The SmarterLandlording Podcast

Episode 17 of the Smarter Landlording Podcast is a conversation with Matt Cates of AACQ Deals to discuss building a brand and a marketing plan to find, buy and wholesale properties. Matt has successfully built his real estate investing business by creating a name for himself and using extensive marketing techniques to get his phone ringing with active real estate leads.

My conversation with Matt touches on many topics, including:

· Understanding real estate wholesaling.

· The value a wholesaler brings to a real estate deal.

· Why you need a brand for your real estate business.

· How to market for real estate deals and what strategies work best.

· Which social media sites give the best bang for your dollar.

· How a virtual assistant can help grow our business.

· How to get over the fear of talking to property owners on the phone. Will they get angry with you?

· Tips on negotiating your deal.

This episode of the Smarterlandlording Podcast is filled information that every real estate investor must think about and learn if they want to take their business to the next level. Matt definitely provides great Advice From Experience.

Episode 16 of the Smarter Landlording Podcast starts a new series called Conversations With Real Estate Investors. Conversations With Real Estate Investors is exactly what it sounds like, a conversation with a real estate investor who is actively working in and on their investing business.

Episode 16 begins this conversation series by sitting down and talking with fellow landlord Delois Brown. Delois has been building up her portfolio of rental properties here in Memphis, TN for the past dozen or so years. Since that time she has earned her stripes as a real estate investor and she shares part of her real estate investing journey with me today on the show.

The conversation begins by talking with Delois about how she got into real estate and better yet, why she largely got into real estate after she retired from her full-time job of 30 years! Delois had a great job that she generally liked with the great salary that nearly everyone strives for. She had a family and two kids. Many of us would have said that Delois had it all. But, even having it all, she still felt there was more to life and that real estate would be able to provide it for her. What more did she want? Listen in to find out and to hear about the many lessons that both Delois and myself have learned as we bought, rehabbed and managed rental properties.

Our conversation touches on many topics, including:

· The advantages of having a real estate license.

· Understanding and timing the real estate market. Maybe buy in bulk?

· Buying properties at tax sales and the issues that can come with them.

· Who you should talk to before buying that investment property.

· The Section 8 Program. A guaranteed check but with strings attached.

· We even got into Air B and B and how you “live on your ratings.”

This podcast episode runs a little long, but that is only because the conversation was great and there was so much information discussed. Delois has built up a outstanding business for herself and her family. She definitely provides great Advice From Experience.

Episode 15 of the Smarter Landlording Podcast welcomes back real estate investor extraordinaire Richard Scarbrough. Focusing on my new book, Advice From Experience To New Real Estate Investors, Richard and I discuss 5 key pieces of advice from experience that every new real estate investor must learn and know. During the first part of the show, we remember why we both got into real estate investing and Richard explains why real estate is more advantageous than just about any other investment out there.

Listen in as Richard and I go over 5 key pieces of Advice From Experience taken from the book:

• Don’t Wait to Buy Real Estate, Buy Real Estate and Wait - Learn how time is a great healer that can cover almost any newbie mistake.
• Work On Your Business, Not In It - Change your mindset and avoid “entrepreneurial optimism.”
• Don’t Fudge the Numbers - Learn what numbers you can and cannot control in any deal and what number you must have in any rehab budget.
• Don't Be Too Trusting - You would think that people will do what they say, but that is not always the case. What you as a new investor must do to protect yourself.
• On Working with Friends and Family - Doing so may sound like a good idea. But give us a listen first.

Everyone out there wants to share their advice on real estate investing. But before you take that advice, ask this question. “How many houses have you bought and sold?” If the answer is one or none, you may want to think about where that advice is coming from. If the answer is in the hundreds, like Richard and I can say, than you may want to listen to that Advice From Experience.

Episode 14 of the Smarter Landlording Podcast is a discussion with mortgage broker Herb Hyman. Herb has been in the mortgage and loan business for over thirty years. He has seen the ups and downs of the real estate market along with the good and the bad. In this episode Herb shares his knowledge on acquiring loans for investment properties. This episode is focused towards and will be especially helpful to those just starting out in the investing world as Herb knows what it takes to get the loan process going.

Listen as Herb and I discuss:

• Beginning your search for investor loans.
• Common types of loans for new investors.
• The documents you need to get together for the loan approval process.
• Getting pre-approved.
• Down payments.
• The importance of your credit report and having your own house in order.
• Appraisals
• Why a local underwriter is key.

Episode 13 of the SmarterLandlording Podcast is an extensive interview with friend and super knowledgeable real estate professional Pablo Pereyra. Pablo is perhaps the hardest working man I know. Not only does he have 5 kids, he owns his own real estate brokerage and property management company. He is an investor and a master at working both sides of the real estate deal. If you want to think about doing things a bit better and a bit differently than your competition, then this conversation with Pablo is a good place to start.

Listen as Pablo and I discuss:

• Why the win/win strategy is perhaps outdated and the strategy to use today.
• The keys to bring the deal together.
• What to do in order to keep the deal moving forward.
• The value you can add to any transaction.
• The best way to find properties in a tight real estate market.
• The toughest real estate deal Pablo has put together.
• The deal Pablo is proudest of.
• Four questions to ask yourself before you get started in real estate or tackle any deal.