“Has the real estate market hit the bottom?”

If you’ve been asking yourself this question, you are in for a special treat because I have a special 60-minute audio training that will show you how to buy a home at the bottom of the market. You can access this special audio training at:

http://orangebeachvalue.com/user/market.html

This training call is a recording of an interview with some of the top real estate professionals throughout North America. In the call, you’ll learn:

• How to buy a home at the bottom of the market and lock in an amazing deal!
• The specific trends that will help you pinpoint the bottom of the market.
• The best real estate opportunities in the market TODAY!
• The BIG mistake home buyers and investors are making right now and what you can do to avoid the same mistake.

This special training call will only be available for the next few days. To listen now and learn how to buy a home at the bottom of the market, visit:

http://orangebeachvalue.com/user/market.html

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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.

* 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.

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.

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.

Dan Kennedy and Rob Minton

Dan “Millionaire Maker” Kennedy has helped many thousands of entrepreneurs create “the wealth surge experience.”

This is not hocus-pocus, mumbo-jumbo — but the real stuff.

Rob Minton, founder of Income for Life system, conducted a powerful interview with Dan Kennendy to help you discover how you can make a few calculated changes, and you’ll attract more opportunity and money than you ever dreamed possible. That’s right–attract–not create, not develop, not identify, but become an opportunity magnet. These eleven breakthrough strategies turn your business into a springboard to unimaginable riches. Eliminate ingrained “wealth-blocking” thinking with hard-nosed, practical tactics for organizing, marketing and managing a business for maximum profit.

MyFavoriteAgent.com is giving away a free copy of the audio CD for download to our blog readers. It’s our way of saying “Thank You” for all of your kind notes, letters and most of all THANK YOU for keeping us in business while other real estate companies are closing their doors.

You can get your free audio CD at: http://wealthcd.myfavoriteagent.com/

I just came across an Income for Life newsletter from January of this year. In it, I wrote an article called “All-Out War for Financial Independence,” which outlined how we can use the time-tested tactics of Sun Tzu’s military masterpiece, “The Art of War,” in our own battles for financial independence.

One of Sun Tzu’s sayings sticks out at me as I glance again at the article:

“Security against defeat implies defense tactics; ability to defeat the enemy means taking the offensive.”

I wonder, as the year has played out since January, how many wealth-builders have been on the offensive. My guess is that more people have been using defensive tactics during this recession in the United States. Playing not to lose, rather than to win.

While I believe SOME defensive tactics are necessary — cutting expenses to increase savings, for example — nobody is going to win the war for financial independence by only being on the defensive. If you hole up in your bunker, head covered until the bombs stop falling, what will happen? You’ll crawl out when you feel safe again and the world around you will be crumbled. Congrats, you survived. Are you any better off?

Let’s look at it another way, with the financial crisis in mind. You are worried that you’re going to lose your job, and you’re convinced you need to do something to protect your income. So you take a second job — for $10 an hour at the local big-box retailer, which is kind enough to let you work part-time on nights and weekends.

This is a defensive strategy. Are you protecting income? Sure, in the short-term. But in the long-term, what are you going to gain? Trading nights and weekends for $10 an hour is not my idea of long-term benefit.

What if instead of taking that $10-an-hour job, you invested the time into starting your own “side” business? As I have written a million times before, some of the great businesses of our time were born in the roughest of economic times. Couldn’t you invest the nights and weekends into yourself, starting a side business with long-term potential, rather than giving that time away for $10 an hour?

Become a real estate investor, or a consultant, an affiliate marketer, a property manager — heck, start a dog-walking service — and you will be taking the OFFENSIVE in your war for financial independence.

Same with investing. Did you cash out when your retirement plan took a nose dive last fall, hoping to cut your losses? If you did, and kept your money out of play, you lost out on the securities market bounce this spring. Defensive move. After the market tanked, had you put money INTO the markets, buying quality stocks at bargain prices, you’d be better off now than those who cashed out. That’s going on the offensive.

 The Income for Life position on financial independence is this:

You cannot achieve financial independence playing defense. You must play offense, taking advantage of excellent investing opportunities as they present themselves.

I have done this in 2009 in my own business. It’s been hard work. It’s required effort and taking some chances. But I know that going on the offensive, rather than holing up in my bunker with my head covered, hoping for and waiting for the bombs to stop dropping, is going to ultimately help me win the war in the long run.

For more information about Income for Life, visit http://book.myfavoriteagent.com

 1.  How to invest with a “crystal ball.” That’s right,  you’ll know your exact profits before you buy an  investment property.

 2.  How to buy a “pretty” single family home and have  it sold for a nice profit before you close on it.

 3.  A major similarity amongst the richest men in history and how you can use this to your advantage.

 4.  How to use the Velocity of Money to Accelerate Your Wealth Building.

 5.  How to DOUBLE your Assets, Income and Wealth every few years using our Houses by Houses Strategy.

 6.  Plus a lot more…

 This is going to be a jam-packed class. We have hours of strategies that we’re going to reveal. We’ve never made these strategies public before. You’ll get access to this insider information during our online class.

 There is no cost for this online class. However, we’re only accepting 25 investors to attend, and it is only available for the next 72 hours. If you would like to register to attend this class, go to:

http://iflwebinarreg.myfavoriteagent.com

 We have decided to keep this online class small because of the confidential information we will be sharing. This online class is ONLY AVAILABLE FOR THE NEXT 24 HOURS, so register ASAP!

 You can register right now at:

 http://iflwebinarreg.myfavoriteagent.com

Throughout this economic downturn, when home prices are as low as they’ve been in forever, real estate investments remain a fantastic opportunity.

As lower prices translate into cash flow in areas that previously could not generate positive cash flow, there are sure to be beginning real estate investors. My hope is that these beginning investors have someone to turn to for guidance when it comes to their new real estate acquisitions.

For example, I just read a Forbes.com article on avoiding litigious tenants. There’s a great reminder in the article, one that I have always tried to drive home with Income for Life member investors.

The article advises:

“Before becoming a landlord, it’s important to get a grip on the fact that a rental home is a small business. Legally, it’s similar to setting up restaurant or opening a flower shop. If an accident or a crime occurs on the premises, it’s you the victims will go after.”

Owning rental properties IS running a small business. There is just no other way to look at it. And, like the article suggests, you must set this business up properly. Yes, a rental property is profitable for many reasons, but just like a business, it brings with it liabilities.

These liabilities are minimized when you do things such as:

• Put the property’s ownership in a limited liability company (LLC) 
• Become properly insured (liability insurance, not just hazard insurance)
• Set up business checking accounts for the properties (don’t use your personal checking)
• Require your tenants to carry renters’ insurance

The main goal is to separate your personal assets from your real estate investments. This is an important asset-protection strategy that Income for Life members learn and get guidance from their coach on.

While this recession we are in will launch the careers of some successful real estate investors, it’s important to remember that real estate investing is a business in itself, and you must educate yourself on how to run that business.