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CONTACT WALTER

559 S. Washington Ave., Kankakee,IL 60901

P.815.929.9258 P.815.929.9200

walter@waltersanford.com

I have been using "If I Could Start All Over Again" and have spoken with (so far) seven area top producers - wow!!! Everyone should do this! Daniel H. Peaslee, Century 21

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“Insiders” Have the Time to Do It Right! October 10th, 2017 | Posted in General Real Estate, Other Interests, Real Estate

Since you are spending your days earning commission dollars, you have the time to slowly and intelligently contemplate the inventory.  You are not in a hurry here.  You are making all the same moves that a real estate investor would be making, but you are actually earning a living while doing it!  So, why jump at something that does not make sense?  I have found that many real estate agents jump at any opportunity, because they do not know what a real opportunity looks like.  Remember, we are using real estate as a vehicle to become financially independent — a vehicle that will fund our retirement and provide annuities to our family, communities, and faith.  This investment vehicle deserves careful planning.

In all the years that I have invested in real estate, I have found that there are certain situations that are nightmares.  Yes, I know what you are thinking – you have to take some bad with the good; however, since we have all the time in the world to find the correct investments while we are earning money doing it, I believe that a real estate agent’s “insider acquisition plan” can be even more stringent than your most persnickety investors.  As you become more experienced in your real estate brokerage business, you will soon be developing some rules for yourself.  These rules may be more or less applicable to your own area, but here are some of my general guidelines:

  1. In most cases, properties located in poor school districts will attract lower paying tenants.
  1. As a general rule, older buildings have more expensive repairs needed than newer buildings.
  1. One-bedroom units are harder to rent than two-bedroom units. Four-bedroom units can attract multiple family tenants – sometimes in violation of your lease or rental agreements.
  1. Parking is always a plus!
  1. Buy extra land with a building and have the building support that extra land. Land banking is an outstanding method for acquiring land supported by an attached building for future investment.
  1. Long-term, fixed financing is always safer than short-term or variable financing.
  1. Properties and buildings in tough areas usually have higher expense ratios.
  1. Master-metered buildings means that the gas goes on in September and is turned off in May. Furthermore, it can also mean that your apartments look like the LAX landing strip at 11pm!
  1. Outside stairs are expensive!
  1. Pools are a problem regarding maintenance, costs, and safety.
  1. Owner-owned washers and dryers in a laundry room are probably not worth the money they make.
  1. Renting your property with appliances will create just as many problems as the property itself.
  1. If you do not see where your proposed new tenant currently lives, you deserve what you get!
  1. The seller’s numbers on expenses and income are probably wrong.
  1. The manager knows the building. If he or she wants to continue to manage the property, spending ten minutes with him or her will be worth days spent with the seller and listing agent.
  1. Make your inspector/contractor a friend.
  1. Triple your estimates for repairs to do them correctly.
  1. A vacancy is better than a bad tenant.
  1. The city and previous service people will surprise you as to what they know about a building.
  1. There is always another “bus” coming by….

You might term the above as lessons that experience taught me.  I bring these up to try to help you shortcut some of the expensive lessons that I learned in my life as a real estate agent and real estate investor.  I hold this list as personal investment truths for me.  Sometimes people have to learn these the hard way!  Having a vacant apartment or wanting to buy a building badly sometimes causes you to make mistakes.  These mistakes might be okay if mitigated by a lower price or better terms; however, you must know that the items above and those you will add to the list are detractors.  You can never be too eager for a tenant or a building and break too many of these guidelines.

Since I have retired from the speaking circuit, I have my systems (large books with software) that I was selling from the back of the room at about $1500.00.  These are my newest products and this package includes everything that I have ever done.  As a “pay it forward” opportunity I am now selling these same books and software at my cost, about 94% off.  This is the start of your plan to get to the point where you are living the dream.  This is not anything but selling you the best real estate training materials in the world for 94% less than they were selling for a couple of weeks ago.  You will get 9 books, a whopping 45 pounds of checklists and information that is easy to use.  These volumes have been used by agents in the US and Canada to be the best agent in their market place.  Go here top pick up your foundation for the future.

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