Computer Skills

In business, people may know how to run a business yet not know how to keep good books. A business owner may understand the current trends in the market yet may not be an expert in 'back-stocking'. A person may buy and sell stocks all day long from the comfort of their own home and may never learn how to use a cash register. And a select few may be able to close transactions just by meeting someone new for the first time yet have no clue what they are doing when in front of a computer.

What I am trying to get through is the fact that someone can perfectly survive without certain skills which may be deemed as 'essential.' Most would think that keeping books or even knowing how to work a cash register would be a necessary when thinking about running a business. But it's not needed. What do you think people were doing before we had these things? Before we believed it was necessary?

Now that has been the feeling towards computers. Yet now we have entered a point where computers are needed like mobile phones; we all need to have one. This is for certain that computer skills are a must. Computers provide an essential way of communication. And I believe that communication is key.

So for those of us who do not know or lack knowledge in computers, I highly recommend taking courses in this field. And for business owners, I recommend that you install training programs to touch on this very aspect. It will help you and your company in the long run.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all alike and Happy Holidays!

Sincerely,

Joseph M Taraya

Staying on top of Business

 
With any business, everyone needs to be on top of theirs. *That's this post's bottom line.*

I know plenty of people who get themselves involved or started in something but never seem to finish or take it to the next level. It's the 'what's next' question some stop asking themselves when they reach a comfortable level. For most, it's when they graduate from school and get themselves into a job or a position that they're satisfied with and work there for the next 30 years. There might be some room for working up the ladder but for the most part, if they have a job they're happy.

What I propose, whatever you're doing or whatever business you're in, stay on top of it and then take it even further. First off, get a handle of the business or trade you're in. If you decide to sign up with a multi-level marketing (MLM) company then stay with it! Don't just sign up because you get hyped-out but then start to lag after the first few month. Take advantage and explore opportunities. Signing up is a commitment. And another way to look at it; if you signed up and start to lag afterwards, what does that say about your character? And you as a person?

Once you got a good grip, reach up for the next rung. Go for the higher promotion or explore and invest new ideas into the business. Become an expert in your field. If your selling plasma TV screens for living, it's perfectly fine not to know everything about selling stocks. But once that conversation turns into today's new electronics, that's when you shine!

Knowing yourself first will help you know others.

New Contributor

This blog has been a great help to those in the real estate industry and I admire the dedication from the people behind this site. I am here to help contribute.

I see this blog not only be a resource for current market trends and tools for real estate, but also a learning center for business in general. I'll be popping in here and there to give some tips of what I know about business. Hopefully it will help.

Sincerely,

Joseph M Taraya

Something New

FDI

This is something new that I got into, so check it out. This is for all the people that have trouble getting a house because of their FICO score.

CLICK HERE

or visit here Http://www.fdirep.com/aglinski

An Amazing Site FDI

Well it has been a while since I did a post and I know, I promised that I would do more posts about Real Estate. I've been real busy lately leaning new things about Real Estate, especially when my state is in a down market. Its okay, I like a down market...it's like every house is on sale. On a positive note it's a great time for investors to pickup houses at a low price. Well what if you're not an investor, but a first time home buyer? Its okay, you can still buy a house just be careful on what type of mortgage you get. Make sure you do allot of research before you make a purchase. OKAY, OKAY, what if you have bad credit and still want to purchase a house? Well the title of this post does say Amazing Site FDI, so I will give you a link to a site I came across that will answer that question. The service it provides will help you with your financial needs. Click here to check it out:
Http://www.fdirep.com/aglinski

Trouble Finding an Investor

I need an Investor! How do I find them?

I have a deal but, how do I find an investor to invest into the deal? Well you can always ask your rich uncle for money (just kidding) or maybe you do have a rich family member. It doesn’t hurt to ask them for money to invest into a real estate deal, so family would be your first start for finding an investor. If your family happens to be broke, that’s okay; you can look at Real Estate investor’s clubs to find an investor. These are great places to network and find people that want to do deals with you. Personally I’m a member to a few of them and believe me, there are plenty of great people there that can help you with your business deals. Another good way to find an investor is at a real estate auction. There are plenty of people there that have money to buy a house and usually at these auctions people are required to have cash on hand to bid on a house. If people have all cash to buy a house at an auction, then I would say this is a good place to find an investor for Real Estate deals.

Spending More Time

I Hope To Post More

It's been a while since I've made a post on my blog, but that's because I've been real busy lately. I've had a lot of work pilled on me for some strange reason. On the good side I've gained some valuable contacts through networking at a few real estate investors meetings. The power of a referral is a beautiful thing, it just gives me a good feeling that money is on the way. Although money is fine and dandy (well I do have to pay some bills), but that's not the most important thing. The most important factor is making my referred clients happy, so if they're happy then I'm happy. Money then becomes second, simply because putting a price on someone's head is bad. If you put a price on people then greed will take over your judgment and chances are you won't get repeat business.

Just as a side note, I'll be posting as much as I can. There will be some days where I'll be busy, but I'll make some time to post something for all of you.

Bad Mortgage Bad

What's going on with mortgages?

I’m curious to know what peoples thoughts are on the current mortgage situations. There are many banks that are filing for bankruptcy, due to sub prime and there are many of them that are restructuring their business in lending. Now it’s getting harder for people to get loans for a house, especially for people that live in places like California where the cost of living is high. Some banks are changing their qualifications for applying for a mortgage, such as higher down payments and higher FICO scores to qualify for a mortgage. The market right now is at a small slump, but I can see it rebounding soon.

No Credit Bad Credit No Problem [Part 2]

Answering a questions

It's good to have comments on my blog, but I would like to answer a question that was brought up during my last post. "How can you afford to pay a mortgage if you have bad credit? Well for starters there are some people that filed for bankruptcy for starters. For some people it's a fresh start, but the downside is your credit is bad for about 7 years. I know someone that filed for bankruptcy and now has enough money to pay for a mortgage, but there are no lenders that will lend him money because of the bankruptcy. There are people out there that have bad credit and still can afford to carry a mortgage. Basically people that rebounded from past problems with credit can use these methods to acquire a house (Sellers financing and lease option).

No Credit Bad Credit No Problem

Getting a house with bad or no credit.

Lease with option to buy

With this method, you can get into a house and own it without a credit check. Sometimes a seller might want to check your credit but sometimes they don’t. They usually do a background and work verification check to see if you’re able to pay. Anyways, a lease option to buy is when the seller leases the property to the buyer for a fixed period time and at the end of the lease period the buyer is given the option to buy the property.

Sellers financing method

The seller gives financing to the buyer and carries the first or sometimes a second mortgage on a private real estate contract. If the buyer fails to make the mortgage payments, the seller can take the property back and the buyer loses everything he or she put into the investment. This is a very risky way of getting a house without credit, but if this method is executed correctly the house will be transferred over.

Ten Mistakes

Top 10 mistakes people make when buying a house.

Well I made a promise from my last post to post the top 10 mistakes a person makes when buying a house. So with out further a due, the top 10 mistakes.

• Picking a bad real estate agent
• Choosing the wrong mortgage
• Not getting an inspection on the house
• Choosing a real bad community
• Not going to the neighborhood a second time
• Not planning for closing costs
• Not setting a budget for yourself
• Buying a house you can afford
• Not talking with the neighbors
• Not knowing what houses really cost.

(Note: There are more mistakes, but I just want to list 10.)

Everyone has a Question

Questions from a potential client

You know what? Something funny happened to me the other day and I was kind of shocked. A potential client of mine was trying to test me. He asked me a question to see if I knew what I was talking about. Here’s the question that was given to me. Question: “When buying Real Estate what are the three biggest mistakes people make?” I was confused for a second because I didn’t expect to hear such a question coming from a client. I knew the answer, so I played it cool and told him this.

• Picking a bad Real Estate Agent
• Picking the wrong mortgage
• Not doing a home inspection

(Note: There are more 7 more mistakes, but I’ll list them on my next post.)

Then I followed up with a Question for him. I asked “When I say Real Estate what one word comes to mind?” Without hesitation he said EXPENSIVE. This is true I said, but it doesn’t have to be. Then I gave him my business card and asked him to visit me at my office to continue the discussion.

What have I’ve learned from this experience? Some clients want to test you, so they will get on the internet and research a few things. When they get on the internet to research a few things, they automatically think they’re and expert on the topics. So my advice is to keep calm and don’t argue with the potential client. You want to win his or her good faith rather then wining the argument and hurting their pride. If you win the argument, sure that’s a win for you, but you will have lost the sale. To turn things around have questions for them to answer and arrange another meeting with them at another time. A second meeting will give you the chance to prepare for that type of client.

Found a Few Houses [Part 2]

Cost Breakdown

Here's an update on the house that I’m currently looking at. I want to flip the house so put up a ruff estimate to see if the property is worth its keep. I made sure to over shoot each expense to make sure that I receive a profit. Plus I want to be safe just in case there are some miscellaneous expenses that come out of no where (its better to be safe then sorry). So far everything works great, but the real challenge starts after I inspect the property. I want to inspect the property before I make an offer simply because I want to know if there is some major damage to the house that might throw of my calculations dramatically.

Here’s my Cost and Profit breakdown Estimate:

Profit Calculation
	Total
Purchase Price of subject house.	$400,000
Estimated Repair costs	$100,000
Closing Costs	$3,000
Commissions and Sales Closing Costs	$21,000
10% Miscellaneous costs	$12,000
Month to Month Cost	$24,000
Grand Total	$560,000
Final Flipped Price	$702,000
Estimated Profit	$142,000

Found a Few Houses

Rehabbing Offer

Wow… I have been very busy lately, but that’s ok. I have been doing some research on a few possible flips. Each house looks very promising, so I will see what happens when I make an offer.

Remember when you make an offer; make sure your offer is a minimum of at least 30% below the FMV (Fair Market Value). The 30% is your margin to cover rehab cost, hold and profit. Before the offer is accepted, inspect the property for what needs to be fixed. Do a visual inspection, and then get some professionals to inspect it after you’re done inspecting it yourself. If you find some things that needs fixing that wasn’t disclosed by the owner, you can post an offer to the owner of 30-40% below FMV depending on the severity of the problem. Once the offer has been accepted, roll up your sleeves, pay the owner and get to work on the project.

Auction Please

Land Auction

Sorry everyone, I missed my post for today, but its ok. I was extremely busy today, I went to a land auction and it was cool. I’ve never went to an auction before. It was a cool experience. I didn’t want to buy anything, so I just wanted to see how things work at an auction. I’m not into buying something I haven’t seen, so no land for me today. A few people there bought some land and one lady won a parcel of land through a raffle. Over all I went there to learn and network with a lot of people. I’m mainly wanted to find people that are serious in doing business with me.

Study, Study and More Studying

Real Estate Exams

I think within this post I’ll share some studying tips for people that plan to take their Department of Real Estate Exams. If you want to become an agent you have to challenge the exams at the Department of Real Estate. I know what’s going on through your mind, is the exams hard? To put it simple, it really depends how you study for the exams. Now with each US state or country there are different laws and regulations, I always recommend doing a little research online to find out what they are. The reason for this, some US states requires different amounts of schooling and exams to be an agent.

Now, to prepare for the exams it’s always good to go to your local book store or library to gain the necessary study materials. You want to find a practice exam book for Real Estate. Now the next step is to find a place where you feel comfortable studying. I always recommend finding a place where you feel at peace and with little distractions. Now I understand that everyone is different, so maybe you like a place that’s full of noise and distractions. What ever place makes you study well, go with that and focus on the task at hand. Another important note is the time of day you plan to study, I always like the morning in my opinion. In the morning I feel refreshed and I feel I absorb more information in the morning. Then I review at night to keep things fresh in my mind.

[Cramming and long term reviewing]

I’m a crammer at heart, that’s how I learn, but everyone is different. It took two weeks for me to cram all the information I needed to pass the exams, but remember not all people can learn things at the last minute. If by chance cramming is your style of learning, go with that method. For those who like the long term reviewing method, I always recommend taking a month or two to study the practice exam materials. Take 30 to 60 minutes a day to study the practice exams and at the end of each week review what you have learned. After all of that studying you should be ready to challenge the Real Estate Exams, so schedule your exam date and wish for a passing grade.

Looking For an Agent?

Finding a Realtor or Agent

Well some of you should know that you don’t have to be a Realtor or an agent to do Real Estate investing, but it doesn’t hurt to be one. If you’re not an agent, don’t worry you don’t have to go into Real Estate blindly. You can search for an agent or Realtor to help you with your Real Estate needs. As a flipper it’s very important to have them apart of your team. I know what you’re thinking, how can I find the best agent for me? To find the best agent or realtor you have to interview a few of them. You want to ask them about their experiences and how organized they are. For example, if you want to flip a house you would ask the agent if he or she has experience working with people that flip houses. You want to asked questions to get an idea if they want to work for your best interest. Remember it’s an Agents fiduciary duty to make sure you get the best deal possible, so don’t be stupid…ask questions.

Now to find an agent you can always ask a friend or a family member for a referral, but there is a fifty-fifty chance that the agent might suck. Another way to find an agent is to look at your local Real Estate magazines or news paper. Another way is to look on the internet and do a search for agents or realtors. There are other ways to find an agent, but the ways discussed here seem to be very effective.

As a side note, I’ve been asked if I was a good Agent. To be modest, I’m not the best agent in the world. If you asked me to list a house, I would refer you to another agent in my office. I personally don’t like listing houses; it doesn’t suit me very well. The whole open house thing is very boring to me, so I prefer to be a buyer’s agent, loan agent, or investor. Some agents don’t specialize in everything, so it’s important to search and interview the best agent for your Real Estate needs.

I Have More Tips Coming

I'M BACK

Well I’m back and I’m happy to be back. My vacation/business trip was Fantastic. I went to Vegas to see if I could setup a deal, but I passed on the deal. The numbers I calculated with this deal didn’t work out for me. I wasn’t getting the profit I want with this deal, so I decided to say no all together. I would only get $10,000 in profit, for all the amount of work that needed to be put into the property. The rule I stick to, is at least $50,000 minimum on a flip deal. I tried to give it a chance, but I put out 3 different scenarios to see if I would make a nice chunk of cash for future investments (I was wrong, but that’s ok). Not all deals are good deals, you just have to search again and move onto the next deal.

On a good note, I went to a big Real Estate Convention in Vegas (WOOOH YEAH VEGAS!!!!!). I’ll make sure to post a little scrap book of pictures on my Vegas trip later this week. Anyways it was a lot of fun, I learned a lot of new trends in Real Estate and how I can incorporate all the information into my business to make more $$$$. I also networked with a lot of people that are successful in the Real Estate World. I made a lot of contacts while I was out there and like I’ve said before on one of my tips “always have a business card, it will help you”. I did a lot of business card trading out there and I have a stack of contacts that will help me get started in Real Estate in Vegas. So starting tomorrow I will have a new tip posted, so make sure to keep up with my blog.

Out of Town

Road Trip

Well folks, I’ll be out of town for a while checking out a deal for myself. I’ll be gone for about 5 days, so more postings will come after I get back from my trip. I’m going to do two things this week. One, I’m going to see if I can invest in another state. Two, I’m going to a Real Estate Seminar to keep my skills in Real Estate Sharp. When I come back I will have a whole lot of information to share.