All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

I bought it and I am trying it out. Instead of selling leads to others I plan to use them myself since I am a realtor & beginning investor. Without giving it away, i will say it has to do with searching for bankruptcy filings and identifying the homeowners. It's another source of leads. The program does give you some marketing templates but I just use my own yellow letter. It also has a section on how to get lead buyers. Your mileage may vary.

I'm in Northern NJ. Welcome!

IDX = Internet Data eXchange
RETS = Real Estate Transaction Standard

Both are services that pull MLS data to your web site do your visitors can search for houses without leaving your site. Costs may vary depending on your local board's implementation.

List to last means to really make money in real estate you need to be the listing agent. When you are the listing agent, you have the inventory and buyers will come to you.

Practice filling out contracts! It's fun and educational, and will help you when you get that first deal. Plus it helps you go through all the legal items so you can explain them intelligently to your clients as best a lay person can.

Setup a personal web site using Wordpress or something quick and free/cheap and start building an online presence. It's better if you don't use the company's because agent turnover is very high and you don't want to lose all your hard-earned online assets (SEO ranking, link building, reputation, domain name) when you switch. (See Dashaun's #4 above)

Learn as much as you can about creative real estate and investing, i.e. lease option/rent-to-own, land contract, short sale, foreclosure, wholesaling, etc. As an agent you may come across situations where you can't make a commission but you still want to help the seller in distress. By knowing how to structure deals creatively you help create win-win and build good will, and build a strong referral base for yourself and you may end up getting compensated in future deals.

Don't depend on anyone else to educate you about the business--educate yourself. Seek out opportunities to learn and grow your knowledge. Even your broker may just teach you what he wants you to learn so you will work efficiently under HIS control. You can take what the broker teaches you and improve upon it.

Learn everything you can about sales and marketing! Licensing classes only teaches you so much. As an agent you have two jobs: sell yourself and sell your listing. You have to be able to sell the benefits of working with you, and the benefits your property can bring to the buyers.

Take action! Do some sales prospecting and marketing on a regular basis. Meet and network with others in the business plus related fields such as attorneys, mortgage brokers. insurance brokers, contractors, builders, even landscapers. You never know when someone may happen to know someone who needs your service or are looking to sell/buy. Word of mouth is powerful.

Hope this helps. To your success!

CIAS program doesn't just let you work more effectively with existing investors, it helps you turn ordinary buyers INTO investors by helping them see it's a great time to buy and how to buy intelligently by focusing on cash flow not appreciation. It gives you layouts, templates and marketing copy to promote your services and deals to investors. You can take any listing, let's say a two-amily home, plug in the data into the deal spreadsheet, and run the numbers showing how much cash-on-cash returns the property will bring. You then have a great flyer to blast out to everyone you know and show them you can find deals. In addition, the section of good property management is extremely helpful to protect your clients' investments. The forms and templates provided helps you systemize the business and present yourself in a professional way.

Hope this helps!

Amber Butler: I got the license to help me learn the trade, but at heart I am an investor first, agent second. It helps with you "speak the language" of the investor and understand their wants and needs. For example, many realtors would squirm from having to make low-ball offers, thinking the seller or the listing agent would be insulted or their own reputation tarnished. I say if my client wants to make lowball let's do it! Make it a fun game of negotiation. Too many agents are ignorant about creative real estate, even question the legality of something as simple as a flip or lease options. This is where you can set yourself apart from the typical agents who only know one way to sell houses or who just want a commission. You don't have a deal yet? Work with an investor who is willing to coach you, and network with other investors in your community. Word of mouth is the best. You worry about being prepared. Just take action. Sometimes you learn more from deals that didn't close. Just get started. While you are preparing and thinking and getting ready, someone else may have grabbed the deal already. Besides, the business has really changed from 4-5 years ago. It's not so much what you've done but what you will do to work in today's market that matters more. Will you focus on a niche like rehabbing or will you try to do anything that comes your way - short sales, REO, selling to retail buyers (not investors), auction/bid sale, rent to own, etc.?

@Amber: I have the CIAS and also the CDPE designations. I find the training helpful if nothing to help you understand the different types of investors and their mindset and goals etc. I actually did get an investor lead who approached me and was happy to see that I have CIAS. He's a rehabber too and and I'm helping him make offers on REOs as well as scout for motivated owners. However it's true most investors would not know or care what designations you have. You need to position yourself as investor-friendly and different from the average agents. I definitely think CIAS is worth more than other typical designations that don't add any value to your professional growth. $500 is decent for the amount of information they give you plus monthly updates on the latest industry news and marketing templates. You can also write it off as a legitimate business expense, so why not? I personally have many times that on real estate trainings and courses. However, if you don't plan on using the materials, it will be wasted. Better put that $500 toward a good marketing campaign you already do on a regular basis.

You're right Steve. There is really nothing new under the sun. (Just look at all the movies Hollywood kept dishing out!) It is up to each of us to learn the technique and adapt it to our own investment scenarios. For me it's helpful to have something that I can pull out and use. It's certainly not a new concept but as bank requirements change, so the minute details need to be adjusted to make the deals happen. Thanks for the links to the previous postings. They are very helpful and certainly reinforces the fact that this is a legitimate and proven strategy no matter how it's called.

I believe it's always good to disclose it up front to all parties that you intend to make a profit, and more importantly as an investor not as an agent listing the property due to the fiduciary responsibilities. If anyone has a problem with you making a profit, then move on to the next house -- there are plenty of fish in the short sale ocean.

The seller does not get money -- but they get relief, closure, and a chance to restore their credit in 2-3 years as opposed to 7 years in a foreclosure. They do benefit from a successful short sale.

I've had short sale listings and now, moving forward, I am trying to be the investor in future deals now that I have this program.

Basically you get under contract with the A seller, all clearly disclosed up front as part of the original contract you submit to the bank. If the bank has anti-flip rules you step aside and let the C buyer contract with a seller, you get your fee in a separate transaction. They don't call it "assignment fee" because rather than assigning your contract to the C buyer, you cancel your original contract with the seller A and let buyer C sign a new contract with A. You are "released from the contract" for a fee and it's setup using a separate agreement.

the bank simply knows that the first buyer (you) walked but lucky for them, a new buyer is ready to step in to buy the property at the same price the bank has approved. Then the bank just need to change the name on the approval letter to the new C buyer and they can close.

The way I see it, it's simply like getting bumped off a flight and letting someone take your seats in exchange for some compensation. It's a quick way to get paid and avoid the anti-flip rules. Of course, if the spread is large enough and the bank is OK with it, you can remain on the contract and take it to double close.

It's one thing to have the theoretical knowledge on how it's done and it's another to have the exact language in the contract and the step-by-step process to make it happen. The program includes specific addendum that puts the lender on notice that if a subsequent offer is required to be presented or if a 30-60-90 day hold is required (such is the case with GSEs and some anti-flip lenders), the the investor has the choice to step aside for a fee and let the sale take place from A to C. It's a completely open and ethical way to do it so you are not hiding anything but actively disclosing your intent. If the bank allows flipping then you can always stay on and close on A to B then flip to C like a regular short sale flip. I could have paid an attorney hundreds of dollars to draft such addendum but I got it for $97 bucks plus detailed step-by-step video training on how to use it. For me it's a no-brainer.

This is not for the novice investor wanting to learn short sale flips, but it's a tool that complements whatever training and techniques you have already learned. It's specifically designed to overcome the anti-flipping rules.

@Karen M. "legally" anyone can buy a short sale property, even agents, but it's what you do afterwards that can get you in trouble if not handled carefully. Agents have a higher duty for disclosure and ethical conduct when it comes to dealing with distressed sellers. Jeff Watson the author of Flip Free Profits is very adamant about doing it in the right way and avoid any legal or ethical issues.