Diversify your portfolio of investment houses
by Tami L Roberts
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 that kick 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.
