Why in the world YOU would want to invest in real estate

The other day, I visited with a guy would was in the category of a 'don't wanter'.  Now, that is defined as someone that has real estate (or anything else for that matter) and does not want to own it any longer!  He had it rented and just didn't want to deal with it any longer.  In his situation, he was correct because of life circumstances, family illnesses and just tired of it.

It makes me thing though that for every one person that is a 'don't wanter', there are many more out there that really WANT.  And the reasons are numerous but just to name a few, here's a handful of reasons why someone should want to invest in real estate:

1.  Value - Real estate remains a very good value these days.  Prices are increasing but at a reasonable rate where it doesn't cause a frenzy in the market.  

2.  Inflation hedge - Because it's a hard asset, as inflation kicks in, so will the price of materials, thus the value of housing will also increase.  Rents, sales are all impacted.

3.  Investment protection - with real estate, you have the opportunity to have investment protection like no other investment can provide.  Where else can you have equity in the property, property insurance, and cash flow.  On top of that, you have tax advantages through depreciation so you win, win and win.
4.  Predictable results - as long as you don't get crazy and think your bullet proof from over leveraging or overly creative, you can predict with a good degree of certainty what your return will be.  Most of the time 7-8 times better than what a bank can offer

5.  Lifestyle - it can provide a lifestyle that many people dream of but never take the opportunity to jump into.  However, that lifestyle is more attainable than you might imagine.

If you want more information or have comments, I'd encourage you to leave your comments below.  I'd love to hear from you

Selling your house yourself

Many people look at selling your home themselves rather than hiring an agent.  Believe it or not, you can find an agent that will work with you to make that happen.  I'm one of them.  Selling your home yourself is a very tricky proposition.  You have to consider many factors; like marketing!  Putting a sign in the yard will cover those that drive in your neighborhood but, what about all the others that don't?  Ok, take an ad in the newspaper.  Not many folks are looking the the paper these days and you still have to pay for the ad.  Internet!  There are some sites that advertise but, your still paying for the membership and you have no guarantees to find buyers.

Now, say you have a buyer.  What do you disclose that's wrong with the house?  If you don't, you could get into some trouble later with the buyer should you close.  What about paperwork, contracts, addendums, closings.  The list goes on and on.  Truth is, you will get more money using an agent and less headaches, at less costs than if you did sell it on your own.  FSBO's (For Sale By Owner) can be successful and there are stories where the right buyer comes along but, odds are much less that you'll sell the home for the highest price in the shortest amount of time unless you use a real estate agent.  I enjoy working with folks like that though and don't mind if they were successful selling their house on their own.  I know I've helped someone along the way and that will come back to me someday.

If you would like to see some of the houses on the market in Springfield and surrounding area, go to our site; www.thebroadwayteam.com.  On the home page, enter the criteria you would want to look at, save your search and keep up to date on all the properties in the local market.  This can help you have a better idea what your house could be worth.  Now, you might ask, why in the WORLD would an agent put that information out to help someone sell their house on their own?  It's simple, I really love real estate and if I can help someone with information on their house, they will remember me and maybe refer me to someone that needs my help.  I realize not everyone wants a Realtor but, when you do, you'll hopefully think of US!  Thank you for taking the time to look at my blog and hope you have a terrific summer!!!!

Growing a business

I am a part of a local networking group in Springfield call the MOB; Masterminds Of Business.  It's a fantastic group of business men and women that get together to pass along referrals and to close business here in the Ozarks.  I was privileged to have an opportunity to teach an orientation class today of new members to help them get the most out of the group. 

I am always amazed how similar businesses are and how they all deal with similar problems, challenges and solutions. 

Growing businesses are not always easy.  It takes patience, time and some hard work to produce the luck you have in being successful.  (Notice I do believe in producing your own luck.)  Networking is one of the most efficient ways to rapidly grow a business and sustain any business......even real estate.

One of the very basic fundamentals of business is that people do business with people that they know, like and trust.  In our meeting, trust came out as the most important factor of referring someone.  It was interesting to note that trust will be almost automatic when referring business.  Here's an example.  In our business, we have people that can do many things; HVAC, plumbing, etc.  We stay in touch with those people to make sure they know us and we know them.  We have a client that we sold a home to almost a year ago that they were working on remodeling.  We gave them the name of a person we've worked with before that we felt would do a good job.  About a month later, we asked how all that worked out.  We were shocked to learn that not only did they do the job we had discussed, they hired him to do many other projects around the house as well!!!!  The homeowners didn't know him when he started but trusted us to give them a good person.  The worker earned more trust just doing a good job.  That's all the selling he had to do.  Needless to say, it was a win/win/win for everyone.  Yes, it was a win for us because we have happy clients that will recommend us and use us for their real estate needs in the future because we earned even more trust.  But it was a great win for both our client and the person doing the work too!

That being said; anytime, as agents we make a referral of a business for a service to a client or prospect, it pays off to have the confidence in the folks you work with because you never know when that referral causes you to earn more business or lose more business.  Either way, you get MORE!

Now, since it's spring, we are fortunate to get to watch some robins grow out just outside our kitchen window.  Very fun to watch these little guys be cared for and grow.  Yesterday was Mothers day so as a tribute, here's a picture of 'mom' doing what they do best.  Taking care of the little one.

 

Wish everyone a very good a prospers week.

Mark

Wealth Building with Real Estate

There are TONS of people out there that are dedicated to 'teaching' you how to invest in real estate, quit your job in 90 days by investing in real estate and other catch phrases that get you to buy a course only to start out excited and encouraged to invest but quickly get discouraged or worse yet, FEAR that you will FAIL because of lack of experience or knowledge.

It is true, knowledge is power.  As a private pilot, you NEVER stop learning and improving.  Same for real estate.  I think that's why I love this so much because it's never boring and always evolving making different ways to make or create wealth.  But, knowledge is only good if you USE IT.  So, you can study and listen, network and observe but until you get out and PRACTICE your knowledge, you won't go anywhere.  FEAR is the worst enemy to investing or dealing with real estate.  Fear of failure, embarrassment, making mistakes, being taken advantage of.....you name it, it's gone through my mind and I'm sure it goes through may others too.  So, what do you do?  Well, this may sound very odd to many but the first thing I do is pray about it.  If it's not the right thing to do, don't let it happen.  Make it go away.  Using your knowledge to the best of your ability is the next thing, trusting your instinct and 'gut' once the deal is presented.  Once you've done your first deal, they all get easier and easier.

I watched a first time investor get their first investment property 2 years ago.  I know they went through the exact same process.  They own 8 now and love every minute of it.  It's their retirement income.  Have they made mistakes?  Absolutely!  But, the successes outweigh the mistakes making them very small.  Here's an example, I told my wife one day that if you only have 1 rental and it's full, you have 100% occupancy but if you have 1 rental and it's empty, you have 0% occupancy.  So, what is a bigger risk?  If you consider owning 10 rentals vs 1, going from 100% to 0% with 1 rental or 100% to 90% with 1 rental empty?  Pretty clear huh?  The odds of having 10 rentals with all empty are so minimal but having 1 rental, the odds are pretty good it will be empty at some point.

So, how does all this tie in to building wealth with real estate?  Well, to many, in today's market buying real estate immediately becomes a scary thing because of the amount of money it takes to control the property.  It's a lot of money to think about.  On top of that, for those thinking about rentals, thoughts immediately go to 3am calls, move outs in the middle of the night or worse yet.....repairs!  Honestly, many of this can be minimized with just a little common sense and planning up front.  That's really all you need.  Think about this, if you owed $1,000,000 but had the cash flow to pay for $2,000,000, does that seem like you can handle that debt?  All of a sudden, $1,000,000 doesn't sound so bad.  That's kind of the way it works with real estate.  I haven't even gotten into tax benefits, multiple streams of income opportunities, leveraging and exit strategies that you can take advantage of using real estate as a vehicle of investing.  It's truly an amazing thing.  Just buying a home to live in builds net worth.  For most Americans, the primary residence is the largest single investment for them.

Deb and I take a tremendous amount of pride and care because of this.  Regardless if it's investment property or primary residence, we know it's a big deal for the majority of people so it needs to be done correctly.  If you would like more information about us and any of the properties available in the greater Springfield area, visit our website; www.thebroadwayteam.com and get some answers.  Set up your own search and stay up to date on activity in the market.  If we can help you buy or sell your home, we stand ready to serve you and get the best deal possible.

Renting vs. Buying in today's market

I know that I probably sound like a broken record (or CD as it is today), but I gotta tell you, if you're even THINKING of buying or selling your house, now is as good of time as it's been in YEARS!  Interest rates are low, prices are low and banks and mortgage companies are interested in lending!

With all the positives, there can't be any negatives right?  Not exactly.  Inventory is still low but improving now.  As I mentioned in the previous post, you're seeing more construction which is a great sign things are shaking loose but it takes time to see the improvement.  But, believe me, it's there and moving.  Prices are on the rise which is great news for sellers and those that tried to sell in 2010, 2011, and 2012.  I've talked to several folks that have made it through those years and are starting to think about getting their houses back out there on the market.

If you need more information, he's yet another reason to buy in todays market:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/trulia/2014/03/05/buying-a-home-is-now-38-cheaper-than-renting/



Note the comment on what interest rates need to be to break even on renting vs buying!  Pretty astounding huh?

So, if you know someone that has tried to sell their home over the past 3 years and didn't have any luck in the Springfield MO area, let Deb and I know and we'll take good care of them.  If your nervous about house values, don't be because values are on the rise.  If you're nervous about values because you can't get 'what you want' out of your house, think about how much MORE house you can get for the money your paying.  In some situations, you can come out much better than you might think. 

New Construction

Have you noticed that new home construction has picked up significantly in your area??

It has around here.  That's a very good sign for the housing industry too.  First, it lets you know that lending institutions are beginning to have confidence in the market.  Second, builders are feeling confident because they believe they won't have to hold the house(s) for a long time. 

You might say, 'I'm not interested in a new house, I'm happy where I'm at' or, 'that's all great news but I can't afford a new house.'  Well, it impacts you regardless.  As new homes are built, those that want a new home, will be purchasing which means they probably have a house to sell.  That means more supply and demand will begin to follow and prices will begin to tilt upward!  Now, how do you feel?  Whether you're moving or not, you're going to feel the impact on the new housing starts with increased values.

In this area, we've seen about a 7% increase in prices.  A little under the national average which would be expected.  I anticipate another good year this year and next year even better!!! 

This is a time that is rarely seen in the real estate market.  Prices AND interest rates are relatively low!  Almost a perfect storm of opportunity.  Those that can take advantage, will reap the benefits for years to come.

I wanted to share with you this years promotion for Coldwell Banker.  Personally, I think it's very well done but let me know what you think:

Coldwell Banker 2014


Let me know how your market is doing now.  It's been a long time coming but things are picking up.

Hope everyone has a fantastic rest of your month!

Closing out the year

Typically, at this time of the year, most folks like to reflect over the year and look forward to the next year coming.  While I believe it's good to 'reflect', I tend to not like looking in the past nearly as much as I like looking toward the future!  In everyone's life, there are always positives and negatives.  This year has been no different.  More positives than negatives I might add.  However, when you look toward the future, I get excited at what the possibilities are and want to work to get to those.  I might use the experience I gained from last year and previous to build on for future growth.  So, I would encourage everyone to do a lot of the following:

Goal setting:  Set goals you believe you can achieve and then adjust up by 10%.  Scary huh?  We, or maybe it's just me; but I tend to hedge my bet on 'sandbag' a little.  Be honest with yourself and get aggressive.  Really aggressive!!  This is just goals you know.  What's important is the process because if your working toward a goal, you're achieving the purpose and that's giving you direction.  You will be amazed at what you will accomplish doing this.

Organize: This isn't just physical but mental too.  Everyone on earth has exactly the same amount of time in the day.  So, what's the difference in people that get a lot done and those that don't get much done.  The first are probably more organized.  Think outside the box and go crazy with your ideas to improve your organization.  Get up a little early, read for 10 minutes, think about your day on what you absolutely have to accomplish.  If there is nothing to accomplish, make something happen that works toward your goals.  Sounds simple but it takes practice and patience.

Pray:  WHAT??  ARE YOU CRAZY??  How does that fit with anything???  This had better be your most important part of your day.  If you don't spend time in prayer, you will not really achieve the other two.  This is for YOU.  In business, your chasing solutions, customers, sales, etc.  Pray for yourself to give you peace, courage, wisdom, endurance.  In business, you need all of these so why not ask for it. 

This is just a very short list and description of things to think about for the next year.  I'm EXTREMELY excited for 2014.  Will there be struggles?  I would think so.  But, there will be many more successes so through it all, learn to use the struggles as opportunities for growth and was to make your successes even bigger and better!

By the way, here's a couple of good reasons to look forward to the days coming. 

Grandkids will make a bad day good so enjoy the day.  Enjoy the year and look forward to 2014