Realty411 Team

Interview by Tim Houghten

Go faster, put the power, experience and hindsight of 2020 REI in your hands, and get on the fast track to your real estate goals

As he jumped into the driver’s seat of a new Mustang GT, Realty 411 caught up with 2020 REI’s founder, Tim Herriage. Our fast-paced, hands-free conversation, ripped open what’s going on under the hood of one of America’s power houses of the real estate investment world, as the 435 horsepower machine rumbled to life.

FORD & THE 2020 ADVANTAGE

2020 REI is a leader in the real estate investment space, and for investors it’s not too unlike the experience of getting behind the wheel of America’s best loved, and perhaps most exciting sports car.

With Ford’s Intelligent Access you have the ability to remotely start your vehicle, and the ease of push button start. You have rearview mirrors and a great dash, so you can both clearly see the road behind you, and in front of you.

In the Mustang you have many working parts, from the engine to the technology that runs it. You can have a great navigation system plugged in, a good sized gas tank, and a whole team of experienced individuals that put decades of knowledge into building it.

You don’t need to understand or master the art of every part of the engineering yourself in order for the car to work. They did it for you. You just need to know where the button is to start, and how to put your foot on the gas pedal.

At the 2020 REI group of companies you’ll find vertically integrated solutions for investing in real estate, including financing (your gas). Like the original Henry Ford, Tim Herriage says he believes real estate investing should be easy, and it should be accessible to the masses. He doesn’t believe the individual investor should have to master email or direct mail marketing, or knocking on doors to reap the benefits. Through 2020 REI, he has built his own system, designed to consistently build and turn out real estate investment success. With over $1B real estate transactions so far, the group may have cracked the code.

FORWARD THINKING VALUES

They say hindsight is 20/20. We all know we’d invest and navigate the investment landscape far more successfully if we had the benefit of time travel. 2020 REI is built on the mission to give today’s investors the benefit of the knowledge of those that have gone before them, and the clarity to make the right moves for the future. Like the Mustang, 2020 REI has changed the game from just being about having heavy weight capital to throw around, to being more like a hi-tech sports car that can take investors where they want to go, faster, and with better handling.

Tim, who would much rather talk about his great team members and customers, than himself, can’t be ignored. He continues to both harness an elite level of thoroughbred leadership, and be highly relatable to.He’s been the Marine who just got out of the service with no money and no credit. He has been the once successful hard working professional who had to fend off foreclosure in the great recession. Yet, he has also headed up Blackstone’s B2R Finance division. Now he also knows the point when you’ll get the back out on the new Mustang, and when to throttle it to maneuver safely. He’s been where you are, and knows the way forward.

While real estate has made him wealthy, Tim says he remains “extremely grateful and passionate about helping others.” Pressed about his business goals and vision for 2020, Herriage says it is simply to “just help more people next month than the last month, and even more the month after that.”

To achieve this our driver says he has focused on building a phenomenal team of professionals “who really know how to listen to customers.” Not only listen, but hear them, and help them reach their own goals and destination.

Yet, no matter how big the company has grown, and the immensely valuable set of resources it has developed, Tim Herriage says one of his favorite things to do is still to meet investors that come into the office, let them interview him, get to know them, answer their questions, and help them map a path to the success they want.

THE VERTICALLY INTEGRATED ECOSYSTEM FOR INVESTORS

Under the hood of 2020 REI, the parent company has a full stable of resources, comprising a full toolkit for investors.

• Investable Realty

A real estate brokerage with dozens of licensed Realtors ready to help investors find, negotiate, buy, lease, and sell.

• 3L Finance

An in-house concierge finance partner and lender providing custom mortgage lending solutions.

• REI Choice Insurance

Insurance company designed specifically for investors.

• H&R Acquisitions

Wholesale acquisitions company.

• DFW Investors

A regular social networking event with over 300 attendees each month.

• Elevate Private Capital

Private equity arm that enables investors to place their money in real estate without having to do any work, while generating a guaranteed return on investment

• REI Data Systems

The group’s technology division, encompassing the Investor Well funding solution for matching investors with the best fitting lenders.

TEST DRIVE IT!

For those that really want to get more out of their real estate investing, don’t want to have to master direct mail or Facebook ads, and just want to get on the fast track are invited to engage and test drive the 2020 REI group for themselves.

Get out to the next DFW Investors meeting, punch in your loan scenario at InvestorWell.com, or click over to 2020REI.com and setup a complimentary consultation to find out more about how they can help you.

By Linda Liberatore

As you build your real estate investment portfolio, you dream of ending your 9 to 5 corporate job and the day your freedom begins. No need to go into the office. Now you can spend your days finding properties and evaluating progress on rehabs while managing your current assets.

To operate as an investor having an office space is not necessary and it’s a great way to save capital. Let’s be sure that while you have saved on the cost of office space, you are able to keep great records in your new mobile workspace. There is a multitude of ways to stay organized while on the road. You might want to consider adding these mobile apps as you embrace your new virtual office. First things first, you’ll want to be sure your notes are logged from your mobile device. Some of our clients enjoy the speech-to-text features and exclusively use the Google suite of apps to manage their documents. This works perfect for sharing documents with a future virtual assistant.

The Zillow Rental Manager app allows you to post an ad on several sites. With Zillow Rental Manager, you can have your ad on Zillow, Trulia, HotPads and other top rental sites. And unlike some real estate apps, Zillow Rental Manager is free. Simply enter details and insert a few photos. Applicants from Zillow and Trulia include pet information, credit score and income. Remember, finding the most qualified candidate quickly is the goal.

Homestyler is a wonderful app that helps you envision your next rehab. Take a picture of the current floor plan and let Homestyler show you how it will look with tile or hardwood. Take the dream-work out for contractors and leads. Let them know how furniture placement can work. Check out lighting changes and more. Homestyler removes the guess-work, and the multiple trips and returns to the store.

It’s great anytime you need to share your vision with others. With more than 200,000 vendors checking in nationwide try Thumbtack for the next unexpected maintenance request. It’s more likely than not that you may get an emergency call during unexpected conditions.

If you can’t get there it’s worth giving Thumbtack a try. You can search for contractors by listing the job and they will send you the bid. You don’t have to accept anyone you don’t want to and you have the ability to read reviews and check credentials.

Private messaging allows you the ability to ask questions before selecting a vendor. If your regular crews are behind on projects this app is a great back up plan. Think big picture. You can get started with a small job with these people and if you like their work then you can add them to your team down the road.

As you grow your portfolio you are constantly on the lookout for the next best deal. Auction.com allows you to find your next potential deal anywhere. This free online auction app has over 30,000 properties to select from. It’s powerful features include using an interactive map in both local and national markets with the ability to access details and property photos.

You can use the search and bid features while you are on the move. You no longer need to feel limited by attending auctions. You can start due diligence research with free title information or HomeDisclosure.com reports. Whether it is foreclosure or bank owned homes this is a leading source for the real estate marketplace.

No mobile app list is complete without the power of the app that allows you to finalize the deal, cue Docusign. Docusign saves you from the time and resources associated with completing business critical transactions. This app keeps everyone more productive and accountable from purchases to rentals.

Once you have reviewed the details of the agreements or contracts it’s both simple and secure to e-sign. Forget about the wasted time associatedwith sending out lease renewals to be signed andnot knowing if they are getting to your tenant securely.

This application has been a huge timesaver for us and our clients. It is a must for anyone looking to increase output and efficiency.

As an investor you are constantly on the road looking for properties or checking out existing properties. Make sure to dot your I’s and cross your T’s with the amazing technology available to you today.

From the array of Google products to the apps listed above this only skims the water on the countless ways you can improve your business productivity. Take advantage of these today and you will see a difference!

By Marco Santarelli

Classifying a neighborhood by “type”, or what many investors refer to as a “grade”, is typically nothing more than a subjective description. Although most people will have a general idea of what is being referred to, in my experience it is usually nothing more than a qualitative rather than quantitative description.  Because of that ambiguity, we’ve developed a proprietary, simple grading system that we use with all our investment-grade properties. To help you understand this, a basic overview and description follows:

NEIGHBORHOOD TYPES

Low Income (“C” and “D” grade neighborhoods)

Low income neighborhoods generally have a large portion of their residents on government assistance (for example Section 8 housing assistance). The ratio of renters to owner-occupied homes is greater than 50% and often as high as 80%. These neighborhoods are almost always the most affordable (lowest-priced) areas within a market and usually have some of the highest rent-to-value ratios.

This provides some of the highest cap rates and cash-oncash returns compared to other neighborhood types. You will find substantial area anchors including schools, churches and shopping in these neighborhoods. The anchors are there to meet the needs of the people that live there. Low income neighborhoods are best suited for the wholesale (flip) strategy.

Moderate Income (“B” grade neighborhoods)

Moderate income neighborhoods are similar to Low Income neighborhoods with one critical difference – higher home ownership. While low income areas have a large portion of their residents on government assistance, moderate income areas have a large portion of residents working in the blue-collar sector. This stabilizes the neighborhood and makes for a more attractive investment area.

The ratio of renters to owner-occupied homes is more balanced and closer to 50% for each. Area anchors are similar to low income neighborhoods but with home owners being anchors as well. Moderate income neighborhoods are best suited for the wholesale (flip) and buy-and-hold strategies.

Middle Income (“A” grade neighborhoods)

Completely different in almost every way to low income and moderate income neighborhoods. The biggest differences are homeownership and types of employment. Most of the residents own their homes in these neighborhoods and are employed in high-level blue-collar jobs or in the white-collar sector. Middle income areas are excellent for long-term holds because of the stable nature of the area and tenants.

The ratio of renters to owner-occupied homes is closer to 80% owners and 20% renters. Middle income areas will have a greater number of anchors that meet the wants of the people that live there. These include the three “Ms”: malls, movies and meals. Middle income neighborhoods are best suited for retail fix-andflips and buy-and-hold strategies.

HOME VALUES

Home values vary from market to market, and between neighborhoods within each market. So one should not choose a neighborhood based on the market values alone. It is usually best to target those neighborhoods where property values represent the affordable housing stock in the middle market.

These properties are often within desirable neighborhoods making them easy to lease, buy and sell. Properties in the upper-end of a market’s price spectrum often don’t provide desirable rates of return, while properties in the lower-end of a market’s price spectrum often provide some of the highest expected returns but with the risk of attracting some of the lowest-quality tenants.

SCHOOLS

When it comes to residential real estate investing, it is not as important to have top-rated schools as it is to have multiple schools located in the area. Too many investors put more weight and emphasis on the school’s rating than all the other factors which can be a mistake and cost you in lost opportunities.

While many of our investors choose properties in neighborhoods with some of the best school districts, when it comes to investment properties, often times these properties come at a premium price relative to the income it generates. Many renters are just not willing to pay premium rents for premium schools.

CRIME

Generally speaking, better neighborhoods (“A” and “B”) will have below average crime rates (both violent and property crimes). Although lower relative crime rates are certainly a desirable characteristic to have, it is not the most important factor in your neighborhood selection criteria.

Finally, if you’re working with a reputable company to help you find or provide you with investment-grade properties then they should be able to advise you on the various markets and neighborhoods as well as provide you with detailed information such as neighborhood characteristics and demographics.

By Anita Woods

Investing in property can be frustrating, especially when you’re always searching for good financing options that suit your time-frame as an investor.

Having someone in your corner toprovide quality information and advice can help you reach your goals more quickly than going at it alone.

Steve Bighaus’s clients know they can count on him when they need to finance a new opportunity, even when that opportunity is their own place of residence.

Bighaus has a vested interest in the success of property investors…it’s why he does what he does. His number one goal is to become the all-in-one resource for property investors.

But as a forward-thinking kind of guy, Bighaus is always on the lookout for ways he can improve his processes to get better results for his clients.

One such process is technology, using it efficiently and effectively.

That’s why, after speaking with thirty to forty companies, Bighaus settled on working with Sierra Pacific Mortgage Company. They understand his goals as a specialist in lending to investors, and they share his vision of using technology to deliver exceptional products for his customers.

One exciting development is the creation of a new loan origination system that will allow a borrower’s information to be obtained straight from the source.

This will simplify the process for both investors and homeowners and expedite the loan origination process.

One particular issue that many fix-and-flip investors are facing is the challenge of finding eligible buyers for their properties.

Steve’s research has found that these investors are experiencing a dismal fall-out rate of 40 to 50 percent.

As part of his goal to be a full-service company for investors, Steve and The Bighaus Team at Sierra Pacific Mortgage Company aspire to preclude any potential problems as early in the process as possible.

Using all of the tools at their disposal, they can provide quality pre-approval letters towards the goal of improving results for investors. Other tools that Bighaus can use include an automated system for appraisals that will let the lender know whether or not an appraisal is needed, and a great customer relationship system.

And as any of his customers will tell you, Team Bighaus is known for their stellar customer service. Whether you leave a voice message, drop an email or send a fax, you will receive a response the same day.

Need a pre-qual letter and it’s the weekend? Just call Steve Bighaus! He’ll take care of it.

Think of him as your personal banker – someone you can count on to be in your corner.

Bottom line, while pricing is important, there’s something Bighaus and his team can offer that few can: Responsive customer service paired with innovative technology to create exceptional products to help investors grow their wealth.

By Marco Santerrelli, CEO of Norada Real Estate Investments

I came up with the following rules of successful real estate investing over my many years of successes and failures. These are the same rules I follow today and share with our clients at Norada Real Estate Investment.

1. EDUCATE YOURSELF Knowledge is the new currency. Without it you are doomed to follow other people’s advice without knowing if it’s good or bad. Knowledge will also help take you from being a “good” investor to becoming a great investor, and that knowledge will help provide a passive stream of income for you or your family.

2. SET INVESTMENT GOALS A goal is different from a wish; you may wish to be rich, but that doesn’t mean you’ve ever taken steps to make your wish come true. Setting clear and specific investment goals becomes your road map and action plan to becoming financially independent. You are statistically far more likely to achieve financial independence by writing down specific and detailed goals than not doing anything at all. Your goals can include the number of properties you need to acquire each year, the annual cash-flow they generate, the type of property, and the location of each. You may also want to set parameters on the rates of return required.

3. NEVER SPECULATE Always invest with a long-term perspective in mind. Never speculate on quick short-term gains in appreciation, even in a heated market experiencing double-digit gains. You never know when a market will peak and it’s usually 6 to 9 months after the fact when you find out. Don’t chase after appreciation. Only invest in prudent value plays where the numbers make sense from the beginning.

4. INVEST FOR CASH-FLOW With few rare exceptions, always buy investment property with a positive cash-flow. The higher,  the better. Your cash-on- cash return is directly related to the before-tax cash-flow from your property.

Cash-flow is the “glue” that keeps your investment together. Your equity will grow over time (through appreciation and loan amortization), while the cash-flow covers the operating expenses and debt service on your property.

5. BE MARKET AGNOSTIC The United States is a very large country made up of hundreds of local real estate markets. Each market moves up and down independently of one another due to many local factors. As such, you should recognize that there are times when it makes sense to invest in a particular market, and times when it does not.

Only invest in markets when it makes sense to do so, not because you live there or you bought property there before. There’s an element of timing and you don’t want to buck the trend.

6. TAKE A TOP-DOWN APPROACH Always start by selecting the best markets that align with your investment goals. Most investors start by analyzing properties with little to no regard of its location. This can be a big mistake if you don’t consider the investment in light of the market and neighborhood it’s in. The best approach is to first choose your city or town based on the health of its housing market and local economy (unemployment, job growth, population growth, etc.). From there you would narrow things down to the best neighborhoods (amenities, schools, crime, renter demand, etc.). Finally, you would look for the best deals within those neighborhoods.

7. DIVERSIFY ACROSS MARKETS Focus on one market at a time, accumulating from 3 to 5 income properties per market. Once you’ve added those 3 to 5 properties to your portfolio, you would diversify into another prudent market that is geographically different than the previous one. Typically that means focusing on another state.

One of the underlying reasons for diversification within the same asset class (real estate), is to have your assets spread across different economic centers. Every real estate market is “local” and each housing market moves independently from one another. Diversifying across multiple states helps reduce your “risk” should one market decline for any reason (increased unemployment, increased taxes, etc.).

8. USE PROFESSIONAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT Never manage your own properties unless you run your own management company. Property management is a thankless job that requires a solid understanding of tenant-landlord laws, good marketing skills, and strong people skills to deal with tenant complaints and excuses. Your time is valuable and should be spent on your family, your career, and looking for more property.

9. MAINTAIN CONTROL Be a direct investor in real estate. Never own real estate through funds, partnerships, or other paper-based investments where you own shares or other securities of an entity you don’t control. You always want to be in control of your real estate investments. Don’t leave it up to corporations or fund managers.

10. LEVERAGE YOUR INVESTMENT CAPITAL  Real estate is the only investment where you can borrow other people’s money (OPM) to purchase and control income-producing property. This allows you to leverage your investment capital into more property than purchasing using “all cash”. Leverage magnifies your overall rate-of-return and accelerates your wealth creation. As long as you have positive cash-flow and your tenants are paying off your mortgage for you, it would be foolish not to borrow as much as possible to buy more income property.

For more information, visit: http://www.noradarealestate.com/

 

By Randy Hughes aka Mr. Land Trust

Recently I read an article by an attorney telling his readers not to use a Land Trust. He recommended titling your investment property in a Limited Liability Company. His reasoning was that Land Trusts are only a “deterrent” to a lawsuit and they do not provide “true” asset protection. The attorney went on explaining how any lawyer “worth his salt” would find out you are the beneficiary of a Land Trust as the result of a judgment debtor’s exam (which is a hearing in a court room…sometimes called a Citation to Discover Assets). The attorney writing this article concluded that you have “zero” privacy with a Land Trust and if you want privacy you should “save the expense” of a Land Trust and title your investment real estate directly into an LLC (Nevada or Delaware).

After over 40 years in the real estate investment business, I can spot an attorney who understands the law but does not have practical real world experience. I agree that LLC’s have better asset protection than a Land Trust, but Land Trusts have far better privacy elements than LLC’s. I use LLC’s in my business but NOT to hold title to investment property. Let’s review the benefits of using a Land Trust.

LAND TRUSTS:

• Are NOT registered anywhere on the planet
• Do not require a registered agent
• Pay no franchise taxes
• Cost nothing to form (you can form them yourself)
• File no tax returns
• Require no tax ID number
• Can be formed in a state other than where the property is located (for terrific privacy and asset protection)
• Can easily hold each property separately from other properties to keep all investments insulated
• Can have an LLC, Corporation or Personal Property Trust as its beneficiary

Experienced real estate investors understand that putting all of your properties into any one entity (be it an LLC, Corporation or a Land Trust) is a nexus for a lawsuit. Remember grandma’s advice to not put all your eggs in one basket? It makes logical sense to put each property into its own separate Land Trust and then make the beneficiary of the trust your LLC or Corporation.

This yields the best of both worlds from a privacy and asset protection standpoint. Since the Land Trust Agreement is not recorded anywhere no one can find out who the true owner of the trust is without a full blown lawsuit…which is expensive for your adversary. Furthermore, if the property is in one state, the Land Trust is formed in another state, and the LL C beneficiary is registered in a third state you get a dy-no-mite structure that is not only difficult to unravel but legally expensive to pursue. Most contingency fee lawyers would give up and start looking for another sucker to pursue.

Real estate investors are more susceptible to a lawsuit than most other Americans. The general public’s perception of a real estate investor is that they do not have any debt on their property, have lots of cash in the bank and tons of positive cash flow. So, even if the investor is upside down on their property debt and suffers monthly negative cash flow they are still at the mercy of the contingency fee lawyer and his/her dead-beat client. Keeping property isolated in separate Land Trusts makes logical practical sense to those of us in the trenches every day. A huge benefit to holding title to each property in a separate trust is the ability to finance without affecting the other properties.

You can also sell property on an installment contract basis without affecting other properties. If you title multiple properties in one LLC the lender will want to tie up all the assets of the LLC as collateral for the loan on just one property. Take your advice from a streetwise investor with decades of real-life experience. Use a Land Trust to hold title to your investment real estate…you will be glad you did!

To receive a FREE copy of my booklet “50 Reasons to Use a Land Trust” send me an email at: mailto:[email protected]