Real Estate Tips and Helpful Hints

Secret Steps For Screening Tenants That Master Landlords Use

Screening tenants for the first time can seem daunting, however your choice in tenants can make the next 6 months, to many years, either happy or discouraging. No matter how seasoned you are as a landlord, you need to make this process as coordinated as you possibly can. Follow these steps and you’ve tackled this task with expertise.

STEP #1: begins with your initial contact with the prospective tenant. You’ve posted your vacancy, ran your ads and you now are receiving responses. It’s important that you develop a series of qualifying questions, coupled with important information you will provide prior to taking that first call. I always suggest you assume the identity of “property manager”, not the owner. Using a PO Box and creating a LLC, in which rents would be paid to is great business sense.

1. Make it a point to advise them of your monthly rent and deposit needed to move in
2. Inform them of the date the vacancy will be available
3. Gather their name(s) and reasons for moving
4. Determine if they have children and the number of people who intend to live in the unit
5. Ask them to gauge their credit reports from very good, good or average, to challenging or poor. Remember that this is only an initial qualifying question. Credit reports will be mandatory for all adult tenants.
6. Ask them if they have pets, (how many etc. if you are allowing pets)
7. Ask them if they will be providing landlord references.

The manner in which these questions are answered, provided you ask them politely, will be your first impression of this potential tenant. Make notes on all of these and keep them separate from other potential tenants.

STEP #2: is the showing of the property. It’s usually a good idea to show the property to a few prospects at the same time. This will give the impression that the availability of the unit, or home, has received many inquiries. Possibly resulting in you receiving a higher rental payment than you advertised. This is, however not required.
At this point you begin to qualify your prospective tenant.

1. Did they show up on time?
2. Did they dress for the occasion? They should be trying to, at the very least, impress upon you their worthiness. If they show up looking sloppy, chances are that’s the way they live.
3. Were they polite? Their behavior will indicate, usually, just what type of tenant they will prove to be.
4. Finally take a quick look at their vehicle. How a person keeps a vehicle is often indicative of how they will take care of your property.

5. Walk thru the unit with the prospect and answer any questions they may have. Determine whether or not they are trying to negotiate rent by knit picking. (Make certain your property is ready for showing. The quality of your rental unit or home will greatly enhance the quality of your tenant)

STEP #3: involves the application and approval process. It is important that you utilize application forms that are legal and well represented in the industry. This includes your rental agreements. I suggest you utilize forms that your attorney has reviewed. A Landlord’s Attorney is a great ally and usually can recommend the proper forms, free of charge.

1. Inform your prospect when you expect the application to be completed and returned. Provide them the form at the showing and have them fill it out on the spot if at all possible. Collect any charges for credit reports
2. Review the application carefully for any incomplete information or inconsistencies. You cannot be too careful with this process
3. Submit the application to your source for credit reports. Again, Apartment Associations provide this service. Your realtor can also connect you with this necessary resource.
4. Review the credit report. If you do not know how to read these reports, gain this knowledge. Your Lawyer should happily show you how to read these reports
5. Once you’ve approved your tenant, schedule the lease signing and collection of the upfront costs. It’s also necessary to obtain copies of the adult tenant’s identification.
6. Inform your tenants that the keys and possession of the unit will be delivered AFTER the checks have cleared unless they are paying with a certified bank check
7. Make certain that all of the signatures are completed on the rental agreements, the agreements you obtained from a quality resource, and include a “house rules” form that details how you expect your tenants to behave and treat your property. Have them sign this form as well.
8. You should be very informed as to the rental agreement you are using. READ Them! Know them, and this will help you when the agreement is being signed. READ it to your prospect or be certain they have read it as well.

YOUR LAST STEP: is the move in and this can be done with or without your presence. I suggest you visit that day or a few days after to make certain they have taken possession and that the move in was completed without incident. An out of sight landlord can result in activity and behaviors unacceptable to you. Visiting your property once a month is the very minimum I would recommend and let them know you are there when you visit.

I encourage you to test the information I provide and return to give your feedback!

“you will bear no fruit if you never plant the seed” – Unknown

How To Get Investment Money For FREE – Giveaway

Hello readers and followers, I wanted to make a quick post and give you an opportunity to get some very valuable information for free and help you to get investment money for free. As you know I’m always looking to help and give back by providing information on trends in real estate investing and updating you on marketing methods that work. Well, I’m at it again.

I was cleaning my office and decided to rearrange things, you know. In the mist of me changing things I noticed where I had several copies of courses and books. This book in particular will help you get investment money for your business. So I’m giving you a chance to get the extra copies, I have 3. Boy it’s amazing what cleaning up and changing things around will do for you….LOL.

I’m giving away a book by Alan Cowgill, a full-time real estate investor who specializes in finding private lenders to fund real estate deals. The book is called “How To Get All The Money You Need To Buy Property“. In other words he’s giving away the good on how to acquire investment money so you can do more deals, more than you ever imagined.

I have 3 extra copies and here is how the giveaway will work.

Leave a comment on this post telling me why I should give you 1 of the books.
Tell me how you think this book will help you in your investing business.
Share this post using the social networking icons at the end of this post.
Have your friends come and leave a comment voting for you to receive 1 of the 3 books.

That’s it, simple isn’t it. All comments will be reviewed, votes tallied and the winners will be picked based on these results.

The winners will be announced on April 28, 2012 (2 weeks) in the comments section. The winners will be asked to send a self-addressed stamped envelope so we can send the book.

Thanks and good luck, I look forward to reading your comments and seeing your friends support you with their votes.

Here’s to you getting this book that will help you acquire more investment money in the future.

P.S. I almost forgot you need to go to http://toledoinvestmentdeals.com/the_blog/investment-money/ to take part in this giveaway.

Top 10 Bandit Sign Mistakes

I know I’ve been talking a lot lately about Bandit Signs and how to use them. Well, I really see the need in getting this information out there with spring being here, the new investors I see out there and the mistakes being made by those who use Bandit Signs.

I’ve done a couple of videos on Bandit Signs which I’m sure you’ve seen by now where i gave helpful tips. In this post I’m covering the Top 10 Bandit Sign Mistakes investors are making and how to correct them.

Lets get started:

BREAKING THE LAW – I can’t stress this enough! Know your locations laws on the usage of Bandit Signs. If they are outlawed then look to other means for getting your message out. We as real estate investors already have a negative image we’re fighting so don’t make it worse by breaking the law. ****Solution**** Use 4×6 postcards with your message on them and post them on message boards at your church, grocery store, laundromat, community center or any place where they have a message board.

WRONG SIZE – When using bandit signs you want to make sure your signs are able to be noticed by those who pass them by. I’ve seen signs that were 12×18; these may be cheaper but they are also harder to see by potential clients who are passing by in their cars. ****Solution**** Spend a few dollars more and get Bandit Signs that are 18×24. The cost will be more than the smaller signs but order 50 and not 100. The larger signs are easier to see plus you have the added advantage of more space for your message.

SAYING TOO MUCH – Investors often have too much to say on their Bandit Signs. Depending on who you’re marketing to, sellers or buyers, you must not have a long message or they may pass your sign trying to read all of it and not get your number off of it. ****Solution**** Make your message short and to the point. Use 1 liners, you don’t have to use a complete sentence.

THE WRONG MESSAGE – In many cases I see the old tried and true “We Buy Houses” message on the majority of the Bandit Signs out there. Ask yourself, does that really work? Most people in any decent size city with real estate investors has seen this message SO much that it’s not effective any more. When it comes to messages for buyers most investors will use the “For Sale By Owner” signs. This is another one that doesn’t garner much attention anymore. ****Solution****

(A Couple Messages for Sellers)
Sell Me Your House Today
Need To Sell I’m Buying
(A Couple Messages For Buyers)
Help! Buy My House
Tired Homeowner Sale

SIGN PLACEMENT – I see Bandit Signs placed wrong all the time. I understand many times you may be placing them out late at night, in a rush or in an area with other signs so you’re trying to get the best placement possible so that your sign is noticed. ****Solution**** Place your Bandit Signs in areas where people have to stop and look at them like traffic lights, stop signs, freeway exists, gas stations (if possible). Place your signs in an area where you don’t have to compete for views, if there are 3 or 4 other signs there find another place to put your sign. Place them in position so that they can be easily viewed and read by those who will pass them by. Never and I do mean Never put your sign in the middle of the block where people don’t have to stop, if you do, then you just wasted your time and your sign.

NO NUMBER – Believe it or not I’ve actually seen Bandit Signs with a message and no contact info. ****Solution**** Always, Always, Always, Always make sure you have your contact number on your Bandit Signs. If possible make your number as large as possible so that it fills up a whole line. As an added twist put your number first, on the top of your Bandit Signs. If you have a website, a short easy to remember website add it to your sign if it works and looks good.

OVERKILL – investors, especially beginners will fall victim to this. This is when you see a particular Bandit Sign at every corner you come to. You see it so much it’s annoying. ****Solution**** When using Bandit Signs to attract sellers target a specific area and put out 5 to 10 signs. Avoid the urge of wanting to blanket as much of the city as possible. By targeting specific areas at a time you can better track your leads and learn that area, plus you can avoid getting calls for areas you don’t want to deal with.

COLORS – I’ve seen Bandit Signs in black & white, blue & yellow, red & green, and purple & white. Some colors just wont cut it, some might. ****Solution**** When deciding on your colors for your signs use those that you know will work. yellow & black, red & white, blue & white and try the new hot colors hot pink and black.

FALSE MESSAGE – I’ve seen Bandit Signs that say “I’ll buy you house in 2 days” and other stuff like that. ****Solution**** Don’t say things on your sign that you can’t fulfill. If you do and you don’t perform the word will get around and your leads will dry up.

NO MARKETING – How many so-called real estate investors do you know that say they invest but yet they don’t do any marketing. ****Solution**** As long as Bandit Signs are not against the law in your area you are fighting an uphill battle by not using Bandit Signs. They can be your key to getting leads and massively increasing your real estate investing business. Get them and use the. Get them here BanditSigns.com

Please share your thoughts or comments and let me know if you witness any other mistakes investors make with their Bandit signs.

How To Get Massive Attention From Your Bandit Signs

Last week I covered how to get bandit signs on the cheap without breaking the bank. I’m sure many of you liked the post based on your comments. Thanks again. If you didn’t see that post go check out Bandit Signs For Free, I’m sure it will help you.

Well, I got an email from a reader who said money wasn’t an issue and they could afford to purchase bandit signs, but they were looking for ways to get their bandit signs noticed and not just have them be like every other sign you see on the side of the road. Kudos to you Ms. BIG BUCKS….. just kidding.

Here you go: http://youtu.be/lcOLILq2qc4

Bandit Signs For Free

Bandit signs are a staple in any serious real estate investors tools chest. These are “must have” tools. Your message can vary from trying to sell a property to trying to buy one, at any rate you’re doing yourself wrong if you’re not utilizing them.

Over the past few weeks I have been fielding questions on wholesaling and I noticed a major number of them have been about Bandit Signs. Where can you get them at a good price has been the #1 question without a doubt. Why? Well many people go through spending hundreds of dollars on bandit signs to only get them taken down by another competitor, city ordinance workers, angry neighborhood people, or simply the weather.

With those things in mind it prompted me to address this question and let investors know where they can get the best priced Bandit signs……FREE Bandit Signs. It doesn’t get any better than that. So, enjoy the tips and give me your thoughts and feedback, I welcome it.

Watch informational video here http://youtu.be/P8TIj3Pg0wI

Risks of Real Estate Investing

All good things carry with them some degree of risk. The same holds true with real estate investing. Despite the promise of high rewards you should temper those ambitions with the reality that the risks involved are more often than not just as high as the potential rewards. For this reason you need to take every possible precaution in order to insure that you minimize your exposure to risk whenever possible or at the very least are prepared, financially and mentally to accept the consequences of those risks if the time comes.

The most obvious risk when it comes to real estate investing is the immediate risk of losing your investment. This risk can be a huge blow depending on how large your investment was to begin with but isn’t the worst thing that can happen during the course of a real estate investment gone wrong. While I’m certainly not trying to talk you out of investing in real estate all together it is a good idea to have a realistic view of the risks and the potential rewards.

If you are flipping houses as your real estate investment you have the potential to loose a little more as you can become injured during the course of your work. The sad truth is that many who are attempting to break into the business of flipping houses have neither adequate insurance coverage (this is true of themselves and the property in general and others that may be working on the property), the money, nor the time that a serious injury might require.

Another risk common to real estate investing is the fact that stuff happens. Market trends tumble, companies go out of business leaving towns and the local real estate market in shambles, accidents happen during the course of the work, natural disasters occur, and buyers change their minds and pull out at the last minute. Each of these things can have devastating consequences and are almost always events that are completely beyond your control as a real estate investor.

If that wasn’t enough many investors fail to have a proper inspection and find out when it is really too late that there are serious structural problems and other sorts of things wrong with the property. These things cost money to repair and cut into profits, occasionally resulting in a loss. The thing is that once you find out something is wrong with the property you are honor bound to either reveal the problem to potential buyers or fix the problems before selling the house. In the case of a flip, many major problems will undo the work that has already been done. If this doesn’t remind you of the importance of a thorough inspection I have no idea exactly what will but inspections are important for many reasons and can save a lot of time and money if you have one done ahead of time.

Do not allow the risks of real estate investing to prevent you from taking the plunge. They are spelled out here to remind you that prudence and caution are wise when investing in real estate not to talk you out of this potentially lucrative field of investing. If you are interested in real estate investing there is no reason on earth you shouldn’t take the time and make the effort to learn more about its potential.