AM I TOO YOUNG TO START INVESTING IN REAL ESTATE?

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By Glenn Mananeng

Real estate investing is a journey. The earlier you muster up the guts to take that first step, the sooner you’ll reach your financial goals. Beginners in real estate usually start their careers around their 30s or 40s. It may be due to fear, inadequate knowledge about the field, or the lack of capital to start investing. In real estate, there are no age limit nor requirements. Anyone with the right mindset can invest with as little as a few thousand dollars in their pocket. Unique Wealth Education wants to pave the way for young real estate investors who want to start in the business and leave their mark on the real estate world.

How old do you have to be in order to start investing?

If you skip the cartoons and drop your phone down to skip posting your social media drama and think about investing instead, then good for you! That’s one way of being responsible and your first step to being financially independent. Take note that from a legal standpoint, you need to be at least 18 to sign legal documents. There is still hope for ones younger than 18 though cause a guardian who’s over 18 can legally sign for you. However, you won’t technically own the properties you’ve bought until you turn 18.

Perhaps the best time to start investing in real estate would be during your ripe years in the 20s. If you’re serious enough, at this age you must have mustered up enough courage and researched about the basics of real estate. Start early to earn early.

Common excuses of young investors

“I won’t be taken seriously”

This is a pretty legitimate fear but one that can definitely be worked on. Many businesses are constantly on the lookout for youthful individuals since they are generally considered strong assets. There’s a term in the business commonly known as “analysis paralysis”. Feelings of self-doubt can start creeping in right before you even make the leap of faith and causes you to get paralyzed in fear.

One way to combat this is to put in the right time and effort to gain experience and confidence so you can plow through any negative emotions you might have lingering at the back of your head. Don’t stop midway, push forward and it will bring you much-wanted results! Believe it or not, your hard work will serve as your resumé.

“I don’t have the cash”

Another common excuse especially for those currently working or fresh out of college. The reasoning behind this is that most of them are still carrying student debt or loans with no well-established credit history yet. It is true that credit score can be a factor in some real estate investments. However, you don’t even need that good of a score to start investing. Remember, the reason why you thought about investing in the first place is to make yourself financially stable, the better credit score will just be a by-product. Use this as a means to pay off your student loans. Don’t let this excuse rob you of your great potential!

“I’m too young for this”

It can be difficult when you’re young since investing isn’t something that we’ve been taught very deeply at school. You think that most of these young investors were already wealthy to begin with. However, the most recognized investors started from the bottom and they clawed their way up until they finally gained success and became financially stable throughout the years. Just to remind you again, the sooner you do it, the more opportunities you have to make money.

Benefits of starting young in real estate investing

You have more free time

Real estate branches out to a lot of aspects that may be overwhelming for some. It requires a lot of knowledge and experience to know where to invest and learn about different market trends. By starting early, you increase the time frame of you learning more about the important factors in the industry which can benefit you with making the right choices on your hard-earned money.

You get to have tax benefits

A common misconception about earning well in real estate is that the bigger part of your income goes into taxes. This is wrong though as real estate is actually a very wise choice that can help you save taxes. At a young age, you can claim tax deductions in case you have applied for loans. Tax incentives are even offered on repayment for some particular transactions.

You have the marketing advantage

This is where spending most of your younger years on social media pays off. Tech-savvy youngsters have the advantage as they can use a wide variety of online platforms to market their real estate business. No matter what age they are, people are more keen to use online sources in their daily lives – especially when they’re looking to rent, buy, or sell a house.

You can retire early

Investing at a young age allows you to reap its benefits as soon as possible. This gives you the option to tick the boxes off from your bucket list. It normally takes at least a decade (or even less) to achieve what you want when you retire. Imagine starting in your 30s only to retire around the age of 40. You have more time to let yourself grow in the real estate business, and that my friend is a ticket to the comfortable retirement everyone is dreaming of.

Paving the way for young investors

It’s admirable to see you strapped-in and ready to take in your first real estate investment! We might want to back up a bit and think about how we’re going to do this – and we need to do this right. Let’s look at a few pointers before you take off.

Research, research, and more research

Be aggressive with your education. Aside from investing in real estate properties, spend your time and effort in books on real estate investing. For those that aren’t too keen on reading any sort of literature; podcasts, webinars, blogs, and even audiobooks are readily available for a fair price (some are even offered for free!). Make due diligence in your research because if you do, this will take you a long way.

Start small and build yourself up. Although there are a lot of real estate strategies out there, read on what would be the best fit for you. Investing in rental properties can be a good start for young investors. Learn to weigh out the pros and cons of each investment strategy which now brings us to our next point.

Risk management

A good investor knows that with every strategy that they plan to take on, risks come with it. It’s a matter of how you approach the risk and how you manage it. Every individual has their own take in cases of risks or conflict. Luckily for young investors, you will be able to handle it in a different manner compared to your older age bracket. Young ones have a fresh and appealing approach to the business. The enthusiasm and motivation levels are quite high which helps mitigate and manage any risks that come your way.

Remember, no matter how seasoned and experienced an investor is, they definitely encountered risks along the way. Managing these risks are what made these pros hardened and successful in the real estate industry. Understanding what is the worst case scenario in each investment, potential turbulence, and how to handle it if it occurs is key to mitigating risk and achieving success.

Have a mentor

You might be thinking that you don’t know anyone who might have the same interest in the real estate business as you do. People you know are probably out there partying, slaving their time playing video games, or acting out there bachelor/bachelorette fantasies which means you don’t have the helpful and motivating support from your peers.

Use your tools to your advantage. Join local real estate investing groups on Facebook or join similar conversations in twitter and actively participate in them. Your network should include a wide range of real estate investors, contractors, realtors, wholesalers, and property managers. Pick up the phone and don’t be afraid to ask for referrals.

A mentor who deals with “A-Z real deal training” is your best bet. Unique Wealth Education offers such a training program and many more which are facilitated by real estate professionals who work with you from start to finish on locating deals to selling them. Your net worth is directly proportional to your network. Start it right by having the right mentor.

If you feel like throwing in the towel, hold up a bit and let us help you. Try to do a little bit of trial and error and don’t be afraid as we’re here to guide you so you don’t commit irreparable mistakes in the first place. This allows yourself to keep things at your own pace and eventually succeed. If you want to get started but you still have doubts, Unique Wealth Education is here to help you out. Feel free to join our monthly meetup every first Thursday of each month where investors young and old share experiences and make business ventures with one another. Contact us at (734) 224-5454 to learn more.

4 Real Estate Investing Strategies for New Investors

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By Corey Tyner

Getting into the business of buying and selling homes can be daunting — especially for new investors.

However, just like any other investment, everything revolves around the fundamentals. We’ve created this infographic to guide new real estate investors and help them get started on achieving those long-term financial goals.

There are many ways to buy land and invest in real estate, but we will be going over four of our most commonly used strategies that are favored by seasoned real estate investors because they are tried-and-true. These real estate investment strategies cover most of the properties that you will want to purchase as a beginner, from a quick flip where you buy and sell your house fast, to the regular passive income you receive from a buy and hold.

When you are investing in real estate, you may hear some terms you are unfamiliar with:

  • Lipstick Flip – A “Lipstick Flip” refers to flipping a home with minimal cosmetic updates, to quickly see a return on your investment. Lipstick Flips are a fast way to get into real estate investment, but you need to be more selective when you choose a home; if the market sees homes in the area selling quickly this may be viable, however, if homes are selling slowly, you may want to consider a different type of investment, since it may be difficult to sell your house.
  • Wholesale – Wholesale real estate investments are usually done quickly. You buy low, and often sell low. Wholesale real estate often focuses on distressed properties you would otherwise overlook.
  • Buy and Hold – Buy and hold usually means when you buy a property for the purposes of renting or leasing it out, but you can also buy land you think will appreciate in value. We will be going over how to buy and rent properties.
  • BRRR&R – Buy, Renovate, Rent, Refinance & Repeat. This is the way many people build a huge real estate portfolio because it offers both short term and long term gains. This strategy is best used in areas that are still low but have property values rising quickly due to gentrification or an otherwise fast-improving neighborhood.

Corey Tyner

Corey Tyner is a writer and business owner who helps sell houses fast. He is the founder of Austin Fast Sell Home Buyers and is one of the top real estate investors in Arizona. With over a decade of experience, his work has been featured on Bigger Pockets, Real Estate Agent Magazine, and several other mainstream real estate investor publications.

Assisted Living Explained

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By Gene Guarino

What is Assisted Living?

A lot of people think that assisted living means a big institution. In the old days, that’s what it was. What it is today is completely different. When you think about living at home, all of the comforts of home and there are other people in that home. One of the things about the way we do it in residential assisted living is it’s a community. It’s a group of 8, 10, to 12 seniors in a home with peers their own age, living in that home together.

Why you should consider Residential Assisted Living

If you’re at home and maybe a spouse has passed away, you’re alone. It gets lonely. Your kids can’t come visit every single day. They’re not living with you taking care of you either. So having a community of people to be with is incredibly important. It’s not just your physical health, it’s your mental health, your attitude. Residential assisted living looks like a home because it is a home. It may be in the same exact neighborhood the senior lives in now.

Assisted Living is for when somebody has an event, they move into assisted living after that event where they need additional help or monitoring. They need help with their medication, bathing, feeding or whatever it may be. They move there because they have to. And it’s a home setting and that’s specifically what we do with residential assisted living.

It’s not a nameless, faceless situation. It’s a home.

The caregivers know the seniors who are living in the home by name, they love them dearly, they love to be with them. And it can be a fun place to be. It’s not just people sitting around in wheelchairs and getting ready to die and pass away. It’s people who are there living out those last days and many times what the families find is when they move mom or dad into that assisted living home, they come back to life.

All of a sudden they are eating better, they’re getting sleep. The families come to visit and they have a whole new attitude. They now can be the sons, the daughters, the granddaughters and the grandsons again, not the caregivers.

How do we handle death in Assisted Living?

Let’s face it, we’re all going to pass away. The question is when, not if. The manager will see that and call the family. The family will come and they’ll spend the last few days and weeks with them, saying their goodbyes. And then in a very natural way, nine times out of 10, they pass away in the middle of the night. You understand that there’s more than being here on earth. There’s a lot more that’s coming ahead of us. The opportunity to share with other people during that time is incredibly powerful. To be able to care for them during that time is equally important. The families are thankful that we were there to take care of their family member all during that time.

You can also subscribe to our iTunes for on the go listening:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/assisted-living-networks-podcast/id1360517721?mt=2

Gene Guarino
Founder/CEO
Residential Assisted Living Academy™

Gene is the President, CEO & Founder of RALAcademy.com. Gene has over 30 years experience in real estate investing and business. Today, Gene is focused on just one thing… investing in the mega-trend of senior assisted housing. He has trained thousands of investors/entrepreneurs throughout the United States how to invest in and operate residential assisted living homes. For over 25 years he has been educating people on the strategies of successful investing, business and self-employment. He now specializes in helping others take advantage of this mega-trend opportunity.

OFFICER AND HANDS-ON REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRAINER PUTS STUDENT SUCCESS FIRST

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By Karen A. Walker

For Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Officer and master real estate investment teacher and trainer Alton Jones and his wife, Rocio, it’s all about relationships, helping others succeed and being your best self. Every day. Every minute.

But while Jones has helped people succeed in real estate investing beyond their wildest imagination, he doesn’t promise, and never himself expected, overnight success. His experience as a police officer prepared him for that.

He knows first-hand that success takes learning, listening, focus, persistence, a good sense of humor, a healthy dose of humility (did I mention persistence?!) and, most importantly, taking action.

That last step—action—can be the most difficult, but simply doing the right things and repeating until it become second nature marks the difference between success and none.

“It’s one thing to talk about it,” says Jones, “but a totally other thing to actually DO it!”

Did you say police officer?

Jones has been an LAPD policeman for more than 34 years. For the first 16 of those years, he served as a full-time, active duty officer. After that—to this day—he serves as reserve officer.

In the last 10 years, Officer Jones has been honored as a Reserve Officer of the Year. Twice!

“Officer of the Year is a big deal,” explains Jones. “A few officers are selected each year and honored for exceptional service during the year. About 600 people attend the honoree dinner, and it’s really a big deal, with any funds raised going to help the families of fallen officers or others in our police family who need it.”

At his more recent honoree event, the main cast and the creator of the TV series THE ROOKIE attended, which made it extra fun.

People skills

Just as in police work, real estate investing involves good training and good people skills. Relationships matter.

Knowing how to talk with a myriad of different types of people can mean the difference between life and death in police work.

“As an officer, especially on patrol, you have to talk with so many different kinds of people—victims, drug dealers, the mentally unstable, drug users on a high, the traumatized, witnesses, violent or less violent criminals,” says Jones. “Good officer safety skills are critical. You also have to be able to get accurate, useful information from witnesses. Those statements have to be able to hold up in court or identify a perpetrator, so you have to know how to ask a question and which information to pursue.

“In addition, sometimes you have just seconds to assess a situation or persons involved. Knowing how to quickly assess and talk with different people can determine if you come home that day.”

In real estate investing, regardless whether you are fixing and flipping houses, negotiating fair win-win deals, managing contractors, or teaching others your proven system for success, it’s critical to develop good people skills and to build strong relationships.

And to build any kind of relationship, you have to be a person of integrity in words and actions.

Knowledge alone isn’t enough

“It’s one thing to talk about it, but it’s a totally other thing to actually DO it!!” says Jones, who gets his students quickly to action.

Again, the comparison to police work is clear.

In the training process you learn how to talk to different people, what you need to ask and what to do in different situations, what information you need, and so forth. But learning it in a classroom doesn’t make you successful.

It’s a different story when you get out on the streets and you’re talking with real people, or in the chaos of an incident and trying to sort it out.

Same for the investor.

Practice (i.e. taking action) sharpens people skills until the right thing to do in negotiating an opportunity or managing contractors becomes second nature.

Never stop learning: Mentors matter

Alton always says, “It’s OK to copycat, as long as you copy the right cat.”

Jones got into the rehab, fix and flip business in 2009. But he didn’t do it alone. He chose his mentors well. He invested in himself and in his success, and he hasn’t stopped to this day.

Even with the success he and his wife have achieved and continue to achieve… even with his rapid rise to being asked and encouraged by his mentors to become a teacher for others, beginning in 2013… even with his popular books and with the success he and his wife continue to nurture and grow in themselves and others… even with all that, Jones continues to listen and learn from others.

Two of his stand-out mentors are Ron LeGrand and Dan Kennedy.

From his mentors, Jones learned early on that to be successful you must be purposeful in all you do. You must run your business as a business, not as a hobby.

He learned what to do and how to do it.

He also learned to expect uphill battles and set-backs, even after you’ve achieved remarkable success.

It is what it is.

Be prepared. Go forward. Keep your eyes on the prize, on doing the right thing, and on serving others.

Knowledge alone isn’t enough

“The majority of people will tell you ‘no,’” says Jones. “So what? You have to rise above. There’s EGO, but you gotta drop the “e” and just GO!

“In the police department you have to have the will to live. You learn and you have to face the reality every day that there are people who want you dead, but you have to — you MUST — have the will to LIVE. That keeps you doing the right things, following the good skills and training you received.

“In developing a real estate business, you have to have the will to WIN. That keeps you focused on the end goal. It keeps you going forward.”

Good mentors tell you the truth. They also practice what they preach.

The best mentors don’t just deliver knowledge. They don’t teach swimming lessons while standing on the edge of the pool. No. The best mentors lead by example. They get in the pool with you and show you how it’s done. They insist you get into the water and learn how to swim for yourself. And they’ll be with you every step of the way, IF you allow it.

When Jones holds training sessions and boot camps, he tells it like it is. With a smile, he calls himself a minister of truth. He doesn’t deliver what attendees might want to hear. He delivers the reality, the truth.

Rehab 2 Riches

It was an unexpected honor when Ron LeGrand, in 2016, not only praised the system for success Alton and his wife had developed, but when he also strongly encouraged Jones to launch his own training courses on that very system.

Alton’s Rehab 2 Riches courses, bootcamps and more soon followed, to popular acclaim by attendees.

“I believe what we do changes lives,” says Jones. “People who come to one of our events, they’ll make a life-changing decision at that event. Those relationships made at our events can take you from $0 to self-sufficient.”

Jones smiles when he talks in his bootcamps about the importance of building a Million Dollar Rolodex of exceptional resources for your business. “These days there are a lot of people who don’t know what a rolodex is,” he says. But it hasn’t held any of his students back. They still understand the point.

Jones practices in three markets—southern California, Dallas and Memphis. Of all these, however, his preference is his beloved southern California.

For more information, go to Rehab2Riches.com.

Alton Jones says that in this business there are five things you have to do to succeed:
1. Locate prospects
2. Pre-screen prospects
3. Construct and present offers
4. Follow-up
5. Close quickly

Books by Alton Jones include:
• Ask Me How I Know? Four biggest house-flipping mistakes that made me millions, by Alton Jones

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Karen Walker is the founder and executive producer of The Mentors Radio Show (TheMentorsRadio.com)

Real Estate Investing: A Market Correction is Coming

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By Tim Houghten

It’s inevitable. A market correction is coming. The market has been on a high for years now. In 2018 alone, the Dow Jones Industrial Average broke a record high 15 times. If history has taught us anything, it’s that the market cannot sustain those highs for that long without a correction. Real estate markets across the country are still very hot. Even with the “cooling” that some markets are seeing, real estate prices are still well above records and competition is hot. “A cool-down has been predicted for over in a year in our local market. However, I’ve yet to see it. Sure there are some longer list times for sellers but properties are still selling in record time over asking price. It’s still a hot market,” says Eric Jones, Director of Sales and Marketing for Freedom Real Estate Group.

With all that being said, the question on every wise investor’s mind: how can I prepare myself for the next recession? The short answer, diversify. The long answer, diversify into buy and hold, long-term strategies.

“The short-game (fix and flip) is good. It’s instant return. But you get hit hard by the tax man. Buy and hold has some of the best tax advantages of any asset class,” Jones stated. “Depreciation, property taxes, mortgage insurance and more are all deductible expenses. Plus, with fix and flips, it’s simply not a long-term strategy. It’s not a way to build true wealth.”

To lessen the risk of any big swing in the market, the answer is to diversify your investment portfolio so all your eggs aren’t in one basket. The problem many individuals faced in 2008 was that most of their 401k or other retirement accounts were tied up in stocks and mutual funds. When the market tanked, so did their accounts. Now imagine if half of those funds were diversified into buy and hold real estate. For many, the outcome could have been vastly different. Here’s why.

The key to cash flowing, rental properties is that even during a down economy, they’re still cash flowing at the same amount. In some cases, even higher. Let’s look at it this way. If you were getting an 8% return on your stock investments, and the market crashes, you’re likely going to be reduced to 2%-4% if you are lucky. With rental properties, the rent amount stays the same. Your mortgage stays the same. Your property management fees, if you have them, stay the same. Essentially, if you were getting 8% returns on your property before, you’re still getting that. In a down economy, rents rarely go down. You may not be able to get rent increases during that time, but you will at least have a steady, consistent amount of cash coming in each month.

Rental properties tend to weather a down market in a consistent or even appreciating way. Not necessarily appreciating in value of the asset but appreciating in terms of cash flow being received. In a bad economy, a few things are happening. People simply aren’t buying homes. Credit is tighter. People are scared. The pocketbook is squeezed. Instead of purchasing, individuals and small families tend to continue renting during a recession. In addition, those that may be losing their homes to a foreclosure turn to single-family or duplex style rentals since it’s more private and familiar than a large apartment complex. Therefore, demand may actually increase in a down market which is a huge win for rental property owners.

With all that being said, a down market is definitely not the time to sell your rental properties. It’s a buy and hold strategy. During a down market, it is always best to hold these properties unless there is some absolute reason you must sell. When the market begins to climb again, then you may want to consider selling to upgrade to another investment property in a better neighborhood or better yet, purchase two and double your cash flow.

The best part of investing in rental properties is investors are wealth building while cash flowing. Very few investments offer this kind of opportunity. With a buy and hold strategy, you are receiving the benefit of monthly cash flow while also building a portfolio of tangible assets that will always – no matter the market – have value. “If you have the right plan, with a decent amount to invest, you can quickly scale up to a very healthy portfolio. We worked with a dentist who had $400k to invest and wanted to receive $10,000 a month in cash flow so he could retire. We built a plan and got him to his goal in three and a half years. He was able to retire early. However, not only did he keep receiving the cash flow each month, now he has tangible assets that he can sell off if he ever needed to and can pass on to his children and grandchildren,” Dani Lynn Robison, Co-Founder of Freedom Real Estate Group stated.

Something else to consider is how you are using the power of inflation to your advantage. Most 401k plans aren’t able to keep up with inflation. With the small returns and high managements fees, unless you are able to invest a lot in those funds, you may not even be able to keep up with the rate of inflation. However, with rental property, you are working with inflation to win in two ways. First, your mortgage payment doesn’t change. Let’s say when you purchased the property it was a $500 per month payment. If the market tanks, it’s still a $500 payment on a fixed rate loan. If the market is great, same payment. When the market is doing well, your asset, if all goes as planned, is increasing in value. You’re actually earning value on the asset while effectively reducing the value of the money you’re paying due to inflation. Second, you will likely be able to increase the rental amount between 1%-5% per year. That’s additional cash flow and value you will be receiving yearly.

Finally, it’s important to note that this is an investment and with any investment, there is inherent risk. No investment is guaranteed. However, real estate is one of the most proven, asset-based investment classes in history. Most millionaires were either made through investing in real estate or find large value in investing in real estate. As you explore this investment opportunity, look for markets that do not have super highs or super lows in market crashes (like 2008). States affected greatly were Florida, California and Arizona. One of the cities most notorious for being hit hard in the crash was Las Vegas. These may be markets to steer clear of. If a market crash occurs again, it may cause migration out of those areas resulting in rent losses. “Consider markets that may seem ‘boring’ like many in the Midwest including our market – Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio. These have proven to weather a down economy and not have big drops in real estate values or population. These are the markets where you truly win.” Eric said.

Diversification is the key to weathering a down turn in the market. More specifically, investing in buy and hold rental properties not only is a proven strategy to survive and even thrive in a down market, but one that holds many positive attributes such as consistent cash flow, numerous tax benefits, and true wealth building.

THE IMPORTANCE OF A TITLE SEARCH IN BUYING INVESTMENT PROPERTIES

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By Glenn Mananeng

It’s important that when buying a potential investment property, there are no legal issues that may arise after it is purchased. With that in mind, properties with a clear title is very important. Unique Wealth Education is here to let you know the ins and outs of a title search.

Who does a title search?

Title company – they conduct extensive research on the property using public records and legal documents to identify the owner, liens, and if there are any loans and property taxes due.

Lender – they conduct a title search to verify ownership of the property and any other judgements for or against it before approving a loan that uses the property as collateral.

A buyer can also do a title search on their own, although it’s not usually recommended. Not only is the process time-consuming, you’ll be prone to making some kind of mistake along the way if you don’t have the knowledge needed when it comes to legal matters. However, this should not hinder you from wanting to know the basics of a title search. After all, you want your purchase to have no strings attached as much as possible.

Understanding the basics of a title search

This will minimize the chance of you regretting the property after acquiring it. The process won’t be as complex and tedious as it usually is if you do it the right way.

STEP 1: Chain of Title

The “chain” refers to a sequence of transfers pertaining to the historical ownership of the property. This will show the list of owners from the current one back to the original owner when the property was first built. This can be obtained from your County Clerk’s public records.

Back then, this step took too much time cause you had to check records dating back to almost 100 years in order to complete the search.

The importance of this step will determine the credibility of the property title. If you happen to pass by a “cloud” or any missing part of the chain, this might indicate that an incorrect deed was done during somewhere along the way. This could also mean that the owner changed their name to reacquire the title. In this case, a quiet title suit is done as a security measure.

Quiet title suit – this is done in order to settle any dispute over the ownership of the property. Think of it as reinforcing the weakest part of the chain so it won’t break. The owner goes to court and describes all of the title defects with an attorney. The judge will “fix” these defects with a court order declaring that the claimant (in this case, the current owner) is now the true owner of the property.

STEP 2: Tax Search

The second step of the title search determines whether the property is up to date with its taxes. Any overdue or unpaid taxes can create a lien against the property. Let’s say that you finally purchased the property and you skipped this step, this can lead to the government placing it up for sale again just to cover the unpaid taxes.

Title insurance – this is done to prevent any overlooked late or unpaid taxes on the property and make it as clean as possible. Without this, the financial burden will be transferred to you as the buyer.

STEP 3: Site Inspection

Inspecting involves a lot more than just dropping by and checking if the property is ok. This should be done to make sure everything matches the records of the property such as the lot size or any signs of an easement. When you are granted an easement, this means you have the legal right to use or enter the property of the owner without possessing it. These are typically granted for utility companies and are usually not removable.

STEP 4: Name and Judgement Search

Any judgement or state and federal tax liens against the current or previous owners must be looked up. It’s up to the current owner to settle any of these judgements or state and federal tax liens found while owning the property. Judgement decrees, unpaid taxes, and liens can have claims over the property. In other words, these defects can complicate your ownership even after purchasing it. A title insurance policy is a good preventive measure against these judgements and insures these items are removed at the time the policy is issued typically at the closing of the sale.

STEP 5: Closing the Deal

The final step is the green light for the buyer to begin the process of purchasing the property with a clear conscience knowing that all legal hurdles have been cleared. Once the deal has been closed, the title company issues a title policy.

Title policy – is the title company’s guarantee that protects you as the new owner in the event that any unknown issue affecting the property comes up after it’s purchased.

Following all of these steps will ensure a smooth transaction between you and the seller. Although we mentioned that a third-party entity usually does this on your behalf, it doesn’t hurt to know the legal aspects of this very important process. Contact us by phone: (734) 224-5454 or email: [email protected]. We also invite you to our monthly meet-up every first Thursday of each month to share experiences and hopefully do business with fellow real estate investors.

Turmoil: The Storm Of Change & How To Thrive In It

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If you’re in real estate you’ve probably smelled the storm just over the horizon. The question is where it will hit, when it will hit, and just how bad it will be? More importantly, how can your business and portfolio not only survive in the eye of this storm, but thrive?

Meet Bruce Norris

You may already be very familiar with The Norris Group and their exciting hard money lending programs. Leading the company is President, Bruce Norris.

Bruce Norris has been investing in real estate for over 35 years. He’s been involved in thousands of property and financing transactions. We could fill this page with his accolades. Yet, what he is best known and most respected for in the industry is his reports.

There have been others who appear to have successfully called downturns. Others have created names for themselves in good times and betting on the market going up.

What’s unique about Bruce is that he has proven to be able to successful predict both market crashes and upturns. He has been called on by many organizations up to the highest levels to share his expertise and insights on market trends. That includes the California Builders Industry Association, California Association of Realtors and Mortgage Bankers Association.

In our exclusive interview Bruce told Realty 411 that he started out flipping houses in 1981. He admits that like many new investors he knew little about timing the market. He ended up with 7 brand new custom homes that weren’t selling. He learned some tough lessons.

Then in 1995, his son graduates college. He bought him a Honda Civic. Then a few days later found a house for sale in California that cost even less than the Honda. He saw incredible opportunity. Yet, really wanted to dig in and understand the markets, how to time them, how not to lose money, and how to invest his own money in the safest and most profitable way.

This led to his first report that he published in 1996. In 2006 he released a report calling the most recent major housing crash and foreclosure crisis. In 2012, he invested in line with his report and went all in on real estate. The market has gone up 100% since then.

Turmoil: The Coming Storm Of Changes

Now the real estate industry is once again feeling a lot of uncertainty. Perhaps with the exception of Bruce. There has been a lot of talk about a new recession and crash. While many investors keep engaging in the market. This year’s presidential election is no doubt to to bring many more attempts to send us all on an emotional roller coaster ride full of fake news.

Bruce says “There are no real estate I am afraid of.” He’s mastered looking at historical and current charts and overlaying the data, and remains bullish on the market.

What does concern him is a new era of legislation and policies which are wild cards with the potential to be extremely disruptive to investors in some of the most progressive states, like California.

He feels this is such a pressing issue that more investors need to be alert to that he has set up a panel and new event on February 1st, 2020 to equip investors with this critical information.

Major Factors That Could Impact The Market In 2020 & Beyond

State Politics

One of the big issues today is what things can be changed by popular vote versus by proclamation of state government, regardless of how its constituents feel. This puts residents at danger of rogue actors.

California has certainly become the poster child for aggressive new rules lately. Among them are sweeping rent controls, Prop 13, taxes, and the new ban on freelance workers which has the potential to create massive unemployment.

Then there is also city and state pension issues and the fact that many are not going to be guaranteed the money they were promised, or have already been counting on.

Fed Manipulation

Student debt, health insurance, guaranteed income programs, climate change laws and other major policies could all impact the markets on a large scale. We may see a lot more of this after the upcoming election.

Technology

5G is likely to be one of the biggest game changers of the next decade. Yet, the US continues to be behind in this critical technology and factor in global competitiveness.

Other technologies may become more essential for remaining competitive and profitable in this new landscape.

Surviving & Thriving

While these factors could throw some serious curve balls at California investors, and New York is rarely far behind, Bruce is still confident in the US property market.

Looking at the charts he says even California is more affordable than it used to be. He points out that at least for now we’ve been enjoying the lowest unemployment rates in the last 50 years, and interest rates remain low. Put in perspective, he believes the market justifies more sales, more building and higher prices. He says this is even truer of Florida. The Sunshine State which is enjoying great population growth, has no state income tax and isn’t as crazy at enacting these new sweeping rules.

So, what’s Bruce doing with his money?

A look at The Norris Group website shows they are still lending to investors. In addition to their traditional rehab loans and refinancing rentals, they are also now lending to build and flip investors in Florida, and on ADUs for rent in California.

Their investors are getting attractive 6% to 10.5% returns on capital invested in first trust deeds and mortgages without pooling their money. Far better than a lot of operators are promoting today.

Get Smart

Get all the details on these factors, what to watch out for and their potential impact at Bruce’s upcoming event. Then master restructuring your portfolio and making new moves in 2020 with confidence. Register for the event at TheNorrisGroup.com/Turmoil

BUILDING WEALTH IN REAL ESTATE: HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE?

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By Glenn Mananeng

This is a question on the mind of investors. There is no definite answer for this. This topic is always up to debate no matter how you look at it, as wealth is measured differently by every individual. Here are a few factors you need to know when building wealth – allow us here at Unique Wealth Education to teach you some important pointers to consider:

#1 Wholesaling

This is the easiest point of entry for the majority of the investors, as it requires the least amount of capital. You find a seller who wants to put their property for sale and find a buyer for that property on “as is” condition without the fixing part to try and get the market value higher. After the property has been sold, you’ll get a cut on the sale. Basically you are the intermediary that builds a buyers list to locate undervalued properties using a multi-pronged approach. This relies heavily on how good and how broad your real estate network is.

#2 Fix and flip

You don’t have to be an avid real estate investor to know what fix and flip is. Anyone who has cable and passed by HGTV has a basic idea of what it is. You buy a house below the average market value, renovate it, sell them for a profit! This is one of the most widely used real estate investment strategies used around the county.

Keys to fix and flip investing success:

· Preparing yourself by understanding how to locate undermarket valued properties in the right locations
· Understand values (make sure you are comparing apples to apples and going with the highest comp when doing our due diligence as a conservative approach)
· Aligning yourself with multiple capable and competitively priced renovation contractors to not only give you a bid prior to purchasing the home, but also to deliver as agreed on
· Understanding how far to go with finishes and layout changes to keep within the budget and comps in the area
· Stay away from potential losers such as foundation issues and bad layouts
· Having a sales strategy in place prior to the purchase that accounts for commissions, closing costs, holding costs, etc…
Contrary to “reality” real estate shows, getting rich doesn’t happen overnight. The longer it takes to flip the property, the more expenses you would incur for maintaining it while waiting for a buyer. Working with getting coached by or partnering with a seasoned investor is a huge advantage, as you learn best practices and pitfalls to avoid, which only years of experience can provide.

#3 Rentals

Mortgage Paydown

Let’s use a rental property as an example. In a normal scenario, you have a tenant who is essentially paying the rent in exchange for living privileges. If you bought the rental property with a mortgage, your loan will eventually cancel itself out over time. Why? The rent you receive from your tenant is basically used to pay the loan, which is increasing your equity in the property. The money left over is your cash flow divided by the amount you put down to come up with your CAP rate. This is a GREAT way to build long term wealth.

Cash Flow

We can all agree that this is very important. For those who are new in the game, cash flow is basically the income you get from your investment property (usually rental properties). This is a major factor in generating a high return for your investments and savings. Once you increase cash flow by accumulating properties, this allows you to plan your income and determine the course of future investments.

Taxes

If taken into account optimistically, you’ll see a lot of tax benefits when it comes to real estate investments. Consult your CPA to see how you can depreciate properties that you are holding onto for rental income and also discuss with them acceleration methods used to front load depreciation to give you more capital to buy more and keep building your portfolio.

The answer to how long it’s going to take, as you might’ve guessed already, is up to you. Your real estate skillset, determination, experience, and risk management are major players in this ballgame. it’s all about how smart you invest in the industry. If you make due diligence and play your cards right, you’ll one day realize that you’ve gained a considerable amount of wealth already. Unique Wealth Education can help you in your real estate career in helping you avoid common mistakes & pitfalls, is something that we take to heart very seriously. Contact us at(734) 224-5454 or email us at [email protected]to learn more.

Besides the Purchase Price, There Are Other Costs You Must Consider

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By Lloyd Segal

When flipping properties, you also need to consider repair costs, holding costs, real estate commissions, closing costs, estimated profit, and lost opportunity costs.   Let’s analyze each of these costs separately.

Repair costs.  The repair costs will likely be your largest cost, so you need to calculate them carefully.  If you’re able to inspect the interior, you’ll be able to estimate the repairs and renovations needed to make the house salable.  However, if you aren’t able to inspect the interior, use 10% of the purchase price as your estimate of repair costs.  In the alternative, multiply the square footage of the house by $7.00.  For example, if the property has 1,500 square feet, the estimated repair cost would be $10,500.

Holding costs.  It’s going to take you approximately 2-4 months to repair, market, and sell the property.  During those months, you’ll incur holding costs (i.e. mortgage payments, taxes, insurance, and utilities).  Neophyte flippers frequently forget to include these costs in their budgets.  If you’re worried about these costs, you can significantly reduce them by living in the house during this period, which is exactly what many flippers do when they are just starting out.  Instead of chalking up your monthly expenses as holding costs, simply consider it rent.  Another way to trim your holding costs is to price the house correctly the first time.  By offering the best home in its class at the best price, you’ll sell the home faster and lower your holding costs to more than cover the cost of selling the home for a little less.

Real estate commissions. You can assume you’ll pay a 6% commission to your real estate agent for selling the house when you flip it.  For that money, the agent will market your property for sale, list it in the Multiple Listing Service and related websites, advertise in local newspapers, receive and submit offers, negotiate with the buyer, and assist you with the timely close of escrow.

Closing costs.  You will incur closing costs when it comes time to sell the property.  These costs include escrow fees, title insurance, transfer tax, recording fees, and other miscellaneous charges.  For a rough estimate of closing costs, figure 2% of the anticipated selling price.

Estimated profit:  While we’re at it, let’s factor in profit.  You want to make at least a 20-25% profit on each of your flips.  In that way, if unexpected expenses do pop-up, you’ll have some margin before you lose money on the deal.  (And if you sell the house for more than you expected, or your expenses are lower, you’ll make an even better profit.)

Lost opportunity costs:  Opportunity cost is the cost of pursuing one investment choice instead of another.  Every investment you make has an opportunity cost.  With respect to flipping, lost opportunity cost boils down to making choices between various deals.  For example, if you are considering two potential deals and can only make one, which one is likely to generate the greatest return?  Which fits best into your workload, your skill set, and the time you have available?  If you can spend the same amount of time and money on a property that will generate a 20% return instead of another property that will yield only a 10% return, which would you choose?

Time:  Another cost that you may not have considered is your time.  Successful flipping takes time.  If you buy a property and plan to do some repairs yourself, you will save money on repair costs but you’ll also spending your time.  How much is your time worth?  If you’ll spend 300 hours repairing and renovating a property and will make $3,000 in profit, your time was worth $10 per hour.  If that sounds good to you, great!  If it doesn’t, you’ll need to adjust your cost estimates accordingly.  For example, if your time is worth $50 per hour, you should factor $15,000 into your budget for those same 300 hours.

Lloyd Segal

Chief Cook and Bottle Washer
Los Angeles Real Estate Investors Club, LLC
310-409-8310

www.LAREIC.com

 

 

How To Get Back Your Passion For Real Estate

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By Fuquan Bilal

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Want to feel that real passion for real estate investing again?

Whether you got stuck spinning your wheels before you really got started, have taken an extended break or are just going through the motions now that the money is coming in too easily, it’s important to keep your passion on high.

If you’re not passionate about what you are doing, people will notice, and it won’t be long before things start to slide. You can lose your passion from discouragement or just because you’ve automated everything and it’s become dull.

Whether you crave getting that mojo back or you just want to be sure you are maintaining it, try these strategies…

Remember Your Why

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Why were you investing in real estate or what excited you about it in the first place?

Maybe it was for your lifestyle or for your family, or to help other people. Chances are that you haven’t crossed the finish line yet. You may have run into challenges, or it may have become very transactional. Yet, the odds are that you haven’t made enough money to future proof your family wealth for the next few generations yet. You probably haven’t run out of people to help.

Remember your why. Realize there is still a lot to do. Get moving on that.

Set Bigger Goals

You can make a million dollars a month in real estate and get bored. There is only so much shopping and golf you can do. Set bigger goals.

You might be the biggest investor in your town, in your niche or even Manhattan. There is still more that can be achieved.

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It doesn’t have to be about the money. It’s more about knowing you’ve really pushed the limits as far as they can go.

Billion dollar companies are almost becoming common. If a billion is too small for you, then think globally. Can you build a portfolio of income properties in every state or country or major city? Can you diversify your brand from just flipping houses to new construction or something else?

You don’t have to do it all yourself. Ask who you can connect with, align with or hire to get you there.

Hang Out With Amazing People

It’s important to spend time with your peers and passing on your learnings to help others. Firstly though, be sure to spend a third of your time with inspiring and uplifting people who will challenge you to level up your game. Do that and everything else on this list should fall into place. And if you can’t do so in person for some reason, engage on social media, tune into a great podcast every week, and find ways to do it virtually.

Do Something New

Constantly doing new things is important. It has countless mental and physical benefits. It will also fuel your passion in a variety of ways.

Maybe you’ll travel and have your eyes opened to just how much real estate there is out there. Or you’ll realize how much you really love home.

Find new ways to look at real estate. Take the plunge into new asset classes and strategies. You may find something you are even more passionate about once you taste it.

Go take on new activities and meet new people. Treat yourself to new adventures. Otherwise what’s the point of it all?

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Ask Who You Can Help

We tend to lose our passion when we focus too much on ourselves. Instead, ask who you can help. Get out there and ask everyone how you can help them in regards to real estate.

Who can you help find a home? Sell a home? Generate more income from real estate? Diversify their portfolio? Raise money?

Challenge yourself to deliver. Push your limits. You may find it incredibly rewarding and a new fuel for your passion.

Investment Opportunities

Find out more about investing in secured debt and real estate, go to NNG Capital Fund

Fuquan Bilal

Fuquan Bilal founded NNG in 2012 with the principal mission of capitalizing on the growing supply of mortgage notes in the interbank marketplace. Mr .Bilal utilizes his 17 years of residential and commercial real estate success to identify real estate opportunities and capitalize on them. To date, he has successfully managed three private mortgage note funds that primarily invest in singlefamily performing and non­performing mortgage notes. His financial acumen and proprietary set of investment criteria enable him to purchase underperforming real estate assets at a deep discount of face and market values, thereby increasing the value of the assets. This, coupled with his ability to maximize the use of leverage, enables him to build strong, secured portfolios with solid passive income flows.