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Real Estate Marketing

Targeting Property Listings without Violating the Fair Housing Act

by Molly Castelazo | October 16, 2009

Equal Housing Opportunity LogoYou’re sitting down to write a property listing.  You know my first rule of marketing: Make it personal.  But how do you do that – and stay within Fair Housing guidelines?

The Fair Housing Act, explained

The purpose of the Fair Housing Act is to ensure that a person can buy or rent a house or apartment wherever they want regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, religious preference, disability, family status or national origin. In some areas, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is also prohibited.

Unfortunately the Fair Housing Act doesn’t actually list the words you are and are not allowed to use in your marketing communications. The language you can and cannot use while remaining faithful to the spirit of the Act is up for interpretation.

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Economy

Foreclosures Jump 5 Percent From Summer; Government Effort To Curtail Foreclosures Sinks Like Lead Duplex

by Charles Feldman | October 15, 2009

In my previous posting with the VERY long headline the other day, I challenged any and all to contradict me when I —and a Congressional oversight committee—concluded that the Obama administration’s attempt, thus far, to gain meaningful mortgage modifications has totally flopped.

In even less time than I thought would be the case, I have been proven sadly right: A new RealtyTrac report just out says that foreclosures are up a full 5 percent from summer to this fall…..meaning almost 940 thousand properties were impacted….

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Real Estate Marketing

Real Estate Marketing on a Shoestring Budget – 3 Cheap Ways to Market for Motivated Sellers

by Stephani Davis | October 15, 2009

If you’re just getting started in real estate investing or wholesaling, and are looking for a few cheap and effective ways to locate motivated sellers and land a deal, look no further! Following are three different marketing ideas that you can start implementing immediately that won’t break the bank.

Free Online Classifieds

Posting ads on free online classified sites such as Craigslist, Kijiji, and Backpage, is a great way to get the word out that you are looking for deals. You will want to post your ads in the “Real Estate Services” section of these sites, and say something along the lines of..

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Real Estate Investing

Passive real estate investing tips, become an entrepreneur

by Ryan Moeller | October 13, 2009

One of the big motivators for becoming a real estate investor is to get out of the rat race. Real estate investing can be an 80 hour a week job, or it can provide you with financial freedom and a lifestyle where you get to choose how, when, where, why. The key is to become an entrepreneur. Many think of an entrepreneur as just a business owner, but an entrepreneur is much more.

An entrepreneur can be sipping on Mai Tais in a far off land while his/her business or better yet businesses are running themselves and increasing net worth and cash flow.

Here are some tips to become a passive investor and true entrepreneur

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Commentary

Do You Know Your Economic ABCs? Or Better, Your UVWs?

by Peter Giardini | October 13, 2009

Have you been paying attention to all of the talk about what type of recession we are in?  Well, actually if you listen to some people, we are in full blown depression!

But for those of us who realize that while times are tough… more then likely we are in a recession… not a nice one… but a recession non-the-less.

The talk of late is whether we are starting to climb out of this current recession.  All of the politicians and bureaucrats want us to believe that we are on our way back up and that this recession was a typical V shaped event. 

Are You Buying It?

Hey… why not?  The stock market is up.  Home sales are up.  Even home prices in some areas are on the increase.  But is this real?  Or an illusion driven by Government incentives and wishful thinking?

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Real Estate Investing

Real Estate Syndications: A Deeper Look

by Kyle Koller | October 12, 2009

In my last article, I described an investment tool—syndication—and how one could benefit from its utilization. Perhaps syndicating sounds appealing and you would like to know more. If that’s the case, read on and dig deeper into the little-known world of syndication.

In case you missed last week’s article, a syndication is simply a group of like-minded investors that pool their resources together in order to participate in investments larger than they otherwise would have been able to alone. In real estate applications, members within a syndication take ownership of an income property proportional to their capital contribution. Thus, if a $100,000 cash outlay is required purchase a property and syndication member Bob contributes $20,000 to the cause, he will hold a 20% interest in the property.

How to take ownership in real estate syndications

The theory of syndication is easy enough to understand. Where things start to get tricky is during the formation of the legal entity. I will discuss some of the commonly used ones in syndications.

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Real Estate Deals

Can Cherry Picking Hurt Your Real Estate Business?

by J. Lamar Ferren | October 10, 2009

Cherry Picking

In basketball, the player that stands by the net the entire game and takes the easy shots is considered a cherry picker. This is frowned upon because they want you to be more engaged in the game. They want you to sweat and push your self so hard to earn each and every point. Not take the easy way out and cherry pick all day.

That’s not how you play the game, right?… Or is it?

Let’s get right to the purpose of this post. Because I’m not here to talk about going in the field and picking cherries and I’m not here to talk about the game of basketball.

I’m here to talk about the game of real estate and whether the concept of cherry picking in real estate can help or hurt your business. I’m also going to let you in on why I don’t follow the “first come, first serve” rule in my business and why you shouldn’t either.

But first, let’s start this off the right way…

What the heck is Cherry Picking When It Comes to Real Estate?

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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.

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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.

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Real Estate Investing

Right-Brain Marketing: Finding and Comprehending Motivated Sellers

by Justin McClelland | October 8, 2009

The human brainIf you’ve read through a couple of Real Estate Investing books, purchased a course or two, and/or frequently read Real Estate websites, then you’re more than familiar with the typical life events that create motivated sellers of Real Estate.

Some of the events that create motivated sellers are:

  • Loss of a loved one
  • Job Transfer
  • Loss of a job
  • Two mortgages
  • Tenant troubles
  • House Vacant
  • Divorce
  • House won’t sell

There is nothing wrong with marketing directly to people who own property and are experiencing one or more of the above events.  However, chances are you will be amongst many other Real Estate Investors doing the same.  To stay ahead of the pack, you have to use some additional methods.  Use the right side of your brain and let your imagination go.

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Real Estate Wholesaling

How to Close REO Wholesale Deals (Part 5 of 5): Using a Land Trust

by Stephani Davis | October 8, 2009

Today I am bringing you the final post in my five part series where I have explained the various methods available to wholesale REO deals and get around the “No Assignment” clause that most banks include in their addenda.

So far, I’ve discussed simultaneous closings (my preferred method), double closings, using a quitclaim deed, and using an LLC.

Using a Land Trust to Wholesale

In this post I will be talking about using a Land Trust to get your REO wholesale deals to the closing table.  This strategy is similar to the LLC method that I discussed in last week’s post; in both instances, you will not be selling the actual property to your end buyer, but rather, the LLC or the Land Trust which owns the contract to purchase the property.

If you decide to wholesale your deals in this manner, you will be making your offer to the bank in the name of a Land Trust (which you will create once your offer has been accepted), and signing the offer as the Trustee of the Land Trust.

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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.”

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Housing

Why Exercising Could Make You a Wealthier Investor

by Jason Hanson | October 7, 2009

I hate running. I pretty much hate any form of exercise. I have no problem doing my real estate work, but when it comes to working out, I’ll admit I’m very lazy and lack discipline.

I remember many of my mentors telling me how important it was to exercise on a daily basis and how exercising was often the first thing they did in the morning. I’ve also read the same thing in many books written by successful people. I recall one successful entrepreneur/writer saying that no matter what, he does three things every single day: 1) He writes 2) He promotes his business 3) He exercises.

This is What Happens When You Get Older

I’ve heard this advice for years and I just ignored it and didn’t think it had anything to do with success. Well, I must be getting older because a few weeks ago I started feeling run down and I didn’t have as much energy as I used to. Come 9:00 at night I’d be ready to pass out, even though I had just sat at my computer all day and hadn’t had a stressful or rigorous day.

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Commentary

First Time Home Owner Tax Credit Likely To Stay; But Current Homeowners Still Face Uncertain Future

by Charles Feldman | October 7, 2009

As the, so far, jobless recovery continues, the White House is reportedly hunkered down trying to figure out what to do next. Obama administration officials are taking note of programs that have worked and those that have not done as well.

Among the programs that apparently fall into the “success” column is the $8,000 tax credit for first time home buyers.

The tax credit for first timers was part of the $787 billion dollar stimulus program and is being credited with helping the real estate industry stage a modest comeback—at least among first time home buyers.

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Economy

Where is the real estate market going?

by Ryan Moeller | October 6, 2009

Has the real estate market bottomed? No, nope, not a chance. We are through 1 of 3 storms and have a crippled economy and really high unemployment. The good news is that we are through the worst. With terrible times come tremendous opportunities. After the last up cycle where everything went way higher then it should have, this had to happen. It is inevitable. If you are like me, you see the next 3-5 years as the opportunity of a lifetime. Here is why.

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