All Forum Posts by: Jason Barnett

For all of the people out there that are looking for good general tax advice I would highly suggest that you check out TaxMama.com. Every day Tax Mama hands out free tips and answers to questions that you can get by visiting her website, subscribing to her newsletter, or by subscribing to her RSS feed.

Now I know what you all want to ask... and yes, she does cover items that are specific to REI (such as 1031 exchanges). She also covers a lot of other general topics that might interest you such as "what to do in a divorce", "how to reduce your risk of IRS audit", and "how anyone can convert their IRA into a Roth IRA".

In all things business you have to ask the question: where am I creating / destroying value?

A simple way to do this exercise is to check out the property analysis tool on this website and plug in all of the numbers. Create multiple reports; keep all assumptions the same, but change the financing. Look at where you are earning most of your value (ie. your return on investment) and then scrutinize the underlying assumptions.

Another foreclosure expert is always a good friend to have. Welcome!

Since your nickname is goldrush I've got to wonder if you're a 49ers fan. Sorry if you are, but I'm a Bengals fan and I've been giddy ever since I predicted the 49ers would have the #1 draft pick in '04. :lol: (end of rant)

Considering your background in sales I'm sure that you can succeed in REI. All it will take is for you to learn more about your chosen area(s) of interest so just kick back, relax and read through the advice we have here. And of course, feel free to ask questions of your own.

All the best.

[size=18]http://forums.biggerpockets.com//viewtopic.php?p=7629[/size]

This seems to be a duplicate thread...

View the above thread for more on this discussion

One other idea... after rereading your pitch I would suggest that you find a way toshorten your description. Everyone is in a rush these days and the longer your message the less likely they will read it. Work on your one-liner and your elevator pitch.

OK, here's my constructive criticism.

First one is probably a stupid question here. Why do you say you will break down the cost of rehabbing the property, but you also state that the cost of rehabbing has to come from my GC? That's a confusing sales pitch (or at least it's confusing to me) and confusion leads to "thanks, but no thanks."

Secondly I would advise AGAINST stating that you understand the valuation process BETTER than many investors. This might be true. This probably IS true. However, when you say that it conveys a negative image upon investors (your target customer) which is not something you want to do. The only investors that aren't confident in their valuation abilities are newbie investors. Seasoned vets might be insulted when you say that you are better at valuation than they are. Instead you might try giving examples of where you have helped an investor find a great deal or (more importantly) helped an investor save a lot of money by avoiding a costly mistake. I think the key emotion you are trying to tap with this service is FEAR, so play up to that emotion.

Finally, if I had to sum up your service in 3 words they would be "glorified title search". So you might find out what your competitors (title search companies) are charging. If you are charging more (you probably should) then you can explain to me as an investor what extra value you are providing in comparison to a typical title search. "Most title services provide basic searches for $X, but for $50 I will provide you with blah blah blah services." Either that or go with the "time is money" route. This makes investors feel important by saying their time is VALUABLE.

Note that I am not telling you to change your service as I agree that it will be valuable to certain investors. I mostly just think you need to work on the marketing a bit. I don't honestly know how much a typical title search costs, but if you are MUCH higher then that will likely get a "no" from seasoned vets. You could try offering a free demo analysis for a deal to show them how much better you are than the typical service. Or you can change the marketing to target newbie investors specifically and just stick to that market? Or you might offer different levels of service. The "value" package for seasoned vets and the "premium" report for newbies.

That's my 2 cents ($300 adjusted for inflation :lol: )

Hello Jaimee, and welcome to BP.

I would suggest that a good mentor will be easy to find. Find your local REI club(s) and just start asking questions. When you find someone that is willing to give you some good, FREE advice then they would probably be a good mentor.

Other places to find mentors:
- Courthouse steps / foreclosure auctions
- Call up the numbers on bandit signs that say "we buy houses"
- In the newspaper call ads that are looking to buy property
- A "virtual" mentor over the web

Someone local will be best, but there are lots of people here that will give you free advice. So ask away and good luck!

Seems like I wasn't clear enough in my original explanation... :oops:

YES, THIS CAN BE DONE :lol:

I have never encountered this situation. That being said, I believe this would be no problem if the Canadian citizen is not trying to exchange a foreign property for property in the US. IRS does not consider foreign property to be a "like kind" property as one in the US. The foreign investor will need to apply for a witholding certificate so that they can avoid paying the witholding taxes to IRS. Obviously you should speak with a CPA that is knowledgable with 1031 exchanges to accomplish this goal.