A Couple "Money Tips" for Rehabs

Many times when I see new investors buy investment properties, I see some oversights that turn a positive deal into negative. One of these ways is by overpaying for the rehab of a property. I have a couple pieces of advice that I've picked up along the way in my investing and rehabbing here in the Charlotte NC Investment Market. I recently shared these during my speech to the Robert Kiyosaki-Russ Whitney Group and it reminded me to share them here:



Carpet-CHEAP Carpet, Thickest Padding...again: CHEAP Carpet and the Thickest Padding. You will be amazed at what tenants can do to carpet in a short amount of time, it literally defies physics. The thicker your padding, the more it will absorb the "blows and weight" that your tenants will place on it and this will prolong your carpet AND MORE IMPORTANTLY prolong your wallet.

Paint-My advice here is to always use the same "model" and "paint number". This is so that you can always go to ANY of your investments to paint, touchup, etc and never worry about "now what color do I have at 123 Main Street...is that where I have the off-white or is that where I have the yellow?" These questions don't arise because you have the SAME paint in all your properties and this enables you to act quickly.

Well, good luck with these tips and with your investing. As always, please visit our site for more information: Www.CarolinaInvestmentProperty.com for more tips and properties and more.

The Importance of Real Estate Education

I was speaking last night (Thursday) to the Roberty Kiyosaki-Russ Whiteny Seminar when I was asked about some mistakes I have made in investing. My first response was to say: "....well, it started this morning when...." ofcourse I was joking and the room knew it as well by the tone of my voice. The question did remind me that you must constantly educate yourself in the Investment Real Estate World. You must understand, welcome and really enjoy the fact that it is a 'constantly changing animal' and you must be ready to adjust. The best way to be prepared to adjust is education. I suggest reading solid books on education, joining your local REIA (Real Estate Investor Association), and constantly network. I look every day at what is going on in my market to make sure I'm aware of "what is coming and going". I also advise investors to 'not make things more difficult than they need to be'. I was giving a bus tour full of investors and discussing "tips" on finding the next market to invest in...I advise looking at that part of town that you drive through and practically shake your head saying: I can't believe these houses sell for $XXX,XXX and then find the identical style neighborhoods in markets and see if the market is moving towards those markets. We viewed three (3) markets in Charlotte that if I blindfolded you and dropped you off in the middle of the neighborhoods, you would really have to search to find out which neighborhood you were in. All three (3) were just a couple miles outside of our uptown, all had nice roads leading into our uptown, all had the same style "bungalow" homes, and there were three (3) major differences: $500,000 average price, $250,000 Price and $95,000 price.....find those $95,000 areas because in the right market (Charlotte) they WILL become the $500,000 markets.

Charlotte Real Estate Market Continues to Do VERY Well

The Charlotte Real Estate Market continues to excell and do well. As I am preparing for my seminar speech tomorrow for the Russ Whitney Robert Kiyosaki Wealth Intelligence Academy, I am looking over recent articles on Charlotte and it really is amazing the amount of positive accolades continue to be presented about Charlotte. Bloomberg.com just did a special report on Charlotte Clickhereforthebloombergarticle and gave very solid feedback. Another article from Marketwatch.com recently published discusses the rise in Charlotte's rankings as a Top 10 City for Business in the US ClickHeretoViewThisArticle

As someone that has grown up here in this market, it is very nice to see the positive changes and positive growth that is occurring in our City. Our Home Sales Prices were up 6.78% versus a DROP of almost 4% Nationwide, that is over a 10% GAIN versus Real Estate Nationwide. The best news is that you look at growth statistics and we are on pace to grow close to 280%+ Population Growth over approximately the next 20 years, NO other City is on that same pace PERIOD.

These are the signs you want to see when you are going to invest in Real Estate. Real Estate investing is no longer just "can I get a house somewhere 'under value'....if you buy it for $20,000 below what it appraises for, however you buy in a market with diminishing population and diminishing job growth and a weak economy...who are you going to sell to? When are you going to sell? You have to buy in markets that have a positive economic and growth future. Over 90% of our clients are from across the United States (and some foreign investors as well) and they realize that they have to leave the "comfort zone" of investing in their back yard if they truly want to see positive returns on their investment.

ClickHereforMoreInvestmentInformation

Until next time, the best to you in your investments!