The Next big real estate deal

I hear investors talk about different ways to make money in this market, and I get a lot great ideas from it.

One of my investors from the Chicago did a deal with a private equity firm to buy 50% of his already finished home. I know it doesn't sound like anything new but he did it and made $5k in the process. He still owns 50% of the property that will make him another $10K Approx when it sales. He is now buying another property with his extra money!

Making money in this market is not hard, in fact a down market is easier than a hot market. I remember when I had to put in 100's of offers to get 2-3 properties. Now we can get them 1 out of 4 times, big difference. The properties today are very affordable our average investment to buy and rehab a property is around $40,000. Wow a great home in a quality area for that low price!

Making big money in real estate is knowing your market and what you can max your money with in that market. For example we do a lot land contracts that help bad credit clients buy homes. The investor becomes the bank, and makes a great monthly income on that home. The buyer can write off the interest of the loan and get a totally rehabbed home in the process. The land contracts require a larger down payment from the buyer and when they refinance the home the investor makes great money!

As you can see there are many ways to get the next big deal, but you have to know all the rules in this market to max your investment and get the best cash flow and spread available! Brett Young WWW.Rooftopinvestment.com

Learning Real Estate (Land Contracts)

Safe Private Fianancing

Our company has developed into a great cash flow resource for many investors. The great thing about our system is that we never use banks. Banks today do not service investors, they have decided that owner occupied is about all their going to lend on.

We work with investors to convert their IRA's into cash machines by buying investment real estate.

Today I want to talk about private financing and how it can be done safely. Our company is offering a program that lets the investor borrow the purchase money from a private lender. The investor pays for the rehab and we get the home Land Contracted for the investor.

The purchase,rehab and management is also done by our licensed people. The LTV on this (Loan to value) is 20%-30% of the value and in a 1st lien position. The lenders rate of return is high 15%! The great news is the Investor still makes approx $350 per month net cash flow. That is a great investor and lender partnership.

You can do this type of lending through your IRA. There is another saftey net that really secures both the lender and the investor. The land contracts cash out about 50%-60% of the time. The ones that don't cash out usually stay in the home multiple years.

For those homes that may be a blessing in disguise. We never know the future but when the market turns and it will then the lender and investor will still be setting nice!
Brett Young www.RooftopCleveland.com

Land Contracts can make you money!

Dealing with Land Contracts can be very profitable. You do need to know a few things in order to make sure you are doing them right.

Land contracts is like a mortgage the owner of the property basically becomes the bank. The payments are usually higher than a traditional mortgage. For example I come up with my payments based on the rental rates in that area + $25.00. That number is not written in stone, but it's a great place to start.

The interest rate is not the issue with most land contract people, it's the payment. I was reading a book that was written buy a financial guru, and he stated that people would start looking for payments only not interest rate. I think that is true today.

Most Land Contract buyers are renters and are schooled on the going rental rates in the area. The great thing about the land contract deal is that the buyer can write off the interest on the property. Like a bank you are charging them an interest rate which by law is a tax write off. Always consult with your tax advisor on this.

The document should always be drawn up by a lawyer in the state you are doing these Land Contracts or what ever version is allowed where you live. They make everything legal.

Make sure that the payment is collected by a disinterested 3rd party to verify whether or not a payment has been made. I have a property mangament company pick mine up.

Base your Land Contract price on the values in your area. I always look at my spread and try to leave some equity on the table. This is great for a leverage tool when your trying to close the property.

Try to close within a 2-3 year period with a credit repair agency. Make sure that agency follows up and makes sure their credit is indeed getting repaired in a correct matter so you can close with them on time. It's always best to let the credit repair company do the loan also.

I had a client that was closing one of my deals once. He needed $2200 to close the deal. The property had considerable equity, and I didn't care if he closed it or not (leverage). He asked to borrow it. I said I would let him borrow it and I would charge him another $2200 for the trouble. That was a $2200 profit for using my money. He agreed and the deal was closed.

So when your carrying a contract on your property make sure you know the law, and the rental rates for that area. Then go make some money! Brett Young www.Rooftopinvestment.com

Getting the best out of your business

We have a gentleman that works with our company named Ed. My wife ran an ad about a year and a half ago to get an assistant to help with marketing. We hired him and he did a great job working on the marketing.

We later thought maybe we didn't need him so even though he was doing a great job. We left on good terms and that was that I thought.

That part of the business started to suffer under the new way we were doing it. In 60 days I hired Ed back. He immediately excepted and started producing the first week. That was almost a year ago, and he has really did a great job. In fact he is ready to take his real estate test so he can take a bigger role in our company. Tim is training him what to look for with investment homes.

He could of been bitter about being let go the first time but he was not. When I realized how much he fit a groove for our company I didn't hesitate hiring him back.

He now has a very bright future with us and is an up and coming force to be reckoned with. I will build some new systems that will Tailor to him and his great ability to get things done. Our property Manager (Meshow) is also using him to do things for him. He is training him how to handle prospective tenants.

Ed's business is starting to thrive because he never says no to new challenges and gets things done.

When you are looking at someone that is hungry to do business don't discount that they are not will versed in your field. You can teach them that. Look at their work ethic and see how they do. You may be surprised as I was with the end result.
I know our company was! Brett Young www.Rooftopprofitmax.com

Real Estate Investors

Real estate investors are a different breed. How do I know this? I am one. You are always looking for the next great real estate deal that comes up. You never ever get tired of looking at investment properties in fact I've looked at 1000's of them and still looking.

You get up every morning thinking of new ways to find and buy investment real estate. While your drinking your coffee your on the computer checking comps in the areas your looking in trying to see if any great deals are their. Writing a lot of contracts until you get that great deal! Working with the Banks and agents to making sure it closes on time and on price!

You go to all types of different real estate seminar courses and spend $1000's of dollars to get the information you need to get the best deals. You learn all the legal and construction pitfalls and money saving ideas. What the you need to know to get great buys for yourself.

You have to go to each property and make a budget and be sure that with rehab everything will be in budget and get the end result that you want for that property.

You have to hire a construction crew that will get each project done correctly and permitted with each city. They must also get them done on time, and in budget. You must also know what permits and rehab is really needed in each investment property.

You learn the rental laws and have proper property management that keeps your properties rented and cash flowing every month. You also have a great maintenance team that doesn't cost a fortune every time something goes array.

You have or have someone that has a real estate license to help you find investment real estate. You have all that paperwork that must be done at escrow so you know you have a safe investment.

You even have to make sure all the utilities are turned on!

There is another great choice that can take care of all this for you and save you thousands of dollars, Answer: www.Rooftopinvestment.com. We do this stuff for our investors everyday! Better get investing!

Listening is a great thing for your business

I learn a lot every week just from listening to people and my Itunes. Yesterday Roger came up from Cincinnati to look at some homes. We went to several cities and browsed some very nice investment homes. He let me know what homes he liked and what areas he preferred. After we had finished he gave me the green light to be his representative for buying investment homes. As I listened I learned what his goals and his expectations of me were going to be. I was able to satisfy his needs by knowing them.

I also met another gentleman yesterday on another business opportunity that he wanted me to represent his company in. As he was explaining the biz to me he mentioned another type of business he had done. I stopped him and ask him about it. He immediately pulled out some financials on that business (which was struggling) and I noticed the huge profit potential in the market for that business ! We immediately changed courses and set up a plan to upstart that very profitable business. If I had not been listening I would of never heard about the new business.

Listening to business podcast can teach a lot of rich information. One in particular that I listen to is HBR(Harvard Business Review) they interview a lot of the CEO's of large business and they give you tons of FREE advice. For example I am listening to the CEO of eBay and what his thoughts are on all the eBay business's. They own many differant types of business's. It is a treasure trove of information from someone who is at the top of the business game and it's free! I mean who wouldn't listen to the CEO of eBay?

Their are many othey podcast I like on marketing and business. All you have to do is go to itunes and download them an listen! Rooftopprofitmax also has a great podcast on itunes.

Listening to people and podcast can take you and your business to the next level! So why aren't you listening? Brett Young www.advancedcashflowsystems.com

Buying Real Estate the smart way!

Knowing the details can make you a lot of money

I usually talk about issues related to Real Estate, but today I wanted to talk about some details that I noticed that could cost you a lot of money. The first was a Business man that wanted me to build a website for his product. When we met he gave me his business card. I noticed it was one that you do in the printer. That business card told me(by the looks on his business cards) this guy wasn't too successful . Nice Business cards are $6.00 on the Internet! Who cannot afford that.

Last week I went to a very important meeting and met with a private lender . As we were talking he noticed my watch. Brian commented that he really liked my brand of watch. I've had 3 meetings with him since and we are currently setting up a large private fund for investors. I believe the watch help get me another meeting. He also funded 3 homes for us so far.

A couple of clients came in town last weekend to look at some real estate. We did what any other reasonable Realtor would do we showed them some of our investment homes and some new investment properties they were interested in. On Saturday night Tim got us all tickets to see a headlining comedian that he used to go to school with. Tammy (the headliner) was at the top of her game that night and we laughed are heads off. After the show Tim arranged for her to meet are investors after the show. They loved it and had a blast (we did too). This week we have sold them 5 homes and looking for more.

When your getting ready to do any type of business with someone be careful what you say and what you wear. Take them to some fun places and don't be all business. Remember that old saying first impressions are everything. Make sure your organized and always have great business cards and have the meeting well planned. Be well dressed and never look cheap.

Making money and making sure your client views you in a positive and successful way is key to your success. So go buy some nice clothes , wear nice watch's, get some great business cards, and have a nice website to keep in contact with your clients. Then see what effect it will have on your business. Learning the details can make you a lot of money! What people think about about you can make or break you! Brett Young WWW.Rooftopinvestment.com

Taking care of potential clients

When your doing any kind of business you should plan to see some clients from time to time. I am a Realtor that sells investment real estate to investors all over the world. From time to time they fly in and want to see some of their properties, some new areas and potential new investments they can purchase.

As a Realtor I need to prepare with my staff to make sure we have the trip all planned out. That doesn't mean just showing them the properties they want to buy or own. You also need to show them some fun in your area. For example on Friday night we took our clients out to a Amish restaurant. They not only got some great Amish food, they also got to see some of the great Amish traditions that were in that area. On Saturday night one of the Partners Tim had a friend at the Improv. Which was very fun plus Tim's friend Tammy (the headline comedian) came out and met our investors after the show! Great way to end our clients trip!

During their stay we also picked them up daily (2 days) at their Hotel. I went to Starbucks before hand and picked up some refreshments for the drive to the first property. During the drive I had properties for them to look at on the way. We also discussed what they liked and didn't like.

Me and Tim planned out how many homes we could look at in each area and still have daylight at the end of the day. We looked at many homes and sold3-4 homes on this trip. The clients appreciated that we rolled the red carpet out to them and planned their whole trip including evenings.

All this was work but we enjoyed their company, and we had time to meet with each one of them individually . They came away with a very positive outlook on our area. We came away with learning a lot about them and their needs.

By showing them some fun spots in our city and taking the investors to some of them in the evening we sold 4 homes. Remember knowing a client takes a lot of time, but it's worth it. In the end you have to work hard, but you will also have a lot of fun doing it! Brett Young WWW.Rooftopprofitmax.com

The Different Realtor

Realtor's are like Lawyers in a way. There are many different types of Realtor's for example some are commercial, Residential, and investment real estate. Those are the three types most widely used. You could throw property management in there also.

Lawyers are criminal, business, corporate, injury and divorce. So you can see that there why I look at Realtor's like lawyers there are many different specialties in the in the field. Picking the right one can make you a lot of money. Picking the wrong one can cost you dearly.

When you are looking for investment property make sure the Realtor you use specializes in that area. Some Realtors do both Retail and investing so make sure they do more investing then retail. The Realtor should also give you some examples they've done in the business. They should also have some examples that you can easily view via video or go see for yourself.

I've seen many Realtors that say they specialize in Investment real estate, but have no examples for you to see.

Make sure they have their own portfolio in their business. To me this say's that they believe in what they are doing. Of course they must be successful at their own business.

Check out their system if they have one. For example do they have a construction company, property management, maintenance, and sales arms in their business. If you buy an investment home you will need all the arms to make sure that you get your property ready to sale or rent.

That's a very big part of your business to make sure you have the right Realtor. If any of those arms are not present after you spend your hard earned money then you may be in trouble.

It takes the right Realtor to make sure that every part of your investment property is taken care of for you. Making money in the investment business may require you to look for a different Realtor! Brett Young www.Rooftopprofitmax.com

Learning Marketing through Podcast

If you are in the real estate game, marketing is very important whether you are a buyer or seller. I personally listen to alot of Podcast that keep me on the cutting edge of internet marketing.

One I listen too is "Help my Business Sucks" this podcast is totally free at ITunes. He gives you great easy tips on how to market whatever you are selling. It also gives you different websites that you can use for your business. For example www.Fiverr.com this site allows you to get almost anything done for $5 bucks. This site is a great place to put your Utube Video to get massive hits. His show is a webtvversion meaning it lookslike and acts like a television show.

You can also get eductional podcasts in real estate all free. I have one myself just search www.rooftopinvestment.com and you will find it on Itunes. There are also many other free real estate podcasts. Ours are all audio on Itunes, but we also have the video version on Facebook. Just search on facebook for "paving your way to financial freedom". We have a full libaray of free educational videos and audios you can tap into.

Itunes is free to set up and has many free Podcast and Unversity audio/Video courses. One more example of one that I personally listen tois called "marketing over coffee". This is also a great podcast that gives valuable information on internet marketing and totally free. It's two guys that research Google and other advertising tools that they use for internet marketing. They give you easy to understand and new ways to advertise your business on the internet.

So when your driving to work or going somewhere that you have at 10 min or more drive,listen to podcast on the way. You can learn so much from these free lessons and they will help you find very useful tools to help you do about anything you want.

Make sure you get a Ipod to listen to them on. This is my educational item I always take with me and learn new things while I drive or wait for someone over coffee. It will pay for itself very quickly.

People always ask me how I learn new ways to do things and I mostly learn new ways to market on the internet thru podcast lessons.

You say what does this have to do with real estate? I think Real Estate is all about information and the internet is fullof information for free! Brett Young Valley Realty

Doing things the right way always means profit!

I finished a duplex a few weeks ago and it really taught me key points about what tenants really look at.

The units had small bathrooms so we did the usual new flooring,caulk,paint, and basic clean up on the bathroom. When we finished the unit Peter my construction Foreman brought over some bathroom accessories to update the look of the bathroom. I thought that was nice but didn't really pay attention to it.

I also decided to make a third bedroom in the attic area. This area was around 800 SF and had all the drywall up. All it needed was a closet. So I framed in a huge walk in closet and I put new carpet . We needed to build some new stairs and put a pony wall around the opening so no one would fall through (you don't want that).

After the remodel was done we quickly rented both units (10 days) to the same family. I called my leasing agent and he told me that the tenants really liked the bathrooms. They ask if the bathroom accessories came with the units? Of course we said thay did come with the unit.

I later met with the tenant to fix a couple minor issues they wanted done before they moved in. I ask her why they picked our unit? She said that the place was so clean and nice that her husband told her to rent it immediately after looking at 5 other places! That meant a lot to me and my company!

Always make your units sparkle and have the wow factor! This makes your client happy and most importantly more money! Brett Young www.Advancedcashflowsystems.com

Starting the New Year in Real estate

Learning the details makes you money

Rooftopprofitmax/Rooftopinvestment started as an idea in 2002. My idea was to create a venue for investors to buy in other areas besides the ones they lived in.

My concerns were setting up a system that acted like a turn key. I wanted to set up the buying, construction, property management, and maintenance of the clients property so that the property will cash flow and have a great equity position.

Let's flash forward to 2011. I've set that system up and we now have 100+ properties we've done in the last 2 years. Our gross rent receipts are almost $800,000 a year, we have also created over $3,000,000 in equity on properties that average $35,000 total cost including rehab.

Our private property management has less than 5% vacancy rate, most of our units are pre-rented. We have a state of the art marketing program and management program that keeps our clients pockets lined with cash flow. We have a software that keeps our clients informed on their properties! The management is a very important part of making money on your property.

We also have a detailed our own private rehab crew that leaves no stone unturned. We make sure that our properties have a sparkle effect when they are completed. We then audit the rehab and finish the property. We just finished a duplex that had small bathrooms so we fixed that. We purchased matching shower curtains,soap dish,trash can and tooth brush holder. The first prospective tenant liked that so much her and her daughter rented both units!

We just finished another duplex and kept attention to details and it was rented the very same day we finished it.

We also maintain the properties so they sparkle after a tenant has moved out. We usually rent these properties out within two weeks. Again attention to details makes our clients money!

We also find quality real estate that makes sense. We cash flow $400-$500 a month net on average. The Equity is usually double what we pay for it. That's because we have a full time staff that spends everyday looking for the best deals. We just bought a home in Bedford Ohio for $11,300 that's right $11,300. Our company have also purchased 4 other quality properties this week. We are very detailed on what we buy for our clients.

Learning all the details to making your business successful will make you and your clients money! Rooftop grew 400% last year, because we watch the details so our clients can make money! Brett Young Rooftopinvestment.com

Great time to build a future?

The economy seems to be in a troubled state today. You hear all the bad news daily about unemployment and companies shutting down. You can choose to believe all that bad news or start working on making some good news.

I started buying investment real estate in 1985. I was buying properties in Mesa Arizona at a cost of $15,000-$35,000. The banks wanted to dump them and there where plenty of renters. I would run an ad in the local paper and rent my property almost immediately. I remember one Saturday I posted an ad in the paper and when I got to the property I had a line of people in front of the door. In fact two people got in a fist fight. Now that's supply and demand at work.

I later sold those proerties for almost double what I paid for them. I had 8 proerties in all and I also made a great cash flow with them for 5 years. I then cashed all them in and made more money than I could have imagined.

Let's fast forward to today. I can buy homes for $25,000-$35,000 in the Cleveland Ohio area. They rent very quickly and cash flow $400-$800 per month. The banks want to dump their homes and get them off the books. All this means their are great deals waiting for you.

Buying homes in the Cleveland area is less than buying a car. The time to buy may seem gloomy today, but their are a lot of investors that are cashing in on today's market. I just purchased a home in Bedford Ohio for $11,300. It was a super buy on an acre lot. Selling the property on a land contract will make me a $30,000 dollar spread. The home will rent for $650-$700 a month and cash flow $450-$500 per month.

That's a great monthly income and a great future profit. I get these all the time. Getting these types of homes can be tricky if your not out their everyday looking for the deals.

Understanding that todays market can make you a fortune is good news. The trick is to get into it. Building your future is today. The market has never been more affordable. Financial freedom is less expensive today then any other day. You just have to start making your own good news and quite listening to all the bad news. Brett Young WWW.Rooftopprofitmax.com

Are we really going for broke?

I look back at some bad times in America like the depression. Even though I was not even thought about yet, I still watch the films and see how bad it was then.

We can go back to the early a the 70's and early 80's and see some times were inflation was rapid. That is when I got in the game. I decided to see if history did indeed repeat itself. Looking and finding good deals was not a problem. I was getting 2-3 bedroom condos for $15,000-$35,000. They rented out for $600-$700 a month. My company made a handsome profit during those times.

Putting a property up for rent was easy and fast. We had lines at the doors sometimes because people had to get a place. This allowed us to make great money during that time.

Today is very similar to those days except for the inflation. We are buying properties for the same prices $15k-35K and renting them for $700-$1100 per month. We make a great cash flow and have some great properties in very quality neighborhoods.

I eventually sold those condos i bought in the 70's and 80's for a very handsome profit. I not only made a great cash flow but ended up with a great profit selling the property. That all happened in a 6-8 year period. I was glad that history repeated itself.

This market is going on it's 5th year and I see some great changes coming down the pike. Me and my clients have positioned ourselves to make a great profit in cash flow now and a huge profit if and when we sell the properties. Some clients may like the cash flow so much they will just keep that rolling in.

I always like to sell and pocket the profit when the market turns. Good market make excellent flip markets, that is what I will be doing.

So if your wondering about the future look back and you'll get your answers. Sure there are different things happening know but a lot of it is the same. So quit your crying about the economy and get involved in the opportunities that can make great cash flow now and massive profit in the future! Brett A Young Valley Realty www.Rooftopprofitmax.com

Keep on Advertising

I watch and listen to a lot of business people, and they all have a very common theme. December is a waste of time no one is buying. Wow that is so far from the truth.

December is a great time to advertise not only in retail but any business. The competition is very low. Most people don't try or they take the month off. That 's fine as long as your sales are good for the year. But remember less services advertising means higher visibility for your business or service.

You still need to advertise and market because January is right around the corner. I've had clients that haven't bought in a year come back and buy because of my ads. Your clients and potential clients need to see you on a consistent basis. You don't want to be behind when the new year rolls around.

Example I took a client out yesterday from Chicago that had looked and followed my content. He said that it explained all the services I offered (which saved me a lot of time). When we took him out to look at properties he was already informed and knew what he wanted. We are getting him two properties.

There are many ways to market. Blogs, ads, bookmarking, videos, audio are but a few and the cost is very low. I had 5,000 hits this last month and 20+ opt in's that want to do business.

Have a fun and happy holiday's but remember that you need a few hours everyday to tend to marketing. You may have run ads for a long time with nothing but if your consistent you will get results.

One last example when I first got in the biz I sent out 100 postcards a week. The quality of the cards were very average. I had sent them out for weeks on end without any responses, then I got a call. A gentlemen wanted me to list his land and sell it, which I did. After that he wanted 3 more investment properties which again I found them. I made $30,000+ in commissions and fees from those transactions. I also bought a home from him to live in and later sold it for $100,000 profit. That's $130,000 on one postcard that I consistently sent out.

When your ready to give up on your marketing remember you may be one postcard or hit away from making very good money! I have many other examples that have happened and know that any good business or service must be marketed to have clients and sales! Brett A Young WWW.Rooftopprofitmax.com

Building a great team

Whatever type of business you are in a great team can be hard to replace. I know this from have two successful business's.

The way to build a great team is not simply going out and looking for them, but to also verify there work. People always tell people always tell me don't do that you'll offend them. So what! You must always want your team to be the best for your client. The client must always come first, this is what a great team means.

For example this weekend (Friday) we needed some work done on a home. My team didn't say they were out of town or shopping they took care of it. I personally took care of it before a movie started. We all got on the phone made a plan and the team executed it.

Everyone is a team player when it is convenient but when it isn't then you find out what type of team you have.

You must also make sure they are doing the quality of work you want. I always go out to each property and verify that the work was done and done properly. This saves my client time and money. It also ensures that we will get that property turned quicker and for top price.

Always make sure you praise your team when they are doing great. There will be times you will not be happy with the work so praising them when it is right keeps the floor even.

I had a client bring a friend to a home to look at our work (which was not completed) she got very nasty with my team. That will get you nowhere, it just gets people upset. We were their to look at the property and make some adjustments the client wanted. Being mean and nasty just will get nothing done and is very unproductive. We made the changes and left on a great note!

Listen to your teams ideas is always good to, because they are on the front lines and see things I may not see. Although the decision is always on my shoulders I always listen to my team. We had one team member on Friday that gave me a great idea on rentals and we will be implementing it this week! Being a know it all really hurts your chances of learning new stuff for you and your client.

So remember building a great team means you need to listen and verify all the task they do. Your client is always the most important reason for any decision your team or you makes. Always benefit your client and you'll have a great team in place.
Brett A Young
Real Estate Investment
Valley Realty and Rooftopprofitmax.com

Life is to short for failure

I was talking to a investor that I met over the Internet. He had a few issues with construction and property management. He said that both were hard to deal with if you didn't do real estate investing full time.

The investor also informed that their are a lot of people that invest in real estate that have the same problems. I can emphasize with his problems. When I set my company up I addresses those type of problems and had them myself.

I had contractors that took to long and sometimes went over budget (never effected my clients price on each job). I got sick of the sleepless nights and moved to Ohio to take up the mantle and make sure this didn't happen to me anymore. Sure I was getting homes done on time and in budget, but still I needed to be their and make sure my clients standards were met. I now have a great construction company that know what me and my clients expect and demand on rehabs. Quality work done on budget and on time.

My property management was running very good, but still as always it can get better. Me and my property manager put our heads together and came up with better ways to do the property management. Thus making more money for our clients and growing our company to allow more services. We have a property management company you can get a hold and takes care of all your properties needs. We now have maintenance plans that keep your rental properties worry free WWW.rooftoprentals.info

All that happens because of great planning and marketing. Rooftopproftmax is a team effort and I have some of the best people in the industry around me. Having all these systems in place for our clients allows them to focus on buying more real estate investments.

By the way my investor friend teamed up with me and gave me 3 great projects to help him with. He understands that you can't do real estate investing by yourself, you need a seasoned team around you to make sure things are done on budget and on time.
Brett A young
Real Estate Investment Properties
Valley Realty