More and more countries are developing their own Digital Nomad Visas for the new remote workforce. How might this change alter where people live and work, the dynamics of rentals and real estate? Where might you want to travel and work from as a real estate wholesaler?

Digital Nomad Visas

Now that the workforce has changed to being remote first, more and more people are wanting to flex their new found freedom to travel and work from new places.

With other recent economic changes, many individuals are also being forced to find friendlier and more affordable places to live and work too.

According to one list, at least 58 countries now have some form of Digital Nomad Visa. A type of immigration visa which allows you to go live and work there remotely. Often for between 6 months and 3 years.

The entry requirements and fees for these visas are far lower than for traditional visas and residency programs. You normally just have to prove you make a minimum amount of income each month, or have enough money in the bank to sustain you while you are there. This can range from a few hundred dollars a month to several thousand Euros.

Countries are seeing this as a way to boost their revenues, popularity, and to attract great talent.

Why You Should Try It

While there may be some perks of wholesaling properties in your own backyard, travel is a common thread linked to success in entrepreneurship. It is also completely unnecessary to restrict yourself to only operating locally anymore. If not highly risky.

Travel can give you new perspectives on things, and great new ideas. It can broaden your network and contact database. Then you might just find somewhere you love more for the weather, culture, and which allows you a better quality of life, at far lower costs. Taxes are complicated, but there may also be benefits there too.

Where To Go

In reality, most countries will allow you in on a tourist visa, or just as a tourist without a visa for 3 to 6 months anyway. So, you don’t have to restrict yourself to countries offering Digital Nomad Visas. The US does not currently offer one.

You may want to explore:

Croatia

The Bahamas

India

The UAE

Nicaragua

Cyprus

Greece

Spain

Portugal

The Impact On Real Estate

The current direction of the economy, the AI revolution, and the availability of Digital Nomad Visas all seem to be working together for remote work to have an even bigger impact on real estate.

Even in the US, where we may not see such a visa, we can expect this trend line to impact how cities market themselves and how much of this business they will win. For landlords, it may mean more short to mid term tenants, and professional tenants. Whose needs are also different. They need furnished places with good wifi. They may pay a range of rates from dirt cheap to higher Airbnb prices. Though they are going to pay based on what they can afford in monthly rent, not vacation prices.

Consider how this may influence your real estate wholesaling business, your pricing, and where the hot places to flip houses will be next.

Then take advantage of our 1% Fall Mega Sale, with interest rates on your funding as low as just one percent. Check out the details here.

Hurricane Ian has again ignited the big debate over whether disaster prone areas should be rebuilt, or not.

This has yet again been another huge tragedy. The loss of life, and livelihoods, and entire lifetimes of memories and hard work cannot be taken lightly, and should not be forgotten quickly.

Still, while fresh at hand, it is an important moment to revisit this question. So, what are the arguments and math for rebuilding or not? What should investors, homeowners, homebuyers, and even renters be thinking about?

Refusing To Be Beaten

In many scenarios in life and business, including disasters, it is noble to refuse to quit, and to be determined to rebuild.

This can certainly be true of one time events. Or even ultra rare events. In fairness, some areas impacted by Hurricane Ian have been hit the hardest they have in 100 years.

Yet, there are many parts of the country, where hurricanes, blizzards, tornadoes, wildfires, and earthquakes are a common occurrence. Even having their own season every year.

If you really love where you live and own property that much, and that is worth more to you than the money and hassle of rebuilding, then no one should hold you back. Providing you are covering the bill, and not them.

With great insurance, or plenty of other investments elsewhere, this may not be a problem. You can have a brand new property. Which may be even better than the last one.

The Futility & Economics Of Rebuilding

At the same time, it is wise to remember that these events can be very regular and predictable. You may have to deal with three storms like this in a single year.

In many areas around the country incurring major damage is not a matter of if it is going to happen, just when, how often, and how hard.

In reality insurance never seems to covers enough. Even if you do get your claim paid it may only come after a long fight that lasts years. Along with lots of legal expenses. All while paying for somewhere else to live in the meantime.

For real estate investors it can mean no income from rentals, and dealing with no utilities for a month or two. With storms like this, it seems that no matter how strong homes are built, they can be wiped out.

It can be a vicious and expensive cycle. One which many have not priced in when they are buying property.

The Options For Investors

As an investor, this is a reminder to build in risk based pricing. Do the math on long term rentals, including if you have to rebuild at least once, and go another 12-24 months without income. Consider how that may change your offers.

Investors can help those deciding not to rebuild and moving to other areas that offer more sustainable living. Either by giving them good deals on housing where they are moving to, or acquiring old homes at a fair price for the current condition and flipping them.

They can be sold to those who are still bullish and wanting to rebuild or live there. Which, again is perfectly fine, if this is extra play money you can afford to lose every few years and the return on the experience works for you. If you have $1B in the bank, and it’s worth $10M every few years to have a vacation home with your perfect view, then why not.

Rehabbing is certainly questionable. There will be a lot of remedial work and dangerous mold to get rid of. It is probably better to wholesale properties as is. Especially in a declining market, with infrastructure issues, labor shortages, and high material costs.

Summary

There are arguments for both rebuilding and quitting disaster prone areas. Have you moved away, stayed, invested elsewhere , diversified better, or started using risk based pricing to account for these cycles?

 

How do real estate wholesalers need to be adapting to doing business in the new normal?

The market is better for real estate investors than it has ever been. Though things are undeniably different now. Some things may still be the same. Though the COVID lockdowns and new rules have certainly changed the way we live for at least another generation, and the way we work forever.

Between new data showing that Moderna now admits those who got its vaccine last year are now twice as likely to get COVID this year, and teens as much as 6x more likely to end up in the hospital with heart conditions as a side effect of the virus, compared to getting COVID, don’t expect us to go back to the old normal any time soon. Even more so with new coronavirus variants which are expected to be more contagious and vaccine-proof.

The New Normal

Although things will continue to evolve, now that we have begun settling into the new normal, we are getting clarity on some of the ways life has changed.

We now have:

Ongoing foreclosure and eviction bans

Ongoing stimulus

High inflation

Rising taxes

Almost exclusive work from home

Enhanced wealth distribution measures

Strict travel and access rules

So, what does it all mean for investors?

The Divided States of America

The country is now significantly divided by COVID related rules.

Insure My Trip recently published a state by state list of rules, including ongoing inter-state limitations and quarantine and testing rules.

Dr. Fauci has even supported mandatory vaccination for domestic air travel in recent days. If passed, that could easily apply to all types of travel between states.

Some states and cities are strict, only allowing those vaccinated to eat out and enjoy entertainment outside of their homes. Even dictating mandatory vaccines to keep businesses open. Others are completely free, with no restrictions at all.

The outlook seems to be far more divided.

For investors it may be wise to begin finding more in-state buyers. Out of state buyers may become more cautious. Or you may wish to focus on a different set of buyers. Those who are exempt from the rules, and travel restrictions. Think celebrities, politicians and the uber wealthy.

Health Protocols

Stay stocked up if you want to stay in business. If you want to be networking, hosting showings, etc., be sure you have plenty of masks, sanitizer and cleaning supplies. Hoarding is bad. Being prepared is smart.

The Nomadic New Norm

Since the onset of the pandemic lockdowns we saw places like Manhattan lose 40% of their population. People started moving back last year after landlords offered cheap rental deals. Now those landlords are asking 70% or more for lease renewals, and many may leave again. Especially, as people give up hope of ever returning to the office again.

Except more of this back and forth migration as people look for housing deals and find the right balance in living conditions.

In Demand Features

What people want in housing is changing too. Priorities may now be on amenities like home delivery, fast Wifi, and more space.

 

Flipping and wholesaling properties to short term rental operators like Airbnb landlords can be a highly lucrative strategy for investors. Here’s the 411 on what type of inventory you should be sourcing for them…

The Short Term Rental Market Is Growing

Recent events have only accelerated the need and demand for short term rentals. This includes those on platforms like Airbnb, Homeaway, and VRBO, but not exclusively. In fact, Airbnb alone has said that it is facing a shortage of 1M or more units.

Regular landlords are switching to short term rental arrangements to get away from eviction bans and being tied to bad tenants.

Ongoing travel limitations have created a boom of domestic travel. As remote working is also making it more common that people will look for new places to stay for a few weeks or a month at a time.

Of course, these types of rentals also rent for far more than the average annual rental as well.

Serving Up The Product

There is a huge need for properties that can be used in this way. You can fill this gap as a wholesaler and fuel your business with deal flow and higher profit margins if you have the right product.

That means understanding what’s most important to their end users. So, what features should you look for and can find to create a better product for them?

Realtor Magazine recently published a lot of data on the top features these renters want, as well as the top issues that turn them off.

Price

Price was the most important factor for guests. With most looking for units in the $50 to $99 per night range. Remember that some of these platforms can add 30% or more on top of the nightly rate in fees, so be sure to factor that in. So, on a $100 a night rate, the owner may only get $70, before all of their costs.

Location

Real estate is all about location. In this case, tourism based cities were actually the least desirable.

Style

Users’ favorite style of place to stay is actually traditional, not modern or contemporary.

Internet Connection

With more people working on the go, reliable and fast internet is a top need.

Parking

Poor parking is one of the top pet peeves of guests. They don’t want to have to pay extra for it. They don’t want to have to struggle to find it. They may need two or three parking spaces.

The number of zombie foreclosures is surging in every state in the US according to the latest data. What does it mean for real estate investors?

Almost 8,000 zombie foreclosures are in process in the third quarter of 2020 according to ATTOM Data. Almost a quarter million properties were in the foreclosure process as of August.

These numbers may still seem small compared to 2008. Yet, there may be a lot more happening below the surface.

New Zombie Foreclosures

Zombie foreclosures are homes which have been abandoned by owners and borrowers. They’ve walked away, but the bank hasn’t foreclosed and relisted them yet. They are kind of in limbo. The owner gave up and left it vacant, but the bank isn’t selling it yet. This can lead to a lot of cosmetic issues from overgrown landscaping to vandalism. They can have a negative impact on the community and neighborhood, and cost cities and counties money to maintain.

What’s Coming Next

Unless the national economy pulls off a great turnaround in the next few months it is likely this metric will increase.

It is estimated that around 30% of US households aren’t able to make their monthly housing payments. While many are acting like it is business and shopping as usual, rumors are that there are a large number of auto loan repos happening, and credit card issuers like Capital One are reportedly slashing credit lines.

If things do play out like 2008, expect a huge number of foreclosures, even if governments and lenders carefully throttle how fast they hit the market.

There is a good chance that new businesses which are booming in the new normal and the next election will put the economy on a great trajectory. Though that may be a little too late for owners trying to make ends meet in the meantime, between loss of income in 2020 and new help coming in.

What It Means For Investors

The market may now seem hot and competitive in some places and for certain residential property types. Home sales and even prices just seem to keep marching up. This is the perfect market for real estate wholesalers to acquire distressed properties and sell fast for great margins.

Even if foreclosures do kick into high gear, it is good to remember that those who made it through the last crisis, and actually saw their incomes and wealth soar, were those who invested through it, wholesaling properties.

Don’t miss out on this once in a decade opportunity to rocket your finances for the better!

 

 

How can you boost your deal volume and the dollars coming in as a real estate wholesaler right now?

Many property investors are struggling to adapt to the new landscape. For many, their normal channels of business may have been disrupted and may or may not be for quite some time. The good news is that you can keep up and even grow your deal flow and income.

One way to do this immediately is to step up to help other investors. They are struggling too.

One of the most significant members of this group are landlords. Many have tried to step into this business since 2008. Many were tricked into thinking we wouldn’t face another turn in the cycle. Or they grossly overpaid for properties. They had no sustainability plan for something like this.

Many bought places relying on overpriced Airbnb rents. Most of that market has disappeared. It’s even illegal in many places right now. With unemployment heading for 50% or more, at least 30% of renters didn’t pay their April rents by the 9th of the month. Eviction bans mean they can’t get occupants out. Even more than not being able to weather this financially, landlords are scared.

They want their cash out. They can’t get good terms on refinancing, if they can even get loans at all. They need liquidity. You can buy their properties and bail them out.

Then flip  them to investors who are buying. There are plenty who are. Especially big funds. In NYC one family just bought 8 condos they plan to rent out after the crisis. You can even do this in bulk. Put together the portfolios to sell at once to a bigger buyer.

Best Transaction Funding is still funding deals. We find 100% of your purchase price when wholesaling properties.

How are you growing your business now?

How can real estate investors kick risk to the curb, and maximize the upside?

Few, if any investments are 110% risk free. Yet, the most admired billionaire investors know how to cut that exposure, and keep the green coming in no matter what the forecast is. Here are six ways to avoid losses even in the worst case scenarios, and stay flush while others are floundering to figure out their next move…

1. LLCs

If you are investing in real estate you need to incorporate. Period. There are no good excuses not to. Filing an LLC can cost as little as around $100, and can be done online in minutes. It is also the door to more potential tax breaks, and absolutely key to opening more doors to real estate funding today. Do it now.

2. SD IRAs

Stocks are taking a beating, and Harry S. Dent who successfully called the previous crashes expects the Dow to tumble more than another 50%! Consider rolling over existing retirement accounts to self-directed IRAs and reallocating those funds in direct real estate investments. If you don’t have one talk to your tax pro about which options can allow you to contribute the most, and reduce your tax burden the most this year. You still have till April 15^th to get the break for 2015. IRAs are also typically protected in bankruptcy and judgments. So if things really get ugly out there you still shouldn’t lose your IRA, or your real estate holdings.

3. Stay Liquid

Liquidity is key to safely and successfully navigating the unexpected in real estate according to billionaire investor Sam Zell. If you’ve got liquidity you can sail through anything. Bulk up on cash by wholesaling properties, and using 100% transactional funding whenever possible.

4. Due Diligence in Advance

The more due diligence investors do in advance, the less cash they’ll burn, and the better their profit margins. It only takes seconds to Google potential vendors, and look up property records from your phone. Compass Land and Title in Florida now also recommends sellers obtain a title search prior to listing properties to avoid any challenges during transactions.

5. Multiple Exit Strategies

You already know not to get into a deal until you know how you are going to get out. Of course that first exit plan, or resale buyer or tenant doesn’t always work out. If that was your only exit you could be in some hot financial water. It could tank everything else you are doing. Instead go in with multiple exit strategies for every deal. If you can’t wholesale it can you rehab it? If it doesn’t sell retail can you rent it?

6. Build that Buyers List

Eventually you are going to sell that property to cash out and tally your total net gains or loss. Savvy investors, and especially real estate wholesalers build those buyer lists in advance. Register everyone interested in purchasing a property. Get them to provide mortgage pre-approval letters or Proof of Funds (POF) letters so you know you’ve got a qualified prospect. If you are low on buyers consider collaborating with other investors. Avoid long chains, but do know that there are hundreds of cash heavy investors out there desperate for deals.

Have any tips of your own to add? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter…

Authored by Best Transaction Funding - the leading source of transactional funding and hard money loans for real estate wholesalers in the US, where 100% financing, and saying “Yes” is what we love doing all day long.

A new Huffington Post report heralds wholesaling as ‘The Real Estate Investment Niche for Everyone’. So what makes wholesaling real estate so attractive for new and veteran investors alike? What does it really take to get in, and be successful at wholesaling?

Flipping Houses to the Stars

The Huffington Post starts by highlighting that real estate wholesalers who are inspired by reality TV house flipping shows might actually find wholesaling comes with less stress and headaches. In fact, wholesalers can profit by flipping houses to TV celebrities. But without the mayhem and emotional roller coaster of dealing with renovations and contractors.

While the concept of buying at deep discounts remains the same as with other types of wholesaling, the profits margins can be a lot better on real estate. This is something industry personality and founder of an Inc. 500 ranked wholesaling and education company Kent Clothier says drove his family to switch from the world of groceries to property.

This comes right on the heel of Fox News highlighting the pros of selling houses to wholesalers for regular homeowners, versus paying 6% to list with a Realtor.

So as wholesaling properties becomes increasingly legitimatized by the mainstream media and business sector, what do aspiring investors need to get in, and win?

What it Takes to Wholesale Houses

According to the above mentioned report you’ll need:

Some real estate education

Potentially some deposit money for making offers

To find properties and negotiate contracts at discounts

A transactional funding lender to finance your deals

Buyers to sell too

There are a number of wholesale training providers out there, though industry gurus like Sean Terry say success is more about having alignment and the drive to really go out and make it happen than just what tools to use.

Worth Trying

Given that wholesaling real estate appears less risky than the alternatives, it seems worth trying, at least to get your feet wet in real estate. It could be the best bet for those finding it hard to make the numbers work on rehabbing or rentals in their area, or who are unsure about the future of the market, and may be light on cash, and have low tolerance for risk and loss.

Authored by BestTransactionFunding.com; America’s leading source of transactional funding and hard money loans for real estate wholesalers, where 100% financing, and saying “Yes” is what we love doing all day long.

There now seem to be dozens of hard money lenders trying to force their cash on real estate investors every day. So why aren’t the most experienced investors biting on the offers?

Whether it is email, social media sites like LinkedIn, or online real estate forums like Bigger Pockets hard money guys seem to be everywhere, aggressively offering their cash. More and more are popping up, and are offering higher LTVs, with fewer requirements.

This is great for the overall market, and hard money has been a crucial crutch for investors for several decades. Even though many left, or essentially turned to conventional underwriting practices when wholesalers and rehabbers needed them most, there are good hard money lenders out there, and those that can add value, and be invaluable in the process.

Five reasons veteran real estate investors aren’t buying in:

Unattractive terms

Trouble separating the opportunists looking to skim deals versus real lenders

Investment strategies have changed

Access to cheaper long term money elsewhere

They’ve discovered transactional funding

Choosing the right type of funding for your real estate investment strategy

Wholesaling with the best transactional funding means just getting in out and paid for sure versus being locked into high rates, with high exit costs, high risk, and no guarantees.

On the other end, buy and hold investors are flush with cash, or have access to far cheaper private money form investors looking for long term yields. In markets like Miami, cash buyers accounted for over 40% of transaction in mid-2014, with almost 70% of foreign buyers paying all cash.

For those simply looking to flip instantly for fast cash and wholesale properties in 1-3 days keep Best Transaction Funding bookmarked in your internet browser and ask about our Proof of Funds to facilitate making more offers.

However, hard money still has its place and uses.

When to use hard money lenders

When refinancing to access and release pent up equity

For rehab projects and fixing and flipping houses

To capitalize on attractive investment opportunities when an end buyer is not yet in place

For taking non-performing assets to performing before resale for maximum profits, or securing lower rate long term financing

How hard money lenders can better serve the investment community

By providing faster approvals

Offering streamlined processes with less hassle and hoops

Developing a reputation for actually funding deals

Working relationships for scaling repeat and referral business

Is wholesaling houses ethical, or even still legal?

Some investors have been struggling with wholesaling houses due to questions of it still being legal and ethical. So is it, and is there a right and wrong way to do it?

The real estate investment business has become far more confusing in the wake of the bubble a few years ago. Regulations have changed and so have the vendors. Unfortunately many new investors are coming in with limited knowledge, or are relying on out of date investing courses and books, and they are getting pushed back by some of the real estate professionals they are approaching.

However, that doesn’t mean that there is anything illegal or unethical about wholesaling houses.
In fact, wholesaling and flipping houses has been increasingly embraced by those in power over the past few years. Fannie Mae has essentially sanctioned flipping by waiving certain requirements, and at many different levels the government has encouraged it in order to help the housing market and economy recover.

The fact is that wholesaling is essential and beneficial for everyone. Some of these benefits include:
• Helping struggling homeowners to find a graceful exit
• Helping banks unload non-performing assets and become profitable again
• Helping to generate more jobs and cash flow in the economy
• Helping to recycle property and revitalize neighborhoods
• Helping to protect and boost home values

A lot of the confusion about the ethics and legality of flipping houses comes from lack of education and not being aware of the right and wrong way to do it. Dry simultaneous closings might be an issue. But providing wholesalers stick to two separate, and ‘wet’ funded closings, with everything being disclosed there should be no concerns.

The key here is finding a reputable investor friendly title company which is committed to doing things the right way and using transactional funding for legitimate double closings.

What are the best marketing tactics for pulling in inbound real estate leads for wholesalers today?

The housing market continues to serve up hot deals, but how do you get more leads without having to cold call or wait weeks for direct mail to pay off?

Thanks to rapidly rising home prices and failed government bailout programs it looks like those wholesaling properties are about to see a massive windfall in highly profitable new deals hitting the market. The legendary Versace mansion on South Beach is heading to the auction block for $25 million (down from $175 million), the 2013 Home Flipping Report reveals investors in Daytona Beach, FL made an average of over $51,000 per deal and a gross of 82% profit in the first 6 months of the year, and RealtyTrac reports 800k new distressed homes are coming to the market, on top of 46% of loans modified under HAMP in 2009 re-defaulting.

The only question for those wholesaling properties is how to you draw in as many of these motivated sellers and the end buyers quickly to fully capitalize on this huge wave of opportunity?

We all know that it’s all about inbound marketing today, so what are the best strategies to use?

1. Guest Blogging

In the wake of the Penguin 2.0 update guest blogging rocks. Blog commenting, link buying, and article marketing via directories have taken a big hit. If you want to funnel in more online traffic to your website and stay at the top of Google searches you need to get serious about guest blogging. Look for opportunities at Publiseek, My Blog Guest, G-CodeMagazine.com, and if you have something really valuable, contact us at Best Transaction Funding to ask about exchanging blog posts.

2. Facebook

Love or hate it Facebook has only emerged as an even more dominant force for inbound marketing online today. Best practices have changed dramatically though. Consider running ads, promoting and boosting posts. This can be done on a very tight budget and for great ROI. If you want solid results and real leads in hand opt for pay-per-click.

3. Google Adwords

Of course when it comes to PPC advertising Google Adwords is still the big dog in the pit. While you may have to dig into localized keywords and utilize Google Trends or Insights to find the trending keywords with the least competition to keep costs down, Google Adwords is incredibly difficult to beat for wholesalers wanting online leads immediately. Also look out for Sean Terry’s upcoming book on how to set up a successful Google Adwords campaign.

4. Google Hangouts

With the new change to the Gmail inbox some are finding that their email marketing efforts are taking a big hit. Google wants you to migrate your prospects and prospecting over to Google and they’ll likely reward you for it. Try setting up communities and groups on Google and using live Google Hangouts to close deals fast.

5. Press Releases

No real estate investor has to wait to be discovered to get in the news headlines and rocket their brand, while driving in tons of hot leads. Using self-distributed press releases online wholesalers can rocket their visibility and often pull in hundreds of web visitors for less than $1 a hit. Plus the mass of high profile inbound links this provides can rocket wholesaling websites to the top of Google quickly too.