Flipper – The MyHouseDeals.com Blog

When is the last time you cracked open that fat yellow book?

Jack Mize, the Real Estate Ninja

That long?

I’m not surprised. Nowadays, everyone is going straight to the Internet and searching for things they need. Heck, many are using iPhones and Blackberries to find what they need by searching the net.

AMAZING!

Did you know Search Engines are now the #1 Media Type consumers are using to find local businesses? It’s true. That’s why I never get tired of telling you this: You must have a strong presence online if you want to succeed as a real estate investor! Period. No ifs or buts. It’s not a choice, it’s a must. All the real estate investors I know who dominate their markets are doing so by first conquering the web.

And because I want you to succeed, I asked one of these real estate investors to join me on a special webinar focusing exclusively on how you can use the Internet to maximize the number of leads you are receiving each day, how to increase the number of hungry buyers who come to you ready and qualified to buy properties, and how to multiply your profits by being able to buy and sell houses a lot more quickly using the internet.

The webinar happens this Thursday, October 22, at 5pm PT / 7pm CT / 8pm ET. And you cannot afford to miss it!

Click here to register for the free webinar. Only a limited number of spots are available.

Jack Mize is known as the Real Estate Ninja. That’s because he is doing everything right. He developed an amazing, highly effective system for opening up what he calls “lead valves” on the Internet for free. This means that Jack is getting more motivated seller leads and qualified buyers than he can handle – at no cost to him! On the webinar, he will tell you how he and his students are buying and selling more houses than ever.

And for little to no money spent on advertising!

Those tiny little yellow page ads STILL cost a fortune! It’s almost ridiculous if you think about it. In fact, many “yellow page” companies are going out of business, looking for new things to sell. Ironically, most of them are now trying to sell “Internet” ads.

Out with the old, and in with the new!

Instead of paying out the nose for yellow page ads that really just do not work well anymore, how about making life much easier on yourself? How about getting no cost leads flowing into your real estate business?

I can’t wait until you find out more about it. I guarantee you a couple of AHA! moments on tomorrow’s webinar. But don’t forget to guarantee your spot. Click here now to register.

– Doug

How did you find that deal? That is the number one question I am asked by other investors at my real estate investing seminars whenever I go through different real estate deal case studies. If you are an experienced real estate investor you can probably relate to this statement. The answer is the “Real Secret” to the business. Unfortunately, most real estate gurus only touch on the importance of finding deals. Touching on the importance of marketing is not enough. YOU MUST SERIOUSLY FONDLE THIS ISSUE! Most of these so called real estate gurus will give you ideas of how to find deals, but ideas are not enough! I have seen many entrepreneurs who have had good ideas fail. What investors really need is to understand the importance of marketing and marketing systems. Marketing is your business and marketing systems are what bring your deals consistently!

Real Estate Marketing Tip #1 – Become a Marketing Major

The most successful real estate investors have dedicated their time to learning the details of their business. These people have usually sacrificed numerous weekend vacations and instead spent the time learning more about their business. These elite investors understand that successful marketing takes hard work, continual follow up, and a thorough knowledge of marketing. In this game the most informed players always win and the more you know about the subject the more money you will make.

The top-tier of investors, who are buying 50-100 houses a year, are continually learning, testing, and improving their marketing campaigns.

Real Estate Marketing Tip #2 – You Must Become Systems Oriented!

You are now a systems producing machine! Congratulations! I have given you the highest possible compliment one business person can give another business person. You see, the best marketers are systems-oriented people. They understand ideas are only so valuable and without a system you cannot leverage and execute an idea consistently. For example, I can give you an idea of how to find real estate deals below market value by telling you to mail people who have recently inherited properties. However, if I don’t show you how to get the data, create a list, and design a system you can outsource then I have not helped you. In fact, I have only confused you and frustrated you, which can lead to burnouts and increased male pattern baldness! Developing the systems behind your marketing is the most important thing you can do. Without systems you will continually be short on time and short on quality leads.

Real Estate Investing Tip #3 – Death to Ideas

Ideas mean nothing to you now unless you can build a system for implementing them. Death to ideas! Your new favorite word is Business Process Automation or BPA for short. All businesses are made up of a series of processes which can be automated. For example, if you ever had the pleasure of visiting our office you would see that we have a system and checklist for everything. From our sixteen different marketing systems that get our marketing out into the marketplace, to our deal analysis and due-diligence systems, to our rehabbing systems that run our projects, and finally down to the way we market our properties. Everything is a system run by different individuals trained on running that part of the business. These systems are what allow me to travel the country speaking without having to worry about my business producing revenue.

Real Estate Marketing Tip #4 – The Bible of Systems

If you don’t understand the importance of systems, you need to stop reading this article right now and pick up the book entitled “The E-Myth” by Michael Gerber. The E-Myth, or Entrepreneurial Myth as Gerber laments, is single handedly the best book on how to systemize and run a business effectively. The book does not specifically talk about developing real estate marketing systems. However, it does have specific case studies of how some of the most successful business owners use systems within their business. Last time I checked, Howard Schultz the founder of Starbucks, did not serve you your morning “3 Pump Grande Vanilla Latte.” One of his employees did. One of his employees who was working the systems he spent years building.

This idea can be directly applied to your real estate business. If you don’t have marketing systems to get motivated sellers calling you every day then you will struggle to find any good real estate deals. Likewise, if you don’t have marketing systems you can outsource to others then you will never be able to remove yourself from your business.

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Than Merrill is a full time real estate investor, speaker, and one of the most successful investors in the nation. He is also the star of A&E’s hit TV show “Flip this House.” In the past few years Than has bought and sold over 350 properties across the nation. Than’s clients are some of the most successful investors around the country as a result of the cutting edge marketing and wholesaling systems he has developed.

Than is a graduate of Yale University and he currently resides in New Haven, CT.  After college, he played in the NFL with the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers before moving on to real estate development. To find out more about Than’s powerful real estate investing systems, join us on a special webinar tomorrow – Thursday, Oct 1st at 5pm PT / 7pm CT / 8pm ET.

Click here to register for the free training session!

See you on the webinar,

Doug

Than is the man when it comes to real estate investing internet marketing

I am looking forward to Tursday’s webinar with Than Merrill. The response so far has exceeded my expectations, so I’m working with Than to bring you real-world content and exceed YOUR expectations. If you haven’t registered yet, go here now to guarantee your spot. By the look of things, they won’t last long!

Than is a guy who needs no introduction. Most of you have seen him on TV — whether he was playing ball or flipping houses — but I thought I’d take a moment to give you the official intro in preparation for the webinar. Keep reading to get to learn more about Than…

Than Merrill, the star of A&E’s “Flip This House” and founder of FortuneBuilders.com and CT Homes, LLC is one of the most successful real estate investors in the nation. Than is currently buying between 9 and 10 properties every single month. In the past five years he has bought and sold a total of over 350 properties nationwide.

Than is typically referred to as the “Marketing Maven” and he coaches over 2000 active real estate investors around the country. The key to his student’s rapid success and his company’s exponential growth is the turn key marketing and business systems he has developed which help his students generate leads from both buyers and sellers.

Than’s systems are some of the most advanced in the industry and his students around the country are experiencing unheard of success by using the systems he teaches. Than’s mantra is derived from the belief that “Business Process Automation” is the key to insuring guaranteed success in any marketplace. Than is totally committed to helping other investors obtain financial freedom by teaching them the principles of smart investing.

Than Merrill is a graduate of Yale University and a former NFL football player. After a very successful college football career, he played two year with the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers before moving into a career in real estate development. Than is a national speaker for many Real Estate Investment Clubs around the country and has shared the platform with some of the top speakers in the country including Donald Trump, Tony Robbins and Robert Kiyosaki at the Learning Annex events.

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Reminder: The webinar with Than takes place on Thursday. Go here to register now. It’s free and you’ll be glad you attended. We’re going to be giving away some awesome bonuses to everyone on the call, just for being there.

Doug

Tips for selling real estate at lightning speed

If you’re like me, you can never have too many investing strategies and you’re always in search of the next plan to catapult you to the next level. I just got done watching some awesome videos on how to create a marketing plan to sell properties and how to find buyers for your properties online.

The videos were created by Than Merrill from A&E’s Flip this House.

In the videos Than really goes through the marketing plan he uses to sell houses. I’ve included the videos below. You’ve got to watch them!

You can also download the marketing plan for yourself!

Creating a property marketing plan

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Click below to download a copy of the Marketing Mind Map Than uses in the video

Mind Map version (requires software)
PDF Version

Using Postlets.com to bring in buyer leads – Part I

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Using Postlets.com to bring in buyer leads – Part II

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I liked Than’s videos so much that immediately after watching them I called his office to see if he would do a special webinar with us and teach us more! So stay tuned…

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UPDATE: The webinar is on! Than will be joining me this Thursday on a special webinar dedicated entirely to Than’s top secret marketing strategies for finding and selling killer deals. Make sure you’re there. Click here to learn more and register for free while there are spots left.

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Happy (and profitable) investing!

Doug

These articles were recently released. It’s a breath of fresh air to see good news about the housing market! …

“Sales of newly built U.S. single-family homes rose in July to their fastest pace in 10 months. The reports offered fresh evidence that the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s has probably ended or is close to ending.” Read Article on Reuters

“U.S. New Home Sales Jump 9.6%, Most in Four Years. The gain in sales, together with rising purchases of existing homes and steadying prices, indicate the housing slump may be ending.” Read Article on Bloomberg

“A 3.8 percent jump for the month in San Francisco and a 2.6 percent rise in Boston; the industrial Midwest, with Cleveland prices up 4.2 percent; and even the epicenter of the crash, the Sun Belt, with Phoenix homes up 1.1 percent. Eighteen of the 20 cities tracked by Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller Home Price Index showed improvement in June, up from eight in May, four in April and only one in March.” Read Article on NY Times

“U.S. Stocks Advance as New-Home Sales Surge More Than Forecast.” Read Article on Bloomberg

All signs indicate that we’re on the verge of an upswing in the housing market. Don’t miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity. Access deals for pennies on the dollar while prices are still at all-time lows by starting your free trial today at www.myhousedeals.com/freetrial.

Until next time, happy (and profitable) investing!

Doug

Hi Folks,

A couple of weeks ago I shared Part I of my interview with Larry and Brent Rice – How to Make $100,000 in Six Months or Less. As promised, here’s Part II:

ME:  Are there really such things as no money down commercial deals?

LARRY:  Well, it’s hard to do that. Most 3rd party lenders on big deals (one million dollars or more) will require some commitment by the investment group. Generally, it’s going to take about 15%, so on a million dollars you’re talking $150,000. The question is where do you get the $150,000?

Well, one of the places that I have been successful with is some people with a lot of money. Those are my partners and when I find those partners, we’re able to secure a total of a 100% loan on the strength of their financials and our expertise. There are some regulations that keep banks and 3rd party lenders from loaning us 100%. So really, the only place to go is a secondary source such as an equity partner, somebody that would join you in the deal. But be careful; if you start selling securities, you need a securities license. And that’s what you’re doing when you start giving shares of ownership in investments, so be careful with that.

ME:  Okay, you’re saying you can bring on a partner. How would people listening to this interview find a partner with that kind of money to bring into a deal?

LARRY:  Most of it’s based on trust. If you know someone who has a lot of money but doesn’t want to spend the time searching for places to invest, and who trusts you and your energy and your entrepreneurial spirit, he might very well give you an opportunity to go out and invest his money. This is exactly what happened to us. Brent and I had the respect of two very wealthy men, one a doctor and one who owned a very large car dealership, and they put their financial strengths with ours and we were able to make something happen. I would also recommend that the deal you’re buying be very strong.

BRENT:  I’d like to add something to that. I know a lot of you are in different parts of the country, but there’s a lot of money flowing into Texas that is motivated by tax deferrals. We don’t need to get too much into the whole 1031 tax-free exchange concept, but that is where the capital is coming from. People are just trying to defer their capital gains tax, and you can do that after you sell a property by placing the proceeds from that sale into another investment property within a certain period of time. These are people with money looking for their next deal with a sense of urgency, and they are a great resource.

Also, I’ve heard of deals on apartment projects with 90% loan to value. Again, that leaves a 10% equity requirement; in some cases you can get the seller to carry back a second, or you can go to a bank and get them to give you 100% loan. The bank will be looking for some credit strength somewhere.  If you don’t have it, again a partner is a great source. Also, a bank you have a good relationship with can provide you with a ‘letter of credit,’ which you can then put up as collateral in lieu of cash equity.

ME:  Excellent. Thanks for sharing that with us Brent. Let’s go back, how do you go about finding these partners or are they all part of some sort of group you can find on the Internet?  How does that work?

LARRY:  One of the recommendations that I would make would be to actually try to find a project or property first. Once you have one, then you can advertise that property; you can’t advertise a property you don’t own. Then you can use the Internet to let it be known that you are forming an investment group for the purpose of purchasing a particular property, and describe the property in general. I would suggest you go on Loop Net (www.loopnet.com), and you’ll find a lot of various kinds of properties there.

ME:  Would a lot of good properties be advertised on a website like Loop Net? Is this where these package deals are and is this where the buyers go?

LARRY:  When you’re trying to find a property to buy, there’s no good multi-family website or multi-listing service. I’m a member of several, and by the time I call those they’re already in contract. It’s really hard to find a multi-family project since they’re in such great demand.

Again, it’s not a bad idea to build your own portfolio like you’re doing with single family, but commercial is also a great way to go. There are a lot of reasons people want to sell real estate; someone who’s just getting old and doesn’t want to handle it anymore, or they’re tired of it and they don’t want to manage it anymore, these are great sources.
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And there you have it! A little primer on Commercial Investing. If this area of real estate investing interests you, I highly recommend you listen to the entire interview. What you read here is just a small sample of the many tips Larry and Brent, two commercial real estate pros, shared during our talk.

You can get the audio for this complete interview and eleven others by ordering The Vault. The Vault contains in-depth interviews with expert investors from across the nation and covers topics ranging from rehabbing 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

I had the oppurtunity to interview Larry and Brent Rice, a father-son team, for my Vault series and today I want to share with you part of the conversation I had with them.  Larry and Brent know the secret to making $100,000 or more in less than 6 months.

Larry Rice has been involved in real estate brokerage and investment since 1978, having owned, managed and/or brokered single family and multi-family properties, office buildings, retail strip centers and development land.  His son, Brent Rice, has been buying commercial property since 1990.

During that time, Larry and Brent have purchased and sold over $15 million dollars in commercial real estate.  Their transactions have included several retail and office buildings and single family houses.  They have also brokered or funded over $75 million in commercial real estate; they know commercial real estate inside and out and we are fortunate that they’re willing to share their knowledge and experience with us here.

ME:  Let’s start with the topic of this interview – how can you make $100,000 or more in less than 6 months?

LARRY:  Let’s talk in specifics, I’ll use an example.  I have a property in mind that we did a few years ago when we bought a house that was partially complete, the builder went under and the lender foreclosed and we were then able to go to the lender and negotiate to purchase the property in its unfinished state; that then meant that we had to take over the risk and buy the bank out.  That means the bank got their money and the amount that they wanted.

So we negotiated with the bank, paid them, turned around and got a construction loan to complete the property, and then we completed and supervised the building of the house.  It was about 55% complete when we bought it, so then we did the finish work and completed the house, put it on the market.  When we sold it, we made our profit.  So the value of the property at the time when we completed the house, after the cost of materials and time and so forth and the amount paid to the bank, there was a reasonable profit.  That’s how you can make $100,000 in 6 months.

ME:  Excellent.  Why would someone go into commercial, such as apartments or some sort of multi-family, instead of just buying a lot of single family properties?  What’s the advantage of doing that?

BRENT:  Let me answer that one.  You bring up multi-family properties, which I think is an extremely good asset category for an investor that has previously been focused on single family investment property.  Multi-family is a natural progression from single family whereby an investor would be able to diversify their risk.  In a single family residence, if your tenant suddenly decides to either quit paying or move out, you then don’t have any income but still have the expense.  In a multi-family, you’re diversifying that risk so that you could have, you could have a 10% vacancy or a 20% vacancy but hopefully still have enough income to cover your loan payment or the taxes or the maintenance of the property.  So I would say the main reason is diversification of risk from an income standpoint.

In terms of other types of commercial properties such as retail, office, hotels, self storage, industrial properties and so forth, those I would put in a category that are more specialized.  You could possibly consider this a disadvantage of commercial properties, but for these, you need someone that is a CCIM (Certified Commercial Investment Member).  A CCIM is someone that is fluent in interpreting commercial property leases.  Unless you know what to look for, you could easily miss something that could cost you dearly in the long run; what do you do if a tenant just decides to quit paying you or who is going to repair your building if a major building system, like your air conditioning system, goes out?  There are all sorts of ways for leases to be written, and a CCIM can help you avoid major liabilities.

And in some cases, these leases are written as what we call, “a triple net lease,” and that means basically all the expenses of the property get passed through to the tenant.  The taxes, electricity, insurance, and maintenance of the property all are paid by the tenant – they just write you a rent check and that’s about it. I think that’s the simplest form of ownership.

LARRY:  Another benefit of a larger commercial group is that you have some economies of scale; it’s easier to manage, it gives you a chance to negotiate your landscape, you have some people that can maintain some of the systems within the property and you can control the quality of that.  I’ve learned through bad experiences with having rental properties that some of your tenants don’t necessarily take good care of the property.

And that’s one of the ways that your investment evaporates – when you have to go in there after your tenant moves out and replace carpets and repair holes in the wall and repanel the den.  When you get to multi-family, you have a little bit more control because the people in an apartment complex know that you’re watching and they’ll basically behave a little better.

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What you see here is just a teaser. The Rices had really useful information to share about commercial investing, so I’ve decided to turn this interview into a blog series. Look for part 2 soon!

You can get the audio for the complete interview and eleven others by ordering The Vault.  The Vault contains in-depth interviews with expert investors from across the nation and covers topics ranging from rehabbing 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