Boomer’s Blog

A lot of real estate investors with  short sales and pre-foreclosure backgrounds are used to dealing with incredibly motivated sellers, but today’s best deals are those with equity. Do you have the “right stuff” to angle these deals like a real estate professional?

Five High-Equity Markets Show You the Money
There are five major real estate market segments that offer investors the greatest opportunities to access equity. Homeowners in each of these segments have mindsets that real estate investors must understand  in order to successfully negotiate a deal.

Additional information about how to tap these markets is covered in greater detail in my article: “Pounce on High-equity Real Estate Markets for Maximum ROI.”  (Follow this link to ArticleBase for instant access to this story.)

1. Equity: Bigger is Better: Find homeowners with 40 percent to 100 percent equity. U.S. Census Bureau data reveal that property owners in this arena currently control one-third of all single-family homes. Often, they’re near or at retirement age, are empty nesters and are looking to downsize.
2. Adjustable Rate Mortgages with Equity: Homeowners with adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) and equity  usually had an ARM for three years or more before they opt to sell. If they owe less than 70 percent on the loan relative to the house’s value, these homeowners may be looking to execute their own exit strategies while they still have equity - - and before their ARMs re-set.
3. Wholesale Real Estate: Properties in this segment are typically old enough to drink legally and tend to have cosmetic and deferred maintenance challenges. In this category, homes with loans at approximately  70 of a property’s value are great targets for real estate investors seeming to max their real estate ROI
4. Multiple Family Units with Equity: Here, concentrate  on sellers with at least two rental units and a maximum loan-to-value of 70 percent or less to buy, hold or flip income properties. These sellers likely are motivated to sell by ongoing tenant and maintenance hassles. They also may be amenable to financing your purchase if they can defer capital gains taxes and rake in some cash flow through you instead of dealing with rent collection.
5. Out-of-Towners: Absentee homeowners are easily identifiable because their mailing address on public record is different from their property address. Property owners in this segment often are disgruntled landlords with single-family homes or multi-unit properties.

Negotiating with High-Equity Sellers

Making deals happen with these property owners often requires more enhanced real estate marketing. Keep in mind that since they have equity, they’re not as likely to have the motivation of a distressed property owner. Though you may have to mail multiple real estate postcards to property owners in this group, you should be aware of local market changes in their areas.

Many of my clients at SalesTeamLive are reporting an across-the-board boost in high-equity homeowner willingness to deal. We can attribute this shift to the ailing economy, stock market and retirement fund losses, and cost-of-living and healthcare price hikes. Many are deciding that downsizing now is the safest way to preserve their standards of living — and their real estate nest eggs.

Someone who says no in June may have a totally different attitude come March,  when their homes still haven’t sold and they see comp prices dropping around them. This is especially true in a post-hot market where owners are facing the grim realities the market just won’t support the price they had set in their heads six months ago.

The trick is to be persistent and keep in touch. And however you communicate with high-equity homeowners, be sure to make a good impression. These days more than ever, your real estate investment business depends on it!

One Best Practice Your Mother Probably Told You About
Sending out personalized thank you cards to folks after your presentation isn’t just the polite thing to do. It’s a best practice to reinforce your professionalism, presence and status as a problem solver for your prospects.

Be resilient and implement best practices to be successful in tapping these real estate markets. Suddenly, you may find your focus shifting from what the best color is for a real estate marketing postcard to how to handle the incredibly high volume of calls you’re receiving.

It takes only a few seconds to change the way that you view your real estate business — and the world. For more best practices and strategies that rock your real estate world, sign into GaryBoomershine.com using the yellow fields on the right side of this page or on the GaryBoomershine.com main page.

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!