Archive for May, 2009

Hey y’all! I just came back from my first official swimming lesson.

While at the water, I realized 2 incredible lessons I could share to newbie real estate investors about getting started in the real estate investing business. I can’t believe I didn’t realize this before.

First let me tell you how my lessons went and then I’ll tell you how it relates to real estate:

The first part of my training was not to swim at all.

It was simply to breathe in above water and breathe out under.

This made me realize that I wasn’t supposed to hold my breath in the water like I’ve thought all these years. I found out that it’s okay to breathe out in the water.

And as I held my breath with my head in the water for as long as I can, I realized “Hey, my body is floating and not sinking like I thought was supposed to happen.”

Then after breathing in and out and putting my head above and below water for about 100 times, that’s when I actually started to learn how to swim.

I kept doing it and did it faster and faster until it became almost instinctive.

Taking this lesson to real estate investing, the first part of learning about this business shouldn’t be immediately about “how to’s” and the “strategies”. Instead, it’s to learn to breathe naturally.

Let me be clearer.

LESSON #1: Learn How To Talk To Sellers In A Very Natural Way

A lot of newbie investors are terrified at the prospect of talking to sellers or buyers or to anyone.

The trick is actually to simply call them and talk.

Ask them about their house for sale with no motive of trying to get a deal.

Simply try to find out what kind of a house it is and why they’re selling it. No need for scripts or complicated things that you think you have to remember to ask.

Just ask whatever you want. Just say “Hi” and then say “Bye” if you want to.

The idea is to “get comfortable in the water” by learning how to “breathe in and out” of it.

So from now on, the first part of any newbie training should simply be to get rid of the initial apprehension of talking to clients.

First skill to be taught and mastered is going to be nothing more than goal setting and calling sellers for fun with no seller questionnaire.

Just makes calls until you’re comfortable.

The second part of my swimming lesson has more to do with actual swimming.

I had to try to swim without using my arms.

The instructor asked me to simply put my arms above my head in the water and kick my legs.

Not frantically but relaxed.

The instructor said it’s okay to do big kicks and to splash the water.

I’ve always thought it’s “taboo” to splash the water but now I know it’s fine.

The purpose is to learn how to kick naturally using your thigh and not your lower leg.

After doing that for a few moments, it was time to do both of those things at the same time.

Breathe above and below the water 20 times and then swim across the pool and then breath above and below the water 20 times and swim back. Over and over for 5 laps.

I wasn’t able to hold my breath for that long so I stood up in the middle of the pool from time to time just to breathe and then continue.

So taking this back to real estate investing:

LESSON #2: Try To Get The Information You Need

Once you’re familiar and comfortable picking up the phone and talking to clients, it’s time to get more specific details about them and the property their selling.

You can use a questionnaire (I provide questionnaires to students) or a checklist so you can be sure you’re getting every single bit of information you think you need.

Here are some questions you may list down as a regular part of your checklist or questionnaire:

1. Seller’s name
2. Phone number
3. Email
4. House Description
5. Does the house need any repairs?
6. Foundation problems?
7. Electrical problems?
8. Plumbing problems?
9. Mold?
10. Repair estimate
11. Why are you selling?
12. How long has it been for sale?
13. Why do you think it hasn’t been sold?
14. Is it Vacant / Rented / Owner-Occupied?
15. Moving Date
16. If I were to pay you all cash and close quickly, what’s the least you would accept for the property?

Again, the idea here is not to immediately land a deal or anything like that.

It is to become comfortable with the process.

Once you gain relative confidence in talking to prospects and at the same time, you begin to refine your checklist of property info or your questionnaire, you become more and more comfortable doing it and as such the entire goal of making phone calls become a lot clearer.

You also begin to come across to your prospects over the phone as someone who knows what he’s doing.

Moreover, this creates more opportunities for you to create rapport with your prospect which makes arriving at a deal a whole lot easier.

Again, as usual, practice makes perfect.

So remember, if you’re a real estate investing newbie (or even if you’re a veteran as there still are some veterans who dread phone conversations with prospects), “breathe naturally” and “swim relaxed”.

That’s it folks, and till next post.

DoDeals SignUp

Check Out This Video to find out the *cheapest* way
to go house-hunting – not to mention the easiest way
to do it.

Sometimes, mere pictures of properties just ain’t gonna
cut it. You need to get a chance to look at the house
with your own 2 eyes and look around the neighborhood
as well.

You need to go house-hunting.

Problem is, when you go house hunting, you invest time,
money, energy and sometimes even your emotional wellbeing
and your life…

This is especially true if you’re living on your last buck
and your last tankful of gas and your next meal along
with the continuity of your existence on earth depends
on you getting a deal out of your house-hunting trip.

Okay, that may sound a bit too melodramatic, but I’m
sure you get the drift.

This Short Video is going to teach you how you can
go house-hunting without leaving the comfort of your
own house – SERIOUSLY!

So after watching this video, make sure to go give it a
test drive.

Talk soon.

Tim Mai

In order to invest profitably in the pre-foreclosure market, it’s necessary to understand all aspects of the foreclosure process and how to operate in each of the stages within that process. It’s also necessary to understand what options are available to homeowners so you can see the process through their eyes and help them to make the best decision possible as well as the best one for yourself.

Let’s start by looking at the three stages of foreclosure—pre-foreclosure, foreclosure and real estate owned (REO or OREO). As an investor, you can operate in any three of these stages, but, as you’ll see, the pre-foreclosure stage offers the greatest profit opportunities and the least amount of hassles.

The Pre-Foreclosure Stage

As you learned in the introduction to this blog, a pre-foreclosure sale takes place between the time when the lender files suit and when the property is scheduled to be sold at a public foreclosure action or a trustee’s sale. Here’s an overview of the benefits of buying pre-foreclosure properties so you can contrast them with the disadvantages of the foreclosure and REO stages.

The Foreclosure Stage

When institutions (banks, lenders, etc.) lend money to individuals for the purchase of a home or other property, they naturally expect to be paid back. They’re in the business of lending money to make a profit. When borrowers (mortgagors) fail to meet their mortgage obligations, lenders want the property returned so they can re-sell it to others for a profit or at least reduce their losses. They regain the property through the foreclosure process.

Benefits of Pre-Foreclosure

• Deep discounts
• Greater profits
• Ability to research inspect property/more accurate value estimates
• Ability to avoid the potentially expensive bidding process
• Ability to structure sales agreements in a creative fashion
• Less hassle from third parties (lenders, etc.)

The potential for minimum cash outlay

Of course, both mortgagors and lenders will do their utmost to work out an agreement that will allow people to keep their homes and the lender to keep receiving payments. In addition, neither the mortgagors nor the lenders want the legal complications of the foreclosure process. Unfortunately for them—but fortunately for you!—they can’t always work out an agreement, and the lenders have to initiate foreclosure proceedings.

So, how is the foreclosure process begun and what’s involved in it? It’s important for you to be aware that every state and county has different rules and regulations that you’ll need to learn well. Otherwise, you may miss something or make a mistake than can cost you money. However, in general, every state within the U.S. uses one of two types of foreclosure—judicial and non-judicial.