How To Profit In The Michigan Foreclosure Flipping BOOM

Royal Oak Remodel #2 - 825 N. Kenwood Royal Oak Michigan 48067

Dylan Tanaka- REIA of Macomb (Michigans #1 Real Estate Investor Club) — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 04:53:45 -0800

Completely remodeled Royal Oak show house. FREE home warranty. Custom kitchen with all new cherry cabinets, granite countertops, breakfast bar, & stainless appliances. Amazing hardwood floors throughout first floor plus recess lighting in kitchen/dining/living room. All new granite & ceramic bath crafted by well known artisan J.C. Campau. Fresh, dry basement. Fashionable brushed nickel fixtures throughout. New driveway. Walk in closet in master.

Links:

Print Listing
Email Listing

Room Information

Bedrooms:	3	MBR:	20x12 Upper	BR5:	DR:		FLA:
Full Bath(s):	1	BR2:	10x11 Lower	GR:	KT:	12x12 Lower	LDY:
Lav(s):	1	BR3:	10x11 Lower	LR:	BFT:
		BR4:		FR:	LB:

Other Rooms:

Property Information

Winter Taxes:	$70	Spec Assmt:	YES	Assoc Fee:
Summer Taxes:	$3,038	Homestead:	N	Assoc Fee Period:
Ownership:	PRIVATE - OWNED

Exterior/Construction Information

Architecture:	2-ST	Ext Material:	BRICK
Style:	BUNGALOW	Construction:	MDL/SALE
Site Desc:
Exterior Feat:
Garage:	1 CAR, DET, OPENER
Water Fac:
Water Name:
Water Sewer:	MUN WAT
Out Buildings:
Road Frontage:	PAVED

Interior Information

Foundation:	BASEMENT	Basement:	PART FIN
Heating:	FRCD AIR	Fuel Type:	GAS
Cooling:	CENTRAL	Water Heater:	GAS
Interior Feat:	SMP PUMP
Appliances:	STV, DISHW, MICRO
Fireplace:
Bath Desc:	1ST F BTH, BSM LAV

Listing Information

List Office:	FRIENDLY REAL ESTATE LLC
Terms Offered:	CONV, FHA, VA, CASH

Royal Oak Remodel #1 - 2333 Barrett Royal Oak Michigan 48073 only $139,999

Dylan Tanaka- REIA of Macomb (Michigans #1 Real Estate Investor Club) — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 04:50:52 -0800

Completely remodeled to the studs. FREE home warranty. Custom kitchen with all new cherry cabinets, granite countertops, & stainless appliances. Amazing new hardwood floors throughout first floor plus recess lighting in kitchen/dining/living room. All new granite & ceramic bath crafted by well known artisan J.C. Campau. Fresh, dry basement. Bath in upstairs master with walk in closet. New garage, new plumbing, new electric, & new driveway. Gorgeous.

Room Information

Bedrooms:	3	MBR:	24x12 Upper	BR5:	DR:		FLA:
Full Bath(s):	1	BR2:	10x11 Lower	GR:	KT:	12x15 Lower	LDY:
Lav(s):	1	BR3:	10x11 Lower	LR:	BFT:
		BR4:		FR:	LB:

Other Rooms:

Property Information

Winter Taxes:	$55	Spec Assmt:	YES	Assoc Fee:
Summer Taxes:	$2,366	Homestead:	N	Assoc Fee Period:
Ownership:	PRIVATE - OWNED

Exterior/Construction Information

Architecture:	2-ST	Ext Material:	ALUMINUM
Style:	BUNGALOW	Construction:
Site Desc:
Exterior Feat:
Garage:	1 CAR, DET
Water Fac:
Water Name:
Water Sewer:	MUN WAT
Out Buildings:
Road Frontage:	PAVED

Interior Information

Foundation:	BASEMENT	Basement:	PART FIN
Heating:	FRCD AIR	Fuel Type:	GAS
Cooling:	CENTRAL	Water Heater:	GAS
Interior Feat:	SMP PUMP
Appliances:
Fireplace:
Bath Desc:	1ST F BTH, 2ND F LAV

Listing Information

List Office:	FRIENDLY REAL ESTATE LLC
Terms Offered:	CONV, FHA, VA, CASH
LC Down Payment:		Short Sale:	N

New Michigan Foreclosure Task Force

Dylan Tanaka- REIA of Macomb (Michigans #1 Real Estate Investor Club) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 04:15:04 -0800

Courtney Alen from says recently, a new squad, Michigan Foreclosure Task Force has been set up which reported that in the years from 2006 to 2010, Michigan has lost a large number of homes in foreclosure and the total value of these properties is nearly $63 billion.

This task force handling foreclosure issues is working together with the Community Research Institute of Grand Valley State University. They have launched a website together which is delivering the statistical report of foreclosure crisis in this region county wise.

A member of this task force, Steve Tobocman said that there were nearly 400,000 properties in Michigan which had gone through foreclosure processing in the last five years. Tobocman said, “The impacts were truly historic. We haven’t seen anything like this since the Great Depression.”

He also warned that this region could have another one hundred thousand foreclosed properties in this year. He added, “We’ve seen some politicians thinking this was news that was in the past, and not something that they need to worry about – when the reality is, we’re still in the middle of this crisis, and we need to be working together and paying attention to solutions that work.”

According to him, nearly one-third of the borrowers of Michigan have their mortgages underwater, which means these homeowners have a debt much larger in amount than the value of their mortgaged properties. This is not an issue for urban society only; similar problems are also being experienced in rustic areas.

He said, “None of these 83 counties have escaped loss of property value or increase in vacancies. In fact, when you look at rural counties in Michigan, they’re following the exact trend lines urban counties faced.”

This task force will soon launch a tool kit based on web technology for distressed homeowners. This upcoming website will assist these homeowners to get in touch with different foreclosure assisting organizations. From the list of a number of such organizations, homeowners will be able to find nearby organizations which are present in their respective areas and can consult them for assistance and guidance on how to avoid foreclosure of their properties.

He said that this website will provide all the necessary information to the homeowners for avoiding foreclosure. There will be information about legal advices and services, housing counseling, assistance for marketing foreclosures and also rehabilitation of foreclosures.

He also stated, “Folks are not powerless. But there is no silver bullet. What the foreclosure task force is designed to do is help communities deal with this crisis.”

The worst part is investors who for the most part are making the neighborhoods better by improving the properties which not only increases the pride of home ownership but the elevated sales prices of those rehabilitated properties causes the propertt taxes to rise also.

The Foreclosure Crisis has proved to be a lose-lose for everybody.

Dylan Tanaka-Founder
REIA of Macomb

[FREE Webinar] How To Find & Flip Foreclosures With None of Your Own Money & You Keep All of the Profits

Dylan Tanaka- REIA of Macomb (Michigans #1 Real Estate Investor Club) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 04:16:54 -0800

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*ONLY THE FIRST 100 WHO REGISTER WILL GET A PRIVATE ACCESS CODE*

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date: Wednesday, February 29th

time: 8:00 p.m. est till 8:30 p.m. est

★How an “accidental” – yet amazingly simple -technique allows you to outshine your competitors and buy houses faster and cheaper

★3 practically unknown secrets that will allow you to get your number on speed dial of the foreclosure listing agents

★”The Great Real Estate Lie” that 91% of real estate investors believe &

and the easiest way to not get stuck in the trap

★Plus much, much, more

Only Made 2 Offers And 1 Was Accepted

Dylan Tanaka- REIA of Macomb (Michigans #1 Real Estate Investor Club) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 06:24:31 -0800

Beat Your Competition

Are you sick and tired of hearing “There are no good deals out there right now”?

I know that I am.

Yes there are a lot of factors that exist today to slow down the flow of foreclosures that are available to us as investors. From Fannie Mae’s First Look Program to HUD’s “exclusive” to homeowners only it is tougher to snag a property than it was even 2 short years ago. Then how is it that as the title of this article states I’ve made 2 offers in the last 30 days and had 1 accepted? That’s a 50% success rate!

There are 3 techniques that allow me to have success when making offers while a lot of others dont.

1. All CASH* offers
2. HUGE earnest money deposits
3. Expert knowledge of area/ability to make snap decisions/remodel-construction budgeting

1. Cash Offers This is very simple. If you’re offers are not all cash you will lose your battle against the banks. No it’s not a 100% given that you can’t get an offer accepted if it’s not cash, but you will almost always be beaten by a cash buyer, and if you do beat out cash buyers with a finance offer I guarantee you’re paying too much. Switch roles for a second. Imagine you’re the seller and you receive 2 offers. The first one is for $50,000 contingent on the buyer getting financing through a bank for the purchase. There’s a million and one things that can go wrong in that scenario; not qualifying, appraisal, lack of down payment, or the property being un-mortgagable. The second offer comes in at $45,000 all cash with a $10,000 deposit. Sure there are things that can go wrong, but you’re holding a 10k check that the buyer has handed over. You have a lot more control as the seller. This is a very brief overview of the bank’s psychology but I’m sure you get the gist.

2. EMD This can give you a huge leg up on your competition. Again step into the seller’s shoes. You receive 2 identical offers on a property. The first one has a $1,000 deposit check attached to it. The second has a $10,000 deposit check attached to it. Which one gets your attention? The last property that my offer was accepted on was with a $10,000 EMD (deposit) attached. Was this the only reason my offer was accepted, no. However it’s and integral piece of the puzzle that helps me buy more houses and beat out my competition. How much is on the EMD check thatyou’re sending out with your offers?

3. Expert knowledge of area, tight rehab/ability to make snap decisions/remodel-construction budgeting This a 3 part answer that’s not quite as black and white as numbers 2 & 3. Let’s start with the knowledge. Being an expert in the area that you’re making offers, area meaning neighborhood, first and foremost means knowing sold comps. If you want to make money in Michigan real estate investing whether rehabbing or wholesaling, you must know what houses are selling for right now. You need to know what condition, how long they’re on the market for, and who the buyers are; homeowners or other investors.

This leads us into being able to make a snap decision. There are times where you will be forced too jump in head first or walk away and you may need to decide within hours. A real life current example for this is the last property that I had an offer accepted on my initial offer was $20,000 less that I could actually pay for the property and still make my minimum profit margin required. Less than 2 hours after my “lowball” offer the listing agent actually called me and told me “I’d have to come up like 20k” if I wanted to be in the running. So I immediately adjusted my offer up exactly $20,000 plus I upped my deposit to $10,000. Less than 2 hours later I had the house under contract, and was very happy about the purchase price. The reason I could make that snap decision so quickly is because I knew within $1,000 how much work the house needed to be marketable to a retail buyer.

You must know your remodel-construction budgeting. Lastly, I obsess over knowing my numbers. That means exactly how much money and work a property needs to be perfect for the buyer I have in mind. Sometimes it’s less than $1,000. It could be a quick paint job and yard cleanup on a house I’m going to wholesale or quick flip to another investor. That’s not too hard. Now when it comes to a full rehab leading to a maximum list price with hopes of a maximum appraisal then sale price…that’s a whole different animal.

Using the same example property as above-when I first pulled in the driveway I knew that there was something very special about the house I was about to scout. Remember I’ve been in hundreds if not thousands of houses looking for diamonds in the rough, so when I get that tingle of Spidey-Sense I’m usually not wrong. As I was saying, the exterior was absolutely exquisite. What that normally means is the interior is DESTROYED. Well on this house it wasn’t the case. I’ll keep this part short, but it’s hard for me because this is waht I really love about real estate. The interior was an A- as far as foreclosures go. New kitchen cabinets, 2 full baths (one in the master), new windows, new roof, beautiful hardwood floors (after a refinish), new furnace/water heater/air conditioner, huge fireplace, and an amazing view. In less than 5 minutes I knew it would take $20,000 to make this house 100% perfect and get the absolute maximum appraisal and sale price for the neighborhood.

This is my personal formula for making successful offers. There’s hundreds of other tips that other investors may have that work for them. I urge you to leave a comment below and tell all of us in the REIA of Macomb community what you’re doing or have done to get more offer accepted in this market.

Back to my offers,
Dylan Tanaka-Founder

Detroit Michigan Home Sales Rise 7% For January 2012

Dylan Tanaka- REIA of Macomb (Michigans #1 Real Estate Investor Club) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 08:29:59 -0800

Metropolitan Detroit home and condo sales grew 7% in January from a year earlier, according to Realcomp.

Median sales price grew 5.3% to $63,150, as non-foreclosure sales rose 9.2% to 1,906 in the metro area. Foreclosure sales saw a smaller increase by 4.5% to total 1,589.

January continued an upward sales trend for metro Detroit after a modest 2.2% increase in all of 2011.

Sales in inner Detroit, which includes the suburbs of Hamtramck, Harper Woods and Highland Park, rose 11.4% from a year earlier. Median sales price dipped 10% to $9,000.

Cash sales made up 50.2% of all sales measured by Realcomp, which includes some properties outside Michigan.

On-market inventory for the metro area dropped 21.9% from a year earlier, while inner Detroit inventory fell 23.7%.

We're not out of th woods yet, but someone has to report positive news...and that'll be me!

Dylan Tanaka-Founder
REIA of Macomb

5 Sneaky Details You Cant Miss When Rehabbing Your Michigan Foreclosure

Dylan Tanaka- REIA of Macomb (Michigans #1 Real Estate Investor Club) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:18:55 -0800

So you’re walking through the supermarket shopping for some fruit cocktail for a quick desert for you and the kids tonight. As you walk down the canned food isle you come up on your possible selections. There’s the black and white can with red stripes that simply reads “fruit cocktail” for 49 cents. Then there’s the store brand which has a picture of some fruit whose tag lie is “always fresh” for only 79 cents. Finally there’s the Del Monte can is full blazing color. Lush fields in the background with beautiful pineapples, a cherry tree, and a ripe peach are what you’re greeted with-for a whopping $1.19!

I’m sure you’ll agree that in the end the contents of all three of the cans do pretty much the same thing, fill your belly with some fruit. Some shoppers buy the “no brand” because they aren’t emotionally affected by the marketing ploy. Others opt for the 79 cent can because they don’t want the cheapest but they’re unwilling to pay the premium just for the pretty picture and “promise” of sweeter, plumper fruit. While another percentage of the shoppers go all out and pay almost 250% more for essentially the same fruit, but buying the Del Monte will make it taste better to them, in essence making them “feel” better about spending more for can.

What in the world does this have to do with houses?

Everything.

Focusing in particular on fully rehabbed properties that we’re planning to retail for maximum sales price. During a recent conversation with a Michigan real estate investor they said something to me that really stuck about kitchens. They said they’d be willing to sleep on the floor and bathe in the laundry sink in the basement just to have a magnificent kitchen! That’s the kind of emotional hot button we have to be able to push as investors who are remodeling Michigan foreclosures. My focus of this training article however won’t be the importance of kitchens and bathrooms. No instead we’re going to dive into what’s been proven to me to be the second most important part of a rehab after you’ve already made your purchase and planned the kitchen and baths…it’s the details.

I’ve tested many prospective buyers reactions in both my own rehab projects and countless others. Always paying extra attention to one thing, if and how those buyers notice, react, and remember the little things. I know a dynamite kitchen looks like. I know what a jaw dropping bathroom looks like also. What I’m always studying and making changes to in my projects is the details.

Here’s a list of obvious ones that I usually pay attention to buyer’s reactions;

-fixture style and finish (matching your light, plumbing, and door fixtures and finish)
-new electrical outlets and light switches (how ugly are dirty old outlets on a freshly painted wall?)
-professionally cleaned and pleasant smelling atmosphere (nothing impacts a buyer like a clean, warm, inviting house)
-bright light bulbs (you know how I love those)
-manicured lawn and landscaping (make them feel like their pulling up to a house on the cover of a magazine)
-clean and bright basement (dark, scary, stinky basement…need I say more)
-custom, but not crazy paint colors (you’re not selling a hospital so get some colors on those walls)

Now here’s my list of 5 sneaky details (plus prices) that my competition is not usually creative enough to use, too cheap to buy, or just plain too lazy map their contractors or themselves do.

1. Color matching switch plates in kitchen back splash. I pay around $4 a piece and buy 3 to 4 per rehab. Which makes it about a $10-$12 upgrade

2. Crown molding in rooms that looks natural to them. You can do most rooms in houses under $200,000 for $75 in materials plus labor. I figure a total of $150 per room on average. It makes an enormous impact in a master bedroom or small boring front room.

3. Dimmers on all overhead lighting in kitchens and main living rooms. Along with recessed lighting, do the math it’s not that much more than using a couple fixtures, I always add dimmer switches. $8-$12 on average per stitch, usually 3 per house. Hopefully the agent who’s showing your property will notice if your buyer doesn’t. People love this.

4. Modern cabinet pulls/handles. Use your Google-ability to see what’s being used in custom kitchens and try to get something close. Then use your Google-ability to find a good deal on them, shouldn’t be more than $3 maximum per piece. The ones I use are $8-$12 per piece at Home Depot or Lowes and my supplier sells them to me in packs of 100 for $3 a piece. But it looks like $12…get it?

5. Order a custom address bar. The design I prefer is silver writing on a black background with the street name spelled out below the number. I pay $40 to $60 per house and EVERYONE comments on it. What is that worth to the sale in the end? I don’t know. What I do know is when they don’t see it on my competitors houses, or homeowner short sales it makes my house more memorable.

I believe the average cost for all of the sneaky details I outlined above is right around $500. A big factor is how many rooms you’re going to finish with crown molding. The impact to your buyers, their agents, their home inspectors, and possible the appraiser is impossible to project. However it’s those sneaky details that most Michigan real estate investors miss/skip/don’t know about that will set you apart from the other homes they’ve been touring. That will cause the buyers to “just like your house the best”. They can ‘t quite put a finger on it but they have to have your house. And a lot of times they’re willing to pay full ask, as long as you’ve listed it right, or even fight against other buyers and your house could go the the highest and best bidder.

These are all of my own opinions that have been formed through first hand experience because I buy, rehab, and sell houses right now in Southeast Michigan. I’m not reciting stories I’ve heard from a national speaker or internet webinar guru. I am the guy they spin their stories about. If you want to know what’s really going on in the front lines of Michigan real estate investingmake your way to a REIA of Macomb event where real investors are doing real deals making real money.

Back to my details,
Dylan Tanaka-Founder

31115 Belmont Ct in Beverly Hills, Michigan 48025 in Birmingham School District

Dylan Tanaka- REIA of Macomb (Michigans #1 Real Estate Investor Club) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:32:22 -0800

MORE PICS HERE

Custom remodel in Beverly Hills with Birmingham Schools! Top location in private culdesac. Solid Cherry chef's kitchen including prep sink, built in refrigerator and combo wall over/microwave. All new STAINLESS appliances with miles of granite.Master suite with custom woodwork and huge walk-in-closet, amazing tile work in private bath with stand up shower. Wine bar in formal living room.New front load washer and dryer also included. FREE home warranty

Room Information

Bedrooms:	4	MBR:	18x12 Upper	BR5:		DR:		FLA:
Full Bath(s):	2	BR2:	14x10 Upper	GR:		KT:	15x10 Entry	LDY:
Lav(s):	1	BR3:	13x12 Upper	LR:	18x12 Entry	BFT:
		BR4:	13x10 Upper	FR:		LB:

Other Rooms: DINING RM, 1ST FL LAU, LIVING RM, FAMILY RM

Property Information

Winter Taxes:	$674	Spec Assmt:		Assoc Fee:
Summer Taxes:	$3,592	Homestead:	Y	Assoc Fee Period:
Ownership:	PRIVATE - OWNED

Exterior/Construction Information

Architecture:	2-ST	Ext Material:	BRICK, ALUMINUM
Style:	COLONIAL	Construction:
Site Desc:
Exterior Feat:	PATIO
Garage:	2 CAR, ATT, HEAT
Water Fac:
Water Name:
Water Sewer:	MUN WAT
Out Buildings:
Road Frontage:	PAVED

Interior Information

Foundation:	BASEMENT	Basement:	UNFINISHED
Heating:	FRCD AIR	Fuel Type:	GAS
Cooling:	CENTRAL	Water Heater:	GAS
Interior Feat:	WET BAR, SMP PUMP
Appliances:	STV, REF, DISHW, WASH, DRY, OTHER, MICRO, BAR REFRG, DISPSL
Fireplace:	FAM RM
Bath Desc:	1ST F LAV, 2ND F BTH, MBR BTH

Split Focused Real Estate Investing Starategies Ususally Ensure Failure

Dylan Tanaka- REIA of Macomb (Michigans #1 Real Estate Investor Club) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:06:49 -0800

Unless you utter the words “I’m a full-time real estate investor, and I’ll I do is buy, fix, flip, wholesale, rent, and sell houses all day every day”, plus have a team of about 6 strong employees, it’s very difficult to implement 3 different investing strategies at one time with success. I wrote this article because every month, week, and day I speak with different REIA of Macomb members and they’re all over the place in terms of what they’re doing. They may be trying to do sandwich leases, wholesales, and full rehabs all at the same time. The most successful real estate investors around usually have the 1 thing that they’re focusing on right now in their business. When you’re first starting out it’s like trying to drink from a fire hose. Information’s coming in from all directions; National Guru’s who have their ultimate system, late night infomercials, and even the 30 year veteran agent in your town who’s trying to sell you their listing so they can get double the commission.

How do you realign your Focus to ensure your success?

It’s simple really. Think about what you’re naturally attracted to in this business of real estate investing.

Maybe you have some retirement money put away and you like the idea of real estate but have no clue where to buy, how to fix, and when to sell. In that case get out and meet some successful investors and find out what it takes to be the bank.

Maybe you’re broke as a joke and don’t have the confidence yet to secure private lenders to fund your deals. All you need to do is find some great deals out there and let investors like me who have the funds to close and the expertise to get them re-sold for a profit. There are dozens of investors at all of the networking events around southeast Michigan who are hungry for good properties all the time. So go out and find them.

Maybe you’re a contractor of some sort. You can offer to partner with investors who may have the pieces of the puzzle that you’re missing.

One things for sure…you can’t be all things to all people. Believe me, I’ve tried. I know where my strengths lie and I try to exploit them to best of my ability. First and foremost I understand and enjoy cultivating relationships with people, hence REIA of Macomb. I also enjoy rehabbing. Not just my own flips but I’ve been a consultant to many investors to help them make the right decisions which ultimately result in making them more money. Wholesaling is one of my favorite ways to sell houses which is based on getting properties cheap enough to re-market for a tidyimmediate profit with little or no work.

What I’m not good at is being a landlord. That’s why I’d rather just flip to a person who’s better suited for it. How do I know? I had close to 20 tenants at one time. And I sucked at managing them. If you’ve known me for a while I’ve had gray hair since I was 25, tenants are the cause. What I’m also no good at is doing the construction work myself. That’s why I have a team who is able to turn my vision into a reality. HERE’S A LINK TO MY CURRENT REHAB.

So what’s it going to be for you? Are you going to let the SPAM emails for “tonight’s get rich quick webinar” blow you around like a leaf in the wind or are you going to start taking your business serious and stop treating it as a hobby?

The choice is yours,

Dylan Tanaka-Founder

How A Two Dollar Investment Can Make You Five Thousand On Your Next Michigan Real Estate Investment

Dylan Tanaka- REIA of Macomb (Michigans #1 Real Estate Investor Club) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:04:51 -0800

If you haven’t noticed rehabbing is back…in a BIG way. What’s rehabbing? My definition is buying a house, repairing/updating/& finishing it to the maximum allowable by neighborhood standards in hopes to sell it for the highest realistic price. That’s a mouthful.

If you don’t already know, selling houses retail is a delicate balance between budget & final product. There are a lot of variables that play into your end profit.

1. Purchase Price
2. Rehab amount
3. Rehab time
4. Rehab quality
5. Rehab style

Let’s pretend that you have all of those already figured out. If you even paid attention to the title of this article, now that you’ve finally read it, today’s all about the special sauce. You know, it’s what make a Big Mac a Big Mac. It’s what keeps Coca-Cola the most recognized brand in the world, and it’s what make people literally freak out to have the newest Apple gadget.

Well a big part of the special sauce in my rehabs is…Lighting.

Boring?

Not really, and here’s why..

Picture this, you are invited to a mini REIA get together at a current listed finished rehab of mine. As you drive up you notice a dozen or so cars and a few friendly faces in and around the yard. The curb appeal is there, nice accent colors on the house, clean and classy landscaping, even a high end address bar. You walk into a freshly custom painted front room with gleaming hard wood floors, an amazing fireplace, but wait a second…something’s just not right. You can’t exactly put your finger on it but you just feel like something’s a little off. As you enter the kitchen it’s almost like a gray overcast is looming above the cherry cabinets and miles of granite. Finally you take a trip downstairs to the basement and it hits you. The eerie feeling that a vampire may be lurking right around the corner. All of this negativity has been caused by one thing…lack of proper lighting.

The first thing I make sure of in all of the houses I am selling is that there are 100 watt light bulbs in every single outlet. That’s even true if I’m wholesaling a stinky old foreclosure. But even before the light bulbs you have to make important decisions regarding your fixture choices during your remodeling planning process. I always opt for fixtures that have 2 if not 3 bulbs for general lighting; bedrooms, hallways, closets, foyers, etc… In bathrooms I typically go for a fixture with 4 lights as opposed to 3 unless that bathroom is tiny. Remember the brighter and cleaner a house is the larger and more welcoming it becomes. Next when it comes to laying out recessed lighting in the kitchen, family room, or master bedroom I always put in more than the room “seems’ to need. As long as it doesn’t look weird with too many holes in the ceiling too close together of course. Last but certainly not least in the basement. How many basements have you walked into in the last 5 years that made you say “Wow, this place is so clean and bright”. Not very many I’d assume. Typically Ill have 2 switches at the bottom of the basement steps that turn on all of the lights. This way when potential buyers go down to what’s normally a dungeon they are more than pleasantly surprised.

A $2 pack of 100 watt light bulbs from Home Depot or Lowes can help you sell faster for more profit. That’s my goal with The REIA of Macomb: to help you make real money in real life in real estate investing.

Illuminated,
Dylan Tanaka-Founder

2012 Michigan Market Turnaround

Dylan Tanaka- REIA of Macomb (Michigans #1 Real Estate Investor Club) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 11:56:34 -0800

As we kick off the 2012 real estate investing season only one word comes to mind…TURNAROUND! In the first week of the year RealtyTrac came out with numbers proving that foreclosures are at their lowest point in 7 years in Michigan. What does that mean for us Michigan real estate investors?

Well if you’re not on the front lines day to day as I am you may have missed that over the last 12 months the trend to buy, fix, and completely rehab to the nine’s is what’s producing the highest profits for investors. There are quite a few different reasons for this. The first I believe being a stabilization of values in good neighborhoods that people want to live in. Secondly, mortgage rates are low. And lastly in my opinion, a general positive change in the market itself due to consumer confidence, the stock market, and hopefully the end of overseas wars.

This makes investing easier…if you have the right formula.

First things first you have to buy in good areas. You have to know what comparable rehabbed properties are selling for. And most importantly you need to know how to rehab. These three principles will be the focus of all of the REIA of Macomb’s training articles and seminars from the early part of the year through summer. Is this the absolute only subject we’ll cover? Of course not. We’ll still be talking about wholesaling, rentals, and private money, but our focus will be on rehabbing.

The best investors whether real estate, stock, private equity, etc. are always on the cutting edge. That’s exactly why we’re so excited about rehabbing. The opportunity is tremendous right now to buy properties in areas that people want to live in for a very low price that will allow you to do an amazing remodel and resell for mega profits.

As the weeks and months go on we’ll dive deeper into exactly what it takes to be an all-star rehabber. I don’t want to overdo it and drown with with too much information in this article. What I want you to do is to start identifying neighborhoods that you believe people want to live in or are even obsessing over. Then find out what the beautifully rehabbed homes are selling for. This will give you a good base for the next few months and training articles.

Remember real estate is cyclical and the new cycle is pointing towards rehabbing.

Excited about 2012,
Dylan Tanaka-Founder

9 Out of 10 Buyers Find Their House Online

Dylan Tanaka- REIA of Macomb (Michigans #1 Real Estate Investor Club) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 11:55:02 -0800

Flip Houses The Easy Way

I got my chops busted everyday when I first stepped into the professional world by my sales manager. He used to have to beat it into my head that you have to give the customer what they want-not what’s necessarily best for them. He had a saying, “Don’t fight it, write it”. What he meant was if the customer asks you for something, give it to them and don’t try to change their minds.

So now I ask you-Are your houses you are flipping, wholesaling, or renting (yuck), being advertised online on your website?

If you answered No, then you are fighting it. The Wall Street Journal reported in 2008 that over 82% of buyers look for properties online before they call an agent, that was 2008! With the recent addition of smart phones and iPad type computers they say that over 91% of all buyers find their houses online. So the data supports my belief that if you’re not online your losing money, missing out on sales, and just plain crazy.

The next excuse that a lot of investors have is that they only do a few deals a year or haven’t even bought a house yet. Well you certainly don’t need your own houses to sell to have a website. We all started somewhere, myself included and I didn’t have houses but I did have a website that I made money because of. Here’s a few simple ways to make people want to go to your site often to look for deals;

1. You can say that you have no inventory at this time but sign up for e-mail updates

2. You can have “stock” coming soon pictures and generic house descriptions to help your visitors visualize your upcoming deals

3. The best thing to do is to get in touch with real investors who are doing a lot of business, myself included, and ask me “Can I list your houses on my website because I don’t have any right now?’ What do you think I would say to free foot traffic and eyeballs on my houses, YES! By the way at REIA of Macomb events you’ll find people who have lots of houses to sell, private money to lend, and investors looking for deals-get registered for our next event HERE.

DISCLAIMER-for all of you wet blankets who are reading this yes you’re right, you cannot sell houses for others unless you are a licensed real estate agent, well I’m not saying that I’m offering them any compensation if they do secure me a buyer

My dear readers you may be unaware that it is actually true that you can’t ask for compensation if you secure a buyer for someone else’s house if you’re not a real estate agent-however any Make It Happen person realizes that one good turn deserves another, right?

Okay I just gave you 3 easy ways for your site to appear like you’re the next Donald Trump. Now you have no excuses why you don’t have a website up and running for your real estate business. In my next training article I’ll show you how your website can practically put thousands of dollars in your pocket and you don’t need to spend a nickel. People like myself will finance the whole deal and you’re only risk is running your website. More on that later…

Anxiously awaiting your deals,
Dylan Tanaka-Founder

If You're Not Flipping You're Losing

Dylan Tanaka- REIA of Macomb (Michigans #1 Real Estate Investor Club) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 12:50:27 -0800

Good News for Flippers-Bad News for landlords

Recent statistics from the leading source in our business (check out the blue highlighted section above) , Realtor Magazine, show that the Metro Detroit region has lost 13% in housing values over the last 90 days alone. This means that if you are holding residential real estate you are losing money as you read this, and maybe lots of dough.

It depends on a few different factors;

1. What type of property is it?

2. What city is it located in?

3. Where does the school system rank?

4. What percent of houses are non-owner occupied (rentals)?

Why are you being delivered this “negative” information? First of all it’s not negative-it’s the truth. Secondly, the only reason this website and the REIA of Macomb exists is for Michigan real estate investors to make more money, and lots of it. So if that’s my M.O. for doing what I do, then why wouldn’t I want to show you proof that you should be flipping not holding if you want to make money invesiting in Michigan real estate in the short term.

Speaking of flipping-some areas of metro Detroit are actually selling for more than last year. Royal Oak being one of them, certain parts of Clinton Township, Rochester, Shebly Township, and Sterling Heights also. If you want to know what’s going on with values and how using sold comps will help you make better purchase decisions get plugged in at the REIA of Macomb where real investors are doing real deal and making real money. None of us can buy all of the houses out there so that’s the big reason that I offer investment training seminars to deliver to you what’s working now-plus where, when, and why.

At a recent speaking engagement where I was main presenter I was asked “What makes what you and you’re group are doing so different than everyone else out there?” I simply stated “We are a group of Make It Happen individuals who are taking action and making money right now in Michigan real estate, not just talking about it.” I challenged that individual to come to the REIA’s next live training event, and she did. At the end of the session she and her husbandboth became members and have referred another investor who’s also joined.

If you’re not achieving the goals that you know you can or you’re not getting a crack at the sleeper5-figure-profit deals that are out there right now in this market, I challenge you to come to the next live training event and get on the right track. There’s ladies and gentlemen out there just like me who are literally stealing money right out of your pockets. Come on and join in on the fun.

Relentlessly,
Dylan Tanaka-Founder

The #1 Mistake People Make On Their Real Estate Investing Website

Dylan Tanaka- REIA of Macomb (Michigans #1 Real Estate Investor Club) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 12:48:21 -0800

The #1 Mistake You Can Make On Your Website

Having any kind of web presence is always better than having none. That being said, if your site sucks and doesn’t help you achieve what you’re trying to achieve then it’s basically useless. Below I’ll breakdown 3 separate websites that all came up when I searched for “We Buy Houses”. Whether you’re new to Michigan real estate investing or an old grizzled pro, you should all have “We Buy House” websites active right now.

Let’s go from worst to best. My opinions are strictly based on my own success using websites to make money with my real estate investing business plus the tens of thousands I’ve spent on marketing training focused on selling or buying real estate online.

#1 Crappy (above)
-Too cluttered
-Mixed message
-Small font
-Not welcoming colors to the masses

#2 Pretty Good (above)
-Nice and bright
-Welcoming to men and women
-Very clear message
-Widgets on the right sidebar offer information to those who are true readers not just skimmers

#3 The Best (above)
-Very short
-100% to the point
-Not too polished and professional looking
-Again welcoming to both men and women
-Very clean, fresh, and up-to-date look

Think about this-what websites can you look at that sell lots of stuff and have lots of traffic?
Walmart.com
Ebay.com
Apple.com
Amazon.com

All of the companies above offer multiple products in different categories while we as real estate investors are usually only looking to do 3 things;
-buy your home
-sell a house
-find private lenders

So yes there is a bit more clutter than what will be on your sites but what I want you to do is click around those sites and feel how easy the navigation is. Look at the style, the colors, the overall feel. That’s what we want to achieve when people click on our site.

Personally I think that Apple does it best. When you “land” on their site you’re greeted by a “splash” page that’s basically just a showcase for their most recent release. You can’t even make a purchase on the front page. What they’re doing is getting you emotionally involved because their products are luxury products. think about it;

iPhone-costs 4 times the average cell phone and is $130 per month for unlimited everything

iPod-they’ve all bu stopped selling the little ones and are pushing you towards the $200 model

iPad-a massive iPod for 3 to 5 times the price of an iPod

Mac computers and laptops-at least 50% higher in price than a comparable (but not really)windows machine

So yes they are a luxury brand because you don’t need to pay their prices to achieve what you do using their products. But people like me buy, use, and love them because we are emotionally involved due to their great marketing.

Everyday I work to translate that into my businesses, both the hardcore house investing side and my consulting company. If you’re going to do it, then do it right and to the best of your ability. Your website now more than ever is your prospective clients first look at your company-make it count.

Coding,
Dylan Tanaka-Founder

Champions Club Member Making It Happen pt. 1

Dylan Tanaka- REIA of Macomb (Michigans #1 Real Estate Investor Club) — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 13:13:10 -0700

Rockin-n-Rollin Champions Club Member

Here’s a quick snapshot of what a real rehab looks like just when the fun is getting started. The investor above is Bob and this is his first full rehab on his own. Now it’s not his first construction project he’s been involved in. He’s had his builder’s license for over 30 years. So between doing remodels for homeowners and putting in 50 plus hours a week in with one of the Big 3 for 30 years Bob started to get the itch to flip houses. Before I forget to mention this and get Bob is big trouble, he’s got a business partner who’s the real brains behind the operation, his wife Michelle. Finally after his retirement and a good year and a half of rehab training as both a REIA of Macomb and Champions Club members they now have the confidence and team in place to move full steam ahead on a $25,000 rehab construction project.

In the coming weeks I’ll be delivering more updates on Bob & Michelle and their project. If you have yet to take that first step toward your own investment house what are you waiting for? Maybe you lack the confidence? Maybe you lack the funds? Maybe you lack the time? Or maybe you lack the education and the right group of positive like-minded people surrounding you. Whatever the reason is if you posses 2 0r 3 of the 4 mentioned above then you should be Making It Happen also.

Learn more about Champions Club HERE

Hopefully the next Member’s Spotlight article will be about You!

Rahabbing all summer,

Dylan Tanaka-Founder

Opporuinties In Michigan Real Estate Investing Are Crazier Now More Than Ever

Dylan Tanaka- REIA of Macomb (Michigans #1 Real Estate Investor Club) — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 13:12:06 -0700

Pay close attention to the words delivered in this video. Although it may not be the end all be all-the earth, the United States, and finances are always changing every second. However there’s definitely a lot of truth to what Scott Pelley is reporting even in his somber tone. As most “regular” homeowners around the country are losing equity and possibly being driven in a housing slump mental depression, we as Michigan real estate investors can only do one thing-rise above.

Rise above all of the baloney.

Rise above our competition.

Rise above the no-win situation the Fed was very happy to get “Regular America” into & become GREAT.

It’s not often I comment on an op-ed piece but I watched this in my car on my Apple iPad outside a coffee shop last month while waiting for an investor who’s property I was providing the financing for. Somehow it took me a month to find this and I had to share it.

Please leave your comments as I am very interested in your thoughts on this 60 Minutes piece and the way Scott Pelley from CBS reported it.

Comments highly encouraged,

Dylan Tanaka-Founder

The 1 Thing You Cant Do If You Want To Be Successful In Michigan Real Estate pt. 2

Dylan Tanaka- REIA of Macomb (Michigans #1 Real Estate Investor Club) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 08:07:28 -0700

The most beautiful gift that the internet has given us as business people is laziness. Not quite how you thought this training article was going to start? Well part (2) is the easiest way for all of us to truly be successful as real estate investors. Here’s where the laziness makes us rich…licking and sticking. Say what? If you’re from the 90′s, 80′s or 70′s you know exactly what I’m talking about-Direct Mail.

When’s the last time that you spent 5 seconds to put together a piece of snail mail that wasn’t a bill or some type of Hallmark card? A long time I’m sure. Well the last time I sat down and wrote a truly hand written letter was last week. No it wasn’t a sales letter and no it wasn’t a note to my Grandmother. It was a letter to a CEO of a very successful and quickly growing company. Now here’s the best part. She e-mailed me 2 days later thanking me for my letter and confessing that “she got it”. Got what you’re asking? My letter to her was about an employee of the company that she runs. Not just any employee, the best employee that I’ve ever seen in my 15 years in both the corporate world and the small business world. I was so compelled by this employee’s actions that I sat down and made sure that my contact with this CEO was gong to have an impact. I hand wrote a 2 or 3 page letter and sent it out priority, you know one of those flat full size envelopes. The funny part is the employee actually received this package and delivered to to her CEO not knowing it was a glowing testimonial letter about her.

What does this have to do with flipping houses? Everything. Let’s take “deal partnering” and make it the subject of why you come to the REIA of Macomb and it’s the investing strategy that you think will work best for you. You’ve got $30,000 to work with and you’re not quite ready nor do you have the last 10 or 15k you’ll need to perform the rehab that the properties in the neighborhoods that you’re looking at on your own. You set off to to meet another real estate investor who has the missing pieces to your puzzle.

As you network at a REIA of Macomb event you work the room and pick up 40 business cards and you “star” the cards from the people who you believe you may want to work with. On your drive home you formulate a nice 5 or 6 line e-mail thanking them and pushing them towards your goal of partnering. You send it out to all 40 and you receive 4 real responses. Your next contact with them is much more detailed. You outline “around” how much that you have to work with, where you want to invest, your strengths, and where they may fit in. Out of the 4 only 2 seem to make sense as possible partners. Here’s where you schedule your coffee date.

Your meeting with #1 goes well. You like what he had to say and he seemed like a good guy. You’re meeting with #2 reveals that this guy has more money than time and he’s looking for someone to basically “manage” his real estate investments, and he’s willing to give up a piece of the action for this-meaning you get a piece of the profits. After a few more pointed questions you believe you’ve found your meal ticket out of the rat race of your 9 to 5. WAIT! As you’re about to part ways from the coffee shop he let’s you know that he’s meting with 3 other investors that he met at that same REIA of Macomb event. Here’s where using direct mail comes in.

This is what I would do, have done, and will do when faced with that situation if I’m in your shoes. I’d drive directly to the office supply store and buy some nice stationary. Nothing too frilly, just classy. Then I would take my time and write out a letter on yellow legal paper double spacing it so I can edit it easily. After rereading it a few times I would then hand write it out on the nice stationary, affix a nice big picture stamp, and toss it in the mail. The funny thing with the mail nowadays is that if it’s local it almost always get delivered within 2 days and a lot of times next day for .44 cents, especially if it appears to be private party.

Here’s a $1000 trick when sending a business letter…

At the end of your letter to your new prospective partner add a p.s. What I would do is this situation is to toss a $10 Starbucks card in there and say something like this;

p.s. Next time we sit down to discuss our investing strategies the coffee’s on me.

I guarantee you’ll probably receive a call within 3 day, maybe even the next day with the surprised recipient on the other end both thanking you for the letter and to schedule your next meeting. How can I guarantee his, because I’ve done it with multi-millionaires and it works.

You should be using mail in a host of other ways also to help create, reinforce, and grow new relationships but how to do it and do it the right way is a weekend bootcamp within itself.

Hunting for a blue mailbox,
Dylan Tanaka-Founder

p.s he never mentioned anything about the 3 other investors he was meeting because your letter blew him away

The 1 Thing You Cant Do If You Want To Be Successful In Michigan Real Estate pt. 1

Dylan Tanaka- REIA of Macomb (Michigans #1 Real Estate Investor Club) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 08:04:19 -0700

In today’s world everything truly moves at the speed of the internet. Good news bad news, celebrity break ups and the death of world leaders, whatever “it” is we know “it” hundreds of times faster today than 10, 15, and definitely 20 years ago. Obviously the reason for this is the the internet, with the main culprit being social media. Now this isn’t going to be a big story on why you have to use social media to be successful in business but it is a huge part of my marketing campaigns. We’ll dig into this later in the article. The 1 Thing You Cant Do If You Want To Be Successful In Michigan Real Estate is…

You CAN’T stand still.

That’s it, plain and simple.

Thanks to the speed of the internet it’s very easy to achieve this-and in the next training article I’ll show you exactly why the internet makes it unbelievably easy for us to stand out. What I really mean by “not standing still” is making sure you’re always in the front of your client’s mind. You may be a rehabber or wholesaler reading this saying “I don’t have clients”. You’re wrong. You do have prospective clients everywhere because more “civilians” are in the real estate investing market in southeast Michigan now than in the the last 10 years.

Here are some very easy ways to do this for a very low cost. When you come to The REIA of Macomb events make sure to collect business cards. You would be surprised to know I receive less that 5 cards per event that’s packed with investors, agents, contractors, etc. Don’t be nervous just say “Gotta card?” Inevitably they’ll hand you one and you return the favor. Next send those folks e-mails telling them that you appreciated meeting them and outline what you’re looking for and how if they can help you get it you’ll put cash in their pocket. Coffee dates are cute and you need to talk with people but Money Talks. So show them you’re serious about your business.

BONUS Email Training: Whatever you do don’t SPAM and irritate them with useless e-mails. Deliver real content and they’ll be happy when they receive your e-mails and probably reply back. To extend your spider web invite them to connect with you on Facebook in the e-mail, maybe down near your signature or in a p.s. If they take you up on it you have another very casual way to stay in front of them. The key is to always come across as non-threatening or barging in on them. In part 3 of this article I’ll dive deep into the psychology of social media and how you can make money because of it, practically free.

I guess I should eat my own cooking so if you’re not already connected to The REIA on Facebook you can do it
by clicking the link below and you’ll receive close to $200 worth of gifts just for connecting yourself to us
GET YOUR FREE STUFF HERE

The last thing that you need to take away from this training article is-when you make the decision to market yourself and your business through social media, your website, or personal e-mails please make sure that your are delivering fun, interesting, and relevant content to whomever your audience is. It may be prospective private lenders-if so-don’t talk about construction and paint colors. Talk about why real estate is such a great vehicle for their money. But if you’re looking for deal partners talk about your strengths and what you bring to the table and what you need from a deal partner.

Remember the best sales people tell stories and get their prospects emotionally involved. Whatever you do don’t make a post on Facebook saying you pay 10 or 15% fixed on real estate projects and you’re seeking new investors right now. First of all it’s against securities laws, second of al you look desperate, third of all how many millionaires are cruising Facebook for investment opportunities.

Cracking up,
Dylan Tanaka-Founder

5 Priceless Tips For Dealing With City Inspectors

Dylan Tanaka- REIA of Macomb (Michigans #1 Real Estate Investor Club) — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 08:48:54 -0700

Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf

For those of you new to the sport of real estate investing you may not know about one of the scariest parts of all: City Certifications-did I just hear a GULP!

After dealing with these guys since the ripe age of twenty-ish I’ve become somewhat savvy at how to deal with these guys as real estate investors. If you are not aware there are a number of cities, and yes it’s growing, who require you the buyer to call in all 5 divisions in some cases to traipse through your project before you’re supposed to do any real work. This piece is not being written to debate if it’s fair, ethical, waa-waa-waa. If you want to do business in this arena you’re going to play it somewhat under others rules, namely local government.

Here’s how a typical C of O (certificate of occupancy) inspection goes. You close on a house. You pay a fee, usually in the two hundy to three hundy range. The city inspector(s) come out and inspect. You call city and beg for them to fax the report, go pick it up, or wait for them to snail mail it to you. Then you finally see what repairs are required, and what repairs require licensed individuals such as HVAC, plumbing, and electric. The repairs requiring licensed contractors to sign off on them also require another round of permits which in some cities can cost upwards of $600. If you’re a math whiz you’ve already spent up to $900 just for paperwork after you close, just for them to tell you what you have to do.

Fear not my brave Dragonslayers…

Here are my 5 can’t miss tips for how to practically put your city certification work on autopilot without barely any input form you.

1. Check with the city before you close to see if there’s already been an inspection. If there has already been an inspection you have a right to it, all you have to sign some type of affidavit stating that you’re only asking for your own personal knowledge. At this point they’ll hand the inspection list over and you may have saved $200-300. Now that’s worth reading this article alone, right? So why might they already be done.

Two reasons that I’ve run into over my hundreds of purchases;
Uno: the bank, asset management company-basically the seller already paid for them, possibly in hopes of the property being mortgageable or for a 203k.
Dos: a previous possible buyer paid for them to aid them in the decision of whether to pay the offer price that the seller accepted, regardless-you save dough.

2. Check with the city before you close to see if there’s already been an inspection. I have a few corny sayings but they all stem from doing real business not made up to sound good on stage. the saying for this is “you can never get hurt if you buy low enough”. In English, offer a couple grand less in case you need extensive cert work. There’s only been 1 time in hundreds that the cert work cost over $2000 for me personally-yes that’s including the permits and rental inspection ~~bullsh*t~~ , oops I meant fees.

3. Call them out before you start construction. Don’t be a Lilly Livered wimp & more importantly don’t try to be too slick and get a bunch done and try to hide it. If they find out not much will happen except for the rest of their career they’ll go through your properties with a microscope. Call them out before you do any major work. Sure you can rip up carpet and even some light demo, but if they think you’re trying to skirt the system you’ll be sorry-trust m I know.

4. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT-Meet the inspector out there. Now does it have to be you, no. But your main contractor should definitely be there if you trust them enough to speak on your behalf. You never want the city to think that they’re dealing with some big-shot-money-bags who they can rake over the coals. You want your simple little part time real estate investing business to seem like you’re just a weekend warrior. The best way to do that is to NOT “big time” the city inspectors. Anyone who knows me will attest you’ll usually find me in a suit ant tie, but if I have to meet an inspector, which is rare, or if they’re being unreasonable to my contractor I’ll show up. And you better believe when I show up I look, act, and talk like the average Joe who just wants to get done whatever the inspector asks for.

Here’s a picture of what I may look like when meeting one.

5. Meet and exceed their timelines. Do you take your job serious? Do you want to make an a good impression on your superiors as often as possible? Well guess what, so do they. So Make It Happen for them. If you have 8 or 12 weeks to complete their list, get it done in 4. I realize sometimes you’re waiting for cabinets or a weird stray part from eBay. As a general rule in business and life it’s always best to under promise and over deliver. You can always get extensions-and believe me, sometimes you’ll need to beg for their grace. But if at all possible make their job as easy for them as possible. You will be rewarded.

BONUS #6 Don’t be afraid to drop off donuts at the city office or have a nice cold water for the inspector as he enters your property ***disclaimer*** I do not condone any type of bribery, it’s probably a felony so don’t do it*** All I’m suggesting is to go above and beyond. If the operator at the city of Southfield is always sweet to you over the phone and gets you the info you need without having to drive there or if someone in the city of Royal Oak is nice enough to send you the inspection reort via fax or e-mail-don’t let it go unnoticed. A $5 Starbux card will go a long way. Concerning the inspectors themselves, have a cooler on site with some soft drinks for them, you, and even your contractors. You’ll be greatly appreciated and rise above all the rest of the people they me that day. Maybe your list will shrink a bit or they’ll tell you to cap this or caulk that instead of replacing. Go to Wal Mart and get some Gatorade-it’s only $1.00.

If all this sound like too much work then maybe you should look into another part time gig, these guys are always hiring.

In all seriousness the reason I can write about this subject with such conviction is-I live it every day. Not just through my own investments but also with the hundreds of other REIA of Macomb members who’ve been dealing with this stuff for decades. The beauty about the REIA of Macomb is we are not a flash in the pan “club” who’s just sprung up over the last couple years since the foreclosure boom. Anyone can buy a house cheap today, even my Grandmother. We’re going on our 5th full year and we’ve been gaining momentum everyday. We aren’t here to sell you books and tapes, although education is important, it’s only a small piece to The REIA of Macomb puzzle. Yes, I’ve literally invested over $50,000 in my personal real estate investing education, probably double that, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without it. However, the true strength lies within the membership itself. There’s been millions, yes millions, of dollars made directly because of the REIA of Macomb. The question is are you willing to do what it takes to get your piece of the pie.

That’s all,
Dylan Tanaka-Founder

The Way To a House Buyers Heart is Through There Eyes

Dylan Tanaka- REIA of Macomb (Michigans #1 Real Estate Investor Club) — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 08:47:59 -0700

I’ll expose 3 secret tips that I use on my houses that I fix, flip and sell. These secrets can cost you around $20 and the impact can practically be tens of thousands. If you plan on successfully selling rehabbed houses retail, that means listing it with an agent and hoping for top dollar for the buyer an the appraiser-you must pay attention to the details. Because there is only a select few number of buyers out there looking for houses to live in that are completely remodeled, you must stand out from all of your competition. Buyers are sometimes cautioned from buying from us investors. Believe it or not I’ve heard agents with my own ears telling their buyers that all investors do “hack work” and to focus on buying from a homeowner.

Think about this, would you prefer to buy a short sale from a homeowner who is running out of money and therefore definitely not doing the maintenance house requires-and certainly not updating anything. Or would you rather buy from a professional investor like me who is forced to rebuild my rehab projects to newer, very strict building codes-then putting custom finishes like granite and brand new stainless steel appliances in after the code work is complete?

I’ll guarantee right now that if you take a home inspector through one of my rehabs and compare it to any house in the same subdivision I’ll blow the competition away, not only from a mechanical standpoint, but an aesthetic one as well.

Okay, if you’ve a made it this far you’ve proven you deserve to learn my cheap but mega-effective $20 little tricks.

1. 120 Watt Light Bulbs-it seems absolutely elementary but I promise you that if you go in 19 out of 20 rehabs they are under lit. When your prospective buyer walks in your rehab why don’t you give them the best visual perspective possible? Use the brightest light bulbs you can find. This especially holds true in the basement.

Picture this…you walk through the house of your dreams, your spouse, children, and little doggy are all in love. The last place you go is in the basement. As you walk down the creaky steps the slight scent of a dank, moldy, scary place hits your senses. As your family gets to the landing your standing practically in the dark, the kids and dog run back upstairs scared. Not a pretty picture right?

Now imagine the same beginning but as you reach the landing you flip the light switch and the whole basement lights up leaving no place or monsters or mold to hide. Boom, it’s a done deal and you buy the house. That’s exactly how your buyers will react also.

Do you have a house for sale right now? Get out your step stool, look at your bulbs, look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself “why for pennies am I showing a dim house?”

2. Flats of Flowers-depending on how many you want to add this may blow your whole $20 budget. So forgive me if we go over a few bucks. Assuming that the properties you’re flipping are houses or condos that you are allowed to do some type of landscaping, why aren’t you? I’m no flower expert or claim to know anything out of the ordinary about landscaping. What I do know is how to sell houses as fast as possible to make the most profit for myself and private lender while delivering a top-notch product. Here’s the simplest way to make people smile as they approach your remodel. Go out and buy a few flats of cheap annuals. Now decide where they’ll have the most impact OUTSIDE of the beds that are up against your house. What I like to do is frame out the walkway up to the front door on either side. Your buyers will feel like they’re at the garden at the Bellagio. Do you think the last couple short sales and hacked up investor flips they looked at delivered this kind of warmth before they even stepped through the front door-doubtful. The next spot that can use a little flowerbed is right around your mailbox post. As we move to the next and final tip you’ll see why I believe it’s so important to make a super great impression before they even pull in the driveway.

3. Knockout Front Door Color-depending on the color scheme of the house and neighborhood, I’ll go as wild as possible while still keeping it classy. This little trick may cost you $20 upfront by itself for the paint, but you’ll be able to easily paint 8-10 front doors with one gallon of quality paint-that’s about two bucks a house. How much do you spend on coffee at Starbucks?

More about the significance of having a beautiful, eye catching front door…on my projects I always spend a little extra on the front door for a few reasons;

Number one, when people drive up or see your listing on sites like Listingbook.com, Realtor.com, etc a different front door will stick out right away.

Secondly, and this plays into the flowers from above also, what kind of feeling do you want your buyers to have as they finally arrive in person at the house that either they’ve been viewing online or their agent has been boasting about? You want them to lose a little bit of there breath as they take it all in-and that’s before they see your granite, hardwoods, and custom finishes on the inside! Your front door is usually the first part of the house they touch also. Make it special. Even if you didn’t upgrade or there was already a really nice door, put some color on it.

Lastly, I believe that subconsciously that front door color will indelibly burn itself into your buyer’s mind and they’ll slowly obsess over the house with the special front door. They think “when my friends and family come over they’ll be so impressed, and maybe even jealous”. Or “when neighbors drive by and I have the most beautiful door in the subdivision everyone will know my house is special”. Remember, most home purchases are 90% emotional and only 10% logical, so learn how to get your prospective buyers emotionally involved.

When you are a member at the REIA of Macomb you’re not just going to come to a half-way boring meeting every month where some dude is on stage telling you about new tenant-landlord laws, or how you need 700 LLC’s and a 3 million dollar insurance policy before you can start investing in houses. What you will be a part of is a community of real investors and vendors who are all involved day to day in the real estate investment world, not pretenders. Members of The REIA of Macomb continually make more profits and much better decisions on there investment properties. You’ll be very surprised at how willing other members are to share there knowledge and how it becomes a collective genius over the whole club. Some folks out there are what’s called lone wolves-their afraid to tell anyone any of there secrets or they don’t want any other investors to know what their doing-for fear that we may steal their business.

To that I say PHOOEY!

It’s their choice as Americans, I just disagree with it. Everything important about real estate deal is a matter of public record and 99% of investors are listing their houses on the MLS so we can all look at what they’re doing, who they’re buying from, and who they’re selling to anyway. Uh-oh, I can hear a few of them howling as they read this. My point is this, if you want to make money in Michigan real estate, have fun at a real estate investing seminar/club, and you’re not scared people will steal the ingredients to your special sauce-You should be an active member of the REIA of Macomb. Just because we host our Main Event in Macomb county don’t let that throw you off. We have active members from as far north as Westbranch, as far west as Brighton and Howell, and as far east as Pennsylvania, literally. Let’s make sure that you’re on of them.

Back to watering my flowers,

Dylan Tanaka-Founder

Positive Uptick In Michigan Housing Sales for 3 Reasons

Dylan Tanaka- REIA of Macomb (Michigans #1 Real Estate Investor Club) — Wed, 25 May 2011 12:32:05 -0700

This early spring has proven to be moving is a very positive direction as far as housing sales are concerned right here in southeast Michigan. Recent statistics show a double digit increase somewhere close to 11% more sales this spring over 2010. What’s the reason for this? There are literally thousands of factors but for us real estate investors there are 3 major reasons that we need to pay attention to.

1. A lot of the garbage inventory is down-what’s garbage inventory? Well going back about 5 to 7 years when things were much rosier in the Michigan market and you could get a mortgage in you could breathe, it created buyers who were terribly unqualified. The majority of those buyers purchased using ferociously risky non-conforming mortgages. You remember the commercials right?

NO job, NO money, Bad credit-NO Problem. Ha! Big Problem

Americans, yes some of our neighbors and maybe even you were buying houses on negative amortization mortgages. Do you understand what that means? It means that every month you’re actually paying less that what the mortgage calls for to make a dent in the principal and it actually goes up! No not the value of the home, but the balance of the mortgage. This is what I call the garbage inventory that has been pretty much weeded out over the last 2 years. These people have already given the house back to the bank and it’s been resold to a new buyer.

2. The government is making easier now than ever for “regular” homeowners to but distressed properties even if they were once un mortgageable. Why would a house not be mortgageable? A few major reasons are bad mechanicals such as furnace, plumbing, or electric. Another reason is the house wasn’t up to FHA financing code guidelines. Items like missing handrails, broken steps or windows, and maybe peeling paint, yes they’ll not let you buy a house sometimes if the paint is peeling if you’re using an FHA mortgage. Please show me a foreclosure that’s been though a Michigan winter or two vacant that doesn’t have some peeling paint.

What the government along with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has done is re-instituted or really just re-marketed the 203k. Basically what happens is you as a homeowner can buy a distressed property and do fix ups before you move in and possibly get a mortgage for your purchase price plus all of your approved repairs. This has allowed “regular” homeowners to come in and buy these properties that they Werner able to previously. Here’s the math; there’s a lot more “regular”homeowners out there than investors, therefore more properties are coming off the market thanks to the 203k

I know what you’re wondering-when is the 203k going to be available to house flippers like us right? Well it’s close to being approved by FHA right now-stay tuned!

3. There are more crazy people like us buying up these discounted properties with one of two hopes;

a) To buy, fix, and flip there way to retirement
or
b) To move a friend or family member in and wait for some major appreciation

Let’s dive into a. As you well know I’m a full-time real estate investor who loves to flip houses. Sometimes it’s without a huge rehab sometimes it’s with one. It kind of depends on a few factors in my personal business. For the sake of argument let’s talk about the investor’s who’ve jumped in because of all the foreclosure hype. When you talk to people in the real estate who are full time professionals and truly doing business whether it’s a real estate agent, mortgage broker, or professional investor they’re all saying the same thing-IF you do the remodel beautifully and price it right it’s selling immediately. Here’s a link to a current listing that I was in control of the remodel on http://bit.ly/Dylans-Remodel

If you checked it out you’ll notice that in a good bread and butter neighborhood we used granite in the kitchen and bath, upgraded cherry cabinets, & finished the basement. All that for under 99k. Imagine what you have to do to be successful on a 200k sale price property. Successful investors must go the extra mile and beyond to move remodeled properties quickly in this market. One false move, that means being a cheapo, and you may have yourself a very expensive rental.

Let’s move on to b. A good percentage of the houses I wholesale end up going to parents, or an uncle who wants to offset the price they paid for their homes, typically double, with another one in the neighborhood. Then they either rent it or owner finance it to a friend or family member. Most times the buyer believes that if they can buy a house in there own neighborhood for such a cheap price, it has to go up. Well if I could tell the future I’d have bought Apple stock in ’84 and Google in ’04. But if I’d have to venture a guess I’d say for the casual investor and full-timer-GO ALL IN.

This is the biggest opportunity in Michigan real estate since the building boom of the late 90′s. Can you get in trouble, yes of course. I’m not saying close your eyes and throw a dart at a board. What I am saying is do your homework, talk to real professionals in the business, get educated at a real estate investment seminars, and make a good business decision.

Here’s a $10,000 bootcamp summed up in 3 statements;

1. Buy right (as low as possible, you can’t cure a bad purchase price)
2. Fix it fast (no 6 month rehabs, 6 weeks max)
3. Good properties (3 beds, basement, garage, square footage, multiple bathrooms-sure smarty there’s always exceptions)

BONUS #4 Make sure you’re supposed guru or coach has actually done what they’re teaching you SUCCESSFULLY, & is doing what they’re teaching you right now SUCCESSFULLY (the internet spawns experts literally every mili-second)

See you in the trenches,
Dylan Tanaka-Founder

REIA of Macomb Investors Make More Money

Dylan Tanaka- REIA of Macomb (Michigans #1 Real Estate Investor Club) — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 15:21:34 -0700

Brash headline? Maybe.

More like only if you don’t take what’s delivered to you every day/week/month as a member of the REIA of Macomb. At a recent event a “newer member” her second month, intimated to me that she’s learned more at 2 meetings than the last $1500 “get rich quick” bootcamp she invested in. The difference between investing and spending is when you invest your money comes back to you and brings lots of friends with it.

Example: Invest $100 and receive $1000 back. When you spend money it just flies away, never to come back and usually starts taking friends with it.

Example: You buy a 55″ plasma TV for $1000, then you need a blu-ray player for $200, and a $20 HDMI cable to make it wall work.

What the heck am I taking about?

Simple-invest in yourself, your business, and your education. Make sure the so-called guru that’s asking for your hard earned money actually does successfully what they’re supposedly an expert at. Plus make sure they are doing it NOW, not 5 years ago when the market and the economy were completely different.

The last time I was at a mega seminar that came to town the “expert” on stage was teaching the attendees how to wholesale HUD homes before they even closed on them. He was explaining 13 different dance moves that you would have to perform perfectly to try to pull the wool over the eyes of HUD, which is really the U.S. Government. Of course I raised my hand and very respectfully asked a few pointed questions that completely drilled holes through his baloney story. He tried to overcome my objections and then shouted…“I’ve bought over 30 homes in the last 2 years sir, I’m the expert up here”.Needless to say there were a few folks in the audience that know me and they started laughing. Now this guy had smoke coming out of his ears. “What’s so funny?”…he sneered at the audinece, who by the way were<<<—stress on were, his potential customers. I won’t name names but one of the other atendees piped in and said…

“This guy flips more houses than eveyone in this room combined. I think he knows a little bit about what you’re trying to teach us”

Well that was it. The speaker called for a 10 minute break and I was calmly asked to take my business elsewhere. I happily complied.

My point is when you want answers from a 100% authentic Michigan real estate investor who’s successfully completed hundreds of transactions come out to the REIA of Macomb and I promise you’ll feel at home.

As a special BONUS just for reading todayCLICK HEREto downlaod the Michigan Foreclosure Blueprint FREE

Making Weatlh Happen,

Dylan Tanaka-Founder

FHA Foreclosure Flipping Extended (no 90 day seasoning required*)

Dylan Tanaka- REIA of Macomb (Michigans #1 Real Estate Investor Club) — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 19:17:44 -0800

There’s a ton of rumors and speculation surrounding the “90 day seasoning rule” for homebuyers who are using FHA backed mortgages. Here’s a basic outline of the rule; if you’re a qualified mortgage buyer and you want to buy a home using an FHA backed mortgage, which by the way 95% are using today, the house must have been owned by the seller for at least 90 day.

Why?

Because the government is trying to protect consumers from predatory foreclosure flippers-whether you agree with government over regulation or not I’m not going in that direction for this article. I am simply offering the facts and solutions for fellow Michigan real estate investors to use the guidelines to their advantage.

Basically if you bought a house to fix up and resell you typically can’t accept an FHA backed mortgage offer until day 91, that’s the old guideline. However late last month the FHA decided to extend the suspension of its ‘anti-flipping rule’ through the remainder of 2011. HOLD ON! Before you start doing back-flips and flexing your Donald Trump muscles there are guidelines that must be followed.

First and foremost under these guidelines you can only resell a property for a 20% or lesselevated price from which you bought it. Example: a $50,000 purchase price allows you to resell the property immediately, yes even the next day, for a maximum sale price of $59,999.99 without having to furnish the mortgage underwriter with any extra documentation* AH-HA, here’s where the asterisk from the title comes in.

If you are hoping to be able to sell for more than the 20% above purchase price rule…think about it, after closing costs, possible commission, and seller concessions what’s left of your $10,000 above? Plus I didn’t take into account the cost of any repairs…you must supply the mortgage underwriter with a very detailed list of repairs. Most of the time this will actually help even if your sale is going through after the “90 day FHA seasoning rule.”

I hope you’re paying attention to each and every penny that you spend on your rehab projects because if the appraiser and underwriter don’t believe that you’ve done a good enough job substantiating repairs you are going to get whacked on your appraisal-that means the house your selling will appraise for less than the buyer is willing to pay.

How do I know this? Experience, first hand.

In the last 12 months appraisers have literally ripped over $30,000 cash right out of my handsbecause the houses appraised for just a little less than the buyer was willing to pay.

Yes these were rehabbed homes, yes I could substantiate repairs, but sometimes even with all of the ammunition in the world you can still come up a little bit short. That’s why I always preach that you must buy right-meaning if you over pay just $5,000 too much and the appraiser whacks you for $10,000, your $30,000 profit just became $15,000. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the scenario above is a recipe for unhappiness.

The question is how can you ensure that you’re not paying too much, you’re rehabbing right, your financial records are in order, and you have buyers agents’ writing offers the minute they show your property?

The answer: get to the 2011 Info Conference on February 24th and build your Power Team. At this month’s Main Event there will be 8-10 experts who are hosting their own round tables. Every 10 minutes or so attendees will rotate to each table to learn how each expert can help you flip more houses faster.

To pre-register to attend Click Here.

Remember all REIA of Macomb members and first time guests attend absolutely free.

If you’re not already a member and don’t want to keep missing out on all of the benefits of the REIA of Macomb check out our Membership Page Here.

Please let us know if you have any insight concerning selling your flip houses to FHA buyers by leaving a comment below.

We look forward to seeing you on the 24th!

Dylan Tanaka-Founder

How To Find Em, Fund Em, & Flip Em Saturday Workshop Series hosted by Dylan Tanaka & Adam Davis of REIA of Macomb

Dylan Tanaka- REIA of Macomb (Michigans #1 Real Estate Investor Club) — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 09:06:48 -0700

How To Find Em, Fund Em, & Flip Em Saturday Workshop Series

Here’s just a small taste of what will be covered during each workshop

-Michigan foreclosure buying and selling plus how to get the money to buy them.

-where to get the best deals

-how to get private lenders or partners to do the deals

-how to flip them for quick cash or rehab for the maximum profit

go to http://www.REIAofMacomb.com to sign up now

Michigan’s #1 Income Property Agent Reveals Exactly How His Most Successful Clients Are Flipping Michigan Foreclosures

Dylan Tanaka- REIA of Macomb (Michigans #1 Real Estate Investor Club) — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 09:05:21 -0700

Learn How To Flip Michigan Foreclosures

Michigan’s #1 Income Property Agent Reveals

Exactly How His Most Successful Clients Are

Flipping Michigan Foreclosures

Thursday September 30th, at The REIA of Macomb’s Main Event, Jacob Messeman of Real Living will share his tips, techniques, & stories that will help you make more money investing in Michigan foreclosures.

-What not-to-do when searching out your next foreclosure deal

-The truth about “Assigning Purchase Agreements“

-How to make offers that the bank will drool over

-What to do when you find a MOLD house to make MEGA profits

Meet real live Michigan investors who use the techniques Jacob’s teaching to increase their profits 50% on their Michigan foreclosure flips.

Access to this information can save you literally thousands of dollars on your next foreclosure purchase, but you have to be at the live event to take advantage of it.

To guarantee a seat for this money making & money saving event call 586-275-REIA (7342) right now and let us know how many seats to reserve for you***Remember seating is extremely limited***

When: Thursday, September 30th doors open at 6:00 p.m. for networking

The Main Event will start at 7:00 p.m.

Where: Royalty House 8201 Old 13 Mile Warren, MI 48093

Cost: First time attendees, REIA of Macomb members, & Champions Club FREE

Guests only $20