If you could easily and cheaply acquire a tool to turbo blast your real estate investing career, wouldn't you do it? I started investing in real estate about 10 years ago. I found an agent who was willing to comb the MLS listings everyday, set up showings for me to...

Savvy landlords will need to learn or re-learn how to file evictions AND collect their money in the coming days. Many landlords know how to get the judgment, but NOT how to get the money! Here are five quick tips: You CAN run the credit report of former tenants (who...

I don't know how popular this idea is or if it has been discussed before--or if it would even work in other areas of the country. However, I do have an idea for making money in rural areas. I live in a rural area, and an excellent way of making money is buying large...

Driving through any just about any neighborhood, you will find homes that have overgrown, unkempt lawns, a stack of freebie newspapers on the front steps, no curtains in the windows, and basically just a "nobody lives here" feel to them.These are the properties that...

Getting motivated sellers to contact you is what real estate investing is all about. One of the ways that we have been successful is to locate potential deals using death notices in the obituaries. Before you call me a creep or a hearse chaser, give this area a little...

I have been asked a lot lately about my experiences with local real estate clubs. These experiences may be similar to clubs you have in your area, or they may not. I got involved with a real estate lunch club that met twice a month at Denny's. The first thing I...

Donald Trump makes billions of dollars purchasing run down or vacant properties and building fantastic structures on them. Warren Buffett makes billions of dollars buying "troubled" companies and turning them into financial powerhouses. Little ol' me makes millions of...

I applaud all who come to this web site for the value of the postings and responses, which help not only the beginners but all of us. This is probably the best free resource on the Internet for those of us in this business. We all continue to learn from the postings...

Here is some more motherly advice I forgot to say to the newbies in my earlier Advice for Beginners (Part One)1. Dress appropriately for the image you want to present to the world. When you are visiting homeowners, sellers, and buyers, you will be judged by the image...

Looking for private investors? It is not easy, but it is completely possible. Private money is an amazing thing, and it will make real estate investing so much easier once you find it. If you find a deal--I mean a real money maker, the money will always be there. Step...

So you wanna be a rehabber? Before I give you my Top 10 List, I want you to know that I have been an active real estate investor for only two years. I started by visiting Creative Real Estate Online. It has been crucial to my success. I've done mostly wholesaling,...

[The following is Frank Chin's reply to Jonathan's Rehabbing Houses Top 10 Tips (Part 1)]Jonathan, great tips, and I thought I'd add a few. #1. I agree running to and from Home Depot is a big waste of time. I found that in the several Home Depots in my area, they only...

I do rehabs in Baltimore and have done about seventy in the last six years. I read Jonathan Mednick's Rehabbing Houses Top Ten Tips, and thought I'd chime in with my perspective. It was generous of him to take the time to share his views. Here are mine: 1. Estimating...

I see this question asked a lot on the Main Real Estate Forum. Here are some of my ideas on how to locate the owner of an abandoned property. Online resources Go to www.ancestry.com, click on "search records," then click on the right on "social security death record."...

Here are a couple of real estate investing tips for beginners that will get you started in the right direction. You can do a no money down deal with no cash, no credit, no income, no nothing, except some general knowledge backed with a desire to succeed by going out...

Okay, so now you have a general idea on how this stuff can work. But how do you get started with all this? Start by going to the top of the main page on this site. On the left side click on the link that says Success Stories and read every one of them at least...

If you are new to real estate investing and considering buying foreclosure properties, you need to be realistic about what you are facing. If you feel more sober about foreclosure investing after reading what I have written below, I will have accomplished my goal....

Attorney, Sue Caskey, originally posted this article on our Main Real Estate Forum. I posted this in response to someone asking how to find a good real estate lawyer. It can be hard to know whether a lawyer is worth the money you're being charged, and it can be a lot...

This was originally posted on our Main Real Estate Forum by Jim Kennedy: Place a newspaper ad (major daily) Place an ad in Pennysaver, Thrifty Nickel, Greensheet, etc. Bandit signs Drive neighborhoods looking for vacant houses and FSBOs Call FSBO ads Search MLS for...

John Carlson (AKA "JohnBoy") has posted this incredible article several times on our Discussion Forums: This is for all those who live in the more expensive areas where homes are selling in the $300,000+ bracket. I made this post some time ago in response to someone...

Matt Bowman has given us permission to republish his Main Real Estate Forum post here. I was inspired by recent posts concerning an FAQ sheet to give to tenant/buyers about the lease option. I started thinking that a Q&A sheet like that would come in very handy...

At the recent Creative Real Estate Online Convention, I visited with several new found friends who wanted to learn how to figure out what a particular manufactured home land lease community was worth. After repeating our story and the basics of the business several...

In part 1 we talked about some if the things that make manufactured home communities ideal investments and the different types of communities we're liable to run into. Now let's look at placing a value on them. Show me the cash flow! As with any income property, the...

In Part 1 we talked about some of the things that make manufactured home communities ideal investments and the different types of communities we're liable to run into. In Part 2, we discussed how community values are determined using the income valuation approach, how...

Now that we've found our acquisition candidate and have come to a preliminary meeting of the minds with the seller, we need to spend some time and money to see if we want to take the "relationship" further. Before we get too deep into the process, there are five items...

Last weekend, my folks had a garage sale. I was just sitting there thinking, and all of a sudden it hit me: Why not make up some signs that say "We Buy Houses" and see if I can get any leads? That's exactly what I did. I made up three signs on poster board. Two...

The following is a transcript of a chat room session hosted by John D. Behle. John is one of the foremost educators and practitioners in the field of discounted paper investment. His innovative strategies and techniques have shaped the industry. With over two decades...

[Steve Cook started investing in real estate in June of 1998. At the time of this chat, June 1999, he was working on his 47th deal!] Host SCook85 says: Leslie, I find 95% or better of my properties on the MLS, I make a lot of offers about 1 out of 10-20 get accepted....

Five years after buying and giving back about fifty units--and newly penniless, I discovered this thing called creative real estate. Control without ownership, solving people problems, use your brain to buy property--not your cash. I had an acute appreciation for it,...

These are classic, overgrown grass, and broken window situations. I am now on my third deal in three years buying a "mom and pop" roadside motel (less than 15 units each) in a rural area for less than 50% of market value. In every case, I bought these deals for no...

As most of us know, one of the toughest things to overcome for our buyers is the down payment. Especially when that down payment needs to be verified. I have on two occasions now successfully overcome this problem both legally and ethically. This is how I do it: As I...

This is a "no brainer" technique that allows you to gain access to more tired landlords and close more lease option deals. I wish I could tell you how I came up with this idea, but I truly don't remember. I have been using this successfully for over two years. If you...

I'm very new at this game so I'm not sure if anyone has done this. I just bought my first property (big ol' home) that needed quite a bit of cosmetic work: paint inside and out, new carpet, new tile, landscaping--you get the idea. My original plan was to use my equity...

I own an active business, plus I own rental properties. We have over 300 bills to pay each month between the two. While I was employed, my wife stayed home and took over the bill paying. She didn't keep on top of it, and it got totally out of control. I took charge of...

Here is a great tool that works for buying and selling, but we'll concentrate on just the buying side. First, you must realize that all sellers have a problem. They need to sell a property to get something they want or to get away from something they can't afford. You...

These are the tools and techniques I've used successfully when looking for pre-foreclosure and REO properties. I hope other real estate investors find them as useful as I have. Pre-foreclosures The availability of pre-foreclosures depends largely upon the type of debt...

Todd Bockman originally posted this article on our Main Real Estate Forum. The following are some excerpts from a training I did on setting goals and achievement. I hope you find it useful. Setting goals Perhaps one of the most important things you will do to ensure...

Dealing with seniors is a whole 'nother deal, and those of you doing so should be conscious of some real danger areas that might hurt YOU, not Granny! First, being really real and approaching "seniorhood" myself, and being all too aware that I'm basically the same...

I am in the process of starting up my flipping and rehab business right now. Here is a secret that I have found: Find some houses that have been rehabbed in the past. You can do this by simply searching the public records at the county recorder's office. Find houses...

Let's assume you have run an ad geared toward generating calls from sellers. The first question is: How is the call answered? I don't know about you, but I don't have time to sit around waiting for my phone to ring, so my phone is answered by voice mail. The caller is...

In real estate investing, as in many aspects of life in general, we are salespeople. Learning sales techniques can increase our ability to produce a better income for ourselves by allowing us to make better deals, whether buying or selling. When buying, knowing a...

Here are four rules that have been very helpful to me in both my business and personal life. They were told to me by a long-time real estate broker and investor in California years ago. 1. Show up2. Pay attention3. Be truthful4. Don't be attached to the outcome Over...

You'll always make money when you are buying a property cheap, cheap, cheap. Depending on the economy, it may not be as easy as it sounds, especially in the beginning. For example, out of about a dozen properties I bought this year, only one was a true bargain, 40...

I've been running an ad since last Sunday on a house that I am selling. I've had a mix of calls between owner occupants and investors. I'm fascinated with the investor calls. The last guy that called (an investor?) asked two questions. One, where was it located. Two,...

Here's a crash course in commercial real estate terms. Gross Rent = Yearly gross rental income from all units Gross Income = Gross Rent - vacancy factor + other income (for example, laundry) Net Operating Income (NOI) = Gross Income - all expenses except debt...

In The E-Myth, Michael Gerber puts forth the reason that most small businesses fail. The business starts because a technician who is good at something (repairing toilets and other small house repairs for example), decides he should be in business for himself. Now,...

After being in the single-family house business for the last 28 years, I was looking for a way to make my operation more efficient. And along came the Internet. WOW, what an improvement to my business! Here is what we did. First, we contracted with an Internet Service...

In my last article on lease options [Advantages of Selling on a Lease Option], I listed the many benefits to you (the Optionor) of leasing to your tenants with an option to buy. This article will continue the discussion in more detail. What are the primary problems of...

Reading recent articles about lease options reminded me of not only the lease option buying that I have done over the years, but also of the tremendous advantages of selling on a lease option. My income increased dramatically when I discovered the benefits of selling...

Many times people looking to get into rehabbing and flipping houses find it difficult to locate a real estate agent who will work with them. Here's a letter I drew up to mail to agents. It was designed to be sent using our corporation letterhead. However, I'm sure you...

Fire-damaged homes offer great profit potential but also pose special concerns and hidden risks for investors. I would not recommend a fire project for the first time investor, but I would suggest that experienced investors and renovators should not overlook an...

Here is an idea that I have not tested, but may be workable. Have the owner of an abandoned home donate the home to a non-profit organization that you have an agreement to share profits with. Then arrange for 100% financing to fix-up the home. (A great LTV with no...

As far as advertising and promotion goes, I have my own radio talk show called "RENT TO OWN." In fact, it is also a small radio network. At various times I can be heard in six metropolitan areas in Florida, broadcasting on four radio stations. The show is very simple....

I have been promoting lease options for almost a year now and have been working my butt off getting tenant/buyers to take the properties I have and finding the ones they want. It has been a waste of time to find specific properties for tenant/buyers. So I had a chat...

My partner, Rick Vesole, and I do a lot of lease option type transactions. I recommend that you always record every such real estate transaction you enter into on tape. Real estate is generally thought of as the most expensive thing people will buy in their lifetimes....

One of the best ideas that I have used when trying to get a lease purchase deal closed uses an alternative type of option consideration/earnest money deposit. If the seller is okay with the idea of a lease option or lease purchase but thinks my consideration a little...

I found a single-family home appraised at $149,000. The seller had $62,000 in equity. I offered $105,000 all cash, which was accepted. I found a partner to front the $105,000. Refinanced the property at 80% of market value for $119,200. I pulled the $105,000 out and...

I have created a time machine. Just think back to the remember when you could buy a house for $6,500, hold on to it for a few years, and sell it for $30,000. If I could do that now, I'd buy ten. Well I'm here to tell you. You can. I just did. The city was Baltimore,...

In my part of the country (Wisconsin), this technique is almost unheard of, but it works. Here is what I did. There was a mixed-use income property with good cash flow our company had listed. I convinced the seller to take a second mortgage of approximately 20% of my...

You do not have to scour the courthouse or do mass mailouts to find good, small notes to buy. Just create them yourself. Small, well-secured notes can be created by developing small, inexpensive tracts of land combined with used mobile homes. Prices, zoning, and...

Here's how I found seven (7) new real estate investors who will pay me cash to buy my position in escrow. I found a local chapter of "National Association Of Remodeling Contractors" and called a couple dozen names on the membership roster. I told each one: I'm a real...

For the last couple of months, I've sent the following postcard to every "house for rent" ad in my local paper. I don't call on the ad, I just use a CD reverse directory to get the addresses from the phone numbers. Vacant? - NO MORE! Put your rental properties on...

Property owners who live out of state are frequently very motivated to sell their real estate. Tenants may have stopped paying the rent, started trashing the property, or the property may be vacant. It is very difficult to control your real estate investments when you...

There is an incredible power in understanding the time value of money. The investor who understands the power of cash flows will be the investor who gets very rich. No matter what you do in your investment life you simply must understand the time value of money. The...

People spend cash on real estate for a variety of reasons. Probably the most common reason for spending any cash at all is that the bank making a new mortgage on the property requires a cash down payment or it won't approve the mortgage. Some people make the biggest...

I think it is time someone put a stop to the accelerated mortgage nonsense. This scheme, variously known as the "Banker's Secret" or accelerated mortgage plan or bi-weekly mortgage plan are almost always a very poor deal for the person who decides to go into one of...

Investing in real estate or discounted paper is a wonderful way to increase the size of your retirement fund rapidly. The "Rule of 72" explains why. The Rule of 72 is a banker's rule that calculates the number of years it will take for a sum of money to double. You...

Super Landlord Tip 1: Include in your lease the following wording: "Resident agrees to pay Landlord a service charge of $25 if it is necessary to deliver a legal notice for any violation of the rental agreement to this address." Super Landlord Tip 2: Put together a...

Money in an IRA (and other retirement plans) is a great source of real estate investment funds. In fact, most people don't even know they can use their IRA money to invest in real estate, mortgages, and trust deeds. And, once they stash it away, many folks forget they...