Hey guys! Here are some tips on real estate investing that I couldn’t wait seven days to let you know about.

As many of you real estate moguls have already been experiencing, buying and selling real estate has not been as easy as it once was. “Flipping” has taken another meaning altogether. Instead of buying low, fixing up, and “flipping” a house for profit, investors are now “flipping” their lids or “flipping” out, at the mortgage payments, property tax, and defaulting renters.

My suggestion? Think smaller. Houses are not selling? Try manufactured homes. I’ll wait till you finish laughing. No, go ahead. You’ll want to pay attention.

If you can find a piece of land that is within a mile, or relatively close to, the mobile home, then you can make even more profit. But the trick is to obtain a nice three bedroom two bath mobile home at an auction or foreclosure sale, and plant it on another vacant land investment property you have. While prices may vary by location, but a budget of $150,000 is quite sufficient. Clever planning on amenities such as electricity, gas, water and sewer connections can see even more savings.

This process should take no more than three months. This will include the permit process, purchasing the land and mobile home, and various home upgrades to make it presentable. Upon completion, an asking price of $185,000 to $200,000 should be considered affordable almost anywhere in the States. $35,000 to $50,000 profit for three months of work? Not too shabby in this economy, right?

But, for argument’s sake, let’s say you can’t sell it, so you rent it out. Now, you have to deal with tenants that potentially may default on their rent. Enter my next tip.

Here is how you can make sure you get your rent on time each month. Put into the rental contract that monthly rent is to be automatically deducted from the renter’s savings or checking account. Or, even better, if your tenant works for a company that will allow it, set them up on payroll deduction/direct deposit for their monthly rent.

Now, you can immediately know if there will be a problem before the two weeks the bank takes to let you know that a check has bounced. Therefore, you can minimize your potential damages by starting the eviction process earlier.

Sure, some renters will freak at this. Well, then there’s a problem, and you shouldn’t be renting to them. But okay, beggars can’t be choosers in this economy right? Some milder things you can do is to send them deposit slips and prepaid envelopes.

Well, I hope you were able to take something away with you guys today. See you in seven (or less!). Get Rich, and stay rich, people!

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What’s going on guys? As the summer gets hotter, we start to use much more water, whether to cool down, or drink. In order to save some money on water bills, in my primary residence as well as investment properties, I took a trip to the Department of Public Works and got some free aerators.

After installation, they claim to save you 4% on your water bill. I was only able to receive one set per household unit, but I’m sure you can keep going back for more. Check it out!

It is best to install these first on your rental properties as tenants are much less likely to help you save water, especially if their utility costs are included in their monthly rent.

See you in seven!

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Hello again folks! Now, I know what most of you are thinking right now, after reading the title to this post: Are you kidding me?!? And with good reason too, I might add.

For those of you not familiar with Oakland, California, please check out their Wikipedia profile here. For the rest, let me first clarify. When I said hot, I never meant it in a positive way.

Anyways, it immediately caught my eye, when Oakland 94606 was named one of the top 10 “hottest” real-estate markets in the country, in Zip Realty’s second-quarter Home Hunter Report.

Zip Realty is an online real-estate company that went public in 2004. It turns out, that the reason they bestowed the “hottest” honor on this particular Oakland area, was based on the number of offers on homes that were higher than their lists prices. The reality is that these days, this is principally happening when bargain-basement foreclosures prompt bidding wars between buyers.

So, is this something to get excited about? Nah, not so much. It just goes to show that the media can put a positive spin on just about anything to raise public moral. The truth? The economy is just as crappy as it was six months ago, and the rich are just getting richer. Oakland residents are unable to pay for their houses, so they are losing them to foreclosure at high rates. Then, the rich scoop them up at bargain prices, and rent them back to the residents!

Nice scam, eh? That’s business! Keep it here folks. Be back in seven.

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Hi guys! I was trolling on the internet the other day and came across this article that I found would be of interest you readers. It is called, “How Do I Negotiate in Real Estate.” Now, I do not agree with everything in the article but I do think that it is a good read for anyone who is thinking about any major purchases in the near future.

The article hit upon topics like, Should I Rely on the Agent? It warns that a Realtor, though charged with a fiduciary duty, may not always be on your side. his may be true. Remember, the agent gets nothing if the deal doesn’t close. The seller will always want more and the buyer will always want to pay less. So, think about this next time you work with an agent.

Another section I found interesting was, Are You Your Own Worst Enemy? Many people are so scared of getting ripped off that they will be so intent on not acting like a fool, they do not notice the most obvious pitfalls. Others do not want to seem incompetant and will act like such a know-it-all that it puts sellers and seller agents off.

Further down the article, you will find discussions on how to negotiate successfully, how much to offer, and whether or not to lowball. All in all, not a bad way to spend ten minutes on reading. You are, after all, improving yourself.

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Hi guys! I am sure you have all heard by now that Uncle Sam has issued check after to check to keep Wall Street bankers afloat. And you, as American taxpayers, who were picking up the tab, are growing increasingly resentful of paying for others’ mistakes.

And I am sure when President Barack Obama announced a $75 billion plan to lower monthly mortgage payments for up to four million distressed homeowners in mid-February, your frustration turned into rage. But the Obama administration has pitched its housing fix as one that would help all homeowners, not just troubled ones. So after fresh details of the plan were released last Wednesday, I am sure you are asking: “I’m a responsible homeowner; what’s in it for me?”

Do you qualify for Obama’s housing plan? Well, the $75 billion goes toward reducing mortgage payments for “at-risk” homeowners. The program is only available for owner-occupied, principal residences with mortgages that originated before January 1, 2009. To qualify, the borrower’s monthly mortgage payments must exceed 31 percent of their gross monthly income. In addition, they must also have undergone some type of financial hardship (such as a loss of income) that puts them at risk of default. While you don’t need to be delinquent on your mortgage to qualify, borrowers who are comfortably making their mortgage payments won’t be eligible.

So if you don’t qualify, how does it help you? Many Americans who purchased homes they could reasonably afford and made their payments on time are understandably upset at seeing neighbors who made reckless decisions bailed out on their dime. But the Obama administration argues that keeping people in their homes is in the best interest of all homeowners, since foreclosures (which can blight communities and nurture crime) will drive down property values for everyone. “One study in Chicago found that a foreclosed home reduces the price of nearby homes by as much as 9 percent,” the president recently said.

Remember, if I was to sell your house, the first thing I’m going to do is to figure out a listing price. Of course I will look at comparable homes in your neighborhood. And if you’ve got all these depressed property values, that is going to definitely harm the sales value of your home. As such, if Obama’s housing plan succeeds in reducing foreclosures for troubled borrowers, it may help to bolster the values of other homes as well.

So, what incentive do you have to keep paying your mortgage? A home foreclosure is an ugly stain on a credit report, and it can remain there for as long as seven years. To be honest, you mind as well declare bankruptcy. With banks tightening their lending standards in the face of higher delinquencies, it’s a particularly bad time to ruin your credit. If you have a home foreclosure on your credit report, you’re likely to have a difficult time getting any type of new credit these days: from a credit card to a new mortgage.

But what if you are not in trouble now, how can you protect yourself from the threat of foreclosure? Factors that can lead to foreclosure include unemployment, exploding-rate mortgages, and reckless spending. Although homeowners may have less control over their employment situation, by addressing these other factors, they can put themselves in a better position to avoid foreclosure should they suffer job loss.

I believe that as homeowners, you should make sure that you have sufficient savings set aside to pay your mortgage in the event of the unexpected. Fallback savings is critical. At least have three months of your mortgage payments saved. And of course, make sure that savings is making you money by putting it in a high yield savings account (or something comparable). In setting aside such savings, families should institute a household budget and review their online bank statements regularly to ensure they aren’t spending wastefully.

For those of you with adjustable-rate mortgages, see if you are eligible to refinance into a fixed-rate home loan, while those of you who already have fixed-rate loans should see if you can refinance into a lower rate. In doing so, consumers should first obtain their credit report and see if their mortgage is owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Those with Fannie or Freddie loans may be eligible to refinance into a lower rate through a second component of Obama’s housing plan.

Is there a silver lining in this mess? It’s nearly impossible to spot any sort of silver lining in the current housing mess. But if there’s anything good to come out of this, it’s the hope that homeowners, lenders, regulators, and policymakers will learn from their mistakes and ensure that mortgages going forward will be properly underwritten and affordable. By overlooking the lessons of the crisis, we risk going through this devastating cycle again in the future.

Okay guys, see you in seven.

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