Screening a buyer for a lease option is extremely important and yet some of us investors still go by instinct or illegal decisions.   There are two areas to discuss on screening;

1)       Detailed Screening

2)       Fair Housing.

‘We liked them’, some investors will say to me.  There are too many really good liars in the world and those of you that feel you can ‘read’ people and relying on that are in for a rude awakening.  Many of my worst situations came from my own ignorance of believing in people.   We should all screen people as if we were blind and deaf.   We would then screen them strictly on the facts and not our opinions or prejudices.

Screen a tenant by reviewing the application in my course.  Have them fill it out.  Check it for accuracy.  Make sure they did not lie to you.   If someone lies to me, they are denied the occupancy.   Check their name – get a copy of their driver’s license.    Check their employment – I confirm the pay amount, hours they work and time on the job.   Check their banking information, you might need it later.  Also check their landlord history , the current land lord may want to get rid of them, but the previous has nothing to hide.  Call them both!   Confirm it is the real landlord by one of two ways; check it on county records, or call person and say a different amount of rent than on the application.

Fair Housing:

Fair Housing is an entire seminar in itself.  Realtors around the country have half to full day training sessions on this topic alone.   Fair housing rights when violated can cost owners hundreds of thousands of dollars.  This is not an area where you want to mess up.  The bottom line is this: select a tenant on their application alone and nothing else. There are federally protected areas and there may be some state protected categories also.  Each state has their own protected areas, so check your state for the details.  The way to be really safe is don’t judge anyone by the way they look or talk. This is why I say that we should be blind and deaf to select a tenant.  If we would just evaluate on the application process alone, then we would stay out of trouble.  Then the selection would be based truly on the facts not our gut feel or our instincts.  Besides, many times we think our ‘intuition’ is that someone is ‘good’ and they later are not so ‘good’.   Stick with the law and you will be safe.

As you can see screening a buyer for a lease option is highly important. For more information on How to Screen a Buyer and putting your standards in writing you can check out my book Investing in Real Estate with Lease Options and Subject-to Deals. Stay tuned for the next topic How to Qualify a Good Buyer.

Share with me some of your tips on How to Screen a Good Buyer in the comment section!

Down markets are without question one of the best times for real estate investors. Down markets contain the best opportunities and the greatest ability to make money. Any truly successful real estate investor will tell you that they do more deals and make more money in down markets than they do in up markets.

Here is what Billionaire J. Paul Getty had to say about investing in down Market:

“If you want to make money, really big money, you do what no one else is doing. Buy when everyone else is selling and sell when everyone else is buying. This is not merely a catchy slogan. It is the very essence of successful investment.”
J. Paul Getty – Billionaire

While the opportunities are great in down markets, investors need to be aware of some of the deadly mistakes that can occur.
Here are the Top Three:

1. Not Getting Cash Flow
Cash flow is king, especially in down markets. It’s harder to get cash flow in seller’s markets, and even in some areas of the country, in a buyer’s market, because the prices are still too high for area rents. In down markets it’s very important to make sure your properties provide cash flow. You can’t count on appreciation in the short term in down markets. If a property cash flows, you can hold it forever, no matter what the market does. So, if it stays a down market for a while, you are okay because it cash flows. If the market goes back up, you can make money off appreciation too. Sell it then if you choose. The choice is yours then, because you’ve got the cash flow. CASH is KING!

2. Making Excuses
I touched on this before. If you want to succeed in real estate, you have to set aside the excuses and do it. Excuses are typically hidden in reasons why you can’t do it now. “I’m too busy.” Or the fear to take action by over analyzing every deal, “This property makes $5 less per month in cash flow than I really want.”
You’ve got to take action now. Picturing in your head all of the money you’ll make and the better life you’ll have with real estate investing is only fantasizing. If you want to make money in real estate; get started, take one step and then another. No one expects you to do it all at once or even do everything right, just get started.

3. Not Using a Proven System
There are some things in life we have to learn for ourselves. Making every mistake possible in real estate, just to learn the right way to do something is not one of those times. If you try that route, it will take you so much longer to get anywhere. You will literally be years behind, if you don’t give up entirely. A proven system is someone else’s road map that you can use to learn a real estate technique.
Proven systems give you the opportunity to skip the “getting lost” part. They move you forward at a much quicker (and safer) rate than if you tried to do it all on your own. It doesn’t matter what type of investing you want to do; short-sales, rehabs, or lease options, they will save you tens of thousands of dollars in mistakes, legal fees, etc.

In a recent post I discussed why Soft markets are GOOD rental markets to invest in. Now is the best time to buy Real Estate.
Here are the 3 best ways to Buy Real Estate in a Down Market:
#1 Lease Options
Lease options are Great for down markets. The opportunities are plentiful because there are lots of sellers out there having trouble selling their homes. This means they are looking for alternatives, and what you can offer them with a lease option is a whole lot better than just renting out their home or having to do a massive price cut.
The other great thing about lease options in down markets is that you have extremely low risk. No matter what happens in the market you’ll come out okay, because you aren’t obligated to buy. But even if the market were to go down more you can always try to renegotiate with the seller and get a better deal so you can still close. To learn more about lease option investing visit my website at http://www.wendypatton.com

#2 Wholesaling A.K.A Cooperative Lease Options
Cooperative Lease Options is a safe form of investing in down real estate markets, provided you have end buyers lined up before you close. There will be plenty of opportunities for wholesale deals, but the challenge may lie in finding your buyers.
If you are doing Cooperative Lease Options it’s a good idea to have a strong buyer list lined up. You don’t want to close on the property without an end buyer because you are in a down market. If the market continued going down you would be stuck holding the property as the value declined.
What I really like about wholesaling is that you can keep your risk level low by not having to own the property. You just flip it to your end buyer. Minimizing risk in down markets is very important. To Learn More about Cooperative Lease Options Click Here.

#3 Cash Flow Rentals
Some down markets are positively flush with great cash flow opportunities. Down markets mean that the renter pool has grown as well. If you make sure the numbers work and that the rental market is strong you can do very well with cash flowing rental properties. Passive income every month is a great way to build your wealth.
While there is some risk associated with a rental property in a down market, because you do actually own the property you can easily mitigate that risk by making sure the numbers work before you buy. If a property cash flows you can hold it forever without having to worry about what the market does. To learn about some great cash flow opportunities, the same area that I’m buying in right now, Click Here

Rapport building is very important and key because you’re asking someone to give you control of their house with little to no money down in both lease options and subject tos. Getting the seller to feel comfortable with you is the most important technique to learn for these techniques.  This is equally true with Realtors.  If the Realtor likes you, they will translate their like and trust of you to the seller for the lease options.

Here’s a tip: When you’re in the seller’s house, tell them what you like about their house, not what you don’t like.  For example, perhaps you’ll see something unusual, like older wood work or a nice fireplace.  Ask the seller about it.  If you see that the seller likes golf, talk golf whether you like golf or not.  Always focus on the positives, the interesting things.  People like to know that you like their house, and that builds immediate rapport.   Sellers will give you a better deal and be more likely to negotiate if they like you.

Check out Chapter 06 of my book Investing in Real Estate with Lease Options and Subject-to Deals: Powerful Strategies for Getting More when You Sell, and Paying Less when You Buy to learn more about negotiating the deal and other steps to buying on Lease Options and Subject Tos.

This is a very hot topic!  After all what real estate investors couldn’t use some private money to fund their deals?

I’d like to call this one, “How a 15 Year Old got $6 Million in Private Money to Close 127 Deals.”  Lol, it’s kind of funny, but our speaker tonight looks like he’s only 15!  But you certainly can’t argue with his success.  If the private money is rolling in like that, funding so many deals for him.

This webinar is tonight, November 3rd :

• 8 PM Eastern
• 7 PM Central
• 5 PM Pacific
• 3 PM Hawaii

You can register at https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/770886891

Our private money speaker tonight will have a special gift for everyone who attends tonight’s webinar.  A free PowerPoint Presentation (the same one he uses) to get private money deals.  plus you’ll get the exact speaking scripts that he created and still uses too.  Is that incredible?  Just for attending tonight’s webinar.

Private money is one of the best and easiest ways to fund deals in today’s market.  Banks are almost impossible… hard money is too expensive.

And you’ll never have your credit pulled when you use private money… and don’t have to pay points or high interest rates.

A lot of people think it’s tough to get private money.  It’s not… when you say the right things, use the right templates and forms, and target the right people as you’ll learn how to do in tonight’s workshop with an everyday investor just like you and me… who figured out how to get private money easily.  Just think, if a guy who looks like he’s 15 can inspire the credibility to get over $6 million in private money you shouldn’t have any problem either.  Especially when he is going to give you his PowerPoint Presentation and script for free.  But you must attend the webinar to get those so make sure you don’t miss out tonight.

Register now at https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/770886891

If you missed my webinar with Kris Kirschner last night you missed out on some super powerful information about what to expect from the real estate market from now until 2013.  Kris shared information from top economists and I was blown away.

What was clear from last night is that the way we invest in real estate needs to change for the next few years.  The old strategies of buy and hold won’t work.  As a real estate investor you need to be focused, for the short term, on strategies that minimize your risk and minimize using your own cash and credit.  Lease options and subject to investing, like I teach, are 2 great ways to do just this.

The fact of the matter is that expert economists are predicting that real estate is still several years away from recovering and many areas will still decline.  You can’t just buy and hold real estate because you’re going to be upside down.  Kris talked about 3 great strategies for real estate investing, from the short term to the long term for retirement.

If you missed last night don’t worry!  Kris Kirschner and I will be doing a 2 day training event November 7th and 8th in Livonia Michigan. We’ll be training you in how to invest in today’s real estate market.  These strategies we’ll be teaching you apply to our current real estate market as well as our coming real estate market.

If you want to keep investing in real estate you need to know the right strategies.  And with a price of only $59 for both days of training you can’t afford to miss this.  I don’t know if Kris and I will be repeating this event so you definitely want to attend this one.

To learn more or to register for this 2 day training on November 7th and 8th go to http://www.wendypatton.com/schedule/nov2009event.php

You must pre-register for this training to get the $59 price and space is running out so don’t delay!

For the last couple of days I’ve been posting about my upcoming webinar tonight with Kris Kirschner about our current real estate recession.

We are going to cover a lot of good information tonight and you don’t want to miss it.  But that’s really just the tip of the iceberg.  If you want to get in on proven techniques that work in down real estate markets Kris and I will be holding a 2 day training event November 7th and 8th  here in Michigan.  http://www.wendypatton.com/schedule/nov2009event.php

Two days packed with information from myself and Kris on how to do techniques that work in flat and declining markets.  What would you expect to pay for this kind of training?  2 days, jam packed with education and proven knowledge for today’s real estate market?  Probably hundreds of dollars.

Not this time!  Kris Kirschner and I are offering this special 2 day training event for only $59 if you pre-register now.  $59!  That’s like 1 dinner out with your family.  With information that will change how you invest in real estate.  This training event may never be repeated so you don’t want to miss this opportunity.

When you’ve been investing in real estate as long as I have you want to see other investors succeed.  I’ve been teaching this long because I want others to experience the same kind of success I have.  But in today’s real estate market we are facing unique challenges.  You must adapt to succeed.  Make sure you attend our 2 day training on November 7th and 8th to learn how to invest in flat and declining markets.  It can truly change your life.  To learn more or to register go to http://www.wendypatton.com/schedule/nov2009event.php

-Wendy Patton

Space is limited so please don’t wait.

You are probably thinking, “Why the heck do I keep bringing up this recession and how it can impact you succeeding in real estate?”  Well it does, and I’m not sure when the market will recover; but what I am sure about is that if you’re ready to make more money and you want to do it fast, you need to understand how to profit in a flat or declining market.

My good friend, Kris Kirschner, will be on a webinar with me tonight to discuss the current real estate recession we are in now and exactly what you can do to make money, part-time – even if you live in a declining market, have no experience and very little money or credit.

This is a one-time only webinar with critical information that you will not want to miss.  You already know that if you work for a living or own your own business it doesn’t get easier, it gets harder.  The real question you need to ask yourself is, “What will I do if unemployment hits 15% and more and more businesses continue to go under?”

Listen, I am not trying to scare you but there is so much you should be aware of to protect yourself and your family during this economic recession.  Join the webinar tonight and listen very closely for 55 minutes because Kris will be teaching you 3 strategies and exactly how to profit for the next 36 months!

The webinar is free – you will not want to miss it.  To register go to https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/582785938

The webinar is tonight, October 29th,  starting at 8 PM EST

What can you do in today’s real estate depression?  How can you still make money as a real estate investor?  What works?

I know a lot of you are probably wondering about the answers to these questions.  The nature of real estate investing is very different than it was just a few short years ago.

If you want to find some answers and learn how to do profitable deals in this market you should check out this webinar this Thursday night at 8 PM EST.  I will be talking with Kris Kirschner about the current real estate market.

We’ll be looking at what techniques actually work RIGHT NOW and what you can do in this market.

There will be no sales on this webinar – it’s all about info.

This is a very special webinar and one you don’t want to miss.  Kris Kirschner is a genius in real estate who knows what is working right now in the market and how to invest even if you have no experience at all.

Space is limited for this webinar, so you’ll want to register now.  The webinar is free so if you are interested in real estate investing in today’s market you don’t want to miss this.  It’s this Thursday, October 29th at 8 PM EST.  To register go to https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/582785938

See you there! – Wendy