Real Estate Investing : August 2010 Article of the Month

How to Prevent Wasting Your Valuable Time As A Real Estate Investor

No matter where you are on the financial ladder or your position in society, we all have something in common, and that is, we all have 24 hours to utilize in a day. With that in mind how many times have you found yourself chasing your real estate investing tail? How much time have you invested in deals that go no where but down the drain?

This is what I suggest you do before you even attempt to look at a property. A few weeks ago I sent you a link to a video I did on how to do a mini-title search, which shows you what kind of liens, judgments and or encumbrances are on the property, so you may figure those factors in when evaluating a property. You can view that video at : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAV0aPhPl-c

Now the question arises; what happens if your state doesn’t provide this type of data available online. Here is a way around that problem! Get 1 or 2 Realtors that you use for the viewing of investment properties and have them do the leg work for you at the courthouse; teach them what I have shown you on the video. Make sure they understand the process for gathering the data before you expend any of your valuable time looking at properties. That being said, the Realtor must do 2 things for you before you agree to meet with them and view the property: 1. verify the property is still for sale and has no other offers pending, and 2. make sure you have a list of all liens, judgments and encumbrances that appear on the property.

If you follow theses simple steps you will leverage your front end time of your real estate investing plan.

Hope this helps.

James Gage
www.JGage.com

Breaking Real Estate News

Hello All:

James Gage here with Breaking Real Estate News….

Home Owners who have their homes up for sale decreased their asking prices by 25 % in the month of July 2010 according to CNBC ! What does that say about our housing market??? As I have been saying for the last year, we haven’t hit bottom yet and we should price and buy our properties accordingly.

Be well and to your success.

James Gage, www.JGage.com

Real Estate Investing: Should You Buy Title Insurance?

Hello All:

Just a quick post to answer a question I received today. The question: " Should I but title insurance both when buying and selling a property?" You should always buy title insurance on all transactions! You should never just rely on research done by the title company, they are human and can miss something and report the title clean, and when you get ready to sell something from previous owners pops up. If you don't have that insurance -YOU are on the hook! Believe me it happens; it happened to me with the first house I purchased.

So don't forget to buy that insurance, you will be glad you did.

Be well.

James Gage

www.JGage.com

Real Estate Investing: Real Estate Reminder

Hello All:

Just a quick reminder for those who are trying to sell a property. The first time home buyers credit of $8,000 will end this month! So that being said all contracts must be executed by April 30, 2010, and closing must happen prior to July1, 2010.

Also, the $6,500 Move-Up / Repeat Home Buyer Tax Credit will expire on April 30, 2010 as well.

Good luck and happy investing.

James Gage

Real Estate Investing : Article of The Month, Real Estate Success Strategies

The PMA “Secret”: It’s All in Your Execution

By James A. Gage

Do you find yourself struggling with keeping a positive mental attitude (PMA)? Does reading or watching the news make you feel like there’s no point in trying to sell or buy real estate? Did you attend a conference recently and come home all pumped up – only to feel like a deflated balloon a week later?

Yes, the standard advice for developing PMA works – i.e. read self-help books, attend conferences, have goals, etc. But, none of these tactics will work if you fail to act.

That’s why I believe the real secret to PMA is taking action – versus simply believing the universe will send you what you want. What do I mean by this? Here are my three tips for achieving action-based PMA:

1. Look for opportunities in negative data.

It’s a fact: we’re in a recession. And yes, the real estate industry has been hit – hard. You have two options: you can get very depressed and give up or you can figure out how to survive and thrive.

We live in a time when data is easily accessible and plentiful. Instead of ignoring the news, learn how to disseminate hype from fact. This means that you take “negative” data and look for trends and opportunities within it – or as I say, “go where they ain’t fishin’.” Even though 25% of people were unemployed during the Great Depression, you could still find millionaires because these people knew where to fish.

When foreclosures began to skyrocket, I didn’t look at the numbers of foreclosures only. I also noticed a huge surge in people renting because they were losing their homes and didn’t qualify for a prime loan. I remember thinking, “Woo, wait a minute. I have to change my strategy.”

I knew I could take my properties and turn them into traditional rentals and wait out the market – or I could make this negative data work for me – which lead me to really looking at my lease-to-own strategy.

I’d always done lease-to-owns but due to the rental data, I put my lease-to-own strategy on steroids – and it’s working. My first step was to place a small ad on Craigslist. Due to this ad, I received an unbelievable 150 calls! I haven’t seen the numbers I’m now seeing – ever.

2. Look for inspiration outside of the real estate industry.

If you read history, you’ll know that downward trends, no matter how severe, always pass, so it’s important to get your head out of real estate, real estate, real estate and into other sources of inspiration – not just for positive mental attitude but for a fresh perspective.

One place I find inspiration is in my children. If I don’t stay positive and proactive, they won’t have a future.

I listen to John Maxwell, a former pastor and International motivation speaker, who is very down to earth and practical. He talks about how we’re not reinventing the wheel and how the struggles we’re going through now we’ve already done. He helps me keep things in perspective.

And, I take specific theories for living and apply them in different ways. For example, I’ve transferred the concept of homostatius ( def: physiology metabolic equilibrium actively maintained by several complex biological mechanisms that operate via the autonomic nervous system), a medical term for keeping the body in balance at all times.

PMA gurus talk about not hanging around with negative people. Applying the principal of homostatius, I’ve learned that I don’t want to hang around with those people who use extreme PMA techniques.

You can find lots of real estate gurus who have what I call “real estate diabetes.” They push the ultra positive things to the hilt and when you try to follow their advice, you end up “failing,” which brings me to my third tip:

3. Set realistic and achievable goals.

It’s very easy to go to seminars and get all pumped up with a “yes, I can!” attitude. You get a huge shot of adrenaline – then five days later you crash as you realize you’re still in the same rut.

You want to think “big” and push yourself, but you also have to set milestone goals that you can realistically achieve. If you’re currently making $100K right now, setting a goal to make $1 million in 12 months is unrealistic.

Instead, set a goal to make $1 million in five years and then set milestone goals to achieve it, and keep working until you achieve your goal (while celebrating those milestones).

There is absolutely nothing wrong with trying new strategies and failing. Where many people do go wrong is trying new things, failing – and then giving up. Successful people, on the other hand, have can-do attitudes in the face of failure, and will persevere until they achieve their goals.

Keeping a positive mental attitude does begin in your head, but it’s manifested in your actions: search for opportunities where none seem to exist, look for inspiration and advice from successful people outside of the real estate industry, and set realistic goals that you can achieve. You’ll find that it’s much easier to keep a PMA every day.

Creative Real Estate Investing: Don't Forget Your Abatement!

Hello All :

Just a quick note to remind you that in most states your last day to file for a real estate abatement on property taxes is January 31, 2009. You can fill out these requests for abatement for both residential and investment properties on a yearly bases.

For those of you that don't know what I am talking about, I'll recap briefly the process. First, you call your town or city assessors office and ask for an "Abatement " form , and of course the time from to file. Next you fill in all the requested information, along with making a compelling statement on why they should reduce the assessment on your property. Then, file it with the right governmental office and await their reply.

It has been my experience that most organizations will at least decrease your assessment, even by a few dollars for taking time to apply to the process, others will grant you a substantial reduction.

Remember, you have not, because you ask not !

Be well,

James Gage

PS: Don't forget to follow me on Twitter : http://twitter.com/JGage

Creative Real Estate Investing: XM Satellite Radio

"Lease Option Marketing"

Event Info

Host:	Brian Higgins & James Gage
Type:
Network:	Global

Time and Place

Date:	Saturday, December 6, 2008
Time:	9:40 AM EST
Location:	XM Satellite Radio Channel 169

Description

Hello All:
James Gage here, with a quick note to invite you once again to join me on MYB Talk the topic will be " Lease Option Marketing" - the details are below...

See ya there.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

XM Satellite Radio Channel 169

"Mind Yo Business Radio Program. AKA MYB Talk w/ Brian Higgins"

Time : 9: 40 AM, EST

Topic : " Lease Option Marketing "

Real Estate:U.S. House Price Decline Could Be Worse than Great Depression, Economist Says

Hello All:

This head line just crossed the wire, and did my e-mail box get flooded with nervous investors! Hopefully they will read this blog post, because to answer all of them I would certainly get carpal tunnel syndrome.

I want to put every investors fears to rest and state here for the record : "every negative, brings with it a positive!"
I have said numerous times on this blog I think we are at least 24 month away from a bottom to this cycle. That being said, I would not be purchasing property now unless you can obtain it for 35% under fair market value, or in the case of rental property, you need a big positive cash flow of at least 40% debt to profit ratio.

Or, you can do what I do and use lease options to invest! If the deal and or the market goes against you, you can escape without financial harm to your investment portfolio!

To your success,

James Gage

Real Estate: Tips on Lease Options

One of the best ideas that I have used when trying to get a lease purchase deal closed uses an alternative type of option consideration/ earnest money deposit. If the seller is okay with the idea of a lease option or lease purchase but thinks my consideration a little too low, I simply ask him how much exactly he needs. Once I get that figure my reply is something like this:

"So if I could give you $X as consideration, then you would be able to go ahead today?"

When he says yes, I offer to use all or a portion of the original consideration/deposit to purchase a zero coupon bond (not subject to state or local tax usually) that will be worth X in X period of time. Really, any type of financial investment will work here.

It is easy to show the seller the value of say $3,000 in x years when you have a Barrons financial news with you. I have paid for the brokering fees associated with this. Using this method, I have been able to turn $1,000 into $2,500 for the sellers option consideration/deposit. This works nicely with higher priced properties, since the sellers can understand the concept.

In addition, all of my lease options to a tenant buyer include a clause requiring electronic funds transfer of the monthly rent and option consideration. There are two types of services I use.

One allow a third party service to draft the tenants account, I am sent a postdated check every month so I can cash them myself. I pay $1.50 per transaction. The other uses true funds transfer from one account to another. This can be done on your own PC.

I also avoid future problems for tenant/buyers qualifying by NOT giving monthly rent credit. In instead, they pay monthly OPTION consideration. This prevents the bank from questioning the rent as being fair market or above.

6 Red Hot Tips When Negotiating a Real Estate Purchase

Negotiating may be the most critical part of the real estate purchase process. Being able to strike an advantageous deal with the seller virtually guarantees your profit. Negotiating is both an art and a skill that you will master with time and practice; I call it the “Million Dollar Skill”. Here are six tips to get you on your way to profitable transactions.

Know the Property

You should know as much as possible about the real estate purchase you’re about to make. This knowledge comes from researching the neighborhood and knowing how the property compares to others around it along with the cost of potential repair items you may find.

Know the Seller

The best way to learn more about the seller is to listen; use the 75/20 rule, listen 75% of the time and speak 25% of the time! People will be more likely to volunteer information if you give them a chance to talk. But if you aren’t finding out what you need to know, ask questions. Understanding the seller’s situation and their possible flexibility will help you negotiate financing options as well as price.

You also need to find out what the seller’s motivations are. Why are they selling? Or in the case of foreclosure what circumstances brought them to this unfortunate situation. Understanding the reasons behind the sale can help you structure a deal that meets their needs and yours.

Think Win-Win

The best real estate purchase deals result from negotiations that seek to provide something to both parties. There are certain things you want out of the deal and certain things the seller wants in order to sell. Every real estate purchase has several facets. If you can give the seller something they want, that will increase your chance of getting something you want.

Negotiate Terms, Not Just Price

Price is not your only negotiating point. Sometimes the terms of the deal are more important to the seller than the price. Once again, if you can address the seller’s needs in a real estate purchase, your offer will be more persuasive.

Maintain Control

If the seller counters your offer with an offer of his own, don’t let things spiral out of control. Prepare for counter offers by starting your negotiations low and have plenty of concession points. Don’t focus on price, but use other aspects of the deal in your negotiations. Don’t re-negotiate things that have already been decided.

Be Prepared to Move On

Don’t walk away from an attractive real estate purchase without offering your best deal, but know when it’s time to walk away. There will always be another property.

As you can see from these tips, negotiating a real estate purchase is more than two people in a room. Negotiations are won or lost in the preparation. Achieving the outcome you desire depends on your research and mental preparation.

Until next time – be well.

James Gage

Thoughts On The New Housing Bill & How You Can Profit!

James Gage here with Gage Consulting Group hoping that this blog post finds you and yours in good health.

If you're head is still spinning from the recent downturn in the real estate market – your not alone. Most real estate investors that I have spoken with lately are in a holding pattern and sitting on the sidelines, not doing deals waiting for the market to rebound – don’t hold your breath!

Brace yourselves for the coming weeks! Numerous real estate gurus will be broadcasting over the net and at your local real estate clubs concerning the proposed housing bill, (which the President is scheduled to sign in the coming week) that now is the time to buy property because this legislation will be the answer to the industry wide problem. Nothing could be further from the truth! In the coming week I will break down the bill in detail to show you why very few people will benefit from the bill, and how this may increase our real estate and economic troubles.

That being said, if I could show you how to recession proof your real estate investing, and make $10,000.00 profit in the next 30 days with little or no risk or money -what would you say?

I would venture to say most of you would say How?

With the best kept secret in real estate investing Lease Options!

I have been using this strategy over the last 20 plus years in an up, down and side ways market without risk or worry. I recently recorded a 1 day seminar on lease options, and if I do say myself I haven’t given this much detailed, real world information in the span of 8 hours in my 20 plus years of real estate investing and mentoring! Believe me when I say I went the extra mile in this training. Not only will you learn everything you ever wanted to know about lease options, but I will also show you how to use them with foreclosures and probates!

Before I let you go on to read over what these CDs contain, many individuals have called me and ask if lease options are legal? The answer is 100% yes, if done properly!

That is why I put together a step-by- step 8 hour, 7 CD series on "Lease Options, AKA Rent to Own?" on that very subject please visit the following link for more information :

http://www.jgage.com/L-P%20Foreclosure%20CDs.htm

Normally priced at less then a trip for 4 to your local movie theater at $97.00, it’s a great value if I do say so myself. But for the next 3 days (July 27 - July 30 ) I am extending to you, my faithful newsletter subscribers the astonishing price of only $48.50!!!

That's a whooping 50% off my normal website store price! Enter promo Code 555
on you order check out page to receive your discount.

After midnight July 30 it will return to the normal price of $97.00.

You maybe asking why am I doing this? Simple, I am committed to getting this information into as many investor hands as possible, so you can make leveraged, profitable deals in an uncertain investing market place. While others sit on the sidelines pray for a correction in the market, you will be cash flowing!

I learned early in my investing career that there is always money to be made whether you’re in an up, down or sideways market; if you know where to look and know what leveraged strategy to use for maximum profit.
So please visit the link provided for more information on this jam packed 8 hour, 7 CD Set :

http://www.jgage.com/L-P%20Foreclosure%20CDs.htm

Don't forget promo Code 555

To your success,

James A. Gage

www.jgage.com

With theses 7 jam packed informational CDs you will never have to worry about securing or controlling a property again.

In addition to learning Lease Options from A-Z, you will also learn how to use Lease Options with Foreclosures…

What you will learn on this powerful 7 CD series :

* 7 different ways to Profit Using Lease/Options. You'll learn the sandwich, the straight option, the "junker" lease/option, the landlord lease/option, the sale-lease/back sub-lease/option and much more!

* The different types of lease options and when, how and why to use them properly!

* The Killer Telephone Script. Learn what to say and how to say it to qualify potentially motivated sellers over the phone.

* Negotiating Ploys - learn how to negotiate lease/option deals like a pro!

* The Step-by-Step Mechanics & Paperwork of the Deal. You'll get the checklist for the step-by-step process for putting the deal together, including what forms to use and how to fill them out.

* How to take advantage of special financing Available for Lease/Options. Learn how to get your tenant/buyer financed by communicating the process to mortgage banks. Also, learn an ingenious way to overcome the dreaded "seasoning" issue.

* How to Profit When Your Deal Goes Sour. Most gurus only talk about the good stuff - you'll learn how to recover from a bad deal and profit even more!

* How to Avoid Personal Liability & Lawsuits. Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst - you'll learn how to limit your exposure.

* How to overcome the seller's objections and create win/win deals!! Don't let the cat get your tongue - have the right thing to say to close your deals.

* Five "Air Tight" Ways to Protect Your Deal from Going Bad. The process of lease/options is simple, unless you leave out the FIVE ESSENTIAL things you need to cover yourself.

* Tax Implications of Options for Buyer and Seller (including changes under the recent tax laws)

* All of the legal angles (that every other course left out) you need to understand about lease/options

* How to prevent a defaulting tenant/buyer from claiming an "equitable interest" in the property, including case law references.

And as a special Bonus you will receive my special report on the advantages for the Buyers and Sellers of lease options. This is the same points I use in my successful marketing material which attract hundreds of prospects!

Question of The Week: Lease Options and Repairs

I received a question from one of my mentoring students today, so I thought I would share my answer with you my faithful blog readers.

The question was this “can we, as lease purchase investors require our tenant/buyers to repair items that break or need maintenance during their option period?” The simple answer is Yes; if you structure it properly! The reason this question came up is that my student went to his local REIA club meeting, and heard an attorney say it was illegal to do so. It is only illegal if you include such language in the traditional residential lease, but since we are sandwiching the property, we always use 2 contracts – an option, and a residential lease. Within the confines of the option agreement we place language that states that repair/maintenance issues of x amount are the responsibility of the Optionee, and in order for them to be able to exercise their option down the road they must agree to the language of the contract. If they default they not only lose their option consideration, but they are on the hook for the repair and eviction procedures could follow.

I hope this was useful information.

James Gage

Real Estate Investor ALERT !

Hello All:

James Gage here with a real estate investing alert:

According to CNN Money released just a few minutes ago, January 2008 Foreclosures up 57% country wide !

As I have stated before, news such as this is unsettling for the vast majority of Americans, however as leveraged investors knowledgeable in short term real estate strategies and techniques, we can turn a negative into very profitable positive - if you possess the knowledge! Please stop by my web site and sign up for my Free newsletter with up to date tips and strategies http://www.jgage.com

Be well.

Here a few things you should know before you buy a foreclosed home.

RIGHT NOW, IT'S anyone's guess when the housing downturn will finally hit bottom. But if you're looking to buy a home now - and plan to stay in it for a while - there are plenty of bargains to be had on a foreclosed property.

Banks are often willing to sell foreclosed homes for up to 20% below market value just to get these troubled properties off their books! With foreclosures at an all-time high in the past year, there's no shortage of these opportunities to pursue. However, prospective buyers should know that closing on that super-cheap distressed home is often a lot more complicated and risky than buying a home that doesn't have all of that financial baggage.

Finding Properties in Foreclosure

The biggest bargains can be found in areas where there's a large concentration of distressed properties. The banks with the most exposure to these areas are typically the most motivated to cut a deal since they don't want to get stuck with a glut of real estate. But before you snap up the cheapest home you can find, make sure to do some research. Find out if the property is located in a decent neighborhood with good schools and healthy employment rates. (Local real estate web sites are a great place to start your research.) If you buy in an area that's losing jobs and is riddled with crime, home values are likely to take a lot longer to recover.

Avoid Auctions

While there are a number of safe ways to buy a foreclosed property, bidding on one at a court auction isn't one of them. That's because you're buying a home sight unseen and without an inspection, and 99.9% of the time the 1^st mortgage holder buys it back any way.

Some of these properties also owe back taxes, a headache that's transferred to the new owner. And finally, in most cases, you'll need to pay cash for the home.

If you really want a property and come up empty on your short sale offer you can wait until the bank has put it back onto the real estate market. These properties are called bank-owned or real estate-owned (REO). Before a bank hangs a "For Sale" sign, it pays off all the existing debts and taxes, and in many cases, repairs the home to bring it up to the standards of the neighborhood. Best of all, you should be able to buy a bank-owned property with a traditional mortgage.

Research Home Values

Just because a home is being sold by the bank, doesn't necessarily mean it's a bargain. Home prices have fallen dramatically from their peaks in 2006, a time when loose-lending practices allowed people of all credit ranks to easily obtain mortgages. Now, many homeowners going through the foreclosure process owe more on the mortgage than their property is actually worth; this is known as an “upside own property”.

If you fall in love with a home in pre-foreclosure that's overpriced, then you can see if the bank will allow a short sale. This is when the bank accepts less for the home than the amount owed on the mortgage. While not an ideal scenario, accepting a lower price is often in the bank's best interest. Banks typically spend $25,000 to $50,000 during the foreclosure process..

Line Up Financing First

While it's always a good idea to get pre-approved for a mortgage before you start shopping for a home, it's even more critical when you're shopping for foreclosed properties. Even if you have stellar credit, some lenders won't make a loan on a distressed property, others will require an approval letter rather then a pre-approval letter – especially if you are doing a short sale.

If your loan officer is willing to make a loan on a foreclosed property, find out what criteria the home needs to meet in order to qualify for a mortgage. You can expect the lender to allow cosmetic repairs, but be unforgiving of termites and other serious fixes. However, if you are going to live in the property yourself check out the HUD 203K program; if you will be the owner occupant, because repairs can be rolled into the loan and down payments are very low – Hud.gov.

Get It Inspected

Even if a home is brand new you want to get it inspected. But inspections are especially important when you're dealing with homes in foreclosure. When people have trouble paying their bills, they typically put off the regular maintenance on their homes. Once a home is seized by a bank, it then sits vacant and falls even further into disrepair. In a worst-case scenario, a homeowner could be so angry he lost his home that he actively destroys a property before he moves out. Without an inspection, you won't be able to estimate the cost for repairs or be able to report the home's true condition to your lender.

Good News For Short Sale Investors

Hello All:

This just came to my attention, so I thought I would pass it on to you my fellow real estate investors and friends.

In late December, President Bush signed the 2007 Mortgage Foregiveness Debt Releif Act, which provides tax help for homeowners facing foreclosure or who sell their homes in a short sale.

Previously, if the value of your home declined and your bank or lender forgave a portion of your mortgage debt, the tax code treated the amount forgiven as income that could be taxed, according to the IRS.

In other words, if your lender forgave $20,000 in mortgage debt because your house was worth $20,000 less than your mortgage balance, the IRS treated this debt forgiveness the same as income that you earned from your job -- and required you to add $20,000 in phantom income to the amount of your annual income and pay tax on it at your marginal tax rate.

So as you can see this will be an added benefit you can explain to the homeowner, which in days gone buy became another devastating event to losing their home. It should be noted however, that if a bank or mortgage company decides not to 1099 Misc an individual, but rather decides to seek a "Short Fall Judgment / Summary Judgment" the above act will not be of use.

I hope this was of value.

James Gage

Another Bright Idea !

Hello All :

I was going through a list of articles today and I couldn't believe my eyes! Yes, it's true our national financial gurus/advice givers have come up with another brain storm - "use your credit cards to pay your rent" ! As sited in the article below the premise is to charge your rent to your card and pay it off each month if you are in good financial shape, and capture the rewards points.

There is a number of flaws in this thinking: 1. Most people who are in good financial shape do not rent, but rather own property, 2. When you run up your credit, even if you pay it off at the end of the month affects your FICO score, 3. Most people do not have the discipline to pay off their card each month, so aren't we creating another financial tsunami, or it least adding to the coming credit one?

As most of you know, who have been a reader of this blog, I called this sub-prime tsunami 12 months before it happened. I am now forecasting 2 more I see on the not to distant horizon:
1. Credit & Credit Card Collapse: When people have to pay the mortgage to keep their homes, they live off their credit cards for food, clothing, utilities etc. Eventually the money runs out and not only due they default on credit obligations, but the home loan is not far behind, so be on the look out for another down turning in housing.

2. The US Dollar: We are in deep trouble folks! Not only are super models asking to be paid in Euros, but for the first time in history the Canadian Dollar is at parody with the US Dollar. I read recently that Canadians are traveling to the Northeast US for vacations because they get more for their dollar! Unfortunately we are part of a global economy losing our sovereignty bit by bit each day. The Chinese have threatened to blow up our economy by pulling out of the US Dollar, the Arabs are talking about switching from the US Dollar to the Euro has their stand for oil trading, and the icing on the cake- the Federal Reserve is posturing to cut interest rates again. You my be saying, Jim, that's great cutting interest rates will help the economy right? Wrong! It will further weaken the dollar, and cause our resources to become a "K-Mart blue light special" for foreign investors.
Finally, to illustrate how the dollar has lost much of its value ponder this. In 2002 the Euro was worth .88 to the US Dollar, 5 years later the Euro hit a high of $1.50 against our dollar.

So as you can see in order for you and your family to survive this unwanted restructuring of our
countries finances, you must become a leveraged investor through short term investing. Please visit my web site www.JGAGE.com and learn about these exciting avenues of financial security.

Be well & to your success,

James Gage

Financial tip of the day: Charge the rent to your credit card?

Posted Dec 1st 2007 9:10AM by Zac Bissonnette
Filed under: Personal finance

Charging the rent to your credit card sounds insane -- it seems like it would be the eighth deadly sin, tied with going to a payday lender to get gambling money.

But as the New York Times points out, the strategy can be great if you're in good financial shape: If you pay off the balance each month you pay no interest, and you can rack up rewards on your credit card -- possibly round-trip airfare anywhere in the country each year if you have high rent!

Reasons to Use a Land Trust

31 Reasons to Use a Land Trust

1. Avoids property being probated (out of court transfer upon death of beneficiary)

2. Ease of Transferability

3. Judgments do not attach to the beneficiary

4. No Partition (avoids spouse’s “forced share” sale buyout upon divorce)

5. Easier management with multiple owners (multiple owner do not have to sign docs)

6. No costs upon transferring beneficiary

7. No registered agent needed

8. Legal and Equitable property interest in trustee’s name (never be in the "chain of title")

9. Income and Expense conduit, not a business with tax consequences

10. Trustee has no personal liability

11. No annual fees like other entities, if trustee is an individual or friend

12. Estate planning benefits – automatic successor beneficiaries

13. Less expense with grantor creating the trust entity

14. Avoids the due on sale clause (lenders never know what happened)

15. Privacy of ownership (no recordation of the Trust Agreement) Helps avoid Identity Theft of your name

16. Keep sales price private

17. Able to fracture interests of multiple owners without being "partners"

18. Ease of linkage to other asset protection entities

19. Non-judicial repossessions of real estate sold on installment contract

20. 1099 not required for transfers (personal property not subject to real estate regulations)

21. Ease of operating across state lines

22. Lots of case law to support land trust administration

23. Many attorneys do not study this section of the law – not profitable for them (yields a competitive advantage)

24. No recordation of the Trust Agreement

25. No tax return to file (pass through entity)

26. To avoid “seasoning” problems (secondary market rules of ownership)

27. To save title insurance premiums (Trustee-insured-remains the same)

28. Good negotiating technique in the sale or purchase of property (Disney World used land trusts to acquire its property prior to construction...to avoid price escalation)

29. To provide non-recourse financing

30. Lowering of real estate taxes (prevents re-assessment)

31. Avoids state regulations that apply to corporations and LLC’s

As you can see, Land Trusts are a wonderful tool for you to use to hide your assets, avoid real estate tax increases, privatize your sales transactions, avoid probate and use for many other benefits. Now that you have a basic understanding of why
people use Land Trusts, please consider acquiring our Land Trusts Made Easy Home Study Course.

You will be amazed at the logic behind how to structure your Trust Agreement so no one but YOU understands what is going on. At the end of the course we give you all of the forms needed to create and maintain your own Land Trusts.

This is available by going to: www.JGAGE.com clicking on “Investing Tools” then clicking on one of the “Package Deals” tabs.

Are you working hard to acquire your assets? You will spend a life time building your financial estate…spend a little time and money learning how to protect your net worth from the deadbeats and their contingency fee lawyers!

Please visit our website at www.JGAGE.com. You can read even more about Land Trusts and how they benefit you.

WWW.JGAGE.COM

Mr. Bernanke - Thanks A lot !

In previous articles, I stated how my research suggests the Fed’s interest rate cut this past Tuesday will likely do little to stimulate economic growth and will serve only to increase inflationary pressures. The truth is that the rate cut will help make mortgages cheaper to get , but it won't do any good because underwriting guidelines are still going to be unbelievably tight for most applicants.

Another example of smoke and mirrors.

Blog you later.

James Gage

Lease Options: Latest News On Financing

Hello All:

Did you see the latest news on financing? It seems that a majority of lenders are clamping down on mortgage underwriting causing individuals seeking mortgages to be turned away in droves! Case in point Wells Fargo : Lenders are tightening standards and "raising rates like crazy." Wells Fargo & Co. is charging 8 percent for a prime jumbo 30-year fixed-rate loan that carried a 6 7/8 percent rate late last week.

This a great opportunity for those of us that invest with lease options; we can tap into this market for maximum profit. You see, I believe it will take about a year or so for the mortgage market to shake off and forget about this sub-prime melt down; when they see that their profits have taken a hit because of tightening practices- they will ease.
At that point individuals we have in lease options will be able to exercise their options and get financing.

Until next time be well and let's get out there and make some money!

James Gage

Real Estate : Russ Whitney & Robert T. Kiyosaki Want You To Be Rich!

We are enjoying the summer days this week at Cape Cod, Massachusetts before returning to NE Florida for some snook fishing at the end of the month. I love Summer mornings. I take my early morning walk, shower, drink freshly ground coffee and watch CNBC.

This morning, there was a special real estate magazine section with tons of glossy ads in my regions newspaper from Donald Trump on condos for sale. I usually go through this stuff pretty fast, but then my brown eyes came upon a major article entitled “Russ Whitney wants you to be Rich”© by Randall Patterson.

The article had the usual stuff you read in the blogs about Russ Whitney and his rags to riches story as well as his friendship with Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert T. Kiyosaki. The article then begins to describe Russ Whitney’s introductory seminars (4700 per year) which start out free and then move the clientele up the pyramid from $4995.00 to $54,000.00 in program costs. The article also stated that 280,000 people attend per year and 22,000 enroll in the advanced courses. Even though I still use my fingers and toes to count , this is a great deal of money!

.On one hand, the organization boasts having “helped thousands of people become wealthy”, yet it took the reporter several weeks to get the company to provide 1 students to speak with him. When they provided the contact, the reporter discovered they were all employees or doing business with the Russ Whitney organization. With this volume of training which Russ Whitney has accomplished, I wonder why he just didn’t provide a few students who could vouch for his veracity? Easy enough to do.

I find it strange that my real estate competition always has problems in this area, I also advertise the following “Call me, I will be very happy to speak with you”.

No big deal, go to my web site read my e-Books and articles. If you have interest in working with a Mentor, then give me a call at (508) 595-9567 and see if you feel that I can part of your One-On-One Success.

To your success,

James Gage

P.S. I just read an interesting news release on Google stating that the Russ Whitney Organization signed a six-year lease on a 32,646 square foot building in Utah for 200 employees and $700,000.00 in furnishings for student coaching. The news release also stated that Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert T. Kiyosaki and others attended the ribbon cutting ceremony. What’s the quote from Alice in Wonderland “Curiouser and Curiouser”