Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Kansas City Rentals Address, Compant Information, and Business Location

 OK, here are all of our review locations! Go review now! Haha.

Kansas City Rentals
(816) 298-065-8416 
Admiral Blvd
Kansas City, MO 64106



Trade a Paper Clip for a House!

So does anyone out there think that they would be able to trade a paper clip for a house? Now that I think about it, I don’t think that it would be that hard to do in many areas of the country (I did buy a house for $1 recently), so let me rephrase…a habitable house in a decent area? I just picked up on the adventures of Kyle MacDonald who is on a quest to complete this task. He is hasn’t done it yet, but he has traded his way up from a paper clip to a free year of rent in Phoenix. Check him out at One Red Paperclip.

It really goes to show you what can be accomplished if you can dream it up and work like crazy.

ProHabber.com Wins “Best of the Web”

I was notified today that Prohabber.com won “Best of the Personal Finance Web” in the Real Estate Investing category from Moneysmartz.com Personal Finance Directory. I would like to thank Moneysmartz for their support and encouragement and I would encourage everyone to check out their excellent resource on personal finance.

The Moneysmartz Personal Finance Directory is your guide to the best personal finance websites, blogs, and podcasts covering financial topics important to your financial decision-making, including investing, retirement, money management, budgeting, debt, credit, banking, financial planning, insurance, mortgages, loans, real estate, 401k, IRAs, and estate planning. Our goal is to help you quickly find the most reliable and relevant sources of personal finance information, services, and products so you can make better financial decisions.

The Price of Experience

Every day I drive past a local non-profit organization called Mathew 25 Ministries while on my way to work. They usually have a message on their road sign that is either inspirational or an update of their charitable work. For the last couple of weeks, there has been a quote up there that has really hit home for me:

Experience is what we get when we don’t get what we want.

Boy, this is the truth. Learning the real estate game is not an easy task and no matter how much education you get, the real world will teach you some lessons. Just consider this the price you pay for experience.

If you have some experience to share, speak up now and leave a comment. Lets try to save someone else from making the same mistake.

Matthew 25: Ministries is an international humanitarian relief organization helping the poorest of the poor locally, regionally, nationally and internationally regardless of race, creed or political persuasion. By rescuing and reusing products from major corporations, manufacturers and individuals, Matthew 25: Ministries provides basic necessities, skill development and disaster relief across the US and worldwide.

Selling: How to Read the Market Response

So what is the property going to be worth after you buy it and do whatever it is that you are going to do to it? Investors frequently call this the After Repaired Value (ARV). The entire process of figuring out how much to offer on a property hinges on the ARV. I have always tried to stay conservative on this estimate before I buy a property to make sure that I don’t get caught with an overpriced house when I am done. I would much rather estimate the ARV low when I am looking to buy and then try to get the most possible for it when I sell. Once your property is on the market at a certain price, it is time to read the markets response to your offering. There is a fairly simple way to decipher the markets response based on how many people want to see your property and how many offers you get.

If you put the property up and immediately get several showings, you know that your offering price is right on the mark or even low for what the market expects. The buyers know what they want and how much they are willing to pay in any given area. Before they see the house, all they know about it is whatever data is provided to them with some pictures and a price. Once they are presented with this data they have the choice to go see the house as a potential candidate for their purchase or they pass on it. If you have a property that meets their criteria for what they expect on price and style, they will want to see it. If they don’t feel that the property is right for them (i.e. priced too high or just not what they are looking for) then they will not take the time to set a showing appointment.

Once you get the buyers into the house, you can gauge their reaction to the condition and amenities of the property by how many offers you get. Of course, you should not expect to get an offer from every person that comes into the house because buyers are usually very picky and they are looking for something in particular. That being said, if you don’t get any offers even after a bunch of showings, then the market is telling you something. The buyer that is willing to pay for a property in your price range has expectations of condition and amenities. If your house meets those criteria and is within their price expectations, you will get offers. If the property falls short by just a little, you may find that a few buyers will offer, but at a discounted price. If the property is just all wrong, they won’t even bother with the property.

Paying attention to the market response can help you make adjustments to the property price and/or condition and amenities to get the property sold as quickly as possible.

Networking is Key to Keeping Your Business Alive

The old saying goes “It is not what you know, but who you know.” I have been working hard at networking in the real estate investing world for awhile now. As part of my marketing plan for buying houses, I have an entire component of increasing my network. Here are a few things that I have done to keep my network growing:

I have asked to speak at the local REIA meetings to share what I know and to make it easier to meet other people that see me speak. It is amazing how many people want to talk with you after you give a speech. I could never have that much credibility with total strangers if I just walked into a room.

I have signed up to be a coach in the local REIA coaching program. I have learned more from the “players” on my coaching team as they have learned from me. Each of them brings life experience to our meetings that I have been able to benefit from.

I have started this website to speak publicly about my career. From just this website I have met all kinds of investors from all over the country.

I have remained active at the BiggerPockets forums. If you haven’t been to this site yet, you have to check it out. There is an amazing amount of free information available for anyone to read and the forums are a great place to ask questions. You will find me there with the screen name “ProHabber”.

I have recently joined the Real Estate Investor Nexus at http://www.reinexus.com. This site is new but it seems to be picking up members very quickly. It has taken me a little while to get comfortable using this site, but it should turn into a great networking tool.

Networking is the best way to learn new tricks, find opportunities and grow your confidence. When you have a network of like-minded individuals you can get answers quickly and reach your goals faster. Plus, the added benefit of a large network is that those people know other people and word of mouth can really benefit you and your business. It doesn’t matter how you find other people interested in your business, but it is important that you do. There is so much out there that you don’t even know about and the larger your network becomes, the more you will be exposed to opportunity.

What is Your Bread and Butter?

Focus is key in this business. The more defined you can be with your market, the better you can focus on becoming an absolute expert in that niche. Let’s look at a few of the niches that exist in the real estate investing world:

  • Location Niche - Do you concentrate on a certain area?
  • Entrance Strategy Niche - What particular problem do you focus on solving (e.g. house needs work, foreclosure, burnt out landlord, etc.)?
  • Exit Strategy Niche - What is your preferred way to cash-in on the property (e.g. cash sale, rental, lease/option, etc.)?
  • Market Niche - What market do you focus on (e.g. first-time-homebuyer, luxury home, Section 8 rentals, etc.)
  • Marketing Niche - How do you find your deals?

I love single family homes for the first-time-homebuyer market. I prefer to purchase them in disrepair at a large discount and then fix them up and sell them to a homebuyer. I market directly to the potential sellers and ask them to call me if they want to sell. I also market directly to potential buyers and tell them that they may be able to buy instead of rent.

Focusing only on your market allows you to keep your mind clear and to master your business. Once you have completely mastered your niche, your business will run on auto-pilot and you can then find another niche to conquer in order to grow to the next level. Be sure to not get sucked into the “I can do it all” mentality. It is important to be able to take advantage of a good deal when one comes along, but you need to make sure that your day-in and day-out activities are focused on mastering a single niche. Otherwise you risk getting spread too thin to effectively operate and grow your business.

So, what’s your bread and butter?



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