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Articles by Bryan Benson

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By Bryan BensonJan 10, 20081 topic

Filing A Quiet Title Suit

Stay in this business long enough and you will one day be able to say that there isn’t much that you haven’t seen. In fact, you may find that the time may come when you see much more than you wanted to see. On occasion, you may come across a property where the owner has completely left it only to have the mortgage company come and repossess it. For whatever the reason may be, you may find it difficult to buy the property when there really isn’t someone there

Primary topic: Investing

1,947 views

By Bryan BensonDec 17, 20071 topic

The Perfect Short Sale Candidate

Many wonder what the ideal short sale candidate might look like. With all the different and unique situations that you may run into, here is an example to compare to.nnIf a potential seller’s asking price is the total amount owed between a first and second mortgage together and is several payments behind on both mortgages, and if the After Repairs Value is several thousand about his asking price, then this buyer is a prime candidate for a short sale deal.nnYou will want

Primary topic: Investing

1,898 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 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 BensonMar 11, 20081 topic

Developing Extra Sensory Perception

Most experts agree that most people have extra sensory perception or are able to develop it. Many of us have already experienced ESP. For example: Have you ever gotten the feeling the phone was about to ringâ¦and it does? You are singing a song to yourself when you turn on the radio and the song you are thinking about is playing. nnSome may attribute these events as coincidence, but then again perhaps there is something more taking place. Maybe there is no such thing as coin

Primary topic: Meditation

1,171 views

By Bryan BensonDec 17, 20071 topic

Ron's Magic Yellow Letter

The infamous “yellow letter” has brought success in some way to everyone that has implemented it in his or her business. Putting it into your business is a time consuming process, but it is well worth the time and money.nnThere are a few important details to remember that are crucial to the success of using this letter. First, be sure you use the yellow letter exactly like it is on the website. Don't get creative and try to change the letter around at all. There i

Primary topic: Investing

1,152 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 BensonDec 6, 20071 topic

How Can You Identify A Buyer's Market?

Part of being successful in real estate involves reading the market and knowing the difference between a buyer’s market and a seller’s market. In order to drive a profit, you have to understand how to play your cards, and to be able to win the hand, you have to identify exactly what you are being dealt. Is the market on a downturn or an upswing? Depending on the answer, you’ll want to put your chips in different stacks.nnThe laws of supply and demand drive a

Primary topic: Mortgage and Home Financing

Mortgage and Home Financing

1,072 views

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 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 BensonDec 3, 20071 topic

Do You Have The Courage To Be Rich - Part 3

If you’re reading this and you haven’t done your first deal yet, you may be trying to justify why it doesn’t apply to you.n nSorry, that dog won’t hunt. It does apply to you if you want to get rich. Every successful real estate millionaire began with their first deal. You ain’t no different.nnIf you haven’t done number one yet, there’s only a handful of reasons why:nn1. You’re brand new! Ok, this excuse is only good for about a

Primary topic: Entrepreneurs

1,001 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 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 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 Logan YoungDec 13, 20071 topic

Making The Most Of Your Jazz Guitar Lessons

Many of us had this dream when we started learning to play jazz guitar. We saw ourselves on stage under bright lights whipping out this great improvised solo. Maybe our dreams went into even more details. We saw the other band members, the equipment (like jazz guitar amps) and the people who would listen to our music. nnSo like any newbie, we decided to trot off and do what it took to learn how to play. We enrolled in lessons and things started off with a bang, but as the wee

Primary topic: Learning

972 views

By Bryan BensonDec 6, 20071 topic

How Does The Media Affect The Real Estate Market?

A trained eye knows how to read the real estate market without listening to talking heads that provide general news. Media often hypes any story to sensational levels in order to gain attention, building ratings for whatever network running the program. That means that, whether talking about a good or bad housing market, the story is most likely going to get blown out of proportion. How does this affect the general public?nnFor those who have not had the proper training, list

Primary topic: Investing

960 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 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 BensonDec 5, 20071 topic

Making Money Through Seller Financing

If you are serious about real estate investment, you should think twice about your requirements for purchasers or tenants. In most cases, if someone is ready to purchase a home without going through a traditional bank, it is because they don’t meet all of the requirements to qualify for a standard mortgage loan. That means you can’t expect your customers to come to you with golden credit and a huge down payment. Considerations must be made, and other ways of assum

Primary topic: Investing

904 views

By Bryan BensonDec 14, 20071 topic

Foreclosures And Short Sales

Attempting to do a short sale may be a challenge when there a foreclosures on homes with multiple mortgages. For example, there may be a situation where the foreclosing lender with the highest amount due is in the second place, and the second lien holder with a substantially lower amount is in first place. This can happen because the second lien holder got to the courthouse first and recorded ahead of the larger mortgage holder. nnIn these situations, the largest mortgage hol

Primary topic: Investing

893 views

By Bryan BensonJan 1, 20081 topic

Understanding MAO

When lenders agree to do a short sale in real estate, it means the lender is accepting less than the total amount due because the balance due on the loan is more than what the property will sell for. Not all lenders will accept short sales or discounted payoffs, especially if it would make more financial sense to foreclose.nnWhen you intend to raise cash and raise capital once the bank accepts your offer. Or maybe you intend to involve a private lender. Then you will need to

Primary topic: Investing

893 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 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 BensonMar 5, 20081 topic

How Do You Title The Trust, The Trustee And The Beneficiary?

If youâre thinking about making the seller the trustee, you don't want to do that. Why you ask? Because the seller is out of this, their business is none of your business and vise versa. We know what you might be thinking, what if I can avoid the due on sale clause by making them the trustee and then the next document they sign is their resignation as trustee and Iâll become the trustee. nnThe problem with this is it doesn't avoid the due on sale clause. It hides it. If y

Primary topic: Entrepreneurs

885 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 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 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 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 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

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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 BensonMar 8, 20081 topic

Confused About The Steps You Need To Take?

Say you just got your first deed subject to deal, and you are a little bit confused about the steps you need to take. You already, applied for title search. So that's happening, and things are on their way. nnThe seller's sign all of the documents. One of the things that you didn't understand that they told you was regarding the lender. They told you that their lender has included the closing cost in their mortgage. You arenât really sure how this might affect your lease op

Primary topic: Investing

838 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 BensonMar 11, 20081 topic

Meditation To Increase Brain Function

Meditation is a discipline where the mind is focused either on an object or on breathing. It has been described as âself regulation of attention, in the service of self-inquiry, in the here and now.ânnThere have been numerous articles in major magazines as well as in medical journals of the positive benefits of meditation from reducing stress to healing the physical body. Meditation has been known in eastern religions for more than 5,000 years as a quest for spirituality.

Primary topic: Meditation

832 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 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 2, 20081 topic

Yellow Letter Campaign: How To Handle Your Calls

Are you having issues with your yellow letter campaign? Let me guess. You are getting a ton of calls, which let’s face it-that is wonderful problem to have. Are you unsure of how to really explain yourself? Many people find themselves in this situation. Think about it. They basically get the letter and they think you are some hick who drove through the neighborhood and stuck flyers in everyone’s mailbox. And then they call you…and you say…not sure what

Primary topic: Investing

827 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 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 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 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 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

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