What’s the best way for you to raise funding to kick off your real estate investing business?

There is a lot of buzz about raising funding for launching new startups today and many new real estate ventures are being given hundreds of thousands of dollars to pursue their dreams.

Some real estate pros have it down to a system of just asking a few key questions, but for most and those that want to really kick it in to high gear with a sizable amount of seed money, creating a great presentation is essential.

You can pitch in person armed with your iPad when networking, used organized events to get in front of angel investors, or use a website or crowdfunding platforms to show it off.

However, many are making critical mistakes that are crippling their efforts. A recent report by Silicon Valley’s Founder Institute reveals some of these top blunders as being:

1.  Failing to use visuals including graphs and charts

2.  Hard coding spreadsheets versus keeping them flexible to analyze different factors

3.  Using top down instead of bottom up projections

4.  Not being aware of total and niche market size

5. Not performing a cash flow analysis

6.  Underestimating variable costs like building materials and staffing

7. Grossly overpromising on potential revenues in the short term

While there is tons of capital out there for the taking, putting your real estate investment activities on hold and embarking on a mission to raise money first can be a slog and mean missing out on many of the best investment opportunities in the current market.

So perhaps a better option for many is to forego the partners, time, stress and upfront money outlay and use transactional funding instead. Using transactional funding for 100% financing to flip houses and raise your own cash can mean keeping all the profits for yourself and never needing to worry about pleasing partners or backers.

You can always diversify into alternative real estate investing strategies later on, and if you really want to raise more working capital down the road, at least you’ll have a proven system and can negotiate from a position of power to get better terms and retain more control.

 

2013 is lining up to be the best year ever seen for real estate investing and flipping houses. However, only those wired into the right trends, recognizing the most critical factors and positioning themselves accordingly will be those to reap the incredible rewards to be had.

So if you want to flip more homes than ever and reel in amazing profits what do you need to know and act on right now?

1. Move on the Fastest Growing Niche

All investors and wholesalers especially should be comforted to see big builders and even a lot of private equity moving out of the distressed residential space this year and back into building new homes and commercial debt. However, there will be plenty of new, green competition looking to cash in too. The easy deals with the biggest profits will be enjoyed by those that find an angle which allows them to side step the competition and grab great discounts on properties in the fastest moving niches.

One of these is certainly the high end market. In California 2012 saw million dollar plus home sales return to 2007 territory and a new record set for homes selling for over $5 million.

2. Capitalizing on the Most In Demand Area

The real estate landscape and migration patterns are changing dramatically. Tech, jobs, economic and security issues are pushing a major shift in where people are moving to and fleeing from, while the media continues to play a big role in directing the flow of investment capital by predicting new ‘hot spots’.

Recent data suggests more Americans are exiting states like NJ, IL and New York and are heading to DC, WV NV and the Carolinas.

3. Content

If content was critical for marketing last year, great content is 10 times as critical for success in 2013. Those looking for easy to close deals, fast flips, to get top dollar on re-sales and build a better buyers list this year will find no better marketing and branding tool for positioning themselves and forcing action that top notch content. Those that think they can skimp here will be those wondering what went wrong when they aren’t seeing the results they expected and have been spinning their wheels for months.

Would you pay $100 to get your real estate marketing message in Mark Zuckerberg’s priority inbox?

Facebook seems to have been coming up with all types of wild and crazy ideas lately, but are they setting up more incredible marketing opportunities for investors flipping houses or has Mark Zuckerberg’s ego and eccentricity just whisked his mind off to another planet?

This week’s big mystery event at Facebook turned out to be what most consider such a pathetic attempt at search that most of the media, including the most popular tech blogs have completely ignored it and refused to report on it.

This follows hot on the heels of Facebook beginning to charge for sending messages. This has ranged from $1 for the average Joe to an incredibly lofty and perhaps overly egotistical $100 to send marketing messages right to Mark Zuckerberg himself. And don’t forget the huge Instagram privacy debacle a few weeks ago.

So what’s the deal?

It is possible that this is just a chain of horrible moves in which case the social network is seriously unlikely to last much longer. On the other hand it could be an incredibly intelligent and creative series of marketing tests.

Think about it. All of the recent news and last few years have not only meant free PR for Facebook but free testing, market research, content and highly detailed and targeted lead list building, much of which was provide gratis by real estate investors.

If amassing data to create the world’s largest and most extensive database of consumers for extremely targeted marketing was Mark’s intent the whole time, he’s not done a bad job of it.
While you might not consider Zuckerberg himself a qualified enough “ready, willing and able” buyer right now, real estate leads have sold for more than $100 a pop in the past. Multiply that by 1 trillion leads, and resold several thousand times and that’s some serious dough.

Of course it is unlikely it will fly for most real estate investors at those prices or perhaps not even 50 cents a pop considering how many fake profiles are there. However, there are some important lessons to be taken away.

For a start how can you leverage others and how can you grab as many Facebook contacts as possible and store them for ongoing marketing outside of Facebook when it becomes too expensive?

Of course people will get sick of their info being used and sold by Facebook before too long. Credit bureaus do it, and you don’t really have a choice about using them, but people can opt out of Facebook.

So this could really mark the turn in marketing cycles, with social heading down just as direct mail and email have done in the past.

In terms of alternatives, in other news CBS’ outdoor advertising division announced it is converting to a REIT, confirming real estate investing as a hot trend and buffer from taxes, but does it mean outdoor is back or dead and they are cashing out?

Maybe the New Myspace is the answer? Love of hate Justin Timberlake it is perhaps a chance to get ahead of the crowd and a chance to dominate a new platform before the competition gets in.

Just don’t underestimate the importance of mobile marketing for real estate as we move into the boom…

 

Silicon Valley takes a slap to the face from a hot real estate market which is stealing away investment dollars…

Not only did Mark Zuckerberg reportedly get burned by the real estate market by overpaying $1 million for his new home but real estate IPOs are putting Facebook to shame too.

Recent real estate IPOs from Realogy and Trulia not only pulled off pricing themselves at the top end of their ranges but saw huge growth from the get go.

Understandably this and the huge new surge in the real estate market and interest in investing in property is causing a good amount of concern in the tech community and among new startups. Perhaps they got into the wrong industry at the wrong time as funding and capital floods into the real estate market?

Of course both go hand in hand and real estate investors can use tech for better results and more profit as well as for enjoying more free time and flexibility. However, when it comes down to investing your own money or starting a business then you might want to look to real estate investing as the safest vehicle with the most growth potential for the next decade, especially if you want to get funded.

Even better, thanks to the emergence of transactional lending investors and entrepreneurs really don’t even need to have cash, good credit or be related to a VC big wig to get started in real estate investing.

Transactional funding serves up to 100% financing for real estate acquisitions, plus closing costs enabling no money down investing and flipping for handsome profits.

So perhaps even if you really love the idea of a tech startup perhaps leveraging real estate investing to make some fast cash is the key to diversifying your income and generating fast cash to fund your business idea. Or if you do have capital to put to work you can focus it on others areas of your real estate investment business to speed up results.

However, there is of course nothing wrong with blending the two (tech and real estate) to come up with a winning product or service to serve other investors and consumers to take advantage of the best of both worlds. This way you can increase both your odds of long term success and upside potential while benefiting from a proven income generator right now.

So what are you waiting for?

 

Where are the real estate deals now?

While the real estate recovery is well underway, new trends are changing which areas are most likely to see the most growth, appreciation and hold the biggest profits for investors.

This week the news headlines highlighted the ongoing mass exodus from California. Over the last couple of decades almost 3.5 million individuals have fled the state according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Experts and surveys put this down to a search for more affordable real estate, a cheaper cost of living, better government and more business friendly environments.

A recent study reveals that those fleeing the Golden State are mostly heading to Texas, Nevada, Oregon, Arizona, Washington, Idaho, Georgia, Utah, Colorado and South Carolina. It can also be assumed that these states are also the beneficiaries of immigration from other regions as well for the same reasons.

As the real estate recovery picks up and depending on who wins the election and what is done in terms of taxes on the highest income earners and easing burdens on small business we will also see more migration between states and countries.

If things don’t turn for the better soon, this could even mean more talent, entrepreneurs and wealthy individuals leaving the U.S. for residency elsewhere.

Savvy real estate investors will be watching these trends and migration figures. Will there be more equity growth and real estate investing volume to be found in more affordable states with lower unemployment rates and will popular international cities like San Francisco, Miami and New York see a trend in even smaller housing units used by those simply jetting in to visit family and sign deals while keep the majority of their wealth and larger estates offshore?

What is the FBI doing with your phone data, was your information just leaked on the web and are you prepared for having your entire online presence vaporized?

Real estate investors are under more threats than ever before and unless they are prepared not only can their identities be stolen but their online businesses and data can be wiped out overnight!

What’s the FBI doing with your Information Now?

Hackers just published 1 million Apple device ID’s on the web, was yours one of them?

Worse, the hack which tapped more than 12 million Apple user IDs, mobile phone numbers, addresses and names involved the laptop of a top regional FBI cyber-crime supervisor. Besides the immediate threat of investors’ data being leaked many may wonder what the FBI is doing with their information and how they got it?

Backup or be put out of Business

On Friday another major issue for real estate investors emerged as an Apple customer service representative handed over control of accounts to a hacker. This resulted in the targeting of a California journalist who had his Mac, iPhone and iPad wiped clean, email accounts and web based file storage wiped out and social media account hijacked. What would that do to your real estate investing business?

Besides the immediate interruption of contact and potentially business killing messages being sent from your email addresses and social media profiles it would mean losing all data on current and past deals as could mean your bank accounts being compromised too.

Clearly this would be devastating to any real estate investor. So how can you protect against it?

1. Make sure to use multiple step verification for all accounts when possible
2. Use a strong and unique password for each account you have
3. Don’t rely on one cloud database for file storage; back up locally and if you use iCloud also backup to Google Drive, Drop Box or other web file storage system
4. Have a backup device for getting online, taking calls and staying connected

While prospecting is perhaps 90% responsible for the success or failure of real estate investors today, many fail to have a real strategy to guide them.

Instead most investors fly by the seat of their pants, jumping on whatever appears to be the thing to do at the moment. This doesn’t just apply to individual or different marketing tactics or materials either, most investor’s marketing and branding is so incredibly fragmented it is difficult to make them out.

Real estate investing companies need a mission, vision and overall, master prospecting philosophy which guides their brand, marketing tactics and daily decision making. Without this it is difficult to stay on course and achieve goals not to mention ensuring longevity.

There are 3 approaches to choose from, pick one:

1. The Car Salesman

Aka the stock broker or door-to-door salesman strategy revolves around the hard sales pitch. It means capitalizing on every opportunity to the ‘maximum’ or in essence refusing to hang up on the telemarketing call till the deal is closed or the prospect hangs up first. There are advantages to this technique and it often works. It may not make friends but it can make dollars in the short term. The only problem when it comes to applying it to real estate is that unlike selling a car or switching phone service it takes a long time to close on a home and leaves a lot of room to back out. Plus, of course it means burning through staff fast, poor moral and making enemies of the public fast.

2. The Politician

Realtor Mag recently proposed adopting a “Mayorism” philosophy to marketing. Or in other words market as if you were running for an elected office. The meeting and greeting and choosing a policy (niche) to stand on and even using TV and fancy dinners can work. Though you might want to gift the sleaze, competitor bashing and lies a break if you plan to be around for the next election.

3. The Philanthropist

What if instead of focusing on ‘selling’ prospects or simply boosting up your own personal brand you focused on serving more customers? This is hard to fake and will back fire if you do. However, it only makes sense. What would happen if you put all your energy into and focus on helping more people own homes, helping more struggling homeowners escape foreclosure and get out of debt and helped communities by turning around more homes and improving neighborhoods? The more you help, the more you profit. However, in order to be authentic it may require most to make some fundamental changes to their structure and systems.

While Facebook’s stock price continues slide and the social network desperately tries to stay alive Google is continuing to roll out new power tools for real estate investors…

Google has already rapidly been accelerating itself as the preferred platform for business networking, while the tech giant continues to roll out upgrades like Google Drive and the nimble new Chrome browser which allows users to seamlessly switch between desktop and mobile devices. While these all make doing business easier for real estate investors there are 3 other new announcements which promise to increase marketing opportunities for investing.

3 New Google Power Tools for Real Estate Investing:

1. Google Plus Vanity URLs

Google just announced it is rolling out the ability for investors to acquire their own custom URLs for Google . Like web domain names and custom Twitter and Facebook URLs these domains promise to become incredibly valuable online real estate. There will only be one “plus.google.com/realestate”. If RealEstate.com sold for over $8 million you can imagine a custom URL like this could quickly build up some serious equity, perhaps even more than the rest of your real estate business. Of course access is currently limited to top name brands and celebs but as soon as they are open to the public the rush will be huge, so don’t miss out.

2. Google Local

Google recently merged its old business listing platform into Google Local for better social and search integration. Some real estate investing related businesses are already boasting real, live leads from this so don’t forget to claim your listing.

3. Email SEO

Google’s latest SEO change means the search engine will tap Gmail accounts and serve up emails in search results. The bottom line is if you are in prospects’ inboxes you have a short cut for top Google rankings, while compounding the value and ROI of your email marketing campaigns, so get on it!

Content is becoming increasingly crucial to successful and profitable real estate investing but how can you win at content marketing without going broke first?

A slew of search engine algorithm changes (with more to come) has only increased the value and importance of great content and lots of it for winning more real estate business.

Volume is important too. There is a direct correlation between those who post more frequently and higher earnings. Then there is static website content and email marketing as well as offline marketing pieces including direct mail, print and PR which al rely on great copywriting for maximum effectiveness and ROI.

So with all this need for content and no substitute for high quality, original content (as the less fresh and crispy the more damage it will do to your real estate investing efforts), how can investors afford it?

For a start real estate investors need to budget for hiring great top level writers and do it right the first time so they don’t have to redo everything, wasting money and lead time. This also means budgeting for increasing content costs as the best writers become more in demand, just as REOs are.

However, there are many ways investors can save and make their budgets go further without sacrificing results. Delegating down is essential. Don’t weigh yourself down with tasks that you can hire someone else to do. Also while you need great writers who may not be cheap, don’t bog them down with submission, spinning and syndication when an inexpensive VA can do that for far less.

Re-purpose content as much as possible too. Physical newsletters can also be used for email marketing. Blog posts can be used to fill up newsletters and can be spliced off for social media posts too, as can articles and press releases. If you are operating dozens of social profiles and blogs for a larger presence and SEO and you must spin, opt for manual spinning of your own high quality original pieces and have it done by hand by a lower level writer after your top gun crafts the master copy.

Finally, look for ways to collaborate. Feature interviews with other related professionals and link to each other and vice versa, invite others to guest blog occasionally without turning your blog into and ad space and offer to guest blog for others.

Ready to crank up your marketing and land hot motivated seller leads?

Perhaps one day investors will get a payout from a class action suit against banks and mortgage lenders for rigging REO sales and pushing up prices but until then current trends mean bidding carefully or finding new ways to get better bargains on distressed homes for flipping.

Here are 4 real estate marketing strategies you may not have tried yet…

1. Auto Dialing Systems

Lead generation and web based auto dialer systems like Campaign Dialer from DYL.com offer investors a power tool for phone marketing. This system in particular is ideal for real estate investing companies and solo investors, enabling them to make over 100 calls an hour and only connecting with live prospects.

2. Contests & Giveaways

Yard signs, social media, radio and direct mail are all great ways of getting in front of struggling homeowners who need to sell, however, they still often lack a powerful enough call to action or at least one which is appealing enough. How about setting up a toll free hot line to sign up for a giveaway of a free month’s mortgage payment or $500 cash towards moving costs? Each caller’s details can be captured and once familiar with your brand will be much more receptive to future marketing.

3. Press Releases

With some much competition and marketing noise out there today homeowners are so burnt out they instantly shut down as soon as they smell anything that remotely resembles a sales pitch. This means the best way to hook new business is simply by being there at the right time and being seeing as a credible and valuable resource. With online press release distribution this is easy. Get featured in the news, become the local expert overnight and build your website ranking all at the same time.

4. Email Marketing

OK, email marketing may not be new but it is working incredibly well for those embracing the latest strategies. There are two ways to approach this. This first with short and sweet messages with a personal tone, quickly directing recipients to visit web assets where the real conversion happens. The second is the reverse, opting for a long form email newsletter packed with valuable info. A third idea is to send videos directly within emails. Though no matter which way you go including links to social media and blogs and incorporating a call button to initiate a live conversation can do wonders for results.

Ready to crank up your marketing and land hot motivated seller leads?

Perhaps one day investors will get a payout from a class action suit against banks and mortgage lenders for rigging REO sales and pushing up prices but until then current trends mean bidding carefully or finding new ways to get better bargains on distressed homes for flipping.

Here are 4 real estate marketing strategies you may not have tried yet…

1. Auto Dialing Systems

Lead generation and web based auto dialer systems like Campaign Dialer from DYL.com offer investors a power tool for phone marketing. This system in particular is ideal for real estate investing companies and solo investors, enabling them to make over 100 calls an hour and only connecting with live prospects.

2. Contests & Giveaways

Yard signs, social media, radio and direct mail are all great ways of getting in front of struggling homeowners who need to sell, however, they still often lack a powerful enough call to action or at least one which is appealing enough. How about setting up a toll free hot line to sign up for a giveaway of a free month’s mortgage payment or $500 cash towards moving costs? Each caller’s details can be captured and once familiar with your brand will be much more receptive to future marketing.

3. Press Releases

With some much competition and marketing noise out there today homeowners are so burnt out they instantly shut down as soon as they smell anything that remotely resembles a sales pitch. This means the best way to hook new business is simply by being there at the right time and being seeing as a credible and valuable resource. With online press release distribution this is easy. Get featured in the news, become the local expert overnight and build your website ranking all at the same time.

4. Email Marketing

OK, email marketing may not be new but it is working incredibly well for those embracing the latest strategies. There are two ways to approach this. This first with short and sweet messages with a personal tone, quickly directing recipients to visit web assets where the real conversion happens. The second is the reverse, opting for a long form email newsletter packed with valuable info. A third idea is to send videos directly within emails. Though no matter which way you go including links to social media and blogs and incorporating a call button to initiate a live conversation can do wonders for results.

Many real estate investors are attracted to the idea of enrolling their spouse’s assistance in their businesses. For some it results in an incredibly profitable super power partnership and brings them closer together. For others it just brings stress and major relationship confrontations.

So should you get into flipping houses with your spouse, avoid it like the plague and if you do take the leap how can you make it work successfully?

The Pros of Real Estate Investing with Your Spouse:

• Low cost help
• A partner and teammate you can trust
• Not having to share the wealth with other partners
• Sending more time together
• Fully supported in what you are doing
• Achieving results and goals faster
• A partner who compliments you and may have strengths you don’t

The Cons of Real Estate Investing with Your Spouse:

• No diversity in household income
• Together all the time
• Potential for major confrontation when emotions effect business
• Temptation to put more personal income and assets on the line than prudent
• No separation of work and home
• When personal or business relationship goes bad it all falls apart together

Ensuring a Successful Investment Partnership Together

Besides weighing the above pros and cons it is important for couples to really determine their passion for real estate investing and what roles they will assume. If your partner isn’t as hot on it as you are it will likely lead to them letting you down, you becoming frustrated at their performance and potentially be devastating for your relationship.

Take your time to talk it over. Define who will lead and if one of you should deal with certain elements of the business rather than the other. Perhaps one of you is better behind the scenes and dealing with the numbers and the other being the networker and dealing with face to face interaction. Perhaps one of you could get a real estate license?

Despite how much you both think it is a great idea to work on flipping houses together now recognize things can change and people’s passions can change. Layout a framework for what to do when priorities alter or it isn’t working out so that you can amicably adjust without it destroying your personal relationship. Maintain great communication above all else and recognize when it is time to replace them. Otherwise if things aren’t great at home it will affect your real estate investing profits and income and snowball into something worse.

The 4th of July is one of the most important holidays of the year but even more so for real estate investors.

For those investors flipping houses looking to achieve more freedom by next year’s Independence Day and every day in between here are 6 tools for making that happen.

Stay connected on the go and free up more time with these 6 tools:

1. Tablets

Whether eyeing the new mini iPad, Microsoft Surface or Google’s Nexus 7 every investor should be getting their hands on a tablet in order to better adapt their marketing to the media consumers are moving to and to maximize time on the move.

2. Toll Free Numbers & VOIP Phones

Toll free vanity numbers are great for boosting marketing performance, while VOIP and advanced routing options allows real estate investors to take and route calls anywhere in the world seamlessly.

3. Google Apps

With Google Chrome and apps now available on the iPhone & iPad real estate investing pros can now seamlessly stay connected and collaborate more easily and effectively with remote staff and team members anywhere on the planet.

4. Hootsuite
While social media marketing continues to be one of the most important and critical marketing channels for real estate investing many have become discouraged due to how time intensive it can be to generate results. Social media management tools like Hootsuite bring all channels into one dashboard for streamlined publishing and tracking.

5. RescueTime App

If more time and hours in the day are what you really crave then check out the Rescue Time app, discover where you are wasting it and block yourself from productivity stealing tasks.

6. Get an Assistant

No real estate investor can be without at least one personal assistant.

However, no matter how busy you are this week take time out to celebrate your freedom!

As an investor flipping houses should you be focused on raising funding or finding deals first?

Newer real estate investors are often conflicted on this question. What’s the point in finding real estate deals if you don’t have the money to buy them and how can you really line up funding you can be confident in if you don’t have a live deal to present?

So which come first in this ‘chicken and the egg’ scenario? Could it even be neither of the above?

While it may be understandable that new real estate investors can be confused, especially when they have been given misinformation or out of date strategies, it really doesn’t have to be difficult. Yes, real estate agents will want to see proof of funds or a mortgage preapproval letter before presenting your offer to their clients or even showing you homes. At the same time hard money lenders aren’t that helpful unless a real deal is being presented and many investors are (needlessly) afraid of approaching private lenders without something for them to loan on immediately.

It shouldn’t be hard because there is a ton of money out there desperate to be borrowed for real estate deals, especially for those flipping houses with transactional funding. That’s in addition to more than $6 billion private equity firms are sitting on because they can’t buy enough homes fast enough according to Bloomberg.

What real estate investors really ought to be focusing on today is finding more end buyers. Providing you have the buyers you can flip all the houses you want all day long. There are plenty more foreclosures and other types of distressed homes hitting the market. So the only thing holding investors back is chasing buyers so that they can cash out and get onto the next deal. With flash funding available for quick flips turning around 10 properties a month shouldn’t be difficult at all, not when there are so many buyers entering the market.

Real estate investors don’t even need to worry about getting pre-qualified for funding when it comes to utilizing transactional funding for financing the acquisition of houses they are flipping. This is because these lenders do not require income or asset verification, or appraisals and do not loan based on credit. They will also provide both proof of funds and stamped VOD letters to arm investors with all the buying power they need to go out and lock down the best deals.

What goes into the secret recipe for winning at real estate investing during Independence Day festivities?

1. Marketing Campaigns

4th of July marketing can be a huge hit or huge miss. Sending out expansive or expensive marketing campaigns the week of the holiday probably isn’t the smartest move as too many people can be away or logged off. The week before hand could be a far better choice.

2. Network at Local Celebrations

No matter where you live there is likely to be plenty going on all week long. Get out in the evenings and on the weekend to network with locals at dinners, events, parades and more.

3. Host Your Own BBQ

Fewer and fewer people are throwing their own 4th of July parties so why not host your own Independence Day BBQ? Make a whole afternoon or evening of it and either use the occasion to invite and bond with prospective buyers, sellers and private lenders or treat your staff and build more loyalty and camaraderie in your organization. If you don’t enjoy cooking that’s fine, you can make it as elegant as you like, complete with servers and a sommelier or make it a potluck deal and have everyone bring something.

4. Take the Day Off!

As difficult as it can be for real estate investing pros to drag themselves away from the adrenaline of flipping houses, shut off the cell, log out of the social media and actually enjoy your independence and freedom for a few hours. Besides it is probably the one day this summer that people will forgive you for not answering their calls.

5. Cash in on the Open House Traffic

Depending on where you live or are investing the chances are there could be a lot more traffic out during the week and especial on the weekend. This will include a lot of out of area visitors who would love to own a place near family and friends. Cash in on this by planning an extra special themed open house event.

Economists and analysts have been busy announcing the arrival of stagflation but despite some investors leaning towards rentals is flipping houses still the smartest real estate investment strategy?

Stagflation occurs when the economy is seeing incredibly slow or stagnant growth, while inflation and unemployment rise. Clearly there is no arguing that this is the position we are in now. So what does this mean for real estate investors?

Besides the above our current economy is suffering from weak returns on investments for individuals from almost every area. Even tech hasn’t saved anyone, as seen from the recent Facebook debacle.

This has pushed an incredible number of people to investing in real estate for better returns. Many have been swarming to buy and hold rental properties; following the conventional wisdom that real estate outperforms inflation and offers additional tax advantages. They certainly appear to be right as both rents and home prices appear to be rising.

However, most individuals are poorly prepared to become landlords. Most have no idea how time consuming and stressful it can really be as well as the risks that come along with it. Many are even far over paying for their properties as they follow misleading trends in the news. Those who opt for ‘turnkey deals’ frequently end up paying over market value, while others turning to REITs or vehicles with cumbersome management structures find returns eroded by additional costs and higher volatility more prevalent.

Real estate investors also need to keep an ear to the ground as to what the government may do to push a correction in the economy and the fallout effects stagflation is having on other factors.

Normally dropping interest rates is the answer for battling high inflation. Of course we are already at record low rates, without realizing any real growth from the stimulus efforts. Countering slow growth by raising rates dramatically may be the only option, which would in turn encourage deposits and then hopefully more lending.  However, between Europe, the election, weak consumer confidence and a lack of access to mortgages there is still quite a bit of uncertainty in the market to say the least.

All factors are currently lined up for the best opportunities for flipping houses. The continued presence of discounted homes and rising home prices as well as demand means buying low and selling high is a breeze for real estate wholesalers.

However, what many overlook is the advantages of minimizing or eliminating risk through flipping real estate as a primary strategy. Short hold times combined with the availability of 100% financing in the form of transactional funding means investors face a tiny fraction of the risk of other strategies, if any at all, while enjoying fast cash coming in.

Both flipping houses and investing in mortgage notes have raised in popularity in the last year. Which is the better real estate investment and why?

The Rise of Real Estate Note Investing

The interest and hype around mortgage note investing has rocketed in the last 18 months. This isn’t a new form of real estate investment; it has been used by savvy investors for years. However, with a lack of other deals, poorly performing other types of investments, being far too scary to leave too much capital in the bank and a desire for simplicity it has caught on with many more individuals than the early 2000 boom years. Though of course much of the noise is stemming from those who were involved in other facets of the real estate or mortgage business before and need a way to make up for lost income.

Note buying can be a great move for some. It offers above average returns, hands-free investing and passive income for retirement secured by a real asset. This makes it a great choice for those nearing or at retirement age who have all the savings they need and just want to achieve more income while they are finally off enjoying their freedom.

So what’s the downside, why weren’t more individuals chasing this real estate investment strategy before?

There are two main drawbacks of note investing. The first is that it can be extremely complicated and risky for investors who don’t understand all of the complexities of what makes sound note investment. The second is that these notes only throw off income and offer no capital growth.

When Flipping Houses Trumps Note Buying

Flipping houses has become more popular recently not just due to reality TV but all of the right conditions lining up for acquiring bargain deals and turning them over for a handsome profit.

Flipping houses is generally considered the fast money strategy. This is ideal for those needing to make large amounts of cash now to catch up on retirement savings and who want to enjoy a better lifestyle in the short term. This if often more critical to future financial security than most realize as the amount of money required to retire often far exceeds expectations.

This is also the best strategy for those who don’t have much of a nest egg to start with. In fact using transactional funding new investors can get started with no money down.

Looking for a way to generate more buyer leads to flip your properties to which can also maximize the use of your time and marketing dollars?

Check out the following 5 ideas successfully being used by other real estate investors for reaching dozens and even hundreds of prospective buyers at the same time…

1. Start Your Own Investor Group

Self-appointed ‘gurus’ who have already set up their own real estate investing groups and monthly networking events enjoy many benefits. The perceived expertise make positioning and selling your flips easier than ever while being able to enjoy cherry picking new members’ best deals. You can easily host your own at a local restaurant or hotel and you will find local real estate pros and new investors plenty excited for a new opportunity to network.

2. Foreclosure Tours

Foreclosure tours have been a big hit with some investors easily charging buyers for the ride and signing deals on the road. Can’t find a creative way to get your own bus or get enough upfront money to rent one then making it a driving tour, while pulling in more attendees on the day by incorporating social platforms like Facebook, foursquare and Pinterest.

3. Offer Investment, Foreclosure Prevention & Home Buyer Seminars

Put on these seminars at local educational facilities, real estate licensing schools or even at a broker or title company’s office. Given how hot these subjects are at the moment investors should also be able to capitalize on local press opportunities.

4. Investor & Foreclosure Conventions

Take networking groups and seminars to the next level by putting on a larger scale convention which can include classes on buying, investing and short sales. Use local pros as sponsors and you may even find the city willing to pitch in if it means revitalizing neighborhoods and more sales which increase tax revenues.

5. Webinars

Face-to-face interaction and public speaking obviously isn’t for everyone but that doesn’t mean you can’t capitalize on events like these. Webinars offer a lower cost approach but still mean being able to reach and pitch hundreds of real estate prospects at once.

Real estate investing and flipping houses is exciting and addictive and the rush to scoop up and close the next deal can be a compelling rush but this should never be an excuse for working extended hours week after week, not even if you need the money.

Here are 5 reasons why…

1. Working towards Your Ultimate Goals
If you are caught up in busy work and end up putting in an obscene amount of hours every day the odds are you aren’t dedicating the appropriate time and energy to focusing on the big picture and actually growing your real estate investing business to the next level. Unless you change the pattern and put the right systems and strategies in place you’ll always be stuck doing the grunt work.

2. Inspiration

You may be motivated by your cash flow needs to get out there and source, acquire and flip houses but being inspired to bigger things and achieving bigger goals through real estate investing and having those eureka moments that will get you there normally requires some time out with a clear mind. This can be a few hours at the beach, a week long Alaskan cruise or a month in Mexico, whatever turns you on.

3. You Won’t Achieve Any More Anyway

Numerous studies have shown productivity takes a massive dive when individuals work more than 40 hours a week. This is exactly why we have a 40 hour work week, though of course Europeans take this even further with even fewer hours and mandatory, paid vacations each year. The bottom line is you aren’t going to make double the money just because you work 80 hours a week. There may be times when you have to put in the extra man hours but it is much wiser to figure out how to make more in the 40 hours you’ll allow yourself or even just 4 if you prefer.

4. Neglecting Family Will Cost You a Lot More

You may truly enjoy devoting 100 hours a week to real estate investing but if you have family it is going to cost you a lot more in the long run. Besides missing out on priceless moments as your kids grow up neglecting your spouse will likely eventually lead to divorce which can easily bankrupt you.

5. Your Body can’t take it

Even if you mentally thrive on the thrill of flipping houses sooner or later your body won’t be able to keep up. The stress on your body can surface in many ways and many of which aren’t so attractive. Then you will not only be forced to take time off but could end up with some huge medical bills and ultimately take a hit to your credit too.
Work smart, enjoy life and earn more for every hour you put into real estate…

Video is set to be the most important marketing element for all industries this year but none perhaps as much as real estate.

It doesn’t matter whether you are just flipping a couple properties per year or 30 a month if you plan to compete for tenants and buyers and win you are going to need video on your side. Why? Video isn’t just a neat addition to your website, blog and marketing campaigns. It is fast becoming a differentiating factor between those real estate companies who are reputable and attractive for tenants, buyers, lenders and sellers to do business and those who aren’t. Which side do you want to be on?

Many real estate investment companies have shied away from using video so far because they wrongly believe it is too expensive or just don’t know where to start. However, this has indeed been an expensive mistake while the competition has seen response rates on emails campaigns and on site conversions rocket from incorporating videos. It doesn’t have to cost a mint and you don’t have to be a professional producer to employ great video marketing for your real estate business.

Basic videos can be created right from your laptop’s webcam or with an inexpensive Flip video camera. If you don’t want to be the star of your own production then use a staff member, friend, family member or local college student. Or simply opt for a slide show type video with voice over which you can create yourself with free online video making tools like Camstudio.

However, you can also step it up a notch and get high quality videos without spending a ton or organizing a live film crew by outsourcing your production. There are dozens of freelancers and marketing companies online who can put together fantastic videos that ooze credibility and can make your real estate business and properties look great for just a few hundred dollars. By investing in a high quality template which you can easily adapt for different properties and campaigns you can have the best of both worlds; a first class video at a reasonable investment.

However, just as important as having video is making sure that you make the most of it. Use them on your website’s home page, blog, email campaigns, YouTube, social media profiles and linked to by QR codes which are placed everywhere else.