Real Deal REInvestor Network

 If you are familiar with the “Barnum and Bailey Circus” also known as “ The Greatest show on Earth”, then you have some idea of the man whom I am speaking of. P.T Barnum was one of the world's most richest men in his time and he had contributed vast amounts of knowledge through his famous speeches about being a successful investor / businessman and tips on wealth building activities that will assure your success. In this classic, Barnum gives 20 rules that we should follow if we really want to obtain the wealth we are seeking and what you should do with that wealth if you want to manage your money wisely and appropriately. Those 20 tips are:

1. Don't mistake your vocation

2. Select the right location

3. Avoid Debt

4. Persevere

5. Whatever you do, do it with all your might

6. Depend upon your own personal exertions

7. Use the best tools

8. Don't get above your business

9. Learn something useful

10. Let hope predominate, but be not too visionary

11. Do not scatter your powers

12. Be systematic

13. Read the newspapers

14. Beware of “outside operations”

15. Don't endorse without security

16. Advertise your business

17. Be polite and kind to your customers

18. Be charitable

19. Don't blab

20. Preserve your integrity

All of these tips are awesome, sound tips for business and wealth building, but to fully appreciate each tip you have to read the book for yourself because each point might resound differently with each reader based on his/her life experience, age, training, talent, business-know-how and knowledge base of a particular chosen niche. There were several tips that really stood out to me because they were points that I could relate to and/or have had experience with.

The first tip I want to discuss is Avoiding debt. Barmun states “Young men starting out in life should avoid running into debt. There is scarcely anything that drags a person down like debt. It is a slavish position to get in...” and “Debt robs a man of his self-respect and makes him almost despise himself”(pg.14). P.T is not speaking of those who are merchants buying and selling on credit or those who buy on credit in order to turn a purchase into profit, no, he is speaking of irresponsible borrowing and then not repaying debt on terms which will greatly affect your opportunities in the future. Wow! If you don't know now you will soon learn that the ability to obtain credit for your business, or loans for needed purchases will be determined by your CREDIT HISTORY!. Personal credit habits reflect on a persons ability and willingness to repay debt, you don't pay back your credit score gets affected which decreases your chances of getting the help you seek for your business when you need it. For those of you who are currently working jobs until your business is up and running smoothly, working to pay off debt is no fun but it is necessary! As soon as the money comes in it goes right back out and you find it difficult yo invest in your business and your future. This is a vicious circle to get into, you being to feel trapped, tired and bitter because you see no way out. Do your self a favor, if you are in this situation, get assistance in cleaning up your credit, monitor your credit score, pay your bills on time and reflect on your spending habits so that you can change your relationship with money. Coming up with a plan to handle your finances instead of avoiding your creditors will give you peace and hope for a sound future. Learn to master money don't let it master you. Becoming debt free is one of my major goals because for me debt free means stress free.

Another key point that Barnum discussed was perseverance. “When a man is in the right path, he must persevere”(pg.16). I know in todays society, if you want something no matter what it is you expect to get it like now! That sounds good but when it comes to building a business and wealth building, sometimes things don't happen as fast as you would like. That does not mean that your dreams will not come pass it just means that the hard work you are putting into yourself now will pay off in the future. Now is the time to lay the foundation for a strong business and build lasting relationships that will benefit all parties down the line. In order to do this you have to persevere because you could be 3 feet from gold! Patients is a quality that builds character and good character will turn you into an honest, hardworking businessman. I myself am guilty of getting impatient and wanting to see my efforts pay off quickly, I think to some point we all are like that because we are human, however, If you don't give up you will see success.

Point number three, be systematic. Barnum states, “ Men should be systematic in their business.

A person who does business by rule, having a time and place for everything, doing his work promptly, will accomplish twice as much and with half the trouble of him who does it carelessly...”(pg.24) Having systems in place and being organized is the key to time management. If you have unorganized scattered activities taking place in your business you will not see results and you will get frustrated. I remember when my mentors gave me an assignment to journal for 2 days everything I did in 15min increments. Boy was I embarrassed to see how much time I had available to do not only tasks related to business but also free time to spend with myself, God and family. I just needed to prioritize, organize and have a peer hold me accountable. My best friend Lori bought me a daily planner to help me get things in order and better plan my day, I found it much easier to write my appointments in my book instead of using scrap pieces of paper that I could not keep up with and it kept me from overbooking on one day and having nothing to do on another day. My other best friend Jo, bought me a time management book with good tips on getting me organized and both friends call me and keep me accountable about what h'm doing and my plans for the day. What I noticed most is routine is most effective. If I plan my day and stick to it on a regular basis it becomes habit! Out with the old bad habits and in with the new.

Another key point Barum mentions is to advertise your business. “We all depend, more or less, upon the pubic for our support” and “When you get an article which you know is going to please your customers, and that when they have tried it, they will feel they have got their money's worth, then let the fact be known that you have got it”(pg.27). Point being, if you have a good product and nobody knows about it you will not make a profit!. In order for your business to prosper, customers have to know that you not only exist but that you have a product they want and need. There are NUMEROUS ways to get your company name out there, you can advertise in many places and ways depending on your budget. You have community boards, billboards, bus stop benches, business cards, postcard marketing, radio, t.v, the internet, fax blasting, phone blasting and many other creative ways to advertise. Also, you can use the testimonies of your satisfied customers (with their permission) to promote your business and prove you have a good product thats worth the money. If you take the time to promote your business and your product you will build your client list and in return build wealth.

This brings me to the last point, be polite and kind to your customers. Barnum says “ The truth is, the more kind and liberal a man is, the more generous will be the patronage bestowed upon him.

“like begets like”. The man who gives the greatest amount of goods of a corresponding quality for the least sum (still reserving for himself a profit) will generally succeed best in the long run”(pg.30).

How many times have you been to a store/business and received poor service and said “I will never come back here again”! Well it's happened a few times. I felt like my money or my business did not mean anything to the owner so in the future I would spend my hard earned dollars else where and I would tell my friends not to go to that particular business, what my experience was and how I was treated! In the same way you need to put yourself in your customers place. Why would you come back to your business or why not, is the staff or are you friendly, do you answer questions and offer assistance, do you smile and show concern for the customers satisfaction? If you answered yes to these questions then your clients will be pleased with the types of service they receive. Now in reality, we all realize that sometimes no matter how good the product or service you will still have complainers or nasty visitors. But if you do your best to resolve any issues or even attempt to give away a free service in the future, others in the store will take note of the type of businessman you are and you might win over that difficult patron. The best thing to do is to treat others as you would like to be treated. Your name and reputation is on the line and believe me a bad customer experience will be reported to others more often that a good experience.

To sum things up, P.T. Barnum had a lot of good points in his book and a lot of good information, in order to enjoy this reading and be able to apply it's rules to your life I suggest you read the book for yourself and share it with another opportunity seeker or business owner.

 In order to prepare yourself to be a savvy investors and have the ability to find and evaluate lucrative commercial/residential deals you must educate yourself! Not properly studying your market and niche can lead to disastrous results and possibly hurt your reputation. Not preparing yourself is like a warrior going to battle with out his armor on and weapons in hand, or a policeman going to work with out his gun and handcuffs. I know those analogies sound silly but it is also silly to try to converse with and do deals with other investors and professionals and not know what you are talking about nor be educated on the basics of real estate. In my previous blogs I talked about several ways to locate deals such as: other investors, realtors, business partners, networking at you local REI meetings, referrals from others in the business, the city courthouse workers and your bank. But, before and while these referrals are coming to you, you should be investing your money into good educational materials, resources and programs that focus on real estate. Specifically, your niche, evaluation of deals, terminology, setting up your business, the use of real estate contracts, laws regarding real estate transactions in your state (laws do vary state to state), asset protection and various topics related to real estate. You need to familiarize your self with what other professional do and the services they provide in regards to real estate such as: mortgage brokers, title companies, real estate attorneys, real estate CPA's, credit repair specialist, cleaning services, bookkeepers, home inspectors, personal assistants, private lenders, hard money lenders, contractors, business mentors, accountability partners, commercial real estate brokers, marketers, tech support and website developers. This will allow you to properly set up your power team and outsource as much of the day-to-day operations of your business as much as possible. One good way to educate yourself is to imitate someone who is actively and successfully working in the business. A mentor is a great way to learn the business and your education can be tailored to your learning style, needs and business goals. A mentor will help you skip all of the pitfalls and common mistakes made by newbies and uneducated investors. You will get insight into how they run their business, rationale for why they make the choices they do related to business deals and what you can do to get to where they are a bit faster then they did. I have several mentors working with me, two who are partners in a very successful real estate business that is doing million dollar deals called HIS Real Estate Network, I also have a local mentor that is working with me doing hands on investing out in my local community. He is doing about 10-12 deal per months and bringing me in on deal and teaching me daily operations of the business and also educating me on our local market. My mentors also stressed the importance of reading not only real estate materials but also books that focus on self awareness, positive thinking and changing your mindset! My success started to blossom when I copied what I saw and did what I was told!

Now as you continue to educate yourself start farming your territory, meaning, evaluate the different neighborhoods that you will be doing business in. Look at the condition of the properties, a lot of deals are found by locating vacant apartments/ houses/ office buildings. Are there a lot of unkept homes in a particular area, do you see a lot of for sale signs, for sale by owners, or extremely high numbers of for rent signs? This tells you a lot about a community. Look at the different neighborhoods, what catches your eye? What turns you off? These are the types of things the new renters, buyers and investors will take note of. What are the selling points and downfalls of each area, how are the school districts, bus service, crime rates, location of businesses that service the residents such as laundry mats, grocery stores, outlet malls, fire/police stations. Drive thur communities at night when it is warm outside and see what the activity is like is it noisy, are a lot of people hanging out on corners? If you would not feel safe living there it may be difficult to unload a property in that particular area, however investors may be doing well in that particular area that's why it is important to ask questions and network so you can find out important information. Property scouts also known as bird dogs are a good source of information in regards to locating properties for you. This cuts down time you spend driving around looking. It is standard practice for investors to offer bird dogs a fee of $500-$1000 for located properties that successful close and you must make it clear when the scout will be paid his/her fee. Usually it is after the closing. When I'm out driving I keep a note book in my car with several pens so if I see a property or a sign, I quickly pull over and jot down the information taking note where the property is located then research it when I get home to see if it is a possible lead. Another way to locate good deals depends on if you truly have a motivated seller. You do not have time to chase people you only want to spend time with people who truly need your help! This is how you know you have a motivated seller;

1. A seller that responds to you marketing and they call you first

2. A person who is egar to get out of his/her situation and willing to talk about what the issue is

3. A person willing to sell below market price!

    

The last way you can get good soild leads is to market! That means putting out your bandit signs, passing out your business cards, mailing out postcards, watching the newspaper and classified ads, getting on the internet and advertising on Craigslist, Backpage and Kijiji.com. Returning phone calls and responding to referrals passed onto you. Even if you can't meet that persons needs pass the information to another investor and tell the client what you are doing and why you cant meet that need it's very professional.Call another investor and give him the information he will be excited about the lead and if something comes across his desk he will remember you.

 As I had previously discussed in “locating deals part1”, a major part of your success in finding deals for commercial/residential transactions is first, studying and knowing your market. If you don't know what the needs in your community are and the areas in your city that are seeing growth or decline you are missing the big picture in regards to successfully meeting the needs of your renters, buyers and other investors. Previously, I had mentioned 3 solid, proven ways to acquire not only good deals but pertinent information regarding buying/ selling activities in your community, they were related to connections and relationships with other investors, realtors and business partners. However, there are other sources that could be of great worth to you and not only bring you deals but allow you to funnel deals to others thur networking! Networking is basically promotion of goods and services by word of mouth, from individuals who are currently active in that particular field. Through networking not only will you build important relationships and connections but you will also learn who is on top of their game and making a big impact in your local area. So where are the good deals hiding? #1 your local real estate investment club. When people attend these meetings they exchange information, business cards, ideas and information about the local market. A lot of connections as well as education goes on at these meetings and it wont take long to see who the important people in the room are. Bring your business cards ( which we talked about in another blog ), go up to people, introduce yourself and tell others you are a new investor and you are very excited to learn all you can, ask others there if you can do anything to help them out in their business and offer to work a few hours in exchange for learning the business. This is how you add worth to others, find competent mentors, and pick up deals because as you learn the business and get efficient at what you do you will command the attention of others who may bring you in on a deal, partner with you in the future, and share valuable information with you AND you start learning the business as well as you market. So you acquire valuable experience! #2, As you get your name out there you will begin to get referrals from others in the business such as landlords, contractors, landscapers, rehabbers, property managers, handymen, plumbers, electricians, and roofers, you will be surprised at the number of people who could potential bring you deals. These folks are out in the field either working for someone else or in business for themselves and they are quite aware of the deals that are going on in the community and who is looking for buyers and sellers! Now the key to getting information, once a deal is passed onto you for example by a handyman, ask him about the specifics of his business and tell him you will be bringing him referrals. When you refer business to others you add worth and value to their business and they will do the same for you! This is a good example of networking and building relationships. #3 another good source of deals is through the city. Now, this takes a bit of work but as you start to research properties and frequent the courthouse to look up properties, foreclosures, tax lien/deed sales and find out about actions. I know a lot of this work can be done on the computer but remember the key is to build relationships. When the folks at the courthouse see you on a regular basis and become familiar with what you do and what your looking for, if your friendly and cordial someone will begin to share information with you. Remember, be kind and do something nice for someone that sows into your life. Example, bring in donuts for the office one morning, or ask if they have a coffee pot in the break room and buy 2 big cans of coffee for the office, do stuff to make yourself stand out and most people will be willing to share on a regular basis, don't forget to leave your business cards at the office, there are a lot of real estate investors that regularly come to the courthouse for leads.#4 another good lead is bankers, Now I'm sure most of you have bank accounts and have banked with the same institution for years. This is an established relationship. Go in and talk to the branch manager and tell them what you do, how long you have been with the bank and tell them you are going to be making a lot of money thur real estate and you will soon be opening up a business checking account after some of your deals close. Tell them you are also interested in acquiring bank owned properties at deep discounts and do they have any properties available, if not get a name, phone number and e-mail address of someone you can get in contact with and don't for get to obtain all the contact information of the person who referred you! The referral will give you some credibility. Send a thank you note back to the branch manager detailing the excellent service you got and make the employees shine, this will go along way in your relationship with the bank. The point I am trying to make is you will not survive in this business if you do not network and get out there and talk with people! No one will bring you business if they don't know WHO you are and WHAT services you offer!

 In order to find a good commercial / residential deals there are several things that you as an investor should be doing in order to make things happen. First, you have to act! Get out of your comfort zone and start talking to people who are actively working in real estate. You are going to need information about your local market in order to successfully work in your market. Information such as the median price of residential/commercial properties, number of foreclosures in the area, recent home sales and listings, average price of rents for residential properties, as well as the average amounts of money commanded for office leases, these are some of the questions you will want answered. Why, because this type of information allows you to assess the needs in your community and also allows you to negotiate with power because you have researched and studied your niche. No one wants to deal with a “so called” investor who does not know what he/she is talking about. So, a lot of the investigation work that you will be doing requires you to ask a lot of questions about your market. You can start with talking to other investors. Once you start advertising your deals other investors will contact you either to purchase your deal, or to see if you are interested in their deals. Take the time to find out what the popular areas are, where are families buying homes at, what areas are investors buying in, what price ranges are people ( meaning renters, retail buyers and investors) spending their money in? are there any new projects such as new developments like strip malls, new subdivisions or new businesses coming to a certain areas that will increase the value of surrounding properties. If you know the answer to these types of questions you WILL NOT loose money, make bad offers or get involved in bad deals.

Most important get contact information from other investors and buyers to add to your buyers list for future deals. This allows you to organize your information so that when leads come in you have a list of buyers ready to pounce on your great deals and as you automate the process this part of your business becomes less time consuming. Why? Because you are able to send out information about properties thur e-mail to large groups of people which frees up your time and calls for only serious individuals to contact you. If you do not get the information you are looking for ask the investor “ Do you know some one who is actively buying/selling commercial/ residential property that I might be able to talk with?” Most likely, if you carry yourself in a professional manner you will get the information you ask for. Realtors are another excellent source of information because they have access to property sells as well. Also, If REO's, foreclosures, and hud properties become available, some have access to commercial/ residential deals before they are listed on the MLS which gives you the upper hand because you can get access to those properties before anyone else knows about them. Another good source of information is other business partners.As you will soon learn, RE investing is a big network you wont be able to know everything and thats why it is important to have business partners with different specialties because, what you don't know, they can quick educate you on in a non-judgemental way and you can focus on what YOUR strengths are and in the future you will be able to reciprocate the favor as you become more educated in your niche allowing you to add value to others. This allows your team to work together more efficiently to get large volumes of sales done. If you are not in the position to yet have business partners then as you build your power team you will be able to consult with those friends/ professionals who can guide you to make informed decisions. This is why it is important to start building relationships with others in the field. It's very difficult to ask someone for assistance who does not know you are your capabilities. Other professionals and investors in the field need to see you follow through on your promises and see you as a serious investor, if you don't you will destroy your reputation before you get started. However, if you are assisting others in their businessness, and adding value to others it wont be hard to get the help you need and the information you are seeking!

My heart still hurts, and sometimes when I’m intensely focused and lost in a business project, my mind snaps back from wherever it goes that creative ideas come from….and I find that my eyes are literally filled with tears against my will.

Why? It’s a bit humbling to know that when I go to sleep tonight in comfort, and this very night, if you go to sleep in your comfortable bed, after a warm and filling meal, with a roof over your head, an automobile parked in the garage, and clean drinking water you can get to whenever your heart desires...at the SAME time, not far away in this ever-shrinking, yet always-expanding global community we live in today….

a child of Haiti , a mother of Haiti , a husband of Haiti, are still in distress, worried about having a place to sleep, something to eat , clean drinking water, and medicine they so desperately need, without hope, hurting, scared, and uncertain about the safety of their loved ones or what their future holds.

If you have not yet donated to support the Haiti disaster relief, which STILL needs every help we can muster, please take a few moments to review some options available to do so here:

http://www.Smiles4Haiti.com

Have you ever had that feeling of ‘being lost’ or ‘without hope’? I’m sure, at one point in your life, most of us can relate to the feeling where all seemed lost, and that you were unable to change your situation, that it was HOPELESS. Can you remember that feeling? Now if you can, I humbly ask that you try to put yourself in the position of one of our brothers and sisters in Haiti.

The media may have forgotten about them.

There’s always a scandal in Hollywood or Washington that’s considered more ‘newsworthy’ than real human beings, in real need, who need real help TODAY.

I’d like to ask you to imagine this in your mind: YOUR wife, YOUR child, YOUR father…something has tried to hurt them. If you had in your power to stop the suffering, would you act?

I’m sure your immediate answer would be, without a question, YES!

It is strange sometimes how if the suffering is not directly in front of us, or we give a little money, or a lot of money, we think that we have done our part: ‘do not ask me for another dime, I need it’ , ‘I already gave to that’ , ‘God helps those who help themselves’, ‘I can’t make any difference alone’….these are the words that we use , telling the world and ourselves why we support causes, or how we already did our part.

But have we really done our part? Have we really given our full awareness of the situation? Just think if it was your family, you would pull all the resources that you have access to, and do your best to stop the suffering.

I confess…I gave. I spread the word a little.

But I have NOT done everything in my power to help.

I was ‘too busy’. ‘Too focused on my business’. Too ‘unsure what difference the money I sent would make, and not convinced sending more would even make an impact in such a monumental disaster’.

What about you?

Do You Feel Like You have (already) Done Your Part in helping Haiti?

Here is some information our team has compiled on current needs, and a list of charities that we've been able to verify as being completely ethical like Habitat for Humanity, World Concerns, and AmeriCares.

http://www.Smiles4Haiti.com

People are still sleeping in the streets, still hungry, without access to basic human needs we often take for granted…still needing your help and mine.

Please help me, and help them, and help our community help them. If you have not done so, or even if you have, please consider to give what help you can…today.

In my mind, the need is greater now than it was just after it happened…

Committed to (with YOUR help) Help Haiti SMILE Again

Tonya Stanley-Berry

Together with Rick Melero, Danny Welch, HIS Board of Advisors, and the team with RealDealCommunity.com

P.S. Trust me: You can sleep better at night by helping some of these folks do the same… I was ‘too busy’. ‘Too focused on my business’. ‘Unsure what difference the money I sent would make, and not convinced sending more would even make an impact’. Now, I know, it doesn’t matter. I’ve tossed and turned enough. I have power to help. It’s the right thing to do.

P.P.S. Want to help but have little money? Got time? In 5 minutes you can “copy and paste” to re-post the message below to 25 friends on social media quite easily, at no cost, and perhaps help bring in thousands of dollars to the relief effort. How many lives might your *5 minute* gift touch? Will you do it?

 When looking for properties and motivated sellers you have to think out of the box, sometimes the craziest ideas are the keys to unlocking your creativity which brings in cash. However, like my mother used to say “Child all money aint good money”! Meaning financial gain in a dishonest way will bring you trouble. Remember, your goal is to assist homeowners/commercial property owners in getting out of a bad situation by offering them something of value. If you cannot do that then you are in essence taking advantage of clients in difficult situations. As you get out in the community and start networking and marketing, you will eventually work with other investors by partnering in on deals and sending each other deals. As investors we are always looking for win-win situations, so our motives and integrity must always be intact. If you can put yourself in your clients position and imagine how he/she is feeling you will do the very best you can to come up with some good options that can help the families that you come in contact with. Now, how do you find these people that need your services? Most of these marketing techniques are common knowledge for seasoned investors but if you are new to real estate investing then some of the strategies may be unfamiliar to you. These are traditional ways of locating buyers and sellers, so as you advertise you need to have two list, one for buyers/investors and one for sellers. In my previous blog I talked about setting up your business to present yourself in a professional manner. So , you should now have your business cards, postcards, website, cellphone/ phone and your all-in-one fax machine. Let's get into details about my “Looking For Loot” strategies.First, You will need bandit signs. I know you have seen them, they are the signs on the side of the road that says “we buy houses” or “rehab special 3br/2ba, must see”. These signs DO WORK! When I started out I bought professionally printed signs and put them out with my cell phone number on it! Well, check your city ordinance because you can be fined for these signs thats why you need a 1800number on your bandit signs, they are more difficult to locate the owner of the sign. I had an investor friend call me and tell me that the police called her number on the sign to tell her to take down her signs or she would get a fine. I'm not telling you this to scare you but to have you use your resources wisely and not get yourself into trouble. The homemade signs written in black marker are more effective, you don't come across as some big company looking to scam someone out of their home. You can strategically place these signs at stop lights and exit ramps, busy corners and intersections for high visibility. Tip#1! To help build you list of buyers every time you see a bandit sign for “we buy houses” or rehab special write the phone number down and keep a running list most likely these are other investors who are buying and selling properties. You want to call the number and say Hello maam/sir, my name is Tonya I saw your sign about a property for sell. Can you give me more details please, Are you a local investor? Where do you like to buy properties at ( get areas of town or Zip codes) Do you have an e-mail address where I can contact you. I'm a local investor as well and if I see any properties that you might be interested in, I would love to assist your business, would you be interested in that? That is a good was to build a buyers list of local investors. Tip #2, I have an advertisement on my back window in large letters that says “we buy houses” along with my cell phone number. I have had people wave me down, talk to me at stop lights, follow me into a gas stations or the grocery store parking lot to talk to me about buying their home and I have also been stopped by people in the business such as contractors, re property managers, an accountant, investors and others willing to do business with me. I pulled out a business card from my armrest and began to make connections. If you don't want an advertisement in the back of your car window you can have signs made that are magnets to stick on your door they come right off. This is s good conversation piece, I have gotten a lot of calls due to my car and people have left business cards on my windshield. This one is worth it and there is no risk of a fine because your promoting your business with your property! You always want ongoing advertising and you want people to ask you about your business. Tip#3, get a few tee-shirts and hats made that has we buy houses and have your friend and family wear your tee-shirts/hats to promote your business give them business cards and ask them to carry them so whempeople ask about the shirt they can get a business card as well. Make sure your contact number is on the tee shirt/hat, and make sure your advertisers are willing to talk about you and your business nothing is as good as word of mouth promotion. Buyers and sellers alike will comment and ask questions because it is not common to see people promote a rei business with a tee-shirt or a hat!.Make sure your models get some contact info, just a name and a phone# is all you need.Tip #4, look for your FSBO (for sale buy owner)advertisements while driving, on the Internet, Google fsbo and in the newspaper (Sunday is usually the best) look under homes for sale/fsbo. Call these people! These are leads. Most of the time people selling their own home had the home listed with an agent and it did not sell or they do not want to pay realtor commissions. Either way, call, find out the owners situation, you will be able to tell quickly if they are truly motivated sellers are not. If not, don't waste your time you do not have to beg to sell someones home because YOU are offering a valuable service you will find motivated sellers you just have to do some investigation and some work. If the person is not motivated at this time give them your contact information and follow up in 1 mo, either they have sold the house or is still looking for assistance, situations do change! Tell the person to call you if they change their mind, or even have a question. If the person advertised an address send a postcard to the address “we buy houses”( that you already ordered) and say; Thank you for taking the time to speak with me if your situation changes or I can be of help call me, your contact info should already be preprinted on your postcard. I have heard stories of homeowners holding onto a postcard for as long as a year before calling and becoming a motivated seller!Sometimes fsbo's are investors trying to sell a rehabbed property, if it is an investor, add them to your buyers list and go over the questions we discussed earlier in this article.Tip #5, Now this is a hidden jewel that an investor taught me, look at houses FOR RENT. Sometimes these are motivated sellers because they have attempted to sell the property without much luck so the only way to keep from going under or maybe keep from paying 2 mortgages is to rent the property out, or it could be a cash flowing property you don't know so you need to call. When you call this type of a property advertisement you can do 2 things. One, call and say hello, I'm calling about your property for sale at... and give the address, the owner will either say quickly its not for sale I'm renting this property, or there will be a pause and they may say well I've had the property listed but it did not sale or it was on the market for 2 years! I could not sell it! There you go, can you say MOTIVATED!! The second thing you can do is set up an appointment to see the property go thur it talk with the owner and say; you know this is a beautiful property have you tried to sell it instead of renting it out! I know it can be a lot of headaches dealing with renters and having someone possibly destroy your property. Let the owner talk, find out his story and see if he is motivated, now here's the good part! In your purse or a notebook you will be carrying, have you contract and 2 crisp, listen CRISP 50 dollar bills, don't pull the money out just yet start negotiating, tell the owner your interested get them to give you an offer, put $50.00 on the table pause, see what they do, if they look puzzled or unsure lay one more $50.00 on the table, if they are motivated they will sign the contract! If not leave your business card and thank them for their time. I guarantee you, you will leave an impression. Tip #6, go to any real estate website Huff for example put in your zip code, look for properties under $10,000 and call a realtor with that property listing. Now, this is a bit of work but this is how you build relationships, call the realtor,tell them you are a REI, set up an appointment to see the house while you are there get a feel for the person and see if you have a connection. If you feel comfortable ask the realtor what other properties he has and ask do you have any REO's that come across your desk before they are listed? I would like to do business with you in the future and you would be able to get your full co mmission! Then ask is it o.k for me to recommend you to my investor friends as well? Now you have a realtor that can run comparables for you, and give you access to cheap homes before they are listed! Now, that's hot. Tip #7, Join a community of like minded individuals such as your local real estate investment association, here you can make friends, network, ask questions, and maybe even sell your deals! Join an online network of investors such as RealDealCommunity.com where you can join educational groups, and make friends and find additional assistance with your RE connections and also promote and post you deals. I hope this was helpful.

 One of the biggest questions I get from people who are interested in starting a career in real estate is “How do you get started”? Well if your are serious about starting your real estate investment career then your first step is to start taking action without excuses and have a fierce determination for success. There are several inexpensive tools that will help you build your business quickly as an investor and give you some credibility in the community if you want to start out on the right foot and have clients and other investors respect you and your business. Here are some of the basic items that are necessary for your success: business cards, post cards, website, phone/cell phone and an all-in-one fax machine. These are simple inexpensive items to help you in your business. You should ALWAYS have your business cards with you at all times, keep a few in you wallet or purse, your car and a locker or desk at work. There is nothing worse than someone asking you for your contact information and you have to write it down on a piece of scrap paper and on top of that you have nothing to write with! Post cards are going to come in handy when you start marketing for leads so the best time to order postcards is when you get your business cards because you can make all your marketing pieces match and you get a discount when you order in bulk. A website is now common if you own a business, most people who are looking for professionals to buy/sell their home will want to go to your website to see if you are legit and this is a good place to send prospects so that you can obtain their contact information and gather information about the properties they are interested in selling. You can also have buyers and investors go to your website to put in information about the types of properties they invest in and the areas they buy properties in, this is called building you buyers list which is the key to making money in this field. Now a tip for the business cards, postcards, and website. VistaPrint.com. Always has specials running especially for new customers. They will put a package deal together for you and include everything you need and each time you reorder they give nice discounts. Vista print did my package for under $500.00 including my website and hosting, I just pay a yearly fee for the website and my domain. Also when starting out pick a professional name that reflects something related to real estate. For example, your company name might be, Neighborhood Real Estate Service LLC. So match that with your website and domain name, ex. Neighborhoodrealestateservices.com, e-mail John@neighborhoodreservices.com well you get the picture, professional image is important, this is what helps to establish trust. You will also need an all-in-one fax machine which is able to copy, scan, print, and fax. Very important especially with e-mail some companies want their documents e-mailed to them and you have to be able to scan the document prior to e-mailing it. So the all-in-one allows you more flexibility when communicating with other businesses and clients. The more versatile and flexible you are the more needs you are able to meet which equals more business and repeat business for you and this helps your credibility. I went to Walmart and purchased a name brand all-in-one which has been very helpful to my business. Also you can do pictures with this type of fax machine which is nice if you take before and after pictures of a property that you have done work on. You can put it in a scrap book to show clients some of the work you have done and homes bought or sold. Now, about the phone. A lot of new investors are afraid to talk to clients/homeowners. You have to start talking with people in order to get out of your comfort zone. I would recommend two phone numbers one, a cell phone and second a 1-800 number and here is why. You will always have your cell phone with you, if you give you home phone you may miss important calls when your out and about. If you don't want to give you personal cell phone number buy a second cell phone that is dedicated just for business. Example, Cricket has a service you buy their cell phone and it cost $60.00 a month for unlimited calling, long distance and texting. Use that as a business line. You also want to set up a 1800# or a vanity # like 1800sellnow.You can prerecord certain messages that will go into different mailboxes so when someone calls they can select a number, leave a message and you can be e-mail, texted, or calls can be rerouted to you immediately, if you want to get elaborate you can have an answering service take your calls ask the client screening questions that you have wrote out and the answers can be e-mailed or texed to you before you even speak to the client/investor.However, if you are new to investing I suggest you talk to clients so you can get used to it. The 1800 # will go on your bandit signs and I will explain why in another blog. When these phone calls start coming in you HAVE TO talk to these clients thats why you are marketing to get leads and close deals. Most people that call you will call several other investors as well because they are usually in a desperate situation. Whoever answers the phone gets the client. Look at this way if you don't talk to customers you don't close any deals and you don't make any money. If you are concerned about what to say are what to ask., I suggest reading a few real estate books, about how to talk to homeowners and what kind of info you should be obtaining from them to negotiate a good deal. Write a script out and make copies so that you can fill in pertinent information about the property, the homeowner and why he/she wants to sell. This will tell you if the individual is truly motivated. These are just a few tips to help get you going. In my next blog I will talk about find good leads and properties.

 

In my last blog I talked about finding your niche and getting started! So many of you are probably feeling like I felt when I was deciding on an area to specialize in. This can be very overwhelming,there are so many choices to pick from and how do you pick the right niche for yourself ? Well first off you have to have a passion or a desire for the area you decide to specialize in. If there is no excitement or Interest in that particular niche don't waste your time because you are not going to focus or spend your time educating yourself in an area that does not really command your attention. When I was deciding on what areas to pick I thought about a few things. What were my intentions when I acquired the property ? What areas in my community had a great need that I was able to fill? Would I be able to dominate my market in this particular niche? Who could I talk to locally that would be able to tell me about my local market conditions and project if there was truly a need in my area of interest. One of the suggestions that was given to me was to make a decision on my specialty, choose at least two areas, get educated about those 2 areas I picked and then learn how to meet a need thus dominating that market and becoming an expert in that niche.First, I knew that I wanted to do commercial real estate full time. One focus would be apartment buildings. Now, I did not want to be fooling around with no small buildings I wanted to focus in on 20 units or more. Before I was a home owner and I lived in several different apartments I knew what I DID NOT want my buildings to be/look like. I envisioned large open spaces with cream colored walls, on site maintenance, pools, huge laundry facilities with multiple washers & dryers, security or locked entrance ways, exercise rooms, a family atmosphere, and a efficient management team that would keep my buildings running like a fine tuned machine. Now, in reality I know you can only control certain factors but that was my dream to provide an excellent environment to live in, in a decent/ safe area, with good tenants who would respect my property and I in return would respect them by being a top notched owner. When people realized that I was the property owner that alone would be enough to cause someone to want to live in one of my properties. My second focus would be Class A office buildings that catered to a more upscale clientel. My intention was to draw medical professional to my buildings such as Doctors, dentist, chiropractors, Nursing agencies, on call centers for medical specialties and the like, of course my buildings would be available to tenants that were able to pay the rent not just medical professionals but my goal is to set the standard in my community of what a nice medical office would and should look like. The reasons why I wanted to cater to the medical community is because I am a Register Nurse and I have seen some not so pretty surrounding in which medical professions have had to render care and that disturbed me. With my niches now selected the next bit of advice I was given was to go to my local REI group meetings and start networking and finding out who the players were in my market and get acquainted with some of these people. While consistently attending meeting and giving out my business card and collecting business cards. I thought it would be a good idea to start driving around and identifying potential properties that I could start looking at and analyzing to see what was really going on in my market. One, thing I have learned thus far when you network follow up and do something that will stand out in the other persons mind so that they will remember you. So when the time comes for you to connect with those you have networked with you will have made a lasting impression. So to sum this all up, thus far I have selected my 2 niches and explained why I choose those particular areas. Two, I have started the networking process in my area and with consistency I am making my presence and needs/desires know to other investors. Also there are other people you can begin to network with such as Real estate agents, brokers, or anyone involved in anyway with real estate Three, I have begun to look at properties and determine what areas I am willing to buy in and the potential for growth. In my next blog I will be talking more in depth about what/ why/ and how to analyze the property you are looking at . What do you need to pay attention to before you enter into a contract and how do you know you truly have a good deal!

Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Tonya Stanley-Berry is a 42 year old wife, and a motherof 3 sons ages 7,15, & 18. Her family currently reside in Greentownship. Tonya has always had a passion for real estate and has decided to aggressively pursue her dreams. With a an affinity to commercial real estate, her focus is geared towards large apartment communities with all the amenities and she is also wanting to deal with office buildings that are class A type that will cater to the medical community. Currently, Tonya has and Associates Degree and a Bachelors of Science inNursing and is working as an RN at Drake Hospital. She also works as a Real Estate Investor in the Cincinnati, Ohio market. Tonya is an advocate for those who are unable to speak for themselves the indigent community. While working as a nurse she saw a way to combine her love for nursing and real estate by looking to purchase properties that could provide an atmosphere for her patients that was conducive to health and healing. That is when she recognized that there was a great need for beautiful, spacious, clean facilities/buildings for ethoses recovering from illness. Also, she saw a need for doctors to be able to practice and have offices that were up-to-date and accessible to their clients. Recently, because of her determination and drive for success, Tonya has partnered with 23 other real estateinvestors and entrepreneurs across the United States (1 investor in Singapore), to put our resources, ideas,and energies to work to provide a cohesive network of investors that are focused on meeting the needs of their communities thur fair priced, beautiful, well managed real estate. With a fast paced schedule, Tonya has proven that she has a strong work ethic and is honest, dependable, well organized and committed to helping her community. She will work hard for you and negotiate the best deal possible for your real estate transactions to provide a win-win situation especially for you. Tonya is the owner/operator of TSB Real Estate Solutions in Cincinnati, Ohio and you can reach her through her websitecash4urhomenow.com