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How would you like to know something that you can do to ANY PROPERTY right this very second that could potentially dramatically hike the value of your appraisal? Appraisers deny this, but one came out and admitted it recently and hundreds of happy homeowners swear by this easy technique. I’ll tell you all about it in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 94. ---- So, want to know a simple step that might take a little time but could dramatically increase your home value as stated by a certified appraiser? I’ve got the details today, including a CRAZY admission from trial court judges about what makes them “think positive” about their cases and what that has to do with your appraised home value. Let’s get started… We all know that getting a property under contract for a certain price is only half the battle these days when it comes to selling real estate. I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard real estate investors at our local REIA groaning in frustration because they’ve found buyers for their properties but those buyers can’t get the FINANCING they need on the properties because the appraisals just aren’t coming back high enough. It’s really frustrating for everyone, and while we’ve all heard tips like “make a list of all the renovations you did and how much they cost,” the fact of the matter is that while these types of tips help, we all want to do everything we POSSIBLY CAN to boost the value of a property before a sale so that our buyers can get financing and we can get PAID MAXIMUM VALUE for our hard work. And that’s where this simple, elbow-grease-based trick comes in… According to the National Association of Realtors (that’s the NAR) more and more real estate professionals are finding that a truly spic-and-span home, one that is DEEEEEEEP CLEANED immediately prior to its inspection and appraisal, will usually bring back an appraised value in excess of a similar home that has not been deep cleaned and, perhaps more exciting, a value in excess of what said real estate professional had even been expecting. Here’s what one Colorado investor reported: “Having your house clean does make a difference, even though in theory it should not,” he said, adding, “Appraisers are people and they are swayed by smells and how a house feels even if they aren’t conscious of it.” Another California homeowner named Jennifer Chataeuvert insists that deep cleaning her home enabled her to land an appraisal that was much higher than what she predicted, even though her appraiser insisted that he didn’t care that the house was gleaming. “The appraisal came back much higher than we had even hoped,” Chataeuvert insisted, and our Colorado agent agrees that it probably had something to do with the major deep cleaning that went on before the appraiser arrived. So does that mean that you need to deep-clean every property before you get it appraised now? Not necessarily. It depends on what you need the appraisal for. If you’re hoping to help your buyers get financing, then yes, it probably won’t hurt. On the other hand, if you’re seeking a dollar value with which to negotiate or as a reference point, for example, that deep clean may not be that important. Now, I know that I promised you some information about trial court judges and how their hunger affects their sentencing patterns (and what it means for your appraisals) so here you go: In a 2011 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, an Israeli professor and his research team discovered that judges were far more likely to allow lighter sentences and possibly parole requests right after breakfast and again right after lunch, with the odds of a request for a lighter sentence being granted fell sharply as the judges got hungrier. “And what is an appraiser if not a judge?” asked realtor.com, noting that since the effects of hunger are generally obvious to ethical, objective professionals, it’s unlikely that having something light to eat out will hurt your chances of getting a better “eye” on your property and it certainly can’t hurt your appraiser’s mindset. Now of course, for good, straight-up honest appraisers, none of these things should affect how they judge your home, but the most honest of us can be swayed by a number of factors subconsciously, which is where deep cleaning and something called “storyline” comes in. Get the details on how to maximize your home’s presentation via a good “storyline” in our report in the REI Today Vault at www.rei.today/vault. It’s labeled with today’s episode number, 94, and titled “The REI Today Storyline Report.” Not yet a member of the REI Today Vault? Get your access right now! Join right now by texting REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444. When you do, I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to the report as well as a lot of other timely, insightful, PRACTICAL information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And folks, remember, when you join the Vault you join our community, which means you have the opportunity to network with me, my guests, and your fellow listeners across the country. So go ahead right now and text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or visit us online at www.rei.today/vault. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and please always remember this: Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What if your TWEETS are violating certain codes of real estate ethics and advertising that could put you on the LOSING END of a lawsuit? I’ll tell the latest in new Twitter-verse regulations for real estate professionals in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 93. --- Twitter may only give you 140 characters with which to express yourself, but that doesn’t mean that your local board of realtors is going to give you a pass if you tweet something that isn’t 100-percent ABOVE BOARD with their ethics regulations. Fortunately for you (if you’re a realtor, anyway, and honestly just in general to make sure you’re practicing good real estate business) the Realtors’ Code of Ethics, which tends to keep pace with other governing bodies’ regulations and ethics requirements, has recently been revised to accommodate the new needs of tweeting real estate professionals. There are three major changes that could mean great things for your Tweet promotions, but make sure you handle them correctly or you could find yourself on the losing end of a lawsuit. First, the issue of disclosure. Technically, until recently you were supposed to disclose your ENTIRE COMPANY NAME in every tweet, which, as you can imagine, made tweeting kind of a moot point for a lot of people. Now, however, you can simply link to a display containing information about your company, but make sure that link is in your tweets if you don’t want to find yourself facing ethics scrutiny. A lot of real estate professionals use their Twitter profile to publicize this information. It’s unclear from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) report on this subject whether or not that’s technically sufficient. Second, and this is more of a timeframe issue, but it’s been changed because of the dynamic nature of advertising these days, if you find yourself dealing with a grievance complaint in a realtor’s association setting, then you only have about a month-and-a-half, 45 days, to wait before you get a resolution. That’s great news for everyone involved, but it does mean you had better keep up with all your deadlines because there won’t be a lot of timeline flexibility. Thirdly, and this is important for your EMPLOYEES, ask that employees who may tweet about your business to add a disclaimer stating that their opinions are their own in their Twitter profile. This protects you not just from negative publicity if someone gets annoyed with you and tweets about it, but also protects you in the event that an employee tweets something about your company that could land you in ethical trouble. It may or may not completely cover your bases, but the NAR says it will certainly help. Want to know more about how to legally AND effectively use Twitter in your real estate business? Check out our compilation of Twitter Tips and Legal Tricks in the REI Today Vault at www.rei.today/vault. It’s labeled with this episode number 93, and it’s full of information that will make your tweeting more effective and help keep you within the bounds of safety and ethics while you Tweet as well. Not yet a member of the REI Today Vault? Get your access right now! Join right now by texting REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444. When you do, I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to the report as well as a lot of other timely, insightful, PRACTICAL information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And folks, remember, when you join the Vault you join our community, which means you have the opportunity to network with me, my guests, and your fellow listeners across the country. So go ahead right now and text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or visit us online at www.rei.today/vault. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and please always remember this: See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Wouldn’t you want to know if YOUR CITY was the official WORST PLACE TO LIVE in the United States? I’ll have the identity of the metro area earning that dubious distinction in today’s episode, along with how you can turn that title to your advantage if you live or invest there. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 92. --- So what’s the worst city to live in in the entire country? Well, it’s probably not where you’d think. This city beat out Milwaukee, Buffalo, and Detroit for the title, and the judges of the contest, such as it is, at 24/7 Wall Street cited income inequality, high rates of violent crime, and sky-high houses prices as the reason for their decision. Oh, and the city also was recently awarded the title “rudest city in the United States” by another news and tourism outlet. So there’s that… So what city takes the cake for unpleasantness on all sides? Well, I’ll give you a hint, it’s located in sunny southern Florida, has miles of sandy beaches, and nearly perfect weather. That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, it may be hard to believe but MIAMI, Florida was named the “Worst City to Live In” in 24/7 Wall Street’s most recent awarding of the title. Now, many fans of Miami and Miami tourism locals have been quick to point out that words like “best” and “worst” are extremely subjective, and that’s fair. However, whether you LIKE or AGREE with the results of this type of study or not, if you choose to invest in Miami (or in any other area that has recently gotten a top-10-worst bad rap) then you are going to have to deal with them because your potential buyers are going to have read them: trust me. The best way to deal with this kind of negative publicity is to first become informed about it, then run with it. For example, in this instance, one of the main issues that the researchers cited for Miami’s low livability score is its terrible affordability when compared to other cities of similar sizes across the country. The city’s median income is about $22,000 less than the national average and housing is about $64,000 higher than the national average. Furthermore, according to the same researchers, about one in every four people in Miami live in poverty. They then went on to point out that the income gap in the city, that means the gap in earning power between the richest one percent and the AVERAGE of the other 99 percent of earners scored a 45, meaning that the top one percent earns 45 times more than the average of everyone else, making Miami’s metro area, quote, “nearly the most unequal of any U.S. city.” End quote. So all of that sounds pretty negative on the face of it, but the important thing for YOU as an investor is to consider how relevant this is to your target market, then adjust accordingly. For example, if you are investing in luxury properties in Miami, the entire study is probably going to be largely irrelevant to your buyers because it simply does not directly affect them. On the other hand, the other “99 percent” as it were, of buyers, may find the results problematic, but if you represent a solution to their housing affordability problem (maybe via creative financing or just offering really great rental opportunities) then you’ve at least muted the study there, too. Most people will be more concerned with their personal situation than in their city’s national ranking anyway, so appealing to their personal, specific needs will quite likely resolve those issues. The real fallout from this type of study tends to affect investors who work mainly with other INVESTORS, interestingly enough, because people with little personal interest vested in an area may opt to avoid it if they believe that it has too many negative connotations. In this case, you should simply rely on local housing TRENDS and your own personal experience, complete with evidence and case studies, to make your case for you. Investors tend to view their money without a lot of emotion, so if you can prove that your strategies work in a “top-10-worst city,” then you’ll probably be okay. Want to see exactly why Miami got such a bad rap in 24/7 Wall Street’s study? We’ve got a bullet-point list of exactly what the problems were in the REI Today Vault at www.rei.today/vault. join right now by texting REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444. When you do, I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to the report as well as a lot of other timely, insightful, PRACTICAL information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And folks, remember, when you join the Vault you join our community, which means you have the opportunity to network with me, my guests, and your fellow listeners across the country. So go ahead right now and text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or visit us online at www.rei.today/vault. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and please always remember this: Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Wouldn’t you like to know the ONE THING that a truly GOOD LENDER looks for that will very nearly GUARANTEE YOU FUNDING for your real estate deals? I got on the phone WITH A HIGHLY INFLUENTIAL REAL ESTATE LENDER to get all the details, and I’ll tell you what she said in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 91. --- So wouldn’t you like to know anytime you asked for a loan for a real estate deal that you already basically HAD IT IN THE BAG because you were giving the lender exactly what they are looking for? If you’ve always wondered how real estate money gets from underwriters to YOUR DEALS, then you’re going to love today’s episode. I got on the phone with Heather Dreves, director of funding for Secured Investment Corporation, a real estate lender present in 90 percent of the U.S. that specializes in real estate lending (so you’re not dealing with someone who doesn’t understand your business like you probably have if you ever tried to get funding from a private lender or a mega-bank), to find out exactly what makes her underwriters approve a loan. The answer was surprisingly simple, as you’ll see. Here’s what Heather told me: In the end, we’re looking at the “whole story,” she said, noting that a good loan not only will have a borrower with “skin in the transaction,” meaning that the borrower has a vested interest in making the deal work, but will also have some education under their belt. Here’s the interesting thing: just because Heather’s underwriters require education does not mean that if you’re not already a seasoned investor, you can’t get a loan. In fact, Secured Investment Corporation actually has training that they offer to investors to educate new investors about buying properties and rehabbing them. “That way, we know we’re dealing with someone who knows what they’re doing because, well, we know what we’re doing!” Heather told me. I like that: a lender who is going the extra mile to make SURE your deals are good and that they succeed instead of just assuming that they can foreclose on you and still make good if your deal falls through on your end. I asked Heather about credit as well, since we all know that real estate investors don’t tend to have the greatest credit because so many of us have multiple mortgages, have our credit pulled regularly as part of the financing process, or have more than one project going at once. “We do pull credit on most of our borrowers,” Heather told me, but she added that in her experience, using credit alone to evaluate a borrower is “skewed.” She said, “We’re not looking for a credit SCORE, we’re looking for a willingness to make payments and good payment habits.” That means that if you have late accounts all over the place going back 10 years or so, you may have a problem, but if you have good payment habits and just a so-so credit score, your borrowing “story” as Heather refers to it, is still a good one. “We call what we do storybook lending,” Heather told me, “because we really want to know the investor’s story. What’s going on, where you came up with the amount of money you need, and what your experience is.” She added that these things don’t all have to be perfect because they are looking at the total picture, the WHOLE STORY, instead of just a few isolated pieces. And here’s an interesting side note, folks: you can see that Heather’s company does some FANTASTIC due diligence on their lending investments, and YOU can benefit from that due diligence in another way if you have money you want to INVEST in lending with someone who clearly takes care of their lenders’ interests as well as their investors’ interests. You can learn more about how to get involved with Heather on the lending side by checking out the show notes in the REI Today Vault. Let’s just say they’re basically the “Amazon.com of real estate lending” when it comes to full service for their lenders… Now, I think you’re probably starting to see what an INCREDIBLE ADVANTAGE it is to have a real live lender on speed dial, as it were, to talk to you about your deals, your borrowing, and your strategies. This is only the tip of the iceberg, folks. Heather told me SO MUCH MORE than I could ever fit into a single podcast, so I strongly recommend that you read the entire, uncut interview in the REI Today Vault and check out a special REI Today Report on Secured Investment Corporation that lays out, in three EASY POINTS, the three BIGGEST MISTAKES Heather encounters investors making on a DAILY BASIS that cause them to lose out on funding for deals that SHOULD be good ones. We’ve also got an exclusive training from Heather and her colleagues at Secured Investment Corporation in the vault, it’s called “6 Steps to Getting Your Money to Outlive You,” so head over there right now to claim yours at www.rei.today/vault. Don’t delay, and if you’re not yet a member, don’t worry! You can become one right now by texting REITODAY no spaces, no periods to 33444. When you do, I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to these reports and trainings as well as a lot of other timely, insightful, PRACTICAL information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And folks, remember, when you join the Vault you join our community, which means you have the opportunity to network with me, my guests, and your fellow listeners across the country. So go ahead right now and text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or visit us online at www.rei.today/vault. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and please always remember this: Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Wouldn’t you want to know if a certain word that YOU thought was covering your bases in your marketing materials was actually setting you up to pay MAXIMUM FINES AND PENALTIES if your buyers know to sue you over it? I’ll tell you the word and the court case in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 90. --- So a certain word is very popular in real estate marketing materials, and although you’d think it would protect you, in reality it could land you squarely on the losing side of a lawsuit if your buyers opt to sue. A recent case out in California set the precedent when a judge awarded a buyer the maximum amount he requested (and probably would have received more) when the seller of a certain property used the word “approximate” to describe the size of a condo in a listing. While the seller believed that the use of the word approximate covered his bases when it turned out the condo was 78 square feet smaller than advertised, a small claims court judge did not agree and said that the seller made a quote “material misrepresentation about the property’s square footage” end quote and the seller had to pay the buyer exactly what he demanded, $4,999, for the error. The judge would have fined him more but that is all the buyer asked for, erroneously assuming that was the maximum amount he could demand. Here are the details so you don’t make a similar error: A homeowner in Glendale, California, paid cash for a condo in the area when he bought it in 2011. Later that year, he discovered that the condo was not, as he had believed and had been advertised, 1,338 square feet, but rather 1,260 square feet. He had not been aware of the discrepancy earlier because he did not have the condo appraised before he made the purchase (he didn’t have to because he paid cash, but I think you guys can maybe see a bit of a lesson here as well…) Anyway, later in the year a neighbor trying to finance a condo discovered HIS unit was smaller than advertised and so the plaintiff in the case checked out his own unit and discovered a similar issue. He then took the seller, developer Americana, to small claims court over the issue and received the response that square footage in sales materials had been labeled as “approximate” and there was no issue. The judge in the case, however, sided with the plaintiff, who says now he overpaid more than $30,000 for that extra 78 square feet. He could have gotten right at a third of that from small claims court if he’d realized he could ask for it. The condo owner told the Los Angeles Times that he’s not so upset about the money he didn’t get in his case as he is glad about his “moral victory,” which he says will protect other consumers from the misleading advertising. Want a list of other potentially problematic words that could hurt your marketing? We’ve got in the REI Today Vault at www.rei.today/vault! Not yet a member? Become one! join right now by texting REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444. When you do, I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to the report as well as a lot of other timely, insightful, PRACTICAL information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And folks, remember, when you join the Vault you join our community, which means you have the opportunity to network with me, my guests, and your fellow listeners across the country. So go ahead right now and text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or visit us online at www.rei.today/vault. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and please always remember this: Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Something that SCARES THE PANTS OFF homeowners and makes them HATE INVESTORS is coming our way, and it’s actually GOOD NEWS FOR EVERYONE INVOLVED! I’ll tell you all the details about why there are going to be MORE DEALS and MORE APPRECIATION in a certain state in the second half of 2016 today. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 88. So, wouldn’t you like to know what state just DRAMATICALLY CHANGED its housing regulations to RAMP UP APPRECIATION and give YOU better access to great deals? Oh, and why it’s actually going to make everyone HATE YOU until the media buzz dies down? I’ll tell you all about it in just a minute, but first, I’d like to mention something that’s smart, REALLY SMART: a certain city in the Midwest. This city actually just won $50 MILLION because it’s so smart about housing and development, and you could directly benefit if you know the details and are involved in real estate investing in the area. Check out all the details in the “Real Estate Investing News” Section on www.rei.today. The title of the report is “Smartest City in the Country Snags $50 Million.” You’ll love what they did to show off their brains for sure. Now, back to ramping up appreciation, bad media buzz for investors, and how you can take advantage of the situation to turn higher, better profits… Here’s what’s happening: The state of OHIO has recently passed legislation to FAST-TRACK FORECLOSURES, something that most people tend to sneer at because it feels like the big bad lenders are going to be throwing people out of their homes with government permission (you remember “foreclosure-gate” in Florida back in the wake of the housing crash and the whole robo-signing fiasco? Well, that’s what most people think of when they fear foreclosure fast track, and who can blame them? That was some dirty, dirty dealing all the way around…) But in Ohio, the situation is seriously different, and this foreclosure fast track is actually going to be a great move because it is only pushing ABANDONED homes through the system, which means that the faster those properties get foreclosed and then either torn down or renovated and sold, the better property values around them are going to be and the less blight there will be. A lot of states struggle with the issue of whether or not to bite the bullet on foreclosure fast tracking because it has such negative connotations, but with abandoned homes sitting around like zombies for more than two years in Ohio, changing that timeline to six months will make the market a far, far friendlier place for investors, homeowners, and sellers. Here’s how it works: A home must not only be in default, but it must show clear signs of abandonment in order to qualify for the program. This could be physical deterioration, disconnected utilities, and, most importantly, NO ONE IN RESIDENCE. Once an inspector has certified the home abandoned, the accelerated foreclosure can begin and that ZOMBIE FORECLOSURE now has a future once more, possibly in YOUR real estate investing portfolio as a renovation or a tear-down, for example, which will be great for local property values as you can imagine! One of the best things a real estate investor can do is keep an eye out for states where the state government clearly has the markets’ best interests in mind instead of just getting a good spin on a bad situation, because states with GOOD fast-track foreclosure laws actually recover their markets far more quickly after downturns than those that either forego these laws or actually try to legislate AGAINST foreclosures without taking the time to distinguish between a good foreclosure and a bad one. Want to know which states are foreclosure fast-track friendly and which ones are literally out to get their own housing markets thanks to BAD legislation that might sound good in a media bite but really hurts housing? Get the list in the REI Today Vault, it’s labeled with today’s episode number, 88, at www.rei.today/vault. Not yet a member? you can join right now by texting REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444. When you do, I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to the report as well as a lot of other timely, insightful, PRACTICAL information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And folks, remember, when you join the Vault you join our community, which means you have the opportunity to network with me, my guests, and your fellow listeners across the country. So go ahead right now and text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or visit us online at www.rei.today/vault. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and please always remember this: Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

There’s a MONSTER out there EATING UP HOUSING in today’s hottest housing markets, making it nearly impossible for homeowners and even investors to participate. This isn’t a rant against BIG REAL ESTATE folks, the monster is actually teeny tiny and, some say, DEADLY. I’ll tell you all about it in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 87. ---- There’s a monster out there, and it’s not under your bed. In fact, it very well could be living right out in the open next door. According to a new report, certain NEW factors in real estate are driving homeowners and even RENTERS right out of the equation. This method of investing is working SO WELL for certain investors that certain sectors of city and state governments are actually looking for ways to SHUT IT DOWN before things, according to them, get out of hand. I’ll tell you all details on both sides in just a minute, but first I want to take 30 seconds to mention something that is probably on your mind right now as you hear this scary story: OPTIONS. In this world we live in, things are constantly changing. And even though real estate always has been and always will be the best, most reliable and effective route to lasting financial security and wealth (and that’s not my opinion, folks, that is general, educated consensus), the real estate world is always changing as well. One thing that doesn’t change, however, is the demand from a growing population for somewhere to LIVE, and you can bet that when real estate gets expensive (and it’s getting expensive, more on that in a minute) owners start looking into their own options, specifically renting. That’s why multifamily real estate is such an attractive, hot topic these days. The sector is ready to boom, and there is SO MUCH MONEY looking to get into commercial properties that simply having the ability to put these deals together can be worth WAY MORE than actually doing half a dozen single-family residential deals. If you like the sound of six-figure profits on FLIPPING commercial buildings, then you understand the value of having options. Get all the details at www.rei.today/IMPORTANT in our free training on this topic. It’s IMPORTANT to have options, so start building them out now with this free training at www.rei.today/IMPORTANT. Now, let’s get back to that monster living next door, because THAT is a pretty important trend too…Here’s what’s going on: According to a new report just released by the Housing Conservation Coordinators (that’s HCC to their friends, but I’m pretty sure we’re not friends), Airbnb is eating up as much as 10 percent of housing stock in popular destination cities like New York City. The study focused specifically on the Big Apple, noting that average rent increases have doubled in desirable areas of the city and that there are more than 8,000 FEWER available housing units in the area because investors are buying properties and then listing them on Airbnb instead of renting them to tenants. New York is not the only major city in which this trend is becoming “problematic” for renters; a number of West-Coast cities also are dealing with this as are hot destination spots across the country. So what’s the big deal? Well, for investors, Airbnb is a big deal in a GOOD way. In fact, investors who own more than one housing unit on Airbnb reportedly pulled in more than $317 million in 2015, and that is with occupancy at only about a third since most Airbnb rentals only are occupied 11 days a month, meaning that there is likely a lot less strain on the facility and the maintenance budget. However, the HCC (I’m going to go ahead and call them that) and local city governments say that this is a big problem because Airbnb is making housing unaffordable to actual residents of the city, and that furthermore, more than half of the listings on Airbnb in New York, at least, violate short-term housing laws that strictly limit time of occupancy for short-term rentals. Folks, here’s the deal: Airbnb represents HUGE opportunity for investors who can get properties in hot markets and rent and maintain them effectively, but you MUST be aware of local legislation and how friendly any given municipal government is likely to be to your activities. You’ve heard me say it before, guys, the government is NOT your friend! But…you do have to work with them, so you might as well make sure that they can’t ultimately SUE YOU FOR YOUR PROFITS or SHUT YOUR BUSINESS DOWN because it doesn’t suit THEIR NEEDS. Get all the details on where this is happening to Airbnb investors in the case files in the REI Today Vault, and start protecting yourself! Not yet a member? you can join right now by texting REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444. When you do, I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to the report as well as a lot of other timely, insightful, PRACTICAL information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And folks, remember, when you join the Vault you join our community, which means you have the opportunity to network with me, my guests, and your fellow listeners across the country. So go ahead right now and text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or visit us online at www.rei.today/vault. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and please always remember this: Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How would you like to know about a particular WALL FEATURE that, in certain markets, could knock more than a MONTH off your time on market? I’ve got all the details in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 86. ---- So wouldn’t you want to know the one particular wall feature that in a certain market nearly ALWAYS knocks a little over a month off the time on market? I’ll tell you all about it, but first, I want to mention something that might leave you feeling a little let down. It has to do with the Better Business Bureau and, well, a certain guilty pleasure a LOT of real estate professionals enjoy. Get your mind out of the gutter! We’re talking about reality real estate television! According to the Better Business Bureau of St. Louis, reality television personalities are abusing their positions of authority, and the triple B wants to make sure you’re prepared. Find out exactly WHICH STAR got an F rating from that agency and how to make sure YOUR educational investment dollars are being respected by checking out this story right now in the News & Networking Section at www.rei.today. It’s not NEARLY as simple as you might think, and I’ll go ahead and tell you there’s a “surprise ending” of sorts… Now, back to knocking a month off time on market. So where were we? Oh, that’s right, we’re somewhere that a WALL FEATURE is worth 36 days (that’s a whole mortgage payment saved, folks) on market. Here’s the deal: According to Zillow Digs, the online real estate listing and data giant’s design and home improvement division, when you put about 2.8 million residential real estate listings from January 2014 to March 2016 into the Zillow Digs analyzer and shake them all up, some trends emerge. And those trends can clearly, in some cases, be distinctly tied to higher home sales and shorter times on market. Sometimes, the trends are national, (you may remember when we talked about how a barn door installation in your home could snag you more than $13,000 extra at closing, and if you don’t, check out episode XX) but sometimes they’re local, and one particularly distinct trend has to do with something in NEW YORK CITY that makes a property in a hot city even hotter, raising the sales price, on average, 4.9 percent and saving owners with this snazzy little feature a full 36 days on market. Are you ready for it? EXPOSED BRICK. If you have an exposed brick wall in your New York City condo or co-op, then you have a distinct edge when it comes to getting at or above asking price and to selling fast. Now, you may be thinking, “Why on earth would 36 days matter in the Big Apple? Isn’t it basically a GIVEN that you’ll make money when you buy and sell in NYC? Well, not so much these days. Of course, New York City real estate is still in high demand, but sellers who bought in the last few years at peak values are starting to get a little worried as more and more buyers are opting to hurry up and WAIT to make a purchase in hopes that the market will soften and they’ll get a better deal. At present, New York City’s home values are still rising - median value is at present nearly $600,000 and analysts predict another 3 percent appreciation in the next 12 months, but that’s a dramatic slow-down from last year’s 9.1 percent appreciation. Even if you don’t invest in New York, which is a pretty intimidating market, the exposed brick look is likely to spread if it’s popular in the trend-setting big apple. One high-end real estate agent noted that regardless of market, buyers with money are looking for quote “authenticity” in their homes, and that a feeling of “brand-new old,” which exposed brick can certainly provide, is in high demand across the board. Want to know what other home features are particularly hot and in what markets? Don’t worry! I’ve got all that information – including one feature that can knock nearly TWO months off time on market and add more than 13 percent to your sales price – laid out for you in the REI Today Vault. Not yet a member? you can join right now by texting REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444. When you do, I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to the report as well as a lot of other timely, insightful, PRACTICAL information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And folks, remember, when you join the Vault you join our community, which means you have the opportunity to network with me, my guests, and your fellow listeners across the country. So go ahead right now and text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or visit us online at www.rei.today/vault. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and please always remember this: Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Did you know that a $2,500 MISTAKE could very well be LURKING UNDERGROUND in your next investment property? I’ll tell you what it is and how to avoid it in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 85. --- So wouldn’t you want to know if you were about to make an investing mistake that could EASILY cost you $2,500 if all goes WELL while you’re trying to fix it? Good news! I’ll tell you all about it in today’s episode. Before I do that, however, I want to talk about something that the kids are doing these days…Well, actually, 500 million people are doing it and if you’re not already, you probably should be too: Instagram! A lot of real estate professionals have steered clear of Instagram, at least in a professional sense, because it is generally considered to be "too young” or not really marketing-friendly because it focuses exclusively on uploaded pictures and videos. However, there are actually some well-documented ways other than just posting listing photos that real estate professionals are using Instagram to great effect, and REI Today is covering this topic on our website! Check it out in the News & Networking section at www.rei.today, it’s called “Why you need to SUCK IT UP and get on Instagram,” and it’s full of helpful advice from the experts. Now for some more helpful advice from THIS expert: let’s talk about that $2,500 mistake, shall we? Here’s the deal. According to a recent study from Curbed.com, there are actually 14 common mistakes that home buyers make during home inspections – and even worse, your inspector is pretty likely to make at least one of them as well. And if that mistake turns out to be costly, well, you’re footing the bill, not the inspector, so it can really pay off for you to know what to look for. One of the “biggies” is failing to find an UNDERGROUND OIL TANK. Often, homes that are actually heated with gas still have these tanks from when they were heated with oil, and a lot of times those tanks were either abandoned, possibly with oil still in them (big potential problem) or they were just filled with sand and gravel. Even more problematic, sometimes a property actually will have more than one of these things lurking out of sight and the present-day sellers may not even know that they are there! Why should you worry about something that doesn’t appear to be causing anyone any problems? Well, because at some point, it could cause you a HUGE problem. It used to be okay to just stop using your tank and switch to gas, but these days a lot of cities have regulations requiring property owners to remove underground tanks no longer in use, even if they are not leaking and have been filled with rocks! And just because YOUR inspector missed it doesn’t mean the next one will, and it could cost you as much as $2,500 to remove a tank with NO PROBLEMS AT ALL before you sell your property. If the tank has leaked, then you’re in even more trouble. Want to rent out that property? Probably not going to happen until you get the soil cleaned up and if you don’t, you could end up being sued. As you’ve probably guessed, clean-up doesn’t come cheap, either. In fact, remediation of a SMALL LEAK costs, on average, about $10,000 and large leaks can cost you up to $100,000 before you pay the price of disposing of any fuel remaining in the tank or the tank itself. And don’t plan on selling until you’ve dealt with the leak, either. Some areas won’t even let you sell the property if you disclose the problem to the buyer, and most buyers are not going to want to take on that type of clean-up anyway. If those price tags have you shaking in your investing boots, you’ll definitely want to check out the full 14-point list in the REI Today Vault. All of these things are easy issues to spot and factor into the math on your deal before you buy, but you MUST know to look for them in order to ask your inspector and cover your bases. Check out the list now at www.rei.today/vault, and if you’re not yet a member, you can join right now by texting REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444. When you do, I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to the report as well as a lot of other timely, insightful, PRACTICAL information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And folks, remember, when you join the Vault you join our community, which means you have the opportunity to network with me, my guests, and your fellow listeners across the country. So go ahead right now and text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or visit us online at www.rei.today/vault. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and please always remember this: Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How would you like to know the common kitchen color decision that could cost you $1,442 when you sell your home? I’ll tell you all about it in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 84. So wouldn’t you want to know which popular kitchen color would MAKE you about more than $1400 when you sell your home and which could COST YOU that same amount? Given that if you are an investor, you’re probably going to be painting a few kitchens along the way, those numbers could quickly add up. I’ll tell you which color will cost you and which color can tack a hefty chunk of change onto your price tag in just a minute, but first I want to take a minute to mention an EXCITING piece of news: the FAA has finally taken some conclusive action on drone regulations, which means all of you investors, agents, and other professionals who had to stop using drones for listing pictures and videos because the FAA was threatening to come after people clearly abusing their personal drones for real-estate-related benefit can now start using them again – with certain restrictions, of course. This is our government after all! Anyway, you can get all the details on the new regulations on our website at www.rei.today in the news and networking section. Check it out, then charge up those batteries and start filming! That’s www.rei.today. Now, back to the kitchen color decision that will really shock you. According to Zillow and their gazillion online listings full of information about kitchen colors (yes, I’m serious, not kidding, and this is why I love them even when I don’t love their zestimates), homes with yellow kitchens sell, on average, for $1,442 more than homes with white kitchens, all other things being equal! That’s right: if your home has a yellow kitchen, then you’ll quite possibly make more than $1,400 more than your neighbor with the same home and a white kitchen when you sell your property. That’s pretty exciting! But before you break out the egg-yolk yellow, let’s get clear about what Zillow really means when they say yellow. If you’re not in the mood for an abusively brilliant ray of sunshine on your wall first thing in the morning, don’t worry. In fact, Zillow noted that what they termed “yellow” actually appeared on the wall as quote “creamy or wheat-colored yellow” rather than the primary color you might have been thinking of. White was also not only traditional white, but also off-white and eggshell, and it was the least popular kitchen color, actually detracting an average of $82 from ANY HOME regardless of the kitchen color comparison. With numbers like that for the kitchen, imagine what painting the BATHROOM the wrong color could do! Well, you don’t have to imagine for long, because I’m going to tell you right here that the wrong choice in the dining room could cost you more than $2,000 and the bathroom alone could cost you nearly $800. You can get the full rundown of the best and worst color decisions, by room, in the REI Today Vault at www.rei.today/vault, and if you’re not yet a member, don’t worry! Just text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to the color-decision report as well as a lot of other timely, insightful, PRACTICAL information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And folks, remember, when you join the Vault you join our community, which means you have the opportunity to network with me, my guests, and your fellow listeners across the country. So go ahead right now and text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or visit us online at www.rei.today/vault. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and please always remember this: Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

You might think you know what to do with $487,000 in FREE MONEY, but the odds are that YOU’RE WRONG. I’ve got the details on how one investor used that exact amount of money  (and it wasn’t his and it wasn’t loaned to him, either) to completely REVOLUTIONIZE his business. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 83. So if you think that just having $487,000 makes you rich, you may have a point, but the REAL POINT of today’s episode is that you can use this FREE MONEY to UP-END your business and your lifestyle, permanently, by following some very simple instructions. My featured guest today, Sean Carpenter, has been investing in real estate for YEARS using federal funds that he doesn’t have to pay back, public programs that he can even GET PAID to participate in, and federal, state, and local tax credits that can sometimes keep paying off for YEARS after a project is done. So basically, he’s the expert when it comes to using free money from the government to get into real estate and, to be blunt, to get rich. Here’s what he told me about these programs and how they work for real estate investors who are prepared to use them: “Government funding is an opportunity that exists out there in every major city in every major market in the country,” Sean said. He added that simply understanding the process by which one might obtain this funding is HIGHLY valuable and that a lot of investors have actually leveraged these programs indirectly by completely overhauling their careers and going into financial consulting. “If you don’t like doing deals, you don’t have to in this business,” he said.   In today’s episode, we’re going to pick apart a specific deal, with Sean’s input of course, so that you can see just how to get your hands on this type of funding and then, more importantly, how to LEVERAGE it to really flip your business, your lifestyle, and your bottom line all on its head. In this case, we’re talking about a piece of property probably similar to something a lot of you have seen in your lives but didn’t really think much about seriously because even though you knew it represented huge potential income for SOMEONE, you couldn’t imagine handling the deal yourself or finding the funds to get started. This property was (is again, actually) a four-storefront commercial property that had burned down and was sitting empty. Now, imagine what you could do with a storefront in an active part of YOUR town with four units for retail lease. Think of the income that represents! But again, how to take it from burned-out husk to functioning, attractive retail space? That’s where the $487,000 in free money from the government comes in. “We did what is called an economic development value play,” Sean told me, explaining that he and his partners (by the way, Sean works with hundreds of partners who scout out deals and then bring him in to help them get funding) went to the city and asked for the money they needed to bring that retail space back to life, thereby creating business opportunities, jobs, and ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. “Boom,” said Sean, “There it was. $487,000.” And perhaps the really nice thing about that $487,000 is that it was truly free. Check out these terms: It was ZERO PERCENT interest. Payable in 40 years. Forgiven in 15 years. So that means no payments were due until AFTER the loan was forgiven. How do you think that might affect your bottom line? So they took the funds and they fixed up the space and now everyone, including the city, is thrilled. Instead of a burned-down building, there’s a functional, profitable real estate space GENERATING PROFITS FOR ITS OWNERS RIGHT NOW and how did they get those profits? USING $487,000 from the city government! Are you starting to see the pattern? Now let’s think about your business for a moment. Imagine how it might change things if your job wasn’t to spot a good deal, track down investors to work with you, raise the capital to do the deal, and THEN have to actually go do the deal itself. What if your job STARTED with actually DOING THE DEAL because you already knew how to get the best funding on the best terms possible (seriously, can you beat zero percent and forgiven before the first payment?). What if your job actually started AND ENDED with finding the deals because you didn’t really feel like doing them? What if your job started and ended with landing FANTASTIC FUNDING like $487,000 in free money from the government because people would PAY YOU BIG BUCKS just to help them with that simple step on their deals and you didn’t have to do any real estate AT ALL if you didn’t feel like it? Are you starting to see the potential here? Folks, Sean didn’t just do an interview with REI Today, he actually did an extended training on this topic that includes not only a description of this $487,000 deal, but many other case studies and avenues to using government programs that don’t even require you to actually DO REAL ESTATE DEALS if you don’t want to. This training is available only for a limited time, but you can check it out at www.rei.today/EXPOSED, because EXPOSED is just what Sean does to the “secret insider government programs” (and admit it, you know they’re there, you just don’t know how to find them) that you can start using, IMMEDIATELY to change the profit margin on your deals and the TYPE of deals you’re capable of doing, permanently. Folks, these are some of the BIGGEST and BEST-KEPT INSIDER SECRETS about how to make the federal government (we’re talking not just grants but tax credits, development funds, forgivable loans, the works) go to work for your real estate business the same way CONNECTED INSIDERS have been doing for YEARS. That’s www.rei.today/exposed. REI Nation, thanks for listening in, and please always remember this: Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Wouldn’t it be great if you DIDN’T HAVE TO WORRY about who our next president would be? Well, I may not be able to resolve ALL your issues with The Donald and Hilary, but my guest today CAN help you at least insulate your business from both of them. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 82. So the year of a presidential election is always tough on the economy. Why? Because business does NOT THRIVE when times are uncertain, and what is more uncertain (particularly in THIS presidential competition) than when leadership of the United States of America is up for grabs? Regardless of your personal beliefs, morals, and ethical systems, wouldn’t it be WONDERFUL if you knew in the back of your mind that no matter which of these crazy candidates ultimately wins the presidency, YOUR BUSINESS (and by extension, your ability to support your family and loved ones) would remain intact, productive, and profitable? My guest today has managed to pull that off, and that’s why even though he’s got some pretty FAR LEFT opinions when it comes to his personal views, he doesn’t care whether a Republican, a Democrat or even a Libertarian ends up in the White House as far as his business is concerned. His name is Sean Carpenter, and today I’ll tell you exactly what he’s done in his real estate business to insulate it nearly completely from the nasty presidential politics of today. Sean told me that his business revolves around doing real estate deals that are funded by government programs, and these days, he’s particularly focused on multifamily real estate because developments that house multiple families at affordable prices are EXTREMELY ATTRACTIVE to the federal government. “The residential real estate market has GONE BAD,” Sean told me, pointing out that residential real estate doesn’t even have any real rules these days when it comes to predicting how a local market will behave. “It’s its own planet,” he laughed, adding that basically quote “a whole lot of people are just trying to create another bubble” in any market that they can. “You know it’s true,” he added. On the other hand, government-funded commercial developments DO have rules, and they’re all written to help the real estate investor WIN. Why? Because the government allocates millions and millions of dollars to helping people find and afford housing and that is becoming more and more important as the residential real estate market gets out of control and affordable housing becomes harder and harder to find. “In the end, I don’t CARE who the next guy or gal in the White House is,” Sean told me, “Because I’ll still be doing something that has to be done, that is needed, it’s a proven fact.” He added, “It doesn’t matter to me who the next president of the United States is because it makes absolutely no difference in the world that I work in,” and noted that he is using the SAME PROGRAMS that presumptive republican presidential nominee Donald Trump uses to fund many of HIS commercial developments, ironically, making it irrelevant (at least to Trump’s BUSINESS INTERESTS) who the next president is either. But what if you’re presently in residential real estate? What if that’s your business? Well, it’s actually a pretty easy switch to make thanks (again) to the government-funded programs and tax credits and subsidies DESIGNED TO ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO SO. Take Steve, a contractor for over 30 years. He told us, “Building properties has been my trade as a contractor for 30 years. Now, though, I’m acquiring deals and CASH FLOW with Sean’s help.” You can actually see   picture of Steve and several of the properties in his portfolio in Sean’s extended training that he recorded for REI Today and will be offering for a limited time this week. You can register now at www.rei.today/EXPOSED, because Sean is EXPOSING the underbelly of federal funding programs and real estate investing in a way that is both unique and highly relevant to real estate investors in ANY SECTOR in today’s market. That’s www.rei.today/EXPOSED. Folks, these are some of the BIGGEST and BEST-KEPT INSIDER SECRETS about how to make the federal government (we’re talking not just grants but tax credits, development funds, forgivable loans, the works) go to work for your real estate business the same way CONNECTED INSIDERS have been doing for YEARS. That’s www.rei.today/exposed. Folks, wouldn’t you love to know in the back of your mind that this nutty upcoming election just DIDN’T MATTER, at least to your real estate business? Get that peace of mind and go to www.rei.today/exposed right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in, and please always remember this: Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How would you like to blow the currently ready-to-burst residential real estate bubble right out of the water while SNEAKING INTO HOT MARKETS with the full force of the federal government supporting you? My guest today has been doing this for YEARS (through more than ONE bubble folks) and he’s going to tell you all about it. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 81. Wouldn’t it be great if the rumors of an about-to-burst real estate bubble meant absolutely NOTHING to you other than more profits, more opportunities, and even better access to WHITE-HOT REAL ESTATE MARKETS? Of course it would! And more importantly, it CAN mean that. My guest today, Sean Carpenter, has spent YEARS (and multiple real estate cycles) leveraging the full force of the federal government in his real estate investing business doing exactly that, and today’s he’s going to get into just why residential real estate is about to GO BUST again and why it’s the best news anyone working with public funding (and that can and should be you) could possibly hear. Sean is the president and CEO of Shamrock Development Associates, a full-scale development, consulting, public relations, corporate marketing, and asset and property management firm. He started out in real estate as an acquisitions officer for a national low income housing tax credit syndicator and eventually got SO GOOD at figuring out ways to take great real estate opportunities and turn them into LOCAL JOBS, economic opportunities, tax credits, and HUGELY PROFITABLE DEALS that he was commissioned to work with state senators, national development companies, and many, many not-for-profit agencies working hard to turn local communities around. And while Sean is great at making local communities grow, he knows that the best way to keep the growth going is to build in profits for those local communities, developers, and dealmakers. That’s why Sean’s take on public funding programs, government tax credits, and even federal real estate subsidies is EXTREMELY UNIQUE and extremely attractive to real estate investors at all levels. During our recent interview, Sean disclosed a trend that he’s noticing in the national real estate market that is going to mean BIG TROUBLE for the vast majority of real estate investors like those of you listening. Here’s what he said: “The residential real estate space is crowded and reaching peak value. Go to an event anywhere around the country. You’ll see flipping this and flipping that in residential. There are a lot of people working in the space and it’s getting more and more crowded.” This is a big deal, folks, because national numbers indicate that even though more investors than ever are involved in residential real estate, fewer and fewer home BUYERS are able to afford to purchase that residential real estate, that is to say, fewer and fewer people are able to afford their own homes. In fact, according to a CNBC report on a recent Trulia study, some of the lowest interest rates in history are basically going to waste because people just can’t afford to buy. Down payments alone take up a full fifth or more of the average American’s annual salary, and that means that most would-be buyers are quite simply and wholly priced out of homeownership, possibly permanently. Does the combination of more and more people trying to get in and sell single-family homes (not even counting the actual homeowners out there trying to sell) and fewer and fewer people being able to AFFORD those homes sound like a toxic combination? You bet it does! But Sean had a simple solution for forward thinking investors, and the nice thing about this solution is that not only is there relatively little competition in the space, but with the right knowledge and resources, you can actually just go ahead and get the federal government to basically support your personal real estate deals in this area and push you (financially, to be clear) toward bigger and better profits! Here’s what he said: “Beat the bubble! What you won’t find is a whole lot of people working on commercial properties. And what you absolutely won’t find is a whole lot of people working on commercial properties AND bringing in government funding, which WORKS LIKE MAGIC and is a white-hot market right now. Affordable housing is a constant conversation and it’s the best (and sometimes only) way to sneak into the really hot markets.” So what does Sean mean when he says “affordable housing” and tells you to get involved in government-funded commercial real estate deals? Well, it sounds a bit intimidating, but it’s actually quite simple. Here’s the 10-second breakdown: By obtaining government funding to do commercial deals that create economic development, local jobs, and affordable housing opportunities (because they’re multifamily rental properties in a lot of cases) you can do HUGELY PROFITABLE government-supported deals that land you not only profits but tax credits, great publicity, and SERIOUSLY VALUABLE experience that you can then leverage within and outside of the real estate industry by consulting if you don’t even want to do deals. Sound exciting? Yes, I think so. And what’s perhaps even MORE exciting is that although this might sound a bit complicated, Sean is offering a limited-time extended training on this topic and REI Today is presenting it for a limited time this week. Reserve your spot now so that you can get all the details on exactly how to make the leap from your current real estate investing business to HUGELY PROFITABLE real estate endeavors supported by your government that, as a little bonus, create SHOVEL-READY JOBS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT and lead directly to further JOB CREATION and a total career shift (if you want it) into high-profile consulting and SERIOUSLY BENEFICIAL (for you and your community) projects and developments. Go to www.rei.today/exposed to register right now, because EXPOSED is what Sean is going to do to some of the BIGGEST and BEST-KEPT INSIDER SECRETS about how to make the federal government (we’re talking not just grants but tax credits, development funds, forgivable loans, the works) go to work for your real estate business the same way CONNECTED INSIDERS have been doing for YEARS. That’s www.rei.today/exposed. Folks, Sean has worked INSIDE The System and knows what makes federally-funded real estate really tick. Get access to all his insights during this extended training and make the switch for yourself. Go to www.rei.today/exposed right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in, and please always remember this: Your best investment is your OWN education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The TRUTH about TRUMP is out at last: Real Estate Investing Today interviewed a HIGHLY CONNECTED real estate insider who basically blew the lid off just how Donald Trump has been so successful in real estate, and it’s not what you’ve heard before, and it’s something you can TOTALLY replicate, starting now. I’ve got the details in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 80. So what did Donald Trump REALLY DO to get so successful in real estate? We all know that spending money helps you make money, but where did the Donald get his? Well, thanks to an exclusive interview with highly connected real estate investor Sean Carpenter, who has spent the last few decades working within the public sector and LEVERAGING PUBLIC FUNDING PROGRAMS to not only fuel his own investing career, but also help local non-profits, state politicians, and even entire towns change the face of their housing markets using federal subsidies and tax credits, I can tell you that right now. Sean is an EXPERT in multifamily affordable housing and development (that means low-income housing in a lot of cases), and while you may not think TRUMP TOWER and affordable housing in the same sentence frequently, maybe you should. Here’s what Sean said about Donald Trump’s RISE in real estate, that is to say, what TRUMP did before he was “the Donald.” Here’s the deal: Think back, for a moment, to the time (perhaps blissful for you, perhaps not) before Donald Trump became the presumptive republican nominee for president. He was famous for any number of things, but most of all he is famous for his success in real estate. His fortune is built on it, and he wouldn’t have had the wherewithal to ever do the many other things he’s famously done (make and break himself multiple times, buy and sell casino empires, declare bankruptcy and come out smelling like a rose, start multiple hit television shows, own entire beauty pageant competitions…well, you get the idea) if it weren’t for real estate. And, if you’ve checked out REI Today’s somewhat notorious Trump Timeline, you already know that Trump has been in real estate his ENTIRE life and his family was in real estate before he was. But what enabled him to TRULY make the leap from pretty successful real estate developer to MEGA SUCCESSFUL? Well, that has always been a bit cloudy, and speculation has ranged from everything from dirty double dealing (no real evidence of that in the public purview by the way) to simply a lucky strike (or 10) in the New York City real estate market. But the truth, Sean points out, is actually much, much simpler and, most exciting, MUCH MORE ACCESSIBLE to real estate investors everywhere. Back in the day, when Donald Trump was just another real estate investor, he did something that any real estate investor can do literally RIGHT NOW: He got into the government funding business and he started investing using the full power of the federal government to gain his success. Sean is the insider here guys. He’s been in the business for decades, and he knows how it’s done. Furthermore, he knows how Trump did it. Here ya’ go. Sean said: “Donald Trump is in the real estate business but even more importantly, he’s in the government funding business. He surrounds himself with people who do what we do, and one thing he says” (over and over again, I might add) is that “IGNORANCE IS MORE EXPENSIVE THAN EDUCATION.” Now, Sean went on from there to detail three ways that Trump has been using the full force of federal funding for years in order to make money in real estate and let me assure you, he was doing it LONG before he started appeared on the presidential race scene. He was doing it back when he was getting started, just like so many REI Today listeners listening right now. First, Sean said, Trump and investors like him use people LIKE SEAN to help identify government funding programs that provide them with GRANT MONEY that does not have to be paid back for their investments.  Did Trump identify each and every opportunity that any given project he took on represented as far as qualifying for government grants went? Absolutely not. He paid someone for that education so that he could keep on building his real estate empire, and by filling that gap in his education, that “ignorance” if you will, he was able to fund project after project to successful completion. Second, Sean told me, Trump and investors like him ALWAYS go after low-income tax credits. Imagine knowing that huge chunks of your expenses on a project that was set to be HIGHLY PROFITABLE were going to be tax deductible thanks to someone else’s accounting know-how. Well, if you can imagine it, then once again you and the Donald have something in common. Third, Sean exposed a HUGELY OVERLOOKED RESERVOIR OF DEAL FUNDING that Trump and investors like him tap into regularly: forgivable redevelopment loans. I think you probably know what that means: loans for your projects and deals that you don’t have to repay. They’re going to be FORGIVEN! Now, if you had access to all of this “education” either in the form of directions for YOU or in the form of experts that would become part of your network and assist you, don’t you think you could be happy (not to mention successful) with the SAME START as DONALD TRUMP? Of course you could, and my great news for YOU is that Sean didn’t just do an interview, Sean did an EXTENDED TRAINING on this topic and REI Today is presenting it for a limited time this week. Reserve your spot now so that you can get all the details on the SAME THINGS that Trump did when he was starting out and all the details on how those programs have grown, changed, and IMPROVED to serve YOUR INVESTING NEEDS better than ever before in today’s real estate market. This training is a HUGE EXPOSURE for Sean and I’m so pleased that he decided to do it but, as you might imagine, space is limited and seats will fill fast. Go right now to www.rei.today/EXPOSED right now, because EXPOSED is what Sean is going to do to some of the BIGGEST and BEST-KEPT INSIDER SECRETS about how to make the federal government (we’re talking not just grants but tax credits, development funds, forgivable loans, the works) go to work for your real estate business the same way CONNECTED INSIDERS have been doing for YEARS. That’s www.rei.today/EXPOSED. Don’t delay because space is limited. REI Nation, thanks for listening in, and please always remember this: Just like Donald Trump (and Sean Carpenter) tell us: Your best investment is your OWN education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How would you like to know how to use a HALLOWEEN COSTUME to get 12 showings for your properties in the next couple of days? I’ve got all the crazy details in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 79. --- So today I’m going to tell you how one resourceful real estate agent revived a DEAD LISTING using nothing more than a panda bear costume and her phone camera. Before I get to that, however, I want to take just a few minutes to mention something pretty exciting featured in the News & Network Section on the REI Today blog. We’ve got some FANTASTIC NEWS about the equity in YOUR home that you will not want to miss, so check it out at www.rei.today right now. The article is called “BLOCKBUSTER EQUITY NEWS you can’t miss” and you’ll be really glad to find out what’s going on with equity in your home and your neighbors’ homes. That’s www.rei.today. Now, let’s get into just how one agent took a dead listing and brought it back to life using nothing more than a panda bear outfit and her camera… Here’s what happened. The real estate agent, whose name is Jessica, had a listing in Spring, Texas that just wasn’t getting a whole lot of interest. In fact, in the three weeks that it had been on the market, it had only had two showings despite the fact that it was a perfectly lovely, reasonably priced four bedroom, 2.5 bath home. Jessica knew she had to do something, and since her seller had a bit of a sense of humor, she recalled an article that she’d read about an investor who used a giant bear suit to promote his listings in England. “I told the sellers, I don’t know, It’ll make it seem like I’m not serious as a real estate agent,” she told Realtor.com in a recent interview. However, the seller felt that they didn’t have much to lose, so Jessica threw on a panda bear costume and reshot the listing photos, posing in random places throughout the home. “At first I thought it was crazy,” she said, but she re-thought that when the requests for showings came pouring in. In fact, in the two days after the panda-full listing went live, she showed the home 12 times.  REI Today checked out the listing pictures, and the panda appears in all but three of the photos, enjoying the front porch, lounging in a lovely backyard, cuddling up in a kid’s room, and showcasing the kitchen and exercise areas. The pictures are definitely surprising, and we’re not surprised that more people are “stopping by” to look for the curious addition to the listing. According to marketing expert Seth Godin, Jessica basically cashed in on something that has been growing in marketing for a while. We actually talked about it in an earlier episode called “3 Keys to Investing Profitably with the Weird Factor.” Basically, the new normal for successful marketers is not normal at all: it’s strange. Godin described it this way in a recent panel discussion hosted by Inman Connect in New York. “There’s all this pressure to be normal, have normal clients, drive a normal car, have normal listings,” he said. “But now, something is changing. There are more people who are outside of normal than inside normal.” This is good news, Godin argued, because it enables any professional, real estate or otherwise, to identify a certain segment of their target market with which they particularly connect, then focus on that group to the exclusion of other sectors by making that group feel included, not normal but “inside” as he put it, by working with you. He cited the motorcycle company Harley Davidson as an example of a business that has found loyalty in a fringe market by targeting people who think of themselves as outsiders and then making them “insiders” in their own special group. If you want to hear the entirety of episode 24, where we go into detail about how to INVEST PROFITABLY using this weird factor, check it out in the REI Today Vault. It’s titled: “3 Keys to Investing Profitably with the WEIRD FACTOR” and it’s got some pretty crazy stuff in there that you’re going to love. You can listen in at www.rei.today/vault and, if you’re not yet a member, just text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to this timely information. And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.REI.Today/vault right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What would you do if you bought, paid for, and closed on a home only to have the seller REFUSE TO LEAVE? It’s more complicated (and possibly more common) than you might think. I’ve got the details and the answers in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 78. So you’d think that once you bought a home, paid the seller for it, and legally closed on the property (with the seller present, by the way), you’d own that property and be able to do with it pretty much as you wish, right? Wrong! As a Nashville homebuyer named Tamara is discovering, it turns out sellers can (and do) go rogue from time to time and refuse to move out of their homes even after they’ve pocketed their profits and signed over their deeds. I’ll tell you all about what happened and how to prevent it from happening to YOU in today’s episode, but first I want to mention a brand-new podcast that I think you’ll enjoy. One of our very first guests, Alex Pardo, a Miami wholesaler, has started his own podcast all about how he has created a FLIPPING EMPIRE down in South Florida. It’s full of great information, Alex is the real deal, and I think you’ll love it. You can check it out at www.rei.today/alex and please leave him a great review and 5 stars if you feel the show deserves it. I think you will. Now, back to how a PIRATE SELLER is taking over a home that he already sold. Here’s the deal: When first-time homebuyer Tamara purchased her Nashville property, she was thrilled. She put down a down payment, closed on the property, and was ready to move in, but she forgot two CRUCIAL COMPONENTS (as did her lawyers, by the way) when she closed on the home. The result of that oversight is huge: Tamara’s seller won’t get out of the property or let her move in. “I technically don’t have to go anywhere,” he told a local paper, noting that nowhere in the closing documents was there an amendment saying that he had to leave after closing. He remains cloistered in the home, doors locked, and because Tamara doesn’t have any keys (there’s the second oversight, folks) she can’t get in. “They’d have to evict me,” said the pirate seller, adding, “I’m not having that!” Of course, Tamara has started the eviction process, which she is fully entitled to do because she owns the property and her date of possession was June 1, 2016. Unfortunately, it will probably take about 30 days after the eviction warrant goes out to get the seller out of the home for good, meaning that Tamara will have nowhere to live in the meantime and, perhaps worse, the nasty seller will have plenty of time to trash the home should he choose to do so. He’s already made headlines for yelling things at reporters like “Shut your mouth and learn to take orders,” so it’s anyone’s guess what the home will look like once Tamara finally gets her keys and gets moved in. What lesson should you take away from this crazy scenario? Well, according to the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors (the GNAR), in a hot market like Nashville, ANYTHING can happen, and you need to make sure to cover all your bases. The GNAR emphasized that the biggest thing you must do is get keys at closing, since if Tamara could have gotten into the home, she would be able to control the situation more effectively. Also, be sure to have a lawyer review your documents for loopholes like the one this seller is using to make sure that you don’t have to go through a formal eviction process just to move into a home that you already own. Want a complete list of recommendations for how to spot potential pirate sellers and “disarm” them before they start to give you trouble? I’ve got it in the REI Today Vault at www.rei.today/vault, complete with the details about what a local LAWYER said Tamara should probably do to deal with the situation now that she’s stuck in it. Not yet a member? just text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to this startling information as well as sending you straight to a treasure  trove of trainings, uncut interviews, breaking news coverage, and a lot more timely, insightful information that will help make your real estate investing safer, faster, and more profitable. That’s REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or go to www.rei.today/vault for more information right now. And remember, when you join us, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. REI Nation, thanks for listening in. Now, more than ever, please remember this: Your best investment is ALWAYS your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How would you like to save $17,776 on your next home purchase? I’ll tell you how in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 77. So how would you like to save $17,776 on your next home purchase? I’ll tell you how today, and it’s so easy it’s actually extremely surprising that more people aren’t doing it. I’ll tell you all the details in just a minute, but first I want to take 30 seconds to mention a “Secret” side of real estate that most people don’t really have any idea exists: something called LOAN BROKERING, where you bring real estate investors (and those investors CAN be you, by the way) and loan money together and charge a fee for being the guy (or gal) in the middle. It sounds easy, but most people get hung up on that “bringing loan money to the table” part. Thanks to an in-depth training provided exclusively to REI Today by a super-successful investor and loan broker, however, I’ve got a pretty key insight into how to get that money to the table and more money in your pocket as well, whether you want to fund your own real estate deals or just play the role of the “middle man” or woman. One investor started using this strategy and generated $42,000 just in brokering fees – he didn’t even do any of his own deals! Get all the information on how to make this strategy work for you in our limited-time training at www.rei.today/42K and find out how the 42K guy’s strategy can be yours, too. That’s www.rei.today/42K. Now, let’s get back to saving some SERIOUS MONEY on your next home purchase. Here’s the deal. According to a recent report released jointly by RealtyTrac and Down Payment Resource, certain state, local, and federal programs exist that are intended specifically to help you save money on your home purchase. These programs are generally referred to as down payment assistance programs, but they don’t just affect the amount of money you have to put down in order to buy a house. They also have a HUGE impact on the amount of money you’ll pay monthly on that house over the life of the loan. In fact, according to the report, the total savings breaks down to an average of $5,965 savings on the down payment and average savings on monthly house payments over the life of the loan of an additional $11,801. When you consider that nationally, even making a three percent down payment on a home (and that generally requires a bit of luck to land on its own) requires a would-be homebuyer to save 14 percent of his or her annual salary and in many cities, the number is more like a full fifth of their annual salary, it’s really surprising that more people are not taking advantage of programs that save, on average, more than $17,000 on home purchases for participants. The reality is that these things just are not very well publicized, for starters, and also a lot of people who would like to buy a home simply never explore the option because they think they can’t save enough for a down payment or assume that they’ll never get a mortgage. So as an investor, how can you leverage this information to your advantage in your business? Well, there are several action steps that you can take: First, educate yourself on your local homeownership options. This isn’t necessarily for your next home purchase, it’s for your buyers. If you can present a buyer who wants to buy your property but believes he or she cannot do so because of conventional issues like not having enough saved for a large down payment or thinking that monthly payments will be too high, if you can direct them to a local housing advocate who can help them, you just might save that sale.  Second, research creative financing options. You (and your buyers) do not need banks in order to buy and sell homes. There are LOTS of other options out there for people who might never qualify for a traditional 30- or 15-year-fixed mortgage. You could offer lease-options, subject-to financing, seller-financing, and countless other variations on these types of financing to fit your needs and those of your buyers. Just make sure that the creative financing works for YOU as well as your buyers and get a lawyer to review the documents and process before you all sign. Third, PROMOTE YOUR KNOWLEDGE! Most people who are selling properties, investors, traditional homeowners, or otherwise, do not HAVE the knowledge to help get their buyers into a home outside of maybe referring them to a mortgage originator that they know is successful. Make sure that your potential buyers know that your properties come with YOUR KNOWLEDGE and that viewing one of your properties (and hopefully buying it) comes with some additional assistance. Particularly in areas of the country where down payment assistance programs actually equate to HUGE savings for buyers, (one city actually boasts an average of $80,148 in savings when buyers leverage these programs effectively) you can launch a pretty persuasive ad campaign for working with YOU on the basis of that alone. Wondering where your city stands in the down payment and mortgage loan savings? I’ve got the top cities for savings according to RealtyTrac all lined up for you in the REI Today Vault at www.rei.today/vault. Not yet a member? No worries! just text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to this startling information as well as sending you straight to a treasure  trove of trainings, uncut interviews, breaking news coverage, and a lot more timely, insightful information that will help make your real estate investing safer, faster, and more profitable. That’s REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or go to www.rei.today/vault for more information right now. And remember, when you join us, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. REI Nation, thanks for listening in. Now, more than ever, please remember this: Your best investment is ALWAYS your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

If ELLEN DEGENERES laughed at you on national television, what would you do? In the case of one Georgia real estate agent, you’d fire up your legal guns. I’ll tell you all the details in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 76. ---- So what would YOU do if daytime’s darling Ellen Degeneres laughed at you on her talk show and you weren’t even there to defend yourself? Titi Pierce, a Georgia real estate agent, recently had this experience and I’ll tell you what SHE’S doing: seeking thousands of dollars in damages. You need to hear about this lawsuit because it all stemmed from a picture that Ellen showed of Ms. Pierce’s real estate sign in front of a home that she was selling, and a potential error in judgment that Ellen may have made concerning whether it was okay to show the sign on her show. Before we get into that, however, I want to take a quick minute to talk about thousands of dollars, though. $42,000 to be exact. That’s how much money an investor named Patrick recently generated in his real estate investing busienss without fixing up houses, flipping houses, or even, the king of all hands-off-investing, wholesaling houses while still actually being involved in real estate investing. He told me that this “hands off” investing is quote “the best thing I have ever done for my real estate business” and noted that in addition to $42,000 he’s already made, he has more closings lined up in the wings. Find out how Patrick was able to start making money in real estate literally without getting the first smudge of paint or speck of dust on him in our exclusive REI Today training at www.rei.today/42K (because that’s what Patrick made so far). That’s www.rei.today/42K. I think you’ll be extremely intrigued by this strategy. Now, let’s get back to one of America’s favorite comediennes caught in what appears to be an atypical display of unkindness. Ellen DeGeneres always comes across as nice, good-tempered, kind lady in her comedy and on her television shows, but Titi Pierce says that being the butt of one of Ellen’s jokes leaves you feeling anything but warm and fuzzy. Ms. Pierce is suing Ellen for showing her real estate sign on daytime television without blurring out the company name, contact number, or Titi’s name, and making fun of name by mispronouncing it “Titty.” The bit was part of a skit about a certain “busty” part of the female anatomy. Ms. Pierce was actually on her way to a funeral when she began to receive prank calls about her name and eventually learned that she’d been featured on Ellen’s show and that her name had been mispronounced. Not only did she not receive a response, but the episode was re-aired and she once again received negative attention to her real estate business and unpleasant, offensive calls on her personal cell phone number, which was on the sign, the plaintiff claims. She is seeking at least $75,000 in damages. So what can we learn from this little episode? Well, obviously, first of all most of us don’t like having people laugh at our names, so that’s generally bad business even for media darlings like Ellen. Ms. Pierce says that her name means “Flower” and that it wasn’t even pronounced correctly in the offensive television episode. If nothing else, it was kind of mean-spirited of Ellen and given how nasty people can be to each other in the anonymity of the internet, I’m not surprised that Ms. Pierce received unpleasant phone calls and commentary in the aftermath. Second, default to protecting privacy. In today’s world, it’s easier than ever to share something that you have no legal right to share, and it’s easier than ever for someone to find out you did it and sue you. Now this is not a legal show and I am not a lawyer, but a general rule of thumb is to simply GET PERMISSION before you use images, particularly if you might profit from those images’ use, because you had better believe the person who actually has the rights to those images (and heads up, it’s not always the person who took the phot) will turn up eventually if your promotion is successful. And finally, when posting your contact information on public signs, it may behoove you to place a little bit of insulation in between yourself and a public that is not always so well behaved. It is NOT Ms. Pierce’s fault that she got nasty phone calls about a national television personality making fun of her name. Period. However, as anyone who has ever put their phone number on Craigslist ads knows, there are some whackos out there and they don’t always wait on Ellen to get into gear. An 800- number or even just an automated voicemail will go a long way toward keeping a little bit of distance between you and everyone who walks past your business sign. If you want to read all the details of this case that are out there at this point in time and draw your own conclusions about whether Ellen, Ms. Pierce, both, or neither are at fault, then you can read the extended report in the REI Today Vault. It’s labeled with today’s episode number, 76. And if you’re not yet a member, don’t worry!  just text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to this startling information as well as sending you straight to a treasure  trove of trainings, uncut interviews, breaking news coverage, and a lot more timely, insightful information that will help make your real estate investing safer, faster, and more profitable. That’s REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or go to www.rei.today/vault for more information right now. And remember, when you join us, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. REI Nation, thanks for listening in. Now, more than ever, please remember this: Your best investment is ALWAYS your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How would you like to know the 4 DEAL-KILLING WORDS that are destroying your real estate investments every time you speak them? I’ve got the phrase to avoid in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 75. So, wouldn’t you want someone to TELL YOU if you were saying a certain four words that were identified, by experts in the field, as the MOST LIKELY to derail your real estate investing and your deals? Because I’ve got some good news and some bad news here. The bad news is they’re almost certainly part of your daily lexicon. The good news is, I’m about to tell you what they are. Before I do, however, I’ve got five GREAT words that you’re really going to love to share with you. Are you ready? Count em’: Free money from the government.  And as a tag on the end, I’m going to make it an even 10: Free money from the government for your real estate investing. That’s right: we’ve got the inside scoop on how to get free grant money from the federal, state, and local government, for your real estate deals. Check out all the details in this free training, which tells you everything from exactly WHAT TO SAY to land loans you never have to pay back to where to look to find a literally treasure trove of funding for your real estate business, your kids’ college, and just about any other entrepreneurial dream you’ve ever had. It’s incredible, and you can view that exclusive REI Today training right now at www.rei.today/freemoney (one word, and easy to remember!). That’s www.rei.today/freemoney. Please do not pass up the opportunity to view this limited-time training. It’s incredible. Now, back to those four deal-killing words. Here’s, well, the deal: According to Travis Bradberry, a Forbes contributor who specializes in the mental functions that contribute to failure, among other things, saying a certain four words can actually derail just about any project, including massively profitable deals. In a recently published book on the topic, Bradberry noted that the words “I don’t like it” are some of the most detrimental to progress because they lead to PROCRASTINATION in a significant, meaningful way. Bradberry compared the issue to eating dessert before your vegetables. If you always allow yourself to put off eating your vegetables, you’ll probably never eat any, even though you KNOW that kale is better for you than ice cream. When it comes to your real estate investing, you KNOW that even the part of the deal you hate the most, whether it’s talking to sellers, running the numbers, finalizing due diligence, or filling out contracts, is ultimately GOOD for you and your bottom line. However, the more you tell yourself that you don’t like doing it, the more likely you are to put it off. The longer it is put off, the more likely it is that you’ll either do the task poorly or leave it too late and not do it at all. And then instead of a done deal on your hands you have a huge missed opportunity. So here’s a tip from Travis himself (and I think it’s a great one): Make it a rule that you cannot touch any other project or task until you’ve finished the quote “dreaded one,” he said, adding, “In this way, you are policing yourself by forcing yourself to eat your veggies before you can have dessert.” I challenge you to do this for just one week and see how it affects your business and your life in general. Putting things off isn’t just bad for your bottom line, it’s bad for your health. A recent study conducted by psychologists at Case Western Reserve University proved this point, indicating that students who turned in college papers early had lower stress levels, better overall health, less hypertension, lower risk of heart disease, and had healthier lifestyles. If you’d like a full list of researched and proven ways to BEAT the procrastination bug, be sure to check out our compilation derived from these research papers in the REI Today Vault. Check it out at www.rei.today/Vault right now, and if you’re not yet a member then don’t worry a bit, just text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to this startling information as well as sending you straight to a treasure  trove of trainings, uncut interviews, breaking news coverage, and a lot more timely, insightful information that will help make your real estate investing safer, faster, and more profitable. That’s REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or go to www.rei.today/vault for more information right now. And remember, when you join us, you’ll When you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country in addition to having the chance to interact directly with Sue herself. REI Nation, thanks for listening in. Now, more than ever, please remember this: Your best investment is ALWAYS your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The gender gap is back, and it’s making harder to sell homes to women. A new survey has some disturbing new evidence indicating a major gender-related issue that we women have with home-buying, and let me just say that the “actionable advice” that the researchers are giving to go along with the survey is, well, a bit troubling as well. I’ll tell you all the details in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 74. So, the gender gap is back in housing, and it’s manifesting in a way that you might not have seen coming. According to ValueInsured’s Modern Homebuyer Survey, women have far less CONFIDENCE in real estate than men even though they say that they want to own their own home far more frequently than men do. We’ll get into the numbers in a just a minute (not to mention the “advice” from the analysts about just how to deal with this lack of confidence), but first I want to take a minute to bring up a certain woman who definitely does NOT lack confidence in real estate – and if you take a few lessons from her you certainly won’t either. This lady is one of my favorite investors, Sue Nelson, and you’ve probably heard me talk about how her first deal was a 104-unit apartment complex and now she owns more than 2000 units and flips commercial properties for six-digit profits on a REGULAR basis (right along with her students, I might add). Well, Sue was in my hometown a few weeks ago, and I had the pleasure of attending one of her small mastermind trainings where her most active students get together, evaluate a city, and get deals done, and let me tell you, this former art-teacher-turned-bigtime-commercial-investor does not mess around. They are on FIRE at this mastermind, and they’re picking out new deals, picking apart old ones, and basically just making it happen. Sue has what I would consider to be the most important aspect of real estate down pat – that would be confidence in her numbers, by the way – and if you want to know how she does it, then I strongly encourage you to attend a free training she provided to REI Today listeners at www.rei.today/IMPORTANT. Check it out for the details on how she flips her deals (including that first MAJOR one) and how she makes sure that her CONFIDENCE in her numbers is always well-placed and SPOT ON. That’s www.rei.today/IMPORTANT, because it’s important you check this out right away. Now, let’s get back to the gender gap and what the so-called “experts” say we need to do about it. First, the numbers: According to ValueInsured’s survey, roughly three in every four women say that they want to own a home, compared to about two in every three men. So slightly more women than men say that they don’t own a home but want to. However, when it comes to actually getting their name on the deed, women are far less likely to end up doing so for a variety of reasons. Mainly, they said that they don’t think the housing market is healthy (less than half believe it is), don’t think it’s a secure investment in today’s economy (less than two-thirds believe it is), and don’t feel that they can afford the downpayment, (less than one-third believe that they can). Men were far, far more confident in all three of these areas and also were far, far more likely to say with confidence that they could sell their existing home right now for more than they paid for it than women were. So, obviously, there are some practical issues that probably are influencing the results of this survey, but for now, let’s focus on what the survey (and it’s analysts) are telling us about women and real estate. For starters, one thing that the survey exposed was that women and men have very different ideas about quote “The American Dream.” Women say it is mainly being debt free, while men say it is, as we’ve all heard time and again, owning their own home. What’s really interesting, however, is that what ValueInsured, the National Association of Realtors, and basically every other analyst and media outlet out there got out of this survey. You ready? This is a direct quote from the NAR: “Women buying homes may need more reassurance and confidence in a real estate transaction than men.” That’s right. Ultimately, what the analysts derived is not that women might be more risk-averse than men when it comes to investing (it’s a proven fact) or that they might have different factors than men by which they evaluate real estate investments or the money that they sink into their home (clearly, women are less likely than men to view their home as an investment, which isn’t all bad). Instead, it’s that we need reassurance. So what does this mean for men and women in real estate? Well, I think as I said at the beginning of this episode, the KEY THING is really that you need to have confidence IN YOUR NUMBERS. Based on ValueInsured’s survey, what I’m getting out of it is that women don’t need reassurance, they need cold hard facts that show they’re getting what they want out of a home purchase and, furthermore, can afford it. That’s not a bad thing! And guys, I’m not bashing you either. It is a GOOD thing to have confidence in your purchases, and I know a lot of guys probably cited owning their own home as the most important part of the American dream because culturally, a lot of the women in your lives rely on you (as they should) to provide the path to that ownership with them. In the end, the key takeaway here is that women and men buy real estate when they feel comfortable and confident in the numbers, and that’s a good thing because it means if your numbers are sound, then you will find a buyer for your deal, all gender considerations aside. If you like the idea of sound numbers (and an equation to make sure that they work EVERY TIME), then I encourage you to sign up for our exclusive REI Today training with Sue Nelson, who I mentioned at the beginning of this episode. You can access it immediately at http://www.rei.today/IMPORTANT. And if you want to learn more about the gender gap and how it affects you INTEREST RATES on home loans, then take a quick peek in the REI Today Vault. Women get worse mortgage rates than men, and it’s conclusively NOT because of what you’re probably expecting. Check it out at www.rei.today/Vault right now, and if you’re not yet a member then don’t worry a bit, just text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to this startling information as well as sending you straight to a treasure  trove of trainings, uncut interviews, breaking news coverage, and a lot more timely, insightful information that will help make your real estate investing safer, faster, and more profitable. That’s REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or go to www.rei.today/vault for more information right now. And remember, when you join us, you’ll When you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country in addition to having the chance to interact directly with Sue herself. REI Nation, thanks for listening in. Now, more than ever, please remember this: Your best investment is ALWAYS your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Would you believe that one of the most popular shows on television is HORRIBLY MISLEADING real estate investors and entrepreneurs every time it airs? Don’t get caught by the lie. Get all the details in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 73. --- So can you believe that one of the most popular shows on television – probably one of the most aspirational shows for a lot of investors and small business owners – is actually misleading real estate investors and small business owners in nearly every episode? I’ll tell you where they’re leading you wrong (and give you a great, easy solution to the problem) today, but first I want to take a quick 30 seconds to mention something that YOU MISSED. That’s right: you missed it. Last night, REI Today Listeners engaged LIVE with the pros at Credit Card Builders, the premier experts on building BUSINESS CREDIT for real estate investors and entrepreneurs. Some very interesting questions were asked and answered (for example, how exactly do you get $200,000 for a commercial building or $50,000 for medical marijuana business) and YOU MISSED IT! So if you think that your business could do with a cash infusion, don’t let this slide twice. Go to www.rei.today/bigcredit (one word, BIGCREDIT) and get registered for Ari and Mike’s next training. They’re not messing around; they get major corporate credit lines for investors even if you have bankruptcies, foreclosures, or a lousy credit score, and they also give out a really nice bonus ($3,500 worth of bonus, to be precise) just for being on the call. Get your spot right now at www.rei.today/BIGCREDIT, and don’t miss this twice. Seriously. Now, back to the SHARK TANK LIE that could seriously slow down (if not stall out entirely) your real estate investing success. Here’s the deal: I love Shark Tank, and I suspect you do too. After all, it’s just so FUN to watch investors and business owners tell that panel how they’ve worked hard, come up with great ideas, and are ready to grow their business with the right angel investor. And honestly, it’s fun to see the creativity and the squirming when the questions get tough. Haven’t you ever thought: if I could just GET IN THERE, I know they’d take me! I’m way better than these guys…And there’s the LIE. Don’t worry: I’m not about to tell you that the Shark Tankers are ringers. And I’m not about to tell you that they’re better than you at what they do than you are at what you do. But I am here to tell you that those “angel investors,” while they’re certainly helping certain shark tank participants grow their business, are not entirely angelic. They’re making a serious, serious profit in a lot of cases, and that’s not the lie either. Shark Tank is up front: it’s about business and making money. But the lie that comes out of the show a lot of the time is that the only way to “make it big” is to give away your business. Here’s what our resident corporate credit expert, Ari Page, had to say about Shark Tank: “On that show, investors might give away half their company, 50 percent of it, for $50,000 in seed capital,” he said, noting that although that 50,000 could be life-changing, getting it via Shark Tank methods involves letting someone else into the driver’s seat in your business, usually permanently. “Instead, business credit keeps you in the driver’s seat,” he pointed out, adding that business credit also can be used more flexibly than most real estate loans and tends to be just about the easiest type of business or investment funding to ACCESS, which is huge for real estate investors who may have many, many reasons that they need seed capital (think renovations, property purchases, insurance, contractors advances, the list goes on and on) that might not necessarily be included in the “fine print” on a loan, cash advance, or even angel investor investment. “Corporate credit keeps YOU, as an individual, OUT of the deal entirely,” he noted, adding that this is crucial because it enables ANYONE with a solid business plan (and do you think real estate just might qualify there?) to grow their business regardless of personal credit history. You can hear Ari’s entire training (and a lot more of his thoughts on Shark Tank, business credit, and getting unsecured, cash credit, zero-interest funding for your real estate investing business (his company has raised over $200 million in 0 percent unsecured funding just since 2008 for investors and small business owners) by going, right now, to www.rei.today/bigcredit (one word, BIGCREDIT) and signing up for Credit Card Builders EXTREMELY LIMITED TIME TRAINING. I mentioned it earlier, and I’m going to say it again: These guys are not messing around. Did you hear me say more than $200 million? And that’s not just for one single blockbuster company. That’s tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars for investors and small business owners JUST LIKE YOU all over the country. Go ot www.rei.today/BIGCREDIT for all the information, and snag that $3,500 worth of bonuses just for attending as well. Ladies and gentlemen, you don’t want to miss this one. It could change everything, including the way you see real estate, permanently. REI Nation, thanks for listening in, and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Wouldn’t you like to know a way to get as much as $250,000 in UNSECURED FUNDING for your real estate deals even if you have bankruptcies, foreclosures, or late payments on your personal credit? If you could use that kind of funding to build your real estate business, then listen up. I’ve got all the details in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 73. How would you like to know how to get a HUGE LINE OF CREDIT with which to fund your real estate investing business even if you have foreclosures, bankruptcies, or late payments and a poor personal credit score? If that sounds like something you could use starting TODAY, then you’re going to love today’s episode. I interviewed two of the premier experts in a certain type of credit (this is not credit repair, folks, this is a real, live line of credit) and they told me (and, by extension, YOU, you lucky REI Today listeners) how to make this happen so that you can STOP looking for funding and START doing deals, pronto. I’ll tell you all about it in just minute, but first I want to take just 30 seconds to bring up something pretty important that a lot of listeners brought up last week. You guys have been LOVING the Trump Tracker (thank you, by the way, and if you haven’t signed up yet, you can do so at www.rei.today/trumptracker, one word) but I’ve had so many requests for more information about Hilary and even Bernie (yes, a few of you either are “feeling the bern” or feeling concerned, I’m not sure which) and their possible influence on our national housing market that I’ve gotten right to work pulling together some very important information on both of these potential presidential candidates and their housing history. It’s coming very soon, so keep an eye on the REI Today Vault (or, if you subscribe to Trump Tracker, you’ll get it automatically) for a comprehensive real estate study on the remaining three presidential potentials left in the race. And whether you love him or hate him, go ahead and sign up for the Trump Tracker as well at www.rei.today/TrumpTracker where we’ll provide you with weekly updates about what the Donald is up to whether it’s taking on the media in a press conference or creating a stir in national publications that fear he’ll take over the media coverage of the presidential race completely. It’s your race, guys, your housing market and your country. You need to know what this guy (and his competition) are up to! Now, back to the biggest reason YOU can’t get funding for your real estate deals (and what to do about it)! So,  here’s the deal: if you ask most new real estate investors what their biggest stumbling block to getting started in real estate, to really getting involved is, they’ll tell you one simple thing: (and believe me, it’s the stumbling block for a LOT of things in life) MONEY. Most investors who truly have the drive to be successful are able, willing, and dedicated to their own education, so they know how to find deals and what to do with them once they’ve spotted them. And yes, there are ways out there for real estate investors to do deals without ever using any of their own money. It’s completely true, and I’ve seen plenty of people do it. However, in the end, wouldn’t it be EASIER to make your real estate investing business work – or hey, just about any other business endeavor for that matter – if you had some startup funding of some kind? Of course it would! And most investors have a major, major misconception about where their funding should come from: they think it either has to come from themselves or from ANOTHER INVESTOR, be it a private money lender or a bank making a mortgage loan. And that’s the kicker for a lot of investors because they can’t GET personal loans for their investing. Maybe you have a bankruptcy or a foreclosure on your records. Maybe you just have a low credit score. Heck, maybe you did get a loan for your first two or three real estate investments but the bank isn’t interested in loaning you any more money for more (hey, four mortgages starts to look a bit risky to a lot of lenders!) So what do you do in this situation? Well, most investors give up. They either decide that they’ll have to put in sweat equity and hope for the best (and believe me, that’s not easy if you’re working one or two “quote unquote real jobs” and taking care of a family already) or they figure that real estate is something that is just not accessible for them. They never consider the THIRD OPTION, a CORPORATE CREDIT. We spoke to Credit Card Builders CEO Ari Page about this option at length, and he told us that there are four huge advantages to using BUSINESS CREDIT in real estate that most investors have no idea about. Ari is a business credit specialist who has been working with Credit Card Builders since 2009 to create alternatives to high interest lending for real estate investors and entrepreneurs. “Real estate investors should NEVER use their personal credit,” he explained, and pointed out four major advantages that a business line of credit has over just about any other real estate funding option. First, he said, business credit is easier to access than just about any other type of credit. If you work with a bank to get a mortgage loan, you could be waiting 60 days, 90 days, or even longer to get approved. That’s a little long for a real estate investor as you well know! Second, he pointed out, business credit is easier to SPEND. Most people think of a line of credit at a specialty store, like Home Depot or Lowes, when they think of corporate credit. However, Ari said, a true business line can be used in just about any venue for business-related purposes. Third, you don’t get business credit based on your debt-to-income ratio! That’s huge if you were nodding your head a minute ago when I was talking about getting individual mortgages on your investment properties. They’re not looking at your personal credit AT ALL. And finally, fourth, the credit is unsecured. Again, in case you didn’t hear me, they’re not looking at your personal credit! So if you have bankruptcies, foreclosures, late payments, just a plain old low or nonexistent credit score, then hey, that’s okay,  because (as it SHOULD BE IN REAL ESTATE), it’s NOT ABOUT YOU, it’s about your business. And if your business is sound, then your line of credit is likely to be also. Now, if the idea of up to $250,000 in cash credit at ZERO INTEREST for your business has got your attention, you’re definitely going to want to hear the entire production and, perhaps even more exciting, Ari and his partner, Mike actually follow up the training session where they tell you HOW TO GET THIS TYPE OF CREDIT with a live QnA session. So don’t let it be YOUR FAULT any longer that you can’t get funding on your deals. Go to www.rei.today/bigcredit (one word BIGCREDIT) right now and reserve your spot. They do these trainings live and, as a result, they’re not always available and spaces are not always open. Don’t delay, go to www.rei.today/bigcredit (one word) right now. Not only can (and should) you access this funding for your own deals and business, but you can actually offer the SAME OPTIONS to your clients and buyers, thereby creating a FANTASTIC, BUILT-IN MARKET for your deals. And, if that wasn’t enough to convince you (yeah, right) then allow me to point out you’ll be getting a huge bonus ($3,500 worth, in fact) just for attending the training (and they line-item that sucker out, it is $3,500 worth no kidding). Head over to www.rei.today/bigcredit right now to reserve your spot, and remember, REI Nation, (as if this didn’t make it clear enough to you) Your best investment is ALWAYS your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sooooo…If you thought you could get away with rigging an auction by holding your nefarious planning meetings in a park or at a bus stop, think again. The FBI just uncovered an auction bid rigging scheme out in California by hiding microphones in trees, plants, light fixtures, and bus stops – and that’s just the beginning. Find out all the details in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 71. So you’ve probably heard about bid rigging before, and it’s actually something that a lot of investors simply accept as part of the process of buying properties at auction because even when other, more experienced investors aren’t necessarily working together to keep other investors out, there are plenty of scenarios in which a more established buyer will actually pay more than they normally would to snag a property and hopefully scare off the competition. Overpaying on a property is perfectly legal, but rigging the auction, as you might imagine, is not, and you won’t believe the lengths that the FBI recently went to in order to try to expose suspected bid rigging in San Mateo and Alameda counties in California. I’ll tell you all about it in just a minute, but first I want to take a second to mention something else that is basically RIGGED in our society today: YOUR CREDIT. That score determines SO MUCH about what you can and cannot do in your entire life, from where you live (even if you don’t buy) to what jobs you can get and what types of businesses you can even afford to start. That dumb little number, your CREDIT SCORE, has dominated your life long enough, in my opinion, and fortunately for you, I’m not alone in feeling that way. If your business could benefit from an infusion of $50,000 to $250,000 in cash credit at ZERO INTEREST (and I suspect you could find SOME WAY to leverage those funds, my savvy real estate investor listeners), then I strongly suggest you check out a free training provided LIVE for REI Today listeners by experts who have raised over $200 million in zero-percent unsecured funding since 2008. You CAN access this type of funding for your own deals and business and perhaps even more exciting, you can also offer it to your clients and buyers, not to mention that you get a HUGE BONUS just for attending the training with a more-than-$3,500 value. This training has a live Q and A and is offered only at specific times to a limited audience number, so sign up right now at www.rei.today/BIGCREDIT (one word, big credit) and reserve your seat. That’s www.rei.today/BIGCREDIT. Don’t go into Summer 2016 without the funding and support that you need to thrive in your real estate business. Go to www.rei.today/BIGCREDIT right now. Now, let’s get back to where all in your local green space you need to be looking for the hidden mics… So, the FBI originally hid the microphones basically all over San Mateo and Alameda because they suspected that some real estate investors in the area were rigging local auctions by agreeing not to bid against each other at the public auctions, then holding private, members-only auctions where the properties were sold again and the investor who made the original purchase pocketed the difference in the public auction price and that of the private auction. This is a tempting set-up because it tends to keep prices down and also enables investors to make some money just by buying low at the public auction. Bear in mind, also, that this is all ALLEGED, the investor who was actually indicted in 2014 as part of the conspiracy has pled not guilty and the other parties are just being investigated, not accused. Anyway, the FBI put mics everywhere: in the courthouse where the auctions were held (those were hidden in light fixtures), in bus stops near the courthouse, in a statue inside the courthouse, in backpacks that they left lying around, and, reportedly (shockingly, the FBI is not confirming this) under rocks and trees throughout the Bay Area. So basically, if you were hanging out around Oakland Courthouse, they probably were listening. Kind of creepy, huh. So anyway, not surprisingly, the defenses for the guys who are now facing investigation for bid rigging are pretty up in arms about all this recording, and I can’t say I blame them. After all, there was no warrant issued for a surveillance operation in the area. Individuals could have discussed the topic without actually being involved. Apparently you have the right to expect a conversation in a public place to remain private (as long as you have it quietly) and the FBI basically ignored this as well. So it’s a great big mess, and it’s unclear other than establishing that they can get away with this for extended periods of time, the FBI really accomplished much or even intended to. I’m going to just let that little conspiracy theory stew around in your brain for a minute. So, the moral of the story, as it were, is simple: don’t participate in rigged auctions. The FBI doesn’t like it, it’s not legal, and your loving government will break its own laws in order to try to make sure you’re not breaking them. So now don’t you feel protected and loved? If you want to learn more about the specific FBI actions (and privacy violations) out west or in your neck of the woods, then check out our extended coverage of this matter in the REI Today Vault at www.rei.today/vault. Not yet a member? No worries! Your privacy is safe with us, and you can get immediate access by just text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to this startling information as well as sending you straight to a treasure  trove of trainings, uncut interviews, breaking news coverage, and a lot more timely, insightful information that will help make your real estate investing safer, faster, and more profitable. That’s REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or go to www.rei.today/vault for more information right now. And remember, when you join us, you’ll When you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. REI Nation, thanks for listening in. Now, more than ever, please remember this: Your best investment is ALWAYS your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How would you like to make a simple change to a small existing room in the house that could add about $2,723 to your list price when you put your home up for sale? I’ll tell you all about it in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 70. --- So how does an extra $2,723 on your home value sound? If you like the way that change is rattling around, then you’re going to love the weird, completely overlooked remodel option that happens in what is probably one of the smallest rooms in your house for a really great bang for your buck. I’ll tell you all about it in just a minute, but first, I have got to mention some new research that has just come out that is very relevant for every one of you listening. This new study has pinpointed the cities across the country that are, by the numbers, the best cities for real estate investors. You can get all the details in our News and Networking Section at www.rei.today, and I encourage you to check it out immediately. I couldn’t wait to see where MY city was ranked, and I bet you can’t either. You might be missing a big opportunity that is literally in your own backyard. Anyway, let’s get back to adding thousands to your listing price while doing your laundry…That’s right, the remodel we’re talking about is for the LAUNDRY ROOM! And it’s not really even that big of a remodel in most cases (how could it be, after all, it’s probably the smallest room in your house?) However, despite the diminutive size, the laundry room plays a huge role in a homeowner’s life. In fact, one in two homeowners blamed their laundry for loss of time with their family, directly, and 83 percent said that they were game for ANY home improvement that enabled them to spend more quality time on people and activities they love. So that takes us, ladies and gentlemen, to the laundry room, where you can, according to Homewyse.com, net an ROI of 77 to 91 percent on a remodel immediately, although, as with all ROI numbers, those are estimates, market dependent, and not guaranteed. Homewyse defines a full laundry-room remodel as updated cabinetry (read, install cabinets with doors instead of shelves), a new sink (probably farmhouse), and nice lighting fixtures. Most design experts recommend adding some countertop space, if it’s an option, because that enables homeowners to do their folding as the clothes leave the dryer. Homewyse also notes that although green appliances do add to the value of a home if they are left, they also add to the amount of time it takes to do the laundry. In fact, according to Whirlpool, it now can take five times longer to DO the laundry thanks to water-saving appliances (though they’ve considerately balanced that out by producing machines that let you dump in an entire week’s worth of laundry at once – and you better factor new appliance scale in when you’re remodeling!). So when you add in cabinetry, countertops, sinks, lighting, new paint, and nice appliances, you get an estimated material and labor cost that comes in right under $3,000, though that number may be low if you plan to include your appliances in the sale. And your first-year returns could be as much as 91 percent if you list immediately. That’s pretty exciting for a tiny, somewhat boring little room. Of course, as with any remodel or upgrade, you need to do a bit of due diligence first to make sure that your upgrade reflects the needs of your buying community. After all, the wrong remodel can actually kill your profit margin in very short order! To get a checklist for evaluating a remodel in light of a local market, head over to the REI Today Vault at www.rei.today/vault and check out today’s episode’s supplemental materials (they’re labeled with the episode number). If you’re not yet a member, don’t worry! text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’ll immediately send you the information you need to get that access and ALSO provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Wouldn’t you like to know how to develop a LOCAL MONOPOLY in a market that demands top dollar, desperately needs service, and that most people just can’t bear to get into? If this sounds like an opportunity a-wastin’, you’re right! I’ve got all the details (including the uncomfortable ones) in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 69. -- Let’s get it out there in the open, shall we? We don’t like to think about dementia. For those of us with Alzheimer’s and senile dementia in our family history, it’s a topic we probably don’t even touch in our silent thoughts most of the time because it’s just too painful. But if you’re working through the experience yourself OR if you’re dealing with the painful transition of a loved one as they undergo the changes that come with various forms of what is usually age-related dementia, then you know that there is a serious DEARTH of assistance out there for people living with this issue. In fact, if you have the early stages of dementia or if you have a loved one in these early stages, very few living options present themselves unless you are willing to go ahead and go into a home or move in with that loved one, two options that most people simply are not prepared for. So how can a real estate investor help in this arena, and help his or her business in the process? Well, as more and more Americans say that they wish to age in place, regardless of physical or mental capacity and ability, it is becoming more and more important to be able to offer properties that either are equipped for aging in place or that offer optional upgrades, additions, and renovations to enable the homeowner to do so. Particularly when it comes to dementia, those upgrades far exceed the traditional handrails or even electric chairs that might help a homeowner climb stairs, but new “smart” appliances and other smart electronic options can help homeowners and would-be homeowners live on their own even for DECADES after an initial diagnosis if their health also permits. If you are interested in investing in this type of real estate, you’ll definitely want to explore some of these new, groundbreaking options. For starters, you’ll want to select appliances that are dementia-friendly, meaning that they are designed to maximize user safety, even to the point of having stove knobs on the side of the stove or along the front rather than at the back in order to avoid potential injury from reaching over a hot surface. While this is a safety issue for anyone, the perceptual issues that may come with dementia and that many people do not know about can also make it harder to avoid simple injuries that most of us circumnavigate without much consideration. Next, consider the welfare of the disabled homeowner’s caretakers. Various apps and smart appliances and devices will help them determine if and when the homeowner leaves, how often the fridge is opened and what is inside (many people with dementia forget to eat long before their other symptoms become a problem) and the temperature in the home. Furthermore, rooms should be designed with clear purposes (kitchen for cooking and eating, living room for visiting television, bedroom for sleeping) rather than with the easy, flowing environment common and popular in many open-design homes. These visual clues will help a homeowner who has an unsettling tendency to forget what they came into a room for recall their initial purpose, say experts. Finally, design with dementia in mind. This means avoid overstimulation of the senses, since they can become elevated and hypersensitive as dementia progresses. Physicians say that bland, neutral colors are important, but stronger, darker colors as accents can provide some variation without creating too much “business” in the space. Of course, simply designing a safe, smart, somewhat décor-muted home is just the start. Investors who want to cater to a growing community of homeowners who either have dementia or have concerns about aging in place need the right marketing and the right geographic area for their business to thrive. Check out our report, “How to Market to the Aging-In-Place Crowd” in the REI Today Vault at www.rei.today/vault, or, if you’re not yet a member, text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’ll immediately send you the information you need to get that access and ALSO provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Wouldn’t you like to know the MAIN HOT BUTTONS that cause homeowners to become motivated sellers? I’ve got that information (and how to use it) in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 68. So, wouldn’t you like to know what types of things to look for that are most likely to turn a happy homeowner into a motivated seller, fast? Well, fortunately for you, there is a handy dandy survey going around wherein homeowners flat out tell you exactly what motivates them to move! Realtor.com researchers conducted the survey, and you may be surprised at the top reasons that people finally start to want to sell. I’ll tell you all about it in just a moment, but first I have to give you an interesting update on the sale of a marquis Trump property that just might be nearer in the future than most of us imagined. This past weekend, Donald Trump suggested on Fox and Friends Weekend that he would RATHER sell a building than jump in bed with the Republican “elite” donor class. “They want to have control over me,” he said, adding that he doesn’t want people telling him what to do because they donated money to his campaign. Now, you’ve been hearing a lot about Trump lately (and let’s face it, he’s a huge force not just in politics, but also in real estate, so his actions affect us, and you’re going to hear more), but if you want the political aspects of today’s real estate news on a regular, weekly basis regardless of whether or not the guy has done something headline-snatching in the past five days, then you’re going to want to sign up for REI Today’s Trump Tracker. Join up and get all the latest on Trump’s high jinks, headline grabs, and Hilary bashing and, most importantly, what it means for YOU as a real estate investor and an American citizen by signing up for the Trump Tracker right now at www.rei.today/trumptracker (one word). This is NOT political propaganda or a Trump rallying newsletter. It’s what he’s doing, the truth about what he’s saying, and why it should matter to YOUR investing business and how it affects your bottom line. Period. Stay informed on the race that has more to do with real estate investors and their success than any other presidential race in history with REI Today’s Trump Tracker at www.rei.today/trumptracker. You’ll know more than anyone else following the race, and you’ll be the first to be warned if things are about to get seriously hairy (hahahaha). Now, back to what makes happy homeowners into motivated sellers (and this isn’t your typical “Oh, their house burned down or they died or got divorced list” by the way, this stuff is universally applicable). According to realtor.com’s latest study, nearly half of homeowners move for the simple reason that they don’t like the neighborhood anymore. Households where the head of household is between 35 and 44 or older than 65 are particularly motivated by this need because they tend to be in stages of transition. 65 and older are often retiring, while 35-44 are often growing their families. A great way to target these homeowners is to appeal directly to the cause of the desire to move – often safety, better school systems, or general walkability even – and provide them with a good buying alternative and a beneficial way out of their home (perhaps they’ll be open to creative financing with you, for example, or even taking a big price cut because you’ve got a property that fits their needs). The second most common reason that owners turn into sellers is that they need different features in their homes, and this is often a particular issue for older homeowners looking at retirement. They often also have more equity in their properties and may be willing to make a deal with you if you can help them pull out some of that equity and also move fast. The third most common reason (one in five homeowners cite this) that people move is simple: they want or need more room. That’s great news for investors, because the inventory at the lower end of the market is what’s in big, big demand in most areas of the country. Furthermore, realtor.com’s chief economist Jonathan Smoke noted thnat there are several things that actually are PREVENTING motivated sellers (seriously, the guys that will take discounted offers on their properties, folks) from actually making the move to list their homes, and that is truly exciting for an investor who knows how to attract those potential sellers’ attention (by appealing to what is making them want to move) and then is able to remove those stumbling blocks. Get all the details on THIS exciting angle by reviewing the show notes for today’s episode in REI Today Vault at www.rei.today/vault. Not yet a member? No worries! text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’ll immediately send you the information you need to get that access and ALSO provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Would you like to know three MINOR CHANGES to your kitchen that could add at least $2,500 to your home value (in some cases) and in some cases, far more, that you can make for less than $1,000? I’m Carole Ellis. I’ve got all the details on these cheap and easy changes that can mean faster sales for higher profits today, in episode 67. So wouldn’t you like to do a quick few hours of work and pull in an extra few THOUSAND DOLLARS on your home sales price? Of course you would! And I’ve got the details on exactly where you should be putting that very minimal sweat equity of yours in today’s episode. However, before we get to that, I want to talk about another kind of equity, the kind made out of cold, hard dollars and cents. In certain cities around the country, home values are spiraling upward so fast that some analysts are starting to whisper that nasty word (bubble) when they talk about them. However, in particular locales, there are factors that make a bubble highly unlikely but that make appreciation (and equity in the short term) highly LIKELY. Check out our list of the 3 fastest growing cities in the country in our News & Networking Section at www.rei.today and find out if your favorite market is ripe for lots more dollars and cents on your home value or whether you might be heading for a bust. You’ll be surprised at what you learn. Now, back to your sweat equity and instant home value growth over a weekend (in most cases, of course)! According to the National Association of Realtors (but we’re all friends, here, so we’ll call it the NAR moving forward), a full kitchen remodel can easily cost $20,000 or more and take weeks if not months to complete. However, there are several far less time-consuming and far less expensive options that can still net you some significant gain on your home value. Here are my three favorites, and I selected them for great ROI (on an average home the ROI should raise the value either by a couple thousand dollars or EXPONENTIALLY based on the small amount of work) and low time and resources costs, meaning you can probably bang these out yourself. Here they are, along with the metrics that show just what you can accomplish. For starters, you could put in a FARMHOUSE SINK. That’s one of those big, sunken, usually porcelain or stainless steel sinks that often has two sides and a big arching faucet. Would you believe that one of these babies, which costs about $230 to have installed professionally and another $600 (at the top end) to purchase, can result in your snagging nearly 10 percent more on your home price AND SELLING almost two months faster than other comparable homes? That’s pretty big savings and “earnings” for a snazzy place to wash your dishes and less than $1,000 outlay. Next, you might consider installing a nice tile backsplash behind that sink. Counting installation and materials, you can come in way under the $1,000 marker, with homeadvisor.com estimating that you can install a 30-square-foot ceramic tile backsplash for about $812, a stone backsplash for $870, and a glass mosaic one for just under $900. Backsplashes are an easy way to add pizazz to a kitchen without re-doing the entire thing, and a glass kitchen backsplash COULD net you as much as 60 percent ROI when you resell. Some analysts predict that number will continue to rise because glass backsplashes make rooms appear larger and brighter, are easy to clean, are mildew- and stain-resistant, and are considered by most buyers to be “green” (environmentally friendly) materials because they can be made out of recycled glass. Finally, (you knew this was coming) PAINT THAT KITCHEN! According to Homegain.com, you’ll earn a 250 percent return on investment when you sport some freshly-painted interior walls in your kitchen. For most kitchens, painting the entire thing is the work of a weekend, and a nice, neutral, light color is a great way to attract potential buyers anyway. So now that you’re all jazzed up about these easy and relatively cheap kitchen investments, allow me to take a moment to remind you that this program does NOT promise results. You need to analyze the comparable properties in your market in order to determine if you think that your ROI will be worthwhile for these or any upgrades. Furthermore, hey, I don’t know if you can paint! I guarantee if I come to your house and do any of these upgrades on my own, in person, without professional assistance, your ROI is anything BUT guaranteed. So just because a survey or an article or a PODCAST says something is easy to do yourself does not mean you should just write off what you know about yourself and dive in without the right research and preparation. Now, if you want a complete list of the eight kitchen upgrades that cost less than $1,000 that the NAR recommends, I’ve got them all lined up for you in the REI Today Vault so head on over to www.rei.today/vault and browse to your home-upgrading heart’s content. Not yet a member? I’ve got you covered. text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’ll immediately send you the information you need to get that access and ALSO provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

I’ve got an important announcement: the ZOMBIE APOCOLYPSE may be over. At least, the foreclosure zombie apocalypse, that is. And unfortunately, it’s not necessarily good news for real estate investors. I’m Carole Ellis. I’ve got all the details on the official end of the foreclosure zombie apocalypse today, in episode 66. -- So what sounds like the best post-housing-crash news EVER that could end up being bad news for your real estate business: this formal announcement from RealtyTrac. According to the real estate data giant, vacant “zombie” foreclosures – properties that have no real owner and have been allowed to stagnate vacant on the market by lenders that started the foreclosure process but never completed it – are fading fast. In fact, the number of properties in “zombie foreclosure” has fallen by 30.1 percent over this time last year, making fewer than one in every 20 foreclosed houses an actual zombie. Why is this potentially bad news for real estate investors, and how should you start adjusting your “game” to deal with the end of this dystopian phenomenon? I’ll get to that in just a minute, but first, I want to tell you about something else that is NEW and a whole lot brighter – literally – than zombie foreclosures: a fully solar-powered community that is presently under construction in the sunny state of Florida. The development, called Babcock Ranch, will eventually be home to about 19,500 homes that are fully powered by the sun and that do NOT have solar panels. It’s a huge labor of environmentally-friendly love mixed with a healthy eye to profit, and you are going to love learning more about this self-described “town of the future.” I’ve got all the details in the News and Networking section at www.rei.today, so head on over there and check it out. Now, back to the darker, post-apocalyptic side of real estate…Okay, maybe it’s actually not quite that bad. Here’s the deal: According to RealtyTrac, fewer than one in every 20 foreclosed homes in the national housing market today is actually a ZOMBIE FORECLOSURE, and that’s a big improvement for markets all over the country that suffered some serious blight as lenders, realizing that they had a vested interest in NOT being fully responsible for the thousands and thousands of homes that they’d foreclosed on in hard-hit areas of the country during the housing crash (think Detroit, for example), opted to abandon foreclosure proceedings on those homes and just let them sit. Since in most cases the homeowners had already left, those properties basically fell apart (and sometimes right back into the ground; I visited Detroit and Flint, Michigan, in 2012 and huge portions of those cities at that time were nothing but ghost towns) and they took neighboring property values right along with them. Now that the national housing market is in  recovery mode and just about everywhere is better off than it was in the wake of the housing and financial crises, lenders are starting to go ahead and finish up the foreclosure process on those zombie properties, either cleaning them up or knocking them down and creating space for new development. Now, many real estate investors say that they feel like the end of zombie foreclosures means that they missed the boat. After all, how easy would it have been to negotiate with a bank to take a property off its hands that it clearly didn’t care about enough to finish taking ownership? Well, the reality is, it wasn’t actually that great! So don’t you DARE use this as an excuse, ladies and gentlemen! Here’s the thing: those banks couldn’t be BOTHERED with those properties. They didn’t WANT to deal with them. Now that they’re actually willing to foreclosure and throw them up on the market, they’re actually making markets more affordable and accessible in a lot of cases both to first-time homebuyers and investors. In fact, senior VP at RealtyTrac, Daren Blomquist, pointed out just last week that the death of the zombie foreclosure market in areas like Miami and New York is actually making those markets more accessible by relieving the quote PRESSURE COOKER of escalating prices and deteriorating affordability (end quote) in those areas and others. So if you have been feeling sad that you didn’t get in on the zombie foreclosure apocalypse in time, good news: NOW is really the time to start leveraging your investing experience and education in order to truly get involved in real estate .Here are three easy things that you can do to get your investing started NOW in today’s hot, now zombie-less markets: Examine your target market for TIMELINESS This means take a look at days on market, sales price, and how those homes that are selling are looking. This means: are they all HGTV dressed up to sell at top dollar or is there an active investor community? What do you need to plan to do in order to participate in this area? Take a look at off-market options. There are SO MANY WAYS to get great homes at deep discounts via off-market purchases and working directly with motivated sellers. And no matter what ANYONE tells you, there are always off-market homes available. If you don’t believe me, check out an old, old episode (number 2!) in the REI Today Vault and see how one of my early guests gets major action in the hot, hot market of Miami using off-market strategies. Finally, take some action. And I know you’ve heard that a thousand times, but seriously, people, it’s the only way to make money in real estate! Go to the vault (rei.today/vault) and look at episode #2 and also take a look at today’s episode’s list of markets that still have plenty of zombies to go around while you’re there. If you’re not yet a member, text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’ll get you in there right away. Either go to www.rei.today/vault or text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’ll immediately send you the information you need to get that access and ALSO provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Wouldn’t you like to know how to GET PAID TWICE on certain real estate transactions and, if you preferred, how to invest in real estate without ever actually owning any property or even getting close to a closing table? As you might imagine, the truth of this matter is a LITTLE DIFFERENT than the hype. I’m Carole Ellis. I’ll give you the down-and-dirty truth about the getting paid twice training today, in Episode 65. So we’d all like to get paid twice on every real estate deal, right? Of course! It’s like killing two birds with one big real estate deal stone. And it’s not really that complicated, either, as you’ll see in a minute. Today, we’re going to closely examine the TRUE STORY about a guy who IS getting paid twice on basically every deal he does and we’re also going to expose what it did to his business in the process. I’ll be honest here: this episode is not going to be what you expected, so buckle up. Before we get into any down-and-dirty exposure, though (hey, clean it up, we’re talking reporting here!) I want to take a minute to talk about another guy that we’ve been giving a lot of exposure to recently: Donald Trump. Now, I know some of you are loving it and some of you are sick unto death of the guy, but he has a real chance at being our next president and as a true, in the flesh, real estate mogul with a hot streak a mile wide and a tongue with very little holding it back, his presidency could put the entire housing industry on its head. Any president can influence the housing market (and most do to one degree or another) but Trump has the ability to deliberately alter the face of the industry in a variety of ways that could be very good OR very bad for real estate investors specifically. So that’s why we’ll continue to follow him (and, don’t worry, we’ll take a look at Hilary every now and again, too) but in order to be fully informed about his PAST in real estate so that you can understand what he might do in the future, I suggest you check out our TRUMP TIMELINE and get a look at just what type of wheeling and dealing form the foundation of Trump’s real estate history. You WILL be surprised, because it’s not quite as glamorous (or as rags-to-riches) as Trump himself and his PR machine would like you to believe. Check out the timeline at www.rei.today/trump and then keep an ear out for more information in the future. Now, let’s get back to today’s exposure, which is TIME-SENSITIVE and highly relevant to REI Today listeners, since it has to do with a certain educational training that explains how to GET PAID TWICE on your real estate deals. First, let’s examine the premise. You know that one of the most important aspects – many peope would argue THE most important aspect – or real estate is having the money to do deals. Now, any number of investors will tell you (and they’re right about this) that if you have a good deal, you can get the money to do it. End of story. And that is true if you know whom to present your deal to, how to attract investors in your deals, and how to structure those deals so that in the end, you and your funding partner are both rewarded for the roles you played. However, a lot of real estate investors NEVER get that far because they’re too intimidated to speak to people or entities that might help with their funding or because they’re not confident enough in their deals, or they don’t have enough time…the list goes on and on and we’re all familiar with it. So funding is a big, big deal for basically all real estate investors at all stages of the game, and it’s a big, big stumbling block for a lot of investors who WOULD be getting paid regularly on deals if they could just fund them. So in the training, the instructor, who is a creative financing expert and also funds hundreds and hundreds of deals himself and on behalf of other private investors, teaches you how to first find the funding for deals, which of course nets you some profit when you put a real estate investor and a lender in contact (that’s paid once), and then points out in some detail that you can use the system to fund your OWN good deals, making money again when the actual transaction closes (that’s paid twice). Boom. So it’s a legitimate claim. But here’s the kicker (and I’ve got a story about a student of his to demonstrate this…) a lot of people don’t actually care for the paid-twice model, and as a result our expert spends a lot of time delving into detail about how to make this system work if you don’t have the time or the inclination to do your OWN DEALS for that second payoff. In fact, it turns out that one of the most successful investors who works with this guy (the name is Rick Martin, by the way, and he’s visible in the training) uses the system to fund his OWN ventures (which include a private equity fund and making construction loans) and just generates money basically to make those businesses work (but, you know, that took about $200,000 in 2014 and 2015 and is likely to take about $450,000 in 2016). But hey, those aren’t bad numbers, right? In fact, I’d say that the whole PAID-ONCE MODEL is pretty successful as well if he’s generating that kind of funding for the business he actually enjoys doing and not having to do real estate deals he doesn’t enjoy on the side. So that’s the down-and-dirty truth on the PAID-TWICE training, and I was pretty happy to figure it out, I have to say. After all, getting paid twice is great if you love the entire process, but imagine what passion you could pursue on the getting-paid-once model if actually DOING REAL ESTATE DEALS isn’t really your thing? Think you could get a nice start with that kind of supplemental income? Um, if you can’t even get started with that kind of change, I really want to know what you’re passionate about JUST to satisfy my curiosity! And speaking of curiosity, if all this has you feeling curious about the PAID-TWICE fuss out there, you can view the training for free at www.rei.today/paidtwice, but space is limited and it closes down at midnight tonight, so please make the time to do it today. You’ll be thrilled that you did and your true passion, whatever it is, will be thrilled as well. That’s www.rei.today/paidtwice (paidtwice is one word). Once you’ve checked out the training, you’ll want to log in to the REI Today Vault as well see what other investors had to say about this strategy. Just head over to www.rei.today/vault, or if you’re not yet a member, text REITODAY (no spaces, no periods) to 33444 and I’ll immediately send you the information you need to get that access and ALSO provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How would you like to know the 23-word combination that is yielding SERIOUS LEADS from Craigslist for real estate investors? If you are not effectively leveraging the GOLD MINE of deal and funding leads that is available on Craigslist, then you’ve got to get them. I’ll tell you the combination and how to use it in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 64. --- So wouldn’t you like it if you could copy and paste a certain combination of words into your local craigslist posts and immediately start hearing from motivated buyers, sellers, and investors who all were hoping to work with you? If you had money to fund deals and good deals coming out your ears, don’t you think you could work with that? I know you could and more importantly, you know you could! We’ll get to that 23-word combo in just a minute, as well as a little tidbit about just how FAST this sucker works sometimes, but first, I want to mention something in the news that is really important for real estate investors today. You know that being in real estate can be a risky business, especially if part of your process involves meeting buyers or sellers, who are usually strangers, alone in vacant properties. While you know it’s never a good idea to go alone to meet someone in an essentially abandoned building, there are a lot of other schemes going on right now designed to lure real estate professionals into dangerous situations. In fact, you may remember just a few weeks ago a young girl managed to lure a grown man who was a property manager into an apartment where her co-conspirators held him at gunpoint, knocked him down, and stole his wedding, ring, phone, and wallet – all while his wife sat unsuspecting in the truck parked out on the curb! Find out how this big, strong guy was taken in by a young woman and the red flags he should have spotted (he told the media firsthand later what his biggest mistake was!) by going to the REI Today vault at http://www.rei.today/vault and downloading our Real Estate Investor Safety Guide. Part of our mission at REI Today is to make your investing SAFER (in addition to faster and more profitable) so don’t delay. Get that guide now at www.rei.today/vault. Now, let’s get back to that 23-word combination that is helping investors rake in the leads on Craigslist. First, I’ll tell you where I got it. I got this combination of words from a creative financing expert whose entire business hinges on his ability to generate leads for his funding and, conversely, funding for his deals. (not so unlike you and me, right?) but this guy operates on a HUGE scale, doing hundreds of deals a year and helping broker lots and lots of loan transactions. So when he tells me this ad is one of just 10 that he uses to create a steady stream of funding for his deals and deals for his funding (kind of two birds with one craigslist ad), I was pretty excited to hear about it. I asked him to give us the ad copy, and I didn’t really expect him to say he would. After all, these are pretty valuable 23 words. But he did, and here they are: “Private Investor has Cash to Lend!” Private investor has cash to lend on good real estate deals. Text or email [your name] for details.” Pretty simple, right? Maybe even TOO SIMPLE? Well, here’s what he told me to do: Throw that sucker up on Craigslist and see how it works for you! You can put it in housing or even in the finance section, and some students actually have seen results from this ad in about 90 minutes, though of course that depends on your local housing market. If you’d like to see the other ads and learn more about what to do with the deals that this type of simple, straightforward Craigslist ad can bring rolling in, then you’ll want to check out our special REI Today Saturday Training with  our expert. He’ll not only discuss other variations of this ad that have been HUGELY successful for him, but he’ll also talk about how you can get involved in real estate in a way that lets you work part time, doesn’t require you to buy or sell properties yourself (unless you want to fund your own deals) and basically creates “one-and-done” income streams for you, meaning that you can do real estate deals without having to rehab, renovate, or EVEN WHOLESALE, (that’s for you folks who don’t ever want to even get near a closing table, much less a paint brush or new carpet…) You can register for this training which will play TWO TIMES ONLY this Saturday at www.rei.today/paidtwice (PAIDTWICE is one word) and I encourage you to check it out. The information just on how to leverage your Craigslist ads is worth that little bit of time out on your weekend all by itself.  Sign up (space is limited) at www.rei.today/paidtwice for the training, then head over to the REI Today Vault to check out a special success story from a guy who is using this ad system and the associated no-real-estate-necessary version of investing to generate about $200,000 in funding for his own personal business about which he’s quite passionate (so as  you can see, this really doesn’t require you to work full-time on it unless you just want to). Not yet a member of the REI Today Vault? Don’t worry, and don’t delay. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’ll immediately send you the information you need to get that access and ALSO provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How would you like to be WAYYYY better than Donald Trump at lending money in the real estate sector? If beating a billionaire at his own game sounds good to you, then you’re going to love today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 63. --- So how would you like to learn how to lend money in real estate for way better returns than Donald Trump is getting in HIS most recent lending foray, and without having to be a billionaire first to get started? I’ll tell you all the details in just a minute, but while we’re on the topic of everyone’s favorite (or favorite to hate) republican presidential candidate, I’ve got some other interesting news to share. The Donald is starting to see some fallout from his outspoken ways that never really bothered anyone before he took on the 2016 presidential race, and a certain high-profile owner of a certain condo in TRUMP PALACE has announced he’s dumping his property and taking a loss just so he can stop (and I quote) “spitting” every time he “hears, sees or says” the name of his home, Trump Palace. “Frankly, I’m running out of Trump spit,” the angry owner said. Find out who is selling and just how deep the discount is in our News & Networking Section at www.rei.today. Now, let’s get back to being much better than Trump when it comes to lending money, even if you don’t have your own billions to lend. Here’s what’s going on: Trump recently made headlines because he is lending millions and millions of dollars that he never expects to be repaid on. In fact, he’ll ruin his reputation if those loans make good. The “fine print” of this matter? (because you’re right, this doesn’t sound quite like the Donald we know and either hate or love)…He’s lending it to his own presidential campaign! Media outlets went NUTS when it came to light that Trump was lending his “self-funded” campaign money, speculating that he’d use donor money to repay those loans at a later date. However, Trump is actually doing the same thing that Mitt Romney and even Steve Forbes (of Forbes Magazine) did during their presidential campaigns, and it’s commonly accepted that although you structure the funding as a loan, you DO NOT pay it back, although obviously you hope somehow it all works out to the good (which it didn’t for Romney or Forbes, you might remember). So anyway, it’s well and good for Trump to make loans he’ll never collect on, but wouldn’t you like to participate in a billion-dollar lending industry (even if you don’t have billions to lend) and MAKE that money back? Of course you would! And one of the best things about getting an “in” in this particular sector is that not only can you fund other people’s transactions (you’ve heard of OPM, other people’s money, well I like the idea of making a profit on OPT as well – other people’s transactions!) but you can also leverage that lending ability and knowledge to fund your own deals as well. Anyway, I love this idea and I bet you do too, so I interviewed creative financing and real estate expert Lee Arnold to get some more insight on the topic. Lee not only is an active real estate investor, but he can secure capital on just about any type of investment deal that you can come up with (obviously, as long as it’s a GOOD DEAL, right?!) He has been putting together packages of real estate deals and other land transactions for years and working with hundreds of other investors to fund those deals, and in fact he mentioned during our interview that he’s presently seeking more deals because he has money SITTING AROUND that would be far, far more productively leveraged if it were out there funding deals instead stagnating. So you can see, he’s a pretty good source of information for GOOD types of lending practices instead of the kind where you know in advance you won’t get paid back! Anyway, Lee described four what he called “perks” of brokering loans, which means basically bringing good deals and the money to fund them together. First, he said, there’s no license required. “You don’t need a special finance degree or years and years of experience to get started,” he explained. So brokering is fast. I do like that. Second, brokering-generated income doesn’t come with lots of responsibilities. Lee actually compares it to other forms of passive income because, as he said, “there is no ongoing, residual services necessary.” Of course, if you’re bringing in your OWN deals, you’re going to be handling the real estate side of things as well, but if you’re just out to get in the middle and make money off that OPT (other people’s transactions) then you don’t have any responsibility past putting the lender and the deal together – and they pay really well for that, as you’ll see in a next. Third, there is HUGE (yep, that’s a tribute to Trump) income potential! Lee said that one of his best brokers actually generated about $200,000 over the past two years, and he’s not even doing this full time. He’s just using the broker fees to expand and grow his own real estate business. And fourth, there’s no selling. In fact, it’s kind of the opposite of selling because people will be BEATING DOWN YOUR DOOR once they find out you have funding. “Once I was teaching at a live event and in between the time I broke out my top 10 Craigslist ads for brokers to use and the end of the session (about 90 minutes) one student had posted an ad on the local craigslist and generated several viable leads! People want and need funding,” Lee said. Now, when you make money in lending, there are several points in the process where there are payouts made. Understanding these will help you see how you can beat Trump’s lending method for his presidential campaign (which is basically get paid NEVER) all to pieces by getting paid at least once, and maybe even twice depending on the deal! Lee explains exactly how this works, where to look for profits and how to find the best deals whether you invest in real estate already, want to start, or never want to lift a hammer or sign a closing doc, by getting involved in brokering funds. You can get all the details at www.rei.today/paidtwice - I picked that because some investors actually get paid twice on their deals! – but space is limited so please do not wait to check it out. That’s www.rei.today/paidtwice (no spaces just PAIDTWICE) to get all the information. If you want to check out the visual diagram for Lee’s PERKS of being a broker (and view his “Secret Fifth Perk” as well, once you get registered head over to the REI Today Vault to view that diagram. Not yet a member? You know I’ve got you covered! text REITODAY no spaces, no periods to 33444 and I’ll immediately send you the information you need to get that access and ALSO provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How would you like to know an OUTDOOR UPGRADE that one of America’s BIGGEST LENDERS says can net you 100-200 percent ROI upon completion? I’ve got all the details in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 62. --- So would you be more likely to install a certain popular upgrade if you knew that an actual lender – one the biggest in the country, no less – had specified that this upgrade was likely to garner you 100-200 percent ROI upon completion? I know I would! I’d break out the mortar, or the paint brushes, or whatever it was I needed for sure. And since I suspect you feel the same, we’ll get right into that in just one minute. Before we do, however, I’ve got to mention a little something about higher education. Turns out, people with bachelor’s degrees are way, way, wayyy more likely to own their own homes than those with high school diplomas and G.E.D.s. You can check out the hard numbers behind this in our News & Networking section, by the way. But more importantly, this touches on something that has a place very close to just about everyone’s heart and bank account: paying for college. Whether YOU want to go to college or whether you’re hoping to help a loved one get there, a guy in the REAL ESTATE SPACE can help. This Canadian actually funds nearly all of his real estate deals using grant money from the government, and, along the way, he’s found literally hundreds of ways to get money for college as well. Get all the information by watching his free training at www.rei.today/college and whether you want deals, degrees, or you want it all, you’ll find a lot of great info to help you get there and get that money. Now, back to another good way to get that money, 200 percent ROI. Here’s the scoop straight from QUICKEN LOANS, one of the country’s biggest mortgage loan originators out there. Think they know a little bit about how to evaluate home values? Yeah. I do too. Here’s what they had to say: Quicken Loans, oh, yeah, and MSN Real Estate got in on this also, reported that an appropriately designed outdoor kitchen could and I quote, “fetch a 100-200 percent ROI.” Now these are pretty big numbers to throw around, so I figured we better dig into the details. After all, that little “appropriately designed” caveat could throw a huge monkey wrench into the mix if you’re not careful. According to Quicken analyst Krissy Schwab, you need to first carefully evaluate the climate in which you are building (New England outdoor kitchens MAY NOT net you quite the returns you’re hoping for) as well as evaluating the caliber of other outdoor living areas in comparable properties. Remember, it may in fact be the case that a stone-fired pizza oven, fully plumbed bar and sink area, and nicely upholstered built-in furniture may be must-haves in Malibu, for example, but that may not be true in the suburbs of Atlanta, where a nice weather-proofed grill, stone firepit and a gazebo could be all you need and, furthermore, all you should install. Check out properties at and slightly above comparable price points and (this is important) as close as possible in proximity to your own property to determine what is “par for the course” in your area. Finally, take a quick gander at outdoor living trends. In summer 2016, for example, buyers are swooning over solar lights (not hard to install or at least stage), natural wood and stone features, and permanent seating installations (think gazebos and pergolas, those lattice-work structures that provide interesting shade patterns and can be used to support climbing flowers and vines. For a complete list of currently trending (as of May 2016) outdoor home design decisions, go to our REI Today Vault at www.rei.today/vault. Not yet a member? No worries! text REITODAY no spaces, no periods to 33444 and I’ll immediately send you the information you need to get that access and ALSO provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sexy, steamy listing videos are TAKING OVER in certain markets. Should you give in to your property’s SEXY SIDE (and, let’s face it, yours or a stunt double playing you)? We’ll get into all the details of the HOTTEST LISTING STRATEGY out there in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 61. --- So is the key to mass exposure in your local housing market to GET SEXY in your video listing? Okay folks, full disclosure here, I’m not going to say anything crass in today’s episode, but we are going to talk a little bit about some pretty unorthodox methods of garnering attention for your listing, including describing in a bit of detail one listing that has gone SO VIRAL for so many reasons. And not all those reasons are universally considered to be PG, though as with all REI Today episodes, we’ll keep it clean. So I just want to make you aware before we…well…DIVE IN, shall we say. Now that you’re completely curious, I’m going to make you wait just a minute for all the steamy details because I want to take a second to REMIND you about our HOA Horror Story competition! Post your WORST HOA NIGHTMARE (it can be with an investment or a personal property) on yesterday’s EXTREMELY controversial episode at www.rei.today/HOAHORROR (one word) and REI Today (that’s me) will send the winner who has the most blood-curdling story (or the one that makes the most steam come out of my ears!) a fabulous REI Today t-shirt. As I mentioned yesterday: they’re awesome, sparkly, and I love them, but we also have a non-sparkly version for the guys and our non-rhinestony ladies, so don’t let your dislike of a little glitter deter you. Oh, and I’ll also interview you for a future episode. There’s that too. So head over to www.rei.today/HOAHORROR to leave your worst homeowners’ association nightmare account as soon as you finish listening to today’s episode. Now, back to the debate about whether it’s time to get sexual with your real estate listings…Here’s what started it: I think we all know that the West Coast is chock full of beautiful, unique, ultra-luxurious mega-mansions that need to sell for about a gazillion dollars a piece when their owners decide to move. That’s the median price, by the way, gazillion dollars. Just kidding, but you get my drift. So when you have one of these mega-mansions and you want it to stand out from the rest, the latest thing to do is make a really lovely video that uses a storyline to showcase the property. For example, a woman spending a leisurely day preparing to greet her spouse with a beautiful anniversary dinner. Now, as any of us would do if we lived in a mega-mansion with a gorgeous crystal wine cave, a sparkling infinity pool, a yoga studio, closets for miles, a fully updated kitchen, and a bathroom with a shower to die for, we’d stroll about the grounds making use of the property (in a bikini, of course) and, at some point…and here’s what’s stirring some people up a bit…we’d take that bikini off, showcase our lower back tattoo tastefully of course, and hop our nude little booty (thanks, daily yoga!) into the shower. Then, when we hopped out, we’d greet our female partner (who’s clearly been making use of the yoga studio as well) as she stepped out of her fabulous Lamborghini (on loan for the listing shoot) with a nice, passionate (but still reasonably tasteful) girl-on-girl kiss. That’s right: there was a neat little surprise at the end. And it’s a great video. And before we go any further, I’m not interested in talking about how you or I feel about same-sex relationships. That is NOT the point here. Love ‘em, hate ‘em, or just let’em be. Not the point. Let’s not go there. Instead, let’s get to the point: This thing was RACY for real estate. And I personally loved it, but I wasn’t  expecting to see naked tattooed backside even though I knew it was going viral for steamy content. The listing agent for the property in question has clearly been fielding a few attacks on the subject, and he said basically hey, if you happen to live in this gorgeous world of opulence and luxury, then this could be your real, glamorous life. “Why not show it off?” he asked, adding, “We sell the Hollywood lifestyle, and there’s nothing risqué about a real estate film like this in LA.” So I’m inclined to buy that argument 100 percent. But I think the real question is how can investors use the lessons in this film in a meaningful, profitable, and, ultimately, tasteful way that will actually sell their properties. There are plenty of investors out there, male and female, leveraging their sex appeal on a daily basis. Most female professionals in our industry will tell you that whether they do it deliberately or not, their gender plays a role in their business whether positive or negative, and whether they leverage it or not. Hey, women come with unique traits that have been shown in many scientifically conducted studies to optimize our results when we get involved in investing (more on that later). But is it wise to leverage what I guess I’ll just call our more obvious (and also scientific) assets or does it ultimately detract from our credibility (and this goes for guys trying to leverage female assets as well – we’ve all seen more than one of those “girls-in-bikinis” listing videos that might not necessarily have made us want to buy the property no matter how much we watched it)? If you want to “get sexual” with your listing videos or photos, here are three basic rules to follow: Take the temperature of your target market – that LA property ad was beautifully and professionally shot and played to an audience that is highly likely to accept and admire the storyline. Frankly, there are more “conservative” for lack of a better word markets where it might not fly. Err on the side of taste – Last year a big-shot agent in New York City attempted this and spent a LOT of money on what was basically a lingerie shoot in a client’s apartment. The listing got a lot of views, but it didn’t sell fast or for asking. Was the shoot the only reason? Probably not. But it’s my suspicion that it didn’t help bring in the COUPLES who would have been the target buyers in the area. Stick with the story – you’ll go a long way toward keeping your audience and building a positive rapport with them if you’ve got a story that you’re telling. Adding in the storyline will eliminate some of your buyers, however, so make sure that it fits your target audience. Just like the guy selling a family home (albeit a glamorous one) with a lingerie shoot, you don’t want to turn off your target audience by presenting them with something they simply can’t identify with. No matter the genders involved in our marriages and relationships, we can all identify with that candlelit dinner, and making the gender a surprise little kicker at the end didn’t really change the atmosphere of the video one way or the other, though I bet it helped with PR. Now, if you’re still wondering about (or hey, smarting) from that little statement about women getting better documented results than men in their investing, I encourage you to check out my article about just that topic that was published in the Huffington Post. It’s my belief that men and women are indisputably different in some very key ways, so you might as well leverage those differences and enjoy the outcomes. It’s probably not what you might be expecting. I’ve got the reprint locked up tight in the REI Today Vault, so check it out either on HuffPo or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now. Not yet a member? No worries! text REITODAY no spaces, no periods to 33444 and I’ll immediately send you the information you need to get that access and ALSO provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Would you believe that the LATEST THREAT to your credit score might be a NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION in an area where you don’t even live? I’ll tell you all about this HOA HORROR STORY and how to protect yourself in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 60. So we’ve all got our share of HOA horror stories, and it probably won’t surprise you to learn that your local HOA could be gunning for your credit score. What may surprise you is that it doesn’t have to be YOUR HOA who tanks that FICO rating! I’ll tell you all the details in just a minute, but I want to mention first something else that can hurt your credit score in a big way: HACKING. And to get specific, Russian hacking, since the Russians are, according to most cyber-security experts, rivaled only by the Chinese when it comes to dedication on the part of that nation’s hacking community to getting into your email and into your business. We’ve got a special article on the website today that will tell you all about how Russian hackers are presently targeting real estate investors and other real estate professionals and how they may have accessed oh, about 100,000 email accounts belonging to real estate professionals in the past two years. Let’s get real here: that huge number means your odds are not good. Check out the details on the website at www.rei.today just as soon as you finish listening to this episode. Now, (and I’m sorry, you’re probably feeling attacked from EVERY angle now), back to how your local HOA – hey, even your NON-LOCAL HOA – could be killing your credit score right about now. Here’s the deal: One of the biggest credit data aggregators out there (that basically means they collect information on you and then provide it to credit-reporting agencies like Equifax) recently announced that it will begin reporting to Equifax about home owners association delinquencies. Furthermore, this is just the beginning of  a full-scale rollout where all major credit agencies will begin factoring in late HOA dues, fines, and other penalties. And THAT’S where the kicker comes in, hard. First of all, that late payment on your HOA dues will carry the same weight as a missed mortgage payment. So that’s pretty big on its own. But much bigger is this: FINES AND PENALTIES! People, how many of you have lived in a neighborhood where they fined you for your playset in the backyard, not getting the color of your traditional brown house approved before painting, where they hit you up for $35 for that garden gnome and then tacked on $75 in late fees and you refused to pay on principal, (no this is not all personal experience, I swear, but it’s all real)! Not to mention, how many of you INVESTORS have been fined by HOAs in neighborhoods where you owned property, however, briefly, for not paying TRANSFER FEES that many HOAs use to raise extra money by charging them to every new owner or, let’s be honest, for failing keep your grass cut (hey maybe your lawn guy’s kid got sick) or any of the ZILLION other things that an HOA headed by an aggressive HOA covenants enforcer without quite enough to do. Now, I’m not saying all HOAs are bad, or even that all of them are out to get you. In fact, while I used to live in a neighborhood with some pretty terrible HOA habits, when I moved I looked for a new neighborhood that had an HOA because they do keep property values up, the tennis courts clean and the pool open. And, in my current residence, they also throw some pretty awesome Mardi Gras and Fourth of July parties! But that’s another episode… The important thing here is for you to realize that any HOA where you have control of a property for any period of time now has the potential not only to assess you with fees, fines, and penalties, but also is carrying a very big stick in the event that you don’t pay up. Unfortunately, I don’t have a magic solution for this one. Investors are just going to have to be diligent, detail-oriented, and make sure they find out whether or not there is an HOA and what it will require of them EVERY TIME a new property is purchased. Now that I’ve beaten up on HOAs and probably gotten you pretty fired up too, I’ve got something that will hopefully ease your tension a little…Let’s indulge in some serious HOA Horror Story Terror. I challenge you to leave me a comment on the webpage for this podcast (it’s www.rei.today/HOAHORROR) telling me about your worst HOA experience ever. We’ll compile the stories and I’ll give an award for the most bone-curdling experience. How about a fantastic REI Today t-shirt (they are awesome, sparkly, and I love them, by the way!) and if you’re a man, don’t worry, I’ll send you a non-sparkle edition. So head over to www.rei.today/HOAHORROR and leave me your horror story right now! Once you’re done, check out all our breaking news coverage, uncut interviews with expert investors, and massive amount of training materials in the REI Today vault. Not yet a member? Don’t you worry. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’ll immediately send you the information you need to get that access. And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A real estate agent was attacked during a routine showing of a two-bedroom apartment! This is NOT an isolated incident, and you need to know what danger signals to watch for. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 59. --- So just last week, a male real estate professional was attacked in a two-bedroom apartment with LOTS of other people close by, and he almost didn’t live to tell the tale. It’s a dangerous world out there for real estate professionals – and investors in particular – folks, and you have got to be alert. REI Today’s Scam Alert List is a great way to stay informed about the latest scams, cons, and attack tactics that the worst of the worst who are targeting OUR PROFESSION are using to hurt you physically and financially. Sign up now at www.rei.today/scamalert (one word) and you’ll immediately get access not only to our 2016 Red Flag Report that identifies the most common “tells” that a contractor or other real estate professional is out to get you, but you’ll also receive our Real Estate Investor Safety Guide, an ebook dedicated to helping you keep yourself safe without sacrificing your access to deals and your ability to turn a profit. Go to www.rei.today/scamalert (one word) and sign up for these valuable resources and ongoing alerts about safety and security right now. Now, here’s what happened to this real estate professional and how you can prevent it from happening to you. This guy, he lives in Milwaukee, was ready for a routine showing at an apartment complex. Now, just a quick side note right here: he had several things working in his favor (you’d think) before he ever stepped in the door of the property. For starters: he’s a guy. You hear all the time how women should never show alone, but men do it all the time and no one really points out that it’s not really that safe for a guy to show alone either. And in this instance, the guy’s wife was waiting for him in the car, probably making him feel even more as if he had covered his safety bases. Furthermore, the agent was showing an apartment. BY DEFINITION, an apartment is kind of in the middle of a populated area. It’s not like a vacant house in a blighted neighborhood. I probably wouldn’t have thought much about showing that property on my own either. After all, there are residents all over the place, right? Well, turns out, NO. So let’s keep going. This Milwaukee real estate professional gets to this routine showing of a two-bedroom apartment and he meets a young woman who is allegedly a prospective tenant and he goes inside where he is PROMPTLY AMBUSHED by two masked gunman, one of whom was hiding in the bathroom. They whacked him over the head with their guns, stole his wallet, iPhone, and wedding ring, and then, fortunately, fled the scene instead of killing him. And they’re still at large, and now they know just how easy this is to pull off. So what went wrong, and how can you protect yourself from a threat that is likely to be replicated over and over again in our industry? Well, the investor himself said that if he’d checked the property out before entering, he’d have realized that it wasn’t secure. After all, the gunmen had to break in to set up the ambush. If he’d checked the locks on the doors before entering, he’d have realized something was amiss. This is even more important when you’re showing a home, since there are more entry points than in an apartment. Broken windows, jimmied locks, and unlocked, open doors or windows are all signs that someone might be inside, and you should proceed with caution. Want to get more information on this and other related real estate crimes? Well, be sure to sign up for our REI Today Scam Alert List to make sure you don’t miss anything that represents a threat to your physical or financial safety. Go to www.rei.today/scamalert to join. And remember, we’ve got lots of safety-oriented information in the REI Today Vault as well, so you can text REI Today to 33444 to make sure you’re on the list for our reports and analyses, breaking news, great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. I particularly recommend you check out the interview I did recently with a real estate expert who still “door knocks” (to great effect, I might add) to find deals. He addressed how his family handles the safety issue associated with that practice in a vault item titled “Bill Twyfords UNCUT Interview.” And remember, when you join us, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Is Donald Trump’s presidential bid about to force a HUGE REAL ESTATE SELL-OFF in the Big Apple? He’s going to have to come up with some MAJOR MONEY SOMEWHERE. I’m Carole Ellis. I’ll tell you where the Donald’s BIGGEST FUNDRAISING CHECK might come from today, in episode 58. --- So does Donald Trump’s presuumptive nomination to the republican party’s presidential real estate ticket mean that a HUGE real estate sell-off could be coming in New York City? Let’s just say the money’s gotta come from somewhere, and the GOP isn’t coughing up yet… Before we get into why Trump might be forced into selling HIS MEGA-MANSIONS and ultra-high-end apartment and condo developments, however, let’s talk a little bit about how you could start investing, TRUMP-STYLE, as it were, for a much, much smaller original outlay than the Trump Towers require. It turns out that investing in multifamily real estate (specifically, in HUGE apartment buildings) isn’t as complicated as most people think it is. In fact, with a little guidance, it can be DOWNRIGHT SIMPLE. You may have heard me mention my friend Sue Nelson before. Sue is a former art teacher whose FIRST COMMERCIAL DEAL was a 104-unit apartment complex, she now owns more than 2,000 units and has flipped multifamily buildings for six-digit profits COUNTLESS TIMES, and her motto is “If I can do it, ANYONE can!” Oh, and she backs that up in a major way you’ve got to get a look at, by the way. This opportunity is IMPORTANT (look how it’s benefiting Donald Trump to own major multifamily real estate if you doubt me), so you MUST take a few minutes to check out Sue’s free, highly-detailed training at http://www.rei.today/IMPORTANT right now. You’ll be incredibly glad you did. Now, let’s get back to a clear demonstration of what it can mean to own serious square footage in multifamily real estate… So, with Ted Cruz bowing out of the republican race for president, that leaves Donald Trump as the presumptive republican nominee, although as you’re probably aware he’s a little bit less presumptive than some thanks to some wiggling and conniving going on in the background from the “Never Trump” crowd that has a large following in the GOP. But let’s go ahead and face it: You’re probably choosing between Clinton and Trump this fall. HOWEVER, Trump has a serious problem now. One of his main appeals is that he doesn’t take money from SuperPACs, lobbyists, or even his own party! He’s made it very clear he’s self-funding this presidential run and that he’ll answer to NO ONE but the American people (and himself) once he lands in office. However, there’s a bit of a problem. He’s likely to have to self-fund himself to the tune of about a BILLION DOLLARS, the largest amount by far spent by candidates in any presidential campaign yet. By comparison, Mitt Romney spent $100 million LESS in 2012 on his failed bid, and he had GOP support to raise it. So what’s the big deal? You may be wondering. After all, Trump claims to be worth $10 BILLION, so that’s definitely a hefty chunk but surely it’s doable. Nevermind, for the moment, that Forbes says he’s worth more like $3 billion. Even assuming that $10 billion estimate is accurate, it’s unlikely that Trump can just write himself a check for that amount. He’s made no secret of the fact that most of his worth is tied up in real estate, and that could mean one of two things if he ends up needed to self-fund instead of fundraise in order to give Hilary Clinton a run for her money (by the way, she’s already raised $186 million and is backed to the hilt by well-funded political action committees (PACs) – no question about Hilary answering to no one if she takes office, that’s for sure. She’s going to be answering to just about everyone. Okay, back off the soap box and back onto the real estate sale Trump trail. Anyway, so far, Trump has spent about $47 million on his campaign because he’s a publicity MACHINE and gets free PR in the form of free TV and Radio AIRTIME just about everywhere. However, he is going to need some support in the next six months, and campaign analysts predict that he’s going to have to fund it largely by himself because he’s made such a big deal about how wealthy he is. One campaign consultant, who insisted on remaining anonymous, predicted that Trump will end up selling off properties to fund longer-term needs and taking out a massive number of loans for the short-term. “He’s perceived as immensely wealthy,” the guy warned, adding that it will probably be a problem when it comes to fundraising because people will not accept the idea that Trump actually needs their money. So what could Trump borrow against or sell? Well, he’s got about $2.1 billion worth of New York City properties, and about $366 million worth of golf clubs around the world. If he was really in a pinch, Forbes Magazine estimates that he could get $630 million for Trump Tower in New York if he sold fast, and about $113 million for Trump National Golf Club in LA under similar circumstances. What’s Trump got to say about it? “I do love self-funding,” he said recently on MSNBC, but he added, “We do need money for the party.” I’ve got to say, I’m curious. Surely Trump wouldn’t get this far, then let the nomination be essentially wasted because he can’t compete with Hilary’s well-oiled money-printing political machine. But would he really sell off a marquee property like Trump Tower to make his presidency happen? I have to say, if he does I’m going to have a hard time not cheering for him! But if he goes the traditional campaign fundraising route, he loses so much of his independent appeal. My prediction (and we’ll check back on this so keep listening) is that he’ll take out loans on top of loans, assuming he’ll be able to pay them off or leverage them in some meaningful way farther down the road. But that takes us into another issue: his stance on debt. And that’s a topic for another day. In the interim, take a quick gander at our Trump Timeline in the REI Today Vault at www.rei.today/vault. It will give you a really good idea of how the guy has grown his family and his business in a unique way, because we used all public info but it is not usually put together in the same place quite like this. If you’re not yet a member, don’t worry! text REITODAY no spaces, no periods to 33444 and I’ll immediately send you the information you need to get that access to the Trump Timeline and ALSO provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How would you like to get a 23 PERCENT DISCOUNT on your next deal? I’m Carole Ellis. I’ll tell you how today, in Episode  . How does a 23 percent DISCOUNT on your next deal sound to you? Think you could manage to make a little extra profit with that kind of wiggle room? Some exciting new data from RealtyTrac shows clearly how to do it, and we’ll talk all about it in today’s episode. First, however, I want to mention another great way to get deals (and, by the way, a great deal for you) if you live in the Birmingham, Alabama or Miami, Florida areas. On May 10 in Birmingham and on May 16 in Miami, Auction.com is hosting a LIVE SEMINAR on how to use their website and other investor-specific concierge services to get fantastic deals on properties. The May 16 event is particularly exciting, I think, because Rick Sharga, a former senior VP at RealtyTrac and current executive vice president at Auction.com (which, by the way, is now calling itself Ten-X) will be the featured speaker at the event. If you are going to be in either of those areas, check out all the information at www.rei.today/auction and, by the way, when you register mention that you heard about it here and you’ll get in for free. And you better tell me all about it when you’re done, because I’m hoping to get down to Miami myself but I just broke my foot which is going to make traveling hard…We’ll see what happens. Anyway, now that you know how to gain access to the biggest online real estate auction around on a personal level, let’s get back to that 23 percent discount. Here’s how it works: You pay cash. Now before you throw up your hands and say “I don’t have enough money to pay cash at closing for a house!” wait a second. “Paying cash” doesn’t always mean you show up with a suitcase full of gold coins or hundred-dollar bills. Here’s the definition provided by Investopedia on the topic: “An all-cash deal is the transfer of a real estate property without financing or mortgages. The buyer produces the appropriate funds at the time of closing and the seller receives the entire selling price at closing.” In terms of your real estate deals, what this essentially means is that your offer will become significantly more attractive if you can tell the seller up front that you have access to the cash you need to buy the property and are not going to be waiting on, say, Bank of America, for your 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. Sellers will give major discounts (as you can see) for fast closings (not an option with conventional financing) that they can count on (also not an option with conventional financing), and you can take advantage of that even if you don’t have a couple hundred thousand dollars squirreled away in your mattress or buried in the basement. In Here’s how: Many real estate investors opt to use their retirement accounts to fund their deals, which means that they can pay up front for their purchases and access the advantages that hedge funds and other huge investment powerhouses have over most buyers. You will need a self-directed account to do this, though, so if you don’t have one, talk to an expert (oh, and start listening to SDI Radio on iTunes) about how to make this happen. You probably have a LOT of investment money you didn’t know about just waiting to be leveraged if you’ve worked outside the home at some point in your past. Second, you can access unconventional financing. If you work with a private lender who has already committed to loan you the money for a short-term investment (say, perhaps, that you are planning to wholesale the deal) then you can offer very similar terms to a seller that an all-cash buyer can offer because you can close quickly and you know that you’ll get your financing. Private and hard money loans are a great way to be competitive in this market, but be sure you’ve run your numbers carefully as they come with the price of higher interest rates! Finally, many real estate investors simply build lists of cash buyers to whom they can wholesale their deals, then get to work finding deals to those cash buyers’ specifications. While you may not be buying the deal yourself, you’ll get a cut of the profits and you can probably leverage your cash buyers to make the deal more attractive. That being said, it’s very important to be clear with sellers about what you are doing. Don’t lie! If it’s not YOUR cash, don’t say it is! Just establish the terms of the deal and get that sucker under contract so you can get to work solving EVERYONE’S problems. Of course, in some markets, that 23-percent discount is actually much, much bigger. Check out our list of markets where the discounts are 40 percent OR MORE in the REI Today Vault at www.rei.today/vault. Not yet a member? No worries! text REITODAY no spaces, no periods to 33444 and I’ll immediately send you the information you need to get that access and ALSO provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable. And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Imagine if there was a certain combination of words that you could say to a complete stranger that would frequently result in you AND THAT STRANGER receiving thousands of real estate dollars that had been MISAPPROPRIATED by the government in about 76 days. I’m betting you’d crack out that pencil and paper to write them down. I’ll tell you that combination of words today. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 56. So how about it? Are you ready for some “magic” words? And how does that word, “misappropriated” come in? Who’s the government “stealing” from now? I’ve got the answers in today’s podcast, and I’m warning you, it’s going to make you squirm a little when you find out what your local government has been up to under your very nose. It’s not pretty, but the good news is that you can right this wrong (Oh, and you can build a nice little business out of doing so while you’re at it). So let’s get down to business. Here’s what’s going on. Every time a local government has a FORECLOSURE AUCTION to sell off homes that are in foreclosure due to NONPAYMENT of property taxes, there is an EGREGIOUS wrong being done to the foreclosed homeowners. We talked to real estate attorney and investor Bob Diamond, who has been active in this space for more than 10 years, about what’s happening. He explained that when a homeowner goes into tax foreclosure, they owe, on average, three to four years of property taxes. At most, he said, that’s about $25,000 including fees and penalties. However, most homes sell at tax foreclosure auctions for 70 percent of market value, and that means that they’re selling, on average, for about $130,000. Do you see the discrepancy? Just in case you hate math like me, I’m going to spell it out: Once that $25,000 owed to the government is taken out, there’s another $105,000 (again, these are averages, but you see the point) left over that SHOULD go to the former homeowner – in fact, it legally belongs to them, no question about it, it’s in the law in black and white – but instead, that money goes into a government SLUSH FUND where the government can use the interest that it’s earning (and sometimes they even get into the money itself) for whatever, well, the government wants. Does that sound right to you? Think about it. These homeowners have just gone through what most people agree is THE WORST EXPERIENCE an individual can have when it comes to homeownership, and many people say packing up their families and moving out of a foreclosed home is the hardest thing they’ve ever done. Now, they SHOULD be getting access to funds that could really help them out in this awful situation, but instead, they’re getting thrown out of their houses and the money is nowhere in sight. That’s where you and your “magic word combination” come in, by the way. This is what Bob does (remember, he’s a lawyer and a massively experienced investor) and you can do it too. Here it is in his own words: “These people are HAPPY to hear from me. Think about it. What would you say if I called you and said (here it is, folks): “Hey, you’re owed $34,000 from the government. I’d like to work with you to extract that money, I’ll do the word, would you like to do this with me?” Do you think that these people care whether you live in their state or whether they know you? This a business done perfectly by telephone, by fax, by email, by US Postal Service. Remember, every county in America holds one of these tax sales at least once a year, so the pool is HUGE. And you could be the best news these people have had since their foreclosure!” So now that you have the magic words, you’re probably wondering where the 76 days comes in, am I right? Well, Bob tells me that on average, it takes 76 days from the time that he identifies money owed and contacts the former homeowner to the point where the homeowner has their money and Bob has a nice, healthy finders fee in hand. And those finders fees are not small, ladies and gentlemen. Here are just a few examples from real, live deals that Bob and his students have done: Excess funds of $127,758.49. Finder’s fee: $44,715.47. Excess funds of $134,247.89. Finder’s fee: $46,986.76. And here’s a “smaller” one for perspective: Excess funds of $41,515.88. Finders fee of “only” $14,530.56. Do you see how you could turn your Robin Hood nature loose, taking from the greedy government and giving back to needy homeowners, and still make a good, good living at the same time? And here’s the thing, folks, because I know some of you out there are thinking it right now: you deserve that finder’s fee. You have a skill that unfortunately most foreclosed homeowners don’t have (if they do, then they’ve already got their money anyway!) and you’re doing work to get that money for that abused homeowner! Sure, it would great to do it for free. Do you have enough income or money saved to quit your job and start doing it that way? Well, if you do, that’s fantastic, but if you don’t, think about all the people who will NEVER know about this life-changing access to funds they actually OWN if you opt to not improve your own life and theirs in the process. And think about this: Your loving, caring, government is BANKING on you deciding not to take action. That way, they can keep their slush fund. If you do the work, you deserve the fee, and Bob tells me that in his experience, homeowners are OVERJOYED to hear that they have a huge check waiting for them, not quibbling with him over paying for highly valuable services. Anyway, now that we’ve dealt with that, let’s talk about how you can start making this happen. Basically, there are a few simple steps you have to take to start finding out where these funds (and the associated foreclosure victims) are located. Bob goes through this process IN DETAIL in a special training that our publisher, Bryan Ellis, is hosting. It’s free, but space is limited and let me tell you, people love this stuff, so you need to act quickly to make sure you get in while there is still room. Go to www.rei.today/amazing RIGHT NOW to reserve your spot. That’s www.rei.today/amazing. And while you’re at it, text REITODAY, no spaces, no periods, to 33444. That way you’ll always be in the loop for the latest and most important breaking real estate news coverage, exclusive training, and the best networking available in your area. That REITODAY no spaces, no periods to 33444. And folks, remember, when you joins us at REI TODAY, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me, my guests, and your fellow listeners to REI Today (heck, maybe we’ll even get Bob in the mix)… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 after you head over to www.rei.today/amazing right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

If I offered you your choice of two properties: a $1,000 vacant parcel of land and a $100,000 house, which would you choose? If you’re like most people, you’d snap up the house. And you’d be making a BIG MISTAKE. I’ll tell you why in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 55. --- If someone told you that you’d be crazy not to take a $1000 parcel of vacant land over a $100,000 house, you’d probably turn right around and tell them they’re nuts. However, my guest today has spent the last 20 years doing just that, and let’s just say his business, his investment success, and frankly his LIFESTYLE indicate that he’s not crazy at all. I’ll tell you all about it in today’s episode, but first I want to take just a minute to talk about something that IS crazy: making BAD DECISIONS when you know they’re bad just because your EMOTIONS say you want them to be good. Did you know that’s how more than 90 percent of all real estate scams happen? The victims KNOW they’re doing something inadvisable, but they DO IT ANYWAY. And how do they know that? Because there are red flags that indicate you’re dealing with a con artist from a mile away,  but every day thousands of people choose their emotional inclination to ignore these flags over their intellectual knowledge that they’re about to get conned. You can get a free report about these red flags from REI Today by going to www.rei.today/scamalert (one word) right now. Don’t let your emotions make you crazy – at least not where your real estate is concerned! Now, let’s get back to something that LOOKS crazy on the face of it, but actually is some of the best real estate investing strategy I’ve ever seen. First, let me tell you a bit about today’s guest. His name is Jack Bosch, and Jack came to the United States in 1997 with no money, tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt, and ZERO knowledge of the U.S. real estate system. “It was actually a blessing to know absolutely nothing about how things worked,” he told me, “because it enabled me to see much more clearly than other investors that the number one type of real estate that people have out there tends to be a fairly inexpensive piece of land, usually worth less than $80,000.” He added that most are actually worth $10,000 to $30,000, and that’s “the sweet spot,” he noted. More on that later. Anyway, these parcels of land tend to be something of a drag for their owners. You owe property taxes on them, you can’t really use them for anything, and often the reason the person bought the land in the first place (usually, Jack said, it’s a result of retirement planning when finances are good and they go ahead and buy DEVELOPED LAND that is ready to build, thinking they’ll build in the future) anyway, often the reason that they bought the land in the first place is no longer valid. They’ve since divorced, or their retirement goals have changed, or their finances have changed, the list goes on and one. So Jack gets here in 1997, takes a look around at a completely foreign real estate system, and sees all this vacant land out there that literally nobody who knows about it wants. And he quickly realized he could buy that land often for prices as low as 5 cents on the dollar because the owners just want it off their hands. “Think about it,” he said. “If you buy a $30,000 piece of property for $5,000, it’s a pretty safe bet that you are going to make money on that deal. In fact, my first deal, I bought an $8,000 property for $400 cash, no mortgage, and I sold it to the neighbor for $4,000 the second I put a sign in the yard.” As you can imagine, after that Jack was hooked. “Why would I go to auctions or into markets where there is a bunch of competition when I can just send letters to a certain subset of landowners and they’ll be thrilled for me to take their property off their hands?” he asked, noting that these are “perfectly find properties, beautiful pieces of land” that someone else will be thrilled to get from him at a deep discount, it’s just that the current owners no longer have a need for them. Jack’s second deal was a 40-acre parcel that he bought for $500 and sold for $10,000. At that point, he says, “This seemed to be a pattern, so I decided to do it again.” Even more interesting, Jack doesn’t ever mess with houses, because he’s figured out a way to actually generate some serious passive income from vacant land in a way that is possible – but more complicated – with developed properties. You can find out all about that strategy (it’s simple and quite frankly, brilliant) by reading the entire interview transcript which is waiting for you in the REI Today Vault over at www.rei.today/vault. Not yet a member? You know I’ve got you covered! Just text REITODAY no spaces, no periods, to 33444 and I’ll send you all the information you need to access the vault immediately. And if you happen to live in the Atlanta area, then I’ve got really great news for you! Jack is presenting the KEYNOTE ADDRESS at this month’s GaREIA general meeting on May 9. Doors open at 5:30 at the Wyndam Atlanta Galleria at 6345 Powers Ferry Road. This is the BEST MEETING YET to attend, because we have some really exciting changes in the works, so be sure to get there right at 5:30 so you can participate in a new networking event (and possibly win $50 from Home Depot, by the way), hear all of our faculty-focused educational sessions, and catch Jack’s entire presentation in person! If you’re not in Atlanta (and you can’t get here) don’t feel badly, though. You’ll have a chance to hear more from Jack in the very near future, so text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or visit us online at www.rei.today/vault to make sure you’re signed up for those updates and read that interview. I’m telling you, it’s good. And folks, remember, when you joins us at REI TODAY, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now. REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this: Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Can you believe it? Americans are throwing away $6.2 billionWEEKLY in real estate by skipping over this simple, massiveprofit-generating action. I’ll tell you what it is in today’sepisode. I’m Carole Ellis, and this is Episode 53.----So wouldn’t you like a share of the $6.2 billion that isapparently getting WASTED weekly by Americans making a “bad” realestate decision? I know I’m pretty interested. We’re going to getinto the details on this exciting topic in just a second, butbefore we do, I want to mention another “billion-dollar industry”that most Americans think is completely out of their reach butthat, in reality, is extremely straightforward and WILDLYprofitable when done correctly. I’m talking about something big,literally – owning and/or FLIPPING apartment complexes. You canlearn all about this important and highly underutilized (that meansless competition, guys) investing strategy by going right now towww.rei.today/IMPORTANTfor a free training that will give you ALL the details you need.Don’t miss it! If that BILLION number got your attention, then youneed to access this information right away.But now, let’s get back to the BILLIONS you’re apparentlyparticipating in wasting these days…And no, it’s not a governmentrant. Not today, anyway…So here’s the scoop:According to the website Finder.com, which is dedicated tohelping people quote, “find what they’re looking for” whether it’smoney, rewards points, or my favorite, education, there are 9.4percent more bedrooms in the United States than there are people tosleep in those bedrooms, which means that there are 33.6 millionspare rooms (if not more, since most couples sleep in the sameroom) in the U.S. According to Finder’s CEO, Fred Schebesta, thoserooms could be being used as short-term rentals via AirBnB or otherrental services, and that could mean nearly $10,000 a year, perbedroom, to the owners of those homes. Schebesta himself said thathe earned about $184 a week using similar services and that hefound that earning more money was far better than quote “cuttingspending out.” He added, I’ve met some very interesting people overthe years.So what do you stand to gain from renting out your spare bedroomin your particular location? Well, it depends a lot on where youlive. For example, Phoenix residents can get about $338 a week(more than $17,000 a year) and Nashville residents can snag about$572 a week (nearly $30,000 a year!) However, other locations thatmay be more rural or that have major seasonal issues (extreme heat,cold, or rain, for example) may be worth less to homeowners inthese areas.Of course, a lot of people don’t want to rent their sparebedroom out to strangers – in fact, a lot of people like keepingthat room SPARE for a reason and don’t really like hostingovernight guests at all! But just because you don’t want people inyour OWN home doesn’t mean you can’t take advantage of the newshort-term rental trend. A number of investors are actually makingextremely solid livings these days renting out space via AirBnB orVRBO (Vacation Rental By Owner) in their investment properties, andif you own property in a desirable location (like Nashville, forexample, or a popular vacation destination) you can actuallygenerate far more income using short-term rental strategies thanyou can renting out to a single tenant over the long-term. Want tolearn more? Check out our latest exclusive REI Today Guide“Short-Term Rental Strategies for 2016” in the REI Today Vault byvisiting www.rei.today/vault rightnow! Not yet a member? No worries! When you text REITODAY nospaces, no periods to 33444 and I’ll immediately send you theinformation you need to get that report right away and ALSO provideyou with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings,news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information thatwill help make your investing safer, faster, and moreprofitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOURNETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REIToday… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network withother investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces noperiods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault rightnow.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always rememberthis:Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What would you say if I told you that you could make a huge,life-changing impact on the financial well-being of FORECLOSUREABUSE VICTIMS all while building a lasting, viable business modelfor yourself? Oh, and also while EXPOSING GOVERNMENT WASTE ANDFRAUD in the process? If you’re like most of my savvy, passionatelisteners, you’d say “Tell me more!” Well I’ll tell you all thedetails right now. I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 54.Let’s jump right in, because I just LOVE this story (and it’s atrue one, which makes it even better). There’s a guy living in theMidwest, we’ll call him “Joel,” and you’ll see in a second why wearen’t using his real name. Anyway, there’s this guy up in theMidwest and a few years ago, he hit some hard times. You know, thekind of times where you have to decide which bills to pay and whichones to let slide and Joel, well, he decided to keep his lights onand feed his family at the expense of his property tax bill. And,as these things go, that property tax bill mounted up but Joelstill was working hard, feeding his family, keeping the lights on,but he just couldn’t catch those taxes up until one day, three orfour YEARS after that first delinquency, Joel’s house wasforeclosed by the local government and he had to move out so itcould be sold at auction. Now you know why we’re calling him “Joel”instead of his real name: not everyone likes it when they have torelive a tough experience like the loss of a home throughforeclosure over and over again years after the fact!So you might think that was the end of the story, and in fact,Joel did. He packed up his family and moved into a rental andstarted trying to make a living as a WELDER, but although he was agreat welder, he wasn’t certified, and that severely limited theamount of money he could charge for his services and the number ofjobs he could get. He was in a kind of vicious cycle that it seemedlike he might never get out of until…(and this is where the storygets good for Joel AND a certain real estate investor named Bob,his real name, and I’ll tell you more about him in a minute)Anyway, until BOB called Joel up with some fantastic,seemed-too-good-to-be-true-but-it-was-true news: the citygovernment that had foreclosed on Joel YEARS ago and sold his homeat auction had actually sold that home for way, way more than Joelowed in taxes and that money, called an OVERAGE, by the way, hadbeen sitting in a government SLUSH FUND where it would have stayedFOREVER if Bob hadn’t spotted it. And now, Bob was prepared to sendJoel a $12,000 check in the mail!Now, before we get back to that check and exactly what it meantfor Joel, let’s take a minute to talk about real estate investorBob. Bob’s not just a real estate investor, he’s also a real estateattorney. And he’s been using this OVERAGE SYSTEM to right thewrongs done to foreclosure victims EVERY TIME THERE IS A TAX SALEanywhere in the country – and he’s also managed to build a reallynice business out of the process as well. Bob has a proven,well-oiled-machine of a system for identifying OVERAGES and findingthe individuals who are owed, and do you think that they’re HAPPYto pay Bob a finder’s fee for that service? Well, I’ll get back toJoel’s story and then let you tell me.So anyway, Bob called up Joel and told him that he had $12,000to send him, and Joel went through the roof with joy. “He actuallyoffered to drive to my office, which was several states away, topick up the check,” Bob told me, adding that he Fed-Exed it so itwould get there overnight. What did Joel do with the money? Well,he got certified as a welder. Specifically, he got an MIG weldingcertification, which is a certification that basically any welderwho wants to work in manufacturing or in a fabrication shop has tohave. It’s not cheap to get, but it meant, Joel told Bob, that hewould be able to make $68 an hour and probably fantastic overtimeon top of that. As you can imagine, that was pretty life-changing,and it sure means Joel is unlikely to ever lose another house to atax sale!And what did Bob get out of it from a monetary standpoint?(Because, admit it, there’s nothing wrong with wondering, andunless you’re a trustfund baby you probably can’t be a full-timephilanthropist starting today). Anyway, Bob got a finder’s fee. Inthis case, it was a few thousand dollars because, get this, a$12,000 check “isn’t really that big” when you’re talking aboutoverages. A better example might be the amount that Bob made whenhe was able to send a $63,437.25 check to a guy named Robert (hisreal name, by the way). That sucker not only changed Robert’sfinancial situation IMMEDIATELY, but it netted Bob just over$19,000 in finders fees as well. And folks, don’t you think thatmost foreclosure victims are DELIGHTED to pay those fees since Bobknew how to find that money and get it (trust me, the governmentdoesn’t exactly make it easy because they don’t want those abusedhomeowners to have those funds)? Of course they were! In manycases, it’s the best news they’ve had SINCE THE FORECLOSURE.And you don’t just have to believe me, either. You can get allthe details on how this works, how YOU can do it, and how you canBUILD A HIGHLY PROFITABLE BUSINESS literally playing Robin Hoodtaking from the greedy government and giving back to the poorhomeowners who have been victimized by that government by goingright now to www.rei.today/amazingto get all the details. Our publisher, Bryan Ellis, will be hostinga free training event that exposes all the government corruptionbehind the overage system, how you can play a major, meaningfulrole in righting these wrongs, and how to build a business thatliterally grows off the good that you are doing, this week. It’sfree, but space is limited, to head over right now towww.rei.today/amazingfor all the details. And if you want to see a few of the checksthat Bob has gotten for his role in the Robin Hood process (andremember when you do, FIVE FIGURE SUCKERS ARE A FRACTION of whatthe homeowner got), check them out in the REI Today Vault! Not yeta member? I’ve got you covered! text REITODAY no spaces, no periodsto 33444 and I’ll immediately send you the information you need toget that access and ALSO provide you with fast, immediate access toall sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lotmore timely information that will help make your investing safer,faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOURNETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REIToday… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network withother investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces noperiods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault rightnow.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always rememberthis:Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Donald Trump is at it again (did he really ever stop?), makinghuge headlines for saying wildly unpopular things that, let’s faceit, a lot of us fear might be true. These days, Trump is tellingsome hard truths about housing, and if he’s right the federalgovernment could be setting up investors for PURE DISASTER. I’mCarole Ellis, and I’ll tell you all about how Trump is threateninghousing today, in Episode 52.So Donald Trump isn’t known for his discretion or respect forthe tender feelings of others, and he’s back at it again (and notjust by finally routing his main competition, Ted Cruz, right outof the race), riling up the federal government elite, making somenasty housing observations – and accusations – against the FederalReserve and the entire federal government. I’ll tell you all aboutwhat the Donald said in just a minute, but since we’re talkingabout Trump I want to mention a really interesting resource we’vegot in the REI Today Vault right now. It’s a timeline that we builtusing a LOT of public information that is dispersed ALL OVER theinternet, but that you don’t usually see all in one place. It putsthe Donald’s professional and personal life in unique perspective,and it also sheds light on something that might be, well, a littlemisleading that he’s been saying about a certain real estaterelated lawsuit he’s involved in. You can get the details on theLAWSUIT in episode 41 (that’s www.rei.today/41), and youcan view our “Truth About Trump Timeline” in the REI Today Vault atwww.rei.today/vault or bytexting REITODAY no spaces, no periods, to 33444 for access. It’sstartling information, and it changed the way I thought about theguy. Check it out, because it could affect your vote!Now, back to Trump’s latest (and, in my opinion, one of thegreatest) things he’s up to. Here are the details:Trump has made no secret of the fact that he thinks that hecould do a far, far better job of running, well, just  abouteverything in the United States than the individuals currently inthe driver’s seat. One area in which he hasn’t been so critical,however, has been interestingly enough, the Federal Reserve. Trumprecently actually said that in his opinion, Janet Yellen, thecurrent chair, has done a “serviceable” job in her position, butthat doesn’t mean she wouldn’t get the old “You’re fired” if hetakes office next year as president of the United States. In arecent interview with Fortune magazine, Trump said that hethinks the Fed has done the right thing in keeping interest rateslow, despite the fact that many analysts fear that this is creatinga fully artificial market recovery. However, said Trump, the mainreason Yellen has made this good move is for a bad reason – to helpkeep the current president looking good until he leaves office. Ina separate interview also with Fortune, Trump explainedexactly why he would let Yellen go. “She’s highly political,” hesaid, adding, “Obama told her not to because he wants to be outplaying golf in a year from now…and he doesn’t want to see a bigbubble burst during his administration.” The implication is thatonce our current president is out of office, Yellen would likelyraise rates and create what Trump has called a “scary situation”for the U.S. economy. As is his way, Trump promised that not onlywould he get “other people” into place in Fed leadership, but thathe would also do other, unspecified but, he assured readers, “goodthings” that would help the U.S. economy.Whether you love him or hate him, it’s looking more and morelikely that Donald Trump will snag the republican nomination forpresident unless something unprecedented happens very soon. REIToday wants you to have all the information about the guy that youneed to make a decision, so please check out our Trump Timeline (Imentioned it earlier) to get a different view of his history andthe high-profile, extremely controversial real estate educationlawsuit in which he’s currently embroiled. You can accessinformation about that lawsuit at www.rei.today/41, and checkout the timeline in the REI Today Vault at www.rei.today/vault. Notyet a member? I’ve got you covered! text REITODAY no spaces, noperiods to 33444 and I’ll immediately send you the information youneed to get that access and ALSO provide you with fast, immediateaccess to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews,and lot more timely information that will help make your investingsafer, faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOURNETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REIToday… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network withother investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces noperiods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault rightnow.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always rememberthis:Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It’s disgusting. Governing bodies all over the country areHIDING  MONEY OWED TO FORECLOSURE VICTIMS, and one governmentofficial even admitted it! Find out whether YOU’RE OWED MONEY andhow to help the victims (and yourself) today. I’m Carole Ellis.This is episode 51.I find this shocking, but hardly surprising. REI Today has firm,clear, indisputable evidence that government bodies all over thiscountry are HIDING MONEY owed to foreclosure victims, and they’renot even particularly ashamed of themselves! I’ll tell you all thedetails today, including how one government official actually gotextremely defensive over those funds confronted about them. But youdon’t have to just believe me about this. A colleague of mine namedBob Diamond is an expert in this stuff. He’s a real estate attorneyand an extremely active real estate investor, and he has made acareer out of “Robin Hood Investing” wherein he EXPOSES exactlywhere this foreclosure money is hidden and helps the unknowingvictims reclaim their cash.When I talked to Bob about this issue, at first I found itpretty hard to believe that there could actually be hundreds ofthousands if not millions of dollars of money sitting in governmentcoffers waiting for foreclosure victims to claim it. After all,didn’t we create an entirely new set of laws and multiple newfederal agencies to protect consumers and homeowners from this typeof abuse? Well, yes we did (think Consumer Financial ProtectionBureau and Dodd-Frank, folks) but let’s just say they’re not reallyvery interested in righting this particular wrong. Here’s why:Bob says that the key to the entire rotten process lies inforeclosure auctions, specifically foreclosures over propertytaxes. “When someone loses their home to tax foreclosure, theyusually haven’t paid their property taxes in three or four years,”he explained, adding that usually this amounts to, at most, about$25,000 including fees and penalties. However, the properties intax sales usually sell for about 70 percent of market value.National median home price is about $186,000, so that means that atypical home would likely sell at tax auction for $130,340.Subtract that $25,000, and you can see there is more than $100,000left over, and by right – by legal right, this is not hypotheticalin any way – that leftover money belongs to the former homeowner.However, and here’s the catch, the former homeowner must KNOW THEMONEY IS THERE and go through the proper channels to ASK FOR IT.Probably 99 percent of people (maybe even more) who lose theirhomes to tax sale have no idea what their home sells for or thatany leftover money is there. Think about it: if you had just lostyour home to foreclosure, would you attend the auction to watch itgo? Probably not. And you, like the vast majority of homeowners,would therefore have no idea that the government had collected way,way waaaay more money on your home than you owed saidgovernment.“I’ve been going to real estate tax auctions since 1989,” saidBob, “and I’ve only seen one former owner at a tax sale.”“It’s really sad,” he added. “They lost their home, and now theylost all their cash as well.” But in reality, the government keepsthe money forever if it is not claimed through the proper channels.“The governments wants you to lose that money and wants to keepit,” Bob explained. He added that many government officials areeven defensive of those funds, and that one once explained in aninterview when asked about the 95 percent (that’s right ladies andgentlemen, 95 PERCENT) of the foreclosure funds that go unclaimed,quote, “That’s our SLUSH FUND. You can’t take that away!” But intruth, it’s legalized theft. That money belongs to the formerowners, not the government, and the entire system is rigged so thatforeclosure victims have no idea WHO to ask for it, WHAT exactly toask for, or HOW to go about it.And that’s where Bob comes in, and where you as an investor OR aforeclosure victim need to come in too. Ladies and gentlemen, Bobdid an entire training with our publisher, Bryan Ellis, on thistopic, and he explained in detail exactly how it works, what youcan do about it, and how to go about not only righting thisegregious wrong and helping foreclosed homeowners but also make agood, solid, meaningful living at the same time that you can bevery, very proud of. The training is free, but space is very, verylimited so please do not delay. Head right over to www.rei.today/amazingto register for this free training. That’s www.rei.today/amazing,and when you’re done, be sure to check out images of just some ofthe checks that foreclosure victims have received as a directresult of Bob’s exposure of this legal (but I say it’s criminal)government habit of hiding money from people at one of the worsttimes in their entire life. You can see these images in the REIToday Vault right now by going to www.rei.today/vault. Notyet a member? No worries! Just text REITODAY no spaces, no periodsto 33444 and I’ll immediately send you the information you need toget that access and ALSO provide you with fast, immediate access toall sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lotmore timely information that will help make your investing safer,faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOURNETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REIToday… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network withother investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces noperiods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault rightnow.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always rememberthis:Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Wouldn’t you like to know about an URBAN EYESORE that used tosend buyers running AWAY but now can bring them running to theclosing table? Even better, most investors will AUTOMATICALLY PASSon this “great” location. I’m Carole Ellis. I’ve got all thedetails today in episode 50.So wouldn’t you want to know about a location that could lurehomebuyers in droves, persuade them to pay triple the U.S. medianhome sales price in some areas, and was basically an “open-airsecret” from most investors? Of course you would, which is why I’mhere. I’ll tell you all about it, but first I want to make youaware of a BIG CHANGE that is going to affect the way a lot of youfind your deals. It has to do with AUCTION.COM, and let’s just sayif you don’t have all the information, you might think that thisonline real estate platform has GONE AWAY. The truth, however, ismuch bigger and more exciting (if you know how to take advantage ofthis MAJOR CHANGE), and you can get all the details in our News& Networking section at www.rei.today/auction.And, maybe even better if you happen to live in the Birmingham,Alabama area, on May 10 or near Miami, Florida, on May 16, thecompany’s experts are hosting a live, in-person seminar on just howto use their new, MASSIVE system. Get all the information atwww.rei.today/auctionand, just for REI Today listeners, you can register for that liveevent for FREE if you mention this show!Now, back to the urban eyesore today’s homebuyers LOVE…You know that in real estate, the old saying goes, “Location,location, location.” Historically, conventional wisdom has dictatedthat certain locations are particularly attractive – you know,lakefront, beachfront, exclusive communities, etc – and thatcertain locations are, well, less than attractive, such as homesnear airports, train tracks, and freeways, which tend to have noisepollution in spades and often be less than ideally pleasing to theeye as well. However, two of those three locations are gettingtrendier all the time, and it’s not just in cities where the realestate prices in prime locations are too astronomical for theaverage American to afford. Homes near highways and train tracks,once considered last-ditch options that would certainly be farcheaper than anything comparable elsewhere, are now pulling inrespectable sales prices all over the country because of the urbanaccess that they usually represent.This trend of building lots of highly desirable houses in areasthat didn’t used to be so geographically desirable is called“in-fill” and it can give a real estate investor a huge advantageif he or she is, well, in the know. In-fill is defined as theprocess wherein developers buy land in a traditionally unattractiveareas – trash-filled lots, older buildings adjacent to train tracksor highways, factories, bowling alleys, or other buildings thathistorically would be in those locations because the noise didn’tmatter so much, and tear them down to make way for mixed-use oreven just residential housing. These areas usually are within primewalking distance of shops, restaurants, and other conveniencesalready, in addition to having great public transit access ofcourse, and that makes them highly attractive to young, well-paidprofessionals who value location and walkability or bikeability farmore than they mind the dull roar in the background of theirlives.So how can you leverage your knowledge of infill to youradvantage as a real estate investor? Well, for starters, probablythe biggest advantage you now have is that you possess informationabout this location that most buyers and investors do not. Sure, incities like Los Angeles or New York, it’s pretty common knowledgethat people will buy just about anywhere you can build. But you canalso use this knowledge in other attractive metro areas –particularly cities with a large influx of millennial buyers andyoung professionals heading in their direction, like my ownhometown of Atlanta, for example – to spot prime locations forrehabs, flips, or even development that you can get at a discount.Check out what the senior vice president of research at John BurnsReal Estate Consulting, Jody Kahn, said about this topic. Sherecently said in a press interview that Cleveland and Philadelphiaare prime areas for infill because and I quote “everybody is movingfrom the suburbs into the city” in these areas. John Burns is oneof the biggest names in the business, and Kahn added that they’readvising developers everywhere to consider this “urban eyesore”opportunity.Here’s something you must remember, however, when you’re buyingin locations near highways, train tracks, or other conventionallyunattractive areas: Check out the mass transit options, thewalkability and bikeability scores for the area, AND crime levelsbefore you buy. These are things that your buyers are going to careabout even if the noise is not, and you must be able to demonstratethat these attractive advantages are present in your traditionallyunattractive location. Get all the details about how to do thisfrom our special report, “REI Today’s Guide to Buying Near UrbanEyesores” which was just released in the REI Today Vault. You canhead right on over to www.rei.today/vault toaccess it, or if you’re not yet a member, text REITODAY no spaces,no periods to 33444 and I’ll immediately send you the informationyou need to get that access and ALSO provide you with fast,immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage,interviews, and lot more timely information that will help makeyour investing safer, faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOURNETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REIToday… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network withother investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces noperiods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault rightnow.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always rememberthis:Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Are you missing out on the opportunity to invest in a NEWSILICON VALLEY? I’ve got the details on this hot market (and howmuch higher it might go) in today’s episode. I’m Carole Ellis. Thisis Episode 49. Did you miss the boat on investing in the nation’s “New” SiliconValley? Welll, let’s just say if you’re not equipped to take out ajumbo mortgage on an investment property, then you might have toget a little creative to participate. I’ll give you all the details– including the location – in just a minute, but first, I’ve got anexciting announcement: REI Today is now on Twitter! Get updates,pictures, fun and sometimes weird real estate facts and MORE ACCESSto my guests by heading over there right now (www.REI.Today/Twitter) and following me! And you knowI’ll follow you right back, so let’s build your real estate networktogether. Remember, your net worth directly correlates to yourNETWORK, so take this easy step right now. That’s www.REI.Today/Twitter. You’ll love it.Now, back to the New Silicon Valley…We all know the west coast is hot, but usually when we think ofboiling real estate prices we tend to think about San Francisco,Los Angeles, San Diego, all of those California mega-hot marketsthat are always in the news. However, there is another seriouslyhot market out west, and it’s a bit farther north than the rest.The cooler temperatures aren’t affecting the real estate market,though, and some experts are actually suggesting that the metroSeattle area could be the next Silicon Valley. They’re actuallycalling it Silicon Seattle. Here’s why:Technology workers and companies are moving to Seattle indroves. While the market is definitely hot (prices rose 9.5 percentlast year alone), it’s still far less expensive than other westernmarkets like San Francisco, but it’s on the right coast, and that’senough for a lot of companies and their workers.Jumbo lending in the area is on the rise. One of the best waysto identify a potentially hot tech market is to watch the volume ofjumbo mortgages being applied for an approved. IT workers make goodmoney, and lenders tend to like to approve their home loans fortheir huge houses when they follow their companies to newlocations. Last year, Bank of America reported a 20 percent jump injumbo lending volume in Seattle, with most applicants citing techcompanies as their employers.There has been an influx of highly qualified international ITworkers on work visas into the area. Frequently a sign of rapidlygrowing technology market.So how can investors in this type of market compete when housingis already in such high demand? Well, if you don’t have $20,000 topay off a buyer with an accepted offer so that they’ll walk awayfrom the deal you want and leave you to buy it, OR the funds to upyour earnest money to, say, 15 percent of the home’s total value(yes, these things are really happening!) there are other ways toget good deals on properties in this hot market.Probably the best way is to take your deal search off-market(meaning find sellers who are in an unusual situation where they’dlike to just sell fast and for a discount, even if the market ishot), using a variety of tools employed successfully by real estateinvestors in every single market in the country. Want a list ofthese off-market methods? You know I’ve got it locked up tight foryou in the REI Today Vault! Check it out right now at www.REI.Today/Vault, and if you’re not a member yet,just text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’llimmediately  ALSO provide you with fast, immediate access toall sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lotmore timely information that will help make your investing safer,faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOURNETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REIToday… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network withother investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces noperiods to 33444 or head over to www.REI.Today/Vault right now.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always rememberthis:Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What if some COMMONLY TAUGHT credit repair advice for realestate investors could LAND YOU IN JAIL? Keep the cuffs OFF andlisten up! I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 48.I have heard this credit advice THIS WEEK from a guy I know onFacebook that a number of you probably would (or do) regard as anexpert when it comes to real estate financing. And it’s terrible,lousy, horrible advice that can land you in jail (and it just didland a New Jersey banker in seriously hot water and he could get 30years in prison for it). So you’ll want to pay carefulattention…Before we get to that, however, I want to take a quick minute tomention one of my favorite topics: free money for your real estatedeals. Did you know that the federal government – not to mentionyour state and local bodies – actually provides MILLIONS of dollarsin funding for real estate investors who are making, and I quote,contributions to their communities? Think about it: every time youflip a house or purchase a distressed property, you think you’readding value to the community. Here’s a hint: YES! Check out allthe details at www.REI.Today/Grants and see how REAL real estateinvestors in YOUR area are already taking advantage of theseprograms – and how you can get started today.Now, back to keeping you out of jail (even when your trustedexperts give you bad advice…) So let’s cut to the chase, here. Realestate investors often have, let’s say, poor credit options, notbecause you necessarily have bad credit, but because you often havea lot of loans on a lot of properties OR because you need moneyfaster than conventional lenders (who take months to close on aloan!) can get it to you. So investors are always looking for waysto make the system work for them, and one common piece of advice isto apply for a lot of loans at once so that you get approved beforethe liens on your properties show up for other lenders. While itcan land you lots of funding fast, as you are probably aware, it’snot entirely above board. In fact, there’s a name for it,shotgunning, and it can land you in jail.Here’s what happened to that guy in New Jersey, apparently isknown as “Douglas Mo” of “Douglas Mo Mortgage.” He recently pledguilty to spending 2005 through 2014 using his primary andsecondary residences to obtain multiple home equity lines ofcredit. Basically, he sent in a huge number of home equity lineapplications to various banks in the area all at the same time sothat when they evaluated his applications, it appeared that hisproperties were unencumbered and clear for a great HELOC. However,when those HELOCs were approved, “Mo” ended up with multiple HELOCson the same property, essentially far overextending his collateral.As the court papers put it, “By engaging in this practice, Mothwarted the bank’s efforts to learn of security interests held byother banks on his homes.”Now, as is so often the case with this type of thing, Mo slid byfor YEARS. He pulled this off for more than nine years, and nobodyappears to have really noticed or cared. That’s why so many “creditrepair specialists” actually will tell you TO apply for multipleloans at once as soon as you’ve “repaired” your credit score. Butin this case, Mo took things a little bigger, eventually helpingother clients do the same thing and also engaging in some allegedlyquestionable tax document falsification in order to inflate hisincome so he could get more loans. As you might imagine, thingsspiraled out of control, and the banks involved lost more than amillion dollars and now Mo is waiting for sentencing after enteringhis plea in a federal court. He could actually spent 30 years inprison, pay a $1 million fine and, on top of that, have to payrestitution for the money the banks lost. So you can see, if thatadvice goes sour for you, it’s a pretty big deal.Feeling a little depressed about your funding options now? Don’tbe! For starters, as I mentioned a minute ago, you can just getfree money from the government in the form of GRANTS to supportreal estate investors that you never have to pay back anyway. Learnmore about that at www.REI.Today/Grants. And if you are curious aboutother creative financing options, don’t worry! We’ll have somethingin the REI Today Vault for you soon. Don’t want to miss it? TextREITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 and I’ll provide you withfast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, newscoverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that willhelp make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOURNETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REIToday… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network withother investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces noperiods to 33444 or head over to www.REI.TodayVault right now.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always rememberthis:Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Did you hear the one about the real estate scammer and his LOVEAFFAIR with the federal government? It’s pretty ridiculous if youdig into the details. And you know I’ve got them all here for you.I’m Carole Ellis. This is Episode 47.We’ve all read the news releases from the state attorneygeneral, the FBI, the Justice Department, the Consumer FinancialProtection Bureau, etc… All those entities that love to get on thenews and just badmouth the HECK out of real estate investors who,they say, have been SCAMMING away like crazy. The message there is,as you know, that the investors are SCAMMING innocent homeowners.In reality, however, the government LOVES the cons out there thatare giving YOU a bad name, and I’ve got the proof in today’sepisode.Before we go any farther, however, I want to take a quick minuteto talk about real real estate scammers. The guys that give YOU abad name, make it hard for you to work with homeowners, and justgenerally are bad for the industry. You can learn something fromthem. That’s right, that’s what I said. You can LEARN somethingfrom them. You can learn how not to get caught in their web. If youwant the best protection out there from real estate scammers, we’vegot a new resource for you. It’s our REI Today Scam Alert List, andwe’ll email you every time a new scheme hits so that you know whatto look for and how to keep yourself, your business, and your MONEYsafe. Sign up for the REI Today Scam Alert List at www.rei.today/scamalert(one word) today.Now, back to the federal government’s absolute LOVE AFFAIR withreal estate scammers. Here’s the deal. Recently, a Los Angelesinvestor pled guilty to participating in a mortgage fraud schemewherein he scammed distressed homeowners out of fees for “rescuing”them from foreclosure and made it appear to many lenders (somesuccessfully, some unsuccessfully) that the homeowners had cleartitle to their properties and had satisfied their debts. Prettysneaky, obviously illegal, and clearly taking advantage ofdistressed homeowners desperate to avoid foreclosure. A number ofhomeowners, as you might imagine, eventually were foreclosed onanyway, and some of the others are now tangled up in charges oftheir own because of the fraudulent document trail. Basically, it’sa huge mess. This is why you need REI Today Scam Alert, folks!But here’s the kicker. The U.S. government is not JUST afterthis guy for restitution, penalties, and fees for a foreclosurerescue fraud (and, I’m sorry, but you KNOW the homeowners aren’tgoing to see the vast majority, if they see any, of those damages).They’re after him for TAX EVASION. That’s right. They’d like thisguy who made hundreds of thousands of dollars illegally on aforeclosure rescue scheme to pony up his IRS dues on thoseill-gotten gains.Now don’t you think there’s a bit of a conflict of interestthere? Don’t you think that there’s a really decent chance thatsomeone, somewhere, back in oh, 2005 when this guy first gotstarted, might have seen a great opportunity to basically get adouble whammy out of the whole thing by letting him SLIDE a coupleyears? Hey, what are the problems of a few distressed homeowners tobeing able to collect a HUGE tax bill and major fines, fees, andpenalties for wrongdoing as well.It’s bad relationship all over, guys, and it just goes to showyou that it’s your responsibility as a real estate investor and asa homeowner to look out for YOUR best interests. The governmentCANNOT be trusted to do it for you.Now if you’re wishing you could trust SOMEONE to keep tabs onthe scammers and the fraudsters out there, I think you know what’scoming up next. That’s right, folks, you need the REI Today ScamAlert in your corner! Sign up for all the signs of fraud, the juicydetails on who got caught, and how to keep yourself and yourinvestments safe at www.rei.today/scamalert(scamalert is one word) and then, while you’re at it, text REITODAYto 33444 and I’ll immediately  ALSO provide you with fast,immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage,interviews, and lot more timely information that will help makeyour investing safer, faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOURNETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REIToday… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network withother investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces noperiods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today rightnow.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always rememberthis:Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What if you knew a secret GOLD STANDARD that would bring cash-laden, real-estate-loving, LOYAL foreign buyers flocking to your business? I’d say the short answer is, you’d be in business! I’m Carole Ellis. Today, I and my Aussie Insider (himself an experienced foreign investor in the United States), will reveal that elusive gold standard. This is episode 46.---Wouldn’t you like to have an eager population of buyers who trusted ONLY YOU to sell them properties, happily paid TOP DOLLAR for your quality deals, and returned time and again to make more purchases? Of course you would! Every real estate investor would! And today, one of the best real estate investors in the business when it comes to building those types of relationships with his buyers is going to tell us, step by step, how he did it and how you can do it to. But first, a quick mention about an insanely popular post in the REI Today Vault. The other day, you may remember in episode 41 we talked all about republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump’s HISTORY and ongoing legal battles associated with a former real estate education company that bore his name. Now, that was pretty interesting stuff, but what really got people going was the Trump Timeline we made available in the REI Today Vault. Honestly, we exposed a pretty big crack in one of the Donald’s main storylines, and it’s labeled clearly at the end of the timeline. Be sure to check it out at www.rei.today/vault and if you’re not a member, don’t miss this. It could affect your vote! Text REITODAY to 33444 right now to get access, and be sure to read all the way to the end.Now, back to building that list of “magical” buyers…So you might be thinking that the type of buyer I described a minute ago, motivated, cash-laden, and dedicated just to you, is kind of like a unicorn…you’re lucky to get one such buyer in your lifetime. But today’s guest, Australian native Engelo Rumora, who describes himself as “The Real Estate Thunder from Down Under” (and that’s just the start of it, folks, he’s also a partner at Ohio Cash Flow, a FLOURISHING real estate business in the midwest) has a huge, growing, thriving network of these investors, and he’s growing it all the time. Before I tell you how he did it, I’m going to let you hear a little bit about him in his own words…Engelo told me:“I quit school at 14 years of age and was fortunate enough to become a professional soccer player at the age of 18. Unfortunately, things did not work out there, so I was working labor because I couldn’t get any better job. I had no formal education. I was pretty much sweeping floors at dirty construction sites for a living, but while I was doing that I was reading a lot of books on personal development, business, finance, real estate, stock trading, all that stuff, and one thing led to another.”Now while Engelo just says humbly “one thing led to another,” what this guy actually did is pretty amazing. He found a mentor in the person of a hundred-million-dollar-a-year businessman in Australia and, from there, made his way to the U.S. real estate market, where Engelo began leveraging his vast personal knowledge of construction and contracting and his ongoing real estate education to start buying properties at the very bottom of the U.S. housing crash. To this day, “we buy properties, fix them up to a great standard, and sell them to investors from all over the world,” he said, noting that in his experience, “Everyone loves Australians, and I’ve got to play the only card I have.” Engelo credits his unique rapport with foreign investors to his own experience as a foreign investor and jokingly suggested that the best thing an American real estate investor could do to work with international investors might be to fake an accent. Kidding, of course!So are you out of luck when it comes to working with international investors if your G’day mate sounds more like mine and less like Engelo’s? Absolutely not! Engelo told me that the key is understanding differences in approach between American investors and international ones.“I’m laid back, very casual,” he said, noting that it’s very important not to be “pushy or salesy” in this type of relationship. Just deliver content, lots of great deals, lots of great information. Tell them all about your deals, your process, and your business, but don’t necessarily push them to buy.Next, take the time to actually connect. Engelo noted that international investors automatically feel more connected to him, in his experience, because (and this is a direct quote) “I lived in Australia, I bought properties here in the U.S., and I lost my (you-know-what) on them because I trusted the wrong people.” However, you don’t have to move overseas and lose your shirt to connect. Just be understanding, empathetic, and willing to listen about the RIGHT things, your potential investors’ concerns about their money, and respond appropriately, professionally, and empathetically no matter how trivial or silly those concerns might seem to you.Finally, consider getting exclusive. Engelo built a business design to cater strictly to foreign investors, and the result is that when one investor experiences success, it’s easy to spread the word. After all, there’s no question about whether or not that success was a fluke because that’s all the business does. Do you need to write of all other investors? Maybe not, but having something that indicates you are particularly dedicated to international investors can definitely help you.Now I’ve got to be honest. This podcast barely scratches the surface of everything Engelo and I talked about in our interview, and some of the content is, well, let’s just say that Engelo is not afraid to be himself, even if being himself offends someone or gets my podcast rating changed! You can read the entire transcript of the interview (fair warning: it’s unedited) in the REI Today Vault, and I HIGHLY recommend you don’t delay. Engelo has an incredibly insightful, no-holds-barred way of looking at real estate that you must not miss. If you’re already a member of the REI Today Vault, then head over to www.rei.today/vault. If not, then grab that phone at text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444, and I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this:Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What if installing a certain item of décor in your home would substantially increase your likelihood of selling your property OVER MARKET VALUE? I expect you’d be racing to crack out your screwdrivers and drills! I’m Carole Ellis and I’ll tell you exactly what you need to hang in your home to get that price bump today, in episode 45.--Can you believe it? A SIMPLE décor decision (one that you can make in five minutes and install over the weekend, by the way), makes homes that have it far more likely (more than one in every 10 in fact) to sell OVER MARKET VALUE  – oh, and faster to boot! I’ll tell you all about this magic amenity in just a minute, but first I want to take 30 seconds to mention something that could be a “magic ticket” for real estate investors but a nightmare for YOUR PARENTS. Before you start having teenage flashbacks, don’t worry. This is actually a scary scenario for seniors in America today because there is a HUGE HOUSING SHORTAGE for the aging demographic, and it’s only getting worse. Want to know how to help your parents and leverage this situation to your investing profit advantage? Check out the whole story, “SCARY NEWS for seniors seeking housing” at www.rei.today in our news and networking section.Now, back to, installing that price-bumping addition to your sales price…According to Zillow (yes, they’re at it again and I LOVE IT!) certain keywords in real estate listings not only are associated with far, far more listing views than identical listings without those keywords, but those keywords are ALSO associated with substantially higher sales prices on the properties that boast them. The biggest price bump? Wait for it…Listings with the term “BARN DOOR” in them. Now do we mean “Shut the barn door, this listing is fabulous!”? Well, no. We mean that a disproportionate number of properties with barn doors, those large, sliding, rustic-looking doors that are popular in many trendy homes these days, sell for substantially higher amounts more than their counterparts without them. Specifically, 13.9 percent of homes with this decor addition sell for over market value. This was particularly true out west, such as in metro areas like Phoenix, Arizona, where the style is extremely popular.Barn door décor may sound complicated, but according to our local Lowe’s, the process is actually pretty simple and you can install a sliding barn door in place of a conventional single door using stock options and fairly basic tools. Of course, if you want to get really authentic, you’ll have to go out, buy an old barn door, repurpose and refinish it, and then install it in a custom doorway, but most homes with barn doors actually have the stock options that have been custom finished or outfitted with custom hardware to fit the rest of the décor in the home.So for a fairly small amount of work, you could reap big rewards when you sell your property! This move is not only a potentially good one for homeowners, but also for investors looking to make their property stand out in listings and also at showings. Want to know other “Five Percent Plus” keywords identified by Zillow as being associated with selling higher than market price? I’ve got you covered! Check out the complete list in the REI Today Vault at www.rei.today/vault. Not yet a member? No worries! just text REITODAY no spaces, no periods, to 33444 and I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this:Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How would you like to know a secret method that could literally SAVE YOUR SHIRT on some of your best real estate deals? Today, my guest expert today reveals how to avoid paying a certain type of tax that can demolish your bottom line without proper preparation. I’m Carole Ellis. This is episode 44.---Imagine this investing situation. You purchase a property in your own name and do a great rehab on it. It’s the best deal you’ve ever done, and you turn a massive profit in the space of about a year. You’re ecstatic, and then your accountant calls. He tells you that you are going to owe THOUSANDS of dollars to the federal government because of this fantastic deal, and, while you still made a profit, suddenly your stellar numbers aren’t what you expected them to be. You’re deflated, your business plan is knocked off course by the unexpected expense, and you angrily start reconsidering real estate.Sounds pretty terrible, doesn’t it?Well, good news! It doesn’t have to work out that way. And today’s guest, a patent-holding chemist turned VASTLY EXPERIENCED real estate investor and financial planner, has laid out four easy ways to avoid what many of you may have already guessed is the dreaded CAPITAL GAINS TAX.First, a bit about Steve. He started life as a “nerdy scientist” as he likes to put it, then eventually (after earning FOUR that’s right, FOUR patents) got an MBA in finance, took the national certified financial planner boards and, in the interim, started investing in real estate by purchasing his first duplex in 1979 in Kent, Ohio. Fast forward to the early 2000s and Steve had held about 80 rental properties during his investing career alone, but he cashed out just before the housing crash (yet another reason we like listening to this guy!) and now holds 9 condo properties, many of which are on the beach.So as you can see, Steve’s got oh, a little bit of real estate and finance experience to back up his recommendations!Steve told REI Today that there are actually FOUR ways to avoid paying capital gains taxes on real estate investments, and I’m thinking the last one in particular may really surprise you…First, there is always what Steve calls the “hold ‘til you fold,” option, which means holding onto your real estate investment as long as you can before cashing out, which may work for you in particular if you’re holding rental properties since you can also use depreciation over time to lower or even eliminate capital gains. In more of a hurry? The next two options could help you…Steve told me that a lot of savvy investors actually take advantage of a specific item in the capital gains code that allows people who are in the two lowest tax brackets (10 and 15 percent) to avoid paying capital gains entirely. If you have enough control over your personal income to maintain a position in that sub-15-percent tax bracket for the duration of the year of the sale, Steve said, then you could actually avoid paying that tax entirely. And if you can’t do that, consider “gifting” the property to a trusted someone, such as a family member, who is in that tax bracket. Will you have to pay for the service? Possibly (and hey, it’d be nice of you) but it could save you a bundle on your tax bill.Finally, Steve said, there is actually a way to avoid paying capital gains taxes using something called a tax deferred exchange, also known as a 1031 exchange. While this doesn’t technically eliminate your capital gains taxes, it can be used to defer them indefinitely as long as you continue to reinvest the money you make into other what the IRS calls “productive uses in a trade or business for investment” and so long as the profits are used for a similar purpose to the manner in which they were obtained in the first place. Essentially, if an investor makes $200,000 on a deal and ends up owing $70,000 of that (yes, that is actually possible) in taxes, a 1031 exchange could enable him or her to reinvest the entire $200,000 instead of paying the $70K up front.Now, that sounds really exciting (think what you could do with that kind of money STAYING in your real estate business instead of heading off into the black hole that is our federal government? But it’s also a bit confusing. So if you want more information, I’ve got great news. Steve is actually about to host a GaREIA-exclusive course offering wherein he will spend the next 60 days teaching participants in this coaching program his own personal path to MASTERING PASSIVE INCOME as well as revealing “The KEY to Quitting Your Day Job!” This class is not a regularly-offered course, so we can’t say for sure if (or when) Steve will be back for the next one, so RIGHT NOW head on over to www.rei.today/STEVE and get all the information on the massive amount of training that Steve is getting ready to provide. That’s www.rei.today/STEVE. And if you aren’t in the Atlanta area, don’t worry! We’ve got something for you, too. Locked up safe in the REI Today Vault, I've got what I’ve named Steve’s Key Codes for Financial Success. They’re two additional three- and four-step modules for effectively “Thinking Strategically About Real Estate” and “Picking a Financial Advisor.” If you liked the way Steve broke capital gains down into action items, you’ll love these other key codes as well, so head over to www.rei.today/vault to get’em, or, if you’re not yet a member, text REITODAY no spaces, no periods, to 33444 and I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this:Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Just filed your taxes? Then today’s episode is just for you. Whether you’re dreading filing or nursing your wounds after doing so, wouldn’t you like a little pick-me-up in the form of a day of TAX FREEDOM? I’m Carole Ellis. I’ll tell you all the details today, in Episode 43.--So who could use a little dose of tax freedom? I know I could! And speaking of taxes, if you ever wanted to leverage those suckers to your REAL ESTATE INVESTING ADVANTAGE, then I’ve got a little video you’re not going to want to miss. Check out this free presentation at www.rei.today/bestinvest right now. It’ll make you think of taxes in a far more positive light…Now, back to tax freedom day (yes, that’s actually what it’s called). Did you know that your state has an official day, determined by the Tax Foundation, known as Tax Freedom Day? Nationwide, it’s April 24. That is the day that the United States, as a body, has earned enough to pay its $4.99 TRILLION tax bill for 2016 (that’s 31 percent of our national income, by the way). But that’s on a national level. When will you, personally, see your taxes “paid off,” as it were? Well, it differs dramatically by state. Here’s what I mean:If you live in the South, then you’re probably actually going to hit Tax Freedom Day before your taxes are due! Pretty exciting, right? In 2016, Mississippi’s tax freedom day was April 5, Tennessee’s was April 6, and Louisiana’s was April 7.On the other hand, it probably won’t surprise you that northeastern states have a much, much later freedom date. Connecticut’s tax freedom day is not until May 21, while New Jersey residents hit it may 12, and Massachusetts doesn’t make it until May 5. It will likely surprise many listeners to learn that California actually does not have the latest tax freedom this year: residents will “earn” their tax freedom day April 30.So what is the earliest tax freedom day ever? Well, nationally it was January 22, 1990. That year, Americans paid 5.9 percent of their income in taxes. The latest (since the Tax Foundation started this report) was May 1, 2000, when we paid a full third of our income in taxes.So what does tax freedom day really mean, because I suspect you’re starting to realize it doesn’t mean freedom from taxes. What it ACTUALLY MEANS is that you’re working the first four to five months of the entire year JUST TO PAY THE GOVERNMENT FOR THE OTHER SIX TO SEVEN MONTHS! You are basically earning just to pay it back, and regardless of how you personally feel about taxation, that’s gotta hurt just a little. Furthermore, as real estate investors, you’re probably also paying additional property taxes and possibly higher income taxes than a lot of your peers, so take a minute to review your taxes and your business structures to make sure that you are actually set up in a way that best suits your needs and minimizes your tax outlay. As my father, who is a very conscientious taxpayer, always said: You want to pay every penny you owe, but you don’t want to pay one penny more. I dispute the notion that I want to pay taxes ever, but we all know that’s the system today and it’s a terrible idea to run afoul of the IRS.Didn’t hear your state mentioned in today’s episode? Don’t worry! The entire list is waiting for you in the REI Today Vault at www.rei.today/vault. If you’re not yet a member, just text REITODAY no spaces, no periods, to 33444 and I’ll provide you with fast, immediate access to all sorts of great trainings, news coverage, interviews, and lot more timely information that will help make your investing safer, faster, and more profitable.And remember, when you do that, you’ll also be able to GROW YOUR NETWORK by interacting with me and your fellow listeners to REI Today… so stop by to ask questions, make comments and network with other investors across the country. Text REITODAY no spaces no periods to 33444 or head over to www.rei.today/vault right now.REI Nation, thanks for listening in and always remember this:Your best investment is your own education. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.