How To Create Winning Real Estate Newsletters

What does it take to develop a quality real estate newsletter that can reach and impact those who receive it? Perhaps even more importantly, are newsletters even relevant anymore?

Email newsletters continue to be a highly profitable medium for real estate agents, investors, and other industry professionals. With minimal investment, newsletters can reach new contacts, retain old ones and even increase business. In fact, with all the noise on social media, email is proving to be one the best mediums at the moment. So what are some of the best practices and strategies for maximizing their potential?

Planning Your Real Estate Newsletter

While nobody may lead as hectic a lifestyle as today’s real estate professionals, it is only smart for them to invest some time in brainstorming, strategizing, and mapping out the process and details of creating a newsletter. Perhaps among the most important factors to consider, include:

• The purpose of the newsletter
• What positioning and branding must be carried over
• Who will read it
• How these readers will get it

Creating a Reader Base

A real estate newsletter isn’t going to do much for your lead generation, cultivating repeat business, or anything else unless someone is receiving and reading it. Spamming the world isn’t an efficient solution either. You may have existing lists and lead databases which assimilated, but you’ll want a tool to continue to add new readers. Having an opt-in form on your real estate website and via social media is a great way to accomplish this. Not only can it simply bulk up your real estate newsletter following, but it can help maximize the results of the traffic landing on your pages too.

The keys to optimizing signups are making it easy, prominently displaying the opt-in form, and incorporating a call to action that will motivate visitors to sign up. All too often, real estate pros and business owners neglect this starting point, and effectively cripple their ongoing results.

Choosing Your Tools

The next step is choosing your tools for sending your real estate newsletter. There are a wide variety of email services out there. They include:

• iContact
• Constant Contact
• Vertical Response
• AWeber
• Mail Chimp

Don’t sweat this part too much. The key is finding one which is easy for you to use and integrates with your real estate website.

Choosing Your Newsletter Format

The general consensus on the best format for email newsletters changes over time, and will certainly evolve further as new options come up. Some individuals that are keeping their branding simple and personal may still wish to go the plain text route. Others may need to get more ‘designy’ in order to keep in line with their professional branding. Some options now allow email formats to mimic website design for a seamless experience.

Selecting Your Content

If there is one principle which should probably be adhered to without exception when it comes to content strategy for real estate newsletters, it should probably be packing in tons of value. If you want people to stay on your list, act on your content, keep opening your emails, and maybe even share them. You want to bring a lot of value and interesting content to the table. Attention is almost priceless today. At best, it is expensive to earn new readers. So don’t be a scrooge.

However, one mistake that many have made, is distracting prospects. Where do your links take readers? What does it make them think about? Does it bring them closer, and faster, or the opposite? Will your content bring readers back to your site? How will you accomplish that? With snippets of your unique blogs? Real estate eye candy and exclusive listings? With competitions?

Don’t overlook the potential for sharing either. If your real estate newsletter is that good, it won’t just be missed, but others will want to share it. You can increase the odds of this using social sharing buttons.

Delivery and Advanced Tips

Just as important as everything else on this list, is the manner in which the newsletter is delivered. How often will you send them? How often can you send newsletters and consistently get them out on time? How often can you send them and still keep up quality, while avoiding burning out or boring prospects? Daily, weekly, or monthly?

The time and day newsletters are emailed is critical too. Real estate can be unique to most other products and services when it comes delivering messages effectively. When will your prospects have time to open, read, and act on your material?

Those real estate pros that want to get a little more advanced or creative may considered augmenting with print, or changing up the medium with podcasts, video, and infographics, or offering more tailored and custom options for more personalized content.

Don’t Worry: There Are Plenty Of Investment Opportunities To Be Had

Have you missed out on the opportunity to invest in real estate?

This question has been on the minds of nearly everyone who thinks they may have missed their chance. There are many Millennials, experienced investors, and even those that made millions in the last boom that are all sitting on the fence wondering if their time has passed. They have been dragging their feet, and now wonder if they waited too long to start investing in real estate. With that in mind, has the U.S. property market rebounded so fast that all the opportunities are gone? Is it too late? If not, what’s the best strategy?

Real Estate On the Rebound

Incredible gains have been made in the U.S. real estate market. Many real estate companies, and some neighborhoods have been reporting new records, and their best years ever. Competition has increased and home prices and rental prices have made sizable steps back towards their previous highs. Some statistics and news articles even make it appear as if there is little distressed property inventory left.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any opportunities left. But before we dig into that; it is critical to remember two things:

1. Many will never see conditions this appealing and this good again in their lifetimes
2. There is money to be made in real estate in all phases of the cycle

Global studies suggest markets turn on an average of 7 to 15 years. So if the market is beginning its new boom phase now, and it runs up through 2030, slowed down through 2045, a 30 year old today would be 60 years old before seeing these conditions again. Isn’t that a little long to wait before beginning to enjoy the rewards of real estate? Not that you shouldn’t start investing right away, but now is as good a time as any.

Even though asset prices and interest rates may keep on rising, there is money to be made at all points in the cycle. The best tactics and marketing may change slightly, but some of the most notable fortunes have also been made at the peak of the market, and when it appears to be plummeting. However, what is important is that individuals don’t allow fear of having missed out on the window prevent them from investing while the market is still ripe.

Where Are We Now?

Nationally, it appears that housing values are reproaching their previous numbers, while foreclosures are on their way to less than 10% of market volume. However, the other side of these figures reveals that there are still billions of dollars in distressed and foreclosure properties in the market, in addition to traditional sales. As we rolled into the New Year, RealtyTrac reported that re-foreclosures had risen 14.2% over the previous month, and over 24% year over year. In fact, in December 2014, New Jersey alone reported that 1 in every 287 housing units is in foreclosure. Other metrics have suggested it will still take several years before values return, before they march even higher.

Together, with incredibly low interest rates, those investing in rental real estate now can expect rising equity as a nice bonus to compliment great passive income yields.

The Pain of Waiting

While there are always good properties to invest in, some moments are better than others. This appears to be one of them. Those that wait can expect borrowing costs and holding costs to rise, on top of higher asset prices. That can quickly result in paying a hundred thousand or more for the same property later. That is effectively profit given away, and means less net cash flow every month.

There are always going to be excuses to grasp at if you want a reason to justify waiting longer. Fortunately, there are always solutions for these perceived challenges. There is owner financing or hard money. There are opportunities to wholesale houses to build up cash before buying rentals. There is also turnkey real estate investing for those that are short on time but crave the passive income and wealth building real estate offers.

Helping Distressed Sellers & Buyers

How can real estate investors help more distressed buyers and sellers in 2015?

While more traditional housing sales are fueled by rising property prices and new construction, there are still a substantial number of distressed properties in the United States. So how can real estate investors assist more of these property owners, while aiding the growing pool of distressed buyers too?

Finding the Sellers

Between REOs, auction properties, pre-foreclosures, and those just struggling to keep up housing payments, there are still billions of dollars in distressed homes and commercial properties in America. Some real estate investors might feel like it has been harder to connect with the owners of these properties due to competition and how fast the foreclosure process has been speeding up. It’s really a matter of identifying who is holding this inventory, and finding the best ways to connect with them. Some solutions include:

• Connecting with bank managers
• Reviewing public records
• Buying lists
• Driving neighborhoods to scout neglected properties
• Direct mail
• Networking with local real estate agents
• Providing assistance to corporate HR departments for relocation
• Interacting on online forums
• Email
• Social media

Getting Purchase Offers Accepted

Of course, many real estate investors have found that the biggest challenge isn’t just finding distressed properties and motivated sellers, but connecting with them, and getting them to accept offers. It’s not just about price. Sellers are incredibly fearful today. Many have tried reaching out for help before and have been shut down, or have had transactions fall through. They have been programmed to be paranoid by the media, and many have lost all faith in finding real help.

There is a lot that real estate investors and other industry pros can do to change this mindset. Yes, everyone should be cautious about being sucked into real estate and mortgage fraud and scams, but paranoia is preventing many from obtaining critical and valuable help. Blogging, writing articles, speaking in the news and more can go a long ways towards fixing things.

Even if property owners have seen their hopes of selling crushed in the past, it doesn’t mean that they can’t be helped. Savvy real estate investors can negotiate down and get liens released. Even those that are underwater on mortgages or have little home equity can be assisted in more creative ways. Lease options, subject-to structures, wrap-around mortgages, owner financing, and more can help reduce tax liability, while providing a fast and graceful exit to the seller, and making deals viable for investors.

It’s also difficult for sellers to know who to trust today, and in many cases they fear being taken advantage of. Instead of complaining about these “crazy” owners that won’t listen to reason, real estate investors should work on overcoming these objections by making sellers more confident in the process and their potential buyers. Show your strengths; whether that is great credit, plenty of cash, the ability to close quickly, or a great track record of helping others in similar situations. This can be done online in advanced via real estate websites, blogs, and social media, and cultivating testimonials.

Helping Today’s ‘Distressed Buyers’

While this may be new terminology for some, it really isn’t a new situation. As the U.S. housing market improves, more and more individuals are feeling the pressure to buy real estate. New grads are moving out on their own, Millennials are having families, parents are feeling the pressure to grow a nest egg, and no one wants to be left in the dust as their friends, coworkers, and family members reap all the rewards of property ownership. Those that don’t buy now face rising rents and housing expenses, while those that do are locking into ridiculously low rates and tiny house payments.

Still, despite the need and desire to buy and invest in real estate. these buyers are feeling distressed due to a variety of factors:

• Poor credit
• Lack of credit history
• Lack of down payment
• Difficulty saving due to high rents
• Nonexistent responses from real estate agents and sellers

Real estate investors can do a lot to help these individuals and bridge the gap. They can educate and turn individuals onto needed resources. They can respond, and do it quickly, and they can pair these buyers with the distressed inventory to create many win-win-win scenarios.

How To Win The Home Buying Business Of Millennials

How can today’s real estate professionals win the home buying business of millennials?

Analysts have pegged millennials as the largest group of home buyers emerging in the U.S. real estate market. With that in mind, only one question remains to be answered: how can real estate investors effectively connect with millennial homebuyers and earn their business?

While mobile technology will continue to play a large role in attracting millennials, it is just one tool in an entire arsenal that can help investors position themselves in front of this population. So what should real estate professionals and companies be focusing on? What will help them with the business of millennials now, and in the future?

Realtors, investors, and other industry professionals are frequently programmed to dismiss anyone that isn’t qualified and ready to buy within the next 30 days. While there is a lot to be said for time management,  such a short focus could potentially limit your own success. If you are only working for the next 30 days, and kick to the curb anything important for your success over the next 90 days, 9 months, or 9 years, you are effectively sabotaging your career. By ignoring those that aren’t buying today, you’ll always be scrambling for business, paying more for leads, working harder, and netting less in the future. Almost ironically; the easiest leads to gain are those that will be buying tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that. That’s because they are being ignored and dismissed by everyone else with the ‘30 day mentality.’ Maybe they don’t have all their ducks in a row yet. Perhaps their credit score isn’t quite where they want it to be, or they need to save a little more for a down payment. Yet, in 12 months from now, they might be one of the best qualified buyers on the market. Who are they going to turn to for help? Your job is to make sure the answer is you. Engage them now.

It is not enough to just have a conversation with these millennials now and hope they come to you when they are ready. Nurture these leads. Stay in touch, and stay at the top their mind. Don’t spam or hard sell when you know they aren’t ready. But you can stay in touch in a warm way. You can update them on the market, new home loans, your contact information, and even just to say “Hi.” Text messages, email, mail, social media, and even picking up the phone are all great ways to reach millennials.

Don’t just settle for keeping in touch or having friendly conversations. What many millennials really need is a real estate partner that will help them navigate unfamiliar territory. Younget populations usually don’t know everything there is to know about buying a home. Real estate professionals should look at how they can help educate, prepare, and even help millennial home buyers create a plan for home ownership and investing in real estate. This might sound like a lot of work to some, but there is much that can be done to simplify, streamline, systemize, and outsource everything that needs to be done. Strategic referral partners can help with this for free, and may even pick up additional marketing costs, or contribute financially (where legal). This will help them become buyers faster, become easier buyers to work with, and help them to enjoy lifelong success in property ownership.

Obviously, millennial home buyers do have slightly different preferences than some other generations. Their home buying criteria may not be that different than previous generations at that age, despite the proclamations of some pundits in the news. Today real estate experts and brands might need to connect across more mediums, faster, and make it easier to search for homes, get information, and buy homes. However, behind the technology, it is really all common sense. It boils down to building relationships and delivering a superior experience.

For some this may be real estate tours. For others: augmented reality layered into print advertising, or live virtual tours. Find a way that works for you. Just be sure to cater to the millennial population. Your business will thank you for it in the future.

Optimizing Your Credit To Buy and Invest In Real Estate

What is the best strategy for optimizing your credit to buy a home or scale investments to the size you desire?

Credit, in particular low credit scores, continues to be one of the most significant factors holding back U.S. home buyers and real estate investors. While mortgage lenders have tightened up, data suggests American credit scores may have slipped further than many realize. Southern states appear to suffer from notably lower average Experian credit scores. Tracking of FICO credit scores by Money-Zine also shows that there is a substantial difference between median and average scores. By one metric, the average U.S. FICO score was reportedly 720 as of the fourth quarter of 2014. The other metric shows an average of just 640. Under this measurement. Californians had some of the best credit scores with an average of 652. Connecticut came in slightly higher at 653. On the other end of the scale was Mississippi. with an average of just 615. This means that very few Americans have many home loan choices. This doesn’t even take into account other mortgage lender requirements of credit history, employment, income, assets, and the transaction itself.

So how can those with less than great credit scores fix their credit to buy homes and invest in real estate?

Credit Score Requirements & Your Mortgage Loan Options

The average FICO score may leave borrowers with few conventional home loans to choose from. However, there are loans for those without good credit, and even financing options that don’t require credit history. This might include FHA loans, VA loans, USDA loans and foreign national loans. Real estate investors even have the option of a hard money loan. Private money lenders are always willing to consider a potential borrower.

Over time, it is anticipated that mortgage credit will become even more accessible. Those that wait until they are out of debt, or hope that time alone will improve their credit, will find that time also means higher property prices, higher interest rates, and more competition. That said; most will see waiting as counterproductive.

The Dos & Don’ts of Fixing Your Credit

Do Fix Your Credit ASAP

Bruised credit isn’t anything to be embarrassed about. But neglecting to take action to fix it now might be. Every day with poor credit is extremely expensive. Those that want the best possible financial future, want a way to get ahead, and who want to give all they can to those they love will find improving their credit incredibly empowering. It can take years off of achieving goals and financial freedom. Even if you can only make baby steps in fixing your credit now, take them. Even if you can buy a home and invest in real estate on a large scale without using your personal credit now, don’t neglect to try and fix your credit.

Do Find Help

Just as with stopping foreclosure or investing in real estate, there is help available for those wanting to fix their credit. Credit tracking and simulation software can help individuals tackle their credit challenges. While it can be difficult to find people and organizations to trust, there are attorneys and credit repair specialists that can help in your efforts. In many cases, speaking with a mortgage broker or loan officer can put many on the fast track to better credit, financing and property ownership. A good loan officer can let you know what needs to be fixed to qualify for financing (and not), and can often facilitate rapid rescoring to land approvals sooner.

Don’t Rush

Don’t rush into expensive and potentially catastrophic ‘solutions.’ Bankruptcy may be necessary, or even the best strategy for some. It also comes with harsh and long-term financial consequences. Many don’t realize that debt consolidation programs can also have similar impacts on credit and can be viewed the same by creditors. It’s also important not to rush to pay off old debt that may no longer actually be impacting your credit score. Some may do it out of a feeling of moral obligation once they are back on their feet and are making money through real estate, but paying these old debts first may not provide the best return on the dollar.

5 Tips for Preserving Your Credit

Once you’ve got your credit fixed, it’s important to preserve it. Some principles and strategies for accomplishing this might include:

1. Building business credit for investing in real estate
2. Keeping investment and personal debt and credit separate
3. Not using credit cards as a habit, unless it is sure they can be paid off in the short term
4. Avoiding daily personal credit usage, unless it comes with perks and cash-back rewards
5. Know when to bite the bullet on small disputes and pay them off before impacting your credit, even if you don’t think you should owe

Tips For Building Your Personal Real Estate Brand

Real estate investors need to be paying more attention to their personal brands. For those that haven’t invested in their personal brands yet, or enough, it’s not too late. However, now is the time to start building up a brand that consumers can trust. Having said that, what are the best moves in building and protecting one’s company name?

The Importance of Developing a Personal Brand for Real Estate Professionals

Sadly, far too many real estate investors fail to appreciate just how important and valuable building a personal brand is.

A recent episode of ABC’s reality TV show “Shark Tank” really drove this home for many real estate professionals, and new entrants to the business. In reviewing the pitch of a real estate entrepreneur, the sharks were adamant about the extreme importance of owning a personal brand. Even though the sharks may have come across a little egotistical, they had a point. Adding their name to virtually any product or business can add value and create sales, even if it is a terrible product. As the entrepreneur walked off stage, one shark even jested that he had already forgotten the individual’s name. The entire panel was firm on the fact that when it comes to investing and real estate consumers prize working with names they know and trust – brand names they recognize.

Success Magazine took a different angle on this at the beginning of 2015. In particular, it mentions the value of having a trusted personal brand. The featured author pointed to data from the hotel industry. Subsequently, integrity and a name brand provided a hard 2.5% bump to income; or at least $250,000 to at least one brand.

The bottom line is that success in the real estate world isn’t “what you know, or just who you know, but who knows you.” It is unlikely many will ‘know’ or remember you, unless you have a strong personal brand.

Choosing a Personal Brand Identity

So how do you go about selecting, honing, and building a personal brand?

A personal brand can certainly be developed. However, there are specific considerations to be made in the process.

Start by digging into your personal and professional identity. What are your strengths, and weaknesses? What are your passions? Most importantly; how are you unique, and unique in your space of the market? It’s about time many kicked the crusty old copycat approach to real estate branding to the curb. Just putting the same old profile picture in the same suit, with the same background as everyone else isn’t owning a personal brand. The same even might go for sitting on the hood of a silver Mercedes Benz in your print magazine ads, or the classic sunset background. What can you bring that is fresh?

There is also wisdom in ensuring synergy when brainstorming your personal brand. It has to work for business, and it has to be sustainable. If it isn’t in sync with your real personality and isn’t authentic, it won’t stick. There is a need for synergy with your target market. It doesn’t need to mirror your ideal clients, but should resonate with them. Will the homeowners, buyers, investors, and other professionals you need and want to work with be drawn to and connect with your personal brand?

Crafting and Claiming Your Brand Name

A part of staking claim to your brand identity as a real estate professional is naming and claiming associated name real estate. That may include taglines and slogan, website domain names, social media URLs, and sometimes names of trusts. A little Google research might also suggest the best and worst choices of your name to use in your branding. While there’s no need to change your name, are there good or bad associations with different variations of it online? For example; if your name is Bernie Madoff, you might want to think about that.

Naming research should be a part of your initial research. Claiming ownership of related websites and social media accounts should be done as soon as possible. Shortly after, start building up those presences as you see fit.

It is smart for real estate personalities and executives to take the time to put together a guide to both guide themselves and their team members and contractors to protect the personal brand. The most advanced will include images, logos, profile pics, verbal branding, typography choices, colors, and verbal branding guides, and more.

What’s Next?

Just coming up with a strong personal brand identity isn’t going to do much. The next step should be proactively working to gain visibility. This might include; articles, podcasts, press, or entering award ceremonies.

It is also essential to build a business brand for those that organize themselves legally. These can have slightly different branding, but they need synergy too.

Finally, don’t forget to protect it. This means being careful with what you invest in, who with, and proactively preserving and building your online reputation too.

How To Find Your Real Estate Niche

Any aspiring real estate investor, Realtor, or startup founder that has spent more than a few minutes in study won’t be strangers to the concept of choosing a niche. Having a niche makes it easier for real estate professionals and companies to stand out and gain traction. It’s perfectly fine to have more than one real estate niche, to develop into more niches, or even potentially to switch later. The big question is where to start, and how to choose your first niche. Or perhaps for those needing more; how do you effectively choose your next niche?

Finding the Space

Finding a niche to occupy starts with surveying the real estate landscape to discover a space to fill. Where is there a void you can easily step into? Going head to head with multiple, more experienced, and better funded competitors certainly isn’t normally the fast track to easy success. Finding a less occupied zone to make headway can definitely be more desirable.

Don’t just assume: research, and research thoroughly. This might start by driving and checking out real estate signs and offices, followed by browsing local real estate magazines and the internet to get the perspective of consumers in the marketplace. Take this to the next level by speaking with local real estate pros, coaches, and analysts and reviewing the hard data. There may be a lot more going on that the numbers can reveal than meets the eyes.

Of course, with the U.S. real estate industry growing, some may find it challenging to find a vacancy to make their niche. That’s okay. If there isn’t an obvious void, look for what you can do better, where the need is, and what can be improved upon. Your uniqueness is your advantage.

Note: After digging into the following, make sure to research again to verify your theories and be sure that there is enough business in your niche to meet your goals.

Taking Inventory

Take inventory of what you have: monetary included. What retirement savings, liquid funds, assets, and income do you have that can be used to develop your presence in your chosen niche? If you don’t have capital or surplus income coming in, do you have credit that can be leveraged? If not strong personal credit, can you build business credit, leverage contacts and other people’s money, or find financing solutions that don’t require good credit?

What about your time resources? Do you have extra time to compensate for it? Many others may have large amounts of capital they want and need to put to work. They might even know more, but lack the time to execute. Maybe you have more time than competitors trying to move into a niche? If you are lacking on time, who can you leverage?

What areas do you know more about than others? Or what can you learn about that others don’t have time to? What about skills and talents? Where are your specialties, strengths and expertise? What do you do better than others? Maybe you have an edge in local knowledge, design talent, sales skills, attention to details, technology, copywriting, networking, or something else. Play to your strengths, improve what you can and delegate the rest.

What do you enjoy? What are you passionate about? How can you use that and integrate it into your real estate to stand out? Maybe it is vacation properties, pet friendly properties, luxury rentals, log cabins in the mountains, or ranches.

You don’t have to leave your values out either. In fact, there may be more room and need for value based niches than ever before. Do you really care about going green and living sustainably? How about ethical development, or providing affordable housing? What about giving back and paying it forward?

What will your niche be? How will you bring your own unique brand of real estate to the world?

How Much Money Can You Make Fix and Flipping Homes?

Article by: InvestFourMore

I have fix and flipped over 100 homes in the last ten years and although it is not easy to flip houses, it is a lot of fun. You can make a lot of money once you have developed a system and learned the business. Fix and flipping is only part of my real estate business; I also have 11 long-term rentals and I am a Realtor. I talk about how much money you can make on rental properties here and how much real estate agents make here, but how much money can you make fix and flipping houses?

How much money can you make on a single fix and flip?

How much money you make on a fix and flip varies with each deal and how much the house is worth. I have lost $10,000 on a flip and made up to $100,000 on a fix and flip. My goal on each fix and flip is to make at least $25,000 in profit. I have hit some home runs and had some huge mishaps when fix and flipping. There is a lot of risk involved when you fix and flip a home and if I don’t have at least $25,000 in profit potential, I usually will not make the deal. The more expensive a house is the more money I hope to make, because the risks and costs increase.

Here is an article that describes how to make more money fix and flipping homes.

The more expensive a fix and flip, the more money you should make

When fixing and flipping more expensive houses, you should make more money than the less expensive flips. The more expensive a house, the more interest, more repairs, more holding costs and more commissions you pay. For the increased risk on a more expensive house, you need to be rewarded with a bigger profit.

It also takes more capital to buy and repair a more expensive house. If I were to have a profit potential of $25,000 on a $100,000 fix and flip, I would want a profit potential of $50,000 on a $200,000 fix and flip. Because I am buying a more expensive house at $200,000, I won’t be able to buy as many properties since I am using more cash for down payments and repairs. Here is a great article with information on financing fix and flips.

Here is a review I did on the Rehab Valuator; a great tool for figuring the costs and profits on flips.

How much money have I made fix and flipping houses?

I sold ten fix and flips in 2013 and the total profits were well over $300,000. For part of last year I was partnering with my father and part of the year I was on my own, because I took over the business from him in September. We averaged over $30,000 profit for each fix and flip we did and so far this year I am on that same pace. I will have a few fix and flips profit $20,000 to $30,000 and I will have a few profit around $50,000. In the ten years I have been fix and flipping I have had a profit of $100,000 twice. The big money in fix and flipping for me is volume, not one extremely profitable property.

How is it possible to average $30,000 profit on a fix and flip?

Our market is increasing like much of the country and it has become tougher to find deals. I am still finding deals, in fact I have eight fix and flips being repaired or for sale right now. I am a real estate agent, which gives me a huge advantage when it comes to finding deals. I buy primarily off of the MLS and being an agent lets me save commissions and write offers quickly.

Here’s an excellent article on using others people’s money to flip.

You have to fix and flip a lot of homes to make money

I would love to make $100,000 on each fix and flip, but that’s not possible for me. I don’t always know which homes will work out great as flips and which will not. I have had unforeseen circumstances that caused me to hold a property for a year before it could be sold. That killed my profits and was one of the homes I lost money on. I have accepted that some flips will be great and others will not. If I continue to buy great deals the averages will be in my favor. My strategy is to buy as many fix and flips as I can that meet my criteria and continue to average about $30,000 in profit on each property. If you are looking for that one house that will make $100,000, you may have to look for a long time.

For more information on how to fix and flips homes including how to find properties, how to finance them, how to repair them and how to make the most money fix and flipping, check out my new book Fix and Flip Your Way to Financial Freedom. The book is $5.99 and available at Amazon as a 171 page eBook here. You can also buy a PDF version of the book in the Invest Four More store here.

How to get financing on fix and flips

One of the hardest parts about flipping homes is finding the money to buy the property. Most lenders do not like to lend on flips, because the loan will be very short and the lender will not make much money on it. To get a short-term loan you will have to use hard money, a portfolio lender or private money in most cases. Hard money will be very expensive with rates from 8 to 16 percent and origination fees from 2 to 5 percent. Portfolio lenders will have much cheaper money, but you will have to have an established relationship with them (I use portfolio lenders). Private money is a great option if you have a rich uncle or friend.

Here is a great site with more information on how to find private money lenders and structure deals with them.

How to avoid losing money on a fix and flip

Here are a few tips on how to avoid losing money on flips:

• Be very careful at foreclosure auctions. I use to buy 90% of my deals at the foreclosure auction. You have to buy homes for cash, without a title policy and sometimes you can’t see the interior of the home. If you buy at the foreclosure sale make sure you have a lot of room for repairs, title issues and possibly evictions.
• Always estimate more for repairs then you think. Repairs always cost more and more repairs always show up when fixing a house. I always assume there will be $5,000 more in costs than I calculate on each deal.
• Always account for financing and selling costs. When you sell a fix and flip you have to pay a real estate commission, title insurance, interest on your financing, insurance, taxes, utilities and more when you flip a property. Check out my case study on this fix and flip to see my costs.
• Be conservative on your values when you estimate value and price the home right!  Here is an article on how to value a home and how to sell a home. Some of the biggest losses for fix and flippers are due to overpricing homes and not lowering the price quickly to get them sold.

Conclusion

Fix and flipping is not easy, it takes patience to find properties, money to fix them up and market knowledge to sell them. If you can master fix and flipping it can create an awesome income and be a lot of fun as well. Becoming a successful fix and flipper will not happen overnight. To see exactly how I flip a house, here is an article that describes a case study I did on a recent fix and flip that made me over $50,000.

Is Wholesaling a Good Way to Start Investing in Real Estate

Article by: InvestFourMore

Many people present wholesaling as a great way to gain capital for investing in real estate. One of the toughest things about getting started investing in real estate is saving enough money to invest. There are ways to invest with little money down, but you are still going to need some money to buy properties. Wholesaling may be a way to get started investing in real estate without much money. Wholesaling may not make you rich, but it will teach you a lot about real estate investing. For more information on my real estate investing strategies and rental proprieties check out my complete guide to long-term rental properties.

What is wholesaling real estate?

Wholesaling real estate involves an investor buying a property or getting a property under contract and then selling the house or assigning the contract as quickly as possible. The investor may wholesale the property to another investor who will then fix up the property and rent it or flip it. The key to a successful wholesale deal is finding properties cheap enough that there is still room for a profit for the end buyer.

How can you find properties to wholesale?

There are many ways to find cheap properties, but you must find very cheap properties to wholesale them. A wholesaler has to leave enough room for them to make a profit and enough money for the end buyer to make a profit. Below you will find many ways to find cheap properties. Here is a great tool that can help you evaluate properties to wholesale.

Is it possible to wholesale properties off the MLS?

I find most of my properties off of MLS, but it is difficult to wholesale those houses. Most investors keep an eye on MLS properties so it is tough for wholesalers to buy properties cheap enough due to the competition. I think a wholesaler has to be very fast to get properties off of the MLS, much like myself when I buy properties. If you want to wholesale MLS properties, it may be smarter to get your real estate license and make a commission on these deals.

Wholesaling off market properties

I think a wholesalers biggest opportunity is to find off market properties. Off market properties are houses that are not listed for sale, but the owners want to sell. The owners may be too far away, too busy, or too beat down to list the homes with a real estate agent. The owners still want to sell the home, they just need the right person to find them and make an offer. I don’t go into a lot of details on finding off market properties, because I am not an expert on off market properties. How can you find properties that are not for sale, but the owners still want to sell?

• Attend REIA meetings: You may find investors or wholesalers with off market properties at REIA meetings. Meeting other wholesalers at the meetings won’t do a wholesaler much good unless it is an incredible deal. Investors looking to get rid of homes at the meetings may be a fantastic opportunity. You can also find buyers at REIA meetings, which is also very important to a wholesaler.
• Send direct mailings: I send out direct mailings and I have bought properties that were off market with my letters. I started my mailings this year and I think this will be a successful tactic given enough time and effort.  I send mailings to absentee owners and inherited owners. As a Realtor I can also list homes that may not work out a purchases, but I also have to disclose that I am a Realtor and I disclose I may be buying homes below market value. It is a double-edged sword, but is still think it is very advantageous to be an agent. I recently bought my first property through direct marketing and I will be the first to tell you I am not an expert yet at direct marketing.
• Advertising for off market properties: Many investors also advertise that they buy houses on billboards, with websites, with bandit signs and billboards. I have not tried these tactics yet, but I want to try a few of them. If anyone is wondering, I will not put any signs in my car; I love my cars too much.
• Websites: There are a few websites that market to off market sellers. When the website gets a lead they sell it to investors who pay to get those leads. I have never used these websites, but I know investors who have gotten deals from the sites.

Here is a great program that teaches the entire process of wholesaling properties.

It is not easy to become a successful wholesaler

The best tactics to get the best deals as a wholesaler are not easy to implement. It takes time an a lot of effort to buy homes off market. If it was easy, all investors would use these tactics, but it is difficult and very few investors try to market to off market sellers. If you want to be serious about investing in real estate and have little money; wholesaling is your way in. Market to sellers and you will get the best deals to wholesale as well as for yourself when you get enough money to start buying properties to hold or flip.

How to get a contract on a house to wholesale

As a wholesaler you have two options; get under contract on a house or buy the house and sell it right away. Many MLS listings will require proof of funds or a prequal letter, which is another reason why it may be tough for wholesalers to buy off the MLS. Most REOs and HUD listings will not let you assign the contract, which means you will have to buy the home. If you are wholesaling because you don’t have money to buy an investment property, it may be tough to buy a home to wholesale off the MLS. If you are buying properties from off market sellers it will be easier to get a home under contract. The seller of an off market property will not require a prequal letter or proof of funds before signing a contract. Once you get a contract on the off market property you can assign the contract to another investor for a fee.

What does it mean to assign a contract?

Assigning a contract is a simple concept: the contract has a clause that allows it to be assigned. That means another person can step in and become the buyer without the seller’s permission. A wholesaler can actually sell the contract to another investor without buying the home. Anyone else can step in and be the buyer as long as they buy the home according to the terms of the contract.

How to use a double close to wholesale a house

When a wholesaler buys a home to sell immediately there are ways to buy the home without using their own money. I have never done this, but it is possible for investors to buy a home and then immediately sell it without using their own money. The first thing you need is a great title company that will do a double close. The seller sells the home to the wholesaler, the wholesaler then immediately sells the home to the end buyer and the title company uses the end buyers money to pay the original seller. Please check your state laws for to make sure this strategy is legal in your area.

How does a wholesaler find buyers?

Once a wholesaler finds a house to sell or assign, they need to find a buyer! Usually the margins are very tight on wholesale deals and there is not room to pay real estate commissions. The wholesaler must find their own buyers to make the most money on wholesale deals. A wholesaler must also close very quickly to be able to assign the contract or complete a double close within the contract time frames. As I mentioned earlier an REIA meeting is a great way to find investor buyers. You can also check recent sales to find who bought houses for cash as they are most likely investors. I just received a letter from a wholesaler who found me because I bought a house for cash. Try to hang out wherever investors who buy houses hang out: trustee sales, auctions and tax sales are all great places to find investors. You can also advertise to find buyers on Craigslist or the newspaper. Another way to find buyers is to look for recent cash sales on the MLS or in public records to see what investors are buying houses for cash in your area. Finding buyers is an extremely important part of wholesaling and often times a wholesalers biggest challenge. In some instances a wholesaler will use another wholesaler with more buyer contacts to help them sell houses.

Practicing real estate without a license

As a wholesaler you must take the title to the home or sell your interest in the home. You cannot bring a buyer and seller together and take a commission or any other type of fee. This would be considered brokering a real estate deal and you must have a license to do this. It is against the law to practice real estate without a license. It is also illegal in most states for a real estate agent to pay a referral fee to an non-licensed person. If you want to send a lead to a real estate agent who may list that house, you cannot get paid a percentage of the sale on that lead. There are some possibilities for getting paid on a per lead basis.

How Much Money can you make wholesaling real estate?

Some wholesalers will never do a deal and others do hundreds of deals a year. The money a wholesaler makes on each deal will vary greatly depending on the wholesaler and the property. Some wholesalers will make $2,000 on each deals, others will make $5,000 on each deal and some will make more than $10,000 on each deal. I know multiple wholesalers who are doing more than 5 wholesale deals a month and averaging over $5,000 per wholesale deal. There is definitely good money to be made wholesaling, but to do a lot of deals you have to spend money on marketing and have a great system. There will be many calls coming in from possible sellers and you have to be able to talk to those sellers quickly, determine if the price is right, get the home under contract and then find a buyer.

Conclusion

It takes hard work and time to become a successful wholesaler. It is not a get rich quick business, but it can be a way to get started if you have no capital and really want to invest in real estate. I think the biggest benefit to learning to wholesale, is it teaches you how to find a great deal. If you can find great deals, there will always be buyers willing to invest in them. If you are finding what you think are great deals, but no one will buy them, they may not be so great. Knowing the value of a property and repairs needed is very important to being able to wholesale.