Here’s what you missed in the February edition of the Income For Life Newsletter – Valuable ‘how to’ strategies, examples, news, & ideas. Every page – Every issue
* Tami’s World: Excuses, Excuses
* Renegade Millionaire by Dan Kennedy
* Real Estate around North America
* Studying Demand Might Be Even More Vital these Days
* Wealth-Building is a Marathon, Not a Sprint
* Obamas Get Nod as Best Celebrity Neighbors for 2010
* Big Bonuses Have Everybody Up in Arms All over again
* A Strong Reign
* Foreclosure Watch
* And More!
If you would like more information about Income for Life, please go to http://incomeforlifeinfo.com/ and I will mail information to you.
Foreclosures: Free list with pictures of all foreclosures in Baldwin County, AL. Our list includes properties owned by banks, credit unions, government agencies, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and private corporations. This is a free community service. Sign up at http://OrangeBeachValue.com
What is so magical about the Alabama Gulf Coast? Is is the white sandy beaches, the casual friendly people, thunder on the gulf? We’re looking for the words to describe how you feel when you spend time here. Brent Burns wrote a great song and he let the chamber use it in this video you might want to watch. We’re using the video here with Brent’s blessing so you can feel what it’s like to be at our beach. Be sure to go see Brent when you’re in town. His schedule is online at www.BrentBurns.com
Is Tami Roberts in love? Who’s she in love with? You can find out more about it in this video:
Tami Roberts and the gals at MyFavoriteAgent.com want to celebrate Valentine’s Day with you. We’ve prepared a special offer to buy you dinner for two at a local restaurant (up to a $50 value) when you go “under contract” with a home or condo with us representing you before February 14, 2010. It’s a sweetheart of a deal that you can find out more when you watch the video. Buy hurry, it’s limited to the first 3 buyers who go “under contract” before Valentine’s Day.
By law, we have to reserve the right to cancel or change this offer at any time without notice. You must use MyFavoriteAgent.com llc as your buyer’s agency to collect on this offer from us. You must close on or before March 1, 2010 to make this valid.
It is my experience that it is wise to have a portfolio of real estate with different exit strategies.
In my mind, it is very very important to have long-term rental holds that you have almost no money in. Most of us accomplish this by buying houses that need work, fixing them, refinancing the property pulling our money back out, and then renting it. Our money is then earned long term as the tenant pays off the property, and the advantages of appreciation, depreciation, and rent increases kick in.
I believe it is also very, very important to have investments thatkick off serious cash on occasion. This cash is needed to acquire more properties, to pay the bills, to improve other properties in your portfolio, to help the kids through college, to fund a retirement account, or just to have cash. Most of us have accomplished this when we fixed and flip a retail house or two when we needed cash. But man, did we have to pay. I paid huge taxes because I did not hold the properties for a year (income vs. capital gains); I did not take much depreciation; the holding costs were huge because the house was vacant during rehab; and then came the Realtor fees. So in the end, I did not profit like I should have.
Another, not-so-well-known vehicle for kicking off serious cash is to invest in a house at a below market price that has a lease option tenant buyer who has paid a deposit and is ready to move in the day you buy. These houses are already fixed up and, therefore, there are no holding costs for repairing a vacant house or contractor costs. Because it is a lease option, the tenant buyer has agreed to a purchase price in the future. This purchase price for the tenant buyer is the market value plus appreciation. Keep in mind that you have purchased the house at a below market rate, so the difference is your “serious cash.” Even better, you get a portion of this difference NOW in the form of an option fee upfront and a rental margin plus rent credits. So you can profit from your deal at the beginning and middle, if not the end.
When the tenant buyer exercises the option to buy, you get another check, this time much bigger. If the tenant buyer does not exercise their option to buy, you keep everything they have paid you, and you put another tenant buyer in it at a higher purchase price and make money again in the beginning, middle, and end.
The key is this: The structure of the deal allows you, the investor, to make more liquid money. Here are the reasons:
1. Because you have held the property for more than a year, your taxes drop off to capital gains.
2. Typical holding costs are non-existent because you have a paying tenant buyer on Day 1.
3. No costly Realtor fees when you sell.
4. You can make money in the beginning (option deposit), middle (rent margin and rent credit), and end (sale).
5. Commitment from tenant buyer to purchase the house at market value plus appreciation
6. All the tax benefits of appreciation and depreciation.
7. You know what your serious cash profit potential is before you buy.
8. Rental hold tax benefits with gobs of cash later.
If you know nothing about buying and negotiating pretty houses (greater than $100,000) and / or the lease option process and planning, we are putting fully packaged deals like this together. All you need to do is your due diligence and write a check at closing. Because we negotiate well with sellers, you may have to put less down than you think. A typical down payment is 30%, but we can probably get this closer to 20% down with conventional financing. And the returns are huge.
You get a fully packaged deal including financing, insurance, property management, tenant buyer that has already agreed on the final purchase price, agreements approved and closed with our local real estate attorney, inspection reports, a 1-year home warranty, and cash flow with a potential huge back-end cash out.
Come out to our FREE seminar and we will show you how to buy pretty houses in nice neighborhoods and get great tenants…and the properties WILL CASH FLOW! Come out and learn how to create enough income and equity to retire in five years, how to turn 3 homes into 24 homes, and how to get an extra $200/month from each of your properties…and much more. This is not get rich quick, it’s get rich smart!
The seminar is Monday, January 25, 2010 from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm at the Foley Professional Center. To RSVP, please register at http://www.IncomeforLifeSeminar.com Only 8 spots available, so RSVP now!
Your friends at MyFavoriteAgent.com LLC – Marie Knight, Tami Roberts, Tonya McGuire and special guest speakers.
By Linda Manhart Tisdale (Tami’s cousin)
Twas the night of the championship and all through AL
The fans were all stirring and anxious as hell
The banners were hung from the railing with care
In hopes that a victory soon would be theirs
The fans were all nestled all snug in their seats
While visions of Longhorns soon to be beat
Big Al in his jersey and the team in their cleats
Had just settled down to look at play sheets
When out on the field there arose such a clatter
They sprang from end zone to see hear all the chatter
Away down the sidelines they flew in a flash
Preparing themselves for this national clash
The sunshine made the rose bowl glow
And gave a glimmer of hope to the masses below
When what to our wandering eyes did appear
But our glorious team and the fans they all cheer
With a clipboard and headset so shiny and slick
We knew in a moment it must be Coach Nick
More rapid than charging elephants they gained
And Saban whistled and shouted and called them by name
Now McElroy! Now Smelley!
Hey Arenas and Cody!
Go Upchurch and Woodall!
Kick Tiffin and Shelley!
From Pasadena, California we call the teams home
Now dash away, dash away to the end zone
As the snap count ends the football does fly
They meet with blockers and run right on by
So off to the end zone their routes they flew
With a touchdown for six and extra point too!
A few plays later, the ball got a boot
The cheering and shouting sure made quit a hoot
Ingram tucked the ball and turned quickly around
Then down the field he ran with abound
He was dressed in red on his helmet and white on his shirt
His clothes were all tarnished with grass stains and dirt
A gang of defenders were flung from his back
And he looked like a gymnast running sideways and back
His legs how they bounded his skills made them wary
He jumped and ran so fast it was scary
The defense had rushers drawn up like a bow
And his path was clear up to the front row
The rubber mouth guard he held tight in his teeth
And Texas orange encircled his head like a wreath
He had broad shoulders and a fierce little grin
He ran to the goalpost so that his team would win
The kickoff was straight a high bounding ball
And Coach Saban shouted in spite of it all
A gleam in his eye and a nod of his head
Soon let us know we had nothing to dread
They spoke not a word, but went straight to their work
And pummeled opponents, then Nick gave a smirk
And laying his clipboard down by his feet
Then shedding a tear for the team’s latest feat
He sprang to his feet, as the ref blew his whistle
Sweet Home Alabama they went like a missile
And I heard him exclaim as they flew out of sight
“A bowl ring for all and for all a good night!”
Fannie Mae plans to allow homeowners facing foreclosure to stay in their homes and rent them. WSJ’s Constance Mitchell-Ford breaks down whether this will really help troubled borrowers, in the News Hub.
I’ve written about a very important strategy for improving your monthly cash flow in past Income for Life Members-Only Monthly Newsletters, but it is worth mentioning again now.
You see, in today’s real estate investing world, cash flow is king. True, some markets around the country are experiencing a recovery in home values, but overall we’re not seeing the huge jumps in appreciation that made real estate such an attractive short-term investment during the real estate boom that ended a couple of years ago.
But with lower prices overall in addition to low interest rates, lower mortgage payments mean bigger cash flow for investors. I’ve heard of investors earning $400 and $500 per month in cash flow on single-family homes, which was rare when real estate prices were escalating rapidly. A property that cash flows that kind of money is a solid long-term investment, even if we’re not seeing the jumps in re-sale value that had so many investors jumping into the game during the “bubble.”
But another cash flow boost the down economy is providing is one I have a feeling many investors are letting slip by: lowered property taxes.
As home values slide, so should what you pay in taxes on any property — including your primary residence. If you are paying more than you should be in taxes, you are hurting your monthly cash flow. It’s that simple.
The good news is that you can attempt to boost your cash flow by challenging the value of your home on which the tax assessment is based. The process for doing this varies by area, but you should definitely check your local government’s way of handling this, and if you believe your home’s value is below what you’re being taxed on, follow your area’s appeal process.
Let me give you an example: The county where I live this year reassessed property values (they do it every three years). I know somebody whose new “fair market value,” as determined by the county, is $30,000 less than the market value his taxes have been based on for the last three years. His 2009 taxes will be about $600 less than they were the three years prior. Because his tax payments are built into his mortgage payment, his payment will go down about $50 a month.
But what if he had appealed last year, when values were down? Or in 2007? Could he have saved $50 a month two years earlier?
And think of this scenario with an investor who owns multiple homes. It is worth the effort to challenge the value on every home you own, in order to boost the cash flow of all your properties.
Again, appealing your property’s value varies by location, so check your locale’s website or auditors office for specific information, but here are some general things to know:
1. You must prove that the value of your home was less than the assessed value as of the assessor’s date, which is usually Jan. 1. It’s not the value NOW; your assessed value is determined by what your house was worth when the tax period started.
2. You must be able to prove your case at an appeal hearing. That means you must provide comparable sales, or “comps,” that support your argument that your home was worth less on Jan. 1 of this year. Generally, five comps is sufficient. They should be within a mile or so of your address and preferably not more than two months prior to the tax assessment date. Do not use foreclosure sales or “short” sales, as most locales won’t consider them.
3. Check your home’s status for any factual errors your town might have for your home. For instance, if the tax record says you have four bedrooms but you only have three, include that in any appeal, as that fourth bedroom automatically increases the assessed value of your home. Look for mistakes in the tax record — no one else is going to do it for you.
4. You will most likely have to attend a hearing to dispute your value. After yours is scheduled, it might be a good idea to sit in on someone elses, just to see how the proceedings work. The more familiar you are with the hearing the better off you’ll be when it’s time for yours.
5. Beat the deadline. Most locales allow you to dispute an assessed value for only a period of time after the date the value is determined. Make sure you meet that timeline. For example, if your town says you only have 30 days after Jan. 1 2010 to appeal your 2009 taxes — make sure you beat that deadline, or you will be out of luck.
6. It’s worth it. In the past, I have heard homeowners and investors say the time it takes to dispute an assessed value isn’t worth the savings. But consider this: Most locales do not re-assess every year. So if you can get your value adjusted, the tax savings might very well be for multiple years, not just one. And remember, multiple years of savings on multiple properties — if you’re an investor — could mean a substantial boost to your cash flow.
The down housing market has affected everybody who owns property; you simply may not have the equity you had at the market’s peak. But if you have a chance to use the down market to reduce your taxes and boost your cash flow, you are making the situation a bit better.
I’ve written before about signs of life in real estate markets around the country and about trying to “time the bottom” of the market in the Income for Life monthly newsletter. Unfortunately, I believe there are many investors who are waiting, trying to time the market, and are probably passing on good deals as a consequence.
Now, as always, I am not saying we are at the bottom of the national real estate market. Of course, there really is no “national” real estate market — national statistics are just a conglomerate of various local markets, and individual markets are the ones that matter. But there is evidence in some markets that the bottom is approaching, or has even already arrived.
There are certain things to pay attention to in each market when you’re trying to time the “bottom,” which is really more a trough in a cycle. Those factors are new housing permits, mortgage defaults, existing home sales, foreclosure sales and interest rates. According to Robert Campbell, an expert on real estate cycles, these are the factors to consider when evaluating whether a market is headed up or down.
Here’s the thing about cycles: When things are going south, they keep going south but at a slower pace before they turn around. For example, you might read that the number of housing starts in your area last month is down 10 percent from a year ago. But if it was 15 percent the month before, 17 percent the month before that and 20 percent the month before that, the rate at which they lagged last year’s stats is slowing. These are numbers that don’t always show up in news stories.
For example, the number of foreclosure sales in your area was probably up last month compared to the same month last year. But chances are, the number was higher the month before, and higher still the month before that. So the rate of foreclosure sales is slowing, even if the newspaper says they’re “up,” compared to last year.
With that in mind, pay attention to some recent numbers that could signal the market is about to take an upturn in your area. Housing starts nationally were up 1.5 percent in August from July, which means that in some markets, at least, builders are building homes again. If you’re trying to time the market, you need to see if this is occurring in your area, because it is a sign things could be on the upturn.
Also pay attention to where prices are in your area. If they are on the rise, chances are you missed the “bottom,” which is OK because A.) It’s nearly impossible to time the exact “bottom;” and B.) Because most homes still represent fantastic pricing.
But here’s something else to take note of regarding prices: Remember we said that the downward pace of data will slow before going back up? Well, a recent Forbes.com article has a very interesting look at markets around the country where prices aren’t necessarily going up, but the number of homes on the market that suffer price cuts is slowing.
For example, some of the markets hardest hit by the real estate bubble burst — Las Vegas, Phoenix and Miami — are showing fewer and fewer price reductions. According to the Forbes study, the percentage of homes with price reductions in these markets is down 24, 18 and 12 percent, respectively, since the beginning of the year.
Looking at price reductions can help you determine whether the first-time homebuyer tax credit, loosening credit, foreclosure prices, etc., have helped sales enough that sellers don’t have to keep price-cutting their homes to sell them. Where I live — Cleveland, Ohio — for example, has had a flat level of price reductions. The percentage of homes on the market with reductions has largely gone unchanged over the past six months or so, indicating that sellers still must cut price to sell. This, of course, is usual information for determining whether real estate might soon appreciate, AND when you’re negotiating the price on a home purchase.
So I continue to think now remains a great time to invest in real estate in most markets. And I also think that those of you sitting on the sidelines, waiting for the market bottom before getting into the game, might want to get those warm-ups off.
