Keep in mind that delaying will cost you. Take a look at the following IRA comparison chart. Tom began putting in the maximum amount into an IRA at 18 years of age. When he retires, he will have over $150,000 more than his counterpart, Linda, who began at the age of 26, just 8 years later!!

Money doesn’t grow on trees, but you can make your money stretch further if you realize that saving money on expenses is like getting free money. I don’t know about you, but I NEVER turn down free money!!

NOTE: None of these post should be considered as legal advice.

This means that you are going to have to take a look at how you are spending your money. Yes, every penny. As a people, Americans over consume. I am not suggesting that you should take draconian measures and live like a pauper for the rest of your life, but it may be necessary to make some adjustments.

Once you begin to create your mini asset base, what kind of return on your assets should you expect? I say at least 10% to overcome the major stumbling blocks of purchasing power: taxes and inflation.

Take a look at the following rules, to get a better idea of what things should be like:

o Cash pays for the goodies, or “Happiness is a positive cash flow!”

o Cash inflow must be greater than cash outflow.

o Residual cash flow is better than linear cash flow.

o While we say time = money, assets are what produce money. The greater the assets, the greater the cash flow. Feed your assets so your assets can feed you!

o Wealth is a function of cash flow over time.

o Cash must be generated from more than one source of wealth. Income must feed wealth-producing assets, which in turn produce more cash flow.

o Taxes are cash flow’s nemesis. Use the tax code to increase cash flow. Don’t allow taxes to use your cash flow.

o You can’t create more time, but you can buy it back.

o Financial independence does not equal financial freedom. Owning your own business does not necessarily make you free!

o Positive cash flow must not depend on your efforts alone.

o Associate with successful, cash-flow producing people. Ask them to take you under their wing. Learn what they do and step into their shoes.

Money does not make you happy, however, money is ONE of the stumbling blocks of achieving happiness, along with knowledge, faith, time and health.

This article is for the new real estate investor who is trying to network and get to know seasoned investors. It’s for anyone who’s looking for an investor with some experience and success to “mentor” them.

What is a Seasoned Investor?

Quite simply, a seasoned investor would be someone who has bought and sold, repaired or rehabbed or wholesaled several houses – one who pretty well knows the ins and outs of real estate investing. This is just the type of person many new investors are looking to learn from.

Just the type of person you want to learn from, right?

So, you want to find someone you can wholesale deals too? Someone who will show you the gold mine areas for houses, allow you Multiple Listing Access (MLS), and give you the security of knowing they can close and pay you on your house or flip it in 5 business days? Maybe you want to take the seasoned investor out to lunch-heck, you’ll go so far as to buy lunch!

What’s Standing in the Way?

Well, most seasoned investors are great to know, and together you can make a lot of money. However, these investors often elude the new investor. Is it that you are intimidated by their vast knowledge and experience, or maybe they are initially just too busy to catch up with? Whatever the reason, a seasoned investor is great to get to know, but one important thing to understand is that this kind of relationship can’t just “happen” overnight.

First, it’s a given that seasoned investors tend to be pretty busy people. They run usually a small business, where they are busy managing, advertising, and bookkeeping – or managing those that do. Outside the office, they are driving around all day looking at properties, running crews, dashing to Sam’s club buying new printers and problem solving with staff, realtors, and their title company. This, of course, is in between trips to Home Depot or Lowe’s where they scour the isles looking for that one elusive item.

During all this, there are rehab crews waiting and the seasoned investor is constantly feeling pressure, pressure and more pressure as the cost of labor is expensive, especially when the crew waits around!

What I have found in the Las Vegas area is that most seasoned investors are around 30 or more years old, with families. Therefore, they are busy with family life as well, such as taking kids to practice and trying to have a social or spiritual life with family and friends. Just maybe at the end of the week, they can carve out some oh-so-precious time all to themselves.

So yes, they are busy. Very busy.

How I Tried to Find A Seasoned Mentor (and Failed)

When I began, I simply assumed that a seasoned investor would spend time with me as they realized I would bring them great deals, and because I was serious about this business.

It seemed like a fair trade to me-their time and expertise for my house deals and soon-to-be house deals and endless (but sincere) questions. And if I’d offer to meet them for lunch, and actually PAY for it, well then the sky’s the limit, baby!

I mean, who could turn that down?

Well, my dream was to have many house deals, but it was only a dream at that time. And one thing I didn’t really understand was that these types of people often have lots of wide-eyes tenderfoots, just like me, calling and emailing them for their time on a regular basis. And even the most generous of people must begin to say “no” to the “good” for the sake of what’s “best”.

“Why Are They Avoiding Me?”

As time went on and I tried again and again to pursue these kinds of relationships, slowly I began to get it. The reality of the seasoned investors’ world, and the natural time constraints included, became more and more apparent.

And as I began to do more and more deals, an interesting thing started happening. I actually started having new investors who started calling me, wanting to take me to lunch! Can you believe it????

So what did I do? I gave graciously of my time, for I was surely not going to selfishly limit myself same way that some of the old-timers did to me when I was new. I was going to give of my time and expertise freely. Humpfh!

I would tell each new investor, “I will help you along, and then you can offer me your house deals first over other investors.” And they, of course, readily agreed.

So as the new investors would call, we would “talk shop”, and I’d answer their many questions, answer their emails, and even run comparables (comps) for them on their prospective deals. If needed, I would even stop what I was doing and perform skip traces to find their missing sellers (Deb is great, she can find a needle in a haystack nationwide.)

Sometimes I would take them to my best areas and subdivisions where I found deals-my gold mine areas. Other times, we would get lunch and I would listen and encourage them in their hopes, challenges and dreams.

Yes, we were off to the races! Until…

The Other Side of the Coin

I started noticing a disturbing trend. I started getting calls from my “apprentices” notifying me that they were fed up with this real estate investing thing, couldn’t make it work, and were ready to throw in the towel.

At first it was only a few of them. Then a few more. And eventually it seemed that about 95% of them were suddenly on their way out the door. Some said they were going back to collage, while others were getting a nine to five job and so on.

It was then that reality hit me. I began to realize that most of the newbies had stars in their eyes, and wanted to get rich quick, or were looking for an easy out from college. The older ones often had too many battle scars and couldn’t seem to get up again, due to some past experience. It’s tough to say, but true to form.

So where did that leave me…the now-seasoned investor?

Honestly? Frustrated, let down and occasionally angry. And yes, burnt out with newbies. After all, I’d graciously invested hours and hours of my time, not to mention a good deal of mental energy and focus, into helping these folks take steps toward the real estate investing dream they’d seemed so passionate about before. And now it was all for naught.

Then I would read in the real estate forums, “How do I find seasoned investors to work with?” – And often spoken with almost an air of entitlement.

Now I Get It.

Now it all makes sense. Now I really and truly understand why I had such a hard time getting on the “inside” with these guys, and why so many others do as well. And that, my friend, is why I wrote this article for new investors like you.

There’s no doubt at all that the seasoned investor has a LOT to offer the budding newbie. They have great real estate software, MLS access, cash, and experience. They offer great resources, knowledge, have title companies and realtors in their back pockets, and know the other seasoned investors. They possess all the tools of the trade that anyone new desires.

Furthermore I can say without hesitation the seasoned investors DO want new investors to bring them good wholesale or birddog deals. Believe it or not, they are looking to make new investor friends.

So what do you do to ally with these guys? How do you get “on the inside” with them.

How To Get A Seasoned Real Estate Mentor…

First, do your homework and don’t be lazy about it. Study and learn the areas, types of houses, cost of houses you will make offers on, and basic costs of repairing the rehabs.

Then drive for dollars find a house. Driving for dollars means driving around a subdivision looking for abandoned or boarded-up houses and locating the owner. Do your work or research on the house.

Invest some of your own time, effort, blood and sweat on the front end, to prove that you’re not just looking for a free ride or a cow to milk. And by this point, you should be able to talk to a seasoned investor and compare apples and apples with the experienced investor.

Know enough in advance to be able to determine fairly well if there is even money in the house before you call him.

See who owns the property and find out if it’s possibly a motivated seller. Or is it owned by a realtor, county owned or does another investor own it? If it’s the latter, you may decide not to waste your seasoned investor or your time going after it.

Next, continue to do your homework and attempt to contact of find the owner/seller.
Now, when you call the salty investor, try saying something like this;

“Iggy Investor, I have a 3 bed 2 bath boarded up 1500sf single family. Cross streets are Jones and Bethany. Owed is $30k, comps at $170k. I have done research and can’t find the sellers. Want to grab a cup of coffee and see if we can get it?”

Now, doesn’t that sound better than the old “let’s us grab some lunch, so I can pick your brain.” approach? Honestly I cringe when I get that line from a new investor I just met.

Why doesn’t that work? It’s simply because it’s a one-sided relationship, all give on the investor’s part and nothing from the new investor except his or her dreams of what they may or may not do.

You need to start by GIVING, well before you even try to receive anything. You need to ask yourself,

“What can I do to EARN this relationship, and all the powerful benefits that could come along with it?”

Don’t Focus On The Money

Notice in the hypothetical conversation above, I did not mention wholesale or birddog. One thing a seasoned investor taught me a long time ago was to forget about me making money. That’s right! Get my mind off my pockets initially and see if I could birddog, not even do wholesale, but just birddog. When I would “dog some properties” to show my willingness to help make him money, they would take more time with me.

Trust me. The first 15 houses I bugged my seasoned investors with were definitely not deals. And by “bugged,” I mean that took precious time out of their day to look at my no-deal houses. Of course, the next hundred or so were definitely worth their time, but initially it was more like wild goose-chasing on there part for months.

I hope this makes sense and that I’ve been able to help you look at this “mentor” relationship from flip side of the coin. If so, then you will have a much better chance of making a new strong profitable relationship with seasoned investors.

Don’t be afraid of these relationships. They’re well worth pursuing, and can really take you to the next level when they happen. But don’t start off feeling like you somehow deserve them. You don’t. The only thing you’re really entitled to is the same school of hard knocks we all have to learn from.

But if you can earn the respect of a seasoned investor or two – by truly adding value to their business FIRST – then you’ll likely find some delightful short cuts to your learning curve as an investor.

If you are interested and would like to notified as we get closer please email me:  info[AT]mygoodhousedeals.com

The total number of duplexes will be 30 and you can take one or the whole package.  Serious inquires only please.

You’ve been through enough already. Let me save your credit: No Foreclosure.  No Bankruptcy.  It’s not too late, but soon it will be.  At mygoodhousedeals.com we are here to help.

Dear Friend,

If you want to STOP FORECLOSURE before the sale of your house, I can help you. I not only want to stop the foreclosure of your house, but I also want to save your credit.  But you need to call TODAY!

Call me now for a FREE consultation. I want to help you.

If you are interested in selling, please contact me immediately at 214-883-4524 or
chris@mygoodhousedeals.com , I buy houses. Time is running out, so call now.

Are you considering bankruptcy? Often this is not the best option. Let me explain the hidden dangers of bankruptcy that lawyers are keeping secret.

Before I can help you, I need you to call 214-883-4524 or visit my company’s website at www.mygoodhousedeals.com there you will find more information about our company and what we do. Feel free to submit an email from the website. It will be answered within 24 hours.

I want to show you:

• How to avoid a bank foreclosure
• How to sell your home quickly.
• How to clean up a credit report
• How to get your finances back in order

To get your free consultation, call me now at 214-883-4524, and I will begin to assist you immediately.

Sincerely,

Chris McLean

chris@mygoodhousedeals.com
www.mygoodhousedeals.com

Callers are encouraged to call (347) 677-1428 to listen, join the conversation and ask questions or log in at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Kimberly  and chat with us live in the “Let’s Talk Real Estate’s Chat Room.  The show is live every Saturday mid-morning, at 10 a.m. Central.  “Let’s Talk Real Estate” archives are available at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Kimberly. 

As a consultant to the nation’s largest lenders and due diligence giants, Ms. McLean witnessed firsthand and forecast the debacle that is the catalyst for our nation’s largest domestic crisis, the American real Estate market.

Kimberly’s insights from the secondary markets and as a Realtor enable her to be a key speaker in the area of real estate recovery. Authored courses include “How to Read a Note, Mortgage, Title Policy and Appraisal and just released “Foreclosure Crisis in 2009, From Main Street to Wall Street and The Exceptions.”

Always up for a challenge, Kimberly believes that any meaningful recovery must begin with the industry and its consumers examining the mistakes of the past; and realistically evaluating processes to return not only “A-1” credit profile consumers or first time home buyers, but all consumers to a fair market priced climate of building, lending and borrowing.  

While many Americans are feeling hopeless and full of despair based on the current economic climate, Ms. McLean is a part of that group of survivors that feels that its time for the industry and the economy as a whole to re-invent itself, using real parts.

While the excitement about our nation’s first African American president still runs rampant, a lesser known fact is that the nation also has its first African American President of the National Association of Realtors, Charles McMillan.  Mr. McMillan hails from Kimberly’s own hometown Whiteville, NC, a tobacco farming community.  Those modest roots were the breeding ground for the integrity that Ms. McLean believes will be required to restore confidence and appropriately direct federally granted funding.

“Let’s Talk Real Estate” is a must listen, and its unique format affords listeners “real time” interaction to pose questions, give their viewpoints and obtain a wealth of information from Ms. McLean and her notable guests.

BlogTalkRadio has been featured on ABC News, The Washington Post, Portfolio, Talkers Magazine and TheStreet.com.  The citizen broadcasting network can be found at http://www.blogtalkradio.com

“Let’s Talk Real Estate” is live every Saturday mid-morning, at 10 a.m. Central.  Callers are encouraged to call (347) 677-1428 to listen, join the conversation or ask questions.  The stream and archives are available at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Kimberly

Kimberly McLean

(817) 680-8031

mcleankj@gridironrealestate.com

In real estate, a short sale is a sale of real estate in which the proceeds from the sale fall short of the balance owed on a loan secured by the property sold.^[1] In a short sale, the bank or mortgage lender agrees to discount a loan balance due to an economic or financial hardship on the part of the mortgagor. This negotiation is all done through communication with a bank’s loss mitigation or workout department. The home owner/debtor sells the mortgaged property for less than the outstanding balance of the loan, and turns over the proceeds of the sale to the lender, sometimes (but not always) in full satisfaction of the debt. In such instances, the lender would have the right to approve or disapprove of a proposed sale. Many Short Sales leave a deficiency balance for which the Mortgagor / Borrower is still liable. In 99% of all cases it is not a settlement-in-full. A deficiency balance will remain as a potential liability for the Mortgagor / Borrower. The bank’s opportunity of pursuit of a deficiency judgment will vary from state to state

Extenuating circumstances influence whether or not banks will discount a loan balance. These circumstances are usually related to the current real estate market and the borrower’s financial situation. An important thing to know about a short sale is that it has to be handled by a real professional who knows how to work these deals. Most REALTORS® don’t handle short sales.

A short sale typically is executed to prevent a home foreclosure, but the decision to proceed with a short sale is predicated on the most economic way for the bank to recover the amount owed on the property. Often a bank will allow a short sale if they believe that it will result in a smaller financial loss than foreclosing as there are carrying costs that are associated with a foreclosure. A bank will typically determine the amount of equity (or lack of), by determining the probable selling price from a Broker Price Opinion BPO or through a valuation of an appraisal. For the home owner, advantages include avoidance of a foreclosure on their credit history and partial control of the monetary deficiency. A short sale is typically faster and less expensive than a foreclosure. In short, a short sale is nothing more than negotiating with lien holders a payoff for less than what they are owed, or rather a sale of a debt, generally on a piece of real estate, short of the full debt amount. It does not extinguish the remaining balance unless settlement is clearly indicated on the acceptance of offer.

Short sales are common in standard business transactions in recognition that creditors are not doing debtors a favor but, rather, engaging in a business transaction when extending credit. When it makes no business sense or is economically not feasible to retain an asset, businesses default on their loans (called bonds). It is not uncommon for business bonds to trade on the after-market for a small fraction of their face value in realization of the likelihood of these future defaults.

Negotiations

Lenders have a department (typically called “loss mitigation”) that processes potential short sale transactions. Today, lenders may accept short sale offers or requests for short sales even if a Notice of Default has not been issued or recorded with the locality where the property is located. Given the unprecedented and overwhelming number of losses that mortgage lenders have suffered from the current foreclosure crisis, they are now more willing to accept short sales than ever before. This is great news for borrowers who are “under-water” or in other words those who owe more on their mortgage than their property is worth and are having trouble selling to avoid foreclosure because of this. They are type of distressed borrower who needs a short sale the most.

Lenders have a varying tolerance for short sales and mitigated losses. The majority of lenders have a pre-determined criteria for such transactions. Other distressed lenders may allow any reasonable offer subject to a loss mitigator’s approval. Multiple levels of approvals and conditions are very common with short sales. Junior liens – such as second mortgages, HELOC lenders, and HOA (special assessment liens) – may need to approve the short sale. Frequent objectors to short sales include tax lien holders (income, estate or corporate franchise tax – as opposed to real property taxes, which have priority even when unrecorded) and mechanic’s lien holders. It is possible for junior lien holders to prevent the short sale. If the lender required mortgage insurance on the loan, the insurer will likely also be party to negotiations as they may be asked to pay out a claim to offset the lender’s loss in the short sale. The wide array of parties, parameters and processes involved in a short sale makes it a relatively complex and highly specialized type of real estate transaction which is why unfortunately short sale deals have a high failure rate and often do not close on time to save homeowners from foreclosure when they are not handled by a knowledgeable and experienced professional. The best sources of knowledge and expertise in short sales are short sale negotiators, loss mitigation specialists, and real estate lawyers who specialize in short sale.

Credit reporting

A short sale does adversely affect a person’s credit report, though the negative impact is typically less than a foreclosure. Short sales are a type of settlement. Like all entries except for bankruptcy, short sales remain on a credit report for seven years. Depending upon other credit information it is typically possible to obtain another mortgage 1-3 years after a short sale.^{[citation needed]}

While it is frequent if not common for a lender to forgive the balance of the loan in question, it is unlikely that a lien holder that is not a mortgagee will forgive any of their balance. Further, it is common for a lender to omit updating mortgage balances to reflect a zero balance after a short sale. However, willfully misrepresenting information on a credit report can constitute libel in some jurisdictions, and lenders may be sued in civil court for engaging in this behavior

 I can’t say that I don’t understand because I have had people time and time again say “I tried to talk to them but they want all the money”.  A lot of times that is true once you get into the actual foreclosure process.  The thing is time is not on your side.  Time and time again people avoid the calls and the letters until they are three months behind. 

Now a couple of things to remember when dealing with a mortgage.  First is the same month that you know you can’t make the payment you should be proactive and contact your lender to discuss your options.  At this point you have more options because the loan isn’t considered a problem loan yet.  You should do some soul searching before calling.  What is the real reason you are falling behind.

  Is it loss of a job by you or your spouse?  Is it the rate adjusted and the payment increased, or the taxes where added to the payment so you can’t afford it?  Whatever the circumstance(s) is write it down on paper.  Then once you know exactly what caused the problem, you know if it is temporary or NOT.  If it is temporary(be honest with yourself) now you know what to say to the lender. 

The thing to remember when talking to the lender is be cool.  Remember the person on the other end of the call is a person who is following their operating procedures.  Don’t yell and scream or curse if that person appears to be an idiot.  Remember they have a supervisor but you are much better off remaining cool because before the supervisor gets on the line the original person will alert the supervisor what they are in for.  If you request a supervisor and they want let you speak to one, simply say Thank You and hang up.  Wait ten or fifteen minutes and call back.  Be persistent but calm and you may be able to get a loan modification. 

If it is a situation that is more permanent, you are far better off accepting that as fact and get into what I call salvage my credit mode.  You see even if things are bad you are much better off selling the house instead of destroying your credit with a foreclosure.  Don’t be fooled into believing that some sort of bail out program may help you.  Please remember that even though your tax dollars are being used to fund the bail out, you still have to be eligible to qualify for those programs. 

 Don’t get me wrong everyone should  have the American dream of home ownership but in some cases the dream becomes a nightmare.

  Now if you owe more on the home then it’s worth in the current market conditions you should consider a short sale.  I say consider because a short sale is where the lender takes less for the property than what is owed on the property.  This prevents you from having a foreclosure and the sooner you start the better off you are. 

 The important thing to remember is the more of your credit you can salvage the road to recovery is a lot shorter.   If you need help contact us here at www.mygoodhousedeals.com on the contact us page.

Chris McLean