Settle back next to the fire for some haunting tales of house-selling nightmares … As an earnest real estate investor plying your trade, how were you to know the real reason for the very discounted price on this property was not problems with structure or cosmetics – but because there was a gruesome murder in the home, one that dominated headlines many years ago? As Halloween approaches I thought I’d share a rare, if ghoulish, topic … just how do you sell a highly-publicized “murder house”? Or, as the experts delicately phrase it, a “stigmatized property”? Even if there is Read more…

Disclosure is a constant consideration for real estate investors because so many of the properties we deal with have significant shortcomings. Evaluate every wholesale prospect and every rehab plan while remembering what must be disclosed if it isn’t cured before the property is listed for retail sale to homebuyers – or even to other real estate investors. So how can disclosure work to your advantage? How can it help you negotiate a better purchase price – and how can it help you actually build confidence in your eventual retail homebuyer? You should be thoroughly familiar with the disclosure laws in Read more…

Disclosure is a constant consideration for real estate investors because so many of the properties we deal with have significant shortcomings. Evaluate every wholesale prospect and every rehab plan while remembering what must be disclosed if it isn’t cured before the property is listed for retail sale to homebuyers – or even to other real estate investors. So how can disclosure work to your advantage? How can it help you negotiate a better purchase price – and how can it help you actually build confidence in your eventual retail homebuyer? You should be thoroughly familiar with the disclosure laws in Read more…

Perhaps you’ve already been doing business with a real estate investing partner without the benefit of a contract. Perhaps you find it awkward to even suggest a contract when trust is part of your working relationship. Or maybe you don’t want to slow down a real estate investment project with a contract negotiation just when time is of the essence. So how do you broach the subject of signing a contract with your current or future real estate investing partner? Perhaps the most compelling argument for a partnership contract: A partnership contract is a kind of insurance against business disaster.A Read more…

Perhaps you’ve already been doing business with a real estate investing partner without the benefit of a contract. Perhaps you find it awkward to even suggest a contract when trust is part of your working relationship. Or maybe you don’t want to slow down a real estate investment project with a contract negotiation just when time is of the essence.  So how do you broach the subject of signing a contract with your current or future real estate investing partner?  Perhaps the most compelling argument for a partnership contract: A partnership contract is a kind of insurance against business disaster.A Read more…

You may be negotiating the sale of your fix & flip property with a fussy homebuyer … or a contract with your rehab project partners … or what repairs are and aren’t included in the price from your contractor. What are some smart and effective ways to tilt the final decision in your favor? Never forget that, regardless of the number-crunching and the list of pros and cons, important decisions are made emotionally – even business decisions. Logical decision factors encourage confidence, a key decision-making emotion. What are some ways to help the other party feel comfortable with whatever you Read more…

You may be negotiating the sale of your fix & flip property with a fussy homebuyer … or a contract with your rehab project partners … or what repairs are and aren’t included in the price from your contractor. What are some smart and effective ways to tilt the final decision in your favor? Never forget that, regardless of the number-crunching and the list of pros and cons, important decisions are made emotionally – even business decisions. Logical decision factors encourage confidence, a key decision-making emotion. What are some ways to help the other party feel comfortable with whatever you Read more…

Partnership Contracts – Why You Need One I’ve participated in over 3,000 real estate investing deals, many with one or more partners. In fact, partnerships have been one of my most valuable tools for expanding my business and dramatically increasing my profits. With the right partner(s) I can do more business and better business, and both of us will make more money! I have not always used a contract – I’ll admit that up front! Many investors of integrity and common sense actually avoid using contracts, feeling they are overly complicated, expensive, time-consuming and restrictive. They may also believe that Read more…

I’ve participated in over 3,000 real estate investing deals, many with one or more partners. In fact, partnerships have been one of my most valuable tools for expanding my business and dramatically increasing my profits. With the right partner(s) I can do more business and better business, and both of us will make more money! I have not always used a contract – I’ll admit that up front! Many investors of integrity and common sense actually avoid using contracts, feeling they are overly complicated, expensive, time-consuming and restrictive. They may also believe that a contract isn’t worth much anyway unless Read more…

It’s easy to feel a bit anxious that a bad choice for kitchen countertops will have homebuyers and realtors avoiding your fix & flip property like the high school wallflower, especially if you’ve seen the latest waves in beautiful kitchen design. On the other hand, following the latest trend in countertops can be a pricey decision, even if you have insider access to discounts. How can real estate investors make attractive choices that sell, at a reasonable cost? Nowadays countertop manufacturing technology is over-shadowing even granite. Evaluating the pros and cons of quartz, silestone, glass, ceramic tile, marble, wood, as Read more…