2019 - Page 7 of 22 - Real Estate Investor Magazines

If Money Could Talk…

By Reggie Brooks

Please don’t misunderstand me; I am not your miracle or your savior. I’m only a medium of exchange to be used as a tool to create your chosen lifestyle. I am not the root of all evil as some of you have believed over the years- I am vital to a prosperous society. Without me, mankind would probably do no better than a primitive agricultural society.

So many people all over the world equate me with power, probably because powerful people covet me. Want to know a secret? I’m sort of like a magnifying glass in that I have a tendency to make an individual more of what they are. Let me explain:

John Rosen of Culver City, California was a kind man. He and his wife and 3 kids attended church and contributed as regularly as their meager income would allow. John worked as a bus driver in Los Angeles and his wife Cathy was a homemaker. Having a family with 3 children assured the Rosens of serious financial challenges. Even so, John was known to give his last to someone whom he deemed as being more needy than he and his family. Everyone knew that John was a giving man.

John received a call one morning to announce that a wealthy relative had died, and that there was a very large sum of money that would be coming his way. The Rosens were saddened by the loss of the relative and happy about the impending financial windfall. It was obvious that their lives were going to make a change.

When the time came, the Rosens received a check of over $750,000! “WOW”! They were elated! They paid their bills off and got a new car. They gave some money to the church and they made some wise investments. Then they did something that I applaud – they looked around, first within their family, then outside the family, and they identified various friends and relatives that were in dire need of the Rosens financial support. Within the first 3 months of receiving that check, not only did they help themselves, they also gave necessary financial support to seven other families! They helped to make the lives of those seven other families better! Receiving that money made them more of what they originally were- a very loving and giving family.

Then there was Bart from New Mexico. Bart was a selfish, self centered man that had no time for the needs of others. Bart was also broke. He was a very poor manager of his funds, which was the reason he was broke. Bart had very few friends and no immediate family to care about. His negative attitude insured distance between him and his peers.

Bart needed to do a little grocery shopping one day, so he got into his pickup truck and drove over to the grocery store. As he pulled into a parking place he spotted a wallet on the ground. Bart jumped out of his truck, swooped the wallet up and got back into his truck. He was so excited about hopefully finding some money that he hands shook while he opened the wallet. $400! That’s what he found in the wallet! Oh, of course there were credit cards, business cards, pictures and identification in the wallet, but Bart wasn’t interested in any of that. They were introduced to the trash can as he approached the store.

He noticed something else as he approached the store. There were a couple of guys standing at the side of the store that got Bart’s attention. When Bart approached the two guys, they told him that they had a brand new 50 inch High Definition TV set worth over $2500, and they were willing to sell it right now for $600. Bart looked in the box and was thrilled to see the TV of his dreams. Bart had the extra $200 in his pocket for the TV, and he had the desire to make a killing of a deal. He told the two guys that he just needed to go into the store and pick up a few items and he’ll buy the TV when he comes out of the store.

Bart loaded the box onto his truck and sped home to enjoy his new toy. When he got home, he got his brother to help him with the box. They got the box to the living room and began to open it. Bricks! That’s what was in the box. Bricks that were meticulously bound and placed in the box! $600 worth of bricks! Is there a moral? How about, “If you are looking to steal, you’ll probably be stolen from. If you’re looking to take advantage of someone, you probably be taken advantage of.”

I’m only a medium of exchange to be used as a tool to create your chosen lifestyle. Use me, but don’t love me. I am not the root of all evil. The love of me is the root of all evil and will cause the weak to do evil things to procure me. When you use me, I will provide you with great things to enhance your life. When you misuse me, I will make your life a living hell. The choice is yours.

Reggie Brooks

Reggie Brooks, is an international speaker, author and educator, dedicated to inspiring others to achieve personal success through real estate investment. He is also the #1 Vacant, Abandoned & Distressed Property Specialist in North America.

Having risen above a life of poverty, he has achieved what many people consider to be impossible. He went from making $36,000 per year at the local telephone company, to making over $40,000 per month in his real estate business. Today, Reggie delivers his personal philosophies for success at major business venues and expositions throughout the United States. Reggie attributes his success to faith, dedication to success, and to the invaluable coaches he has had along the way.

They Did Not Take My Advice and It Cost Them Dearly

By Randy Hughes, Mr. Land Trust

Several years ago I purchased four single family houses on an installment contract from an elderly gentleman and his wife. The couple had lived in my town all their life and had decided to retire to Florida. Not wanting to be burdened with continuing to manage their rental properties, they decided to sell. However, selling for all cash would have generated a huge capital gains burden (their houses were fully depreciated). The solution was to sell on an installment basis whereby only the principal payments would be reported as gain.

I suggested to the retiring couple that they put their properties into separate Land Trusts and sell me the beneficial interest on a contract. This method of selling would allow the title to the property to stay in their trust’s name (with them controlling the Beneficial Interest) until I paid them in full. If I defaulted, they would be able to repossess the Assignment of Beneficial Interest . . . and not have to foreclose.

Being stuck in their ways of doing things, the old couple said they did not want to sell using a Land Trust but wanted to record a deed in my name (actually I had them record the deed in the name of my Land Trust Trustee) and record a mortgage on each property for the amount of debt I would owe them. Not wanting to kill the deal, I agreed to do it their way.

Buying on an installment contract has its advantages. I paid the couple a small down payment and made them monthly payments amortized over a 25-year period. The interest rate they charged me was less than what the banks would have charged and more than they could receive in a certificate of deposit. Everybody wins when you cut the banker out of the transaction.

I rented the houses out to families and made my payments to the elderly couple for several years. The favorable terms I received on the contract allowed me to have a monthly positive cash flow on all four properties. Life was great!

One day the seller (now living in Florida) called me and said he had another house in my town for sale. After finding out the address of the house he wanted to sell, I told him I was not interested. He accepted my decision saying that he had another prospective buyer anyway.

About a year later I received a call from the old man from Florida. He told me a long story about how he had sold the house (that he had tried to sell to me a year earlier) to a painting contractor who was now in default on his payments. He needed my help.

I asked him if he sold the house to the painting contractor using the same method he sold to me. He said, “yes”. I said, “too bad, because now you are going to have to foreclose.” Since the old man had put the title to the property in the name of the buyer and then recorded a mortgage, his only option was to foreclose the mortgage.

Foreclosure can be expensive and time consuming depending on what state the property is located in, but it is always a hassle! The old couple from Florida had a long and expensive road ahead of them to regain possession of the property they had sold to the painting contractor.

Wanting to help the old couple out, I told them I would hire an attorney for them (at their expense, of course) to handle the foreclosure. Then, when it appeared that things could not get worse, the painting contractor died before we could get him served with the foreclosure action.

The contractor’s death resulted in the old couple having to hire two attorneys (one to represent them and one to represent the estate of the dead contractor). Since the contractor had no assets upon his death and had two judgment liens that were recorded against his house, no heir wanted to get involved. Thus the need to hire the second attorney to represent the contractor’s estate in the foreclosure action.

The foreclosure case took a little over one year and $10,000 + in legal fees. Even though I was involved and helped the old couple as much as I could, the stress on them was still great. Within a year and a half both of these fine people died.

The moral of this story relates to life itself. We all have unforeseen future circumstances affect us (and consequently the title to our property) in ways we cannot imagine in the present. Anytime you go on title with someone (even your spouse or significant other), you are risking losing your interest because of someone else’s actions.

Further, if you sell property on an installment contract by allowing the buyer to take title immediately you are risking a lot. This is why I teach real estate investors to not only put each of their properties into separate trusts, but to sell the beneficial interests of those trusts if they are not selling for all cash.

Real estate investing is fraught with risks and using a Land Trust to hold title reduces those risks. The method of selling the Beneficial Interest in a Land Trust is just one of over 50 reasons to use a Land Trust. I encourage you to learn more by going to my FREE online training at: www.landtrustwebinar.com/411 or text me at 206-203-2005 for my free booklet, “Reasons to Use a Land Trust.” You can also reach me the old fashion way by calling me at 866-696-7347 (I actually answer my own phone).

Randy Hughes, Mr. Land Trust

If you want to learn more about the wonderful world of trusts, please go to: www.landtrustsmadesimple.com for more information. Or, if you would like to attend one of my FREE Land Trust Webinars, go to: www.landtrustwebinar.com/411 Also, feel free to call me with any questions. I actually answer my phone! 1-866-696-7347

A House or a Home?

By Albert Lowry

What’s the difference between a house and a home, and how do you make the best purchase choice in either case? Those seem like straightforward questions, but there’s a lot to take into consideration to make a smart decision.

First of all, a house is a property from which you expect to make money, and a home is where you live. There are some factors in common for choosing a good deal for either one of these but also some differences that you should be aware of.

In today’s market, for both houses and homes, it generally makes sense to avoid getting the biggest, most expensive dwelling you can. Buy only what you need, and you’ll have the opportunity to make improvements with the money you save. You can determine what would be right for a home size for yourself. In the case of buying houses for investment, the ideal size for a rental unit is 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. It’s what most renters want, so you have a better chance of charging a good monthly rental price and having high rates of occupancy.

Another factor that holds true for both houses and homes is the familiar real estate mantra of “location, location, location.” You can make more money from renting out a house in a desirable area. For the place you call home, you also want to be in a nice neighborhood where you enjoy living and your property retains its value.

That being said, don’t limit yourself to one area. There are good neighborhoods throughout most cities and towns, so it may be to your benefit to get out of your familiar zone and widen your circle to try to find some hidden gems.

When you’re out hunting for properties, one of the best suggestions I have for you is not to restrict yourself to drive-by shopping. A house or home may have little curb appeal, but be a real bargain for its appealing interior. You can always create curb appeal later with some sprucing up, so don’t let the initial let down of the exterior keep you from exploring further. Knowing that little trick will put you in line for some real bargains, plus you won’t be competing with others who passed up a bargain because they didn’t know this important tip.

Another common mistake people make when buying properties is to buy according to emotion rather than taking the time to do the necessary research. Judgement is distorted by emotions and that can lead to bad decisions. Instead, ask yourself whether the home you have your eye on will truly meet your long-term needs. And for a house, objectively determine its future profit potential and back that up with thorough research.

In both cases, you’ll want to consider the proximity of schools and shopping, whether it’s for your own quality of life, or for the house’s perceived value as a rental unit or as a resale. If promises have been made about future desirable development in the area, check for yourself that it really is a sure thing before paying a price that’s based on that expectation.

For any property you are considering purchasing, whether a house or a home, look for anything that has the potential to cost you a lot of money later on, even if it falls outside the scope of the professional inspection.

Now, suppose that you’ve found a property that you would like to buy. How can you get it for the price you want? I want to share with you some professional investor negotiating tips that have worked very well on a good number of deals I’ve made.

The first applies more to house purchases. To be a successful investor, it’s necessary to make a lot of offers. As a buyer, you always want to pay the price that you’ve determined to be a good value for what you’re getting. Plenty of sellers won’t see eye to eye with you, but there are others who will, and you’ll pay the right price.

There are the certain techniques that will help you achieve this. If a realtor has shown you a property you’re interested in, later try contacting the seller directly to ask some questions. Be personable and talk to him as a human being, not as an adversary. Ask him what the basis is for the price of the property. If you do a little research and find that it is not in line with comparable properties in the area, that can give you some leverage with the seller, especially if you present the facts in a reasonable and friendly manner.

If you are going to ask the seller for a lower price or for concessions, it’s a good idea to bring their expectations down with some finesse. One way to do this is to avoid showing interest in a property and point out its shortcomings in a way that allows the seller to save face and see your point of view.

You’ll find that if you perform your property search diligently, make rational judgements, submit a lot of offers, and negotiate effectively, you will pay the right price for either the home of your dreams or investment houses that have big profit potential for you.

Your partner in prosperity,

Dr. Albert Lowry

How to Create More Effective Marketing

By Sharon Vornholt

Today we’re going to talk about how to create more effective marketing for your business.

First of All…

It’s important to understand that hardly anyone sits down and reads an entire article without skimming it first. People today are skimmers.

This means you only have a short time to grab their attention and every word matters. That’s why it’s more important than ever that you spend time learning how to create effective marketing; marketing that gets you the results you want with the fewest words necessary.

#2 Get to the Point Quickly

When someone gets a marketing piece from you, it should be something they can consume quickly. They should know immediately “what’s in it for them”. What problem can you solve for them now? The days of folks reading a lengthy letter telling them how great you are, are long gone. You will have time to tell your story later if you hook them with an effective marketing message.

This is one reason postcards work so well. There is nothing to open. They see how you can help them immediately: “I will buy your house as is, pay all cash, and close quickly”. That says it all. It’s short and it’s much more effective marketing.

Take a look at all your marketing and see if there are ways you can simply your message. Do you have words that really don’t need to be there to get your message across? If so, take them out.

#3 Don’t Confuse Sellers with Too Many Options

When presented with multiple options upfront, this can be overwhelming for many people. What you will find is that when there are too many options people simply can’t choose. They will just move on to a simpler solution AKA your competition.

Have you ever come upon someone marketing a physical product that has a dozen of choices, versions, scents, colors etc.? When faced with this decision you are likely to go to the next simpler option which is another product or company.

#4 Have a Clear CTA

Your marketing should have one clear CTA (call to action) like:

“Contact us today ….”

For your fast, no obligation offer
To see how we can buy your house this week
To find out how you can have cash in hand by this time next week
And learn how you can be rid of that worry today! (Think pre-foreclosure, job loss, etc.)
To find out how you can be rid of that problem property this week.

The goal of your call to action should be to get them to take the next step which should be to contact you.

It doesn’t matter if they are looking at a letter, a postcard, your website or a video. The desired result is the same.

#5 It’s all about the Presentation

The way you deliver your content is important. Remember, people want fast information. This is pretty easy to accomplish with postcards. The message is short by nature.

It takes some practice to write short, concise, direct mail letters, but it’s important that you learn to do this. You have to tell sellers exactly how you can solve their problem, and tell them what to do next.

#6 What about Your Website?

Your first paragraph of each page should accomplish the same thing as your other marketing pieces. Don’t assume they are going spend time going over your website and all the options you offer. They just want to know what to do next to solve their problem.

This means that the placement of your contact form is critical. It should always be located above the fold (on the top half of the page).

If your CTA is “contact us so we can buy your house”, providing them with multiple ways to contact you is important. I can tell you this; they aren’t going to search for your contact information so make it easy for them to contact you. This is one case where you want them to have a choice. Not everyone will want to call you, and some people won’t be comfortable filling out an online form.

Give them options. Contact us:

By phone
Fill out the convenient form on the right side of the page
Email me at [email protected].

#7 Using Social Media to Help You Create Effective Marketing Strategies

Social media is great for helping you get the word out about your business, your services and your products. The fact that you can share everything to such a large audience (generally for free) can’t be beat.

You spend a lot of time to create effective marketing, but it’s of no value unless people know about it. Set up social media profiles on the major social networks. Once that is done, you can share information easily which will start to build your brand.

#8 Final Tips

Here are some tips for connecting with your ideal customer.

Speak their language. Make your message simple to understand.
Tell them exactly how you can help solve their problem.
The best marketing connects with the customer, and it makes it clear that it’s “all about them”. Words matter.
Limit your ideal customer’s options. Effective marketing will always have a clear call to action and make it easy for them to say yes to your offer.
Offer a bonus for working with you. What might that be? Find out what they need. Ask them! There is always something else they want or need. It can be things like moving money, an offer to finish cleaning out the house, paying expenses they cannot afford to pay. To be clear, these “bonuses” are always accounted for in your offer. Think outside the box and get creative. The best bonus is the one they tell you they need. Having a happy customer AKA buyer or seller is just about the most effective marketing on the plant.
Always send them a thank you note after you’ve looked at their property. This is one tip that will definitely make you stand out as an investor.

Once You Have Closed the Deal…

As for a testimonial. This makes all your marketing even more effective.

Happy investing!

Sharon Vornholt

Sharon Vornholt is the owner of Innovative Property Solutions, LLC in Louisville, KY.

Sharon owned and operated a successful home inspection company for 17 years. She began investing in real estate in 1998 and became a full time real estate investor in January of 2008.

Sharon specializes in wholesaling, and is also an experienced landlord and rehabber.

In addition, Sharon is an internet marketer and also writes articles for several national real estate sites. Sharon is the author of a popular real estate blog called the “Louisville Gals Real Estate Blog”. For your FREE REPORT “Probates and Absentee Owners: Your Fast Track to Real Estate Riches”, stop by her blog at: http://LouisvilleGalsRealEstateBlog.com.

Investor Dilemma: Hold, Refinance or Sell Your Property

By Dani Beit-Or

As you continue building up your real estate portfolio, it is easy to become complacent and not maximize the full potential of your assets.Even if your initial investments have had some success, you should have decent cash flow, equity and appreciation. Thus you’ve reached a point where you can be content with what you have or you can substantially improve on the gains you’ve already made! Regardless of your decision, take a quick moment to analyze your options and let the numbers help decide your next step.

When reviewing your portfolio, the goal is to figure where you will obtain the best return. In some cases, you’ll discover that refinancing a property and using the cash to purchase additional properties will yield you a higher return. However, there are times when holding your properties and doing nothing might be the right answer. Let’s look at a couple of examples that will illustrate what I mean.

Property Example One:

In our first example, we will be reviewing a property that currently has a house value of $420,000.

As you can see, the initial assumption that holding the property as is in our portfolio isn’t a bad decision as it will still yield an annual return of over $19k. However, after reviewing all three options, you’ll see that selling this property will yield a higher return on our investment and, will give us just over $169k to put into the purchase of 3 to 4 additional properties — growing your portfolio and setting you up for a much higher overall annual return.

Property Example Two:

In our second example, we are reviewing a property that currently has a house value of $140,000.

With this property, you’ll see that we are open to a couple of different options. Yes, you could sell this property; however, with the funds you’ll receive, you can only afford one new property. Depending on the value of the next property, selling one to purchase another one might not yield you the highest overall return.

However, if you were to refinance this property, you would be able to purchase a second property and still maintain ownership of this property. That option will give you two properties and the opportunity to make a much greater profit down the road.

How to Decide Which Road is Best

It’s a good rule of thumb to review your real estate portfolio annually. Depending on the market, your current situation, and your long-term goals, you’ll want to review each of your properties individually and decide on each one and not your overall portfolio.

Looking for a little guidance in what your best strategy might be? Then contact your Advisory Team at Simply Do It! Our industry experts are here to help you throughout your investment life-cycle and not just during the purchase process. We’ll review your portfolio with you and work with you to come up with the most strategic plan to fit your goals and yield you the highest return on investment possible.

Empire Industries, LLC…Your Partner in Investing Success

By Kevin Davidson

After his job was threatened by the aftermath of 9/11, Steve Rozenberg, co-founder of Empire Industries, LLC realized that obtaining financial freedom through investing in property is a much surer way of building wealth than working for someone else.

“I’m an airline pilot by trade,” said Steve. “I fly for a commercial airline, and so after 9/11 hit, I was on the verge of being out of a job. That’s when I realized that I needed to do something else to earn money because that secure job didn’t look quite as secure as I’d thought.”

“So what I did is, I started learning everything I could about real estate. I started trying to understand it. I read a book a week on real estate and I devoured as much information as I could so I could figure out this new society…this new language that I was engulfed in.”

“Then I started buying some houses. I sold a few houses then ended up buying an apartment complex. I sold the apartment complex and started buying a bunch of low income property, which is probably my biggest mistake.”

Steve met Pete in 2005 and the two began flipping houses together before switching to a buy and hold strategy. Then, after buying twenty low income houses within a year and a half, the two realized they’d made a mistake.

“We realized why we shouldn’t have done that. All of a sudden we had a huge waterfall of problems attacking us from all angles so we did what any normal male would do, we turned around and bought another 15 properties to try to fix the problem, which really just ended up being like gasoline on the fire for us. It just ended up making our problems ten times worse!”

The solution they created for their problem became Empire Industries, LLC.

“So to solve the problem we’d gotten ourselves into, we had to create a management company of our own, just to manage our own properties.”

“This is how the management company got started. We started it out of necessity, from the result of making our own mistakes of buying the wrong properties, but also figuring solutions out for that.”

Investor solution

Today, Empire Industries, LLC is the fastest growing single family management company in Texas. They manage about 750 properties in Houston and Dallas, and have a client base that spans the globe. Investors from California to Japan use Empire Industries for their property management needs.

“We’re the number one referred management company by realtors,” said Steve. “We give referral fees to our agents and we make them look good. At the end of the day, what an investor wants is a property that is going to make them money and not give them a headache.”

“Empire Industries is a full service property management company. Our services run the gamut, from helping people find properties to managing their investments, we do it all from an investor’s perspective. Because we’re active investors ourselves, we’re looking at the market from that mindset. We are in the business of helping investors find properties that match their goals.”

“Often, beginning investors fail to see results because they don’t have policies, procedures and structures in place…they run it off of emotions, not a business model.”

“What I always tell people is that when it comes to owning a rental property you own a business. Whether you have one or fifty properties, you run a business. Fair housing, discrimination…all of these laws that dictate what you do as a landlord say that you’re a business and the only one that does not realize they’re a business is the owner.”

Investors choose Empire Industries, LLC because they’re more than a property management company. As active investors, the founders are in “the heat of battle of owning properties.”

“We look at it from an investor’s perspective,” said Steve, “as a partner, not as just a customer/client relationship. This means our goal is to help them be successful and to reach their financial goals, whatever those goals may be.”

Investor education

From hundreds of free videos to free ebooks, investors have access to a huge resource of information…for free…from the team at Empire Industries, LLC.

Ask any savvy investor and they’ll tell you…learning as much as possible about investing in property is key to achieving success.

“Most importantly, have a plan,” said Steve. “If you don’t have a plan and you don’t have goals you need to talk to someone like myself and figure out what your goals are so that when you’re trying to find a deal you can know what that deal is, based on your goals.”

Armor8TM LLC Protection Uses Overlooked Legal Code For Your Benefit

By Garrett Sutton

Holding LLC Certificates in Wyoming for Superior Asset Protection

You want the best protection possible for your assets. You want to use the strongest LLC entity available. But if you live in a weak asset protection state (like California) and set up your LLCs in a strong state (such as Wyoming) which state law applies? In an outside attack where a car wreck victim has won in court and is seeking to collect, the old standard lawyer answer is: It depends.

If you live in California and hold your Wyoming LLC membership interest (your certificate representing ownership) in California, that certificate is your personal property in California. Your Wyoming LLC can then be subject to the jurisdiction of a California court. In such a case California’s weaker laws will apply.

However, with some careful planning and by actually holding the physical Wyoming LLC certificates in Wyoming, the stronger asset protection of Wyoming law can apply. (Please note that we will use California and Wyoming in our discussion but any weak state/strong state scenario will apply.)

A membership interest in an LLC may be held in two ways: (1) as a certificated security; or (2) as an uncertificated security. A certificated certificated security is a declared ownership interest (like a corporation’s stock certificate) represented by a properly prepared and held certificate. An uncertificated security is an ownership that is not represented by a properly prepared certificate. See, UCC 8-102(4), (18).

Uncertificated Security.

Most membership interests in LLCs are held as uncertificated securities. Indeed, a membership interest in an LLC is not a security, unless its terms expressly so provide. See, UCC 8-103(c).

One downside to holding an LLC as an uncertificated security is that it usually is considered by the courts to be a “general intangible.” The courts see the LLC ownership as accompanying the owner of the uncertificated security. A court has jurisdiction over an individual if they live in the court’s district. Personal jurisdiction means the court has the ability to assert orders against the individual. Thus, if a court in California has personal jurisdiction over a judgement debtor (someone who lost in court and for purposes of example we will call “Bob”), then the court in California also may have in rem (property) jurisdiction over Bob’s Wyoming LLC. This is true even though his LLC was formed in Wyoming. Bob’s LLC membership interest is deemed to be “intangible personal property” that accompanies him in California. In this way, an uncertificated security representing a Wyoming LLC membership interest can be subject to California’s weak laws. When Bob is served in a California collection case, a California court not only acquires personal jurisdiction over Bob but all of his California holdings as well, including uncertificated securities even if his LLCs were formed in Wyoming.

Neither Bob nor you wants this result. Let’s consider a better alternative.

Certificated Security

There are distinct advantages to holding a membership interest in an LLC as a certificated security.

One definite advantage is that Bob’s interest in a certificated security may be reached by a judgment creditor only by actual seizure of the security certificate by the officer making the attachment or levy. See, UCC 8-112 (a). Thus, in dealing with certificated securities, possession of the securities is the vital matter. Placing them in a Wyoming safety deposit box, a service we provide, puts the certificates out of the easy reach of a California (or other state) court.

Furthermore, the local law of the jurisdiction in which a security certificate is located at the time of delivery governs whether an adverse claim can be asserted against a person to whom the security certificate is delivered. See, UCC 8-110 (c). Delivery of a certificated security occurs when the purchaser acquires possession of the security certificate. See, 8-301 (a)(1).

Therefore, if Bob acquires possession of a security certificate in Wyoming, then delivery of the security certificate occurs in Wyoming. As such, the law of Wyoming (the jurisdiction in which the security certificate was located at the time of delivery) governs whether an adverse claim can be asserted against Bob. In this way, even if Bob is served with process in California, the California court may apply only those stronger remedies against Bob’s Wyoming LLC membership interest that exist in Wyoming, and not those weaker remedies that exist in California.

Thus, if a charging order against Bob’s LLC membership interest is the exclusive remedy in Wyoming, a California court must apply Wyoming’s superior law to the case.

Our firm has developed a method for certificating LLC securities in Wyoming to be governed by article 8 of the UCC so that Wyoming law applies. We call it “Armor 8”. We add specific jurisdictional Article 8 language to the Operating Agreement and the membership certificates. We hold the membership certificates in a safe deposit box at a Wyoming bank. Your certificates are physically located in Wyoming and governed by Wyoming law. We have not had a case challenging this procedure and can make no guarantees as to how any one court would rule. But by taking the extra steps here you are in a much better position to argue the applicability of Wyoming law, to your greater protection.

The cost of our Armor 8 service is very affordable. The setup fee is $95 and annual holding fee for 1 to 7 certificates is $75. To get your certificate out of the Wyoming safe deposit box and returned to you (for reissue or any other reason) the fee is $50. To place the certificates back in the safe deposit box the fee is also $50.

If you start a new Wyoming LLC and want our special ‘Article 8’ language included in your Operating Agreement and on your membership certificate there is no extra cost if you are using our certificate service.

If you want to amend your Operating Agreement and LLC membership certificates to include the Article 8 language so you can start using our service the minimum fee is $295. Prices may be higher due to the complexity of the Operating Agreement and the number of certificates to be reissued.

Now you can better protect your LLC by keeping ownership certificates in Wyoming. Call Corporate Direct at 1-800-600-1760 to get started with your Armor8TM protection.

Garrett Sutton

Garrett Sutton is an attorney, speaker and best selling author. As part of Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad’s Advisor group he has written six books which have been translated into 11 languages. Garrett focuses on corporate and asset protection law and speaks to audiences on the importance of asset protection. His advice is pertinent, timely and valuable.

Garrett received his Juris Doctor Law Degree in 1978 from Hastings College of the Law, the University of California’s law school in San Francisco. He received a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1975. He is licensed to practice in Nevada and California.

Website: http://www.corporatedirect.com/

6 Ways Journaling Will Make You a Better Real Estate Investor

By Sharon Vornholt

Today’s article is on the “6 ways journaling will make you a better real estate investor”. I am the first one to admit that the topic is a little bit different than what you’re used to. However paying attention to your mind-body wellness is really one of the keys to your success.

We get so caught up in the “day to day” of our businesses, that sometimes when we are stuck or feeling burned out we cannot figure out why. Sure; we know we’re bone tired from chasing deals, but it’s more than that.

Journaling is a process that has many unexpected benefits for all entrepreneurs including real estate investors. Better focus is just one of them. If you’ve real Hal Elrod’s book “The Miracle Morning”, you know that journaling is one of the things he suggests you do every morning.

It’s Easier than You Think

I know a lot of people say, “I have no idea where to start”. For all the women reading this, just think back to when you were a young girl. I’ll bet you had a diary. You just sat down and wrote. We dumped all of our feelings into that little book.

I can tell you that it works pretty much the same when you’re a grownup, but here’s the difference: Instead of unloading all that teenage drama onto the page, what you will be doing is freeing up some brain space to work on your business.

Are you ready to at least give it the benefit of the doubt?

Here we go.

6 Reasons You Should Start Journaling Now

Journaling clears your mind which leads to better focus.

Over time, our brains get clogged up with details. There are things we need to do, things we should have done (and didn’t), projects, plans, emotions and more. Remember that tenant that is driving you crazy or the house you should have gotten under contract but you botched the offer?

Carrying all this stuff around weighs us down, and it takes our attention off our business.

David Allen wrote the book “Getting Things Done”. In his book he suggest that we periodically do a brain dump. I personally think you need to do this on a regular basis. How often you need to do it will be an individual decision. In general when you’re feeling overwhelmed, it’s probably time.

Doing a brain dump is also a way to begin your journaling experience.

In another one of my favorite books “Double Your Income doing What You Love”, Raymond Aaron talks about cleaning up your “messes”. He is referring not only to physical messes, but to all the things AKA “messes” in your mind that take your concentration away from your business.

Action Step: It’s time to do a brain dump. Write down every unfinished or half-finished task, project or idea you haven’t gotten around to. Get them out of your head and onto paper. Once you do that, you will have the framework for a plan of action.

Journaling helps you be more creative.

Regular journaling can help you brainstorm new ideas. You probably think your ideas are pretty dull and ordinary. However once you put all those ideas on paper, you will begin to see a bigger picture emerge for growing your investing business. Thoughts, ideas, and opportunities begin to come together once you begin writing.

Action Step: Once you’ve done your brain dump, look at what you have written. Where is there an opportunity for creativity in your business? What ordinary thing can you do differently; in a more creative way? You might just surprise yourself.

Journaling helps you think big.

Write “no limits” at the top of one of your pages. (Remember that no one has to see this). If there were no limits, what would your dream business look like? You can put all those big ideas on the page without your inner voice telling you, “That won’t work”. This is a judgement free zone.

Action Step: Write down 3 big ideas you have for your REI business you haven’t said out loud. Nothing is off limits.

Journaling helps you build better habits.

Once you begin journaling, you will automatically become more aware of your actions and your habits. Whether it is things you need to do more of (like exercising or eating better) or things you are doing too much of (like wasting time surfing the internet), they will become apparent as you write about your days. As an entrepreneur, over time your habits will likely be largely responsible for the success of your real estate business.

Action Step: Decide to write even a paragraph in your journal each day that describes your previous day. Be sure to include the good, the bad and the ugly whatever that might be.

Journaling provides a healthy way to process emotions and relieve those stresses in your life.

Remember the deal you blew and the tenant that’s driving you crazy? The simple act of writing down these types of things (before having a physical meltdown) can literally save your business and your reputation. It’s a much healthier outlet for those emotions.

Carrying around all that stress weighs you down, and it can do actual physical damage to your body. It definitely prevents you from being the best you can be.

Action Step: Write down something that is causing you stress. How do you feel? What emotions are holding you back? Once you get those down on paper, write out a solution or a way to at least deal with the situation that will take the weight of it off your shoulders.

Journaling helps you feel a sense of achievement.

We all have those thoughts. You know; the ones about how we are falling short when it comes to our real estate business.

When you commit to a regular journaling process (even if it’s only 5 or 10 minutes a day), your progress and achievements will be right there on the page. Journaling allows you to celebrate all your wins no matter how big or small they are.

Action Step: Write down at least 5 “wins” you can claim for your business. They can be simple things or big achievements. Then pat yourself on the back.

Journaling Tools

You may be the type of person that uses the computer for everything you write. If you are that person, there are plenty of online journals you can use. A lot of people prefer online tools simply because they are more private.

I’m more of a pen and paper person when it comes to a journal. In fact, I love writing in a beautiful quality journal. The actual book is as important to me as what goes in the book. You just need to find what works best for you. The important thing is to just get started.

Here are some resources that you might want to take a look at when it comes to online journals.

JRNL

This is a free app that can be accessed from anywhere. JRNL is rated one of the top online journals and it’s private. You can customize the pages in your journal, you can share entries in your journal (although I’m not sure why you would do that since they are meant to be private), and you can “write on the fly”.

You can check it out here at JRNL.com

Penzu

Penzu has both free and paid versions of its online journal. They say they have over 2 million users around the world. This journal is password protected, fully customizable and they will send you an email reminding you to write in your journal each day.

ONEWORD

It you cannot wrap your brain around how to get started journaling, ONEWORD might just be the tool to help you to get started. The premise is simple. Create your free account and you will be directed to the next page. Once you’re on that page, you’ll see one word at the top of the following screen. You have sixty seconds to write about it. This is actually a great way to start if you’re not used to writing.

Ready to Dive In?

If you’re still on the fence about keeping a journal, I would say just give it a try. I’m pretty sure you’re going to like it.

Sharon Vornholt

Sharon Vornholt is the owner of Innovative Property Solutions, LLC in Louisville, KY.

Sharon owned and operated a successful home inspection company for 17 years. She began investing in real estate in 1998 and became a full time real estate investor in January of 2008.

Sharon specializes in wholesaling, and is also an experienced landlord and rehabber.

Uncovering the Secrets of Marketing To Motivated Sellers

By Kathy Kennebrook, The Marketing Magic Lady

Several years ago, I attended my first real estate seminar and decided this was the business for me. I could do it in my own time and at my own pace and make great money. Considering I was still working a full time job at the time, this seemed to be just the scenario I was looking for. One of the things they taught us in those seminars was that finding truly motivated sellers was going to be the cornerstone to this business because without motivated sellers there simply are no deals to be made.

After spending a number of years in sales prior to becoming a real estate entrepreneur, I knew that when the prospect contacts you first, you have a much better chance of making a good deal. At the time I didn’t have a lot of money to work with and needed to make every marketing dollar count.

I discovered the same theory applied to working with motivated sellers. A motivated seller is the key to all good deals, and if they contact you first, this significantly increases your opportunity to make a profitable deal. There are lots of opportunities for those who want to find sellers, and some are more labor intensive and time consuming than others. Learning to influence motivated sellers to contact you first will increase your profits immensely, help you make better deals and most importantly save you valuable time.

One of the primary reasons for failure in this business is trying to create a deal with unmotivated sellers. It’s like trying to push a rock uphill. You spend all your time chasing dead end leads and getting nowhere. This is discouraging and can cause you to quit the business altogether before you ever get to see the long term benefits it can bring you.

Locating the truly motivated sellers is the key to your success as a real estate investor. Your money is made at the point at which you purchase the property, so an effective marketing plan is essential to your business in order to create profitable deals. The key point to remember is that most sellers are not motivated. The biggest mistake you can make is to try to make a deal with someone who doesn’t want to sell to you.

Effective marketing is the process of delivering your specific message to a targeted audience through the use of various types of media. Using this method enables you to find the sellers who really need to sell, as opposed to those who just want to sell. When you find the sellers who really need to sell, you’ll end up buying a lot more houses at much better prices and terms. The secret to the really great deals is to find them before anyone else even knows about them.

A lot of the deals you should be finding won’t even be actively marketed. These sellers have a variety of problems they simply don’t know how to solve. Their motivation comes in a lot of forms. Some of the reasons motivated sellers need to sell have to do with the sellers themselves, such as age, health problems, financial difficulties, change in marital status, liens and judgments, job transfers, landlords who are tired of having their properties abused, or change in family size just to name a few. Other reasons are more directly related to the property itself, such as estates, properties needing extensive repairs, code enforcement violations or properties that have been vacant for a significant period of time.

So how are you going to find these sellers and how should you market to them? As a real estate investor, you have lots of choices. You can use classified ads, flyers, the internet, signage, websites, business cards, billboards, radio and TV ads and direct mail.

You should pick at least three to five ways to market your business. Put them to work for you simultaneously in order to promote your business and draw as many different sellers to you within your market. You must begin to understand a seller’s motivation for selling a property in the first place. This is going to be important for you because if you try and reach sellers in only one way, and you don’t find a property in a relatively short period of time, you may become discouraged and quit. You really don’t want to do this, trust me. There is more business out there than you can imagine! Accept the fact that you’ll need to do more than lay some flyers and hope some motivated sellers call you.

One of the first things you need to do is to identify your market, deciding where you want to buy and what types of properties interest you. Then develop a marketing plan that fits your personal needs and budget. This way, you eliminate the need to call sellers; you want them to call you first.

Marketing is a numbers game, the more leads come in, the more opportunities you have to make deals. You won’t buy every deal that comes your way, but when you develop a machine that you can control that brings in quality leads, you’ll be able to pick and choose the kinds of deals you want to do. As a real estate investor, you need to find a seller who is either flexible on the price of the property or on the terms of the sale. If a seller wants full price and all cash for a property, it’s almost impossible for you as the investor to make a good deal. The investor who wants to help people and make money should be looking for a seller who is flexible on the terms of the sale. Many of the people I send direct mail to practically beg me to take their properties off their hands for a variety of reasons. These are the kinds of motivated sellers you want to be dealing with.

The best way that I’ve found to “niche” market to motivated sellers and control the number of leads coming in is through the use of direct mail. The BIG secret to doing direct mail successfully is mailing the right letter to the right list and then mailing to them over and over. As you will discover, given time, almost every potential seller’s circumstances change and make them more motivated to sell. You must let the world know you buy real estate. The best thing about direct mail is that you can specifically target the types of sellers you want to reach and cultivate quality leads to work from.

I also find these mailings are very residual. These potential sellers will hold onto your direct mail pieces until their circumstances dictate that they contact you. When they are ready to sell, they will contact you first, since they probably haven’t had any contact from anyone else. Usually their properties aren’t even being actively marketed, therefore there is no competition for these deals. In the meantime, you’ve gained credibility with these sellers by doing repetitive mailings.

The biggest part of the secret is to find the sellers who really want to sell. I use different direct mail campaigns to locate different types of motivated sellers, such as out of state owners, properties which have been quit claimed from one person to another, expired listings, burned out landlords, and pre-foreclosures, just to name a few. The best part is that you can customize your marketing to reach exactly the kind of motivated sellers you want to deal with. This can best be done by locating mailing lists and refining them to meet your individual criteria and then mailing to them again and again. Investors often neglect to market to sellers in this way because they think the list is just too difficult to get or they only do the mailings once and quit.

Let me tell you, these are some of the easiest lists for you to get and it will be very profitable to you to do so. You can go to a list broker or your local property appraisers’ office and ask them for a list, or you can create the lists yourself. It’s fairly easy to do. You can go to the courthouse and research the divorce cases, death notices, liens and judgments, tax liens, marriage licenses, bankruptcies and notices of default, which is the first step toward foreclosure.

Another way to find motivated sellers is to cultivate relationships with individuals who can help you find deals. One of the ways to do this is to write letters to attorneys who handle family law, estate planning and probate law, divorce and marital law, and corporation and business law and let them know you are in the business of buying houses. Once you develop relationships with these attorneys, they will call you when they have a client who needs to sell a property quickly. This is just another way to build another lead source using direct mail.

Another way to find motivated sellers is to write letters to the owners of vacant houses or houses that look like they need a lot of repairs. If you can find the owners of vacant houses, these are usually deals waiting to be made. The harder the owner is to find, the better deal you will make. There are lots of ways to find the owners of vacant houses, the easiest of which is to simply use a skip tracer to locate them for you.

You can also work with realtors who can give you expired listings. The longer a house sits without selling, the more motivated the seller will be. If you get expired listings for out of state owners, these sellers are usually even more motivated. You can often make a deal with a realtor who will supply you with the list. Tell them you will use them to make the offers for you, or simply tell them you’ll pay them a fee for their services.

Mail these potential sellers a personal looking and sounding letter. Let them know that you are interested in helping them find a solution to their problem. Even if you don’t get a response right away, repeat your mailings at least every thirty days until you do get a response.

The main reason that direct mail works so well is that you are reaching targeted sellers, and you become the seller’s first option when they need to sell. Even if you are on a limited budget, direct mail is an excellent source of leads for you since you can buy more houses from fewer leads, thus maximizing your marketing dollars. As your business grows, you can increase the amount of mailings you do. You can also target specific neighborhoods or dominate certain parts of town. In doing so, you become a “property value expert” in those areas, which makes the offer making process that much easier for you.

In addition, you create an ongoing relationship with your target market which makes it easy for you to follow up with past inflexible or unmotivated sellers. Because these mailings are so targeted and so residual, there is virtually no competition for these properties, and it puts your lead generating system on auto-pilot, leaving you more time to make offers.

The most important thing to remember is to be consistent in all your efforts. The successful real estate investor has a network of people and strategies at their fingertips at all times. If you don’t develop continuity to your marketing campaigns, you’ll see your results begin to drop off immediately.

When you learn to get motivated sellers contacting you and then learn a variety of ways to purchase properties, the possibilities become almost endless. If you use several different ways to get motivated sellers contacting you, you will have more opportunities than you’ll be able to handle.

Using direct mail to develop a “cookie cutter” system to accomplish this is one of the most affordable, reliable, and effective ways I know to build your business quickly and have all the deals you will ever need.

For more information on finding all the deals you need for your real estate investing business be sure and check out my website at www.marketingmagiclady.com. While you are there be sure and sign up for my FREE monthly newsletter!

Kathy Kennebrook

Kathy Kennebrook is the ultimate success story. She spent over 20 years in the banking industry before discovering the world of real estate. After attending some real estate seminars this 4 foot 11 mother of two got really excited and before you know it she’d bought and sold hundreds of properties using none of her own money or credit.

Kathy holds a degree in finance and has co-authored the books- The Venus Approach to Real Estate Investing, Walking With the Wise Real Estate Investor, and Walking With the Wise Entrepreneur which also includes real estate experts Suze Orman, Robert Kiyosaki, and Dr. Wayne Dyer.

She is the nation’s leading expert at finding highly qualified, motivated sellers, buyers and lenders using many types of direct mail marketing. She is known throughout the United States and Canada as the Marketing Magic Lady. She has put together a simple step-by-step system that anyone can follow to duplicate her success.

Kathy has been speaking throughout the country and across Canada for over 14 years and has shared the stage with Ron LeGrand, Dr. Phil, Dan Kennedy, Mark Victor Hansen, Ted Thomas and Suze Orman to name a few.

Kathy is going to share with you how she generates a seven figure income by mailing a handful of letters throughout the year to highly selected targets by knowing exactly what to send them, who to send them to and exactly how to deliver her message. She will teach you the secrets of pre-screening and automating your marketing and follow up systems to put your entire Real Estate business on auto-pilot.

Tools of the Trade For Tax Lien Certificate and Tax Deed Investments

By: Ted Thomas

Tax Lien Certificates are the perfect investment vehicle for everyone that wants a low risk and the safety of investing with the government. Tax Lien Certificate and Tax deeds don’t require years of study, and a person can start with less than $500. There are numerous tools; some are basic some are advanced, that a person needs to learn. It’s all very easy and can be accomplished in 3-4 weeks.

Basic Research Tools

The more you know, the better off you will be when it comes time to attend your first auction and start bidding on Tax Defaulted properties. As I’ve mentioned before, the essential information is knowing the who, what, when, and where.

When it comes to finding this information, you have several options. One is to refer to my course materials such as the Comprehensive Tax Lien Directory, Complete Tax Deed Directory, and my Platinum Tax Lien Certificate and Tax Deed Directory software on flash drive.

These days, using a computer is another great way of gathering information. Many counties now post the list of delinquent properties on a website along with the bidding requirements, the date and time of the auction, etc. online.

For the data you cannot find elsewhere, it’s helpful to give the appropriate agency or person a call, so obviously a phone is an important tool.

Transportation is another big one. Whenever possible, you will want to drive by any parcels you are considering purchasing. While you’re there, take pictures of the property and add them, along with your written notes, to a notebook (or other type of device/recordkeeping system, such as a iPhone, laptop or iPad) entry. Don’t rely on your memory to supply the details at a later date.

A final basic tool that everyone needs is time. Don’t rush into a deal without having completed the proper research. Take the time to delve deep into the specifics of a parcel before buying. Do your homework and determine if there might possibly be an environmental contaminant on the property, other liens that will compete against the property tax lien, zoning restrictions, etc.

To recap, the basic tools you need are:
– A directory of tax lien and tax deed offices
– Computer
– Phone
– Vehicle
– Camera
– Notebook or Software
– Time

Advanced Tools

In all cases, you will need to do research on the parcel going to the defaulted auction. Many times the list of properties you obtain includes little more than a tax ID number, perhaps a legal description, and the amount of taxes in arrears. For most of us, that’s not enough to determine if a parcel has any value. You need to get an address so either you or someone you are partnering with can do a drive by; the owner’s name is a big help, too.

In order to get that missing data, the best place to start is at the county office (usually either the Treasurer or Assessor). They may have a cross-reference tool you can use free or pay a small fee for.

There are sites online that aggregate this data. One is Bid4Assets.com.

Human Resource Tools

Not only do you need tools to help you with your tax lien certificates and tax deed investments, you need people, too. These people are your partners who function in a variety of ways to help you with the things you can’t do or can’t provide.

Knowing an attorney you trust can be a lifesaver. He or she will come in handy to advise you on various laws and possible action you can take to defend your assets against worst case scenarios.

A realtor is vitally important. A good real estate agent can give you comparable values, give you an assessment of future values in a particular area, and also easily dig up information on a property that you might have difficulty getting access to.

A home inspector and appraiser are two more human resources that are handy to have available when you need them. After you’ve brought your property, they can help you assess current condition and provide their estimate of value.

And finally a group of people who are willing to provide funds for your investments is always helpful, particularly if your capital stash is limited. Often the difference between getting a great deal or not depends on whether or not you’ve got the cash when you need it. At the Ted Thomas 3 Day Auction Preparation workshop we will show you how to get access to funds to do your Tax Lien Certificate And Tax Defaulted Property deals.

When it comes to being successful with tax lien certificate and tax deed investing, remember that old adage, “to be forewarned is to be forearmed.” There are many tools available and you would be wise to use each and every one.

Remember, too, that you are not going it alone. Join our coaching call every Wednesday night and learn from those who have been there, done that, and made great profits! Our Coaching calls are usually offered as a bonus with my many of my home study programs.

Ted Thomas

Ted Thomas is famous for showing newcomers and investors how to earn 6 figure incomes within 1 year of completing his training program. Conservative investors love tax lien certificates because they are predictable, certain and secure and sold by local government. Tax defaulted properties are sold at oral big auctions and online. Starting bid, only the back taxes…. More information at www.TedThomas.com