I get calls and emails everyday from investors wanting advice on how to navigate this “crashing” real estate market, and ongoing comments about how real estate values are dropping like a rock.  Just the other day a guy emailed me about a deal and made a comment about how real estate values in the area were “dropping by the week”.  Geez, do people ever do their own homework?  I don’t know where this guy is living, but actual home prices in the entire Dallas area are only down 2.7% over the last year ( Source: Case-Shiller index as of 10/28/2008)!  That’s the entire area.  There are many pockets in the metroplex that have continued to increase in value.

My point is this: While not turning a blind eye to reality, I see the most successful entrepreneurs spending their energy looking for the opportunities that have been created by the current “mayhem”.  They’re working to figure out how to adjust their businesses to capitalize on the current situation.  There is huge profit to be made from the many deals available in the DFW area right now, so the key is doing more thorough due diligence, strategically planning your end product, and more importantly, knowing your exit strategies for your deal.

People still need a house to live in, and despite what you hear, there are plenty of buyers who can still get a loan, and they’re buying homes right here in Dallas/Ft.Worth.  I have the proof - loan request payoffs that we receive daily from our customers at WeFundHouses.com.  Be assured, you are in THE BEST metro area in the country to be a real estate investor, no matter the state of the economy.  So the question is:  Are you adjusting your business to take advantage, or are you letting yourself be a victim? 

You see, most people only plan a couple of weeks in advance, with the majority looking forward only to the next day!  If you haven’t planned out exactly what you’re going to do week by week for the entire year, how is there any way to know whether or not you are going to hit your income goal for the year?  The answer:  You’re Not!

But you ask, “How in the world am I going to know what I need to do on a specific day 3 months from now?”  Its much easier than it sounds.  You’re not going to know all of the small tasks that are going to pop up, however you should know your key activities that provide you with money making opportunities.  Those are the actions you need to have specifically planned for the entire year.

To ensure your success you should be able to look at your calendar and know exactly what money making activity is taking place at any point in 2008.  If you don’t, then your just working to make a buck tomorrow and hoping the money will come the next day.  So, for example, if my goal is to buy4 houses this month and I would like to have them renovated and on the market within 60 days, I should have on my calendar the exact activities on specific days that I am going to do the activities that will bring me those deals.  That might be putting together a post card mailing to farm a neighborhood for deals, searching for bank owned properties every Tuesday & Thursday, or putting out signs to buy houses every Friday.

Once you have each deal, your crew should be alerted to the date they must complete the project by, and you should also have each marketing step outlined so your ready to market the property the day it’s complete.  These are simple examples, however they are often overlooked even by experienced investors.  Following are 4 easy steps to follow to keep your success on track:

4 Simple Steps for Maximum Success in 2008

1.  Determine precisely what it is you want to accomplish for the year, for example, income of $300,000, and write it down.

2.  Block half a day for focus time, and write out exactly what it will take to get there, considering marketing costs, time, people and any other necessary resources.

3.  Print out a blank calendar of each month for the entire year, and deliberately plan the key money making activities that you know you must accomplish that will get you to #1.  Do it all the way through the last week of the year.  Now you have your entire marketing calendar for the year!

4.  MOST IMPORTANT:  Put deadlines on every task, project, and marketing piece!  This is the only way you will get the job done!  The time alloted for a project contracts or expands based on the deadline you give it.  Whether you give a task a longer or shorter timeline, it will take that long either way!  If you don’t give it a deadline at all, it will probably never get done.

Following your new roadmap each day and working to your deadlines is the quickest way to become a master implementer, which consequently will mean big profits.  Of all of the successful people I know, all of them use timelines/dealines on every task they have.  All the way down to time limits for phone calls.  If you don’t use strict, enforced deadlines on your goals, tasks, and activities, your time will expand for the task and it will not get done.  Using these 4 steps in a calculated and deliberate manner will help you reach your goals this year!

An easy way to get into the habit of working on specific timelines is to have a daily planner that is formatted in 15-minute blocks.  If you plan and work your tasks in 15 minute intervals you’ll be amazed at you much you get accomplished each day.

 Until next time,

Adam

 Have a great weekend.

 John

DMN - DFW Homes are Undervalued

 Best,

John

Chad Rainey was one of our December iPhone promotion winners.  Here he is receiving his phone.

Congratulations Chad!

But the point is this, at any given time, there are deals worth investing in.  The overall market maybe going up, down, or sideways, and its important to have a sense of what is going on in the big picture.  It helps you create your buy and sell strategies and shapes your expectations.  But you aren’t investing in a “Market”  you are buying a deal.  If its priced right, and the value is there, what is going on in the big picture matters very little, a deal is a deal in any market. 

Markets going up create opportunities, and markets going down create other types of opportunities.  So next time you see that headline, keep that in mind, and keep trying to focus on finding deals that will help you make money and achieve your goals no matter what the “market” does.

Best,

John

Dallas Business Journal - Foreclosure Rate Article 

 John

Everyone probably says, sure…..fine be efficient, but what is a practical way to accomplish that? Here is a prime example. In one of my earlier blog posts, I talked about building a trusted team of professionals around you. That is one way. But specifically and more importantly are you being as efficient as you can be with those folks on that team. I will use our company as an example because its something I see EVERY day. Ok, you chose www.wefundhouses.com to be your hard money lender. I think thats a good choice. But, have you taken the time to review all the information about how the loan process works, what steps to take to get funded fast? Have you applied for a free pre-approval to speed the process up even more? Do you know how to submit draws and what is required there, so once you are funded and working your rehab you get remimbursed in the fastest possible time? We put alot of time and effort into making our processes clear and straightforward. But if our borrowers don’t learn the processes they waste their own time and slow themselves down! We are ready to respond in the shortest amount of time possible, but often the delays are caused by people not taking the time to familarize themselves with how the process works.

You can apply that same lesson to all the people on your team. How does your contractor’s invoice process work? Does your lawyer return voice mails or emails faster? How does the my plumber/electrician/flooring contractor schedule their projects?

See what I mean? Learn the way your teams process work the fastest and……..get it done faster!

Hope you have a great one.

Best,

John