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If only I’d had the foresight to buy an investment property in Spain, the South of France, Tuscany or in Malta twenty years ago when property prices were so cheap because the desirability of the destination had yet to enjoy exposure…if only…

Many people believe that the world’s most beautiful locations are the countries in and around the Mediterranean Sea - think Spain, Malta, Turkey, Egypt, Sardinia, Italy, Morocco and Tunisia. All are nations synonymous with a fantastic climate, a wonderful quality of life, excellent cuisine, friendly and laid back people…naturally enough the Mediterranean countries are the most popular with those looking for a sun drenched holiday, a beautiful place to retire to or the perfect place to buy a property that will go up in value, be easy to rent and easy to resell. But many have already missed the affordability boat.

Properties on the most popular islands in the Mediterranean Sea and in the most desirable locations start from a quarter of a million pounds and go up to tens of millions. So the average property investor, second home seeker or retiree looking for an affordable place in the sun is going to be sadly disappointed then?

That is unless they discover the secret delights of Northern Cyprus…

North Cyprus is the secret and undiscovered third of the island of Cyprus that has been left untouched, unspoiled and unsullied by the greed of the 1970s and 1980s, it has escaped the overdevelopment and mass tourism of the 1990s and it has emerged in the new Millennium as a gem in an otherwise saturated, over priced market.

Properties in Northern Cyprus start from just GBP 60,000 for a duplex apartment in a resort on a championship golf course! North Cyprus truly is the very last Mediterranean property investment hotspot and it will not remain undiscovered for long. While the government are committed to preserving the beauty and culture of the island and determined to prevent it being overdeveloped and sullied, the properties that are being built sympathetically are catching the eye of international property investors, retirees, second homers and those looking to afford to start a brand new and exciting life in the sun.

The number of visitors coming to Cyprus is increasing rapidly; large international developers are discussing many projects from seven star hotels and luxurious resorts to more golf courses, marinas and even a furthering of the higher education establishments that North Cyprus is already famous for. Demand for property for sale and rent is coming from the large student base but more importantly it is coming from retiring Europeans, young families and couples, holiday makers, those needing a second home and even corporate investors.

Northern Cyprus property will not remain so affordable for so long - firstly the demand for property for sale is outstripping current supply and builders cannot keep up with demand, secondly prices are already increasing and finance is being made available privately broadening the numbers of those who will be able to enter the market. As demand soars and supply remains steady and restricted by the government’s high standards, prices are rising and are going to keep on rising…making North Cyprus’s property market one of the hottest in the world.

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Rhiannon Williamson writes about real estate investment in emerging markets worldwide and highlights property investment hotspots. To learn more about property for sale in North Cyprus click here.

Have you ever imagined yourself putting through a multi-million dollar deal, going to closing and picking up a check with six zeros?

It’s the ultimate dream for real estate investors. But why must it be a dream when it can just as easily be a reality.

Every day there are real estate investors making offers on high end houses just as there are real estate investors making offers on median price range houses and below. There are just a lot fewer going after the big game.

Why?

1) High dollar houses naturally instill fear in real estate investors as they feel if they make a mistake they will be sued for hundreds of thousands

2) Real estate investors perceive they need perfect credit, a high net worth and millions of dollars already to buy million dollar houses, so they exclude themselves as buyers and don’t pursue high end deals

3) Most real estate investors feel they don’t deserve to buy a million dollar house or to be talking with the people that own them. They have a self image that equates themselves with lower price range houses and the people that own them, so those are the houses they pursue.

All of these reasons are fear in one form or another, and none of them are real.

The beings that own high end houses are people, and they get divorced, lose their jobs, go out of business, make stupid mistakes, have bad financial management, and do all of the things that result in financial distress and necessitate a quick sale.

The high dollar properties they own are real estate, just like the two bedroom one bath house in the median price range neighborhood, It can be put under contract, optioned, or creatively financed just like any other house in any other price range.

But real estate investors avoid them, and in doing so, prevent their most heartfelt dreams from coming true.

The key point all real estate entrepreneurs and investors must understand is that owners of high end houses who are experiencing problems need the solutions that well trained investors can provide.

And as with all real estate deals, when done properly, everybody wins. The seller gets the house sold and some cash to move, the bank gets their loans paid off, the new buyer gets a house they love, and the investor makes a profit.

A six (or seven) figure profit!

Going after high end houses is a choice. Real estate investors can attract these million dollar deals to them by setting up marketing systems that target high end houses only, and leave the lower price ranges alone. By making high end homeowners the only people you contact with your marketing, high end homeowners are the only ones that call in response.

And when real estate investors have a steady stream of motivated sellers with high end houses calling them every day, their desks begin to fill up with million dollar deals.

Just like a hunter going after big game, the real estate investor who sets their marketing sights on high end deals, and persists, the moment arrives when their real estate investing dreams come true.

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Ben Innes-Ker is a father, best-selling author, and real estate investing warrior. He has developed the “Motivated Seller Magnet” to help real estate entrepreneurs attract more motivated sellers with less effort and increase profits. To receive your 23 page special report outlining how anyone interested in investing in real estate can achieve this too, visit: http://www.motivatedsellermagnet.nethttp://www.motivatedsellermagnet.net

There are many reasons why a person would set out on getting a health insurance policy. Students who are graduated from college can no longer be covered from their parents’ policies, so they would need to hunt for a policy of their own. It may take time to find a job that provides health insurance as one of the perks. One more reason could be that the person could have lost a job and would be uncovered till he/she finds new employment. Even with a new job, it could take several months till their policy would begin to pay. However, these things should not come in the way of getting medical coverage. There could be any emergency that could spell astounding medical bills if one is without a health insurance policy.

As a stop-gap arrangement, a person could make use of temporary or short-term health insurance plans. These policies provide medical coverage for short periods of time, from up to one to six months generally, and they can be extended past their expiry date if the policy needs to be continued for a longer period of time. However, it is better to go for a traditional health insurance policy in case the short-term policy needs to be extended.

Thought the temporary health insurance policies are almost the same as the traditional medical policies, there are some important differences. One of the important differences is that the temporary policies are indemnity plans which do not cover expenses on dental care, eye care, preexisting conditions and work-related injuries and illnesses. But they could be used to cover the prescription drugs, hospital and intensive care services and simple medical care.

If you need a temporary health insurance policy, then your best bet would be to approach an agent who deals in health insurance policies. This agent would need to know in advance for how long you would need the policy, so make that decision in advance. There could be some exclusion dates in the policy which you will need to be aware of. Application filing and paperwork is involved, and naturally you would have to sign on it. Be careful though, before putting your sign on the dotted line. It is absolutely vital to get a copy of all the paperwork so as to avoid any misunderstanding that may occur later.

Since there are many types of policies even within the category of temporary health insurance, their prices also fluctuate wildly. The policies with 50-50 options are better to show as tax deductible than the policies with the 80-20 ratio. If you want to have some more coverage, remember to get it included at the onset; for example, coverage for the prescription medicines.

Go through the documentation carefully before signing so that you know exactly well what you are getting into.

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Adam Heist has helped many internet surfers since launching his website. If you have questions or concerns or are wondering about the different Uk Personal Loan that are available, click on over to our site in order to find the information you are looking for.

Ancient Greece may have laid the foundations for modern culture and civilisation, including democracy, philosophy, education and a host of literary and mathematical concepts, but it is foundations of an entirely different kind that are now occupying the minds of savvy British property buyers. Heritage is only one of the many draw cards of a country that also has azure islands, Mediterranean sunshine and now, budget direct flights from the UK to attract second-home buyers.

The property market in Greece is already an established one, with a solid internal and international property market to regulate and stimulate prices, which have been rising steadily over the past decade. “Eighty per cent or more of buyers of property in Greece are lifestyle buyers, meaning that there is a strong resale market – prices are realistic and not driven by property investors,” says Spyros Mantzos of A Property in Greece. But with an established property market, as well as the sharp appreciation of the euro, which Greece joined in 2001, opportunities for buying property in Greece for under £80,000 are not as widespread as even a few months ago. However, if you know where to look, there are still property bargains to be had in the whitewashed idylls of the Greek islands and mainland.

With over 150 of the 2,000 or so islands that make up Greece inhabited, not to mention a mainland teaming with cities, villages, harbours and beachfront, there is perhaps too much choice when buying property in Greece. John Batty, managing director of Greek property specialists Aegean Blue, says traditional property investors are still focused on the established destinations like Crete, Santorini, Corfu, Zakynthos and Mykonos. “Over the last year we have also seen the first ’structured products’ arising in Greece, offering a comprehensive package of services including guaranteed rental income for the first years, furnishing packages and a number of exclusive services including spas, marinas, sport facilities etc,” Batty adds.

This maturation of the types of products available to foreign investors buying property in Greece, along with the takeover by EasyJet of GB Airways in December, widely seen as a harbinger of budget flights into the country, is expected to have a stimulatory effect on the property market as the influx of visitors fuels holiday rental demand and, in turn, demand for property in Greece.

Greece can also thank the Athens Olympics for raising the country’s profile and stimulating massive infrastructure investment, which has improved its already significant attractions. Capital growth has been around ten to15 per cent per annum over the last few years, and property rental yields can be as high as 7.5 per cent according to Mantzos. Of course, these vary according to the property and location, with Batty arguing that average returns range between four and six per cent: “Some developers offer guaranteed rental incomes for their projects targeting pure investors. In these cases four- to six-year rentals are offered on an average of five per cent per annum. Most desirable destinations are the northern coast of Crete, Zakynthos, Kefalonia, Santorini and Mykonos where the highest yields can be achieved. Upcoming property markets worth considering are the less developed island of the northern Aegean Sea, including the Sporades (mainly Skopelos and Skiathos) and Samos.”

Crete is the largest of the Greek islands and deservedly one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Mediterranean. In spite of its popularity and relative upward price pressure, properties under £80,000 are still to be found, with two-bedroom houses in need of work starting at around €50,000 (£38,300), according to Oonagh Karanjia of Crete Property Consultants. Renovated old stone houses can start from around the same price for a one-bedroom property, while apartments a few metres from the beach start as low as €55,000 (£42,150). For example, studio and one-bedroom apartments at Makrigialos in the south-east of the island, around 25 minutes drive from Sitia, start from €48,000 (£36,800) and are just 50 metres from the beach. In Papagianades, a two-bedroom renovated stone house with courtyard, roof terraces and sea views is for sale through Crete Property Consultants for €91,000 (£69,750).

A Property in Greece is selling a two-bedroom 60-square-metre bungalow in the 200-year-old village of Loutra, around ten minutes from the beach, surrounded by olive trees and with panoramic countryside views for €104,000 (£79,700). Foremost Villas has a two-bedroom apartment for sale at Drapanos Krystyna set in the hills inland from Kalives at the entrance to Souda Bay, with shared pool and views of the White Mountains for €93,000 (£71,250). If you fancy taking on a renovation project, Artec SA is selling a 60-square-metre stone house set in a 180-square-metre plot in the Apokaronas area, about 30 minutes from the airport at Chania; building permission for restoration work and extension of the property is already in place for the €55,000 (£42,150) home.

The verdant island of Corfu in the Ionian Sea off the west coast of Greece can also claim a fair bulk of the country’s visitors, who come to enjoy its mild Mediterranean climate and numerous architectural and archaeological attractions. Spiros Analytis, managing director of Corfu Property Agency, says a combination of planning laws, forestry and archaeological restrictions prevents Corfu from being turned into a concrete jungle and limits supply of property, which maintains prices. “The limited property supply rolls over to the rental market as well. Rental accommodation (beyond large hotel accommodation, which also fills to capacity during summer months) is highly sought-after. Privately owned properties thus yield excellent rental income.” He adds that “returns of 6six to eight per cent are available through rentals via tour operators; and given the fact that there is excellent property rental income achieved, there has been in increase in demand for such properties.”

Corfu Property Agency is selling a ground-floor, one-bedroom apartment, 40 metres from the beach in Acharavi, north Corfu, with a large balcony for €78,000 (£59,800). For off-plan property near the beach of St George in south-west Corfu, the company is offering a terrace of three, 38-square-metre one-bedroom cottages, each with a veranda area and small private garden, for €75,000 (£57,500) for the middle cottage or €85,000 (£65,150) for the cottages on either end.

While the main islands attract a proportionately large quota of visitors to Greece, their popularity has spawned a second tier of emerging islands that have started to draw their own wave of potential property investors. Top of this list is Skopelos (where the film version of Mamma Mia was shot last year), which is luring quiet-living Greek island retirees and holiday-home buyers alike. The island is part of the Sporades chain and there are direct flights from the UK to nearby Skiathos; from there it is a 30-minute hop by hydrofoil to the port town or there is also a hydrofoil service from the mainland. Aegean Blue is selling a range of apartments at Skopelos Village, 500 metres from the beach, starting from €97,000 (£74,300) for a one-bedroom apartment. The apartments are situated on the bay opposite the capital port town of Skopelos and owners can walk into the town in under ten minutes.

On the island of Samos in the Aegean Sea, Barrasford and Bird is developing a resort and spa at Halcyon Hills, which will offer guaranteed rental returns when completed. Although it is above budget for individual buyers, the resort will also be offered on a fractional ownership basis that will cost from £16,375 to £32,750 for 1/8 or 1/4 of the property.

The beachside idyll of the Greek islands may have lured the majority of second-home buyers, but there is an investment case to be made for buying on the mainland. In response to the Olympics in 2004, property investment expert Obelisk says that “demand for rental accommodation was boosted and, in turn, heightened investors’ interest in new residential opportunities, particularly within Greece’s major cities.” The scene of the Olympics and the historic capital Athens has seen sustained property price rises of around ten to15 per cent in the last few years according to estate agents Des Res. The company has one-bedroom apartments for sale in Larissis starting from £69,000 or similar-size off-plan properties in Athens starting from £73,000.

There are no legal restrictions on EU residents buying in Greece and the process is relatively simple, but fees and taxes of around ten to 15 per cent on top of the purchase price must be factored in. This includes transfer tax on resale properties or VAT at 19 per cent on new builds, municipal tax, lawyer’s and notary fees and land registration. Greece’s Piraeus Bank, which has a UK arm to deal with property investment in Greece and Bulgaria suggests buyers should discuss repayments with their lender so that the potential exchange rate risk between the euro and sterling can be covered from the start. This is particularly pertinent considering the currency movements in recent months.

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Jessie Hewitson for Homes Overseas - Property for sale in Greece property investment advice and international property news.

The first step is to have a dream about what it is that you want to create and achieve. “Dream!” Let it become wild. Really see it. Touch it. Taste it. Be able to really envision what it is that you want to happen. If you don’t have a dream then you don’t have passion. If you don’t have passion then you are not going to be able to do anything. Why is it that you are even interested in real estate?

Number two in the steps to a successful business is to have vision. You have to be able to take that dream and turn it into reality! What is it that you see for your business coming up? Not just in 2008 but for the years to come. What is it that you are looking to build?

The third step is that you have to have strength of that conviction. Many people have dreams and they have visions but they don’t have strength of their convictions so they can’t make it happen and they let the naysayers bring them down. They let a little obstacle stop them from going forward. Here is an example, have you ever had that really great idea and then somebody else puts it out there on the market. You see it out there on the market and you say “Wait a minute that was my idea!” You had an idea but you didn’t have the strength of conviction to make it happen. Somebody else had that same great idea and got it all the way to the market and now they are making a fortune off of it. You have to have the strength see your vision all the way through. No matter what there are going to be people telling you that it can’t be done. In fact, the better the idea, the more out of the box the idea, the more resistance it is going to be met with. Other people are used to operating within their comfort zone. Great ideas are something that is outside the comfort zone. You are even going to meet with resistance in your own mind. You have to have the strength of conviction to know that this is the right thing to do.

The fourth step is to have foresight. Be able to drive your business in the right direction based on what’s happening in the environment. An example would be with the foreclosures and what I see happening over the next year. Why’d I give you that? To start giving you some foresight into your business and start getting you prepared for what you have to do with your business. What should you be doing right now? You should be really entrenching yourself out there to find as many deals as you can.

If you are in a position to hold onto some of those deals as rentals and lease options, that’s great because you know that going into 2009 they are really going to start to appreciate. You can pick up a lot of deals right now. You can wholesale those deals and make a ton of money because you are going to be able to buy property well under market value. I guarantee that in another couple of years everybody is going to be talking about it.
You have to continually change your direction based on what is happening in the marketplace. Right now it is a true buyer’s market. Well then become a buyer and look for really great deals. Don’t let excuses put you down, but do have that foresight to see what is happening in the environment and how you can take advantage of it.

Step five is get Information about your market place, about your business, and about different strategies. Go out there and get educated. Find out who has the right programs for what you need. Network with other people, not just with other people in the real estate industry but with other people in the community so that you learn what’s going on. Read the local business journals of whatever marketplace you are dealing with. Get involved in organizations and in the community so that you can be in the know staying on top of what is happening.

Number six is to understand what makes you different. Why should anybody do business with you? What makes you better than the next guy? If you are buying houses why should a seller deal with you? What’s going to be better about dealing with you than the guy down the street? Why shouldn’t they call the other person and deal with them? If you can’t identify what it is that makes you unique then you can’t convey that to your sellers so there won’t be any reason for them to do business with you. I guarantee you that your competition will be able to tell them why they should be able to do business with them. If you are a wholesaler, why should your investor buyers buy from you? What makes you the right person to do business with? Give that question some thought. Come up with your USP, what we call your Unique Selling Proposition that makes you stand out from the competition.

Number seven is to lay out a plan. You have a dream. You have turned that into a vision. You have the foresight to see what is happening in the marketplace. You’ve gotten information. You know what’s changing. You know what’s happening. You know what’s happening in your local marketplace and national marketplace. You know what makes you different. Lay all that into a plan. Translate all of that information and knowledge into a step by step plan. Set dates and action items so you can make sure that things are happening. More importantly you can track it and see how you are doing according to your plan. If everything is just grandiose ideas but it is never laid out into a plan nothing is going to happen. You know you don’t want to get to December of 2008 and say “wow, I had all these dreams and ideas for this year but I didn’t accomplish 25 % of them”.

Number eight is to execute your plan. It’s taking action. Give yourself permission to be slower in the beginning and to pick up speed as you get more and more experienced. The important thing is that you take action, that you are constantly executing your plan. I will tell you from experience that when you have a plan and certain action dates, it’s going to motive you. I want to be ahead of my plan so I get things done faster and it generates momentum. You are going to see how opportunities are just going to flow towards you.

Number nine is to track your results. You laid out a plan, you executed it, and now what type of results are you getting? Make sure that you have reporting on it so that you know what is happening. No more shooting blanks in the dark. You are actually seeing the results of your plan.

Ten is comparing the results over time. If I say that I generated twenty leads so what. If I say in January I was able to generate ten leads. In February I was able to generate fifteen leads. In March I was able to generate twenty leads. You have a trend and it is moving upwards. The steps are gaining momentum toward a successful business.

Item number eleven is improvement. If you have tracked results, you’ve reviewed them; you’ve seen what’s happening. Now make improvements. What’s working? What’s not working? If I got twenty leads in March how can I get to thirty leads in April? What do I have to do different? Is the plan working the way it should? Maybe I laid out this plan but there needs to be some changes to it. Until you start tracking it and you know what is actually happening it’s going to be more difficult to come up with beneficial changes.

Then repeat the whole process all over again. Keep going back to your dreams. After you start to implement and you get to a new plateau, you will have new dreams, new visions, and then you have to have new strength of conviction.

Follow the same dozen steps and your business is not only going to be successful it is going to continue to grow over time.

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Lou Castillo is a national real estate investing expert and mentor to thousands of successful investors.
Lou specializes in creating powerful systems that allow investors to work less and earn more using the power of the internet in the real estate investing business.
To get more information or get Investing tips straight from Lou, visit: http://www.FreeRealEstateStrategies.com

Companies want a safe place to conduct business that’s also cost effective. They want a nation that is stable, economically and politically. They also want to be somewhere that foreigners and foreign companies are wanted. In efforts to find this, companies often review the benefits and drawbacks that many countries offer to businesses. Costa Rica is one of the few that fits the bill on all accounts and has some enticing additional perks too.

Companies like Conair, DCS Communications (ALCATEL), Intel, Hitachi, Microsoft, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, ACER AMERICA, Panasonic, LUCENT Technologies, Siemens, and BAXTER Healthcare all have offices in Costa Rica. More are expected to follow in the near future. Here’s a close look at the top three reasons why:

REASON 1: Costa Rica’s Stability.

Costa Rica is an economically stable nation supported by solid agricultural, textile, electronics, and tourism industries. Costa Ricans as a whole are an educated bunch; the nation’s literacy rateis 95%, which makes citizens highly employable and keeps money cycling through the economy. In addition to being economically stable, Costa Rica is also politically stable. The country does not have a sustained military and politically, Costa Rica has claimed itself neutral, both of which mean that the companies’ business operations will not likely be effected by war or political uprisings.

REASON 2: Costa Rica’s Location.

The nation, the richest in Central America and one of the richest in all of Latin America, is a prime location from which a number of business owners in different industries can work. The country is easily accessible by land, sea and air.

REASON 3: Costa Rica’s Corporation-friendly Laws.

Corporations investing in Costa Rica by bringing jobs to the country are rewarded in many ways. Investors purchasing Costa Rica real estate benefit from low property taxes (approximately .25% of the property’s value) and companies also receive breaks when it comes to tariffs. Customs tariffs are only 11%, tariffs on capital goods are just 1% and a number of other common tariffs business have to pay when doing business in other countries do not even exist in Costa Rica. Companies investing in Costa Rica land also receive tax exemptions.

Costa Rica has amazing incentives for businesses and companies worldwide are taking notice. The result has been a surge in the Costa Rican economy, which is great for the businesses that have already invested in Costa Rica as well as the Costa Rican people. It’s expected that the economy will continue to thrive as Costa Rica has already made a name for itself as a bona fide hot zone for businesses.

by David B Lovendahl, Developing Paradise TM

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Paradise Brokers http://www.paradisebrokers.com is developing paradise TM
in Costa Rica as a full service, turnkey real estate, development and property management company. The company also owns a concierge and booking enterprise, a law firm, and a construction/project management company. Paradise Brokers also has the experience and expertise to make all your travel, lodging and tourism arrangements, and will provide transportation within Costa Rica to view your property. This lucrative program comes with 100% money back guarantee.

For more information, contact 1-877 CRLand1, (1 877 275-2631) or in Dominical, Costa Rica call 506 787-0181. Grab your FREE 12-page report Now by visiting http://www.developingparadise.com.

There is a silver lining to the present state of our economy the potential goldmine that is the now thriving tax lien certificate market. The credit crunch has given rise to new opportunities to make some very good money. If you’ve considered tax lien investing but are apprehensive about getting started well, there’s no better time than now.

Discover Booming Tax Lien Markets Near You
Running a government even a small government like a county demands a lot in funds. When citizens fail to pay their taxes, counties turn to tax lien auctions to bridge the financial gap. This is where the savvy investor stands to reap quite a profit. If you can find a steady market of tax liens in a well established county you can seriously plump up your wallet. Most homeowners will eventually redeem their taxes, particularly on properties that are in relatively good condition, and then you get your money back plus interest. And in some cases, should the homeowner fail to pay the accrued back taxes, you could end up with the deed to the property for as low as a few thousand dollars.

Not all states employ the tax lien system. The following states offer tax lien investing opportunities:

Alabama
Nebraska
Alaska
New Jersey
Colorado
New York
Florida
Ohio
Illinois
Oklahoma
Indiana
South Dakota
Iowa
Vermont
Kentucky
West Virginia
Maryland
Wyoming
Mississippi
Missouri
Maryland
Wyoming
Mississippi
Missouri

What to do if your home state does not appear in the above list? Many states allow nonresidents to participate in tax lien auctions. Just make sure to check out the state’s specific rules before you pack your bags. If you do cross state lines in pursuit of tax lien certificates, look into deducting travel expenses from your taxes. Investing in a tax lien requires you to fill out a W-9 form, which is an independent contractor tax form, and technically, you are running a business by looking to turn a profit on your investment.

Make Great Money—Without the Commute
Another option is invest in tax lien certificates through the mail or to participate in online auctions. This makes tax lien investing a great venture for stay at home parents or others unable to work outside the home. Just make sure you thoroughly research a property before you invest long distance. Although it is rare to ultimately acquire real estate through tax lien investing, it can happen, and if it does you don’t want to be stuck with a property you can’t sell for good money.

Few investments can rival tax lien certificates for excellent income at a fraction of the time constraints of a full-time job. Once you’ve mastered your craft you can dramatically change your and your family’s financial life.

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Click Here for Our Free Government Tax Sales List
http://www.taxlienproperties.net/state-tax-lien-list/

If you haven’t moved your business as far along as you want to, here are some quick steps you can take to start your investing. You can’t sit back and wait for that one big deal. Success is the product of applied knowledge. Success is a result of your actions. There is just something about the energy and the momentum behind actions that literally seems to attract new opportunities. If you are doing nothing, nothing happens.

1. Start making things happen so everyone takes notice. The first two years that I was in real estate I basically did nothing. I was constantly spinning my wheels. I was working hard but I was doing the wrong things. Since I had no results nobody was noticing. All of a sudden I changed my business model a little bit. I started marketing. I started doing deals and everybody took notice. Suddenly, all of them were coming to me with these new opportunities. People wanted to lend me money. They had new ideas for joint ventures.

The catalyst was the initial momentum making things happen. As you take your business into motion you will be able to take advantage of more opportunities. It’s like my friend Matt Bacak says, “You don’t have to get it right, you just have to get it going.” He really lives that philosophy. I have worked with him on several business ideas and you have to hang on when you work with him because he wants to make things happen yesterday. I tend to be more conservative so I tend to study a little more or make sure I have it at least 90% right. In the end Matt’s way is faster and better. While I am spending time researching and making sure I have it right, Matt’s out there actually making it happen. He knows exactly what’s wrong and where the fixes need to be made. Matt says let me mitigate my risks, limit risks that we might have but let’s get out there and make something happen. Then make needed changes while in motion. You want to be out there making things happen as quickly as possible because you can never foresee all the different possibilities and build in all the different contingencies. You just have to get it going and then improve it while you are in motion.

Get started. Learn from the experience. And then continually make improvements along the way. The key really is getting going.

2. Build a buyer’s list. Do it today. You want a list of investor buyers. If you have ten people on it get fifty. If you have fifty get five hundred, etc., etc., etc. Utilize the internet. (We’ll be talking more about that in the next issue). You can also advertise to REIA’s (real estate investor’s associations). This is a group of exactly who you are looking for. Advertise with these associations and get those people on your list.

3. Subscribe to wholesalers lists. You will be able to start seeing the opportunities that they have. If you are a wholesaler yourself you will learn what other people are doing. Find out how they are advertising, where they are picking up their properties, the kind of pricing that they are looking at. What’s working? What’s not working? If you are looking for houses, a great way to find a deal is to be on the list with the wholesalers. Start networking at your real estate investor’s association. You know first off you have to decide “what is your exit strategy?” What is it that you are trying to achieve? Go to your real estate investor’s association and network and take advantage of the offers from that group. Whether you are trying to find deals, buyers, money, joint ventures, whatever it is those people are there.

4. Create an advertising flyer: a flyer that you can distribute to your targeted area. This is one of the least expensive ways to get your marketing message out. You have a full 8.5 x 11 piece of paper to do messaging for you. We’re talking about five, six cents a copy. You can do thousands for literally pennies. On the flyer you should tell people what you do. Make sure you reiterate that any pain that is going on in their life, you are there to solve their problems. If they don’t have a problem you are not going to buy a great deal from them. You are looking for people with problems so you can show them that you have a solution.

5. Create a marketing letter. Focus on sending it to the owners of vacant houses that need your help. Now, how do I know where the owner of the vacant house is? You can do a little bit of research by going down to the county and seeing where the tax records are being sent. Or you can just mail it directly to the vacant house. Nine times out of ten the owner of the property has a forwarding address. What will happen is your piece is going to go on forward. You don’t have to get it right you just have to get it going.

Drive around, look at prospect houses. These are the ones when you drive through your target area that are in a little bit worse condition than all of the others. This would be a great property. If you don’t have a lot of money for direct mail, narrow your list down to the ones that are most likely prospects. Do you hit all the ones that are possibilities, no? But you have a targeted list you can mail to them more often.

Another list to get is the dispossessory list. That’s the landlords that are filing evictions against their tenants. Why is that a great list? When is a landlord most unhappy with the house? When they are filing an eviction, right? Chances are the tenants haven’t paid. The tenants probably made a mess of the property and the landlord is asking himself “Why am I in the rental business?” That is when you want to send them a letter. How do you get that list? You go to the courthouse and find out where landlords file for eviction. You ask to see the actual dispossessory filings. Take that list and mail to them on a regular basis.

Sit down and right a letter. Start off talking about their pain and their solution. Then make sure that you have a call to action.

6. Go out and get some bandit signs. Bandit signs are the little 18×24 inch signs that you see on the side of the road. Why do they call them bandit signs? They look like a bandit put them up in the middle of the night when nobody is looking. Are they legal? No, of course they are not legal. There is no community that says please put up bandit signs in my area. The idea is you put them up and you see if your community actually enforces their sign ordinances. And yes, I know these are really cheesy, but they work. Bang for the buck the signs really work and get the phone ringing.

Another thing you can do within you targeted area is go door to door and pass out your marketing information whether it be a flyer or a business card. Now if you are doing a business card make sure that it is a marketing message in the shape and size of a business card. Don’t just do a standard business card with your name and a title and a phone number but actually have a marketing message in there. Go out and meet people, talk to them, see them face to face. What are you going to tell them? Say “If you know of anyone that is interested in selling their house please have them give me a call.” The other thing you are doing is learning from those people. Learning what’s selling and what’s not selling. What other people are looking for. What do you know about the crime in the area? Who’s buying, who’s not buying? They may say no I don’t want to sell my house right now, but you know Suzy down the block is just going through a divorce and she was just saying the other day that she has to get rid of this house.

I had a student one time whom was busy. He had a regular full time job and his son was playing college ball. He was traveling city to city watching his son play football and said “you know I really just didn’t have time to get my marketing going and do anything.” All he did was take his business card and put that on the gas pumps every time he would pump gas. He got a deal from it. Now am I saying this is your best marketing tool? No. You see what happened even though he wasn’t doing a lot he was at least taking some action and that action was rewarded with a deal. Let’s say if you make a minimum of the $10,000 on a deal was it worth it to you to pass out the business cards at the gas pumps to do one deal and make $10,000. I got to believe the answer is yes. Would that have happened for him if he said “oh well I am going to take these three months off”? No. You’ve got to do something.

8. Be sure you have a web presence. Get a website on the internet. You know this is a new day and age and everybody is going to the internet. If you don’t know how to get a domain, just go to godaddy.com and buy one. It’s $10 or less to get a website address. I have hundreds of website addresses.

9. This is the quick easy way to start making money. So many people tell me they don’t have the money to start marketing. Just $500-$1,000 a month will get your marketing going. You can quickly make that amount of money by selling information products that other investors can use. By using the internet, you can sell those products to the list of wholesale buyer’s list that you built. Everything ties together and makes a circle of money. It does not have to be your information products. You can become an affiliate and sell other people’s products. What a great way to start having cash flow coming in on a regular basis. Use that to fund some marketing for your real estate. Then you will start doing a deal, two deals every month. Then we are talking about 10, 20, and 30,000 dollars coming in each and every month. It’s doing the little things that all of a sudden build up and make big things. Don’t go for that home run, but continually hit singles.

10. Line up you financing. If you found a deal what would you do with it? You are either going to wholesale it or you also might want to buy it yourself. Do you have the financing set up? You can buy it by dollar financing. You can also go out and get hard money loans. Have you worked with any hard money lenders in your area? Have you gotten preapproved for that? Take those steps so that you will be ready to go when that opportunity occurs.

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Lou Castillo is a national real estate investing expert and mentor to thousands of successful investors.
Lou specializes in creating powerful systems that allow investors to work less and earn more using the power of the internet in the real estate investing business.
To get more information or get Investing tips straight from Lou, visit: http://www.FreeRealEstateStrategies.com

As the home investment craze sweeps the nation savvy investors are continually looking for the next best real estate deal. Investors in the Northeast know that the Upstate area of New York is a market that always pays off. The Upstate area is a hugely popular vacation destination with a huge demand for vacation and short-term rentals. This has created a need for quality homes by interested investors and due to this need the art of home investing is alive and well in Chautauqua Lake.

The first thing that an investor should consider when thinking about an investment in Upstate, NY real estate is whether they will be renting the home themselves or attempting to flip the home to another buyer or investor. Either way there are likely some changes that you will want to make to the home to make it perfect for renters or attractive to other buyers. The basics are a great place to start with upgrades. Things like new appliances really catch the attention of buyers and renters alike. Not only do cutting-edge appliances make the kitchen (in particular) look great but if you are renting the property yourself, they can save you money as new appliances are more energy efficient than older models.

Cleanliness is a major point of import for sales and rentals alike. It is hard to grab the attention of investors or clients in any positive way if the home is unkempt or messy. Also, the home should be in the exact condition that you advertise it in for sales or rentals. The last thing you want is people arriving to view or stay and finding something other than what they were expecting. Homes that aren’t as they appear in ads can bring unwanted negative attention and reputation to a property.

The principles of curb appeal apply to both rentals and home sales. Both areas of investment rely on portraying as attractive an image as possible. Both buyers and renters want to be impressed with what they see on their first glance. However, if you are selling the home, curb appeal becomes even more important as buyers can be hesitant to spend a large sum of money on a property that does not impress them at first sight. Take the time to think about what your market is when purchasing a home. If you plan for each eventuality then there should be no surprises when the time comes to market the property.

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Craig Gleason is a lifelong resident of the Chautauqua Lake area. Craig and his wife Nancy are realtors who specialize in Chautauqua Lake real estate and properties in the Chautauqua Lake area. For more information on this amazing areas homes, contact Craig & Nancy today or visit us online at http://www.chautauquarealestate.com/

No one likes paying taxes, it doesn’t matter how the taxes are used in improving the quality of our country. Due to this reason, people procrastinate as much as possible on the payment of taxes and when the time comes it is all a big race against time. However, here are some tips that could make you prepared in advance to save on tax.

(i) Make prepayments on your 1 January mortgage payment – Make a check for the payment due 1 January before the previous 31 December. This would make you eligible for tax deduction on that payment in the next year. Even if you have postdated the check, the tax deduction stands.

(ii) Last-minute expenses and donations – Make some donations before the 31st of December. Then you could avail of the tax benefits that go along with these charitable expenses. Be sure to use your credit card to make these donations.

(iii) Defer your income – Stall your December incomes until January. You can request for deferment of the Christmas bonus to the New Year. This tip can be used also if you are self-employed. Just make your December bills in the month of January. With investments, some companies would allow to postpone paying taxes until a later year even if the income is earned this year.

(iv) Scrounge for all tax deductions – Look out for all heads where tax deductions apply. There are several places where a taxpayer can get deductions; so many in fact that some of them can be missed. Even a couple of more deductions could bring about measurable tax deductions.

(v) Make charitable donations – Whatever you do not use, donate it to charities. Clean out all the old stuff cluttering your home and donate it to a charity that you know about. Get receipts for your records. Deductions can be claimed on this amount equal to the wholesale market price of the items given. Thus cleaning up your attic or garage could be in fact a rewarding experience in more ways than one.

(vi) Put your kids on the payroll – You can pay your kids for small chores around the house provided they are above fourteen years of age. This would transfer some of your high taxable income to your kid’s low taxable income. However do not pay them too much, or it could be a deterrent in their getting financial aid when they are ready to go to college.

(vii) Make investments in your kids’ names – All investments made for the future of your kids are tax deductible. You can get a deduction of up to $700 in investment income per kid, provided that they are above fourteen years of age.

Keep these elementary tips in mind and they could go a long way in making you actually whistle and sing while paying taxes. Make advance preparations and save hugely on your tax payments.

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