Commercial Real Estate Investment Articles

I see this question asked a lot on the Main Real Estate Forum. Here are some of my ideas on how to locate the owner of an abandoned property.

I do rehabs in Baltimore and have done about seventy in the last six years. I read Jonathan Mednick’s Rehabbing Houses Top Ten Tips, and thought I’d chime in with my perspective. It was generous of him to take the time to share his views.

So you wanna be a rehabber? Before I give you my Top 10 List, I want you to know that I have been an active real estate investor for only two years. I started by visiting Creative Real Estate Online. It has been crucial to my success.

Okay, here it is. Now get ready to laugh your butt off. I’m a foreclosures expert, right? So I’m asked to speak to a group of recent seminar graduates who, after finishing the program, really don’t know all that much. The chairperson of the group asked me afterward if I would be interested in going in with her on two real estate investments that she had found. I would put up the money, and she would do the rehab work.

This is a “no brainer” technique that allows you to gain access to more tired landlords and close more lease option deals. I wish I could tell you how I came up with this idea, but I truly don’t remember. I have been using this successfully for over two years. If you play the lease option game, you should get a kick out of it.

Dealing with seniors is a whole ‘nother deal, and those of you doing so should be conscious of some real danger areas that might hurt YOU, not Granny! First, being really real and approaching “seniorhood” myself, and being all too aware that I’m basically the same sorry sinner I was at 25, 45…, I’ve got to level with you and startle you with the revelation that people don’t get any better as they get older. Older, yes, but better, no.

My partner, Rick Vesole, and I do a lot of lease option type transactions. I recommend that you always record every such real estate transaction you enter into on tape. Real estate is generally thought of as the most expensive thing people will buy in their lifetimes. As such, people tend to get skittish afterward. It can save you thousands of dollars if you have “proof” of your intentions and theirs.

As far as advertising and promotion goes, I have my own radio talk show called “RENT TO OWN.” In fact, it is also a small radio network. At various times I can be heard in six metropolitan areas in Florida, broadcasting on four radio stations.

I’m very new at this game so I’m not sure if anyone has done this. I just bought my first property (big ol’ home) that needed quite a bit of cosmetic work: paint inside and out, new carpet, new tile, landscaping–you get the idea.

Reading recent articles about lease options reminded me of not only the lease option buying that I have done over the years, but also of the tremendous advantages of selling on a lease option. My income increased dramatically when I discovered the benefits of selling on a lease option.

Todd Bockman originally posted this article on our Main Real Estate Forum.

Here is an idea that I have not tested, but may be workable. Have the owner of an abandoned home donate the home to a non-profit organization that you have an agreement to share profits with. Then arrange for 100% financing to fix-up the home. (A great LTV with no other liens on the property should make for easy financing.)

In my last article on lease options [Advantages of Selling on a Lease Option], I listed the many benefits to you (the Optionor) of leasing to your tenants with an option to buy. This article will continue the discussion in more detail.

Here are four rules that have been very helpful to me in both my business and personal life. They were told to me by a long-time real estate broker and investor in California years ago.

These are the tools and techniques I’ve used successfully when looking for pre-foreclosure and REO properties. I hope other real estate investors find them as useful as I have.

In part 1 we talked about some if the things that make manufactured home communities ideal investments and the different types of communities we’re liable to run into. Now let’s look at placing a value on them.

Now that we’ve found our acquisition candidate and have come to a preliminary meeting of the minds with the seller, we need to spend some time and money to see if we want to take the “relationship” further. Before we get too deep into the process, there are five items we should be aware of and think about as we progress.

At the recent Creative Real Estate Online Convention, I visited with several new found friends who wanted to learn how to figure out what a particular manufactured home land lease community was worth. After repeating our story and the basics of the business several times, I thought I’d reproduce some of those cocktail napkins for the benefit of those of you that may have liked to see them.

In Part 1 we talked about some of the things that make manufactured home communities ideal investments and the different types of communities we’re liable to run into. In Part 2, we discussed how community values are determined using the income valuation approach, how the NOI, (Net Operating Income) is arrived at, and the basic premise behind the Cap (capitalization) Rates.

In The E-Myth, Michael Gerber puts forth the reason that most small businesses fail. The business starts because a technician who is good at something (repairing toilets and other small house repairs for example), decides he should be in business for himself.

You’ll always make money when you are buying a property cheap, cheap, cheap. Depending on the economy, it may not be as easy as it sounds, especially in the beginning.

I’ve been running an ad since last Sunday on a house that I am selling. I’ve had a mix of calls between owner occupants and investors. I’m fascinated with the investor calls.

I am in the process of starting up my flipping and rehab business right now. Here is a secret that I have found: Find some houses that have been rehabbed in the past. You can do this by simply searching the public records at the county recorder’s office.

I own an active business, plus I own rental properties. We have over 300 bills to pay each month between the two. While I was employed, my wife stayed home and took over the bill paying. She didn’t keep on top of it, and it got totally out of control

These are classic, overgrown grass, and broken window situations. I am now on my third deal in three years buying a “mom and pop” roadside motel (less than 15 units each) in a rural area for less than 50% of market value. In every case, I bought these deals for no money down with cash in pocket at closing.