How To Crack Your Local Real Estate Market…

Cracking real estate market

If you want to invest in real estate successfully, you need to do your research and avoid cheap properties or speculation. You also need to invest in the long term for the best success in growing your investment empire.

If you want to start investing in local real estate investment properties , take some advice from the experts and do what they do.

Speculation and buying up properties just because they are cheap is NOT a sustainable real estate investment strategy.

Here’s how one investor cracks the local real estate investment market. Read the rest of the article by clicking the the link below.

>> Cracking Your Real Estate Market <<

—-

The article is written by Brad Wozny , a real estate investor who began investing in real estate at the age of 26 and has never turned back since.

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How This Guy Has Got Several Million in Private Money for Real Estate…

private money for real estate investing

Okay, if you haven’t figured it out yet… having capital available (other than your own) is a necessity for real estate investors.

How many times have you come across deals that you would have bought up in a second if you just had the money?  Probably more than you can count.

How many times have you wondered how the heck you would get started in real estate investing since you don’t have any money and have even worse credit?

The Answer Is Private Money

Virtually all successful real estate investors use private money.  Private money isn’t the same as “hard money”.  Hard money is expensive as heck and is a last resort.

Private money is simply you borrowing money from a private party (not a bank) to do your deals.

Private money can come from:

  • Family members
  • Retirees who are looking for a better return
  • Other real estate investors who have extra capitol to lend
  • Well off business people who know the safety that private money loans secured by low LTV real estate is about as safe as it gets… and provides returns higher than what they are getting right now in the bank
  • The normal everyday blue collar worker who wants to be involved in real estate in some shape or form

Pretty much anywhere.

Patrick Is The Private Money King

I know, pretty hypey sounding… the king huh?  Well, he may not be the “king”… but Patrick Riddle is a full-time investor in the Carolina’s who has developed a great approach to getting private money for his real estate deals.

Actually, Patrick has been able to get several million in private money for his deals over the 6 years he’s been a full-time investor… and I’ve asked him to write up a few articles teaching you how he’s done it!

Check out his article….

” 3 ‘vital’ Keys to Getting Millions in Private Money”

Also, we’re setting up a 100% content (100% pitch free) webinar for later this month where Patrick will walk you through his entire private money getting process and he’ll give you the download link for his powerpoint presentation he created and refined over the years that he uses to present to potential private money lenders.

To be sure you get the webinar details, sign up for our newsletter and I’ll send out the details once they’re finalized.  (use the sign up form at the top of this page).

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Bulk REO Properties - Is the “bulk” REO deal a myth?

bulk reo properties myth

In "my other life" I run a direct response marketing agency (fun stuff!) and one of my clients just happens to be in the real estate game as well. I guess that’s why we hit it off and he has been a client of mine for about 6 months now.

Anyhow, my client is one of the nations top experts on Foreclosure Workout services for banks and a by product of the work they do is that they have direct access to many of the top regional and national banks… and their REO disposition departments. Because of these connections, my client has begun to help investors of Bulk REO Properties (bank owned real estate) put together REO purchase deals of $1 million and up.

However, in the process of marketing this service, my client and I have been seeing all kinds of people saying lately that they are "bulk reo property" buyers. Then they go on to say that they have "$1 billion ready for investment"… or "I have access to $400 million".

Really?

No… I mean… really?

90% of the REO buyer leads we gather through their website are legitimate and say they have between $500,000 and $5,000,000 available for purchasing bulk REO properties.  That’s about right.

But…

What gets me is that people:

  1. Think closing a $5 billion bulk REO deal with a bank is an everyday occurrance today (do you realize how many properties that would be???)
  2. Think that they have to throw around big numbers like "billions" in order to be taken seriously in the bulk REO market

That’s not the case.  The $5 billion deals (if any) are where the bank is selling bulk notes… not actual properties (to my knowledge… if I’m wrong prove me wrong…).

And, from what we’ve found in interviewing the investors who have asked to work with my client… most of the people who say they have something like "$1 billion sitting in a bank accessible to me"… are full of hot air and are not real serious players.  If you had $1 billion in the bank ready to buy a bunch of properties… I’m pretty darn sure you wouldn’t be searching around the internet submitting your info to websites.  Would you?

At the least… you’d have someone doing it for you (I hope).

So please… unless you can write a check for $1 billion today… don’t say you have it sitting in the bank from a pool of investors.  The key to doing these deals is being real and upfront about your true capabilities.

So, Are Bulk REO Deals Being Done?

Short answer.  Yes.  Bulk REO package deals with banks are happening.  Mostly in the several hundred thousand dollar to several million dollar range with 3-15 properties.

But, even these packages aren’t all that common.

The huge majority of REO deals with banks are onsey and twosey and are happening with everyday investors like me and you.

What’s A Great Strategy To Purchase Bulk REO’s For The Everyday Real Estate Investor?

Truly, there’s no one strategy that trumps them all.  But, a great way to get a hold of several REO properties at a time is to do the following:

  1. Build up a good relationship with one or several banks (good relationships… get to know the people working there by a first name basis).  Usually local and regional banks are great places to start.
  2. After you have a good relationship with your banker, tell them that you invest in real estate and would love to chat w/ their REO disposition supervisor … (the highest up person you can talk to that has the last say on REO sales).
  3. Make sure you have the financing to be able to close deals fast and start off by purchasing REO properties one at a time from the bank.  This is where you build their trust and show them that you have the money to close fast and are the real deal.  If you get an offer accepted you better be able to close on it or you can kiss future deals from the bank goodbuy.
  4. Once you have a property or two under your belt with the bank, it’s time to start thinking like a Fortune 500 corporation .
  5. Find out when the banks financial quarter ends. This is where they report their quarterly earnings and financials… and when most of upper management get evaluated for bonuses.  Just like any business, banks don’t want to have these underperforming assets on their books… especially when their earnings reports are due (they need to keep their investors happy).
  6. Leverage your relationship and your knowledge of their quarterly report timeline and come to them a few weeks to 1 month before their quarter ends and let them know you’re interested in purchasing several of their underperforming assets (REO properties) and would like to look at the REO properties available.
  7. Analyze the properties, determine what you need to get them for, and put in your second (or third) best offer (never give your best offer first… do I really have to tell you that? ;-).
  8. Negotiate until it’s a win-win. .. and you walk away with several properties at below market value… the bank walks away with those properties off of their books just in time for their quarterly earnings reports to shareholders.

In essence, companies who have investors have to please their investors.  Investors don’t like to see poor financials… so companies will often take a lower price on these properties so they can boost their financials in time for the end of the quarter.

Do Business… Not Real Estate

A great way to succeed in ANY BUSINESS, including real estate investing , is to treat it like a BUSINESS.  Weird thought huh?

Look at and study how successful companies (in other markets) have become successful (Warren Buffet is a great person to study), and get creative to see how you can apply those same principles to your real estate business.

Think outside of the real estate "guru" education box… and get entrepreneurial.

Don’t hesitate to shoot me any questions… and we’ll chat soon!


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July 2008 Housing and Real Estate Market Statistics

july 2008 real estate market statistics

It’s that time again!  Real Estate Market Statistics for July are here!

It looks like the housing supply is still pretty high, which is of course pushing the declining home prices in many of the nations markets; however, listings have actually dropped in many of the areas markets that matter.

These stats aren’t a big change from last month, but do go to support the fact that there are some great buys out there right now because of the high supply of single family homes out there.   With all of the foreclosures still piling up, it doesn’t look like the housing supply “problem” will balance out anytime soon.

Here are the real estate market stats for July 2008 and my commentary on what the stats mean (it’s both good and bad…).

Read The July 2008 Housing Stats Report

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Finding Private Lending In Today’s Market… How Easy Is It??

private money lender

Okay, I’m just getting settled down from the weekend.  The 4th was a blast (as always), my birthday was yesterday (notch another one on the belt), and late last week I chatted with some awesome real estate investors who are making it happen.

Anyhow, one of the investors I’ve been chatting with is a young guy back east who’s been investing full-time since he was about 21 also (for about 6 years) and knows his stuff.  I got to asking him about his REI business and what he considers himself and "expert" at, and he said…

"Most definitely finding private lenders to fund our deals".

Hmmm… this is one of the biggest questions that I get from readers is how to fund their deals… and how to find private lenders.

Sounds like a good 100% content pitch-free webinar to me!

Finding Private Lenders For Real Estate

Here it is.

I talked Patrick into coming aboard to share how he has gotten several millions of private money dollars to fund his deals… and how he has an almost "unlimited" amount of private money at his fingertips (of course… not unlimited… but more money than he even could use for his deals).

This isn’t a pitch filled webinar… in fact… there’s no pitch at all !  Just pure content… the way I like it. (why don’t more websites do this for their readers?)

Also, Patrick created a Powerpoint presentation years ago and has refined it over his 6 years getting private lenders … that he personally uses to recruit new private lenders .

And…

I talked him into giving you a copy of his presentation for you to use to get your own private lenders.

What Is Your Biggest Private Lending Question?

Patrick and I have a pretty good idea of what we’re going to talk about in this webinar… he’ll of course walk you through the process that he uses to:

  • Market to potential private money lenders
  • Make the potential private lenders feel comfortable enough with you to lend you THEIR hard earned money
  • How to structure your private money loans
  • Mistakes to avoid

… and a ton more.

But…

I’d like to know what the heck you want to know about getting private money for your real estate deals.

Afterall… this webinar is for you… not us.

What is your single biggest private lending question … that if answered… would be huge for you and your reale state investing business?

I wanna know… so we can work it into our webinar.

We sent out this question to our newsletter subscribers and we’ve already gotten back a ton of specific questions that we’ll answer live on the webinar.

But, it’s your turn… what’s your question?

Here’s What To Do

  1. Post your question on the comment form below… or sent it through our contact form
  2. Subscribe to our newsletter to make sure you get the details on the webinar (newsletter subscription box is at the top middle of this page)
  3. Get ready for a no holds barred webinar sometime this month

Just FYI, we’re planning for 60 minutes… but with all of the questions we’ve already got… it looks like it’s probably going to be longer.  How long?  Not sure yet… but we’ll try to answer all of the questions you have so everyone walks away completely clear on exactly what you need to do to get all of the private money you need for your real estate investing business.

A quick note…

Since all of these webinars we’re putting on this summer are going to be FREE… not to mention they’re pitch-free… honest… and complete information… no teasers here…

… I’ve decided that we’re going to require that people be on our newsletter list to participate. You’ll love the newsletter anyway… but this lets me communicate with those on webinar a bit more personal and we’ll provide extra resources to those on our newsletter that noone else will get.

What "extra" stuff?

  • Newsletter subscribers get to access the webinar/teleseminar live … all others won’t get access to the recording for 30-60 days after (I haven’t decided yet exactly how long… but at least 30 days)
  • Newsletter subscribers will get to instantly download the companion resources for the webinars (the actual powerpoint presentation that Patrick uses to get private lenders is the first "companion resource"… it’s yours free as a subscriber)
  • Newsletter subscribers will be notified of upcoming 100% content pitch-free webinars first … and have a say when it will be held and what will be discussed

… and some more stuff.  But, only subscribers will find out ;-).

Anyhow, I’m not doing this to trick anyone into subscribing to our newsletter… it’s your choice obviously.

But, I know that we put out one of the best (if not THE best) resources out there… and I want as many people as possible to be able to access it.  In return for all of the time that myself and other investors spend on this site putting out FREE content that is more actionable and valuable than stuff some "gurus" put out there for $497… all I ask in return is that you hop on the newsletter so I can chat w/ you on a more personal level and provide you a better overall experience.

Enough of that… I’ll chat w/ you soon!

P.S. - Don’t forget to shoot me over your questions and to sign up for our newsletter !


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Independence Day Isn’t All About Hot Dogs, Fireworks, and Parties…

independence day

What does Independence Day mean to you?

Is it all about fireworks, hitting the lake, and fun?

Or…

Do you really take the time to think about that word… "independence" ?

Back in the 1700’s the U.S.A. didn’t exist and we were ruled by another country… basically… we followed THEIR rules and did what they said was good for us.

That would have been kind of a crappy life… being "hog tied" (like my rodeo reference? ;-) by another country and not having any freedom.

But…

Fast forward to 2008 and the U.S.A. is a free country… but I’d venture to say that…

Most American’s aren’t truly "FREE" - Are you?

I mean, most of us are strapped to a 9-5 job, have more than $10k in debts, hate what we do for a living, and want more out of life.

Are you "hog tied" by your life, your job, and know there’s more out there?

Well… I can tell you that there is MORE out there and you can make Independence Day have a different meaning to you.

Please… please do yourself a favor this July 4th and declare Independence from a mediocre life .

We only get one go around on this blue rock… so why spend even 1 minute doing something that doesn’t
make you fulfilled and happy?

You already know real estate investing is a great way to break away from your mediocre life and create the life and income that you want.  This isn’t a secret… you and I know it’s possible and people do it everyday.

The difference between those who make it and those who stay mediocre for their whole lives is one single decision:

The decision to declare independence from the things
you hate and to no longer put up with being mediocre.

That’s it… successful people made the decision to be successful … mediocre people can’t get themselves to make the decision and commit to it… and wait until the "secret" to success or a "savior" comes along to bring them up.

That’s it.

So, as corny as it is… use tomorrow (July 4th) to celebrate the independence of our great country… but also yourself … cause we’ve only got one go around here… and why not make the most of it?


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Real Estate Market Statistics June 2008 - Housing Market Stats

RAMONA, CA - OCTOBER 30:  A real estate for sale sign offers a reduced price October 30, 2007 in Ramona, California. August home prices fell for the eigth consecutive month across the United States with Tampa, Florida leading the way for metropolitan cities with a 10.1 percent decline.

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

July is almost here… and the June 2008 Real Estate Market Stat report is here too!

The one thing that you’ll notice from this months real estate market stat report is that housing didn’t take as much of a hit as the media has been reporting.  Really, it’s not all that bad at all (especially for investors).

In our new content format over here at The REI Brain… we’re posting the "meaty" content at our main site and will tell you about it… and link to it over here at the blog.

Enjoy!

June 2008 Real Estate Market Statistics and Indicators

(click the link above to go to the June ‘08 Real Estate Stat Report)

P.S. - Hey, we haven’t "officially" launched our new site design yet.  You’ll see some unfinished elements that truly aren’t meant to be seen by the outside world (like the big red box that says ‘ad box’, lol).  We’re working on getting it done… but let me know what you think of it so far!  Thanks!


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Keeping Financials for A Real Estate Investing Biz… You’re Doing it Right???

real estate investing record keeping

For some people keeping your financials for your REI biz is easy and comes second nature.

For me… I’d rather focus on marketing and sometimes forget about keeping the financials for my businesses because it’s something that I don’t enjoy doing.

Financials are of course important for tax reasons… but are also vital for the health of your business… REI or any other kind of business out there.

Without accurate financials how are you supposed to know what your profits or losses are?

How do you know what you need to keep spending on that returns a high ROI and what is sucking the life out of your business??

I Kept Financials On Excel Forever… Now…

For a while I went the fre.e route and thought it would be easier for me to keep my company financials on an Excel spreadsheet.

It worked okay for a while… but reporting was lacking… it wasn’t all that easy… and sometimes I wouldn’t even update my financials because it was a hassle.

Anyhow, where I’m going with this is that 2 years into owning my business I finally jumped in and purchased a book keeping software to help streamline things…

… make it easier on me… and to save me time. Those excel spreadsheets were getting too complicated and didn’t quite do the job anymore.

Making that investment for Quickbooks Pro (I paid a bit over $200 for it then) to handle the accounting for my businesses is one of the best decisions I made to help make book keeping much easier and more streamlined.

I still run Quickbooks Pro and couldn’t imagine using Quicken or Excel spreadsheets anymore… my time is way more valuable than I valued it back in the day.

So… even if you’re running a small REI (or any type of biz for that matter)… keeping accurate records is vital for the health and long term success of your business.  Without accurate numbers you’re running your business blind.

Action Steps:

  1. If you’re making more than $10,000 a year in REI (or any other biz) you need some type of book keeping software other than Excel (in my opinion).
  2. Determine the best software to fit your needs (I recommend Quickbooks Pro… they’re running a promotion right now… so you can get it for cheaper than I bought it for… way cheaper)
  3. Purchase and implement the software and at a minimum set 1 day a week to go through and do your book keeping (I use Tuesdays… just works well for me).
  4. Run reports monthly (at a minimum) to see your profit/loss for the month… so you can pinpoint    places where you can cut back expenses… or increase expenditures that are having a high ROI
  5. If you own rental properties as well, I suggest keeping your business books separate from your    property books… so use a rental property software for your properties… and book keeping software    for your overall business.

Just to clarify… for you who own rental properties you know that there are expenses that are directly related to your property… and expenses that are directly related to your business operations.

It is important to separate these because many business expenses (copy paper, phone service, business registration w/ the state, etc.) should be written off for your business (not the property) and you’ll get a bigger write off.

So, keep your property related income/expenses in a property management software … and your business related income/expenses in a separate book keeping program like Quickbooks Pro .

Quickbooks Pro Promotion Until July…

As I said, I have Quickbooks Pro and use it for my different businesses.  I’ve found that it really makes it easy, quick, and more efficient to keep my books (way better than Quicken or Excel… way better).

Anyhow, since I’m an owner I’m on their email list and they shot out an email saying they’re running
a limited time promotion on Quickbooks Pro 2008 until July that gives you a 20% discount and Free shipping on the product.  This is good for you… crappy for me because I already ponied up $200 to get it.

I bought it for $200… and w/ this promotion they’ll give it to you for $159.96 … but they do say that they plan to run this only until the start of July.

Here’s a link to the promo page w/ the 20% off. .. it’s even cheaper on this page than it is being sold for on Amazon.com… which is cool.

Quickbooks Pro 2008 - 20% Discount Promo <<== Promo Price

Summary…

While keeping the books for your REI biz isn’t all that fun or exciting… it is necessary and can be a real pain in the rear if you put it off or DON’T EVEN DO IT AT ALL.   So, learn from my mistakes and get away from Excel and into a real book keeping software to save you both time and money.

If you run another book keeping software and like it… let me know what you run and why you like it.  I always like to hear what’s working for other people in their businesses.

Here’s that Quickbooks Pro 2008 promo link again if you missed it before… just an FYI… the email I got said it’ll run until the start of July… after that it’ll go back up to $195 and shipping will be extra. W/ this promo they’re running… it’s $159 and free shipping.

Quickbooks Pro 2008 Promo Price Link <==


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Tenant File 6.0 Property Management Software Review - In Depth Video Review

*********
UPDATE :

Since we posted the review we were able to get you even more of a discount.  The discounted price is still $229 for the Tenant File software… but we’ve been able to get you FREE Shipping on it too!  So, the video still says shipping is $10… but shipping is now FREE! (anywhere in the U.S.).

Scroll down to watch the video review and to find the discounted purchase button that includes Free Shipping.
*********

Okay…Tenant file

After getting hounded by a bunch of readers (I like being hounded though… it just helps me see what people are looking for! ) over the past month and a half about reviewing the Tenant File 6.0 software program for rental property management… I’ve finally had a chance to connect with the developers of the software… dig into it… and pass along my video review and opinion.

I want to thank Gary, Rachel, Mark, and many others who emailed me asking about Tenant File and recommending that I review it.

And… I’m glad I did… because it’s one rocking software that has a ton of features that other property management software programs of this level lack… and is priced pretty attractively (especially with the introductory price I was able to negotiate with the software developer that I can assure you… will only be available for a short time).

Anyhow, here it is…

Tenant File is a mid range priced property management software program ($20 off discount using the links below) aimed at between 20 and 100 units , that has a ton of the features of $500+ programs that cater toward property managers… but is also simple and straight forward enough for the property owner who is managing just 20 units.

Well… as always I’ve recorded a video of me going through the Tenant File software program from start to finish… giving you an in-depth look at the software program from a guy who has used dozens of them over the past 4 years. Also as usual… I went so in-depth in this video that it ended up being about 30 minutes long (but is full of detail and walk throughs). I’ve condensed my review into words below the video so feel free to check out the video and/or the written review… but I DO highly recommend seeing Tenant File in action to get the best picture of whether this program is for you or not.

Enjoy…

Tenant File Property Management Software Review (new release!)

- click the play button to start video

**If you’re having trouble viewing the video above, follow the link below to watch it directly at the video hosting site:

Click Here To View Video If You Can’t View It Above <<

Scroll down to get the link for the intro $20 discount (and FREE Shipping! ) / coupon on the software

—-

"Cliff Notes" Version of my Review:

Okay… the nitty gritty. Overall I really thought the Tenant File property management software program is a great piece of software and is WELL worth checking into before you make your final decision.

Tenant File has a clean and easy design and structure… has a ton of basic and advanced features not offered by other mid-range property management softwares… has free support (unlike most others)… and its price is pretty good for the features that you get with the software. Priced at $229 with the introductory rate (with FREE Shipping! ) we negotiated with the software developer (it’s on sale for $249 over at their site … so $229 is a rocking deal if this property management software is the right one for you). And, I’ll throw in my rental property management document package worth $67 as a bonus as well.

The Pros:

  • Very easy to learn … simple, clean design. I really like the big buttons on the main page that immediately take you right to each vital area of the software… makes entries quick and easy.
  • Tenant File offers free support by phone (for 60 days) and by email (for life), which most other property management software developers charge you big bucks for. Great addition by the Tenant File guys… way to step up!
  • Integrates easily with Quicken and Quickbooks
  • Has a built in check register and bank account tracking so you can truly manage ALL of the finances for the rental properties right there in Tenant File (very great feature!)
  • You can automatically "pay" the management fee when you collect rent… and you can customize the management fee by unit, owner, building, etc… no need to make a separate entry every time… set it up once and it’s automatically taken care of forever
  • Print checks from right there in Tenant File
  • You can quickly generate over 80 reports and can break them down by owner, property, vendor, checks/deposits, unit, tenant, account, etc. Pretty much any report you will need is here.
  • You can keep very detailed information about tenants, units, buildings, owners, etc… and attach files such as pictures, contracts, notes, or other files to each record… and you can customize the type of information you want to keep for units… which is very very nice.
  • It has a "charge / pay" type of book keeping system (standard general ledger type) where you can automatically "charge" the rent on the start of the rental period… and "pay" when you receive rent. This makes it easy to track who has not paid rent… and makes for a very clean book at the end of the month
  • Really caters to property managers as well and makes it easy to track and charge management fees (you can customize fees any way you want), pay building owners, etc. Takes most of the thinking out of the process for you
  • Has a built in email feature that lets you email contacts (owners, vendors, tenants, etc.) from right there in Tenant File. Great for sending receipts to tenants, statements to owners, etc.
  • Nice robust reminder and notes systems that make it easy to set up reminders for certain actions… and take notes to be stored for any contact in the database
  • Just a couple clicks to post rents … which is much easier than most property management software programs out there
  • You can do two click rent increases across the board or you can customize the rent increase by building, owner, unit, tenant, etc. VERY GOOD FEATURE. Also, charging late fees is just as easy.
  • Has a Free Trial that lets you use the fully functional software for 10 uses (more than enough to learn the program) so you can use the software before you buy. I’d suggest you download it and try it out… but be sure to come back to this web page to buy the program for the $20 $30 discounted price .
  • and a bunch more I just don’t have the room to write about…

What I Didn’t Like About It (as always, I’m a pretty picky guy when it comes to this):

  • This is very picky… but the design is somewhat dated and doesn’t look as "pretty" as programs like Quicken Rental Property Manager . But, truly… this also makes Tenant File easier to use and the features outweigh this easily
  • Doesn’t include an internal word processor out of the box that lets you print and automatically populate documents like contracts, forms, etc. from right there in the program. The only software I’ve reviewed so far that does include this is Real Tools . You CAN get this for Tenant File with the optional upgrade for $129 which is great… but it doesn’t come with the software automatically
  • Doesn’t have a "current status" or "snapshot" area on the main screen that lets you have a quick look at the overall operation including the months financials and notifications. Quicken Rental Property has a great "snapshot" screen that lets you see the current financials of the property… and Real Tools has an awesome "notification" type screen that shows you late rent notifications and others… but Tenant File is a far superior program to both of those.
  • Doesn’t have a downloadable version that you can just download right on the internet. This can be a plus and a minus… depends on your preferences. For me, I like to download my software on the internet… but on the other hand, it is really nice to have a hard copy of the software sent to your door.

My Overall Impression of Tenant File Property Management Software??

Overall I really loved Tenant File and the advanced features it offers to cater to both property owners and property managers… at a price that is right. Compared to the other property management software reviews I’ve done recently… here’s how it stacks up:

  • Tenant File is a tad more expensive ($229 w/ the into price through the links below ) than the others I’ve reviewed so far… but it has many more advanced features and really adds the elements that make this great for both property managers and owners. I think the $229 into price is a good deal when you consider the extra features it has over Landlord Max , Quicken Rental Property, and others.
  • Tenant File overall has more features … and is simpler to use than the other software programs in the $125-$250 price range I’ve reviewed so far.
  • Tenant File is great for 20 - 100 units (can do more than 100 units w/ an upgrade) and is a good option for property managers who are looking for a robust program… with a price tag below the $250 mark. The other rental property softwares I’ve reviewed are really catered more toward the property owner… and don’t offer the advanced features that Tenant File offers.

How Do I Grade It?? (out of 5)

Design: quicken rental property manager and 1/2
Affordability:
(for property owners)
Affordability :   (for property managers)
Features: and 1/2
Ease of Use :
Overall (20 - 100 units): and 3/4 (4.75 / 5)

This is the highest grade I’ve given a property management software yet… and the score mostly reflects the ease of use, tons of features, and the affordable price in relation to other similar programs. I didn’t give it a perfect score because I haven’t found a PERFECT program yet… but this one comes pretty close. If they added in the "snapshot" of financials and notifications on the main screen and included the word processing feature… it would likely bump it up to a 5 out of 5 for me… for this price range.

I broke down my grade for "affordability" between property owners and property managers because Tenant File is very affordable for a property manager … and is moderately affordable for a property owner when you consider the wealth of advanced features in the software program.

So, if you’re a property manager or property owner looking for a very feature rich yet affordable property management software… Tenant File is a great option for you and you should head over and download the Free Trial fully functional version to try it out to see if it’s for you.

Then…

To Purchase Tenant File At A Discount

If you like Tenant File… be sure to come back to this page (bookmark this page) to purchase Tenant File at the discounted "intro" price I negotiated for you with the software developer. Shipping anywhere in the U.S. is only $10 FREE!

  • Buy Tenant File for the intro price of $229 + $10 FREE shipping (+ you get our $67 Property Management Forms Package for FREE!)

(price is $249 + shipping at the developers own website!)

(Click the button above to order Tenant File through our Secure Payment page . If you want to add any upgrades, be sure to "add to cart" the upgrades BEFORE you click the "Buy Now" button above. )

** Don’t hesitate to shoot me an email if you have any questions at all by sending me a message through the "contact " page. Questions about the product, order process, etc… shoot me a message anytime!

Optional Upgrades Offered

If you want to upgrade to get the Word Processor or Work Order features (very very valuable and time saving), it’s an additional investment for each. Learn more about these options at the software developers site… and come back here to purchase them for additional bonuses.

  • Word Processor Option Only - $129.95
  • Work Order Option Only - $99.95
  • Both Word Processor and Work Order Options Together - $206.95 ($23 savings when purchased together)

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10 Most Appreciating Real Estate Markets - Summer 2008

real estate markets 2008

Whoa! It’s been over a week since my last article… how time flies by when business is pumping!

I’m always a pretty positive guy and hate it when people start off in any discussion by looking at the negatives. There’s just too much negative talk out there in today’s real estate market … especially when there’s so much positive out there for savvy (and ethical) real estate investors to grab a hold of.

Anyway, here’s some positive news for all of those people who say the real estate market sucks.

The Top 10 Fastest Growing Real Estate Markets in the U.S.

Here they are… the top 10 fastest growing (most appreciating) real estate markets as reported by CNNMoney.com and yahoo Real Estate .

1. McAllen, Texas

12-month forecast: 4%
Median home price: $109,000
One year price change: 2.1%
Five year price change: 23.3%
Change in foreclosure rate: 23%

2. Rochester, N.Y.

12-month forecast: 2.7%
Median home price: $121,000
One year price change: 3.4%
Five year price change: 20.1%
Change in foreclosure rate: 5%

3. Birmingham, Alabama

12-month forecast: 2.7%
Median home price: $156,000
One year price change: 2.9%
Five year price change: 29.4%
Change in foreclosure rate: 20%

4.