Posts tagged as:

business

Entrepreneurship

Why You Need A Rocking Mission Statement

by Christian Russell | November 5, 2009

Having a mission is important. To run a successful business, you need to be on a mission. Yet many of us small business owners (particularly real estate investors and professionals) skip writing a mission statement. Companies put their mission statement on the wall, not because it’s cheesy but because it’s important. Actually, many company mission [...]

2 comments Read the full article →
Real Estate

Using Leverage to Sell More and Take Your Business to the Next Level

by Christian Russell | October 29, 2009

Why are you in business? It’s an important question. Perhaps the ultimate question! A mentor of mine taught me a long time ago that knowing “why” is one of the most important things when it comes to getting positive results long term in your business.

Are you in business to make money?
Are you in business [...]

8 comments Read the full article →
Real Estate Market

Is The Housing Market Overheating . . . Again?

by Peter Giardini | October 27, 2009

It seems that in these past two weeks, we have experienced a tremendous increase in relatively negative news regarding the real estate market.  Usually I just chalk up all this negativity to the media working hard to score a few extra bucks.  However, this time I am choosing to not be so hard on the [...]

9 comments Read the full article →
Real Estate Investing

Do you use a script when screening Motivated Sellers?

by J. Lamar Ferren | October 25, 2009

using a scriptCan scripts hurt or help you when screening motivated sellers? This is a debatable question and I’m going to address both sides.

Using a script versus not using one can really change the entire tone of the conversation and can even be what closes or breaks the deal.

Let’s talk about the pros and cons of using a script…

5 comments Read the full article →
Real Estate Investing

Residential Land Development – Part 3: Zoning, Design and Financing

by Craig Grella | October 23, 2009

To recap Residential Land Development Part 2, we discussed the importance of performing an economic feasibility study with cost estimating to determine a max price land offer and whether or not there is enough profit in your potential deal to warrant spending more time on it, or actually developing the land.

Assuming you’ve done that initial research and arrived at the conclusion your numbers look good, you’re ready to go back and do it all over again. This time you’re going to be more exact with your numbers. To do that, you’ll really need to hone in on the potential design of your house, and to do that you need to research what’s possible on your lot. You do that by learning all you can about the zoning codes in your city. These are the third and fourth steps in the residential land development process.

4 comments Read the full article →
Commentary

A Quiz You Can’t Fail: How Will You Make Money in Real Estate

by Tom Koziol | October 23, 2009

As everyone knows, the real estate market is in the tank – at least that is the overall perception. On the other hand, we all have heard that there are people who are still making money in real estate. At least they say they are.

If it is true that people are making money, here is a quiz that should be a no brainer. By the way, this quiz won’t be graded. Not by me at least. You may decide to give yourself a grade just for grins.

The Setting

Lets say you live in a housing market that has been described by a national real estate forecast service as the country’s “weakest housing market.” It is projected to have the biggest decline in value in the next 12 months among all housing markets in the nation with a 12 percent median price dip for both new and existing single-family homes.

In making its determination, the forecast service looked at 260 metro areas using more than 50 variables, including housing supply, population trends, unemployment and inflation. And, speaking of unemployment, your area has just seen a full one percent spike upward.

3 comments Read the full article →
Real Estate Investing

Is Active or Passive Investing Right for You?

by Ryan Moeller | October 20, 2009

There are a lot of skills needed to become a savvy and successful real estate investor. Do you enjoy the challenge, have the time and/or have the comfort with the knowledge and skill needed to be a success? Are you comfortable with investments backed by real estate but do not want to deal with the hassles and time? Here are some of the skills and questions you must ask yourself to find out if active or passive real estate is right for you.

1. Are you a people person – Networking, sales, relationships – Real estate is a relationship business. Investors network, build relationships and are constantly selling themselves. The best investors often seem to be the ones who are well liked and good with people.

11 comments Read the full article →
Land & Farm Investing

Residential Land Development – Part 2: Determining Economic Feasibility

by Craig Grella | October 16, 2009

This is Part 2 in the Residential Land Development series showing you how to find, price, and develop land for residential single family property.

If you’ve followed Residential Land Development Part 1 you’ve put together your development team, done a little research into the type of property you want to build and the market you will farm for potential land purchases. You’ve determined the highest and best use, researched zoning and other legal matters, and now need to determine the economic feasibility of the project. We do this by estimating the overall costs of the project. The results of your down and dirty, quick economic feasibility analysis will determine whether you move forward with your project, or whether you dump it and move on to the next piece of land. Here’s what you’ll do:

1 comment Read the full article →
Real Estate News

A Good Agent Can Spare Buyers Interested in REO Homes Extra Hassles and Gain a Loyal Client in the Process!

by Christina Inman | October 12, 2009

In an article in the Tuesday, October 6, edition of the San Francisco Chronicle entitled “Layer of credit checks surprises home buyers,” a woman named Kimberly Hayes explains that when she and her husband decided to bid on a bank-owned property, they were shocked to discover that the only way the bank would allow them to do it is if they could do their own credit check beforehand.

“This unnecessary credit pulling can potentially lower my credit score and widens the exposure of my sensitive financial information,” the article quotes her as saying. “I’m concerned about another set of eyes looking at my private information in a time of so much identity theft.”

And, apparently, they are not the first potential buyers to find themselves in this situation. Though not all lenders have this policy when it comes to their REOs, (Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and OneWest Bank are all quoted as saying they do not require their own credit checks of potential bidders) it appears that some of the banks who do also insist that the bidder apply for a mortgage with them.

3 comments Read the full article →
Land & Farm Investing

Residential Land Development – Part 1

by Craig Grella | October 9, 2009

Since their invention, heavy equipment such as...Last week I wrote an article describing how to price and develop offers on land purchases.  While that information is an important part of the overall development process, it is only a small fraction of the work that needs to go into developing land for residential use.  As such, I’d like to explore the residential land development process in a more thorough manner, which will include this article, and several to follow.

With that said, this article will focus on the process of land development, risks and rewards, and a few things you’ll need to get started in the business of Residential Land Development.

Land development is the process of preparing raw land for the construction of improvements.

It can include:

  • Demolition of existing improvements
  • Clearing and Grading
  • Rezoning if required
  • Installing utilities, sewers, streets, and sidewalks
  • Constructing Improvements like driveways, foundations, and building pads

Although developed land creates no more income than raw land, it is nevertheless brings land one step closer to its ultimate use; a home, apartments, office buildings, hotels, etc.

4 comments Read the full article →
Commentary

Redirected Dollars: Not a Bad Way to Start Investing

by Tom Koziol | October 9, 2009

I had a brainstorm the other day. Hopefully, it will catch on like wild fire and people all over this country will enjoy the prospective windfall benefit.

It all started when one of our clients said how tough it was for her to come up with her auto insurance premium every month. Nevada requires car owners to have a certain level of coverage. The state doesn’t give a darn how hard it is to come up with the premium. My idea solves this particular dilemma.

Just for the record, in Nevada, the minimum required coverage is 15/30/10. The minimum required coverage may be different in your jurisdiction. Regardless, the requirement is still there which means it has to paid for one way or another. Almost like a forced mortgage one could say.

Before you ask what does this have to do with real estate, indulge me and keep reading. It has a lot to do with putting your mitts on investable dollars.

1 comment Read the full article →
Social Media

Can You Have Someone Else Do Your Social Networking for You?

by Christian Russell | October 8, 2009

One of the biggest concerns in marketing these days is social media marketing, and one of the biggest concerns with social media marketing is coming up with the time to do it. Make no mistake about it, using tools (other than BP, of course) such as Twitter, Facebook, ActiveRain and a business blog can significantly grow your business, improve communication with your clients and customers and even open up new income streams for you. But it is not a magic bullet. Social media marketing for small business, as is the case with anything else worth doing, takes time and effort.

And if small business owners are short on anything, it’s time…

So I find it very understandable when people ask me about the possibility of having me or someone else “do social media” for them. They ask “This is obviously going to take some time, and I’m very busy. Can I just have you do this for me?” My response is, “Maybe. Let’s look into it.”

7 comments Read the full article →
Foreclosures

Top 20 tips for making offers on Freddie Mac/Home Steps REO properties

by Winston Westbrook | October 5, 2009

Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddi...

In today’s challenging real estate market where 30 offers on homes out here in Victorville, CA is the norm, (and I’m sure the same applies all over the United States) we need every little bit of information to help our offers stand out from the crowd.

I have made countless offers on REO properties including Freddie Mac deals, and these tips reflect my experience in dealing with them. These are the things that Freddie Mac always counters with and always wants flat out.

When making an offer to purchase a Freddie Mac or Home Steps owned property you should try and follow these guidelines to help your offer stand out from the crowd and help you save a day or two in negotiations with them.

The Top 20 Tips for Making offers on Freddie Mac, Home steps or FHLMC Properties

13 comments Read the full article →
Real Estate News

The Flood Gates Have To Open Soon…

by Peter Giardini | September 29, 2009

For many real estate investors, these past several months have brought a welcome sigh of relief as homeowners have come into the market in truly satisfying numbers. In many parts of the country the steady downward slide in prices has tapered off and we have been seeing what may be the bottom in terms of further price declines… or NOT!

Are Some Hyping Up the Real Estate Market Too Soon?

The numbers throughout the Summer have been promoted with great fanfare… the Schiller-Case Index and National Board of Realtors proclaiming that prices may have bottomed out and the worst is over. Great news if you can believe it!

While I am delighted that prices have stabilized and even increased in some markets and that home sales over these past several months have been solid and even matching sales volumes from 2005…I have been troubled and what I haven’t been able to put my finger on is this…

With all of the homes going into foreclosure, when will this inventory start to pull this “current” housing recovery down? This Bloomberg article is not good news… and suggests that we have a long way to go before all of the current and projected foreclosed inventory can be absorbed.

So the million dollar question is this… How long can lenders continue to hold their REO inventory?

2 comments Read the full article →
Social Media

Why Real Estate Pros Don’t Need Facebook or Any Other Social Media

by Christian Russell | September 29, 2009

You’ve been told that as a real estate professional you have no business ignoring social media. It’s the wave of the future. You’ve been told it’s a great way to earn business and make money. You’ve even been told it’s mandatory. But I’m going to give it to you straight. You don’t need a Facebook profile. You really don’t. In fact, you don’t NEED to use social media at all.

Facebook is a Tool, Only a Tool

Good tools can make your work more effective and efficient. But they do not do the work for you. Facebook, Twitter, etc…these are merely tools. I do internet marketing consultation with many real estate professionals, and one popular concern that people have expressed to me is how to “get social media set up” or how to “get this social media thing knocked out”. I’ve been offered jobs to set up a bunch of social media profiles for brokers, because they don’t have the time to do it themselves.

The response I offer is “I appreciate the job, but if you’re too busy to even set up the profile, there’s probably not a lot of point in you having it!” Social media is not something to “set and forget”. You can’t “knock it out” or “get it taken care of”. A social media profile is only a tool. It’s an awesome tool, but it’s just a tool.

13 comments Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Copyright © 2004-2009 BiggerPockets, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
BiggerPockets® is a registered trademark of BiggerPockets, Inc.