Blog entries

Why Pay Retail For Real Estate?

Scott — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 15:54:19 +0100

Ever wonder why some people are successful in real estate and some are doomed from the start? It all has to do with how an investor uses risk management in determining what properties to buy and how much to pay for them. Buying at a discount is more than just buying for less than retail.

As an investor, think about critical points in owning real estate and try to plan for this crisis by factoring it into your purchase. By this I mean making sure you are adding in things like Home OwnRead More...

Tenant Screening

gamer_smurf — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 17:23:11 +0100

One of the most important jobs of an investment home owner is tenant screening. Without good screening techniques, an owner is essentially creating problems for their investment or simply put - adding gas to a fire. With bad tenants comes missed rent payments, damages to the property, and litigation that can lead to rent loss, evictions, and court fees.

Most of us have been through the situation of walking into a rent home after a tenant has vacated and finding the carpet tore up or sRead More...

Need a Manager?

Scott — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 22:03:29 +0100

Being able to rent out your rental property is not only inportant - it is a must. With the increasing supply of foreclosures and more people turning to renting, it is important to have a good understanding of when to manage a home yourself and when to allow a professional to do this for you.

Many new investors will decide that their property is worth a certain rent amount and just to try and prove a point, they are willing to lose months of income in the efforts of holding out for theiRead More...

The easy way to find foreclosures

Scott — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 18:43:07 +0100

Can't get the list your looking for? There are literally dozens of ways to find foreclosures - from picking them up at the auction after the banks take them back, approaching the Banks with REO's on their books, chasing down leads from pay sites, and many others.

At some point in time, you may determine it is best to have the deals cRead More...

Everyone lives online, why not you?

teh_homepwnerer — Wed, 19 May 2010 05:00:00 +0100

Approximately 1.8 billion people have internet access according to the International Telecommunications Union.

Match.com says that approximately 1 in 5 relationships start online.

92% of employeed americans own cell phones.

Every second - 28,258 internet users are viewing pornography.

There are more than 1,000,000,000,000 URLs in Google.

The amount of Twitter tweets that have been sent.

4 million - The amount of properties currently for sale on Realtor.coRead More...

Mentoring the Investor, THEN the investment

Scott — Sat, 08 May 2010 05:00:00 +0100

With investing, most will find that there are hidden costs or unspoken secrets and even unmentioned failures. Having a grounded value for being prepared and educated is of most importance.

Recently, while mentoring a group of investors; I overheard an associate telling a new investor to get back with him when he has the money available to invest. This was completely wrong and misguiding. He should have told the investor to start looking for properties, hone his education and be readRead More...

The Marketing Guru on Real Estate!

Scott — Fri, 07 May 2010 18:04:48 +0100

One of my favorite Noobs wrote a recent article on real estate of all things. It is not your typical riff on the likes of marketing and sane thought, but it is a start. Nice one Seth.

Click to read his article ' How to buy a house '

Is Your 401k A Liability?

Scott — Thu, 06 May 2010 19:16:14 +0100

A 401k, no matter what you call it, is in fact a liability.

Period.

As I was writing this, the stock market dropped 998 points in a 20 minute period. There was then a 650 point recovery which took all of just over an hour to make. Early reports state that the sell off was due to a bad trade made by a trader of a prominent trading desRead More...

Top 15 Real Estate Blogs of 2010

Scott — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 05:00:00 +0100

Top 15 Real Estate Blogs of 2010

Although there may be 100's if not 1000's of real estate bloggers writing about real estate, most are either not relevant, rarely updated, have a horrible user interface, or are just plain boring. That is why we have Read More...

Back on track!

teh_homepwnerer — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 19:19:35 +0100

The Brakes on, but the car is still moving!

Ya, me and Scott had decided it was time to get things rolling again with the site. I guess hiatus would be an understatement.

Things started off pretty bad at the first of the month (April) when I lost out on 2 home contracts I had been working on for a few weeks. Were talking about 60k in equity a piece and at least $300.00 a month in cash flow. Ya.. Thats with rent loss, maintenance, repairs, management fees and a few incidentRead More...

The Down and Dirty of Buying to Cash Flow

teh_homepwnerer — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0100

Was listening to a guy today talk about a house he was about to buy and needed some advice on whether it would be a good deal. The home had a pool and was going to be on the market for a suspected 30-45 days.

A fellow investor told this guy to not buy the home. Told him that it being a liability due to the cost to maintain a pool could essentially make it a detriment to purchase. Also, the buyer thought that by having a pool he could get another 100 dollars a month rent.

The Read More...

Follow The Jobs And Know When To Buy Or Sell

Scott — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0100

As far as I am concerned, most people have no idea when to start preparing for the coming influx of buyers and sellers that will most surely affect us, the investor. It's easy to sit and wait for the market turn to pass you up and then finally get onboard when the train has hit full steam. But why not be ready to get on before it even leaves the station?

Of all the indicators out there that could show as a tell-tell sign of the economic recovery, the employment report would be your caRead More...

Know What Your Getting Into Before Buying Houses

teh_homepwnerer — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 06:00:00 +0100

Don't Buy Until You Try!

Have you ever bought something that you had no idea how to use, fix, or maintain? Happens all the time. People buy things without taking a moments thought at what it takes to keep that purchase in good condition and working like itRead More...

Cutting Corners

Scott — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 06:00:00 +0100

Ever wonder why people cut corners on the most important things? I own a property management company that deals with the very issue of making important decisions for clients and tenants alike. It never ceases to amaze me at how many times I had to explain to a homeowner that a house does not always rent on the first day it is listed. Take it from me - you have to spend money to make money and renting out your house is no
exception.

For example, let's say you decide to go withRead More...

Finding Motivated Sellers

Scott — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 06:00:00 +0100

All investors have their niche for finding investment properties.

Tracking the leads and following up on the calls are daily routines for a successful investor - but how do they get people to call them in the first place? How do they find these great deals and make all the cash we hear about? Here's a few great wRead More...

Credit. I Don't Need No Stinkin Credit

Scott — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 06:00:00 +0100

You do not need credit to buy houses.

Contrary to what your dad told you, you may still be worthless, but at least you can own a home.

I won't argue that having good credit can help you buy a home. It's not a must though. It can make things easier, and certainly help you if you have to have lender financing, but having the lack of credit should not stop you from finding and getting deals.

Credit scores are evaluated the follow way:

30% - DEBT

10% - CREDIT PATERRead More...

You Don't Know your Assets From A Hole In The Ground

Scott — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 06:00:00 +0100

"Found the perfect car and just had to buy it", a close friend said to me today. I just nodded and went back to telling him how he was a noob and would not amount to much.

Quite seriously though, he thought he was buying an asset. Told me it was a classic and with a little work, it was going to be worth tons. It's a depreciating asRead More...

Noobs in Real Estate

teh_homepwnerer — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 06:00:00 +0100

Winning a bid on a home with 30-40% equity is like pwning a noob in Call of Duty:WAW. It's fun and all, but without some real competition, it's just plain easy.

Later Noobs,

teh_homepwnerer

How To Save Money When Fixing Houses

Scott — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 06:00:00 +0100

How to save money on real estate investment repairs

As a real estate investor, there will come a time when you will begin to see certain repairs over and over again. From fixing sinks to laying carpet, the nuances of owning real estate can be pretty overwhelming, if you let it.

Knowing little secrets of the trade and being able to get things fixed at a lower cost will save you time and money. Here's a few things I know about flooring that may save you some cash!

HUD Home Deals

Scott — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 06:00:00 +0100

HUD Homes Are NOT Hard To Buy!

There is a common misconception that HUD homes are trashed out, dilapidated and often times totally worthless. This could not be further from the truth. Many HUD properties require minimal repairs and can be discounted by far more than it will cost to make the repairs.

On occasion, there will be homes with foundation issues, mold, or water damage that most owner occupants will not be able to pay cash for, or can not get a mortgage company to finRead More...