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Articles by Bryan Benson

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124 articles by Bryan Benson · showing 50

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By Bryan BensonMay 2, 20081 topic

Private Lenders

Say you have a subject to. How can you give a first mortgage to a private lender if you are going to be making the mortgage payments? nnFirst things first! That is kind of a trick question because you can borrow both first and seconds from private lenders. Did you know this?nnNow private lenders come in handy when you're borrowing a second behind the subject-to loan. In fact, it will always be a second if it's behind a subject-to loan, and that is commonly used when you are b

Primary topic: Investing

1,065 views

By Bryan BensonMay 2, 20081 topic

Is Your Number Important On Your Yellow Letter? Pt.2

Part IInnIn part one we talked about the importance of the yellow letter calls. The important part was not only the number being used but, more importantly, we talked about who was answering the call! nnIt is irrelevant who you use (as far as which company), but there are ones already programmed to do it correctly for you. I know there are a few of you who might still try to buck the system. You are probably, saying to yourself right now, “I think I am still going to ta

Primary topic: Investing

842 views

By Bryan BensonMay 2, 20081 topic

Is Your Number Important On Your Yellow Letter? Pt.1

Part InnHow important is the number listed in your yellow letter - very! Many people think an 800 number is the way to go, but this is simply not the case. Think about it - you don't want somebody answering it like they are a business; you want it to sound like it's going to be you.nnAnd let’s face it; most of us are mom and pop operators. Now realistically, it may be hard to still run your business as a mom and pop type operation (and still sound somewhat professional)

Primary topic: Investing

986 views

By Bryan BensonMay 2, 20081 topic

Watch for the Red Flag

Here is a situation for you. Say you have some property that you have bought subject to. You have owned it for a year or two and there is some pretty good equity in it. We will even take it a step further. Now we are going to add to the situation. Let’s say you have a couple of properties like this. In fact many times, you still have to give them a little bit of cash to get moving. But keep in mind, if you used a private lender to do that, that option is no longer avail

Primary topic: Investing

891 views

By Bryan BensonMay 2, 20081 topic

How Do You Define What a Good Mailing List Is? Part 2

Part 2nnMost people become discouraged and get hung up in the response rate. The response rate is irrelevant people. What relevant is how much money did you spend, and how much did you get back? It doesn't make any difference what the response rate is... it really doesn't matter how many calls you get. nnOf course it matters if you get none! But the easier it is to define your list . . . the easier the list is to get . . . the more calls you get but the less of those calls ar

Primary topic: Investing

807 views

By Bryan BensonMay 2, 20081 topic

How Do You Define What a Good Mailing List Is? Part 1

Part 1nnMany people worry about mailing lists, but you need to remember; with mailing lists is it not hard. There are a whole bunch of them to choose from. It truly depends on what you want to target. Say you are looking for pretty houses. And for the sake of argument let’s say you are looking in the medium price range.nnHere is some information for you. Know that 72% of the foreclosures in America Happen the first year of ownership. That is correct! nnDid you really kn

Primary topic: Investing

820 views

By Bryan BensonApr 30, 20081 topic

Appraisals Part II

Part IInnIn part one we talked about the importance of getting appraisals. We talked about why this is important and we even looked at a situation involving the appraisal of a piece of property. You have rehabbed the property and are making the last minute decisions on aesthetics. You have gotten a realtor and are ready to put it on the market. Is there anything else you can do? You have been thinking of another situation. Maybe you can even lease it out? Is this a viable opt

Primary topic: Investing

890 views

By Bryan BensonApr 30, 20081 topic

Appraisals Part I

Part InnTime and time again I have told people to get their own appraisals. This is what you need to be thinking. This is how your mindset needs to be. If I go out and ask somebody to get an appraisal what credibility does it have unless I go through somebody that a bank would also vouch for? nnNow you can go through somebody that a bank will take (and you probably should) but still you need to be the one doing the hiring of the appraisal. nnThink about it people! That is the

Primary topic: Investing

876 views

By Bryan BensonApr 30, 20081 topic

War Zone Property - Part II

Part IInnRemember our war zone property? Remember the house you purchased for a steal? Now you are desperately trying to sell your home. In fact, you have made such great improvements to the whole property that if you were selling it in another location, you could get four or five times the estimated value. But that is the problem isn’t it?nnThat is whole problem you have. Now you have decided to go with a realtor. nnRemember, you have to go locally with someone who kno

Primary topic: Investing

924 views

By Bryan BensonApr 28, 20081 topic

Facing The Opposition - Part II

Part IInnIn part I we talked about our property that was filled with mobile homes. We are ready to turn this into a residential property. Where do we go from here?nnA good engineer would be able to guide you to the highest and best use, and cost you very little money up front. Go to them and they will come up with what they think the highest and best use is, and then the feasibility of getting that done. They'll come back to you with a plan, and then they'll go to the city an

Primary topic: Investing

817 views

By Bryan BensonApr 28, 20081 topic

Facing The Opposition - Part I

Part InnSay you have a 40-acre mobile home park, two blocks off the Gulf of Mexico in central Florida. nnAnd you have tenants. You have many, many tenants. What you really want is the land the mobiles homes sits on. Do you have any theories of what it takes to close down a mobile home park and get re-zoning to a high-rise or something like that? nnAre you wondering what to do about the time frame? How long will this take to get started?nnWell, first of all, you need to make s

Primary topic: Investing

1,213 views

By Bryan BensonApr 28, 20081 topic

Criteria For Equities - Part II

Part IInnIn part one we were working on a deal. We were going over the four important criteria. The first criterion was to have a good low monthly payment. The second was making sure the property you are purchasing is in excellent condition.nnThird, you will kind of want people to be moving into the area, not moving out of the area. You will want a change to have some growth there. nnAnd four, under no circumstances take that loan personally! In case something dramatic does h

Primary topic: Investing

837 views

By Bryan BensonApr 25, 20081 topic

Criteria With Small Equities - Part I

Part InnSay you are in a small town in the south. In fact, let’s say you are in Arkansas. And in Arkansas they have a lot of pre-foreclosures with small equities, like $3,000.00-$4,000.00 equity. Is there anything there worth fishing?nnIt depends. This answer may seem vague, but you need to look for several different angles.nnWe need to think of this the same way we think of military location, because this is also true in military towns. Think about it. You know they fi

Primary topic: Investing

802 views

By Bryan BensonApr 25, 20081 topic

Agreement For Deed And Other Questions - Part II

Part IInnIn part one we left off deciding whether or not we would drop the agreement for deed.nnI would highly encourage you not to drop back to the agreement for deed, land contract or rap mortgage (they call them by a lot of different names). I would tell you that 99% of business, I sell on a lease option (even sometimes when they have 10% down). nnNow say you have a guy who is just very resistant to the idea of lease option. nnYou need to ask these questions: nn- How much

Primary topic: Investing

986 views

By Bryan BensonApr 25, 20081 topic

Agreement For Deed And Other Questions - Part I

Part InnCan a second mortgage holder force a foreclosure? This is a question you might be asking yourself if you are in the situation! The answer to that is: Certainly. Now of course it certainly cannot hurt the first mortgagee’s position but they can certainly force a foreclosure. In fact, I have done it myself and actually do it quite often. nnHere is the next question you are probably wondering. nnDoes a private lender resist being in second position? Most of them do

Primary topic: Intuition

1,099 views

By Bryan BensonApr 24, 20081 topic

What Is The Best Way To Go When Using Comps? Part II

Part IInnAs we talked about in part 1, using comps requires a little more than just relying on data. I also talked briefly about the sophistication of the valuation model. The truth is, it just is not that sophisticated. Basically what I am saying is do the comps (just use the more recent comps and do it yourselves) don't be lazy and use the valuation but use the comps that are the most current. Keep in mind, you better caution yourself to make sure the comps you are using ar

Primary topic: Investing

809 views

By Bryan BensonApr 24, 20081 topic

What Is The Best Way To Go When Using Comps? Part I

Part InnKind of along the same line as how to determine the value of the market, you may question the best way to go when using comps. Many people wonder, is real quest the best way to go for that? There are a few who tend to think they are very conservative (and in the seller markets it always seems like the seller is such a conservative number). What you need to worry about here is the term conservative. You should be worried that they are not making guesstimates!nnIf you a

Primary topic: Investing

869 views

By Bryan BensonApr 24, 20081 topic

Know Your Answers Before You Close So You Know Whether to Pass or Play

Say you have a house that a woman wants to sell to you. In fact, let’s say it is your first deal (for all of you first time dealers out there, this one is for you). So the house has two little apartments that have been added to the side. Is this a good deal? This may be the question you are asking yourself. Maybe you are wondering if you should pursue this? What you really should be wondering is, is this legal?nnThis is considered an illegal add on and they are trying t

Primary topic: Investing

860 views

By Bryan BensonApr 23, 20081 topic

Questioning Whether the Value of Your Property Will Rise...or Fall? Part II

Part IInnIn part one you had just purchased your property. You had it titled in your name rather than in your LLC. You were going to bank to get a loan. You also have hired an appraiser to figure out the true worth of the home. Now you need to title it.nnKeep this in mind. You can actually transfer it into an LLC or land trust the day after you buy it. But you are personally guaranteed the loan. That is really the only part I don't like about this deal. But they are giving yo

Primary topic: Investing

855 views

By Bryan BensonApr 23, 20081 topic

Questioning Whether the Value of Your Property Will Rise...or Fall? Part I

Did you just purchase your property? Say you just bought a property and it wasn't through anyone person in particular, it was just on the regular market. It was with a builder who was offering a whole lot of discounts to move the property before the end of the year in a new development. Your problem-you had to have it titled in your name rather than in your LLC. nnWhy did this happen? Maybe it seemed simple enough at the time. Maybe they were paying all closings costs. In fac

Primary topic: Investing

745 views

By Bryan BensonApr 23, 20081 topic

How Do You Get a Good Market Value on Things?

This is something that many people are unsure of... There may not be a lot of information out there on how to get a good market value on things. Say your area has been a really fiery hot market for a couple of years with property values going up in the double digits. Say you have just started in the business. Maybe you are even working on your first deal and you might be feeling a bit apprehensive about how to really know how to get a good market value on things. Keep in mind

Primary topic: Investing

988 views

By Bryan BensonApr 22, 20081 topic

Retail: How to tell what is up and coming

What do you want to know? nnMaybe you have a few questions about how to know the difference between what is retail now and what will be retail in six months. Say you are in a market where progress is going to explode! In fact, it is going to happen very rapidly!nnSay you also have a couple of properties you are looking at, but right now they are retail. In fact, with one of them the seller may carry back some things but what you really want to know is what the difference is b

Primary topic: Investing

831 views

By Bryan BensonApr 22, 20081 topic

Is Your Approach Working? Do you need to work on your approach?

Are you not feeling confident about your approach? Are not feeling confident about your interactions? What is the best way to approach? Say you have been going on the Internet and getting foreclosure lists and sending postcards. Let’s take it a step further-say you have even been putting signs out (especially around the entrances to the subdivisions) where the foreclosures are. And a few have disappeared. And say it doesn’t make you feel good doing it. Some of you

Primary topic: Investing

846 views

By Bryan BensonApr 21, 20081 topic

Get Those Houses Sold! Part VI

Part VInnIn part I, we talked about our situation. Excess homes-not enough buyers. We left off in part one talking about what you needed to do. Part II gave us strategies and identified the problem of your processes. We talked about the potential gimmicks and strategies for selling your homes. Part III dug deeper and talked about drawing people in. We also talked about whom we were really marketing to and some of our processes. In part IV, we evaluated and decided our strateg

Primary topic: Investing

1,188 views

By Bryan BensonApr 21, 20081 topic

Get Those Houses Sold! Part V

Part VnnIn part I, we talked about our situation. It boiled down to this-excess home, no buyers. And to top it off the market is flooded with excess homes. We left off in part one talking about what you needed to do. Part II talked about your strategies and identifying the problem of your processes. We talked about the potential gimmicks and strategies for selling your homes. What could you offer potential buyers to draw them in? In part three we dug deeper. We talked about i

Primary topic: Investing

849 views

By Bryan BensonApr 21, 20081 topic

Get Those Houses Sold! Part IV

Part IVnnIn part I, we talked about our situation. It boiled down to this-excess home, no buyers. And to top it off the market is flooded with excess homes. We left off in part one talking about what you needed to do. Part II talked about your strategies and identifying the problem of your processes. We talked about the potential gimmicks and strategies for selling your homes. What could you offer potential buyers to draw them in? In part three we dug deeper. We talked about

Primary topic: Investing

790 views

By Bryan BensonApr 18, 20081 topic

Get Those Houses Sold! Part III

Part IIInnIn part I, we talked about our situation. It boiled down to having excess homes and not enough buyers. Part one focused on talking about what you needed to do. Part II talked about your strategies and identifying the problem of your processes. We talked about gimmicks and strategies for selling your homes. What can you offer potential buyers to draw them in?nnIn part three we are going to dig deeper. Will the solutions we discussed in part two really work? Let&#8217

Primary topic: Investing

852 views

By Bryan BensonApr 18, 20081 topic

Get Those Houses Sold! Part II

Part IInnIn part I, we talked about our situation. It boiled down to this-excess home, no buyers. And to top it off the market is flooded with excess homes. We left off in part one talking about what you need to do. The biggest thing you might find yourself needing is cash flow. Now you may get into a negative cash flow if we put tenants in. This will occur if the rents will not support the current debt. nnHave you gotten desperate? Are you thinking of toying with doing some

Primary topic: Investing

861 views

By Bryan BensonApr 18, 20081 topic

Get Those Houses Sold! Part I

Part InnNow I’d like to talk about a situation that you (hopefully) will not find yourself in. It may be important to talk about it. Say you have a few homes that have been for sale for quite some time. For the sake of argument, let’s say you have six houses. You have a market that is slowing down, causing an enormous number of houses to appear on the market. Prices are rising and rates are increasing as the load on the market is increasing. Whew! Sounds like a si

Primary topic: Investing

856 views

By Bryan BensonApr 17, 20081 topic

Vacant House: What's My Move?

Here’s a scenario for you. Say you have an option on a house for sale and it is out of state. It has been on the market (off and on) for over five years. The house is vacant as the owner lives out of state. What do you do?nnThe answer to your problem is to auction it. Many people have been told that they will need to come up with a certain amount of dollars up front to pay for advertising for the auction. There are some auction companies who may require a nominal fee to

Primary topic: Investing

790 views

By Bryan BensonApr 17, 20081 topic

A Seller's Market: Do You Know Where To Shop?

Where is the best place to find people who need or want to sell their homes? Now this is a good question. This is also a loaded question. Yes, you may be talking about the best place to find people who want or need to sell their homes, but we may also be talking about the best technique in which to sell that home. Think about it!nnThe best technique is the yellow letter and there is nothing that is ever going to come close to it. I’ve talked about it in the past-the yel

Primary topic: Investing

805 views

By Bryan BensonApr 17, 20081 topic

Agreement for Deed: What You Need To Know

Have you heard of agreement for deed but you’re not really sure if this would apply to you?nnNot really sure of how it would work for you? nnLet’s say you have a mobile home that you took subject to for $21,500.00 and you got it priced at $39,900.00. The property also sits on about an acre. You have a guy who is interested and you told him that if he could come up with $5,000.00 that you would carry the note for him. And he told you that he could do that but his c

Primary topic: Investing

860 views

By Bryan BensonApr 16, 20081 topic

Loan To Value Ratio: Know Your Numbers

Say you have an arm of 4.25 with a loan balance of $178,000.00 that you can take as subject-to on that and you are getting the asking price of $325,000.00 for this house. What are you figuring the loan to value ratio for? Now you may be doing this for a private lender because you need the equity. Maybe you need to pay the individual the equity in the house.nnThis is not a problem, but you need to remember you should not have to pay all cash up front, regardless of what the ow

Primary topic: Investing

810 views

By Bryan BensonApr 16, 20081 topic

IRA

Years ago, people kept their money in one location-usually under their mattress! People did not trust banks and sometimes people hid their money in locations in their home. Crazy to think about isn’t it!nnNowadays, people have money in countless varieties of funds, accounts and investments. With so many choices, people are generally confused about which fund or account will work best for them. If you put your money in the Roth IRA and you use it, does it earn any intere

Primary topic: Investing

919 views

By Bryan BensonApr 16, 20081 topic

Commercial Real Estate: What is my role?

Let’s take a moment to talk about commercial real estate and your specific role in a deal.nnSometimes you might need a little more clarity on a situation. Say you are really unsure about the finder’s fee and what constitutes relinquishing the deal? Still not seem clear to you? The question you really seem to want to know is, at what point can you turn it over and get the finder’s fee? nnOf course that is the question of the day. There are hundreds and hundre

Primary topic: Investing

867 views

By Bryan BensonApr 15, 20081 topic

Sign The Deed And Close The Contract?

Say you have a great deal and you are just waiting to close it out. In fact, tomorrow your plan is to get the deed (if they are willing to give it to you). Then, if they are willing to give you the deed you will need to get it signed. After getting it signed, you should have them review the paperwork (just to keep your ducks in a row). So many steps to follow…but are you really ready?nnNow keep in mind, if they will sign the whole package, let them sign it but you need

Primary topic: Investing

1,036 views

By Bryan BensonApr 15, 20081 topic

Completing A Deal On Your IRA Part 3

Part 3: What it means to younnIn part one we talked about what it really means to complete a deal on your IRA. You have just completed the deal. And not you have placed a large sum ($40,000) into your IRA. It was easy-almost too easy right? What do you think about next?nnYou do have to keep in mind that you will no longer have that asset. You have turned it into cash and if you have ever played the cash flow game, you know how it goes. You know, sometimes cash is king, but yo

Primary topic: Investing

864 views

By Bryan BensonApr 15, 20081 topic

Completing A Deal On Your IRA Part 2

Part 2: What it means to younnSay you have just completed a deal on your IRA. What does this really mean? Let’s talk about the hubbub this can create with your advisors when you do something like this.nnIt basically starts with someone who (for whatever reason or multitude of reasons) just cannot sell their house. Maybe it has been on the market for eight months or more, maybe even using multiple agents. It is a great house in a great neighborhood. And the owners even c

Primary topic: Investing

825 views

By Bryan BensonApr 14, 20081 topic

Completing a Deal on your IRA, Part One

Part One: What is MeansnnSay you have a deal that you want to sign right away (like tomorrow!) and you would like to do the deal on your IRA. Are you unsure of how to proceed? Do you do a trust and then your IRA will need an option from the trust? Have you found yourself in a situation you are unsure of? This is common. Most people are unsure of the answers to these questions. Let’s talk about what you can do to get this situation under control.nnFor the sake of tomorro

Primary topic: Investing

766 views

By Bryan BensonApr 14, 20081 topic

Questions about Auctions: What you need to Know! Part Five

Part Five: The art of negotiationnnWe’ve talked about the basics of auctioning in part one. In part two we started to talk about what I call the nitty-gritty. We talked about what to do with the auctioneer and how to go about getting involved in the auction. We also talked about the advertising you will need to think about. In part three we dug deep with the motivated seller and in part four we learned what to do if we are adding items to our auction and talked about a

Primary topic: Investing

800 views

By Bryan BensonApr 14, 20081 topic

Questions about Auctions: What you need to Know! Part Four

Part Four: Auction this, Auction thatnnWe have come full circle! In part one we talked about the basics of auctioning. Part two we touched on the nitty-gritty and about how to handle the auctioneer and how to get involved with the auction. Part three we really got to know our motivated seller. We found out just how motivated he was! In part four we are going to find out what else we can add to the auction. nnRemember our friend? The motivated seller? He showed up on your door

Primary topic: Investing

783 views

By Bryan BensonApr 9, 20081 topic

Questions About Auctions: What You Need To Know! Part Three

Part Three: The Motivated SellernnWe’ve talked about the basics of auctioning in part one. In part two we started to talk about what I call the nitty-gritty. We talked about what to do with the auctioneer and how to go about getting involved in the auction. We also talked about the advertising you will need to think about. In part three, we are going to dig deeper!nnWe left off with advertising and how long (realistically) it will take to get the word out in the market.

Primary topic: Investing

766 views

By Bryan BensonApr 9, 20081 topic

Questions About Auctions: What You Need To Know! Part Two

Part Two: The Nitty-GrittynnSo you have decided to try your hand at an auction. We talked about the basics of an auction in part one. Mainly, you learned whether or not you should participate in an auction (as a seller) in terms of price for your property. Now we’ll dive a little deeper about the practice of the auction. nnLet’s look at a specific example. Say you have a house, a big house, 6500 square feet. In the particular area where it is at (at a country club

Primary topic: Investing

797 views

By Bryan BensonApr 9, 20081 topic

Questions About Auctions: What You Need To Know! Part One

Part One: The BasicsnnDo you have a home that you would like to get rid of but just aren’t sure how? Maybe an auction is right for you. Auctions are becoming increasingly important to talk about. The worst thing you can do is agree to an auction (not knowing a thing about them). We are going to talk about auctions (some of the pros and cons) and how it can apply to you.nnMost people wonder if there is there a minimum in terms of the price of the house that is recommende

Primary topic: Investing

794 views

By Bryan BensonApr 8, 20081 topic

The Perfect Time To Consider A Lease Option Part II

When you are buying is there really a perfect time to consider a lease option? nnAs we talked about in part I, there is never a perfect time to consider a lease option.nnHere is an idea on how to get things subject to: with a minor modification on your presentation you might be able to convince people to go ahead and give you the deed instead of just giving you a lease option. This can occur a few different ways. nnThe first way is you can lease a house with an option to purc

Primary topic: Investing

831 views

By Bryan BensonApr 8, 20081 topic

The Perfect Time To Consider A Lease Option Part I

When you are buying is there really a perfect time to consider a lease option? nnYou have found the perfect house and you are being pressured to consider a lease option. If you were to ask this question to one hundred different investors you just might get one hundred different answers. The bottom line and the only answer really is no.nnThis is my answer (and has to be my answer), because by the time I sit down with someone and explain to him or her why I need the deed, and w

Primary topic: Investing

876 views

By Bryan BensonApr 7, 20081 topic

Questions About Raw Land?

Are you sitting on top of a parcel of land that is a gold mine waiting to happen? Is this land just perfect-except the land is contaminated! nnContaminated-what happened to your gold? Let’s look at this kind of situation, because it happens regularly enough and should be talked about. Say you own a piece of property that had been an apple orchard. The land is beautiful and ready for you to start building your dream condos. The problem is that the arsenic from all of the

Primary topic: Investing

884 views

By Bryan BensonApr 7, 20081 topic

How To proceed In Land Trust Part IV

Remember our friend? The owner who still hasn’t left our home?nnWhat are you going to do?nnOkay go back through your pretty house manual and look at a few of your exit strategies again and know that you need to be able to move them as quick as you can (just in case you can't get anything done and can't come up with this money) and then you can at least wholesale it...a house like this should be no problem for you to wholesale it to somebody and still make some cash on i

Primary topic: Investing

753 views

By Bryan BensonApr 7, 20081 topic

How To Proceed In Land Trust Part III

Remember your great house? Remember the great deal with the potential to make an additional 20%? And lastly, remember the owner who is still living in your house?nnAs we said in part II, you need to get the owner out of there.nnIn case you cannot come up with the money to cash this thing out, if you have to, you need to be able to put it back on the market and find somebody you can flip this thing to. nnSo what I am saying is that you need to be on the move fast. If the owner

Primary topic: Investing

792 views

By Bryan BensonApr 5, 20081 topic

How Do You Proceed In A Land Trust? Part II: Deciding Upon Your Exit Strategy

In part I we discussed the perfect home you were in the process of purchasing. At this point, you are making the decision of what to do with the home. We have discussed the strategy of keeping the home for an extended period of time to see if the property value increases. Another thing that you might want to do is go ahead and spend a little bit of money to do the carpet and paint and get it spruced up and get somebody moved in. Once they're in, you can refinance it, suck som

Primary topic: Investing

743 views

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