Exclusive Real Estate Coaching Offer from Bill Vaughn

Hello, loyal readers! I would like to take a few moments to fill you in on a new offering for beginning wealth builders.

I am currently offering DEDICATED and exclusive real estate coaching by both telephone and email to a select few (50) individuals. Only serious players need apply for this special service - with only 50 openings available, it would be a waste to put time into folks who are not all that serious. I am a serious coach, and I am looking for serious students. And I am the best in the business!

The service is very affordable, and very exclusive. Not only do players get to consult with me by both phone and email, but they get my personal and private cellphone number, and can call me at their convenience. No other real estate mentor - none - offers such personal and dedicated service.

I will be blunt - IntelliBiz has good mentors available, and they are free to all students. But they are not me, and I am simply the best in the business! I have personally coached over 18,000 people throughout North America - more than any other five coaches, combined. Investing since before many of today's coaches were even born, my credentials as an investor and a mentor are without equal.

If you or someone you know has a real hankering to really make good in real estate investing, and you want the security of having only the best on your team, check out my real estate coaching offer. But don't tarry - it won't take long to fill 50 openings.

Now that I have that shameless self-promotion out of the way, I would like to thank all of our students for making IntelliBiz and "The Simple Man's Guide to Real Estate" the huge success that it has become. We recently broke the "250,000 students" ceiling, and we finally have students in 20 countries. And we have celebrated our 24th Anniversary.

We have come a long way - thanks to all of you.

God Bless (can I still say that in America?)

Bill

Investing In Real Estate - A Primer

I mentioned earlier that we were putting together a new real estate investing blog. I am happy to report that the first post for "Creative Real Estate Investors - UnChained" is now live. The first post is a brief primer on investing in real estate, to help the "newbie" build confidence.

This new blog is intended to be a "2 way" blog, where visitors can contribute. You can submit comments (no spam, please), success stories, even suggestions you may want to share with others. We will be adding widgets that permit such things. You will also be encouraged to tell everyone a little about yourself - it's not Facebook or anything, but what we are attempting to do is build a community of like-minded people interested in real estate investing all of whom hopefully become friends.

So, give us a look see, submit your comments and please visit regularly - we will try to make it worth your while. And feel free to suggest stories, ideas etc.

Later!

Bill

So Much Misinformation On Real Estate Investing

 

 

It never ceases to amaze me - how so many self-professed "experts" post articles, blogs and even news stories on the topic of real estate which have no basis in facts. Amazing! It amazes and confounds me because, as a successful real estate investor since 1969, I know a little about this subject. In fact, I have personally trained thousands of people, and many of today's "gurus" either learned from me, or from someone who learned from me.

I know, I do not ordinarily go off on a rant like this, but real estate investing is my passion. I love it. I am good at it. Been doing it for over 50 years and teaching it for over 30 years. And it just ticks me off when these charlatans - including the late-night hucksters pimping their seminars - damage the reputation of investing with the garbage they spout.

Some of the misinformation includes...

Bankrate, for example, posted an article for MSN. In it they claim "no money down" investing is a fantasy, and flipping is hard work. 

WRONG, on both counts. Having been an investor since before most of these "experts" were even born, I can state unequivocally that a) "No Down Payment strategies not only exist in the real world, but are used daily, and b) flipping can be the easiest method of investing. I must assume by their ignorance that they think the only "flipping" is with properties that need rehabbing. But truth be told, you can flip ANY property, often within a couple of weeks - or even within minutes - and without anything involving labor, like this student of ours who flipped a property at the same time he purchased it - for$16,900 profit!

Then another "expert" writing for WiseGeek is telling folks that a simultaneous closing involves a seller writing a note for his property, and selling both the property and the note, or some such insanity. Having done numerous simultaneous closings (aka double escrow), I had no clue what that not-so-wise geek was pimping. A simultaneous close is when you buy and resell a property either at the same closing, or at least in the same week, as long sas one is tied to the other.

I have read articles by "experts" that state unequivocally that the double escrow is illegal. So TOTALLY wrong! Not only is it not illegal, it cannot be made illegal. What is illegal is the fraud that so often was perpetrated by using a double escrow. Unscrupulous investors, working with crooked appraisers and greedy bankers would get the appraiser to over-value a property, to increase profits. So, HUD steps in and makes a policy (not a law - HUD cannot make law. Only Congress can) that any bank issuing a government insured mortgage (HUD/FHA/VA) must insert a seasoning clause, meaning a seller must own the property for at least 6 months before selling. But even then, waivers can be granted as long as you can show the property is worth what you are asking. And again, banks are only required to insert the seasoning clause on HUD/FHA/VA  insured mortgages.

And guess what? One of the people saying double escrows are illegal is an attorney! I question how he could possibly pass the bar. But fully half of all Realtors also believe that nonsense, as do many Title companies (which are usually attorneys).

Some misinformed people, like the writer for Bankrate on MSN simply discourage people from trying, which should be a crime in itself. Others, like the "infomercial gurus" just pick people's pockets. One woman wrote me just today (which got me on this tirade) that she attended the Kiyosaki "Rich Dad" seminars and got soaked for $57,000 and received nothing of value in return. And while I am not as upset as she must be, it still pisses me off!

I teach ETHICAL real estate investing. And I am good at it. And when I see so many unethical clowns and morons posing as experts, it gets me hoppin'.

Normally, I am pretty easy going. My wife says I must be the "separated at birth twin" of Phil Robertson (Duck Dynasty) - easy going, and "happy, happy, happy."

But not so much when I get letters from folks who got ripped off by hucksters and cons professing to be in the same profession as myself.

 

 

Note: comments that are spammy like the one below was will be deleted

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Stop Foreclosure - A How-To Guide

If you are facing foreclosure, you should leave no stone unturned to stop it, as it will trash your credit for 10 long years, and you may not be able to find decent housing - not even a rental - with poor credit.


Believe it or not, there are several things you can do to try and stop a foreclosure. Lenders often make certain concessions (though they will not advertise it). Go here for a detailed list of some concession lenders may make. That leads to yet another page with more suggestions on how to avoid foreclosure.   It is easier to get concessions from a lender if you do not wait until you are far in arrears, and if you keep in communication with them - do not leave them in the dark as to your situation - if you do, they will assume the worst, and that will result in nothing but bad news for you.   I hope these suggestions help - and I hope you share this with everyone in your circles. Even those who do not need it themselves may very well know others who do. So please, pass it on. It's free!   /

No Down Payment? No Problem - Tip For Buying A Home Without Cash

OK, so I get a lot of folks asking how they can buy a home of their own when they lack sufficient cash for a down payment. "The Simple Man's Guide to Real Estate" covers several methods in detail, and I will toss one of them out here. Condensed, of course, because this is a blog post, not a book.

Look for a suitable home that is currently a rental property, or is vacant. In such cases you can assume the owner already has another home, so there is a good chance he does not need a pile of cash that might cause problems with his tax rate.

Offer the owner a Contract for Deed (provided he does not have a mortgage with a due-on-sale clause).  Agree to make monthly payments equal to what your mortgage payment (less taxes & insurance) would be when you refinance to pay off the seller. Of course, you would also pay the taxes and insurance during the term. The term would be long renough to provide a 20% down payment, to avoid having to pay PMI (private mortgage insurance).

Your monthly payment is applied to the purchase price. Once you have built up payments equal to 20%, you would then seek a mortgage from a bank to pay off the seller. You would already have paid 20% down payment.

Example: home is worth $150,000.  Since you will owe $120,000 after making a down payment of $30,000, you would atgree to pay the seller at least $644.19 per month, plus all property taxes and insurance. That is the mortgage payment on $120,000 at 5% interest. I say "at least" because the more you pay now, the sooner you will have your down payment.

At $644 per month, it would take 46.6 months to make your down payment - just under 4 years. At that time you would get a mortgage from a bank and your monthly payment would remain the same. If you pay $1000/month, your down payment would be made in 2.5 years and when you get a mortgage, your payment would drop to $644.19 per month.

Pretty simple, really. And to think it is only one method of many...Don't forget to pass this on to everyone you know.

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It Appears Google Has Solved It's Issues

We are once again able to post to our blog - Google has worked out its issues, I guess.

Stay tuned - we will be posting a lot of helpful real estate info, particularly on investing.

We do still plan on creating a new, privately hosted blog that will be far superior, with a responsive format (it will self-adjust to whatever device is viewing it). It will cover all aspects of successful living, not just real estate (though that will still be the backbone of the blog). We'll keep you posted...

Bill

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Working On New Blog Hosted Privately - Check back

No Longer Able To Post - Google Blogger Has Issues

Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Bankrupt Dad

It's old news, really - Rich Global, a corporate arm of Robert T Kiyosaki filed bankruptcy. I am not surprised. I read his first book (Rich Dad, Poor Dad) years ago and found it full of misinformation, suggestions of illegal acts (insider trading) wrong ideas as to what is tax deductible, illegal tax treatment of income derived from real estate, and even a few outright, proveable lies.

One of his biggest deceptions was telling everyone there really was a rich dad and a poor dad, and that this was an honest bio. We later discovered that was all a lie, and he has since had to have his books labeled as fiction. Another fiction - his first book claimed he owned tons of real estate, but records showed only two - a modest home purchased before he published his book, and a much more luxurious home purchased after his book sales took off.

I gotta tell ya - I have a real problem with anyone who uses deception to get money from others. Armando Montelongo does it, as I proved before. John Beck's real estate course, as well as John Alexander's were proved to be scams when they lost their lawsuit with the FTC. And Russ Dalbey is being sued by the state of Colorado and the FTC.

It's one thing to offer a substandard product. It is something else again to use deceit to market it.

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Make The Most Of Your Biggest Asset

Show me any piece of real estate and I will show you ways to make it pay off bigger and better. I don't care if it's a swamp - if there is land, there is huge potential for filling your pockets with Benjamins.

I have been investing in real estate for 44 years, and if there is one thing I have learned it is how to pump maximum profits even from what appears to be a dry well. And you can do the same. All you need is to think - and look - outside the box, under the box and, yes, even inside, under the flaps.

Let me show you what I mean.

About 30 years ago a fellow bought a 6 unit apartment building for $84,000 (remember, this was 30 years ago!). Four years later a local airport built a new runway that had low-flying planes passing directly over the building. The noise was too much for the tenants and they left, one by one. Unable to get new tenants, he put the place up for sale. But for the same reason he could not get tenants, neither could he find a buyer.

Cutting his losses, he begrudgingly accepted my all-cash offer of $38,500. He must have thought I was a lunatic. It wasn't long, however, before he was kicking himself - hard!

I immediately brought in contractors to set up all 6 units with all the "bells and whistles" (no pun intended) to make each apartment a dream home - for the hearing impaired. Instead of doorbells, it was door lights. Get the picture? Within a few months I had 6 great, permanent tenants (where else could they get such a place suited to their disability?) And once it was full tenancy, I resold the property for nearly three times what I paid for it, upgrades and all.

And in Wilmington, MA, one of my students ran across a lot where the house had burned, was condemned and torn down. And it was on Silver Lake. A beautiful spot. Unfortunately, the lot was substandard according to the local authorities - it was too small a piece to build on. So, the owner was stuck with it.

I advised my student to offer $45,000 or so for the lot. He managed to get it under contract for $48,000. Bear in mind, at that time any buildable lot on the lake was worth at least $70,000. But this lot supposedly was not buildable. But the local authorities were wrong.

Since there had been a house on the lot previously, Massachussetts law allowed for "grand-fathering" as long as any new building was built in exactly the same spot and size as the old. Since the old foundation was still visible, it would be easy for a builder to build a beautiful new home with a view of the lake.

On the very same day my student "bought" the property for $48,000 without putting up a dime of his own (his own buyer's money was used in a double escrow), he also SOLD it to a local building contractor for $64,500 with the buyer paying all closing costs. My student pocketed a neat $16,500 for one days work. Not bad. That was a profit that would never have been made if not for taking a closer look, doing a little research and, of course, having me as a coach. Feel free to check out the Hall of Record documents from Lowell County Courthouse to see for yourself.

So, how can you profit from your own piece of this granite planet?

If you have a nice barn, could it be renovated and leased out as a studio, workshop of even rental home? If you have acreage with a lot of trees, could you responsibly harvest some trees on a regular basis for lumber, or even cordwood? Even a small plot located near an urban area could be divided into "community gardens" where urbanites could raise some of their own crops - for a fee.

For every piece of property on this planet, there is a way to pump cash out of it. Look around. Think, Ask yourself how this or that could be used. Do you have an area for camp sites? And what about that old abandoned car dealership - plenty of parking, naturally, along with a large building space that could easily be converted into small boutiques and shops. A mini-mall.

A friend of mine once bought an abandoned parking garage and turned it into a multi-level club. Built-in parking, plenty of flat floor space for dancing...I think he named it "Flat Street". Another friend bought a bunch of storage units, then rented them out to people starting their own businesses - an upholsterer, auto detailer, woodworker...He had turned cheap $40/month storage units into expensive $400/month business incubators.

Start small if you need to. But if you already have real estate, start now. If you do not have property, go get some - I can teach you how. I have taught thousands of others. You could start by checking out my real estate investing course. It doesn't hurt to look. And who knows - maybe that "white elephant" property in your community can be turned into a money machine for you.

Meanwhile - the title of this post mentions "your biggest asset". Let me be clear - your house is not your biggest asset. It wasn’t until I learned how to deal with the thing living between my ears that I really had success. Your brain - THAT is your biggest asset!

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