Here are a few options in the current market:

  • Traditional financing: Local and national banks, as well as mortgage brokers, are still going to be the best source for large-sum and long-term lending on anything four units and under. Expect to pay around 25% down, but interest rates should continue to be well under 7% for the foreseeable future. Make sure you talk to at least one mortgage broker and as many small local banks as possible before settling on a lender.


  • Lines of credit: Pulling out equity from your home or other investments should be done with caution, but is a great way to free up funds.  Many investors buy and repair properties with cash from a line of credit, with the intent of financing the finished product six months or so after purchase.  You should always check with your lender before taking this route, but it can be a great path to affording multiple properties in a short period of  time.


  • Hard money lender: If you are looking for short-term money to leverage a property while you do repairs, this remains a viable option.  Interest rates and fees are generally higher and hard money is currently less available than in years past, but if you develop a successful relationship with a hard-money lender it can really add a lot of flexibility to what kinds of projects you can take on.

  • Private lending: Technically, most hard money lenders are private, but I am referring to the type of money that comes from a less seasoned source.  Someone like a family member, friend, or even an acquaintance with the desire to invest their money.  This kind of money relies mostly on your own personal network, but if you can find a backer with deep pockets, you can both benefit greatly.  Since you are generally not competing with other investors for these funds, this money can be more reliable and flexible as well.             
  • Partnership: In many ways a partnership is a more formal and permanent form of private funding.  Instead of just borrowing money under certain terms from someone, they actually have a stake in the property itself.  Whether you split profits 50/50 or 75/25, if you need help with managing your investments and/or paying for them, finding a partner can be a great way to open up your options.

    As the real estate market continues to improve more and more people will start to come back into the market and as a result prices will start to go back up.  Now is the time to get into this market before that happens. These future price increases should be your equity. But you need to get over the financing hurdle.

    If you would like more information on this topic or to learn more real estate investing tips, ideals or "real world" investing strategies please go to my blog at http://www.learnrealestateinvestingblog.com/.

    Mike Lautensack is a full-time real estate entrepreneur, coach and mentor in Philadelphia, PA and creator of the Private Lending Presentation Kit. This powerful done-for-you kit is loaded with tools and techniques to attract and develop a consistent stream of private investors into your real estate business. To learn more about this kit and receive your FREE eBook go to Real Estate Investing Blog.

    Have you ever thought that with a little help from a experienced coach might help your real estate investing business take off? Consider a mini-coaching session by going to http://www.realestatewealthtoday.com/MiniCoaching.html

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Real Estate Investors - The 9 Top Ways to Find Private Lenders

I a sure you are aware the mortgage market in this country has collapsed. I do not mean "it is slow" or "down slightly", I mean it has COLLAPSED. It is almost impossible for a home owner to get a mortgage and down right impossible for real estate investors to get traditional mortgages.

The solution for the next couple of years will be private lenders. But how does a real estate investor find private lenders. Well, finding a private lender is not nearly as difficult as people think. Here are the top 9 ways to find potential lenders for your real estate investing business.
  1. Elevator Speech: Prepare a "60 second" elevator speech and network with everyone you know including friends, family and business associates. Spread the word you are looking for investors.
  2. Real Estate Investment Clubs: Join your local REI group and network and spread the word you are a real estate investor and looking for private lenders to invest in your deals.
  3. Join professional networking groups: You can join networking groups like BNI and be sure to join and deliver your "60 second" elevator speech at opportunity.
  4. Postcards: You can purchase lists of high net worth individuals and send a postcard inviting them to call you to get free information form you or attend an informational seminar about your real estate investing business and private lending.
  5. Letters: Send letters to a high net worth list as above or send it to people that have already called or emailed you from your postcards.
  6. Small Local Newspaper Ads: You can place ads in small newspapers offering the reader to attend an educational seminar or request a free report.
  7. Flyers: Post flyers at senior centers and areas where high net worth people attend and traffic.
  8. Speeches and Presentations: Offer to give a 30 to 60 minute educational presentation about real estate investing and private lender.
  9. Internet: You can spread the word through social networking sites like Twitter or Facebook. However, I strongly urge you to simple offer to provided educational information and do NOT make an offer to borrow money through internet sources. Advertising directly through the internet will attract attention form your state SEC department and I assure you that this is not the attention you want to attract.
  10. BONUS -- Talk, Talk and More Talk: Talk to everyone and spread the word about what you do and what services you provided.
If you would like more information on this topic or to learn more real estate investing tips, ideals or "real world" investing strategies please go to my blog at http://www.learnrealestateinvestingblog.com/.

Mike Lautensack is a full-time real estate entrepreneur, coach and mentor in Philadelphia, PA and creator of the Private Lending Presentation Kit. This powerful done-for-you kit is loaded with tools and techniques to attract and develop a consistent stream of private investors into your real estate business. To learn more about this kit and receive your FREE eBook go to Real Estate Investing Blog.


Have you ever thought that with a little help from a experienced coach might help your real estate investing business take off? Consider a mini-coaching session by going to http://www.realestatewealthtoday.com/MiniCoaching.html




    Sunday, March 7, 2010

    So You Need Money For Real Estate Investments - Here is How to Use Private Lenders For Money!

    If you have tried to get a traditional mortgage, or even a hard money loan, to finance your real estate investments you know how hard it is to get loans in today's post-credit bubble market. It is even harder to get "no money down" loans for your real estate investing business. If you are using traditional mortgage or hard money loans they can take two or three months to close. The problem you will quickly discover is that sellers are not willing to wait that long and get angry at having to continuously extend their contracts or wait for your loan approval.

    Banks and mortgage lenders view mortgage loans to real estate investors as a higher risk than loans to home owners. They believe if the home owner is not living in the property and if trouble hits an investor will opt to pay their own home mortgage first and only pay for the investment loan if they can afford to make the payments. This puts the bank in a very poor position. As a result, most banks are looking for real estate investors to put up 30% to 50% down payment to protect their interest in time of trouble. VERY few investors have this kind of cash so it is very difficult or impossible to do deals with traditional mortgage or hard money loans.

    Real estate investors still are not advised to use their own money to do their deals. Even if you have 30-50% saved for a down payment on your investment property, most real estate guru's warn, NEVER spend your own money on real estate investments. Most beginners start their investment career saving up for a down payment, but the fact is, serious real estate investors do not use their own money to do real estate deals.

    So how do you buy real estate investments if it is so hard to get a loan and you do not want me to use my money to apply to a down payment?

    Buying real estate without using your own money IS possible, and it's not difficult. With the right kind of deal, investment property can be purchased without a single penny of your own money.

    Enter the world of Private Lenders... Private lenders are individuals with money to lend for investment purposes. They may or may not be wealthy, but they do have excess cash or assets available over and above what they need to live on. These individuals are willing to lend for a higher return than they can get with bank CD's or money markets. There are no limits on the number of private lenders you can have or the number of real estate deals you can do using private money.

    If you would like more information on this topic or to learn more real estate investing tips, ideals or "real world" investing strategies please go to my blog at http://www.learnrealestateinvestingblog.com/.

    Mike Lautensack is a full-time real estate entrepreneur, coach and mentor in Philadelphia, PA and creator of the Private Lending Presentation Kit. This powerful done-for-you kit is loaded with tools and techniques to attract and develop a consistent stream of private investors into your real estate business. To learn more about this kit and receive your FREE eBook go to Real Estate Investing Blog.

    Have you ever thought that with a little help from a experienced coach might help your real estate investing business take off? Consider a mini-coaching session by going to http://www.realestatewealthtoday.com/MiniCoaching.html

    Monday, March 1, 2010

    3 Simple Ways to Start Investing in Real Estate

    The internet is awash with creative and non-traditional ways of real estate investment. Reading one of them makes you feel that it is very simple and workable. Then you begin to doubt whether all of them actually work. The truth is they do. All these techniques have been used by someone, somewhere at some point in time. The possibilities of using these techniques are limitless. Once you start putting them into practice, you will find out that they can work wonders for you. Some of the creative methods of real estate investments that you can put into practice are as follows:

    Finding money lenders

    There are people, even in this slowdown, who are loaded with cash. These people extend short-term loans to their customers with a little higher interest rate than the conventional lenders. You can secure such a loan from a lender and use this short -term facility to invest in your real estate business. You can use these short term loans for flipping houses or any other short term real estate activity. The profit from the business can take care of the mark-up.

    Simultaneous buying and selling

    The method, though creative and workable needs a lot of hard work and quick wittedness. The phenomenon works like this: You buy a property from an owner and request him to defer the payment to a future date. Within that date you find a buyer for the same property. You ask the buyer to make immediate payment. When the buyer gives you money, you use that money to pay the owner from whom you have bought the property. So what's in it for you? Of course, you are not going to sell the property exactly at the same price at which you bought it. The difference between your buying price and selling price is your profit.

    Though seemingly, the idea is simple enough, in reality it is a little bit complicated. First you need to find a motivated seller and convince him to sell his property at deferred payment. Then you need to find a buyer of the same property and convince him to make immediate payment to you. If you decide to start such a venture, it is highly advisable that you have a buyer already lined up before you make the purchase so you do not get stuck with the property.

    Assuming mortgages

    Another creative method for investing in real estate business is to assume mortgages. The idea is to take over the existing mortgage on a property. In addition to taking the mortgage on the property, you can also get another mortgage for the payment to the seller. The phenomenon is very much feasible since the seller gets higher interest and receives his payment in relatively shorter period of time. But, before you indulge in this activity, you must make sure that the original lender agrees to your assuming the mortgage because his consent is imperative. Also try and make yourself familiar with the local laws of the state in which you wish to operate since the laws differ from state to state and if you are not aware of the existing laws.

    If you would like more information on this topic or to learn more real estate investing tips, ideals or "real world" investing strategies please go to my blog at http://www.learnrealestateinvestingblog.com/.

    Mike Lautensack is a full-time real estate entrepreneur, coach and mentor in Philadelphia, PA and creator of the Private Lending Presentation Kit. This powerful done-for-you kit is loaded with tools and techniques to attract and develop a consistent stream of private investors into your real estate business. To learn more about this kit and receive your FREE eBook go to Real Estate Investing Blog.


    Have you ever thought that with a little help from a experienced coach might help your real estate investing business take off? Consider a mini-coaching session by going to http://www.realestatewealthtoday.com/MiniCoaching.html