Real Estate Investing Today : Real Estate Investing | Wholesaling | Flipping | Funding | Self Directed IRA | Finding Deals | Real Wealth

Appraisers Admit: THIS SIMPLE MOVE could make your home APPRAISE HIGHER | Episode 94

Thu, 21 Jul 2016 04:00:00 GMT

How would you like to know something that you can do to ANY PROPERTY right this very second that could potentially dramatically hike the value of your appraisal? Appraisers deny this, but one came out and admitted it recently and hundreds of happy homeowners swear by this easy technique. I’ll tell you all about it in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 94. ---- So, want to know a simple step that might take a little time but could dramatically increase your home value as stated by a certified appraiser? I’ve got the details today, including a CRAZY admission from trial court judges about what makes them “think positive” about their cases and what that has to do with your appraised home value. Let’s get started… We all know that getting a property under contract for a certain price is only half the battle these days when it comes to selling real estate. I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard real estate investors at our local REIA groaning in frustration because they’ve found buyers for their properties but those buyers can’t get the FINANCING they need on the properties because the appraisals just aren’t coming back high enough. It’s really frustrating for everyone, and while we’ve all heard tips like “make a list of all the renovations you did and how much they cost,” the fact of the matter is that while these types of tips help, we all want to do everything we POSSIBLY CAN to boost the value of a property before a sale so that our buyers can get financing and we can get PAID MAXIMUM VALUE for our hard work. And that’s where this simple, elbow-grease-based trick comes in… According to the National Association of Realtors (that’s the NAR) more and more real estate professionals are finding that a truly spic-and-span home, one that is DEEEEEEEP CLEANED immediately prior to its inspection and appraisal, will usually bring back an appraised value in excess of a similar home that has not been deep cleaned and, perhaps more exciting, a value in excess of what said real estate professional had even been expecting. Here’s what one Colorado investor reported: “Having your house clean does make a difference, even though in theory it should not,” he said, adding, “Appraisers are people and they are swayed by smells and how a house feels even if they aren’t conscious of it.” Another California homeowner named Jennifer Chataeuvert insists that deep cleaning her home enabled her to land an appraisal that was much higher than what she predicted, even though her appraiser insisted that he didn’t care that the house was gleaming. “The appraisal came back much higher than we had even hoped,” Chataeuvert insisted, and our Colorado agent agrees that it probably had something to do with the major deep cleaning that went on before the appraiser arrived. So does that mean that you need to deep-clean every property before you get it appraised now? Not necessarily. It depends on what you need the appraisal for. If you’re hoping to help your buyers get financing, then yes, it probably won’t hurt. On the other hand, if you’re seeking a dollar value with which to negotiate or as a reference point, for example, that deep clean may not be that important. Now, I know that I promised you some information about trial court judges and how their hunger affects their sentencing patterns (and what it means for your appraisals) so here you go: In a 2011 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, an Israeli professor and his research team discovered that judges were far more likely to allow lighter sentences and possibly parole requests right after breakfast and again right after lunch, with the odds of a request for a lighter sentence being granted fell sharply as the judges got hungrier. “And what is an appraiser if not a judge?” asked realtor.com, noting that since the effects of hunger are generally obvious to ethical, objective professionals, it’s unlikely that having something light to eat out will hurt your chances of getting a better “eye” on your property and it certainly can’t hurt your appraiser’s mindset. Now of course, for good, straight-up honest appraisers, none of these things should affect how they judge your home, but the most honest of us can be swayed by a number of factors subconsciously, which is where deep cleaning and something called “storyline” comes in. Get the details on how to maximize your home’s presentation via a good “storyline” in our report in the REI Today Vault at www.rei.today/vault. It’s labeled with today’s episode number, 94, and titled “The REI Today Storyline Report.” Not yet a member of the REI Today Vault? Get your access right now! Join right now by texting REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444. When you do, I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to the report as well as a lot of other timely, insightful, PRACTICAL information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And folks, remember, when you join the Vault you join our community, which means you have the opportunity to network with me, my guests, and your fellow listeners across the country. So go ahead right now and text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or visit us online at www.rei.today/vault. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and please always remember this: Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

ETHICAL CHANGES to Twitter Usage that could cost you EVERYTHING | Episode 93

Tue, 19 Jul 2016 16:00:00 GMT

What if your TWEETS are violating certain codes of real estate ethics and advertising that could put you on the LOSING END of a lawsuit? I’ll tell the latest in new Twitter-verse regulations for real estate professionals in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 93. --- Twitter may only give you 140 characters with which to express yourself, but that doesn’t mean that your local board of realtors is going to give you a pass if you tweet something that isn’t 100-percent ABOVE BOARD with their ethics regulations. Fortunately for you (if you’re a realtor, anyway, and honestly just in general to make sure you’re practicing good real estate business) the Realtors’ Code of Ethics, which tends to keep pace with other governing bodies’ regulations and ethics requirements, has recently been revised to accommodate the new needs of tweeting real estate professionals. There are three major changes that could mean great things for your Tweet promotions, but make sure you handle them correctly or you could find yourself on the losing end of a lawsuit. First, the issue of disclosure. Technically, until recently you were supposed to disclose your ENTIRE COMPANY NAME in every tweet, which, as you can imagine, made tweeting kind of a moot point for a lot of people. Now, however, you can simply link to a display containing information about your company, but make sure that link is in your tweets if you don’t want to find yourself facing ethics scrutiny. A lot of real estate professionals use their Twitter profile to publicize this information. It’s unclear from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) report on this subject whether or not that’s technically sufficient. Second, and this is more of a timeframe issue, but it’s been changed because of the dynamic nature of advertising these days, if you find yourself dealing with a grievance complaint in a realtor’s association setting, then you only have about a month-and-a-half, 45 days, to wait before you get a resolution. That’s great news for everyone involved, but it does mean you had better keep up with all your deadlines because there won’t be a lot of timeline flexibility. Thirdly, and this is important for your EMPLOYEES, ask that employees who may tweet about your business to add a disclaimer stating that their opinions are their own in their Twitter profile. This protects you not just from negative publicity if someone gets annoyed with you and tweets about it, but also protects you in the event that an employee tweets something about your company that could land you in ethical trouble. It may or may not completely cover your bases, but the NAR says it will certainly help. Want to know more about how to legally AND effectively use Twitter in your real estate business? Check out our compilation of Twitter Tips and Legal Tricks in the REI Today Vault at www.rei.today/vault. It’s labeled with this episode number 93, and it’s full of information that will make your tweeting more effective and help keep you within the bounds of safety and ethics while you Tweet as well. Not yet a member of the REI Today Vault? Get your access right now! Join right now by texting REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444. When you do, I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to the report as well as a lot of other timely, insightful, PRACTICAL information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And folks, remember, when you join the Vault you join our community, which means you have the opportunity to network with me, my guests, and your fellow listeners across the country. So go ahead right now and text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or visit us online at www.rei.today/vault. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and please always remember this:

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

the OFFICIAL WORST PLACE TO LIVE in the United States | Episode 92

Thu, 14 Jul 2016 04:00:00 GMT

Wouldn’t you want to know if YOUR CITY was the official WORST PLACE TO LIVE in the United States? I’ll have the identity of the metro area earning that dubious distinction in today’s episode, along with how you can turn that title to your advantage if you live or invest there. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 92. --- So what’s the worst city to live in in the entire country? Well, it’s probably not where you’d think. This city beat out Milwaukee, Buffalo, and Detroit for the title, and the judges of the contest, such as it is, at 24/7 Wall Street cited income inequality, high rates of violent crime, and sky-high houses prices as the reason for their decision. Oh, and the city also was recently awarded the title “rudest city in the United States” by another news and tourism outlet. So there’s that… So what city takes the cake for unpleasantness on all sides? Well, I’ll give you a hint, it’s located in sunny southern Florida, has miles of sandy beaches, and nearly perfect weather. That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, it may be hard to believe but MIAMI, Florida was named the “Worst City to Live In” in 24/7 Wall Street’s most recent awarding of the title. Now, many fans of Miami and Miami tourism locals have been quick to point out that words like “best” and “worst” are extremely subjective, and that’s fair. However, whether you LIKE or AGREE with the results of this type of study or not, if you choose to invest in Miami (or in any other area that has recently gotten a top-10-worst bad rap) then you are going to have to deal with them because your potential buyers are going to have read them: trust me. The best way to deal with this kind of negative publicity is to first become informed about it, then run with it. For example, in this instance, one of the main issues that the researchers cited for Miami’s low livability score is its terrible affordability when compared to other cities of similar sizes across the country. The city’s median income is about $22,000 less than the national average and housing is about $64,000 higher than the national average. Furthermore, according to the same researchers, about one in every four people in Miami live in poverty. They then went on to point out that the income gap in the city, that means the gap in earning power between the richest one percent and the AVERAGE of the other 99 percent of earners scored a 45, meaning that the top one percent earns 45 times more than the average of everyone else, making Miami’s metro area, quote, “nearly the most unequal of any U.S. city.” End quote. So all of that sounds pretty negative on the face of it, but the important thing for YOU as an investor is to consider how relevant this is to your target market, then adjust accordingly. For example, if you are investing in luxury properties in Miami, the entire study is probably going to be largely irrelevant to your buyers because it simply does not directly affect them. On the other hand, the other “99 percent” as it were, of buyers, may find the results problematic, but if you represent a solution to their housing affordability problem (maybe via creative financing or just offering really great rental opportunities) then you’ve at least muted the study there, too. Most people will be more concerned with their personal situation than in their city’s national ranking anyway, so appealing to their personal, specific needs will quite likely resolve those issues. The real fallout from this type of study tends to affect investors who work mainly with other INVESTORS, interestingly enough, because people with little personal interest vested in an area may opt to avoid it if they believe that it has too many negative connotations. In this case, you should simply rely on local housing TRENDS and your own personal experience, complete with evidence and case studies, to make your case for you. Investors tend to view their money without a lot of emotion, so if you can prove that your strategies work in a “top-10-worst city,” then you’ll probably be okay. Want to see exactly why Miami got such a bad rap in 24/7 Wall Street’s study? We’ve got a bullet-point list of exactly what the problems were in the REI Today Vault at www.rei.today/vault. join right now by texting REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444. When you do, I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to the report as well as a lot of other timely, insightful, PRACTICAL information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And folks, remember, when you join the Vault you join our community, which means you have the opportunity to network with me, my guests, and your fellow listeners across the country. So go ahead right now and text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or visit us online at www.rei.today/vault. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and please always remember this: Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

the ONE THING that GOOD LENDERS are really looking for | Episode 91

Tue, 12 Jul 2016 04:00:00 GMT

Wouldn’t you like to know the ONE THING that a truly GOOD LENDER looks for that will very nearly GUARANTEE YOU FUNDING for your real estate deals? I got on the phone WITH A HIGHLY INFLUENTIAL REAL ESTATE LENDER to get all the details, and I’ll tell you what she said in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 91. --- So wouldn’t you like to know anytime you asked for a loan for a real estate deal that you already basically HAD IT IN THE BAG because you were giving the lender exactly what they are looking for? If you’ve always wondered how real estate money gets from underwriters to YOUR DEALS, then you’re going to love today’s episode. I got on the phone with Heather Dreves, director of funding for Secured Investment Corporation, a real estate lender present in 90 percent of the U.S. that specializes in real estate lending (so you’re not dealing with someone who doesn’t understand your business like you probably have if you ever tried to get funding from a private lender or a mega-bank), to find out exactly what makes her underwriters approve a loan. The answer was surprisingly simple, as you’ll see. Here’s what Heather told me: In the end, we’re looking at the “whole story,” she said, noting that a good loan not only will have a borrower with “skin in the transaction,” meaning that the borrower has a vested interest in making the deal work, but will also have some education under their belt. Here’s the interesting thing: just because Heather’s underwriters require education does not mean that if you’re not already a seasoned investor, you can’t get a loan. In fact, Secured Investment Corporation actually has training that they offer to investors to educate new investors about buying properties and rehabbing them. “That way, we know we’re dealing with someone who knows what they’re doing because, well, we know what we’re doing!” Heather told me. I like that: a lender who is going the extra mile to make SURE your deals are good and that they succeed instead of just assuming that they can foreclose on you and still make good if your deal falls through on your end. I asked Heather about credit as well, since we all know that real estate investors don’t tend to have the greatest credit because so many of us have multiple mortgages, have our credit pulled regularly as part of the financing process, or have more than one project going at once. “We do pull credit on most of our borrowers,” Heather told me, but she added that in her experience, using credit alone to evaluate a borrower is “skewed.” She said, “We’re not looking for a credit SCORE, we’re looking for a willingness to make payments and good payment habits.” That means that if you have late accounts all over the place going back 10 years or so, you may have a problem, but if you have good payment habits and just a so-so credit score, your borrowing “story” as Heather refers to it, is still a good one. “We call what we do storybook lending,” Heather told me, “because we really want to know the investor’s story. What’s going on, where you came up with the amount of money you need, and what your experience is.” She added that these things don’t all have to be perfect because they are looking at the total picture, the WHOLE STORY, instead of just a few isolated pieces. And here’s an interesting side note, folks: you can see that Heather’s company does some FANTASTIC due diligence on their lending investments, and YOU can benefit from that due diligence in another way if you have money you want to INVEST in lending with someone who clearly takes care of their lenders’ interests as well as their investors’ interests. You can learn more about how to get involved with Heather on the lending side by checking out the show notes in the REI Today Vault. Let’s just say they’re basically the “Amazon.com of real estate lending” when it comes to full service for their lenders… Now, I think you’re probably starting to see what an INCREDIBLE ADVANTAGE it is to have a real live lender on speed dial, as it were, to talk to you about your deals, your borrowing, and your strategies. This is only the tip of the iceberg, folks. Heather told me SO MUCH MORE than I could ever fit into a single podcast, so I strongly recommend that you read the entire, uncut interview in the REI Today Vault and check out a special REI Today Report on Secured Investment Corporation that lays out, in three EASY POINTS, the three BIGGEST MISTAKES Heather encounters investors making on a DAILY BASIS that cause them to lose out on funding for deals that SHOULD be good ones. We’ve also got an exclusive training from Heather and her colleagues at Secured Investment Corporation in the vault, it’s called “6 Steps to Getting Your Money to Outlive You,” so head over there right now to claim yours at www.rei.today/vault. Don’t delay, and if you’re not yet a member, don’t worry! You can become one right now by texting REITODAY no spaces, no periods to 33444. When you do, I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to these reports and trainings as well as a lot of other timely, insightful, PRACTICAL information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And folks, remember, when you join the Vault you join our community, which means you have the opportunity to network with me, my guests, and your fellow listeners across the country. So go ahead right now and text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or visit us online at www.rei.today/vault. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and please always remember this: Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

THIS BAD WORD can cost you MAX FINES when your buyers SUE YOU | Episode 90

Thu, 07 Jul 2016 20:06:03 GMT

Wouldn’t you want to know if a certain word that YOU thought was covering your bases in your marketing materials was actually setting you up to pay MAXIMUM FINES AND PENALTIES if your buyers know to sue you over it? I’ll tell you the word and the court case in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 90. --- So a certain word is very popular in real estate marketing materials, and although you’d think it would protect you, in reality it could land you squarely on the losing side of a lawsuit if your buyers opt to sue. A recent case out in California set the precedent when a judge awarded a buyer the maximum amount he requested (and probably would have received more) when the seller of a certain property used the word “approximate” to describe the size of a condo in a listing. While the seller believed that the use of the word approximate covered his bases when it turned out the condo was 78 square feet smaller than advertised, a small claims court judge did not agree and said that the seller made a quote “material misrepresentation about the property’s square footage” end quote and the seller had to pay the buyer exactly what he demanded, $4,999, for the error. The judge would have fined him more but that is all the buyer asked for, erroneously assuming that was the maximum amount he could demand. Here are the details so you don’t make a similar error: A homeowner in Glendale, California, paid cash for a condo in the area when he bought it in 2011. Later that year, he discovered that the condo was not, as he had believed and had been advertised, 1,338 square feet, but rather 1,260 square feet. He had not been aware of the discrepancy earlier because he did not have the condo appraised before he made the purchase (he didn’t have to because he paid cash, but I think you guys can maybe see a bit of a lesson here as well…) Anyway, later in the year a neighbor trying to finance a condo discovered HIS unit was smaller than advertised and so the plaintiff in the case checked out his own unit and discovered a similar issue. He then took the seller, developer Americana, to small claims court over the issue and received the response that square footage in sales materials had been labeled as “approximate” and there was no issue. The judge in the case, however, sided with the plaintiff, who says now he overpaid more than $30,000 for that extra 78 square feet. He could have gotten right at a third of that from small claims court if he’d realized he could ask for it. The condo owner told the Los Angeles Times that he’s not so upset about the money he didn’t get in his case as he is glad about his “moral victory,” which he says will protect other consumers from the misleading advertising. Want a list of other potentially problematic words that could hurt your marketing? We’ve got in the REI Today Vault at www.rei.today/vault! Not yet a member? Become one! join right now by texting REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444. When you do, I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to the report as well as a lot of other timely, insightful, PRACTICAL information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And folks, remember, when you join the Vault you join our community, which means you have the opportunity to network with me, my guests, and your fellow listeners across the country. So go ahead right now and text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or visit us online at www.rei.today/vault. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and please always remember this: Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

the TRUTH about FAST-TRACK FORECLOSURES (which state is accelerating RIGHT NOW) | Episode 88

Tue, 05 Jul 2016 17:22:59 GMT

Something that SCARES THE PANTS OFF homeowners and makes them HATE INVESTORS is coming our way, and it’s actually GOOD NEWS FOR EVERYONE INVOLVED! I’ll tell you all the details about why there are going to be MORE DEALS and MORE APPRECIATION in a certain state in the second half of 2016 today. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 88. So, wouldn’t you like to know what state just DRAMATICALLY CHANGED its housing regulations to RAMP UP APPRECIATION and give YOU better access to great deals? Oh, and why it’s actually going to make everyone HATE YOU until the media buzz dies down? I’ll tell you all about it in just a minute, but first, I’d like to mention something that’s smart, REALLY SMART: a certain city in the Midwest. This city actually just won $50 MILLION because it’s so smart about housing and development, and you could directly benefit if you know the details and are involved in real estate investing in the area. Check out all the details in the “Real Estate Investing News” Section on www.rei.today. The title of the report is “Smartest City in the Country Snags $50 Million.” You’ll love what they did to show off their brains for sure. Now, back to ramping up appreciation, bad media buzz for investors, and how you can take advantage of the situation to turn higher, better profits… Here’s what’s happening: The state of OHIO has recently passed legislation to FAST-TRACK FORECLOSURES, something that most people tend to sneer at because it feels like the big bad lenders are going to be throwing people out of their homes with government permission (you remember “foreclosure-gate” in Florida back in the wake of the housing crash and the whole robo-signing fiasco? Well, that’s what most people think of when they fear foreclosure fast track, and who can blame them? That was some dirty, dirty dealing all the way around…) But in Ohio, the situation is seriously different, and this foreclosure fast track is actually going to be a great move because it is only pushing ABANDONED homes through the system, which means that the faster those properties get foreclosed and then either torn down or renovated and sold, the better property values around them are going to be and the less blight there will be. A lot of states struggle with the issue of whether or not to bite the bullet on foreclosure fast tracking because it has such negative connotations, but with abandoned homes sitting around like zombies for more than two years in Ohio, changing that timeline to six months will make the market a far, far friendlier place for investors, homeowners, and sellers. Here’s how it works: A home must not only be in default, but it must show clear signs of abandonment in order to qualify for the program. This could be physical deterioration, disconnected utilities, and, most importantly, NO ONE IN RESIDENCE. Once an inspector has certified the home abandoned, the accelerated foreclosure can begin and that ZOMBIE FORECLOSURE now has a future once more, possibly in YOUR real estate investing portfolio as a renovation or a tear-down, for example, which will be great for local property values as you can imagine! One of the best things a real estate investor can do is keep an eye out for states where the state government clearly has the markets’ best interests in mind instead of just getting a good spin on a bad situation, because states with GOOD fast-track foreclosure laws actually recover their markets far more quickly after downturns than those that either forego these laws or actually try to legislate AGAINST foreclosures without taking the time to distinguish between a good foreclosure and a bad one. Want to know which states are foreclosure fast-track friendly and which ones are literally out to get their own housing markets thanks to BAD legislation that might sound good in a media bite but really hurts housing? Get the list in the REI Today Vault, it’s labeled with today’s episode number, 88, at www.rei.today/vault. Not yet a member? you can join right now by texting REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444. When you do, I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to the report as well as a lot of other timely, insightful, PRACTICAL information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And folks, remember, when you join the Vault you join our community, which means you have the opportunity to network with me, my guests, and your fellow listeners across the country. So go ahead right now and text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or visit us online at www.rei.today/vault. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and please always remember this: Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

the MONSTER EATING HOUSING STOCK in the country's best markets | Episode 87

Fri, 01 Jul 2016 04:00:00 GMT

There’s a MONSTER out there EATING UP HOUSING in today’s hottest housing markets, making it nearly impossible for homeowners and even investors to participate. This isn’t a rant against BIG REAL ESTATE folks, the monster is actually teeny tiny and, some say, DEADLY. I’ll tell you all about it in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 87. ---- There’s a monster out there, and it’s not under your bed. In fact, it very well could be living right out in the open next door. According to a new report, certain NEW factors in real estate are driving homeowners and even RENTERS right out of the equation. This method of investing is working SO WELL for certain investors that certain sectors of city and state governments are actually looking for ways to SHUT IT DOWN before things, according to them, get out of hand. I’ll tell you all details on both sides in just a minute, but first I want to take 30 seconds to mention something that is probably on your mind right now as you hear this scary story: OPTIONS. In this world we live in, things are constantly changing. And even though real estate always has been and always will be the best, most reliable and effective route to lasting financial security and wealth (and that’s not my opinion, folks, that is general, educated consensus), the real estate world is always changing as well. One thing that doesn’t change, however, is the demand from a growing population for somewhere to LIVE, and you can bet that when real estate gets expensive (and it’s getting expensive, more on that in a minute) owners start looking into their own options, specifically renting. That’s why multifamily real estate is such an attractive, hot topic these days. The sector is ready to boom, and there is SO MUCH MONEY looking to get into commercial properties that simply having the ability to put these deals together can be worth WAY MORE than actually doing half a dozen single-family residential deals. If you like the sound of six-figure profits on FLIPPING commercial buildings, then you understand the value of having options. Get all the details at www.rei.today/IMPORTANT in our free training on this topic. It’s IMPORTANT to have options, so start building them out now with this free training at www.rei.today/IMPORTANT. Now, let’s get back to that monster living next door, because THAT is a pretty important trend too…Here’s what’s going on: According to a new report just released by the Housing Conservation Coordinators (that’s HCC to their friends, but I’m pretty sure we’re not friends), Airbnb is eating up as much as 10 percent of housing stock in popular destination cities like New York City. The study focused specifically on the Big Apple, noting that average rent increases have doubled in desirable areas of the city and that there are more than 8,000 FEWER available housing units in the area because investors are buying properties and then listing them on Airbnb instead of renting them to tenants. New York is not the only major city in which this trend is becoming “problematic” for renters; a number of West-Coast cities also are dealing with this as are hot destination spots across the country. So what’s the big deal? Well, for investors, Airbnb is a big deal in a GOOD way. In fact, investors who own more than one housing unit on Airbnb reportedly pulled in more than $317 million in 2015, and that is with occupancy at only about a third since most Airbnb rentals only are occupied 11 days a month, meaning that there is likely a lot less strain on the facility and the maintenance budget. However, the HCC (I’m going to go ahead and call them that) and local city governments say that this is a big problem because Airbnb is making housing unaffordable to actual residents of the city, and that furthermore, more than half of the listings on Airbnb in New York, at least, violate short-term housing laws that strictly limit time of occupancy for short-term rentals. Folks, here’s the deal: Airbnb represents HUGE opportunity for investors who can get properties in hot markets and rent and maintain them effectively, but you MUST be aware of local legislation and how friendly any given municipal government is likely to be to your activities. You’ve heard me say it before, guys, the government is NOT your friend! But…you do have to work with them, so you might as well make sure that they can’t ultimately SUE YOU FOR YOUR PROFITS or SHUT YOUR BUSINESS DOWN because it doesn’t suit THEIR NEEDS. Get all the details on where this is happening to Airbnb investors in the case files in the REI Today Vault, and start protecting yourself! Not yet a member? you can join right now by texting REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444. When you do, I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to the report as well as a lot of other timely, insightful, PRACTICAL information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And folks, remember, when you join the Vault you join our community, which means you have the opportunity to network with me, my guests, and your fellow listeners across the country. So go ahead right now and text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or visit us online at www.rei.today/vault. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and please always remember this: Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Where ONE WALL FEATURE can CUT A MONTH off your time on market | Episode 86

Thu, 30 Jun 2016 14:10:21 GMT

How would you like to know about a particular WALL FEATURE that, in certain markets, could knock more than a MONTH off your time on market? I’ve got all the details in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 86. ---- So wouldn’t you want to know the one particular wall feature that in a certain market nearly ALWAYS knocks a little over a month off the time on market? I’ll tell you all about it, but first, I want to mention something that might leave you feeling a little let down. It has to do with the Better Business Bureau and, well, a certain guilty pleasure a LOT of real estate professionals enjoy. Get your mind out of the gutter! We’re talking about reality real estate television! According to the Better Business Bureau of St. Louis, reality television personalities are abusing their positions of authority, and the triple B wants to make sure you’re prepared. Find out exactly WHICH STAR got an F rating from that agency and how to make sure YOUR educational investment dollars are being respected by checking out this story right now in the News & Networking Section at www.rei.today. It’s not NEARLY as simple as you might think, and I’ll go ahead and tell you there’s a “surprise ending” of sorts… Now, back to knocking a month off time on market. So where were we? Oh, that’s right, we’re somewhere that a WALL FEATURE is worth 36 days (that’s a whole mortgage payment saved, folks) on market. Here’s the deal: According to Zillow Digs, the online real estate listing and data giant’s design and home improvement division, when you put about 2.8 million residential real estate listings from January 2014 to March 2016 into the Zillow Digs analyzer and shake them all up, some trends emerge. And those trends can clearly, in some cases, be distinctly tied to higher home sales and shorter times on market. Sometimes, the trends are national, (you may remember when we talked about how a barn door installation in your home could snag you more than $13,000 extra at closing, and if you don’t, check out episode XX) but sometimes they’re local, and one particularly distinct trend has to do with something in NEW YORK CITY that makes a property in a hot city even hotter, raising the sales price, on average, 4.9 percent and saving owners with this snazzy little feature a full 36 days on market. Are you ready for it? EXPOSED BRICK. If you have an exposed brick wall in your New York City condo or co-op, then you have a distinct edge when it comes to getting at or above asking price and to selling fast. Now, you may be thinking, “Why on earth would 36 days matter in the Big Apple? Isn’t it basically a GIVEN that you’ll make money when you buy and sell in NYC? Well, not so much these days. Of course, New York City real estate is still in high demand, but sellers who bought in the last few years at peak values are starting to get a little worried as more and more buyers are opting to hurry up and WAIT to make a purchase in hopes that the market will soften and they’ll get a better deal. At present, New York City’s home values are still rising - median value is at present nearly $600,000 and analysts predict another 3 percent appreciation in the next 12 months, but that’s a dramatic slow-down from last year’s 9.1 percent appreciation. Even if you don’t invest in New York, which is a pretty intimidating market, the exposed brick look is likely to spread if it’s popular in the trend-setting big apple. One high-end real estate agent noted that regardless of market, buyers with money are looking for quote “authenticity” in their homes, and that a feeling of “brand-new old,” which exposed brick can certainly provide, is in high demand across the board. Want to know what other home features are particularly hot and in what markets? Don’t worry! I’ve got all that information – including one feature that can knock nearly TWO months off time on market and add more than 13 percent to your sales price – laid out for you in the REI Today Vault. Not yet a member? you can join right now by texting REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444. When you do, I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to the report as well as a lot of other timely, insightful, PRACTICAL information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And folks, remember, when you join the Vault you join our community, which means you have the opportunity to network with me, my guests, and your fellow listeners across the country. So go ahead right now and text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or visit us online at www.rei.today/vault. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and please always remember this: Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

the $2,500 PITFALL LURKING underground on your investment property

Tue, 28 Jun 2016 12:46:02 GMT

Did you know that a $2,500 MISTAKE could very well be LURKING UNDERGROUND in your next investment property? I’ll tell you what it is and how to avoid it in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 85. --- So wouldn’t you want to know if you were about to make an investing mistake that could EASILY cost you $2,500 if all goes WELL while you’re trying to fix it? Good news! I’ll tell you all about it in today’s episode. Before I do that, however, I want to talk about something that the kids are doing these days…Well, actually, 500 million people are doing it and if you’re not already, you probably should be too: Instagram! A lot of real estate professionals have steered clear of Instagram, at least in a professional sense, because it is generally considered to be "too young” or not really marketing-friendly because it focuses exclusively on uploaded pictures and videos. However, there are actually some well-documented ways other than just posting listing photos that real estate professionals are using Instagram to great effect, and REI Today is covering this topic on our website! Check it out in the News & Networking section at www.rei.today, it’s called “Why you need to SUCK IT UP and get on Instagram,” and it’s full of helpful advice from the experts. Now for some more helpful advice from THIS expert: let’s talk about that $2,500 mistake, shall we? Here’s the deal. According to a recent study from Curbed.com, there are actually 14 common mistakes that home buyers make during home inspections – and even worse, your inspector is pretty likely to make at least one of them as well. And if that mistake turns out to be costly, well, you’re footing the bill, not the inspector, so it can really pay off for you to know what to look for. One of the “biggies” is failing to find an UNDERGROUND OIL TANK. Often, homes that are actually heated with gas still have these tanks from when they were heated with oil, and a lot of times those tanks were either abandoned, possibly with oil still in them (big potential problem) or they were just filled with sand and gravel. Even more problematic, sometimes a property actually will have more than one of these things lurking out of sight and the present-day sellers may not even know that they are there! Why should you worry about something that doesn’t appear to be causing anyone any problems? Well, because at some point, it could cause you a HUGE problem. It used to be okay to just stop using your tank and switch to gas, but these days a lot of cities have regulations requiring property owners to remove underground tanks no longer in use, even if they are not leaking and have been filled with rocks! And just because YOUR inspector missed it doesn’t mean the next one will, and it could cost you as much as $2,500 to remove a tank with NO PROBLEMS AT ALL before you sell your property. If the tank has leaked, then you’re in even more trouble. Want to rent out that property? Probably not going to happen until you get the soil cleaned up and if you don’t, you could end up being sued. As you’ve probably guessed, clean-up doesn’t come cheap, either. In fact, remediation of a SMALL LEAK costs, on average, about $10,000 and large leaks can cost you up to $100,000 before you pay the price of disposing of any fuel remaining in the tank or the tank itself. And don’t plan on selling until you’ve dealt with the leak, either. Some areas won’t even let you sell the property if you disclose the problem to the buyer, and most buyers are not going to want to take on that type of clean-up anyway. If those price tags have you shaking in your investing boots, you’ll definitely want to check out the full 14-point list in the REI Today Vault. All of these things are easy issues to spot and factor into the math on your deal before you buy, but you MUST know to look for them in order to ask your inspector and cover your bases. Check out the list now at www.rei.today/vault, and if you’re not yet a member, you can join right now by texting REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444. When you do, I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to the report as well as a lot of other timely, insightful, PRACTICAL information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And folks, remember, when you join the Vault you join our community, which means you have the opportunity to network with me, my guests, and your fellow listeners across the country. So go ahead right now and text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or visit us online at www.rei.today/vault. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and please always remember this: Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The KITCHEN COLOR DECISION that can cost you $1,442 | Episode 84

Mon, 27 Jun 2016 04:00:00 GMT

How would you like to know the common kitchen color decision that could cost you $1,442 when you sell your home? I’ll tell you all about it in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 84. So wouldn’t you want to know which popular kitchen color would MAKE you about more than $1400 when you sell your home and which could COST YOU that same amount? Given that if you are an investor, you’re probably going to be painting a few kitchens along the way, those numbers could quickly add up. I’ll tell you which color will cost you and which color can tack a hefty chunk of change onto your price tag in just a minute, but first I want to take a minute to mention an EXCITING piece of news: the FAA has finally taken some conclusive action on drone regulations, which means all of you investors, agents, and other professionals who had to stop using drones for listing pictures and videos because the FAA was threatening to come after people clearly abusing their personal drones for real-estate-related benefit can now start using them again – with certain restrictions, of course. This is our government after all! Anyway, you can get all the details on the new regulations on our website at www.rei.today in the news and networking section. Check it out, then charge up those batteries and start filming! That’s www.rei.today. Now, back to the kitchen color decision that will really shock you. According to Zillow and their gazillion online listings full of information about kitchen colors (yes, I’m serious, not kidding, and this is why I love them even when I don’t love their zestimates), homes with yellow kitchens sell, on average, for $1,442 more than homes with white kitchens, all other things being equal! That’s right: if your home has a yellow kitchen, then you’ll quite possibly make more than $1,400 more than your neighbor with the same home and a white kitchen when you sell your property. That’s pretty exciting! But before you break out the egg-yolk yellow, let’s get clear about what Zillow really means when they say yellow. If you’re not in the mood for an abusively brilliant ray of sunshine on your wall first thing in the morning, don’t worry. In fact, Zillow noted that what they termed “yellow” actually appeared on the wall as quote “creamy or wheat-colored yellow” rather than the primary color you might have been thinking of. White was also not only traditional white, but also off-white and eggshell, and it was the least popular kitchen color, actually detracting an average of $82 from ANY HOME regardless of the kitchen color comparison. With numbers like that for the kitchen, imagine what painting the BATHROOM the wrong color could do! Well, you don’t have to imagine for long, because I’m going to tell you right here that the wrong choice in the dining room could cost you more than $2,000 and the bathroom alone could cost you nearly $800. You can get the full rundown of the best and worst color decisions, by room, in the REI Today Vault at www.rei.today/vault, and if you’re not yet a member, don’t worry! Just text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to the color-decision report as well as a lot of other timely, insightful, PRACTICAL information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And folks, remember, when you join the Vault you join our community, which means you have the opportunity to network with me, my guests, and your fellow listeners across the country. So go ahead right now and text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or visit us online at www.rei.today/vault. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and please always remember this: Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

YOUR GUIDE to “MAKING BANK” USING $487,000 in FREE MONEY | Episode 83

Fri, 24 Jun 2016 10:52:26 GMT

You might think you know what to do with $487,000 in FREE MONEY, but the odds are that YOU’RE WRONG. I’ve got the details on how one investor used that exact amount of money (and it wasn’t his and it wasn’t loaned to him, either) to completely REVOLUTIONIZE his business. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 83. So if you think that just having $487,000 makes you rich, you may have a point, but the REAL POINT of today’s episode is that you can use this FREE MONEY to UP-END your business and your lifestyle, permanently, by following some very simple instructions. My featured guest today, Sean Carpenter, has been investing in real estate for YEARS using federal funds that he doesn’t have to pay back, public programs that he can even GET PAID to participate in, and federal, state, and local tax credits that can sometimes keep paying off for YEARS after a project is done. So basically, he’s the expert when it comes to using free money from the government to get into real estate and, to be blunt, to get rich. Here’s what he told me about these programs and how they work for real estate investors who are prepared to use them: “Government funding is an opportunity that exists out there in every major city in every major market in the country,” Sean said. He added that simply understanding the process by which one might obtain this funding is HIGHLY valuable and that a lot of investors have actually leveraged these programs indirectly by completely overhauling their careers and going into financial consulting. “If you don’t like doing deals, you don’t have to in this business,” he said. In today’s episode, we’re going to pick apart a specific deal, with Sean’s input of course, so that you can see just how to get your hands on this type of funding and then, more importantly, how to LEVERAGE it to really flip your business, your lifestyle, and your bottom line all on its head. In this case, we’re talking about a piece of property probably similar to something a lot of you have seen in your lives but didn’t really think much about seriously because even though you knew it represented huge potential income for SOMEONE, you couldn’t imagine handling the deal yourself or finding the funds to get started. This property was (is again, actually) a four-storefront commercial property that had burned down and was sitting empty. Now, imagine what you could do with a storefront in an active part of YOUR town with four units for retail lease. Think of the income that represents! But again, how to take it from burned-out husk to functioning, attractive retail space? That’s where the $487,000 in free money from the government comes in. “We did what is called an economic development value play,” Sean told me, explaining that he and his partners (by the way, Sean works with hundreds of partners who scout out deals and then bring him in to help them get funding) went to the city and asked for the money they needed to bring that retail space back to life, thereby creating business opportunities, jobs, and ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. “Boom,” said Sean, “There it was. $487,000.” And perhaps the really nice thing about that $487,000 is that it was truly free. Check out these terms: It was ZERO PERCENT interest. Payable in 40 years. Forgiven in 15 years. So that means no payments were due until AFTER the loan was forgiven. How do you think that might affect your bottom line? So they took the funds and they fixed up the space and now everyone, including the city, is thrilled. Instead of a burned-down building, there’s a functional, profitable real estate space GENERATING PROFITS FOR ITS OWNERS RIGHT NOW and how did they get those profits? USING $487,000 from the city government! Are you starting to see the pattern? Now let’s think about your business for a moment. Imagine how it might change things if your job wasn’t to spot a good deal, track down investors to work with you, raise the capital to do the deal, and THEN have to actually go do the deal itself. What if your job STARTED with actually DOING THE DEAL because you already knew how to get the best funding on the best terms possible (seriously, can you beat zero percent and forgiven before the first payment?). What if your job actually started AND ENDED with finding the deals because you didn’t really feel like doing them? What if your job started and ended with landing FANTASTIC FUNDING like $487,000 in free money from the government because people would PAY YOU BIG BUCKS just to help them with that simple step on their deals and you didn’t have to do any real estate AT ALL if you didn’t feel like it? Are you starting to see the potential here? Folks, Sean didn’t just do an interview with REI Today, he actually did an extended training on this topic that includes not only a description of this $487,000 deal, but many other case studies and avenues to using government programs that don’t even require you to actually DO REAL ESTATE DEALS if you don’t want to. This training is available only for a limited time, but you can check it out at www.rei.today/EXPOSED, because EXPOSED is just what Sean does to the “secret insider government programs” (and admit it, you know they’re there, you just don’t know how to find them) that you can start using, IMMEDIATELY to change the profit margin on your deals and the TYPE of deals you’re capable of doing, permanently. Folks, these are some of the BIGGEST and BEST-KEPT INSIDER SECRETS about how to make the federal government (we’re talking not just grants but tax credits, development funds, forgivable loans, the works) go to work for your real estate business the same way CONNECTED INSIDERS have been doing for YEARS. That’s www.rei.today/exposed. REI Nation, thanks for listening in, and please always remember this: Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Make the PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IRRELEVANT to Your Real Estate Business | Episode 82

Thu, 23 Jun 2016 04:30:00 GMT

Wouldn’t it be great if you DIDN’T HAVE TO WORRY about who our next president would be? Well, I may not be able to resolve ALL your issues with The Donald and Hilary, but my guest today CAN help you at least insulate your business from both of them. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 82. So the year of a presidential election is always tough on the economy. Why? Because business does NOT THRIVE when times are uncertain, and what is more uncertain (particularly in THIS presidential competition) than when leadership of the United States of America is up for grabs? Regardless of your personal beliefs, morals, and ethical systems, wouldn’t it be WONDERFUL if you knew in the back of your mind that no matter which of these crazy candidates ultimately wins the presidency, YOUR BUSINESS (and by extension, your ability to support your family and loved ones) would remain intact, productive, and profitable? My guest today has managed to pull that off, and that’s why even though he’s got some pretty FAR LEFT opinions when it comes to his personal views, he doesn’t care whether a Republican, a Democrat or even a Libertarian ends up in the White House as far as his business is concerned. His name is Sean Carpenter, and today I’ll tell you exactly what he’s done in his real estate business to insulate it nearly completely from the nasty presidential politics of today. Sean told me that his business revolves around doing real estate deals that are funded by government programs, and these days, he’s particularly focused on multifamily real estate because developments that house multiple families at affordable prices are EXTREMELY ATTRACTIVE to the federal government. “The residential real estate market has GONE BAD,” Sean told me, pointing out that residential real estate doesn’t even have any real rules these days when it comes to predicting how a local market will behave. “It’s its own planet,” he laughed, adding that basically quote “a whole lot of people are just trying to create another bubble” in any market that they can. “You know it’s true,” he added. On the other hand, government-funded commercial developments DO have rules, and they’re all written to help the real estate investor WIN. Why? Because the government allocates millions and millions of dollars to helping people find and afford housing and that is becoming more and more important as the residential real estate market gets out of control and affordable housing becomes harder and harder to find. “In the end, I don’t CARE who the next guy or gal in the White House is,” Sean told me, “Because I’ll still be doing something that has to be done, that is needed, it’s a proven fact.” He added, “It doesn’t matter to me who the next president of the United States is because it makes absolutely no difference in the world that I work in,” and noted that he is using the SAME PROGRAMS that presumptive republican presidential nominee Donald Trump uses to fund many of HIS commercial developments, ironically, making it irrelevant (at least to Trump’s BUSINESS INTERESTS) who the next president is either. But what if you’re presently in residential real estate? What if that’s your business? Well, it’s actually a pretty easy switch to make thanks (again) to the government-funded programs and tax credits and subsidies DESIGNED TO ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO SO. Take Steve, a contractor for over 30 years. He told us, “Building properties has been my trade as a contractor for 30 years. Now, though, I’m acquiring deals and CASH FLOW with Sean’s help.” You can actually see picture of Steve and several of the properties in his portfolio in Sean’s extended training that he recorded for REI Today and will be offering for a limited time this week. You can register now at www.rei.today/EXPOSED, because Sean is EXPOSING the underbelly of federal funding programs and real estate investing in a way that is both unique and highly relevant to real estate investors in ANY SECTOR in today’s market. That’s www.rei.today/EXPOSED. Folks, these are some of the BIGGEST and BEST-KEPT INSIDER SECRETS about how to make the federal government (we’re talking not just grants but tax credits, development funds, forgivable loans, the works) go to work for your real estate business the same way CONNECTED INSIDERS have been doing for YEARS. That’s www.rei.today/exposed. Folks, wouldn’t you love to know in the back of your mind that this nutty upcoming election just DIDN’T MATTER, at least to your real estate business? Get that peace of mind and go to www.rei.today/exposed right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in, and please always remember this: Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How to BEAT THE RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE BUBBLE and SNEAK INTO HOT MARKETS using FEDERAL REAL ESTATE PROGRAMS and AFFORDABLE HOUSING SOLUTIONS | Episode 81

Wed, 22 Jun 2016 04:30:00 GMT

How would you like to blow the currently ready-to-burst residential real estate bubble right out of the water while SNEAKING INTO HOT MARKETS with the full force of the federal government supporting you? My guest today has been doing this for YEARS (through more than ONE bubble folks) and he’s going to tell you all about it. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 81. Wouldn’t it be great if the rumors of an about-to-burst real estate bubble meant absolutely NOTHING to you other than more profits, more opportunities, and even better access to WHITE-HOT REAL ESTATE MARKETS? Of course it would! And more importantly, it CAN mean that. My guest today, Sean Carpenter, has spent YEARS (and multiple real estate cycles) leveraging the full force of the federal government in his real estate investing business doing exactly that, and today’s he’s going to get into just why residential real estate is about to GO BUST again and why it’s the best news anyone working with public funding (and that can and should be you) could possibly hear. Sean is the president and CEO of Shamrock Development Associates, a full-scale development, consulting, public relations, corporate marketing, and asset and property management firm. He started out in real estate as an acquisitions officer for a national low income housing tax credit syndicator and eventually got SO GOOD at figuring out ways to take great real estate opportunities and turn them into LOCAL JOBS, economic opportunities, tax credits, and HUGELY PROFITABLE DEALS that he was commissioned to work with state senators, national development companies, and many, many not-for-profit agencies working hard to turn local communities around. And while Sean is great at making local communities grow, he knows that the best way to keep the growth going is to build in profits for those local communities, developers, and dealmakers. That’s why Sean’s take on public funding programs, government tax credits, and even federal real estate subsidies is EXTREMELY UNIQUE and extremely attractive to real estate investors at all levels. During our recent interview, Sean disclosed a trend that he’s noticing in the national real estate market that is going to mean BIG TROUBLE for the vast majority of real estate investors like those of you listening. Here’s what he said: “The residential real estate space is crowded and reaching peak value. Go to an event anywhere around the country. You’ll see flipping this and flipping that in residential. There are a lot of people working in the space and it’s getting more and more crowded.” This is a big deal, folks, because national numbers indicate that even though more investors than ever are involved in residential real estate, fewer and fewer home BUYERS are able to afford to purchase that residential real estate, that is to say, fewer and fewer people are able to afford their own homes. In fact, according to a CNBC report on a recent Trulia study, some of the lowest interest rates in history are basically going to waste because people just can’t afford to buy. Down payments alone take up a full fifth or more of the average American’s annual salary, and that means that most would-be buyers are quite simply and wholly priced out of homeownership, possibly permanently. Does the combination of more and more people trying to get in and sell single-family homes (not even counting the actual homeowners out there trying to sell) and fewer and fewer people being able to AFFORD those homes sound like a toxic combination? You bet it does! But Sean had a simple solution for forward thinking investors, and the nice thing about this solution is that not only is there relatively little competition in the space, but with the right knowledge and resources, you can actually just go ahead and get the federal government to basically support your personal real estate deals in this area and push you (financially, to be clear) toward bigger and better profits! Here’s what he said: “Beat the bubble! What you won’t find is a whole lot of people working on commercial properties. And what you absolutely won’t find is a whole lot of people working on commercial properties AND bringing in government funding, which WORKS LIKE MAGIC and is a white-hot market right now. Affordable housing is a constant conversation and it’s the best (and sometimes only) way to sneak into the really hot markets.” So what does Sean mean when he says “affordable housing” and tells you to get involved in government-funded commercial real estate deals? Well, it sounds a bit intimidating, but it’s actually quite simple. Here’s the 10-second breakdown: By obtaining government funding to do commercial deals that create economic development, local jobs, and affordable housing opportunities (because they’re multifamily rental properties in a lot of cases) you can do HUGELY PROFITABLE government-supported deals that land you not only profits but tax credits, great publicity, and SERIOUSLY VALUABLE experience that you can then leverage within and outside of the real estate industry by consulting if you don’t even want to do deals. Sound exciting? Yes, I think so. And what’s perhaps even MORE exciting is that although this might sound a bit complicated, Sean is offering a limited-time extended training on this topic and REI Today is presenting it for a limited time this week. Reserve your spot now so that you can get all the details on exactly how to make the leap from your current real estate investing business to HUGELY PROFITABLE real estate endeavors supported by your government that, as a little bonus, create SHOVEL-READY JOBS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT and lead directly to further JOB CREATION and a total career shift (if you want it) into high-profile consulting and SERIOUSLY BENEFICIAL (for you and your community) projects and developments. Go to www.rei.today/exposed to register right now, because EXPOSED is what Sean is going to do to some of the BIGGEST and BEST-KEPT INSIDER SECRETS about how to make the federal government (we’re talking not just grants but tax credits, development funds, forgivable loans, the works) go to work for your real estate business the same way CONNECTED INSIDERS have been doing for YEARS. That’s www.rei.today/exposed. Folks, Sean has worked INSIDE The System and knows what makes federally-funded real estate really tick. Get access to all his insights during this extended training and make the switch for yourself. Go to www.rei.today/exposed right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in, and please always remember this: Your best investment is your OWN education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hugely Successful LEFT-WING INVESTOR Reveals: How TRUMP REALLY MADE HIS MONEY | Episode 80

Tue, 21 Jun 2016 18:24:59 GMT

The TRUTH about TRUMP is out at last: Real Estate Investing Today interviewed a HIGHLY CONNECTED real estate insider who basically blew the lid off just how Donald Trump has been so successful in real estate, and it’s not what you’ve heard before, and it’s something you can TOTALLY replicate, starting now. I’ve got the details in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 80. So what did Donald Trump REALLY DO to get so successful in real estate? We all know that spending money helps you make money, but where did the Donald get his? Well, thanks to an exclusive interview with highly connected real estate investor Sean Carpenter, who has spent the last few decades working within the public sector and LEVERAGING PUBLIC FUNDING PROGRAMS to not only fuel his own investing career, but also help local non-profits, state politicians, and even entire towns change the face of their housing markets using federal subsidies and tax credits, I can tell you that right now. Sean is an EXPERT in multifamily affordable housing and development (that means low-income housing in a lot of cases), and while you may not think TRUMP TOWER and affordable housing in the same sentence frequently, maybe you should. Here’s what Sean said about Donald Trump’s RISE in real estate, that is to say, what TRUMP did before he was “the Donald.” Here’s the deal: Think back, for a moment, to the time (perhaps blissful for you, perhaps not) before Donald Trump became the presumptive republican nominee for president. He was famous for any number of things, but most of all he is famous for his success in real estate. His fortune is built on it, and he wouldn’t have had the wherewithal to ever do the many other things he’s famously done (make and break himself multiple times, buy and sell casino empires, declare bankruptcy and come out smelling like a rose, start multiple hit television shows, own entire beauty pageant competitions…well, you get the idea) if it weren’t for real estate. And, if you’ve checked out REI Today’s somewhat notorious Trump Timeline, you already know that Trump has been in real estate his ENTIRE life and his family was in real estate before he was. But what enabled him to TRULY make the leap from pretty successful real estate developer to MEGA SUCCESSFUL? Well, that has always been a bit cloudy, and speculation has ranged from everything from dirty double dealing (no real evidence of that in the public purview by the way) to simply a lucky strike (or 10) in the New York City real estate market. But the truth, Sean points out, is actually much, much simpler and, most exciting, MUCH MORE ACCESSIBLE to real estate investors everywhere. Back in the day, when Donald Trump was just another real estate investor, he did something that any real estate investor can do literally RIGHT NOW: He got into the government funding business and he started investing using the full power of the federal government to gain his success. Sean is the insider here guys. He’s been in the business for decades, and he knows how it’s done. Furthermore, he knows how Trump did it. Here ya’ go. Sean said: “Donald Trump is in the real estate business but even more importantly, he’s in the government funding business. He surrounds himself with people who do what we do, and one thing he says” (over and over again, I might add) is that “IGNORANCE IS MORE EXPENSIVE THAN EDUCATION.” Now, Sean went on from there to detail three ways that Trump has been using the full force of federal funding for years in order to make money in real estate and let me assure you, he was doing it LONG before he started appeared on the presidential race scene. He was doing it back when he was getting started, just like so many REI Today listeners listening right now. First, Sean said, Trump and investors like him use people LIKE SEAN to help identify government funding programs that provide them with GRANT MONEY that does not have to be paid back for their investments. Did Trump identify each and every opportunity that any given project he took on represented as far as qualifying for government grants went? Absolutely not. He paid someone for that education so that he could keep on building his real estate empire, and by filling that gap in his education, that “ignorance” if you will, he was able to fund project after project to successful completion. Second, Sean told me, Trump and investors like him ALWAYS go after low-income tax credits. Imagine knowing that huge chunks of your expenses on a project that was set to be HIGHLY PROFITABLE were going to be tax deductible thanks to someone else’s accounting know-how. Well, if you can imagine it, then once again you and the Donald have something in common. Third, Sean exposed a HUGELY OVERLOOKED RESERVOIR OF DEAL FUNDING that Trump and investors like him tap into regularly: forgivable redevelopment loans. I think you probably know what that means: loans for your projects and deals that you don’t have to repay. They’re going to be FORGIVEN! Now, if you had access to all of this “education” either in the form of directions for YOU or in the form of experts that would become part of your network and assist you, don’t you think you could be happy (not to mention successful) with the SAME START as DONALD TRUMP? Of course you could, and my great news for YOU is that Sean didn’t just do an interview, Sean did an EXTENDED TRAINING on this topic and REI Today is presenting it for a limited time this week. Reserve your spot now so that you can get all the details on the SAME THINGS that Trump did when he was starting out and all the details on how those programs have grown, changed, and IMPROVED to serve YOUR INVESTING NEEDS better than ever before in today’s real estate market. This training is a HUGE EXPOSURE for Sean and I’m so pleased that he decided to do it but, as you might imagine, space is limited and seats will fill fast. Go right now to www.rei.today/EXPOSED right now, because EXPOSED is what Sean is going to do to some of the BIGGEST and BEST-KEPT INSIDER SECRETS about how to make the federal government (we’re talking not just grants but tax credits, development funds, forgivable loans, the works) go to work for your real estate business the same way CONNECTED INSIDERS have been doing for YEARS. That’s www.rei.today/EXPOSED. Don’t delay because space is limited. REI Nation, thanks for listening in, and please always remember this: Just like Donald Trump (and Sean Carpenter) tell us: Your best investment is your OWN education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

how a PANDA SUIT got 12 showings in 2 days | Episode 79

Mon, 20 Jun 2016 15:59:21 GMT

How would you like to know how to use a HALLOWEEN COSTUME to get 12 showings for your properties in the next couple of days? I’ve got all the crazy details in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 79. --- So today I’m going to tell you how one resourceful real estate agent revived a DEAD LISTING using nothing more than a panda bear costume and her phone camera. Before I get to that, however, I want to take just a few minutes to mention something pretty exciting featured in the News & Network Section on the REI Today blog. We’ve got some FANTASTIC NEWS about the equity in YOUR home that you will not want to miss, so check it out at www.rei.today right now. The article is called “BLOCKBUSTER EQUITY NEWS you can’t miss” and you’ll be really glad to find out what’s going on with equity in your home and your neighbors’ homes. That’s www.rei.today. Now, let’s get into just how one agent took a dead listing and brought it back to life using nothing more than a panda bear outfit and her camera… Here’s what happened. The real estate agent, whose name is Jessica, had a listing in Spring, Texas that just wasn’t getting a whole lot of interest. In fact, in the three weeks that it had been on the market, it had only had two showings despite the fact that it was a perfectly lovely, reasonably priced four bedroom, 2.5 bath home. Jessica knew she had to do something, and since her seller had a bit of a sense of humor, she recalled an article that she’d read about an investor who used a giant bear suit to promote his listings in England. “I told the sellers, I don’t know, It’ll make it seem like I’m not serious as a real estate agent,” she told Realtor.com in a recent interview. However, the seller felt that they didn’t have much to lose, so Jessica threw on a panda bear costume and reshot the listing photos, posing in random places throughout the home. “At first I thought it was crazy,” she said, but she re-thought that when the requests for showings came pouring in. In fact, in the two days after the panda-full listing went live, she showed the home 12 times. REI Today checked out the listing pictures, and the panda appears in all but three of the photos, enjoying the front porch, lounging in a lovely backyard, cuddling up in a kid’s room, and showcasing the kitchen and exercise areas. The pictures are definitely surprising, and we’re not surprised that more people are “stopping by” to look for the curious addition to the listing. According to marketing expert Seth Godin, Jessica basically cashed in on something that has been growing in marketing for a while. We actually talked about it in an earlier episode called “3 Keys to Investing Profitably with the Weird Factor.” Basically, the new normal for successful marketers is not normal at all: it’s strange. Godin described it this way in a recent panel discussion hosted by Inman Connect in New York. “There’s all this pressure to be normal, have normal clients, drive a normal car, have normal listings,” he said. “But now, something is changing. There are more people who are outside of normal than inside normal.” This is good news, Godin argued, because it enables any professional, real estate or otherwise, to identify a certain segment of their target market with which they particularly connect, then focus on that group to the exclusion of other sectors by making that group feel included, not normal but “inside” as he put it, by working with you. He cited the motorcycle company Harley Davidson as an example of a business that has found loyalty in a fringe market by targeting people who think of themselves as outsiders and then making them “insiders” in their own special group. If you want to hear the entirety of episode 24, where we go into detail about how to INVEST PROFITABLY using this weird factor, check it out in the REI Today Vault. It’s titled: “3 Keys to Investing Profitably with the WEIRD FACTOR” and it’s got some pretty crazy stuff in there that you’re going to love. You can listen in at www.rei.today/vault and, if you’re not yet a member, just text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to this timely information. And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.REI.Today/vault right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

PIRATE SELLER demands eviction after closing | Episode 78

Fri, 17 Jun 2016 17:14:29 GMT

What would you do if you bought, paid for, and closed on a home only to have the seller REFUSE TO LEAVE? It’s more complicated (and possibly more common) than you might think. I’ve got the details and the answers in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 78. So you’d think that once you bought a home, paid the seller for it, and legally closed on the property (with the seller present, by the way), you’d own that property and be able to do with it pretty much as you wish, right? Wrong! As a Nashville homebuyer named Tamara is discovering, it turns out sellers can (and do) go rogue from time to time and refuse to move out of their homes even after they’ve pocketed their profits and signed over their deeds. I’ll tell you all about what happened and how to prevent it from happening to YOU in today’s episode, but first I want to mention a brand-new podcast that I think you’ll enjoy. One of our very first guests, Alex Pardo, a Miami wholesaler, has started his own podcast all about how he has created a FLIPPING EMPIRE down in South Florida. It’s full of great information, Alex is the real deal, and I think you’ll love it. You can check it out at www.rei.today/alex and please leave him a great review and 5 stars if you feel the show deserves it. I think you will. Now, back to how a PIRATE SELLER is taking over a home that he already sold. Here’s the deal: When first-time homebuyer Tamara purchased her Nashville property, she was thrilled. She put down a down payment, closed on the property, and was ready to move in, but she forgot two CRUCIAL COMPONENTS (as did her lawyers, by the way) when she closed on the home. The result of that oversight is huge: Tamara’s seller won’t get out of the property or let her move in. “I technically don’t have to go anywhere,” he told a local paper, noting that nowhere in the closing documents was there an amendment saying that he had to leave after closing. He remains cloistered in the home, doors locked, and because Tamara doesn’t have any keys (there’s the second oversight, folks) she can’t get in. “They’d have to evict me,” said the pirate seller, adding, “I’m not having that!” Of course, Tamara has started the eviction process, which she is fully entitled to do because she owns the property and her date of possession was June 1, 2016. Unfortunately, it will probably take about 30 days after the eviction warrant goes out to get the seller out of the home for good, meaning that Tamara will have nowhere to live in the meantime and, perhaps worse, the nasty seller will have plenty of time to trash the home should he choose to do so. He’s already made headlines for yelling things at reporters like “Shut your mouth and learn to take orders,” so it’s anyone’s guess what the home will look like once Tamara finally gets her keys and gets moved in. What lesson should you take away from this crazy scenario? Well, according to the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors (the GNAR), in a hot market like Nashville, ANYTHING can happen, and you need to make sure to cover all your bases. The GNAR emphasized that the biggest thing you must do is get keys at closing, since if Tamara could have gotten into the home, she would be able to control the situation more effectively. Also, be sure to have a lawyer review your documents for loopholes like the one this seller is using to make sure that you don’t have to go through a formal eviction process just to move into a home that you already own. Want a complete list of recommendations for how to spot potential pirate sellers and “disarm” them before they start to give you trouble? I’ve got it in the REI Today Vault at www.rei.today/vault, complete with the details about what a local LAWYER said Tamara should probably do to deal with the situation now that she’s stuck in it. Not yet a member? just text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to this startling information as well as sending you straight to a treasure trove of trainings, uncut interviews, breaking news coverage, and a lot more timely, insightful information that will help make your real estate investing safer, faster, and more profitable. That’s REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or go to www.rei.today/vault for more information right now. And remember, when you join us, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. REI Nation, thanks for listening in. Now, more than ever, please remember this: Your best investment is ALWAYS your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

how to SAVE $17,776 on your home purchase | Episode 77

Wed, 15 Jun 2016 15:38:48 GMT

How would you like to save $17,776 on your next home purchase? I’ll tell you how in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 77. So how would you like to save $17,776 on your next home purchase? I’ll tell you how today, and it’s so easy it’s actually extremely surprising that more people aren’t doing it. I’ll tell you all the details in just a minute, but first I want to take 30 seconds to mention a “Secret” side of real estate that most people don’t really have any idea exists: something called LOAN BROKERING, where you bring real estate investors (and those investors CAN be you, by the way) and loan money together and charge a fee for being the guy (or gal) in the middle. It sounds easy, but most people get hung up on that “bringing loan money to the table” part. Thanks to an in-depth training provided exclusively to REI Today by a super-successful investor and loan broker, however, I’ve got a pretty key insight into how to get that money to the table and more money in your pocket as well, whether you want to fund your own real estate deals or just play the role of the “middle man” or woman. One investor started using this strategy and generated $42,000 just in brokering fees – he didn’t even do any of his own deals! Get all the information on how to make this strategy work for you in our limited-time training at www.rei.today/42K and find out how the 42K guy’s strategy can be yours, too. That’s www.rei.today/42K. Now, let’s get back to saving some SERIOUS MONEY on your next home purchase. Here’s the deal. According to a recent report released jointly by RealtyTrac and Down Payment Resource, certain state, local, and federal programs exist that are intended specifically to help you save money on your home purchase. These programs are generally referred to as down payment assistance programs, but they don’t just affect the amount of money you have to put down in order to buy a house. They also have a HUGE impact on the amount of money you’ll pay monthly on that house over the life of the loan. In fact, according to the report, the total savings breaks down to an average of $5,965 savings on the down payment and average savings on monthly house payments over the life of the loan of an additional $11,801. When you consider that nationally, even making a three percent down payment on a home (and that generally requires a bit of luck to land on its own) requires a would-be homebuyer to save 14 percent of his or her annual salary and in many cities, the number is more like a full fifth of their annual salary, it’s really surprising that more people are not taking advantage of programs that save, on average, more than $17,000 on home purchases for participants. The reality is that these things just are not very well publicized, for starters, and also a lot of people who would like to buy a home simply never explore the option because they think they can’t save enough for a down payment or assume that they’ll never get a mortgage. So as an investor, how can you leverage this information to your advantage in your business? Well, there are several action steps that you can take: First, educate yourself on your local homeownership options. This isn’t necessarily for your next home purchase, it’s for your buyers. If you can present a buyer who wants to buy your property but believes he or she cannot do so because of conventional issues like not having enough saved for a large down payment or thinking that monthly payments will be too high, if you can direct them to a local housing advocate who can help them, you just might save that sale. Second, research creative financing options. You (and your buyers) do not need banks in order to buy and sell homes. There are LOTS of other options out there for people who might never qualify for a traditional 30- or 15-year-fixed mortgage. You could offer lease-options, subject-to financing, seller-financing, and countless other variations on these types of financing to fit your needs and those of your buyers. Just make sure that the creative financing works for YOU as well as your buyers and get a lawyer to review the documents and process before you all sign. Third, PROMOTE YOUR KNOWLEDGE! Most people who are selling properties, investors, traditional homeowners, or otherwise, do not HAVE the knowledge to help get their buyers into a home outside of maybe referring them to a mortgage originator that they know is successful. Make sure that your potential buyers know that your properties come with YOUR KNOWLEDGE and that viewing one of your properties (and hopefully buying it) comes with some additional assistance. Particularly in areas of the country where down payment assistance programs actually equate to HUGE savings for buyers, (one city actually boasts an average of $80,148 in savings when buyers leverage these programs effectively) you can launch a pretty persuasive ad campaign for working with YOU on the basis of that alone. Wondering where your city stands in the down payment and mortgage loan savings? I’ve got the top cities for savings according to RealtyTrac all lined up for you in the REI Today Vault at www.rei.today/vault. Not yet a member? No worries! just text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to this startling information as well as sending you straight to a treasure trove of trainings, uncut interviews, breaking news coverage, and a lot more timely, insightful information that will help make your real estate investing safer, faster, and more profitable. That’s REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or go to www.rei.today/vault for more information right now. And remember, when you join us, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. REI Nation, thanks for listening in. Now, more than ever, please remember this: Your best investment is ALWAYS your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

ELLEN DEGENERES SUED for laughing at southern agent | Episode 76

Tue, 14 Jun 2016 13:53:17 GMT

If ELLEN DEGENERES laughed at you on national television, what would you do? In the case of one Georgia real estate agent, you’d fire up your legal guns. I’ll tell you all the details in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 76. ---- So what would YOU do if daytime’s darling Ellen Degeneres laughed at you on her talk show and you weren’t even there to defend yourself? Titi Pierce, a Georgia real estate agent, recently had this experience and I’ll tell you what SHE’S doing: seeking thousands of dollars in damages. You need to hear about this lawsuit because it all stemmed from a picture that Ellen showed of Ms. Pierce’s real estate sign in front of a home that she was selling, and a potential error in judgment that Ellen may have made concerning whether it was okay to show the sign on her show. Before we get into that, however, I want to take a quick minute to talk about thousands of dollars, though. $42,000 to be exact. That’s how much money an investor named Patrick recently generated in his real estate investing busienss without fixing up houses, flipping houses, or even, the king of all hands-off-investing, wholesaling houses while still actually being involved in real estate investing. He told me that this “hands off” investing is quote “the best thing I have ever done for my real estate business” and noted that in addition to $42,000 he’s already made, he has more closings lined up in the wings. Find out how Patrick was able to start making money in real estate literally without getting the first smudge of paint or speck of dust on him in our exclusive REI Today training at www.rei.today/42K (because that’s what Patrick made so far). That’s www.rei.today/42K. I think you’ll be extremely intrigued by this strategy. Now, let’s get back to one of America’s favorite comediennes caught in what appears to be an atypical display of unkindness. Ellen DeGeneres always comes across as nice, good-tempered, kind lady in her comedy and on her television shows, but Titi Pierce says that being the butt of one of Ellen’s jokes leaves you feeling anything but warm and fuzzy. Ms. Pierce is suing Ellen for showing her real estate sign on daytime television without blurring out the company name, contact number, or Titi’s name, and making fun of name by mispronouncing it “Titty.” The bit was part of a skit about a certain “busty” part of the female anatomy. Ms. Pierce was actually on her way to a funeral when she began to receive prank calls about her name and eventually learned that she’d been featured on Ellen’s show and that her name had been mispronounced. Not only did she not receive a response, but the episode was re-aired and she once again received negative attention to her real estate business and unpleasant, offensive calls on her personal cell phone number, which was on the sign, the plaintiff claims. She is seeking at least $75,000 in damages. So what can we learn from this little episode? Well, obviously, first of all most of us don’t like having people laugh at our names, so that’s generally bad business even for media darlings like Ellen. Ms. Pierce says that her name means “Flower” and that it wasn’t even pronounced correctly in the offensive television episode. If nothing else, it was kind of mean-spirited of Ellen and given how nasty people can be to each other in the anonymity of the internet, I’m not surprised that Ms. Pierce received unpleasant phone calls and commentary in the aftermath. Second, default to protecting privacy. In today’s world, it’s easier than ever to share something that you have no legal right to share, and it’s easier than ever for someone to find out you did it and sue you. Now this is not a legal show and I am not a lawyer, but a general rule of thumb is to simply GET PERMISSION before you use images, particularly if you might profit from those images’ use, because you had better believe the person who actually has the rights to those images (and heads up, it’s not always the person who took the phot) will turn up eventually if your promotion is successful. And finally, when posting your contact information on public signs, it may behoove you to place a little bit of insulation in between yourself and a public that is not always so well behaved. It is NOT Ms. Pierce’s fault that she got nasty phone calls about a national television personality making fun of her name. Period. However, as anyone who has ever put their phone number on Craigslist ads knows, there are some whackos out there and they don’t always wait on Ellen to get into gear. An 800- number or even just an automated voicemail will go a long way toward keeping a little bit of distance between you and everyone who walks past your business sign. If you want to read all the details of this case that are out there at this point in time and draw your own conclusions about whether Ellen, Ms. Pierce, both, or neither are at fault, then you can read the extended report in the REI Today Vault. It’s labeled with today’s episode number, 76. And if you’re not yet a member, don’t worry! just text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to this startling information as well as sending you straight to a treasure trove of trainings, uncut interviews, breaking news coverage, and a lot more timely, insightful information that will help make your real estate investing safer, faster, and more profitable. That’s REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or go to www.rei.today/vault for more information right now. And remember, when you join us, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. REI Nation, thanks for listening in. Now, more than ever, please remember this: Your best investment is ALWAYS your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4 DEAL-KILLING WORDS to never say | Episode 75

Mon, 13 Jun 2016 14:06:38 GMT

How would you like to know the 4 DEAL-KILLING WORDS that are destroying your real estate investments every time you speak them? I’ve got the phrase to avoid in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 75. So, wouldn’t you want someone to TELL YOU if you were saying a certain four words that were identified, by experts in the field, as the MOST LIKELY to derail your real estate investing and your deals? Because I’ve got some good news and some bad news here. The bad news is they’re almost certainly part of your daily lexicon. The good news is, I’m about to tell you what they are. Before I do, however, I’ve got five GREAT words that you’re really going to love to share with you. Are you ready? Count em’: Free money from the government. And as a tag on the end, I’m going to make it an even 10: Free money from the government for your real estate investing. That’s right: we’ve got the inside scoop on how to get free grant money from the federal, state, and local government, for your real estate deals. Check out all the details in this free training, which tells you everything from exactly WHAT TO SAY to land loans you never have to pay back to where to look to find a literally treasure trove of funding for your real estate business, your kids’ college, and just about any other entrepreneurial dream you’ve ever had. It’s incredible, and you can view that exclusive REI Today training right now at www.rei.today/freemoney (one word, and easy to remember!). That’s www.rei.today/freemoney. Please do not pass up the opportunity to view this limited-time training. It’s incredible. Now, back to those four deal-killing words. Here’s, well, the deal: According to Travis Bradberry, a Forbes contributor who specializes in the mental functions that contribute to failure, among other things, saying a certain four words can actually derail just about any project, including massively profitable deals. In a recently published book on the topic, Bradberry noted that the words “I don’t like it” are some of the most detrimental to progress because they lead to PROCRASTINATION in a significant, meaningful way. Bradberry compared the issue to eating dessert before your vegetables. If you always allow yourself to put off eating your vegetables, you’ll probably never eat any, even though you KNOW that kale is better for you than ice cream. When it comes to your real estate investing, you KNOW that even the part of the deal you hate the most, whether it’s talking to sellers, running the numbers, finalizing due diligence, or filling out contracts, is ultimately GOOD for you and your bottom line. However, the more you tell yourself that you don’t like doing it, the more likely you are to put it off. The longer it is put off, the more likely it is that you’ll either do the task poorly or leave it too late and not do it at all. And then instead of a done deal on your hands you have a huge missed opportunity. So here’s a tip from Travis himself (and I think it’s a great one): Make it a rule that you cannot touch any other project or task until you’ve finished the quote “dreaded one,” he said, adding, “In this way, you are policing yourself by forcing yourself to eat your veggies before you can have dessert.” I challenge you to do this for just one week and see how it affects your business and your life in general. Putting things off isn’t just bad for your bottom line, it’s bad for your health. A recent study conducted by psychologists at Case Western Reserve University proved this point, indicating that students who turned in college papers early had lower stress levels, better overall health, less hypertension, lower risk of heart disease, and had healthier lifestyles. If you’d like a full list of researched and proven ways to BEAT the procrastination bug, be sure to check out our compilation derived from these research papers in the REI Today Vault. Check it out at www.rei.today/Vault right now, and if you’re not yet a member then don’t worry a bit, just text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to this startling information as well as sending you straight to a treasure trove of trainings, uncut interviews, breaking news coverage, and a lot more timely, insightful information that will help make your real estate investing safer, faster, and more profitable. That’s REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or go to www.rei.today/vault for more information right now. And remember, when you join us, you’ll When you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country in addition to having the chance to interact directly with Sue herself. REI Nation, thanks for listening in. Now, more than ever, please remember this: Your best investment is ALWAYS your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

why FEMALE HOMEBUYERS are a tougher sell than men | Episode 74

Fri, 03 Jun 2016 15:06:07 GMT

The gender gap is back, and it’s making harder to sell homes to women. A new survey has some disturbing new evidence indicating a major gender-related issue that we women have with home-buying, and let me just say that the “actionable advice” that the researchers are giving to go along with the survey is, well, a bit troubling as well. I’ll tell you all the details in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 74. So, the gender gap is back in housing, and it’s manifesting in a way that you might not have seen coming. According to ValueInsured’s Modern Homebuyer Survey, women have far less CONFIDENCE in real estate than men even though they say that they want to own their own home far more frequently than men do. We’ll get into the numbers in a just a minute (not to mention the “advice” from the analysts about just how to deal with this lack of confidence), but first I want to take a minute to bring up a certain woman who definitely does NOT lack confidence in real estate – and if you take a few lessons from her you certainly won’t either. This lady is one of my favorite investors, Sue Nelson, and you’ve probably heard me talk about how her first deal was a 104-unit apartment complex and now she owns more than 2000 units and flips commercial properties for six-digit profits on a REGULAR basis (right along with her students, I might add). Well, Sue was in my hometown a few weeks ago, and I had the pleasure of attending one of her small mastermind trainings where her most active students get together, evaluate a city, and get deals done, and let me tell you, this former art-teacher-turned-bigtime-commercial-investor does not mess around. They are on FIRE at this mastermind, and they’re picking out new deals, picking apart old ones, and basically just making it happen. Sue has what I would consider to be the most important aspect of real estate down pat – that would be confidence in her numbers, by the way – and if you want to know how she does it, then I strongly encourage you to attend a free training she provided to REI Today listeners at www.rei.today/IMPORTANT. Check it out for the details on how she flips her deals (including that first MAJOR one) and how she makes sure that her CONFIDENCE in her numbers is always well-placed and SPOT ON. That’s www.rei.today/IMPORTANT, because it’s important you check this out right away. Now, let’s get back to the gender gap and what the so-called “experts” say we need to do about it. First, the numbers: According to ValueInsured’s survey, roughly three in every four women say that they want to own a home, compared to about two in every three men. So slightly more women than men say that they don’t own a home but want to. However, when it comes to actually getting their name on the deed, women are far less likely to end up doing so for a variety of reasons. Mainly, they said that they don’t think the housing market is healthy (less than half believe it is), don’t think it’s a secure investment in today’s economy (less than two-thirds believe it is), and don’t feel that they can afford the downpayment, (less than one-third believe that they can). Men were far, far more confident in all three of these areas and also were far, far more likely to say with confidence that they could sell their existing home right now for more than they paid for it than women were. So, obviously, there are some practical issues that probably are influencing the results of this survey, but for now, let’s focus on what the survey (and it’s analysts) are telling us about women and real estate. For starters, one thing that the survey exposed was that women and men have very different ideas about quote “The American Dream.” Women say it is mainly being debt free, while men say it is, as we’ve all heard time and again, owning their own home. What’s really interesting, however, is that what ValueInsured, the National Association of Realtors, and basically every other analyst and media outlet out there got out of this survey. You ready? This is a direct quote from the NAR: “Women buying homes may need more reassurance and confidence in a real estate transaction than men.” That’s right. Ultimately, what the analysts derived is not that women might be more risk-averse than men when it comes to investing (it’s a proven fact) or that they might have different factors than men by which they evaluate real estate investments or the money that they sink into their home (clearly, women are less likely than men to view their home as an investment, which isn’t all bad). Instead, it’s that we need reassurance. So what does this mean for men and women in real estate? Well, I think as I said at the beginning of this episode, the KEY THING is really that you need to have confidence IN YOUR NUMBERS. Based on ValueInsured’s survey, what I’m getting out of it is that women don’t need reassurance, they need cold hard facts that show they’re getting what they want out of a home purchase and, furthermore, can afford it. That’s not a bad thing! And guys, I’m not bashing you either. It is a GOOD thing to have confidence in your purchases, and I know a lot of guys probably cited owning their own home as the most important part of the American dream because culturally, a lot of the women in your lives rely on you (as they should) to provide the path to that ownership with them. In the end, the key takeaway here is that women and men buy real estate when they feel comfortable and confident in the numbers, and that’s a good thing because it means if your numbers are sound, then you will find a buyer for your deal, all gender considerations aside. If you like the idea of sound numbers (and an equation to make sure that they work EVERY TIME), then I encourage you to sign up for our exclusive REI Today training with Sue Nelson, who I mentioned at the beginning of this episode. You can access it immediately at http://www.rei.today/IMPORTANT. And if you want to learn more about the gender gap and how it affects you INTEREST RATES on home loans, then take a quick peek in the REI Today Vault. Women get worse mortgage rates than men, and it’s conclusively NOT because of what you’re probably expecting. Check it out at www.rei.today/Vault right now, and if you’re not yet a member then don’t worry a bit, just text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to this startling information as well as sending you straight to a treasure trove of trainings, uncut interviews, breaking news coverage, and a lot more timely, insightful information that will help make your real estate investing safer, faster, and more profitable. That’s REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or go to www.rei.today/vault for more information right now. And remember, when you join us, you’ll When you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country in addition to having the chance to interact directly with Sue herself. REI Nation, thanks for listening in. Now, more than ever, please remember this: Your best investment is ALWAYS your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

the SHARK TANK LIE about real estate investing | Episode 73

Thu, 02 Jun 2016 14:23:35 GMT

Would you believe that one of the most popular shows on television is HORRIBLY MISLEADING real estate investors and entrepreneurs every time it airs? Don’t get caught by the lie. Get all the details in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 73. --- So can you believe that one of the most popular shows on television – probably one of the most aspirational shows for a lot of investors and small business owners – is actually misleading real estate investors and small business owners in nearly every episode? I’ll tell you where they’re leading you wrong (and give you a great, easy solution to the problem) today, but first I want to take a quick 30 seconds to mention something that YOU MISSED. That’s right: you missed it. Last night, REI Today Listeners engaged LIVE with the pros at Credit Card Builders, the premier experts on building BUSINESS CREDIT for real estate investors and entrepreneurs. Some very interesting questions were asked and answered (for example, how exactly do you get $200,000 for a commercial building or $50,000 for medical marijuana business) and YOU MISSED IT! So if you think that your business could do with a cash infusion, don’t let this slide twice. Go to www.rei.today/bigcredit (one word, BIGCREDIT) and get registered for Ari and Mike’s next training. They’re not messing around; they get major corporate credit lines for investors even if you have bankruptcies, foreclosures, or a lousy credit score, and they also give out a really nice bonus ($3,500 worth of bonus, to be precise) just for being on the call. Get your spot right now at www.rei.today/BIGCREDIT, and don’t miss this twice. Seriously. Now, back to the SHARK TANK LIE that could seriously slow down (if not stall out entirely) your real estate investing success. Here’s the deal: I love Shark Tank, and I suspect you do too. After all, it’s just so FUN to watch investors and business owners tell that panel how they’ve worked hard, come up with great ideas, and are ready to grow their business with the right angel investor. And honestly, it’s fun to see the creativity and the squirming when the questions get tough. Haven’t you ever thought: if I could just GET IN THERE, I know they’d take me! I’m way better than these guys…And there’s the LIE. Don’t worry: I’m not about to tell you that the Shark Tankers are ringers. And I’m not about to tell you that they’re better than you at what they do than you are at what you do. But I am here to tell you that those “angel investors,” while they’re certainly helping certain shark tank participants grow their business, are not entirely angelic. They’re making a serious, serious profit in a lot of cases, and that’s not the lie either. Shark Tank is up front: it’s about business and making money. But the lie that comes out of the show a lot of the time is that the only way to “make it big” is to give away your business. Here’s what our resident corporate credit expert, Ari Page, had to say about Shark Tank: “On that show, investors might give away half their company, 50 percent of it, for $50,000 in seed capital,” he said, noting that although that 50,000 could be life-changing, getting it via Shark Tank methods involves letting someone else into the driver’s seat in your business, usually permanently. “Instead, business credit keeps you in the driver’s seat,” he pointed out, adding that business credit also can be used more flexibly than most real estate loans and tends to be just about the easiest type of business or investment funding to ACCESS, which is huge for real estate investors who may have many, many reasons that they need seed capital (think renovations, property purchases, insurance, contractors advances, the list goes on and on) that might not necessarily be included in the “fine print” on a loan, cash advance, or even angel investor investment. “Corporate credit keeps YOU, as an individual, OUT of the deal entirely,” he noted, adding that this is crucial because it enables ANYONE with a solid business plan (and do you think real estate just might qualify there?) to grow their business regardless of personal credit history. You can hear Ari’s entire training (and a lot more of his thoughts on Shark Tank, business credit, and getting unsecured, cash credit, zero-interest funding for your real estate investing business (his company has raised over $200 million in 0 percent unsecured funding just since 2008 for investors and small business owners) by going, right now, to www.rei.today/bigcredit (one word, BIGCREDIT) and signing up for Credit Card Builders EXTREMELY LIMITED TIME TRAINING. I mentioned it earlier, and I’m going to say it again: These guys are not messing around. Did you hear me say more than $200 million? And that’s not just for one single blockbuster company. That’s tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars for investors and small business owners JUST LIKE YOU all over the country. Go ot www.rei.today/BIGCREDIT for all the information, and snag that $3,500 worth of bonuses just for attending as well. Ladies and gentlemen, you don’t want to miss this one. It could change everything, including the way you see real estate, permanently. REI Nation, thanks for listening in, and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why Most INVESTORS CAN’T GET FUNDING (It’s Your Fault) | Episode 72

Thu, 02 Jun 2016 12:30:21 GMT

Wouldn’t you like to know a way to get as much as $250,000 in UNSECURED FUNDING for your real estate deals even if you have bankruptcies, foreclosures, or late payments on your personal credit? If you could use that kind of funding to build your real estate business, then listen up. I’ve got all the details in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 73. How would you like to know how to get a HUGE LINE OF CREDIT with which to fund your real estate investing business even if you have foreclosures, bankruptcies, or late payments and a poor personal credit score? If that sounds like something you could use starting TODAY, then you’re going to love today’s episode. I interviewed two of the premier experts in a certain type of credit (this is not credit repair, folks, this is a real, live line of credit) and they told me (and, by extension, YOU, you lucky REI Today listeners) how to make this happen so that you can STOP looking for funding and START doing deals, pronto. I’ll tell you all about it in just minute, but first I want to take just 30 seconds to bring up something pretty important that a lot of listeners brought up last week. You guys have been LOVING the Trump Tracker (thank you, by the way, and if you haven’t signed up yet, you can do so at www.rei.today/trumptracker, one word) but I’ve had so many requests for more information about Hilary and even Bernie (yes, a few of you either are “feeling the bern” or feeling concerned, I’m not sure which) and their possible influence on our national housing market that I’ve gotten right to work pulling together some very important information on both of these potential presidential candidates and their housing history. It’s coming very soon, so keep an eye on the REI Today Vault (or, if you subscribe to Trump Tracker, you’ll get it automatically) for a comprehensive real estate study on the remaining three presidential potentials left in the race. And whether you love him or hate him, go ahead and sign up for the Trump Tracker as well at www.rei.today/TrumpTracker where we’ll provide you with weekly updates about what the Donald is up to whether it’s taking on the media in a press conference or creating a stir in national publications that fear he’ll take over the media coverage of the presidential race completely. It’s your race, guys, your housing market and your country. You need to know what this guy (and his competition) are up to! Now, back to the biggest reason YOU can’t get funding for your real estate deals (and what to do about it)! So, here’s the deal: if you ask most new real estate investors what their biggest stumbling block to getting started in real estate, to really getting involved is, they’ll tell you one simple thing: (and believe me, it’s the stumbling block for a LOT of things in life) MONEY. Most investors who truly have the drive to be successful are able, willing, and dedicated to their own education, so they know how to find deals and what to do with them once they’ve spotted them. And yes, there are ways out there for real estate investors to do deals without ever using any of their own money. It’s completely true, and I’ve seen plenty of people do it. However, in the end, wouldn’t it be EASIER to make your real estate investing business work – or hey, just about any other business endeavor for that matter – if you had some startup funding of some kind? Of course it would! And most investors have a major, major misconception about where their funding should come from: they think it either has to come from themselves or from ANOTHER INVESTOR, be it a private money lender or a bank making a mortgage loan. And that’s the kicker for a lot of investors because they can’t GET personal loans for their investing. Maybe you have a bankruptcy or a foreclosure on your records. Maybe you just have a low credit score. Heck, maybe you did get a loan for your first two or three real estate investments but the bank isn’t interested in loaning you any more money for more (hey, four mortgages starts to look a bit risky to a lot of lenders!) So what do you do in this situation? Well, most investors give up. They either decide that they’ll have to put in sweat equity and hope for the best (and believe me, that’s not easy if you’re working one or two “quote unquote real jobs” and taking care of a family already) or they figure that real estate is something that is just not accessible for them. They never consider the THIRD OPTION, a CORPORATE CREDIT. We spoke to Credit Card Builders CEO Ari Page about this option at length, and he told us that there are four huge advantages to using BUSINESS CREDIT in real estate that most investors have no idea about. Ari is a business credit specialist who has been working with Credit Card Builders since 2009 to create alternatives to high interest lending for real estate investors and entrepreneurs. “Real estate investors should NEVER use their personal credit,” he explained, and pointed out four major advantages that a business line of credit has over just about any other real estate funding option. First, he said, business credit is easier to access than just about any other type of credit. If you work with a bank to get a mortgage loan, you could be waiting 60 days, 90 days, or even longer to get approved. That’s a little long for a real estate investor as you well know! Second, he pointed out, business credit is easier to SPEND. Most people think of a line of credit at a specialty store, like Home Depot or Lowes, when they think of corporate credit. However, Ari said, a true business line can be used in just about any venue for business-related purposes. Third, you don’t get business credit based on your debt-to-income ratio! That’s huge if you were nodding your head a minute ago when I was talking about getting individual mortgages on your investment properties. They’re not looking at your personal credit AT ALL. And finally, fourth, the credit is unsecured. Again, in case you didn’t hear me, they’re not looking at your personal credit! So if you have bankruptcies, foreclosures, late payments, just a plain old low or nonexistent credit score, then hey, that’s okay, because (as it SHOULD BE IN REAL ESTATE), it’s NOT ABOUT YOU, it’s about your business. And if your business is sound, then your line of credit is likely to be also. Now, if the idea of up to $250,000 in cash credit at ZERO INTEREST for your business has got your attention, you’re definitely going to want to hear the entire production and, perhaps even more exciting, Ari and his partner, Mike actually follow up the training session where they tell you HOW TO GET THIS TYPE OF CREDIT with a live QnA session. So don’t let it be YOUR FAULT any longer that you can’t get funding on your deals. Go to www.rei.today/bigcredit (one word BIGCREDIT) right now and reserve your spot. They do these trainings live and, as a result, they’re not always available and spaces are not always open. Don’t delay, go to www.rei.today/bigcredit (one word) right now. Not only can (and should) you access this funding for your own deals and business, but you can actually offer the SAME OPTIONS to your clients and buyers, thereby creating a FANTASTIC, BUILT-IN MARKET for your deals. And, if that wasn’t enough to convince you (yeah, right) then allow me to point out you’ll be getting a huge bonus ($3,500 worth, in fact) just for attending the training (and they line-item that sucker out, it is $3,500 worth no kidding). Head over to www.rei.today/bigcredit right now to reserve your spot, and remember, REI Nation, (as if this didn’t make it clear enough to you) Your best investment is ALWAYS your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

FBI HIDES MICS to catch auction riggers | Episode 71

Wed, 01 Jun 2016 09:48:22 GMT

Sooooo…If you thought you could get away with rigging an auction by holding your nefarious planning meetings in a park or at a bus stop, think again. The FBI just uncovered an auction bid rigging scheme out in California by hiding microphones in trees, plants, light fixtures, and bus stops – and that’s just the beginning. Find out all the details in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 71. So you’ve probably heard about bid rigging before, and it’s actually something that a lot of investors simply accept as part of the process of buying properties at auction because even when other, more experienced investors aren’t necessarily working together to keep other investors out, there are plenty of scenarios in which a more established buyer will actually pay more than they normally would to snag a property and hopefully scare off the competition. Overpaying on a property is perfectly legal, but rigging the auction, as you might imagine, is not, and you won’t believe the lengths that the FBI recently went to in order to try to expose suspected bid rigging in San Mateo and Alameda counties in California. I’ll tell you all about it in just a minute, but first I want to take a second to mention something else that is basically RIGGED in our society today: YOUR CREDIT. That score determines SO MUCH about what you can and cannot do in your entire life, from where you live (even if you don’t buy) to what jobs you can get and what types of businesses you can even afford to start. That dumb little number, your CREDIT SCORE, has dominated your life long enough, in my opinion, and fortunately for you, I’m not alone in feeling that way. If your business could benefit from an infusion of $50,000 to $250,000 in cash credit at ZERO INTEREST (and I suspect you could find SOME WAY to leverage those funds, my savvy real estate investor listeners), then I strongly suggest you check out a free training provided LIVE for REI Today listeners by experts who have raised over $200 million in zero-percent unsecured funding since 2008. You CAN access this type of funding for your own deals and business and perhaps even more exciting, you can also offer it to your clients and buyers, not to mention that you get a HUGE BONUS just for attending the training with a more-than-$3,500 value. This training has a live Q and A and is offered only at specific times to a limited audience number, so sign up right now at www.rei.today/BIGCREDIT (one word, big credit) and reserve your seat. That’s www.rei.today/BIGCREDIT. Don’t go into Summer 2016 without the funding and support that you need to thrive in your real estate business. Go to www.rei.today/BIGCREDIT right now. Now, let’s get back to where all in your local green space you need to be looking for the hidden mics… So, the FBI originally hid the microphones basically all over San Mateo and Alameda because they suspected that some real estate investors in the area were rigging local auctions by agreeing not to bid against each other at the public auctions, then holding private, members-only auctions where the properties were sold again and the investor who made the original purchase pocketed the difference in the public auction price and that of the private auction. This is a tempting set-up because it tends to keep prices down and also enables investors to make some money just by buying low at the public auction. Bear in mind, also, that this is all ALLEGED, the investor who was actually indicted in 2014 as part of the conspiracy has pled not guilty and the other parties are just being investigated, not accused. Anyway, the FBI put mics everywhere: in the courthouse where the auctions were held (those were hidden in light fixtures), in bus stops near the courthouse, in a statue inside the courthouse, in backpacks that they left lying around, and, reportedly (shockingly, the FBI is not confirming this) under rocks and trees throughout the Bay Area. So basically, if you were hanging out around Oakland Courthouse, they probably were listening. Kind of creepy, huh. So anyway, not surprisingly, the defenses for the guys who are now facing investigation for bid rigging are pretty up in arms about all this recording, and I can’t say I blame them. After all, there was no warrant issued for a surveillance operation in the area. Individuals could have discussed the topic without actually being involved. Apparently you have the right to expect a conversation in a public place to remain private (as long as you have it quietly) and the FBI basically ignored this as well. So it’s a great big mess, and it’s unclear other than establishing that they can get away with this for extended periods of time, the FBI really accomplished much or even intended to. I’m going to just let that little conspiracy theory stew around in your brain for a minute. So, the moral of the story, as it were, is simple: don’t participate in rigged auctions. The FBI doesn’t like it, it’s not legal, and your loving government will break its own laws in order to try to make sure you’re not breaking them. So now don’t you feel protected and loved? If you want to learn more about the specific FBI actions (and privacy violations) out west or in your neck of the woods, then check out our extended coverage of this matter in the REI Today Vault at www.rei.today/vault. Not yet a member? No worries! Your privacy is safe with us, and you can get immediate access by just text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to this startling information as well as sending you straight to a treasure trove of trainings, uncut interviews, breaking news coverage, and a lot more timely, insightful information that will help make your real estate investing safer, faster, and more profitable. That’s REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or go to www.rei.today/vault for more information right now. And remember, when you join us, you’ll When you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. REI Nation, thanks for listening in. Now, more than ever, please remember this: Your best investment is ALWAYS your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Add $2,723 to your listing with LAUNDRY | Episode 70

Wed, 25 May 2016 16:26:38 GMT

How would you like to make a simple change to a small existing room in the house that could add about $2,723 to your list price when you put your home up for sale? I’ll tell you all about it in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 70. --- So how does an extra $2,723 on your home value sound? If you like the way that change is rattling around, then you’re going to love the weird, completely overlooked remodel option that happens in what is probably one of the smallest rooms in your house for a really great bang for your buck. I’ll tell you all about it in just a minute, but first, I have got to mention some new research that has just come out that is very relevant for every one of you listening. This new study has pinpointed the cities across the country that are, by the numbers, the best cities for real estate investors. You can get all the details in our News and Networking Section at www.rei.today, and I encourage you to check it out immediately. I couldn’t wait to see where MY city was ranked, and I bet you can’t either. You might be missing a big opportunity that is literally in your own backyard. Anyway, let’s get back to adding thousands to your listing price while doing your laundry…That’s right, the remodel we’re talking about is for the LAUNDRY ROOM! And it’s not really even that big of a remodel in most cases (how could it be, after all, it’s probably the smallest room in your house?) However, despite the diminutive size, the laundry room plays a huge role in a homeowner’s life. In fact, one in two homeowners blamed their laundry for loss of time with their family, directly, and 83 percent said that they were game for ANY home improvement that enabled them to spend more quality time on people and activities they love. So that takes us, ladies and gentlemen, to the laundry room, where you can, according to Homewyse.com, net an ROI of 77 to 91 percent on a remodel immediately, although, as with all ROI numbers, those are estimates, market dependent, and not guaranteed. Homewyse defines a full laundry-room remodel as updated cabinetry (read, install cabinets with doors instead of shelves), a new sink (probably farmhouse), and nice lighting fixtures. Most design experts recommend adding some countertop space, if it’s an option, because that enables homeowners to do their folding as the clothes leave the dryer. Homewyse also notes that although green appliances do add to the value of a home if they are left, they also add to the amount of time it takes to do the laundry. In fact, according to Whirlpool, it now can take five times longer to DO the laundry thanks to water-saving appliances (though they’ve considerately balanced that out by producing machines that let you dump in an entire week’s worth of laundry at once – and you better factor new appliance scale in when you’re remodeling!). So when you add in cabinetry, countertops, sinks, lighting, new paint, and nice appliances, you get an estimated material and labor cost that comes in right under $3,000, though that number may be low if you plan to include your appliances in the sale. And your first-year returns could be as much as 91 percent if you list immediately. That’s pretty exciting for a tiny, somewhat boring little room. Of course, as with any remodel or upgrade, you need to do a bit of due diligence first to make sure that your upgrade reflects the needs of your buying community. After all, the wrong remodel can actually kill your profit margin in very short order! To get a checklist for evaluating a remodel in light of a local market, head over to the REI Today Vault at www.rei.today/vault and check out today’s episode’s supplemental materials (they’re labeled with the episode number). If you’re not yet a member, don’t worry! text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’ll immediately send you the information you need to get that access and ALSO provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

how to compete in the DEMENTIA MARKET | Episode 69

Wed, 25 May 2016 16:16:56 GMT

Wouldn’t you like to know how to develop a LOCAL MONOPOLY in a market that demands top dollar, desperately needs service, and that most people just can’t bear to get into? If this sounds like an opportunity a-wastin’, you’re right! I’ve got all the details (including the uncomfortable ones) in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 69. -- Let’s get it out there in the open, shall we? We don’t like to think about dementia. For those of us with Alzheimer’s and senile dementia in our family history, it’s a topic we probably don’t even touch in our silent thoughts most of the time because it’s just too painful. But if you’re working through the experience yourself OR if you’re dealing with the painful transition of a loved one as they undergo the changes that come with various forms of what is usually age-related dementia, then you know that there is a serious DEARTH of assistance out there for people living with this issue. In fact, if you have the early stages of dementia or if you have a loved one in these early stages, very few living options present themselves unless you are willing to go ahead and go into a home or move in with that loved one, two options that most people simply are not prepared for. So how can a real estate investor help in this arena, and help his or her business in the process? Well, as more and more Americans say that they wish to age in place, regardless of physical or mental capacity and ability, it is becoming more and more important to be able to offer properties that either are equipped for aging in place or that offer optional upgrades, additions, and renovations to enable the homeowner to do so. Particularly when it comes to dementia, those upgrades far exceed the traditional handrails or even electric chairs that might help a homeowner climb stairs, but new “smart” appliances and other smart electronic options can help homeowners and would-be homeowners live on their own even for DECADES after an initial diagnosis if their health also permits. If you are interested in investing in this type of real estate, you’ll definitely want to explore some of these new, groundbreaking options. For starters, you’ll want to select appliances that are dementia-friendly, meaning that they are designed to maximize user safety, even to the point of having stove knobs on the side of the stove or along the front rather than at the back in order to avoid potential injury from reaching over a hot surface. While this is a safety issue for anyone, the perceptual issues that may come with dementia and that many people do not know about can also make it harder to avoid simple injuries that most of us circumnavigate without much consideration. Next, consider the welfare of the disabled homeowner’s caretakers. Various apps and smart appliances and devices will help them determine if and when the homeowner leaves, how often the fridge is opened and what is inside (many people with dementia forget to eat long before their other symptoms become a problem) and the temperature in the home. Furthermore, rooms should be designed with clear purposes (kitchen for cooking and eating, living room for visiting television, bedroom for sleeping) rather than with the easy, flowing environment common and popular in many open-design homes. These visual clues will help a homeowner who has an unsettling tendency to forget what they came into a room for recall their initial purpose, say experts. Finally, design with dementia in mind. This means avoid overstimulation of the senses, since they can become elevated and hypersensitive as dementia progresses. Physicians say that bland, neutral colors are important, but stronger, darker colors as accents can provide some variation without creating too much “business” in the space. Of course, simply designing a safe, smart, somewhat décor-muted home is just the start. Investors who want to cater to a growing community of homeowners who either have dementia or have concerns about aging in place need the right marketing and the right geographic area for their business to thrive. Check out our report, “How to Market to the Aging-In-Place Crowd” in the REI Today Vault at www.rei.today/vault, or, if you’re not yet a member, text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’ll immediately send you the information you need to get that access and ALSO provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

TOP 3 reasons OWNERS SELL | Episode 68

Wed, 25 May 2016 15:29:13 GMT

Wouldn’t you like to know the MAIN HOT BUTTONS that cause homeowners to become motivated sellers? I’ve got that information (and how to use it) in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 68. So, wouldn’t you like to know what types of things to look for that are most likely to turn a happy homeowner into a motivated seller, fast? Well, fortunately for you, there is a handy dandy survey going around wherein homeowners flat out tell you exactly what motivates them to move! Realtor.com researchers conducted the survey, and you may be surprised at the top reasons that people finally start to want to sell. I’ll tell you all about it in just a moment, but first I have to give you an interesting update on the sale of a marquis Trump property that just might be nearer in the future than most of us imagined. This past weekend, Donald Trump suggested on Fox and Friends Weekend that he would RATHER sell a building than jump in bed with the Republican “elite” donor class. “They want to have control over me,” he said, adding that he doesn’t want people telling him what to do because they donated money to his campaign. Now, you’ve been hearing a lot about Trump lately (and let’s face it, he’s a huge force not just in politics, but also in real estate, so his actions affect us, and you’re going to hear more), but if you want the political aspects of today’s real estate news on a regular, weekly basis regardless of whether or not the guy has done something headline-snatching in the past five days, then you’re going to want to sign up for REI Today’s Trump Tracker. Join up and get all the latest on Trump’s high jinks, headline grabs, and Hilary bashing and, most importantly, what it means for YOU as a real estate investor and an American citizen by signing up for the Trump Tracker right now at www.rei.today/trumptracker (one word). This is NOT political propaganda or a Trump rallying newsletter. It’s what he’s doing, the truth about what he’s saying, and why it should matter to YOUR investing business and how it affects your bottom line. Period. Stay informed on the race that has more to do with real estate investors and their success than any other presidential race in history with REI Today’s Trump Tracker at www.rei.today/trumptracker. You’ll know more than anyone else following the race, and you’ll be the first to be warned if things are about to get seriously hairy (hahahaha). Now, back to what makes happy homeowners into motivated sellers (and this isn’t your typical “Oh, their house burned down or they died or got divorced list” by the way, this stuff is universally applicable). According to realtor.com’s latest study, nearly half of homeowners move for the simple reason that they don’t like the neighborhood anymore. Households where the head of household is between 35 and 44 or older than 65 are particularly motivated by this need because they tend to be in stages of transition. 65 and older are often retiring, while 35-44 are often growing their families. A great way to target these homeowners is to appeal directly to the cause of the desire to move – often safety, better school systems, or general walkability even – and provide them with a good buying alternative and a beneficial way out of their home (perhaps they’ll be open to creative financing with you, for example, or even taking a big price cut because you’ve got a property that fits their needs). The second most common reason that owners turn into sellers is that they need different features in their homes, and this is often a particular issue for older homeowners looking at retirement. They often also have more equity in their properties and may be willing to make a deal with you if you can help them pull out some of that equity and also move fast. The third most common reason (one in five homeowners cite this) that people move is simple: they want or need more room. That’s great news for investors, because the inventory at the lower end of the market is what’s in big, big demand in most areas of the country. Furthermore, realtor.com’s chief economist Jonathan Smoke noted thnat there are several things that actually are PREVENTING motivated sellers (seriously, the guys that will take discounted offers on their properties, folks) from actually making the move to list their homes, and that is truly exciting for an investor who knows how to attract those potential sellers’ attention (by appealing to what is making them want to move) and then is able to remove those stumbling blocks. Get all the details on THIS exciting angle by reviewing the show notes for today’s episode in REI Today Vault at www.rei.today/vault. Not yet a member? No worries! text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’ll immediately send you the information you need to get that access and ALSO provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3 ways to add AT LEAST $2,500 to your home value for less than $1K in the kitchen | Episode 67

Tue, 24 May 2016 12:08:58 GMT

Would you like to know three MINOR CHANGES to your kitchen that could add at least $2,500 to your home value (in some cases) and in some cases, far more, that you can make for less than $1,000? I’m Carole Ellis. I’ve got all the details on these cheap and easy changes that can mean faster sales for higher profits today, in episode 67. So wouldn’t you like to do a quick few hours of work and pull in an extra few THOUSAND DOLLARS on your home sales price? Of course you would! And I’ve got the details on exactly where you should be putting that very minimal sweat equity of yours in today’s episode. However, before we get to that, I want to talk about another kind of equity, the kind made out of cold, hard dollars and cents. In certain cities around the country, home values are spiraling upward so fast that some analysts are starting to whisper that nasty word (bubble) when they talk about them. However, in particular locales, there are factors that make a bubble highly unlikely but that make appreciation (and equity in the short term) highly LIKELY. Check out our list of the 3 fastest growing cities in the country in our News & Networking Section at www.rei.today and find out if your favorite market is ripe for lots more dollars and cents on your home value or whether you might be heading for a bust. You’ll be surprised at what you learn. Now, back to your sweat equity and instant home value growth over a weekend (in most cases, of course)! According to the National Association of Realtors (but we’re all friends, here, so we’ll call it the NAR moving forward), a full kitchen remodel can easily cost $20,000 or more and take weeks if not months to complete. However, there are several far less time-consuming and far less expensive options that can still net you some significant gain on your home value. Here are my three favorites, and I selected them for great ROI (on an average home the ROI should raise the value either by a couple thousand dollars or EXPONENTIALLY based on the small amount of work) and low time and resources costs, meaning you can probably bang these out yourself. Here they are, along with the metrics that show just what you can accomplish. For starters, you could put in a FARMHOUSE SINK. That’s one of those big, sunken, usually porcelain or stainless steel sinks that often has two sides and a big arching faucet. Would you believe that one of these babies, which costs about $230 to have installed professionally and another $600 (at the top end) to purchase, can result in your snagging nearly 10 percent more on your home price AND SELLING almost two months faster than other comparable homes? That’s pretty big savings and “earnings” for a snazzy place to wash your dishes and less than $1,000 outlay. Next, you might consider installing a nice tile backsplash behind that sink. Counting installation and materials, you can come in way under the $1,000 marker, with homeadvisor.com estimating that you can install a 30-square-foot ceramic tile backsplash for about $812, a stone backsplash for $870, and a glass mosaic one for just under $900. Backsplashes are an easy way to add pizazz to a kitchen without re-doing the entire thing, and a glass kitchen backsplash COULD net you as much as 60 percent ROI when you resell. Some analysts predict that number will continue to rise because glass backsplashes make rooms appear larger and brighter, are easy to clean, are mildew- and stain-resistant, and are considered by most buyers to be “green” (environmentally friendly) materials because they can be made out of recycled glass. Finally, (you knew this was coming) PAINT THAT KITCHEN! According to Homegain.com, you’ll earn a 250 percent return on investment when you sport some freshly-painted interior walls in your kitchen. For most kitchens, painting the entire thing is the work of a weekend, and a nice, neutral, light color is a great way to attract potential buyers anyway. So now that you’re all jazzed up about these easy and relatively cheap kitchen investments, allow me to take a moment to remind you that this program does NOT promise results. You need to analyze the comparable properties in your market in order to determine if you think that your ROI will be worthwhile for these or any upgrades. Furthermore, hey, I don’t know if you can paint! I guarantee if I come to your house and do any of these upgrades on my own, in person, without professional assistance, your ROI is anything BUT guaranteed. So just because a survey or an article or a PODCAST says something is easy to do yourself does not mean you should just write off what you know about yourself and dive in without the right research and preparation. Now, if you want a complete list of the eight kitchen upgrades that cost less than $1,000 that the NAR recommends, I’ve got them all lined up for you in the REI Today Vault so head on over to www.rei.today/vault and browse to your home-upgrading heart’s content. Not yet a member? I’ve got you covered. text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’ll immediately send you the information you need to get that access and ALSO provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

ZOMBIE FORECLOSURES head to extinction | Episode 66

Tue, 24 May 2016 10:26:52 GMT

I’ve got an important announcement: the ZOMBIE APOCOLYPSE may be over. At least, the foreclosure zombie apocalypse, that is. And unfortunately, it’s not necessarily good news for real estate investors. I’m Carole Ellis. I’ve got all the details on the official end of the foreclosure zombie apocalypse today, in episode 66. -- So what sounds like the best post-housing-crash news EVER that could end up being bad news for your real estate business: this formal announcement from RealtyTrac. According to the real estate data giant, vacant “zombie” foreclosures – properties that have no real owner and have been allowed to stagnate vacant on the market by lenders that started the foreclosure process but never completed it – are fading fast. In fact, the number of properties in “zombie foreclosure” has fallen by 30.1 percent over this time last year, making fewer than one in every 20 foreclosed houses an actual zombie. Why is this potentially bad news for real estate investors, and how should you start adjusting your “game” to deal with the end of this dystopian phenomenon? I’ll get to that in just a minute, but first, I want to tell you about something else that is NEW and a whole lot brighter – literally – than zombie foreclosures: a fully solar-powered community that is presently under construction in the sunny state of Florida. The development, called Babcock Ranch, will eventually be home to about 19,500 homes that are fully powered by the sun and that do NOT have solar panels. It’s a huge labor of environmentally-friendly love mixed with a healthy eye to profit, and you are going to love learning more about this self-described “town of the future.” I’ve got all the details in the News and Networking section at www.rei.today, so head on over there and check it out. Now, back to the darker, post-apocalyptic side of real estate…Okay, maybe it’s actually not quite that bad. Here’s the deal: According to RealtyTrac, fewer than one in every 20 foreclosed homes in the national housing market today is actually a ZOMBIE FORECLOSURE, and that’s a big improvement for markets all over the country that suffered some serious blight as lenders, realizing that they had a vested interest in NOT being fully responsible for the thousands and thousands of homes that they’d foreclosed on in hard-hit areas of the country during the housing crash (think Detroit, for example), opted to abandon foreclosure proceedings on those homes and just let them sit. Since in most cases the homeowners had already left, those properties basically fell apart (and sometimes right back into the ground; I visited Detroit and Flint, Michigan, in 2012 and huge portions of those cities at that time were nothing but ghost towns) and they took neighboring property values right along with them. Now that the national housing market is in recovery mode and just about everywhere is better off than it was in the wake of the housing and financial crises, lenders are starting to go ahead and finish up the foreclosure process on those zombie properties, either cleaning them up or knocking them down and creating space for new development. Now, many real estate investors say that they feel like the end of zombie foreclosures means that they missed the boat. After all, how easy would it have been to negotiate with a bank to take a property off its hands that it clearly didn’t care about enough to finish taking ownership? Well, the reality is, it wasn’t actually that great! So don’t you DARE use this as an excuse, ladies and gentlemen! Here’s the thing: those banks couldn’t be BOTHERED with those properties. They didn’t WANT to deal with them. Now that they’re actually willing to foreclosure and throw them up on the market, they’re actually making markets more affordable and accessible in a lot of cases both to first-time homebuyers and investors. In fact, senior VP at RealtyTrac, Daren Blomquist, pointed out just last week that the death of the zombie foreclosure market in areas like Miami and New York is actually making those markets more accessible by relieving the quote PRESSURE COOKER of escalating prices and deteriorating affordability (end quote) in those areas and others. So if you have been feeling sad that you didn’t get in on the zombie foreclosure apocalypse in time, good news: NOW is really the time to start leveraging your investing experience and education in order to truly get involved in real estate .Here are three easy things that you can do to get your investing started NOW in today’s hot, now zombie-less markets: Examine your target market for TIMELINESS This means take a look at days on market, sales price, and how those homes that are selling are looking. This means: are they all HGTV dressed up to sell at top dollar or is there an active investor community? What do you need to plan to do in order to participate in this area? Take a look at off-market options. There are SO MANY WAYS to get great homes at deep discounts via off-market purchases and working directly with motivated sellers. And no matter what ANYONE tells you, there are always off-market homes available. If you don’t believe me, check out an old, old episode (number 2!) in the REI Today Vault and see how one of my early guests gets major action in the hot, hot market of Miami using off-market strategies. Finally, take some action. And I know you’ve heard that a thousand times, but seriously, people, it’s the only way to make money in real estate! Go to the vault (rei.today/vault) and look at episode #2 and also take a look at today’s episode’s list of markets that still have plenty of zombies to go around while you’re there. If you’re not yet a member, text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’ll get you in there right away. Either go to www.rei.today/vault or text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’ll immediately send you the information you need to get that access and ALSO provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The DOWN-AND-DIRTY TRUTH about the GETTING PAID TWICE Training | Episode 65

Fri, 20 May 2016 15:16:53 GMT

Wouldn’t you like to know how to GET PAID TWICE on certain real estate transactions and, if you preferred, how to invest in real estate without ever actually owning any property or even getting close to a closing table? As you might imagine, the truth of this matter is a LITTLE DIFFERENT than the hype. I’m Carole Ellis. I’ll give you the down-and-dirty truth about the getting paid twice training today, in Episode 65. So we’d all like to get paid twice on every real estate deal, right? Of course! It’s like killing two birds with one big real estate deal stone. And it’s not really that complicated, either, as you’ll see in a minute. Today, we’re going to closely examine the TRUE STORY about a guy who IS getting paid twice on basically every deal he does and we’re also going to expose what it did to his business in the process. I’ll be honest here: this episode is not going to be what you expected, so buckle up. Before we get into any down-and-dirty exposure, though (hey, clean it up, we’re talking reporting here!) I want to take a minute to talk about another guy that we’ve been giving a lot of exposure to recently: Donald Trump. Now, I know some of you are loving it and some of you are sick unto death of the guy, but he has a real chance at being our next president and as a true, in the flesh, real estate mogul with a hot streak a mile wide and a tongue with very little holding it back, his presidency could put the entire housing industry on its head. Any president can influence the housing market (and most do to one degree or another) but Trump has the ability to deliberately alter the face of the industry in a variety of ways that could be very good OR very bad for real estate investors specifically. So that’s why we’ll continue to follow him (and, don’t worry, we’ll take a look at Hilary every now and again, too) but in order to be fully informed about his PAST in real estate so that you can understand what he might do in the future, I suggest you check out our TRUMP TIMELINE and get a look at just what type of wheeling and dealing form the foundation of Trump’s real estate history. You WILL be surprised, because it’s not quite as glamorous (or as rags-to-riches) as Trump himself and his PR machine would like you to believe. Check out the timeline at www.rei.today/trump and then keep an ear out for more information in the future. Now, let’s get back to today’s exposure, which is TIME-SENSITIVE and highly relevant to REI Today listeners, since it has to do with a certain educational training that explains how to GET PAID TWICE on your real estate deals. First, let’s examine the premise. You know that one of the most important aspects – many peope would argue THE most important aspect – or real estate is having the money to do deals. Now, any number of investors will tell you (and they’re right about this) that if you have a good deal, you can get the money to do it. End of story. And that is true if you know whom to present your deal to, how to attract investors in your deals, and how to structure those deals so that in the end, you and your funding partner are both rewarded for the roles you played. However, a lot of real estate investors NEVER get that far because they’re too intimidated to speak to people or entities that might help with their funding or because they’re not confident enough in their deals, or they don’t have enough time…the list goes on and on and we’re all familiar with it. So funding is a big, big deal for basically all real estate investors at all stages of the game, and it’s a big, big stumbling block for a lot of investors who WOULD be getting paid regularly on deals if they could just fund them. So in the training, the instructor, who is a creative financing expert and also funds hundreds and hundreds of deals himself and on behalf of other private investors, teaches you how to first find the funding for deals, which of course nets you some profit when you put a real estate investor and a lender in contact (that’s paid once), and then points out in some detail that you can use the system to fund your OWN good deals, making money again when the actual transaction closes (that’s paid twice). Boom. So it’s a legitimate claim. But here’s the kicker (and I’ve got a story about a student of his to demonstrate this…) a lot of people don’t actually care for the paid-twice model, and as a result our expert spends a lot of time delving into detail about how to make this system work if you don’t have the time or the inclination to do your OWN DEALS for that second payoff. In fact, it turns out that one of the most successful investors who works with this guy (the name is Rick Martin, by the way, and he’s visible in the training) uses the system to fund his OWN ventures (which include a private equity fund and making construction loans) and just generates money basically to make those businesses work (but, you know, that took about $200,000 in 2014 and 2015 and is likely to take about $450,000 in 2016). But hey, those aren’t bad numbers, right? In fact, I’d say that the whole PAID-ONCE MODEL is pretty successful as well if he’s generating that kind of funding for the business he actually enjoys doing and not having to do real estate deals he doesn’t enjoy on the side. So that’s the down-and-dirty truth on the PAID-TWICE training, and I was pretty happy to figure it out, I have to say. After all, getting paid twice is great if you love the entire process, but imagine what passion you could pursue on the getting-paid-once model if actually DOING REAL ESTATE DEALS isn’t really your thing? Think you could get a nice start with that kind of supplemental income? Um, if you can’t even get started with that kind of change, I really want to know what you’re passionate about JUST to satisfy my curiosity! And speaking of curiosity, if all this has you feeling curious about the PAID-TWICE fuss out there, you can view the training for free at www.rei.today/paidtwice, but space is limited and it closes down at midnight tonight, so please make the time to do it today. You’ll be thrilled that you did and your true passion, whatever it is, will be thrilled as well. That’s www.rei.today/paidtwice (paidtwice is one word). Once you’ve checked out the training, you’ll want to log in to the REI Today Vault as well see what other investors had to say about this strategy. Just head over to www.rei.today/vault, or if you’re not yet a member, text REITODAY (no spaces, no periods) to 33444 and I’ll immediately send you the information you need to get that access and ALSO provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

CRAIGSLIST LEADS in about 90 minutes? | Episode 64

Fri, 20 May 2016 14:33:33 GMT

How would you like to know the 23-word combination that is yielding SERIOUS LEADS from Craigslist for real estate investors? If you are not effectively leveraging the GOLD MINE of deal and funding leads that is available on Craigslist, then you’ve got to get them. I’ll tell you the combination and how to use it in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 64. --- So wouldn’t you like it if you could copy and paste a certain combination of words into your local craigslist posts and immediately start hearing from motivated buyers, sellers, and investors who all were hoping to work with you? If you had money to fund deals and good deals coming out your ears, don’t you think you could work with that? I know you could and more importantly, you know you could! We’ll get to that 23-word combo in just a minute, as well as a little tidbit about just how FAST this sucker works sometimes, but first, I want to mention something in the news that is really important for real estate investors today. You know that being in real estate can be a risky business, especially if part of your process involves meeting buyers or sellers, who are usually strangers, alone in vacant properties. While you know it’s never a good idea to go alone to meet someone in an essentially abandoned building, there are a lot of other schemes going on right now designed to lure real estate professionals into dangerous situations. In fact, you may remember just a few weeks ago a young girl managed to lure a grown man who was a property manager into an apartment where her co-conspirators held him at gunpoint, knocked him down, and stole his wedding, ring, phone, and wallet – all while his wife sat unsuspecting in the truck parked out on the curb! Find out how this big, strong guy was taken in by a young woman and the red flags he should have spotted (he told the media firsthand later what his biggest mistake was!) by going to the REI Today vault at http://www.rei.today/vault and downloading our Real Estate Investor Safety Guide. Part of our mission at REI Today is to make your investing SAFER (in addition to faster and more profitable) so don’t delay. Get that guide now at www.rei.today/vault. Now, let’s get back to that 23-word combination that is helping investors rake in the leads on Craigslist. First, I’ll tell you where I got it. I got this combination of words from a creative financing expert whose entire business hinges on his ability to generate leads for his funding and, conversely, funding for his deals. (not so unlike you and me, right?) but this guy operates on a HUGE scale, doing hundreds of deals a year and helping broker lots and lots of loan transactions. So when he tells me this ad is one of just 10 that he uses to create a steady stream of funding for his deals and deals for his funding (kind of two birds with one craigslist ad), I was pretty excited to hear about it. I asked him to give us the ad copy, and I didn’t really expect him to say he would. After all, these are pretty valuable 23 words. But he did, and here they are: “Private Investor has Cash to Lend!” Private investor has cash to lend on good real estate deals. Text or email [your name] for details.” Pretty simple, right? Maybe even TOO SIMPLE? Well, here’s what he told me to do: Throw that sucker up on Craigslist and see how it works for you! You can put it in housing or even in the finance section, and some students actually have seen results from this ad in about 90 minutes, though of course that depends on your local housing market. If you’d like to see the other ads and learn more about what to do with the deals that this type of simple, straightforward Craigslist ad can bring rolling in, then you’ll want to check out our special REI Today Saturday Training with our expert. He’ll not only discuss other variations of this ad that have been HUGELY successful for him, but he’ll also talk about how you can get involved in real estate in a way that lets you work part time, doesn’t require you to buy or sell properties yourself (unless you want to fund your own deals) and basically creates “one-and-done” income streams for you, meaning that you can do real estate deals without having to rehab, renovate, or EVEN WHOLESALE, (that’s for you folks who don’t ever want to even get near a closing table, much less a paint brush or new carpet…) You can register for this training which will play TWO TIMES ONLY this Saturday at www.rei.today/paidtwice (PAIDTWICE is one word) and I encourage you to check it out. The information just on how to leverage your Craigslist ads is worth that little bit of time out on your weekend all by itself. Sign up (space is limited) at www.rei.today/paidtwice for the training, then head over to the REI Today Vault to check out a special success story from a guy who is using this ad system and the associated no-real-estate-necessary version of investing to generate about $200,000 in funding for his own personal business about which he’s quite passionate (so as you can see, this really doesn’t require you to work full-time on it unless you just want to). Not yet a member of the REI Today Vault? Don’t worry, and don’t delay. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’ll immediately send you the information you need to get that access and ALSO provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How to LEND MONEY BETTER THAN TRUMP | Episode 63

Wed, 18 May 2016 14:56:19 GMT

How would you like to be WAYYYY better than Donald Trump at lending money in the real estate sector? If beating a billionaire at his own game sounds good to you, then you’re going to love today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 63. --- So how would you like to learn how to lend money in real estate for way better returns than Donald Trump is getting in HIS most recent lending foray, and without having to be a billionaire first to get started? I’ll tell you all the details in just a minute, but while we’re on the topic of everyone’s favorite (or favorite to hate) republican presidential candidate, I’ve got some other interesting news to share. The Donald is starting to see some fallout from his outspoken ways that never really bothered anyone before he took on the 2016 presidential race, and a certain high-profile owner of a certain condo in TRUMP PALACE has announced he’s dumping his property and taking a loss just so he can stop (and I quote) “spitting” every time he “hears, sees or says” the name of his home, Trump Palace. “Frankly, I’m running out of Trump spit,” the angry owner said. Find out who is selling and just how deep the discount is in our News & Networking Section at www.rei.today. Now, let’s get back to being much better than Trump when it comes to lending money, even if you don’t have your own billions to lend. Here’s what’s going on: Trump recently made headlines because he is lending millions and millions of dollars that he never expects to be repaid on. In fact, he’ll ruin his reputation if those loans make good. The “fine print” of this matter? (because you’re right, this doesn’t sound quite like the Donald we know and either hate or love)…He’s lending it to his own presidential campaign! Media outlets went NUTS when it came to light that Trump was lending his “self-funded” campaign money, speculating that he’d use donor money to repay those loans at a later date. However, Trump is actually doing the same thing that Mitt Romney and even Steve Forbes (of Forbes Magazine) did during their presidential campaigns, and it’s commonly accepted that although you structure the funding as a loan, you DO NOT pay it back, although obviously you hope somehow it all works out to the good (which it didn’t for Romney or Forbes, you might remember). So anyway, it’s well and good for Trump to make loans he’ll never collect on, but wouldn’t you like to participate in a billion-dollar lending industry (even if you don’t have billions to lend) and MAKE that money back? Of course you would! And one of the best things about getting an “in” in this particular sector is that not only can you fund other people’s transactions (you’ve heard of OPM, other people’s money, well I like the idea of making a profit on OPT as well – other people’s transactions!) but you can also leverage that lending ability and knowledge to fund your own deals as well. Anyway, I love this idea and I bet you do too, so I interviewed creative financing and real estate expert Lee Arnold to get some more insight on the topic. Lee not only is an active real estate investor, but he can secure capital on just about any type of investment deal that you can come up with (obviously, as long as it’s a GOOD DEAL, right?!) He has been putting together packages of real estate deals and other land transactions for years and working with hundreds of other investors to fund those deals, and in fact he mentioned during our interview that he’s presently seeking more deals because he has money SITTING AROUND that would be far, far more productively leveraged if it were out there funding deals instead stagnating. So you can see, he’s a pretty good source of information for GOOD types of lending practices instead of the kind where you know in advance you won’t get paid back! Anyway, Lee described four what he called “perks” of brokering loans, which means basically bringing good deals and the money to fund them together. First, he said, there’s no license required. “You don’t need a special finance degree or years and years of experience to get started,” he explained. So brokering is fast. I do like that. Second, brokering-generated income doesn’t come with lots of responsibilities. Lee actually compares it to other forms of passive income because, as he said, “there is no ongoing, residual services necessary.” Of course, if you’re bringing in your OWN deals, you’re going to be handling the real estate side of things as well, but if you’re just out to get in the middle and make money off that OPT (other people’s transactions) then you don’t have any responsibility past putting the lender and the deal together – and they pay really well for that, as you’ll see in a next. Third, there is HUGE (yep, that’s a tribute to Trump) income potential! Lee said that one of his best brokers actually generated about $200,000 over the past two years, and he’s not even doing this full time. He’s just using the broker fees to expand and grow his own real estate business. And fourth, there’s no selling. In fact, it’s kind of the opposite of selling because people will be BEATING DOWN YOUR DOOR once they find out you have funding. “Once I was teaching at a live event and in between the time I broke out my top 10 Craigslist ads for brokers to use and the end of the session (about 90 minutes) one student had posted an ad on the local craigslist and generated several viable leads! People want and need funding,” Lee said. Now, when you make money in lending, there are several points in the process where there are payouts made. Understanding these will help you see how you can beat Trump’s lending method for his presidential campaign (which is basically get paid NEVER) all to pieces by getting paid at least once, and maybe even twice depending on the deal! Lee explains exactly how this works, where to look for profits and how to find the best deals whether you invest in real estate already, want to start, or never want to lift a hammer or sign a closing doc, by getting involved in brokering funds. You can get all the details at www.rei.today/paidtwice - I picked that because some investors actually get paid twice on their deals! – but space is limited so please do not wait to check it out. That’s www.rei.today/paidtwice (no spaces just PAIDTWICE) to get all the information. If you want to check out the visual diagram for Lee’s PERKS of being a broker (and view his “Secret Fifth Perk” as well, once you get registered head over to the REI Today Vault to view that diagram. Not yet a member? You know I’ve got you covered! text REITODAY no spaces, no periods to 33444 and I’ll immediately send you the information you need to get that access and ALSO provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

get 100-200% ROI for THIS OUTDOOR UPGRADE | Episode 62

Fri, 13 May 2016 19:07:31 GMT

How would you like to know an OUTDOOR UPGRADE that one of America’s BIGGEST LENDERS says can net you 100-200 percent ROI upon completion? I’ve got all the details in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 62. --- So would you be more likely to install a certain popular upgrade if you knew that an actual lender – one the biggest in the country, no less – had specified that this upgrade was likely to garner you 100-200 percent ROI upon completion? I know I would! I’d break out the mortar, or the paint brushes, or whatever it was I needed for sure. And since I suspect you feel the same, we’ll get right into that in just one minute. Before we do, however, I’ve got to mention a little something about higher education. Turns out, people with bachelor’s degrees are way, way, wayyy more likely to own their own homes than those with high school diplomas and G.E.D.s. You can check out the hard numbers behind this in our News & Networking section, by the way. But more importantly, this touches on something that has a place very close to just about everyone’s heart and bank account: paying for college. Whether YOU want to go to college or whether you’re hoping to help a loved one get there, a guy in the REAL ESTATE SPACE can help. This Canadian actually funds nearly all of his real estate deals using grant money from the government, and, along the way, he’s found literally hundreds of ways to get money for college as well. Get all the information by watching his free training at www.rei.today/college and whether you want deals, degrees, or you want it all, you’ll find a lot of great info to help you get there and get that money. Now, back to another good way to get that money, 200 percent ROI. Here’s the scoop straight from QUICKEN LOANS, one of the country’s biggest mortgage loan originators out there. Think they know a little bit about how to evaluate home values? Yeah. I do too. Here’s what they had to say: Quicken Loans, oh, yeah, and MSN Real Estate got in on this also, reported that an appropriately designed outdoor kitchen could and I quote, “fetch a 100-200 percent ROI.” Now these are pretty big numbers to throw around, so I figured we better dig into the details. After all, that little “appropriately designed” caveat could throw a huge monkey wrench into the mix if you’re not careful. According to Quicken analyst Krissy Schwab, you need to first carefully evaluate the climate in which you are building (New England outdoor kitchens MAY NOT net you quite the returns you’re hoping for) as well as evaluating the caliber of other outdoor living areas in comparable properties. Remember, it may in fact be the case that a stone-fired pizza oven, fully plumbed bar and sink area, and nicely upholstered built-in furniture may be must-haves in Malibu, for example, but that may not be true in the suburbs of Atlanta, where a nice weather-proofed grill, stone firepit and a gazebo could be all you need and, furthermore, all you should install. Check out properties at and slightly above comparable price points and (this is important) as close as possible in proximity to your own property to determine what is “par for the course” in your area. Finally, take a quick gander at outdoor living trends. In summer 2016, for example, buyers are swooning over solar lights (not hard to install or at least stage), natural wood and stone features, and permanent seating installations (think gazebos and pergolas, those lattice-work structures that provide interesting shade patterns and can be used to support climbing flowers and vines. For a complete list of currently trending (as of May 2016) outdoor home design decisions, go to our REI Today Vault at www.rei.today/vault. Not yet a member? No worries! text REITODAY no spaces, no periods to 33444 and I’ll immediately send you the information you need to get that access and ALSO provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

should you GET SEXUAL with your listing videos? | Episode 61

Fri, 13 May 2016 18:31:05 GMT

Sexy, steamy listing videos are TAKING OVER in certain markets. Should you give in to your property’s SEXY SIDE (and, let’s face it, yours or a stunt double playing you)? We’ll get into all the details of the HOTTEST LISTING STRATEGY out there in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 61. --- So is the key to mass exposure in your local housing market to GET SEXY in your video listing? Okay folks, full disclosure here, I’m not going to say anything crass in today’s episode, but we are going to talk a little bit about some pretty unorthodox methods of garnering attention for your listing, including describing in a bit of detail one listing that has gone SO VIRAL for so many reasons. And not all those reasons are universally considered to be PG, though as with all REI Today episodes, we’ll keep it clean. So I just want to make you aware before we…well…DIVE IN, shall we say. Now that you’re completely curious, I’m going to make you wait just a minute for all the steamy details because I want to take a second to REMIND you about our HOA Horror Story competition! Post your WORST HOA NIGHTMARE (it can be with an investment or a personal property) on yesterday’s EXTREMELY controversial episode at www.rei.today/HOAHORROR (one word) and REI Today (that’s me) will send the winner who has the most blood-curdling story (or the one that makes the most steam come out of my ears!) a fabulous REI Today t-shirt. As I mentioned yesterday: they’re awesome, sparkly, and I love them, but we also have a non-sparkly version for the guys and our non-rhinestony ladies, so don’t let your dislike of a little glitter deter you. Oh, and I’ll also interview you for a future episode. There’s that too. So head over to www.rei.today/HOAHORROR to leave your worst homeowners’ association nightmare account as soon as you finish listening to today’s episode. Now, back to the debate about whether it’s time to get sexual with your real estate listings…Here’s what started it: I think we all know that the West Coast is chock full of beautiful, unique, ultra-luxurious mega-mansions that need to sell for about a gazillion dollars a piece when their owners decide to move. That’s the median price, by the way, gazillion dollars. Just kidding, but you get my drift. So when you have one of these mega-mansions and you want it to stand out from the rest, the latest thing to do is make a really lovely video that uses a storyline to showcase the property. For example, a woman spending a leisurely day preparing to greet her spouse with a beautiful anniversary dinner. Now, as any of us would do if we lived in a mega-mansion with a gorgeous crystal wine cave, a sparkling infinity pool, a yoga studio, closets for miles, a fully updated kitchen, and a bathroom with a shower to die for, we’d stroll about the grounds making use of the property (in a bikini, of course) and, at some point…and here’s what’s stirring some people up a bit…we’d take that bikini off, showcase our lower back tattoo tastefully of course, and hop our nude little booty (thanks, daily yoga!) into the shower. Then, when we hopped out, we’d greet our female partner (who’s clearly been making use of the yoga studio as well) as she stepped out of her fabulous Lamborghini (on loan for the listing shoot) with a nice, passionate (but still reasonably tasteful) girl-on-girl kiss. That’s right: there was a neat little surprise at the end. And it’s a great video. And before we go any further, I’m not interested in talking about how you or I feel about same-sex relationships. That is NOT the point here. Love ‘em, hate ‘em, or just let’em be. Not the point. Let’s not go there. Instead, let’s get to the point: This thing was RACY for real estate. And I personally loved it, but I wasn’t expecting to see naked tattooed backside even though I knew it was going viral for steamy content. The listing agent for the property in question has clearly been fielding a few attacks on the subject, and he said basically hey, if you happen to live in this gorgeous world of opulence and luxury, then this could be your real, glamorous life. “Why not show it off?” he asked, adding, “We sell the Hollywood lifestyle, and there’s nothing risqué about a real estate film like this in LA.” So I’m inclined to buy that argument 100 percent. But I think the real question is how can investors use the lessons in this film in a meaningful, profitable, and, ultimately, tasteful way that will actually sell their properties. There are plenty of investors out there, male and female, leveraging their sex appeal on a daily basis. Most female professionals in our industry will tell you that whether they do it deliberately or not, their gender plays a role in their business whether positive or negative, and whether they leverage it or not. Hey, women come with unique traits that have been shown in many scientifically conducted studies to optimize our results when we get involved in investing (more on that later). But is it wise to leverage what I guess I’ll just call our more obvious (and also scientific) assets or does it ultimately detract from our credibility (and this goes for guys trying to leverage female assets as well – we’ve all seen more than one of those “girls-in-bikinis” listing videos that might not necessarily have made us want to buy the property no matter how much we watched it)? If you want to “get sexual” with your listing videos or photos, here are three basic rules to follow: Take the temperature of your target market – that LA property ad was beautifully and professionally shot and played to an audience that is highly likely to accept and admire the storyline. Frankly, there are more “conservative” for lack of a better word markets where it might not fly. Err on the side of taste – Last year a big-shot agent in New York City attempted this and spent a LOT of money on what was basically a lingerie shoot in a client’s apartment. The listing got a lot of views, but it didn’t sell fast or for asking. Was the shoot the only reason? Probably not. But it’s my suspicion that it didn’t help bring in the COUPLES who would have been the target buyers in the area. Stick with the story – you’ll go a long way toward keeping your audience and building a positive rapport with them if you’ve got a story that you’re telling. Adding in the storyline will eliminate some of your buyers, however, so make sure that it fits your target audience. Just like the guy selling a family home (albeit a glamorous one) with a lingerie shoot, you don’t want to turn off your target audience by presenting them with something they simply can’t identify with. No matter the genders involved in our marriages and relationships, we can all identify with that candlelit dinner, and making the gender a surprise little kicker at the end didn’t really change the atmosphere of the video one way or the other, though I bet it helped with PR. Now, if you’re still wondering about (or hey, smarting) from that little statement about women getting better documented results than men in their investing, I encourage you to check out my article about just that topic that was published in the Huffington Post. It’s my belief that men and women are indisputably different in some very key ways, so you might as well leverage those differences and enjoy the outcomes. It’s probably not what you might be expecting. I’ve got the reprint locked up tight in the REI Today Vault, so check it out either on HuffPo or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now. Not yet a member? No worries! text REITODAY no spaces, no periods to 33444 and I’ll immediately send you the information you need to get that access and ALSO provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

how any ANY HOA can KILL YOUR CREDIT | Episode 60

Thu, 12 May 2016 17:30:25 GMT

Would you believe that the LATEST THREAT to your credit score might be a NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION in an area where you don’t even live? I’ll tell you all about this HOA HORROR STORY and how to protect yourself in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 60. So we’ve all got our share of HOA horror stories, and it probably won’t surprise you to learn that your local HOA could be gunning for your credit score. What may surprise you is that it doesn’t have to be YOUR HOA who tanks that FICO rating! I’ll tell you all the details in just a minute, but I want to mention first something else that can hurt your credit score in a big way: HACKING. And to get specific, Russian hacking, since the Russians are, according to most cyber-security experts, rivaled only by the Chinese when it comes to dedication on the part of that nation’s hacking community to getting into your email and into your business. We’ve got a special article on the website today that will tell you all about how Russian hackers are presently targeting real estate investors and other real estate professionals and how they may have accessed oh, about 100,000 email accounts belonging to real estate professionals in the past two years. Let’s get real here: that huge number means your odds are not good. Check out the details on the website at www.rei.today just as soon as you finish listening to this episode. Now, (and I’m sorry, you’re probably feeling attacked from EVERY angle now), back to how your local HOA – hey, even your NON-LOCAL HOA – could be killing your credit score right about now. Here’s the deal: One of the biggest credit data aggregators out there (that basically means they collect information on you and then provide it to credit-reporting agencies like Equifax) recently announced that it will begin reporting to Equifax about home owners association delinquencies. Furthermore, this is just the beginning of a full-scale rollout where all major credit agencies will begin factoring in late HOA dues, fines, and other penalties. And THAT’S where the kicker comes in, hard. First of all, that late payment on your HOA dues will carry the same weight as a missed mortgage payment. So that’s pretty big on its own. But much bigger is this: FINES AND PENALTIES! People, how many of you have lived in a neighborhood where they fined you for your playset in the backyard, not getting the color of your traditional brown house approved before painting, where they hit you up for $35 for that garden gnome and then tacked on $75 in late fees and you refused to pay on principal, (no this is not all personal experience, I swear, but it’s all real)! Not to mention, how many of you INVESTORS have been fined by HOAs in neighborhoods where you owned property, however, briefly, for not paying TRANSFER FEES that many HOAs use to raise extra money by charging them to every new owner or, let’s be honest, for failing keep your grass cut (hey maybe your lawn guy’s kid got sick) or any of the ZILLION other things that an HOA headed by an aggressive HOA covenants enforcer without quite enough to do. Now, I’m not saying all HOAs are bad, or even that all of them are out to get you. In fact, while I used to live in a neighborhood with some pretty terrible HOA habits, when I moved I looked for a new neighborhood that had an HOA because they do keep property values up, the tennis courts clean and the pool open. And, in my current residence, they also throw some pretty awesome Mardi Gras and Fourth of July parties! But that’s another episode… The important thing here is for you to realize that any HOA where you have control of a property for any period of time now has the potential not only to assess you with fees, fines, and penalties, but also is carrying a very big stick in the event that you don’t pay up. Unfortunately, I don’t have a magic solution for this one. Investors are just going to have to be diligent, detail-oriented, and make sure they find out whether or not there is an HOA and what it will require of them EVERY TIME a new property is purchased. Now that I’ve beaten up on HOAs and probably gotten you pretty fired up too, I’ve got something that will hopefully ease your tension a little…Let’s indulge in some serious HOA Horror Story Terror. I challenge you to leave me a comment on the webpage for this podcast (it’s www.rei.today/HOAHORROR) telling me about your worst HOA experience ever. We’ll compile the stories and I’ll give an award for the most bone-curdling experience. How about a fantastic REI Today t-shirt (they are awesome, sparkly, and I love them, by the way!) and if you’re a man, don’t worry, I’ll send you a non-sparkle edition. So head over to www.rei.today/HOAHORROR and leave me your horror story right now! Once you’re done, check out all our breaking news coverage, uncut interviews with expert investors, and massive amount of training materials in the REI Today vault. Not yet a member? Don’t you worry. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’ll immediately send you the information you need to get that access. And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

AGENT ATTACKED! what you need to know | Episode 59

Tue, 10 May 2016 17:33:57 GMT

A real estate agent was attacked during a routine showing of a two-bedroom apartment! This is NOT an isolated incident, and you need to know what danger signals to watch for. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 59. --- So just last week, a male real estate professional was attacked in a two-bedroom apartment with LOTS of other people close by, and he almost didn’t live to tell the tale. It’s a dangerous world out there for real estate professionals – and investors in particular – folks, and you have got to be alert. REI Today’s Scam Alert List is a great way to stay informed about the latest scams, cons, and attack tactics that the worst of the worst who are targeting OUR PROFESSION are using to hurt you physically and financially. Sign up now at www.rei.today/scamalert (one word) and you’ll immediately get access not only to our 2016 Red Flag Report that identifies the most common “tells” that a contractor or other real estate professional is out to get you, but you’ll also receive our Real Estate Investor Safety Guide, an ebook dedicated to helping you keep yourself safe without sacrificing your access to deals and your ability to turn a profit. Go to www.rei.today/scamalert (one word) and sign up for these valuable resources and ongoing alerts about safety and security right now. Now, here’s what happened to this real estate professional and how you can prevent it from happening to you. This guy, he lives in Milwaukee, was ready for a routine showing at an apartment complex. Now, just a quick side note right here: he had several things working in his favor (you’d think) before he ever stepped in the door of the property. For starters: he’s a guy. You hear all the time how women should never show alone, but men do it all the time and no one really points out that it’s not really that safe for a guy to show alone either. And in this instance, the guy’s wife was waiting for him in the car, probably making him feel even more as if he had covered his safety bases. Furthermore, the agent was showing an apartment. BY DEFINITION, an apartment is kind of in the middle of a populated area. It’s not like a vacant house in a blighted neighborhood. I probably wouldn’t have thought much about showing that property on my own either. After all, there are residents all over the place, right? Well, turns out, NO. So let’s keep going. This Milwaukee real estate professional gets to this routine showing of a two-bedroom apartment and he meets a young woman who is allegedly a prospective tenant and he goes inside where he is PROMPTLY AMBUSHED by two masked gunman, one of whom was hiding in the bathroom. They whacked him over the head with their guns, stole his wallet, iPhone, and wedding ring, and then, fortunately, fled the scene instead of killing him. And they’re still at large, and now they know just how easy this is to pull off. So what went wrong, and how can you protect yourself from a threat that is likely to be replicated over and over again in our industry? Well, the investor himself said that if he’d checked the property out before entering, he’d have realized that it wasn’t secure. After all, the gunmen had to break in to set up the ambush. If he’d checked the locks on the doors before entering, he’d have realized something was amiss. This is even more important when you’re showing a home, since there are more entry points than in an apartment. Broken windows, jimmied locks, and unlocked, open doors or windows are all signs that someone might be inside, and you should proceed with caution. Want to get more information on this and other related real estate crimes? Well, be sure to sign up for our REI Today Scam Alert List to make sure you don’t miss anything that represents a threat to your physical or financial safety. Go to www.rei.today/scamalert to join. And remember, we’ve got lots of safety-oriented information in the REI Today Vault as well, so you can text REI Today to 33444 to make sure you’re on the list for our reports and analyses, breaking news, great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. I particularly recommend you check out the interview I did recently with a real estate expert who still “door knocks” (to great effect, I might add) to find deals. He addressed how his family handles the safety issue associated with that practice in a vault item titled “Bill Twyfords UNCUT Interview.” And remember, when you join us, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is a TRUMP REAL ESTATE SELL-OFF in the works? | Episode 58

Tue, 10 May 2016 17:30:12 GMT

Is Donald Trump’s presidential bid about to force a HUGE REAL ESTATE SELL-OFF in the Big Apple? He’s going to have to come up with some MAJOR MONEY SOMEWHERE. I’m Carole Ellis. I’ll tell you where the Donald’s BIGGEST FUNDRAISING CHECK might come from today, in episode 58. --- So does Donald Trump’s presuumptive nomination to the republican party’s presidential real estate ticket mean that a HUGE real estate sell-off could be coming in New York City? Let’s just say the money’s gotta come from somewhere, and the GOP isn’t coughing up yet… Before we get into why Trump might be forced into selling HIS MEGA-MANSIONS and ultra-high-end apartment and condo developments, however, let’s talk a little bit about how you could start investing, TRUMP-STYLE, as it were, for a much, much smaller original outlay than the Trump Towers require. It turns out that investing in multifamily real estate (specifically, in HUGE apartment buildings) isn’t as complicated as most people think it is. In fact, with a little guidance, it can be DOWNRIGHT SIMPLE. You may have heard me mention my friend Sue Nelson before. Sue is a former art teacher whose FIRST COMMERCIAL DEAL was a 104-unit apartment complex, she now owns more than 2,000 units and has flipped multifamily buildings for six-digit profits COUNTLESS TIMES, and her motto is “If I can do it, ANYONE can!” Oh, and she backs that up in a major way you’ve got to get a look at, by the way. This opportunity is IMPORTANT (look how it’s benefiting Donald Trump to own major multifamily real estate if you doubt me), so you MUST take a few minutes to check out Sue’s free, highly-detailed training at http://www.rei.today/IMPORTANT right now. You’ll be incredibly glad you did. Now, let’s get back to a clear demonstration of what it can mean to own serious square footage in multifamily real estate… So, with Ted Cruz bowing out of the republican race for president, that leaves Donald Trump as the presumptive republican nominee, although as you’re probably aware he’s a little bit less presumptive than some thanks to some wiggling and conniving going on in the background from the “Never Trump” crowd that has a large following in the GOP. But let’s go ahead and face it: You’re probably choosing between Clinton and Trump this fall. HOWEVER, Trump has a serious problem now. One of his main appeals is that he doesn’t take money from SuperPACs, lobbyists, or even his own party! He’s made it very clear he’s self-funding this presidential run and that he’ll answer to NO ONE but the American people (and himself) once he lands in office. However, there’s a bit of a problem. He’s likely to have to self-fund himself to the tune of about a BILLION DOLLARS, the largest amount by far spent by candidates in any presidential campaign yet. By comparison, Mitt Romney spent $100 million LESS in 2012 on his failed bid, and he had GOP support to raise it. So what’s the big deal? You may be wondering. After all, Trump claims to be worth $10 BILLION, so that’s definitely a hefty chunk but surely it’s doable. Nevermind, for the moment, that Forbes says he’s worth more like $3 billion. Even assuming that $10 billion estimate is accurate, it’s unlikely that Trump can just write himself a check for that amount. He’s made no secret of the fact that most of his worth is tied up in real estate, and that could mean one of two things if he ends up needed to self-fund instead of fundraise in order to give Hilary Clinton a run for her money (by the way, she’s already raised $186 million and is backed to the hilt by well-funded political action committees (PACs) – no question about Hilary answering to no one if she takes office, that’s for sure. She’s going to be answering to just about everyone. Okay, back off the soap box and back onto the real estate sale Trump trail. Anyway, so far, Trump has spent about $47 million on his campaign because he’s a publicity MACHINE and gets free PR in the form of free TV and Radio AIRTIME just about everywhere. However, he is going to need some support in the next six months, and campaign analysts predict that he’s going to have to fund it largely by himself because he’s made such a big deal about how wealthy he is. One campaign consultant, who insisted on remaining anonymous, predicted that Trump will end up selling off properties to fund longer-term needs and taking out a massive number of loans for the short-term. “He’s perceived as immensely wealthy,” the guy warned, adding that it will probably be a problem when it comes to fundraising because people will not accept the idea that Trump actually needs their money. So what could Trump borrow against or sell? Well, he’s got about $2.1 billion worth of New York City properties, and about $366 million worth of golf clubs around the world. If he was really in a pinch, Forbes Magazine estimates that he could get $630 million for Trump Tower in New York if he sold fast, and about $113 million for Trump National Golf Club in LA under similar circumstances. What’s Trump got to say about it? “I do love self-funding,” he said recently on MSNBC, but he added, “We do need money for the party.” I’ve got to say, I’m curious. Surely Trump wouldn’t get this far, then let the nomination be essentially wasted because he can’t compete with Hilary’s well-oiled money-printing political machine. But would he really sell off a marquee property like Trump Tower to make his presidency happen? I have to say, if he does I’m going to have a hard time not cheering for him! But if he goes the traditional campaign fundraising route, he loses so much of his independent appeal. My prediction (and we’ll check back on this so keep listening) is that he’ll take out loans on top of loans, assuming he’ll be able to pay them off or leverage them in some meaningful way farther down the road. But that takes us into another issue: his stance on debt. And that’s a topic for another day. In the interim, take a quick gander at our Trump Timeline in the REI Today Vault at www.rei.today/vault. It will give you a really good idea of how the guy has grown his family and his business in a unique way, because we used all public info but it is not usually put together in the same place quite like this. If you’re not yet a member, don’t worry! text REITODAY no spaces, no periods to 33444 and I’ll immediately send you the information you need to get that access to the Trump Timeline and ALSO provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

how to get a 23% DISCOUNT on your next deal | Episode 57

Fri, 06 May 2016 04:00:00 GMT

How would you like to get a 23 PERCENT DISCOUNT on your next deal? I’m Carole Ellis. I’ll tell you how today, in Episode . How does a 23 percent DISCOUNT on your next deal sound to you? Think you could manage to make a little extra profit with that kind of wiggle room? Some exciting new data from RealtyTrac shows clearly how to do it, and we’ll talk all about it in today’s episode. First, however, I want to mention another great way to get deals (and, by the way, a great deal for you) if you live in the Birmingham, Alabama or Miami, Florida areas. On May 10 in Birmingham and on May 16 in Miami, Auction.com is hosting a LIVE SEMINAR on how to use their website and other investor-specific concierge services to get fantastic deals on properties. The May 16 event is particularly exciting, I think, because Rick Sharga, a former senior VP at RealtyTrac and current executive vice president at Auction.com (which, by the way, is now calling itself Ten-X) will be the featured speaker at the event. If you are going to be in either of those areas, check out all the information at www.rei.today/auction and, by the way, when you register mention that you heard about it here and you’ll get in for free. And you better tell me all about it when you’re done, because I’m hoping to get down to Miami myself but I just broke my foot which is going to make traveling hard…We’ll see what happens. Anyway, now that you know how to gain access to the biggest online real estate auction around on a personal level, let’s get back to that 23 percent discount. Here’s how it works: You pay cash. Now before you throw up your hands and say “I don’t have enough money to pay cash at closing for a house!” wait a second. “Paying cash” doesn’t always mean you show up with a suitcase full of gold coins or hundred-dollar bills. Here’s the definition provided by Investopedia on the topic: “An all-cash deal is the transfer of a real estate property without financing or mortgages. The buyer produces the appropriate funds at the time of closing and the seller receives the entire selling price at closing.” In terms of your real estate deals, what this essentially means is that your offer will become significantly more attractive if you can tell the seller up front that you have access to the cash you need to buy the property and are not going to be waiting on, say, Bank of America, for your 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. Sellers will give major discounts (as you can see) for fast closings (not an option with conventional financing) that they can count on (also not an option with conventional financing), and you can take advantage of that even if you don’t have a couple hundred thousand dollars squirreled away in your mattress or buried in the basement. In Here’s how: Many real estate investors opt to use their retirement accounts to fund their deals, which means that they can pay up front for their purchases and access the advantages that hedge funds and other huge investment powerhouses have over most buyers. You will need a self-directed account to do this, though, so if you don’t have one, talk to an expert (oh, and start listening to SDI Radio on iTunes) about how to make this happen. You probably have a LOT of investment money you didn’t know about just waiting to be leveraged if you’ve worked outside the home at some point in your past. Second, you can access unconventional financing. If you work with a private lender who has already committed to loan you the money for a short-term investment (say, perhaps, that you are planning to wholesale the deal) then you can offer very similar terms to a seller that an all-cash buyer can offer because you can close quickly and you know that you’ll get your financing. Private and hard money loans are a great way to be competitive in this market, but be sure you’ve run your numbers carefully as they come with the price of higher interest rates! Finally, many real estate investors simply build lists of cash buyers to whom they can wholesale their deals, then get to work finding deals to those cash buyers’ specifications. While you may not be buying the deal yourself, you’ll get a cut of the profits and you can probably leverage your cash buyers to make the deal more attractive. That being said, it’s very important to be clear with sellers about what you are doing. Don’t lie! If it’s not YOUR cash, don’t say it is! Just establish the terms of the deal and get that sucker under contract so you can get to work solving EVERYONE’S problems. Of course, in some markets, that 23-percent discount is actually much, much bigger. Check out our list of markets where the discounts are 40 percent OR MORE in the REI Today Vault at www.rei.today/vault. Not yet a member? No worries! text REITODAY no spaces, no periods to 33444 and I’ll immediately send you the information you need to get that access and ALSO provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The MAGIC WORDS to make the government COUGH UP THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS in “STOLEN” MONEY in about 76 days | Episode 56

Thu, 05 May 2016 15:48:54 GMT

Imagine if there was a certain combination of words that you could say to a complete stranger that would frequently result in you AND THAT STRANGER receiving thousands of real estate dollars that had been MISAPPROPRIATED by the government in about 76 days. I’m betting you’d crack out that pencil and paper to write them down. I’ll tell you that combination of words today. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 56. So how about it? Are you ready for some “magic” words? And how does that word, “misappropriated” come in? Who’s the government “stealing” from now? I’ve got the answers in today’s podcast, and I’m warning you, it’s going to make you squirm a little when you find out what your local government has been up to under your very nose. It’s not pretty, but the good news is that you can right this wrong (Oh, and you can build a nice little business out of doing so while you’re at it). So let’s get down to business. Here’s what’s going on. Every time a local government has a FORECLOSURE AUCTION to sell off homes that are in foreclosure due to NONPAYMENT of property taxes, there is an EGREGIOUS wrong being done to the foreclosed homeowners. We talked to real estate attorney and investor Bob Diamond, who has been active in this space for more than 10 years, about what’s happening. He explained that when a homeowner goes into tax foreclosure, they owe, on average, three to four years of property taxes. At most, he said, that’s about $25,000 including fees and penalties. However, most homes sell at tax foreclosure auctions for 70 percent of market value, and that means that they’re selling, on average, for about $130,000. Do you see the discrepancy? Just in case you hate math like me, I’m going to spell it out: Once that $25,000 owed to the government is taken out, there’s another $105,000 (again, these are averages, but you see the point) left over that SHOULD go to the former homeowner – in fact, it legally belongs to them, no question about it, it’s in the law in black and white – but instead, that money goes into a government SLUSH FUND where the government can use the interest that it’s earning (and sometimes they even get into the money itself) for whatever, well, the government wants. Does that sound right to you? Think about it. These homeowners have just gone through what most people agree is THE WORST EXPERIENCE an individual can have when it comes to homeownership, and many people say packing up their families and moving out of a foreclosed home is the hardest thing they’ve ever done. Now, they SHOULD be getting access to funds that could really help them out in this awful situation, but instead, they’re getting thrown out of their houses and the money is nowhere in sight. That’s where you and your “magic word combination” come in, by the way. This is what Bob does (remember, he’s a lawyer and a massively experienced investor) and you can do it too. Here it is in his own words: “These people are HAPPY to hear from me. Think about it. What would you say if I called you and said (here it is, folks): “Hey, you’re owed $34,000 from the government. I’d like to work with you to extract that money, I’ll do the word, would you like to do this with me?” Do you think that these people care whether you live in their state or whether they know you? This a business done perfectly by telephone, by fax, by email, by US Postal Service. Remember, every county in America holds one of these tax sales at least once a year, so the pool is HUGE. And you could be the best news these people have had since their foreclosure!” So now that you have the magic words, you’re probably wondering where the 76 days comes in, am I right? Well, Bob tells me that on average, it takes 76 days from the time that he identifies money owed and contacts the former homeowner to the point where the homeowner has their money and Bob has a nice, healthy finders fee in hand. And those finders fees are not small, ladies and gentlemen. Here are just a few examples from real, live deals that Bob and his students have done: Excess funds of $127,758.49. Finder’s fee: $44,715.47. Excess funds of $134,247.89. Finder’s fee: $46,986.76. And here’s a “smaller” one for perspective: Excess funds of $41,515.88. Finders fee of “only” $14,530.56. Do you see how you could turn your Robin Hood nature loose, taking from the greedy government and giving back to needy homeowners, and still make a good, good living at the same time? And here’s the thing, folks, because I know some of you out there are thinking it right now: you deserve that finder’s fee. You have a skill that unfortunately most foreclosed homeowners don’t have (if they do, then they’ve already got their money anyway!) and you’re doing work to get that money for that abused homeowner! Sure, it would great to do it for free. Do you have enough income or money saved to quit your job and start doing it that way? Well, if you do, that’s fantastic, but if you don’t, think about all the people who will NEVER know about this life-changing access to funds they actually OWN if you opt to not improve your own life and theirs in the process. And think about this: Your loving, caring, government is BANKING on you deciding not to take action. That way, they can keep their slush fund. If you do the work, you deserve the fee, and Bob tells me that in his experience, homeowners are OVERJOYED to hear that they have a huge check waiting for them, not quibbling with him over paying for highly valuable services. Anyway, now that we’ve dealt with that, let’s talk about how you can start making this happen. Basically, there are a few simple steps you have to take to start finding out where these funds (and the associated foreclosure victims) are located. Bob goes through this process IN DETAIL in a special training that our publisher, Bryan Ellis, is hosting. It’s free, but space is limited and let me tell you, people love this stuff, so you need to act quickly to make sure you get in while there is still room. Go to www.rei.today/amazing RIGHT NOW to reserve your spot. That’s www.rei.today/amazing. And while you’re at it, text REITODAY, no spaces, no periods, to 33444. That way you’ll always be in the loop for the latest and most important breaking real estate news coverage, exclusive training, and the best networking available in your area. That REITODAY no spaces, no periods to 33444. And folks, remember, when you joins us at REI TODAY, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me, my guests, and your fellow listeners to REI Today (heck, maybe we’ll even get Bob in the mix)… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 after you head over to www.rei.today/amazing right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why a $1,000 Piece of Land BEATS $100K IN REAL ESTATE “Every” Time | Episode 55

Thu, 05 May 2016 15:42:15 GMT

If I offered you your choice of two properties: a $1,000 vacant parcel of land and a $100,000 house, which would you choose? If you’re like most people, you’d snap up the house. And you’d be making a BIG MISTAKE. I’ll tell you why in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 55. --- If someone told you that you’d be crazy not to take a $1000 parcel of vacant land over a $100,000 house, you’d probably turn right around and tell them they’re nuts. However, my guest today has spent the last 20 years doing just that, and let’s just say his business, his investment success, and frankly his LIFESTYLE indicate that he’s not crazy at all. I’ll tell you all about it in today’s episode, but first I want to take just a minute to talk about something that IS crazy: making BAD DECISIONS when you know they’re bad just because your EMOTIONS say you want them to be good. Did you know that’s how more than 90 percent of all real estate scams happen? The victims KNOW they’re doing something inadvisable, but they DO IT ANYWAY. And how do they know that? Because there are red flags that indicate you’re dealing with a con artist from a mile away, but every day thousands of people choose their emotional inclination to ignore these flags over their intellectual knowledge that they’re about to get conned. You can get a free report about these red flags from REI Today by going to www.rei.today/scamalert (one word) right now. Don’t let your emotions make you crazy – at least not where your real estate is concerned! Now, let’s get back to something that LOOKS crazy on the face of it, but actually is some of the best real estate investing strategy I’ve ever seen. First, let me tell you a bit about today’s guest. His name is Jack Bosch, and Jack came to the United States in 1997 with no money, tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt, and ZERO knowledge of the U.S. real estate system. “It was actually a blessing to know absolutely nothing about how things worked,” he told me, “because it enabled me to see much more clearly than other investors that the number one type of real estate that people have out there tends to be a fairly inexpensive piece of land, usually worth less than $80,000.” He added that most are actually worth $10,000 to $30,000, and that’s “the sweet spot,” he noted. More on that later. Anyway, these parcels of land tend to be something of a drag for their owners. You owe property taxes on them, you can’t really use them for anything, and often the reason the person bought the land in the first place (usually, Jack said, it’s a result of retirement planning when finances are good and they go ahead and buy DEVELOPED LAND that is ready to build, thinking they’ll build in the future) anyway, often the reason that they bought the land in the first place is no longer valid. They’ve since divorced, or their retirement goals have changed, or their finances have changed, the list goes on and one. So Jack gets here in 1997, takes a look around at a completely foreign real estate system, and sees all this vacant land out there that literally nobody who knows about it wants. And he quickly realized he could buy that land often for prices as low as 5 cents on the dollar because the owners just want it off their hands. “Think about it,” he said. “If you buy a $30,000 piece of property for $5,000, it’s a pretty safe bet that you are going to make money on that deal. In fact, my first deal, I bought an $8,000 property for $400 cash, no mortgage, and I sold it to the neighbor for $4,000 the second I put a sign in the yard.” As you can imagine, after that Jack was hooked. “Why would I go to auctions or into markets where there is a bunch of competition when I can just send letters to a certain subset of landowners and they’ll be thrilled for me to take their property off their hands?” he asked, noting that these are “perfectly find properties, beautiful pieces of land” that someone else will be thrilled to get from him at a deep discount, it’s just that the current owners no longer have a need for them. Jack’s second deal was a 40-acre parcel that he bought for $500 and sold for $10,000. At that point, he says, “This seemed to be a pattern, so I decided to do it again.” Even more interesting, Jack doesn’t ever mess with houses, because he’s figured out a way to actually generate some serious passive income from vacant land in a way that is possible – but more complicated – with developed properties. You can find out all about that strategy (it’s simple and quite frankly, brilliant) by reading the entire interview transcript which is waiting for you in the REI Today Vault over at www.rei.today/vault. Not yet a member? You know I’ve got you covered! Just text REITODAY no spaces, no periods, to 33444 and I’ll send you all the information you need to access the vault immediately. And if you happen to live in the Atlanta area, then I’ve got really great news for you! Jack is presenting the KEYNOTE ADDRESS at this month’s GaREIA general meeting on May 9. Doors open at 5:30 at the Wyndam Atlanta Galleria at 6345 Powers Ferry Road. This is the BEST MEETING YET to attend, because we have some really exciting changes in the works, so be sure to get there right at 5:30 so you can participate in a new networking event (and possibly win $50 from Home Depot, by the way), hear all of our faculty-focused educational sessions, and catch Jack’s entire presentation in person! If you’re not in Atlanta (and you can’t get here) don’t feel badly, though. You’ll have a chance to hear more from Jack in the very near future, so text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or visit us online at www.rei.today/vault to make sure you’re signed up for those updates and read that interview. I’m telling you, it’s good. And folks, remember, when you joins us at REI TODAY, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

how to GET YOUR SHARE of the $6.2 BILLION being THROWN AWAY in real estate | Episode 53

Thu, 05 May 2016 04:00:00 GMT

Can you believe it? Americans are throwing away $6.2 billionWEEKLY in real estate by skipping over this simple, massiveprofit-generating action. I’ll tell you what it is in today’sepisode. I’m Carole Ellis, and this is Episode 53.----So wouldn’t you like a share of the $6.2 billion that isapparently getting WASTED weekly by Americans making a “bad” realestate decision? I know I’m pretty interested. We’re going to getinto the details on this exciting topic in just a second, butbefore we do, I want to mention another “billion-dollar industry”that most Americans think is completely out of their reach butthat, in reality, is extremely straightforward and WILDLYprofitable when done correctly. I’m talking about something big,literally – owning and/or FLIPPING apartment complexes. You canlearn all about this important and highly underutilized (that meansless competition, guys) investing strategy by going right now towww.rei.today/IMPORTANTfor a free training that will give you ALL the details you need.Don’t miss it! If that BILLION number got your attention, then youneed to access this information right away.But now, let’s get back to the BILLIONS you’re apparentlyparticipating in wasting these days…And no, it’s not a governmentrant. Not today, anyway…So here’s the scoop:According to the website Finder.com, which is dedicated tohelping people quote, “find what they’re looking for” whether it’smoney, rewards points, or my favorite, education, there are 9.4percent more bedrooms in the United States than there are people tosleep in those bedrooms, which means that there are 33.6 millionspare rooms (if not more, since most couples sleep in the sameroom) in the U.S. According to Finder’s CEO, Fred Schebesta, thoserooms could be being used as short-term rentals via AirBnB or otherrental services, and that could mean nearly $10,000 a year, perbedroom, to the owners of those homes. Schebesta himself said thathe earned about $184 a week using similar services and that hefound that earning more money was far better than quote “cuttingspending out.” He added, I’ve met some very interesting people overthe years.So what do you stand to gain from renting out your spare bedroomin your particular location? Well, it depends a lot on where youlive. For example, Phoenix residents can get about $338 a week(more than $17,000 a year) and Nashville residents can snag about$572 a week (nearly $30,000 a year!) However, other locations thatmay be more rural or that have major seasonal issues (extreme heat,cold, or rain, for example) may be worth less to homeowners inthese areas.Of course, a lot of people don’t want to rent their sparebedroom out to strangers – in fact, a lot of people like keepingthat room SPARE for a reason and don’t really like hostingovernight guests at all! But just because you don’t want people inyour OWN home doesn’t mean you can’t take advantage of the newshort-term rental trend. A number of investors are actually makingextremely solid livings these days renting out space via AirBnB orVRBO (Vacation Rental By Owner) in their investment properties, andif you own property in a desirable location (like Nashville, forexample, or a popular vacation destination) you can actuallygenerate far more income using short-term rental strategies thanyou can renting out to a single tenant over the long-term. Want tolearn more? Check out our latest exclusive REI Today Guide“Short-Term Rental Strategies for 2016” in the REI Today Vault byvisiting www.rei.today/vault rightnow! Not yet a member? No worries! When you text REITODAY nospaces, no periods to 33444 and I’ll immediately send you theinformation you need to get that report right away and ALSO provideyou with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings,news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information thatwill help make your investing safer, faster, and moreprofitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOURNETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REIToday… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network withother investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces noperiods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault rightnow.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always rememberthis:Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

REAL-LIFE CASE STUDY: Life-Changing PROFITS from PLAYING ROBIN HOOD to foreclosure victims | Episode 54

Thu, 05 May 2016 04:00:00 GMT

What would you say if I told you that you could make a huge,life-changing impact on the financial well-being of FORECLOSUREABUSE VICTIMS all while building a lasting, viable business modelfor yourself? Oh, and also while EXPOSING GOVERNMENT WASTE ANDFRAUD in the process? If you’re like most of my savvy, passionatelisteners, you’d say “Tell me more!” Well I’ll tell you all thedetails right now. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 54.Let’s jump right in, because I just LOVE this story (and it’s atrue one, which makes it even better). There’s a guy living in theMidwest, we’ll call him “Joel,” and you’ll see in a second why wearen’t using his real name. Anyway, there’s this guy up in theMidwest and a few years ago, he hit some hard times. You know, thekind of times where you have to decide which bills to pay and whichones to let slide and Joel, well, he decided to keep his lights onand feed his family at the expense of his property tax bill. And,as these things go, that property tax bill mounted up but Joelstill was working hard, feeding his family, keeping the lights on,but he just couldn’t catch those taxes up until one day, three orfour YEARS after that first delinquency, Joel’s house wasforeclosed by the local government and he had to move out so itcould be sold at auction. Now you know why we’re calling him “Joel”instead of his real name: not everyone likes it when they have torelive a tough experience like the loss of a home throughforeclosure over and over again years after the fact!So you might think that was the end of the story, and in fact,Joel did. He packed up his family and moved into a rental andstarted trying to make a living as a WELDER, but although he was agreat welder, he wasn’t certified, and that severely limited theamount of money he could charge for his services and the number ofjobs he could get. He was in a kind of vicious cycle that it seemedlike he might never get out of until…(and this is where the storygets good for Joel AND a certain real estate investor named Bob,his real name, and I’ll tell you more about him in a minute)Anyway, until BOB called Joel up with some fantastic,seemed-too-good-to-be-true-but-it-was-true news: the citygovernment that had foreclosed on Joel YEARS ago and sold his homeat auction had actually sold that home for way, way more than Joelowed in taxes and that money, called an OVERAGE, by the way, hadbeen sitting in a government SLUSH FUND where it would have stayedFOREVER if Bob hadn’t spotted it. And now, Bob was prepared to sendJoel a $12,000 check in the mail!Now, before we get back to that check and exactly what it meantfor Joel, let’s take a minute to talk about real estate investorBob. Bob’s not just a real estate investor, he’s also a real estateattorney. And he’s been using this OVERAGE SYSTEM to right thewrongs done to foreclosure victims EVERY TIME THERE IS A TAX SALEanywhere in the country – and he’s also managed to build a reallynice business out of the process as well. Bob has a proven,well-oiled-machine of a system for identifying OVERAGES and findingthe individuals who are owed, and do you think that they’re HAPPYto pay Bob a finder’s fee for that service? Well, I’ll get back toJoel’s story and then let you tell me.So anyway, Bob called up Joel and told him that he had $12,000to send him, and Joel went through the roof with joy. “He actuallyoffered to drive to my office, which was several states away, topick up the check,” Bob told me, adding that he Fed-Exed it so itwould get there overnight. What did Joel do with the money? Well,he got certified as a welder. Specifically, he got an MIG weldingcertification, which is a certification that basically any welderwho wants to work in manufacturing or in a fabrication shop has tohave. It’s not cheap to get, but it meant, Joel told Bob, that hewould be able to make $68 an hour and probably fantastic overtimeon top of that. As you can imagine, that was pretty life-changing,and it sure means Joel is unlikely to ever lose another house to atax sale!And what did Bob get out of it from a monetary standpoint?(Because, admit it, there’s nothing wrong with wondering, andunless you’re a trustfund baby you probably can’t be a full-timephilanthropist starting today). Anyway, Bob got a finder’s fee. Inthis case, it was a few thousand dollars because, get this, a$12,000 check “isn’t really that big” when you’re talking aboutoverages. A better example might be the amount that Bob made whenhe was able to send a $63,437.25 check to a guy named Robert (hisreal name, by the way). That sucker not only changed Robert’sfinancial situation IMMEDIATELY, but it netted Bob just over$19,000 in finders fees as well. And folks, don’t you think thatmost foreclosure victims are DELIGHTED to pay those fees since Bobknew how to find that money and get it (trust me, the governmentdoesn’t exactly make it easy because they don’t want those abusedhomeowners to have those funds)? Of course they were! In manycases, it’s the best news they’ve had SINCE THE FORECLOSURE.And you don’t just have to believe me, either. You can get allthe details on how this works, how YOU can do it, and how you canBUILD A HIGHLY PROFITABLE BUSINESS literally playing Robin Hoodtaking from the greedy government and giving back to the poorhomeowners who have been victimized by that government by goingright now to www.rei.today/amazingto get all the details. Our publisher, Bryan Ellis, will be hostinga free training event that exposes all the government corruptionbehind the overage system, how you can play a major, meaningfulrole in righting these wrongs, and how to build a business thatliterally grows off the good that you are doing, this week. It’sfree, but space is limited, to head over right now towww.rei.today/amazingfor all the details. And if you want to see a few of the checksthat Bob has gotten for his role in the Robin Hood process (andremember when you do, FIVE FIGURE SUCKERS ARE A FRACTION of whatthe homeowner got), check them out in the REI Today Vault! Not yeta member? I’ve got you covered! text REITODAY no spaces, no periodsto 33444 and I’ll immediately send you the information you need toget that access and ALSO provide you with fast, immediate access toall sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lotmore timely information that will help make your investing safer,faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOURNETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REIToday… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network withother investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces noperiods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault rightnow.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always rememberthis:Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

TRUMP WARNING: bad days ahead for housing | Episode 52

Wed, 04 May 2016 14:59:03 GMT

Donald Trump is at it again (did he really ever stop?), makinghuge headlines for saying wildly unpopular things that, let’s faceit, a lot of us fear might be true. These days, Trump is tellingsome hard truths about housing, and if he’s right the federalgovernment could be setting up investors for PURE DISASTER. I’mCarole Ellis, and I’ll tell you all about how Trump is threateninghousing today, in Episode 52.So Donald Trump isn’t known for his discretion or respect forthe tender feelings of others, and he’s back at it again (and notjust by finally routing his main competition, Ted Cruz, right outof the race), riling up the federal government elite, making somenasty housing observations – and accusations – against the FederalReserve and the entire federal government. I’ll tell you all aboutwhat the Donald said in just a minute, but since we’re talkingabout Trump I want to mention a really interesting resource we’vegot in the REI Today Vault right now. It’s a timeline that we builtusing a LOT of public information that is dispersed ALL OVER theinternet, but that you don’t usually see all in one place. It putsthe Donald’s professional and personal life in unique perspective,and it also sheds light on something that might be, well, a littlemisleading that he’s been saying about a certain real estaterelated lawsuit he’s involved in. You can get the details on theLAWSUIT in episode 41 (that’s www.rei.today/41), and youcan view our “Truth About Trump Timeline” in the REI Today Vault atwww.rei.today/vault or bytexting REITODAY no spaces, no periods, to 33444 for access. It’sstartling information, and it changed the way I thought about theguy. Check it out, because it could affect your vote!Now, back to Trump’s latest (and, in my opinion, one of thegreatest) things he’s up to. Here are the details:Trump has made no secret of the fact that he thinks that hecould do a far, far better job of running, well, just abouteverything in the United States than the individuals currently inthe driver’s seat. One area in which he hasn’t been so critical,however, has been interestingly enough, the Federal Reserve. Trumprecently actually said that in his opinion, Janet Yellen, thecurrent chair, has done a “serviceable” job in her position, butthat doesn’t mean she wouldn’t get the old “You’re fired” if hetakes office next year as president of the United States. In arecent interview with Fortune magazine, Trump said that hethinks the Fed has done the right thing in keeping interest rateslow, despite the fact that many analysts fear that this is creatinga fully artificial market recovery. However, said Trump, the mainreason Yellen has made this good move is for a bad reason – to helpkeep the current president looking good until he leaves office. Ina separate interview also with Fortune, Trump explainedexactly why he would let Yellen go. “She’s highly political,” hesaid, adding, “Obama told her not to because he wants to be outplaying golf in a year from now…and he doesn’t want to see a bigbubble burst during his administration.” The implication is thatonce our current president is out of office, Yellen would likelyraise rates and create what Trump has called a “scary situation”for the U.S. economy. As is his way, Trump promised that not onlywould he get “other people” into place in Fed leadership, but thathe would also do other, unspecified but, he assured readers, “goodthings” that would help the U.S. economy.Whether you love him or hate him, it’s looking more and morelikely that Donald Trump will snag the republican nomination forpresident unless something unprecedented happens very soon. REIToday wants you to have all the information about the guy that youneed to make a decision, so please check out our Trump Timeline (Imentioned it earlier) to get a different view of his history andthe high-profile, extremely controversial real estate educationlawsuit in which he’s currently embroiled. You can accessinformation about that lawsuit at www.rei.today/41, and checkout the timeline in the REI Today Vault at www.rei.today/vault. Notyet a member? I’ve got you covered! text REITODAY no spaces, noperiods to 33444 and I’ll immediately send you the information youneed to get that access and ALSO provide you with fast, immediateaccess to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews,and lot more timely information that will help make your investingsafer, faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOURNETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REIToday… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network withother investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces noperiods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault rightnow.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always rememberthis:Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

SHOCKING EVIDENCE: local governments HIDING MONEY OWED to FORECLOSURE VICTIMS | Episode 51

Tue, 03 May 2016 16:30:07 GMT

It’s disgusting. Governing bodies all over the country areHIDING MONEY OWED TO FORECLOSURE VICTIMS, and one governmentofficial even admitted it! Find out whether YOU’RE OWED MONEY andhow to help the victims (and yourself) today. I’m Carole Ellis.This is episode 51.I find this shocking, but hardly surprising. REI Today has firm,clear, indisputable evidence that government bodies all over thiscountry are HIDING MONEY owed to foreclosure victims, and they’renot even particularly ashamed of themselves! I’ll tell you all thedetails today, including how one government official actually gotextremely defensive over those funds confronted about them. But youdon’t have to just believe me about this. A colleague of mine namedBob Diamond is an expert in this stuff. He’s a real estate attorneyand an extremely active real estate investor, and he has made acareer out of “Robin Hood Investing” wherein he EXPOSES exactlywhere this foreclosure money is hidden and helps the unknowingvictims reclaim their cash.When I talked to Bob about this issue, at first I found itpretty hard to believe that there could actually be hundreds ofthousands if not millions of dollars of money sitting in governmentcoffers waiting for foreclosure victims to claim it. After all,didn’t we create an entirely new set of laws and multiple newfederal agencies to protect consumers and homeowners from this typeof abuse? Well, yes we did (think Consumer Financial ProtectionBureau and Dodd-Frank, folks) but let’s just say they’re not reallyvery interested in righting this particular wrong. Here’s why:Bob says that the key to the entire rotten process lies inforeclosure auctions, specifically foreclosures over propertytaxes. “When someone loses their home to tax foreclosure, theyusually haven’t paid their property taxes in three or four years,”he explained, adding that usually this amounts to, at most, about$25,000 including fees and penalties. However, the properties intax sales usually sell for about 70 percent of market value.National median home price is about $186,000, so that means that atypical home would likely sell at tax auction for $130,340.Subtract that $25,000, and you can see there is more than $100,000left over, and by right – by legal right, this is not hypotheticalin any way – that leftover money belongs to the former homeowner.However, and here’s the catch, the former homeowner must KNOW THEMONEY IS THERE and go through the proper channels to ASK FOR IT.Probably 99 percent of people (maybe even more) who lose theirhomes to tax sale have no idea what their home sells for or thatany leftover money is there. Think about it: if you had just lostyour home to foreclosure, would you attend the auction to watch itgo? Probably not. And you, like the vast majority of homeowners,would therefore have no idea that the government had collected way,way waaaay more money on your home than you owed saidgovernment.“I’ve been going to real estate tax auctions since 1989,” saidBob, “and I’ve only seen one former owner at a tax sale.”“It’s really sad,” he added. “They lost their home, and now theylost all their cash as well.” But in reality, the government keepsthe money forever if it is not claimed through the proper channels.“The governments wants you to lose that money and wants to keepit,” Bob explained. He added that many government officials areeven defensive of those funds, and that one once explained in aninterview when asked about the 95 percent (that’s right ladies andgentlemen, 95 PERCENT) of the foreclosure funds that go unclaimed,quote, “That’s our SLUSH FUND. You can’t take that away!” But intruth, it’s legalized theft. That money belongs to the formerowners, not the government, and the entire system is rigged so thatforeclosure victims have no idea WHO to ask for it, WHAT exactly toask for, or HOW to go about it.And that’s where Bob comes in, and where you as an investor OR aforeclosure victim need to come in too. Ladies and gentlemen, Bobdid an entire training with our publisher, Bryan Ellis, on thistopic, and he explained in detail exactly how it works, what youcan do about it, and how to go about not only righting thisegregious wrong and helping foreclosed homeowners but also make agood, solid, meaningful living at the same time that you can bevery, very proud of. The training is free, but space is very, verylimited so please do not delay. Head right over to www.rei.today/amazingto register for this free training. That’s www.rei.today/amazing,and when you’re done, be sure to check out images of just some ofthe checks that foreclosure victims have received as a directresult of Bob’s exposure of this legal (but I say it’s criminal)government habit of hiding money from people at one of the worsttimes in their entire life. You can see these images in the REIToday Vault right now by going to www.rei.today/vault. Notyet a member? No worries! Just text REITODAY no spaces, no periodsto 33444 and I’ll immediately send you the information you need toget that access and ALSO provide you with fast, immediate access toall sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lotmore timely information that will help make your investing safer,faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOURNETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REIToday… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network withother investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces noperiods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault rightnow.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always rememberthis:Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

the URBAN EYESORE that's selling million-dollar homes | Episode 50

Mon, 02 May 2016 20:15:41 GMT

Wouldn’t you like to know about an URBAN EYESORE that used tosend buyers running AWAY but now can bring them running to theclosing table? Even better, most investors will AUTOMATICALLY PASSon this “great” location. I’m Carole Ellis. I’ve got all thedetails today in episode 50.So wouldn’t you want to know about a location that could lurehomebuyers in droves, persuade them to pay triple the U.S. medianhome sales price in some areas, and was basically an “open-airsecret” from most investors? Of course you would, which is why I’mhere. I’ll tell you all about it, but first I want to make youaware of a BIG CHANGE that is going to affect the way a lot of youfind your deals. It has to do with AUCTION.COM, and let’s just sayif you don’t have all the information, you might think that thisonline real estate platform has GONE AWAY. The truth, however, ismuch bigger and more exciting (if you know how to take advantage ofthis MAJOR CHANGE), and you can get all the details in our News& Networking section at www.rei.today/auction.And, maybe even better if you happen to live in the Birmingham,Alabama area, on May 10 or near Miami, Florida, on May 16, thecompany’s experts are hosting a live, in-person seminar on just howto use their new, MASSIVE system. Get all the information atwww.rei.today/auctionand, just for REI Today listeners, you can register for that liveevent for FREE if you mention this show!Now, back to the urban eyesore today’s homebuyers LOVE…You know that in real estate, the old saying goes, “Location,location, location.” Historically, conventional wisdom has dictatedthat certain locations are particularly attractive – you know,lakefront, beachfront, exclusive communities, etc – and thatcertain locations are, well, less than attractive, such as homesnear airports, train tracks, and freeways, which tend to have noisepollution in spades and often be less than ideally pleasing to theeye as well. However, two of those three locations are gettingtrendier all the time, and it’s not just in cities where the realestate prices in prime locations are too astronomical for theaverage American to afford. Homes near highways and train tracks,once considered last-ditch options that would certainly be farcheaper than anything comparable elsewhere, are now pulling inrespectable sales prices all over the country because of the urbanaccess that they usually represent.This trend of building lots of highly desirable houses in areasthat didn’t used to be so geographically desirable is called“in-fill” and it can give a real estate investor a huge advantageif he or she is, well, in the know. In-fill is defined as theprocess wherein developers buy land in a traditionally unattractiveareas – trash-filled lots, older buildings adjacent to train tracksor highways, factories, bowling alleys, or other buildings thathistorically would be in those locations because the noise didn’tmatter so much, and tear them down to make way for mixed-use oreven just residential housing. These areas usually are within primewalking distance of shops, restaurants, and other conveniencesalready, in addition to having great public transit access ofcourse, and that makes them highly attractive to young, well-paidprofessionals who value location and walkability or bikeability farmore than they mind the dull roar in the background of theirlives.So how can you leverage your knowledge of infill to youradvantage as a real estate investor? Well, for starters, probablythe biggest advantage you now have is that you possess informationabout this location that most buyers and investors do not. Sure, incities like Los Angeles or New York, it’s pretty common knowledgethat people will buy just about anywhere you can build. But you canalso use this knowledge in other attractive metro areas –particularly cities with a large influx of millennial buyers andyoung professionals heading in their direction, like my ownhometown of Atlanta, for example – to spot prime locations forrehabs, flips, or even development that you can get at a discount.Check out what the senior vice president of research at John BurnsReal Estate Consulting, Jody Kahn, said about this topic. Sherecently said in a press interview that Cleveland and Philadelphiaare prime areas for infill because and I quote “everybody is movingfrom the suburbs into the city” in these areas. John Burns is oneof the biggest names in the business, and Kahn added that they’readvising developers everywhere to consider this “urban eyesore”opportunity.Here’s something you must remember, however, when you’re buyingin locations near highways, train tracks, or other conventionallyunattractive areas: Check out the mass transit options, thewalkability and bikeability scores for the area, AND crime levelsbefore you buy. These are things that your buyers are going to careabout even if the noise is not, and you must be able to demonstratethat these attractive advantages are present in your traditionallyunattractive location. Get all the details about how to do thisfrom our special report, “REI Today’s Guide to Buying Near UrbanEyesores” which was just released in the REI Today Vault. You canhead right on over to www.rei.today/vault toaccess it, or if you’re not yet a member, text REITODAY no spaces,no periods to 33444 and I’ll immediately send you the informationyou need to get that access and ALSO provide you with fast,immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage,interviews, and lot more timely information that will help makeyour investing safer, faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOURNETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REIToday… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network withother investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces noperiods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault rightnow.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always rememberthis:Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is it TOO LATE to “make bank” in the NEW SILICON VALLEY? | Episode 49

Fri, 29 Apr 2016 04:30:00 GMT

Are you missing out on the opportunity to invest in a NEWSILICON VALLEY? I’ve got the details on this hot market (and howmuch higher it might go) in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. Thisis Episode 49. Did you miss the boat on investing in the nation’s “New” SiliconValley? Welll, let’s just say if you’re not equipped to take out ajumbo mortgage on an investment property, then you might have toget a little creative to participate. I’ll give you all the details– including the location – in just a minute, but first, I’ve got anexciting announcement: REI Today is now on Twitter! Get updates,pictures, fun and sometimes weird real estate facts and MORE ACCESSto my guests by heading over there right now (www.REI.Today/Twitter) and following me! And you knowI’ll follow you right back, so let’s build your real estate networktogether. Remember, your net worth directly correlates to yourNETWORK, so take this easy step right now. That’s www.REI.Today/Twitter. You’ll love it.Now, back to the New Silicon Valley…We all know the west coast is hot, but usually when we think ofboiling real estate prices we tend to think about San Francisco,Los Angeles, San Diego, all of those California mega-hot marketsthat are always in the news. However, there is another seriouslyhot market out west, and it’s a bit farther north than the rest.The cooler temperatures aren’t affecting the real estate market,though, and some experts are actually suggesting that the metroSeattle area could be the next Silicon Valley. They’re actuallycalling it Silicon Seattle. Here’s why:Technology workers and companies are moving to Seattle indroves. While the market is definitely hot (prices rose 9.5 percentlast year alone), it’s still far less expensive than other westernmarkets like San Francisco, but it’s on the right coast, and that’senough for a lot of companies and their workers.Jumbo lending in the area is on the rise. One of the best waysto identify a potentially hot tech market is to watch the volume ofjumbo mortgages being applied for an approved. IT workers make goodmoney, and lenders tend to like to approve their home loans fortheir huge houses when they follow their companies to newlocations. Last year, Bank of America reported a 20 percent jump injumbo lending volume in Seattle, with most applicants citing techcompanies as their employers.There has been an influx of highly qualified international ITworkers on work visas into the area. Frequently a sign of rapidlygrowing technology market.So how can investors in this type of market compete when housingis already in such high demand? Well, if you don’t have $20,000 topay off a buyer with an accepted offer so that they’ll walk awayfrom the deal you want and leave you to buy it, OR the funds to upyour earnest money to, say, 15 percent of the home’s total value(yes, these things are really happening!) there are other ways toget good deals on properties in this hot market.Probably the best way is to take your deal search off-market(meaning find sellers who are in an unusual situation where they’dlike to just sell fast and for a discount, even if the market ishot), using a variety of tools employed successfully by real estateinvestors in every single market in the country. Want a list ofthese off-market methods? You know I’ve got it locked up tight foryou in the REI Today Vault! Check it out right now at www.REI.Today/Vault, and if you’re not a member yet,just text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’llimmediately ALSO provide you with fast, immediate access toall sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lotmore timely information that will help make your investing safer,faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOURNETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REIToday… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network withother investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces noperiods to 33444 or head over to www.REI.Today/Vault right now.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always rememberthis:Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Common CREDIT FIX Lands INVESTOR IN JAIL | Episode 48

Thu, 28 Apr 2016 04:30:00 GMT

What if some COMMONLY TAUGHT credit repair advice for realestate investors could LAND YOU IN JAIL? Keep the cuffs OFF andlisten up! I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 48.I have heard this credit advice THIS WEEK from a guy I know onFacebook that a number of you probably would (or do) regard as anexpert when it comes to real estate financing. And it’s terrible,lousy, horrible advice that can land you in jail (and it just didland a New Jersey banker in seriously hot water and he could get 30years in prison for it). So you’ll want to pay carefulattention…Before we get to that, however, I want to take a quick minute tomention one of my favorite topics: free money for your real estatedeals. Did you know that the federal government – not to mentionyour state and local bodies – actually provides MILLIONS of dollarsin funding for real estate investors who are making, and I quote,contributions to their communities? Think about it: every time youflip a house or purchase a distressed property, you think you’readding value to the community. Here’s a hint: YES! Check out allthe details at www.REI.Today/Grants and see how REAL real estateinvestors in YOUR area are already taking advantage of theseprograms – and how you can get started today.Now, back to keeping you out of jail (even when your trustedexperts give you bad advice…) So let’s cut to the chase, here. Realestate investors often have, let’s say, poor credit options, notbecause you necessarily have bad credit, but because you often havea lot of loans on a lot of properties OR because you need moneyfaster than conventional lenders (who take months to close on aloan!) can get it to you. So investors are always looking for waysto make the system work for them, and one common piece of advice isto apply for a lot of loans at once so that you get approved beforethe liens on your properties show up for other lenders. While itcan land you lots of funding fast, as you are probably aware, it’snot entirely above board. In fact, there’s a name for it,shotgunning, and it can land you in jail.Here’s what happened to that guy in New Jersey, apparently isknown as “Douglas Mo” of “Douglas Mo Mortgage.” He recently pledguilty to spending 2005 through 2014 using his primary andsecondary residences to obtain multiple home equity lines ofcredit. Basically, he sent in a huge number of home equity lineapplications to various banks in the area all at the same time sothat when they evaluated his applications, it appeared that hisproperties were unencumbered and clear for a great HELOC. However,when those HELOCs were approved, “Mo” ended up with multiple HELOCson the same property, essentially far overextending his collateral.As the court papers put it, “By engaging in this practice, Mothwarted the bank’s efforts to learn of security interests held byother banks on his homes.”Now, as is so often the case with this type of thing, Mo slid byfor YEARS. He pulled this off for more than nine years, and nobodyappears to have really noticed or cared. That’s why so many “creditrepair specialists” actually will tell you TO apply for multipleloans at once as soon as you’ve “repaired” your credit score. Butin this case, Mo took things a little bigger, eventually helpingother clients do the same thing and also engaging in some allegedlyquestionable tax document falsification in order to inflate hisincome so he could get more loans. As you might imagine, thingsspiraled out of control, and the banks involved lost more than amillion dollars and now Mo is waiting for sentencing after enteringhis plea in a federal court. He could actually spent 30 years inprison, pay a $1 million fine and, on top of that, have to payrestitution for the money the banks lost. So you can see, if thatadvice goes sour for you, it’s a pretty big deal.Feeling a little depressed about your funding options now? Don’tbe! For starters, as I mentioned a minute ago, you can just getfree money from the government in the form of GRANTS to supportreal estate investors that you never have to pay back anyway. Learnmore about that at www.REI.Today/Grants. And if you are curious aboutother creative financing options, don’t worry! We’ll have somethingin the REI Today Vault for you soon. Don’t want to miss it? TextREITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’ll provide you withfast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, newscoverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that willhelp make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOURNETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REIToday… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network withother investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces noperiods to 33444 or head over to www.REI.TodayVault right now.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always rememberthis:Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

why the government LOVES REAL ESTATE FRAUD | Episode 47

Tue, 26 Apr 2016 17:47:47 GMT

Did you hear the one about the real estate scammer and his LOVEAFFAIR with the federal government? It’s pretty ridiculous if youdig into the details. And you know I’ve got them all here for you.I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 47.We’ve all read the news releases from the state attorneygeneral, the FBI, the Justice Department, the Consumer FinancialProtection Bureau, etc… All those entities that love to get on thenews and just badmouth the HECK out of real estate investors who,they say, have been SCAMMING away like crazy. The message there is,as you know, that the investors are SCAMMING innocent homeowners.In reality, however, the government LOVES the cons out there thatare giving YOU a bad name, and I’ve got the proof in today’sepisode.Before we go any farther, however, I want to take a quick minuteto talk about real real estate scammers. The guys that give YOU abad name, make it hard for you to work with homeowners, and justgenerally are bad for the industry. You can learn something fromthem. That’s right, that’s what I said. You can LEARN somethingfrom them. You can learn how not to get caught in their web. If youwant the best protection out there from real estate scammers, we’vegot a new resource for you. It’s our REI Today Scam Alert List, andwe’ll email you every time a new scheme hits so that you know whatto look for and how to keep yourself, your business, and your MONEYsafe. Sign up for the REI Today Scam Alert List at www.rei.today/scamalert(one word) today.Now, back to the federal government’s absolute LOVE AFFAIR withreal estate scammers. Here’s the deal. Recently, a Los Angelesinvestor pled guilty to participating in a mortgage fraud schemewherein he scammed distressed homeowners out of fees for “rescuing”them from foreclosure and made it appear to many lenders (somesuccessfully, some unsuccessfully) that the homeowners had cleartitle to their properties and had satisfied their debts. Prettysneaky, obviously illegal, and clearly taking advantage ofdistressed homeowners desperate to avoid foreclosure. A number ofhomeowners, as you might imagine, eventually were foreclosed onanyway, and some of the others are now tangled up in charges oftheir own because of the fraudulent document trail. Basically, it’sa huge mess. This is why you need REI Today Scam Alert, folks!But here’s the kicker. The U.S. government is not JUST afterthis guy for restitution, penalties, and fees for a foreclosurerescue fraud (and, I’m sorry, but you KNOW the homeowners aren’tgoing to see the vast majority, if they see any, of those damages).They’re after him for TAX EVASION. That’s right. They’d like thisguy who made hundreds of thousands of dollars illegally on aforeclosure rescue scheme to pony up his IRS dues on thoseill-gotten gains.Now don’t you think there’s a bit of a conflict of interestthere? Don’t you think that there’s a really decent chance thatsomeone, somewhere, back in oh, 2005 when this guy first gotstarted, might have seen a great opportunity to basically get adouble whammy out of the whole thing by letting him SLIDE a coupleyears? Hey, what are the problems of a few distressed homeowners tobeing able to collect a HUGE tax bill and major fines, fees, andpenalties for wrongdoing as well.It’s bad relationship all over, guys, and it just goes to showyou that it’s your responsibility as a real estate investor and asa homeowner to look out for YOUR best interests. The governmentCANNOT be trusted to do it for you.Now if you’re wishing you could trust SOMEONE to keep tabs onthe scammers and the fraudsters out there, I think you know what’scoming up next. That’s right, folks, you need the REI Today ScamAlert in your corner! Sign up for all the signs of fraud, the juicydetails on who got caught, and how to keep yourself and yourinvestments safe at www.rei.today/scamalert(scamalert is one word) and then, while you’re at it, text REITODAYto 33444 and I’ll immediately ALSO provide you with fast,immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage,interviews, and lot more timely information that will help makeyour investing safer, faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOURNETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REIToday… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network withother investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces noperiods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today rightnow.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always rememberthis:Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

the GOLD STANDARD that will bring foreign investors running (tough truth from an AUSSIE INSIDER) | Episode 46

Sat, 23 Apr 2016 04:00:00 GMT

What if you knew a secret GOLD STANDARD that would bring cash-laden, real-estate-loving, LOYAL foreign buyers flocking to your business? I’d say the short answer is, you’d be in business! I’m Carole Ellis. Today, I and my Aussie Insider (himself an experienced foreign investor in the United States), will reveal that elusive gold standard. This is episode 46.---Wouldn’t you like to have an eager population of buyers who trusted ONLY YOU to sell them properties, happily paid TOP DOLLAR for your quality deals, and returned time and again to make more purchases? Of course you would! Every real estate investor would! And today, one of the best real estate investors in the business when it comes to building those types of relationships with his buyers is going to tell us, step by step, how he did it and how you can do it to. But first, a quick mention about an insanely popular post in the REI Today Vault. The other day, you may remember in episode 41 we talked all about republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump’s HISTORY and ongoing legal battles associated with a former real estate education company that bore his name. Now, that was pretty interesting stuff, but what really got people going was the Trump Timeline we made available in the REI Today Vault. Honestly, we exposed a pretty big crack in one of the Donald’s main storylines, and it’s labeled clearly at the end of the timeline. Be sure to check it out at www.rei.today/vault and if you’re not a member, don’t miss this. It could affect your vote! Text REITODAY to 33444 right now to get access, and be sure to read all the way to the end.Now, back to building that list of “magical” buyers…So you might be thinking that the type of buyer I described a minute ago, motivated, cash-laden, and dedicated just to you, is kind of like a unicorn…you’re lucky to get one such buyer in your lifetime. But today’s guest, Australian native Engelo Rumora, who describes himself as “The Real Estate Thunder from Down Under” (and that’s just the start of it, folks, he’s also a partner at Ohio Cash Flow, a FLOURISHING real estate business in the midwest) has a huge, growing, thriving network of these investors, and he’s growing it all the time. Before I tell you how he did it, I’m going to let you hear a little bit about him in his own words…Engelo told me:“I quit school at 14 years of age and was fortunate enough to become a professional soccer player at the age of 18. Unfortunately, things did not work out there, so I was working labor because I couldn’t get any better job. I had no formal education. I was pretty much sweeping floors at dirty construction sites for a living, but while I was doing that I was reading a lot of books on personal development, business, finance, real estate, stock trading, all that stuff, and one thing led to another.”Now while Engelo just says humbly “one thing led to another,” what this guy actually did is pretty amazing. He found a mentor in the person of a hundred-million-dollar-a-year businessman in Australia and, from there, made his way to the U.S. real estate market, where Engelo began leveraging his vast personal knowledge of construction and contracting and his ongoing real estate education to start buying properties at the very bottom of the U.S. housing crash. To this day, “we buy properties, fix them up to a great standard, and sell them to investors from all over the world,” he said, noting that in his experience, “Everyone loves Australians, and I’ve got to play the only card I have.” Engelo credits his unique rapport with foreign investors to his own experience as a foreign investor and jokingly suggested that the best thing an American real estate investor could do to work with international investors might be to fake an accent. Kidding, of course!So are you out of luck when it comes to working with international investors if your G’day mate sounds more like mine and less like Engelo’s? Absolutely not! Engelo told me that the key is understanding differences in approach between American investors and international ones.“I’m laid back, very casual,” he said, noting that it’s very important not to be “pushy or salesy” in this type of relationship. Just deliver content, lots of great deals, lots of great information. Tell them all about your deals, your process, and your business, but don’t necessarily push them to buy.Next, take the time to actually connect. Engelo noted that international investors automatically feel more connected to him, in his experience, because (and this is a direct quote) “I lived in Australia, I bought properties here in the U.S., and I lost my (you-know-what) on them because I trusted the wrong people.” However, you don’t have to move overseas and lose your shirt to connect. Just be understanding, empathetic, and willing to listen about the RIGHT things, your potential investors’ concerns about their money, and respond appropriately, professionally, and empathetically no matter how trivial or silly those concerns might seem to you.Finally, consider getting exclusive. Engelo built a business design to cater strictly to foreign investors, and the result is that when one investor experiences success, it’s easy to spread the word. After all, there’s no question about whether or not that success was a fluke because that’s all the business does. Do you need to write of all other investors? Maybe not, but having something that indicates you are particularly dedicated to international investors can definitely help you.Now I’ve got to be honest. This podcast barely scratches the surface of everything Engelo and I talked about in our interview, and some of the content is, well, let’s just say that Engelo is not afraid to be himself, even if being himself offends someone or gets my podcast rating changed! You can read the entire transcript of the interview (fair warning: it’s unedited) in the REI Today Vault, and I HIGHLY recommend you don’t delay. Engelo has an incredibly insightful, no-holds-barred way of looking at real estate that you must not miss. If you’re already a member of the REI Today Vault, then head over to www.rei.today/vault. If not, then grab that phone at text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444, and I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this:Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

THIS DECOR DECISION sells more than one in every 10 homes OVER MARKET VALUE | Episode 45

Fri, 22 Apr 2016 04:00:00 GMT

What if installing a certain item of décor in your home would substantially increase your likelihood of selling your property OVER MARKET VALUE? I expect you’d be racing to crack out your screwdrivers and drills! I’m Carole Ellis and I’ll tell you exactly what you need to hang in your home to get that price bump today, in episode 45.--Can you believe it? A SIMPLE décor decision (one that you can make in five minutes and install over the weekend, by the way), makes homes that have it far more likely (more than one in every 10 in fact) to sell OVER MARKET VALUE – oh, and faster to boot! I’ll tell you all about this magic amenity in just a minute, but first I want to take 30 seconds to mention something that could be a “magic ticket” for real estate investors but a nightmare for YOUR PARENTS. Before you start having teenage flashbacks, don’t worry. This is actually a scary scenario for seniors in America today because there is a HUGE HOUSING SHORTAGE for the aging demographic, and it’s only getting worse. Want to know how to help your parents and leverage this situation to your investing profit advantage? Check out the whole story, “SCARY NEWS for seniors seeking housing” at www.rei.today in our news and networking section.Now, back to, installing that price-bumping addition to your sales price…According to Zillow (yes, they’re at it again and I LOVE IT!) certain keywords in real estate listings not only are associated with far, far more listing views than identical listings without those keywords, but those keywords are ALSO associated with substantially higher sales prices on the properties that boast them. The biggest price bump? Wait for it…Listings with the term “BARN DOOR” in them. Now do we mean “Shut the barn door, this listing is fabulous!”? Well, no. We mean that a disproportionate number of properties with barn doors, those large, sliding, rustic-looking doors that are popular in many trendy homes these days, sell for substantially higher amounts more than their counterparts without them. Specifically, 13.9 percent of homes with this decor addition sell for over market value. This was particularly true out west, such as in metro areas like Phoenix, Arizona, where the style is extremely popular.Barn door décor may sound complicated, but according to our local Lowe’s, the process is actually pretty simple and you can install a sliding barn door in place of a conventional single door using stock options and fairly basic tools. Of course, if you want to get really authentic, you’ll have to go out, buy an old barn door, repurpose and refinish it, and then install it in a custom doorway, but most homes with barn doors actually have the stock options that have been custom finished or outfitted with custom hardware to fit the rest of the décor in the home.So for a fairly small amount of work, you could reap big rewards when you sell your property! This move is not only a potentially good one for homeowners, but also for investors looking to make their property stand out in listings and also at showings. Want to know other “Five Percent Plus” keywords identified by Zillow as being associated with selling higher than market price? I’ve got you covered! Check out the complete list in the REI Today Vault at www.rei.today/vault. Not yet a member? No worries! just text REITODAY no spaces, no periods, to 33444 and I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this:Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Expert Reveals: How to avoid a DEAL-KILLING TAX on your real estate deals | Episode 44

Thu, 21 Apr 2016 20:13:04 GMT

How would you like to know a secret method that could literally SAVE YOUR SHIRT on some of your best real estate deals? Today, my guest expert today reveals how to avoid paying a certain type of tax that can demolish your bottom line without proper preparation. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 44.---Imagine this investing situation. You purchase a property in your own name and do a great rehab on it. It’s the best deal you’ve ever done, and you turn a massive profit in the space of about a year. You’re ecstatic, and then your accountant calls. He tells you that you are going to owe THOUSANDS of dollars to the federal government because of this fantastic deal, and, while you still made a profit, suddenly your stellar numbers aren’t what you expected them to be. You’re deflated, your business plan is knocked off course by the unexpected expense, and you angrily start reconsidering real estate.Sounds pretty terrible, doesn’t it?Well, good news! It doesn’t have to work out that way. And today’s guest, a patent-holding chemist turned VASTLY EXPERIENCED real estate investor and financial planner, has laid out four easy ways to avoid what many of you may have already guessed is the dreaded CAPITAL GAINS TAX.First, a bit about Steve. He started life as a “nerdy scientist” as he likes to put it, then eventually (after earning FOUR that’s right, FOUR patents) got an MBA in finance, took the national certified financial planner boards and, in the interim, started investing in real estate by purchasing his first duplex in 1979 in Kent, Ohio. Fast forward to the early 2000s and Steve had held about 80 rental properties during his investing career alone, but he cashed out just before the housing crash (yet another reason we like listening to this guy!) and now holds 9 condo properties, many of which are on the beach.So as you can see, Steve’s got oh, a little bit of real estate and finance experience to back up his recommendations!Steve told REI Today that there are actually FOUR ways to avoid paying capital gains taxes on real estate investments, and I’m thinking the last one in particular may really surprise you…First, there is always what Steve calls the “hold ‘til you fold,” option, which means holding onto your real estate investment as long as you can before cashing out, which may work for you in particular if you’re holding rental properties since you can also use depreciation over time to lower or even eliminate capital gains. In more of a hurry? The next two options could help you…Steve told me that a lot of savvy investors actually take advantage of a specific item in the capital gains code that allows people who are in the two lowest tax brackets (10 and 15 percent) to avoid paying capital gains entirely. If you have enough control over your personal income to maintain a position in that sub-15-percent tax bracket for the duration of the year of the sale, Steve said, then you could actually avoid paying that tax entirely. And if you can’t do that, consider “gifting” the property to a trusted someone, such as a family member, who is in that tax bracket. Will you have to pay for the service? Possibly (and hey, it’d be nice of you) but it could save you a bundle on your tax bill.Finally, Steve said, there is actually a way to avoid paying capital gains taxes using something called a tax deferred exchange, also known as a 1031 exchange. While this doesn’t technically eliminate your capital gains taxes, it can be used to defer them indefinitely as long as you continue to reinvest the money you make into other what the IRS calls “productive uses in a trade or business for investment” and so long as the profits are used for a similar purpose to the manner in which they were obtained in the first place. Essentially, if an investor makes $200,000 on a deal and ends up owing $70,000 of that (yes, that is actually possible) in taxes, a 1031 exchange could enable him or her to reinvest the entire $200,000 instead of paying the $70K up front.Now, that sounds really exciting (think what you could do with that kind of money STAYING in your real estate business instead of heading off into the black hole that is our federal government? But it’s also a bit confusing. So if you want more information, I’ve got great news. Steve is actually about to host a GaREIA-exclusive course offering wherein he will spend the next 60 days teaching participants in this coaching program his own personal path to MASTERING PASSIVE INCOME as well as revealing “The KEY to Quitting Your Day Job!” This class is not a regularly-offered course, so we can’t say for sure if (or when) Steve will be back for the next one, so RIGHT NOW head on over to www.rei.today/STEVE and get all the information on the massive amount of training that Steve is getting ready to provide. That’s www.rei.today/STEVE. And if you aren’t in the Atlanta area, don’t worry! We’ve got something for you, too. Locked up safe in the REI Today Vault, I've got what I’ve named Steve’s Key Codes for Financial Success. They’re two additional three- and four-step modules for effectively “Thinking Strategically About Real Estate” and “Picking a Financial Advisor.” If you liked the way Steve broke capital gains down into action items, you’ll love these other key codes as well, so head over to www.rei.today/vault to get’em, or, if you’re not yet a member, text REITODAY no spaces, no periods, to 33444 and I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this:Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Announcing…TAX-FREEDOM DAY! | Episode 43

Wed, 20 Apr 2016 11:40:03 GMT

Just filed your taxes? Then today’s episode is just for you. Whether you’re dreading filing or nursing your wounds after doing so, wouldn’t you like a little pick-me-up in the form of a day of TAX FREEDOM? I’m Carole Ellis. I’ll tell you all the details today, in Episode 43.--So who could use a little dose of tax freedom? I know I could! And speaking of taxes, if you ever wanted to leverage those suckers to your REAL ESTATE INVESTING ADVANTAGE, then I’ve got a little video you’re not going to want to miss. Check out this free presentation at www.rei.today/bestinvest right now. It’ll make you think of taxes in a far more positive light…Now, back to tax freedom day (yes, that’s actually what it’s called). Did you know that your state has an official day, determined by the Tax Foundation, known as Tax Freedom Day? Nationwide, it’s April 24. That is the day that the United States, as a body, has earned enough to pay its $4.99 TRILLION tax bill for 2016 (that’s 31 percent of our national income, by the way). But that’s on a national level. When will you, personally, see your taxes “paid off,” as it were? Well, it differs dramatically by state. Here’s what I mean:If you live in the South, then you’re probably actually going to hit Tax Freedom Day before your taxes are due! Pretty exciting, right? In 2016, Mississippi’s tax freedom day was April 5, Tennessee’s was April 6, and Louisiana’s was April 7.On the other hand, it probably won’t surprise you that northeastern states have a much, much later freedom date. Connecticut’s tax freedom day is not until May 21, while New Jersey residents hit it may 12, and Massachusetts doesn’t make it until May 5. It will likely surprise many listeners to learn that California actually does not have the latest tax freedom this year: residents will “earn” their tax freedom day April 30.So what is the earliest tax freedom day ever? Well, nationally it was January 22, 1990. That year, Americans paid 5.9 percent of their income in taxes. The latest (since the Tax Foundation started this report) was May 1, 2000, when we paid a full third of our income in taxes.So what does tax freedom day really mean, because I suspect you’re starting to realize it doesn’t mean freedom from taxes. What it ACTUALLY MEANS is that you’re working the first four to five months of the entire year JUST TO PAY THE GOVERNMENT FOR THE OTHER SIX TO SEVEN MONTHS! You are basically earning just to pay it back, and regardless of how you personally feel about taxation, that’s gotta hurt just a little. Furthermore, as real estate investors, you’re probably also paying additional property taxes and possibly higher income taxes than a lot of your peers, so take a minute to review your taxes and your business structures to make sure that you are actually set up in a way that best suits your needs and minimizes your tax outlay. As my father, who is a very conscientious taxpayer, always said: You want to pay every penny you owe, but you don’t want to pay one penny more. I dispute the notion that I want to pay taxes ever, but we all know that’s the system today and it’s a terrible idea to run afoul of the IRS.Didn’t hear your state mentioned in today’s episode? Don’t worry! The entire list is waiting for you in the REI Today Vault at www.rei.today/vault. If you’re not yet a member, just text REITODAY no spaces, no periods, to 33444 and I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this:Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

the NUMBER ONE THING most likely to DAMAGE YOUR PROPERTY (average cost: $4,434) | Episode 42

Tue, 19 Apr 2016 15:19:33 GMT

Want to know the $4,434 (at least) mistake you’re probably making when you insure your properties, including your own personal residence? This is the MOST LIKELY THING to damage your real estate investments, and it’s probably not covered by your homeowners insurance. I’ll tell you what it is today. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 42.--Can you believe that the MOST LIKELY THING to damage your property is not covered by most homeowners’ insurance policies? Yeah, I guess I can too. But you still need to know how to close up this loophole or you’re very, very likely to be paying through the nose to deal with the damage. Before I reveal the details on this top demolisher of property, though, I want to take a minute to mention something else pretty wild: millennial homebuyers’ expectations about the purchasing process. A recent report from Credit.com and Bank of America, who are constantly trying to recruit more millennials into homebuying, as you might imagine, revealed that the younger generation (that’s 18 to 34 years old, by the way) has some pretty surprising ideas about how they will make their first home purchase. Check out all the details (you need’em if you’re going to sell to these guys) in the news and networking section at www.rei.today.Now, back to preventing major destruction of your properties…According to Travelers Insurance, a certain weather-related problem is present in fully one in every four claims – and most policies don’t cover it! That problem is wind damage, specifically caused in most cases when tree branches or unsecured outdoor items hit the home, lift up roof shingles, or damage windows and doors, said second VP of risk control at Travelers Scott Humphrey. Wind damage actually beats water damage (plumbing and appliance issues), hail, and THEFT, and if you live in a flood plain, a coastal area, a hurricane prone area, or a tornado-prone area, you’re probably not covered. While most insurance companies describe that list of exceptions in this way: “Your policy probably covers it,” in reality, the list of excluded areas is expanding by the day, and it changes every time we have a major weather-related disaster. So you cannot be certain at all that you are covered unless you’ve read every detail of the fine print in your policy.So how much is that uncovered wind damage likely to cost you? According to data provided by HomeAdvisor, the least amount of money homeowners are likely to spend on wind damage is $800, and it frequently gets as high as nearly $12,000! The average amount that a homeowner with wind damage spent on repairing their home last year was $4,434 and remember, odds are good that it wasn’t covered by their insurance. In fact, even if wind damage IS covered in your policy, failure to appropriately prepare for it could get your claim denied! Make sure that you are prepared (and your tenants, if you have rental properties, are prepared as well) for wind damage by doing the following:Checking your door bolts to make sure that doors are secured before a stormMaking sure storm windows, if you have them, are secured and that windows are locked.Securing shuttersRemoving any dead or dangling branches from trees on your propertiesInstalling plywood over windowsChecking your garage to make sure it is secured with vertical bracesReviewing your roof and securing loose shinglesNow, if you fail to do all these things and you sustain wind damage, does that mean your insurance won’t cover it? I couldn’t say for sure (a lot of policies do) but you need to check your own policy and, perhaps even more importantly, the policy on any rentals and rehabs that you own in order to be certain. Particularly when it comes to rehab properties that may be partially open to the elements or have more loose items than most out where the wind could snag them, you must be very sure that your care of the property meets your insurance company’s needs.If you’re feeling a little insecure about your homeowner’s policy now, don’t sweat it! I’ve got the whole list from Travelers in the REI Today Vault so you’ll know exactly what is most likely to tear up your investment properties and your own home and you can review your policy to make sure that your coverage is what you expect and need. Just go to www.rei.today/vault right now to check it out! Not yet a member? No worries! Text REITODAY no spaces, no periods, to 33444 and I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this:Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

the TRUTH about the TRUMP FAST-TRACK | Episode 41

Mon, 18 Apr 2016 17:11:39 GMT

Donald Trump has spent decades building his real estate and business empire, but is the real estate titan-turned-presidential candidate telling the truth about a very nasty lawsuit that challenges the foundation of his business and real estate experience? Today, we’ll dig into the truth about Trump, the lawsuits against him that could sink his candidacy, and the cold facts about real estate education in America. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 41.Love him or hate him, Donald Trump doesn’t appear to be disappearing, as so many on both sides of the aisle would like him to, any time soon. Another thing with Trump’s name on it that also isn’t going anywhere anytime soon is a HUGE (as the man himself would say) lawsuit against Trump University and the billionaire personally, launched on behalf of students who say that Trump’s educational institution promised them success, a FAST TRACK to it in fact, then couldn’t deliver. Ever-voracious New York state attorney general Eric Schneiderman (he’s known mainly for his billions of dollars snagged for the state and allegedly the homeowners of his state, from big banks who screwed up foreclosures during the housing crisis. Where that many actually goes is another big, BIG story), anyway, Eric Schneiderman is leading the pack as might be expected, and going for the throat, alleging that Trump and his university bilked students out of a collective $40 million.This is a pretty dicey situation for Trump who could end up in court dealing with the lawsuit smack dab in the middle of the presidential election. He’s insisted (and it’s probably true, given his financial wherewithal) that he could settle at any time, but refuses to do so because he didn’t do anything wrong and, furthermore, that people who settle lawsuits just get sued again (ask Eric Schneiderman and, oh Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Ocwen, all the banks you love to hate, whether or not that’s true and you better believe they’ll back it up!) Anyway, since Trump won’t settle, the issue won’t go away, and plenty of people on both sides of the issue are weighing in. For example, one former instructor who is an adjunct professor at a certain Ivy League college who used to teach for Trump University recently came out to say how proud he was of the trainings that he participated in recording for the institution. He then quickly back-tracked, however, noting that if he’d realize, and I quote, “They were going to change course to these…’get rich quick’ seminars, I never would have gotten involved.”And there, ladies and gentlemen, is the kicker when it comes to real estate education. As smart, motivated real estate investors, we want education in our sector, but our educational system is designed to SNEER at any type of education that offers fast results. We’re programmed from a very young age by our own academic elite to automatically discount the idea that we could, with the proper knowledge, not work 40 hours a week, not go into an office unless that is what we CHOOSE for ourselves, and TURN PROFITS LITERALLY OVERNIGHT in some cases. Ever heard of wholesaling? Get-rich-quick is the entire premise for that, and we know plenty of people (not educators, I’m talking in the trenches investors) making it work.So does that mean that Trump is innocent? Who knows. A lot of large-scale educational real estate systems get out of control. People, you know real estate has the potential to change your life, and so does a large portion of the rest of the population. When something is successful and grows too quickly, bad things can happen. I don’t know: maybe that’s what happened with Trump University. Maybe people did fall through the cracks. Maybe their sales tactics weren’t perfect or wholly ethical or, MAYBE, a lot of litigious people got together, saw a guy will a billion-dollar-bullseye on his back and political aspirations, and realized that if he was ever going to settle a lawsuit, now was the time.For us, though, as “real real estate investors” as a good friend of mine likes to say, what Trump did or didn’t do isn’t the point. The point is our ability to select good education that fits OUR needs professionally, but also personally. Think about it: you can have access to the best system in the world, but if it requires 25 hours of work a week to set up and you already work three jobs, then the odds of your ever accessing that system are slim. You need something faster and simpler, maybe only an hour or two a day, and fast, because by the time you add that in, you’re going to be running on fumes. A lot of educators these days provide automated software so that once you’ve set something up once, it repeats on its own, exactly for that reason. So when you invest in your education, invest in something that fits, realistically, with your dedication and your schedule. Because nothing will make you rich if you do, well, nothing.Another thing that you must do when evaluating educational opportunities is recognize that investments require some form of capital, whether in the form of time, money, or effort. I personally know a girl who recently bought her first house straight from having no home at all using only the free, educational resources at her local REIA. However, let me tell you, she put in a lot of TIME and EFFORT-BASED capital in order to make that happen. It wasn’t easy, and she even told me she’d probably rather pay for the education she had to scrape together for free if she had to do it again and had the funds available. So evaluate the cost-benefit of any system, free or with a price tag, and determine whether it fits your needs. Sometimes, getting everything in one place, including the tools you need to do the deals you want, is worth putting a bit of money into the system. In some cases, basic training may also come with access to a proven buyer for a certain type of deal, and that form of investment – IF THE BUYER IS PROVEN – can be invaluable. For a list of these types of offers, check out our exclusive report on GOLD STAR BUYERS in the REI Today Vault by going to http://www.rei.today/vault or texting REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444. So…to the heart of the matter for Trump and for every REI Today listener out there: How do we PROVE the individual doing the selling? Well, obviously, you can google him or her, but take the results with a grain of salt. Remember, whether you love or hate Trump, you can find plenty of fodder to support your position. In the same way, most educators and investors who are willing to put themselves out there and teach others will have some positive and some negative, though overwhelming positive is generally a good thing, and vice versa. You can also vet your source of information (for example, and yes this is a shameless plug) you’ll notice that REI Today only endorses people who come on the show in some form or fashion, have plenty of proven, RECENT success stories and case studies, and have a system that we’ve evaluated that WORKS when the appropriate amounts of time and effort capital are put into it. So hey, I’d say we’re a pretty good source of information, and I work hard every day to hopefully enable you to feel that confidence too.As far as Trump University goes, well, we weren’t around when they were, so I can’t say whether or not we would have promoted them. I will say that it’s not hard to find success stories that came out of the program, such as a former Seattle resident who credits Trump’s program for providing him with the courage and financial ability to move the St. Lucia and open a restaurant. But you can also find plenty of negative stories from people who say they were pressured to buy or didn’t get to meet Trump or his adult children when promotional materials promised this.Here’s the takeaway for today, though, folks. You know that your best investment is your own education, and we repeat that every single day because it’s just about the most important axiom for any investor, real estate or otherwise, to hear! But the addition to that is this: your education has to meet YOUR NEEDS. Trump clearly failed to meet a lot of people’s needs, and the issue in question is whether that’s his fault, theirs, or everyone involved.Trump’s a controversial guy, and I expect that this episode stirred up some controversy of its own for you. Take a minute to visit our feature article on Donald Trump and his history in the REI Today Vault and let us know what you think. Not yet a member? No worries. You don’t want to miss this feature, so text REITODAY no spaces, no periods, to 33444 or visit www.rei.today/vault. I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable no matter what type of real estate you become involved in.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this:Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3 TRUTHS about SUCCESSFULLY BUYING FROM BANKS and BEATING THE NEXT RECESSION | Episode 40

Thu, 14 Apr 2016 04:30:00 GMT

Wouldn’t you like to know 3 HIDDEN TRUTHS that even more “gurus” won’t tell their students about buying HUGE properties directly from banks and making similarly HUGE profits on them? I (and my guest) are exposing them today. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 40. So why haven’t you already heard these 3 truths from your favorite “guru” or real estate instructor and professional? I hate to say it, but they don’t want you know because well, they don’t know either. That’s why most of them don’t do it. But today, we’ve got one of the most successful and prolific buyers of commercial real estate out there spilling the beans, and I couldn’t be more excited.Now, if you’ve been listening to REI Today for a while, then you know about Sue Nelson already. In fact, Episode 21, “The Top 4 Things You MUST DO to Survive the Next Crash in Style While Flipping HUGE COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS for 6-digit Profits,” was one of our most popular episodes EVER. Sue is a former art teacher who doesn’t do things small. In fact, her first deal after she decided to start investing in multifamily buildings in order to stay home with her kids full-time, was a 104-unit building! You can read all about that deal in the uncut transcript of our interview in the REI Today Vault, by the way. Anyway, one of the things that I like about Sue is that she is not afraid to go big, and I do mean big. When I asked Sue how she got started finding HUGE multifamily deals that were SO GOOD that people she asked to fund them just up and basically begged to BUY them instead, she did not hold back. She divulged 3 truths about buying directly from banks that will change everything for you if you’ve been literally afraid of the big time of apartment investing because it just seemed to big to handle. Here ya’ go:First of all, Sue said, I started off working with brokers. She explained that brand new commercial investors should “get their feet wet” by contacting commercial brokers directly and, of course, saying the right things in the right way. If you call up and ask a commercial broker to teach you about multifamily real estate, you’re not likely to develop a lasting relationship with that broker. However, if you call like a professional, explain that you fund commercial deals, and ask what’s available, you’re going to get a much better response!Second, Sue said that new commercial investors should waste NO TIME when it comes to contacting banks directly. As soon as you can talk to a commercial broker without your heart in your throat, you better start calling up banks. If you work with Sue, she’ll just hand you a list of 1,500 bankers who already have demonstrated they’re willing to provide private investors with lists of what they’ve got available in their inventory, but no matter how you get started, the relationship building is the most important thing, Sue said. “Most banks and other commercial property owners actually WANT to sell,” she explained, noting that unlike residential owners, there is NO EMOTIONAL INVOLVEMENT when a bank is involved. And that led her to what I think is probably the most revolutionary of the three truths she told us:Can you believe that only about TWO PERCENT OF THE COMMERCIAL MARKET is for sale directly, as in out on the market with a sign in front? But the other 98 percent, probably up for grabs if you can make the right connections and create the right offer. Goes back to that whole zero-emotional-involvement thing. Sue recommended something simple and FREE as far as that goes, too: Attend your local real estate investment association (that’s your local REIA, but the way) events! You may tailor your attendance to the commercial and multifamily events or attend the general meetings, where anyone looking to sell or buy is likely to stand up and say so. In fact, I’ll tell you personally that an investor at my REIA, GaREIA, recently sold a $7 million building for about $4 million in profit, and the whole thing happened, from landing the deal to flipping it two years later, through REIA contacts. So don’t knock it just because it seems too simple to work!So there you have it, folks, 3 TRUTHS about SUCCESSFULLY BUYING FROM BANKS…but what about beating the next recession? Don’t worry, I’ve got you there, too. Sue explained it very simply: She said: “In my business, investing is actually a lot easier because one deal can change your life. Permanently.” Remember how Sue got to stay home with her kids doing precisely what she knew she needed to do at that time because of ONE deal that was worth literally five times her salary at her job as an art teacher? Well, the key to beating the next recession is being prepared, putting something aside for that rainy day we all suspect is coming. So hey, do TWO DEALS, and then start working on a third. When you’re making a quick say, $180,000 (yes, that is a real, recent deal and you can learn more about it by watching Sue’s entire training at www.REI.Today/IMPORTANT right now, by the way!) on a commercial deal, it doesn’t take many of those to make a huge change fast in the way you handle your finances and prepare for the future. Not many at all…Ladies and gentlemen, I love it when Sue comes around because she is such a prolific and HONEST investor. She’s not afraid to share what she knows because she knows just how enormous her market is, and she’s also not afraid to tell it like it is. If you want to hear more uncut, uncensored information about how to actually invest successfully (and basically get started running, immediately, which we all know is important), then head on over, right now, to www.REI.Today/IMPORTANT and watch this entire training. You’ll love the information, you’ll love Sue, and you’ll love the opportunities in commercial real estate that you’ve probably never fully factored in before. That’s www.REI.Today/IMPORTANT. And if you want to read the entire transcript of our interview, then check it out today in the REI Today Vault! Not yet a member? No big deal! You can just text REITODAY no spaces, no periods, to 33444 I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.REI.Today/Vault right now.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this:Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

real estate BREAKS FACEBOOK | Episode 39

Wed, 13 Apr 2016 14:46:41 GMT

Is Facebook losing its mojo and, if so, is it YOUR FAULT as a real estate investor? Find out how real estate may have BROKEN FACEBOOK in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 39. So is Facebook really losing its magic, and are real estate investors to blame? It looks like the social media behemoth could be heading for a rough patch according to some hard numbers recently released by Fortune Magazine. I’ll tell you all about those numbers in just a minute, but before we get to cold, hard, sad (for Facebook) numbers, I’d like to mention some numbers that will have you breaking out the confetti instead. Here are just a few: 2.3 million, 180,000, and 232. Confused? Don’t be. Those numbers all have to do with deals that a certain commercial real estate EXPERT who is also a frequent guest on this podcast has done recently, and let’s just say that the “big numbers” have to do with fast flips and property values (where she bought with none of her own money) and that “smaller” number, 232, has to do with the number of cash-flowing units in a certain building she recently acquired, with her students, from the bank. Intrigued? You should be! Did I mention the “Star Student” who bought the $2.3 million property is a stay-at-home grandmother? Get all the details NOW by heading right over to www.REI.Today/Important to access case studies, training, and lots of great information.Now, back to Facebook’s breakdown, such as it is, by the numbers…Here’s the nasty number at the heart of the problem: 21 percent. According to Fortune Magazine, Facebook users are sharing 21 percent LESS than they used to, and that’s a big problem because it indicates a disconnect between users and each other and between users and Facebook. “It’s a key vulnerability,” columnist Erin Griffith explained, adding that it makes the entire platform feel less like a “special and intimate place to share things” and more like a “big, impersonal, professional platform.” That’s bad news for Facebook because even though the platform makes its money via advertising, when it starts feeling impersonal, that makes it inherently less trustworthy and the value of the ad placed on the platform declines.So what does this have to do with real estate investors?Well, according to Erin (and a number of other analysts agree with her), the fact that so much of the content that is shared on Facebook these days is “professional,” meaning that it is sourced from another location rather than personally created, as a status update would be, lies at the heart of the Facebook dilemma. Because that content is often found elsewhere online, Facebook is in danger of losing its “identity,” she said, adding that the very things that attracted professionals and businesses, like real estate investors, to the platform is now detracting from the value they get by maintaining a presence there. She also noted that although sharing of personal information is down, that doesn’t mean Facebook use is down. In fact, 65 percent of Facebook’s monthly active users (who number 1.6 billion by the way) come back every single day.So how can you, as a real estate professional, use Facebook in a way that continues to garner you the most value for your time and money? Here are three suggestions:First, take the time to learn about Facebook advertising. At REI Today, we believe that Facebook ads, much like other targeted ads, may have a limited lifespan (there will always be the “next big thing,” after all) but if you learn to use them effectively, as long as those 104 million people are coming back every day to check in on the platform, effective, targeted advertising is going to get views and responses.Second, create a personal “oasis” within the Facebook community. You can create private groups on Facebook where you not only establish a sense of belonging among members, but where you can curate the content and make sure it’s not just something that can be read elsewhere online. You may restrict it to things of interest to group members, personal postings, and items on your own website, for example.Finally, work on lowering the bar for posting within your personal group on Facebook. Keep a close eye on your privacy settings so that people know that what they post with you will stay private and safe within the group. Buzzfeed writer Alex Kantrowitz recently pointed out that people don’t post personal feelings on Facebook anymore even though they still post personal milestones because a rogue post can easily cost a person their reputation or their job. If you can help your target audience feel secure with you, you’ll be even more likely to keep their attention and their loyalty when it comes to working with you.One way that Facebook is working to make the user experience more personal once more is through new features like “reactions,” which now supplement the ubiquitous like button, and Facebook Live, a live video stream option. You can read the company’s own take on these new tools in our REI Today Vault, and let me tell you, reading it in their own words is pretty interesting. Check it out at www.REI.Today/Vault right now and then let me know what you think! Not yet a member? No worries at all! text REITODAY no spaces, no periods, to 33444 I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.REI.Today/Vault right now.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this:Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3 HIDDEN COSTS of buying a home | Episode 38

Sat, 09 Apr 2016 04:30:00 GMT

What if your latest real estate investment (or your first one) came laden with thousands of dollars in costs that you did not work into your game plan? You’d want to know before your profits swirled away at closing! I’m Carole Ellis, and I’ll tell you all about it today, in Episode 38.---Did you know that there are literally thousands of dollars HIDDEN in your real estate purchases that don’t show up on the contract when you make and the buyer accepts your bid? If you haven’t planned for them, you could lose all your profits in the shuffle. I’ll tell you about the three most common, and most deal-deadly costs in just a minute, but first I want to mention something a little less deadly and a little more HAPPY: the happiest towns in the country, to be exact! You won’t believe where two of the top three are located. I’ll give you a hint: it’s COLD! Check out this report in our News and Networking section at www.REI.Today and see if your hometown made the Happiness List.Now, back to making you happy by making sure you don’t lose money! (You’re welcome!) According to CBS MoneyWatch, there are three different fees and expenses that buyers almost always end up paying when they buy a home but usually do not plan to pay ahead of time. Depending on the property, these fees can run into the thousands of dollars. Certified Boston financial planner Eric Roberge told CBS Money that in his experience, first-time investors and buyers tend to get the worst of it when it comes to these line items. “That first time…it’s a really emotional experience,” he said, adding that new investors, like new homeowners, “tend to just overlook certain things or say, ‘I’m just going to get into the home and figure it out.’”There are three things you can’t overlook, though, and here they are:First, don’t forget about the FEES. This means attorney fees, appraisal fees, application fees, recording fees, homeowners insurance fees, and property taxes and HOA fees. You’ll have to pay up and settle up with all of these fee payees before you take title to the property.Second, you need TITLE INSURANCE! Don’t decide not to get this. It’s huge! It’s so huge, we probably need a separate episode just on title insurance, but that is not today. Suffice it to say that title insurance protects you from the chance that the previous sellers – any of them – did not have the right to sell the property in the first place.Finally, you may want to invest in a home warranty. Not all investors use them, and there are strong opinions on both sides about whether they’re necessary or a good investment. If you do decide to get a home warranty, it will protect you from having to pay replacements or repairs on items in the home – for example, it might protect appliances, the roof, and even the insulation or wiring. It just depends on the warranty. These warranties tend to run a couple hundred dollars, but some are more expensive than that.Now, if all these hidden costs have you worried about your future in real estate investing, don’t be! Now that you have the list, you can make sure you factor them in ahead of time when you’re evaluating any deal! And if you feel like there might be more hidden costs that you could be missing well…you’re right. Check out a complete list of the things that the National Association of Realtors and the Motley Fool say most buyers forget to factor in when they purchase a home in our REI Today Vault. It’s labeled with today’s episode number, 38, and it’s at the top of the Vault library. And if you’re not yet a member, no worries! text REITODAY no spaces, no periods, to 33444 I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.REI.Today/Vault right now.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this:Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

ZILLOW Alert: plans to EXPOSE YOUR HIDDEN HOME DATA | Episode 37

Fri, 08 Apr 2016 04:30:00 GMT

What if America’s BIGGEST DATA GIANT were about to release your HIDDEN HOME DATA and I told you it was a GOOD thing? You’d still want the details, and I’ve them. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 37.---Can it really be a GOOD THING that Zillow, the internet’s biggest real estate data and listings marketplace, is planning to open up the “HIDDEN DATA” on your home listings? You bet it can! I’ll tell you all about why this new move that sounds, on the face of it, like an invasion of privacy is actually nothing of the sort and could revolutionize your investing business if leveraged correctly. First, though, I have some other good news: I’ve got a new success story to share with you from a Massachusetts real estate investor who just figured out how to fully fund multi-family rehabs in a REALLY cool way (that, by the way, doesn’t involve taking out loans!) Find out how he funded more than $128,000 in repairs on a rental property without private money, bank money, or a trust fund by visiting www.REI.Today/FUNDING right now. Let me tell you, it’s good news worth bragging about.Now, back to Zillow’s expose of your home data. First, the facts please! At present, when a homeowner lists a property on Zillow, they basically have to hope that they’ve created a listing that will attract buyers’ eyes, literally, to their property versus the millions of other listings on the website. Some homeowners attempt this by staging their homes in luxurious ways, investing big bucks in drone flyover videos (look out for the FAA folks!), or doing other unique things to the property in hopes of making their listing go viral. However, until now, the efficacy of these strategies has been difficult to measure, and results, good or bad, have been anecdotal at best. Now, however, Zillow has created a new tool called Owner Dashboard that lets you see just how well your listing methods are working from the second your property hits the Zillow Marketplace.The Owner Dashboard is exactly what it sounds like. It enables sellers to monitor, in real time, how many people have seen their listing, if buyers are coming back for multiple views, and how their listing is faring against local competition. Perhaps even more exciting, if your listing isn’t doing well against competitors, Zillow will let you know what they have that you don’t: possibly you need more or better photos, a video tour, or additional home facts. The dashboard can also be set to send you daily reports on your listing performance and will integrate with many MLS systems. You can even create listings in advance and then schedule them for release at a later date.So how can investors start benefitting from Zillow’s Owner Dashboard right away? Easy! For starters, use the analytics tools at your disposal. You’d be amazed at how many people do not evaluate their real estate investing methods and strategies even when the tools to do so are right in front of them. Hey, I understand: it’s often tempting to me to not scroll through daily doses of data too – I think it’s because we all have an inherent distaste for the possibility that the data might indicate something awesome we’re doing actually doesn’t work very well! Nevertheless, suck it up guys! Take a look at your results and determine what works in your listings and what doesn’t.Second, leverage the internet’s biggest real estate player to send traffic to YOUR business! Zillow wants you to want Zillow, and so they’re constantly creating new tools like the dashboard that have components designed to bring you back time and again. One such feature on the dashboard is a link-creator that makes Zillow-powered links that lead from your Zillow listing to your own website, and they come with a great, professional looking listing graphic as well. Hidden gems like this, when used correctly, can give you credibility and increase traffic on your personal website instead of only fueling the massive drive to Zillow itself.Finally, you can compare and contrast your strategies from one listing to the next by lining them all up and evaluating results based on differences between the listings. Zillow breaks down key stats for every listing on the dashboard so that you can easily see what is working, and what’s not.So why is Zillow doing this? Well, as I said, Zillow wants you to want Zillow, and the best way to get you hooked is to provide the best, most comprehensive tools for listing online. What’s Zillow getting? Well, they’re getting YOU, and they’re also getting your listing data, which enables them to compile huge analytics reports, advertise more effectively, and keep growing their user base and data base. So no, the dashboard is not free, but I’d say it’s probably worth the trade since you almost certainly were going to list on Zillow anyway.If you like the sound of the Zillow Dashboard, you can read the entire original, official press release and training about the subject in the REI Today Vault. Zillow released the materials to us this morning, and I’ll tell you: they’re pretty exciting! And if you’re not yet a member, no worries! text REITODAY no spaces, no periods, to 33444 I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.REI.Today/Vault right now.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this:Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Get the SAME 3 BANKRUPTCY SECRETS DONALD TRUMP USED to Build a Real Estate Empire and PROTECT $10B in Net Worth | Episode 36

Thu, 07 Apr 2016 04:30:00 GMT

How would you like access to the same 3 bankruptcy secrets that DONALD TRUMP used to BUILD his real estate empire and then PROTECT that $10 BILLION in net worth when disaster struck? I’ve got them right here in black and white today. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 36. Whether you love Donald Trump or hate him, you can’t deny he’s a real live real estate empire-building success. Wouldn’t it be great if you had access to the same secret legal loopholes in the banking and real estate systems that Trump used to not only BUILD his real estate empire but then also protect it from BANKRUPTCY when that $10-BILLION empire was threatened? Imagine being able to access the same secret, high-level “underworld” in real estate that Donald Trump and other insiders use to buy properties for pennies on the dollar. Imagine shining a spotlight on the LEGAL but INVISIBLE transactions that go on in that world every day not just when it comes to getting shockingly low prices on residential real estate, but also on commercial deals, condos, vacant lots, businesses, oil and mineral rights, vehicles, expensive, valuable jewelry, and many more types of investments as well. You’ve seen Donald Trump. Do you know (and you should KNOW) that you could do the exact same types of things he does in his business in yours if you had the same set of operating instructions? You know you could. And here they are…This powerful information comes firsthand from a pair of long-time, extremely experienced bankruptcy attorneys named JT and Manny. I spoke to the two of them at length and went through their preliminary training (more on that later) in order to compile this powerful list of secrets. JT and Manny have been bankruptcy attorneys for decades, and they “speak the language,” as it were, when it comes to navigating the court systems and the federal bureaucracy in order to shine light in dark places and, as JT puts it, “pick up the properties when they fall out of the system” (he means buying for as low as 10 percent of retail value, by the way, so keep listening!). JT and Manny have learned through their experiences in bankruptcy courts and related real estate negotiations here are three key things that you must be able to do in order to gain access to this real estate underworld. First, JT explained, you must identify inefficiencies in the system (of bankruptcy) and be able to spot good deals. We’ll get a little more into this in a minute, but essentially you need to know where in the course of a bankruptcy an individual may lose control of properties and then, furthermore, where the BANK AND CREDITORS lose control of those properties (hello federal government)! Know where those cracks exist, and you’re on your way in. JT described a number of scenarios when this can happen, including during a foreclosure process, when properties are in receivership, and after an initial bankruptcy filing.Next, it’s important to know what your options are. Most real estate investors concentrate, naturally enough, on real estate. But when you’re dealing with the dark side of bankruptcy, there are a lot more investing options at stake. Residential real estate, commercial real estate, appreciating assets like fine jewelry and art, and, REALLY INTERESTINGLY, time shares (which, if you have an outlet to sell them at a profit, many times can be purchased for basically nothing while making you very, VERY valuable to banks and trustees), and even more. You need to know your options, then know your strategy well enough to focus in the right direction or the true wealth of opportunity will literally overwhelm you. Back to Trump for a second: Sure, he’s got a diverse portfolio, but boy can the guy stay on message. He’s all about real estate and, lately, all about his version of fixing the country. Whether you like what he’s saying or not, you can definitely take a lesson in focus from him, because when he’s on message that message is all you’ll hear from him. Period. Do the same thing with your investing strategy, and you’ll go far.Finally, you need to know the language in order to work within the system and snag these opportunities as they come by. JT gave some interesting examples, including understanding how to talk in court and to banks about SURRENDERED PROPERTIES, what defines Chapter 7 bankruptcies (the most important for your purposes), and why it’s so vital to understand when a debtor has and has not achieved straight bankruptcy and liquidation – essentially meaning that the bankruptcy court has given them a fresh start.Now here’s the deal. We’ve got more than an hour of solid content from this training, and I’m eager to present it to you. However, at this time, JT and Manny mainly appear live, which means if you’re in the Atlanta area this Monday, April 11, 2016 then you need to swing by the GaREIA April general meeting at 5:30pm at the Wyndam Atlanta Galleria on Powers Ferry Road. I’ll be there to hear JT and Manny as well, and I’d love for you to swing by, take a listen, and of course, shake your hand! You’ll get so much out of their presentation, and GaREIA offers huge opportunity for new and experienced investors alike in the form of hundreds of hours of education, the opportunity to present and do deals with hundreds of investors, and one-of-a-kind access to the movers and shakers in the Atlanta and wider Georgia markets.If you’re not in the Atlanta area, no worries. I’ve got something for you, too. Head on over, right now, to www.REI.Today/bankrupctysecrets (no spaces between bankruptcy and secrets) and sign up for our daily trainings on the subject. Just like you’re accustomed to with REI Today, we’ll keep these nuggets short, sweet, and insanely useful and easy to implement. So don’t feel left out! Visit www.REI.Today/bankruptcysecrets and get started exploring this real estate underworld today.Not yet a member at REI Today? No worries! text REITODAY no spaces, no periods, to 33444 I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.REI.Today/Vault right now.I sure hope to see you in person this Monday, April 11, and until then, REI Nation, always remember this:Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

REVEALED... the HOTTEST HOUSING MARKETS this spring | Episode 35

Wed, 06 Apr 2016 16:11:41 GMT

Wouldn’t you like to know IN ADVANCE where the hottest housing action will be in the next three months? We’ve got the simmering scoop today. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 35. Spring is warming up, and a boiling hot summer is coming in real estate. Wouldn’t you like the down and dirty about the markets that everyone is calling the “hottest in the country” in time to get in on that appreciation action? Of course you would, especially since all is not quite what is seems…More on that in just one minute. Before we get started, I want to mention something that is far less hot and far MORE controversial and, surprise of surprises, it has to do with the federal government getting right into the middle of your real estate investing business, as usual. According to new guidelines from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (that’s HUD to friends), landlords who refuse to rent to tenants with arrests and criminal records will now face penalties and lawsuits for discrimination if they’re caught. That’s a BIG DEAL, because landlords often use past behavior to screen for good, reliable, responsible tenants who will RESPECT their properties. Whether you own rental properties yourself, sell to landlords, or honestly, have a criminal record, you must educate yourself on this new ruling immediately. Otherwise, you could find yourself in hot water in a federal court. Check out the full story in our news and networking section at www.REI.Today.Now, back to some hot housing markets that could land the unwary in a little hot water…According to a recently released study from Realtor.com, there are 20 (count’em, 20) hot markets for spring 2016 based on the number of listing views in the market, short times on market, overall housing inventory, and rising home prices. We’re going to restrict ourselves to the top 10, though you can find the entire list of 20 in the REI Today Vault labeled with today’s episode number 35, but I’d like to take a minute to point out something truly astounding:Of the top 10 hottest markets for spring 2016, EIGHT of them are in California! Now let’s do a quick run-down:In 10th place, we’ve got Stockton (California, of course), followed by San Diego, Sacramento, Santa Rosa, and San Jose (all California) in spots 9, 8, 7, and 6. We take a quick trip over to Dallas, Texas for number five, then back to California for Santa Cruz in number 4, over to Denver, Colorado for number 3, and then Vallejo, California for number 2 and…drumroll please…San Francisco for the win as the hottest housing market this spring. And if I blew through those a little too quickly for you, remember you can get them all in the REI Today Vault to review at your leisure. Basically, California is boiling hot, and Denver and Dallas aren’t all bad either.Now, what to do with this insight. It’s obviously got an expiration date (markets change all the time) so we need to do some fast thinking. First off, think about how this information affects your investing directly. If you are active in these markets, this kind of heat means it might actually be time to get in on the selling action while time on market is short and home prices are high. Most analysts agree that even if California markets are approaching bubble status (and I would argue that they are NOT necessarily doing so, by the way, as you can see in my San Diego case study in the vault featured in episode 30) they are likely to start leveling off by 2017 at the latest, so if you are in a good equity position in any of your properties, it might be time to start thinking about selling for top dollar. And if you’re thinking of getting into any of these markets, using an inside, established source of deals is probably a good way to go since competition is fierce already and getting fiercer. Working with a real estate fund, for example, is a good way to “get in on the inside” in a hot market where there are still good deals to be had (like Stockton, for example) without having to wait on your own investments of time, sweat, and legwork to pay off.Finally, though, you need to think about your own investing needs on a very basic level: Does it really matter to you where the hot properties are located? In reality, I don’t know a single successful, full-time real estate investor who would say that it is imperative to identify and then participate in a “hot market” in order to be successful in this industry. Instead, think about cash flow, profitable exit strategies, and your unique personal and professional needs and then identify the market, local or otherwise, hot, cold, or otherwise, that meets your requirements.Now, having said that, I’m betting you, like me, still love those hot market lists, so stop by the REI Today Vault and check out the full Top 20 Hottest Markets for Spring 2016! It’s labeled just like that along with this episode number, 35. And if you’re not yet a member, no worries! text REITODAY no spaces, no periods, to 33444 I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.REI.Today/Vault right now.And by the way, speaking of growing your network…Do NOT miss tomorrow’s episode! We’re going to expose the same secrets that the KING of HUGE NETWORKING, Donald Trump, used to leverage one of the worst things that can happen to an investor, BANKRUPTCY, to build a real estate empire and maintain and protect his 10 billion dollars in net worth when things went sour. This is a special expert interview provided by REI Today, and you’re going to love it whether you love Trump or not.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this:Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

you can RULE OUT THESE BUYERS permanently | Episode 34

Tue, 05 Apr 2016 13:54:40 GMT

Wouldn’t you like to know ahead of time if certain potential buyers for your properties would NEVER, EVER pull the trigger and purchase a home? That could be revolutionary for your marketing, your investment strategies, and your time management! Get the important information on “buyers” who will never, EVER buy in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 34. We’ve all met a tire-kicker or two in our day. Alleged “home buyers” who we know in our hearts will never actually pull the trigger, slap down that down payment, and put their names on a need. And that’s okay, but it can really hurt our bottom line and waste our time when we spend hours, days, weeks, or even months courting these individuals. Wouldn’t it be better to be able to offer them what they ACTUALLY want in real estate (even if they don’t know it yet) and be able to turn a profit and move on? Yes, Yes it would. And I’m going to tell you how to do that today, but first, I have another quick question for you:Wouldn’t it be great if any time you needed equipment to grow your business, you didn’t have to work it into your EXISTING BUDGET because a special, on- demand account was basically sitting there waiting for you to use it when your need arose? How would THAT affect your bottom line and your productivity and profitability? Well, I’ll tell you one thing, I’ve seen it in action with an Atlanta contractor named Eric, and let me tell you, his results are impressive. Just a few months ago, Eric actually received exactly $14,804 to purchase equipment for his company. Find out where he got the money (and how you can access a similar fund designed just for YOUR COMPANY’S NEEDS) by visiting www.REI.Today/ERIC right now for the details. It sounds too good to be true, but in reality, it’s just that good. I love it! So read Eric’s story at www.REI.Today/ERIC right now.Now, back to those pesky never-gonna-buy buyers and what to do about them. Here’s who they are, and why they are, well, the way they are. A certain demographic of young people (yep, you guessed it, it’s the millennials again!) are very, very different from the rest of us. This isn’t some “young people these days” commentary. It’s just the truth. Millennials have had a tough time of it. They came of age, for the most part, just in time to be adults in the middle of the housing crash, the financial meltdown, and the Great Recession. They’ve been brought up to believe that an advanced degree justifies any amount of debt and is the only way to get a job, and they’ve been sold on taking out thousands and thousands of dollars in student loan debt in order to get that degree. Did you know that the average college graduate these days has $60,000 worth of student loan debt upon graduation with a bachelor’s degree? And the weight of that debt is, quite simply, causing them to permanently write off homeownership, not because they can’t GET homes, but because psychologically, they simply can’t handle the idea of more debt.According to Federal Reserve economists, for every 10 percent increase in student debt among people in the five years after they leave school, the probability of their taking out a mortgage EVER declines by one percent. This means not only are millennials delaying home ownership (which we already knew) but they’re actually permanently writing it off in growing numbers as their student loan debt expands with each passing year.So does this mean all the housing predictions (including my own for certain cities) that rely on Millennials are wrong? Of course not! But it does mean that you can save yourself a lot of time and HELP a lot of buyers get into your properties quickly and more profitably by catering to a mindset that may, if you’re more than 34 or if you don’t have student loan debt (or you’ve already paid it off), be a bit alien to you. Here are three ways to bring in those “never-gonna-buy buyers” and create a mutually beneficial, profitable scenario:First, present them with unusual options. In many cases, millennial buyers are not refusing to buy. They’re just finding as they explore the option that they’re not willing to add to the invisible load of debt on their backs, even with “good debt” like a mortgage. Offer them “mortgage-free” options via creative financing, such as subject-to financing, where they can buy subject to the existing mortgage on the property instead of taking out a new one, lease-option financing, where they rent from you until they’ve built up a good down payment and then have the OPTION to make the purchase, or seller-financing, where you actually finance their mortgage instead of a bank, which allows you to earn interest on the loan and can make the idea of a mortgage feel a lot more personal and palatable to someone who may actually have never even entered a banking building (but that’s another story).Next, adjust YOUR investment strategy. You may find that simply offering the option to buy OR rent a property attracts these buyers and gets them in place much more quickly because you’re not forcing them into an uncomfortable situation. Just having options means a lot to millennials, who value mobility and flexibility over just about everything else.Finally, be aware of who you’re dealing with. Millennials grew up in a tough period of our economic history, often are underemployed and have been unemployed for an extended period of time after graduating with that expensive degree. They tend to be a bit disillusioned, and they may feel less likely to trust someone selling a home than other, older buyers. Be willing to listen to what they want, what worries them, and what they’re looking for in a home, then present them with properties and funding options that resolve those concerns.Of course, it’s not just millennials who feel disillusioned these days, and our CRAZY presidential politics as we near the 2016 election are a good indicator of just how upset and angry the entire electorate, regardless of age, is becoming. We’ve got the establishment out in full force, but we’ve also got some interesting dark horses in the race in the form of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. Here’s the interesting thing about Trump and real estate (where he made his fortune). Trump’s surprise success (numerous sources have admitted at this point that he never planned to make it this far) could actually seriously compromise his real estate brand, and that’s potentially bad news for a lot of existing homeowners and a number of real estate markets. You’ve got to see the connection for yourself, so head right over to the News & Networking Section at www.REI.Today and read today’s feature, “How Trump’s Presidential Bid is Affecting His Real Estate Brand,” right now. And if you’re not yet a member on our website, no worries! text REITODAY no spaces, no periods, to 33444 I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today... so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country.Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.REI.Today/Vault right now.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3 MISTAKES that can cost you 28 PERCENT of your sales price | Episode 33

Mon, 04 Apr 2016 13:58:21 GMT

What if your “curb appeal” was costing you 28 PERCENT OF YOUR SALES PRICE? You’d probably crack out a lawn mower, or weed eater, or a paint brush as fast as possible! I’m Carole Ellis. I’ll expose these three all-too-common curb appeal “improvement” errors today, in EPISODE 33.The “improvements” you and your sellers are making to add curb appeal to your property could be costing you more than a quarter of your sales price! I’ll tell you all about these three common mistakes that most people actually think are improvements in just a minute, but first I want to make sure that you’re aware of something else that could be a “danger zone” if you’re buying in a certain VERY HOT MARKET down south. In one of the hottest residential markets in the country not on the west coast, developers are keeping a certain DANGEROUS SECRET about a lot of their new developments. They’re not legally obligated to reveal this information, and they’re not, but if you’re buying there or anywhere else that might have a certain water-related property damage issue, then you need to know what’s going on and what to look out for before you buy. Visit us online at www.rei.today and check out this “Danger Zone” article our News & Networking Section for the troubling details.Now, back to saving you some serious cash when you put a property on the market. Here are some startling figures that may surprise you. According to Clemson University researchers, good curb appeal (basically, good landscaping) can translate to as much as a 28-percent home-value boost on just about any property. However, the same research revealed that three common landscaping practices that nearly every homeowner busts out when they are looking to improve their curb appeal fast for a sale can actually knock the wind right out of your home value. Before you bring in the flowers, or the mulch, or the decorative rocks and gravel, take a quick listen!First of all, DON’T MESS WITH MULCH! This doesn’t mean don’t care for your trees and plant beds, but it does mean that the common practice of building a “mulch volcano,” you know, those huge mounds that go up the sides of the trees in your beds, is a big no-no. Michael Rigby, a Virginia arborist, noted that the practice is not only harmful to the trees, but it is also extremely common for landscapers to do this if they do not know enough about tree care. It will be up to you to avoid the volcano (and the associated root rot and aesthetic issues) in order to keep your landscaping looking good.Second, use a light touch with new plantings. It may be tempting to throw a bunch of beautiful flowers, a new sapling or two, and some snazzy hedges into your yard in hopes of creating a quick-and-dirty gorgeous garden to attract buyers like bees, but in reality, over-planting usually results in a lot of dead stuff in your front yard because it makes it hard for ANYTHING to actually take root. Think carefully about what you’re planting and, in general, stick with the bright, colorful small stuff for a fast front-yard fix. It’s more likely to take hold and bloom for you – and it’s far less expensive than the big stuff anyway!Third, go easy on the gravel! In areas of the country where water is scarce, using decorative rocks and gravel to landscape is an extremely popular way to cut down on the water needed to maintain a yard while creating a unique look. However, too much gravel will hurt the plants you do have (even cacti need a little dirt!) and most homeowners, while they may want lower water bills, will react better to a property with at least a little green out front. Remember that gravel basically acts like an oven, so it can actually bake your plants’ roots if you’re not careful. A light touch (and a little preemptive research) will go a long way toward keeping your home’s price tag high and your foliage intact.Don’t want to spend the time doing your own preemptive research? Well, good news! I did it for you! I spent a little time reviewing a number of sources of botanical information and came up with a great list of drought-resistant plants (that is to say, the ones that might like gravel!) and made some quick-and-dirty notes for you on how to plant and care for them as well. If you want to keep your water bills low and your front yard lush, you can’t afford to miss this list. It’s in the REI Today Vault (if you hadn’t already guessed that) with this episode, 33, on the label. Head on over to www.REI.Today/Vault to view it right now. Not yet a member? No worries! text REITODAY no spaces, no periods, to 33444 I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.REI.Today/Vault right now.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this:Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BEWARE: THESE 3 UPGRADES are WASTED ON BUYERS | Episode 32

Fri, 01 Apr 2016 04:00:00 GMT

Let’s set some money on fire and watch it burn, shall we? Sounds like a terrible idea to me! If you’re doing certain UPGRADES on your homes and assuming buyers are going to shell out the big bucks for them, however, you might as well crack out the lighter. I’m Carole Ellis. I’ll tell you all about it today in Episode 32.Here’s the cold, hard, frustrating truth: buyers do not appreciate you, the real estate investor. They simply do not have any clue how hard you work to clean up those houses for them, do the repairs, contract out the rehabs and upgrades, and generally create a wonderful home for them to purchase (preferably at top dollar, of course, but sometimes still at an unbelievable discount, right?) Now, as a quick aside, if you want to make a certain SUBSET of buyers appreciate you in a meaningful, immediate way to the tune of 3.74 percent above average asking in your area, check out our latest report in our news and networking section about a PREMIUM UPGRADE that has buyers going ga-ga these days. You can read it at www.rei.today. But right now, we’re not focusing on that happy subset, we’re focusing on your everyday buyers, and let’s face it, they’re a tough audience.Here’s the deal. When you evaluate a potential investment property, you go in knowing in most cases that the house is likely to start out ugly. This usually means you’re going to need new paint, new carpet, maybe some landscaping and maybe some appliances. And you know that if you put in the investment to make these things right in a property, they’re probably going to pay off in a big way when you sell it for retail value on down the road. However, there are certain upgrades that you may be tempted to make to a property that do NOT pay off even though they SHOULD in a lot of cases because they’re basically invisible to buyers. Even if you tell your clients you made the improvements, most aren’t going to care, and probably aren’t going to pay enough for your property to make up for your investment. These upgrades can be deadly (and if your property needs them, they’re not usually optional) so be very aware of the potential for a smaller payoff before going into a deal where you might have to make them.One of the biggest invisible upgrades is PLUMBING, PIPES, and DUCTWORK. If you buy an older home, you are very, very likely to have to replace some or all of these, and new codes and regulations will likely mean that you are also implementing a massive upgrade when you do. However, this stuff is literally impossible for buyers to see (and let’s face it, if they can see it, you probably have another problem), and they don’t tend to respond by writing substantially bigger checks for new pipes. So before you buy that property that needs new plumbing, make sure the after-repair comparable value to other properties in the area makes it worth your time and money to put it in.In a similar vein, electric wiring that is old, outdated, or not to code is also frequently not an optional upgrade, but it’s another one buyers take for granted. Let’s face it, when you flip the light switch, do you think, “Wow, I bet the wiring in my home is AWESOME and I’m sure glad I upgraded it!” if you have ever experienced the tragedy and trauma of an electrical fire, then you might, but most people haven’t and don’t.Finally, HVAC (heating and air conditioning) and water heaters are also basically invisible to most buyers, but they better work if you’re going to sell a home! Water heaters are relatively inexpensive in a lot of cases, but they come with a special set of pitfalls because many investors want to upgrade them to more environmentally-friendly versions that can be much more expensive. Some markets will sustain and reward this type of upgrade, but, as is often the case with water-heater upgrades, not all buyers care or will pay extra for the privilege of giving Mother Earth a little extra love. Heating and air also can be a hard value sell, since buyers assume they better have good climate control! If you must replace these systems, installing energy efficient ones that have clear positive ramifications on utility bills or “smart” systems is a good way to demonstrate value to buyers and possibly make up some more of your investment money, but you must evaluate the market carefully first.Want to know the WORST ROI NUMBERS on more upgrades that investors are always tempted to make (or forced to make for that matter?) We’ve got the down and dirty list in the REI Today Vault! Not yet a member? No worries! text REITODAY no spaces, no periods, to 33444 I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this:Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Eco-Friendly Upgrade Worth $14,329 When You Sell IF YOU DO IT RIGHT | Episode 31

Thu, 31 Mar 2016 17:27:50 GMT

How would you like to add more than $14,000 to your sales price when you close your next transaction? I’ve got data that shows a simple, eco-friendly upgrade can make that happen for you…IF you do it right. Get the details and avoid the mistakes by listening to today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 31.---So who doesn’t love the environment AND want to make an extra 3.74 percent or so on their sales price when they sell their home thanks to being earth friendly? I know all of that sounds good to me! And once I tell you how to make it happen, it’s going to sound good to you, too. First, though I want to mention a really valuable resource that you can get, if it’s still available in your area, that will enable you to LEGALLY BYPASS BANKS when you need funding for your deals. It’s a FUNDING KIT that not only tells you how many properties in YOUR COUNTY are available for alternative funding, but tells you how to gain access to them as well. See if your target market is still available by going to www.rei.today/kit right now for details. Now, back to tacking on some SERIOUS CASH to your sales price the next time you sell a home. You may remember a few episodes back when we talked about the BUZZWORD that can be a BAD WORD for your funding. If not, check out Episode 24 for the details. That buzz word, as it turned out, was the word “green,” when used to mean environmentally friendly. Fortunately, although the wrong adjective can mean fewer eyes on your listings, the concept of eco-friendliness (that’s the RIGHT word these days, by the way) is still extremely popular, and nowhere is it more evident this spring than in the amount that buyers will pay over average comparable sales price in an area in order to get solar panels on their homes. That’s right: If your home has solar panels and you have a median-priced home, you could add more than $14,000 to your sales price according to The Appraisal Journal, a professional publication for appraisers. That number represents nearly four percent more than the average national sales price, which makes sun-loving pretty attractive.To make solar panel installation even more attractive to investors and homeowners alike, there are hundreds of programs (and more all the time) designed to help you get those snazzy black panels up on your roof. For example, one solar installation firm, SolarCity, actually partnered with Bank of America to fund about $400 million in solar panel projects and homeowners assistance so that the homeowners did not actually have to pay upfront costs on installation. Other solar panel companies are working to make installation more affordable as well by offering homeowners leasing options on their panels in order to help them avoid the hefty $35,000 or so it takes to install a full bank of the panels.But are solar panels really the best way to get a year’s worth of appreciation in most markets on your home in far, far less time? Maybe, and maybe not. There are some additional factors to consider. First of all, not everywhere is ideally suited for solar panels (regardless of what your tree-hugging friends and the solar panel installation companies tell you), and even if a home can use them effectively, if there are not other comparable properties in your area with solar panels, you’re not likely to get the value bump you’re expecting when you have your home appraised. In fact, the same Appraisal Journal study I cited earlier indicated that actually only about one in five homes has enough comps with solar panels in place to actually get the full home-value benefit. This is a big problem because even if a buyer is willing to pay for the solar panels, they may not be able to get a home loan to accommodate that extra chunk of change if the panels don’t appraise properly.Second of all, some areas of the country where you would think solar panels would be HUGELY popular are having some trouble because the electric companies have managed to convince local legislators to charge solar-panel users higher electricity rates because, and I quote, “they’re not paying their fair share for the electric grid’s operating costs” thanks to lower electric bills. I’m going to go ahead and point the finger at the Nevada Public Utility Commission on that one. Can you believe that?If you want to get the inside scoop on solar panels and all the other latest information on trends in home sales and home values nationwide, you need to stay in touch with REI Today! Text 33444 to REITODAY no spaces no periods, and I’ll help you stay in the loop with REI Today’s breaking coverage, alerts, and education and training library. Text REITODAY to 33444 to gain access to everything we offer or visit us online at www.rei.today. If you’re not yet a member, text REITODAY no spaces, no periods, to 33444 I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today right now.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this:Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Warning: New York City’s Pending REAL ESTATE CRASH | Episode 30

Wed, 30 Mar 2016 12:36:54 GMT

Do we have front row seats for the end of the country’s most popular, most resilient, hottest-by-definition real estate market? We’ll look at the disturbing facts today. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 30.Is it really possible that the New York City real estate market could be in trouble? It’s hard to imagine. When you think “hot real estate” you may think of the west coast today, but when you think of the DEFINITION of high-end, high-value, nearly-always-appreciating real estate you’d love to own, you probably think of New York City. So valuable that it’s basically out of the realm of possibility for most owners. So rare it’s generally perceived as impossible to lose if you own it. As desirable as Coke stocks passed down through generations. Square footage in the Big Apple.And now, it’s starting to look like the market to end all markets could be in serious trouble thanks to a dangerous overreliance on foreign investors, ultra-luxury buyers, and what has historically been an extremely solid winning strategy of ongoing development whenever and wherever possible.Here are some troubling facts about NYC’s real estate market this year:432 Park Avenue, the tallest residential structure in the city, has 141 apartments for sale at an average sale price of $21 million. Of those 141 units, 13 have closed. Sure, that’s $170 million in sales, but compared to the past few years, it’s, well, a little slow. In fact, residential luxury apartments are sitting on the market for about three months these days, a timeline that has led many analysts to speculate that the “big money” just isn’t as eager to spend in the Big Apple these days.Here’s another: More than 5,370 new high-end condo units are presently being built in New York, despite indications that a lot of the buyers for these condos are not, well, BUYING, or at least they’re not buying super luxury, ultra-high-end residences these days (you know, they’re restricting themselves to luxury high-end thanks to the strength of the dollar and their own countries’ uncertain economies). Given that foreign buyers accounted for two of every five high-priced real estate buys in recent years in New York and three in every 20 real estate transactions in the city’s TOTAL, that new reticence to buy could spell big trouble for developers sinking billions into a skyline that may not have much more roo for expansion.And finally…The U.S. Treasury has taken direct aim at the luxury real estate market in New York! There, unlike just about anywhere else in the country (at this time, but that’s another story), anyone paying more than $3 million for real estate must disclose their individual identity to the U.S. government rather than using a corporation to make the purchase. On the face of it, this regulation is intended to help prevent money laundering, but it also makes a lot of mega-millionaires VERY SKITTISH when the U.S. government demands they reveal all sorts of private details about themselves and their finances. So that could also be impeding market growth.So what does this mean for NYC real estate as a whole? Well, it means that the top end of the market could be heading for serious trouble and, by extension, there is a grave threat to commercial development as well. Hotel expansion and retail expansion is presently keeping pace with the high-end luxury real estate expansion, and the entire thing is starting to look, well, a bit top-heavy. Business is booming now, but if you are investing in ANY area that relies heavily on Big Apple real estate to thrive, evaluate that deal carefully before you sink a lot of money into a long-term investment.Want to know how to operate SAFELY in volatile and potentially volatile markets? The key is in the details. I’ll provide you with those details as well as a case study on the topic in the REI Today Vault today! Not yet a member? No worries! text REITODAY no spaces, no periods, to 33444 I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this:Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3 NASTY NEIGHBORHOOD PITFALLS that could knock a FIFTH OFF YOUR HOME VALUE | Episode 29

Tue, 29 Mar 2016 13:51:29 GMT

What do strippers, renters, and bad grades have in common? Probably not what you’re coming up with right now! If you want to know how much these things can cost you in terms of real estate, you can’t afford to miss today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 29.So how do strippers, renters, and bad grades cost you in terms of your real estate profits? Well, I’ll give you a hint: the price slashing heads into the double digits fast. Before I give you the cold, hard numbers on your cold, hard cash losses in terms of these three things, though, I have some other news in the same vein as “there goes the neighborhood.” Imagine something much worse than coming home to new, lousy neighbors. Imagine coming home to NO HOUSE because the demolition crew hired to knock down a property one block away messed up and leveled YOURS. And let’s just say you won’t BELIEVE what the CEO of the demolition company said about the mix-up (it wasn’t “I’m sorry.”) Get all the details on this epic mix-up and find out what Google had to do with the entire mess in our News & Networking section at www.rei.today.Now, back to NASTY NEIGHBORHOOD PITFALLS that can really sink a deal fast. And yeah, Google has something to do with these, too, although it’s a solution in this particular instance. So, here are the details:Realtor.com (which is trying very, very, VERY hard to give Zillow a run for its money in the fun-real-estate-statistics-we-came-up-with-thanks-to-our-gazillion-listings department), decided to analyze home prices and appreciation rates in light of what the website’s researchers dubbed descriptively “drag-me-down facilities.” These “facilities” could be anything that might affect home values negatively and ranged from lousy schools to proximity to a hospital. When all the numbers were in, three neighborhood pitfalls stood out above the rest: renters, strippers, and bad school systems.Homes in the same zip code as these three types of “facilities” suffered greatly in comparison to other homes of similar value otherwise. In fact, being in the same zip code as a strip club could cost you nearly 15 percent of your home value! And that wasn’t even number one on the list. High renter concentrations in your zip code could cost you nearly 14 percent of your home value, and bad schools could knock more than a fifth of your home’s value off the sales price of your home before you finally move that thing off the market. In case you’re interested, other problematic pitfalls included cemeteries, funeral homes, power plants, shooting ranges, and hospitals. More on that in a minute.So now that you know that being too close for comfort to a house with tenants, a house of ill repute, or a sub-par schoolhouse can hurt your home values, how can you leverage this information when you are investing? Well, bring in Google and start searching. Strip clubs are the easiest, because if you Google that term and the zip code of a potential deal, you’ll get a list of clubs in that area. Rental statistics are a little more difficult, but with all the real estate data giants out there, googling “rentals” and the zip code you want should give you some insight into the number of properties available for rent in that area. And finally, when it comes to the school system well, you’ll know if there’s a problem. Not only does Google provide a ratings and review system for local schools, but you can also check out local school scores on hundreds of other websites that should give you a pretty good feel for how the public school system in the area in which you are considering investing fares against the competition. Once you’ve done your searching and investigation, then you can decide if the property you’re considering is worth the money you’re getting ready to pay and if you should get a price break if you still intend to buy.Wondering what the other “drag-me-down facilities” might be? Don’t worry: I’ve got a list waiting for you in the REI Today Vault. Not yet a member? No worries! text REITODAY no spaces, no periods, to 33444 I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this:Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You MISSED IT! The BEST DAY ALL YEAR to List Your Home | Episode 28

Sat, 26 Mar 2016 04:30:00 GMT

Did you know that you probably added about two-and-a-half weeks to your time on market by not ALREADY LISTING YOUR HOME? I’m Carole Ellis, and I’ll tell you all about what you ALREADY MISSED THIS YEAR and what to do about it today, in Episode 28.So yeah, you missed it. If you’d just listed your home LAST THURSDAY, you could have made more on your sales price, spent less time on market, and generally just had a happier, more fulfilling life. Okay, I’m just kidding on the last one, and the first two aren’t really as dire as they sound either. But in reality, according to Redfin, a national real estate brokerage with a penchant for fun analytics, Thursday is, technically, the best day of the week to list and, furthermore, March is the best month in which to list for 2016. So depending on when you’re listening, you may have to hurry up a bit or you might need to wait for 100-percent optimum listing time.We’re going to delve into just what these facts and figures actually mean for your real estate investing deals and how major of an oversight you actually made when you didn’t list on the first Thursday in March this year in a minute, but first I want to mention ANOTHER day that might send a few chills up your spine, depending on how superstitious you are. Ready for it? Friday the 13th. Why do I want to talk about this creepy, creepy, traditionally BAD LUCK day? Because I just learned that it costs the American economy $900 million every time the 13th of the month falls on a Friday! $900 million! More than 21 million Americans are self-diagnosed as having a phobia of this day and acting upon those beliefs, including when it comes to listing homes, buying homes, and attending open houses. Want to learn more about which numbers really float our boats as a country when it comes to real estate? Check out our “Numbers Matter” article in the News and Networking Section at www.REI.Today.Now, back to missing the boat – and don’t worry, I’ll stop giving you a hard time now. The reality is that when you shove a zillion numbers from a zillion listings into a computer, you get statistics out. And, in the case of Redfin’s statistics, turns out that Thursdays are the best days to list your property because you will have a lot less competition (the fewest people list on that day) and that last year, April was the “new May” for homebuying and numbers indicated that month would move backward into March for 2016.So where did I get that two-and-a-half weeks, you’re probably asking. Well, according to Zillow chief economist Stan Humphries, when the spring buying season DOES start in earnest (no word from Stan on whether he thinks it already has or not), if your home isn’t on the market then when you do get around to listing you might have sold faster by listing earlier.So why am I scaring you like this? I’ll tell you! First of all, these kinds of numbers are FUN. They’re interesting, and, taken with the appropriate amount of objectivity, they’re really, really useful. For investors, however, they can be very, very dangerous because they FEEL scientific when they’re really not appropriate for your business. Here’s what I mean: As a homeowner you might decide to wait to list your home until the perfect day (Thursday) or the perfect month (March, April, or May depending on the researcher and the year), but as a real estate investor, your deal’s success or failure should NEVER depend on something as mercurial as the right “season” for success. Savvy investors always, ALWAYS leave enough room in their deals for things to work out less than perfectly, then, when you do manage to do everything just exactly 100-percent in the ideal fashion, it’s just the icing on the cake. But hey, you could have listed on a Monday in the dead of winter and been just fine.Now, if you love the numbers game and can’t resist it, I’m with you. In fact, I’m so with you that REI Today has a special report on the “right numbers” and the “wrong numbers” in real estate in the REI Today Vault just for you, that I wrote mainly for you, but also just for me haha! I really enjoyed compiling this research and I know you’ll love reading it, so head on over to www.REI.Today/Vault right now to dig in. Not yet a member? No worries! text REITODAY no spaces, no periods, to 33444 I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.REI.Today/Vault right now.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this:Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The ZESTIMATE EXPOSED – Zillow Secrets Explained | Episode 27

Fri, 25 Mar 2016 04:30:00 GMT

Ever found yourself wondering where in the world Zillow’s home values ACTUALLY come from? Today, we’ll go straight to the source (Zillow itself) and explain a number that’s been a mystery to real estate investors and homeowners for years: the ZESTIMATE. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 27.Admit it: you love Zillow (or, you know, maybe you hate it). Either way, real estate investors have no choice but to live with and EMBRACE the online listings giant. Zillow was founded in 2005 and, in a little over a decade, managed to become the most heavily trafficked real estate website in the world with millions and millions of homes and their associated data, including the somewhat mysterious “zestimate” listed on the site.If you’ve ever made an offer to a seller only to hear “but Zillow says my house is worth…” in response, then you know the frustration and, in some cases, total disconnect with reality, that Zillow’s custom estimated value for a home can cause. Spencer Rascoff, Zillow’s CEO, has addressed the zestimate in a number of public interviews, and he tends to explain the zestimate in this way, as he did on Boston’s National Public Radio station:“It’s a very complex algorithm [that is] computer generated.” We look at the properties of the subject home and we compare it with like properties. We do it using machine learning and algorithms which are very complex. We value every home in the country, every night, and nationwide zestimates are actually quite accurate even though they’re computer generated.” Are you getting that the zestimate is complex, by the way?So Zillow generates these zestimates which, as you’ll see in a minute, they’re very adamant about calling by their proper names. And as Rascoff says and most real estate investors will agree, a zestimate is not necessarily a bad STARTING POINT for a home value because they tend to be relatively accurate, which is to say that if someone says their property is worth $400,000 and Zillow says it is worth $175,000, you can generally be sure there are some more details to uncover, good or bad.The problem that a lot of real estate professionals have with Zillow and its zestimates is that when a homeowner sees a zestimate the old “if it’s on the internet, it must be true” fallacy kicks into high gear if the homeowner likes what he or she sees. You can’t lie online, right? And, by the way, I own this bridge I’d like to sell you…Anyway, a lot of real estate professionals criticize Zillow more and less gently about their zestimates because they’re not real appraisals, and Rascoff addresses this directly and regularly as well. He has said time and again that “it’s a zestimate, not a “zappraisal” because it is not intended to take the place of the appraisal.” He routinely encourages critics to consult appraisers and real estate agents for more detailed, accurate home values. “There will always be a professional intermediary,” he has said on more than one occasion, noting that in his opinion, Zillow and zestimates have simply given consumers access to what was historically a “secret database of housing information.” That doesn’t mean, he adds, that a consumer doesn’t still need a professional’s help to interpret it.So if you’re an investor struggling with the best way to use Zillow, here are a few fast tips to make this powerful website work FOR you instead of against you when you’re working on a deal:First, don’t go in blind. I promise you, your seller looked up their zestimate. You need to know what they believe about their home so that you don’t look gobsmacked when they tell you what it’s worth, for better or for worse.Second, read the home details. They may expose the reason for a value discrepancy, if there is one. For example, I once encountered a LOVELY, HUGE home in person (five bedrooms, five bathrooms, huge porch, finished basement, the works) that was listed on Zillow as a three-bed/two-bath. Zillow’s fault? Nope! Nearly three decades earlier the homeowner had done a bunch of work to improve the home and the changes had never made it onto county property records. Because the home had never been listed on Zillow, the updates simply never got recorded. To Zillow, it looked like a starter home in the middle of a much, much posher neighborhood, and Zillow priced it accordingly. In that case, it was good news for everyone once we figured that out!Third, be pleasant. Badmouthing Zillow is just dumb, and not because they’ll call you up and ask you to stop (which they will). Zillow, like Google, has carefully aligned itself with the consumer by “exposing secret information” previously only accessible to real estate agents. That type of marketing is just one reason a lot of real estate agents don’t really like Zillow all that much. But if you bad-mouth your seller’s “teammate,” you just come off as the guy with something to hide. So be reasonable, but be nice about it as well. In most cases, your seller knows what the zestimate says and, in their heart of hearts, they know whether it’s close to accurate or not and whether their situation warrants you paying that price tag.REI Nation, Zillow is a powerful force in real estate and you can leverage that power – and the power of the zestimate – to your advantage to the good of your real estate investing business if you understand how that zestimate works. Don’t ever allow a lack of insight or information to get the best of you! Stay in the loop with REI Today’s breaking coverage, alerts, and education and training library. Text REITODAY to 33444 to gain access to everything we offer or visit us online at www.REI.Today. If you’re not yet a member, text REITODAY no spaces, no periods, to 33444 I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.REI.Today right now.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this:Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10 PERCENT LOWER APPRECIATION than the competition - THIS COMPANY SLOGAN is "Rubbing Off" on Local Housing for the Worse | Episode 25

Thu, 24 Mar 2016 06:00:00 GMT

Wouldn’t you want to know if buying near a certain HUGELY POPULAR store that is often touted as a BONUS by sellers could actually be LIMITING APPRECIATION compared to similar retailers by as much as 10 percent? If you don’t like the sound of “always low prices” and YOUR HOME in the same sentence, you can’t miss this. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 25.So, let’s just get this out in the open. We all love the people of Walmart. Some of us have even BEEN the people of Wal-Mart if we really needed that toilet paper run at midnight! And that’s okay. Wal-Mart gets a lot of grief from a lot of different directions, and this podcast is not about shaming Wal-Mart, its customers, or even its management. This podcast is about alerting you to the cold, hard facts that if you buy property near a Wal-Mart, it could cost you by comparison to buying near other big-box retailers.Now before we go any farther, I want to take a minute to put you on HIGH ALERT. REI Today has gained what we’re calling “first look access” to a brand new real estate training that includes, among other things, access to $600,000 in FUNDING for all types of deals. If that sounds like something that might be too good to pass up (and let’s just say, it’s not something that’s going to be available forever) then I recommend you watch this training TONIGHT, the only time REI TODAY is going to offer it, at 9pm Eastern or, for our west coast listeners, 9pm Pacific. Go to http://www.rei.today/FUNDING600 If you’re serious about jumping into real estate or escalating your business in a meaningful way, it will be worth your time to do it. This is a really fantastic program that will enable you to plug into the profitable side of real estate investing and start profiting quickly no matter age, experience level, or income. And that’s the last you’re going to hear about it, so please, don’t delay.Now, back to Wal-Mart’s “always low prices” and how they could be keeping your appreciation always low – or at least, always LOWER than everyone else’s – as well. Here’s the deal. One of our favorite real estate data giants, RealtyTrac, has evaluated ALL THE HOMEOWNERS IN THE COUNTRY who sold their homes in 2015 on the basis of proximity to Wal-Mart and its closest competition, Target. Tar-jay to those of us who consider ourselves die-hard fans. The homeowners who lived near Wal-Mart sold for prices that equated to roughly, on average, 16 percent appreciation over the lifetime of their ownership, which doesn’t really sound all that bad, until you compare. Homes located closer to Target snagged 27 percent appreciation on MUCH higher property values for a total of…wait for it because it’s going to hurt…selling on average 72 percent HIGHER than homes near Wal-Mart locations.Of course, there are plenty of locations – I myself live in one – where the Wal-Mart and the Target are basically next door to each other, and there are also a lot of other factors in play outside of retailer presence in determining how much homes appreciate. For the moment, however, let’s take a slightly closer look at these stores’ typical shoppers. Wal-Mart shoppers tend to be white, 50 years of age, and have annual household incomes of 53,000 or more. Target shoppers are five years younger but have an annual income that is about 12,000 higher. So it’s entirely possible that the price differences have more to do with what shoppers can afford in their homes as opposed to which retailer they prefer.Regardless of the reason that Wal-Mart tends to correlate with lower appreciation, there is some good news: Wal-Mart homeowners tend to pay less than half of what Target homeowners pay in property taxes.For a savvy real estate investor, this type of study is useful mainly because it simply serves to emphasize that you can never evaluate a deal without evaluating its environment. Should you remove all emotion from the equation? Absolutely. Should you remove all other external factors or trust anyone who says they have figured out a way to do so? Probably not. Always consider every angle of a deal, including the local housing trends, before sinking your hard-earned money in.Want more information on how retail presence affects property values (or vice versa)? Check out our exclusive 2016 Housing Retail Resonance Report in the REI Today Vault at www.REI.Today/Vault. Not yet a member? Text REITODAY, no spaces, no periods, to 33444, and I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to this report and a lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.REI.Today/Vault right now.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this:Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The TRUTH about No-Fee, No-Points Funding (and $600K for FAST, EASY DEALS) | Episode 26

Thu, 24 Mar 2016 01:54:25 GMT

How would you like access to $600,000 in no-fee, no-points funding to use for FAST, EASY DEALS? If you want to know how it works (and how the lender is actually on YOUR SIDE instead of being in the government’s pocket), you can’t miss today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 26.How would you like it if I could make something that is wayyy too good to be true (like that 600K in no-fee no-points funding) TRUE for you? I HOPE given that you’re all savvy real estate investors who know what they could do with that kind of investing freedom, you’d listen up. I interviewed a very interesting guy to get this information and this access for you, REI Nation, and I think you’re going to like what he had to say and what it means for your ability not just to fund your deals, but to a LOT of them starting very soon.Let’s cut to the chase. My investor guest has been working in real estate for decades, and he’s pretty darn good at what he does. If he wanted to, instead of his cute little family on that “who I am slide” we all know and love, he could throw some sexy cars, his private plane, and a pile of cash on the screen and it would be nothing more than the truth. However, this guy is not like that, which is one reason I know you’ll like him. The other reason, however, is that he offers a fantastic financing opportunity. Let’s explore that now.As an aside: I’m not going to give you this guy’s name. He’s a very cautious fellow, in part because his financing plan is a DIRECT RESPONSE to the federal government’s legislative abuse of power, called the Dodd-Frank Act. Dodd-Frank came very close to putting thousands of real estate investors out of business, and it did do in a number of others. My guest read the entire thing, paid for his legal team to read the entire thing (and you know that wasn’t cheap) and then came up with a solution that enabled him to keep supporting his students with real, solid proof-of-funds when they needed it and leveraged some “Good old American ingenuity,” as he calls it, to beat the government at its own game.Here’s what he said about why this funding is so important to him:“First of all, I read the whole Dodd-Frank law, and it’s huge,” he told me, adding that the legislation ultimately would put any transactional lender’s “head on a stick” just for offering an investor the chance to use money for 24 to 48 hours without qualifying or concerns about income as long as the deal was solid and do it for measly 2 points. “Put that in front of any real estate investor and they’ll be thrilled, it’s a no-brainer, but put it in front a bureaucrat who doesn’t know what they are looking at and only cares about being re-elected and making an example of someone so that they can walk around with a head on a stick, “and that head on a stick is mine,” he said bluntly.Ultimately, our guest decided to change his entire business model, and if he had not opted to try to find a way around Dodd-Frank, that change would likely have meant the end of hundreds of investors who relied on his funding. Fortunately, by applying a little creative thinking, was able to identify a method that works and it has really started to shake things up in the industry. “We no longer charge any fees on the funding for our clients,” he said, noting that instead they pay a “nominal set-up charge” that also includes access to a four-point system that reliably creates predictable success for the investors who leverage it.“We’re severe market disrupters,” he told me proudly, noting that no other professional in the space is offering this type of program at this time. He explained that the set-up fee offsets the expenses of the lending and the overhead associated with managing the funding on the deals, and then he did something most guys wouldn’t: he broke it down in detail.“When we fund a deal, the actual process of that if you take overhead out of the equation, there is no cost to us to do that other than a wiring fee which is nominal. Other than overhead, there is really no real cost involved so as long as I can cover my overhead with that setup charge now and at the end of the year have a reasonable profit, I'm happy,” he said.Now, as you can see, he’s laid it all out there. Why he doesn’t charge fees, how he still makes money, where the fees go and how that supports your real estate as well as his, and how YOU use that no-fee funding to make money! Now, one last thing. This program is a PILOT PROGRAM, which means it is limited in scope and time of offering. You hear this all the time, but in this case, when our guest says “space is limited” it’s true, and here’s why, in his words:“Number one is that it is a pilot program and I want to continue to watch it. It is like when if you have a young kid and you are at the pool and your child goes in the pool and I'm a dad. Your child goes in the pool and the child is young and maybe has only recently learned to swim but they are very independent and they want to be left alone. They don't want you coddling them, are you going to take your eyes off that kid? ABSOLUTELY NOT. Your back teeth could be floating you have to go to the bathroom so bad and you are not moving.”I think all of us with kids can identify with that. But here’s the other reason, and I think you’ll agree it makes sense.Secondly, he said, when you make an offer like this and people understand the value of it, it is certainly possible that you could attract a lot of clients. That's great in most cases but in ours it is not because we are not set up to handle it. We don't have the capacity to handle a large number of clients. I don't have a big huge business. What I have is a great business. One where our customers are treated the way we want to be treated and where we know our customers and they know us and they are not just a number to us. I don't have the capacity to take that kind of care to provide that level of support to a large number of people. We just simply cannot. If we did, it would backfire and I won't let that happen.So there you have it folks. The TRUTH behind no-fee, no points funding. It doesn’t get any clearer, more bare bones than that. Now if you’re intrigued and excited about what my guest talked about (or hey, if you just can’t stand the secret and want to know who he is once and for all), then head over, right now, to www.REI.Today/FUNDING600 to sign up for all the information on THIS new program and the associated training and tools that produces, time and again, successful, predictable results for real estate investors like you. That’s www.REI.Today/FUNDING600. You heard the man: this program IS a pilot program and WILL CLOSE. You know how many people can get on a webinar! Don’t miss this opportunity, REI Nation, and please, always remember this:Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3 Keys to INVESTING PROFITABLY with the WEIRD FACTOR | Episode 24

Wed, 23 Mar 2016 05:00:00 GMT

We all love a little weird in our real estate, but we wouldn’t all want to live in the weird, you might say. Many real estate professionals have done some pretty wild things in order to “go viral” and get attention on their properties. Is it worth it? I’m Carole Ellis. I’ll give you both sides of the story today in Episode 24.So you may not have a hard and fast definition for it, but we all know weird when we see it. And because this episode is all about the WEIRD FACTOR in real estate, I’m going to take a little liberty and indulge in what we all know we secretly wanted when we started listening today: a list of the truly weird and a few insights into what actually works. If you want to get into really crazy detail however (say, more real estate weirdness than will fit in the next eight-and-a-half minutes), then head on over to our News and Networking section at www.REI.Today and check out our “Top 5 Weird Real Estate Decisions You Won’t Believe” article in that section.For now, though, let’s start cramming in the wacky.There is something about our culture that loves the unusual and the unabashedly wacky. It’s what leads us to peruse lists of crazy prom dress pictures or impossibly cute baby animals when we should be working, and it has a hint of the “train wreck” mentality that leads most people to slow down and take a second look not just as the unusually attractive, but also the startling strange or ugly. Hey, let’s call a spade a spade: it’s what keeps Curbed and other funky housing websites in business. And if you make the pages of a publication like that, odds are pretty good your property is going to get a lot of attention and possibly land a higher-than-expected bid thanks to attracting the eyes of someone who fell in love with the weirdness.But when does this desire for funkiness go too far? Well, here are a few examples of working the weird factor that DO WORK and one that probably won’t.First, let’s take Santa Cruz, California as an example. Santa Cruz is known for a number of things, but one thing is a popular bumper sticker that reads “Keep Santa Cruz Weird.” A number of homeowners in the area do eclectic, often artsy things to their homes in keeping with this sentiment. And in some cases, it’s been great for them. For example, a development of teeny-tiny writers’ studio apartments built of cargo crates and impeccably, efficiently designed is thriving. Similarly, a 280-square-foot forest cottage in the area will likely go for top dollar. On the other hand, the guy who replaced all of his stairs with milk crates held together with screws and yard-sticks is probably not going to fare so well. Sure, he’s making headlines, but mainly in articles covering how Santa Cruz residents are getting sick of the weirdness. And, honestly, they’re not safe and they’re not attractive. That doesn’t mean we’re not all going to go online and look them now! But ultimately, not good for the listing. So it’s important to be appealing in some way with your weirdness if you want your wacky-based publicity stunt to pay off.Next, let’s consider another WEIRD FACTOR angle that makes the news these days: Strange listing and sales practices. Want everyone to blog about your property? Consider sponsoring an essay contest and “giving away” your property to the winner. Of course, the fine print here reads that if you don’t get enough entries and entry fees, you’re keeping the property. This tactic has been working wonders for owners who are able to either create a good storyline for why they are selling their property this way (one couple actually was given their home in a similar manner a decade ago and are billing their contest as a way to “pay it forward”) or who have a great property that attracts headlines on its own – for example the lady giving away her haunted bed and breakfast as an essay contest prize. Another tactic that has been successful in some cases is offering to sell for virtual currency bitcoins, although now that the currency has hit a rough patch, that’s a little less trendy. You can leverage the lesson from THIS weird factor simply by making your buyers aware that you’re offering unusual financing options, if, indeed, you are. Seller financing, lease-options, and subject-to financing are all attractive to buyers who cannot make a conventional home purchase, and they’ll often pay above top dollar to access your deals if you’ll work with them.Now we’ve jammed about as much weirdness into this episode as we can, but I love weird real estate, so I’m going to just rattle off a couple more of my favorite weird factor decisions. How about….homemade slides that lead from room to room? Well-done, they can be billed as a secret passage and a great adult playground item. Poorly done, they’re carpet-lined danger pits in the floor. And then there are the wayyy over the top upgrades, such as the built-in aquarium bar. Super beautiful if you love fish and have the talent to keep them alive. Gross and a huge expensive pain to remove if you don’t. And perhaps one of my favorites, which I’ve actually seen personally in Atlanta, how about every room matching from floor to ceiling? That’s wallpaper, carpet, paint, and upholstery in EVERY SINGLE ROOM. And most of it was floral. This particular house actually was probably a huge nightmare for the agent because the owner was extremely proud of all the work they’d done and the home, which was very, very pricey, wasn’t supposed to be changed or laughed at in listing photos – even tongue in cheek. That one made the news as well, and most of the media did not keep their promise about not laughing, either. It was clearly a work of love, though, but I have to tell you I’m not sure it sold for asking.So there you have, ladies and gentlemen, a full day of the weird factor from REI Today! Thanks so much for listening in, and please make sure that get all our real estate news, alerts, and educational content the very second it becomes available by texting REITODAY to 33444 or head over to www.REI.Today to sign up for breaking news alerts and review our vast library of educational materials that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. Not yet a member? Text REITODAY, no spaces, no periods, to 33444, and I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to this timely information.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.REI.Today right now.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this:Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How to Get 100-PERCENT COMMISSIONS on Your Real Estate Deals | Episode 23

Tue, 22 Mar 2016 14:19:46 GMT

How would you like to start collecting 100 PERCENT of your commissions when you close a real estate transaction? If you like the sound of “ALL” much more than “half or less,” you can’t afford to miss this episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 23.It’s hard to believe – and even harder to swallow if you’re doing it – but most real estate agents actually fork over about half of their commissions to their broker! A new trend in real estate sales presents an exciting way around this HUGE PAYCHECK DEDUCTION. I’ll tell you exactly how to land this innovative new way of getting paid in full for your work in just a minute, but first I want to mention another way to get PAID IN FULL. It has to do with a certain popular word that nearly every real estate professional throws into their listings every single time it is remotely appropriate. This word has to do with being environmentally friendly and, I’ll give you another hint: it’s a color. And turns out, it’s now officially cliché. Buyers actually reported that they are LESS LIKELY to respond to the word “green” than another adjective that, let’s be honest, means the exact same thing! Find out what this word is by checking out our report on this topic in the REI Today News and Networking Section at www.REI.Today.Now, back to putting about twice as much money in your bank account each time you close a deal as you were before. Here’s, well, the deal:Most real estate agents who work with a broker pay a percentage of every commission they earn to that broker. In some cases, it’s about half, and in nearly every case it’s at least a third, and that’s true whether you are a certified realtor or a licensed real estate agent who has not registered with the NAR. Now, this isn’t some extortion scheme, regardless of how some of these agents clearly feel, in a good broker-agent relationship the broker provides that agent with office space, marketing support, brand recognition, some degree of legal protection, possibly workplace assistance, continuing education, and a decent flow of new leads. So in a good relationship, the agent is essentially paying for a number of broker-related services.However, as we all know, real estate is a highly flexible, highly variable industry. A lot of agents work entirely online, don’t use office space even when it’s available, and may be able to handle their own marketing costs in their entirety for less than they pay their broker. In situations like these, agents may, not surprisingly, chafe at forking over such a large chunk of their commission, and a new type of “brokerage” service is attracting these independent spirits in droves.The new brokers allow agents to keep 100 percent of their commissions and simply pay a relatively low monthly fee – often less than $100 – in exchange for basic transactional assistance, extremely minimal legal protection, and a bit of insurance. These 100-percent companies, as they are called, are recruiting agents right and left all over the country, and many agents believe they are better served by the bare-bones brokerages than they were by their former brokers.Of course, in a broker-agent relationship it’s not all or nothing. A number of more traditional brokers are offering “cut down” packages to their agents that cost more than 75 bucks per transaction but far less than half the commission. Some brokerages are even offering agents the 100-percent company option because, as they report, agents then have a chance to basically see what they’re missing and make an educated decision about what type of relationship they want with their broker rather than simply jumping ship. In hot real estate markets like Florida, there are hundreds of these 100-percent companies, and more 100-percent startups are springing up all the time.Every real estate professional is different and, for many investors, the hassle of maintaining a real estate license and dealing with brokers ends up being more trouble than it’s worth. However, whether you are an agent or just work with them, being aware of this type of opportunity is invaluable because an agent who is working secure in the knowledge that he or she will be collecting 100 percent of their commission may be more willing to negotiate that amount. On the other hand, that agent may not have the resources to market your property as you wish. There are multiple factors to consider when deciding what type of agent you wish to be or wish to work with.Want to make sure you’re getting timely, relevant information like this that can directly affect your bottom line in real estate investing every time new info becomes available? Good news, you can! Just text REITODAY to 33444 or head over to www.REI.Today to sign up for breaking news alerts and review our vast library of educational materials that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. Not yet a member? Text REITODAY, no spaces, no periods, to 33444, and I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to our library, our vault, and a lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.REI.Today right now.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this:Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The FAST, Easy home addition with 60 PERCENT ROI | Episode 22

Mon, 21 Mar 2016 14:51:18 GMT

What’s made of concrete, can be installed in a weekend, and has up to a 60-percent return on investment as soon as the concrete solidifies? All you “Weekend Warrior” investors, you are not going to want to miss the details on this fast, easy home addition that comes with a nearly instant 60-percent ROI. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 22.So how does a little concrete and less than two days of work translate to up to 60 percent ROI? I’ll tell you in just a minute! Before we get there, though, I want to let you in on a “hot” little item you can find in our news & networking section at www.rei.today. There are certain housing markets that are absolutely IDEAL for a certain type of real estate investment: cash-flowing rental properties. Investors love these properties because most feel like they are “money in the bank” with any appreciation as the “cherry on top.” If you like buying in hot rental markets, then you’re going to want to review our “HOT RENTAL MARKET Projections for 2016” in the News & networking Section at www.rei.today.Now, let’s get back to a little weekend-warrioring that can lead to that tantalizing 60 percent ROI. So here’s the deal:More than ever, Americans are demanding useful, easy-to-identify outdoor living space in their homes. When it’s spring, the demand is particularly high because the weather is getting pleasant, but this is a year-round phenomenon. It’s great for real estate investors as well, because you can make an average property really stand out with the addition – or even just staging – of outdoor space in a way that demonstrates that there are great outdoor living options in that property.However, if you really want to go the extra mile (okay, it’s more like an extra couple hundred square feet, and remember, I told you it’s going to take basically no time at all), then you can add a patio or deck. Now, adding a deck is complicated. There are safety issues. There are construction factors. You may not have the personal skills or the time to add a safe, attractive structure like a deck to your home. However, a patio is a very, very different story.Let me give you a few fantastic patio facts that are going to have you at your local DIY store buying pavers, sand, and cement.First things first: The Money. According to Inman News, patio additions have a 30 to 60 percent ROI on them basically from the second the concrete sets. This is great news, because patios do not have to be expensive to be attractive and effective for what they’re intended to do: create a pleasant, defined outdoor living space. And second, homebuyers LOVE them. More than half of all new homes come with a patio because that is what the buyers WANT! So if you’re investing in an existing property without one, seriously consider this addition.Next, and this is still related to money, a patio does not have to be that expensive. You can have a nice concrete slab patio (probably the most basic option) poured for five- or six-hundred dollars in most areas. Of course, the more you add to that patio (say a fire pit, which will be another roughly $600 if you pay a professional to do it), the more expensive it gets. A lot of savvy investors actually pour the concrete slab to keep costs down instead of installing pavers, for which the cost can get up toward two- or three-thousand very quickly, and then STAIN the concrete or stamp it to make the patio look like natural stone, wood, or even marble. Pretty cool, huh?Finally, not only are patios a hot item, they’re also a fast fix. You could absolutely install a basic patio in a weekend, so they won’t add a lot to your deal’s timeline. And here’s a very interesting note from the president of the Appraisal Institute, who actually has a documented opinion on patios, which kind of just shows you what a big deal to buyers they are these days. The Appraisal Institute president, Leslie Sellers, said that the biggest ROI on patios comes from installations that appear to “have been in place since the home was built.” Essentially, she said, this means not that you need to weather it, but that you need to keep your patio installation in check so that it “goes with the property.” A modest property should have a nice but modest patio, a higher-end property might need a larger patio with a few amenities like a fire pit or outdoor bar area. Over-investing in an opulent patio that doesn’t fit the property can erode or even eliminate your ROI fast.Now, if you want more details on how to make your patio pop, head on over the REI Today Vault at www.rei.today/vault and check out our exclusive report on outdoor living. Whether you are staging a patio, installing one, or just looking to make the most of the existing outdoor space in your investment property for the least amount of investment dollars, our 2016 Outdoor Living Report has the answers you need. Not yet a member? Text REITODAY no spaces, no period to 33444 and I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to this timely information.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now.REI Nation, if you’ve got patio installation on the brain, then odds are you could be making a trip to local big-box store soon for supplies. When you do, did you know that the store you go to could contain some VERY VALUABLE INFORMATION about how real estate prices are going to change in your area this year? Wondering what the local DIY store has to do with YOUR HOME VALUE? A lot more than you think, and not just in terms of your home improvements. Get all the details in the next episode and, until then REI Nation, always remember this: Your Best Investment is Your Own Education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Top 4 Things You MUST DO to SURVIVE THE NEXT CRASH in style while Flipping HUGE COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS for 6-DIGIT PROFITS | Episode 21

Sat, 19 Mar 2016 10:26:11 GMT

How would you feel if I could distill the entire process involved in flipping commercial real estate on a MASSIVE SCALE into just four simple steps? You’d be HUGELY excited! Good news. I’m Carole Ellis, and my guest, Sue Nelson, who has purchased thousands of apartments in her decade of commercial real estate investing, will break the entire process down for you today in Episode 21.So let’s get right down to the four green flags you’re looking for when you’re thinking about investing in an apartment building. Now, for the sake of clarity, let’s take just a minute to define “apartment building.” If you listened to episode 20 (and if you haven’t, I HIGHLY recommend you do so immediately after you finish this one because my expert has a VERY UNIQUE way of looking at real estate deals that will truly revolutionize the process for you should you choose also to adopt it), then you know that Sue is not a big fan of the “small potatoes” apartment complex, say duplexes, triplexes, and quadplexes. So during this podcast, when we say “apartments” or “multifamily buildings” or “units,” just bear in mind, we’re talking BIG. And don’t let that intimidate you, because Sue is a true expert on the process of buying these things without using your own money and on flipping these things for fast, massive profits.Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get into the four things that Sue says you must do in order to know that an apartment deal is worth investing your time. If you’re just tuning in, our expert, Sue, is a long-time commercial real estate investing expert who has done it all and done it big for many years. She started out, however, as an art teacher, and only started flipping mega-properties when her daughter was born with some health issues. Sue tackled a 104-unit building as a “starter project” and literally made five times her teaching salary with one deal and never looked back. And speaking of not being intimidated, I can’t tell you how many times Sue said during the course of our exclusive interview with her, “If I can do it, anyone can!” And with these four “green flags” as a guideline, you’ll find it easy to believe her!So, I asked Sue directly, “What are the things that you must check off on the list that would let you – or anyone doing this type of real estate – that they had a great deal.” Well, she’s a very methodical lady, and it turns out she has just such a checklist! And she agreed to share it here.So, first of all, Sue checks cash flow. If the building doesn’t cash flow, then there is too much risk, she explained. That’s the first and biggest checkmark in the box.Next, Sue evaluates the occupancy of the building. Occupancy is, as you might have guessed, the number of occupants in the building or, more specifically, the number of units that are occupied. “I usually only buy if the property is 85 percent or more occupied,” Sue told me, adding that in her opinion, numbers lower than 85 percent add too much risk to a deal and make it less attractive to investors and buyers.Thirdly, Sue said, she evaluates the rehab costs on a building. Now, Sue gets a LOT of her properties from banks which is, much like the rest of commercial real estate, kind of an intimidating concept for a lot of people. However, Sue has certain MAGIC WORDS that she says to bankers that basically cause them to sit up, pay attention, and open up those REO (that’s real estate owned) books and start selling at a discount. If you want those words, by the way, as well as the ENTIRE, firsthand explanation from Sue about how to leverage these four green flags, head over to www.rei.today/IMPORTANT right now and register for Sue’s limited-time training. Returning to rehab, though, Sue looks for relatively low rehab costs so that she can add value to the property quickly not by fixing it up, but by, as she puts it, increasing income or decreasing expenses. And she’s not unclear: “I am not looking for large rehab deals,” she said on no uncertain terms.Finally, Sue buys in what she calls “decent neighborhoods.” It is very, very difficult to fix a neighborhood, she warned me, adding that some areas – and you know what she’s talking about! – have a culture of non-repair that can really bog your projects down. “As much as you are dying to fix the world and help dilapidated areas, it’s very difficult to do that,” she said, pointing out it’s also very difficult to get other investors to invest in or buy those projects outright.So there you have them, ladies and gentlemen. Four simple, straightforward green flags for buying BIG and doing BIG DEALS that should SELL FAST in commercial real estate, where six- and seven-digit deals are not at all uncommon. “When I have broken those rules, that’s when I’ve gotten in trouble,” Sue told me, and added that in her opinion, “If you follow those rules, you make it very, very possible that you are going to stay out of trouble regardless if we experience another 2008 market crash.” Given that she invested profitably and productively THROUGHOUT the crash, I’d listen to her on that one!Now if you like what you’re hearing – and I know you do – in terms of clear, concise instructions for making big, BIG deals that probably seemed unimaginable for you before you started listening to this exclusive interview series with Sue happen in YOUR REAL ESTATE INVESTING BUSINESS, then you need to head over RIGHT NOW to www.rei.today/IMPORTANT to sign up for Sue’s extended, limited-time, FREE TRAINING. That’s www.rei.today/IMPORTANT. When you do that, you’ll be able to not only get Sue’s personal, extended teachings on just how to make this stuff work, but you’ll also be able to view real-life case studies about how she did it. So RUN, don’t walk over to www.rei.today/IMPORTANT and get on that class roster before we run out of room.And once you’ve registered for the class, take a minute to review our other materials from Sue on the website at www.rei.today. You’ll see other podcasts, news and reporting on the topic, and far, far more insightful stuff that will make your real estate investing business safer, faster, and more profitable.When you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country in addition to having the chance to interact directly with Sue herself.REI Nation, thanks for listening in. Now, more than ever, please remember this:Your best investment is ALWAYS your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How to Flip Apartments for 6-Digit Profits | Episode 20

Fri, 18 Mar 2016 04:00:00 GMT

How would you like to know the LITTLE SECRET to doing HUGE, six-figure flips in a simple, predictable, HIGHLY REPEATABLE way? If four- and five-digit profits just aren’t big enough for you anymore, then you’re going to love today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 20.Seriously guys? Four- and five-digit profits aren’t enough anymore? Okay, okay, I get it. If you could make $100,000 or MORE every time you did a deal, you’d certainly have to do fewer of them, and I imagine we could all find great things to do with that time, like spending time with our loved ones or pursuing passions outside of real estate. But let’s face it: the majority of the deals you do in residential real estate are going to net you profits with four and five digits, not six or seven. If you want those bigger numbers, then you’re going to have to do something that today’s guest refers to as “becoming someone’s JOB.” I’ll explain what she means by that and how it can – and should – revolutionize the way you think about your involvement in real estate today.First, however, I’ve got some other HUGE news that has a much smaller price tag – just about three digits. According to the American Society of Landscape Architects – did you even KNOW there was such a society? That’s what I love about real estate – there is a society or data giant out there for EVERY TOPIC! Anyway, according to the ASLA, this spring’s homebuyer is loving the outdoors more than ever, and that means that adding a small upgrade to any home can, in effect, add the entire square footage of the yard TO YOUR LIVING SPACE! Want to know more? Head on over to the News & Networking section at www.REI.Today and check out the “Lesson Learned” section in our Must-Have Upgrade for 2016 report.Now, back to what I know has you drooling…those six-digit profits. To talk about buying TRULY BIG in real estate, I brought in a lady who knows the big business of real estate – and don’t get scared, but I’m going to go ahead and tell you these types of profits require investments with the word “commercial” in the title – inside and out. Her name is Sue Nelson, and when I asked her for a headline that encapsulated her real estate investing experience, she came up with this beauty: “Struggling art teacher turned real estate investor purchases 2,000 apartments so she can stay home with her toddler and infant children. If she can do it, so can you.” That’s a good summary of her bio in less than 30 words, but I’m going to give you just a little bit more. This commercial real estate dynamo’s name is Sue Nelson, and she started investing in commercial real estate when her daughter was born. Sue’s daughter had some serious health complications as a baby and, like any parent, Sue knew that she would have to do whatever it took to take care of that little girl (oh, and her 18-month-old at the time brother as well). Unlike most people, however, Sue thought much bigger than you might expect. While a lot of us might think “I need to learn to wholesale three-bedroom/two-bath houses,” Sue decided she’d start with a 104-unit apartment complex.Here’s why that made sense, and why Sue was successful in her own words from an exclusive Q&A Interview with Real Estate Investing Today:“I actually thought originally that I’d buy a three-family triplex,” Sue says, adding that this deal quickly turned into “a nightmare.” She explained that she quickly discovered that managing the small property was going to be very difficult because, in her words, “it was nobody’s job but mine!” Essentially, Sue discovered on her first foray into real estate investing that for her, the key was going to be investing SO BIG that someone ELSE’S LIVELIHOOD depended on her deals. Pretty gutsy, huh? But hey, it makes sense! So Sue starting thinking and looking for cash-flowing deals that were bigger – about 101 units bigger, to be exact. “An apartment complex is someone’s job,” she explained. “The manager, the maintenance crew, those people have to CARE about the property because if they don’t, then they don’t have a job anymore. So if a property is cash-flowing” (and I should note here that Sue has a unique cash-flow analyzer that helps her identify the right types of deals that matter in the right way to the people involved in that cash-flow process and to future buyers of those deals) “then I know that it’s a deal I can do whether I’m nearby or far away.”So Sue plugged this 104-unit apartment complex into her cash-flow analyzer and decided it was big enough to be important and that the cash-flow was such that she’d be able to find a buyer. She took the deal to her attorney to have some paperwork drawn up and the guy took one look and said hey, why don’t you just sell this thing to me and I’ll pay you $120,000 for it. And thus, Sue was hooked and her commercial real estate career was born. I’ll let her tell you about that part, because I couldn’t possibly say it any better.Sue said, “Oh my God. Well, that launched me, because I realized if someone would buy these deals from me, I could stop right there. That was actually five years of art teaching! So I closed it, and I just kept replicating the process.”Now, since that time, Sue has done more than just “replicate the process.” She’s been a commercial buying MACHINE, and she’s got a pretty great system down pat that has enabled her to, well, let me just give you a few more quick examples:*Help a student buy 242 units for $7 million without laying out any of his own money*Work with a stay-at-home grandmother to “Flip” an entire apartment complex for a fast $180,000*Close on a $2.3 MILLION CA PROPERTY WITHOUT TAKING OUT A LOAN.If those numbers are sounding “IMPORTANT” enough to you, then you’ll want to hear EVERYTHING Sue has to say, including the details on those and lots more deals that she’s done over the past decade. Can’t wait to hear more? Head on over to www.rei.today/IMPORTANT to get the full scoop right now. That’s www.rei.today/IMPORTANT, because IMPORTANT is our word of the day. Admit it: now you’re feeling like six-digit profits are the ONLY WAY TO GO, so head over to www.rei.today/IMPORTANT right now to take this IMPORTANT TRAINING right away.When you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country in addition to having the chance to interact directly with Sue herself.REI Nation, thanks for listening in. Now, more than ever, please remember this:Your best investment is ALWAYS your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The HIGH-DOLLAR UPGRADE certain markets DEMAND | Episode 19

Fri, 18 Mar 2016 00:49:30 GMT

Wouldn’t it be INCREDIBLY USEFUL to know in advance, before you purchased an investment property, if the local market was going to REQUIRE that you make a certain EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE CHANGE to that property in order to sell it? Find out what that change is and which HOT MARKETS DEMAND IT today. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 19.----One of the biggest problems a real estate investor can face is not being able to exit a deal in a profitable way once they have purchased it. For many investors who flip and rehab properties, the ideal exit strategy is a relatively fast sale. However, in certain markets in the United States these days, buyers just are not all that likely to make that quick purchase if you don’t do a certain something to your property before you put it on the market – and that certain something doesn’t come cheap.I’m going to disclose exactly where in the United States this is happening and the exact dollar amount of this HEFTY UPGRADE in just a moment, but before I do I want to mention an easy upgrade that buyers are just falling all over themselves for this spring. I’ll give you a hint, it has to do with family gatherings, marshmallows, and good memories, and it can cost less than $600 to install. Find out the details right now by checking out our story, “The MUST-HAVE DESIGN ELEMENT for 2016,” in the News & Networking Section at REI.Today.Now, back to our PRICIER ISSUE…According to a study by BuildFax, a company property condition database that services the insurance industry, more homeowners than ever are REMODELING their homes. In fact, nationwide, the total number of residential remodels has SKYROCKETED 40 percent since the government declared the Great Recession “over” just a few years ago. While a lot of the remodeling activity has to do with homeowners remodeling their homes for enjoyment purposes now that money is not quite so tight, the remodeling trend has gone “off the charts,” as BuildFax researchers put it, in certain areas of the country.In fact, in three particular markets, one out of every 10 homes has been recently remodeled, which puts HUGE PRESSURE on real estate investors buying to rehab and flip properties because they’re competing with a lot of new, trendy upgrades when they put their homes on the market. Those remodeling-wild markets are:Colorado Springs, ColoradoOrlando, Florida, andDenver Colorado.As you can see, those are some PRETTY DESIRABLE markets for a lot of investors, so this little tidbit of information could dramatically affect your investment projections. For example, if you buy in Colorado Springs, the remodeled home population in that area is actually more like 15 percent, so you’ll want to check out the competition and see if you’re competing with a really extensive remodel that can add serious time and money to your projections, like a kitchen remodel (one of the most popular out there) or whether you’re looking at something a little faster and relatively less expensive, like hardwood finish floors, which can run much less than a kitchen remodel (though I’d hesitate to say they’re “cheap”) and offer huge appeal to buyers who want a more luxurious look on a budget.Other popular remodel options in these markets include adding or re-doing the master suite – that could add a little extra time and money depending on the property! – and putting on a new roof – a particular seller favorite since a new roof is one of the few renovations that tends to recoup more than 100 percent of cost immediately upon resale. If you want to get the exact numbers for these hot remodel markets and get all the inside details on exactly which remodels will give you the most bang for your buck while bringing buyers flocking to your investment property’s door, head on over to the www.rei.today/remodel for a full report. If you’re not yet a member at REI Today, get access right now by texting REI Today, no spaces no periods, to 33444, and I’ll provide fast, free access to that information as well as a lot more seriously insightful stuff that will make your real estate investing safer, faster, and more profitable. So just text the word REITODAY with no spaces or periods to 33444 or visit REI.Today/remodel to get access now…When you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country! Just text the word REITODAY with no spaces or periods to 33444 or visit REI.today/remodel right now for your free membership.REI Nation, some of you have mentioned recently that you’re hitting an unusual stumbling block in your real estate investing business. You’ve said that you love real estate, but for some of you, the residential market is just “too small.” You guys have what I like to call “One-Deal-Itis,” and it’s not a bad thing, but you’ve got to take control of it before it takes control of you and puts your investing business on the skids. If you’re tired of making four- and five-digit profits on your real estate deals and well, you’d just prefer to go big or go home and make six or seven figures on a single deal well, you’re in luck. Our next episode is all about making BIGGER DEALS, specifically six- and seven- figure ones, happen no matter whether you’ve been investing for two days or twenty years. And I’ll go ahead and tell you, you probably haven’t considered this type of investing because honestly, most people who do it just plain don’t want to talk about it. I’ve got a guest who’s willing to spill the beans, however, and this former struggling art teacher has been successfully involved in this HUGE industry for more than a decade. Get the whole story in the next episode. If you’ve always wanted MORE in real estate, you can’t afford to miss it.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and until next time, always remember this:Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The EXACT WORDS TO SAY to get Your Deals Funded with Free Money from the Government | Episode 18

Thu, 17 Mar 2016 01:28:10 GMT

How would you like to know the specific words that you needed to say to open up a nearly LIMITLESS TREASURE TROVE of real estate funding with your personal name and your personal deals to benefit? If you’re in the mood to say “open sesame” to full funding for your deals that you never have to pay back, say, Aladdin! I’m Carole Ellis, and I’ll give you the exact details you need to make that vault open for you in Episode 18.----Let’s get started chanting some magic words, shall we? This stuff is so good, I’m not even going to make you wait for it today. You may recall in episode 13 we discussed how to basically guarantee yourself government funding for your real estate deals with our government grant funding expert, Chris Johnson. If you missed that episode, I highly, HIGHLY recommend that you listen to it next. You can play catch-up by going to www.rei.today/13 or check out more success stories from people who have gotten tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars in government funding for their real estate deals by going to www.rei.today/grants.Now, however, let’s get into some really IMPORTANT words that you need to be saying every time you think about applying for some government funding. To demonstrate what I’m talking about, I’m going to take a real live success story from Atlanta, Georgia, and we’re doing to do a little dissection to determine exactly what this guy, his name is Eric H., did right when he applied for a $15,000 government grant that enabled him to buy all sorts of major equipment that he needed for his construction business.First, I’m going to read you exactly what Eric has to say about the subject:“I contacted Chris about funding for buying supplies for my business,” he writes. “I promptly received a list of resources and now I have about $15,000 in equipment and supplies.” In the interest of full disclosure, the exact amount of money that Eric received and subsequently spent on his development supplies was $14,804.00. Think you could live with $196 fewer than $15,000 for your deals? Just this once? Thanks.So we know what Eric got, but the key here is knowing how he landed it. Eric did something very simple and very repeatable. He said “open sesame” to the government, just not in those words. And, here’s the kicker, he said it to the RIGHT TREASURE TROVE. If you google the term “government grants for real estate rehabbing supplies” you will get about half a million results. And I’m going to tell you right now, not all those results are relevant to you. Here is a VITALLY IMPORTANT QUESTION that you MUST ask yourself immediately upon beginning to review your findings. Every time, with every program, say to yourself:AM I ELIGIBLE?Here’s what I mean. There are a lot of grants out there and a lot of money behind those programs that are intended to help small-business real estate investors who make up just about half of my audience. As Chris would say, “I’m about to make half of you very happy, and half of you very sad.” Here you go: a LOT of that money is earmarked for WOMEN. Now, if you’re a woman, that’s great news. If your name is Eric H., that’s not such good news, and the eligibility is not always clear. A grant titled something to the effect of “Small Business Rehabbing Support for Our Communities” may have, in the fine print, that it is just for women or may be sponsored by a female advocacy group. If Eric H. (or any other guy) spends a lot of time applying without checking that fine print, he will have just flushed his time down the toilet. Bad move.So check the fine print or, as we have talked about previously in episode 13, call up the program personally and just ASK who they’re looking for when they’re hoping to hand out money. They’ll be happy to tell you. We all know the government LOVES TO SPEND and giving you grant money is a good way to do it. So the deck is really stacked in your favor.But let’s get back to “Open Sesame.” So once you determine what type of loan you need, then you say the magic words. The person on the other end of the phone gave them to you when they told you who was eligible for the grant. Let’s imagine that Eric called up the grant program he landed the 15K and said, “Hey, am I eligible?” And they said, “Sure, if you’re a small business owner located in Atlanta, Georgia who needs less than $20,000 worth of work-related equipment.”Now here’s what Eric should have – and clearly did – do with whatever that person said, exactly. HE WROTE IT ON HIS APPLICATION! He said, hey, OPEN SESAME, I’m a small business owner located in Atlanta, Georgia, who needs less than $20,000 worth of work-related equipment!”And then, wonder of wonders, just like Aladdin in the treasure trove the grant program wrote him a check and he bought that equipment. As Chris likes to say, “It’s really not hard. You just have to follow directions!”Now, if you think that you could follow directions, then you’re going to want to hear this next little bit of information. You may remember that I told you that REI Today had a special opportunity for my listeners to meet Chris Johnson IN PERSON at our GaREIA general meeting. Well, bad news: You missed that meeting because it was Monday, March 14. The good news is that if you are a GaREIA member, you’re going to get a very special opportunity to hear Chris presentation, in its entirety, again over the weekend. If you’re not a member and you live in the Atlanta, well, you should be! Leave me a message in the comments section at www.REI.today and I’ll contact you personally and get you signed up. If you’re NOT a GaREIA member, well, I Have something for you, too. Head on over to www.REI.today/grants and check out our Grant Funding Success Series. It gives you direct access to the details of how real people all over the country have leveraged their real estate investing businesses and their own unique abilities and characteristics to land money to do their real estate deals that they never have to pay back. As I’ve said: You LITERALLY Can’t Afford to Skip This!And REI Nation, if you’re thinking about doing deals then the odds are good that you’re thinking about real estate you’re thinking about BUYING. Wouldn’t it be INCREDIBLY USEFUL to know in advance, before you ever purchased an investment property, if the market was going to demand a certain EXTREMELY HIGH-DOLLAR CHANGE be made to that property before you were able to sell it? If you want to avoid these perilous markets (or, hey, you may find they’re a PERFECT FIT for you once you have this insider information) then you can’t miss the next episode.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and, until next time, always remember:Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

DOUBLE YOUR LISTING VIEWS by including your “BEST FRIEND?” | EPISODE 17

Thu, 17 Mar 2016 01:26:47 GMT

How would you like to DOUBLE YOUR LISTING VIEWS by including a certain “best friend” in your property pictures? You’ll never believe what one Australian real estate agent is doing to promote her listings and sell faster than ever. I’m Carole Ellis, and I’ll tell you all about this CRAZY tactic today, in Episode 17.----We’ve all heard the stories about crazy listing photo shoots and over-the-top models, parties, and staging that ultra-high-end agents use regularly to attract attention to their properties. According to the National Association of Realtors, (the NAR), however, one Australian agent is actually get far better results simply by putting her best friend in her listing pictures. We’ll get to exactly who this listing star is in just a minute, but before we do, I want to mention something that if you have high school aged kids, will make YOU a star for them. Wait for it…how about a FULL RIDE TO COLLEGE? A good friend of mine who teaches real estate investors how to fund their deals recently told me that most of the investors who work with him actually use his information to fund their kids’ college tuition in addition to their deals. You can see a GREAT EXAMPLE of how a Georgia guy named Glenn sent his son to his dream college on a FULL RIDE by visiting www.rei.today/fullride as soon as possible. I’ve got an 18-year-old and a 15-year-old myself, and you better believe I’m hot on the heels of what Glenn did before those girls hit graduation!Now that I’ve shared that priceless tidbit with you, however, let’s get back to doubling those listing views. Here’s the story:A real estate agent named Tracey who lives in Queensland, Australia, recently started including her “best friend” in her listing photos. This best friend, by the way, is actually a certain individual that most conventional wisdom says you should NEVER, EVER, let anywhere near your listing photos! This lady’s BFF is her shih tzu, Tiffany, and Tracey started including her in photos of pet-friendly listings several years ago in order to indicate that homes were pet-friendly or had special pet amenities. She realized in short order that those listings were raking in the views, and buyers and sellers alike are now requesting Tiffany to appear at showings and in their listing photos.Tracey, not one to delay when she spots a good thing, immediately created a Facebook page for Tiffany and started marketing her as “The Pink Property Pooch.” Tiffany appears in images sitting happily near a pet-bathing sink – a BIG DRAW in homes these days – frolicking in lush backyards, reclining on balconies, and even snatching a burger off a countertop. Interestingly enough, the pink property pooch is not pink.Tiffany and Tracey are an interesting team because conventional wisdom and LOTS of marketing experts tell us that we should NOT include pets in listing photos because they can scare off potential buyers who might not want to deal with left-behind allergens from a former four-legged inhabitant. However, these real-world results seem to indicate that this particular maxim may be a bit outdated.According to the American Pet Products Association, Americans spent nearly $61 billion on their pets in 2015, and that number has been climbing for more than a decade. Builders report (via the National Association of Home Builders or NAHB) that more and more buyers are adding on pet-friendly options all the time, with a particular favorite in new homes being the “Pet Suite,” which actually is a sort of “mud room” with a bathing area, play area, and sleeping accommodations for your furry friend. A lot of these suites are equipped with feeding stations and cameras for canine or feline viewing while the owner is on vacation.Such “suites” just demonstrate how much we’re willing to spend on our furry friends these days. Not only do they add several hundred square feet to a new home in some cases, but they can add as much as $10,000 (or more, if Fluffy is high-maintenance) to the price tag.Tracey is likely benefitting from the global version of this American trend, and there are plenty of other experts out there who support the concept behind what she’s doing. For example, award-winning architect Daniel Swift recently addressed the NAHB’s International Builder’s Show on the topic, noting that any indication to buyers, however small, that you understand “how they live” and are running your business with their preferences and lifestyles in mind can help sell homes. Real estate professionals can leverage this not just by putting “man’s best friend” in their listings, but also by, Swift said, considering pet-friendly upgrades to existing properties, such as doggie doors or off-bedroom nooks staged to accommodate pet lovers with a fluffy pet bed and soft lighting.If you want more hard numbers on this intriguing furry friend trend, then head on over the REI Today Vault to check out our exclusive report on how a dog, cat, or even a goldfish could help (or hurt) your property listings. Not yet a member? Get access now by texting REITODAY no spaces, no periods, to 33444, and I’ll provide fast, free access to that information as well as a lot more seriously insightful stuff that will make your real estate investing safer, faster, and more profitable. So just text the word REITODAY with no spaces or periods to 33444 or visit REI.Today/vault to get access now…When you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country! Just text the word REITODAY with no spaces or periods to 33444 or visit REI.today/vault right now for your free membership.REI Nation, if you’re thinking about real estate then the odds are good that you’re also thinking about FUNDING for that real estate. In the next episode, we’re going to talk about some specific words that you can say to some SPECIFIC GOVERNMENT ENTITIES that are basically a government-speak version of “open sesame” when it comes to funding your deals and never having to pay back that money. As is always the case when we bring in our government funding experts to teach us how to make the system support our deals in an interest-free, debt-free way, you literally can’t afford to miss this. Until then,REI Nation, thanks for listening in, and always remember this:Your best investment is your OWN education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

the TRUTH about buyers that will SET YOUR INVESTING BUSINESS FREE | Episode 16

Fri, 11 Mar 2016 14:58:41 GMT

What if you knew a SECRET about the people who buy your deals that would enable you to sell just about any deal within days – if not hours – of getting that deal lined up in the first place? If that just might light a fire under your real estate business, then listen up. I’m Carole Ellis, and I’ll reveal this secret in Episode 16.----There is a secret that far too few investors realize about the people who buy their deals, but the investors who are “in the know” are able to do more deals, more quickly, and with less of their own money on the line than anyone else. It’s a really important little piece of information to have, and we’re going to talk about exactly how to GET IT today. However, before we do so, I’ve got another “important little piece of information” you’re not going to want to miss: the location of a city in which home prices have gone up 25 PERCENT in the past year alone. It’s not located on the west coast either. The local and national governments that regulate this municipality have worked together in a unique way to bring so many individual millionaire investors to this area that the average house is now selling for more than 1 million dollars! Want to know where this SMOKING HOT market is located? Check out the latest in the News & Networking Section at REI.Today to read all about it.Now, let’s get back to a tiny little oh, say, nine-digit number that will help you enter and exit your deals profitably as quickly as you could possibly want to. You’re probably thinking hmmmm, nine digits, sounds like a phone number. Well, you’re right, it is! But you don’t just need ONE phone number, you need as many of them as possible, and on the other end of that number, you want an investor who is ready to snap up your deals. How do you get them? It’s easier than you might think. In fact, you’re probably already doing the main step in the process. Here’s how it works.We’ve talked about bandit signs numerous times in the past. Bandit signs are those small cardboard signs you see on the side of the road that say things like “I buy ugly houses” or “3 bedroom/2 bath CHEAP!” Now, REI Today has a training about how to make your bandit signs WAYYY more effective than the ones you usually see on the side of the road that you can access with your key to the REI Today Vault, but for now, we’re going to operate on the assumption that we are working with a sign that says the following:Great 3 bedroom/2 bath worth $200,000, will sell for $130,000. And it has a phone number at the bottom.Now here’s the key: that PHONE NUMBER. While you’re probably thinking it’s YOUR PHONE NUMBER, you’re only partly right. In reality, it’s a phone number with a message specially designed to target buyers who want to buy deals like the ones that you are finding. On the other end of that number is NOT you and your cell phone, it’s a message detailing exactly why that house is so ideal as a purchase. You include all the comps, all the details, exactly what makes it a STEAL at $70,000 below market value (and, also, evidence of that $200,000 in market value) and at the end of that message you add some very important words:We get deals like this one all the time. If you are interested in this deal, please leave your name and number and I’ll be back in touch with you right away! If you’re interested in getting information about other deals like this one, please leave your name and number as well. Now, you’ve not only potentially sold your one great deal, but you’ve begun to establish a relationship with multiple investors who will be looking to you to provide them with the details of great deals the very second you’ve got them. Over time, you’ll have a list of phone numbers you can text or, if you prefer, emails that you can reach out to, that are all linked to motivated buyers. And you don’t need hundreds of these guys and gals – though of course it’s nice – you really only need maybe a dozen. And furthermore, you can put that same information you put on your bandit sign up on craiglist and generate buyer leads for that deal and for other deals as well.Let’s face it: you can never, ever have too many motivated buyers who trust you and love your deals, so a truly motivated investor will begin putting this plan into action right away. It will speed up your transaction time, unlock your ability to do a higher volume of deals, and, most importantly, IMPROVE YOUR CONFIDENCE AND YOUR PROFITS in your real estate investing business. To get access to our exclusive bandit-sign training, where I describe exactly what REI Today does in our business to build this type of buyers list, head on over to the REI Today Vault and look for the “Exclusive Bandit Sign Training” at that location. Not yet a member? Get access now by texting REITODAY no spaces, no periods, to 33444, and I’ll provide fast, free access to that information as well as a lot more seriously insightful stuff that will make your real estate investing safer, faster, and more profitable. So just text the word REITODAY with no spaces or periods to 33444 or visit REI.Today/vault to get access now…When you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country! Just text the word REITODAY with no spaces or periods to 33444 or visit REI.today/vault right now for your free membership.And, whether you’re a pet lover or a pet hater, you (and Fluffy) can’t miss the next episode. Did you know that a dog could DOUBLE YOUR LISTING VIEWS? Find out how Fido could multiply your potential buyer pool twice over in our next episode.REI Nation, thanks for listening in, and always remember this:Your best investment is your OWN education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 2 VIEWS that can SAVE OR COST YOU 2 WEEKS on Market | Episode 15

Sun, 06 Mar 2016 06:00:00 GMT

How would you like to know how looking out a window could save you 2 weeks on market? I’ll reveal the hard numbers behind this simple time-and-money-saving real estate trick in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 15. When you look out the window of a potential real estate investment, you’re probably checking out the state of the neighbor’s property, worrying about spotting potential maintenance or landscaping issues, or evaluating how much you can charge for a fantastic view. However, you ought to be doing something far simpler as well: adding or subtracting at least two weeks from your potential time on market. It may be difficult to believe, but Realtor.com researchers recently analyzed millions of listing records from just the past three months and determined that certain common views can actually add or subtract as much as two weeks from the amount of time that elapses between when you list a property and when it sells.Now, as you well know, I’m going to get right to that very timely (haha) information, but first I want to take 30 seconds to mention something else that will directly affect your bottom line: your floor plan. Recently, a lot of conflicting information has come out about what types of home features first-time buyers, who tend to be part of the millennial generation that came of age during the housing and financial crises and have never lived without Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other social media, truly want in a home. Well, good news: if you’re thinking you’re going to sell to these buyers, the U.S. Commerce Department and the National Association of Realtors recently released a study that indicates exactly what these millennials say, in their own words, they want in a home. It’s not the conventional wisdom either, so you need to check out our brief report, “Top 3 Things Today’s Buyers Will Pay For,” in the News & Networking Section at www.REI.Today.Let’s get back to that room with a view now, shall we? According to Realtor.com, homes with urban views (that’s basically a city view, with a city skyline being the most attractive version) spent 15 days fewer on the market than homes with what you’d probably think would be a more attractive view, an ocean view. City views spent an average of 83 days on market across the entire country, while ocean views spent 98. By comparison, golf course views spent 90 days, Lake views spent 95 days, and mountain views spent 96 days.Of course, a view is not ever the only factor you should consider when investing in real estate, but this research can give you a leg up if you’re considering buying a property that you’d prefer to move a bit more quickly while still going for top dollar. If you really want to make an investment property move fast, however, then I suggest something that is far more reliable and predictable (and frankly, far, far speedier) than the view out the window. We’ll talk about a system that is easy and cheap to implement that can help you move your properties in days – if not hours – in the next episode.Want more information on that study about the best and worst views? I’ve got all the details locked up tight in the REI Today Vault, so head on over to www.rei.today/vault right now to check out this really interesting report. Not yet a member? Get access now by texting REITODAY no spaces, no periods, to 33444, and I’ll provide fast, free access to that information as well as a lot more seriously insightful stuff that will make your real estate investing safer, faster, and more profitable. So just text the word REITODAY with no spaces or periods to 33444 or visit REI.Today/vault to get access now…When you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country! Just text the word REITODAY with no spaces or periods to 33444 or visit REI.today/vault right now for your free membership.REI Nation, thanks for listening in, and always remember this:Your best investment is your OWN education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

CELL PHONE TRICK to catch the PROFIT-SUCKER that exists in 98 percent of buildings | Episode 14

Sat, 05 Mar 2016 16:54:48 GMT

What if spotting an invisible structural problem that can SUCK THE PROFIT right out of your deals was as simple as turning on your phone? That’s right: 98 percent of buildings in the United States have this issue to one degree or another, and if you know where to look on your phone, you can spot it. Get the insight on this tiny profit-sucker in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 14.Can you believe that 98 percent of the buildings in the country have an invisible structural issue that is literally sucking the profits out of them every single day it goes unresolved? Kind of makes you want to check the ground under your feet, doesn’t it? Before we expose this massive issue that you’ve probably experienced already without even knowing it, however, I want to take just 30 seconds to mention something else that might make the earth move for you if you happen to be renting at this time. You know those mortgage-interest tax deductions homeowners love? Well, there’s a bill in Congress right now, JUST FOR YOU, that would actually have the potential to snag you DOUBLE what homeowners get on their tax returns. Get the details in the News & Networking Section of REI.Today, and let me know what you think about this new development!Now, back to invisible structural profit-suckers…Before you get too worried about your office collapsing under you, let me clear up the “structural issue.” Thanks to the dominant trends in construction and urban planning in the United States, 98 percent of commercial buildings have lousy, lousy, LOUSY cell service. As you probably know. And in reality, not all employers or educators, depending on how the building is used, think that’s such a bad thing (turns out they’re wrong, but more on that in a minute). For the majority of commercial space owners and investors, however, that lack of cellular service represents a HUGE problem – to the tune of a 28-percent loss of value to be exact. And while the numbers are not as well-researched on the residential side of the equation, the National Association of Realtors (the NAR if you’re on a first-name basis) and the U.S. Commerce Department recently issued a warning to baby boomers hoping to sell to younger families that if they don’t get strong cellular and wireless signals in all areas of the house, they’d be well-served to look into WiFi boosters and cell-signal boosters to remedy the problem.So what does this mean for you as an investor? Well, crack out that cell phone when you’re looking at potential deals, because as homebuyers become more and more attached to their phones, you’re going to find that just a bar or two is not going to cut it. Furthermore, according to the same NAR study, listings that note specifically that a property has fast Wifi and strong, consistent cellular signals are likely to attract more buyer interest than similar listings without these important details. When you consider that a recent Pew survey indicated that three out of every four Americans still experience dropped calls, you can see why this might be a sensitive subject that is likely to attract interest to your property.Oh, and if you want to learn more about how the strength of your cellular signal could be directly affecting your productivity levels at work, school, and even home, then be sure to visit the REI Today Vault to get the EXTREMELY SURPRISING details that I have to warn you, your teenagers are going to love. Not yet a member? Get access now by texting REITODAY no spaces, no periods, to 33444, and I’ll provide fast, free access to that information as well as a lot more seriously insightful stuff that will make your real estate investing safer, faster, and more profitable. So just text the word REITODAY with no spaces or periods to 33444 or visit REI.Today/vault to get access now…When you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country! Just text the word REITODAY with no spaces or periods to 33444 or visit REI.today/vault right now for your free membership.And if now you can’t wait to get out there and market your properties with a truly attention-grabbing listing, you’re not going to want to miss the next episode. I’ll tell you which VIEW (that’s right: like out the window) could save you (and which could COST YOU) more than 2 weeks on the market. If you’re looking to flip properties fast, you need to consider this when you buy.REI Nation, thanks for listening in, and always remember this:Your best investment is your OWN education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How to BASICALLY GUARANTEE YOURSELF GOVERNMENT FUNDING for your real estate deals | Episode 13

Fri, 04 Mar 2016 15:56:29 GMT

Could you use some FREE MONEY FROM THE GOVERNMENT to fund your real estate deals, your business, and your education? If the answer is yes (and let’s be honest, the answer is YES), then you literally can’t afford to miss today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 13.So let’s get started snagging some free money from the government, shall we? How does more than $50,000 to invest in real estate sound? Or more than $58,000 to purchase rental properties? Or $27,000 to fund your rehab projects? Yes, ladies and gentlemen, all REAL LIFE EXAMPLES in case you were wondering. And we’ve got more. I randomly picked a city (more about that later) and asked for this guy’s success stories and his wife actually sent me a spread sheet so I could keep them all straight. Are you getting excited? Me too. I love this stuff. Well, before I introduce you to my GOVERNMENT GRANT FUNDING EXPERT (and believe me, this guy always goes STRAIGHT to the source of the money, which is why I like him!), I want to take just 30 seconds to mention something else exciting going on in the real estate world today: tax credits! If you haven’t filed your taxes yet, then you need to check out the LATEST LIST of new real-estate-related tax credits. You may be surprised at what you were missing! You can get all the information right now in our News & Networking Section at www.REI.Today. Now, back to putting the government to work for you! Today’s insider information comes from one of the greatest insiders of all when it comes to landing free grant money from the government. Now first, let’s get clear about what the terms mean: a GRANT is money that you do not have to pay back, unlike a loan, where you have to return the money, usually with interest. So let’s make sure we’re all on the same page. We’re talking about grants and, can we all agree money we don’t have to give back is better than money we do? Now, let’s get started. Today’s Government Grant Funding Expert is Chris Johnson, a long-time veteran of the real estate business and the premier expert not only in finding government funding for your real estate deals, but in LANDING it. For example, one of Chris’ students, named Jinette, recently lost her job and found herself without any means of supporting herself or getting started in real estate. However, instead of heading back out to try to get another $30,000 a year job (which is what she had been working), Jinette carefully and methodically applied for certain government grants and, three months later, she was not only flipping houses that she had purchased using her grant money, but she’d been awarded a small stipend so that she could focus on real estate full-time instead of looking for a new job.Chris told me that one of the key components to Jinette’s success was knowing where to look for the right grants to apply for. “There’s a motherload of programs for all kinds of things,” he said, adding that the real issue for most real estate investors is that they simply don’t know where to look. You see, if you google “real estate grants” online, you’ll get zillions of results and, unfortunately, most of those results are not very useful. Chris told me that there is a LOT of misleading information online, “There’s bad stuff, for sure,” he said. The key – and listen up here, because this is PAINFULLY simple but most people don’t even think to do it – is to contact funding agencies directly! Find the type of funding you want and then instead of applying online, call up the agency. Sure, you’re going to have to read the fine print at the bottom of the webpage and spend a little time on the phone, but isn’t free funding for your deals worth a little bit of your time?Here’s what Chris does, every single time he spots a new funding opportunity: “I reach out and contact funding agencies and government offices who administer programs and basically ask them directly about eligibility, what the process was to apply, and get all the answers first-hand,” he said. This gives Chris a HUGE leg up on any competition that might be out there because he already knows exactly what the agency is looking for before he ever fills out the first word on his application. And remember, you can get grants for just about anything: Chris told me that he’s gotten grants for educational funding (anybody with college kids out there listening?), business funding, real estate investing, home ownership, home improvement and repairs, the list goes on and on. And you, like Chris, can give yourself a MASSIVE LEG UP simply by being bold enough to reach out directly to the source of the funding and make a personal connection that can guide you directly to your goal.Now, this is a really big deal. Think about Jinette. Think about those other folks (and those are a very, very few examples, by the way) who jumpstarted their real estate investing businesses in a BIG WAY just by being brave enough to ask for the help they needed in the RIGHT WAY in order to get it. So I’m going to make it very, VERY easy for you to get more information about how Chris works his magic. Of course, you can always text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 to access the entire interview transcript in the REI Today Vault. But Chris here comes with some SPECIAL OPTIONS.For starters, he’s going to make a LIVE APPEARANCE in the Atlanta area at the Georgia Real Estate Investors Associations (that’s GaREIA to friends) on March 14, 2016 at Wyndham Atlanta Galleria on 6345 Powers Ferry Rd. If you live in the Atlanta area and can stop by, you can meet him and hear his Keynote Training Address in person. And be sure to tell them at the front door that you’re a loyal Real Estate Investing Today listener and I’d love to come by and shake your hand myself as well!Now if you’re not in Atlanta, I’ve got something for you, also. Go straight to www.REI.Today/grants and sign up for our exclusive Grant Funding Success Studies series. It’s completely free, and you’ll get case study after case study that demonstrates exactly what real people have done using government grants. It’s Real People. Real Stories. And REAL SUCCESS. REI Nation, there is no better demonstration than this series that your best investment is ALWAYS your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Street Name that Could Cost You 44-PERCENT of Your Sales Price | Episode 12

Wed, 02 Mar 2016 06:00:00 GMT

Can you believe that a STREET NAME could cost you 44 percent? Before you laugh, more than 110 million listings say it can. That’s right: Zillow’s at it again, and this time, they’ve revealed the street name that, on AVERAGE, costs its homeowners 44 percent of value when compared to the average price of a home in the United States. I’m Carole Ellis. I have THAT little gem of a ticking time bomb and so much more today in Episode 12. It’s really, really hard to believe, but a certain street name can actually mean DEATH to your home value when compared to other homes in your area. Zillow, that online real estate listings giant that some love and some love to hate, has released a new tidbit of information that could have some, well, deadly effects on your comps if you’re not careful. Before we reveal the street name of doom, however, I want to mention something easy that you CAN do to improve your property’s value against those of local comparable competition. According to the experts at “This Old House,” one of the most common “home improvement” moves that sellers make is changing out their lightbulbs – and the results have NOT been what you would think. Get all the details on simple things that homeowners are doing in today’s market to improve the look and feel of their homes without spending an arm and a leg in REI Today’s News and Networking section.Now, back to the nightmare on…well, it’s not actually on Elm Street. It’s Main Street. Here’s the deal. Zillow is the acknowledged 2000-pound gorilla in the room when it comes to real estate data, even if we don’t always agree with their “zestimates.” (more on that another time…) But the listing giant DOES have more than 110 million listings on their website and a LOT of information about most homes in the country at this point. So when they stop spitting out home values and start spitting out comparable values, we listen! And here’s one of the latest little items Zillow’s CEO Spencer Rascoff, Chief analytics officer, Stan Humphries, and the research team have discovered: Homes on streets called “Main Street” are worth, on average, 44 percent less than the average US home.44 PERCENT! That is a BOATLOAD, particularly if you are an investor buying sight-unseen based on comparable properties in the area, or if you are hoping to wholesale properties to other investors in the area. If you’re dealing with a “Main Street” home, your comps just plain may not hold up.So what’s the deal? Does everyone just hate the word main? Actually, the answer has much less to do with the word main and much more to do with location. Main streets, whether in a town or a neighborhood, tend to have more traffic, making them inherently less desirable to main residents. While a downtown loft on Main Street may be appealing, it seems far more likely that more homes on more main streets, as the data bears out, tend to sell for less than other homes in their area.Of course, while the main sensation is that huge price cut you could face if you miscalculate about a main street house, the good news is that you are probably facing a much smaller discrepancy when you look at a Main Street house on a smaller scale. In fact, while it will almost certainly still be worth less than other comps in the area, you might only (only, right?) be looking at a five- or 10-percent hit on your sales price, and in some areas where Main Street is the hip or trendy place to be, you might actually come out ahead of the other properties in the area.The key, as you might expect, is to look at the LOCAL market and draw your own conclusions. Whether you are investing next door or in the next country, as long as you have access to the internet you can do the research you need in a local area to get the information necessary to make a good investment. And don’t let the word “main” always scare you off. Today, in the REI Today Vault, we’ve locked up a special “Main” word that actually is worth 75 percent MORE than other properties on other streets with Main in the name. Get the word by logging into the REI Today Vault at www.REI.Today/Vault and looking for the document titled “The Truth About Main Street.”Not yet a member? Get access now by texting REITODAY no spaces, no periods, to 33444, and I’ll provide fast, free access to that entire interview as well as a lot more seriously insightful stuff that will make your real estate investing safer, faster, and more profitable. So just text the word REITODAY with no spaces or periods to 33444 or visit REI.Today/vault to get access now…When you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country! Just text the word REITODAY with no spaces or periods to 33444 or visit REI.today/vault right now for your free membership.And if today’s episode sparked some interest for you for investing in properties but you just don’t presently have the funds to get started, then you’re going to LOVE the next episode. I’m going to go through, in DETAIL with a guy who is probably the country’s foremost expert on the topic (at least outside of Washington), a case study that begins with a woman named Jinette losing her job and ends, less than three months later, with her happily AND profitably investing full-time in real estate. You really can’t miss this and it will demonstrate possibly better than anything we’ve ever talked about so far just how important it is to always remember REI Nation:Your best investment is your OWN education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How to DESTROY a 70-PERCENT ROI in Five Minutes | Episode 11

Tue, 01 Mar 2016 06:00:00 GMT

Are you making a SIMPLE MISTAKE that could DESTROY a solid, scientifically supported 70-PERCENT return on investment in about FIVE MINUTES? If you watch even one real-estate-related television show a MONTH, the odds are good you’ve at least been tempted to do this…Today, I’ll expose this TEMPTING TV MISTAKE for what is really is – a disaster waiting to happen. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 11. You’d heard TV was bad for you, but did you know what watching the “Educational programming” can do to your real estate profits? In this episode, I’ll reveal exactly how following the tube-touted experts can lead you far, far astray. First, though, I want to mention something that could really help your buyers (and by extension, you) out. A new type of mortgage lending program is trending at the biggest banks in the country, and the upshot is that they’re offering really low down payments to qualified buyers who are, well, not always even aware that they could be in the market for a home. Get the details on these pro-buyer programs and how to leverage them with your own deals in the News and Networking Section at REI.Today.Now, back to demolishing 70 percent ROI…If you’ve watched even one single rehab or flipping program on a certain much-loved home improvement network, then you know that at least on the small screen, a kitchen rehab is crucial to successfully doing, well, just about anything in real estate ever. And, hey, it makes for great TV. Setting aside for the moment that you don’t always need to redo the kitchen on your deals, let’s focus on the fact that kitchen renovations are indisputably at the top of the pay-off list for home improvements. Year after year the kitchen renovation wins top honors for biggest payoff. In fact, US News & World Report has estimated year after year that the kitchen is among the biggest bangs for your buck when it comes to payoff after rehab, predicting values near 70 percent over and over again.However, while a kitchen is a great thing to update, one single decision could make or break your trip to the bank. According to many design experts, that decision is literally “on the counter.” That’s right: the wrong countertops can not only send buyers away feeling cold on your listing, but you’re probably feeling very tempted to make just about the worst mistake you can about counters if you’re watching too many rehab shows on television.Ready for your mistake? Don’t assume that the best is the best for you. According to a report published by Builder.com, more and more homeowners and investors automatically assuming that GRANITE countertops basically need to be a given in a new kitchen. However, in reality, not only did consumer reports NOT give granite the best rating for kitchen countertops, but EVERYONE has them now and they’re not so “trendy” as they once were. While many investors simply assume that means they need to install the “next big thing,” in reality you will do better to install something timeless that will not only meet homeowner’s needs but will not scare off the buyer who doesn’t want yesterday’s big look in their kitchen.Practically, this may still mean that you install granite, but go for a less showy stone – I’m not knocking it as a countertop medium in its own right. I actually love the way it looks, but buyers who care – and there are more than you might think, in large part also thanks to real estate “reality” television – trendy countertops, be they yesterday’s granite or tomorrow’s quartz and quartzite – can be left entirely cold on your kitchen if you’ve got the wrong look. And in an instant, that 70-percent ROI you were counting on when you installed the counter tops could have gone up in smoke.The solution? Stay classic (and stay classy, REI Nation) with quality. Unless your buyers ALWAYS default to the best and latest (and believe me, they’re a subcategory and you already are WELL AWARE if you’re marketing to it), go high-value, high—quality, and a little less showy. Sure the latest reality television real estate investor can tell you – honestly – that the latest and greatest installation is paying off for them, but it’s paying off largely because THEY HAVE A SHOW THAT DEMANDS FLASHY BEFORE AND AFTERS, not because your target buyer is their target buyer. In most scenarios, a house will get more and higher offers thanks to solid workmanship and quality materials than thanks to special sparkly counters.If the idea of 70-percent ROI on a kitchen renno makes you salivate, then you’re going to LOVE our Vault treasure today. We’ve got a list of the top 10 return-on-investment renovations for 2016 just waiting for you there. Already a member? Head over to www.REI.Today/Vault and log in for your latest training materials. Don’t have your access code yet? Get it now by texting REITODAY no spaces, no periods, to 33444, and I’ll provide fast, free access to that entire interview as well as a lot more seriously insightful stuff that will make your real estate investing safer, faster, and more profitable. So just text the word REITODAY with no spaces or periods to 33444 or visit REI.Today/vault to get access now…When you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country! Just text the word REITODAY with no spaces or periods to 33444 or visit REI.today/vault right now for your free membership.Thanks for listening in, and if you liked the idea of 70-percent ROI, then you’re going to LOVE the next episode. Get this: a CERTAIN STREET NAME makes, ON AVERAGE, a 44-percent difference (to the worse) for homes with THIS WORD in their address. Get the word in the next episode before your comps go down the drain. And until then, REI Nation, always remember this:Your Best investment is your OWN education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The SECRET SIGN that Your Market is TOO HOT to Handle | Episode 10

Mon, 29 Feb 2016 17:52:12 GMT

When is a HOT MARKET Too Hot to Handle? When it’s getting ready to boil over, of course. We’ve been watching certain market trends closely here at REI Today, and we’ve discovered a TROUBLING OVERSIGHT that could affect YOUR FINANCES even if you don’t think you have the FIRST PENNY invested in real estate. I’ll tell you all about the HUGE FLASHING RED LIGHT most investors are BLINDLY MISSING and exactly how to turn that RED LIGHT into a green one for your investing dollars. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 10.So let’s turn a few blazing housing markets on their heads today before you end up getting burned, shall we? I’ve got some really exciting information on what is driving the majority of today’s high profile hot markets and the details on exactly how you can leverage some INSIDER KNOWLEDGE into sound real estate investments in these markets. First, though, I want to take just 30 seconds to give a quick shout-out to Florida, where the state legislature is taking the recent wave of crimes against real estate professionals VERY SERIOUSLY. State lawmakers are actually trying to make hurting a real estate professional its very own category of awful, and the move could go a long way toward minimizing the number of criminals who still think it’s a good idea to take pot shots at our community just because our members tend to spend more time than most in vacant houses. The bill hasn’t passed yet and it’s not unopposed, but you can get all the details about the proposed law and how other states are reacting to the move as well in the News & Networking section at REI.today.Now, let’s get back to some heated EXPOSURE across the country…First, the good news:On a national level, the housing market is heating up. This past January, more homes sold and at higher prices than at any time since July of last year, and prices were rising faster than they have since April of last year. Perhaps even more exciting, nearly all areas of the country saw an increased volume in home sales, and EVERYWHERE logged overall appreciation. Sounds pretty positive, but what do those numbers really MEAN?In a nutshell: It’s a good time to own real estate. But are happy days really here again?Before we crack out the confetti, let’s take a look at the BAD NEWS. On the surface, it doesn’t sound so bad: There are a limited number of homes for sale, and, as a result, prices may be RISING TOO FAST.You’re probably thinking to yourself: hey, I can live with that. I’ll be happy to sell homes that are appreciating “too fast” all day long. How many can I buy right now? And you’re not the only one. But here’s the thing: Prices are rising TOO FAST because there are not enough of a CERTAIN TYPE OF PROPERTY available in most markets. That property is the “starter home,” and we talked about it a little bit in episode 6 when we discussed how adding a certain SPECIAL word to your listings on these “lower tier” homes could add thousands to your sales price. A starter home is, as the name suggests, a property that a first-time homebuyer would purchase. They are usually relatively modest, with two or three bedrooms and one or two bathrooms. They’re NOT glamorous, and median price on such a home tends to hover, depending on what area of the country you’re in, in the broad range of 70 to $150,000, although, not surprisingly, in really hot markets like many out west, those properties might go for half a million or even much, much more.And here’s the kicker: because these homes are relatively small and relatively plain, builders and developers are not usually in a huge hurry to build them. As a result, there just aren’t enough in the market right now. Sure, there are some builders out there who are starting to “dabble” in this market, but at this point in time, there are far, far fewer affordable, accessible starter homes in most market, particularly “hot” markets, than there are buyers. And that is what is driving prices up so quickly in so many of these markets.So what does this have to do with you and your finances? Well, if you LIVE IN or INVEST IN one of the markets without enough of these homes, then you could be living in a bubble and even banking on that bubble not bursting without even knowing it. Most homeowners and even most investors tend to assume that because the real estate market is cyclical, there’s really no way things could go really south quite yet. After all, we’re just barely OUT of the last downturn. However, NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun recently warned that when the spring buying season hits, home prices could temporarily skyrocket in many markets, which could, if those markets do not have some sort of new housing inventory in that “starter home” bracket coming soon, mean that the markets get too high too fast and eventually bubble over and even start to sink – taking your properties along with them.So what should you do? The solution is easy and free: Check out the building permits in ANY AREA where you are considering investing AND, furthermore, check out what construction is actually going on in that local area. If there are no “starter homes” going up but the market is skyrocketing, beware. It doesn’t mean you can’t invest, but it does mean you need to keep your timeline for your exit strategies short and varied, and you MIGHT want to seriously consider options for helping out new, would-be homeowners via creative financing that could not only enable you to market and sell your properties OVER market value, but create a steady stream of motivated buyers who ONLY want to work with you. Sound appealing? Of course it does! And at REI Today, we’ve got a special report on “fine print” so to speak that you need to know in order to make yourself into a creative financing powerhouse in no time. You know where to find it: in the REI Today Vault, of course! It’s called (this is easy) REI Today’s Intro to Creative Financing, and it clearly details just how these methods work. Get your access by texting REITODAY no spaces, no periods, to 33444, and I’ll provide fast, free access to that report as well as a lot more seriously insightful stuff that will make your real estate investing safer, faster, and more profitable. So just text the word REITODAY with no spaces or periods to 33444 or visit REI.Today/vault to get access now…When you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country! Just text the word REITODAY with no spaces or periods to 33444 or visit REI.today/vault right now for your free membership.Thanks for listening in, and be sure to think of us this afternoon when you’re in your kitchen or bathroom. Here’s why: we’ve recently discovered a HUGELY COMMON MISTAKE that investors are making all over the country when it comes to rehabbing older investment homes. If you’re doing this (or thinking of doing this) you could be literally DEMOLISHING your flipping profits. Don’t miss our next episode where we’ll reveal this TEMPTING TV TRICK that just plain DOESN’T WORK and, until then, REI Nation, remember this:Your best investment is ALWAYS your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The SIMPLE DECISION that can save your investing business and YOUR LIFE | Episode 9

Sat, 27 Feb 2016 08:30:00 GMT

It’s all over the news, nearly every day. Real estate broker murdered…real estate investor, missing, feared dead…Agent stabbed in parking lot…Real estate investors, both men and women, are in far more danger than most of us realize every day, and a single, simple decision could make or break our safety and extend – or end – our lives. The decision is not what you think it is. I’m Carole Ellis. I’ll tell you the key to saving your business – and your life, today in Episode 9.----You might be shocked to hear it, but a simple change in your business philosophy could literally save your life. Perhaps you remember Beverly Carter, the Arkansas real estate broker who was murdered over a year ago and whose (now convicted) killer said at the time he targeted her because “she was a rich broker and a woman.” Or perhaps you’ve been watching more recent media coverage of disturbing events such as the unexplained disappearance of Arizona agent and investor Sid Cranston, who left to show some properties, alone, last June and never returned or the stabbing death of a North Carolina agent who may or may not have been meeting a potential client, again alone.While it is easy to say, “You should not meet clients alone, whether you are a man or a woman,” the reality of the matter, we’ve discovered, is that real estate investors and other real estate professionals often feel undue pressure to accommodate their clients and potential clients when it comes to meeting times, locations, and circumstances. I cannot count the number of people who comment regularly on the blog that they have to, to a certain degree, rely on their faith in human nature when they are investing because they just can’t always take a companion with them. Many of our readers and listeners, men and women, report carrying guns or other forms of self-defense, but even those sometimes are not enough. Finally, just about everyone at least calls another person at this point, often in front of the client, to make it clear that someone knows their whereabouts, but the truth is that a 15-minute window, as too many families can sadly attest, is more than enough time for the damage to be done.So now that I’ve given you nightmares, let’s brighten up the scenario a little bit. In a recent interview with Colorado real estate “rockstar” Bill Twyford, who, along with his wife Dwan and his kids, have a thriving, nearly two-decades old flipping and rehabbing business that has recently culminated in a true “dream job” turning old mountain cabins into unique, luxury dream homes, I got a little bit of mountain-air wisdom about door-knocking that was so simple and yet, I’ve seen so clearly in our readers’ reports, so hard to implement, that I felt like it was imperative to share. I’m not even going to make you wait for it. I’ll tell you right now:Always look for a reason not to do the deal.Now here’s the thing: this advice is coming from one of the most detail-oriented, numbers-focused real estate coaches I have EVER met. Bill actually broke down for me in our interview (which you can see in its entirety in the REI Today Vault, by the way) just exactly, by the day, phone calls an investor flipping in an average down with median-priced houses would have to make in order to make $120,000 in the next three months. Period. Make the calls, and do the deals. But that’s actually another podcast…Anyway, because Bill still gets a LOT of his deals by door-knocking and he, his wife, and sometimes his son and daughter are all involved in the business and might be out looking for leads at some point or another, I asked Bill how they handle the growing safety concerns associated with real estate investing. He said, very simply, that they always look for a reason not to do the deal. “Here’s the thing,” he said, “if it looks like a waste of my time but it’s the only lead I’ve got, then I’m going to make a potentially bad decision because it’s my only option.” But if I’ve got ten more potential deals in the pipeline and this one looks bad – say the owner says he’ll be at the house alone, or he wants to meet after dark, or he is insistent that I meet at a certain time that I don’t want to meet, or he isn’t willing to commit to selling at a price that the local comps indicate will work – say any of these things, then that’s a serious reason to consider not doing the deal. If it’s the only deal I’ve got, then I’m going to get all emotionally invested and possibly make a bad decision and, at best, waste my time and at worst, end up in a very bad predicament. But if I’m willing to say hey, I just don’t want to do this deal because I KNOW it’s probably not going to work out, then I can be objective and not only do I keep myself safe, but I protect my business interests as well because I’m not getting emotionally involved in the deal. I’m keeping to the numbers and, if you do your numbers right, they just don’t lie.”And if you’re wondering about Bill’s numbers, then rest assured, you can get a good look at them very, very soon. Bill and I did a great interview and he exposed some really interesting mathematics that I know you can put to use right now to add zeros to your bottom line whether you’re on your first or your 500th deal. We’ll talk more about that next week, but for now, if you want to read the entire interview, head on over to the REI Today Vault to get it right now. Not already a member? You know what to do: Get your access by texting REITODAY no spaces, no periods, to 33444, and I’ll provide fast, free access to that entire interview as well as a lot more seriously insightful stuff that will make your real estate investing safer, faster, and more profitable. So just text the word REITODAY with no spaces or periods to 33444 or visit REI.Today/vault to get access now…When you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country! Just text the word REITODAY with no spaces or periods to 33444 or visit REI.today/vault right now for your free membership.Thanks for listening in, and be sure that you keep an ear out for our next episode. We’ve heard some nasty, nasty rumors swirling around about a certain housing market, and you probably have money there whether you KNOW IT OR NOT. Creeped out? You should be. Don’t miss it and, REI Nation, remember this:Your best investment is ALWAYS your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Government Puts NO-KILL PRESSURE on Non-Pet-Friendly Landlords | Episode 8

Fri, 26 Feb 2016 16:41:41 GMT

What if I told you that right now, your local government might be working with animal activists to FORCE YOU TO ACCEPT PETS in your rental properties? Probably depends, right? Some of you actually jumped up from your seat and did a dance (admit it) while others are cringing in horror at the thought of the damage to that new carpet you just installed in your rental. Either way, when the government gets involved in your investing, you NEED INFORMATION and you NEED ANSWERS. I’ve got both. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 8.----So here’s the deal: Big Brother wants you to rent to pets. That’s right, Orwell fans, your local city government could be working RIGHT NOW against your brand new paint and carpet and, more importantly, the bottom line on your rental homes. Here’s what’s going on:The latest city (that’s right, I said “latest” and we’ll get back to that in a minute) to make a consolidated effort to force landlords to accept pets in their properties is Los Angeles, and the city council has made big headlines on both sides of the equation (both for and against the idea of forced acceptance as a pet policy) because it has voted unanimously to start working on ways to get more landlords to accept pets. On the face of it, this probably has some landlords cringing, but the truth of the matter is that there are plenty of laws in place already about when you cannot refuse a tenant the right to own a pet – and I’m not talking about service animals, either. For example, did you know that tenants in “federally assisted” housing who are 60 or older actually are legally entitled in MOST STATES to have not one, but two “small pets” should they wish to do so? Small, by the way, means under 40 pounds, so we’re not talking goldfish or hamsters, here. And if you are a landlord in those states and you’re charging pet rent or a pet deposit in excess of state-determined maximums, you could be violating not just state, but federal laws! So yeah, it’s already serious.LA and other cities like it, however, are hoping to make the situation more serious by soliciting information from landlords and tenants about current pet policies in order to determine how best to adjust them. One council member explained that in his opinion, landlords should not be able to change their pet policies to no-pet policies at the end of a term of a lease, which could create big problems for landlords who have tenants with problem pets or who find that they have made a mistake about their ability to handle pets in their rentals. So yeah, it’s a huge potential problem.Now don’t worry, I’m not going to spend the entire episode bashing our furry friends. There is absolutely a huge unwanted animal crisis going on (despite American’s tendency to spend billions on billions of dollars each year on their pets) and shelters kill innocent animals daily. The reason that the LA council and local animal advocates are so excited is that there is real hope that if more landlords would accept pets, more shelters could switch to not euthanizing animals, becoming “no kill shelters.” Shelter representatives say that this has already happened in cities like Denver, Colorado, where only about two percent of rental properties do not accept cats and 9 in every 10 accept small dogs. (by comparison, fewer than two-thirds of rentals in LA accept any pets at all).The real lesson here for real estate investors has nothing to do with whether or not you have a dog, wish you had a cat, or can’t stand anything with more legs than you. The real lesson here is this: Your tenants and future tenants have rights, and those rights are constantly changing. So are yours. As a real estate investor, you MUST make yourself aware not only of your rights in whatever venue in which you wish to invest, but also of the rights of your buyers, sellers, and tenants. Because if you don’t, someone else will, and then they’ll use that information to CHANGE THE RULES on you before you ever see it coming. And speaking of seeing it coming…The BEST way to see things far, far in advance in the real estate space is to listen up right here AND visit the REI TODAY vault on a regular basis. If you want to know where YOUR state stands on pet-owners and rental owners rights (and let me tell you, you may think you know, but you probably don’t – and remember, we’re talking POTENTIAL FEDERAL LAW BREAKING HERE), you need to get into the REI Today VAULT right now. Get your access by texting REITODAY no spaces, no periods, to 33444, and I’ll provide fast, free access to my “Pet Lovers & Pet Haters Guide to YOUR RIGHTS” as well as a lot more seriously insightful stuff that will make your real estate investing safer, faster, and more profitable. So just text the word REITODAY with no spaces or periods to 33444 or visit REI.Today/vault to get access now…When you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country! Just text the word REITODAY with no spaces or periods to 33444 or visit REI.today/vault right now for your free membership.Thanks for listening in, and be sure that you keep an ear out for tomorrow’s episode. I’ll tell you how one single “rule of operation” could literally save your life, and it’s NOT the phone call you’re thinking of. You can’t miss the HUGE danger male and female real estate professionals face every day (it’s all over the headlines – kidnapping, murder, stabbing, you name it), and this easy, easy addition to your standard “mode of operations” could help you eliminate all sorts of threats long before they ever get close to you. A good friend of mine and his wife have been employing this method for years, and I have to say that not only is it working really, really well for their bottom line (and, you know, keeping them safe and alive), but it makes a huge amount of plain old common sense as a rule for business.So until tomorrow, REI Nation, always remember this:Your best investment is your own education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

GREEN BERETS SECRETS to INFILTRATING hot markets fast | Episode 7

Wed, 24 Feb 2016 11:30:00 GMT

How would you like to INFILTRATE the country’s HOTTEST REAL ESTATE MARKETS and immediately get started leveraging those thriving economies without wasting days, weeks, months, or YEARS “putting in your time” first? If you can’t resist the boiling-over markets like Denver, Colorado or just about anything on the West Coast, then this episode is one you can’t afford to miss. I’ve got the proven secrets (delivered straight from a real, live Green Beret who’s been working in these markets for more than a decade) today. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 7.So before I introduce you to my friend who likes his markets hot, I’ve got to mention something else that appears to be “boiling over” – and not in a good way – that you need to be aware of if you install “smart” appliances in your investment homes or if you’ve got any of those cool-but-creepy devices in your own personal castle. Rumor has it that one of the most popular (and most potentially profitable) smart-home startups out there (purchased by Google a few years ago for $3.2 billion) is having some, well, let’s just say “domestic issues” that are causing its devices, according to some users, to “go beserk.” You need the details before you install this stuff in your home or any investment property, so head on over to our News and Networking Section at REI.Today to get all the details.Now, let’s get back to infiltrating those hot housing markets with military precision. First, I want to tell you about my friend, David Corbaley. He’s a former Green Beret who spent a decade in the military and then another 7 and a half years as a firefighter. You want a hero? Here he is, and David, we are so grateful to you for your service. David presently lives in one of the hottest real estate markets in the country, Boulder Colorado, and he basically fired up his real estate investing business in that area less than a year ago when he moved there. He told me in our interview, which you can read in its entirety in the REI Today Vault, by the way, that when he quit firefighting, all his friends said he was crazy, “but they don’t call me crazy anymore,” he said. David’s thing is going into markets where normal investors might fear to tread and literally unlocking deals that no one else knows about.You know I love a secret, so that was my first mission when I talked to David. I wanted to know exactly what those deals are (and where to find them). He disclosed to me that the key to finding real estate deals in a hot market is to locate sellers who may not even know that they are sellers yet using highly specialized ads. You’re probably familiar with David’s favorite ad venue, Google’s Adwords, but you may not realize that using a certain combination of words in your adwords can not only keep your advertising budget down, but dramatically increase your returns. David told me that these words are the key to finding the right motivated sellers – the UNDERCOVER SELLERS – that no one else is reaching.So what does REI Today’s favorite Green Beret-turned-real-estate-investor do once he’s got those leads? Well, he used to flip the houses. Now, however, he’s turned his machine into such a fantastic lead generator that for a lot of other investors he is, in his own words, “the only game in town.” He takes those undercover motivated sellers and their properties and wholesales them right away to a select group of equally motivated investors active in those hot markets. “My favorite deal is a simple flip,” said David, adding, “You find a property that is maybe in a little bit of a negative situation where it might need to be cleaned out. It might be dirty. There are so many reasons that people sell when they just want to be done.” He told me that a lot of times, those properties can be had super-cheap because of the seller’s mindset, not necessarily because the property is in horrible disrepair. Then, he can flip them to another investor or, in some cases, an end buyer who really wants a home at a discount in a hot area.So now, let’s get to what you’ve all been waiting for: David’s Top Three Hot-Market Infiltration Techniques:First, he loves the internet, and he loves Adwords because it lets him reach any market he wants within minutes of deciding it’s a target. It let’s sellers find me “on their time, when they want me,” he said, noting that most people turn to the internet immediately when they are ready to take action. He compared it to looking for a salon or a grocery store or a mechanic – when you need one, you’re going to pull out your phone or your laptop first. Next, David does leverage direct mail on a regular basis, although he warned that this option can be exasperating because, “90 percent of that mail is going to fall on deaf ears.” The other 10 percent, however, are really good leads. And finally, David leverages something that no one else can: HIMSELF. “Tell people what you do,” he advised, noting that the rewards could pay off minutes or months later. And while you can’t leverage being David Corbaley, you CAN leverage being something that no one else is, YOURSELF, in a network that no one else has, YOUR NETWORK. “Talking to people is one of my favorite ways to generate leads because you talk so much over the course of a day you can build a massive network,” said David.So here’s the lesson I learned here: UNDERCOVER SELLERS are the key to any market. Figure out the right words to find those people who may not LOOK ready to sell but are feeling the drive to do so, and you’ve found the key to your hot market. And while you’re probably familiar with a Corbaley favorite, adwords, there’s another HUGELY OVERLOOKED ANGLE in Google that you can actually leverage FOR FREE that will help you find those valuable undercover sellers in a way that no one else is doing. if you want to see a sample of how David does it, he’s given us access to such a sample (and I have to say, it’s pretty cool how easy it is) that you can view along with the full interview transcript in, you guessed it, the REI Today Vault!it you’re not a member, then get your free membership RIGHT NOW by texting the word REITODAY (no spaces, no periods) to 33444 or visit REI.Today/vault and I’ll provide fast, free access to this powerful word and a lot more seriously insightful stuff that will make your real estate investing safer, faster, and more profitable. So just text the word REITODAY with no spaces or periods to 33444 or visit REI.Today/vault to get access now…When you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country! Just text the word REITODAY with no spaces or periods to 33444 or visit REI.today/vault right now for your free membership.Thanks for listening in. Be sure that you stay tuned for episode 8, where you won’t BELIEVE what CERTAIN LANDLORDS are being pressured to do. I’ll just tell you now, it’s a very controversial subject, and I know we’re going to heat up more than a few listeners when we delve into it. Landlord, tenant, homeowner, or investor, you do NOT want to miss this. So until tomorrow, REI Nation, always remember this: Your best investment is your OWN education.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The SINGLE WORD that could be worth 9K on Your low-end listing | Episode 6

Tue, 23 Feb 2016 13:41:40 GMT

What if you knew a single, simple, MAGICAL WORD that could add more than 8 percent to the sales price of the most low-down, nasty, bargain-basement house? I’ll tell you right now, there IS such a word (and I’ve got one of the internet’s biggest housing databases assuring me it works), but you’ll never guess what it is. Find out right now. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 6.INTROSo, before we start selling what we’ll kindly refer to for now as “bottom tier” properties at top dollar, I want to take just 30 seconds to tell you about something else a little, well, “magical” in real estate today. If you’re in the market for a home with a conventional 30-year-fixed-rate mortgage at this time, then you could actually land the lowest interest rates in HISTORY according to a certain Fed analyst…IF you know the signs to watch for and are ready to move fast. Want to know what’s going on behind the scenes with our lending industry? We’ve got all the details in our News and Networking section at REI.Today.Now, let’s get back to selling that starter home for thousands over market value. Here’s the deal:According to Zillow – and say what you will about Zillow, they’ve got a lot of data to use when they want to start analyzing and doing statistical research, so we listen when they start making observations about what sells – a certain word, when included in a listing for what the real estate data giant determined a “bottom tier” home, basically a starter home or what some investors refer to as their “bread and butter homes,” not middle or high-end houses, but the simple, three-bed two-baths (or sometimes two and one) that first-time homebuyers tend to purchase, can make a huge difference in terms of sales price. Essentially, if the median “bottom tier” home is listed at $110,000 (that is right at the national median, by the way) then including this word in your listing could tack on just over $9,000! Hard to believe? Maybe, but who are we to argue with millions on millions of listings to analyze?So are you ready for the word yet? Here we go and I warn you, it’s not one that you’d usually think of putting in a “bottom tier” home listing. However, quite frankly, based on these numbers, I’d consider giving it a shot. Here we go…the word is: LUXURIOUS.Now, if you’re like me, you probably immediately thought, HECK NO I’m not putting that on my listing. There’s just nothing luxurious about my run-of-the-mill three-bedroom two-bathroom starter home and there’s no way that buyers are going to do anything other than laugh at me. But here’s the thing: In reality, you’re passing up the opportunity to laugh all the way to the bank. Let’s take a closer look at why Zillow analysts think that LUXURIOUS is particularly meaningful in this sector of homes. It might surprise you.Zillow analysts Spencer Rascoff and Stan Humphries (Mr. Humphries, by the way, is Zillow’s chief analytics officer and Mr. Rascoff is the CEO of Zillow Group) speculated that people looking for different types of properties actually interpret luxury in different ways. While most of us not actually looking for a home may think “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” when we hear the word “luxurious. Mr. Humphries and Mr. Rascoff noted that a buyer actually in the market for a bottom-tier home probably thinks “high-quality amenities” (or something to that effect) when they hear the word. As a result, even if it’s not entirely a conscious decision, they are more likely to be interested in a self-proclaimed “luxury” property and, ultimately, that property is likely to snag a higher sales price. And if you legitimately cannot in any way shape or form claim that your property itself is luxurious, if you can claim access to any arguably luxurious amenities (say, provided by an HOA), then do so! It could make that listing stand out just enough to get that price bump.Now I also found it very interesting that this magic word snagged a much higher price bump on lower-end homes than on higher-end ones. Again, it probably has a lot to do with the mindset of the buyer. For higher-end homes, the same adjective, probably more aptly applied if we want to be brutally honest, only snagged about a 6.5 percent price bump on the sales – although that’s certainly nothing to sneer at. On a $250,000 home, that would be more than $16,000. On a $500,000 home, that would be more than $32,000, and, well, I think you get the drift.Now there were several other “magical” listing words that you can use on various “tiers” of home to really make your listing pop and, I’ll be honest, I bet that a lot of you are NOT using them because you think that they’ll make you sound like everyone else or make your listing look silly. Well, here’s a very, very important lesson that we can all learn from this data: The numbers don’t lie, so go with the numbers, not your gut! Does it really matter if you don’t love the adjective luxurious if it nets you 9K more on your sales price? Seriously, is your personal opinion about an adjective worth 9K off your bottom line? Probably not. There is another “companion” word (actually three words) that can be used on a home at any level to attract serious buyers with ready money that Zillow has also documented as being worth nearly six percent on your sales tag. If you want to know that word, I’m betting you know what to do: Head on over to the REI Today Vault, our free resource library for every listener to this show. If you’re already a member, you can log right in to see that special word (It’s labeled – “Special, Price-Bumping Word” by the way so you can’t miss it) and it you’re not a member, then get your free membership RIGHT NOW by texting the word REITODAY (no spaces, no periods) to 33444 or visit REI.Today/vault and I’ll provide fast, free access to this powerful word and a lot more seriously insightful stuff that will make your real estate investing safer, faster, and more profitable. So just text the word REITODAY with no spaces or periods to 33444 or visit REI.Today/vault to get access now…When you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country! Just text the word REITODAY with no spaces or periods to 33444 or visit REI.today/vault right now for your free membership.Thanks for listening in. Be sure to listen in to Episode #7, where you’ll get direct access to one of my favorite former Green Berets (okay, I think he may be the only Green Beret I know personally, but he’s a really amazing guy and a truly innovative real estate investor) and his secret to invading TOP HOT MARKETS and turning real estate profits without having to “put in your time” first. If you want to be in the hottest areas of the country but feel like the water has always been too deep for you before, you’re going to want to listen to this one right away. So until tomorrow,REI Nation – always remember this: Your best investment is YOUR OWN EDUCATION!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

MIND CONTROL For Higher Profits On Your Real Estate! | Episode 5

Thu, 18 Feb 2016 16:48:28 GMT

Want to learn a simple mind-control trick that can add 10 percent to your real estate sales prices? I’m Carole Ellis, and I’ll tell you exactly what you need to know to leverage this SPOOKY but highly effective real estate strategy in episode 5 of REI Today.-----Let’s go ahead and tack an extra ten percent onto that your next real estate profit, shall we? I’ve got good news. This strategy won’t cost you a penny, and it’s as easy as, well, rearranging your furniture. I’ll explain. First though, speaking of furniture, can you imagine a scenario in which it would make GOOD INVESTING SENSE to put $6,000 into a beer pong table? No? I couldn’t either, but in some cases, turns out I was wrong. Get the scoop on the situations in which it makes sense to sink CRAZY CASH into WEIRD HOME AMENITIES in our News and Networking Section at REI.Today. I’ll tell you not just about the craziness, but the actual, real-life payoff story as well. Now back to mind control…First let’s set the scene: You’re selling a property, and it’s a GREAT piece of real estate. You got it cheap, you’re selling it high (but still competitively, haha) and you know that the bidders are going to be lining up to throw money at you. It’s the best house for the lowest price on the block. You can’t lose.But then, you DO lose. People swarm your showings but when they arrive, something just feels off. They don’t “ohh and ahh” over your awesome renno the way they should. They don’t even stay in one room long enough to really appreciate the great light, the fantastic amenities, and, weirdly enough, they don’t even seem to notice the great views. It’s so weird. You can’t figure it out, but the answer is, oddly enough, YOUR SOFA.Let me explain. We’ve all heard of staging and you know how important it can be when you are selling a property to owner occupants. People who are going to live in a house tend to buy based on the emotional appeal of the house and their ability to imagine themselves living, HAPPILY, in that house rather than based on the hard numbers such as the lowest price, the best value, etc. Staging helps your buyers imagine themselves in your property and spurs them on toward putting in an offer and participating (we hope) in a bidding war.So what does your sofa have to do with all of this? Well, it could literally be costing you buyers if you have made one or more errors with its placement or appearance. Here are some MAJOR potential problems that a simple sofa can cause in a listing:First of all, poor placement. Remember those awesome views? Place the sofa so that you could sit on it and enjoy those views! If you don’t, your buyers subconsciously will be directed away from the windows and toward wherever your sofa is facing, like that blank wall. Bad move.Second of all, your sofa could be contributing to a lack of purpose. A lot of times investors and other sellers will simply throw a few pieces of furniture into a room and consider it “staged.” However, if your sofa doesn’t appear to have a purpose for being there – maybe it’s stuck against the wall, for example, rather than positioned to provide cozy proximity to the fireplace – then your buyers, again, subconsciously, will feel “lost” in the room because it will not feel like the room itself has a purpose other than to house that random sofa! Crazy, but true. When buyers feel a lack of direction in a room, they feel uncomfortable and, bad news: they LEAVE.Finally, that sofa (sorry but hey, not really so sorry) could just be plain ugly. Or, more likely, unrelatable. Remember how we said the point of staging is to help buyers imagine their OWN STUFF in a property, thereby creating an emotional connection that ties them to the property and makes themx more likely to start a bidding war? Well, if your sofa is unusual or somehow inappropriate for your buying demographic, say too luxurious for first-time homebuyers to own or too “custom” or trendy for the boomers you are courting, then that psychological switcharoo where they imagine their own sofa where yours currently sits is less likely to happen. And, as a result, your high-priced sale is less likely to happen as well.So let’s put some hard numbers with this sofa so you can really see what you stand to lose. According to the National Association of Realtors (that’s the NAR to the association’s friends, by the way), a home that is EFFECTIVELY STAGED will gain between one and five percent on its selling price, at a minimum. About one in 5 realtors showed hard numbers indicating that the price increase for THEIR STAGING is closer to 10 percent – think maybe they’re listening to REI Today?And before you think that you simply can’t afford to stage a home, don’t worry: you don’t need to stage every room (most people actually only stage the living room and kitchen), and you don’t have to fill the place with furniture! Ultimately, you just need to demonstrate a PURPOSE for each room and then use your staging materials to direct buyers’ attention to the high points in those rooms.So effectively staging a property can earn you a 10-percent price bump at the closing table, but failing to key in on the subconscious clues you’re sending your buyers with your staging could literally kill your listing. Don’t let that sofa cost you thousands! Get all the information you need to stage a home CHEAPLY AND EFFECTIVELY while using your buyers’ subconscious minds to make the sale by accessing our free report on “Mind Control Staging” in the REIToday Vault. If you’re not already a member of the REITODAY Vault, text 33444 RIGHT NOW or visit REI.Today/vault to get immediate access to these shocking and valuable pictures. Text one word REITODAY with no spaces or periods to 33444 or visit REI.Today/vault.When you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country! Just text the word REITODAY with no spaces or periods to 33444 or visit REI.today/vault right now for your free membership.Thanks for listening in. Be sure to listen in to Episode #6, where you’ll learn what local produce has to do with YOUR PROFITS. I guarantee you, it will surprise the KALE out of you. It’s available right now on iTunes, Stitcher and at REI.Today, so get it right away!REI Nation – always remember this: Your best investment is YOUR OWN EDUCATION!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

the IRRESISTIBLE PICTURE for finding MOTIVATED SELLERS | Episode 4

Thu, 18 Feb 2016 16:41:05 GMT

Could a simple picture launch dozens and dozens of profitable and productive wholesale deals? It can, and it did. In fact, this picture is currently playing a HUGE role in turning around one of the toughest and but most potential-filled markets in the country. I’m Carole Ellis, and I’ll tell you exactly what that picture shows and how you can get access to it in today’s episode 4 of REI Today.------Today, we’re going to reveal one highly proliferate investors’ CRAZY SIMPLE SECRET to getting great deals, and then, while we’re at it, I’m going to expose this guy’s “sweet spots” in his local market: the areas where the deals are nearly guaranteed to sell fast and high. Obviously, no one is making any promises because we can’t, after all, but this guy has been working in one of the country’s toughest markets, DETROIT, MICHIGAN, since 2013, and he’s been blowing his competition out of the water in large part thanks to a simple decision he made in his marketing.And speaking of Michigan, that state is featured on a VERY IMPORTANT LIST right now. It’s number 12 on the top states for job creation in the nation! Great news, right? Well, there’s a little bit more information in the fine print, and you’ve got to read the little, tiny words to get the real scoop on what this list means for your investing. Don’t worry, though, we read every letter of it, and we’ve exposed all the hidden details that make this list both a treasure trove of real estate investing potential and an undercover key to some scary, scary info about allegedly “hot” markets in our News and Networking section at REI.Today. Check it out before you buy into the “hype” so many in the REI space are selling. So now let’s get down to the good stuff. What’s this magic picture? Well, I’ll let you take a guess, first. Here’s a hint: it’s something everybody wants more of. Got your guesses ready? Okay, here we go: It’s MONEY! We all want to make it, keep it, spend it, and give it away to causes about which we’re passionate. Most people just plain can’t ever get enough of it. But regardless of your personal feelings about money, if you see a picture of it, you pay attention! And that’s where this genius advertising move comes in.Theo, our “guy on the ground” in Detroit, puts a picture of a dollar bill on just about every bandit sign he posts. Why? Well, as Theo puts it, “People like money, need money, and want money,” and that’s pretty much universal. So when Theo is looking for properties, he throws those dollar-signs out there, literally, along with one of several headlines, the word “cash,” and his phone number. The motivated sellers (that’s right, those golden keys to successful real estate) literally line up so he can start doing their deals. And when he asks them what got their attention, it’s always the same: that dollar bill.So what can you learn from Theo and his cash money right here and now? Well, several things:For starters, give the people what they want! Specifically, give the people whose attention you want something that they want to pay attention to! For Theo, that something turned out to be a plain old dollar bill, and in the last two years that dollar bill has translated to more than two deals every month and countless leads.Second, tell the people what YOU WANT. Theo’s business is high-profit and high-volume because he doesn’t mess around. Once he has your attention, he lets you know what he wants: your information – IF AND ONLY IF – you have a home that you want to sell fast, for cash. Period. “Always include the word cash,” he told me in our interview, which, by the way, is in the REI Today Vault waiting for you right now. If you’re not already an REI Today member, text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’ll send you the passcode so that you can access Theo’s interview and lots of other great information and real tools that you can start using TODAY to make your real estate business more profitable and more productive.Finally, get in front of the people the market wants! In my opinion, this might be the best insider information you can get and Theo gave it to REI Today and, by extension, YOU, for Free, just because you’re part of the REI Nation. In Detroit, there are certain areas of town that, in Theo’s words, are “highly exclusive.” He means that properties in these areas sell high and sell fast. So Theo puts that magic picture in front of homeowners in THESE areas, and, as a result (sure, you may be thinking this is simple, but you’d be shocked at how many investors don’t do it), Theo gets his leads, his awesome leads, by the way, from homeowners in these areas. Wondering what the areas are? Well, get ready. You probably won’t be surprised to learn that the list of Detroit’s Sweet Spot Secrets is…In the REI Today Vault! Don’t have access, text REITODAY to 33444 to get that code right now. I’ll give you a hint, though. Theo looks for homeowners who have a very special set of skills, because these homeowners tend to live in the sweet spots…Can’t stand it? Text REITODAY to 33444 right now.Now, I have some great news for you before we conclude this episode. I’ve talked a lot about how a real real estate investor is making real profits in Detroit, Michigan, and I’ve even shared some of his secrets to success with you. Wouldn’t you like to hear the whole interview for yourself? Well, like all of our REI Today exclusive content, that interview, in its entirety, is stored in the REI Today Vault and, if you missed it, you can access that Vault just by texting REITODAY no periods no spaces to 33444 or visit REI.Today/vault right now. Theo also gave us our very own copy of his “magic picture” bandit sign for REI Today listeners to copy if they wish. One of the best things you can do if you want to be successful is copy successful people, so be sure to check that out as well.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country! Just text the word REITODAY with no spaces or periods to 33444 or visit REI.Today/vault right now for your free membership.Thanks for listening in. Be sure to listen in to Episode #5, where you’ll learn about something that is, quite frankly, just a little bit SPOOKY. . It’s available right now on iTunes, Stitcher and at REI.Today, so get it right away!REI Nation – always remember this: Your best investment is YOUR OWN EDUCATION!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

WARNING -- this is the BLACK HOLE of Real Estate Profits | Episode 3

Thu, 18 Feb 2016 16:35:46 GMT

It’s going to sound like science fiction, but it’s real-life real estate Horror! You’re about to learn the tiny oversight that can make the profit on your latest real estate deal – and the property itself – literally vanish into oblivion without a trace. I’m Carole Ellis. I’ll tell you exactly where this is happening RIGHT NOW in Episode 3.-------Imagine how you would feel if a real estate EXPERT gave you information that directly led to the loss of thousands or even TENS OF THOUSANDS of dollars of your hard-earned investment money. You’d be crushed, just like a certain Florida buyer who was DELIBERATELY MISLED by the couple who sold her a “bargain home” and accidentally misled by a certain professional who plays a role in just about every single real estate transaction. Today, I’ll tell you all about this homeowner’s horror story and then we’ll discuss exactly how YOU as an investor can protect yourself from similar disasters.Before we get to the real DIRT, though, I have to take 30 seconds to mention a DIRTY TRICK Facebook is getting ready to play on real estate investors everywhere who use the social media site to get attention for their properties. You’ve probably longed for a “dislike” button yourself from time to time, but do you really want people being able to post that your pics make them angry as easily as they can give it a thumbs up? Get all the details on how to leverage this to your ADVANTAGE instead of letting Facebook’s latest “great idea” send your listings straight into oblivion in our News and Networking section at REI.Today.Now, to the dirt (literally):When a certain Tennessee couple whose case is still in litigation sold their home to a young woman named Kelly, they offered her a great deal. In fact, as a savvy, money-conscious individual, Kelly really couldn’t say no to the opportunity to buy what she believed to be a great discounted property. After an inspection and a relatively quick closing, Kelly moved into the home with her family while the Tennessee couple headed for, well, Tennessee. And that’s when the trouble started…First, door frames seemed a little askew, but you won’t believe what happened next. A huge crack appeared right in the middle of the living room, and the house began to literally sink into the ground! “We couldn’t stay in the house,” Kelly told a local news station, adding that she had to move out while her house fell victim to (you may have guessed it already) a serious SINKHOLE that threatened to engulf the entire property.So what was Kelly to do? Well, after a little digging, it turned out that the deal she got from those Tennessee sellers was anything but a deal – they’d actually taken the loss on the house after REPORTING THE SINKHOLE TO THEIR INSURANCE COMPANY then cashing the check rather than making repairs. No wonder they were in a hurry to move! If Kelly’s inspector had caught the problem, she’d have been fine, but since they didn’t, now, Kelly is embroiled in a huge legal battle to get her original payment back and, in the meantime, has none of the money and nowhere to live. It’s a lousy situation, and it happens more often than you’d think, especially to real estate investors who tend to be EASY TARGETS for this type of thing because you’re used to dealing with motivated sellers and homes in various states of disrepair.So what should you do to avoid literally sinking your own investment money right into a huge black hole in the ground? Take these three important tips to heart:Inspect the house yourself. Not an inspector? That’s okay. Look for danger signals like windows and doors that will not close, small cracks around windows and doors or along walls, and separated pavement in the driveway other than the seams of the concrete. Consider the local environment! For starters, there is an area of FLORIDA called SINKHOLE ALLEY. Should you buy here? Well sure, people live there, but you should certainly be very careful! In addition, you should look around the property for signs of ground instability. Did you know that leaning fence posts, circles of dead or dying grass and vegetation, and collapsed banks and fallen trees along drainage ditches are all signs that a sinkhole COULD be forming on the property? Most people don’t, and those are not places that every inspector will even look. Check the local news Sinkholes make headlines, even when they’re not a big deal. So check out the area in which you’re considering doing a deal. If there have been several sinkholes recently, you can be pretty sure there will be more. Be extra-diligent to make sure your deal doesn’t fall into one.So in a nutshell: Sinkholes are hard to spot, and they’re like BLACK HOLES FOR REAL ESTATE INVESTOR’S MONEY. It’s your job (no matter what you’d like to believe about your home inspector) to make sure that your money remains above ground, making more money! So don’t end up in Kelly’s situation. Keep your eyes open for this literal pitfall in your investing career, and take advantage of this picture library in our REIToday vault to identify just what types of little signs of sinkholes your inspector might be missing. How do you get access to these, quite frankly, shocking pictures? Easy! Go to our special REI Roday vault and download them! If you’re not already a member of the REITODAY Vault, text 33444 or visit REI.Today/vault RIGHT NOW to get immediate access to these shocking and valuable pictures. Do it now, though, because these images are only available for a limited time.When you text REITODAY to 33444, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country! Just text the word REITODAY with no spaces or periods to 33444 or visit REI.Today/vault right now for your free membership.Thanks for listening in. Be sure to listen in to Episode #4, where you’ll learn about a simple picture that is currently launching DOZENS of real estate deals and how you can get your hands on it for your own business. It’s crazy stuff and it’s available right now on iTunes, Stitcher and at REI.Today, so get it right away!REI Nation – always remember this: Your best investment is YOUR OWN EDUCATION!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

how to "SMOKE OUT" High-Profit Deals... And Nobody Looks Here! | Episode 2

Thu, 18 Feb 2016 16:25:56 GMT

Would you like to get CRAZY-PROFITABLE DEALS that NO OTHER INVESTOR is even aware of? Here’s a great and ridiculously easy way to eliminate basically all of your competition in your local market and start raking in money doing easy, EASY real estate deals. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 2.------Let’s go ahead and eliminate 80 percent of your competition for awesome, high-profit deals right off the bat, shall we? But before we do that, I want to take 30 seconds to mention something that most investors consider TOTALLY IRRELEVANT that will be scaring off a large portion of your buyers if you don’t adjust your marketing in 2016. According to a new Berkshire Hathaway HomeService survey (that’s Warren Buffet’s company, so we listen when it releases data!), nearly two-thirds of young homebuyers say that rising interest rates are likely to scare them right back off buying, something the housing market – and we as investors – simply can’t afford to let happen. Want to know how to deal with this issue? We’ve got all the details – and more importantly, the solution – in our News and Networking section at REI.today.Now, back to eliminating 80 percent of your competition…One of the biggest stumbling blocks most real estate investors new and old face is competition for the truly great deals in their local markets. Particularly if you are a fan of wholesaling, which is a great way to put money in your pocket in JUST DAYS with real estate (see episode 1 RIGHT NOW if that little nugget tickles your fancy), then you know that it’s tough getting to the good stuff first. Fortunately for my REI Today Listeners, I recently interviewed one of the top guys in the business when it comes to CUTTING OUT THE COMPETITION. His simple secret – and let me tell you folks, it is nearly BRAINLESSLY SIMPLE, enables him to access what he estimates to be the 80 PERCENT of motivated sellers out there that no one else even has the option of speaking to. Here’s who he is and what he does.Our “competition-cutter” is none other than Miami’s Alex Pardo, a former high-powered General Electric guy who got into real estate so that he could backpack around the world and, frankly, make a bit more money than his graduate degree in business was earning him. Back in the early 2000s, Alex spent every dime he owned at the time (997 dollars, to be exact) on a wholesaling course that he took WHILE PARTYING IN IBIZA and never looked back. Now, he’s a wholesaling powerhouse down in Miami and he credits most of his success to one extremely simple followup-technique: I call it 24th time’s a charm meets SILENCE IS GOLDEN.So what do I mean by that? Well, for starters, Alex has learned that roughly 80 percent of all motivated sellers will NOT leave a message when they call in off a postcard, yellow letter, or bandit sign. But let’s face it. You don’t have time to answer the phone every time it rings! The secret is to collect the numbers and call back, even if you don’t know exactly who called in the first place! Alex calls those sellers back and then he follows through with a 24-step follow-up system that is truly remarkable. If you want the details, don’t worry. They’re all in the REI Today vault, of course!So Alex calls these sellers back, and then he keeps calling. But he doesn’t just call to say, “Hi.” He calls and says “Hey, I’m sorry I missed your call. Don’t you have a property you’d like to sell?” “How can I best help you solve YOUR real estate problem?” “What can I do for you?” And here’s the ringer, folks: Alex does this 24 TIMES for each motivated seller who gets in touch with him! Why? Because he just wants to be annoying? No, because he wants those deals, and the results speak for themselves. Alex averages 40 wholesale deals a year.Now, as an aside, let’s talk about the idea of “calling back” for a minute. If you’re like most people, you’re thinking that this is starting to sound like a lot of time on the phone. However, take your cue from Alex (again) and take a few minutes to go high-tech. There is a special, low-cost service that you can use to handle all of your follow-up phone calls that actually sends messages straight to your sellers’ voicemails. This is HUGE, Alex told us, because most people just hang up on broadcast calls. However, because this system goes straight to voicemail, it appears that the seller has simply missed a personal call, and it dramatically ramps up your response rate without you even having to talk to sellers until they’ve already given you their information and you’ve confirmed you’ve got a live one on your hands. Want the name of this system? You know it’s in the REI vault, of course!Think about how it would change your real estate investing business if you were working on deals that no one else in your market even knew about. Think you could use that wholesaling strategy we talked about in episode 1 and make it work? Of course you could! And if you happen to be interested in Florida specifically, I’ve got even better news for you. Alex went ahead and, just for our REI Today listeners, rattled off the “sweet spots” in Florida where the properties are hot and the wholesaling is going strong. That’s in the REI Today Vault as well just waiting for you right along with Alex’s 24-step follow-up flow chart and the service HE USES PERSONALLY to make sure that his sellers never feel like they’re just part of a system and are more likely than most motivated sellers to call him back! So how do you get access to these “Florida sweet spots?” Alex’s HUGE follow-up flow chart, and a transcription of our entire interview wherein Alex not only describes how he gets his deals, but exposes a FIVE-DOLLAR SECRET that enables him to optimize his sales and results every month no matter how to the market changes? You know it: it’s inside the REITODAY Vault, our free resource library for every listener to this show! If you’re already a member of the REITODAY Vault, download the special resource for today’s show, “24th Time’s a Charm” And if you’re not yet a member, you can get your free membership RIGHT NOW by texting the word REITODAY to 33444 or visit REI.Today/vault and I’ll provide fast, free access to this truly powerful info that will make your real estate wholesale deals safer, faster and more profitable! So just text the word REITODAY with no spaces or periods to 33444 or visit REI.Today/vault to get access now… but do it now, as it’s available only for a limited time. When you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country! Just text the word REITODAY with no spaces or periods to 33444 or visit REI.Today/vault right now for your free membership.Thanks for listening in. Be sure to listen in to Episode #3, where you’ll learn about something that sounds like science fiction, but can turn your real estate deals into real estate horror. It’s available right now on iTunes, Stitcher and at REI.Today, so get it right away!REI Nation – always remember this: Your best investment is YOUR OWN EDUCATION!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

FAST FLIP Profits Without Cash or Credit - Using One SIMPLE Tool! | Episode 1

Thu, 18 Feb 2016 14:59:00 GMT

Want a great way to make money in real estate FAST? Here’s how to put thousands in your pocket quickly, regardless of your experience… and a tip for avoiding one HUGE error that will entirely destroy your deal. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 1.-----Let’s make a quick $10,000 or more from real estate, shall we?However, before we do that, I need to take just 30 seconds tell you about a really interesting thing that a certain developer is doing ALL OVER THE COUNTRY that you just might want to consider before you buy your next investment property. Mega-developer DR Horton started doing this back in 2014 and now they’re way ahead of the curve and selling homes no other developer can even offer at this time. If you’ve got these types of properties, you’re ahead of the curve too and just about EVERY ANALYST OUT THERE says you’re going to be in big demand in 2016 and beyond. Want to know more about what DR Horton is doing and what it has to do with you and your quick $10,000? We’ve got all the details – and, more importantly, information on how you can get in on this trend before it peaks – in our News and Networking section at REI.Today.Now back to that $10,000. One of the very quickest ways to do that is through a strategy known as wholesaling. You probably know what wholesaling is OUTSIDE of the real estate world. It’s where you buy a certain something for $X and then quickly resell that certain something for a little bit more than $X… and you keep the difference. Then you do it again enough to make a lot of money!But the nice thing about doing that with real estate is that the difference you get to keep can be a lot of money. Many wholesale deals will put a few thousand dollars in your pocket with very little effort. But many wholesalers are actually able to profit by 10’s of thousands of dollars on each deal… and do this several times each month.How would that affect YOUR life, to collect a check for $5,000 or $10,000 – and maybe do it several times a month? Keep that in the back of your mind as I tell you how to do this… and just as importantly… I’ll tell you a HUGE land mine that you must avoid.This wholesaling strategy is one of the simplest ways to make money in real estate, and it even works for beginners, too. But exactly HOW does it work?Well, first: You find a piece of real estate you can get below what it’s really worth. There are dozens of ways this can be done, and we’ll cover that, too. But for now, let’s assume that you’ve found a piece of real estate worth $100,000 – but you can get it under contract for $60,000.Yes, people. You can find seriously deep discounts on real estate… if you just do the work to find it. That’s how you make your money! More about this in future episodes of this show.So, you enter into a real estate contract to buy that property from the owner for $60,000. Easy peasy.Then, you find a real estate investor or other buyer who might have an interest in that property. And rather than being greedy, and trying to keep all of the profit for yourself, you do what’s smart: You leave some profit in the deal… you leave some “meat on the bone,” as they say….And you sell that property to the real estate investor for $70,000!So, let’s do the math. You bought for $60,000 and you sold for $70,000. You’ve made $10 grand – that’s great!BUT… how did that actually happen? Did you have to come up with $60,000 to buy the house first before you sold it for $70,000? And what if you simply don’t have $60,000 to finance this deal?Well, my friends, I have great news: a cool strategy called “Assignment” makes it easy for you to collect your $10K without ever buying the deal yourself.Here’s how it works:You contract to buy the property at $60,000 just like before. But you put some simple but important language in that contract that allows you to “assign” the deal to a third party.What is “assignment”? It’s when you allow a third party to take your place in the contract. In other words, YOU currently have the right to buy that house for $60,000. But if you “assign” your contract to that third party, at that point, the third party can buy the house for $60,000 instead of you.But the right to buy at such a great price is valuable! So what you’ll do is charge that third party a fee to assign the deal to them… such as $10,000. So, what happens is that the third party pays YOU $10,000 for the right to buy that house for $60,000. Their total investment is therefore $70,000 – which is far, far below the actual value of $100,000. So, still a GREAT DEAL for the third party investor and a great deal for you because you get to pocket 10 Grand very quickly.But, the devil is in the details, folks. Many of the gurus out there will tell you that all you need to do in order to be able to assign a contract is to put the words “and/or assigns” after your name as the buyer in the original contract. And it’s true, that can work.BUT… it leaves huge holes open for problems that can steal away your $10,000 payday before you ever see it for the first time. For example – do you have any lingering liability in the deal? Do you have to get consent to perform the assignment? Can the seller veto the assignment? While assignment itself is really very simple as a concept, just using the words “and/or assigns” really doesn’t address any of those issues in a way that helps you.You’ve got to be SMART… protect that $10,000 profit before anybody can take it from you!And my friends, remember: This isn’t just theory. I’d like to introduce you to AC. AC is real estate investor based in my hometown of Atlanta, Ga. He’s been investing full-time for just a few years after spending 20 years as a computer programmer. He was able to quit his job and start investing full-time while devoting more time and energy to his family and church thanks to deals like the one I’m about to describe. He recently did a deal just like what I just described to you… got a house under contract for $127,000… found an investor just days later… assigned the deal to the investor for a fee of $8,500… and his bank account is a lot fatter and he’s repeating the process right now. And YOU can do this too! What would you do with an extra $8,500 like AC now has?Well, you certainly can… but one thing you’ve got to have is the right legal clauses to make sure your deal gets done quickly, safely and for maximum profit.How can you do that? Well, I have a special gift for you, my friends! It’s a collection of powerful legal clauses that are worth their weight in gold, and that you can use in your own contracts – only with your attorney’s consent, of course – to make sure that your assignment deal is air-tight and that your $10,000 profit is rock-solid!How do you get access to those “golden clauses”? Well, good news – it’s inside the REI TODAY Vault, our free resource library for every listener to this show! If you’re already a member of the REITODAY Vault, download the special resource for today’s show called “REI Today Golden Legal Clauses for Assignment”. And if you’re not yet a member, you can get your free membership RIGHT NOW by texting the word REITODAY to 33444 or visit REI.Today/vault and I’ll provide immediate, free access to this truly powerful info that will make your real estate wholesale deals safer, faster and more profitable! So just text the word REITODAY with no spaces or periods to 33444 or visit REI.Today/vault to get access now… but do it now, as it’s available only for a limited time.When you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country! Just text the word REITODAY with no spaces or periods to 33444 or visit REI.Today/vault right now for your free membership.Thanks for listening in. Be sure to listen in to Episode #2, where you’ll learn how to find the 80 PERCENT (that’s right, 80 PERCENT) of awesome wholesale deals that NEVER MAKE IT TO MARKET so that YOU can get started investing without having to compete with the “big guys” in your neck of the woods. It’s available right now on iTunes, Stitcher and at REI.Today, so get it right away!REI Nation – always remember this: Your best investment is YOUR OWN EDUCATION!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.