The Real Estate Sage at The Real Estate Investment Institute - REII

Pyramiding Real Estate More Forgotten Real Estate!

Pyramiding is real estate for beginners!

Pyramiding is real estate for conservative investors!

Pyramiding is real estate the way your parents and grandparents did it, to get their big homes!

Pyramiding is real estate for rebuilding your equity!

Pyramiding is real estate very slow flipping for non-investors!

Pyramiding is real estate for the way it should be done!

Pyramiding is real estate for 2010!

Pyramiding is real estate for you regardless of who you are!

Pyramiding is buying real estate you can afford today as a stepping stone to the real estate you want!

Pyramiding personal real estate is a sure way to succeed!

There has never been a better time to start pyramiding your personal residence. Prices are extremely low, you can buy more home for less money than at any time most of us can remember.

Mortgage rates are at historic lows. While mortgage money is harder to get it is available. Anyone who should be getting a home can with proper consoling and self discipline qualify today or with 6 to 9 months of serious credit rebuilding.

Pyramiding is not speculating! When pyramiding personal homes you buy only what you can afford and use today. Pyramiding is safe, you need a place to live and your fixed rate amortizing loan (all other loans except 1/2/3 buy-downs are speculative) will grantee equity at some point, even in a declining market.

Pyramiding, is safe in a "buyers market" because you're using the property. When the time/opportunity comes to move up, the marketing time is a nuisance not a financial pain. You simply wait as necessary and if the market is slow when your home does sell you now have the opportunity to use that same market to your advantage as a buyer.

Possibly the best buys in housing are REO's (bank owned houses) but these properties are often in need of major repair. REO's are often discounted from their already low prices by several times the cost of repairs! A wise home buyer can buy a home needing far more work than he's capable of, and use the FHA 203k program to finance the repairs, often creating instant equity. The new 203k stream line program takes little more effort than normal mortgages, but is limited to $35,000 cash for repairs. If you need more that $35,000 the original version of the 203k loan can provide what you need, but you will have to provide the FHA with more information. All FHA loans can be had with only 3.5% down and the sellers can pay most closing cost.

Pyramiding, buying what you can afford and use today then selling it later when you can afford to move up to a bigger house is how your Parents/ Grandparents got the big house you remember.

Now go find a good Lender or REALTOR. It matters not which you start with, but get a referral from some one with experience! Let your new originator or agent recommend the other one, get pre-approved and go look for your new home. Go build a better future.

A Short Story About Short Story Books Today Brenda had a friend ask her for ideas on what to get her niece and nephew for Christmas. It seems they are 6 and 18 months, to young to want anything. Brenda suggested books for Moma to read to them. They're getting books!

Some people are going to see this title and think I'm blogging about my books, well I'm not, not even close. This is much more important!

From Dec, 06.

Two weeks ago our daughter, Amy had another birthday, I want to tell you about her Christmas present just after her second birthday. Like her brother five years earlier Brenda and I always had some quite time with her at bed time each evening. Normally we cuddled in her bedroom or the living room and talk a little and we always read a book. We'd started with large volumes of classic fairy tales that we'd read to her brother and had been read to us as children, but thanks to a wonderful gift, that Christmas our lives and Amy's were changed.

I'm sorry to tell you we've long since forgotten who gave Amy that set of "Little Golden Books" and most importantly that annoying "Shaggy Baggy Elephant" with it's repetitively annoying "one two three kick" I soon hated that little book. Amy on the other hand love it more than any other. It soon became mandatory that each night we would reread "Shaggy Baggy Elephant" and then one of the other Little Golden Books.

In short order Amy knew every word in the book we couldn't leave out a single word. We'd challenge her and got her pointing to each word as we read the same monotonous story each night. It wasn't long until Amy recognized the same words in the other books, all she had to do was learn the names and a new word or two to read the entire set. It was another birthday two years latter that we got her a dictionary and taught her to use it.

Amy started kindergarten at four she was the only one in her class that could read and even look up what she didn't know. Bed time changed the next year with home work to go over but it still included "Shaggy Baggy Elephant" and that book remained a comfort in her life for many years. All this started many years ago.

Amy was a National Merit Finalist in high school, attended an honor collage and my readers know finished law school with "Highest Distinction" last May 2006). When we were packing her up to move her to Houston there on the shelves with the law books were those Little Golden Books.

When asked about Amy's success I tell people that she has a smart Mother, if I'm in the mood I add that her Mother choose well, but I've no doubt those little books had a lot to do with it.

If you've got preschoolers on your Christmas list consider those little books.

If you've got people between high school and senility on your list, please consider my books. 

When Brenda told me about this I though about this article I wrote three years ago. I hope you enjoy it.

I'm re-blogging this because of a comment by our friend Jon.

Jon's an American by choice and happy chance, sometimes he sees thing that we over look! Such as his comment to another friend:

"Among my friends and good acquaintances are people from Iran and Israel, Egypt and Lebanon, Russia and Sweden, and it is OK. I can't imagine this in any other place. Some of them would not be talking to each other in any other place, just in America" So many of us forget these simple blessings.

Bill

Times are changing!

The only "good" here is that this could have been so much worse!

Please thank George for the original post.

Bill

One Of God's Greatest Gifts / The Ability To Fail Like A Moron 

After my last post this seems appropriate again. We can't survive or strive if we let the short sighted among us deyne us the right to fail, because failure is the opposite side of the success coin! You simply can't have one with out the other.

Being empty nester's, Brenda and I more often than not watch the news during dinner, some days we make the mistake of paying to much attention. We heard that home owners never knew they had to make their payments and there ought to be a new law to protect them. Then they were interviewing high school students who had obviously not been allowed to fail, but socially promoted. Functional morons.

What about the poor morons?Then I remember that it had been suggested that Loan Originators should have kept these morons from these terrible loans. But, for more than three decades we've had civil rights laws that strive to take discrimination out of lending! Also in the name of civil rights we've developed the greatest opportunity for home ownership known to man!

The opportunities/the tools, were the very things that they would have the Loan Originators selectively discriminate the morons from! The only legal way to protects morons is to deny everyone the programs that helped so many.

What about the poor morons, they are not to stupid to get an attorney or call the state or the FTC and complain if they think you've keep them from a loan or home they qualified for. They would be in the right!

We could rewrite the law, that's easy! But, what about the overwhelming majority that use the same programs and succeeded?

Let's put this in a different perspective,  Brilliant Little Janie is now in school, many students fail in school! Because of her carrying parents, she does well, maybe failure just isn't in her genes. Sitting next to her in first grade is Little Johnny Moron, who's parents don't care. Little Johnny is going to fail first grade. It's hurts to be called a failure! It hurts to fail. So we pass a law restricting what can be taught to first graders, so that even the Moron's kids can't fail.

The Moron's mother likes the new law, her kid can't fail. But, what about Little Jannie parents? Their daughter was going to succeed beyond their wildest dreams, but now to insure that the Moron's kids pass Little Jannie can't be challenged. She can't have the opportunity to succeed because Little Johnny Moron can be allowed to fail.

Failure is one of God's greatest gifts. Failure inspires great men and women! Failure empowers people knowing you can survive failure is one of mankind's most important asset. Failure can trap some, but they were already doomed, not everyone can succeed. Would you really limit Little Janie and everyone else to protect Little Johnny's feelings? Really?

Would you over turn 148 years of progress and the great accomplishments of the last 30 years, to keep a few from failing? Really?

Are you the one to decided who deserves a home of their own?

Everyone deserves the opportunity to fail! God gave mankind freewill knowing that we'd become sinners. Of what value would life be without the opportunity for personal success? Those that believe "it takes a village" see others as nothing more than swine in a sty!

Those that say there ought to be a law, forget there already is! If laws are broken then I suggest we try enforcing the existing ones before we further restrict everyone!

Bill

PS: I used much of this in an answer to a comment on: Why Are We Calling Lenders Predatory

It's A Very Bad Day For Home Owners And The Real Estate Industry! 

Until today all of the Politically Correct entitlement babbling has been just that! Balderdash! So much hot air meant to herd us into voluntary slavery, servitude, socialism, just one bleating judice goat after another luring us to our demise.

Until today! A contract was a contract! If a consumer dishonors his contract with the bank, the bank was truly entitled to take the inducements offered them to get their cash in the first place!

Until today!

Read:http: http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/judge_cancels_525k_in_mortgage_debt_blasts_banks_shocking_and_repulsive_act/

A Very Bad Day For Home Owners And The Real Estate Industry!

God Help Us!

Forgotten Real Estate The Right Of First Refusal is a consumer's tool you may never have heard of.

The right of first refusal, is a type of option agreement, unlike a normal option, the purchased right to purchase, where the seller is obligate to sell for a fixed price if and when the option is excised. The right of first refusal, neither obligates the seller to sell or sets a price if the seller agrees to sell! The right of first refusal, oblates the seller to offer the holder of the right, the opportunity to buy the property for and on what ever terms the seller is willing to accept from another willing buyer.

Why would someone want a right of first refusal? Simple! They might want the property, if the seller wants to sell at a reasonable price. The most common uses are:

Tenants may negotiate a right of first refusal into a lease so that if the seller should decided to sell they have the first chance to buy and retain the property.

You want a property for what ever reason, if the seller decides to sell.

You've rented a house for years, it's your home!

Your lease creates the value, such as an anchor tenet in a commercial project.

The property would add value to your existing property.

You can't afford to buy the property today, but want it if the seller decides to sell it.

The seller doesn't want to sell today.

There are as many reasons to purchase the right of first refusal as there are to purchase real estate.

Like any other option there must be a consideration! The potential seller must receive something of value!

     The most common non-cash consideration is a tenant, where the right of first refusal is included in        a lease to induce tenancy.

     I've used the right of first refusal to protect my clients when buying part of a sellers property, as in buying a farm where the seller retains the homestead, this gives the buyer the potential to reunite the property. In which case the original sale is the consideration.

     I've used the right of first refusal to induce private lenders io invest in a property. Where the loan is the consideration.

     I've used the right of first refusal to induce investors into a minority position.

     I've used it to sooth family members when one heir inherits a family home. Here the settlement is the consideration.

Why would a property owner sell a right of first refusal on his property? Because they want the money! Because it cost them nothing, if they find a ready willing and able buyer, someone is going to buy.

What should be included in a right of first refusal?

You need to state the consideration and acknowledge it's recite.

You need to define the time allowed for the holder to exercise the option.

I've only once represented a seller offering the right of first refusal to the buyer, but I did once suggest offering one to a tenant for an extra $10,000.00 up-front.

From the buyer's point of view:

The right of first refusal must be recordable! Although, since I want signatures when I'm presenting the offer and rarely have a notary and witness available I included a paragraph allowing for me to record a memorandum.

          The right of first refusal must not be waived simply because it was not exercised on any given offer. If the proposed sale does not close your right continues.

(My REALTOR® friends are not going to like this one, but I'll make it up keep reading.)

Included that your right to purchase be based on the net proceeds from any offer, not including any concession, considerations, or brokerage fees! This will require the seller to exempt the holder on any future listing agreements, and accept any offers contingent on the right of first refusal not being exercised.

When you're acting as a REALTOR® I've included my commission, to be paid at closing if the option is exercised. (Am I forgiven?)

There is only two determents to a seller granting a right of first refusal.

     It will ad what ever time allowed for (normally 10 to 30 days) to the time necessary to close. The time to exercise the option starts when the fully executed offer is presented to the option holder.

    Some buyers are going to be put off by the extra time necessary to know if they've got a deal, but in this day of short sales taking months for approval the option period should pose little determent.

There is one big incentive, buyers knowing that a low offer will stimulate the option holder should make their highest and best offer.

Forgotten Real Estate. The Right Of First Refusal

An Educated Competitor Is An Asset! A resource and a friend. Teach a competitor and he becomes a friend and a personal disciple!

I left banking to go in to real estate 34 years ago, one of the things that surprised me most was the anti competition mentality. Lenders at the time co-operated. I started with the most progressive and at the time largest company in the state, the only one at the time with an accredited full time school. Dedicated to excellences through education, they were no less paranoid about any contact, any wisdom being shared with outsiders!

We're not talking about corporate secretes, no we're talking about basic real estate! They regularly brought the best in the Nation to teach us basic real estate. We're not talking about pre-licensing, their people passed the exam on the first try by themselves or they could work elsewhere. I myself got 66 hours notice one Friday that I was taking the real estate exam at 8:00AM the next Monday. I was given my ticket to take the exam, and two books, the red book, RE Law and the Green Book, Seminole on RE, I had to study them while flying Brenda and Eric to a wedding and a family camp out, so with Eric sleeping between sleeping bags and formal close in the back, I studied while Brenda watched for other airplanes.

For the next two years the broker did his best to keep us away from other real estate people. God forbid any one should find out their secret, start with good people an educate them. We had three big problems! There had been some attacks on salesmen showing vacant homes, fall-out when buyers were turned down by banks, and competition paying for civil-rights testers to testus almost weekly! I suggested we pull credit reports before showing any property! Credit reports and a copy of the clients drivers license/s in a locked file at the office stopped muggins, pre-quailing with a credit report cut down turn-downs and testers now had to send real couples, in fact one of our people even sold a test couple a home they didn't know they wanted.

The company agreed to put-in a credit report teletype machine if I would teach interpreting them and pre-qualifying, my introduction to teaching, sharing for it's own sake.

We still had a problemmany of our listings were being sold by other offices and keap falling out. I was on the Board's Education Committee, I suggested they teach credit-reports and pre-quailing. Open month insert foot (I'm good at it!) Suddenly I was head of a new subcommittee for seminars! Little did I know this would amount to nearly two a month over the next ten years! What I learned was that when someone who'd had the class presented an offer on one of our listings they were much more likely to close! An Educated Competitor Is An Asset! When I'd taught the class there was no argument they'd show me what I wanted to see, to our benfit and that of our clients!

At about the same time as I taught the first class for the company I joined the CCIM marketing group, low and behold as soon as they saw you were serious they'd teach you! The very best educated REALTORS® were freely on call as long as you were a serious student. Six months later I joined the Farm and Land Institute, the very best people I've ever been privileged to associate with! FLI was a constant education, they had less formal classes, but they included education in every session, every hour of their 3 day and 2 night meetings each month! They excepted, not demanded reciprocity, I taught credit, finance and the HP-38c /12c for both groups.

Why teach a competitor? You teach for three reasons:

          One, you teach because working with an educated competitor is more successful!

         Two, you teach because the public, our consumers paint us all with the same broad brush!

         Three, you teach because there is no better way to hone, sharpen your own skills!

This was inspired by Jason Couch's blog: Do you really think of every other agent in your area as a competitor? Overcoming a scarcity mentalitywhich was in turn inspired by one of Jeremy Blanton's posts.

It amazes the number of REALTORS® and Mortgage Originators that think so little of themselves that they think they have competition! We have only one product our personal service! You rarely have a truly exclusive listing or loan program. Your own service is the only thing that no one else can offer, pimps and their staff excluded. Unfortunately, all to often Real Estate People see their peers as competitors. These same people think they sell real estate or mortgage money. They're wrong! Real Estate people sell advice, wisdom, consoling and comfort to clients in stressful situations. Real Estate people sell their services! No one else can sell you! You have no competitors!

Once you accept the simple truth, you have no competitors, then networking aiding and being aided by your peers is the best way to build your skills and since most work in a relatively small geographic area those same peers can become a major source of referrals.

I promote and participate on Active Rain because we're all bettered, nay blessed, by our social intercourse!

I sell my services, what I've been taught by the great people I've been privileged to associate with. My services are relevant and up to date thanks to friends known and as yet unknown sharing, participating, learning and teaching on and in Active Rain. An Educated Competitor Is An Asset! A resource and a friend. Call me: 832-259-7078, I'm booking for 2010.

Once again the gullible, the naive, the PC's, and the entitlement groups are being mislead and deliberately miss leading others and themselves!

This is the best article yet on the "new short sale" guidelines that may apply to some.

Thank you Katrina!

Bill

To succeed in good times or bad you've got to pick a pocket or two! Advanced kleptomania for real estate success.

Lets face facts you're not the brightest fire fly in the jar. Times are tough! It ain't easy! Buyers are liars and sellers are worse! It's George's fault! It's Obama's fault! It's the mortgage broker's fault! It's the bank's fault! It's the capitalist fault!

It's not my fault!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, I'm entitled! I will succeed even if I've got to pick a pocket or two!

I've seen others that are prospering, they're all a bunch of Artful Dodgers. It's time, if you haven't already to religiously practice kleptomania! You have to learn to steal 24/7. Kleptomania has to become part of your success plan, a part of your life as natural and as often as breathing.

It's not a question of do you or don't you, but rather who you steal from and what you steal! You have to scrutinize your subject very carefully. You have to discriminate, a mistake could lead to your financial demise. Like The Great Dodger himself you've got to practice a light touch, so that your subjects never know! You've got to be able to steal in crowds and one on one with equal aplomb.

To succeed you've got to get involved with the most successful people in your field. You've got to practice urban camouflage. You've got to fit in like White House party crashers and their host. You've got to look like you belong.

The secret is to steal what they'll never miss! Steal their ideas, their professional practices! Take only those ideas that you too can use to succeed! Take only those practices that can be duplicated.

Don't be afraid to question your subject. Most will be flattered, few will recognize the value of what their telling you. If you're questioned tell the truth, "I want to be as good as you!" That they'll believe, but few will believe you are stealing from their success.

Feel free to steal wisdom, where ever and when ever you find it! We're in the people business, any wisdom you find will have been stolen by those that posses it! Wisdom, people knowledge is finite, like real estate, but it can be infinitely duplicate! The details change, the examples are personal, but today's people act as people always have. I'm a fan of Norman Vince Peal, Napoleon Hill and Earl Nightingale, but they just preached what I learned in Sunday school years earlier. I've stolen ideas from them and my favorites Cavett Robert and Art Fettig all of whom freely stole "their" ideas.

Wisdom can't be copyrighted or patented! Wisdom is all in the public domain. Your success depends on you not only stealing those ideas you fine, but on your recognizing and implementing them!

We become who we associate with! If you surround yourself with negative people you become negative. It's better to be a groupie surrounding a success than to be groped by losers! You can find successful people in every market if you look. There is always more than one way and someone is already doing it!

While you're building your success listen to every one! It's not only polite, but you can find gems of forgotten wisdom in the strange places.

I'm entitled!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!