Boomer’s Blog

A huge, largely underestimated and under-reported glut of foreclosed, real estate owned (REO) inventory is clogging up the U.S. housing market, and the majority of doesn’t seem to appear on the MLS. The size of this “ghost inventory” is unknown, but its effects cold be chilling for cash-strapped lenders. What does this mean to real estate investors? Tons of cash if you know how to buy right and stay on top of the real estate marketing curve.

Inventories, Foreclosure Filings Skyrocket
In November, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported an 11.2-month inventory of existing homes on the market, up from a 10.3-month in October. But now it seems those sky-high numbers statistics could continue rising dramatically, which is likely to lower home sales prices, and slow overall U.S. economic recovery.

Foreclosure filings were reported on 2.3 million U.S. properties in 2008, and an 81 percent hike from 2007, and a whopping 225 percent surge from 2006, according to RealtyTrac’s U.S. Foreclosure Market Report released in mid-January.

These inventory and foreclosure statistics are interesting enough to raise a few eyebrows among hungry real estate investors. But when RealtyTrac compared NAR’s MLS data with its foreclosure data they raised more than a few eyebrows: they raised the question of whether a vast “ghost inventory” is lingering in REO lender clutches, and if so, is it poised to deliver another hard blow to the U.S. housing market?

Piecing together the “Ghost Inventory” Puzzle
RealtyTrac recently examined the MLS listings in four states, including California, Maryland, Florida and Wisconsin, and found that they contained only a third of the foreclosures it has in its database. Research and analysis by Mr. Mortgage points to an even more widespread problem. There are several possible reasons for this apparent disparity and none of them are good for lenders.

At a minimum, preliminary data suggest that only one-third of foreclosures are reaching the MLS database, and it’s entirely likely that this is a conservative estimate.

The value of REO property on the books of FDIC-insured banks at the end of the Q3  rose 21 percent from the previous quarter, to $23 billion. That total represents a 134 percent increase over last year, according to the latest quarterly report released by the FDIC.

Since there is no reliable way to track these data and existing systems are likely overwhelmed by the high volumes of foreclosures working their way through the system, all we have at this point are estimates as to the number of houses that are haunting  REO’s “ghost” or “shadow”  inventory, as it also is coming to be known.

According to CNNMoney, current U.S. housing market declines are likely to sharpen dramatically as a result of this situation because so many foreclosed homes are lingering in bank possession without representation in the MLS.  Regardless of how the government and lenders approach the problem, averting a tidal wave of foreclosures appears to be impossible.

What’s the Holdup?
What could explain this Grand Canyon-sized gap between the numbers of foreclosures that are recorded vs. the number that has appeared on the MLS? Here are a few explanations that immediately come to mind:

• Inventories of foreclosed and REO properties has grown so fast and in such high volumes that the banks can’t keep up with processing demands, which could delay the MLS listing process.
• Federal and state government attempts to slow the foreclosure tide and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s holiday moratoria on foreclosures are contributing to MLS listing delays for many of these properties.
• Because it’s taking longer to process the foreclosures, the REO properties are getting vandalized or suffering natural damage as a result of what’s becoming long-term neglect. Getting these properties on the MLS is further delayed while banks grapple with making necessary repairs.
• It’s also possible that lenders are lagging in submitting these distressed property listings to the MLS in hopes of deferring their losses as long as possible in hopes of protecting their institutions from insolubility.
• Many of these REO properties might already be listed as short sales.

What does the Ghost Inventory Mean to Your Business?
REO housing inventories are expected to shatter more records in 2009 as more of them hit the market and banks continue their struggle to stay afloat. These market conditions are ideal for real estate investors who deploy sound purchasing strategies and stay on top of the game with effective real estate marketing.

For a quick  video detailing how and why this “ghost inventory” is likely to unleash a mighty wave of foreclosure inventory on the U.S. Housing market, check out this Mr. Mortgage interview on CNBC’s Faber Report.

SalesTeamLive Tows Your REI Bottom Line
As housing markets evolve, so must your marketing strategies. If you want your business to thrive, especially in a challenging economic landscape, you’ve got to set your priorities. If marketing doesn’t top your list, you’re cramping your growth and potential for profits in this business.
If you’re looking for cost-effective strategies that are designed to conquer today’s markets and build a stronger future for this business, SalesTeamLive’s Done-for-You marketing campaigns deliver results you can bank on.

To learn how you can leverage quick-fire market developments such as the REO “Ghost Inventory” to generate tons of cash for your real estate investing business, check out SalesTeamLive or call us directly at 1-877-STL1 (that’s 877-438-7851).

In your mind’s eye, pile up all the money you made last year on your dining room table. Take a long, hard look at it and think of all the hard work you put into building that pile. Just enjoy the vision of your accomplishments, and try not to not think about the chunk that’s going out for taxes.

Now ask yourself, and answer honestly: Are you following up on your warm leads?

Whatever amount of money you made last year, if you’re not following up on your warm leads, you might as well take half of it out to the BBQ and set it on fire. Sound crazy? Consider the facts.

Only 2 percent of deals take place after your first conversation with a prospect. The remaining 98 percent of real estate sales transactions take place after a dozen or so contacts with once warm and even some cool conversations with prospects.

More than ever before, this detail is critical to meeting the challenges of today’s rapidly changing real estate markets. Why? There are nearly as many reasons as there are absurd corporate bonuses being doled out on Wall Street. But for many real estate investors, the reasons are glaring in the recent headlines.

Real estate research and analysis firm HousingPredictor.com predicts that U.S.  housing prices will slip as much as 12.5 percent this year, compared to last year’s estimated 11 percent nosedive.

Even homeowners with equity are starting to feel the pain amid unemployment surges and credit market constrictions. For many, cost of living hikes are their only regular source of cardiac exercise.

And as we know, folks looking to downsize and rebuild their nest eggs after Wall Street’s collapse last year are finding that their homes are staying on the market like so many jars of tainted peanut butter.

Given these crushing variables, once-optimistic sellers who scoffed at your presentation even as recently as few months ago may be ready to roll out the red carpet if you can get them out of the red.

If you’re not following up on warm leads, you’re missing out on 80 percent of your deal potential. Think about it, if you’re just focusing on the 20 percent that your business’ front end brings to your plate, you’re throwing away $4 for every $1 you make.

The writing’s on the wall and by now, the song should be playing in your head: The real estate times they are a changin’.

Not too long ago, it seems that a real estate investor worth his or her weight in bandit signs couldn’t jiggle a lock box without finding a killer deal. The deals are still out there, but nailing them down may require a change in perspective, some new best practices and an action plan that meets current market demands.

Your solution could  be as simple as  a little yellow real estate marketing postcard — and you don’t even have to lick a stamp!

Ponder that. And if you’re interested in all the details that  easily can add $100,000 to your table in 2009, join us here at GaryBoomershine.

Just sign in using the yellow fields on the right side of this page or on the main page at GaryBoomershine.com and you’ll get access to the information you need to refine your approach and maximize your resources on the road to extreme real estate investing profits. Act soon and you’ll get your copy of my monthly report exclusively for real estate investors.

A recent conversation with my friend Dan Doran reminded me of the quintessential real estate movie of all time: “Glengarry Glen Ross.” For those who are too young (or too old) to remember it, the 1992 movie was based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning play written by David Mamet.

In 1984, when Mamet wrote about a cut-throat, all-male real estate sales team working out of a dingy office and living on watered down booze and stale Chinese takeout, fallout from the “worst recession since the 1930s” gripped the United States economy — and the American psyche.

In many ways, the social, economic and political climate that led Mamet to write “Glengarry Glen Ross” easily can be compared to the many crises we’re currently seeing in the news– and in some of our financial accounts. Then, like now, banks were closing, the Fed was accused of sleeping at the wheel, unemployment rates soared, corporate corruption littered the headlines and real estate was in a major downturn.

The “World of Men” depicted in the movie includes Alan Arkin, Alec Baldwin, Ed Harris, Jack Lemmon, Al Pacino and Kevin Spacey. The focus was on their ability to close on real estate deals as though their lives depended on it. And indeed, they did.

When I first saw this movie, I was a little green in the business and it blew me away. Nearly two decades later, I’m still drawing upon its bare-knuckles illumination of real estate marketing and sales in the trenches.

There’s one classic scene that captures the essence of the real estate deal in a way that no other real estate boot camp, course, book video or coaching call can touch. And thanks to YouTube, I can offer it to you here. Please, only watch it if you’re not offended by a little salty language. (And by that, I mean a seemingly endless string of obscenities peppered with awesome wisdom on the fundamentals of survival in the real estate business.)

WARNING: This Clip Contains Obscene Language — Even By Today’s Standards.

(According to one source, actors in the movie deploy approximately 150 F-Bombs and 50 S-Bombs.) Please only view it if you’ll not be offended by the wanton use of words that beg for a bleep — or possibly if you have teenagers living in your house.

As Blake (played by Alec Baldwin) so vividly illustrates in the clip, the keys to success in the real estate can be distilled into two mnemonics:

AIDA

• A - Attention
• I - Interest
• D - Decision
• A - Action

ABC

• A - Always
• B - Be
• C - Closing

They’re deceptively simple to read, but can be brutal to implement because in real estate, as in life, the devil is in the details.

In my next post, I’ll take a candid look of one of the mission critical details that 99 percent of all real estate investors overlook in our real estate marketing. There’s one simple quick and inexpensive action you cantake to increase your income by $100,000 or more this year. Can you guess what it is?  Stay tuned and find out.

And while you’re here, be sure to become a member of GaryBoomershine.com. Just sign in using the yellow fields on the right side of this page, or on the main page at GaryBoomershine.com and you’ll get all the information you need to conquer tough markets, fly above your competition’s radar and meet your real estate investment strategic goals for 2009 and beyond.

REI ALERT: Don’t Touch That Dial!

Tune in at Noon EDT for Mike Collins’

REIWired All-Star Internet TV Network Debut Bash

Stay Tuned to this Channel for ALL the Winning Details!

In a matter of hours, Mike Collins is launching the widely anticipated REIWired.com Internet television network and Than Merrill is one of more than 20 real estate superstars who are headlining Mike’s special lineup.

Building up to this awesome launch, Mike has been sharing hours of highly inspirational and educational videos online. He’s even smashed a real TV to make a statement about how much time and money most of us squander by sitting in front of the ‘boob tube” hoping one day our lives will suddenly improve.

In Mike’s final pre-launch video, Yale graduate, NFL Veteran, A&E TV network star of “Flip this House” and real estate entrepreneur extraordinaire Than Merrill discusses his play for glory as a real estate investor.

Than’s career as a mega-successful real estate wholesaler and rehabber had shocking start. “My first wholesale deal was singing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a seventh round draft pick for $20,000,” Than says. But after a moment of paralyzing hesitation quickly ended his football career, he applied a major life lesson to his new career in real estate.

“In the beginning, I didn’t know jack, so I went to a seminar,” Than recalls. “They were pitching and I was buying. Everything they were teaching me was new. You’ve never seen a guy so excited. I walked away with 12 courses, called my business partner and told him we were going to be rich!”

At first, Than’s business partner was a little skeptical about the cost of all the training he had purchased. Than says that at the time, they were over-leveraged with their rental properties and expenses. But they realized that they would have to put what they learned from their training into swift action to beat the odds.

Tackle Your Opportunities in 2009
Now, Than tells a different story. “My focus is on real estate marketing. I’m a wholesaler and a rehabber. We do both. It’s split down the middle,” Than says. Though his business is structured to profit from wholesaling and rehabbing, because it is diversified and has built-in multiple exit strategies, Than’s real estate investment business has the flexibility to respond to market demands.

“This business is about knowledge and business systems. You can’t just hope that one day a million dollars lands in your mailbox,” Than says. “You’ve got to reach out for opportunities and then run with them.” Especially when working in today’s real estate markets, hesitation is a fumble from which your business may not recover because it can keep you from discovering what will work best for your business.

Perfect Your REI Game
“When the market is bad, we wholesale a little more because it’s a safer niche to be in. But when the market was good, we were rehabbing 80 percent of the time and wholesaling 20 percent of the time,” Than explains. “Right now, we’re making a lot more money on wholesaling.”

Than believes that adaptation to changing market conditions and the speed with which you implement ideas are the keys to ongoing success in his business. To thrive, Than says, “Your niche needs to adapt. If you can put what you learn into motion, you’ll always succeed.”

Take This Ball and Run With It
For more of Than’s remarkable story and unique insights about how you can overcome any adversity, watch this video. It’s not too late to catch up on all of the great videos in Mike’s pre-launch series for REIWired Internet TV. Just sign in and Mike will send you hours of videos to help you make your best plays in 2009.

This Launch is going to be huge! Be sure to join Than, Larry Goins, Preston Ely, Cris Chico, Steve Cook, host Mike Collins and all of your favorite REI celebrities for history in the making! Just Tune in Thursday at Noon EST.

I wanted to share with you this funny and inspirational video to help you kick off your New Year with a real bang! And what better way to do that than with wholesale real estate genius Mike Collins, his giant hammer and a pair of safety glasses?

It’s going VIRAL!

This video looks like Mike has lost his mind - - but clearly not his sense of humor. You’ve got to see how he rang in the New Year. It’s hilarious- -especially if you’ve got kids and pay a monthly cable bill! Even if you’re not active in RE right now, you’ve got to see this video. You’ll never look at your TV the same way again!

Not only does Mike handle a hammer like a pro, he makes a great point . . . one that hits close to home for anyone who ever has wondered where to start to affect positive changes in their lives without spending a dime! In fact, many of us could save over $1,000 per year by following Mike’s comedic lead. (Though in my case, it would bea mightly long year with the kids - -and possibly my wife not talking to me.)

If you like what Mike’s got to say, sign up for the two hours of strong content videos in Mike’s free Internet video series: “Insider’s Guide to Quick-Start 2009.” His 24 years of experience as a wholesale real estate entrepreneur and straight-shooter approach really make this training as interesting as it is educational.

I just watched another awesome hour-long video, and I was so riveted by Mike’s presentation, I totally forgot to eat lunch! With this video series, Mike is really delivering a stimulus package you can count on! Before I head off to NOT eat that burger and fries I’m craving, I wanted to give you a taste of Mike’s real estate investor’s food for thought. I pulled this info from my own personal notes.

The future of this industry belongs to the wholesaler, Mike says. And in this game, the person who finds the inventory, finds the best deals. Here, a 30-to-50 percent slice of each transaction goes to the wholesaler, only with less work than is required with other approaches.

Five Tips for Creating your Own Economic Stimulus Package

Here are five tips from Mike to whet your appetite for What’s Working in 2009. There’s plenty more where this came from. All you have to do is Sign Up Here to get access to this rich content.

1. Know Your Market: Develop an in-depth knowledge of the players in your local marketplace. Shop for qualified buyer leads at auctions, for example. But perhaps most importantly, learn how to use direct mail marketing to save while you fill your pipeline with premium leads.
2. Stop Elephant Hunting: Shift your perspective and business model so you see houses as commodities rather than as homes you might want to inhabit. Three bedroom houses in blue-collar neighborhoods tend to be winners, Mike says.
3. Learn About Values: Both wholesale values and retail values are important for you to know in your local markets. Look at previous transaction data and comps for an overview. Mike’s got lots of innovative tips to help you get a professional real estate marketing handle on these data. Developing this knowledge is absolutely mandatory to prime your business for success in this and every year..
4. Explore Direct Real Estate Marketing: In this arena, it’s essential that you develop the ability to quantify and calculate your ROI & maintain your creativity. Early on in his career, Mike says that postings in laundromats and even flyers he sent through a local pizza delivery operation helped give him a boost in this business. It also made him realize the true value that a constant flow of leads could bring to his business.
5. Find your Niche: Both in your local markets and in your overall investment strategy.. To find success, you’ve got to first get a grasp on what’s working in your local target areas.(Realtors call these niches “farms.”) With some persistence and diligence, the opportunities will become increasingly more apparent with ongoing focus on your market.

Now that we all know about Mike’s plans and strategy for the New Year, what about you? What have you decided to do differently in 2009? Whatever it is, aim high and stay strong. Remember: This is your year!

As the economy, troubled job markets and the credit crunch push a growing number of homeowners towards foreclosure, pressure has mounted for policymakers to implement home loan modification programs and policies to curb the foreclosure epidemic’s spread. So far, top-level efforts to help homeowners avoid foreclosure appear to be failing, but bad news for homeowners and banks may trigger a short sale renaissance for real estate investors in the New Year.

Is “Hope for Homeowners” Hopeless?
In July, Congress passed a $300 billion Hope for Homeowners program which was supposed to help an estimated 300,000 homeowners avoid foreclosure when it took effect in October. Fortune reports that only 321 applications to the “Hope for Homeowners” program have been completed. And the Department of Housing and Urban Development says that the costly program has so far produced zero loan workouts. Some say that the heavy stakes for banks has crippled the plan.

Loan Modifications Lead Homeowners to Speedy Re-Defaults
Although a lot of folks are saying that reworking mortgage terms is the silver bullet in stemming the foreclosure tide, but prevailing evidence to the contrary shoots that idea down with a vengeance.  If loan modifications are anything in today’s rough and tumble real estate markets, they’re a boon to pre-foreclosure and short sale investing.

U.S. Currency Comptroller John Dugan announced in December some interesting data from the latest quarterly Mortgage Metrics report from the U.S. Office of Thrift Supervision which tracks mortgages and modifications for Nearly 35 million loans worth more than $6 trillion, or about 60 percent of all first-lien mortgages including prime, Alt-A, and subprime mortgages, and using standardized definitions for loan modifications.

Here are some remarkable data from the U.S. Office of Thrift Supervision’s 2008 Mortgage Metrics reports:

• More than half of the mortgages that were modified in Q1 2008 again became delinquent within six months.
• Three months after individual loan modifications, nearly 40 percent of the borrowers’ mortgages were more than 30 days past due.
• Within six months of modification, the re-default rate hit 53 percent.
  Eight months following mortgage modification, the number of re-defaults rose to nearly 60 percent.

Policymakers Continue to Target Foreclosure Epidemic in 2009
State and federal lawmakers — and other officials convening in the New Year are gearing up to take action to slow the foreclosure process. These efforts, combined with a heightened sense of cooperation from banks who’ve been hard-hit in the economic crisis will shine a new light on pre-foreclosure and short sale deals as we move into the new year.

Massive Profit Potential for Short Sale Investors
Amid so much shifting activity in other real estate market segments in 2008, popular investor focus strayed briefly from pre-foreclosure and short sale deals. But with the current national trend towards slowing and perhaps suspending foreclosures, all levels of pre-foreclosure and short sale deals are likely to generate millions of dollars for savvy real estate entrepreneurs in 2009.

Don’t Be a Sucker: Get the Facts Before you Invest
To get the lowdown on safe strategies for investing in short sale and pre-foreclosure real estate, join GaryBoomershine.com using the yellow fields on the right side of this page or on the main page of GaryBoomershine.com.

In the Chinese Zodiac, 2008 is regarded as the “Year of the Rat.” Those who bet on Wall Street are likely to agree. Some pundits however, and a great many more investors are recounting the most stellar mistakes of the year with a rueful cringe. Perhaps we’ll all fare better in 2009. This Chinese “Year of the Ox” is aptly named for the heavy load we’ll likely be carrying in our nation’s journey toward economic recovery.

Here are some of the more memorable blunders of the year, many of which are reported in Fortune’s “21 Dumbest Moments in Business 2008.”

1. Apple’s “Think and Glow Rich” App for Entrepreneurs: The geniuses at Apple have made a silk purse out of a dismal economy with the iPhone and its affordable interactive applications and games.  Most iphone apps cost around $5 and many are about as useful to enterprise as pet rocks. But this story may as well be torn from a chapter on psychic ability from Napoleon Hill’s century-old capitalist manifesto: “Think and Grow Rich.” Apparently, a stealth developer penetrated Apple’s channels with an application called “I am Rich” that sold at Apple’s store for $999.99. Eight users apparently bought the app, which produced nothing more than a glowing ruby-red image on their screens before Apple caught on to the hoax pulled the plug on their idreams.
2. Hopeless for Homeowners: In July, Congress passed a $300 billion “housing rescue plan” aimed at preventing an estimated 300,000 foreclosures when the plan took effect in October. Fortune reports that a mere 321 applications to the “Hope for Homeowners” program have been completed. And the Department of Housing and Urban Development says that the costly program has so far produced zero loan workouts.
3. Don’t Point that Bazooka at Me: When Mortgage servicing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac hit the pavement in July, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson convinced Congress that a federal funding boost would fix the problem. “If you’ve got a squirt gun in your pocket, you may have to take it out,” Paulson told them. “If you’ve got a bazooka and people know you’ve got it, you may not have to take it out.” Although lawmakers bought into the metaphor, in September, massive declines led the Treasury Department. Now the gun is pointed at American taxpayers.
4. The Man Who Would Be King: Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s three-page, $700 billion economic bail-out plan for Wall Street that included less transparency than former mafia kingpin John Gotti’s tax returns.
5. The Primetime Bailout Bonanza: Congressional debate and subsequent beleaguered approval of Paulson’s plan was a circus sideshow of its own. The 450-page final bill they approved contained more sugar and lard than a Paula Deen fruitcake. While the plan did a miraculous job of preserving Paulson’s ambiguity about how the money would be spent, provisions extending tax breaks for toy arrows and wool products are among the few aspects of the Bail-out that were comprehensible to the peanut gallery.
6. Real Estate Entrepreneurs Succumb to Fear: Amid the softening economy, and crises on Wall Street, many real estate investors lost their shirts in 2008 for one simple reason: They failed to execute strategies that are calibrated to meet the changing demands of today’s markets. Too often, when the entrepreneurial belt gets tightened, real estate marketing is the first budgetary item for cutbacks when it should be the last. Without consistent and effective real estate marketing, the “Big Picture” fades and even potentially profitable businesses wither up and die.

See the “Big Picture” that Includes Your Thriving Real Estate Business

At GaryBoomershine.com, our focus is on delivering the the most timely real estate news, resources, tools and systems that build stronger real estate investment decisions and boost your bottom line. Armed with these tools, yor “Big Picture” always is in high-definition.

Sign up either here or on the main page at GaryBoomershine.com and you’ll get the best this industry has to offer in real estate news, real estate marketing, real estate training systems, and all the creative real estate ideas that drive success in this business. Members also get exclusive access to compelling multimedia content and jaw-dropping discounts!

Beat Your Competition & Make Tons of Cash in 2009!

Join Dan Doran and me Tonight at 9:00 p.m. EST or Thurs. at 1:00 p.m. EST & Discover What’s Working in the New Year!

Help Us Cast Off the Old & Ring in the New Year with Cutting-Edge REI Strategies, Tools and Tips!

Do you have trouble sticking to your New Year’s resolutions? It’s not your fault! Even in the Information Age, it’s easy to get lost in the challenge of generating the volume of real estate marketing leads that it takes to tackle inclement markets and build a business that can withstand any storm.

Recalibrate your Business for Today’s Markets
So many tend to over think, overanalyze, and procrastinate when it comes to getting the marketing out. Especially these days, when being your own boss is more costly than ever, marketing often the first item to suffer when the going gets tough. But letting your real estate marketing slide can touch off a downward spiral that could kill your profit potential in the New Year.

Are your real estate marketing efforts in tune with your business goals for 2009? Take this quiz and discover where you may be falling short. Answer these five questions with a quick “yes” or “no” to determine if you’re achieving maximum returns on your real estate marketing (ROI).

1.    What’s your real estate marketing’s return on investment (ROI)?

2.    Can you measure the success of your real estate marketing in dollars and cents?

3.    Do you know what REI strategies will work best in 2009?

4.    Is it a strain to make your marketing budget’s ends meet?

5.    Are you afraid that profits may be out of reach for your business in the New Year?

Where Do You Stand?
Each “Yes” answer is a red flag that it’s time to concentrate your efforts on proven strategies designed to conquer today’s markets. This is the only way to generate a tremendous volume of leads that’ll withstand the tests of father time and mother market conditions.

At some point in our careers, most of us learn the hard way that the work, cash and headaches it takes to independently handle our real estate marketing can be crushing to the entrepreneurial spirit as well as to the bank account. It doesn’t have to be that way!

Nix Frustration and Waste in your Business
Someone needs to cut through all the static and talk about the straight facts & emerging strategies that’ll shelter your business in 2009 — and beyond. So, in response to GaryBoomershine.com member requests for info on how to build stronger and leaner creative RE businesses in the New Year, I’ve arranged an online event that’ll change the way you think about how your business does business.

If you’re like most real estate investors, you’re probably finding that what was working last year — or even six months ago is stalling out in today’s markets. This is change we can believe in for certain, but what’s really working for real estate investors heading into the New Year? Tune in Wednesday and find out!

Finally! A New Year’s Resolution that’s Easy to Keep
If your New Year’s resolution is to reach for greater success and growth in your business in 2009, join me and industry luminary Dan Doran Tonight, Dec. 17, at 9:00 p.m. EST. If you can’t attend tonight’s Webinar, I’m posting a replay on Thursday at 1:00 p.m. EST. Space is limited, so if would like to join us, claim your spot ASAP.

I’ve heard a lot of talk from self-proclaimed real estate gurus out there that homeowners are willing so sell their properties at 30 percent to 60 percent below value to real estate investors on the very first call. This is a pervasive myth that needs to be shattered. Right here. Right now.

The truth is that sometimes, if they do enough marketing, an investor will get lucky and a stray seller will discount their property on that first phone call. However, statistics show that effective sales negotiations take a lot more effort to pass that mustard.

The Facts About Sellers and Effective Negotiations
National research shows the following data regarding investor contact with sellers and how real-life deals actually transpire:

• Eighty percent of real estate deals take place between the 5th and 12th conversation investors have with sellers.
• Only two percent of real estate deals take place after only one conversation with the seller.
• In reality, only 10 percent of real estate investors bother to talk to sellers more than three times. And that’s your competition as a real estate investor!

Evidently, the playing field is wide open for real estate entrepreneurs who apply some tenacity and sound strategies in negotiating with sellers. Successful investors, those who are thriving while others settle for “surviving,” know that that it takes more than one conversation with sellers to pull off the deals that make a difference in their real estate businesses.

Go Deep for the Best Prices!

If you’re looking for deep discounts on your transactions, you have to maintain your focus on establishing a great rapport with sellers. Doing this successfully could take several conversations over the course of up to six months. Smart investors are willing to put in the time because they know that their patience and persistence pays off.

People who are talking to sellers multiple times using SalesTeamLive’s Follow-up Campaigns are getting discounts of $30,000 to $70,000 below the opening offer they made to the seller on their first call. They’re succeeding where others fail because they make multiple contacts with warm leads and their strategy is sound; they know that negotiating can be the highest paying job in the world.

How the Big Players Do It
Dan Doran has created the best sales course on the planet. It’s called Sales Mastery for Real Estate Entrepreneurs. Here, he teaches investors that if there’s equity in a property, then get in the car and go meet with the seller! You’ll get an immediate 10 to 20 percent discount just for taking time out to establish a great rapport with the seller. ANd you’ll do this through initiating multiple conversations with them.

Six Steps to Negotiating with the Masters
Making your dream deals not only requires persistence, it also takes some finesse. Nobody in this business can better instruct you on adding the “magic touch” to your deal negotiations than Dan Doran. Here are some cues you can take from his Sales Mastery for Real Estate Entrepreneurs course with Richard Roop and Willie Hicks.

1. Get on Top of Your Game: A useful trick for anti-stress and instant mood elevation is to recollect your last great transaction or happy moment. Use this memory to infuse your negotiations with passion and confidence. Tap into the resources you’ve got to make an instant change. Go into the negotiation with a fresh attitude and a clear vision of the goals you want to reach and the steps it’ll take to get there. If you spread enough enthusiasm, even your prospective client eventually will catch it.
2. Deliver a Great Presentation: Always use a simple, prepared presentation: this strategy is scientifically proven to boost your sales. Most investors don’t even realize they need one because they’re in a rut of thinking that real estate is just a numbers game. They’re wrong. Don’t be jaded. Remember, you’re selling a service. Show clients the magic you can work for them. Embrace your purpose as a problem solver. When you’re dealing with prospective clients, address them by name, agree with them whenever possible, avoid using technical jargon and always follow a script.
3. Uncover the Hot Button Issues: Beyond the obvious financial problems that are likely to burden your prospective clients, figure out what other factors may play a role in their distress. Chances are, the hot-button items are emotional rather than financial in nature. To get a handle on your clients’ hot buttons, you have to spend time with people, and be sincere in your motivation to help solve their problems. By spending quality time with clients, you’re able to use the hot-button issues you’ve identified to gage their agitation levels. Once you’ve done this, you can draw them into the solution posed by your proposal and hopefully, give them some peace.
4. Nail the Close: A good closer is a great presenter in this business. Many real estate investors don’t realize that the sale is actually created during the presentation, not during the close. A good way to engage with your clients is to apply yourself in conducting a great value-building presentation. Even if you’re not completely convinced that the client is into the deal, you must always mentally proceed with the sale. Here again, attitude is everything. To instantly improve your sales results, commit yourself to performing a great presentation. If you can do that, all that’ll be left in the close is the paperwork.
5. Follow up Like a Master: Do what others won’t, or just don’t bother to do: follow up after the close. The more distressed the client is, the more important it is to follow through after the close is complete. This important step lets people that they’re important: It crowns the transaction. It’s also how you’ll get your greatest testimonials.
6. Elevate Your Self Esteem: Develop a great self image relative to selling. Richard and Dan say they battle this challenge constantly in their personal coaching endeavors. A positive self-image is the most powerful sales tool in your kit. If you believe in yourself, you can do anything. Get negative sales experiences out of your head. In coaching, Boost your self-image and you’ll make better deals and get phenomenal sales.

You can read more about it in my Sales Mastery for Real Estate Entrepreneurs course review in the Resources section of GaryBoomershine.com.

Don’t Be a Sucker: Get the Facts Before you Invest
To get the rundown on more lies and hidden truths in real estate investing, join GaryBoomershine.com using the yellow fields on the right side of this page or on the main page of GaryBoomershine.com.

Claim Your VIP Pass to Moneymaking Real Estate News, Marketing, Strategies & Tips
At GaryBoomershine.com, our focus is on delivering the the most timely real estate news, resources, tools and systems that build stronger real estate investment decisions and boost your bottom line.

Sign up either here or on the main page at GaryBoomershine.com and you’ll get the best this industry has to offer in real estate news, real estate marketing, real estate training systems, and all the creative real estate ideas that drive success in this business. Members also get exclusive access to compelling multimedia content and jaw-dropping discounts!

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to Make Tons of Cash in Real Estate! Join GaryBoomershine.com today and get ahead of the pack!

You don’t need any cash or credit to buy in today’s down-turning markets. There are some especially hot, moneymaking strategies right now, depending on where you are and how you like to approach your deals. One of my personal favorites for making tons of cash is high-equity of free-and-clear real estate investing.

Why? Because by definition, properties that are owned “free-and-clear” have no mortgage debt and, as a consequence, fewer complications that can complicate or slow a deal down. Another reason I like this strategy is that the bulk of these homes are held by the most rapidly growing segment of the U.S. population: Retirees and Baby Boomers.

Experts Say Even Free-and-Clear Homeowners are Feeling the Crunch
“In the world of household balance sheets there are two Americas. Roughly two-thirds of homeowners have mortgage payments to worry about and are, to a large degree, tapped out. The other third own their homes free and clear and a lot of them have money in the bank. But they are hesitant to spend it on either a new fridge or shares of General Electric,” Forbes reported earlier this month. That’s about 24 million homeowners, many of whom are feeling the pressure of tightening credit markets — and options for when the going gets tough.

Credit Shortage Ups the Ante on Seller Motivation
Even among the 24 million free-and-clear homeowners, one-third of them are soon likely to find themselves underwater in these properties and, due to the credit crunch, they’re also facing new challenges in obtaining the easy credit to help them through the rough spots as the uncertain economy struggles for a lifeline to recovery, predicts A. Gary Shilling in an editorial slated to Appear in Forbes’ November issue.

Follow the Snowbirds to Real Estate Bargains
In a post-hot, down-turning market, such as what we’re seeing now in Florida for example, prices are dropping and properties are staying on the market for a long time. In such areas, high-equity, free-and-clear properties are a no-brainer investment bargain.

Free and Clear Market Research & Strategy
The real estate markets with the highest concentration of free and clear properties often are in areas with especially high senior citizen populations because so many of them have reached a point in their lives where their homes are completely paid off. More often than not, desire or need to downsize comes with this phase of life. These factors stimulate seller motivation to make a great deal.

In terms of geography, investors usually can find the best selections of hot free and clear properties in coastal areas. Some great current examples include:

• California,
• Florida,
• Oregon,
• Washington and
• Boston.

Free-and-Clear Markets Are Springing Up
Although they’re not  coastal areas, it’s definitely worth noting that we’ve been finding that Arizona and Utah have strong emerging — and virtually untapped free-and-clear markets just waiting for investors to come along and reap the profits.

The trick with free and clear is to go into the deal and pay 100 percent of the seller’s asking price, but do it on your own terms.  For example, the owners want $200,000 for their home and I’ll agree to that price, but pay maybe $500 per month on a zero-interest loan over the next 10 - 15 years, and I can cash flow that deal.

High-Equity Real Estate Investment Tools of the Trade
SalesTeamLive’ Free-and-Clear Done-for-You Marketing Campaigns are perfect tools for investing in high equity, free and clear properties because we’ve got the best lists for virtually any market segment and we’re constantly working on adding new technologies and refinements to ensure we’ve got the best lists out there. We’ve also got  legendary real estate genius Richard Roop writing the marketing copy that’ll make prospective clients putty in your hands.

Hedge Your Bets with Free-and-Clear Investing
Investing in properties that have no mortgage burden also a great inflation hedge, an attraction that’s growing in appeal for a growing number of Americans who’ve been watching the markets –and been feeling the gravity of our economic roller coaster ride this year.

Think about it. If we’re hitting huge amounts of inflation, milk isn’t going to be $4 per gallon; it’s going to be $10 per gallon. At that point, there are only a couple of places lefts where you can safely hedge your bets. Generally, when you have inflation, gold, silver, platinum and those types of things go up in value, but you can’t generate any income off of them.  With real estate investments, not only do you have a great hedge, you’ve got cash flow. Especially if you BUY RIGHT.

Join Us @ GaryBoomershine.com
Signing up for my monthly newsletter and special reports always is the best way to ensure you’re first to learn about the hottest real estate investment strategies, techniques and tools. When you join, you’ll also benefit from special promotions and deals I’ve brokered for the exclusive benefit of my community members.

Claim Your VIP Pass to Moneymaking Real Estate News, Marketing, Strategies & Tips
At GaryBoomershine.com, our focus is on delivering the the most timely real estate news, resources, tools and systems that build stronger real estate investment decisions and boost your bottom line.

Sign up either here or on the main page at GaryBoomershine.com and you’ll get the best this industry has to offer in real estate news, real estate marketing, real estate training systems, and all the creative real estate ideas that drive success in this business. Members also get exclusive access to compelling multimedia content and jaw-dropping discounts!

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to Make Tons of Cash in Real Estate! Join GaryBoomershine.com today and get ahead of the pack!