Premiums: How Much and For How Long

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By Gabby Darroch

Let’s talk about premiums, because, let’s face it, no one likes to pay them. But what if you began to look at them like deposits instead of payments? With The Money Multiplier Method, that’s really what they are.

How much does my premium (or deposit) have to be?

question-3838906_1280You are incomplete control of what you want your deposit to be. Now, in order for your policy to do what we want it to, which is to make you the bank and generate wealth over time, we do have suggestions on what it should be. That looks something like this:

(Your Age) x 10 = (Minimum Monthly Deposit Amount)

For example, Sally is 35 years old. So her minimum monthly deposit would be $350 (35 x 10). Again, we have it structured this way so you benefit the most from your policy.

Of course, you aren’t limited to monthly deposits. How often you want to pay is up to you as well. In fact, you can change your deposit frequency at any time. Most people opt for the monthly deposits, which is why we use that in this example. And who has ever really made “too many” deposits?

How long do I have to make deposits for?

In a typical policy, we will settle on what your premium deposit should be for the first five years. This premium deposit will include a paid up additions rider that accelerates the growth of the policy. In year six, you will then pay roughly forty percent less in premiums as the rider will have dropped off and no longer be necessary. For example, if you are paying a premium of $10,000 for five years, this includes a $6,000 paid up additions rider so in year six, you’ll only make a deposit of $4,000 for the remaining life of your policy.

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Of course, that paid up additions rider can still be of value. That $6,000 (or whatever your paid up additions amount is) can then be used, along with any other funds you have, to start another policy. Consider it similar to a “branch office” because you are the bank now. And don’t banks have multiple locations? Why shouldn’t you?

As we always say, there are specific situations with all of our clients and our Money Multiplier Mentors are trained to help you make the best decisions in growing your family’s wealth. When you meet with one of them, ask them about your options and what will work best for your lifestyle.

Can I make a lower or higher deposit if I want to?

Absolutely. What you pay towards your premium is entirely up to you. We have never and will never tell you how much money to put towards your premium. We do like to note that the higher the premium, the better the return in your cash account.

money-3219298_1280And if you have the means to deposit an additional lump sum of money (called “overfunding”) with your premium deposit this would accelerate the growth of your policy even more.

Keep in mind, if you take out a policy, you can always reduce your premium on that policy. You cannot increase your premium amount on the particular policy, but you can take out a new policy in addition to your initial policy. In fact, many of our members end up taking out multiple policies once they see the benefits of their initial policy.

Deciding on your premium deposit amount and frequency doesn’t have to be scary. On the contrary, we are with you every step of the way to make sure your policy fits your lifestyle in every way. As your life changes, so does your policy, as it should.

Your policy, your premiums, your way. This is what it feels like to be in control of your money.

To learn more about this method and what it can do for you, please visit www.TheMoneyMultiplier.com , scroll to the very bottom and click on “Member Area.” Enter the password “bankwithbrent” and watch the presentation that appears on the next page.

When you’re ready to get started on creating your financial legacy or if you have more questions, please email us at [email protected], or give us a call at 386-456-9335, and one of our mentors will be in touch with you.

The (Bad) Spend Trend

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By Gabby Darroch

Einstein once said, “Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it … he who doesn’t … pays it.” And when someone with a brain that powerful and with knowledge that brilliant tells me to pay attention, guess what I’m going to do–pay attention!

What he’s really saying is this: There is more to spending and earning money than meets the eye. We are taught (wrong) to think about money one way: Money is necessary to live. You must work to earn it, only to spend it on things you need. But once that money is spent, it’s gone forever, right?

It doesn’t have to be. Not with The Money Multiplier Method at work.

earn-3172501_1280Robert Kiyosaki, mentor to the millionaires and author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, has explained one crucial difference between the rich and the poor. He says, “The poor and the middle class work for money. The rich have money work for them.” Kiyosaki points out that the poor spend their hard earned money on expenses and liabilities, things that take money out of their pockets. The rich and the wealthy, rather, spend money on assets and things that bring them more money.

That’s what The Money Multiplier is. It’s a machine, or a process, that keeps your money in your pocket. The first rule of the wealthy that most people aren’t taught is that to be wealthy, you must buy assets first.

Here is what you’re doing: You have $1 in your pocket. Traditional financial knowledge tells you to spend that $1 on something you need and work for another dollar to spend on something else you need.

Here is what you should be doing instead: You have $1 in your pocket. You use that $1 on a contract that guarantees you 4% growth each year. And that 4% growth ensures that you can watch your money grow while still using it on what you need and leaving it to your family all at the same time. This is how true wealth is acquired. And this is exactly how The Money Multiplier operates.

money-2696234_1280It gives you a real place to put your money, guaranteeing at least 4% growth, while still having access to that money and creating generational wealth.

The Money Multiplier is an asset.When used as recommended, it can bring you lasting wealth without changing your cash flow, requiring you to work any harder, taking on any additional risk, or losing control of your finances.

It’s what the wealthy use and have been using for over 200 years. Maybe it’s time you saw what it can do for you, too.

To learn more about this method and what it can do for you, please visit www.TheMoneyMultiplier.com , scroll to the very bottom and click on “Member Area.” Enter the password “bankwithbrent” and watch the presentation that appears on the next page.

When you’re ready to get started on creating your financial legacy or if you have more questions, please email us at [email protected], or give us a call at 386-456-9335, and one of our mentors will be in touch with you.

Interview With Bruce Norris of The Norris Group, Riverside, California

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By Christina Suter, FIBI Pasadena

I recently spoke with my industry colleague and good friend Bruce Norris about what it took for him to break through from who he was as a young man to the guru he is today. Bruce is an active investor, hard money lender, and real estate educator with over 30 years of experience. He is the founder of The Norris Group and has been involved in more than 2,000 real estate transactions as a buyer, seller, builder, and money partner. Bruce has dedicated himself to understanding the economic field in Southern California, and it shows in his work.

Photograph of Bruce Norris, courtesy of Christina Suter.

Photograph of Bruce Norris, courtesy of Christina Suter.

Bruce was married at 17, fired five times in a row, and eventually got the hang of getting a job. After reading How To Win Friends and Influence People, Bruce said he learned about avoiding the acute angle, which is finding a way to find an argument in everything. The book taught him to diffuse it and to enjoy the skill of learning to diffuse it.

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Bruce then got a job in sales, where he sold electrical supplies for six years. One day he was invited to join a man to watch his attempt to buy a house wholesale. After the house was purchased, Bruce realized his life experiences could translate into the real estate buying business. In his electrical business, Bruce sold supplies to people who already had suppliers. In real estate, he convinced people to sell their house to him because he had cash and people could close in a few days.

One of the skills Bruce has mastered is the power to close a deal. When he negotiates with a seller, he lets them know that based on his experience, things work or they don’t, so his offer leaves with him. Bruce tells sellers if they call him back the next day, he will let them know that he’s no longer interested because he wants the power to close and know he’s telling them the truth.

Bruce has earned a reputation in the industry based on his integrity. He will often spend the first 15 minutes speaking with an owner just suggesting things for them that have nothing to do with him making a profit. Bruce will ask about their situation and make recommendations that don’t always lead to him, as a cash buyer, closing the deal.

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Someone once referred a couple to go talk to him. He visited the couple for two hours. During that meeting, the husband made it clear to Bruce that he desperately wanted to move to another state, Tennessee, where he had a job waiting for him and his wife. The husband wanted such a full price without commission that he basically got in his own way, Bruce remembered.

There was an underlying desperateness to the man’s situation, so Bruce told him he could sell his house to him that night if he was willing to take less for his house. Bruce closed on their house.

Ten years later, that couple’s 21-year-old son visited his office and informed Bruce that he had been causing trouble in their house, due to his gang involvement. He told Bruce that had if he not bought their house, they wouldn’t have been able to move — and that kid would have ended up dead. He asked Bruce to teach him what he knew and how he was able to purchase his childhood home. That kid went on to open an office on Magnolia and Riverside and bought houses.

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The first foreclosure Bruce ever door-knocked was an elderly woman who had $13,000 of debt on a $64,000 house. Because he didn’t want to make the woman homeless, Bruce was able to get the lender to arrange a loan for her — largely thanks to the equity she had in the house. Therefore, she was able to keep her house.

Bruce said he wants both sides of that when he’s a buyer. He wants to be able to look across the table and if he can help the seller make the decision he’d make if he were in their situation, he also wants to be kind enough to let them know when they’re making a mistake.

I asked Bruce how he switched from real estate as a job to having freedom and creating financial stability.

“It really wasn’t a priority to me, so I kept very little inventory for rentals for the first 15 year plus years; I just flipped,” he said.

Bruce added that Jack Fullerton was influential in saying, “That’s great, but what happens if you get hurt or sick? How are you going to have income coming in?”

Bruce said he took that question to heart. While on vacation in Maui, he listened to Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Thus, he learned Kiyosaki’s four ways to make income quadrant.

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Bruce said he was always working for someone else or self-employed (the left side of the quadrant) — but on the right side of the quadrant, he was attracted to the two that involved running a business that didn’t need him and collecting checks from investments.

From that vacation on, Bruce changed the way he made income. He said he’s not self-employed because when he goes on vacation, his business can run without him. Thus, he runs a company. Bruce’s loan business, education business, and rentals all started to run without him, and he said he’s probably the least needed person at The Norris Group.

According to Bruce, it took him until late 2005 for his rental income to allow him to feel financially free. He had to think long term and at age 33, a $30,000 profit from a flip was more appealing to him than a cash flow of $200. Bruce said it took him a while to want to be methodical with the rental income and to actually fulfill that vision.

Bruce and The Norris Group can be reached at www.thenorrisgroup.com

 

Christina Suter

Christina Suter

As the founder and lead consultant of Ground Level Consulting, Christina L. Suter brings two decades of real-world experience as a serial small business owner and real estate investor. She developed her extensive financial and operational skills firsthand as she faced and overcame each difficulty that appeared along the way. As a result, she started up, managed and sold several businesses successfully, while developing an extensive real estate portfolio.

In 2002, Christina made the decision to leverage her experience into helping other small business owners and property owners through a consulting practice that works the way an entrepreneur works, dealing with the pressing problems of a business on the ground level and in real time. Since then, she has supported numerous companies throughout southern California and the western United States move beyond surviving to thriving.

Christina’s solid background and education–including a Bachelors in Business, an Associates in Teaching and a Masters in Psychology–strongly influence her work with your company as a Ground Level client. Not only does she have a keen insight into what will make or break the success of your business, but she can teach you the skills you need going forward. And she does this in a warm, supportive, non-judgmental way that is always highly respectful of your personal values.

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.

What Is A Real Estate Syndication?

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By Fuquan Bilal

Real estate syndications are a term that is trending again. What are they?

Among the real estate investment opportunities on the landscape today are real estate syndications. How do they work? What are the advantages of syndicated real estate deals? How are they different from other investment strategies, and who are they for?

Real Estate Syndications 101

Syndications is basically another word for partnerships.

A syndication is an industry or technical term for when investors partner together to acquire, improve, manage and dispose of real estate assets together.

The one main difference between syndications and other types of partnerships is that there is generally one active partner to the deal. Also known as the ‘sponsor’. The sponsor is the one with the experience, connections, teams and systems to handle everything. The other partners bring their capital. Everyone shares in the rewards.

Syndications can be large or small, have few or many partners, and can partner on everything from pools of mortgage notes to value add multifamily apartment deals to ground up new construction projects.

Who Are Real Estate Syndications For?

Real estate syndications are typically reserved for accredited investors. Meaning those with higher levels of income or solid net worth.

This can include highly paid professionals like doctors, lawyers and tech workers. As well as celebrities, athletes, lottery winners and heirs to sizable inheritances. Entrepreneurs, family offices and real estate or private equity funds also often participate.

How Are Syndications Different?

The main differentiator of a syndication is that everything is done for you and you tend to get a split of all the profits, in contrast to investments where you may just receive a yield.

For example, a syndication for mortgage notes or apartment buildings may pay out cash flow dividends as income comes in, and then distribute a share of the gains on exit. So, you may get a percentage of the rents every quarter, and then a slice of the pie when resold. There are many combinations possible. For example a 90/10 split would mean the sponsor gets 10% of the profits and the other partners split the first 90%.

If you are an accredited investor, syndications can be highly attractive in providing a more direct investment and larger share of profits than simple investing in a fund or stock, and yet don’t require the time and headaches and risk of flipping houses or managing your own rentals or note workouts.
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.

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.

Allowing a Lender to Cross Collateralize Against Additional Property

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By Edward Brown

There are times when a lender is going to ask for additional [real estate] collateral in order to make a borrower a loan. The most likely scenario for this is when there is not enough equity in the target property. Other scenarios include a borrower with less than stellar credit, or the type or quality of the target property may not be enough to satisfy the lender to make the loan, as most lenders are more interested in making loans that will pay them back instead of facing foreclosures. For this reason, the lender may ask the borrower to put up additional collateral satisfactory to the lender so as to give the borrower an incentive to avoid defaulting on the loan.

In many cases, this cross collateralization may not be something the borrower worries about, as the borrower intends to pay the lender in full. The general plan is for the borrower to refinance the target property at a point where a new lender does not require cross collateralization, pay off the existing lender, and the existing lender releases both properties; however, what happens when the borrower sells the crossed property, or has the opportunity to refinance the target property, and there is not enough to pay off the current lender who crossed?

The danger here is that the lender may hold up the sale because it does not want to release their lien until they are paid in full. For example, let’s say the borrower owns a rental house that is worth $500,000 and there is a first mortgage in place for $200,000. The borrower wants to buy another rental for $800,000 and has $250,000 to put as a down payment. The borrower asks a lender to loan the remaining needed $550,000, but the lender is not comfortable with the LTV [68.75%], so the lender asks what other real estate the borrower owns, so it can cross collateralize its $550,000 loan. The borrower mentions the other rental, and the lender decides to ask for crossing on the first rental. Thus, the lender has lowered its risk because of the equity in the first rental.

Now, let’s say that the borrower receives an unsolicited offer for the first rental of $525,000, and he wishes to accept it. If there was no cross collateral against this property, the borrower could accept the offer, pay off the existing first of $200,000, and pocket the $325,000 remainder. However, because the rental has been crossed, the lender has $550,000 against the property in second position. That means that there is technically $750,000 of liens showing up against the property. The borrower cannot accept the $525,000 offer without having the second [the crossed loan] release its lien.

For this reason, it is imperative for there to be an agreed upon release price in which the lender agrees ahead of time to release its interest in either properties for a specific sum. It does not necessarily have to be just the remaining equity in the first sale [$325,000 in our example]. The release price could be a smaller amount. It could also be a larger amount [up to what the lender is owed]. If the lender desires more than the $325,000, the borrower would have to come up with additional cash in order to transact the sale. This may not be all bad, as the crossed lender’s loan has then been reduced.

For example, if the crossed rental was sold at a 5 CAP rate, and the crossed lender’s interest rate was 7%, the borrower may choose to sell the rental and come up with money to satisfy the lender should the lender want more than the $325,000 net proceeds from the sale. In other words, there are times when it makes economic sense to come up with money in order to sell property. Another similar scenario like this occurs when there is a blanket loan covering multiple properties, as is the case when an apartment building has been converted to condos and the owner of the building desires to sell off one condo at a time. A typical lender on the building will usually have release prices [agreed ahead of time] under which the lender will allow each unit to be sold and the lender takes a specific amount [or percentage of each sale] as a pay-down of its loan.

The release price can be negotiated between borrower and lender. Because the lender did not take the new property alone due to the high LTV, many times the lender will reduce its pay-down to where it feels comfortable with a specific amount of its loan on the remaining property. To make this point clear, let’s say that the lender usually makes loans for rental properties at an LTV of no more than 55%. Since the new rental was purchased for $800,000, the lender would be fine with a loan balance of $440,000. Thus, in order for the lender’s exposure to be reduced from its original loan of $550,000, it may be willing to accept $110,000 from the sale of the first rental in order for the lender to release its crossed lien. In this case, the borrower would sell the first rental for $525,000, pay off the first mortgage of $200,000, and pay the lender in second position $110,000 [to release its crossed lien of $550,000], and pocket the rest of the proceeds from the sale [$215,000]. The borrower would keep $215,000 from the sale, and the only debt on the second rental would be the lender [who crossed] of $440,000.

Borrowers who overlook release prices [a specific clause in the loan documents] risk having to ask the crossed lender after the fact under what circumstances the lender would be willing to release the first property. If there is no agreement ahead of time, the borrower runs the risk of being at the mercy of the lender, as the lender does not have an obligation to release its lien for less than what it is owed.

Many lenders may be willing to work out a reasonable amount for releasing either property, as it is in the lenders best interest to reduce the borrower’s default risk. Having more than one property as collateral sounds good in principle, but the added exposure of having a loan spread out amongst more than one property may not be worth the risk. Each situation will be different, but, as a general rule, it is more conservative from the lender’s viewpoint to have a low LTV on one property compared to having crossed on one or more additional properties that have a higher LTV. Additional costs of foreclosure, if needed on more than one property, as well as having to deal with an existing first mortgage [keeping them current, so that lender does not foreclose] may not be a desirable solution to protecting the lender’s interest.

This is the primary reason why typical banks do not usually cross collateralize their loans. Most banks do not like a lot of moving parts. They want to focus on one property and the risk associated with it.

Borrowers should make sure that the lender does not hold any of the borrower’s properties hostage and that release prices are set at a point where the borrower feel comfortable.

Edward Brown

Edward Brown currently hosts two radio shows, The Best of Investing and Sports Econ 101. He is also in the Investor Relations department for Pacific Private Money, a private real estate lending company. Edward has published many articles in various financial magazines as well as been an expert on CNN, in addition to appearing as an expert witness and consultant in cases involving investments and analysis of financial statements and tax returns.

Stop Dissin’ the Housing Market—Set it Free!

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By Christopher Thornberg, PhD

Editors Note: This posting was originally published on the Opinion Page of the Los Angeles Daily News.

High housing costs continue to be at the center of policy debates in Los Angeles—and across much of the state. This intensifying focus is warranted now more than ever given how the crisis has moved from simply eating up the disposable income of residents to slowing overall employment growth in coastal economies – something driven by a lack of available workers, which in turn is driven by the housing shortage.

Sadly, the many proffered solutions to the problem remain wildly off base and are not likely to accomplish much of anything.

Take the City of Los Angeles’s proposed linkage fee, a fee to be paid by developers of market-rate properties to fund more affordable housing – and something that has been endorsed by many prominent voices in the community in recent weeks. That support has been motivated in part by the results of a recent homeless count done in Los Angeles County, which suggested that there was a 20% increase in the County’s homeless population over the last year. This is a total red herring when it comes to addressing the lack of new housing supply.

The recent homeless census count indicates that the total number of homeless in Los Angeles County is 53,000—a minuscule fraction of the 10 million plus people who call the County home. Moreover, a clear majority of these folks are homeless not because of the high cost of housing but because of mental and/or substance abuse problems, serious issues that would leave them homeless regardless of the current market price of housing. These people desperately need help—but a different kind of help than the linkage fee would provide.

And the few who are helped represent the proverbial tip of the iceberg—for every family that receives support there are another thousand that continue to struggle as rising rents eat into their incomes. Conservatively, the County would need close to one-quarter of a million new units to catch up with current need.

The linkage fee and similar policy proposals being rolled out at the city and county level reveal a deeper problem: Many localities and policymakers simply believe that the free market is not willing or able to create an adequate supply of housing in the region so they pursue punitive measures to make up for these perceived inadequacies.

Such a claim is akin to chaining a mighty eagle to the ground and then accusing it of not being able to fly. The lack of housing in Los Angeles is not due to the market’s failure but rather to the actions and choices of the City’s citizenry and its policymakers who have systematically intervened over many years to slow new development.

Research conducted at UCLA (UCLA Dissertation, The Homeowner Revolution: Democracy, Land Use and the Los Angeles Slow-Growth Movement, 1965-1992, Morrow, Gregory D.) shows how the City has energetically downzoned over the years, shrinking housing capacity from 10 million people to just slightly over 4 million—roughly the same as the current population. Add to that sky high permitting costs imposed by the City, non-stop California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) lawsuits, as documented by the lawyers at Holland and Knight (In the Name of the Environment: Litigation Abuse Under CEQA, Jennifer Hernandez, David Friedman, and Stephanie DeHerrera, August 2015), and other rules and taxes including inclusionary housing and prevailing wage requirements, and it becomes obvious why the market is responding so slowly to current price signals.

It is true that what does get built in this town tends to be for higher income households. But this is a natural outcome of the barriers to entry that afflict the system. When supply is artificially limited, what does get produced is going to be concentrated in the highest margin portions of the market. If supply were less restricted and fixed costs reduced, there would be a natural movement towards lower income families. Would costs ever go so low as to entice developers to build ‘affordable housing’ using the public regulatory world definition? Probably not. But in Los Angeles the overall lack of supply keeps middle income families in housing that would otherwise be available for lower income families.

The market should not be blamed for problems created by public policies that have constrained them. Addressing these critical policy issues is the place to start. A few small changes have occurred at the state level, but so far, Sacramento has looked more towards punishing local jurisdictions for not allowing housing, rather than attempting to deal with the true root causes. Everyone is treating the symptoms, not the disease.

Take for example inclusionary housing, the new buzz word in many communities. Past studies conducted by neutral researchers have shown that these policies have very little overall impact on housing affordability in a community. This is because the gains enjoyed by the lucky few families who receive inclusionary housing subsidies are offset by the higher cost of housing for the rest of the population. And ultimately such efforts are tiny compared to the scale of the problem. The $90 million raised per year would support less than 1000 new units. This is less than the annual increase in the housing shortage.

A few places with similar problems are starting to look at more realistic options. Oregon has started to move in the right direction with Oregon HB 2007, a proposal that goes to the next level—it seeks to prohibit local efforts and activities that restricted housing development in the first place. As the old ditty goes when you’re in deep the first thing to do is stop digging. But Oregon’s proposal is controversial, there are many loopholes, and even if it passes it will only prevent new restrictions from being put into place. Until California, Oregon and other development-unfriendly places roll back current market restrictions and fill in the hole, the housing crisis will only get worse.

Christopher Thornberg

Christopher Thornberg founded Beacon Economics LLC in 2006. Under his leadership the firm has become one of the most respected research organizations in California serving public and private sector clients across the United States. In 2015, Dr. Thornberg also became Director of the UC Riverside School of Business Center for Economic Forecasting and Development and an Adjunct Professor at the School.