california investor
REI Expo in Chicago – DON'T MISS IT! We are a proud sponsor. Tell 'em you saw it here!
Real Tech SF 2013 – Realty411 is Exclusive Media Sponsor
Real Tech SF 2013 is excited to announce the participating Sponsors and Starup Alley companies for this month’s event.
Here are the four Gold Sponsors, who will all have full-length exhibitor tables at the conference:
- Reesio – Next generation transaction management platform for real estate agents (no separate accounts needed)
- Realtor.com – Property search site operated by Move, Inc.
- ChargeAds.com – Empowers online publishers to expand and diversify ad inventory sales.
- Cloud CMA – Creates reports for real estate agents that can be used to win new listings.
Here is the one Silver Sponsor (non-exhibitor), who is also our sole media sponsor for the event:
- Realty411 — Publishes online and print media, and organizes events for real estate investors.
The Startup Alley portion of the event is comprised of 23 technology startups within the real estate space that will be demo-ing their disruptive, innovative products:
- Happy Inspector – iPad app for property inspections.
- Wigwamm – Auctions for rental property.
- Storefront – Marketplace for short-term retail space (pop-up stores, etc.)
- RealtyShares – Online crowdfunding for real estate investments.
- HomeZada – Allows homeowners to track maintenance, remodels, and other home data.
- Zumper – Apartment rental searches from verified brokers and renters.
- Producers Forum – Handles off-market/off-MLS transactions.
- iManageRent – Online property management for landlords, tenants, and building providers.
- Benutech – Online transaction management for real estate agents.
- EZ Coordinator – Online transaction management for real estate agents.
- Cozy – Online property management with a focus on payments and screening for landlords.
- Onvedeo – Video hosting and marketing platform for real estate agents.
- Keyzio – iPhone app to match home sellers/buyers that might not be actively looking.
- Comvibe – Online property management for companies with a focus on maintenance.
- MagicPlan – iOS app for capturing floor plans using the sensors in a tablet/phone.
- GoRefi – End-to-end, cloud-based app for refinancing a home online without an agent.
- HomeSmart Advantage Realty – Online brokerage with a deep focus on technology.
- Proxio – Global marketing product that helps agents market their listings worldwide.
- ListedBy.com — Online real estate marketplace with live bidding auctions.
- DoormanSF – Online property management for landlords in San Francisco.
- Pendo Rent — Online property management for landlords.
- Local-Insights — Predictive analytics, data visualization, and filtering.
- Kwelia — Uses predictive date to calculate what apartments should rent for.
Mark Thomas, Co-Founder & CEO, Reesio
Source: realty411guide.com via Linda on Pinterest
Realty411 EXCLUSIVE Media Sponsor for Real Tech SF
Brought to you by Reesio, RealTech SF 2013 brings you up to speed on all of the latest real estate technology developments and gives you an in-depth preview at what you can expect to see hit the market over the next year.
Our all-star lineup of speakers will blow you away with their tremendous domain expertise. Our Startup Alley featuring the hottest new real estate technology startups demo-ing their cool new products will leave you in awe at what is out there. And of course, our networking and happy hour will give you the opportunity to meet with industry leaders and potential customers.
Here are a few of the speakers that will be presenting:
Tickets are on sale right now, but are in limited supply, so be sure to register today!
GET YOUR TICKETS AT: https://www.reesio.com/realtech
* Realty411 is a Proud Sponsor of RealTech SF 2013 *
It's HARD to Make a Living. But it's EASY to Build Wealth.
In Los Angeles a commute is unbearable. In fact, INRIX®, a leading international provider of traffic information, reports that the City of Angels is in second place for the worst congested city in the nation.
Many Angelenos drive three hours per day just to be able to work. I thought that was bad until I discovered people who commute into the city every week and only see their families on weekends.
The sacrifices made by individuals just to make a basic living (food, clothing, shelter) for themselves and their loved ones is mind boggling. I know what it’s like to drive hours every day to punch a clock, it’s tough!
Even if you love your profession, commuting for hours, putting up with office politics and trying to please demanding bosses, can be overwhelming and very stressful.
Plus, with an economy like this, wages and salaries are just not very generous. Companies seem to be using the “bad economy” as an excuse for poor pay, lack of benefits and company perks. It seems everyone is complaining about the limiting amount of career opportunities that are available.
When I was in college, I was not taught about finances at all, in fact nobody ever discussed salaries. When I discovered how much journalists make, I was shocked (and greatly disappointed). Let’s just say it’s a career that you definitely have to be passionate about it because the pay is modest.
Having loved media since I was a child, I decided to enter the trade and watch my pennies so that I could invest as much money as possible in something that I knew was a sure thing: real estate.
You see, because I educated myself on the mechanics of money, I knew that most millionaires made their wealth in real estate. I understood vital concepts about the time/value of money and how location and appreciation could easily skyrocket a person’s net worth.
But the hardest part I thought was getting started. So my husband and I worked hard to accumulate the funds needed to invest. They were busy years and we were handsomely and surprisingly rewarded when we managed to buy a home with no money down in one of the most high-priced areas of the nation. How? We found a seller willing to carry a portion of the note and used private money to get into the deal.
Since we didn’t need any of our own money to buy our home, we used our nest egg to purchase a small apartment building. It was then when everything began to change.
With a few short years, our net worth skyrocketed. Things were appreciating steadily back in 1994 and the equity in the properties was rising much faster than our ability to earn a paycheck by working in our professions.
This is the beauty of real estate. A property can appreciate either due to market conditions or by adding value through a rehab. Profits can come quickly, much faster than a person’s ability to “earn” a living.
The average national salary in America is $41,673.83, according to U.S. Social Security administration. Having a job can provide for the basics just fine, but what quality of life can that type of salary provide?
In the real estate world, $40,000 is not an astronomical number. One can do a deal and make that much per transaction either by buying and holding for cash flow or buying and flipping for profit. I even personally know someone who made $30,000 on one wholesale deal, and she did not even own title to the property!
Most of the deals my family and I have done over the years have grossed us over $100,000 per transaction — we are lucky to live and be able to do deals in California where the spreads can be great. One of my favorite deals was when my husband and I purchased a small multifamily property in Hawthorne, Calif., a blue-collar area of Los Angeles.
The market was really hot in late 2004, and it was tough getting the deal because there were five other offers, but I wrote a personal letter to the seller assuring him that I would make the best landlord to take over his building and he sold it to us, even though another offer came in higher.
Upon purchasing the property, we did slight renovations, one unit at a time. Nothing major, just new carpet, new paint and I think we changed the cabinets in the kitchen of one unit. The hardest part was managing the property because some of the tenants had an attitude because I raised all the rents to market.
About one year and half into the deal, we decided to cash out. We purchased it for $425,000 and in 18 months sold it for $659,000. A gross profit of $234,000! How many people can make that amount of money punching a clock for 18 months?
And what do they have to go through to “earn” that money? Get up at the crack of dawn, commute to work, put up with bad tempers and attitudes, constant deadlines and job stress.
On the other hand, we created wealth by simply buying, managing, repairing and selling an asset. Can it get any easier than that? This is exactly why I get so excited about sharing the benefits of real estate with people because wealth can be created much faster and easier than by “working” at a given profession.
Even in the work force, I noticed that those who invest in real estate do much better financially than those who only go to work and do the best they can to save for the future.
After being in the work force for 20 plus years now I’ve come to realize that more wealth can be created by focusing time and energy into finding and buying properties than by climbing the corporate ladder. Buying one property a year or every few years can really make a difference in your life and in the legacy you leave behind.
The time has never been better to get started or to expand your portfolio. Never have we had a combination of so many distressed properties to choose from coupled with the low interest rates of long-term financing.
The moves you make now can determine your family’s future. So don’t make excuses about how busy you are in your profession. Be sure to take time off from “work” to concentrate on building “wealth”.
$200K in 8 Months Simply for Buying 2 Discounted Properties!? Yes…
I increased my wealth by $200K in 8 Months Simply for Buying 2 Discounted Properties!
by Linda Pliagas, editor/founder of Realty411 ( http://www.Realty411guide.com)
“Today’s Investments Are Tomorrow’s Profits”
This quote is beautifully framed and proudly displayed in the reception area of my Los Angeles-based property manager’s office — the company’s founder has been a local investor for nearly 40 years and has owned, purchased and sold a lot of properties.
Some investors may be put off by this quote because it states that real estate creates a future reward, instead of instant prosperity. Well, this can be quite true.
When we started out as landlords back in 1994, we did not make cashflow. Why? Because our initial down payment was dismal, so everything that was generated from the property, went right back into it.
Yet, we knew real estate was going to create financial security, so we stayed patient, purchased and managed several properties and waited for the right exit strategy. When the time was right, we sold a property for profit and did a 1031 exchange out of state.
What we lacked in cashflow, we earned in appreciation, which resulted in large payout. Then I took the equity and turned it into more monthly cashflow, plus put some extra money into our bank account. Appreciation is awesome because it can increase a person’s wealth very quickly.
You may argue that right now we are not seeing any appreciation, so of course, we need to change our strategy. Right now it’s all about VALUE. The distressed marketplace is turning out spectacular properties with plenty of “Instant Equity.”
Timing is everything in real estate and smart investors need to be taking advantage of buying assets that can earn them money instantly. Deals with $25,000, $50,000 and $100,000 in equity are there for the taking in many prime areas, especially in the California coastal marketplace. In the past eight months, my family and I purchased two value-priced properties, each with an “Instant $100K in Equity.”
One property was purchased in Santa Barbara County for $299,000. It was such a great probate deal, that it had two other offers on the first day! We knew it was a steal and made a very strong offer, one that we knew would most likely beat out the others. Sure enough, we ended up getting the property. After a few months of work, including some landscaping, painting, new appliances and other cosmetic updates, we saw the value of the property rise to $410,000.
We saw an increase in equity of over $100,000 in just a few months! Next, we purchased a duplex in West Los Angeles for $485,000; it was a short sale. The ARV (After Repair Value) is $595,000. Again, we were able to find a deal with at least $100,000 in instant equity!
My personal technique over the years has been to buy deeply discounted properties in California, cashflow them a few years and sell them for both a cash profit and a partial 1031 exchange. By doing this, I can cash in a portion of my gain and then also exchange the CA equity to an out-of-state rental, which can generate more cashflow. Right now because the market is uncertain and we may not see appreciation for a while, it’s especially important to purchase right.
Before buying a property, make sure there is plenty of equity in the deal to diminish risk — just in case it doesn’t work out and you need to liquidate. Remember that every property acquisition produces unique stresses and challenges, as well as rewards. It’s important not to make a common mistake made by many investors: Overbuying.
I’ve seen the smartest investors lose control because they simply purchased more properties than they could possibly handle. Stay level-headed and focused, don’t get to excited and put every penny you have into real estate. You need strong reserves for life, realty mishaps and emergencies.
Having rentals may not be for everyone, but even in my own neighborhood, I see the financial advantages of being a landlord. My neighbors who are retired and own income property are by far better off financially than those who are the same age and do not own real estate, other than their primary home.
I may not always like to be a landlord, but I just added over $200,000 in equity to my family’s portfolio by simply purchasing and managing two assets! And, what I did was not difficult nor complicated.
The deals are out there for you to also find. The time is perfect for you to also increase your family’s wealth with some “Instant Equity.”