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Carver Communications - Index

Carver Communications - June152009 - Index

June 15, 2009 REAL ESTATE NEWSLINE 23
By Mitch Stephen,
The Upside In Today's
Real Estate Market
Reading through the unending torrent
of media reports about Wall Street
corruption, unprecedented government
spending and expansion, the collapse of
the real estate market and company failures,
it seems difficult these days to find
any good news. While it is true that our
nation is having its share of troubles, it’s
about time for some good news.
We can start by acknowledging that
a lot of what has exacerbated the recent
real estate “slump” is simply the news
itself and how it has been reported.
Unfortunately, media outlets found out a
long time ago that negative news grabs
more attention than positive news. In
addition, a lot of the news we hear is
national news and I think we’ll all agree
that Texas, and San Antonio in particular,
have not been hit nearly as hard as other
parts of the country. You may be surprised
to here that certain areas in San Antonio
have not only held their value, but they
have appreciated.
Clearly, there are some real problems
in the real estate market but there are
also real opportunities. Professional real
estate investors, real estate brokers and
agents have all had to wake up and find
where "the cheese was moved" (see
Spencer Johnson, M.D.) on more than a
few occasions in the past 30 years. The
old adage that "change is the only constant"
has never been more true.
Have you ever heard that “wealth
comes from chaos?” How about "fortunes
are made in bad times?" These are
not new concepts; they have been true
since the dawn of time. Today, there is
plenty of chaos in the real estate market
but that doesn’t necessarily spell disaster
for all those in real estate related businesses.
For example, while the rise in
foreclosures seems grim on the surface, in
reality it is causing properties to change
hands and that means business for
Realtors, real estate investors, mortgage
and title companies, not to mention great
opportunities for buyers.
A whole new class of unlikely
home buyers is benefiting from the subprime
debacle because now “owner
financing” is becoming more popular.
Buyers who couldn’t get an institutional
loan, even in the good times, are now able
to buy a home because many investors
will agree to "tote the note.” Investors
who are in a position to provide owner
financing to buyers are finding themselves
very busy. Additionally, Realtors
who recognize this trend are not so fast to
distance themselves from their less-thancredit-worthy
buyers and are actually able
to assist them in finding a home, despite
their average or below average credit.
If there has ever been a good time
for brokers and agents to jump in the real
estate investing game, it is right now. The
biggest obstacle for most is that they think
they have to have money to join in the
game. This is NOT true. Someone has to
have the money, but that someone does
not have to be YOU. The person in control
of a real estate deal is often the person
who finds that deal and puts it under contract.
If you have enough cash for the
earnest money you can potentially be an
investor. There are investors that have
made deals by starting with only $10 for
earnest money.
After you contract for the deal, the
second step is to find someone with the
money or the credit to buy and close on
the property. If you have a $100,000 property
under contract for $50,000, it shouldn’t
be that hard to find a “money partner”
if you are willing to share 50% of the
upside. This type of partnership can lead
to many transactions.
Ask yourself this question? How
many houses can you buy with your own
money? Now, ask this: “How many houses
can you buy with other people’s
money?” If you are in agreement that 25
to 50% of something is better than 100%
of nothing, you have finally answered the
question of "how can you acquire real
estate with no money?”
How do you find a good deal?
There are more ways to find bargain properties
than we have time, but here's a few:
Foreclosure auctions, short sales, driving
neighborhoods, classifieds, MLS, tax auctions,
banks and mortgage company’s
“loss mitigation departments”, Realtors,
direct mail, red tagged electrical meters,
disgruntled landlords and talking to people.
In fact, you can get a list of over 125
Ways to Find Bargain Properties at
www.Homes2Go.NET/125Ways. The
bottom line is this: the deals are out there
if you know how and where to look for
them.
So whether you’re a Realtor,
investor, mortgage or title company,
remember that when one door closes
another door is opened. Don’t stay with
worn-out tactics and expectations that
don’t work in today’s markets. Find the
new trends and move into them.
Mitch@MitchStephen.com, 210-
669-4020
San Antonio real estate investor
and author of the book MY LIFE & 1,000
HOUSES; Failing Forward to Financial
Freedom. For information about his
book go to www.1000Houses.com
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