R J Palano
There is no other business like the real estate business. Everything that is acquired can be negotiated, and the most important negotiations are terms and price. Terms are far more important than price, because you can obtain terms at low or no interest and then the rent from the house ...
The single-family house business in the Tampa area has investors scrambling for scraps for house purchasing opportunities. The multiple listing service (MLS) and mortgage foreclosures are where most investors begin their search. Multiple bids on various opportunities put sellers in the position to sound the bell for highest and best ...
Where You Buy Is More Important Than What You Buy
Folks, I’m gonna let you in on a little secret: “You’re not a tree; you can move.” These are the words of one of my greatest mentors, Jimmy Napier from Chipley, Florida. In the 1980s I attended several of Jimmy’s seminars, often combined with appearances by John Schwaub, Pete Fortunato ...
Six Essentials for Wealth and Happiness
As we get older, time goes by much faster than when we were growing up—or at least that’s the way it appears to me. When I was an adolescent, I wanted to be older. After graduating high school, then college and raising a family, a funny thing happened—it’s like, “Where ...
Learn How Individual Retirement Accounts Can Work for Real Estate Investors Most people in America don’t have enough money for retirement. That’s a fact. Many people have retirement accounts, but they are lax with their personal oversight of their own investments. One way to turn the tide is by understanding ...
Nothing is as Easy to Buy, Sell, Rent and Manage as Single-Family Houses Single-family houses are the easiest to understand of all real estate investments and the easiest to liquidate. Most people in the United States live in houses, so we are familiar with the care and maintenance a home ...
Not All Retirement Accounts Are the Same
A simple understanding of how they work. Most people in America don’t have enough money for retirement. That’s a fact. Many people have retirement accounts, but they are lax with their own personal oversight of their investments. Self-directed retirement accounts allow you to invest in real estate and real estate ...
Almost Never Buy Your Vacation Home
I love looking at houses, even on vacation. The fact is that I love to check out real estate markets wherever I am. Recently I took my wife to Hawaii for her 60th birthday. She deserved a wonderful vacation. After all, she has tolerated me for the last 45 years ...
The Negotiation Never Stops When a Seller Holds a Mortgage
When buying houses from sellers, the name of the game is negotiation. Negotiation is the highest paid job you can get. Determining a seller’s needs is where it begins, and meeting those needs is where it ends. Negotiation is a learned skill. Anyone can do it, but it takes practice ...
Buying houses at auction and the art of the deal: Donald Trump stole this line from me
Buying houses at auction is an adrenaline-packed activity that reminds me of skydiving. If you’ve ever bought houses at auction, then you know that if you don’t get inside, you can freefall to your financial death. Not this time. Recently, we acquired the property at 220 Benefield Court in Stockbridge, ...
How my exit plan turned into a home run deal
Recently I wrote about a property we acquired at 761 Sacketts Court in Lawrenceville, Georgia, and in that article, I discussed the various exit plans for the property. Since it was acquired for $50,000 under current market value, it would have been really easy to flip to an investor “as-is” for ...
3 options for this deal – what would you do?
Occasionally in a deal we acquire a property through our lead generation system that fits every exit model we practice for houses. In review, we acquire houses and exit or hold as follows: 1. Buy and hold. 2. Flip “as is” to an investor. 3. Rehab and sell to investor ...
Real estate investor’s outlook for the rest of 2015
Business is good or bad, in between your ears. You can choose to listen to the naysayers and sit on the sidelines and wait for the sky to fall, or you can use your knowledge and skills to find profitable real estate transactions. Real estate investor's outlook for the rest ...
Buying a house “subject to the mortgage” could be a home run deal
How would you like to come up to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning, with two outs and with the go-ahead run on third? Every young baseball player imagines being in that position, or in a position to win the World Series. It’s like that in the real ...
When to hold and when to fold: The art of the (wholesale) deal
Last week we put a house under contract in Dacula, Georgia, at 2433 Robin Ridge Road. I knew prior to meeting with the owner that this house was going to be a wholesale real estate deal opportunity. I did not like the floorplan that much and I could change it ...
2 ways to do a fast flip: The art of the real estate deal
The real estate business avails itself of many opportunities with different types of properties located throughout the world. Like any business, you must have goals and a business model. In our model, we focus on single-family houses as they are easy to understand and the most liquid of all real ...
2 ways to do a fast flip: The art of the real estate deal
The real estate business avails itself of many opportunities with different types of properties located throughout the world. Like any business, you must have goals and a business model. In our model, we focus on single-family houses as they are easy to understand and the most liquid of all real ...
How I worked out a good deal with a seller: The art of the deal No. 3
The best opportunity comes around every 24 hours. That’s the mindset I have when it comes to buying houses, and it keeps me from making non-profitable acquisitions. When you have to struggle to make a decision on a purchase, you really have to take on the position of a “don’t ...
How to buy and wholesale to another real estate investor: The art of the deal
In 1992, I went to my first Tony Robbins event, in Dallas, called “Unleash the Power Within.” Robbins’ events are powerful, insightful, motivational and absolutely useless – unless you take action. He spoke of his initial entry into public speaking by stating, “Most people involved in public speaking will have ...
4 real estate exit strategies in the art of the deal
How long would it take you to recognize a good purchase opportunity? How long would it take for you to make a decision to take action? In the business of flipping houses, you must size up a transaction quickly and get the property under contract before someone else does. This ...
Real estate mistakes I made: Taking the low bid
You get what you pay for – sometimes. Did you ever get multiple bids from contractors and one of them came in really low? If an estimate by a contractor is way out of line, that is, it is really low and you can’t see how the guy is going ...
The biggest mistakes I have made in real estate investing: mistake No. 4
When it comes to contractors and my real estate investment business I live by the following statement: “Don’t expect what you don’t inspect.” This is true in all areas of business but especially with contractors. I used to think that all contractors started out good but after a while they ...
The biggest mistakes I have made in real estate: Mistake number 3
A few years back I purchased a home in New Port Richey, Florida, just north of Clearwater. I didn’t knock on neighbors’ doors at that time. If I had knocked on the neighbors’ doors, I would not have bought that house. The neighbors across the street made it very difficult ...
The biggest mistakes I have made in real estate
Mistake No. 2 “Never underestimate how much damage one person can do to you.” A friend of mine uttered these words at a seminar about 10 years ago and I’m here to tell you there’s a lot of wisdom in those words. Think I’m kidding? Close your eyes and sit ...
The biggest mistakes I have made in real estate: Failure No. 1
Most people don’t like to discuss the mistakes they've made in business. I’m a little different. I view every error I have ever made as part of my journey of personal growth and financial well being. The truth is, everybody in business makes mistakes, and the most important lesson to ...
