There is no question that we all have strong feelings and memories about the holidays, and what sells a home? An emotional connection! Holiday staging done well can help a buyer form that connection faster than you can say gingerbread!

Adding holiday touches to staging just makes sense. Adding subtle touches will invoke memories of Christmas’ past and those yet to come. What stronger connection than an image of the family gathered around a Thanksgiving feast or Yule tide celebration.

Here are my top ten tips for holiday staging:
1. Do not over decorate!! Rather than tons of Christmas stars and angels, subtle decorations such as a glass bowl filled with holiday ornaments used as a centerpiece create a holiday feeling without going overboard. If the home doesn’t sell by Christmas, you simply replace the ornaments with polished rocks, potpourri, shells or small fruit.
2. Do use clear lights around shrubs in the front yard or if there aren’t shrubs add silk weather resistant plants with clear white lights on either side of the front door. Small clear twinkle lights feel festive during the holiday season, but can be used year round.
3. Rather than a fake Christmas tree, add white twinkly lights and ornaments to silk trees inside. This creates an elegant holiday décor that is easily changed once the season is over.
4. Use cinnamon, ginger, spiced apple or other holiday scented candles to fill the home with holiday fragrances. You don’t even need to burn the candles to bring out the aroma of Christmas past!
5. Do not use religious holiday decorations. As you all know decorating is personalizing, staging is de-personalizing. This rule totally applies to holiday decorations. The last thing you want to do is to turn off a prospective buyer because of different religious beliefs.
6. Do add a touch of whimsy to your holiday staging! A tray decorated with a faux glass of milk and Christmas cookies placed on an ottoman or coffee table is bound to bring a smile to your buyers face and evoke nostalgic memories.
7. Do use instrumental holiday music during showings and open houses. Some of my favorites are Windham Hill Holiday Guitar Collection, and all of the Winter Solstice Collection, especially the Silver Anniversary collection. The instrumentals are soothing and appeal to everyone regardless of the holiday they celebrate during the winter months.
8. Bring the outside in. Using fresh evergreen boughs as part of your holiday center piece in the living or dining room adds both a festive and fragrant look!
9. Remember to retake pictures. If the pictures on the MLS, your website or your flyers include holiday decorations, remember to retake and replace them if the home doesn’t sell during the holiday season.
10. The Three C’s of staging: Clean, Color and Clutter free still apply. Keep holiday decorations simple, use colors that compliment the home’s color scheme and keep the home meticulously clean!

Don’t hesitate to put your home on the market during the holiday season. The fact that’s it’s a slower market could work very well in your favor. While there may be few buyers, the ones that are out there are very serious. They want to buy and get in before the end of the year. Plus, while there may be fewer buyers, inventory is also going down, so if your home is priced right and well staged it will easily out shine the competition.

I hope you are looking forward to the holiday season and take time for yourself and your family. Most of the staging tips above apply to your home as well. Keep your holiday decorating simple, even beloved holiday décor can become clutter if you over decorate.

Theme gifts are great, and for you Realtors out there or those of you who have Realtors as friends and clients, consider giving them an “EcoJoe.” This cute little guy is the perfect gift and is available on Amazon.com for only $14.99, or on my website for only $11.99. EcoJoe is an environmentally friendly St. Joseph, who when buried in the yard by the for sale sign, will help to get your home sold!

Do you have specific staging questions? Send me an email or post on my Facebook Fanpage, and I will feature your question with an answer on my weekly radio segment on Chat with Women. I’m on between 8:30 and 8:45 every Wednesday morning on KKNW 1150 AM radio, or you can listen on the wen just go to www.chatwithwomen.com!

Hope you have a happy and safe holiday season!

About the author…
Pam Christensen, APSM is the owner and founder of Staging For Charisma. She is an Accredited Staging Professional Master who specializes in working with investors to help them maximize their return on investment by providing high quality staging that gets results! She is one of only 15 ASPM’s in the state of Washington, in fact, there are under 200 in the Nation! Find Pam at: www.facebook.com/stagingforcharisma.com or visit www.stagingforcharisma.com.

“REAPS is the oldest – and largest – Professional Association for the real estate investor this side of the Mississippi. We provide education and networking resources for real estate investors, those who want to be investors and anyone who provides value to our members. Our goals are to motivate and support our members and guests through education, discussion, legislative action and networking. We host over 40 live events a year around Puget Sound and they are all open to the public. If you’ve never attended one of our meetings, just email our office at info@reapsweb.com and be our guest for free!”

T o start with, what is a “self-directed” IRA? The vast majority of people who have a retirement plan, whether it’s in the form of an IRA, 401(k), 403(b), etc. have their money invested in “traditional” types of investments, e.g. stocks, bonds, mutual funds. However, the general rules governing an IRA allow for any type of investment except for investments into “life insurance contracts” and “collectibles” (e.g. rare coins, antiques, wine, etc.). The most common investments for self-directed IRAs include: real estate, loans, tax liens and privately-held companies. That sounds great in theory, but in order for you to actually invest retirement funds into assets outside of the stock market you will need your retirement plan custodian to allow this type of investment.

In other words, the financial institution that holds your retirement account must be able to facilitate the investment or you are out of luck. The reality is that most large investment institutions (e.g. Charles Schwab, Fidelity, etc.) have traditionally not allowed investments outside of publicly-traded securities. Thus, one of the first steps in the process of forming a self-directed IRA is generally to “roll” or “transfer” some (or all) of the retirement account to a new IRA custodian. But before we get to that issue, a few other steps will need to occur.

Step #1 – Can The Funds Be Moved?

Prior to selecting a new IRA custodian (discussed more in Step #2), the retirement account owner needs to determine whether his or her retirement account is even eligible to be moved out of its current location. For example, many 401(k) plans significantly restrict the movement of money while the retirement account owner is still working for the company that sponsors the plan. In other words, if the 401(k)’s underlying “plan documents” will not allow the account owner to move the money, transferring funds into a self-directed IRA might not be possible. This is an issue that the IRA owner needs to resolve with their current plan administrator. In general, if the retirement account that is owned by the client is structured as an IRA (or a 401(k) from a previous employer), it can be moved (in whole or
in part) to a new custodian without incurring current tax consequences.

Step #2 – The New Custodian

Once the retirement plan holder determines that they are eligible to move some (or all) of their retirement funds, they need to select a self-directed IRA custodian. Although there are an increasing number of IRA custodians that are willing to hold “alternative” IRA assets, there are dramatic differences between these custodians. Some custodians offer very minimal customer service, but have lower fees. Other custodians claim to offer the opposite. Another issue to consider is whether the custodian will allow the IRA to purchase a Limited Liability Company, which is important if the client wishes to have maximum control over the structure (see Step #4).

Step #3 – Rollover Or Transfer?

After setting up a new self-directed IRA, it needs to be funded, which can be done in one of two ways. (1) The client can request a “rollover” – meaning that the old retirement plan administrator sends a check to the client that is made out to the new IRA custodian. The client then must deposit the check into the new IRA within 60 days. If the client fails to deposit the check in time, the entire amount will generally be treated as a taxable distribution. (2) The client requests a “trustee-to-trustee” transfer – in which the funds move from the old custodian to the new custodian without the client coming into physical possession of the funds. When possible, the latter method is preferable.

Step #4 – IRA Or IRA/LLC

Let’s assume for a moment that the client’s goal is to invest into a piece of residential rental real estate. Once the new self-directed IRA is funded, the client needs to decide whether he or she is going to invest the money directly out of the IRA (i.e. the IRA custodian buys the property on behalf of the IRA) or whether the IRA is going to purchase a Limited Liability Company (“LLC”) and invest using the LLC. With the client serving as the “Manager” of the LLC, the latter option allows the purchase of property using a check from the LLC’s checking account, which depending on the custodian’s ability to move quickly, will likely speed up the property purchase. Also, the IRA/LLC model will reduce the future costs due to reduced custodian involvement (i.e. lower fees). For tax purposes, because the LLC is a “flow-through” tax entity, investments made using either method are normally tax-deferred (note: there are major exceptions which I will discuss in future articles). However, the control / flexibility allowed by the IRA/LLC creates problems if the client does not operate the structure is a legal fashion (again, these issues will also be discussed extensively in future articles).

About the author… Warren L. Baker, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation) is a is a tax attorney with Amicus Law Group, PC in downtown Seattle. His areas of practice include estate planning and trusts, business transactions and self-directed IRA tax consulting. Warren has worked with hundreds of clients to help them better understand the tax and legal ramifications of investing using self-directed IRA structures. Warren offers a 10% discount on all services for current REAPS members.

DISCLAIMER: THE FOREGOING IS NOT INTENDED TO BE GIVEN AS LEGAL, FINANCIAL OR TAX ADVICE, BUT INTENDED FOR INSTRUCTIONAL USE ONLY. IF YOU REQUIRE LEGAL, FINANCIAL, OR TAX ADVICE YOU SHOULD SEEK THE ASSISTANCE OF A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL.

“REAPS is the oldest – and largest – Professional Association for the real estate investor this side of the Mississippi. We provide education and networking resources for real estate investors, those who want to be investors and anyone who provides value to our members. Our goals are to motivate and support our members and guests through education, discussion, legislative action and networking. We host over 40 live events a year around Puget Sound and they are all open to the public. If you’ve never attended one of our meetings, just email our office at info@reapsweb.com and be our guest for free!”

What does this have to do with IRAs? Everything! IRAs are our safety net for our financial future and retirement. Social security, for anyone younger than 40, is uncertain at best.
Most institutional IRA custodians offer limited options for you to invest your funds and thus you are at the mercy of their investments. Typically, these are geared toward the investor who desires to have little input on his or her financial future and would rather hire someone to make decisions. Doing this leaves your financial future up to the best guesses of your advisor and the random fluctuations of the market.

Do you want to gamble with biased investment opportunities with an institutional custodian or do you want to be involved in protecting your financial future? Self-Directed IRA custodians like Equity Trust Company allow you to take control of your IRA investments. That is, you provide direction regarding your investments and hey follow your instructions as long as it’s within the guidelines set by the IRS. But, with so many investments available, what should you invest in? When considering your investment choices, keep in mind that every investment has two components that are invariably interwoven: degree of risk and rate of return. Usually the higher the rate of return, the more risk involved. As we get older and approach retirement it’s quite normal to look for more safety in our investments instead of the rate of return. It’s very painful to lose a piece of your nest egg and then try and make up for it when you’re older. When you’re younger, you have more time to recover from any losses that may occur due to higher risk investments. In the end, a loss of capital at any age will severely impact your overall accumulation of wealth.

Real estate and real estate byproducts have been one of the best bets for stability over the long run. Set aside the recent foreclosure debacle that was fueled by runaway lending practices. Real estate and byproducts of this industry such as, rental properties, mortgages and options are still one of the safest places to put monies – IF DONE CORRECTLY!

Owning Real Estate in Your IRA
The silver lining in today’s real estate market is that opportunity abounds for cash buyers. Forget about the days of negotiating the terms of sale, as this REO market is purely discounted cash purchases on volume acquisition. The real estate landscape has changed and knowing which markets and structuring safe investments in your IRA is paramount.

The problem with owing real estate is your IRA is the liability that comes from property ownership. You never want to expose your IRA to lawsuits. It is much safer for your IRA to be a lender instead of an owner. What if you could get the benefits of ownership by being a lender? That is, receive the cash flow and the “buy in equity” without going on a title. That is exactly what can be accomplished by using an EQUITY PARTICIPATION NOTE (EP). An equity participation notes keeps you off the title and is secured by a recorded mortgage. Thus, your investment is protected by the recorded mortgage, which puts you in the chain of title. The terms of the note could be that you receive 50% or 99% of all the cash flow and future income from the sale of the property.

Equity Participation Note Example
Recently, an investor bought a 50% interest in one of our properties. We own the property in a land trust and the investor paid us $30,000 for 50% of the net rent and future cash out to the lease/option occupant.

Here are the numbers: $30,000 paid by Investor The net monthly income, after expenses, is $650 per month. The investor receives $325 monthly, which is cash on cash rate of return of 13%. That’s a safe rate of return and the kicker is when the occupant closes out the option at $90,000 the rate of return will exceed 52% if closed in one year.

There are many variations on the theme of Equity Participation Notes and they are an IDEAL investment for self-directed IRAs. You can allow the investor to receive the first six months or 12 months of cash flow and their return is ever higher. In addition, the percentage of the EP notes could be higher. The key is well-selected properties bought under value that are managed properly from the onset.

Turn Your IRA into a Bank to Ensure a Secure Investment for Absolute Returns – That is, be a pure lender.

Let’s assume a house is worth $85,000 in today’s market, based on a lease option purchase price. There is a tremendous lack of credit in today’s institutional lending environment, which opens up the door for private investors to fill the void. How would you like to lend $35,000 for a first mortgage position on this house at 8% amortized in full over seven years? That would be a payment each month of $545.52. An 8% yield in your IRA is like a 16% yield outside your IRA when you factor in state and federal income taxes. From a safety standpoint, this investment is very sound and your loan to value is approximately 42%. And what if the borrower didn’t pay? You’d have terrific equity in a house and could rent it forever. These are the kind of opportunities that are opening up for investors in every part of the country.

Self-Directed IRAs Provide a Tax-Free Vehicle for Higher-than-Average Returns These types of investments are not available at traditional IRA custodians. They limit you to their own financial products like mutual funds and CDs that just don’t provide the kind of return that alternative investments can. You must have returns that beat inflation. CD’s don’t do that and there is an inherent risk in the stock market.

Only a truly self-directed IRA can offer you the control you need to make the right investment choices to ensure you own financial future. When you combine a strong and secure investment with the tax-free environment offered by a self-directed IRA, you truly have an unbeatable combination. For more information on owning real estate in your IRA through Equity Participation Notes and achieving above average safe yields, sign up at AllInvestorNetwork.com (you’ll also get a free property analyzer). You will be notified of our upcoming webinars and receive our newsletter. Call anytime 813-435-1551 ext. 1000 for more information.

About the author…
Jim Case is a real estate investor with over 30 years of experience and cofounder of The All Investor Network. The All Investor Network (AIN) is a free online community for Professional Real Estate Investors and those just starting out. It has been designed to help you promote and grow
your business. Disclaimer: Equity Trust is a passive custodian and does not provide tax, legal, or investment advice. It does not endorse or recommend any contributor, company, or specific investments. Any information communicated by Equity Trust Company is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as tax, legal, or investment advice. Whenever making an investment decision, please consult with your legal, tax, and accounting professionals.

REAPS is the oldest – and largest – Professional Association for the real estate investor this side of the Mississippi. We provide education and networking resources for real estate investors, those who want to be investors and anyone who provides value to our members. Our goals are to motivate and support our members and guests through education, discussion, legislative action and networking. We host over 40 live events a year around Puget Sound and they are all open to the public. If you’ve never attended one of our meetings, just email our office at info@reapsweb.com and be our guest for free!

I lost tens of thousands of dollars because the original contractors I hired to do work did the work incorrectly or the work was not completed at all. On several occasions I was forced to fire the original contractor or subcontractors I hired to do a job and hire a new contractor or subcontractors to correct or complete a job the original contractor or subcontractors failed to complete or do properly. This cost me time and money that I could not afford to lose.

I was paying contractors and subcontractors who poorly completed the work I assigned to them, only to have the city building inspector come out and inspect the work and not approve the work that was done. Few novice real estate investors know anything about window headers, framing, rough end plumbing installation, roof work, etc. Because most novice real estate investors don’t know about these types of things, they must do everything possible to safeguard themselves from financial losses due to contractors and subcontractors poor or incomplete work. It is also important to make sure that the work completed by a contractor or subcontractor is completed to the standards of the city‘s building code.

How To Avoid This Costly Mistake
The best way to avoid this mistake is to first of all make sure you pay your contractors and subcontractors by work progression only. Only pay your contractor enough money to start the work assigned to him or her. Never pay the total amount of the work assigned to a contractor or subcontractors in full, up front. You will surely regret it if you do.

Pay your contractor and subcontractors by work progression and pay the balance owed only after the job has been successfully completed AND after a city building inspector has come out, inspected the work and approved the work completed. Pay your contractor or subcontractors the remaining balance owed in full after you receive approval from the city building inspector. This way you will ensure the work is complete and you will only pay once to have the work completed correctly.

The Rehab Construction Money Secret
Who doesn’t put a cushion on the rehab construction cost? I have certainly been guilty of it. I would prefer to have more money in the escrow account for repairs than to run out of money and have it come out my pocket to finish the job. In addition, there is another little trick that you can use to guarantee the job gets completed and puts tens of thousands of dollars in your pocket immediately after you get your final inspection from the private lender and a Certificate of Occupancy from the city inspectors.

For simple math, let’s say that you take out a loan with a private lender to buy a $50,000 home with $10,000 in “real” repairs and an After Repaired Value of $125,000. The lender will loan you 70% of the After Repaired Value = $87,500 less $8,750 closing cost (estimated at 10%) for a total of $78,750. The “real” repairs to rehab the home are only $10,000. However, you put a little cushion in the estimated repair sheet you submitted to the private lender to reflect a repair cost of $28,750. Three weeks later you rehab the home and spend only $10,000. You receive a Certificate of Occupancy from the building department, the lender inspects the home, and it passes the inspection. What about the remaining $18,750 that is in the escrow account? Guess what? The lender has to cut the check to you.

In addition, if you are handy with a hammer and nails and are willing to earn some “sweat-equity,” the Rehab Construction Money Secret works great because you can lower your expenses on your rehab construction cost and put more of the remaining rehab escrow funds in your pocket after you are completed with the project.

About the author…
Kenny Rushing is a remarkable tale of a life turned around. A resident of Tampa, Florida who is an evolving account of transformation that is simply extraordinary.
Kenny is best known for the moving story of his humble and troubled beginnings, and his phenomenal success as a real estate investor – in spite of the seemingly insurmountable odds he faced. He is a phenomenally successful real estate mogul, civic leader and devoted philanthropist. His company, Rehabbers Superstore, Inc., now grosses millions of dollars per year through real estate transactions and investments. Kenny Rushing is quickly becoming known for the life transforming impact his uncommon wisdom is having on the lives of those who have benefited from his knowledge, wisdom, training and coaching. His goal over the next five years is to teach 1 million people how to achieve financial independence and flip their life through real estate investing. Kenny Rushing is a living testament that: If KEN Can Do It – So KEN You!

“REAPS is the oldest – and largest – Professional Association for the real estate investor this side of the Mississippi. We provide education and networking resources for real estate investors, those who want to be investors and anyone who provides value to our members. Our goals are to motivate and support our members and guests through education, discussion, legislative action and networking. We host over 40 live events a year around Puget Sound and they are all open to the public. If you’ve never attended one of our meetings, just email our office at info@reapsweb.com and be our guest for free!”

The Problem
Most mobile home parks were built in the 1970′s or earlier, at a time when mobile home park residents dreamed of having their own private jukebox and pink flamingos in the yard. They were the very essence of tacky. And the park names matched the customer. Some were clever take-offs on the mobile home concept, like “Roll-A-Home”. Many were rustic sounding like “Wagon Wheel”. But rarely were they created with any marketing strategy involved. Some are so bad that you have to wonder if the owner was trying to make fun of his tenants or the whole concept of trailer living. Some parks don’t even have a name, just a 4‘ x 8‘ sheet of plywood with a phone number or “Mobile Park” crudely painted on it. Just like the grave of the unknown soldier, they are nameless plots of dirt where tenants live and die and don’t even know how to identify themselves.

The Early Creators
Many of Moms and Pops that still own parks in America don’t know diddle about naming a property. They might be good with a carbine in WWII, or great with laying their own sewer line (until it flows backwards the first time around), or building parking pads with asphalt out of the back of their pick-up truck. But when it came to marketing, they were at the bottom of the class. Just look at the marketing materials from these folks even today. A professional quality flyer is a Xeroxed sheet written by hand with a marks-a-lot (both capitals and lower case letters interchanged). These folks ruled over cheap pieces of farmland with new infrastructure and some trailers, and were not serious real estate investors. They never dreamed their parks would be worth anything some day. The bottom line is that while they may have attractive mobile home parks, they have no idea how to name a property properly. Is it appropriate to have a lousy name on an expensive park?

The Cure
Naming a mobile home park is very easy. Virtually any name you choose will be better than the current one – you are probably 1,000% more marketing savvy than the person you bought the park from. You certainly have more at stake than they did. But there is a strategy to derive the ultimate name if you put a little work into it. Here’s the process: What is the number one sales point for someone moving to or living in the park? Reduce this sales point to one or two essential words. Add the name “Estates?” at the start or end of these words.
For example, if your park has huge pine trees on it that everybody loves, then the appropriate name would be “Pine Tree Estates”. Or if it’s the frontage on Lake Forest, then it should be “The Estates of Lake Forest”, or “Lake Forest Estates”. It’s that simple.
Why a classy name? Because people in mobile home parks don’t want to be reminded of the fact with a lousy name that they have to use among the rest of the world who does not live in a trailer park. What kid at school wants to tell his friends, “I live in Roll-A-Home”? Nobody. Everybody wants to feel important and equal. Give them that opportunity!

Enacting the New Name
Once you have settled on a name, it’s equally easy to put it into practice. First, notify the city of what you are doing, and make sure it is legal to change before you begin. I have never seen a city that had a problem with changing the name. Then, it’s time for a new sign for the park. This time around, get a decent quality one from a professional company, at a cost of about $2,000. Then send a letter to all the tenants about the name change. And you’ll have to change the marketing materials at all of the dealers. The final change is your yellow page ad – so keep watching for that renewal notice. That’s all there it to it. That’s not too hard now, is it?

The Benefits
A new, classy name will have multiple benefits to your property:

• The name alone delivers your sales message to potential customers (remember to put the key sales point in the name).
• The residents will have more pride of ownership when they can take pride in the name of where they live.
• A new name erases the park’s past ills.
• A new name is a turn-on to lenders who look at financing it (remember that the name will be throughout your loan application documents).
• A classy name will help you get a higher sales price when you go to sell the park someday.

Conclusion
The benefits of changing the name of your mobile home park are priceless. The cost is nominal. There is no excuse not to do it. So start immediately. You will be very happy you did. And so will your tenants!

About the authors…
Dave Reynolds and Frank Rolfe have combined forces to bring the real estate market a better perspective on the multiple successes you can have with Mobile Home Parks. Together they have a combined experience of 20+ years and over $100,000,000 worth of deals under their belt.
Dave Reynolds is a successful real estate investor that has specialized in the purchasing of
Mobile Home and RV Parks for the past 12 years. He has the keen ability to quickly assess deals, cut through hype, measure upside vs. downside risk, and make sound decisions. He has owned and operated over 55 Mobile Home & RV parks over the past 12 years in 16 different states. He currently owns over $10,000,000 in mobile home park real estate.
Dave Reynolds received a B.S. in Accounting from Mesa State College in Colorado in 1992 and attended graduate school majoring in Accounting and Taxation at Colorado State University in 1993-1994.

Frank Rolfe was born in Missouri, the “Show Me” state, and has been starting up businesses since high school. He has had two big successes: a billboard business that he sold to a public company in 1996, and a mobile home park business that he sold to various buyers beginning in 2004. He always has several start-ups in the hopper – currently an old time photography business, a web-based educational products business, an art school, and a return to the  billboard business. Frank Rolfe holds a B.A. in Economics from Stanford University.

I did this – and am still doing it 30 years later, and teaching thousands of people like you to do it, too – by buying distressed properties from distressed sellers. Maybe the properties just need a little love to spruce them up, maybe the buyer is desperate to get rid of them, and maybe it’s a little bit of both. It’s what I called “forced appreciation”, and it’s the cornerstone of my proven real estate investment method.

“Ok Russ,” you say, “I get it. I‘m ready to achieve financial independence, quit my chump job, and have the freedom and the control I deserve. I‘m ready to roll.”

But there’s one thing still holding you back – you’re not sure how to find those distressed properties and distressed sellers. When you’re trying to get started, and you’re still working for someone else, you don’t have the time to search for them – and you may not yet have the experience to recognize them. So what do you do?

Find yourself a good Realtor, that’s what. I don’t mean the ones with their pictures in the paper, with their lipstick just so and a scarf knotted to one side around their neck, talking about a property’s granite countertops and the neighborhood pool. These types are what I call the “cream of the crop” Realtors. Hey, they work hard and help people find lovely homes and they can make a lot of money at what they do. But that’s not who you want when you’re looking for investment properties.

You also don’t want your nephew Louie who got his real estate license on the side three years ago and sells one or two houses a year for extra money. Nothing against nephew Louie, but he probably doesn’t know much about the type of real estate investing you want to do. You’re not in this to help Louie make money, you’re in this for your own financial independence.

What you want is what I call a “scrap Realtor”. What’s a scrap Realtor? It’s a Realtor who deals almost exclusively in low to moderate income housing, much of which is multi-family and most of which is sold to investors – which is what you want to become. Scrap Realtors know the neighborhoods, know which properties have potential – and many of them are investors themselves. You may think that the term “scrap Realtors” sounds insulting, but that‘s the point – these guys don’t care. They’re not in real estate for the glamour or prestige; they’re in it to make money. And so are you.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – nine out of 10 Realtors don’t know anything about investment properties. Yes, they all have access to the same information on the MLS, but that’s where the similarities end. Real estate is really about circumstances – what’s the vacancy rate in the neighborhood? What is the rent now? What’s going on with the seller that makes him or her motivated to sell (and possibly offer financing)? No computer system can tell you that – to get that type of information, you have to pound the pavement and build relationships.

Sure, once you’re experienced and financially independent you can do that yourself – or hire others to do it for you. But when you’re just getting started, a good scrap Realtor is invaluable.

You may have never noticed scrap Realtors before, but once you start looking I bet you’ll see plenty of them. Their ads are smaller, and don’t usually include a photograph. Their listings are usually for multi-unit properties, and are usually in the working class neighborhoods, not the hot parts of town. You won’t see words like “charming”, “quaint”, or “cozy” in their property write-ups.

But these guys can help you make money. And if they’re good, they’ll be willing to spend some time educating you on opportunities in your area, because they know that once you start getting the positive cash flow that comes from a good real estate investment, you’ll be coming back for more.

How to Find a Scrap Realtor

1. Look for independent real estate agents. Most scrap Realtors don’t work at Century 21 or ReMax. Independent agents are more likely to also be investors who understand the types of properties you‘re looking for.
2.  Check out the classified ads in the paper. I don’t mean the big splashy ads with photographs. I mean the small column ads that list properties for sale and express interest in buying properties. Many of these agents will work with investors, too.
3. Ask questions. Making blind calls to real estate agencies can be intimidating. Here’s a sample script to get you started: “Hi, my name is _________. I’m a real estate investor and I’m trying to find a real estate agent who specializes in income properties such as apartment buildings, duplexes, five-units, etc. We also look for properties that need cosmetic repairs. Is there someone in your office who fits that description?” When you get a prospective scrap Realtor on the phone, ask about his or her experience with private financing and seller financing. Ask about his or her’s own experience investing in real estate, and their results over the last several years. The reactions and responses you get to these questions will give you a good idea if the Realtor knows about real estate investing – and if he’s able help you learn more, too.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Russ Whitney, a pioneer in real estate investing and training, became one of the youngest self-made millionaires at just 27. From his humble beginnings as a high school dropout and a $5 an hour slaughterhouse worker, Russ began his investing career at age 21. Within a few short years, he achieved financial independence thanks to a unique system he developed that virtually eliminates the risk in real estate investing and creates cash flow for investors to achieve their financial goals.
A countless number of investors have come to rely on Russ’ books, home study courses as well as his coaching and personal mentoring programs with up to 60,000 people being trained every month. Today, Russ continues to share his passion for investing and training by teaching beginners as well as experienced investors how to create wealth for themselves and their families in real estate.
Russ Whitney, is the bestselling author of Building Wealth, Millionaire Real Estate Mentor, and The Millionaire Real Estate Mindset and is also the author of some of the world’s most popular home study courses including Starting from Zero and the Building Wealth System.
Yet, Russ has never forgotten how difficult life can be and strives to share his good fortune with others. He’s worked with correctional institutions in helping inmates receive a second chance at a productive life. He’s provided safe, clean housing for the elderly. And he continues to support the youth in his community with his time and money. Russ Whitney is a living proof that anyone can achieve the American dream.

Under the 2009 state and federal laws, a purchaser oftenant occupied residential property at a foreclosure sale (smaller than five units) must comply with additional procedures and wait longer to evict inherited tenants. In addition the foreclosure purchaser‘s right to evict inherited tenants under the new state law may depend on the foreclosing lender‘s compliance with a new state law requirement that the lender mail notice of the intended foreclosure to the tenant ninety days before the foreclosure sale.

Under the new state law, the buyer at a foreclosure sale must provide tenants with one written notice regardless of whether eviction will be sought and a second written notice if the owner wants to evict. The wording of the first notice is specified in the statute, RCW 61.24.060. The first notice must tell the tenants that the property was sold at foreclosure and that if the occupants are not tenants the owner is entitled to possession twenty days after the sale, and if the occupants are tenants the owner may either give them a new rental agreement or give them written notice (the second notice) to vacate at sixty days or more from the date of the second notice. The first of these notices must be sent by both first class and either certified or registered mail, with return receipt requested.

The new federal law, called the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009, requires the buyer in the foreclosure sale to notify residential tenants at least ninety days before being. The federal law, which is found at Public Laws No. 111-22, sections 701 through 704 also appears to limit the right of a foreclosing lender to foreclose the interest of a tenant under a residential lease that is for longer than a month to month tenancy. Under the federal law only if the purchaser intends to occupy the dwelling as a primary residence can the tenant‘s term lease be foreclosed, and then only after the tenant receives the federally required ninety day written notice.

Both of these laws took effect during the summer of 2009 and only time will tell how courts sort them out. It is possible for a buyer at foreclosure to comply with both notice requirements by giving the ninety day notice that is the federal standard as the second of the two notices that are required by state law. The state requirement for that second notice is for sixty days or more. The federal requirement is silent on the method of giving notice and so the state requirement will probably be sufficient as to method.

So if the investor‘s business plan is to buy, evict the tenants, fix up and sell the property, these time requirements should be kept in mind for planning purposes. Washington courts are sticklers for procedural errors in the eviction process and noncompliance could result in delays in the project.

About the author…
Doug Owens is a member of the REAPS legislation committee. Doug practices real estate law and general business law from his office in Seattle. He offers a 10% discount for REAPS members and he can be reached at 206-985-6679 or dnownens@q.com. ]]> http://reapsweb.com/new-federal-and-state-laws-contain-notice-requirements-for-purchasers-at-foreclosure-of-tenant-occupied-homes/feed/ 0 http://reapsweb.com/condominium-investing-pay-heed-to-the-need-to-%e2%80%9clook-under-the-hood%e2%80%9d-before-buying-2/ http://reapsweb.com/condominium-investing-pay-heed-to-the-need-to-%e2%80%9clook-under-the-hood%e2%80%9d-before-buying-2/#comments Thu, 28 Jul 2011 20:48:21 +0000 Elizabeth Peterson http://reapsweb.com/?p=1336 Condominium investing as a buy and hold strategy can be very worthwhile. There is a building, and a unit in that building which you rent to a good tenant, and providing you purchase at the right price, life is good.  The tenant‘s rent pays the mortgage, taxes, insurance and homeowner‘s association dues and some increment over that is left over for positive cash flow. This is what we all would like to see.

But sometimes there are hidden financial perils awaiting the condominium investor. Think again of the building.  You as an investor only own up to the inner surfaces of the unit you have bought. Everything else is what is called ?common area “or ?limited common area,” which means you do not have a direct role in maintaining that structure.  Especially in the case of mature buildings this can become a source of financial pain for the unwary buyer.