Why Raw Land is a Great "Niche!"

Raw Land is a great "niche" within real estate investing. Why?

There's little if any cost in pre-screening properties and once you do a few pieces of raw land in a given area, it just gets easier and faster the more you do.

 

Since the investment is mainly in time, one of the things I like is I can squeak it into small time blocks I have or in the late evening or early morning hours whenever it's convenient for me.

 

Just these couple of aspects makes Raw land one of my favorite "niches," if you will, in real estate investing.

 

But, there's even more!

The reasons are many:

1)   No physical improvements to inspect

2)   You can see if it's in an area of potentially increasing value or in the "Path of Progress"

3)   You generally can have a clean slate to work with

4)   There are a multitude of Exit Strategies and options to include staggered options

5)   There is a definite amount of work you know that has to be done to get it to the point of being developed, as far as the land is concerned (irrespective of local or state government requirements which can change and are numerous).

6)   It's generally easy to see what you are getting

7)   You can sometimes slice and dice; buying it by the gallon and selling it by the shot

8)   It's usually easiest to get seller financing when purchasing and, when structured properly, you can offer seller financing when you sell, too.

The Art of Pre-Screening Raw Land

I conducted a one-hour training today for Platinum Members of the SOREM community (SecretsofRealEstateMillions.com) and it turned out quite well.

I've included the first few of my 17-item, quick-prescreening checklist:

I. Location in relationship to assumption you know marketplace. Everyone knows the axiom: Location, Location, Location. Dunes Landing property is good example.

II. Price – High, low, similar. If high or low, why?
a. If low, could be problems, looking for fast sale,
b. If high, may have a plan in place, entitlements, approvals, due diligence you need only verify
c. Ask Questions when you get to that point.

REMEMBER: You are looking for CLUES that lead you to believe there is a distressed property, unsophisticated seller or motivated seller!

III. Motivated Seller – How is it advertised, wording, offering creative deal structure.
a. Motivated Seller!
b. Seller Financing!
c. Seller Leaving State
d. Must Sell This Weekend
e. Partnership Problems!
f. Foreclosure!
g. Bank REPO/REO
h. Owner Will Carry
i. Kick me I am down!

Anyway, there's the first three things I analyze when beginning to look at different raw land properties.

Later this week, I'll post the big reasons WHY RAW LAND is a great niche in real estate investing to be involved in!

Go Make an Offer!
Jerry

Real Estate Education & FREE Information for Busy Dentists - For more information visit http://www.SecretsofRealEstateMillions.com

What's next for the economy?

The reality is, no one knows. What I do know is that residential real
estate values here in my town, Salem, Oregon, are plummeting. And,
very quickly.

Houses in OK neighborhoods that would have sold for $200K+ last year
are now selling in the high $160s!

What that means for us as investors is that have to continually buy
better and better (translation: pay a lower and lower amount below
the ARV, or the quick re-sale value) to protect ourselves. This isn't
the time to run and hide! It's the time to get some incredibly great
deals!

Not sure or don't have a full grasp on what's going on in your area?

You need to. In fact, if there's one thing you should ALWAYS stay up
on it's your local market.

A great place to learn more: www.realtytimes.com and click on Local
Market Conditions.

Plus, subscribe to a local CCIM's newsletter (visit www.CCIM.com and
contact a local CCIM agent near you to ask if they publish one - a
state of the market type publication). I know our local Coldwell
Banker or Prudential (sad, cannot remember which one) puts out a
quarterly report on the local commercial real estate, which from my
view, is incredibly over-valued in our area.

Tom Cowan, my partner on several projects, and contributor to my
regular Raw Land and Commercial Property LOS Program Newsletter, has
created an incredible Special Report on the economy a few weeks back;
much of what he reviewed and talked about in his report is already
coming to fruition.

LOS Members/Subscribers will be receiving this report in the mail
over the next few weeks.

Get a handle on what's going on locally. You can't predict the future
but you can follow trends, look for signs and invest strategically
for the long haul!

Now, Go Make an Offer!
Adios, Jerry

How to Get Apartment Owners Calling You!

If you have apartment owners or other land owners calling you and asking you to buy vs. you calling them and asking to buy, who's in the better position?

Who's seeking who? Is it better to be sought after then seek? In this case, yes.

I've been a student of direct mail advertising for over a decade. I've generated millions of dollars of sales...through the mail.

There are tricks to the trade, formulas and writing styles all to be considered yet, none of that matters if you don't have a list of people you can help.

I've developed a system that is still in the beta test stages that I am using now to get local and out-of-state apartment owners calling ME so I can take their problems off their hands.

It's NOT just a series of letters and postcards designed to get motivated sellers to call; it's also educating and positioning and more!

Anyway, I'll be talking more about this amazing tool and how it's working for us in the coming months.

Adios.

Real Estate Education & FREE Information for Busy Dentists - For more information visit http://www.SecretsofRealEstateMillions.com

You want to Wholesale? Part II

Ah...So today is strategy #2, and it's a more advanced strategy than driving areas you want to find deals in.

SO here we go:

#2 Mail postcards (see http://www.JerryRecommends.com for the best source) to areas you are currently driving. If owners are not at the address, the mail can be fwded to them. The best place to get this list is either via MelissaData.com, InfoUSA.com or, do what I did and contact our local county assessor's office and ask what types of variables you can request mailing lists under. I like SFR (single family residential), non-owner occupied, delinquent on taxes and if possible, code violators. These are all signs of potentially motivated folks.

And, most importantly, do NOT mail these folks one time. I've bought many houses after mailing to someone 2, 3 and even 4 times before they called me. Since their situation changes, you have to be in front of them when it does, offering to take a headache off their hands.

In a future post, I'll cover How to Snag All the Wholesale Buyers you'll ever need!

Now, Go Make an Offer!(TM)

~ADIOS, Jerry

Real Estate Education & FREE Information for Busy Dentists - For more information visit http://www.SecretsofRealEstateMillions.com

So you want to find WHOLESALE deals, eh?

One of the fastest (However, most saturated) places to make money fast in real estate quick-turn investing ala Ron LeGrand(R) is the ability to wholesale property.

Wholesaling is when you find and sell quickly, a house that needs repairs, that is under market, and generally at the local area's median price or below. The Buyer is generally a landlord-type, or a rehabber-type.

Sometimes, depending on your area, you can find REOs (real estate owned or Bank Owned) properties that fit this bill. You simply buy direct from the Bank via their agent/broker and make offers on as many houses as you can using, as a purchase price minimum guide, Ron's time-tested formula of MAO=70% of the ARV minus repairs. Or, if you want to get modify that to MAO=ARV-Repairs times 70%. You'll get two different numbers. The second scenario gives you a $9,000 difference.

There are two possible strategies.

#1 Drive areas where you want to buy and look for vacant and/or neglected houses. No garbage cans in my area is a good sign. High grass, roofs in poor condition, etc., are all tell-tale signs. Then, you get in contact with the owner. Via letter or phone call.

#2 - I'll save this for the next post.

Until then...Go Make an Offer!
~Adios, Jerry

Real Estate Education & FREE Information for Busy Dentists - For more information visit http://www.SecretsofRealEstateMillions.com

has the media won?

dang, i get pissed when i look around and see all the negativity.

oil is high.

groceries are high.

homebuilders are going out of business.

people are losing their homes.

folks, this CRAP goes on in "good" and "bad" times.

how YOU react to it, filter it, pay attention to it, determines how
well you'll do.

period.

i got an email today from a sorem member and frankly, i'm not going
to respond.

i could tell it was a "woe is me" email after the first sentence,
where he was looking for comisseration.

(sorry about the spelling)

the last place you or i need to be is down in the dumps good times or
bad.

every time you feel/see/sense negativity, shake the urge to even
consider it.

focus on the GOOD. the 5% or less bad around us isn't worthy of even
entering our minds.

if your plans aren't going how you want 'em, SHIFT. move. take a
different approach.

the media LOVE selling bad news. it makes for a great story. it's
hard to sell success. people settle easily.

don't let the popular press beat you into submission. fight the urge.

don't wine. don't pee and moan.

no one likes a whiner.

i hate quitters.

ok...let's get on it. go search www.loopnet.com and MAKE something
happen!

find a good deal, tie it up, put together your exit strategies, get a
team put together and do it!

now, go make an offer!

adios, jerry

Ah...a better recording.

What's Jerry Reading?

Amazon.com - search Rob Minton, Income for Life is the books....

Here is a link to one of the ZILLOW ads

I'm sorry if you didn't click on this blog post earlier. I had to take the ZILLOW ad example down.

If you want to see a PDF copy of it, email me at jerry@jerryjonesdirect.com and I will send it to you.

In fact, we have 2 zillow ads running and I may add another.

Jerry