Massachusetts Real Estate Investors Association
www.MassRealEstate.net
Tuesday February 28, 2006
6:00 PM Doors Open
6:30 -7:00 NETWORKING (the most valuable portion of our meeting!)
Below are a few of the topics to be discussed:
Florida Buying Tour
Sat. & Sun. March 11-12, 2006
Florida Investment Tour
James will dazzle us with the property values in emerging areas of the SUNSHINE state and it appears Florida has been experiencing the appreciation we have come to expect in Massachusetts.
Why would I do this? Because most millionaires have made their money in Real Estate. This is your chance to hop on an emerging “Hot Market”. You have the opportunity to take advantage and invest or just watch some pro’s at it. All in one weekend.
We’ve found a growth area with $99,000 Condos, interested? Don’t miss this meeting or the Buying Tour!
Incidentally last year we had a great turnout for this meeting of 125 wise investors with 43 coming with us on the Buying Tour! Don’t miss this meeting.
[i]Here was my take on Florida last year (which seems to be appreciating even higher this year!):
About 12 years ago when I first became interested in Florida I noticed friends who bought there faced several dilemmas:
No appreciation (UNTIL RECENTLY).You could buy a house for $40,000. and the market price when you sold it 10 years later was between 39,500 and $40,500.
I figured it was the attrition rate in Florida because of the advanced age of the population.
However Florida has grown so fast that the average age has lowered & industries have relocated there to provide jobs.
Families moving there to support the industries come from all over the US.
So if there’s a slump in the Northeast, people are still moving there from the Midwest and West.
Hence the start of the appreciation train we’re getting on by acting NOW!
- A few years ago I spent considerable time in Florida.
***At one end of the spectrum a friend of mine had a 2 bed, 2 bath condo worth $30,000.
***Another friend had a house on the water in Naples worth $8,000,000.
***Neither fit my lifestyle which is fortuitous because most property is between those extremes.
Can you figure out How to get a great deal in a weekend? Probably.
Can you make all your connections to work from, in a weekend? Definitely!
Once these in-person connections are made and you’ve seen property you can be an armchair investor with James handling most of the details – with your approval of course! [/i]
I believe we should invest in Florida Real Estate now while we’re still “young”.
Like playing golf, don’t try to learn it when you’re old, it’s too hard.
You can get in at a low price now for a residence or pick up some investment property to support you.
[b]Investment Real Estate is now the #1 investment for retirement!
February 28, 2006
6:30 PM at the Peabody Marriott
See you there![/b]
8)LAST MONTH
** Last Meeting January 27.
We started off last month’s meeting with a crash course on getting started in Real Estate.
Covered:
a. How to Lock-in a deal so no one can steal your signed Offer for more money if you are a Buyer or for less if you are a Seller.
b. Finding deals is harder some in the audience suggested. Not if you’re organized and persistent. Victoria said she recently bought a 4 family in Lowell 100% Loan to value (no money out of pocket for the purchase) and the rents $825 – 850. make it CASH POSITIVE including PITI (Principal, interest, taxes and insurance)!
JJ Manning is having their huge Auction
www.jjmanning.com
Saturday, February 18
Do not miss this event.
I believe it is a precursor of events in our Real Estate industry.
If you’d like to get your property in the next Auction, April 22
It will cost you:
- a $6,000 entry fee until March 1.
- $7500 entry fee until March 15
- then it closes, so they can max out the marketing!
Once the property sells there is a Buyers premium that the BUYER pays, 10% of the highest bid price.
Back to getting started.
If you are looking to get into REOs (Real Estate Owned, as in by a Bank) then
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make sure you profile the decision maker and not waste time.
-
Unreasonable seller expectations.
When I make offers I like a seasoned seller who has been on the market for a couple of months and has been hit with the reality of real prices.
A Broker in the audience from Keller Williams said he interviews for at least an hour before he will take a listing so he can make sure the property will sell at a realistic price.
- Most properties in our area are selling for a 5% Real Estate Brokers commission. This is usually split between a Listing Broker and the Selling Broker. I try to deal with the Listing Broker because they are more flexible when they make 5% and can shave it versus scratching for 2.5%.
There were several techniques for you as an investor to get personally in front of a Seller.
When the Broker complains just explain you have No problem with their commission, you just had some quick questions.
John Hyre the Attorney and Tax specialist was great he’ll be back on …… can you remember this date:
Saturday April 15, 2006 for an all day tax and bookkeeping Seminar.
If you bought his program make sure you get QuickBooks pro version for about $150 and pick up a new Laptop for yourself from MicroCenter in Cambridge for $399. Now you can attend the all-day Seminar and set up your books while John takes us through setting up a company and maintaining it with an eye on HOW TO LEGALLY AND ETHICALLY HAMMER THE IRS!
Adding Value Quickly Starts Outside
By Jay P. Decima
First you need to understand that both buyers and renters make their decisions to do business with you - or not do business,
a) driving by your property 30 miles per hour in their automobiles.
b) If they are not impressed or worse yet – don’t like what they see, all the money you spent inside ain’t worth a hill of beans!
c) The battle to win their business for the most part will be won or lost outside the house before they ever set foot inside your property.
I have sold properties for $10,000 to $20,000 more than I otherwise could have simply because I watered my weeds, planted cheap evergreen shrubs (pyracanthas) and built a three-foot high old-fashion white picket fence around the front yard.
If there are no trees, add a couple decent size purple plums for a bit of color.
In my state where the sun shines a lot, you can water weeds daily in the summer months – then mow once a week or so – and presto, you’ve turned the weeds into lawn (at least close enough).
Nothing sells a house – or rents it any faster than a front yard that oozes old-fashion charm with a healthy stand of manicured weeds.
There are fix-up books written that suggest a two dollar return for each fix-up dollar spent will earn you substantial profits – and I most certainly agree!
However, in front yards – by creating the proper image for renting or selling, your pay-back will be many times more – ten dollars return for every rehab dollar spent is what we’re talkin’.
Make no mistake about it, the front yard appearance counts for everything – plus its high profit fix-up that almost any novice investor can do.
By spring, my front yard at Pecan Street looked greener than our hometown park.
It’s hard to believe the changes a new lawn – plus a coat of paint can make to a property!
Sometimes at my Fixer Camps I’ll show the class before and after pictures (slides).
They are always amazed when they see the stunning changes.
Quite often they accuse me of showing fixed-up pictures from another property — They’re always impressed by how quickly looks can be changed!
Disclaimer:
This newsletter is published by and for the members of the Massachusetts Real Estate Investors Association.