Michel's Blog

"Private Lending Secrets for Real Estate Investors" - Teleseminar November 19, 2008 @ 8 pm EST

Michel Lautensack (Del Val Property Management LLC) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:47:24 -0600

This FREE Teleseminar Reveals Step-By-Step Instructions on How to Fund
Your Real Estate Deals at 50% the Cost of Hard Money and NO
PERSONAL GUARANTEES!

Teleseminar Series

Wednesday, November 19, at 8:00 PM Eastern

http://www.realestatewealthtoday.com/FREE-Teleseminar.html

On this call you'll get insider secrets on:

How to fund your real estate deals WITHOUT using banks or putting up PERSONAL GUARANTEES !

Learn to close private loans in just days - not weeks or months

Learn how to avoid upfront points or closing cost fees, credit checks, lengthy applications and prepayment penalties.

Discover the one Person you should always ask to fund your Real Estate Deals - This one one will amaze You

Learn how to get real estate deals at 10% to 20% less than your competition simple because you have an "all cash and quick close" offers

Learn how to put together a marketing plan that will have people calling you to lend money for your next deal

Learn what NOT to do so you will avoid getting a call from the SEC

And much, much more....

Do not forget there will be a FREE gift for all that attend....

Here's the information you need to mark on your calendar...

========================================
DATE: Wednesday, November 19, 2008

TIME: 8:00 PM Eastern (7:00pm CT, 6:00pm MT, 5:00pm PT)

LENGTH: Approximately 60 - 90 minutes

http://www.realestatewealthtoday.com/FREE-Teleseminar.html

========================================

We look forward to having you on the call!

Thank You,

Mike Lautensack
Real Estate Wealth Today

http://www.realestatewealthtoday.com

So You Want to Start a Private Lending Program to Buy Real Estate Investments- But You Are Not Sure Who To Ask?

Michel Lautensack (Del Val Property Management LLC) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:44:24 -0600

One of the most difficult issues for real estate investor who start their own private lending program is who to ask to be investors. This can be very imitating in the beginning, but like so many other things once you start it is not as bad as it may first appear.

Finding private money is not nearly as difficult as people think. We recommend a number of low-key person to person marketing techniques but without a question the best marketing method is simply talking to a lot of people you may already know in your own community.

You should always be thinking about whom you know who may be interested in investing your real estate investing business as a private lender. Always be on the lookout for an opportunity to deliver your "elevator" speech. Explain your program to anyone who shows an interest. Many of your best prospects will not be wealthy. Offer to mail information to anyone interested or better yet set appointments whenever possible to more fully explain your offer or to deliver your Presentation Kit.

Here is a "warm" list of potential investors who might want invest into your real estate investing business:

Friends, family and relatives
Business associates, employees, contractors, vendors and other professionals you routine do business with
Fellow attendees of seminars, conventions and retreats
Sellers, homeowners with equity and retail buyers
Real estate entrepreneurs, investors and landlords
Business owners, executives and professionals you meet
Church contacts and friends
Neighbors and friends of neighbors
Members of your REIA, Chamber, Rotary Club, etc.
Contacts made during business or pleasure travel
Retirees, retirement plan owners or IRA holders you know
Your in-house buyer/seller follow-up list
Your entire in-house contact list

One of the keys to finding private lenders (like all marketing) is to be sure to follow on any warm or hot leads and be sure to send them information or push for a one-on-one breakfast meeting. At that meeting you will get 30 to 45 minutes of uninterrupted time to lay all the benefits of your program and why it makes sense to invest you.

Make a goal of 3 to 6 meeting per month to motivate yourself will help get things rolling much faster. Follow-up after appointments with phone calls, postcards and letters.

Private Lending for Real Estate Investors: The Six Steps to a Private Lending Program

Michel Lautensack (Del Val Property Management LLC) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 23:01:15 -0600

Wow, has the real estate market changed in 2008! Real estate investors have been shut out of traditional mortgage money unless you have a 9000 credit score and a 50 year work history without missing one day of work (ok enough of the weak humor but you get the idea). Even hard money loans are HARD to get as they have all gone out business.

But just as the mortgage market is shunning the real estate investor - we are starting to see signs that the real estate marketing is starting to bottom and home prices have even gone up in some markets.

So how do you take advantage of this buying opportunity if you can not get mortgage money from traditional sources?

Private lending is the answer. You can start borrowing money from private lenders to fund your real estate investments. Raising private money allows you to take advantage of the low prices without ever using any of your own cash or personal credit.

There are several significant benefits and advantages of private money lending compared to mortgage money or hard money lending.

First, you can begin buying more houses for "all cash" offers and drive significant discounts from sellers who are highly motivate to get cash versus waiting and hoping another buyer will get a mortgage approval.

Second, very simple paperwork with a typical private lender transaction only requires 3 or 4 documents with less than 20 pages.

Third, you control the terms and conditions under which you will borrow money and the lender will lend. You tell the lenders what rates of interest you will pay, how long the term is and all the other conditions are set by you not a bank or hard money lender.

Finally, you can turn many non-deals with no equity into super profitable deals with substantial equity by paying off existing debt at a discount... using private money.

Six Steps to develop a private money program for real estate investors:

1) Develop your private lending program and the terms and conditions under which you will borrow money and repay your lenders
2) Build your info/credibility kit to establish yourself as real estate investing expert

3)     Create a marketing plan with 5 to 10 different marketing techniques to attract potential private lenders
4)     Create your group or one-on-one presentation
5)     Schedule group or one-on-one meetings and follow-up with potential lenders
6)     Present and close deals with your potential lenders

Given the new market realities, private lending may be the only option if you want to buy and own real estate investments and take advantage of the low prices.

Private Lending Program for Real Estate Investors - How to Start One!

Michel Lautensack (Del Val Property Management LLC) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 22:59:27 -0600

If you are a real estate investor in the post-credit bubble market and need money to finance your investments there NOT many options left. Traditional mortgage lending is not available to real estate investors. And even hard money loans are few and far between as they now require large down payments and high credit scores. Both mortgage lending and hard money require personal guarantees - not very attractive in this market.

The one remaining option for real estate investors is borrowing money from private lenders. The definition of a private lender is an individual that you can negotiate directly with on a personal basis to borrow money for real estate investments. The money can be used to purchase rental real estate investments or to supplement funds borrowed from a bank to cover down payments.

If you want to start your own private lending program there are number of things you need to focus on before you begin. I have created a list of questions that you can review and think about that should help you establish your own private lending program.

•· Will you offer both 1st mortgages and 2nd mortgages or just one or the other?

•· What will be the maximum Loan-to-Value (LTV) for each?

•· What interest rate are you going to offer for each?

•· Are you going to offer any upfront or back end points?

•· If you do 2nd mortgages, will you pay a higher rate and what rates is that?

•· What are the minimum and maximum terms for each program?

•· Are you going to record the mortgages or is the lender going to record the mortgages?

•· What is the minimum investment for the 1st mortgage program and the second mortgage program?

•· Will you offer monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual payments or all the above?

•· Will you pay simple interest or compounded interest?

•· Will you offer a no-payment option with 100% Principal and all accrued interest at maturity?

•· Will you allow early payoff if requested by the lender?

•· How will you handle a lender's request for early pay off?

•· How quickly can you respond to such a request?

•· Will you offer a minimum earned interest or prepayment penalty?

•· What will you do if you need two lenders on one deal?

I know this is lot, but please review and start to think these items through as it will be the guts of your private lending program.

Raising Money with Private Lenders: The 4 Most Common Mistakes Made by Real Estate Investors and How to Avoid Them!

Michel Lautensack (Del Val Property Management LLC) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:31:50 -0600

you are a real estate investor and need funds to finance your real estate deals, or are looking for money to cash out of deals, there is really only ONE option in today’s market conditions. That option is a private lending program where you allow private individuals who have extra money to invest in your real estate investing business.

But with the current popularity of private lending, we are seeing our coaching students and subscribers making a number of mistakes and thought we would highlight the top 4 mistakes and what to do to avoid them when borrowing money from private lenders.

Mistake #1 – Advertising on the Internet – We have seen many investors get into big trouble with the federal or state SEC regulators by advertising for private lenders through internet sites like Craig List and other bulletin boards. SEC regulators are patrolling these boards looking for advertising violations. You can not be sure that people outside your state may be looking at these ads and that would be the same as advertising across state lines and require a federal filing. We do not recommend any internet advertising for private lenders.

Mistake #2 – Using the wrong words in Advertising – We also strongly advise that in all your written or verbal advertising that you NEVER, NEVER, NEVER us the following terms: Guarantee or Guaranteed, Low Risk, Secured, Safe or Risk-free. All of these terms will attract the attention of the federal or state SEC organizations as potentially false or misleading advertising of securities for sale.

Mistake #3 – Not Using Proper Disclosure Language – I strongly recommend you use a disclosure statement in any advertising material, letters, documents, or other marketing materials as part of your private lender program such as;

“This is not a public offering. This is not an offer or invitation to sell or a solicitation of any offer to purchase any securities in the United States or any other jurisdiction. Any securities may only be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, in the state or states in which they have been registered or may be offered under an appropriate exemption.”

Mistake #4 – Advertising Across State Lines – Most small real estate investor do not want to go to the cost and trouble to file with the federal SEC. So it is very important you only advertise and deal with potential investors from within your state and do use advertising that may cross state lines. That is why we do not use newspapers or internet advertising.

As with all businesses, it is very important that you avoid as many mistakes as possible and real estate investing is no different. But with private lending a mistake can have serious and expensive consequences so be careful and avoid these mistakes.

I invite you to learn more about Private Money Lending and get my new FREE 20-page ebook titled "Discover the Secrets of How to Fund Your Real Estate Deals with Private Lenders!" by clicking here http://realestatewealthtoday.com/FREE-eBook.html .

Mike Lautensack is a full-time real estate entrepreneur in Philadelphia, PA and creator of the Private Lending Presentation Kit. This powerful done-for-you kit is loaded with tools and techniques to attract and develop a consistent stream of private investors into your real estate business. To learn more about this kit and receive your FREE Real Estate Wealth Newsletter go to Private Lending Presentation Kit.

So You Want to Start a Private Lending Program to Buy Real Estate Investments– But You Are Not Sure Who To Ask?

Michel Lautensack (Del Val Property Management LLC) — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 17:48:42 -0600

You should always be thinking about whom you know who may be interested in investing your real estate investing business as a private lender. Always be on the lookout for an opportunity to deliver your “elevator” speech. Explain your program to anyone who shows an interest. Many of your best prospects will not be wealthy. Offer to mail information to anyone interested or better yet set appointments whenever possible to more fully explain your offer or to deliver your Presentation Kit.

Here is a “warm” list of potential investors who might want invest into your real estate investing business:

Friends, family and relatives
Business associates, employees, contractors, vendors and other professionals you routine do business with
Fellow attendees of seminars, conventions and retreats
Sellers, homeowners with equity and retail buyers
Real estate entrepreneurs, investors and landlords
Business owners, executives and professionals you meet
Church contacts and friends
Neighbors and friends of neighbors
Members of your REIA, Chamber, Rotary Club, etc.
Contacts made during business or pleasure travel
Retirees, retirement plan owners or IRA holders you know
Your in-house buyer/seller follow-up list
Your entire in-house contact list

Make a goal of 3 to 6 meeting per month to motivate yourself will help get things rolling much faster. Follow-up after appointments with phone calls, postcards and letters.

Free Teleseminar on "Private Lending Secrets for Real Estate Investors"

Michel Lautensack (Del Val Property Management LLC) — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 00:25:36 -0500

Hi there! This is Mike Lautensack with Real Estate Wealth Today and I am sure you are aware that the world's financial markets are in freefall and the mortgage markets are frozen to anyone but the 4 people with 800+ credit scores.

So if you do not have an 800 credit score how are you going to get money for your real estate investing business. The answer is Private Lending! In fact, it may be the only answer.

So as result of overwhelming request from our students - back by popular demand - I am going to do a teleseminarriv titled "Private Lending Secrets for Real Estate Investors"

This FREE Teleseminar will be a step-by-step overview of the private lending process and tell you how to fund your real estate deals without banks or PERSONAL GUARANTEES!

Teleseminar Series: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 at 8:00 PM Eastern

To sign up for this FREE teleseminar simple click here ===> http://www.realestatewealthtoday.com/free-teleseminar.html

On this call you'll get insider secrets on:

• How to fund your real estate deals WITHOUT using banks or putting up PERSONAL GUARANTEES!

• Learn to close private loans in just days - not weeks or months

• Learn how to avoid upfront points or closing cost fees, credit checks, lengthy applications and prepayment penalties.

• Discover the one Person you should always ask to fund your Real Estate Deals - This one will amaze you

• Learn how to get real estate deals at 10% to 20% less than your competition simple because you have an "all cash and quick close" offers

• Learn how to put together a marketing plan that will have people calling you to lend money for your next deal

• Learn what NOT to do so you will avoid getting a call from the SEC

• And much, much more....

To sign up for this FREE teleseminar simple click here ===> http://www.realestatewealthtoday.com/free-teleseminar.html

Check for the time in your area...

5:00pm Pacific Time

6:00pm Mountain Time

7:00pm Central Time

8:00pm Eastern Time

Seating is limited and you DON'T want to miss the educational, information packed call! We look forward to having you on the call!

To sign up for this FREE teleseminar simple click here ===> http://www.realestatewealthtoday.com/free-teleseminar.html

Thank You,

Mike Lautensack

Real Estate Wealth Today

http://www.realestatewealthtoday.com/

P. S. I only have 50 lines available for this call, so please get on 5 minutes early so you don't miss the call.

P. P. S. We also now offer a limited number of people one-on-one private coaching to grow and expand your real estate investing business with private lending - If interested please click here and fill out the form and I will call you to discuss your needs.

To sign up for this FREE teleseminar simple click here ===> http://www.realestatewealthtoday.com/free-teleseminar.html

Private Real Estate Money: How to Finance Your Real Estate Investments During the Post Credit Crisis Storm

Michel Lautensack (Del Val Property Management LLC) — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 07:52:33 -0500

As the stock market tumbles and a most mortgage lenders go out of business how does the average guy manage to continue to invest in real estate. We certain will not be able to get traditional mortgages from banks or lenders as they now require 800+ credit scores, personal guarantees and down payment collateral equal to or greater than 40% of the purchase price. hard money lenders are so scared they will not lend to their own mothers - that is, the few that are still in business. So what do real estate investor do now! Private real estate money is the answer. So what is private real estate money and how do i get it to purchase real estate investments.

Private real estate money is simply borrowing money directly from private individuals rather than a bank or other commercial lender. Private lenders tend to be ordinary people such as doctors, lawyers, accountants, business owners and possible retired people. Most private lenders are simply looking for better investment returns than they can typically get from bank CD’s, money markets or even bond investments. Over the past couple years these type investments have yielded a paltry 3% to 6% pretax rates. We can pay private real estate money lenders 9% to 15% on their money. So it is easy to see why they will be interested in investing in your real estate investments to get that kind of return on their money.

Private real estate money lenders will want to know several things about a property before they will invest. The questions most private real estate money lenders are going to want to know about your investment include:

1. What is the purchase price?

2. How much is the property worth once fixed up and rehabilitated?

3. What will the rehabilitation cost be?

4. How much do you want to borrow?

5. What is your exit strategy i.e. do plan to flip to a first time buyer or hold to rent?

6. When will you pay off the private investor

You may want to have a short little presentation book or business plan laid out in a professional looking format to present to a private lender that addresses these issues. This booklet will show you have a well thought out plan and help to establish credibility.

In this new era of real estate investing you need to look to new and different ways to financing your real estate interments and private real estate money will be key to your investing future.

FREE Teleseminar -- Private Lending Secrets for Real Estate Investors

Michel Lautensack (Del Val Property Management LLC) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:32:08 -0500

So if you do not have an 800 credit score how are you going to get money for your real estate investing business. The answer is Private Lending! In fact, it may be the only answer.

So as result of overwhelming request from our students - I am going to do a teleseminarriv titled "Private Lending Secrets for Real Estate Investors"

This FREE Teleseminar will be a step-by-step overview of the private lending process and tell you how to fund your real estate deals without banks or PERSONAL GUARANTEES!

Teleseminar Series: Wednesday, October 29, at 8:00 PM Eastern

To sign up for this FREE teleseminar simple click here ===> http://www.realestatewealthtoday.com/free-teleseminar.html

On this call you'll get insider secrets on:

• How to fund your real estate deals WITHOUT using banks or putting up PERSONAL GUARANTEES!

• Learn to close private loans in just days - not weeks or months

• Learn how to avoid upfront points or closing cost fees, credit checks, lengthy applications and prepayment penalties.

• Discover the one Person you should always ask to fund your Real Estate Deals - This one will amaze you

• Learn how to get real estate deals at 10% to 20% less than your competition simple because you have an "all cash and quick close" offers

• Learn how to put together a marketing plan that will have people calling you to lend money for your next deal

• Learn what NOT to do so you will avoid getting a call from the SEC

• And much, much more....

It will be the Wednesday night (October 29th)!

To sign up for this FREE teleseminar simple click here ===> http://www.realestatewealthtoday.com/free-teleseminar.html

Check for the time in your area...

5:00pm Pacific Time

6:00pm Mountain Time

7:00pm Central Time

8:00pm Eastern Time

Seating is limited and you DON'T want to miss the educational, information packed call! We look forward to having you on the call!

To sign up for this FREE teleseminar simple click here ===> http://www.realestatewealthtoday.com/free-teleseminar.html

Thank You,

Mike Lautensack

Real Estate Wealth Today

http://www.realestatewealthtoday.com/

P. S. I only have 50 lines available for this call, so please get on 5 minutes early so you don't miss the call.

P. P. S. We also now offer a limited number of people one-on-one private coaching to grow and expand your real estate investing business with private lending – If interested please click here and fill out the form and I will call you to discuss your needs.

To sign up for this FREE teleseminar simple click here ===> http://www.realestatewealthtoday.com/free-teleseminar.html

Credit Crisis Now moving to Europe

Michel Lautensack (Del Val Property Management LLC) — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 20:22:15 -0500

The global credit crunch deepened in Europe as government leaders pledged to bail out troubled banks and protect depositors.

BNP Paribas SA will take control of Fortis's units in Belgium and Luxembourg after government efforts to ensure the company's stability failed, while Germany's government and financial institutions agreed on a 50 billion euro ($68 billion) rescue package for Hypo Real Estate Holding AG. U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling said Britain is ``ready to do whatever it takes'' to help its banks.

It just keep spreading and will back to the US very quickly as we punted it over there and they will punt it back here - sorry for the football terms but it is Sunday!

Keep alart as the end of all this is a quiet period when all dust has settled

Go Phillies!

Mike

Real Estate Investing: Well is There Blood in the Street Now!

Michel Lautensack (Del Val Property Management LLC) — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 13:45:54 -0500

The financial events of the last several weeks have most peoples head spinning. If it is not Fannie and Freddie being bailed out, it is AIG, Wachovia, WAMU or Lehman failing and forcing the US Government to take them over or filing bankruptcy.

And now we have passed a $700 billion bailout package for the Wall Street banks. As a result of the credit crises, the real estate mortgage market is freezing up and banks are now requiring super human credit scores and multi-year employment history to get a mortgage for homeowners or real estate investors.

Real estate investors are really getting hit hard and have no shot at getting traditional mortgages and are being squeezed out of the mortgage market. This is happen at the very moment that real estate prices have finally dropped enough that attractive deals are starting to present them self. They say that the best time to buy is when there is “blood in the street”. Well there is blood in the streets now and it may be a historical buying opportunity.

Despite the credit crisis and coming recession, money is still being made in America. You may be aware that both Warren Buffet and Donald Trump are both in high gear and buying into this credit crisis.

But these times require specialized knowledge, vision and savvy to recognize and profit from them, especially in the case of real estate.

For example, instead of seeking a loan from the bank to purchase real estate, the savvy real estate entrepreneur will utilize private lending as a viable alternative to raise funds for deals.

Private lending is the practice of borrowing money by a real estate investor to be used to purchase rental real estate directly from private lenders rather than a bank or other commercial lender. Private lenders tend to be ordinary people such as doctors, lawyers, accountants, business owners and possible retired people. Most private lenders are simply looking for better investment returns than they can typically get from bank CD’s, money markets or even bond investments. Over the past couple years these type investments have yielded a paltry 3% to 6% pretax rates. After taxes and inflation these investments have, in some cases, produced negative returns for their investors. This is why people are looking for better returns and private lending is the answer.

Private lenders are looking for returns in the 9% and 15% range and secured by local rental real estate. This kind of return will provide investors with positive investment return of almost 300% over CD’s and money markets. The result is a perfect match of private lenders looking for better returns on their money and secured by real estate and real estate investors looking for cash to fund deals and the ability to pay higher returns.

I invite you to learn more about Private Lending and get my new FREE 20-page ebook titled "Discover the Secrets of How to Fund Your Real Estate Deals with Private Lenders!" by clicking here http://realestatewealthtoday.com/FREE-eBook.html .

Mike Lautensack is a full-time real estate entrepreneur in Philadelphia, PA and creator of the Private Lending Presentation Kit. This powerful done-for-you kit is loaded with tools and techniques to attract and develop a consistent stream of private investors into your real estate business. To learn more about this kit and receive your FREE Real Estate Wealth Newsletter go to http://realestatewealthtoday.com/Private-Lending-Presentation-Kit.html.

The Top 10 Reasons to Hire a Residential Property Management Company

Michel Lautensack (Del Val Property Management LLC) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 07:20:12 -0500

nce you have invested in a rental property, the responsibility of maintaining and running the property can quickly become overwhelming. For many Owners, the logical solution is to hire a Residential Property Management company to oversee their rental property. But is this the right decision for you? Here are the top 10 reasons to consider why you should hire a residential property management company and how the benefits far outweigh the costs.

Rent Collection: A professional residential property management company (“PM’s”) have systems and strategies to improve rent collection and on-time rent payments. This allows you to ensure swift and consistent rent collection. Quick and consistent rent collection is absolutely critical in this real estate market where good cash flow can mean the difference between success and failure as a real estate investor.

Local Knowledge of Rental Rates: PM’s have extensive local knowledge of rents and the ability to determine the highest rental rate possible for your property. With the internet and the ability to do large scale searches for rental properties, potential tenants know if your property is overpriced, even by $25. Overpriced properties sit empty while other properties get rented. Knowledge of rental rates is a key factor to fast rentals and quick cash flow.

Tenant Screening: A PM requires a detailed written application from each adult with photo identification. Additionally, PM’s will run criminal, social security and public notice (bankruptcy or judgments) searches to determine if the application is accurate. PM’s will also call past and present employers, landlords and other references. PM’s have set requirements and standards for accepting or declining an applicant and thereby ensuring you comply with fair housing rules and other local and state regulations.

Marketing Expertise: PM’s have years of experience in how to best market your properties so they are rented in the quickest time possible. PM’s use both offline and online marketing to maximize your properties’ exposure and find qualified tenants quicker. Most PM’s utilizes 10, 20 or even 30 different techniques to rent a property quickly which reduces your carrying cost of a vacant property.

Property Law and Regulations: PM’s have extensive and up-to-date knowledge of property laws and regulations and will assist you in making sure you are in compliance with your local, state and federal rules and regulations. These rules and regulations include complying with fair housing regulations, the Americans with Disabilities Act and other applicable local, state and federal laws. Avoiding one law suit will more than pay for any PM’s fees many times over.

Tested and Reliable Professionals: residential property management company’s will already have vetted numerous vendors, suppliers and contractors to make sure they provided good quality work at reasonable prices. Failure to properly vet these professionals can be a costly mistake. Many Owners overlook this function because they do not know how to do it or because it is a time consuming and laborious process.

Inspection Reports: PM’s perform property inspections before, during and after a tenancy. Additionally, most PM’s will perform routine property inspections at least every 180 days. Your PM should be responsible for preparing frequent written inspection reports for each of your properties. Faults in your property that are found quickly can be resolved before they become expensive items of disrepair.

inancial Records and Security Deposit Escrows: PM’s will provide detailed income and expenses reports as well as cash statements every month saving you the bookkeeping headache. Additionally, PM’s will also manage your security deposit escrow funds and make sure you are in compliance with local and state regulations. PM’s will provide end-of-year tax reports for your accountant or financial advisor.

Emergency Calls and Shield You From Tenants: A residential property management company will shield you from emergency maintenance calls and tenant headaches. Imagine never having to deal with late night “my toilet is overflowing” call.

Low Costs: A PM should only be charging around 6% to 10% of the monthly rent collected. Assuming a monthly rental rate of $1200 per month that is a fee of $72 to $120 per month. This is less than $4 per day! Can you possible do all these things for less than $4 per day?

Bonus Reason! FREE TIME: A good residential property management company will free up your time for doing deals that make money. I mean serious money as opposed to dealing with non-money producing activities like tenant and property management.

About the Author:

Mike Lautensack is the owner of full service Residential Property Management company based in and around Philadelphia, PA. He advises real estate investors how to build wealth and financial security through hassle-free ownership of investment real estate with their “Total Property Management Program.” This proven management system allows owners to enjoy the financial benefits of cash flow, tax savings, and wealth creation while it GUARANTEES you will never receive a late night emergency call, deal with a lengthy eviction proceeding or ever have to interact with an irate tenant. To learn more about this program and join our monthly newsletter please go to http://www.delvalproperty.com/

Private Lending: How One-on-One Breakfast Meetings Can Give You All the Money You Will Ever Need For Real Estate Investing

Michel Lautensack (Del Val Property Management LLC) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 13:23:09 -0500

Recently I wrote an article titled “The 4 Ways to Raise Private Money for Real Estate Investors” where I laid out the top 4 ways to raise Private Money to grow and develop your real estate investing business. One of the 4 ways we use and teach to our students is one-on-one breakfast meetings. If you are not comfortable with group meetings - one-on-one breakfast meetings are a great alternative.

I generally recommend a breakfast meeting in a quiet restaurant where you can have 30 to 45 minutes of time with your prospect. At these meetings you need to lay out your private lending program and benefits of investing with your company.

Pre-meeting – It is important that you have a good presentation kit or creditability kit before you go into a private lender meeting. This can be a PowerPoint presentation where you lay out your business plan, your background and why it makes sense to invest with your company. You also need to have some sort of creditability kit where you lay your past deals, testimonials, educational experience or certification and any other information that lays the ground work for why you are creditable and trustworthy. Do not go into this meeting with out some sort of information and just “wing it” as you go. This looks unprepared and will not leave a professional image.

Meeting – During the meeting you need to develop a rapport with the potential lender. Without rapport nobody will do business with you. It is very simple - people do business with people they like so take the time to develop rapport before going into your presentation. At the point where you have developed rapport start going through your presentation and allow questions as they will assist the private lenders understanding and allow the rapport process to continue to develop.

It is important that this meeting is about information not an actual hard sell. You need to educate the other person first about your program and the benefits of investing with your company. I would not make an actual offer at this meeting. Wait to a couple days after the meeting to discuss a specific deal or invest opportunity.

Post Meeting – I would recommend that 2 or 3 days after the meeting that you email, call or mail something to the person to see if they have any follow up questions and start to mention a possible investment opportunity. Even if they do not invest right away continue to send follow up information as you never know when the time is right so stay in touch.

Private Lending: How One-on-One Breakfast Meetings Can Give You All the Money You Will Ever Need For Real Estate Investing

Michel Lautensack (Del Val Property Management LLC) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 13:21:16 -0500

Recently I wrote an article titled “The 4 Ways to Raise Private Money for Real Estate Investors” (post here on Ezinearticles.com) where I laid out the top 4 ways to raise Private Money to grow and develop your real estate investing business. One of the 4 ways we use and teach to our students is one-on-one breakfast meetings. If you are not comfortable with group meetings - one-on-one breakfast meetings are a great alternative. I generally recommend a breakfast meeting in a quiet restaurant where you can have 30 to 45 minutes of time with your prospect. At these meetings you need to lay out your private lending program and benefits of investing with your company. Pre-meeting – It is important that you have a good presentation kit or creditability kit before you go into a private lender meeting. This can be a PowerPoint presentation where you lay out your business plan, your background and why it makes sense to invest with your company. You also need to have some sort of creditability kit where you lay your past deals, testimonials, educational experience or certification and any other information that lays the ground work for why you are creditable and trustworthy. Do not go into this meeting with out some sort of information and just “wing it” as you go. This looks unprepared and will not leave a professional image. Meeting – During the meeting you need to develop a rapport with the potential lender. Without rapport nobody will do business with you. It is very simple - people do business with people they like so take the time to develop rapport before going into your presentation. At the point where you have developed rapport start going through your presentation and allow questions as they will assist the private lenders understanding and allow the rapport process to continue to develop. It is important that this meeting is about information not an actual hard sell. You need to educate the other person first about your program and the benefits of investing with your company. I would not make an actual offer at this meeting. Wait to a couple days after the meeting to discuss a specific deal or invest opportunity. Post Meeting – I would recommend that 2 or 3 days after the meeting that you email, call or mail something to the person to see if they have any follow up questions and start to mention a possible investment opportunity. Even if they do not invest right away continue to send follow up information as you never know when the time is right so stay in touch. I invite you to learn more about Private Money Lending and get my new FREE 20-page ebook titled "Discover the Secrets of How to Fund Your Real Estate Deals with Private Lenders!" by clicking here http://realestatewealthtoday.com/FREE-eBook.html . Mike Lautensack is a full-time real estate entrepreneur in Philadelphia, PA and creator of the Private Lending Presentation Kit. This powerful done-for-you kit is loaded with tools and techniques to attract and develop a consistent stream of private investors into your real estate business. To learn more about this kit and receive your FREE Real Estate Wealth Newsletter go to Private Lending Presentation Kit.

The 5 Top Sources of Financing for Real Estate Investing and Why Private Lending Beats Them All!

Michel Lautensack (Del Val Property Management LLC) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:56:25 -0500

There are many sources of financing available to use as a real estate investors. It is important to know the different financing options for structuring your real estate investment business. As you will see in this report, private lending has several advantages to the other sources.

Mortgage Loans – Mortgage Loans are the traditional type of financing for real estate investments and are generally provided by banks, mortgage companies and saving & loans. Mortgage loans are usually 15 to 30 years in duration with interest rates in the 6% to 8% range depending on your credit score and history. Mortgage loans require you to go through a qualifying process and involve lots of paperwork and can take weeks, if not months, to finalize.

Mortgage loans have several primary weaknesses, including a 20% to 30% down payment, a credit score of 700 or more and tight limits on the number of loans one person can make. In fact, the down payment requirements for investors have moved up to 40% in some cases. Banks and other financing organizations are also seriously clamping down on credit scores and typically require scores over 700, whereas, just a year ago, they would led on a score of 600 or less from a real estate investor.

Mortgage lenders will only let you acquire a certain number of properties before they will cut you off from any further funding. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, who really control the US mortgage market, recently imposed new lending restrictions and now only allow a maximum of 4 loans per investor. Mortgage lenders are also very reluctant to make loans to LLC’s or corporations and generally require you personally sign for the loan. This defeats many of the advantages of LLC’s or corporations of asset protection and limiting liability.

Hard Money – Hard money loans are also referred to as rehab financing. Hard money loans tend to have very short time frames of 6 to 12 months and hard money lenders expect you to pay them off after 12 months with a new mortgage loan. These types of loans tend to have very high interest costs that will sometimes be over 20% with very high upfront and backend fees. On the positive side, hard money loans generally require less qualifying on the part of the investor because of the very low LTV ratios.

Creative Financing – Creative financing is a blanket term for techniques such as lease options, subject to, and owner financing that will allow you to acquire control of a property without putting money down. These techniques are great when you can use them, but are not applicable when the seller needs to sell for cash.

Revolving Credit Sources - Revolving credit sources include business lines of credit and credit cards. While these can be flexible sources of financing, the interest rates tend to be high and require high monthly payments. They also limit you to the size of your available credit line.

Private Lenders - Private lender are individuals with money to lend for investment purposes. They may or may not be wealthy, but they do have excess cash or assets available over and above what they need to live on. These individuals are willing to lend for a higher return than they can get with bank CD’s or money markets. There are no limits on the number of private lenders you can have or the number of real estate deals you can do using private money.

Private lenders are looking for returns in the 9% and 15% range and secured by local rental real estate. This kind of return will provide investors with positive investment return of almost 300% over CD’s and money markets. The result is a perfect match of private lenders looking for better returns on their money and secured by real estate and real estate investors looking for cash to fund deals and the ability to pay higher returns.

Private Lending: How to Do Group Presentations to Raise Private Money

Michel Lautensack (Del Val Property Management LLC) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 07:40:14 -0500

I recently wrote an article titled “The 4 Top Ways to Raise Private Money for Real Estate Investors” where I laid out the top 4 ways to raise Private Money to grow and develop your real estate investing business. One of the top 4 ways we use and teach to our students is to use group presentations.

A private lending group presentation involves getting 5 to 20 people into a room and doing a presentation where you lay out the details and benefits of your private lending program. This may not be for everyone depending on your comfort level of talking in front of groups, but the advantages of group meetings are very powerful. When people start to ask questions and tell positive stories a certain level of group think starts to take effect and can be very powerful on the attendees.

We teach our students to focus on the preplanning and marketing, presentation materials and post-meeting follow up as the key to conducting a successful meeting and getting people to invest in your business.

Preplanning and Marketing – We put preplanning and marketing together because they must be done together. Make sure you have a room reserved that can fit 20 or more people comfortably. It can be a hotel conference room but they tend to be expensive. Other options might include a local library, church or civic groups that allow people to use their meeting rooms. Once you have the meeting room arrangements finalized you can then create your marketing piece with the exact address and time of the meeting.

Now you need to get people to come your meeting. And not just anyone - you need potential investors with extra cash to invest. A couple ways to promote your meeting might include posting flyers in 55+ communities with retires who might have extra cash to invest. You can also rent a list of local people with high incomes and bank CDs and mail them a letter or post card inviting them to the meeting. You can also place small ads in your local newspaper promoting an “information only” meeting about private lending and real estate investing. Better yet do all of these to help fill the room.

Presentation Materials – In order for the meeting to be successful you need to have a well prepared PowerPoint or presentation handout. It needs to be well organized and show your professionalism. This is no time to “wing it”. Your presentation needs to come off well done and organized where you lay your business plan and why it makes sense for them to consider investing with you. Again this should be “information only” and do not make specific offers to invest or discuss actual projects to invest in at this meeting. Actual offers are done in the follow up to the meeting.

Post Meeting Follow Up – As part of the meeting be sure to gather every ones contact information so you can contact them after the meeting. I recommend a letter 2 or 3 days later thanking them and asking them to contact you if they have further questions. Keep in mind that most will not invest, but if 1 or 2 do become investors from each meeting it is a highly successful meeting.

We may have dodged a $700 Billion Bullet

Michel Lautensack (Del Val Property Management LLC) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 17:32:42 -0500

Lets all say thank to our representatives for not passing the $700 Billion fleecing by wall street - lets hope they do not buckle under pressure - we should not burdened our children with this debt

It may be harder short term but we are all better off with out this debt burden

You can not bail someone out with putting someone else into trouble - that someone is our countries future

let the market work this out our money - we will all be ok if one or two more wall street firms go out of business

The bad news is the impact on the real estate market will be dramatic and we are looking at 2 to 3 years of slow markets

Good Luck

Mike

Ok -- We just gave away $700 Billion to wall Street and $25 Billion to Auto Makers

Michel Lautensack (Del Val Property Management LLC) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 09:46:53 -0500

Who do I make out my $700 billion check to?

Well there goes my kids and thier kids future!

Go Eagles at least

Mike

The 700 Billion Dollar Man

Michel Lautensack (Del Val Property Management LLC) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 15:54:17 -0500

The Government Bailout Plan's Impact On Real Estate Investors

The past few days my head has been spinning. If you’re like me, then you’ve probably been reading everything you can get your hands on to understand how we went from Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s assertion that, “Everything’s under control” to “We need 700 billion dollars now, or we’re headed for financial Armageddon.”

So what gives?

First, let me clearly state that I support Secretary Paulson’s attempt to save us from ourselves. Something needs to be done. With deregulation, Wall Street has been gaming the system for too long, but there are many issues here beyond the play in the media about limiting the golden parachutes that failed executives are bound to receive.

What sent a ripple of panic through everyone paying attention last week is that money markets, which are supposedly super safe, were suddenly at risk. This is important because it was the first indication that the chaos was spreading. See, apparently the financial industry is all interconnected, and while the experts have told us since early 2007 not to worry, it’s now apparently time.

This whole crisis reminds me of Hurricane Katrina: I remember watching the weather reports from four days out and hearing that it was on course for New Orleans, but no one thought much about it. Just another crazy looking storm that hit Category 5 out in the ocean. What’s that mean anyway? . . . well, I guess we found out.

With this situation, any average real estate investor knew that something was rotten at the banks. But hey, it’s a free unregulated market, right?

I find it interesting how the administration says one week that, “Things are just fine” and then suddenly reverses course the next and shouts, “The $#!% is hitting the fan!” Somehow I just know they knew all along. So why wasn’t anything done sooner? Well, that’s a topic for another time.

Then over the weekend I began hearing about a new villain suddenly on the horizon…something called a credit default swap, that combined with sub-prime lending and a blind faith in deregulation has brought our financial kingdom to its knees.

Credit default swaps are a type of insurance that are written and sold mostly by financial institutions like banks, but also companies like AIG. What they do is insure against possible default by an issuer of debt. They’re written as a contract . . . and are not securities. More importantly, even though they act as insurance they’re not, and therefore are not regulated.

Banks saw the premiums that they could collect as another revenue source, and the only way they could get into trouble with them is if the financial industry collapsed. They never thought that they would have to pay them off. When things went from bad-to-worse with the sub-prime crisis, banks attempted to raise additional money, but many either fell short or are now tapped out.

By the way, the estimated amount of credit default swaps is 62 trillion.

For the past few weeks, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has been attempting to perform triage on various financial companies whose failure is already but radical shifts in American capitalism (say goodbye to investment banks). Last week we crossed that line.

Do you know what investment banks are? Here’s the short version: They borrow money and then re-invest it at a higher rate (hopefully) trying to make a spread between the two. This differs from commercial banks – the brick and mortar ones – who take in cash deposits, like cds, checking deposits and savings deposits and then re-lend that out at a higher rate (ie: mortgages and HELOCs). Commercial banks have CASH backing. Investment banks have debt backing –– which is some very unstable footing.

Paulson’s request is notable for many reasons, first because no one knows if it will work. He’s looking for any way to stop the bleeding and quickly buying bank debt and allowing them to get healthy is the only way that he and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke see as a possible solution. What’s striking is that they are “hoping” to head off disaster by providing this bailout, but nothing is guaranteed: No one really knows what’s going to happen…

Also, no one really knows what the cost is going to be.

And what about the dollar? It use to be that we would bail out other countries (Mexico and Japan come to mind), but these days it’s us . . . And such a bail out will make us vulnerable by raising questions about the worth of government bonds. In effect, with inflation comes a decrease in our buying power, and foreign countries might decide that the dollar is no longer attractive as a tool to secure their interests.

So what’s on the table is a 700 billion dollar bill to the taxpayer to bail out some banks that got too fat and happy, and that should’ve known better. For most of my life I’ve been told numerous times that a free market will provide its own regulation . . . after all, no one wants to fail. Yet, in our country, we have no problem privatizing profits and socializing costs. (Remember my report a few weeks ago about the failure of Fannie and Freddie). Why am I told again and again that government is always the problem, except when it’s needed to do something only a government can do?

It begs the question, do free markets really correct themselves? In my lifetime I haven’t seen it, but it sounds good doesn’t it? A lot of people made a lot of money knowing that there wasn’t anyone to answer to… I suppose that they thought that they “were pulling themselves up by their boot straps” while taking advantage of the system.

For our 700 billion we will get not one guarantee, not one assurance that those issues that led to this crisis will be resolved, nor will there be any oversight on the deal that Paulson cuts with the banks.

Hmmm . . . no regulation. Have I seen this before?

Remember the junk bond idea and the S & L crisis 20 years ago. It looks awfully familiar to what’s going on right now and proves that we cannot regulate ourselves without government intervetion. Something needs to keep our greed in check: Greed cannot be regulated by the individuals who profit from it.

Here’s the point: If there’s no oversight by Congress or the courts for the buyout…how do we know that we are not overpaying? In fact, based on previous experience, I’m willing to bet whatever is left in my stock portfolio that we will overpay. After all, the guys that are leading this charge understood that corporations were gaming the system and undermining capitalism . . . but the money was too good to resist and doing anything would’ve reshaped the political and economic landscape. And they knew this in 2002!

So what’s the big deal?

We haven’t yet paid for a nearly trillion dollar war, and now this on top of 70 million Baby Boomers retiring (most without adequate retirement funds), rampant medical costs, an aging infrastructure, burgeoning energy needs, failing schools, collapsing fisheries, etc. It’s a terrible confluence of events that will take American ingenuity and money, lots of it, to get us where we need to go. Weren’t we told several years ago that we’d be getting a trillion dollar surplus? What happened?

Listen, as short sale investors we know how the banks work. We know that banks do nothing for anyone outside of their own interests. They’ve always fought regulation . . . and they have powerful lobbyist that in an election year will be spending money and calling in their chips to get what they want. The banks are going to want to sell as high as they possibly can as a way to avoid further write-offs; the taxpayer will want to buy as low as possible to get a good deal. There are lobbyist scurrying all over Capitol Hill as I write.

However, there’s a gleam on the horizon, and if the House and Senate can come to a sensible agreement –– one that the lobbyists are sure to dislike –– then we may see the goverment find a solution through the use of a REVERSE AUCTION.

Here’s how it will work: The government will say we have 150 billion to put in play this quarter and we are going to buy 150 billion dollars worth of bad debt. The banks are going to have to line up a say, “We have 500 million we want to unload.” The government will reply that, “Whomever will sell their bad debts for the lowest amount is the stuff we’ll buy.” The theory is that out of desperation the banks will scurry to sell their stuff off at the lowest amount possible, thereby giving the government (i.e. the tax payer) the best deal possible. The government can turn around and re-sell these bad debts (i.e. houses) for more because the government can hire professionals to liquidate the stuff they just bought and they can do it over time and not at a fire sale price.

From a taxpayer perspective this sounds like a reasonable strategy. The banks get CASH FAST. The government buys at reverse auction prices (the lowest prices) and then the government may actually make a profit by selling to the open market (to investors like us) who can make some money fixing these houses up and either renting or flipping them to a retail buyer. This may create an opportunity to buy government owned REOs at steep discounts which could create a good deal of business for those of us in real estate investing.

With deregulation, Wall Street has been calling the shots the past twenty years, and because of this the American capitalist system is being remade before our eyes. We’ll find out in the next few days what, if anything, has been learned.

By Josh Cantwell

4 Ways to Raise Private Money For Real Estate Investors

Michel Lautensack (Del Val Property Management LLC) — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 12:56:12 -0500

Now that the mortgage market for buying investment real estate is all but dead - investors need to have other sources available or go out business. Fannie and Freddie will no longer be available for investor mortgages, traditional banks and saving and loans will not touch investors loans for many years to come and hard money lenders, when available, can have total cost over 25%.

The answer is private money raised from people, not banks, through a process called private lending. Here are the four top ways to attract and develop your group of private lenders.

Private Lending Group Presentations

A private lending presentation involves getting 5 to 20 people into a room and doing a group presentation where you lay out the details and benefits of your private lending program. This may not be for everyone depending on your comfort level of talking in front of a group of people. But there is big advantage of doing group meetings. When people start to ask questions and tell positive stories a certain level of group think starts to take effect and can be very powerful on the attendees.

One-on-One Meetings

If you are not comfortable with group meetings - one-on-one meetings are a great alternative. I generally recommend a breakfast meeting in a quiet restaurant where you can have 15 to 45 minutes of time with your prospect. Like the group meeting you need to lay out your private lending program’s details and benefits.

Out of Town Prospects – Creditability Kit

If the potential prospect is out of town you will need a good creditability kit you can send in the mail. It is very important to follow up two or three days after you send the package to see if they have any questions. Even if they do not participate right away, keep in contact and they may invest some time down the road after a number of follow up contacts.

Existing Private Lenders

If you already have a private lender, or lenders, be sure to keep asking them if they would like to participate in more deals. You will be shocked that most investor only give a very small investment to start and wait to see how things turn out before giving you more money. So keep asking and do what you say you are going to do they will develop a better relationship and trust level with you. As the relationship grows they will invest larger and larger sums to grow your real estate investing business.

How Broke Is the US?

Michel Lautensack (Del Val Property Management LLC) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 19:30:04 -0500

Well in the last several days or weeks the Fed has bailed out the Freddie and Fannie for up to 300 billion - then AIG at 85 billion - now they are talking about buying all the bad debt and may total trillions and today the US Treasury gave the Fed $200 billion

wow that is lot money you and I are going toi have pay back in future genrations

The fed and treasury now want to buy all the bad debt and hope by isolating it into a new agency they can make the problem go away

Well what do you think....

I think this dampen the real estate market for 3 to 4 yeras out and it may well be 2011 or 2012 beforew the market returns to normal

Mike

The US Government takes over Freddie and Fannie - Assumes $6 Billion in Debt

Michel Lautensack (Del Val Property Management LLC) — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 20:29:54 -0500

Looks like it is finally happening - The US Government is taking over Freddie and Fannie and nearly $6 billion in debts.

Apparently, Morgan Stanley was about to issue a report says (now hold your breath) that both Freddi and Fannie had over stated assets on their accounting records and have less reserves that people thought - rumors were spreading and they had to do something before Monday or there would be a panic

Should be interesting on Monday

See Bloomberg story at http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aehgn34fooGc&refer=home

Love to hear your comments

Private Money: Learn How Private Money Can Dramatically Improve Your Real Estate Investing Business!

Michel Lautensack (Del Val Property Management LLC) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 19:31:57 -0500

Private money offers many advantages to the real estate investor over traditional mortgage borrowing or hard money loans. When compared to other types of mortgage loans, private money loans provide immediate access to cash; very few restrictions, extra control and low cost for the real estate investor. Real Estate investors need to realize that borrowing money any other way may cut into their profits or limit the opportunities they have for great deals.

Immediate Cash

One of the biggest benefits of private money is immediate access to cash. Unlike a traditional mortgage borrowing from a bank or saving and loan, private money loans can be completed in days or weeks versus months. The funds are available in very short time frames and are almost like your own cash reserves. Imagine being able to offer a distressed seller a 100% cash deal and close in less than 10 days! Do you think you may get some offers accept and even be able to get price discounts with such great terms. This is the power of private money.

Fewer Restrictions

Borrowing private money has very little of the traditional paper work that you may see with banks and 30 year mortgages. In additional, you create and draft the paper work so you can protect your interest not the borrowers. You do not need to go through a credit qualification process, income verification or have your credit pulled. There is no effect on your credit score from private money loans. One mistake with a traditional mortgage and your credit is ruined for years to come.

Even thought the private lender may want to see the property and may occasionally decline an investment opportunity it is rare. Most private money lenders simply want an appraisal to be sure they understand what the property is worth, but rarely want to actually see the property.

You Are In Control

With private money, you are in control of who you borrow from and how much. There is no limit to how many private money lenders you work with. You also work directly with the lenders and build long term relationships so future business is that much easier once a level of trust is built up. If a particular lender is asking for to much interest or too short or long of a term you can simple offer the loan to one of your other lenders and you remain in control.

Money is Very Inexpensive

One of the best benefits of private money lending is the money very cheap compared to hard money loans. Typically hard money loans can cost as much as 25% interest when you factor in all the fees and points. Private money lending is generally in the 9% to 15% range.

Private Lending 101: Who Are Private Lenders?

Michel Lautensack (Del Val Property Management LLC) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 13:38:01 -0500

How to Find Private Lenders

As a real estate investor looking for private lenders, realize that private lending opportunities will not always come to you. You may need to go out and find them. The best way to find private lenders is through networking and low key marketing. Ask people you know directly or friends of friends about the amount of money they are currently making with their investments and would they like to learn how to increase that yield by 300%.

Let people know you are a real estate investor who is paying private lenders 9% to 15% or more and secured by local rental real estate. Those who are interested in learning more will ask questions and express interest. For those people who express interest you may want to arrange a private one-on-one meeting or group meeting with several people to introduce them to your private lending program.

Advertising for Private Lenders

You can do some types of advertising for private lenders but it is very important that you use relatively low key advertising and usually in small local areas. We do not recommend ANY form of internet advertising. With internet advertising you can not control who will read your ads and the SEC may deem your advertising as a solicitation. You do not want this happen and will cause all kinds of problems.

A much better solution can be flyers in elderly communities or bulletin boards at local grocery stores. Your advertising should simply offer to provide information as opposed to offering investments. Public speeches for elderly groups or financial professionals is an outstanding way to offer to provide some education and in many cases will lead to people requesting further details about your program and possible investors down the line. The important point is keep it low key and local and you will street clear of problems

Private Money Lender: How to Get Them and How to Keep Them Long-Term

Michel Lautensack (Del Val Property Management LLC) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 22:54:21 -0500

Finding a private money lender is an essential part of any real estate investor’s business. In the old days (pre 2006) you could easily get a mortgage or even hard money loan simply by showing up in the lenders office and filling out an application. If you could walk and talk you qualified for a loan.

But today in the post credit-bubble market those days are over. Getting money for your real estate investing business is much more difficult and likely to get even more difficult as the credit markets sort things out. So how do you get money for your real estate investment business?

The answer is a private money lender.

One of the keys to finding a good private money lender is determining if they have similar goals and objectives as yours. You need to understand what they are trying to achieve and if your private lending program fits their needs. For example, if the private money lender wants an investment for a 10 year period, but you plan on doing quick flips every 6 months, it will not be a good long-term relationship. You and your private money lender need to have similar goals for a good long-term relationship that will result in repeat business.

So how do you determine if you and the potential private money lender have similar goals. You need to discuss your plan and ask questions similar to a job interview. We would recommend a series of questions similar to those listed below. Obviously, you can modified these questions to fit your personality, but the information you get will go a long way in determining if this is a person you want to do business with.

Important Questions to Ask

• How much do you have in liquid funds?

• Do you have other monies you might want to consider for an investment program that pays 9% to 15% and secured by local real estate?

• What type of investments are you in right now?

• How much are they making on your current investments? • How long do you want your money invested for and do you have plans coming up that will require your principal back?

• How available is your money or is it tied up in investments that are not readily accessible?

• Are you a “Qualified Investor” (person must either have a net worth of about a million dollars or have an annual income in excess of $200,000)

Do you know anything about real estate investing?

• When would like to start investing?

Asking these questions will flush out how close your goals are and will foster a good long-term relationship.