In our current real estate market, there are lots of great opportunities. Unfortunately, anywhere there are opportunities you will find lots of competition. Good things attract lots of attention. However, the question that you as a real estate investor must ask is, “How can I effectively compete against other investors to win deals”?
There are 3 “tried and true” strategies that you can employ to outperform and outwit your competition.
PUT IN TIME AND EFFORT
This might sound like plain common sense; however, it is advice that many people do not follow. People who get results are the people who put the time and effort into researching, finding, negotiating, and doing what is necessary to acquire the property. Yes, sometimes you lose a deal but if you consistently put in the “time & effort” you will win more than you lose.
BE STRATEGIC
You have to know what efforts will bring you the best results. Be calculating. What many real estate investor do in a competitive market is a shotgun approach. They work really hard, make lots of phone calls, mail out a bunch of letters, put in lots of prospecting efforts but get absolutely no results. They have no strategy and there is no calculation behind their efforts.
The lesson here is to become a strategic thinker. Focus your prospecting efforts in a particular niche within real estate or within a geographical area. For example, you may want to pursue property opportunities that are within a certain distance from your office. Or maybe you are more interested in houses that are of a particular structure such as a duplex. Perhaps you are interested in single family homes. Bottom line put the majority of your time within the space you choose to focus and you will start to see results.
BE PERSISTENT
In competitive markets, many investors tend to quit to early when they see that their efforts are not producing sufficient results. For instance, there are lots of opportunities in the probate real estate market, and investors pursue these opportunities but many of these same investors do not have the willingness to stick with market.
Unfortunately, many investors want results yesterday. Experience tells us that the best and most consistent opportunities come with patience and consistent efforts. You put the time and effort in. You plan your efforts strategically and you stick with it.
About the Author
Ernie Vargas provides more real estate investing information, especially for the novice and sophisticated probate real estate investor but also applies to anyone who wants to be successful in real estate. Stay up-to-date at ProbateFox.com and while you are there, don’t forget to sign up for Ernie’s popular, no-cost online probate real estate training course!
3 Competitive Secrets of the Successful Real Estate Investor
How to Deal with Attorneys in Probate Real Estate Investing
For real estate investors in the probate market, dealing with attorneys is inevitability. However, many investors both novice and expert find themselves intimidated by attorneys. In our society, attorneys are perceived to be well educated in legal matters and far from the level of the common man on the street.
In reality, attorneys are a great resource for the probate real estate investor. So how do attorneys fit in the probate real estate market? In the probate business, attorneys often times, are the trusted advisers to probate estates. Individuals going through probate hire them to guide them through this process. So when we are dealing with them, we want to deal with them in a manner that can demonstrate our knowledge of the probate business. More importantly, we want to demonstrate that we are not here to take advantage of their clients.
To clarify, you will not necessarily be dealing with attorneys on a day to day basis in probate real estate business. Attorneys are really the employees of the client which means that they will not always be your first point of contact. Your first point of contact is always the executor, who is the personal representative and person in charge of the probate process. Basically, the personal representative has gone has gone out and hired an attorney. Bottom-line, the executor is the person you want to speak to about the property.
However, there may be reasons as to why the personal representative would want you to speak with their attorney. They may be very interested in selling and may want you to speak with their attorney about it. If that is the case, then you will make the call. Or maybe you cannot get a hold of the executor or personal representative of the probate estate. So naturally the next best person to contact might their attorney. In these cases, when you must contact the attorney, here are a few things to make dealing with the attorney more productive:
DO YOUR HOMEWORK
First of all, you want to do your homework. This means performing your due diligence on the particular case that you are working on. You are going to want to know who the person was who died. You are going to find out the contact information for the personal representative and the address of the property in question. Have all your questions and all your data gathered on one easy-to-read sheet. Study it a little bit and get yourself ready.
SET YOUR OBJECTIVE IN ADVANCE
Second, you must determine what your end goal. What’s the objective of this conversation with the attorney? What would you like to see come out of the conversation? Being prepared and knowing your objective beforehand will help communicate your message. Keep in mind, that the attorney may be busy so you may have little time to discuss the case. You may even have to go through a gatekeeper, which could be a paralegal or an assistant or secretary of the attorney. If that is the case, you still need to have your end goal and objectives ready. So having that end goal from the beginning is important.
MAKE THE CALL
Third, after you have done your homework, set your objectives and goals, the next step is to take action and “make the call”. Just pick up the phone, call the attorney and get going. Keep in mind that you have done your homework are ready so it is important to have confidence. Remember, you have a legitimate reason to call and it is the attorney’s job to talk with you and if it is regarding his case, he will want to talk with you.
FOLLOW UP, FOLLOW UP, AND FOLLOW UP
Fourth, now that you have taken action, the next step is what many experts consider to be the key to success: follow up, follow up, and more follow up. Once you have made the call, there may be a follow up action needed after this call and make sure to do it especially if the attorney is expecting it. Another scenario is that when you call, the attorney may not be available on that day; do not stop there. Get a calendar and write a date that you are going to follow up.
If you are giving the attorney a day or two to call you back and they do not return your call, do not give up, make sure to follow up. Following up is very important in this business. The key to success in just about any sales transaction is to follow up. And don’t take no for an answer. If you cannot get a hold of a person, you keep following up and you keep reaching out to that person. Don’t take no for an answer. If you really want something in life, you have to go for it.
BUILD RELATIONSHIPS FOR FUTURE BUSINESS
Fifth and last, an important rule to remember is that many of these attorneys are really good resources for your future ongoing probate real estate investing business. The beauty of probate real estate investing is that it is not one-time deal. Probate is a business. It goes on during good economic times and during downturns. It is truly recession-proof. Keep in mind, attorneys may have clients, who for whatever reason, may have a property that is need of a buyer or investor.
This is where you the probate real estate investor comes in. You have to let that attorney know that you are there for them. Treat them with professionalism and with courtesy after a conversation. Thank them for their time. Send them a card in the mail and say, “Thank you so much for your time.” That shows appreciation and goes a long way. Invite these people to lunch. You will be surprised at how many attorneys are willing to get out of that office and spend a little bit of time at lunch with you. Never forget, probate real estate investing is a relationship business and dealing with attorneys is an ongoing relationship that you should continue to nurture and grow.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ernie Vargas provides more real estate investing information, especially for the novice and sophisticated probate real estate investor but also applies to anyone who wants to be successful in real estate. Stay up-to-date at ProbateFox.com and while you are there, don’t forget to sign up for Ernie’s popular, no-cost online probate real estate training course!
How to Invest in Real Estate With No Money and No Credit
You may have seen the late night infomercials of real estate gurus espousing the secrets to investing in property with no money and no credit. But is it really possible?
The simple answer is yes, someone can start investing in real estate with little or no money and with bad or no credit. There are plenty of real life examples of people who have done it. The good news, success leaves clues as the old saying goes and there are some very concrete steps that you can take to get there. Below are a series of steps one can take to get started.
1) Choose a niche within Real Estate
In the real estate market there are many areas of opportunity to invest and make money. So many in fact that one can feel overwhelmed and find it hard to begin without a little focus. Therefore, the first step is to choose a specific niche within real estate. Choosing a niche helps you stay focused so you can learn one area before moving on to other opportunities. Also, another side benefit to choosing a niche is that the information you learn in one niche will be easily transferrable to other areas within real estate. So what are the niche areas?
For instance, there is one niche opportunity where you can deal directly with homeowners who “do not” have a strong emotional attachment to the home and are willing and motivated to part with the property. This niche is known as probate real estate investing. Probate is the legal processes that one goes through when they have inherited a property from someone who has passed away. The probate real estate investing niche allows a real estate investor to buy the property at a discount and to either sell or hold the property.
2) Becoming knowledgeable in your chosen niche
The next step after one has chosen a real estate investing niche is to become educated in that niche. One can read books, participate in local real estate clubs, network and converse with other beginning, intermediate or sophisticated real estate investors. One other great way to learn the business is to work directly with a mentor — somebody who knows the ins and outs of the real estate investing business and can answer the questions a beginning investor may have.
3) Taking Action
The next step is to take action. You do not have to wait until you have all the knowledge—but once you have enough knowledge to get your feet wet, get out there and start taking action. Most people are held back because they simply get stuck in what is frequently called “paralysis of analysis” mentality. This phrase means that it is much more comfortable and easy to stay within the “learning or book” stage than it is to get out there on the field of actual real estate investing. Therefore, it is important that you take action. However, once you decide to take action, one may ask “What am I going to take action on?”
To start, you want to take action on two things. First, assuming you have little or no money, you want to start developing relationships with people that have money. Many people who have money for investing simply do not have the time to find the right properties or the ambition to pursue opportunities. Instead, they look for partners.
The good news is, the pool of people with money is big and you do not have to work hard to find them; the majority of times the resource is within reach. It could be a relative or friend who may have some money sitting in the bank. It could be a business associate or local doctor or dentist. It could be a colleague or a person you meet at a local real estate club. Keep in mind, the greater your network of people, the greater the resources that you will have at your disposal. Most people with money to invest have a desire to get higher and better returns than what they are currently getting. If you can present the right opportunities to them, then you will be serving a huge need.
4) You Are the “Solution”
If you have no money or credit to invest in real estate, keep in mind that you are the person that controls your desires, your emotions and your thoughts. So you first have to think, “Who has the money to invest in real estate and what assets do I possess that would be valuable to them”?
If you can supply the legwork to go out and acquire properties that make good financial sense, you will find people with no time but who have money. The key here is developing a relationship with people that need the knowledge, time, and action that you have developed. In essence, you become a solution provider to their problem and able to create a win win for everyone involved.
About the Author
Ernie Vargas provides more real estate investing information, especially for the novice and sophisticated probate real estate investor but also applies to anyone who wants to be successful in real estate. Stay up-to-date at ProbateFox.com and while you are there, don’t forget to sign up for Ernie’s popular, no-cost online probate real estate training course!
Cinco De Mayo
One of the things that I love about living in Los Angeles is that there is so much celebration about almost anything and everyone.
In real estate we celebrate when we have a closed transaction. But we should always remember to celebrate during the whole process from making the offer to inspecting a property, to putting it into escrow and yes to casing the check after escrow closes.
I believe a good way to be able to celebrate more closings in by leading your real estate business, as exactly that, a business. You would be surprised as to how most people approach their real estate investing endeavors. Most people do to get focused, organized, and have no system in place to follow. You can succeed at any of the market opportunities at hand, be it REO’s, short sales. note buying, or even one of my favorites- Probate.
In probate and in real estate, it’s about clearly developing a strategy that’s backed by a step-by-step proven plan. In the up-coming weeks, I will share some information with you to help you get your business up and running fast!
So stay tuned.
To your success,
Ernie Vargas
P.S. One on the secrets to attracting more successful results is by simply having fun and finding enjoyment in what you do within your real estate and probate market.
P.P.S. Over the next few weeks, I plan on Purposely having fun sharing this information and I hope you do too.
Post Easter Probate Story
Hi all,
I have been real busy in the last few months so I haven’t been as diligent with my posts as I would like to be. Yesterday was Easter Sunday and as I was speaking with a family at church, they were telling me about how their father was especially missed this time of the year since his death. Nevertheless, they were also pretty grateful that he lived a full life and now it was his time to rest. Then they mentioned how he left them his house which was free and clear of any liens and all of the contents of that property. They were happy to receive a valuable inheritance as that, yet they were so miserable because they live in California and yet the house is in Tennessee. Boy, what a time burden this probate process has been for them. They said that all they want is to sell it and get it over with as soon as possible but they don’t have the time to interview real estate agents or to deal with the commute back and forth to Tennessee. I was surprised that nobody had contacted them to purchase that property. But I guess it shouldn’t surprise me because most investors and agents don’t know anything about contacting these types of service-needing sellers. I mentioned to them that they could just sell that property to an investor in that area that would pay them all cash and eliminate all their troubles within weeks.
Needless to say, they were real happy with me.
That conversation really got me to thinking about you, the investor and how important it is that I share this probate niche so that you too can become a service provider to your local probate community.
Anyways hope your Easter was wonderful.
Goal Setting
Setting goals is exactly like mapping out directions to a travel destination. You first have to know where you are going. Next, why are you going there, what do you hope to accomplish by getting there? Next, which route will you take, the most direct route or the scenic route? How will you get there, which vehicle? When do you want to get there? It is exactly the same for your personal and professional life and it doesn’t only refer to financial goals.
There are many areas in our lives that are important. Money is one of those areas but even that can be broken up into passive income, savings, and monthly budget income. Sometime, we kid ourselves into thinking that we don’t need to know how much we need and we just spend. When you have a goal, you begin to put your life into perspective and into categories of importance or priorities.
Health, time with loved ones/ family, business networks, friendships, spiritual, hobby time, and personal growth are some of the important areas in our life. We tend to focus on some and neglect others.
Also, remember that goals in each area have short term and long term goals. Short term goals usually taking 1- 12 months time to achieve and long term being described in years before they are reached. You should have both in each area.
While setting goals can be set at any time in our life and should be revised often as priorities change and goals are met, the beginning of the year is always a great place to start since it is a new beginning.
When you begin to think about goal setting, take into account where you want to go. For example, in health you may choose to set a goal for losing weight or doing more exercise or eating better. While these are the beginning of goals, if you remember it is much like planning a trip. It’s not enough to say you want to go somewhere, you must plan how you wish to get there, what actions need to happen, why is it important, and by when do you want to get there? If you want to lose 20 pounds, but you don’t plan how you are going to do it whether eating better or exercising or both and you set your goal to be completed in 1 month; you are setting yourself up for failure. One, you haven’t mapped out how you will meet your goal, two you haven’t made it personal by explaining and justifying why it’s important, and three you set an unrealistic time frame in which to make it happen.
A more realistic goal would be: I plan to lose 20 pounds by May 15, 2011. I will do aerobic exercise three times a week for 30 minutes and strength training twice a week for 30 minutes. In addition, I will make healthier choices by picking whole grains over white grains and by eating at least 4 servings of vegetables and 2 servings of fruit a day. It is important that I reach this goal so that I will live longer for my family and so that I will have healthy triglyceride levels.
I know it sounds like a lot of thought but if you don’t map out the details you won’t come close to hitting your goal, you might even go so far as to not do anything at all to achieve your goal.
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Welcome to the world of Probate Investing!
I have been making a living in probate investing for over 10 years. I have developed and tested my probate real estate investing approach. I am just now sharing this for the firts time outside my small group of friends and investors.