Creative Real Estate Investing

Real Estate 2010

2010-01-01T13:58:00.002-05:00

Hello All:

Well, here we are 2010! The past year was a great and profitable year for those of us who have taken our real estate investing and negotiating skills to the next level. In the coming year I will share with you, my faithful subscribers, some new strategies and tactics I'm currently using to bring in consistent cash flow in a down economy.

That being said, on behalf of myself and everyone here at Gage Consulting Group may the New Year bring you and yours many blessings and success in all your endeavors.

Happy New Year.

James A. Gage

Short Sales Can They Still Be Done Successfully?

2009-12-30T17:27:00.001-05:00

I'm asked on a regular basis, Jim, can the average investor still do Short Sales, or has that market opportunity played out? The answer is No! Let me qualify my statement. You can be successful with short sales as long as you know what you're doing... That being said, there are numerous gurus out there claiming that you can get these deals done in 30 days or less - that just isn't true!! Actually the truth is, that it may take at the very least 90 days!

So, that's why I tell my students that it is imperative that they have multiple deals in the pipe, so when one closes the next one replaces it on the profit train. Remember, not all deals close, so if you are doing these deals one at a time, you better think about getting a job at the "Golden Arches" AKA McDonalds.

For more information on how I do successful short sales click here.

Real Estate Investing Wishes

2009-12-24T11:49:00.001-05:00

On behalf of myself and everyone here at Gage Consulting Group we wish to wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanukkah.

As we rest and spend time with our loved ones and families, let's get ready to make 2010 the best year yet!

Peace be with You.

Jim Gage

Creative Real Estate Investing Resources

2009-12-21T17:10:00.000-05:00

Hello All:

I know everyone, including me, is doing their last minute Christmas shopping and that's all that is in our cross hair's - but....
I would ask everyone to take a few minutes and ask yourself what 2010 will look like for you in relation to real estate investing. Will 2010 be the same as 2009 for you? Are you burned out on real estate investing clubs, real estate tele-seminars and real estate boot camps?

If you are, then you will want to sign up for my Free Newsletter, which will also get you immediate access to all my e-mails that I send my fellow investors; information that shows you step by step how I invest in real estate with 100% leveraged techniques! If your interested in making a change in 2010 click here to receive your cutting edge creative real estate information.

Until next time.

James Gage

Experts Conclude Further Deterioration of Mortgage Securities in 2010

2009-12-14T16:27:00.000-05:00

Despite signs that the U.S. economy is now on a slow path to recovery, collateral performance will continue to be weak for all U.S. structured finance sectors next year, Fitch Ratings said in its 2010 outlook report. The firm expects downgrades to continue for residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), and collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), though at a slower pace than during the debilitating days of the recession.

For more breaking real estate news click here to sign up for our Free Newsletter.

Until next time be well.

James Gage

The Three Cardinal Rules of Negotiating Real Estate Transactions

2009-12-10T16:25:00.000-05:00

You can find hundreds of books on the art of real estate negotiation . . . but pardon my frankness, many of these books offer stale strategies and tactics that just do not work.

For example, in many books you can find the ABC rule – “always be closing.” That is, you want to have a bunch of deals in the works and you want to get to “yes” as quickly as possible in order to close that deal.
However, getting to “yes” ASAP means you leave out a bunch of steps in the middle, such as carefully pre-qualifying your prospect by asking lots of questions. (I call this process “Getting to ‘no’ first – meaning, you weed out those who aren’t serious about a deal).

It’s also why I’ve simplified negotiation down to three cardinal rules: the person who mentions price first loses, get to know your opponent before meeting with him or her, and always get your agreement in writing.

Negotiation Cardinal Rule #1: The person who mentions price first loses
When I first started doing lease options, I had a woman call me to see if I had a specific type of property that she could then lease to own. She had $8K put aside but unfortunately at the time, I didn’t have anything in inventory that met her requirements. A few weeks later I found a property and called her about it and said that if she liked what she saw after doing a drive by, we could do business that very day.
She ended up loving the property. We did the walk through and as she and I talked, I knew that $8K was sure money in my pocket.
“Jim,” she said. “I have a problem. Remember how I said I had $8K? The problem is I don’t have $8K.”
My heart fell clear to my stomach and my knees went soft. “Uh oh,” I thought.
She then went on to say, “I don’t have $8K, I have $10K. Is that ok?”
Now, I if had opened my big mouth and had said at the beginning of our negotiation talk, “I’ll need a check for $8K,” I would have never learned she had an additional $2K in her pocket. The moral being – never be the first person to talk about price.
Instead, ask lots of open-ended questions that will give you solid information in order to determine where people stand. For example, when I’m talking to a person who is looking for a house or a lease option, I ask questions such as, “It sounds like you’re living in a great place. Why do you want to move?” (What I’m really asking is, “Are you a deadbeat?”)
Or, if I’m sitting at someone’s kitchen table and he’s spilling his guts to me about his house going into foreclosure, I ask, “If you’re able to sell the property, what you would you be comfortable asking for it?” Having the property owner tell me first what he wants for the property is akin to him showing me his cards before he makes a bet. In other words, it gives me the advantage.

To finish the rest of the article click here

Real Estate News: Will FHA Loans Become More Expensive For Home Buyers?

2009-12-07T18:44:00.001-05:00

The problem is simple; with foreclosure rates skyrocketing, the FHA has had to pay out more and more insurance claims to the mortgage companies. Part of every FHA loan is the mortgage insurance premium (both upfront and monthly). The upfront mortgage insurance premium is paid (who would have guessed?) upfront at closing. However, it is possible to roll that premium into your financing (so many people don't actually bring that cash to the closing table).

The monthly mortgage insurance premium is a monthly fee tacked onto your your mortgage payment. Like other insurances, you're paying today, in case something goes wrong tomorrow. In the event a home buyer defaults on their loan and the house is foreclosed on, the lender gets paid out of the FHA funds that are built up through the collected of these mortgage insurance premiums.

So somebodies got to pay; guess who....

Breaking Real Estate News: Housing Data

2009-11-23T11:15:00.000-05:00

Hello Everyone:

Oct existing sales are up! However, when you break down the numbers what does it really tell us? According to CNBC : 33% of existing home sales are attributed to first time home buyers, 50% to real estate investors and the remaining 17% to normal market buying.

So what does this all mean? On face value it looks like great news, but when you put it together with last weeks news of : 10% of American home loans are either in default or 30 days or more behind! Could this be budding proof of my prediction of a 3rd wave of foreclosures on the horizon? Only time will tell...

Until next time be well.

James Gage

Breaking Real Estate News: Foreclosures

2009-11-17T10:18:00.000-05:00

Just when you thought it was just about over...

For the three months ended Sept. 30, 6.25 percent of U.S. mortgage loans were 60 or more days past due, according to credit reporting agency TransUnion. That's up 58 percent from 3.96 percent a year ago.

Real Estate Investing: Short Sale Time Lines

2009-11-12T11:44:00.000-05:00

Hello Everyone:

I was asked a question yesterday and I thought I would share it with you. I was asked:"How long do short sales take to complete?" Wow! That's a loaded question...
But the answer is at least 3 months! I know that's not what you wanted to hear, but that's the truth! Be prepared to be in it for the long haul; that's why it is so important to have multiple deals in progress. If you count on one transaction to put food on the table, you might be losing a few pounds; if you have several deals in the pipe you will have a better chance of consistent cash flow.

Remember, you should always keep the lease option strategy in the back of your mind when dealing with pre-foreclosures...

Until next time be well.

James Gage

Real Estate News: Foreclosures

2009-11-06T17:17:00.000-05:00

You can't make this stuff up :Fannie Mae program to turn homeowners into renters!

Can you believe this? So much for being a landlord! Just another job/business the government is killing. Read the full article here:

http://cn.reuters.com/article/companyNewsEng/idCNN0513498420091105

Breaking Real Estate News: 8K Tax Credit

2009-11-05T20:25:00.000-05:00

President Obama will sign an extension measure at the end of the week that will effect the housing market. The measure will also extend through April 30 a popular $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit, while creating a new $6,500 credit for homebuyer's who have been in their current residence for the last five years or more. The credit, which many say has boosted home sales in recent months, was set to expire after Nov. 30.

Real Estate Tip: New Flooring Product

2009-10-26T13:30:00.000-05:00

Hello Everyone:

My friend Ann Belemy just sent me this E-Mail, so I thought I would pass it along to you for your review.

Be well.

James A. Gage

Update on the new product below!

One of my customers read last month's newsletter and tried the new flooring product I mentioned. He said it went down extremely easily and was great! In case you missed it, I've included the tip below. Thanks, Brandon, for the feedback!!

New product might make a landlord's life a little easier

Hey, I have no stake in this, but I saw a new product the other day that I thought looked awesome. It is similar to laminate flooring, like Pergo, but has a lot more pluses.

It's called Allure, and it is a solid vinyl, somewhat flexible flooring in planks that are oblivious to moisture, wear like iron, look much better than most laminate, and are cost effective for the longer term. The planks adhere to each other with a double faced adhesive strip that can be lifted and replaced at will. The floor can get soaked without any effect other than having to clean it or get the moisture up from under it.

So you can install it in a rental without worrying about moisture causing the seams to swell and buckle. No underlayment is needed.

I haven't tried it yet, but the flooring guy at Home Depot loves it. It is in stock at $1.79 per SF, and you score it with a utility knife and snap it when you are installing it.

Breaking Real Estate News: Foreclosures

2009-10-22T09:15:00.000-05:00

Breaking Real Estate News....

Wall Street Journal is now reporting that a 3rd wave of foreclosures are poised to flood the housing market as early as the end of the month!

As I have been saying over the last few months this 3 rd wave of foreclosures will drive housing prices down again, but in turn will open up unbelievable opportunities for creative real estate investors.

Stay tuned for more info as I mull through it...

Be well.

James Gage

Why clients don’t say YES. Real Estate Investing Tip

2009-10-20T17:02:00.000-05:00

There are only 2 reasons, other than money, why clients don’t say YES.

#1 They don’t understand the information presented.

#2 They don’t see how it benefits them.

And the only way you’re going to know is by asking questions. Becoming a powerful communicator is the number one skill you need to be successful. The best part is that this is an easy and painless way to catapult your business to the top.

You can learn how to communicate effectively with anyone, really.

To be incredibly successful, you need to realize the person who makes the most money is the best communicator. Learn the principles of communication and practice them. Perfect the principles before you worry about learning specialized techniques for your particular business.

The communication skills you need to be successful in earning money are the same skills you need to be successful in any area of your life. I can tell you for a fact that the people you’re going to be talking to don’t care if you know every little thing about your topic, they care that you care about them.

If you show that you care about who they are, and what they need, and what they want, they will be incredibly forgiving of your level of knowledge of the product, or technique or whatever you’re discussing. Right from the beginning, even if you don’t have everything all figured out, you can be very successful just by caring about the people that you’re talking to.

Real Estate News

2009-10-15T11:45:00.000-05:00

Right now on CNN, a honesty man by the name of John Adams, a real estate broker, agrees with me, that the real estate market is on "life support"! Finally, some validation on what I have been saying for the last several months from the main stream media. As I have said, the government must extend the home buying tax credit past November of this year, and even extend it to people other than first time home buyers or we will see a reversal of the halt in the declining home prices and values we are seeing across the country.

Until next time, be well.

James Gage

Foreclosures up in August

2009-10-06T13:20:00.003-05:00

Hello Again:

Breaking news again!! For those who have said that opportunity has dried up in the foreclosure investing arena - then listen up! Foreclosures nationwide for Aug 09 are up 18% over last year at this same time frame according to Realty Track! August 09 foreclosure filings 358,000 - I think there maybe some opportunity there, do you?

Be well.

James Gage

Short Sales: U.S. Treasury set to finalize home "short sales" plan

2009-10-06T12:31:00.001-05:00

Hello All:

Here is breaking news on short sales: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091002/bs_nm/us_treasury_foreclosures_plan

Be well.

James Gage

Short Sale Considerations

2009-08-31T10:00:00.000-05:00

The majority of the time this blog is devoted solely to real estate investing from an investor’s point of view, however, during this post I will address the homeowners’ position in terms of short sale considerations. That being said, a short sale is dependent on a buyer making an offer to purchase. If you do not receive an offer, you will not qualify for a short sale. So even if you meet all the other criteria, it is possible that no one will buy the short sale. It is also dependent on the lender accepting the buyer’s offer. If the lender rejects the offer, a short sale will not take place.

• Tax Consequences
• If the lender agrees to the short sale, the lender may possess the right to issue you a 1099 for the shorted difference, due to a provision in the IRS code about debt forgiveness. Many situations are exempt from debt forgiveness, according to the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007.
• You should speak to a real estate lawyer and a tax accountant to determine the amount of short sale tax consequences, and whether you can afford to pay those taxes, if any.
• Blemished Credit Report
• A short sale will show up on your credit report. It’s a pre-foreclosure that has been redeemed. Short sales affect credit ratings. While the damage to your credit report may not seem as significantly bad as a foreclosure to you, creditors may not make the distinction. Experts say the drop in your FICO score is identical to a foreclosure reporting.

Real Estate Investing in Florida

2009-08-21T20:49:00.001-05:00

Flagler County Florida's unemployment rate rose in July to 15.9 percent, up from 15.6 percent the previous month, according to figures released today. Ouch!!!! Bet there are some great opportunities there for real estate investors . I'll let you know :-)

See you in Florida.

James Gage

Foreclosure News

2009-08-20T15:07:00.002-05:00

Hello All:

Many have called a bottom in the real estate market, while others, not as bold have stated that foreclosures are decreasing! I have to respectfully disagree on both points! Last month their were 360,000 foreclosure notices sent out, so the the third wave,the term I have coined, is on it's way and we should see the effect by fall.

So, what does this mean for us that are real estate investors? Get ready to make some tremendous profits with my "kibble and bits" strategy...

Until next time - be well.

James Gage

Real Estate Tip of The Month Aug 09

2009-08-03T12:53:00.002-05:00

I have a valuable tip for Home and Condo renters, and for individuals that do lease options.
Have a clause put into your lease and lease option contracts with the seller, which requires the Property owner to supply documentation to you monthly that proves that they paid the mortgage. By documentation I mean a copy of their mortgage statement. Also state that the Rent payment will not be made until the mortgage statement is received. If they do not agree to these terms, just move on to another landlord or lease option seller. A reputable landlord eager to rent their property will agree to this.

Note: In the case of lease options, if you feel that the seller might not make the payments; insist that you pay the bank or mortgage company on a monthly basis.

This is just a sample of the useful information you receive as a Gage Consulting Group Newsletter subscriber, why not tell others? They will thank you for it; direct them to http://www.JGage.com

Thank you in advance for your support.

Until next time, be well.

James Gage

Real Estate Tip

2009-07-29T12:09:00.003-05:00

Hello All:

Have you ever encountered a homeowner that is in pre-foreclosure and there is no way you can help them because of the numbers? Of course, we all have and as ethicial real estate investors we want to help people even if there is not a pay day in it for us.

So, that being said, I have used this non-profit organization that will help the homeowner, FREE of charge, obtain a loan modification. This organization is Springboard, which is endorsed by the Attorney General of the State of Massachusetts, Martha Coakley. They can be reached at 951-781-0114. They also provide credit counseling for FREE, which will provide a certificate, if an individual needs to file bankruptcy! Since the bankruptcy laws changed in 2005, you must have a counseling certificate before you can file a bankruptcy petition.

Until next time - be well.

James Gage

Real Estate Investing: Radio Schedule

2009-07-24T18:41:00.002-05:00

Hi all, I'll be on XM Satellite Radio tomorrow morning discussing lease options and how to use them for maximum profit. For more info follow the link - see ya in the morning: http://www.jgage.com/Real-Estate-speaking-events.htm

Be well.

James Gage

Real Estate Investing : Without Recourse

2009-07-20T11:51:00.002-05:00

Hello All:

There has been a lot of misinformation circulating through the real estate investing community about liability issues concerning assignments of contracts.

My attorney had me add these two simple words about 5 years ago, they are “without recourse”, meaning, if the party I assign the contract to defaults there can be no recourse against me.

Be well.

James Gage
www.JGage.com