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BUMPED EQUITY – ‘NOT UNLIKE A SAVINGS ACCOUNT INTO WHICH YOU PUT NOTHING: BUT OUT OF WHICH YOU PULL THOUSANDS OF EXTRA DOLLARS IN A COUPLE YEARS

Let’s say you find a property that is worth perhaps $90,000 to $100,000.

You learn that you can have it for an MAV (Mutually Agreed Value) of $80,000 by making it a fast deal and just taking over the monthly payment obligation.

Let’s also say that the property needs, say, $4,500 or so to cover unpaid arrearages (‘assuming the lender won’t consider forbearance).

In order to make a future profit, ‘you now bump the equity (i.e., increase the current MAV (mutually-agreed value) for your Resident Beneficiary to, say, $105,000 and charge him/her, say, 6.0% to get in (about $6,500). You have now made $25,000 on paper and $2,000 in cash up front, plus a positive cash-flow along the way (‘i.e., ‘in addition to the principal reduction and future appreciation you’ll see over the term of the agreement.

You’re doing great!  Nuthin’ ain’t cost you nuthin’ so far!  But in this case, Nuthin is indeed worth Sumthin!  (‘With apologies to Janis Joplin and Bobby Mc Ghee)

Next, you make your verbal offer to the seller at $80,000, and explain that you are an investor and need to make a reasonable profit (maybe). You explain that since you will have to negotiate with you incoming Resident Beneficiary, with his/her permission you’ll need to put a larger than actual MAV on the offer: ‘i.e., in order to have plenty of negotiating room (‘as is virtually always needed).

Then, ‘when presenting the offer to the Settlor (seller), you show his actual refundable contribution as zero, but show yours as the difference between the acquisition amount (80,000) and the bumped MAV of $105,000. This doesn’t affect him negatively in any way, and could even lessen any tax burden he might have ‘if he will have Capital Gains to deal with (‘upon the trust’s termination).

Now, ‘when you decide to meet with your Resident Beneficiary prospect, he/she sees the higher amount and doesn’t worry about the difference, ‘as he/she will presume that you put in $25,000 in cash (‘unless you tell them otherwise).

The documentation will now show that at the end of the agreement’s term, you and your Resident Beneficiary will sell or refi and give the Settlor (your seller) his equity refund (‘which is zero in this case…‘unless there were to have been some equity for him at start).

At the trust’s termination (‘and that of the lease), you give yourself your $25,000, and return the Resident Beneficiary’s initial non-recurring closing costs (‘i.e., any closing costs that were a one-time expense); ‘following which you and your Resident Beneficiary split the remaining net proceeds relative to your respective percentages of beneficiary interest having been held in the trust: i.e., ‘depending on whether or not the requisite 10% beneficiary interest held by the Settlor during the trust’s term will be relinquished to you or not…’according to your initial agreement with the Settlor.

In certain cases you might have agreed (‘perhaps for added incentive) that the Settlor should participation in profit-sharing at termination ‘proportionately with his percentage of beneficiary interest held (‘although more often than not, the Settlor’s percentage is set to be fully relinquished  at termination in consideration of prompt payments and strict adherence to contract terms throughout the transaction).

Question: So why should the settlor have any beneficiary at all during the transaction’s term?

Answer: 1) So that there is no violation of any underlying lender’s Due-on-Sale Clause (12USC1701j-3); 2) so that the Settlor can have an insurance interest in order to acquire and retain Landlord Insurance Coverage (the tenant beneficiary obtains his/her own renter’s policy); 3) and so that the Non-Resident Beneficiary  will have access to the right of Depreciation for tax benefits (i.e., “Use it or lose it,”  ‘as they say ‘in reference to the IRS’ recapture upon sale, i.e., whether it has been claimed or not).

Remember that bumping the Mutually Agreed Value in this manner by, say, five or ten thousand dollars today doesn’t make the property any more valuable (today), or earn you any more money (‘today): ‘but it does give you significantly more profit at the end of the EHTransfer™, when the trust is terminated and the property is sold or refinanced, and net proceeds are distributed.

Question:  Why would anyone agree to take on the property at more than it appraised value?

Answer: Because they are acquiring a home of their own without needing new bank loan, ‘without standard credit checking; without a normal down payment; and because you don’t care about their credit as much, ‘as long as you have a couple (2 or 3) refundable payments held in the trust’s Contingency Fund for use in case of default and the necessity for eviction.  Inasmuch as, due to the trust, they can never claim having an equitable interest in the property (i.e., the trustee holds all of that), a foreclosure process is never necessary…’just simple, unfettered eviction pursuant to the agreement in the ancillary Triple-Net Lease.

Remember too that the posted Contingency Fund is for the purpose of making any missing mortgage payment; and no matter how much money may be in the fund, a default in payments will result in eviction and termination of the trust (‘if not cured within the allotted time).

Note as well, that irrespective of any amount in the Contingency Fund: ‘in the event of a default, it will likely be yours to keep, in so much as the tenant-buyer will still owe the missing payment/s and all remaining payments on their lease: ‘as well, they also owe any requisite refurbishment and re-marketing expenses.  And also, for any amount still outstanding, they are subject to lawsuit and obligated to pay you, voluntarily nor not, what you are owed ‘should they come into money within the next eight to ten years (‘and depending upon where you live, your lien against them is renewable after that time period).  Note that the defaulting party’s incentive to pay you what you are owed is intensified when they realize that your lien can prevent them from getting credit for buying a house or car, ‘or maybe even getting (or keeping) certain jobs.

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Another way to bump (or “pump”) a property’s MAV is to make your offer at the $80,000 amount, then get the offer accepted in writing: ‘then go back to the Settlor and suggest that for your benefit, the $80,000 be crossed-out and initialed, and replaced with a higher number in order to give you some negotiating room with your incoming Resident Co-Beneficiary (‘you point out that doing so will raise your beginning contribution without affecting his income his tax basis (‘could be a good thing if he has equity).

You then say: “Let’s make it, ‘Oh, say, $105,000; ‘and although I probably won’t get anything close to that, ‘it gives me some room for negotiation.”  Again…you now have the higher MAV showing in the documents and needn’t hide anything from the resident (or the Settlor).

When your Offer to Acquire is accepted by signature of the Settlor, that’s also a good time to have him/her execute the limited Power of Attorney, so that you don’t have to go back to him for signatures later.

That’s it…’ain’t no big deal!  Just keep on bumpin’!

FUNNY STUFF ATTORNEYS SAY… ‘AND FINDING ONE WHO UNDERSTAND LAND TRUSTS

A caution to always seek out the advice of a competent attorney before “trying this at home” is always good advice; although I find it difficult to proffer truly good (non-legal) advice on the subject of seeking the right attorney with regard to the Equity Holding Trust Transfer™ or land trusts in general. In fact, I find myself “…jest a tad ‘twixt a rock and a hard place” here (as it were), mostly because… they jest ain’t hardly none o’them  a’tall around these parts (as one might say on Jerry Springer).

Although I certainly do not advocate proceeding in any real estate related transaction without the advice of a “good’ and “knowledgeable” real estate attorney (a little like finding a handsome hag fish or a smart wrestler, I’m afraid): the quandary is that—‘first off, there are very few attorneys who know a lot about the use of trusts in general. Then there is the fact that there are even fewer who know kidney beans from koala bears about what a “land trust” is…’much less how it differs from other inter vivos (living) trusts, and what it’s capable of doing. Many attorneys have never even heard of such a thing; and there are even fewer yet who are competent to offer sound advice—pro or con—relative to the use or safety of an “Illinois-type, revocable, inter vivos, title-holding beneficiary-directed, third party trustee, land trust transfer (the Equity Holding Trust Transfer™).”

Ordinarily, when an uninitiated attorney is engaged for the purposes of reviewing a land trust transfer—much less an Equity Holding Trust Transfer™ with all of its attendant appendices, directions, Escrow documentation, creditor letters, etc.— he or she is faced with a true pointy-horned dilemma. The only two options available are: 1) Get into Nexus-Lexus or out to the law library and spend some time getting educated on the advent and history of land trusts, or 2) render advice (pro or con) on something they know virtually nothing about (‘and I can assure you that it will always be ‘con: albeit I and our own attorneys are always on hand).

I’d presume that less than 4 or 5 hours would be needed to thoroughly research the pertinent local and federal codes and cites, and the myriad features and uses of the land trust (i.e., a bill of from $1,700 to $ $5,000); Think about it…if you were a busy attorney with your itinerary over-burdened with time constraints, what would you prefer to do?  Bill for a couple hours, or advise a client to do something you’re not completely sure of.

I.e., ‘would you opt to: 1) Spend your “billable” hours doing hard research for free for a transaction you’ll probably never see the likes of again; 2) Risk your client’s walking away and your receiving nothing for your consulting time, or 3) might you attempt to convert the entire transaction to something else? I.e., to something you better understand, and with which you feel more competent to advocate…’and on which you could make some money?

Similarly, if you were the client seeking and hoping to pay only for a simple review and approval of a set of documents, would you be willing to finance your attorney’s continuing legal education at the rate of $175 to $275 (or ?) per-hour? Probably not. My guess is that you’d relent, as many do, and be coerced into accepting the suggestion that the entire transaction should be transformed into something more “manageable (for the attorney).” Perhaps a nice “Contract for Deed” or maybe a seemingly innocuous “Lease Option.”  ‘After all, let’s face it, there just isn’t much billable potential in telling a client, “I’m not competent to review these documents…you should see someone else.”

Taking the advice to “convert to something else” clearly means reverting back to the very downsides, short falls and serious risks that the Equity Holding Trust Transfer™ conveyance concept was designed to avoid and protect you from, in the first place.  I.e., shortfalls such as (‘just to name a few):

• Public recordation and notification of the transaction (‘neither party’s name needs to appear in the public record…and it ‘gets the “Sue Me” sign off the property owner’s back);
• The lenders’ alienation admonitions (due-on-sale clause) not violated (12USC1701 j-3);
• There is no compromise of the Wall Street Consumer Financial Protection Act (re. Dodd-Frank re. seller-assisted home financing)
• Prevents a claim of “Equity” by a defaulting tenant-buyer so often used to thwart eviction and force a drawn-out and expensive foreclosure process…and free rent while the case drags on;
• Avoids the threat of either the seller’s or the buyer’s creditor judgments attaching to the property (or to any Option on it);
• Eliminates the threat of either party’s income tax liens attaching to the property
• Removes the possibly of marital dissolution claims preventing easy disposition of the property
• Stops the insidious susceptibility to attachment by partition actions and/or charging orders against individual participants by judgment creditors;
• Avoids the risk of either party’s being penalized because of the other party’s bankruptcy, probate marital dissolution, incarceration or forced ancillary administration process upon a party’s death;
• Provides an (“escrow-like”)  third-party title-holding trustee that very effectively shields the title against litigation and prevents the potential for disputes among beneficiaries

If you or I were to consult with our licensed, board-certified general medical practitioner about treatment for a brain tumor, a good one would refer us to a neurologist. However, the mindset of the legal practitioner is all too often analogous to that physician’s suggesting that we simply contract a more manageable condition. E.g., ““A brain tumor eh?  Well, I don’t know much about the brain, so how ‘bout I treat you for hemorrhoids instead? Here. Take this. Insert it carefully. Pay ast the front desk. me. Call me in the morning, and if this cure doesn’t work…’great, just let me know and we’ll switch to still another malady (“I’ve got a ton of ‘em”)

So (‘you ask): “Well, should I seek the advice of an attorney or not?”

Yup you should! Indubitably as a matter-of-fact (so say I)! However, do be sure to choose a truly competent one who has experience with land trust transfers in creative real estate transactions. And if they start talking about Lease Options, Lease Purchases, Land Contracts (Contracts for Deed), Wrap-Around Mortgages, Equity Shares, Subject To’s or Silent Seconds…run! Run like the wind!  (Unless, of course the attorney is your brother-in-law…in which event the dilemma will be yours: either act on bad advice, or…divorce).

Are there any attorneys you could recommend?

Who me?  Thanks for asking, but No. Although there are a few with whom I’ve become familiar over the years who do understand the concept (albeit a limited few, to be sure): Bill Bronchik, Denver Colorado; Mark Warda, Ft. Lauderdale. Florida; Bryan Dunklin, Dallas, Texas; Jay Swob, Cincinnati Ohio; Henry W. Keno, Chicago Illinois (‘but he’s been dead for over 25 years); Paul De Witt, Los Angeles, California.

Some attorney quotes:

In answer to “Why aren’t there more attorneys who know about land trusts?

“Because very few know how to use them, and even fewer recognize the myriad benefits.”

Mark Warda, Attorney, Florida

“If you can’t find the expertise [i.e. ‘when seeking a competent attorney re. land trusts], you have no choices but to keep on looking, or take upon yourself the task of trying to educate your advisors and counselors.” Good luck with that!

Jay Douglas Swob, Attorney, Cincinnati

“Another problem with using attorneys is that most have a negative attitude about anything with which they are unfamiliar. They’ll probably advise against using a land trust because they [themselves] don’t understand it.”

 

 Bill Bronchik, Attorney, Denver, Colorado

 

“In that the ‘land trust’ is less frequently used outside of Illinois where it was first created [circa 1920], it is unlikely that many attorneys will be immediately familiar with its benefits or unique structure.”

Henry W. Kenoe, Attorney, Chicago, Illinois
Keno on Land Trusts, IICLE, 1989

“No! Don’t do it! Oh M’god! These can only be done in Illinois. They violate the Doctrine of Stepped-Transactions. Lease tenants can’t take tax write-offs. ‘You crazy?  No court in the country would see such a thing as a conversion of real estate to personal estate! Doctrine of Equitable Conversion?  What’s that?  Run Gertrude, run! Run like the wind!

But wait! Before you rush off, Gertrude, let me create a nice little all-inclusive (wrap-around) mortgage for you instead. It’ll do the all the same things and I’ll only charge you $2,000.”  The Due-on-Sale Clause? Oh, don’t worry about that…’lenders hardly ever pay any attention to those things.  I’ll build in a nice exculpatory paragraph anyway (i.e., ‘so you can’t sue me) and it’ll be in bold print.

Could the buyer get the property embroiled in a lawsuit or tax lien while you’re still on the mortgage and unable to make the payments or sell the property?  You ask.  Well, I suppose so, ‘but that hardly ever happens either (‘mumble-mumble’)…’so don’t worry about it (…‘cough-cough).

Could you evict the buyer if he doesn’t make his payments? Well, no. But, hey, there’s always judicial foreclosure, Unlawful Detainer, Ejectment and Quiet-Title action: which I will be more than happy to handle for you (…at, oh, say, $325 per-hour plus court   costs…’no guarantees of course).

Huh? “Would the property be tied up in the other party’s Probate proceedings, if they die?” Well, um, yes, but most people don’t ever die: but even if they were to that, doing so would just be a matter of another paycheck for me, ‘now wouldn’t it? I don’t see any problems here“

Anonymous Lawyer, Riverside, California.

“There is no person on earth who is more apparently knowledgeable about the law than an attorney who doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about.”

Bill Gatten Seminar Leader, Henderson, Nevada

Bill Gatten, the author of this article, is in no way engaged in the practice of law, or in rendering other dependable professional advice.  If legal or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be obtained. Do not expect Bill Gatten to know anything (‘about anything).

ANOTHER NOTE: ‘Want to get your client’s and their attorneys to do the right thing? Give them a copy of the article. ‘Especially this part:

If a physician thought like many attorneys do:

“A brain tumor eh?  Well, I don’t know much about the brain, so how ‘bout I treat you for hemorrhoids instead? Here. Take this. Insert it carefully. Pay me. Call me in the morning, and if this cure doesn’t work…’great, just let me know and we’ll switch to still another malady (“I’ve got a ton of ‘em”).

 

TO BE A RICH PERSON, SIMPLY STOP DOING WHAT POOR PEOPLE DO

I don’t mean to sound maudlin or too “new-agey” here; but the one bit of magic that I have managed to glean from my three quarters of century on this wobbly little planet of ours is that WE as individuals are absolutely in-charge of everything that the universe has to give. We are not only in charge of our own destinies, but also in charge of the very clockwork that is the Universe itself. Although most of us live our lives wholly oblivious to that fact, we none-the-less are in absolute control of our health, our fates, our bank accounts, our aspirations and even the aspirations of others (…i.e., the collective needs of the world at large).

Think about it. Didn’t we (you and I together) send a man to the Moon and stand with him behind the cameras in awe as he took what presumably was humanity’s first step on another planetary body?

Didn’t we send spaceships and video cameras to all the known planets? Didn’t we invent cures for Diphtheria, Polio and Malaria? Didn’t we build the Hubble Telescope and put it into orbit around a beautiful, blue inhabited water planet in a remote part of a remote galaxy among billions of other galaxies like it…’for no reason other than because we wanted to and felt that it necessary?

Didn’t we harness the very electricity that once was the scourge of humanity, but which now is enabling demi-godly evolution of the Information Age and our personal lives on a miniscule remote planet in the vastness of virtually endless space?

Of course we did! You and I did that!  ‘And I couldn’t have done it without you!

There is no single individual anywhere on Earth who can take credit for any of our modernity…it is humanity that did it all, and it will be humanity who travels to the stars for our species’ exploration and relocation.  It us YOU and I who will one day cure all the diseases of mankind including the aging process. And that’s exactly who YOU are, and what WE are capable of doing.  Each of us is a crucial piece in an enormous magnificent jigsaw puzzle that never can be complete without every single tiny piece being in its specific place, supporting the entirety of the whole.

As individuals, we need only to be aware of, and in tune with, all of it, remaining steadfastly aware of all of it in order to use all of it and take credit for it. With each and every one of our achievements, somewhere along the line, a solitary individual with a burning desire to do a thing that alters the entire Universe forever—’with a little help from all the rest of us—’simply DID SO…’because he/she chose to do so, and because they knew for sure they could…refusing to acknowledge other people’s perception of the assumed insurmountable” obstacles and impossibility of a dream ever manifesting out of purest imperceptible Potential.

• “You’ll never get mail from Los Angeles to New York in a single day!  There simply is no man or horse that can run that fast! 
• You’ll never put a man on the Moon or Mars…’there’s nothing to breath when you get there!
  
  
• Traveling to another planet is impossible.  There’s no atmosphere in space, and therefore nothing for a propellant to push against in order to create an “equal and opposing reaction”!
  
• There are no other universes! We have the Milky Way, and everything that exists is right here in it! Oh wait! What are all those little specks that lie beyond the Milky Way.  Oh crap!  ‘Back to the drawing board it is!

Here’s my own little success affirmation (‘as it were…’call it a mantra if you wish?), which, by the way, I have taped to the dashboard of my car, my bathroom mirror and on the back of my TV remote (‘with which I spend entirely too much time) and I’m in the process of having tattooed on the inside of each eyelid.  If you want it, it’s yours too. I honestly have to say that it’s done alright by me. But here’s the caveat: If you read it over once or twice and think you understand its full meaning, you will be wrong…’like any expertly cut diamond, it’s far more multi-faceted than it might appear to be to the casual observer:

I  am in tune  with,  and solely in charge of, the abundance
and   the essence of, Life, which constitutes the purpose of
humanity’s existence. I will, therefore, prosper and stand
conspicuous in the most spectacular of ways…   ALWAYS!

Dr. Tom Johnson, C.O.R.S.

The core message here is that whatever it is that we choose to have, ‘if we truly want it (need it or not), it will be given to us on a silver platter when we know with certainty that having it is our absolute right; and when we honestly ‘expect’ to have it. We can pray for it. We can hope for it. We can wish it upon ourselves. We can ask Santa for it. But if we’ve already tried all of that, and are weary of all the mewling and moping and hoping—and if we are sick and tired of screwing around and being ignored while waiting for the good stuff that others seem to have more of than we do: then we must dig in, rare back and scream (i.e., holler, bellow, bawl-out, yell).

This to say that we have no choice but to tilt our heads way back and proclaim, from the diaphragm through, to, and beyond the uvula,’ as loudly and sternly as we can, that what we want is already ours and by damn, we’re going to have it…NOW!

Its funny, I know, but sometimes God just doesn’t appear to hear real well when needs are whispered as prayerful little “poor-me” supplications. But when they are boldly demanded with sternest, self-assurance, he(she?) smiles and says: ”Well, sonovagun, ‘alrighty then! You finally figured it out! It’s about time!”

When you’ve asserted yourself in this manner (figuratively or literally)…and really mean it…my solemn promise to you is all that you honestly command into reality via Need versus Hope, will indeed appear… ‘and sooner than you think. ‘So be ready!

The most closely guarded secret relative to obtaining is not the fact that if you truly want it and have a good reason, that it will be given to you.  There’s a far more valuable “tool” that we need to understand.  Personally, I can remember my “poverty days (my own)” of not too many years ago, when I thought repeating my mantras and my affirmations daily (to myself)…with stern conviction…and paying larger tithes than I could afford, would bring me financial relief. It did not. It didn’t do diddly-squat (‘so to speak) in that regard…’ until I figured out the solution to the enigma.

The enigmatic mystery all along was simply that if you don’t think you deserve it, no matter how badly you want it, and no matter what you do to get it, you will never discover that it is already yours and just waiting for you to summon it from potential.

Whatever it may be, you must NEED it (burningly) enough to demand it with every screaming fiber of your body and sou and MEAN IT.  And, until you do exactly that, your plans for achievement remain undefined and cannot allow the Law of the Universe to “know” what the hell it is that you think you’re supposed to have.

Consider walking up to an airport ticket counter and saying, “I’d like a ticket please.” The ticket agent then asks, “’And where would you like to go?”  Whereupon you reply: “Well…someplace better than where I am right now, ‘that’s for sure.”

Think about it…how far are you going to get before your realize that you need to get a lot more specific.  You “need” to refine your objective and know for sure exactly where you want to be. You also must know when you’ll be prepared to leave and when you’d like to arrive, and what your surroundings should be like once you get there. In other words , forget about where you WANT TO GO and determine instead where you NEED TO BE!

The resolution of the “enigma” then is: ‘Know with certainty what you want; brashly demand it without apology; know that it is already yours to have; expect it without embarrassment or doubt. Then, Voila! It’s on its way and you can’t stop it. Just be very careful what you pray for…because when you really mean it…you’re gonna get it!

But wait! There’s still another catch. There are a few things you must to do first in order to get aboard the Achievement Train. These items are not necessarily daily exercises, or life-changing goofy stuff that you can’t live with for long, and which embarrass your friends and family when they see you doing it. But they constitute the “catch” nonetheless, and are summed-up very succinctly in the following quote by Louise Hay:

In order to eliminate [any] ‘scarcity’ in one’s life, one must identify and relinquish some [veiled] self-serving need that relies upon that scarcity for its fulfillment

In analyzing this simple, life-altering truism, it becomes obvious that if, for example, one were to desire to, say, lose weight, he or she would have no choice but to give up something desirable but unnecessary. For the weight-challenged, take your choice: any two of the following will do (and you can keep all the rest)—’those scrumptious high calorie foods; ‘that insulin-spiking dietary starch; ‘that satisfying couple’a cold beers every evening after work (‘Oh God! Please! Not the beers!); ‘your sedentary lifestyle; or… ‘a blissful couple weeks of not exercising.

Another prime example of a deeply hidden self-serving need that relies upon a scarcity for its existence is “Failure.” In other words, many people actually choose to fail: I.e., “If I don’t attain success, my need to bitch about everything and blame others for my deficiencies won’t be impinged upon, ‘and I won’t ever have to face the prospect of…’well, ‘failing.   In other words, if I don’t try, no one can say I failed; and that way, I won’t have to come back for an encore (…and that’s very important, because even if I did accidentally succeed once, who’s to say I could ever sustain the roll I was on, and be able to do it again).”

For the same reasons, if one wants to lose the depleted bank account, and the monthly late-notices (“friendly reminders”), then he or she has no choice but to firmly resolve to give up something. ‘For starters, how about giving up, say, a couple hours of TV watching per-evening, two or three of those leisurely Saturday afternoons per-month? How about giving up the safety inherent in declaring that you don’t like cold-calling? Or perhaps letting go of that that fattening poverty- building, ‘oh so soothing propensity for procrastination;

As Dr. Wayne Dyer says in his educational course by the same name: “YOU’LL SEE IT WHEN YOU BELIEVE IT!”

For our purposes, the key is simply to understand, once and for all, that in order to become successful in Creative Real Estate, ‘especially as it pertains to the Equity Holding Transfer™, you don’t have to change your lifestyle, your religion, your spouse, your girth or the way you pluck your nose hairs. You merely need to identify and select a few of those replaceable Self-Serving Needs, ‘and resolve to abandon them in favor of diligently taking for yourself that which you REALLY want out of life.

Honestly, do you think your God will mind if you rare back, scream out boldly, emphatically and demand that “he” give you what you know with certainty that you truly deserve?  No!  ‘Any God who, in fact, would be offended by any starving soul raising his/her  voice in dire need is really not a very good God.

Imagine, if you will, a devout and truly virtuous preacher in the process of drowning in lake with others watching?  ‘Do you think his dire entreaty for salvation is going to be whispered softly in order to avoid offending God?  Hell no!  ‘You’ll hear him twenty miles away vociferously demanding the life that he knows with certainty he deserves, and of which he is about to be deprived!  In this analogy the preacher knows without question what he want at that moment, ‘and he damn-well ain’t screwin around with platitudes and sweet-talk!  In such a dire circumstance I am positive that any caring God would never resent even the busting of an F-Bomb or two somewhere along the line.  If you’ve ever felt that you were about to drown and weren’t much of a swimmer, ‘you know exactly what I’m talking about.

If you’re about to drown financially…’now you know what to do about it!

AN EQUITY HOLDING TRUST TRANSFER™ FROM BEGINNING TO END

‘IF YOU DON’T LOVE IT, ‘NO OFFENSE, BUT YOU’RE
PLUMB NUTS!

March 14:

I received a call from my partner’s bandit sign (“I Buy Houses, Full Price, All Cash or Terms Any Condition, Any Price”)

The caller was a Mr. Sam Brown who says he has a house in Mission Hills, California that is worth maybe $150,000, but which has a $164,000 loan on it and work to be done. I asked him “what he would like to see happen.” He says he is just looking for someone who would take over his payments. I then ask how much work needed to be done. He says maybe $10,000 worth. My comment is: “Woo Doggies!”

Next, I ask how far in arrears his payments are. He indicates that they are current…’for the moment anyway. I then ask what he would do if I were not able to help him. His comment is that he just wants to walk-away, and that he has no cash and will not be making any further payments, irrespective of whether or not I take the house.

I tell him that I’ll call him back the next day after checking the title and getting some comparable value information together (comps). The comparable sales in the area show the property to be worth perhaps $155,000.00 to $160,000.00 after fix-up (‘still no equity for me).

March 15:

I call Mr. Brown and arrange to meet him at the property that same day.

After seeing the mess (broken windows, a yard full of trash, weeds up to the windows, windows frames that didn’t meet the walls, peeling linoleum on the floors, dry-rot and termites), I comment to Mr. Brown that I can see that he is truly in a pickle on this one…he agrees and reiterates (in case I didn’t hear him the first time) that he has no money and has no choice but to let it go back to the bank if I don’t want it.

After inspecting the house, I determine that actual costs to bring the property to a reasonable cosmetic condition (with good, but cheap, labor and parts) might run no more than $6,000 to $7,000.

I reason, as well, that by keeping the loan in place and asking for $10,000 up front from a resident co-beneficiary on a 50:50 equity share, I can get all the work done and perhaps have a little left over. I figure I can advertise it at $165,000 and perhaps be able to start out at break-even (without cash out of pocket) and with a couple thousand in my wallet.

I then have Mr. Brown sign a 15-Day Option to give me 15 days before I have to make my final commitment (I try for 30, but he’s afraid of having to make another payment…I know, bad logic…he was never going to make a payment anyway).

Upon handing him the NEO (Non-Exclusive Option) to sign (i.e., ‘with a twenty-dollar bill stapled to the front), I also give him an unsigned copy of the Offer to Acquire (both documents available on this site), ‘explaining that the twenty-dollars is just for legal consideration (‘not really necessary, but stops a seller’s inquiring about an Option Fee).

March 16:

I beat it to the county court house and record a “Memorandum of Option,” then over to the newspaper office to run my ad:

NO DOWN
NO BANK QUAL
NO DOWN
NO CRED. APP

3 Pmts and Clos. Costs
Moves you in. Nice $165K 3+2
Home. Needs TLC. xxx xxx xxxx

March 18:

I have my friend “Old Unemployed Bob” put a coat of gray paint on the front of the house and have him frame all the window and door openings with 1 X 6 boards which paints a nice bright white. We (Bob and I) pick up all the trash that is in the front yard…’and throw it all in the back yard.

Next, we Roto-Til the front yard and plant some flowering bushes along the front of the house and along the walk. ‘After two or three hundred dollars at most, the house looks quite “cute and cozy (as they say)” FROM THE STREET (‘called “Curb Appeal”). The plan THEN (and only then) is to begin working on the rest of what needs to be done, in hopes that someone might just drop by and offer to do the rest of the work for a reduction in price, before I’ve had to spend much more money.

March 20:

Bob dismantles the “things” that will eventually have to be repaired (e.g., ‘pulls the tub away from the wall where the dry rot is, removes the window sills that don’t meet the wall, takes the doors off the kitchen cabinets that are to be resurfaced, etc. (‘no hard work, ‘just partial dismantling …’thereby creating the illusion of “Work in Process”).

Note here that even though I haven’t exercised my Option, I’ve only spent about $400 at this point for everything.

March 24:

After the front of the house is cleaned up, and once the ad hits, the phone calls start hitting my voice mail, one after another. I return all of the calls and repeat the same mantra over and over again with every caller:

“Yes, I have this great little house over there on Blyth Street in Mission Hills, and if you can afford the nine or ten thousand that it’ll take to get in, and the $1,200 or so in monthly payments…after adding tax and insurance, of course: I’ll just GIVE IT TO YOU (pause). The only thing I want out of it is to have you put the loan in your own name, ‘or sell the property in a few years, and at that time, IF there’s been any appreciation we can just split it.” (NOTE: If they don’t like the ‘split appreciation’ idea, you can say: “No problem. If you’d prefer, you can come in with $19,000 instead of $10,000 and you can have it all.” They invariably want to get back the $9,000 deal.)

With each caller, I tell them that the house is being worked-on at the moment, but that if they want to see it, they have to come “with their rose colored glasses on,” because it’s a real mess at present.” I tell them that we haven’t had a chance to do much of anything yet…’or even haul off the trash.

Then when they show up, I make sure that my buddy Bob has tarpaulins and plastic sheets spread out over the floors and counter tops, and that paint cans can be seen in various places (‘needs to look like something’s going on). With all of the callers, I tell them to drive by the house first and then call me if they like what they see (from the street) and have an interest in it.

Remember…the place looks great from the curb: I want them to see it from the street, and then begin rationalizing all the shortcomings, and building-up their “want-to” while they sleep that night).

March 26:

The fifth or sixth caller calls back and asks if we can meet at the house to work something out. Maybe 7 or 8 others have said they’ll drive by, but haven’t called yet. I know we’ve got a live one at this point.  So I once again remind the prospect that the house is a mess and that he’d better have a good imagination for “potential” and for what things COULD BE, rather than what they ARE. He laughs and agrees, and we meet.

After an inspection of the mess, he asks when I might be finished with all the work…I tell him maybe as much as a month or two at most (I know he’d like to move as soon as possible). He seems discouraged, but I then tell him that if he’d like to finish the work himself, I’ll knock a couple thousand off the price and, another $2,500 off the $12,000 I need upfront to get into the property.   He now can get in for just $10,000 plus the first payment when it comes due).

I fill out an Offer to Acquire from him to me–and have him sign it and accompany it with certified (non-refundable) funds in the amount of at least one full monthly payment obligation $1,200.00 (‘could be any amount you specify).

March 27:

I return to Mr. Brown, the seller, in order to give him my signed (‘and already accepted) purchase offer. First, however, before giving him the paperwork, I tell him that the property is a lot worse than I had first thought. I see him wince a little. At that point I tell him about the termite problem and tell him that he’ll need to pay the $2,000 for the tenting and spraying, but that I’ll take care of everything else. He heaves a sigh of relief and agrees, ‘assuming that I’m paying the $10,000 that he estimated the refurb to be, and that I’m also paying all costs of marketing (‘when anyone says they don’t have money, ‘what they mean is: “Well, I have some, but I don’t want to spend it unless you pull the right levers).”

April 1:

The property is tented…at Mr. Brown’s expense. The poison is sprayed, the termites begin singing “Cum Bah Ya” as they grow weak and are no longer able to hold hands; and as their grip fails and their little arms fall to their sides, the house crumbles and falls down (‘No, just kidding…they all die and go to termite Heaven, I’m sure).

April 10th: 

I complete the paper work for the “Blyth Street Land Trust” and have Mr. Brown execute the document (‘as the only beneficiary at tht point): thereby appointing Equity Holding Corp. as the trustee.

April 11th:

I complete the “Assignment of Beneficiary Interest” agreement from Mr. Brown to my resident co-beneficiary and me, and then complete the “Beneficiary Agreement” between us.

The Beneficiary Agreement designates our respective percentages of ownership of beneficial interest in the trust as: 10% retained by Mr. Brown; 40% to me; and 50% to the Resident Beneficiary (Mr. Seabury). However, I arrange to have it stipulated in our agreement that Mr. Brown will forfeit his 10% to me and any claim to profit, at the trusts termination (‘I just need him to hold onto it for now in order to avoid the current lender’s due-on-sale admonitions; any reassessment for property tax; and payment of Transfer Tax (i.e., ‘there has been no sale of the real estate, ‘only a transfer of beneficiary interest in an inter vivos trust—personal estate).

Note here as well, that I leave Mr. Brown with 50% of the voting rights so as not to invoke property tax reassessment and conveyance tax: however, I receive a Power of Attorney from him in order that I might vote his rights, and not have to involve him in management decisions.

May 1st:

The resident co-beneficiary brings the rest of his money in, ‘executes all documents, ‘makes his first payment on the contract and is given the keys to the property.

May 2nd:

The deed to the trustee is recorded; a triple-net lease agreement between the Trustee (Equity Holding Corp) and the new Resident Beneficiary is executed; and he (the RB) and his family move into the property and the work on the property is begun (‘i.e., the RB “takes possession”).

All signed documents are sent to the trustee, who retains the collection service (Equity Management Services) who, without charge, begins payment collections and disbursements for the term of the agreement.

May 4th:

I receive a check in the mail for $10,000 including a mandatory one-month Contingency Fund (to be used for eviction if it is ever needed).  Now, when the trust and the accompanying triple-net occupancy agreement terminate, the property will be sold or refinanced by the Resident Beneficiary.  And as all costs of sale are paid; I will get back the equity that I carried (the difference between the loan amount at start and the $160,000.00 “Mutually Agreed Value” at inception (the MAV); the Resident Beneficiary will receive a refund of his original $10,000, less any recurring costs, whereupon all remaining proceeds will be divided equally between he and me.

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So far (2 years into the deal), that property has increased in value to about $210,000; I receive a $100.00 p/mo. positive cash flow each month; the loan has paid down by about $3,600. I therefore have earned approximately $33,000 on what was an over-encumbered property that no one else wanted, and which involved No Down Payment from me  (‘just a refundable Contingency Fund from my Resident Beneficiary partner); No Credit Application; No New Loan; No monthly payments (for me); No Management costs; No Maintenance Costs, No Up Keep or Refurbishment costs.

Furthermore, the lender’s due-on-sale clause was not violated; the property is protected from creditor claims and tax liens, bankruptcy; marital dissolution disputes and Probate should any party die.

By the way, when this property sold three years later, it sold for 210,000 and my Resident Beneficiary and I split a bit more than $50,000 (‘along with three years of positive cash-flow and the money was paid up front).

Cool, eh?

Would you like an excellent coach and lifetime mentor to teach you how to do all of this this with virtually every type of real estate, ‘while safely, legally, efficiently and silently mirroring every (any) type of Creative Financing system, without any of the risks and down-sides (‘i.e.: Straight Lease, Lease Option, Lease Purchase, Straight Lease with Income Tax Deductions, Contract For Deed; Land-Sale Contract, Equity Share, Wrap-Around Mortgage, etc.

Bear closely in mind that we do ALL of this without a Due-On-Sale violation; without compromise of Dodd-Frank (Owner Financing) legislation; without creation of an Executory Contract; without the need for a new loan; without standard credit qualifying; without escrow; without typical loan approval and underwriting delays; without a mandatory need for new title insurance.

And closings can take a little as a week or less.

[OK, in all humility, I may not be singularly the best investment coach and mentor in the world: but, seriously, ‘how can I argue with the many thousands who insist that I’m wrong about that?].  ;o)

Creative Financing

As profitable as traditional real estate financing can be re. the acquisition of investment real estate, one should never overlook the real benefits of so-called “creative financing” and the myriad ways by which so many otherwise hidden doors to wealth and prosperity can be opened to you…’and to thousands of others who may have been penniless and “credit-less” in the beginning.

The average real estate investor today is not unlike a person who takes an average job with an average company and expects to reap the financial rewards that are typically reserved only for those who take risk and put their very lives on the line every minute of every hour in order to create cutting-edge, innovative products and services, that they, themselves, acquire and administer…’without bosses, time clocks and domination by others whose company stature depends upon standing on the shoulders of those who keep them in their loftier job descriptions by diligently doing as they are told.

While it is theoretically possible, it is none-the-less unlikely–if you’re interested in breaking the mold of mediocrity that is barring the achievement of your highest financial dreams–‘that you ever will do so while being someone else’s employee.

‘If you agree, let’s talk!

In this article I’d like to go in to some  explanation of how creative real estate financing works, and how it can help virtually anyone to achieve real financial rewards by employing some simple strategies and some new ideas that lie well outside of the proverbial “box” for most folks.

It’s often said that there is nothing new under the Sun; however, a closer look at that old and tired adage will prompt a revision thusly: “There is nothing that can ever be needed to create something new, which is not already under the Sun and immediately available to anyone capable of converting thier wishes, wants and unspoken desires to honest Needs.

When you and I rely only on institutional financing sources – primarily banks, credit unions, etc. – we are, by definition, limiting our options due to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac having strict rules in place regarding the amount of money and credit you must have, and how many mortgage loans they can authorize for you.  With this realization, one has to stop and wonder why the acquisition of income producing real estate (‘or one’s own home) should necessarily have to conform to such institutionally imposed limitations.

The big question:  ‘Why must you and I conform to what everyone else does…because everyone else does?

Who should dictate that someone can’t give me a free and clear house if they so desire?  Why can’t someone give me a house that FNMA FHLMC is not interested in financing?   Why does a government backed or insured lending institution get to dictate what I can buy, inherit, trade-for, take-over or steal?  [Well, OK maybe not steal…the government does enough of that]

Although, the government is there, in theory at least, to protect you and me and our fragile fiat economy: their stringent home-buying and selling rules, ‘no matter how much needed for the sake of free-enterprise, can seriously obscure real investment opportunities for those of us who make some of  our own rules and who don’t mind marching to a different drummer from time-to-time..

This is where creative (i.e. “innovative”) financing comes in.  I.e., instead of going to your local lender for financing, you can instead exercise one of the many creative investing options that are openly available to you twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week: ‘thus allowing you to sidestep many of the “ordinary” impediments that are designed to “protect” most of us; but which also penalize many of us (i.e., Options, Wraps, AITD’s, Contracts for Deed, Bond for Deed, Equity Sharing, Flips, Assignments, fractional ownership timeshares, multiple owner trusts, etc..

“Some Methods of Business Financing Lying Outside the “NORM”

The beauty of creative financing is that just about anything goes...’assuming it’s functional, legal and doesn’t harm anyone. For example let’s say Oprah Winfrey decides to offer a tenant in one of her properties the contractual right to take the property’s title without concern for credit or standard qualifying parameters, ‘that would technically qualify as creative real estate financing, especially if Oprah were unconcerned about a loan-to-value ratio or any particular employment history,

The number and types of creative real estate financing devices are limited only by the imagination of the parties in the transaction, and one’s own ability to clearly and persuasively impart your own knowledge intent and need relative to the acceptability or advisability of the transaction at hand.

Consider this one “extreme” example (‘just one of dozens):

Mr. and Mrs. Jones haves beautiful home with a mortgage balance that is greater than the value of the property, and they no longer wish to own and continue paying on the property.  ‘You happen to know of a friend of yours who can afford the large payments, but has faulty credit and not enough money for a 20% down payment.    ‘Is there any chance of making any money here by solving the problems of the homeowner and your friend…’and your own bank account?

Well then, ‘what if you were to agree to take-over the property and those payments; and then make your friend a partner with you, who for half of any future profits, agrees that he and his family will live in and care for the property at his own expenses, and who is far more concerned with the affordability of payments and the amount of cash necessary for the move-in , ‘rather than about short-term appreciation potential and the property’s resale value in, say, 5, 6 or 7  years?

In this scenario, let’s say the property is worth $300,000 with a loan balance of $350,000 and the payments are $2,800 per-month (‘with, say, 25 years left on the underlying financing).  Instead of  a $75-$85,000 down payment and closing costs of $20,000, you put your friend in the property for $10-15,000 (‘which becomes the acquiring party’s refundable contribution, but which goes into your pocket until the sale or re-finance of the property at some point in the future).  You establish a monthly payment amount of,  $3,200 per-month, along with an agreement to sell or refinance in 5-6 years, ‘at which time, from the proceeds of the disposition. he receives a refund of his original contribution, and you and he share in  the remainder of any profit having been derived from any net appreciation, loan principal reduction, your upt front money and your positive cash-flow over the term of the agreement.

Thank about it:  ‘In this scenario, how much did you spend up front?  (Hint: rhymes with “bluthing”); how much did you pay per-month?  (Hint: rhymes with “cluthing”); how much did upkeep, insurance and property tax costs you?  (Hint: rhymes with “smuthing”); and how much credit risk did you assume when taking over the property and the payment stream?  (Hint:  rhymes with– “nun”)

Possible problems?  

Payments too high for this type of home?   Might the seller prefer paying for, say, the tax-deductible insurance and property tax for a while, in order to avoid the $800 to $1,000 per-month continuing negative cash-flow and maintenance and management costs and responsibilities?

The loan is non-transferable?  One avoids compromise of the lender’s the due-on-sale clause in any loan by placing the property in an inter vivo  trust and instead of selling the property, ‘selling beneficiary interest in the trust (i.e., rather than the property’s title interest. (12USC1701-j-3) 

Owner financing is prohibited (re. the Dodd-Frank Act):  When the property is in the trustee, the only “sale” having taken place is that of personalty and not realty, ‘and not of concern in the Dodd-Frank Wall St. Consumer Financial Protection Act).

What about foreclosing on an errant tenant buyer: When the Equity Holding Trust transfer™ is employed versus a title transfer to a buyer, the tenant beneficiary is never on title and has no basis for claiming possession of “Equity” in the property for purposes of forestalling eviction and forcing a drawn-out and costly judicial foreclosure and ejectment processes. There is never a need for foreclosure: ‘merely a simple eviction process (‘paid for by the mandatory Contingency Fun having been posted by the resident beneficiary at inception). 

What if I and my partner, or either of us, and the seller have disagreements:  Not unlike an escrow process, the trust property’s title is legally and equitably held by a third-party (trustee) who can only respond to mutual direction by all parties acting in concert, whereby intentional failure to comply could bring about a civil or criminal action.

Creative Financing Is Innovative Financing

One should know well that creative financing strategies aren’t simply ways of avoiding down payments. Creative real estate financing is, in essence, an all-encompassing way of looking at the funding of  real estate transactions without needing to rely on the socially-accepted tradition of getting a bank loan with a 20% down payment (‘which system is designed for purposes of ameliorating any risk that the bank might be taking) and making payments for 30 years  or more.

Creative financing can entail no more than pledging small amounts of equity in multiple properties that you own, in lieu of making a down payment on a property you wish to acquire. While it may seem unusual, ‘this process – cross-collateralization – is a creative financing technique that has been used for decades in commercial real estate, and by forward-thinking residential real estate investors.

Cross-collateralization is less common than, say, lease optioning, subject-to financing or even putting government charitable programs to work for you in funding real estate transactions. These strategies can all be used to finance real estate acquisition, disposition and management; and can certainly help to grow your investing portfolio at lightning speed.

Probably the most common form of creative financing today involves the seller’s accepting all or part of the risk associated with real estate transfer, by agreeing to carry the mortgage personally along with a promissory note secured by the property. This, again, can allows for purchase or sale without restrictive credit or down payment concerns.

You might think that the average motivated seller wouldn’t want to consider a creative real estate offer when they could just as easily get all of their cash up-front from another buyer. You’re partially right: the average seller might not be inclined to accept a creative financing offer (‘but you might be shocked to learn how many marginally motivated sellers there are who would indeed consider carrying paper via creative seller-financing).

ost creative real estate transactions don’t involve “average” sellers.  ‘Instead, they involve highly motivated sellers with special needs, whose circumstances simply cannot be addressed by selling their property traditionally to an ordinary, run-of-the-mill investor with access to a line of credit or an unlimited supply of cash. 

Want another example? Read on…

What if you had a property that you absolutely had to sell because you’ve chosen to live nearer to a family member who is receiving radiation treatments due a rare form of cancer?  Then, what if the property you wanted out of had a bedroom “decorated” with a large tree branch having crashed through the roof during a windstorm –i.e., ‘during a period when the property was uninsured due to a memory lapse on your part?

What if you had a a large house with marginal or no equity and not enough family left to fill it, say, during a time of recession in the real estate market?  Might you consider some seller-carry options in order to avoid losing thousands of dollars?  Here you can see how such a circumstance would motivate you to at least consider creative financing if it meant being able to get rid of a burden that you no longer had any use for.

One of the most invigorating aspects of creative real estate finance is that it sometimes involves asking the owner of the property to participate in financing, as in the case of a Contract for Deed, a Lease Option, or a subject-to mortgage take-over.

The world of creative financing is much larger than can be explored here,  and can also include putting government programs to work for you by letting Uncle Sam pay all or part of the costs of acquisition, financing, refurbishment or finding and/or retaining tenants.

Creative real estate financing includes bringing like-minded investors into your real estate projects by using private-money lenders. These private lenders – typically busy executives or others with a desire to earn an above-average returns on their investments – are often willing to lend money for real estate on a short-term wholly asset-based risk.

Yet still another creative financing strategy might be using a self-directed IRA to fund real estate or to accept cash from other investors who wish to use their self-directed IRA for investment opportunities. 

Hard money (asset-based) lenders:  I would be remiss if I were to ignore one final creative financing method: hard money lenders. While hard money lenders won’t necessarily be your first choice in generating real estate investing cash, they are a source that can provide capital when all other options have failed.

You do want to be careful though, when using hard money because rates and terms can be somewhat exorbitant; but in certain cases, they can make perfect sense and can be the difference between having a deal that gets done and one that remains an unfulfilled dream – ‘teasing your consciousness with the promise of untold profits – only to snatch them back at the last second.

Hard money lenders can allow you to seize real estate opportunities that you might otherwise have to let pass: ‘so for that reason alone, they are easily worth the cost and typically easy to work with

Example:  House worth $100,000 wherein the seller will let you have it, but wants some cash up front.  You tell the seller you can give him/her $50,000 in cash if he/she’ll carry the rest for you on monthly payments.  You then borrow out $60,000; give $50,000 to the seller and put $10,000 in your pocket, whereupon you bring in an Equity Holding Trust™ tenant-buyer, or a maybe just a lease Optionee, to make the payments for you.

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Your financial security in this business is wholly dependent upon on your ability to bend and sway with the times and the opportunities with which you are confronted.  “One-trick Ponies” don’t last long in this business.   Motivated sellers come in a variety of colors, shapes, body configurations and intelligence levels; but the one constant that you can always count on is that every single one of them has a piece of property that want you to take them out from under.   In our business we don’t ever need to look for properties: ‘we look only for motivated sellers (…and strangely enough, each of them has a property they don’t need!).

There quite obviously are many challenges before you as you immerse yourself in the creative real property financing business…’and there are some excellent teachers out there who would love nothing more than to tutor and mentor you (‘and one of the best coaches of them all is yours truly, the beloved personal author of this here doggone article.

While there are indeed some challenges associated with learning these varied strategies and techniques, the biggest one before you now is that of accumulating the knowledge you need to make all of it a reality for you…in the shortest amount of time and having someone you can rely on to help you through it all.

Call me @ 800 409 3444 for superior tutelage and professional mollycoddling.

‘Hey, I’m not saying that I’m singularly THE  best in the business: ‘but, seriously: ‘How can I argue with everyone who’s ever known me?   ;o)

 

WHAT IS YOUR ELEVATOR SPEECH?

OK, you’re on an elevator headed from the parking garage to the fifth floor and there’s a person standing next to you, looking up at the lighted digits above the door, who turns and casually sizes you up and asks: “So…’what do you do for a living?”

What do you say?

• “Oh, I’m in sales.” (Meaning: “None of your business, and you’re not going to be standing next to me long enough to get into any details anyway, so let’s let it go at that.”)
• “I’m an investor.” (Meaning: “Envy me for 30 seconds …and think of me as someone you wish you could be…’whether I am actually that or not. And always wonder what “kind” of investor I might be…’as if you really gave a hoot”).
• “Me?  ‘For a living? ‘Oh, not a whole lot these days…’how about you? What do YOU do?” (Meaning: “None of your business. But if you insist on talking, fire away, it’s your nickel!  Me? I’ll just pretend to listen as you babble-on…’oops, well, doggone, here’s your floor already!”)
• “Me?  I’m a teletype operator having a bit of a struggle finding a job, what with all them photo facsimile machines out there these days. If it weren’t for my taste for beans and Spaghetti-O’s, my wife’s taking in laundry and clipping coupons, I’d be…’like…’well… SOL! How about you? What do you do?” (Meaning: “Are you a loser too? Gawd, I sure hope so, because it’s awfully lonely here on the corner of Out-of-Touch-with-Realty Street and Co-Dependency Boulevard.”) “ OK, alrighty then…(‘as the elevator door opens) ‘you go on now and have yourself a nice day…hear? (‘you say in a southern dialect).  Then to the back of the closing elevator doors, you whisper, “Damn! I wish I could afford a suit like that.”

Or..’.maybe you’d answer the elevator question this way:

“Well actually, I work here in the building during the day; but I also dabble in real estate.” (Meaning: I’m unhappy with my plight in life and am trying to better myself without risking anything by letting of of my life-raft. ‘So don’t judge me by what my answer would have been, if I hadn’t added the “but I dabble in real estate” part.”

Or…’how about this one:

“Who me? Oh, I’m a big time real estate investor.” (Meaning: “If you’re really interested in what I do, you’ll ask more questions and get me started, and, once I’m on a roll, I’ll explain how you can benefit greatly from my services.‘ Otherwise…’Oh damn, we’re already at your floor.”)

Now, think about it…’that person who was standing beside you for the short ride is now gone forever, but may well have been someone you could have helped, and received value from in the process…’had you only said the right thing…’i.e., ‘had the proper response been immediately handy and ready to be spouted without thinking about it.

That fellow passenger may in fact have had a house to sell at a bargain price; ‘he may have been an owner in distress willing to let you just take over his loan; ‘he might have been a rehabber looking for a deal.

That guy next to you might have been a prospective buyer for the house or condo you just rehabbed. The fact is that your co-passenger was an ‘all-ears, one-man captive audience’ for those 30 seconds of your life. ‘Why on Earth didn’t you sell him something?

Well, the reason you didn’t even try to sell him something, was because you presumed he didn’t really want an answer to his question and didn’t care enough about you personally to give a hoot about what you might have to say.  Or…’maybe…just maybe…he was just a lonely guy looking for a 30 second buddy to jabber meaninglessly to for half-minute.

All of these assumptions may in fact have been absolutely on the mark. But the big question is: Why didn’t you understand that the actual question was “What do you have that might benefit me?”  Why didn’t you use that precious free time to your maximum advantage?

Consider what “might” have resulted if you’d said something like the following instead: 

“Oh me?  I help folks buy and sell homes and investment real estate in all price ranges without cash or credit.”

There you go…7 seconds on the button and 23 left over.

Then if they say “Oh really?”  That’s when you continue: “Yup, if I’m buying, I pay full price, all cash or terms: if I’m selling I don’t require loan qualifying, a credit reports or big chunks of cash up front. Here’s my card, let me have one of yours.”

There’s still another 15 seconds, and we’re not even to the fourth floor yet…’if the “prospect” is interested in you or what you just said, he might by pass his floor, or ask that you step off the elevator with him for a minute or two; ‘if he’s not interested, ‘you just stare blankly at him until the door opens and he disappears, never to be seen again (‘by you, anyway).”

Now…’if that fellow passenger just happened to have been a prospect (buyer or seller) and by chance you had titillated his fancy (‘as it were) with your pre-planned, memorized, elevator speech, the question is: Did you give him every chance to know who you were and what you can do for him, were he to fit one of the criterion for your business?

Sure you did! But with those other lame answers that everyone else uses…’could any of them have made the slightest bit difference in anyone’s financial life…’much less the life of the guy headed for the fifth floor…’or your own?

“Who me?  Well, I’m an insurance agent: I make widows wealthy and I get royalties from having coined the phrase”God Forbid.”  Nope! Sorry, but you merely wasted your precious moments with that person.

So what’s the point of all this? Well, let me see. How about the point being:

1) We should all find a tall building and ride up and down in elevators all-day proffering 22 second elevator speeches to everyone who comes aboard?  No?  Well, ‘um…

2) Elevators are a great place to find motivated buyers and sellers? No? OK then,

3) It’s alright to talk to strangers on an elevator? Maybe…’at least we’re getting closer!

4) If I am ever caught between floors in an elev…No! No! No…

The actual point is simply this:

You must stop what you are doing right now, and take a half-hour to work out your “perfect,” sure-fire, concise elevator speech.

Once refined (and set to memory) resolve to always have your elevator-speech at the ready when those opportunities arise for your 22-second presentations.  You’ll be finding and qualifying prospects everywhere you go with the minimum amount of effort and maximum effect without intruding on anyone’s time.

Your audience will let you know instantly whether they are prospects or not. The ones who don’t need you and have nothing to offer you will say: “Oh that’s nice and begin talking about what THEY do for a living (‘at which point you remember having forgotten to turn off your coffee pot at home, or you can begin humming “It’s a Small, Small Word”).

The E.S. (elevator speech) is an absolute necessity for those of us in this business (especially in THIS business), and it works everywhere you go: at Church, at a cocktail party, a Chamber of Commerce Mixer; in  the checkout line at the grocery store; at your AA (“Auto Club”) meeting; when meeting your fiancée’s parents for the first time; when meeting your daughter’s fiancée for the first time (…the latter being far worse, believe me…’whomever invented nose rings and tongue piercings is an ass…idiot); standing in the Unemployment or Welfare Line (…Ok, scratch those last two…with a good elevator speech, you’ll never need either one).

THE MESSAGE AGAIN:  Develop at once a brief and concise Elevator Speech! Memorize it word-for-word, and be ready to recite it at every opportunity when someone steps-up and says: “What do you do for a living?”

Here’s mine:

“I’m in creative real estate investing, ‘always looking for good deals to buy, or good people to coach and mentor in picking up no-down, no-credit income properties.”   

Here’s an old one that, for some reason, never made me a dime:

“Shut up! What I do for a living is none of your %^&ing business!  Open your yap again Butt-Brain, and I’ll slam it shut for you!”  

I don’t know why, but I never got any significant traction with that one.

I DON’T KNOW WHO THE AUTHOR OF THIS ARTICLE IS, BUT IT IS REALLY WELL WRITTEN, AND I SINCERELY THANK THEM FOR IT (‘FOUND IN MY COMPUTER FILE, ‘BUT WITHOUT ATTRIBUTION OR ANY COPYRIGHT CLAIMS.

While utilizing a variety of credit resources – creative and institutional financing, hard money loans, and even private money – will help you to reach the pinnacle of real estate investing success much more quickly than you could with cash alone, the way you handle your personal finances can mean the difference between success and failure, and how quickly you can reap the rewards available in today’s real estate market. Getting a handle on your debt is much easier than you might think.

Reducing Your Debt Load

Let’s face it: monthly payments are a drag on any budget, but when you’re trying to squeeze every last dollar out of your meager paycheck so you can realize your dream of real estate investing riches, it becomes even more critical that you stretch your available cash as far as possible.

If – like most people – a large part of your monthly spending involves making monthly minimum payments to multiple credit card companies, you’re well aware that this spending enriches the card companies in the form of interest payments, but your balances come down very slowly.

Here’s how to dramatically ramp up the speed and watch those balances drop – and how to avoid increasing those balances with unwise spending.

For this exercise in financial empowerment, you’re going to need a few things:

All of your credit card statements
A calculator
A pen and paper
A beverage of your choosing

Look through each of your credit card statements and list the balance for each one in descending order from smallest to largest. For now, ignore the interest rate for each card. I know this flies in the face of the logic used by many of the so-called financial experts you see on TV, but I have a very good reason for advocating this approach – which I’ll explain more fully very shortly.

Once you have the balances listed, I want you to list the monthly minimum payment for each credit card next to the balances. Take a look at this example so you have an idea of what I mean:

Visa Card #1 $377 balance $15 minimum monthly payment
Visa Card #2 $536 balance $21 minimum monthly payment
MasterCard #1 $1183 balance $36 minimum monthly payment
MasterCard #2 $4219 balance $56 minimum monthly payment
Discover Card $5925 balance $146 minimum monthly payment

Now I want you to think about how much cash you have available on a monthly basis for attacking this debt. If you haven’t already done so, you should have a monthly budget that guides your financial decisions. If not, you need to create a workable budget today based upon your current income and financial situation.

For the purposes of this illustration, I want you to pretend that you can afford to apply an extra $250 per month towards paying down your excessive debt. It may be more or less than this amount, but this will give you a good idea of what I mean.

When you make your monthly credit card payments, I want you to pay the monthly minimum payments on each of your credit cards with the exception of the first one. Instead of giving the first one (Visa Card #1) their minimum monthly payment of $15, I want you to apply the entire $250 that you have for debt reduction, in addition to the minimum monthly payment of $15.

I realize that some of the financial experts advocate that you apply the extra payment money to the credit card with the highest interest rate because, they argue, the interest rate determines the payment and it will take longer and cost more to do it the way I advocate.

They’re absolutely right; it will.

By doing it my way you gain an important psychological advantage that the other approach can’t match. In two months time, Visa Card #1 will be paid in full, which will then reduce the number of credit cards on which you’re making payments. That forward momentum will give you real, tangible results – which will motivate you to continue what you’ve started. You can’t put a price tag on motivation and the sense of financial empowerment that comes from crossing a debt off your list and realizing that you’re making real strides towards actually taking control of your financial life.

The potential savings you could realize by following the advice of these experts is minimal, but if you don’t want to spend a penny more than necessary in order to get out of debt – and you don’t need the psychological victory, feel free to pay off the higher-rate cards first. Don’t waste too much time getting hung up on the process; the progress is what really counts!

Once you’ve taken care of the first card on your list, apply the minimum payment from the first card to the second one, and so on, until you have all of your credit cards paid off.

Controlling Your Spending

While it’s important that you reduce your existing credit card debt, you’ll never be successful if you don’t also control the credit card spending that gave you that debt in the first place. There are several ways you can go about reducing your reliance on credit cards, but in a perfect world, you would just promise yourself that your days of financing today’s wants and desires are over and that you’ll simply pay cash for those items from now on.

The reality is that many people are weak and can’t follow through with simple promises not to spend. If you can’t control the urge to spend, you may have to cancel your credit cards and put your personal economy on a cash-only basis. However, you might want to consider one of a few alternatives to cancelling your credit cards. These are admittedly off-the-wall choices, but they work – and it can be fun explaining to others the lengths to which you were willing to go in getting your spending under control in order to achieve your very serious dream of real estate investing success!

The Ice Baby Technique – This simple technique can help prevent unwise spending decisions by forcing you to delay the urge to spend. Simply place your credit cards in a small container of water – and then stick it in your freezer. Before you can use your credit cards, you’ll have to thaw them out first. While this technique won’t damage your cards, it will put your spending on ice, while giving your better judgment a chance to kick in before making a financial decision that you could regret.

The Boxed Plastic Technique – Rent a safety deposit box at your local bank and place your cards in the box. While you can still access the cards in a true emergency, you probably won’t be willing to drive to your local bank branch and go through the hassle of getting the cards out just to catch a sale.

The Hide and Seek Technique – Another option is to pull all of the shoeboxes out of your closet and to randomly place your credit cards in a box before replacing it in the rear of your closet. Don’t pay attention to exactly where in the closet your credit cards are. If you get the urge to spend, you’ll be able to get to the card – once you locate it.

Granted, these are unorthodox steps to helping you to control the urge to use your credit cards. There’s no doubt that they’ll work. It might seem a little foolish to wait for credit cards to thaw, take a trip to your local bank to “check” them out of a safety deposit box, or hunt for them in a pile of boxes. But they will have the desired effect; they will help you to control your spending.

By controlling your spending, you can get your debt under control, which will give you more money for the very serious business of creating wealth through real estate investing. The profits are real, the lifechanging nature of this opportunity is easily worth the cost, and the time for you to jump into real estate is NOW!