How To Profit In Real Estate In Any Market

How A Bad Market Can Help You Profit In Real Estate

When you’re in a bull market it’s easy to think that you’re an investment genius and that making a profit in real estate is a piece of cake.

But the key to long term real estate wealth is to be able to profit in real estate when the market is down.

It’s even tougher to make money when all markets are down.

=> Learn How To Make Money In Real Estate Investing

Your Investment Choices

Today many investors are finding that their tried and true methods of making money are simply not working.

Here’s a quick review of some typical investment choices:

Stock Market

We’ve been conditioned by the Big Banks and Brokerage Houses to put our money into the stock market.

Many people have fallen into this trap.  Almost all of their retirement funds, 401K plans, mutual funds, you name it, has gone into the stock market.

Remember day trading?  At one time that seemed like a sure-fire way to make money.  The market had no where to go but up and gigantic SUVs ruled the road.

What the Brokerage Houses didn’t tell you is that the markets are extremely volatile – heck, the brokers probably cause the volatility on purpose for all we know -  and go down as quickly as it can go up.  And thanks to leverage, you can get wiped out in just a few days of trading in a down market.

Speaking of leverage . . . .

Forex Trading

The Forex trading companies are pretty clever when this was first launched to the general public.  You can set up a demo account, do some trading with fake money, and most likely you’ll make a profit.

The problem is that when you start trading with your real dollars and start leveraging 100 to 1, more often than not the Broker closes out your account without notice if the market goes in the wrong direction.  (They can do this according to your trading account agreement.)

I don’t know one person that’s made money long-term in Forex trading.  Experts, sure, but people like you and me?

I’ve heard people say that the Forex trading game is rigged, and I’m not so sure that it isn’t!

Buy A Franchise Business

A big part of the American Dream is starting your own business and if you’re doing this I sincerely wish you the best of luck.

Over the years I’ve started several of  my own and, knock on wood, almost all have been successful to one degree or another.

Having said that, I’ve never been involved in a franchise.  I’m sure there are good ones out there, but it seems like franchisors target people with a lot of money in their pocket but not a lot of business skills or sense.

When the economy is bad a lot of people decide to open their own business – sometimes they have no other options – and make the mistake of thinking that buying into a franchise is the way to go.

And it does kind of make sense.  With a franchise you’re buying name recognition, an operations system in place, and some help with finding a location, hiring employees, securing inventory and what not.

The problem is that to get that you’re putting up a huge amount of money, often times over $100,000 cash to buy into some franchise opportunity, and you are still taking all of the risk.  Plus if you decide you want to sell, there are almost always a lot of selling restrictions in your franchise agreement.

It’s the franchisor that wins, not you.

Profit In Real Estate In Any Market

=> Learn How To Profit In Real Estate

I could list more examples, but I’m sure you get the idea by now.

Intelligent investors ‘get it’, shall we say, and turn to real estate for profit and growth.

Even in a down market, you can profit in real estate.  In fact, even when all other markets are down, including the real estate market, you can still profit in real estate.

It’s possible to make money in real estate investing when you buy, when you hold, and when you sell. 

You’ve got multiple exit strategies as well. 

Maybe you bought your real estate investment as a buy-and-hold property, and things aren’t working out the way you thought, or your circumstances have change.

With real estate you can go to market and sell to another investor.  Buyers like to see a possible upside so be sure to position a property that isn’t working out so well for you as a huge opportunity for a buyer.

You Call The Shots

Of all the investments we’ve covered in this real estate wealth article, only with real estate are you the boss.

With real estate investing you’re in control every step of the way, unlike Franchising, or Forex, or the Stock Market.

It is possible to profit in real estate and build real estate wealth fast no matter how bad the market is.

You don’t even need perfect credit to get started but you should know how you stand.

Jeffrey Roark

Make Money In Real Estate Investing

Real Estate Wealth Fast

How To Create Real Estate Wealth Fast

How To Make Money In Real Estate Investing And Get Real Estate Wealth Fast

What do successful investors know that you don’t know about creating real estate wealth fast?

Do they know something about creating real estate fast that you don't?  Are they smarter than you?  Do they have contacts that you don't?  Do they have some kind of real estate wealth crystal ball?

The answer to all these questions is NO!

=> Learn How To Make Money In Real Estate Investing

Look, I've spent years in real estate learning the system.  I've read books, gone through expensive real estate training programs, attended seminar after seminar on how to build real estate wealth fast, and traveled around the country and even internationally.

Pretty much all of this was a huge waste of time and money.

I'd like to share with you tips based on my own personal, proven, hands-on experience from actually working, investing, and building wealth in the real estate market for almost 25 years.

First and foremost, if those guys (and gals) that you thought were smarter than you can do it, So Can You.

The nice thing is, you don't need to waste your time and money - like I did - reading tons of books, going to real estate classes (more on that later), and pouring money into real estate wealth seminars taught by people who really have no clue about what they're doing.

Just Do It

Just get out there and do it.  Get your feet wet.  Test the waters.

Stop thinking about it, stop making excuses, and Start Doing It.

You Do Not Need Big Bucks

Even in today’s market there are lenders willing to do deals.

=> Property Management Training Guide

One option is a hard-money loan where you can finance your property on a short-term basis.  Hard money lenders typically lend around 50% to 60% of a property’s value and the interest rates can be in the double digits.

But remember, this is a short-term, fix and flip financing strategy.

After you close the deal on your property, you’re going to want to rehab it quickly, get it rented, and either hang onto the thing to build your real estate wealth using the on-going, long-term cash flow, or do a fix and flip and sell it to another investor, or maybe even do a lease-purchase to the tenant.

If you decide to hang onto the property you’ll need to make sure that you have financing in place to buy-out the hard money lender so that you’re not stuck with a high long term interest rate.

With this exit approach, make sure you’ve been pre-qualified and pre-approved for your take out financing before you commit to the property.

One of the keys with this approach is to have your exit strategy figured out before you actually own the property.

Believe me, you’ll sleep a lot easier at night knowing that you’ve got another take-out investor lined up when your rehab and leasing is done, or that you’ve got your refinancing already in place!

If your predetermined exit plan is to cash out when your work is done, consider using a tax deferred exchange, aka a 1031 exchange, to defer any potential property gains taxes and have your entire profits on your first deal available to invest in your next deal.

It may not be a bad idea to have your next deal already lined up.

It’s always a good idea to talk to your tax advisor about tax deferred exchanges.  Again, do your homework first, and do this before you actually close on your first deal.

Know your exit strategy and always having a Plan B are critical steps to building your real estate wealth fast.

Do Not Overpay For Your Real Estate Investment

I know you’re thinking that this is common sense.  And it is. 

But you’d be surprised at how many real estate investors I’ve watched get caught up in the emotion of the wealth building real estate chase and end up paying more than they’d planned on, or underestimating the amount of rehab needed to get the thing rented fast.

There are three good sources to determine a property value:

• Your own research
• Appraiser
• Real estate broker

In that order.  Nothing beats your boots-on-the-ground research and your intuition.

It’s always good to gather information from all three sources, then use your best judgment as to what price is a good deal for the property.

Jeffrey Roark
Make Money In Real Estate Investing
Investment Property Management Training 

How To Send The Right Message With Real Estate Postcards

Real Estate Postcards And Target Marketing

Marketing with real estate postcards is one of the most popular topics I've written on.

The rental housing market can be tough at times and sending the right message with real estate postcards can put you ahead of the competition and attract quality tenants who will pay on time and keep renting from you year after year.

=> Easy Real Estate Postcards 

Reaching The Right Audience With Real Estate Postcards

A few days ago I receive a clever email postcard.

It wasn’t a real estate postcard per se.  It was sent from my old health club with the message, “We Miss You”, and was an effort to get me to re-join.

When I clicked on the postcard envelope I was taken to a link that showed my name on the front of the envelope.  The envelope then turned around, the flap opened, and the card slid out of the top of the envelope to reveal the personal training staff.

Sending The Wrong Message

Up until then I was intrigued with the athletic club’s offer.

Problem is, I’m a tennis player and have never had the slightest interest in personal training.  In addition to my tennis games I do work out, just not with personal trainers.

That was strike one.

I’d been a member of the club for almost 10 years, and given that I’d left a few months ago I thought there’d be some incentive to re-join.

A free month maybe.  Or a reduced price on the dues.  Something along those lines.

Something more carrot than stick.

Instead, the incentive was that if I didn’t rejoin in the next six weeks the initiation fee was going to increase.

That was strike two.

Target Your Prospect With Real Estate Postcards

The one thing my old athletic club did get right was the timing of the mailing.

I’d left about three months ago, and the New Year is fast approaching, which is the classic time when people join health clubs in an attempt to lose those extra pounds put on over the Holidays.

Which started me thinking about real estate postcard marketing, and marketing in general, and how easy it is to go through the motions of marketing and totally miss your mark.

=> Learn How To Make Money In Real Estate

How To Send The Right Message With Real Estate Postcards

Here are three things to keep in mind with any type of real estate marketing:

Know Who Your Prospect Is

Is your prospective tenant someone who just lost their home to foreclosure and has to rent?  Or is your prospect an apartment renter looking to upgrade to a single family home rental?

Send The Right Message

My athletic club clearly missed the mark with me.  Once you know who your prospect is, sending the right message should be a piece of cake.  If you’re targeting renters that want a house without the upkeep hassles, in your real estate postcard message talk about how your rent includes weekly landscaping and pool service.

Send Multiple Messages

You probably can think of more than one target market for the house you’ve got for rent.  In our how to rent my house training I’ve seen real estate investors try a ‘one size fits all approach’ with their marketing. 

This is always a big mistake.

It’s OK to create several different real estate postcard campaigns with different messages sent to the different prospective renters that you’re targeting.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this article on marketing with real estate postcards!

Jeffrey Roark

Easy Real Estate Flyers 101

Investment Property Management Training