How to Profit with Orlando Real Estate

Why I choose to invest in Orlando investment properties:

If you live in an area like I do (Denver), where property prices are high, but rents are fairly comparable to rents in other large metros, you’ve probably been wondering how you can get into this gold-mine you keep hearing about on the news… where property prices are so low. I wondered too. So I checked out a few areas around the country that had been much more depressed than my home area… areas like Nevada, Arizona, California and Florida. Because, after all, I want to buy in areas that were hot and will be hot again; but that have had significant price drops that I can use to my advantage.

Here’s what I found.

1. Nevada’s major draw is legalized sin, basically – gambling and prostitution. It’s not really an area where I would be comfortable owning rental properties. After all, who is my renter going to be? An empty eyed gambling addict pulling at the handle of the slot machine hoping for the “big one?” Thanks, but no thanks.
2. California’s prices are still crazy high compared to rents. Even the bad areas are still expensive. And the state itself is on the verge of bankruptcy. While it is an attractive area, I found too many fundamental problems for my risk tolerance.
3. Arizona is a little too controversial right now with all the protests against their immigration law. And it was so overbuilt that there is an awful lot of inventory to clear out – a lot more inventory than there is population. I found that population there is dropping, which means that the rental markets there will be slower.
4. In Florida, I found that it was overbuilt in certain areas, but that population is increasing, even amongst young 20somethings, who are a perfect group for renters. I found that although Florida has a high unemployment rate, companies are hiring there again. Disney is putting a brand new billion dollar project in place in Orlando.

So, I thought, now that I have it narrowed down to Orlando, how do I buy properties there safely? How do I know that these properties aren’t filled with mold, Chinese drywall, termites…. Or that the people selling them even own them? If I don’t have eyes on the ground, how do I protect myself from scam artists? Luckily, I know some people who happen to be investing in the Orlando area. I researched them and by the time I was done, I was so impressed that I decided to become a Director in the company.

Investors Alliance Asset Management Group, a division of HIS Real Estate Network, was formed specifically to take advantage of the phenomenal opportunities available in Orlando today, and to share these opportunities with other investors. We started with $5,000,000 to purchase properties directly from banks – and we purchase the properties in bulk. Our acquisition manager picks specific subdivisions that have fabulous amenities; subdivisions where you would like to live. While that is not often a criteria for rental properties, I like it that I can get affordable properties in very nice areas. After our acquisition manager purchases the properties, our construction crews get to work. They fix up each property to like-new condition. Once the properties are in excellent condition, we assign them to an expert property management company and they get the properties leased. Then, and only then, we offer select properties to our VIP buyers list.

Let me give you some real-life numbers so you can see for yourself what we are talking about:

One condo in a gated, resort-like community has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. It’s approximately 1260 square feet. In 2006, this condo sold for $432,000 – so yes, it has granite countertops, crown molding, etc. It’s a NICE place. It would cost $150,000 to rebuild and the current tax appraisal is $125,000. So, we bought the condo for about 10% of what it sold for in 2006, fixed it up, rented it out at $850 a month and sold it for $59,900. It’s cash-flowing for the investor from the day of closing. Now, we recommend that investors hold on to these properties for at least 3 to 5 years to take advantage of market recovery. And when a property is cash-flowing, how many properties can you afford to hold on to indefinitely? That’s right! As many as you can grab.

To find out more about our investments, check my website at www.christinamellott.com. On it, you will get immediate access to a free report about the Orlando Market. I would also like to invite you to an upcoming live 2 day training event and property bus tour! The first day, we will teach you how we manage our business and the second day, we will take you on a bus tour of our available properties, so you can meet us and see for yourself that we are the real deal.

I’d love to meet you in Orlando – come check us out.

Christy Mellott
Executive Director, Investors Alliance Asset Management Group

Top 5 Reasons to Buy Property in Orlando

Video of the Top 5 Reasons to Buy Bank Owned Properties

Top 5 reasons to buy REOs

Today, I'd like to talk to you about the top 5 reasons to buy REOs, as opposed to foreclosures or properties directly from homeowners.  First, let me explain to you what an REO is.  REO means Real Estate Owned and it is real estate that is owned by banks.  It's generally been taken from the previous homeowner in foreclosure.

1.  REO properties are free and clear.  They have no other liens against them.  For instance all the taxes have been paid, any mechanics liens or 2nd or 3rd mortgages have been paid.  If you are working on a property that is in the foreclosure process, there could still be many other liens on it.  There certainly could be 2nd mortgages, mechanics liens, tax liens or any number of other problems that you will have to deal with as an investor.  Savvy investors know to always check the title BEFORE you buy a property.  The same could be said for properties owned by individuals -- unless you have a title company who can check title for you, you could be in a world of hurt when surprises, like other owners for example, come up.  When the property is already owned by the bank, there are no other owners -- it's just the bank.

2.  Banks are motivated sellers.  Banks are not allowed to own properties and the more they own, the more trouble they are in.  They need to get rid of these properties and get rid of them at reasonable prices.  Though if you are only buying one at a time, you might disagree with that as banks are also trying to recover as much of the property value as they can.  However, if you can buy several REOs from a bank, you can get them for much less.  Also, the bank has already spent a fortune on the foreclosure and they now have carrying costs for any property on their books.  The more properties they have, the more trouble they get in with regulators, and with their shareholders.  It's very good for banks to get rid of REO properties. 

3.  You don't have to go through a long process like you do if you are trying to get a bank to agree to a short sale.  You don't have to get all of a seller's personal information and constantly submit fresh paperwork to banks or work with seemingly unmotivated loss mitigation representatives.  While short sales can be very lucrative, and I believe in helping homeowners to avoid foreclosure so it is worth it to do short sales, if you can buy a property that a bank already owns, it's a simpler process.

4.  Properties are ready to be yours right away.  REOs are generally vacant.  Any tenant has been evicted or the homeowner has already moved out.  Unless you have a squatter, you don't have to deal with evicting a tenant or with angry homeowners destroying a house before you are able to buy it.  What you see is what you get -- you will already know if the house is destroyed when you make your offer.

5.  You get clean title with an REO property.  The bank is the owner as soon as the foreclosure process is completed.  There is no question about who owns the house and you won't magically have 5 other heirs show up on title making it impossible to purchase the property -- which is something that happened to a fellow investor and friend of mine.

I hope you learned something from this and look forward to speaking with you soon.

Christy Mellott

www.christinamellott.com <- go here to get a free report on investing in the Orlando Market (yes -- in fixed-up REOs) and 2 free tickets to a Real Deal Commercial Investing training and bus tour that normally sells for $997

Spinning Wheels, Spinning Round

I was listing out the courses that I've purchased and mostly completed over the past 5 years.  I had an acquaintance ask me to teach him how to invest in short sales and to do short sales negotiating over a Facebook chat message.  And it made me think of all the time and money I've spent educating myself in these fields of real estate investing and marketing.  And it made me wonder why I haven't organized my business better.  I have more training under my belt than most other people I know.  45 courses and mentorships over the course of 5 years is 9 a year.  Plus I paid for access to Dwan and Bill Twyford as coaches and am currently in the MMM Challenge.

For a long while, I didn't have to do anything with this knowledge.  I was learning in order to keep my mind alive -- just following things that I was interested in.  I was going to start a business when my son went to preschool.  That 2.5 hours 3 times a week was going to be my time to start a business.  Then my father-in-law got very sick and eventually died.   Then I got pregnant with my daughter.  I had a lot of excuses, I mean reasons, for not starting a business. 

And I was always afraid that I didn't know enough (which you'll laugh at, after you read the list below).  That's a fear that I think a lot of people have -- and one that is preyed upon by many gurus.  I didn't actually call a seller until after my husband lost his job and got a new job that paid less than half as much.  That's when I started making money instead of just talking about it.

1. Michael Masterson's Accelerated Program For Six Figure Copywriting
2. Michael Masterson's The Masters Program For Six Figure Copywriting (haven't completed this)
3. The Quick and Easy Microbusiness System (haven't completed this)
4. Direct Marketing University (haven't completed this)
5. Direct Marketing University, The Master's Edition (haven't completed this)
6. Jeffrey Taylor's Landlording systems
7. ETR Bootcamp in a Box
8. Ultimate Buying and Selling Machine (Larry Goins)
9. Apartment House Riches (Dave Lindahl)
10. The Ultimate Travel Writer's Program
11. Make a Flippin' Fortune (Ron Mead)
12. 31 Days to Profits in Probate Real Estate (Ron Mead)
13. Improve Your Credit Now (Ron Mead)
14. Wholesaling Houses for a Living
15. Corey Rudl's Accelerated Internet Wealth
16. The Billionaire Way
17. 6 Steps to Mastering Foreclosures (Alexis McGee)
18. The Sedona Method
19. Wholesaling for Quick Cash (Steve Cook)
20. The Instant Entrepreneur 
21. Advanced Short Sales (Dwan Bent-Twyford)
22. Foreclosure Fortunes (Dwan Bent-Twyford)
23. How to Turn $10 into $10,000 in 30 Days or Less (Dwan Bent-Twyford)
24. Short Sales Secrets (Dwan Bent-Twyford)
25. Shut up and Stick to the Script (Bill Twyford)
26. Secrets of Closing the Deal (Bill Twyford)
27. Foreclosure Investing Strategies 
28. Real Estate Success Library (Bill Bronchick)
29. Power Real Estate Negotiating (Bill Bronchick)
30. Rehabbing for Fun and Profit (
31. How to Sell a House Quick in a Down Market (Ray Cooper)
32. Jim Banks Probate Profits Made Easy
33. Larry Goins Mortgage Broker Training
34. Vena Jones-Cox Advanced Marketing
35. The Agent Magnet (Bob Massey)
36. The Short Sale Success Blueprint (Josh Cantwell)
37. Virtual Wholesaling (Cris Chico)
38. Real Estate Voodoo (Cris Chico)
39. Short Sales Riches (Nathan Jurewicz and Chris McLaughlin)
40. Michael Jake's Platinum Mentoring Program
41. Hedge Fund Lending (Richard Geller)
42. Credit Repair system (Richard Geller)
43. Shortcut to Money Secrets (Thomas Kish)
44. Bulk REO Secrets (Susan Lassiter Lyons)
45. Inspired Action Weekly (Matthew Ferry)

Right now, my business is mostly just me, though I have a couple of emerging partnerships for apartment investing and bulk REO deals.  I am also working with a fabulous local Realtor and a short sale negotiator.  I am also fortunate enough to know lots of excellent people.  Maybe I am just feeling stretched a little too much right now...  

I have a few steps I need to take in order to take my business from just me to a viable business that allows me to not just stay home with my children, but to spend time with them too.  This summer, they've spent largely in front of televisions and video games because I've spent so much time working.... and it's a summer that I can't get back with them.  Being a mommy with a business has been a challenging balancing act for me.

The first action I need to take is to write descriptions of the systems that a virtual assistant can take over for me.  Then I need to hire a virtual assistant so that I can simply manage the systems & so they get done without my constant involvement.

So, I'm off to do that now.

Have a wonderful day!

Christy

Millionaire In Training, MMMChallenge.com

www.christinamellott.com

www.housingheadaches.com

I wanted to share this post from an email I received today from Chris McLaughlin, an attorney in Florida who specializes in short sales. Since I am in Denver, it was particularly interesting that Altos Research considers the Denver market to be unstable. We are definitely seeing a slow down in the number of buyers in the market.

"Real estate data provider Altos Research is taking a very bearish outlook on the housing market. The California-based company says that ominous shadow inventory of distressed properties hanging over the industry will lock home prices into a downward trajectory for the remainder of this year, with property values
starting out 2011 even lower than they were in 2009. Market trends charted by Altos show that inventory levels are indeed moving higher and the influx of shadow inventory is beginning to show in the market. The company’s VP of data analytics, Scott Sambucci, described a noticeable shift in housing supply dynamics in a Webinar earlier this week, in what he called “a sign of market weakness.”

Since January, and particularly post-tax credit stimulus, Altos has tracked a rapid divergence in inventory numbers vs. listings sold and absorbed. This, Sambucci explained, means more inventory is coming onto the market, with less inventory leaving. As a result, he says, we’re going to see an extreme inventory overhang going into 2011. Add to that the fact that the pool of viable buyers out there is shrinking – thanks to tight credit, a declining homeownership rate, and more and more consumers being locked out of the market after a foreclosure – and you’ve got an equation that’s right in line with Altos’ bearish outlook. Following the rudimentary rules of supply and demand, more inventory with fewer takers equals lower prices. Altos Research provided its assessment of the most stable housing markets…and the markets that it considers to be on shaky ground. The San Francisco metro area topped the stable list, along with Las Vegas and Washington, D.C. Unstable metros included Minneapolis, Denver, Chicago, and Phoenix."

What do you think? How have your markets been behaving?

Leave me a note and share what you're seeing!

Christy Mellott
www.christinamellott.com
www.realdealcolorado.com