We just completed the most ambitious upgrade yet delivering real estate investing web sites that are capable of adapting to any investing needs.

In case you don’t have one of our web sites, maybe a short introduction is in order…

These are database-driven, point-and-click web site for real estate investing that run and automate your business and work for any investing model. No expertise is needed to operate these web sites.

We are quickly on our way to becoming the market leader

We release new upgrades from time to time, and the section below covers only new features. Full features are given on our web site at http://RealEstateInvestorsWebSites.net

New Features

1) Ability to create custom forms to collect ANY information you want

Now you can create any type of forms without limitations.

Every time someone fills your form, you will get an email (if you choose to) and get all the information is logged on your web site.

AND if you want to send sequentially timed, follow-up autoresponder messages, you can create unlimited messages for each of your forms so you communicate with
your buyers, sellers or prospects hands-off; freeing up your time to make more money or have fun.

This is a huge asset for your marketing campaigns, or even when you feel one of our existing forms does not entirely serve your needs.

Examples

a) Create a form for your “squeeze page” and add them to a carefully timed sequence of autoresponder messages to convert them from leads to closed deals

b) Compliment your buying and selling houses with any other service you offer, e.g. “We Buy Notes” or to collect leads for your mortgage business, etc

c) Create a brand new web site with new pages and new forms that collect only the information you define

2) Added features when selling or wholesaling houses 

a) Allow other investors to post their properties on your web site

Let’s say you strike a deal with another investor to get a cut if you get them a buyer. This form will come in handy - they will enter all the information including pictures, videos and documents. You can create your own network where other investors also post their deals to your web site

b) Display your properties on other web sites

If you work with other investors, you can now display your properties on their web site. This will increase exposure and build your buyers list faster

c) Upload documents for your properties

Now you can include comparable sales, contracts, and other documents with property listings and choose if you want to display them to the public or keep them private. This is a tremendous asset for selling quickly

d) Import Buyers List

If you have an existing buyers list, you can easily import it to your web site so you maintain your subscribers in one convenient location. You do not have to manually enter your buyers one by one.

e) Allow someone to edit one property

If you are working with a partner (say managing a rehab), you can allow them access to that one property so they can both update it, while you still retain full control

3) Add Google Analytics

See exactly where your traffic is coming from and lots of other information to optimize your marketing campaigns. This helps to put your marketing dollar where you get the highest returns.

4) Upload files - pictures, audio and video

When you edit text, now you can add pictures, audio and video with a few clicks

5) Email handling enhancement 

a) Easily send your deals to your buyers list with a few clicks

Every deal is pre-populated with a pre-drafted email template complete with pictures ready to send out

b) Narrow down your buyers list

Easily select which investors to send a deal to by the states, metro regions, counties or cities they buy from

6) Add unlimited reference notes and automated reminders

On each record - Motivates Sellers, Buyers List, Private Money Investors, Properties, etc, you can make any notes and if you want, automate a future reminder so you are reminded of some important event on the day when you need it.

Examples:

- Say you need to check with the title company in 2 days to make sure title work is expedited; just log that note reminder and you will receive it at 7 am on the day to follow up

- Say John Doe in your buyers list bought 123 Main Street, and you need to check in 3 days that all the funds have been wired to the title company for closing- just automate it

Of course, we cannot list down everything in an email. It’s all detailed at

http://RealEstateInvestorsWebSites.net

We have a lot more coming shortly… stay tuned…

Have a great day!

Simon

The first upgrade of Real Estate Investing Web Sites is out.

In this Version 1.01:

1. Ability to customize seller form
   Collect only the information you need! You can customize the form your house sellers fill to collect the information you need depending on your business model.Choose which fields to activate/inactivate, and if to make them required or not.
2. Ability to add extra pages to your web sites
   Sometimes, you just need to create an additional page that is not included in the default web site.Examples:
   - Create a “squeeze page” and make it the index page
   - Display MLS listings on your web site
   - Create a new page or new pages with more information about your services
   - Create an entirely new web site with new pages and content!
3. Ability to add Youtube videos in your property listings  

4. Ability to replace our default forms with third party forms
   Do you have your buyers lists (mailing lists) with a third party service provider, e.g. Constant Contact, Icontact, etc?If you prefer, you can easily replace our default forms with the form given by your provider so you maintain your current provider while enjoying top notch benefits of our web sites.

You get free lifetime upgrades and updates. To get your upgrade, just log into your investors web site page and download “Upgrade”.

There are many great benefits from investing in real estate. Not the least of which is the opportunity to develop a number of streams of income from your real estate business. Having money coming to you from many different sources will not only give stability to your real estate business but is also a great way to generate cash flow which is the life blood of your business.

Other than the normal income from sales of homes and monthly rental income, there are many other streams of income that can be generated by owning and managing properties. Here is a list of just a few possibilities for income from real estate.

Money from:
• Notes
• Options
• Late Fees
• Rent Increases
• Additional Rent
• Loans Against Equity
• Deposits and Maintenance Fees
• Mineral Rights Sales and Leases
• Finder’s Fees
• Consignment Fees
• Consultation Fees
• Coaching Fees
• Tax Rebates and Certificates

Let’s take a closer look at some of these. Notes are a great way to set up additional income streams. When you sell a property you can usually get a much higher price if you are willing to finance part of the sale. By simply taking a note secured by the property you have your first small stream. Well it may seem more like a drop but for now we can call it a stream. Adding interest to the note will increase the income and give you a fair return on the money you are owed. Each note you add is another small income source.

Another great way to increase your income is by selling options to purchase your properties that include lease or rental payments. Option money is usually non-refundable and if you do lots of options you have another stream of money coming in.

It is unfortunate but when you manage renters—they are often late with their rent payments. Some landlords just let late fees slide and do not attempt to collect them. This is a big mistake. By being strong and charging what the contract spells out you win in many ways. The renter will either start paying on time or have to pay the late fees. Of course they just may decide to leave altogether and you also win because then you can get a better tenant. In any event if you stick to your guns and charge late fees like a real business you will find that you have created yet another stream of income.

At the end of every lease period you have the opportunity to generate more income by simply making small increases in the amount of rent due each month. This may seem trivial but if you have just ten single-family homes and increase the rent on each of them by just fifteen dollars per month you have an additional $1,800.00 a year coming in each and every year. If you continue to do this for five years that $1,800.00 will have grown to a whopping $9,000.00 and that is a nice stream.

If you have a big lot or even two lots, many times there are opportunities to rent out some of that space to be used for other things. An example might be parking or a storage building. Use your imagination and create another stream of income.

One of my favorite income streams comes from borrowing money from the equity from my existing properties. This income is tax free and can be a life saver at tax time or when your spouse wants that trip to Europe for your anniversary.

Deposits on rented property belong to the renter but when a renter leaves a property in poor condition the money to bring the property back up to good condition must come from somewhere. I prefer to use the renter’s money to do this fix up so I collect a substantial security deposit. Often renters will just leave the property without notice or without completing their lease agreement. When this happens, if your agreement is written well, you get to keep the deposit. It is not unusual for this scenario to take place several times a year and yet another stream is introduced.

With the price of petroleum products at an all time high—the mineral rights you have in you property might be worth a great deal. These rights are very marketable and petroleum companies are becoming very aggressive. These companies have a lot of money and might be willing to pay you some of it to lease or purchase your mineral rights. Leasing your mineral rights can create a healthy stream of income for you especially if oil or gas is discovered on your property.

The real estate investing business offers quite a few possibilities for income streams by charging fees. These fees could be for consignment of a contract or for consultation on a real estate project. You could charge fees for coaching new investors in how to get started or even for helping them find their first deal.

Finally there are a great number of tax advantages for the real estate investor and if you play your cards right you could be able to have the government provide you with an additional stream or two of income. By purchasing tax certificates you should be able to realize some exceptional returns from your investments and if you are lucky you could end up owning one or more additional properties.

I hope this article will help you in your quest to build wealth through real estate investing. For more articles on real estate investor training, visit my real estate training site. Also on that site, you may sign up for free reports, articles, and e-books and find free forms, documents, MP3 Downloads and much more. Also visit turbo-bidder for great real estate investor tools.
Thank You,
Dennis Henson

It’s almost the time of year when we in the upper mid west become afflicted with “cabin fever”. The holidays are over. Football is almost over. Winter is nowhere’s near over. This is the time of year when people start to think about spring and building a new home. Here are a few tips to make building a new home fun.

The first step is to take your time when picking a plan. This is usually the hardest yet the most enjoyable part of the building process. Spend some time thinking about how you use your existing space. You want to design your new home to fit your lifestyle. If you spend a significant amount of time in your kitchen, then focus on that area very carefully. If it’s important to you to have a large master suite, then focus on that area,etc.

It can also be beneficial to visit open houses to get ideas and to talk to Realtors. A Realtor can be very helpful in providing you with names of reputable builders. They may also have listings of completed new construction that you may find attractive.

If you plan on building a large and/or unique home, you may have to have plans drawn. The draftman usually charges per sq. ft. to draw your plans.

Some builders are able to include the cost of the drafting plans in their quotes. If you are building a relatively simple home, try to find an existing plan that comes close to what you want and make the necessary changes to that plan. This will help save you money by reducing drafting charges which may allow you to add amenities to your new home. Most builders have books of their plans that you can borrow.

To keep the building process enjoyable, keep in mind that no house is perfect. Go into the process with the attitude that a house is a man made product and will probably have a few minor issues. To help avoid issues, try to visit your job site every day. No one knows your new house better than you and you can point out mistakes to your builder when they occur.

Take pictures or video of the building process at various stages. In the future, you will enjoy having a record of your new home as it progresses.

Communicate with your builder. When you discuss changes to the plan and chances are you will make changes, make sure the changes are documented. Just because the builder says he can change something doesn’t mean he is willing to do it for free. Don’t be afraid to ask the builder how much the changes will cost.

Once the cost of the changes is agreed upon, have the builder write up a change order and have it signed. If the builder says he will make the changes for no charge, have him put that in writing also. No one likes to be surprised with upcharges at closing.

Building is not for everyone. It can be very time consuming and a lot of decisions need to be made in a timely fashion. Those who choose to build and go into the process prepared, however, find it can be a very enjoyable experience.

Take care.

As a software developer and real estate investor I can tell you that the hottest Real Estate is Page 1 of Google. Whether you are trying to sell a wholesale deal, or rent out an apartment, or trying to get a motivated seller to call… you want exposure! The more people who see what you are trying to accomplish, the more likely you are to accomplish it! Nothing will get you more exposure than being on Page 1 of Google.

I read that when it comes to search engines Google has 75% of the market share (in the US and UK) and 84% of searchers never make it past Page 2!!

So how do you get to the top of page 1? I will tell you that it is a lot easier than you think! The key lies in Backpage.com …. That’s right! A free online classifieds site that is very Search Engine friendly has pushed a lot of my deals to the top of Google! You don’t have to pay thousands of dollars to get to the top… You can do it all for free!

Here’s how…

Step 1 - Pretend you are your potential customer. What would you type into Google to find your service? As an example, lets say we are trying to find motivated sellers in Columbus, OH. We would expect motivated sellers to search for something like “sell house fast columbus oh”. These words will be your “key phrase”. Think of another key phrase or two.

Step 2 - Go to http://backpage.com and click on “Post an Ad” for your selected city

Step 3 - Using your key phrases create a Headline for your ad. In between key phrases I like to place a dash (-). to go along with our example I would make my headline read “sell house fast columbus oh - we buy houses - avoid foreclosure”

Step 4 - In the body of the ad describe your service, and try to work in your key phrases at least once or twice. Make it seem natural! Dont forget to give them a way to contact you!

Step 5 - Submit your ad

Now I can’t guarantee that you will be at the top of Google that day… or ever. I have had backpage ads push me up to #1 within 2 hours, and I have seen ads take me to the top 3 weeks later. I have had a bunch of ads never show up on Google. It can be unpredictable, but be patient. I have gotten a bunch of good calls from these ads. Keep in mind that you also have people looking through backpage.com that you could sell to.

Other important (free) online classifieds for real estate investors
Craigslist.org - This is probably the most popular, but isn’t very Google friendly. There are tons of people buying stuff over craigslist so do not forget to post your ads here. In 2008 I sold my personal home over craigslist so fast that I was “homeless” for a while.

MyNextRehab.com - This is a place for investors to post their wholesale deals for other investors. Rehabbers, landlords and wholesalers who have joined the VIP Investors Club ask to be notified about deals in their selected cities. After a wholesaler has posted a deal it is emailed out to the VIP Investors for that city. Similar to craigslist with an email twist.

Oodle.com - The more I mess around with Oodle the more I like it. It is a clean and more updated version of craigslist.

Shawn Wollenberg

One of the greatest tools for real estate investors is Craigslist. This online classifieds tool is super popular, FREE, and easy to use. Start using it and watch your business GROW!

The two major parts of a craigslist ad are the body and the headline. The body of your ad is where you put the description, pictures, address, and price of the house or apartment. The headline is what the reader clicks to see the body. Below are 3 useful tricks to getting your next buyer to click on your ad instead of the other 300 that were posted the same day.

1) More Space = More Attention
The Great Ron LeGrand always taught us to pay for an extra “blank” line at the top of your classified ads so it catches the viewer’s eye. With craigslist the ads run more left to right instead of top to bottom so I like to put the space to the left. I believe if you try to use the actual space bar in the beginning of your headline the craigslist software will “Trim” it off. What you will want to do is use the Underscore “_” key. I like to add about 4 or 5 underscores before I start my headline. This will indent it and make it more “eye catching” compared to the other ads around it.

2) Don’t be Afraid to be Weird… but don’t overdo it
I had a house that I rehabbed and was trying to sell. Every other day I would post the same old boring ad “3BR / 1BA, Great Neighborhood, Big Yard, Perfect Starter Home”. This type of ad gets me a few “good” responses each time I post, but one day I decided to try something different. In my headline I put “Is Brittney Nuts?”. Nothing about the house in the headline. When they would click on the ad I would put “She seems like it. I have a 3 BR Ranch…..”. I got about 4 times more responses about people interested in looking at the house. You dont want to do this too much because viewers will eventually catch on, but catching the eye and sparking interest so that they are forced to click and see what is inside is what it’s all about.

3) End BIG!
At the end of my headlines I like to put some more blank space and then end it with something big like “HURRY!” or “CA$H”. You dont want all capital letters in your headline because it is tough to read plus it is against craigslist rules.

You want to get more people into your shop. Think of the body of your ad as your shop where you are selling homes. When writing your headline, ask yourself “What would make a buyer click on my ad?”

Stand Out! Dont Blend In!

Shawn Wollenberg
http://myNextRehab.com

Hello Fellow Investors,

The rage these days is everyone is trying to figure out a way to Flip Short-Sales and Reo’s. Currently in my market in North Jersey there are great deals to be had if you know how to go about doing them.

First off, ignore the Lawyers or Realtors that say you ” Can Not” do something. What they really mean is that they just don’t know how, so in their mind it can’t be done.
Saying that, the easiest way to Flip a Short-Sale or REO is to do a same day close. Meaning you close a deal from the Seller (A ) to yourself ( B) and then from yourself ( B) to your end buyer ( C ). This is what would be called the normal Same Day or Double Close, A-B, B- C

Now this of course requires that you have an end buyer lined up to close with, and also that you have the correct clauses stating that if the first deal doesn’t go through, the B-C transaction does not take place and the funds are not released. This is a very nice way also, because that also makes it risk free.

The obstacles you face are making sure you have an end buyer lined up. Making sure you get the property at a good price to sell it to either an end investor or Retail Buyer. If you are going for the Retail Buyers than you can be more flexible on your price and still offer the Retail buyer a house below the current market value.

Another obstacle you will face is that if an end Buyer has a FHA loan this can not be done as easily. Title seasoning comes into play and is usually around 90 days. So to make your life easier stay away from any buyer that comes with an FHA loan.

Most deals fall through because all parties are not aware a flip is taking place. If you are very transparent in your contracts and upfront of your intentions with the bank and also your end buyer and their lenders this will work. The main reason deals don’t happen is because C’s lender wants to know why their buying from B which is you instead of directly from A.. Making sure they know why before any questions can arise is the key.

If you would like any questions answered or things further explained please contact me.

Take Care,
Jarred

Where do these properties come from?

• Wholesale investor (”Wholesaler”) locates property from a motivated seller
• He puts it under contract
• He then takes this contract to the title company to get the title work done
• You (investor), buy the house from wholesaler or take over their contract for a fee and close on it yourself, or buy the property from the investor in a double closing (simultaneous closing)

You end up getting the property at a huge discount with very little work.

Why are they so cheap?

Most of these properties come from distressed home owners (motivated sellers), such as home owners facing foreclosure, going through divorce, job loss, job relocation, illness, or simply cannot afford to keep making mortgage payments.

Sometimes they just need to get rid of the house, but cannot afford to do the repairs needed, or simply don’t want to do it. They therefore accept to sell the houses at a discount for a quick and easy closing.

This discount is passed on to you as an investor.

What makes these deals good?

No deal can posted on our network unless it leaves at least 15% equity, AND at least $15,000 in profit after it is fixed up. For example, a house worth $100,000 must leave at least $15,000 after it’s fixed up in order to qualify to be here. We try to make sure that each deal has the potential to make you money.

What makes these deals better than I can get from other web sites?

These properties come directly from other investors. They are not listed in the MLS or the local newspapers.

Therefore, there is less competition, so you can buy them at a truly profitable bargain.

Why would an investor sell their house at wholesale price when they’d just fix and sell for big bucks?

Each investor has their preferred way of making money in real estate. Some are so good at locating great deals that they cannot possibly handle to rehab all those houses!

It’s much easier for them to make quick money by wholesaling and move on to the next deal.

Sometimes a lot of investors fix and sell, but they still wholesale when their schedules cannot allow them to rehab, or when the number of houses they have makes it impossible to do so.

This has created a unique opportunity that will be very profitable for you.

What if the cost of repairs and After Repair Value are not true?

Our local partners look at each deal manually to make sure it meets our guidelines, both by profitability and the numbers given.

In addition, we give you a guide of the value of the house by requiring that the investors provide the county appraisal value as well as the estimated After Repair Value.

A lot of times you will find a link directly the property record at the county. We then provide you with comps from zillow.com on each property. We also provide you with enough analyzed information to quickly decide if it’s a deal or not.

Armed with all this information, you can then make a quick judgment; in any case, we always ask you to run your own comps to assess the true value of these properties.

If you cannot run the comps yourself, we link you up with real estate agents in your local market who can run comps for you.

We present all this information for you on a simple page in an easy to understand manner so you spend as little time as possible agonizing if the deal is good or not.

Of course we also encourage you to physically go see the house yourself to make sure the repairs are not misrepresented.

What information is available to me as I view the properties to help me make up my mind?

We allow the seller to put in as much information about
the house as possible including:

• Number of bedrooms, baths, stories, etc. You can also find this information at county records
• After Repair Value as estimated by the seller, county appraisal value (and link to county records), estimated comps from zillow.com
• Repairs needed and estimated cost of repairs
• Pictures
• Video - some investors also prefer to upload video on youtube. These videos are available directly on the house property page
• And a lot more…

You have to contact the seller directly to buy the house. We provide you a way to send them an email as you view the properties, and also provide a phone number for you to contact the seller.

Generally, most of these properties are not listed for owners by real estate agents, but you may find convenient links to recommended real estate agents, service providers and hard money lenders if you need their services. You may find these on our directory of vendors (service providers).

When you buy and sell houses, having a ready and cheap source of cash that has few restrictions places you in a position where you decide which houses to buy and which not to buy.

If you like it, it’s funded!

That’s the beauty of private money.  

You can buy houses that other investors can never touch, such as those that involve creative financing (such as taking over payments). Such deals sometimes require that you have some money to make up for back payments, make mortgage payments, etc. Funding these from your pocket can become a challenge and the number of deals you can do will be limited by the amount of money you have.

 It is therefore necessary to attract private cash investors for your deals. It’s for this reason that we created a web site specifically targeted for attracting cash investors for your deals - a  Cash Investors Web Site.

Should you attract cash investors to a web site where you also buy and sell houses?

Most cash investors are used to being pitched by the big boys who have well trained, smooth marketers for this purpose only. They do not spare any expense to impress htese investors.

When you are looking for investors, the last thing you need is to look like you are fumbling around not sure what you are doing. You must come across as a polished professional who is successful in buying and selling houses.

If a potential cash investor has any reason to doubt your capability, you are not getting his money. 

What do you think a potential cash investor will think of you when you send them to a web site where you also buy and or sell houses?

Most likely you will come out looking sloppy - and you might lose a source of cash that could grow your business tremendously. 

We highly recommend that you get a separate Cash Investors Web Site specifically targeted for the most important part of your business - attracting cash that fuels your success.

Should you send motivated sellers to the same web site where you sell houses?

The simple answer is “NO!“.

The key to successful prospecting is speaking to the conversation going on in the person’s mind.

Obviously the needs of a motivated seller are very different from those of a person looking to buy a house. A motivated seller is going through some real tough times and needs to get rid of their problem - their house. A successful web site for buying houses must do nothing short of providing targeted solutions for motivated sellers in a sensitive manner.

Winning the heart of a motivated seller so they can sell their house to you takes one key engredient - they must be able to trust you. You must come out to them as someone who can solve their problems. Having a web site that specifically addresses just the solutions to their problems puts them in a position you must learn to love - they want only you to buy their house.

On the other hand, a house buyer is going through relatively better times than a motivated seller, sometimes looking for their dream home. These two people are worlds apart. Combining the buying and selling houses in the same web site would be killing the prospects of winning the hearts of the majority of potential sellers - and you will make less money as a result.

Most successful investors  (most gurus and teachers also) will tell you that you need at least two web sites at the bare minimum.

Buy only web site - This is the kind of website that you use only when you are buying houses

Sell Only  web site - This is the kind of web site you use when you are selling houses

 Of course this is just the minimum; you also need to attract private money to finance your deals. When you know you have access to unlimited cheap funds that you control for any type of deal you want, real estate investing becomes a lot of fun.

The type of deals you invest in is not limited by rigid underwriting rules (such as those of a mortgage company). If you like a deal, it’s funded. This is the reason why a Cash Investors Web Site is a necessary part of your investing power tools.

House Flipper  web site - If you are an investor who is strong on wholesaling houses, most likely you will need a web site that allows you to sell houses at a discount to other onvestors. A house Flipper web site is specialized just for this business model.