Let's Talk Real Estate Investing with Sharon Vornholt

I have a great show for you today. My guest is David Richter, the author of the book "Profit First for Real Estate Investing". David is an active real estate investor who has been involved in closing over 850 deals. His passion is helping people generate more wealth, reach their financial goals, and have more time to do what they love.

While growing and building a real estate business from 5 deals a month to over 25 deals a month, he realized that as much money was coming in, it was going right out the door, and he set out to fix that problem.

David has helped real estate companies completely turn around from going out of business to building cash reserves by using the Profit First cash flow system. You're going to love this show.

Show Notes

Here is just a tiny bit of what David shared in this show:

• David's first deal: the 5 strategies involved from the day he bought his property until the day he sold it
• What led David to write "Profit First for Real Estate Investors"
• Why volunteering to work for free for someone for 8 months in their real estate investing business shaved years off his learning curve and was the best decision he ever made
• How he went from 5 deals a month to 25 deals a month
• David's marketing: how his marketing changed and evolved as he grew
• Using virtual assistants to scale your marketing
• How to change your business from cash eating monster using the profit first system
• Why sometimes what you're good at isn't necessarily what you love doing
• The system: Profit First for Real Estate Investors
• The 5 main accounts you need in your business and WHY you need these accounts
• The percentages of income you should strive to allocate to each one of these accounts
• Making profit first a habit that sticks
• Why knowing your numbers helps you uncover the real problems in your business
• Final advice for real estate investors that want to implement the profit first system in their own businesses

Want to learn more about David?

You can get a copy of David's book, "Profit First for Real Estate Investing" either on his website listed below or on Amazon.

Want to reach out to David? You can contact him here at Simple CFO

Be sure to check out David's podcast, Profit First for REI Podcast. It's an outstanding podcast.

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I have been looking forward to this show ever since I met today's guest because he knows a lot about probates, and you know how I love probates. Today we are going to dive into probate tips for real estate professionals and investors. If you are a real estate agent that has no idea where to start with probates, I can promise you that Bill is going to pave the way for you.

Bill Gross is a Realtor and a Broker with eXp Realty. He is also an expert on Los Angeles Probate. Bill has been in real estate for over 30 years and has closed THOUSANDS of transactions. He hosts a weekly call to discuss how to get sales in probate, how to engage with probate attorneys as well as other probate-related topics for real estate agents and investors.

This show is for anyone interested in real estate. You'll find these probate tips are invaluable for both real estate professionals and investors.

Show Notes - Probate Tips for Real Estate Professionals and Investors

Today you will learn how Bill went from computers to real estate and what made him focus on probates in his real estate business.

• How Bill became a probate expert in Los Angeles in just 3 years when he needed to reinvent his business
• Why understanding that marketing is a "long game" is critical to your long-term success
• How he closed forty-two sides in 12 months by specializing in probates
• Building relationships that continue to produce results for years to come
• Why solving non-probate problems is one of the secrets to finding opportunities in probate
• The importance of having at least 6 months of marketing money before you begin marketing
• Training his agents to work in probates
• Tips for getting probate attorneys to work with you
• Bill's advice for investors when it comes to working with agents

This is just a little bit of what you'll learn in this show.

Want to Reach Out to Bill?

Here are some ways you can do that:

• Reach out to bill at Probate Weekly.com where he hosts a weekly call at 4:00 PM Pacific time.
• The LA Probate Expert
• Or at http://billgross.exprealty.com/

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My guest today is Brian O'Neill of BWK Property Solutions in the Chicagoland area. Brian specializes in providing flexible real estate solutions for both buyers and sellers using creative financing strategies. Today you'll learn how to use creative financing strategies to buy and sell property in your own business while helping credit-challenged buyers qualify for a traditional mortgage in 12-24 months.

Show Notes:

Learning how to use creative financing strategies in your business allows you to help people that might not have another option for buying or selling a property. You'll learn how to have these conversations, and how to create win-win situations while growing your business at the same time. Here is just a sample of what's in this show:

• How Brian's personal path led him to specialize in creative financing strategies
• Different ways he is able to help both buyers and sellers in his business
• Lease option vs rent to own. What is the difference?
• Who his ideal clients are, and the different conversations he has with both buyers and sellers.
• Mortgage readiness: the criteria Brian looks for in his "future buyers", and why bad credit doesn't necessarily disqualify them
• The process: Getting people ready to qualify for a traditional mortgage in 12-24 months
• How to clear up the misconception that by paying their rent, tenants are paying off the property
• The process for buying (and selling) property and how to use creative financing strategies like seller financing, lease options, etc.
• Working with Realtors: how can they get paid?
• Who is this program not for?

Brian's Website

Be sure to stop by Brian's Website. You can find him at BWKPropertySolutions.com

If you would like to reach out to Brian, you can do that at [email protected]

Louisville Gal's Real Estate Blog

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Today I want to talk about the power of collaboration, and how it will help you grow your real estate investing business faster than trying to go it alone.

I've had 3 people just in the past week ask me about accountability partners. Even though I wrote about this topic previously, it's obviously something people are still very interested in hearing about.

If you've never had one, you might be confused about why you should have an accountability partner. Not only that, how do you find one, and how do you create a mutually beneficial relationship that will help you grow your business? That's what this episode is about. How to build a better real estate investing business through the power of collaboration.

It's hard to know where to start, but I can promise you this; the power of collaboration is so important that if you don't currently have an accountability partner, finding one should be at the top of your "to-do" list before the new year. Don't look back next year and realize you didn't take the time to do this one simple thing.

Once you have settled into this whole accountability thing and fully realize the power of collaboration, there's no turning back. You will have a sounding board to help sort through your problems, and they will often be able to help you shorten your learning curve tremendously (or avoid certain problems altogether).

And, let's face it; most of the time our friends and family really don't understand what we do. They have jobs. Entrepreneurship isn't for everyone so it really helps to have someone that knows what you do and the challenges you face.

You can do that by CLICKING HERE.

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There is a great little book out there by Peter Bregman called "18 Minutes; Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done". I read this book some time ago. When I came across the book again recently, I thought it was a good time to revisit it. "18 Minutes" is a book about how to find your focus, master distraction, so that you get the right things done. As we all know, getting the right things done can be a daily challenge for many entrepreneurs.

Peter Bregman is a consultant, a national speaker, and he writes business columns for the Harvard Business Review, Forbes magazine, and other publications. He has definitely mastered time management in his own business. It's easy to see that his focus each day is on getting the things done that will help him achieve his annual goals.

Peter has a lot of great suggestions in his book, and here are just a few of them.

In his book, Peter says you need to slow down your momentum; hover above your world and look around. See things as they really are, beyond what you expect things to be, while also focusing on your outcome. This is an extraordinary way to look at things. One other tip he has is to be open to extraordinary potential. How many times does our mindset limit our potential? We are all capable of that. These things will help you to tap into resources and talents that you may have forgotten were there.

Next, ask yourself, what is this year about? What do you want to create? Are there things that are no longer working that you need to let go of?

Peter has a "three-day rule" for getting things off your to-do list. Nothing stays on the list for more than three days. The author believes they will just get in the way of what you really need to get done if you leave everything on your list.

Everything falls into one of these 4 categories after three days:

• Do it immediately
• Schedule it. Put it on your calendar and commit to doing it so that things actually get done.
• Let it go if it is not enough of a priority.
• If you simply cannot do that (let it go), then he has a "someday/maybe list" that he looks at monthly. ( I have to admit that I have one of these lists.) Peter says he sleeps a little better knowing that these things are actually on a list somewhere, even if he probably will never do a lot of them. Eventually, the ones that are no longer relevant will get deleted. Some of those projects may ultimately go on your priority list next year.

The real point he is making is that they come off your to-do list. You don't get weighed down by things that are not your priority now.

Step 1. Your Morning Minutes. (5 Minutes) Decide what will make this day highly successful. Ask yourself what can you realistically accomplish today. Begin your day with this exercise.

Step 2. Refocus. (8 minutes - 1 Minute For Every Hour ) Set an alarm to ring every hour and start the work that is listed on your calendar. Manage your day hour by hour in order to maintain your laser focus.

Step 3. Your Evening Minutes. (5 Minutes) At the end of the day, take 5 minutes and review how your day went, and decide if there are any final things you can take care of. Is there anyone you need to update with a call or an email before you finish this day? Also, ask yourself how did I do? How can I make tomorrow better? And finally, take a few minutes and plan tomorrow.

Taking these 18 minutes a day you can save yourself hours of inefficiency, and it will help you to choose your focus throughout the day.

Peter has some good tips for mastering distraction, for holding on to your boundaries (we all need boundaries), and saying no convincingly. It's often hard to say no even though we know we should.

As he points out, sometimes we get in our own way like when we procrastinate. We let other things take the place of that important job we have avoided tackling. And since he is very human, he also shares some of his "slip-ups" in his own life.

After reading this book, you will probably have a lot of great ideas about what you should do differently whether it is structuring your to-do list around your annual goals and focus or stopping every hour to take a breath and refocus. Whatever it is, choose the one thing that you think will make the biggest difference in your life so that you see positive change year after year. Choose your "one thing" and do it. When you have mastered "your one thing", then choose another one. Rinse and repeat as some folks say.

I would love to know what you do to help maintain your focus throughout the day. For those of you that have small children, if you have some secrets to share, I would love to hear those, and I'm sure other parents would love to hear those also.

I know I do. Check out another one of my favorites, "You Are a Badass" by Jen Sincero BY CLICKING HERE. It's a good one!

Louisville Gal's Real Estate Blog

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Today I want to talk about six common real estate investing myths that I hear all the time when I'm talking with other investors. Real estate investing at its core is a pretty simple business. Someone has a property to sell, and you are in the business of buying properties. On the surface, this is a pretty simple business. However, once you have been in this business for a while, you will see that there are a lot of real estate investing myths and misconceptions about what you can and cannot do. Today I want to jump in and sort some of those out starting with these common real estate investing myths.

Show Notes: Six Common Real Estate Investing Myths: Fact, Fiction, or a Little of Both?

Here are some of the things you'll find in this show in this show:

• How much money do you really need to get started in this business
• Does your credit really matter as a real estate investor?
• Why this business is easier and more profitable if you have some money when you're first starting out
• Wholesaling 101
• Is wholesaling legal everywhere? Why do you need to know this.
• Multi-family properties vs single-family when you're just starting out; how do you decide if one is better for a new investor?
• Double closings
• The benefits of having a real estate attorney that is also an investor
• True or false: you need a large portfolio of properties before hiring a property manager
• The number of paid off properties you need to retire comfortably no matter what your age

Final Thoughts

I hope I helped clarify these six common real estate investing myths that so many investors have.

The single most important thing when it comes to building a profitable real estate investing business is taking action. No amount of study, seminars, or courses will do you any good unless you turn that knowledge into action.

I will be talking about this more as we go through the next 30 days, but I would encourage you to spend some time to put together a plan for moving your business forward in the next 12 months.

Louisville Gal's Real Estate Blog

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Have you ever wondered why some people are successful real estate investors, and other people work really hard, yet they never find success? It turns out that almost every successful real estate investor has certain traits. Today I'm going to tell you what I think 8 of the most important traits are that you need to be a successful real estate investor.

Show Notes

Here is just some of what I cover in this show:

• The roles planning and systems play in your success and why the details matter
• How to protect your reputation and some hard choices you might need to make along the way
• The mindset of thinking about the long game
• Why mastery and specialization are so important to your success
• Examples of how anyone can be known for what you do best
• The importance of building your brand and the role it plays in your success
• Why someone will take a lower offer over a higher offer if you can provide this
• How knowing your numbers will make it possible for successful real estate investors to either get a lower offer accepted or pay more for a property in certain situations
• The top things you should outsource in your business
• The reason successful real estate investors know they must invest in their education
• Your tribe: why you need one and who should be in it

These 8 traits are by no means every trait you need to become a successful real estate investor, but I hope is that this information will provide you with a place to start; a place to look at areas you can improve when you are looking at your own real estate investing business.

Reader Questions

This show was inspired by a question from one of my listeners. If you have a topic to suggest or a question you would like answered on the show, you can send me an email at [email protected].

Louisville Gal's Real Estate Blog

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I know probates can seem pretty confusing for some people. It's pretty common that real estate investors don't understand the steps in the probate process, however, once you do, it's a real game-changer. Adding the lucrative niche of probates to your real estate investing business will make lead generation so much easier, and you'll definitely see a difference in your bottom line.

Today I'm going over the only steps in the probate process that you need to concern yourself with. Armed with this basic understanding of how things work, you can add this never-ending stream of leads to your business. These leads are unaffected by market conditions which is something you can't say about most other lead sources.

Quote: Adding the lucrative niche of probates to your real estate investing business will make lead generation so much easier, and you'll definitely see a difference in your bottom line.

Show Notes:

I have a lot of information packed into this short 5-minute show. Learn the steps in the probate process that matter to us as real estate investors.

• The first steps in the probate process
• What happens if there is no will?
• How it's decided who the "decision-maker" is
• What is the difference in the executor and the administrator?
• What has to happen before you can buy the property
• What is the notice to creditors?
• Will all the assets in the estate always be sold by the personal representative?

Probate Investing Simplified is Open Now

If you are still struggling to get a steady stream of leads in the door for your real estate investing business, now is the time to invest in YOURSELF!

Let me ask you this...

What would the next 12 months look like if you never had to worry about where your next deal was coming from? Pretty amazing, right? Adding probates to your existing marketing strategies will take all that worry off your shoulders.

You can check out Probate Investing Simplified Here.

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Today we're going to talk about 6 strategies for closing off-market deals. So, where exactly do you get the money if you don't have cash in your bank account?

I've spent the last couple of weeks talking about off-market deals like probates, absentee owners, and other properties that aren't listed on the MLS.

When a property is listed on the MLS, thousands of agents (and investors) have access to those properties. So, there's a lot of competition for every property. That's the reason I like off-market deals so much. There is so much less competition.

Don't have any cash to invest in real estate? Here are 6 ways to fund your deals.

One thing that makes investors so attractive to these folks selling off-market deals is their ability to pay all cash and close quickly.

These sellers don't have to wait for a retail buyer to get approved for conventional financing (which can take months). Then, they "hope" the buyers will be approved for a mortgage and make it to closing. They're not looking for someone that "might" be able to close down the road. They are looking for certainty.

When it comes to closing on these off-market deals, the same question always comes up with investors. That question is how to pay for those properties. Remember, the promise we make to sellers is, "I will pay all cash and close quickly".

Let me be clear that a cash buyer is not necessarily one that can write a check for the property, but one that has quick access to cash. Understanding this is a game-changer.

In today's show, I have 6 strategies for closing off-market deals so that any investor can show up as a cash buyer.

1. Actual Cash Buyers

First of all, there are people out there that actually are cash buyers. I've sold houses to them. They would come to closing and simply write a check. But I have to tell you, that's not the average investor. Most people have a way to "become a cash buyer".

2. HELOC's

The second way would be to use the equity in your home or in a rental property. You can leverage that equity and use it for investing in another property. The most common way to do that is through a HELOC or a home equity line of credit. In most cases you can only use 75-80% of your equity, so you won't be able to take all of the equity out of a property. You can also use the equity in one property to secure a loan for another piece of property.

The 3rd way that a lot of investors buy property is through a self-directed Roth IRA. With a typical IRA, you put your money in before taxes are withheld and you pay taxes when you take it out. Roth IRAs are funded with after-tax dollars. You've already paid the taxes on this money. With self-directed Roth IRAs, you can use the money to buy investment property. There are a whole lot of rules surrounding how all this has to happen, but you just need to know that it's possible. You could be using funds in your own Roth IRA, or it might be someone loaning you money from their Roth IRA. The beauty of this is that any money you make off of the property is deposited back into the IRA tax-free. The money you took out might be for the entire purchase or to simply make a down payment on a property where you combine that with financing from an investor-friendly bank.

This brings me to #4 which is one that a lot of real estate investors use, and that is investor-friendly banks. When we talk about investor-friendly banks, you're not looking for a big national mortgage company like Wells Fargo. You are looking for a small, local portfolio lender. So, what's a portfolio lender? A portfolio lender will generally be a small local bank or credit union that holds a least some of its loans in-house. Most loans like FHA loans are backed by the government, and these loans are not actually held in-house by the bank or mortgage company you borrowed the money from. When you are looking for investor-friendly banks, start your search with local banks.

#5 is hard money loans. A lot of investors use hard money because your credit rarely comes into play with this type of loan. It's the property itself that the hard money lender looks at. The loan will be secured by the property. What are the pros and cons of using hard money? One of the cons of using hard money loans is that it's expensive. Interest rates and up-front fees are costly.

The good thing about hard money is that it's easy to get funding for your deals. If you have a great deal, you will always be able to get that deal funded. If using hard money means you can close on a killer deal, my advice is to use it and don't worry about the cost. A lot of investors use hard money. Just factor the costs into the equation when you buy the property. The cost of the money is one of the costs of doing business.

The 6th way you can fund your deal is with private money partners. You should make it a priority to line up sources of private money for your business. There will come a day, when you will need this; when your other sources just won't work for you. Trust me on this one. Private money is different from hard money.

Private money lenders are folks that you might know, or they might be referred to you by people you know. Generally speaking, their rates are more favorable than hard money lenders, but their rates are more than investor-friendly banks. Their rates sit in the middle between these two. Look at these are folks as private money partners. They have some money that's in the bank earning next to nothing, or possibly they're looking for something more stable than the stock market. Whatever their particular situation is, they are looking to get a bigger return on their money than they are currently getting. Since the money they are loaning you is always secured by the property, it's a pretty safe investment.

As an investor, buying houses in decent nice is very important here. Private money partners want to loan money on property in nice appreciating areas where they feel like their investment will be safe. One important thing to point out is that in most cases, they're not going to want to tie their money up for long periods of time. They won't be interested in providing long-term financing. Think of these folks as sources of cash for down payments, short-term financing for wholesale deals, or construction loans.

Using OPM or "other people's money" has been the way investors have purchased property for decades. Using OPM gives everyone an equal chance to invest in real estate and build wealth over time. I hope this helps you get a clearer picture of where you can find cash for your deals so that you can confidently put yourself out there as a cash buyer.

Knowledge is power! And, having access to other people's money is a real game-changer. I hope these 6 strategies for closing off-market deals will help you close more deals!

Louisville Gal's Real Estate Blog

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Today you're going to learn the special language you must put in every contract when buying probate property.

Probate investing is pretty straightforward in my state. However, there is one sentence that you need to add to every contract when buying a house that's in probate. This will help you avoid potential problems down the road.

I've been investing in probates for a very long time now and generally speaking, buying probate property is no different than buying any other property. The deal goes smoothly most of the time. But ... every now and then, that just isn't the case.

There is always an exception to the rule isn't there?

What's the one-sentence you must-have in the contract to buy probate property?

A few years ago I put a probate property under contract exactly like I had always done. I assumed what the executor and the heirs told me was accurate, and that was that the house was ready to be sold. Now I don't think these folks meant to be misleading, but they had really made a mess of things when it came to settling the estate. They were trying to do everything themselves which almost never works out the way it should without the help of an attorney.

How did I discover this problem? I didn't. My closing attorney discovered it out when he ran the title. This is one point I want to make. If there is a problem, your attorney or title company will let you know.

This deal took 5 months and many extensions in the contract before we finally made it to the closing table. It was getting those extensions that became a problem for me. Every time you get close to the end of the time specified in your contract you either need to be ready to close, or you need to get a contract extension. That is unless you have added special language to your contract, and that's what I want to go over today.

There is no law saying you must use an attorney, and some people choose not to. It's been my experience that using an attorney is the one way to avoid most of the common problems I see when the family tries to do it themselves. A good attorney will save you a lot of time and even more headaches.

*Many thanks to Harry Borders of Borders and Borders who is my attorney here in Louisville, KY. They take care of virtually any problem that comes up with my closings. They are also known for educating investors in this area so that they do things the correct way. When it comes to working with probates, having an attorney involved in the closing is definitely a plus.

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