Check the huge lot on this Southfield foreclosure. More wisdom from John on the finer points of rehabbing houses.

Turn up the volume on your computer and hit PLAY!

Posted by Mark Ijlal at 12:07 AM | Permalink

More LIVE tips on evaluating foreclosures from my foreclosure bus tour today - this is a bank foreclosure in Southfield. Around $40,000 in spread in equity.

Turn up the volume on your computer and hit PLAY!

Posted by Mark Ijlal at 11:31 PM | Permalink

I took 24 of my Ijlal Inner Circle members on a Michigan foreclosure bus tour today. Got on a bus early in the morning and saw 6 Michigan foreclosures – 2 in Southfield, 3 in Redford and 1 in Garden City. It was awesome fun. I shoot some videos on my RCA Small Wonder with John McAuliffe, my property inspector guy explaining the nuts and bolts of looking at Michigan foreclosures from the eyes of an investor.

Turn up the volume on your computer and hit PLAY!

Posted by Mark Ijlal at 09:42 PM | Permalink

I went to a mastermind meeting of Michigan real estate investors last night. My Inner Circle Mastermind for the month of May 2007.

Left the meeting at 9 minutes past midnight with 8 of my Inner Circle members who stayed left long after hotel security has kicked us out of the room, in the lobby with me putting together plans for action for the next 30 days.

It was awesome. It was fun.

The next couple of posts are some of the breakthroughs that my members shared and strategies that you can use now, today in your Michigan foreclosure buying and selling business:

Banks since the start of April are dropping bigger numbers on Michigan REO's - much faster. Alan Boike reported seeing $10,000 drop on a REO he was watching, every day, three days in a row.

Several other members have seen a similar effect in their Michigan cities where banks have dropped thousands of dollars off their asking price in a matter of days.

Ed Mueller, my member from Macomb Township bought his second REO in Harper Woods for $52,000, rehab $20,000 - appraising for $120,000 - that is around $48,000 in equity to fool around with - after repairs
- the kind of numbers that I like having my members in Michigan.

So how many offers did you made last week? Today? Plan to make on Monday?

You don't ask - you don't get. One of the biggest rookie mistakes anybody can make is to "look" at houses all day long - whether on the Internet or MLS or drive by - but make one or no offers before the sun sets on today.

You got to make offers.

You got to make offers.

You got to make offers.

Most people don't get big discounts on REO's - simply because they never ask for it. They already have it in their mind that the banks will not give them the big discounts; don't know how to "present a strong offer" that utomatically goes to the top of the pile -hence they make 1 offer; it gets rejected because they put the offer wrong and now they think that banks in Michigan are not in discounting houses.

On top of it if they are listening to some rookie real estate agent who is swearing up and down that there is no way in hell a bank in Michigan would discount $40,000 on an REO - then they are for a lack of a better word - totally screwed.

One of the popular "wisdom" that you get from books is "look at 100 houses and make 5 offers". Well I would probably want to kill myself after looking at 100 houses one after another not to mention run up a $5,000 gas bill on my car.

The business is about buying and selling houses and NOT about looking at houses. The buying thing - where our friend Donald Trump says all the money is made in real estate - starts with making anoffer.

Here are some pointers to help you make offers, better offers, offers that accepted:

1. Don't make an offer a house that just came to the market ten minutes ago and is listed either close to or at fair market value. Asset Management firms in most cases - choose to "wait and see" what kind of offers are coming in before making up their mind. I get asked a lot about "we made an offer and the bank is not calling us back - what did we do wrong?"

The answer is you did nothing wrong - they are just waiting for see, hoping for a newbie sucker to show up and pay up - full asking price. A typical waiting and see period for new new listings typically last 30 days before they start dropping prices.

2. The way you counter this "wait and see" approach is put these houses that you like on a Watch List in Microsoft Excel and make offers on the bank foreclosures that have been on the market 60 days, 90 days, 120 days or more. Banks are much more happy to get rid of these houses at a bigger discounts.

3. One is the worse number in Michigan real estate especially when it comes to making offers. Offers are free - they don't cost anything - yet majority of new real estate investors in Michigan make one offer at a time. I guess it has to do with the way employees think - one thing at a time; one task to be finished at a time. I teach strategies to do "many thing; all at once".

4. "Show me the money" - remember the line from Jerry Maguire? Well I like the line. Banks like the line. Asset Management firms like the line. REO agents like the line. We all want to see the darn money before we fall in love with you and your offer.

Yet this is THE MISSING PART out of 90% of all offers being presented on this beautiful Michigan day.

Why? Why? Why?

Here is an excerpt from an email I got last night from a Quick Start Grad last night when I got home:

"Thanks for the confidence that you gave us when we attended your seminar in January. We finally bought our first home today. This home sold in April of 2005 for $127,500 and went up for auction at sheriff's sale on May 1st, 2007 for $133,832.00. It has about $12,000 of improvements to make it a great home - and we bought it for $60,000. We couldn't have done it without the knowledge you shared at your seminar and your encouragement that we get from visiting your web site."

Hey y'know - $50,000 in equity on your first deal; Denise and Robin - that is one hell of execution on what you learned from me.

All the factors of a good deal are here - minor rehab; good price to buy; bought for no money down out of their pockets and $50,000 in equity to play with. Three more deals like this 2007 and I think you will be pretty happy. Now don't forget to look at your notes in your manual on how to sell this baby fast.

If you have ever done a wholesale flip - Alan Boike is doing three of them back to back - you would know that you want to deal ONLY with real estate investors in Michigan who are "ready and able" - y'know people with the most dough.

That is how you get paid.

Well do you think banks are different?

They are willing to give bigger discounts, deep discounts, and on your asking if you can "convince" them you are the real deal. You have the money. And you are going to show up on closing day when most investors in Michigan typically fold and give them a big fat check.

Good thing is that they don't care where the money is coming from as long as somebody shows up with a check.

Which means that you can buy a house, rehab a house, hold a house, market a house and flip a house - all with 100% of somebody's else money.

No Money Down Real Estate is not an urban legend but alive and well in Michigan in 2007. If you are wondering around in the wilderness of Michigan foreclosures without money - hey it is all your fault that you don't know "where" and "how" to get the money. Don't blame it anybody else. Blame yourself.

5. Here is another shocker - not all foreclosure deals are "good deals". Just like it is a good idea to go on a date before you marry someone to see if you are going to get along or not. The $50,000 equity starts with buying the "right house" in the first place.

That is one of those things that every few investors ever pay attention to. You should. My members do. One of the core strategies that I teach is my method of putting the whole thing of evaluating foreclosures on autopilot.

I read somewhere once that a "bad system" is better than "no system". You can just go out and buy a Michigan foreclosure just because you have nothing else going on that day. You got to know who to pick the right one, the best one that given day.

In Oakland County alone there are over 600 REO's available right now. Which ones are best ones? Which ones are most likely to flip past (hint: stay away from condos), what kind of offer you should start at and where you should end? What is a good profit number for hit for doing flips in Michigan in 2007?

The Michigan home buying season is kicking off - you don't want to wait and waste another valuable month.

Now go out and make some offers.

Posted by Mark Ijlal at 03:25 PM | Permalink

Just finished an hour long, non-stop, 300 words per minute teleseminar on Selling Michigan Foreclosures in 2007. And now I realize I forgot to mention one of the coolest “closing gift” that Paul Reinhold, Ijlal Inner Circle member just gave away when he sold his house.

He bought them an American Flag, with pole and everything. You can buy them from Meijer for around $20.

What a great idea by Paul and what a classy gift to give to somebody who just become a homeowner in Michigan?

What better way to remind all of us what a great country we live in, where everybody and anybody have a chance at becoming a homeowner?

Posted by Mark Ijlal at 11:49 PM | Permalink