A Primer on “Creative Financing”

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Image from Pixabay

By Bruce Kellogg

History

Modern awareness of “Creative Financing” began about 1980 with Robert G. Allen’s famous book, Nothing Down (Fig. 1). For the next five years or so, a flurry of books were published on related subjects (Fig. 2 and 3). I “grew up” in real estate during this period, and accumulated the library shown in Fig. 4 in addition to closing over 600 transactions using these techniques. In the process, I became known as a “leverage mechanic”. Now, I am preparing a comprehensive book titled, Leveraging Real Estate – Your Guide to Creative Financing. This article is a primer on the subject.

Fig.1

What is “Creative Financing”?

The original use of the term “Creative Financing” applied to anything that was not “CTNL”, “cash-to-new-loan”, when purchasing a property. Then it got narrowed down to financing that was “created” as part of the transaction, such as seller financing. Now, it has opened up to mean all techniques that display imagination on the part of the parties. I like this definition best!

Seller Financing

The most common form of “Creative Financing” today is still “Seller Financing”, or “Owner Carryback Financing”. The following Realty411 magazine articles thoroughly present this subject.

REI Wealth Monthly #49 “Seller Carryback Note Terms”

Real Estate Wealth Vol. 1, 2018 “Seller Financing 101”

Realty411 Vol. 6 No. 4  “Seller Finance 101”

Realty411 Vol. 7 No. 2  “Seller Carryback Note Terms”

Best of Realty411  “Seller Finance 101”

Fig.2

Managing “Creative Financing”

In the process of using “Creative Financing”, problems could arise in two areas, negative cash flow, and balloon payments. These are thoroughly covered as follows:

REI Wealth Monthly #44  “Dealing With Negative Cash Flow”

REI Wealth Monthly #50  “Dealing With Balloon Payments”

Creative Acquiring Properties

There are other applications of “Creative Financing” besides the use of notes. The following series of articles describe 24 ways, many of which are creative.

REI Wealth Monthly, issues 34, 35, and 37.  “24 Ways to Buy”

Additionally, there are creative ways of partnering described in

Realty411 Vol. 9 No. 2  “Partnering For Profits”

Finally, there are the subjects of Options and Lease-Options which are outside the scope of this article. There is plenty on the internet.

Fig.3

Accessing the Articles

Realty411 does not have magazine back issues nor copies of past articles available. So, to provide readers a meaningful learning experience, readers can order email copies from the author as follows.

“Seller Financing 101” and “Seller Carryback Note Terms” $12.00

“Dealing With Negative Cash Flow” and “Dealing With Balloon Payments” $12.00

“24 Ways to Buy” (3 articles) $12.00

“Partnering for Profits” $8.00

Checks should be mailed to:

Bruce Kellogg

430 N. Second St. #A

San Jose, CA 95112

Additional Resources

Fig.4

For readers who are interested in learning more about “Creative Financing” techniques, some Resources (books) are included as an attachment. A internet search will be necessary because they will need to be purchased used if they are available. Of course, current books on the subject should be searched, as well. Anyone who applies themself should be able to become well-versed in “Creative Financing.”

CLICK HERE TO VIEW RESOURCES

Bruce Kellogg

Bruce Kellogg has been a Realtor® and investor for 40 years. He has transacted about 800 properties in 12 California counties. These include 1-4 units, 5+ apartments, offices, mixed-use buildings, land, lots, mobile homes, cabins, and churches.

Mr. Kellogg is a contributor and copy editor for two national real estate wealth-building magazines: Realty411, and REI Wealth Magazine. He is a recipient of an Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award, listed in Who’s Who in America– 2019.

He is available for consulting with syndication, turnkey, joint-venture, and other property purchasers and note investors nationally, and other consulting assignments. Reach him at [email protected], or (408) 489-0131.

Learn live and in real-time with Realty411. Be sure to register for our next virtual and in-person events. For all the details, please visit Realty411.com or our Eventbrite landing page, CLICK HERE.

Realty411’s Virtual Investing Summit – Join Us

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Join Realty411’s complimentary investing summit and learn from experts who are sharing important knowledge about real estate investing.

Date and time

Sun, April 24, 2022

12:00 AM – 4:00 AM AWST

Location

Online event

About this event

Register for Our NEW VIRTUAL Virtual Investing Summit on APRIL 23RD AND 24TH, 2022

Attention savvy real estate investors, it’s time for another educational and exciting Realty411 Virtual Investing Summit uniting readers for an amazing day of information and motivation.

This NEW 411 VIRTUAL event will begin at 9 AM PT until 1 PM PT, April 23rd and 24th.  Guests can join Realty411’s complimentary investing summit and learn from experts sharing important knowledge, strategies and insight.

Realty411 will virtually unite some of the most successful, knowledgeable and savvy investors in the REI (Real Estate Investing) industry to help our readers make educated and informed decisions.

Since 2007, Realty411 has produced real estate-investing events and expos throughout the nation.

Our mission to educate and empower individuals to invest in real estate. Our virtual events have united hundreds of new and sophisticated investors in real-time from 42 states so far — in total representing 356 cities across the United States.

Join us for an amazing day of real estate education. Every online event we produce is unique, be sure to reserve this day for REI learning at its best.

OUR COMPLIMENTARY VIRTUAL CONFERENCES HAVE REACHED THOUSANDS OF INVESTORS – THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO LEARN EXPERT STRATEGIES ONLINE.

  • Learn from Leaders & Industry Pros
  • Chat with Local + Out-of-Area Investors
  • NON-Stop Tips for Real Estate Success
  • Learn with Long-Term leaders in the REI Industry
  • Receive the Latest REI Knowledge from Real Investors
  • Discover the Power of Leverage with OPM and Creative REI
  • Save money with Realty411VIP.com‘s Merchant Discounts
  • Gain Access to Realty411’s Private VIP Network for FREE
  • We Have Been Sharing Life-Changing Information for 15 Years

RSVP for this awesome event today!

Join from a PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone or Android device:

ZOOM URL LINK WILL BE SENT TO REGISTERED GUESTS.

Realty411’s Investor Networking Breakfast & Conference

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Register for Realty411’s new IN-PERSON Investor’s Summit on March 26th, 2022.

When: March 26, 2022 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Where: Hilton Garden Inn Los Angeles Marina Del Rey
4200 Admiralty Way
Marina Del Rey
CA 90292
Cost: Free
Contact: Realty411.com 805.693.1497

Attention savvy real estate investors, it’s time for another educational and exciting Realty411in-person Investor’s Summit uniting investors and educators for an amazing day of information and motivation.

At this event we will be celebrating our new two magazines: Realty411 and REI Wealth. Our new magazines have over 200 pages of important resources. Join us as we start the day with a networking breakfast at 9 AM PT.

Our event will abide with social distancing guidelines and our breakfast will be held outdoors (weather permitting). This is the perfect place to connect with companies who care about your success as a real estate investor and/or top-producing broker/lender.

RSVP NOW – CLICK HERE!

Guests can join Realty411’s complimentary investing summit and learn from experts who have direct knowledge of real estate investing. Realty411 will unite some of the most successful, knowledgeable and savvy investors in the REI (Real Estate Investing) industry to help our readers make educated and informed decisions.

Since 2007, Realty411 has produced real estate-investing events and expos throughout the nation — now in 12 states across the United States. Our mission to educate and empower everyone to invest in real estate. Our virtual events have united as many as 500 sophisticated investors in real-time from 23 states — in total representing 266 cities across the United States. Join us for an amazing day of real estate education.

Every in-person event we produce is unique, be sure to reserve this day for REI learning at its best.

RSVP NOW – CLICK HERE!

OUR COMPLIMENTARY NATIONAL CONFERENCES HAVE REACHED THOUSANDS OF INVESTORS IN 12 STATES SO FAR – THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO LEARN EXPERT STRATEGIES IN PERSON.

  • Learn from Leaders & Industry Pros Meet Local + Out-of-Area Investors
  • NON-Stop Tips for Real Estate Success
  • Bring Numerous Business Cards & Connect
  • Meet TOP Leaders in Real Estate Investing
  • Both Local & National Experts in Attendance
  • Meet Others with Common Goals and Mindsets
  • Learn with Long-Term leaders in the REI Industry
  • Receive the Latest REI Knowledge from Real Investors
  • Network with Other Professionals in the Real Estate Industry
  • Save money with Realty411VIP.com’s Merchant Discounts
  • We Have Been Sharing Life-Changing Information for 15 Years

United Country Real Estate Affiliates Raise $25,000 to Aid People of Ukraine

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Image from Pixabay

Live Auction Raises Total of $50,000 for Multiple Charities

United Country Real Estate affiliates raised more than $50,000 during a live auction at their annual Training and Awards Convention on March 11. The company is pledging $25,000 of that to aid the people of Ukraine while the rest will be donated to The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Marine Mammal Center and the Remember-A-Vet Wreath Project.

“United Country affiliates have made and continue to make huge differences in the communities they serve, across America and now across the globe. In the last 5 years alone, United Country affiliates have raised an amazing $35 million for charities and causes across the nation,” said Mike Duffy, president of United Country. “Last week, the unique items that were donated and auctioned furthered that effort and will importantly aid the people of Ukraine. I am proud of the leadership and generosity of our team and am in awe of their accomplishments.”

Among the unique items that were auctioned off were a Henry Rifle custom engraved with the UC Ranch Properties and Realtree United Country logos in a 24-karat gold inlay; a custom, beautiful “Ride the Wave” Charcuterie Board by Vierra Design Group; an original duck hunting American flag painting by Jackie Stocking; and a trip to the San Juan Islands in Washington. The items can be viewed on the United Country Real Estate Facebook and Instagram pages.

As the largest network of auction real estate professionals nationwide, United Country had professional auctioneers and ring men conduct the live auction. All proceeds from the sale went to charities selected by the donators. Each winning bid was then matched by United Country to aid efforts in the Ukraine.

“The United Country auctioneers assist with a tremendous number of charitable auctions each year,” said Jimmie Dean Coffey, auctioneer and director of business development for United Country. “Benefit and charity auctions have a long history in the world of auctioneering and with United Country auctioneers in local communities across the nation. I am very proud to see that our United Country affiliates have stepped up once again and raised more than $50,000 at our annual convention for some great non-profit organizations and causes.”

Learn more about United Country Real Estate at www.UnitedCountry.com or United Country Auction Services at www.UCAuctionServices.com.

Financial Freedom: Embracing Passive Income Investing

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Image from Pixabay

By Dr. Chandra Mishra

Financial freedom is crucial at any age. The genre of intelligent millenniums knows how to create variable income sources to gain financial freedom as soon as possible.

Passive income is the top contender for financial freedom which means no more worries about your ongoing bill payments or making rent. Once your basic needs are met you are left with enough to fulfill your desires; paying off debts, going on a long vacation, or indulging in luxurious recreation facilities.

Today we are clearing the dubious air about financial freedom as people have a misconception about investment fundamentals.

If you think working tirelessly and continuously is making you rich and financially free, you are mistaken. As being rich need not necessarily mean your financial freedom. Also you are losing time which you can’t buy.

Financial freedom comes when you build yourself multiple sources or streams of passive income that can pay for your expenses and leave you to live your life on your terms with minimal need to indulge in strenuous work.

Ways of Creating Passive Income

You are generating passive income when money keeps flowing in irrespective of your active working status.

Image from Pixabay

It may sound strange, but it does make a lot of sense as passive income can be made in two primary manners:-

1) Your Investment Works On Your Behalf

You invest strategically in projects that create monthly income with a fixed or standard rate of return.

The option here could be investing in instruments like bank and government bonds, corporate bonds, rental property income, multifamily/apartment investing that can quickly help you get out of the rat race.

2) Your Business Working On Your Behalf

Under this method of generating passive income, you indulge in a passive business income-making strategy. As a smart business person, you create a business that has the potential to run without your active participation. You hire and create processes to run the business. Following this strategy will offer continuous cash flow, whether you are parting hardship to your business venture or not.

Both investment and business work in synchronization for passive income generation for an entrepreneur.

Multifamily investing for busy professionals is one noticeable option that can create a consistent income without too many risk factors involved.

For busy professionals who cannot spare time consistently to keep track of their diversified investment portfolio, their entire investment portfolio can be constituted around multifamily real estate investments. It is a great foundation with very low volatility and opportunity to capitalize on passive income.

Why Multifamily Real Estate Investment Is A Sound Decision For Passive Income?

Image from Pixabay

Multifamily real estate can act as a catalyst for your investment career. And, this is not without the reasons:-

1) Easier Availability of Finance

If you think the enormous size of multifamily properties will call for difficulty in arranging finances, don’t let their size befool you. Multifamily properties are more accessible to finance than single-family homes. The price of multifamily properties is not the deterrent in fetching easy financing options. These properties are more likely to be approved by financial institutions like banks for a loan because these are more likely to generate cash flow month after month. This guarantees timely loan repayment.

2) A More Fabulous Kick Start

Acquisition of multifamily real estate is a better investment with low volatility which could be your fantastic end-games strategy too. You will retire with multiple streams of income. If you want to start small, A small multifamily property acquired, you can live in one of the units and pay down the mortgage you receive from the tenants residing in other units. Besides rent, you will earn appreciation on your investment capital.

3) Light Years Ahead Of Stock Market Return

Multifamily syndication returns have significantly gone down in the last two years. Yet you can lay hands on a 12-13% average annual return which is significantly higher than stock market returns.

Additionally, you are not even paying taxes (decreased taxes are the most extraordinary relief anytime) which means you are light years ahead of stock market returns.

4) Enjoy Cost Segregation Benefits

Image from Pixabay

Under the cost segregation, multifamily real estate investors enjoy reduced current tax liabilities which imply upfront cash flow. Without cost segregation, multifamily rentals are depreciated straight line for 27.5 years.

However, with cost segregation, the depreciation on specific real estate rentals’ components is faster (like in five, seven, or 15 years). The faster depreciation means you can save/make more money with depreciation and cost segregation applicable in multifamily investment projects.

Additionally, the government taxes income from multifamily investment properties at a passive income rate. This means no employment taxes.

Conclusion

Hope our little effort will help you embrace passive income investing for attaining financial freedom the soonest. Time is to start today, you can easily partner with someone or invest passively completely. What steps will you take in the coming weeks to create passive income?

For more information, contact your financial/legal advisor or financial counseling firm before investing.

Breaking News: Proposed CA Bill Would Impose 25% Gain Tax, Plus Time Restrictions on House Flippers

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Image from Pixabay

By Stephanie Mojica

Alleging that house flipping is preventing average people from buying a home, a California Assembly member has proposed a law that would require short-term real estate investors to pay a 25% gain tax, according to CBS 8.

If passed, the California Housing Speculation Act would start on January 1, 2023. The Assembly member behind the bill is Democrat Chris Ward from San Diego County’s 78th District.

There is an “influx of short-term investors trying to get into the market, outbid San Diegans and Californians with all-cash offers, and drive the prices up for everyone,” Ward told CBS 8.

The Assembly member also cited concerns with California housing shortages making it difficult for people to find affordable housing.

Norm Miller, a real estate professor at the University of California, San Diego, said even if the law passes the odds are still favorable for real estate investors.

Investors will still get “unlimited tax write offs from the mortgage interest and the property taxes,” Miller said. “[They’ll] also get depreciation, which is something an owner does not get on their own personal residence.”

To voice your opinion on Chris Ward’s bill, call his office at 619-645-3090. Visit https://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov to find the contact information for your representative and call their office as well.

Higher Chicago Foreclosure Activity Not A Problem

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Image from Pixabay

By Gary Lucido

I’m going to stay out on this limb that I crawled out on but apparently I’m not alone out there. According to ATTOM Data Solutions February Foreclosure Market Report the nation saw a 129% increase in foreclosure activity from a year ago. However, that percentage is kinda meaningless given that foreclosures were basically shut down last year. The graph below puts this dynamic in perspective for Chicago where there was a 328% increase over last year and a 29% increase over January. As you can see activity is probably no higher than it would have been had the pandemic never happened. As Rick Sharga, executive vice president at RealtyTrac which is owned by ATTOM, said:

This isn’t an indication of economic turmoil, or of weakness in the housing market; it’s simply the gradual return to normal levels of foreclosure activity after two years of artificially low numbers due to government and industry efforts to protect financially-impacted homeowners from defaulting.

In this foreclosure report both the Chicago metro area and Illinois got honorable mention for being among the top 5 metro areas and states respectively with high foreclosure rates. Of course, that’s because the rest of the country’s housing markets are so damn strong right now.

After a dramatic plunge following the pandemic foreclosure moratorium Chicago foreclosure activity has just now begun to resurge now that the moratorium has ended.[/caption] One of the reasons for our optimism is that delinquencies have dropped down to pre-pandemic lows as shown in this graph from Black Knight’s January Mortgage Monitor Report. That shouldn’t be much of a surprise given the strength of the job and housing market.

The nation’s mortgage delinquency rate continues to improve and seems to have recovered from the pandemic.

Chicago Shadow Inventory

The number of homes that are in the foreclosure process is holding pretty steady with only a 71 unit increase over last month. This pipeline of homes that might find themselves on the market sometime soon is ever so slowly trending up but it remains extremely low by historical standards.

The number of homes in foreclosure in Chicago declined with the moratorium during the pandemic and doesn’t seem to be rising since.

Gary Lucido is the President of Lucid Realty, the Chicago area’s full service real estate brokerage that offers home buyer rebates and discount commissions. If you want to keep up to date on the Chicago real estate market or get an insider’s view of the seamy underbelly of the real estate industry you can Subscribe to Getting Real by Email using the form below. Please be sure to verify your email address when you receive the verification notice.

Tokyo’s Urban to Suburban Migration

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Image from Pixabay

By Priti Donnelly

For years, Japan has tried to prevent its population from being overly concentrated in Tokyo, a city sprawling with nightlife, work life, and a tourist hotspot. Economic and social shifts of the pandemic developed into the start of a natural progression of migration out of the capital. Although the greater Tokyo area grew in 2021 by 26,323 for a gain of 0.07%, that figure was down roughly 110,000 from a year ago. In 2020 net migration by locals into Tokyo shrank by 27,000, or roughly one-third from previous years as people embraced telework and crowd distancing.

Initially, at the start of the pandemic, to avoid commuting, Japan adopted the work-from-home concept already popular in many parts of the world. As employers learned to adapt to matters of productivity and controlling hours of work, employees discovered the concept value in work and family balance plus the benefits of saving time from hours of commuting. Then, ongoing lockdowns turned flexibility into a lifestyle leading to the realization of the potential to settle outside urban centres. And, so began the urban to suburban or even rural movement.

Image from Pixabay

One Tokyoite, Kanamori sought to leave his luxurious life and job of the Roppongi Hills complex in Tokyo’s Minato ward for solace in the city of Yamagata. A place familiar to him as the place of business of his parents’ long established sake store. Initially he moved to Tokyo to attend university, then joined an IT company in 2017 selling computer tablets with an application that helped retail operators keep track of sales. But, after three years, the business took a couple of hits. First, the consumption tax was raised to 10% in October 2019. Then profits were hit harder after Covid. This, in addition to the long working hours and overtime deeply rooted in Japan’s industrial ethics. It is not unusual for employees to work more than 80 hours of overtime a month, according to a 2016 government survey and those extra hours are often unpaid. Kanamori’s lifestyle became all about work and he didn’t like who he was turning into.

Recognizing that those long work hours translated less into productivity and more into exhaustion, he left his job for a change in lifestyle and moved to Yamagata. There he became a member of the city’s community development team that aims to make better use of vacant homes, working four days a week, no overtime. On his days off, yes, he has days off, he goes camping with his friends. Peaceful living.

Image from Pixabay

Kanamori is not alone. The mountain resort town of Karuizawa in Nagano prefecture added 595 people via migration, the largest increase of any town. For the first time since July 2013, the number of people moving out of Tokyo outnumbered the number of people moving in by 1,069. In June 2020, inbound migration topped outbound migration once again, but from July 2020 through February 2021, more people moved out of Tokyo than people moved in and the trend has continued, with the exception of the months of March and April when more people generally move into Tokyo because of starting new jobs or enrolling at university, at the beginning or end of the fiscal year.  

Should I stay or should I go? Although Tokyo is attractive for its job opportunities, thriving business hub, and growth-focused initiatives for start-ups, people are discouraged by the high cost of living. The nationwide average monthly rent, not including utilities, for a one-room apartment (20 to 40 sqm) is between 50,000 and 70,000 yen. Rent for similarly sized apartments in central Tokyo and popular neighbourhoods nearby usually start from around 100,000 yen.

Image from Pixabay

But, the high cost of living is just one deterrent from permanent settlement. Where people once enjoyed the ease of fast food to satisfy the palate and the belly, they are now finding solace in places surrounded by greenery with access to fresh seafood, fruits and vegetables. For the sole purpose of slowing down to take care of oneself, the concept of growing and preparing foods for its freshness, nutritional value including low sodium and carbohydrates by comparison to fast-food, has been revived.

The attraction to the suburbs or rural areas is real, but it is hard to tell if it is more of a sabbatical, or a trend as we strive to stay safe. Either way, Tokyo is not entirely out of the picture. Even Kanamori still thinks he might return to Tokyo in the future for business opportunities. The city is after all a thriving international hub and continuously evolving for entrepreneurs to launch and be successful. As the old adage goes, “You can take the person out of Tokyo but you can’t take Tokyo out of the person.” But, this time on healthier terms.

Sources: The Japan Times, Nikkei Asia, Japan Guide

Priti Donnelly

Priti Donnelly is the sales and marketing manager at Nippon Tradings International, a Japanese proxy helping foreigners access the second largest real estate economy in the world. As a Canadian with a background in mortgages and marketing, Priti keeps foreigners informed of the latest trends, business news and featured properties in the Japanese real estate market. Her articles have been featured in REtalk Asia, REthink Tokyo, REI Wealth, and Asian Property Review.

BEWARE: Social Media Fakes Make Poor Tenants

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Image from Pixabay

By Stewart Levine

Are unprecedented legal changes and scam tenants making it time to rethink rentals as investments?

Even for long-time real estate investors with decades of experience, things have changed.

Social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram seem to be spawning an increasing number of phonies and scams from cryptocurrencies to NFTs, tech startups and real estate gurus.

Image from Pixabay

For the average investor, becoming entangled with just one of these scammers can bankrupt them and rob them of their life’s work.

So, how are they operating? Who do investors and property owners, in general, need to watch out for? How have recent policy changes negatively impacted things?

NOT “As Seen On TikTok”: Scam Tenants Will Cost You Huge

One of the new catchy fads has been things being advertised “As Seen On TikTok.” It has replaced the old “As Seen On TV” infomercial controversies. For better or worse, the highly controversial TikTok platform surpassed Google as the most popular website in 2021.

One retired doctor and long-time investor recently found out just how dangerous it can be.

This is a medical professional who has been investing in real estate for decades. It enabled him to retire at just 51 years old after running a successful dental practice.

He bucked common advice and the tradition of investing in public stocks with stockbrokers that don’t have their customers’ best interests in mind.

Image from Pixabay

During a recent interview he shared some of his early lessons in real estate. He did well, and it enabled him to take control of his own future, along with gaining many tax breaks. Yet, he ran into early issues when actively investing in rentals. He discovered the headaches of vetting deals, the costs of management, and both cash and Section 8 tenants that didn’t perform.

Eventually, he graduated to the point where he had built up enough capital that he wanted to spend more time actually relaxing and enjoying life, and began investing through private funds, private money lending, and other passive real estate strategies.

Still, when it recently came time to move from the Northeast to Florida, he ran into a combination of new and old problems.

Like many others he decided to put his home in the Northeast up for sale right during COVID.

It was a great home in Colts Neck, NJ. Boasting 7,000 square feet, and which this doctor had enjoyed living in for many years himself. However, it was September 2020. Lockdowns meant that real estate agents were hardly working, and most buyers couldn’t get to viewings or were too scared.

An agent representing the tenants brought them a prospective renter as an alternative. The agent sold their clients hard. They included a ‘wealthy DJ’. An online ‘influencer’ and entertainer, who supposedly has 3M followers on TikTok, where he recently bragged about being put in jail by his ex-girlfriend, and 275k on Instagram where he likes to show off fake money, and even promote NFTs.

Image from Pixabay

He was presented under his real name as Anwar Gavilanes, aka DJ Diddy. Along with Adam Zakaria under his business name Pizza Crave, and Frank Baldassare. They were supposedly rich and successful and had a nice car.

After signing the lease, this landlord told us that he never received any rent, after the first payment. On which was supposed to be a two-year lease for $7,300 per month.

Normally, that wouldn’t be a huge issue. Tenants don’t pay, you get an attorney and have them kicked out.

Unfortunately, the government went to the extreme of issuing an eviction moratorium, and shutting down the courts. His attorney simply couldn’t process the paperwork to get them removed. While the president went to extreme lengths to protect rogue occupants like this, landlords paid the price. He says he felt they ruined his life’s work on this property and jeopardized his finances. Those moratoriums were eventually overturned by judges who found them unconstitutional, but many may be asking where the compensation is for landlords.

These tenants continued to occupy the property, without paying any rent for a whole year!

It wasn’t until late 2021, when he was finally granted a Zoom court meeting to get the tenants evicted.

When the landlord was finally able to access the property again, it was a disaster.

Image from Pexels

There was a soccer goal set up in the living room. No basic maintenance had been taken care of on the property in a year. The garage door was busted. Plus, broken fencing, damaged landscaping, and scratched and broken wood flooring which had to be completely replaced. The destruction ended up costing Levine $80k in repairs to restore the property to prepare it for sale. They found fake $100 bills in the property and all types of other craziness leftover from parties.

They even found out the occupants had been renting out the house to others on Airbnb, with no permission to sublease the property in their contract, taking their money, and still not paying the rent. They had even been advertising parties on the home on Eventbrite, at which they had been found serving alcohol to the underaged, and possibly drugs, which resulted in a summons from the police. It is unknown whether they have disclosed the income they illegally made from this operation to the IRS or not.

To make it worse, the utility companies started coming after him as the property owner. The occupants had never paid any utilities, and the utility companies had never bothered to cut them off or bill them, because of ‘COVID’.

WANTED: Social Media Con Artists & Real Estate Fraudsters

Thankfully this property owner’s attorneys have been able to track down two of the perpetrators, and have served them legal papers. He estimates they owe $125k in back rent and legal fees. Not including the actual damages, and utilities. He says he doubts the courts will accept those phony $100 bills as payment.

Image from Pixabay

Anwar, aka DJ Diddy, who turned out to just be a fraud, is still at large, and “hiding out like a rat.” He is still posting on social media, promoting a virtual party online each week on Sundays. The attorneys are very interested in any information that can be provided to track him down, and ensure he is served and brought to justice.

They are also looking for the renters’ real estate agent involved for their role in misrepresenting and failing to vet the tenant. They have been served, but have since been hiding out, without a response.

The Big Takeaway: Things Are Different Now

Most of all this landlord agreed to share his story with us as a warning to all other real estate investors, landlords and homeowners out there.

Be on the lookout for these fraudsters. Don’t become their next victim.

Image from Pixabay

Be sure you are on the alert for other social media phonies as well. In addition to questioning some of those promoting scams like these, and encouraging others to Airbnb out homes they don’t own, or to try and pull scams to take over people’s properties.

He says he is not excited about renting out his personal homes again.

There is just too much risk. Too much fraud. With the new dictatorship we appear to be living in, there is no more security, and very little private property rights and protections.

If you are going to rent out a property, we strongly suggest using a well-vetted, third-party property management company, and having a great real estate attorney on retainer.

However, he is not giving up on real estate as an investment at all. Though he is certainly doing it differently, and more carefully vetting those he works with.

If you spot these fraudsters, let someone know, and share your stories, and alert others in the business to scammers, so they aren’t the next victims.

Learn live and in real-time with Realty411. Be sure to register for our next virtual and in-person events. For all the details, please visit Realty411Expo.com or our Eventbrite landing page, CLICK HERE.

LLC for Real Estate Investing

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Image from Pixabay

By Stephanie Mojica

A critical step for new and existing real estate investors is to form an LLC or Limited Liability Company. In the simplest of terms, an LLC protects an investor’s personal assets — whether those are cash, bank accounts, or personal property.

Whether the investor is into flipping houses or being a landlord, an LLC ensures that the person himself or herself does not actually owe any debt. The company is responsible for any contracts, debts, lawsuits, leases, and liabilities.

If business goes bad, the people and companies that believe they are owed money can only pursue the LLC — not the individual(s) behind the company unless fraud or another crime was involved, according to Yahoo! Finance.

However, there are some critical steps to take even after a real estate investor forms an LLC. Any properties must be purchased in the company’s name, not an individual’s name. This ensures the ultimate protection.

If someone buys a home to flip or rent out and ends up owing more on the mortgage than the property is worth, the bank cannot come after the individual if the home is officially owned by the LLC.

Image from Pixabay

A caveat is that many banks do not want to issue mortgage notes to a new LLC, because it’s risky for them. That’s why a business plan is so important. (See our past article “House Flippers Need a Business Plan” for a more in-depth discussion on this topic.)

Other potential drawbacks to an LLC come at tax time and when an individual transfers assets to it, so an attorney is probably a necessary resource, according to LegalZoom.com. Also, each state has different laws regarding an LLC.

However, done properly, an LLC seems to have more benefits than downsides. Other good news is that the costs are usually minimal. As always, before making any major decisions in such areas speak to a qualified real estate attorney.

Sources for this article:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/form-llc-real-estate-investing-194323289.html

https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/forming-an-llc-for-real-estate-investments-pros-cons

http://reiwealthmag.com/house-flippers-need-a-business-plan/