Real Estate Business - On the Go?

Have you ever wondered how feasible it would be to conduct your real estate investing business while traveling?  I don't mean while traveling for a 1-week vacation.  Nor a trip for the purpose of scouting out a new location to do real estate investing.  I mean an extended travel itinerary, one that has nothing to do with real estate per se.

Let me take you on a little "trip" to expand your mental horizons as to what can be done - beyond the expected.  You are building out a new business - the business that is your dream soon-to-come true, one that makes you eager to get up and go.  Your home is on the West Coast.  You need to meet with new partners for 3 weeks on the East Coast, then suppliers in Florida for 2 weeks, then 3 weeks with importers/exporters in New York City, then a 4 week stint in Panama for the final establishment of the company structure to do business internationally.

So you are away from "home" for 3 months, at least.  Do you simply drop everything related to real estate?  Or ... do you apply your knowledge regarding how to recognize great real estate deals, how to put together deals, negotiate deals, and close on deals to make a tidy profit?  Thanks to the Internet, you can still do real estate deals on the go!  Make contacts within various real estate investment associations (REIAs) before you arrive at your next destination.  Research the hot areas using Trulia.  Locate properties already advertised for sale on Zillow, Trulia, Craigslist, and LoopNet.  Get comps from the local agents (with the promise to work with the proactive agents who quickly respond with a high-quality Comparative Market Analysis).  Structure and make your offers - can be done electronically by email.  Execute your exit strategy and collect your profit (closing can also be done remotely by allowing your local real estate attorney to close on your behalf).

So, what do you think?  Can YOU do it?  If so, then surely you can follow these steps even when you ARE home.  That will greatly decrease the amount of time you personally spend on any deal.  And time is MORE valuable than money.,

Real Estate Wholesale Deal a "Go" or "No Go"?

We creative real estate Wholesalers are faced with the "go" or "no go" scenario all the time:

• Single family 3-bed 2-bath house $400k ARV, $75K in repairs, purchase for $200k and wholesale for $230K - is this deal a "go" or "no go"?
• Condo 2-bed 2-bath $800K ARV, $30K in repairs, purchase for $600k and wholesale for $650K - you present this to your local REIA for them to judge: is this deal a deal "go" or "no go"?
• Apartment complex, 140 units, NOI $1,000,000, repairs $300,000. purchase for $1,200,000, and wholesale for $1,400,000 - is this commercial real estate deal a "go" or "no go"?

Usually the answer is determined by the size of your Buyers List, augmented by your network of other Wholesalers who have a Buyers List.  Then, within those Lists are additional factors:

• What is the purchase criteria for each buyer;
• Of the Buyers whose criteria match the property characteristics and financials, who is ready, willing and able to buy NOW;
• If the Buyer is ready, willing and able to buy NOW, how decisive are they?  Often times a Wholesaler will use an option or a contract with a deadline for completion of the transfer of the deal to the Buyer.  If the Buyer is slow, needs weeks to decide, and the Wholesaler needs to complete the transfer within a week then that Buyer is useless.  The "deal" is now a "no deal."
• If the ready, willing and able Buyer is in the List of another Wholesaler, is there enough of a spread to cover that Wholesaler's desired profit?  Or are the numbers so slim that a joint venture is not feasible?

Of the 3 examples given, which one do you feel is a "go" and which is a "no go"?  If your money was on the line, would you "go" with that deal your are trying to wholesale to others?

But isn't that how life is?  Constantly, whether we are conscious of it or not, we are making "no or no go" decisions.  Take the alternate route to take to bypass a traffic jam, or wait and hope the jam clears soon; accept the date invite from a man who is not the one you were hoping to get the invite from, or sit home of yet another Friday night.  The "go or no go" can take many forms.  For some the outcome is measured in how late they are to the destination, how much fun they have on that date, or whether they make $30,000, $50,000, $200,000, or NOTHING.  "Go" or "no go"? You decide.