Hello again fellow investor!

I like to stay productive by listening to audiobooks and podcasts while I workout or go for a run, and I just listened to a great episode of the Real Estate Guys Radio podcast.  If you are not familiar with these guys, I highly recommend their show for picking up some very current real estate investing tips.  I want to share this last one with you…

The episode is called “The Top Ten Reasons to be Glad the Economy Sucks” so you know I loved it!  Russell Greg and Bob Helms are the co-hosts of the show, and here is what they had to say about our sucky economy:

1.    Great Real Estate is on Sale
Home prices are cyclical, and right now we’re in the trough.  Properties are really priced well today, and it’s a great time to start buying.  It is so much easier to find a great deal these days than it was in the past.  A significant portion of the downside risk is now gone; there is a long term need for real estate, so if you’re smart about it, great real estate is now on sale.

2.     Interest Rates are Great
It’s hard to find a period of time in our lifetime when interest rates were as low as they are now.  A lot of people are saying that interest rates are going to start edging up in the near future, so it would be smart to buy now.  It’s easier to cash flow in a market like this with lower interest rates, so take advantage of the great rates while they last!

3.     It’s a Great Time to Become a Private Investor
There are great opportunities today for you to lend money, not borrow it.  People have a need to borrow and can’t go to conventional sources as liberally as they used to be able to.  People who can’t fit into these new strict lending criteria will be willing to pay a premium over the going rate.  This could be a very good time to come in as a private lender and get a 7-8% (or even MUCH more) yield on your money, backed up by real estate.

4.    Now is a Great Time to Get a Contractor
Due to fewer construction projects out there, contractors are more likely to call you back and show up on time these days.  If you don’t have the capital to purchase more property, now is a great time to fix up the properties you do have; you can then raise the rent and get better tenants.

5.    Title, Escrow, and Real Estate Companies Need Your Business
Everybody in this particular sector is looking for work, so you’ll be able to move quickly, get things done, and get great productivity out of your team without having to pay top dollar.

6.    Affordability
In the past, less than 20% of people who live in the United States could afford to purchase a home.  Affordability is defined as someone making a median income being able to put 30% of their total household income toward their total housing expenses, when purchasing a home at the median price range.  This number varies from area to area, but a recent study says that over 60% of all houses sold in the last few months of 2008 were considered affordable, up from 46.6% at the end of 2007.

7.    New Housing Starts are at an All Time Low
This is a good thing because of supply and demand – if you have less inventory coming into the marketplace to compete with the current supply, the existing inventory will become more valuable.  Last year, the annualized pace of new home starts was the lowest since 1963.  Builders need to get rid of the inventory they’re sitting on, so this is a great time to start buying as long as the properties cash flow while you’re holding them.

8.    The Repeal of the Four Property Limit
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have repealed their four-property limit per person and will no longer refuse to finance investor mortgages where the borrower already owns four investment properties with mortgages.  This means that successful, savvy investors can again have more than four properties with mortgages.

9.    It’s a Great Time to Buy a Car
Well, the podcast wasn’t all about real estate.  Those guys know how to spot any good bargain!  And they made a good point:  if you’re a buyer today, sellers are willing to deal, especially if you have cash.  Cash is king!  It’s also a great time to buy furnishings for rentals, which will then generally rent for more and to a better tenant.  Everything is on sale these days.

10.    Can Get Loans Modified Like Never Before
These days, you can get your loans modified much easier than in the past, whether it be because you’re having a hard time paying the bills, you lost your job, or for any number of reasons.  It’s more likely that they’ll work with you and help you figure something out, while it would have been unthinkable two years ago.  Getting people current with their mortgages is probably the most important thing that can happen to bring confidence back to the marketplace and help get the economy stabilized.

This podcast was almost an hour long, so the Real Estate Guys covered a ton more information than what I could give you here.  I think it would really benefit you to listen to it for yourself, so go check it out at www.RealEstateGuysRadio.com!

Until next time, happy (and profitable) investing!

Doug Smith

Hi Folks,

We’re down to our last few spots on tonight’s webinar with Larry Goins, so I wanted to let you know you need to grab your spot now if you haven’t already. If you want in to learn how Larry buys and sells 10-15 houses every month without even looking at them, go register now. Remember, you’ll only get Larry’s free eBook if you register for the webinar.

Yes, sign me up for the free webinar!

When I talked with Larry this morning, he warned me that this webinar is super-advanced stuff for serious investors only. It will take you deep into the world of making huge real estate investing profits faster and easier than you ever dreamed possible!

These are real world techniques and this is a system that Larry uses every day in his own business. You will be amazed at what you will learn about real estate investing that you never knew before. Larry will show you ways to make money and automate your business even the so-called gurus do not know about!

If you’re  serious about getting whatever you desire in life – bundles of money… a thriving business… the admiration and respect from those who’ve doubted you… the car of your dreams… a lifestyle like the rich and famous… a loving partner… and almost anything else you can imagine, then…

You owe it to yourself AND your family to get started NOW by being on this exclusive webinar.

You will not be disappointed!

If you haven’t yet gotten a chance to register for the webinar, there are only a few spots left so you must register right now.

The webinar is TONIGHT at 5:00 pm Pacific / 7:00 pm Central / 8:00 pm Eastern.

Yes, sign me up for the free webinar!

If you’re sick and tired of going it alone, slogging through all the hype, nonsense and just plain confusing junk that people are slinging around about what it takes to create a super-profitable, money-making real estate business, then you need to be on tonight’s webinar.

Until tonight, happy (and profitable) investing!

Doug Smith
MyHouseDeals.com

P.S. If you have been dreaming about earning mountains of money by buying and selling more houses than ever before, then you need to take the first step by being on the webinar tonight with Larry. Yes, sign me up for the free webinar!

Hi Folks,

I told you Monday about Larry Goins and his Ultimate Buying and Selling Machine. I also told you that he buys and sells 10-15 houses every month. What I didn’t tell you was that he has these houses SOLD in less than 2 hours flat! I have never heard of a system like this from anyone or anywhere.

We already filled the 250 spots I reserved for the webinar, so I went ahead and added some extra phone lines to handle all of the requests I’m receiving to get on the webinar. We now have 450 spots on the webinar, but I know they’re going to fill up incredibly fast so make sure to grab your place now.

Yes, sign me up for the free webinar!

Don’t forget that Larry has also prepared a special eBook titled 12 Deadly Mistakes Even Experienced Investors Make and How to Avoid Them.  He is giving this eBook away for free just for registering for the webinar!

I am very impressed with Larry’s system, so I hope you will do whatever you need to do to be on this webinar.

The webinar is tomorrow night at 5:00 pm Pacific / 7:00 pm Central / 8:00 pm Eastern.

On this exclusive one-time webinar, Larry will share exactly how he buys and sells 10-15 houses a month without dealing with FSBO’s, Realtors, buyers, attorneys or appraisers. How does he do it? Eavesdrop tomorrow night to find out exactly how!

You’ve got to hear how Larry does it. He is going to reveal his real world strategies you can use right away to take your real estate business to the highest level.

Until tomorrow, happy (and profitable) investing!

Doug Smith
MyHouseDeals.com

P.S. If you’re serious about becoming financially independent and being able to spend more quality time with your family and live the lifestyle you deserve, then you owe it to yourself AND them to be on this webinar. It could change the way you invest forever! To guarantee your spot and receive your free eBook, go register now. Yes, sign me up for the free webinar!

Hi Folks,

Since I announced this week’s webinar yesterday, I wanted to tell you a little more about Larry Goins. Larry is not only licensed as a mortgage lender and mortgage broker in North Carolina and South Carolina, he is also licensed in both Carolinas as a real estate broker and general contractor. He is a member of the North Carolina Association of Mortgage Professionals and a member of the National Association of Mortgage Professionals.

Over the past few years, Larry has served as President of the Metrolina Real Estate Investors Association in Charlotte NC. It’s a not-for-profit organization that has over 350 members and is the local chapter of the National Real Estate Investors Association. Larry is also an active real estate investor and speaks at various real estate investment associations across the country about investing and finance.

Between speaking engagements and mentoring other investors, he oversees the daily operations of a real estate investment firm in South Carolina. He is a co-founder and officer, and the company buys and wholesales 10-15 houses per month at 70% of ARV.

Larry is also the owner and a managing member of Financial Help Services, Inc., a mortgage broker and lender specializing in investor loans and offering traditional and hard money loans to investors.

I’m really excited about Thursday’s webinar with Larry. We’re going to be discussing how you can use Larry’s system to become an Ultimate Buying and Selling Machine!

The webinar is this Thursday night at 5:00 pm Pacific / 7:00 pm Central / 8:00 pm Eastern. We’re quickly running out of room on the webinar, so I highly suggest you go grab your spot now.

Yes, sign me up for the free webinar!

Until next time, happy (and profitable) investing!
Doug Smith
MyHouseDeals.com

P.S. Larry is giving away a free eBook to everyone that registers for this webinar, so make sure to grab your copy now. Yes, sign me up for the free webinar!

Hey folks,

I have some great news!

Since I am constantly on the lookout for great information to share with you, when I met a guy that buys and sells 10-15 houses every single month and never looks at a single one of them, I just had to learn more.

I like to use technology to help my real estate investing – That’s why I created MyHouseDeals.com! – but when I heard what Larry Goins was doing, I just couldn’t believe it! He not only buys and sells 10-15 houses a month and never looks at them… He also never talks to a single Realtor, FSBO, attorney, appraiser or buyer. Did you hear that? I know it sounds farfetched, but he has created a system that not only allows you to automate your business, but also allows you to get other people to do it for you.

Whether you do it yourself, hire someone to work for you, or want to get your spouse or teenager started in real estate, Larry says you can start with NO experience, credit or cash using his exclusive system.

Larry calls his system his “Ultimate Buying and Selling Machine.” It is truly his Operations Manual and it’s what he calls his “Franchise in a Box.”

I have arranged a special one-time only VIP webinar directly with Larry himself to share exactly how he does it. The webinar is going to be THIS Thursday night at 5:00 pm Pacific / 7:00 pm Central / 8:00 pm Eastern.

Yes, sign me up for the free webinar!

Amazingly, he is also giving away an eBook he prepared specially for this webinar, 12 Deadly Mistakes Even Experienced Investors Make and How to Avoid Them. You’ll get a copy free just for registering for the webinar! That’s incredibly generous of Larry, and I know it’s got a lot of great information.

To guarantee your place on the webinar, and receive instant access to your free eBook, go register now.

Yes, sign me up for the free webinar!

Seating is limited and you don’t want to miss it, so make sure to register now.

Until next time, happy (and profitable) investing!

Doug Smith
MyHouseDeals.com

P.S. This webinar is only available to the first 250 people who register purely on a first-come, first-served basis. Once the 250 spots are filled, we will not be able to accept anyone else. You must register for the webinar to get Larry’s eBook, as well as replay instructions in case you miss the live webinar, so go register now! Yes, sign me up for the free webinar!

Hey folks,

Today I want to share an excerpt of my interview with Curry Blackwell.  Curry shared his secrets on how he built a real estate empire of over 120 properties in less than 6 years.  He bought his first rental property in 1997; it was a single family home near the Texas Tech University campus.  Since then, Curry and his dad have bought and held onto many units and bought and sold several more.

Curry was actually one of the first people who got me interested in real estate.  He was my basketball coach at Lubbock Cooper High a little over 10 years ago.  I wasn’t a good basketball player — mostly because I couldn’t dribble or shoot — but Curry was a nice guy and let me stay on the team.

Here are some of Curry’s top tips for real estate investing:

• All of your properties should be in the same neighborhood.  Depending on what you’re able to do in terms of travel and spreading yourself out, it certainly is an added advantage when you’re acquiring key properties to have them at least in the same general vicinity.  There are lots of different reasons for this, such as for repairs and being able to show them.  If you have houses several miles on the other side of town, trying to go back and forth to those properties to either work on them or to take care of them or rent them does make that a bigger challenge.  We have several blocks where we might have six houses on the same block.  And that certainly makes the management part of it a lot easier.  There are three primary benefits to focusing on a neighborhood.  Number one, it’s very inexpensive marketing since you’re just paying for gas.  Number two is you get to know the neighborhood very well so that you don’t always have to go back and pull comps yourself or have a Realtor pull comps; you instantly know the value and how much you can pay for the property.  And third, is that it is much more convenient and time-saving if you’re holding onto the properties for long term.

• A great way to find properties is through other investors. Ask them what they’re selling and ask them what properties their investor friends are selling. And any time you can access a network like MyHouseDeals.com, you’re certainly going to have a leg up because you could be spinning your wheels otherwise. The second best place is through Realtors.  Whether or not you use them, you can talk and get to know Realtors that know of motivated sellers.

• The estimated time frame between getting a seller to bind a contract and then closing on the property is about 30 days.  This depends on how you have your financing already in place.  It’s a huge advantage to be able to go to a seller and say, “Here’s what you’re asking, here’s what we’re offering and we can close in 10 days.”  That really gets people’s attention because a lot of times there’s a delay in making sure your financing is going to work.  And then you have to order your inspections and appraisals and surveys and everything that goes along with those, if that’s what you’re going to do.  At that point you could be talking about 45 or 60 days, and that just kind of puts the seller at a disadvantage.  So it’s a huge advantage to be able to close within a month, but that depends on your relationship with your banker or whoever is financing the deal.  Obviously, if it’s a cash deal then you’re in a very good position to be able to close quickly.

• Multi-plex purchases are the best ones if you can find well designed properties.  Sometimes duplexes that are right next to each other and share a lot of walls might cause some troubles with tenants not getting along, even though they may have very good income streams on paper.  For example, some 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom duplexes that were built out west of where I invest are starting to have troubles with all those people trying to get along in a small cramped area.  A well-designed duplex, such as a front house and a rear house that’s separated, are really good purchases since you increase your income stream immediately without having to increase the purchase price astronomically.

• The most important things to look for when you’re purchasing a property are bricks, foundation, plumbing, and the roof.  Plumbing is a big deal, it’s important to be able to run the plumbing and not have to deal with any major plumbing issues.  All these things can be looked at within a span of 15 to 30 minutes for the most part.  Open and close doors to check foundation issues, just to make sure you don’t have any stuff sliding around.  Cracks in the ceiling will alert you to the fact that you’ve got foundation issues, and you can also walk around the outside and check the brick pointing and see if you see anything questionable.

To hear the tons of other incredibly valuable real estate investing tips that Curry shared in this interview, you can purchase the Vault interviews.  The Vault contains 13 in-depth interviews with expert investors from across the nation and covers topics ranging from wholesaling to subject 2 investing to private money and more.  Learn how you can get your hands on the Vault at a 36% discount by going to www.MyHouseDeals.com/TheVault.

Until next time, happy (and profitable) investing!

Doug Smith