HUD (and many investors) believes the real estate market will benefit by allowing buyers to use FHA financing to purchase a home even when the seller has been on title for less than 90 days.  Up to this point, only banks had the privilege of selling their recently acquired foreclosures to FHA buyers.  Now investors and others who acquire real estate and want to sell within the first 90 days can.

The waiver of the 90 flip rule is for one (1) year and takes affect on February 1, 2011.  With tight underwriting guidelines, many home buyers are realizing that FHA financing is their only way to afford home ownership. More reasons why I like this change:

§ FHA buyers will have more homes to choose from

§ Investors will be able to attract a larger pool of home buyers

§ Buyer and seller agents will increase their closing ratios

§ Mortgage brokers will have more lending options for their clients

There are some restrictions, but these should have minimal effect on reputable investors. We at Real Smart Investor applaud the efforts made by HUD. It’s the first sensible action on housing policy that the Obama Administration has made in a good while.

N. Xavier Arnold

I have four, count ‘em, four listing appointments this week! That’s a good thing for my clients. When I get a listing that usually means that someone’s getting a good deal. Don’t forget this week’s Participation-Training(tm) Session is talking about just that, How to Find Great Real Estate Deals!

If you’re a student and you haven’t been coming to the site and doing your work, we only have one thing to say to you, WHY!? You need to be with us every Thursday so you can make real estate success happen for you. That’s why you took the training right?

OK. We will see you here this Thursday. Man, can’t you smell Spring in the air!

N. Xavier Arnold

That’s right sold by a Real Smart Investor! The renovation has been completed at 4937 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, and it looks wonderful. Now, remember the purchase price on the property was only $190,000! I went to public schools and I can do the math on that. Yes, we’re looking at a gross amount of about of $210,000!

For five months work that’s not a bad profit. Of course, that’s the gross profit and we have to deduct other costs. Still that’s a pretty good deal no matter how you slice it. We plan on doing our final walk through later in the week. I think you will like what you see.

It’s important that our students pay close attention to this Thursday’s webinar. We will be going over a very important topic, “How to Find Great Real Estate Deals.” You don’t want to miss this session. In the meantime, we hope you are making progress with your Strategic Real Estate Investing Plan. If you have any problems, please email us or add a comment to our blog. We look forward to helping.

N. Xavier Arnold

That’s a bold statement. And boldness is exactly what’s needed in this “strange new world” of real estate investing. If you’re like Rumpelstiltskin and been asleep for the last five years, you won’t know what I’m talking about. But, if you’ve been in the real estate “trenches” you’ll have the scars to confirm my next statement.

Real estate has changed, and changed dramatically. In fact, I don’t expect it to ever be the same again in my lifetime. So, if you’re in real estate and you’ve been doing business as usual, I suspect you haven’t been doing much business at all! In Prince George’s county Maryland, there are 3100 licensed real estate agents, but only an average of 540 deals done in the county per month. That’s six agents fighting for one deal per month!

What all this means is that as a real estate investor, you’ve got to work harder, but even more importantly you’ve got to work smarter. You’ve got to become a Real Smart Investor. We’ve got the 21st Century tools that will give you the competitive advantage you need to succeed. Seminars, books, mentors, and DVD sets are last millennia devices. They won’t work in the 21st Century!

You need practical training in a real world setting, guided by successful expert investors, using licensed professionals that know how to close deals. If you settle for anything less you are asking for disaster. You need 21st Century solutions to 21st Century problems. The Real Smart Investor Method is the only program that provides those solutions.

Real World, Real Time, Real Estate Investing(tm) gets you the tools, the resources, and the professionals you need for today’s real estate market. Welcome to the 21st Century!

That’s what the weatherman said, “A storm is on the way!” Real estate has been in a storm for the last several years, but people are still making money if they work smart. The Real Smart Investor method is working smart. It leverages other peoples experience, Internet convenience, and your time and money.

At our “webinar” this Thursday we will be discussing your Strategic Real Estate Investing Plan. You’ve got to make your own plan, tailored to your own needs. That’s how you get started investing in real estate the right way. Make sure you get this critical information to help you weather and prosper in “this storm.”

Also, I will be speaking at the Real Estate Investor’s Society, later this month. You don’t want to miss this. Come out, enjoy yourself and network. We hope to see you there.

We’re just over a month into the winter season, and many of us are ready for it to be over already. Groundhog’s Day, not quite, but it is our day to video the progress of renovation at 4937 New Hampshire Avenue NW. Student’s we hope you’ve been paying close attention and learning some experienced investor “secrets” or short cuts that will help you in your future real estate investing career.

Remember, that’s the whole purpose of our Participation-Training(tm) extended four to six month session that allows new investors to learn by training on a real world deal! But enough of the commercial, where excited that our students are so eager to learn. The fact of the matter is we’re learning from you, our students. We didn’t realize that the need for a practical training method was so great, so thanks for your feedback.

As we are about to wrap up the renovation phase of the project we want you to go over each video in detail. We want you to get it all, and if you have any questions, remember to cite them here on our Blog. We’ll answer them as best we can. Oh, and happy Groundhog’s Day!

N. Xavier Arnold

President Obama said “We do big things.” We agree with his assessment. As we reflect over our project, 4937 New Hampshire Avenue NW, the first agent that had the deal said she couldn’t do it an that it couldn’t be done. Well, she was right and wrong. She couldn’t do it but we were able too!

As you recall this was a “probate” situation and a “short sale” combined, with three very uncooperative tenants who just happened to be siblings. All three had “issues.” In spite of those things, we sought Divine wisdom, and were able to get the deal done.

So, from September of 2010 until now tremendous progress has been made. The renovation is only days away from completion, and like the United States Postal Service, a little snow storm won’t keep us from our appointed rounds.

We commend President Obama on his fine speech, his words of encouragement, and “yes we can” spirit. Real estate investing embodies his sentiments and this project is proof that you, by working with Real Smart Investor, yes “We can do big things!”

We apologize for the late post but it couldn’t be avoided. The weather is a bit unusual to say the least. Thunder, lightening, and snow is a combination that makes one pause. It seems the workers were idle today and I can’t blame them. Still, there isn’t much to do except the final touches and then it’s on to the marketing.

Investors, my experience has shown me that there are five “bad” or slow months and six “good” or fast months for selling a property. Then there’s one month that’s right on the borderline. We are in the “bad” time right now. The good news is that March is a good month and our property won’t have to sit on the market too long before then.

Marketing your project can be an exciting time. We hope that’s the case with 4937 New Hampshire Avenue NW, DC. Make sure you’re with us as we get ready to evaluate and settle on a sales price. Interesting stuff, I would say so!

What does my headline mean?

If you’re new to something or if you’re doing something for the first time, the proven way to learn is to watch somebody else do it. We see that in almost every career field. Doctor’s and attorney’s have internships. Teachers have “student” teaching. New employees have a probationary period, and the list goes on.

I attended my very first real estate investing seminar in the late 1980’s. It was at a large hotel in Washington, DC and I was impressed by the glitz and glamour of it all. I guess there were three hundred people there with me. I signed up for the training so eager I could almost burst. I gave up my $3500 gladly.

After three days of lectures and note taking we were sent off to fly on our own, that was Sunday. By Thursday, sitting behind the small mountain of materials I purchased I remember being frustrated and angry. I realized that I was no closer to becoming a real estate investor than when I went to the seminar and spent all my money!

But, I learned a valuable lesson and I’m going to share that with you here. You don’t have to make the same mistake that I did. And you don’t have to go from real estate guru to real estate guru to find real answers. No, your searching stops here, right here with me!

In real estate investing, if you’re new at it, you don’t know what’s important and what’s not important. You’ve heard people talk about their success but you haven’t seen them really do it. They can tell you anything and you have no way to “verify” what they’ve told you. That’s a real problem!

So, if you don’t know what works, and they know you don’t know what works, they can sell you anything. And, if they make it glossy enough, and get enough people to say it works, they can charge you exorbitant fees and you might just pay them.

That’s what’s been happening in real estate investing circles for decades. I wrote
The Ten Commandments of Real Estate Investing so new investors can understand what’s important for them to know and do, FIRST, and before they spend a lot of money.

Let’s discuss my Ten Commandments of Real Estate Investing one at a time. Some of what I say may sound contrary to what you’ve heard, don’t let that bother you. Following these 10 principles will save you time and money, I promise you that.

We’re not talking about the song; we’re talking about our project. There’s not really much left to do. The kitchen is nearly complete with marble counter tops that match the modern cabinets perfectly. The recessed lighting throughout the house compliments the modern styled hanging lights in the dining room, kitchen, and bedrooms.

They’ve also gotten rid of the “green grass carpet” on the front porch and completed the porch ceiling. The walls have been painted a light “gray” and the floors have been refinished into a “tan” brown. All in all given another ten (10) days or so and we should be “outta here,” as they say in baseball.

Oh, and don’t forget we are “Introducing” our weekly GoTo webinars on Monday at 8pm. That’s right rain or shine we’ll be there. Weather won’t make a difference since you’ll be viewing this from the comfort of you own home! Still, register and bring a friend too. You could use an extra $500 couldn’t you?