Posts Tagged ‘Cash Flow’

Pounce on High-equity Real Estate Markets for Maximum ROI

Gary Boomershine asked:




The credit crunch is fueling the popular belief that investing in today’s real estate markets is a strategy reserved exclusively for wealthy entrepreneurs. This is absolutely false: You don’t need any cash or credit to make a killing.

Generate Cash Flow with Common Sense & Solid Strategies

There are some especially high-performing strategies that are geared for today’s market conditions that require no cash or credit and will maximize your investment returns (ROI). All that is required is a keen eye for uncovering the high-equity real estate deals that spark business growth and the sound strategies that will fill your pipeline with the leads you need to keep the deals flowing.

Why? Because by definition, high-equity properties carry low — or no — mortgage debt. As a result, there are fewer complications and hazards that can slow your deals down and clog your business pipeline. It’s no secret: In this business, delays can cost investors valuable time and money.

Credit Crunch Strikes High-Equity Homeowners

Even among the 24 million homeowners who bear no mortgages on their properties, one-third of them are soon likely to find themselves underwater in these properties. There are many social and economic factors currently at play to imperil homeowner equity, among them are:



Heavy blows to retirement savings accounts in the recent Wall Street debacle,

Rising health care costs,

Spikes in grocery, fuel, education and credit costs,

Inflation, and

Unemployment or underemployment.



The Truth about the Credit Crunch in Today’s Markets

Due to the credit crunch, many high-equity homeowners are likely to encounter new challenges in getting the credit lines they need to help them through the rough spots. This is likely to intensify as overall U.S. economic conditions worsen.

Investing in properties that have minimal mortgage burden is a great hedge to protect investors from inflation. This concept is appealing to a growing number of entrepreneurs who’ve been watching the U.S. economy lately.

Mine for High-Equity Deals with Premium Real Estate Marketing Tools

Even in the Information Age, it is easy for investors to get lost in the challenge of generating the leads they need to advance business growth. In this arena, the proven method of real estate marketing via direct mail emerges as a time-efficient and cost-effective option for getting laser-targeted leads on a consistent basis.

Combined with the relative ease of buying houses with equity, real estate marketing via direct mail emerges as a winning strategy for investors. And, because of limited competition and broad reach, this strategy finds the solid high-equity opportunities wherever there is a property that’s worth more than the seller owes in mortgage debt.

With high-equity real estate deals, investors can offer sellers attractive options and also benefit from greater flexibility in how transactions are structured. For example, investors can offer sellers fast cash in exchange for a reduced price, pay for the property over time with a note, or even delay payment until the property is refinanced or sold in the future.

Max-Out Your ROI: Deploy Direct Mail Marketing in High-Equity Markets

There are five major real estate market segments that offer investors the greatest opportunities to access equity. Use sound marketing strategies, such as direct mail marketing, to tap these markets and boost your bottom line.

In many cases, investors can build their own mailing lists based on information housed in public records. Because this information often changes and quickly becomes outdated, many investors choose to outsource their real estate marketing to save time and money on postage.

Using direct mail allows you to systemize and automate your lead generation. This can save you valuable time and money in the investment trenches. There are other benefits to outsourcing your real estate marketing, which we’ll explore later in this article.

The Cream of the Crop: Five High-Equity Markets for Hungry Investors

1. Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs) with Equity:

Homeowners in this segment typically had an ARM for three years or more before the date of sale. If they owe less than 70 percent on the loan relative to the house’s value, these homeowners with equity may be looking to escape their loan commitments before the mortgage resets.

Direct Mail Real Estate Marketing Prescription: Send an optimized, monthly mailing starting with an optimized real estate marketing letter, and then mail three real estate postcards. Repeat the process for desired results.

2. Free and Clear:

To boost profits in this segment, target homeowners with 40 percent to 100 percent equity. U.S. Census Bureau data reveal that property owners in this arena currently control one-third of all single-family homes. Often, they’re near or at retirement age, are empty nesters and are looking to downsize.

Direct Mail Real Estate Marketing Prescription: Once you’ve got this list, mail cost-effective real estate marketing postcards every 90 days.

3. Multi-Family with Equity:

Zero in on sellers with 2 or more units with a maximum loan-to-value of 70 percent or less to buy, hold or flip income properties. High-equity property owners often are motivated to by tenant management and maintenance headaches. They also may like the idea of financing the investor’s purchase if they also can benefit by deferring capital gains taxes and generate cash flow through a note rather than through rent.

Direct Mail Real Estate Marketing Prescription: Mail an optimized real estate marketing letter every 90 days. Afterwards, send 3 real estate postcards and repeat the process until desired results are achieved.

4. Absentee Owners:

Also known as out-of-area owners, this segment of homeowners has a mailing address on public record that differs from the property address. It includes weary and stressed-out landlords with single-family homes and multi-unit properties.

Direct Mail Real Estate Marketing Prescription: Get this list from pouring through county records or from real estate marketing professionals. Send real estate postcards every 90 days and update your list after each subsequent mailing. Revisit your list after a year or more has passed to evaluate the data and your real estate marketing campaign’s success.

5. Wholesale Properties:

These properties are typically about 20-years-old and tend to have deferred maintenance issues and cosmetic challenges. In this category, homes with loans that come in at about 70 of a property’s value can be prime targets for savvy real estate investors.

Direct Mail Real Estate Marketing Prescription: Send an optimized, monthly real estate marketing postcard for 6 months. Afterwards, deploy a 90-day drip campaign.

To Outsource, or not to Outsource?

Not only is effective marketing a mystery for many investors, it is costly, tedious, time-consuming and for many — it is a shot in the dark. Many investors choose to outsource their real estate marketing to minimize these problems — and to benefit from the professional experience and expertise that only a first-rate company that specializes in direct mail real estate marketing can provide.

What to Look for when you Outsource

If you do decide to outsource your marketing, look for a reputable company that specializes in direct mail real estate marketing. In most cases, the workload reduction, superior leads, optimized results and overall headache reduction more than covers the costs. But selecting the right company for the job is critical to your success in the high-equity — or any real estate investing arena.

A great real estate marketing company should have the best lists for any given market segment. The firm should be familiar with what type of mailing (such as postcards or letters) should be used and how often each mailing should be sent to attract your desired response. From experience, they also should be able to tell you how to optimize your mailings to attract the best, most qualified leads.

When you outsource your direct mail real estate marketing, you should receive quantifiable results in your ROI. This includes real-time reporting on the effectiveness of your mailings. In addition, your lists should be regularly “scrubbed” of obsolete and outdated addresses to save you money on postage.

If the marketing company leverages its high-volume business to secure discounts on mailings for investors, you’ll likely know you’ve likely got a good candidate on the line to handle your business marketing needs.

The Hidden Advantages of Owning Apartment Houses vs Single Family Houses

David Jackson asked:




One of the first money making reasons to hold apartment houses and not single family houses is because there is loads of cash flow to be made in apartment investing. Apartments are always in demand – no matter the economy – so if cash flow is important to you then will generate it quickly. When you invest in apartments, your income has no cap. It’s solely based on your expectations and actions.

You can invest in apartment houses part time and eventually quit your job and live better. Serious apartment house investors spend their time finding more profitable deals. Once those deal are found and closed, they employ experienced property management companies who will carry out the day to day activities associated with maintaining an effective business. The purpose of the management company is to free the owner of the apartment building so he or she will have time to do the leisure activities that they enjoy most.

There is less competition in apartment investing verses single family home investing. Only a few investors know how to do it right, and are willing to talk about it. There is little written on the subject of apartment investing and those who do know want to keep it a secret.

There is a lot less risk when buying an apartment building. You don’t lose all of your cash flow if you lose a tenant, as you would with a single family home. Consider this – you can cut your risks by 2 with a duplex and by 4 with a quadplex. So imagine if you have more units under one roof, it will become even easier to absorb tenant turnover.

Apartment investing provides you the benefit of tax-deferred money. Your profits can be tax free (or at least tax deferred) though refinancing. This principle is called 1031 tax-deferred exchange. Performing a 1031 tax deferred exchange basically allows you to defer capital gains taxes on real estate bought and sold for investment purposes.

Economies of scale are realized when investing in apartments. Owning six units in one apartment building is better than owning six single family homes. The cost to maintain them is a lot less. Most importantly, other people pay your mortgage and expenses.

Apartments provide you with a fast price rise in an “up” market cycle and lower price fall in a “down” market cycle. Real estate markets are cyclical meaning it has cycles and phases. Each cycle is different and it depends on the economic environments. Knowing how to buy apartment buildings in each market cycle can lead to tremendous gains as well as avoid long term loss.

Apartment home investing is a ground-floor investing opportunity. Not many people are investing in apartment houses. It’s is a great time to invest in apartments because the economies of affordability of single family housing forces many to rent. The greatest demand for apartment homes is being created by the Baby Boomers children, who are called the Echo Boomers. In addition, lifestyle changes and elderly preferences are swelling the ranks of renters.

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