Rich Dad Education Blog

Entrepreneurship has long played a critical role in American history. In many ways, it has served to drive and define the true spirit of the American economy and culture. It aligns perfectly with the great American nuance of being all and anything that you want to be.

There have been a multitude of definitions for entrepreneurship. Wikipedia.org describes entrepreneurship as:

“the practice of starting new organizations or revitalizing mature organizations, particularly new businesses, generally in response to identified opportunities. Entrepreneurship is often a difficult undertaking, as a vast majority of new businesses fail. Entrepreneurial activities are substantially different depending on the type of organization that is being started. Entrepreneurship ranges in scale from solo projects (even involving the entrepreneur only part-time) to major undertakings creating many job opportunities. Many "high-profile" entrepreneurial ventures seek venture capital or angel funding in order to raise capital to build the business. Angel investors generally seek returns of 20-30% and more extensive involvement in the business. Many kinds of organizations now exist to support would-be entrepreneurs, including specialized government agencies, business incubators, science parks, and some NGOs.”

It is hard to choose a starting point when attempting to describe the benefits that entrepreneurs have provided through their vast contributions to society. They have provided new methods and technologies that have catapulted American culture to the elite status that it enjoys today. The creation of a competition in which only the strong survive has stimulated the initiation and incubation of new ideas that has led to the increased quality of products and the availability of enumerable choices to the people. The existence of choices is vital to maintaining a situation in which prices are kept low enough to ensure that affordable options are open to people at all economic levels. Entrepreneurs have also provided jobs and employment through the establishment of thriving businesses and new market places, thereby increasing the opportunity for prosperity. Therefore, the average American family has been able to provide a good life and future for their children and their children’s children.

And let’s not forget charities! The willingness to give to those less fortunate has long been a hallmark of the traditional American spirit. Where would our nation’s charities be today if not for the entrepreneurs who created the opportunities for businesses and individuals to give literally billions of dollars to those who cannot help themselves or who have significant short-term needs?

The benefits of entrepreneurship have not only been seen corporately, but individually as well. Imagine for a moment the satisfaction that must be produced by taking a thought or idea and transforming it into something tangible, something that you can feel, touch, and watch others benefit from. What a sense of individual accomplishment and personal satisfaction that must bring! The impact of such an experience on one’s psyche and self esteem is beyond description, as is the sense of freedom that can only come from being in full control of your own personal and professional life. Having the ability to control your own time and choose your own direction in accordance with your own vision provides unlimited potential for financial prosperity and wealth creation. It is a place only limited by where your imagination and drive will allow you to go.

Due to the current circumstances of our country, many are questioning the future of the entrepreneur in our society, and whether entrepreneurship will survive this spell and still remain the dominant force that we have always known it to be. Despite the concerns of some, the reality is that in recent history, there has not been a greater time for the entrepreneur.

Have you ever wished that you could go back in time to insert yourself into a particular situation in the past, thereby becoming able to take advantage of the unique circumstances of that opportunity? Well, I believe that we are now in a rare moment in time, with a unique chance that those in the future may envy; a true once-in-a-lifetime opportunity may be at our very doorstep!

At the beginning of the 20th century, our country experienced an industrial revolution. In those times, we saw great innovations and new technologies, and revolutionary new ways of doing things were invented. I believe that a similarly significant and exciting time is immediately ahead.

With a rising national debt and uncertain economic future, we are once again at a crossroads in our history. I do not think that we have choice whether or not to innovate. We must either innovate, or accept the occurrence of major changes in our culture. With our very way of life at stake, I believe that the entrepreneur will again lead the way.

In an ever-changing and more dangerous world, we have heard our leaders discuss the need to wean ourselves from reliance on foreign oil and forge ahead to discover and cultivate alternative energy resources. Because such technology would profoundly impact both the immediate and long-term future of our country and the rest of the world, those who are seeking to discover solutions are privileged to an immense amount of support, especially from the American government. The opportunity is there for the taking, and this is far from the only opportunity of its magnitude. The list, I am sure, is endless.

Is entrepreneurship for everybody? No, nothing ever is. Becoming an entrepreneur does not necessarily require high intelligence or great initial wealth. But if you feel that willingness and drive to be an innovator and understand that there will be risk involved, than you may be the next great entrepreneur on the horizon.

Here are few things to think about if you are considering the path of entrepreneurship. First, you must ask yourself some tough questions: Am I willing to create the time necessary to establish a business, even if it means taking time away from my family and activities that I enjoy? Am I really motivated enough to stick with this? Will I really be able to make tough decisions when confronted with them? Is this the life I really want?
If you can affirmatively answer the preceding questions with confidence, then proceed by taking a few first steps:

• Construct a plan. Entering the game without a strategy or a game plan is an almost certain setup for failure. Structure and development when building a business are vital. There are proper steps that one can take to increase the probability of success. Write a business plan. If you have never written one, than seek out someone or some organization that has.

• Ensure that your endeavor will be adequately funded. It takes venture capital to start virtually any business. Be realistic; if your ambitions are big, you must consider investor money. If you determine that this is not desirable or doable in your situation, you may have to consider starting smaller by establishing a home-based business and eventually moving on to bigger and better things. One of the greatest slayers of the supportability of new businesses is undercapitalization, or simply trying to grow too fast. Avoiding this pitfall should be a primary purpose of your initial business plan.

• Evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. Understand and accept your limitations. Despite how qualified and talented you may be, no one can do it all. Reach out for assistance in the areas in which you think may need a little more expertise than you alone possess.

• Maintain your level of determination and build perseverance. Do not give up. You must never allow yourself to have a defeatist attitude. You must believe that you can and will do whatever is both necessary and ethical in order to reach your goal. There will be ups and downs, and the ride will be bumpy at times. Only those with a burning desire to make it will do so.

• Socialize with positive, successful people. There will always be the naysayers that will tell you it is impossible and encourage you to give up. You will need the support of those around you who remind you that you can, and the guidance of those who have achieved their own success.

Entrepreneurship has always been the American way. The impact that entrepreneurs have had and the impact that they will continue to have on our society is immeasurable. It has molded our culture and given it defining characteristics, and entrepreneurship will continue to influence our society well into the future—that much is certain. The question you must ask yourself is whether or not you want to play a part.

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The reader interaction for Conspiracy of the Rich was amazing. Thank you! Your input helped shape Robert’s thoughts, and contributed to what Robert considers his most important book yet.

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The theory behind sector rotation asserts that certain sectors of the economy (technology, financials, utilities, etc.) are more profitable in specific stages of the business cycle, and that as a result, we can expect those sectors or the individual stocks within them to outperform the broader market. Individuals or institutions who decide to adopt this investment strategy would continuously rotate their money into these strong sectors as the economy shifts from one stage to another.

Under the EduTrader’s™ tools menu you can access a sector rotation model based on Sam Stovall’s S&P’s Guide to Sector Rotation. The model divides the market cycle into four stages: market bottom, bull market, market top, and bear market. In addition, it also displays the stages of the economic cycle: full recession, early recovery, full recovery, and early recession. By determining the current stage of each cycle, you can ascertain which sectors should currently outperform the market, as well as anticipate those sectors that should outperform in the near future. Keep in mind the model is theoretical and merely serves as a simplification of the real world. In reality, there are numerous variables that affect these sectors, often causing discrepancies between what the sector rotation model says should be happening and what actually is happening.

Rather than getting too caught up in the theory behind sector rotation, the easiest method for tracking the sectors that are doing well is via the charts. Remember, charts are the footprints of money; consequently, if we wanted to assess which sectors are outperforming the broad market, we merely need to assess their respective charts. We can see institutional money flow by assessing which sector charts look bullish or bearish. If a specific sector chart is in a strong uptrend, it’s a good bet institutions are putting money into or accumulating stocks in that sector. Conversely, if the sector chart is in a strong downtrend, institutions are probably taking money out of that sector. Although there are a few different ETFs or indices that can be used to track each sector, we’re going to use the Select Sector SPDRS, which can be found on www.sectorspdr.com. With EduTrader, you can actually import them right into your quote sheet. To import, right click on your quote sheet and then find “import symbols” in the drop down menu. Within the import symbol lists, you should find one that says “sector spiders.” This will import the following nine ticker symbols: XLE, XLY, XLU, XLI, XLP, XLF, XLK, XLV, and XLB. Each represents one of the following nine major sectors: energy, consumer discretionary, utilities, industrials, consumer staples, financials, technologies, health care, and basic materials.

Once you’ve identified a sector you feel will outperform the market, you have two choices: trade the sector ETF, or trade an individual company within the sector. Utilizing sector ETFs is more conservative due to the diversification they provide. Because the ETF is a basket of stocks, it doesn’t tend to move in a manner as volatile as that of individual stocks. If you don’t want to take this more conservative route, you could drill down into the sector to find individual stocks you think are poised to outperform the market. Within the import symbol lists in the EduTrader, you can also import a list of major stocks in each of the nine sectors by finding the sector ETF symbol (XLE, XLY, XLU, etc.).

Once you’ve familiarized yourself with sector rotation, it will serve as one more method for finding trade candidates, in addition to the TradeSeeker.

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Robert was incredibly touched by the Conspiracy of the Rich online community's response to his book and was moved to write an exclusive "online only" chapter dedicated to and entirely for registered members of the Conspiracy community - this will not be in the printed version! This is your final week to read Robert Kiyosaki's ground-breaking interactive book Conspiracy of the Rich for FREE - and your only week to read this exclusive "online only" chapter! After 7/21/2009 the book will no longer be free.

After 1.1 million unique visits from 167 countries, features on over 2,000 blogs, news coverage on FOX and TIME Magazine, and thousands of reader comments... the Conspiracy is coming to an end.

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We can all appreciate a nicely landscaped home. It grabs our attention and piques our interest. When we pass a home with average landscape…do we even see it? Usually not. The idea behind good landscaping is more than just pretty flowers; it is enticing the senses of our guests and onlookers. This is exactly the type of effect you want to achieve with your rehab project.

When it comes to rehab projects we often try to minimize the amount of money put into the landscape. Most rehabbers believe landscaping is not as important as the kitchen or the bathroom; however, most people are drawn to the homes with nice curb appeal—which is nearly impossible to come by without thought being put into the landscape.

Fear of the cost is the main reason people neglect this aspect of rehabbing a property. However, considering how long it will take to sell a boring home, the price of landscaping is down-right cheap! The landscape industry says that to have a nicely landscaped home, you should spend approximately five to 10 percent of the home’s value on landscaping. Furthermore, to have an excellently landscaped home you may need to spend 15 to 20 percent.
According to a recent survey performed by Money Magazine, it was found that “...homes with ‘excellent’ landscaping realize a sales value of six to seven percent greater than homes with good landscaping.” With that in mind, since our typical target return on investment (ROI) for strictly rehab costs is 100 percent, it is usually not worth it to excellently landscape a home solely to sell.

While enough landscaping and color coordination of the exterior is crucial for curb appeal, the percentages used by the landscape industry include the cost of decks, patios, hard-scapes and/or water features. If your project does not warrant any of those or has existing features that can be cleaned up, your expense will be greatly reduced.
Next, consider if you will be hiring laborers or doing any or all of the work yourself instead of using landscape contractors. If so, your expenditure will be further reduced. It is possible to cut a landscape budget down to two and a half to five percent of the home’s value. If you consider the possibility of a slightly higher sales price and a quicker sale, then the ROI on that money quickly makes sense.

Every good landscape starts with a plan. There are several ways to get a quality design. If you hire a landscaper, they will typically include the design as part of the job cost. If you are getting more than one quote, you will get different ideas for how to landscape it. Remember, though, that landscapers usually charge a fee for the design if you do not sign a contract for the installation.

In my opinion, it is usually money well spent. So, if you know a landscaper that designs well, call him and get a design quote. There can be a huge difference between a good design and a great one, and often the prices are very similar. Landscapers are trained in the sizes, shapes, colors, and textures of the plants that thrive in your area. For a few bucks, they can save you a lot of guesswork and trial and error. Also, you can take their design to the supplier, who can fill the order more quickly than you can, and possibly even deliver it to you! This alone can save you half a day spent browsing the aisles, looking for what may work for your project.

Take a moment to examine some key elements of a good landscape design so that you can better identify what your project may need before calling in the pros. The first element of a good design is that it must complement the home. You do not want the landscape to steal the show. If a potential buyer finds the landscape attractive, but then notices the house and is disappointed, something is out of balance.

The second element of a good design is color. You want colors that not only draw interest, but colors that complement the house, each other, and the nature surrounding the house. Keep in mind that the colors of many shrubs change throughout the year, and many flowers last only for a brief period (with the exception of annuals, which usually bloom all season, but need re-planting each year). Also, remember that just because a plant is attractive does not mean it will work for your project. For example, the purple leaf sand cherry starts the spring with bright red foliage, produces white flowers in May, displays purple-black leaves for the remainder of summer, and takes on a magnificent reddish-purple hue in the fall. This sounds great, and can be, but if put in the wrong surroundings, it may take away from the overall attractiveness of your home.

The third function of the landscape is to soften your home. Think of a home with no landscaping. There is a horizontal plane (the ground) slamming into a vertical plane (the house), and it sticks out like a sore thumb. The landscaping is asked to bridge this transition, or soften it. A well-planned landscape going from the 20’ height of the roof to a 16’ tall evergreen, down to a 10’ flowering tree of some sort then down to low shrubs and then flowers. You can envision how much more attractive this is than a house plopped onto the ground as if dropped from a helicopter.

The last important element of a good design is what I call the ability to lead your guests. From the time your guests enter your driveway, you want to lead them on a journey up the drive and to the front door of the home. One way to simplify this thought is to consider whether or not you would know which door to go to if you were a first-time guest. With some homes, this is a bigger problem to solve than with others, but the home will look more attractive and visitors will feel more comfortable if the landscaping makes it obvious as to which door to approach.

Any home can be made beautiful and attractive with good landscaping. While it is necessary to consider costs and re-sale values, the time it takes to sell can matter as much as the ROI. I recommend that you landscape even before beginning the interior rehab. This allows you to begin drawing attention to the home long before it is ready to sell.

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Final Days to Read the Conspiracy for FREE!
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It is the best of times and the worst of times! Yes, everyone can agree that in almost all areas in the country it is a strong buyer’s market − the best of times for buying property at big discounts. But it’s also the worst of times when it comes to selling those same properties. The old rule of buying low and selling high doesn’t work in a buyer’s market. You must buy even lower and sell low. And even then, you have to be creative in how you sell.

There are many different ways you, as an investor, can sell a rehabbed home. Traditional selling methods include:

• Sell it yourself using yard signs and newspaper advertising – For Sale By Owner (FSBO).
• Sell the property using your own buyer’s list. This is one of the best ways to sell a home since you can have a home pre-sold before you even buy it.
• Hand out fliers in the neighborhood asking the neighbors to invite their friends to look at your home. This works well if you have developed a good rapport with the neighbors and have let them know that you are working to beautify their neighborhood and want someone special to buy the home and take good care of it.
• Sell the home to another investor. This will work if you bought the home at a big enough discount and are willing to share a good portion of your profits with another investor.
• Sell the property using another investor’s buyer’s list. It really pays to belong to your local Real Estate Investor’s Club and build relationships with other investors.
• List the property with a real estate agent who will put the home on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).
• Put the home in one of many For-Sale-By-Owner publications. Some of these services will also put the home in the MLS.
• Run an ad on Craig’s List and other Internet ad sites.

All of these methods work to a certain degree, but there is one method that is becoming more popular every day, and if done right, can bring top dollar for a property, even in a tight buyer’s market. That method is the Round-Robin Auction.

I’m not sure who originated the Round-Robin Auction, but I first became aware of it several years ago when I ran across a book by Bill Effros, called “How to Sell Your Home in 5 Days.” This book was first published in 1998.

The 5-Day Method outlined in the book consists of the following steps:

1. Run an ad (like the following ad) in the classified Homes for Sale section of your local newspaper.

FARMINGTON BY OWNER
6 Br. 4 bath 6,200 Sq. Ft. 4 Fireplaces
Pool 2 Family Rooms 2 Full Kitchens
$299,500 or Best Reasonable Offer
Inspection Sat.-Sun. 10-5
Home will be sold Sunday Night to the
HIGHEST BIDDER (890) 123-4567

2. Answer the telephone
3. Show your home on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.
4. Sell your home Sunday night to the highest bidder using a Round-Robin Auction.

That’s it…sounds simple enough, but, as always, the devil is in the details and it’s the details that will make this basic system work well or flop.

First, what is a Round-Robin Auction? It’s different from regular auctions where people are gathered in a room and an auctioneer rattles off numbers and encourages higher bids as the people in the room fight with one another to see who gets the property.

The Round-Robin Auction starts with a bidder’s list that has been generated at the open house. At the time of the auction, the people are not at the property, but in the comfort of their own homes. Let’s say that 10 people put their names on the bidder’s list with their initial bid for the property. At the appointed time Sunday evening, the person running the auction calls the person on the list with the highest bid, lets them know that they have the highest bid so far and asks them if they want to bid any higher. If not, their bid stands as the highest bid. The person with the next highest bid is then called and told what the high bid is and asked if they want to bid higher or drop out of the bidding. If they want to bid more than the highest bid, their bid is now the high bid and they stay in the bidding process. If they don’t want to beat the high bid, they are dropped from the bidding process and cannot re-enter the process.

The calling continues until the highest bidder is found. The highest bidder is then notified and arrangements made to get together to sign the formal purchase and sale agreement and schedule the closing. The second highest bidder is also notified that they were the second highest bidder and told they still might get the property if the winning bidder is unable to finish the deal.

I have also seen Round-Robin Auctions run by having the interested bidders gather Sunday evening at the home for the auction. But the more common method is to call people on the phone. It makes for a more relaxed, less stressful atmosphere for the bidders.

There are several things working together that make this an effective selling technique. As with most things associated with real estate investing, the key is really good marketing. What you are trying to do is to get lots of people interested in the open house on Saturday and Sunday. Most of these people will just be curious about what is going on, but among them will be a few serious buyers. You need to identify those serious buyers and make sure they sign the bidder’s sheet before they leave.

So what can you do to get people to the open house? How to Sell Your Home in 5 Days mostly discusses running newspaper ads, but in today’s high-tech world, there are lots of ways to get the word out, also many effective low-tech techniques. Here are a few suggestions on different forms of advertising to help to get the word out:

• Do run newspaper ads. The key is to have an asking price low enough to catch people’s attention. You want people to think, “How could they be selling a home for that low price?” You want people to call so they can be encouraged to come to the open house. Effros’ book says run the ad starting just five days before the auction, but some run their ads up to 10 days before the auction.
• What could be lower tech than flyers or postcards? Distribute at least 2,000 fliers five or six days before the auction to immediate neighborhoods to generate as much traffic to the open house as possible. A lot of neighbors will come just to see what’s going on, but lots of traffic at the open house is what generates an exciting atmosphere.
• Run Internet ads on sites such as Craig’s List. Don’t miss this opportunity to generate even more traffic to the open house.
• List the home on several For-Sale-By-Owner websites. You also want to list the property on the MLS. Some of the FSBO publications and websites will list the property for a flat fee. Key words like auction and motivated seller will attract attention. It may be helpful to specify that this is not a foreclosure auction.
• Signs – lots of signs. On the two open house days, place numerous open house signs throughout the neighborhood giving directions. These signs should also have in big letters, AUCTION. You want to catch people’s attention. You could also put out bandit signs a week before the auction, depending on the signage laws in your area.

Your ads and signs could have your cell phone number and you would be very busy answering calls and telling people about the details of the auction and open house. But, with today’s high-tech systems, it would be smart to have a 24-hour message number on your signs so that interested individuals receive a professionally recorded message with the details of the auction, the times of the open house, and directions to the property. These phone systems also capture the phone numbers of everyone calling. You would then be able to have the phone system call each of the captured numbers the day before the open house to remind them to come and see the property. Why not go high tech? It’s really not that expensive.

You also should set up a selling website with all sorts of pictures and videos of the property. The 24-hour recorded message can direct them to the website. It’s best not to put the website address in your ads or on your signs or you won’t be able to capture the phone numbers. Or you could have a website with a capture page that requires a first name and an e-mail address to access the information, but a lot of people might not opt in and you risk losing potential visitors.

It goes without saying that before the open house, the property should be in pristine condition. Spending the money to stage the home is money well spent. There’s a lot of information available on staging homes and there are professional services that can do the staging for you.

It is helpful to get a good appraisal on the property and have it available for viewing at the open house. It also pays to get a complete home inspection report and also have the report available at the open house. The auctions I attended had two tables set up, one with the appraisal and one with the inspection report. Of the possibly hundreds of people who come through the open house, usually only those who are serious bidders will stop and take time to look at these documents. Make it a point to meet these people and get to know them. They will most likely be the ones bidding in the Round Robin.

When people show up at the open house, give them a bidder’s packet that explains the details of the auction. You need to have several people helping with the open house so questions can be answered. At the home’s exit, there should be a table with the initial bidding sheet. People should be encouraged to place a bid, even if it is a very low bid. Let people know that in order to be included in the Sunday evening auction, they need to have their name and phone number on this initial bidding sheet. Serious bidders will leave an initial bid on the sheet.

Leave several hours between the end of the open house on Sunday and the start time of the Round-Robin Auction. This gives you time to review your notes, have a nice dinner and relax before the excitement begins. Then at the appointed time, with the initial bidding sheet in hand, start calling. If you have generated enough interest to have lots of people at the open house you will have lots of interested bidders and, even though you advertised a low-starting bid, the bidders will bid the price up to a reasonable number and many times to a price that is much higher than you would have expected. Bidding continues until you have the highest bidder. From that point on, the sale is like any other sale. A purchase and sale agreement is signed listing all the specifics of the transaction and setting the closing date. Home sold!

People using this Round-Robin Auction technique sometimes worry about the bids not getting to a price at which they are willing to sell. This rarely happens if you have enough bidders. Unless you have advertised that there is no reserve, you can opt not to sell your home to the highest bidder if the bids don’t reach a point at which you are willing to sell. Bank-run auctions function this way. The bank has the final choice to either accept the highest bid or to not sell the property. You, as the homeowner, have this same right. However, it is always wise to check with your team attorney to make sure you are complying with any state laws pertaining to real estate auctions.

Posted 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In most parts of the country, the real estate market remains weak, and the days of white-hot bidding wars for homes are a distant memory. The U.S. housing inventory remains bloated, with record numbers of unsold homes and more REOs, or properties owned by a bank or mortgage lender, arriving on the market daily. To further contribute to the problem, shockwaves from the subprime mortgage crisis have made it much more difficult for buyers to qualify for financing. Many would-be home buyers are sitting on the sidelines, afraid to buy because home values continue to decline. Record unemployment rates and the lack of job security have put home buying on the back burner for countless individuals. All of these factors have combined to create a very strong buyer’s market.

A buyer’s market creates both opportunity and challenge for the real estate investor. On one hand, America is on sale and deals are everywhere, so it is easy to find properties. On the other hand, when the time to sell those properties has come, the investor becomes only one in thousands of other sellers competing for the same few qualified buyers.

But don’t despair. An educated real estate investor can win at the selling game. Knowing how to sell a property in a buyer’s market is a learned art, a skill that one must master in order to survive as a real estate investor. The more selling techniques one masters, the easier it will be to compete with other property sellers.

Here are some tips that will give you an advantage in selling your properties in a buyer’s market:

1. Competitive pricing will set your property apart from the pack. Pricing is probably the most important thing to get right when selling a property, as a good price can allow one to overcome almost any obstacle. To get the selling price right, you must:

• Get to know the local market. Before you buy in a certain area, do your research and get a good feeling for property values. Go to open houses to find out what others are asking for their properties. Remember, however, that an asking price is not the same as a selling price; by knowing average asking prices, you can price your property substantially lower than the competition.
• Have one of the real estate agents on your power team run a comparative market analysis (CMA) on the comparable sales for the past six months. Be sure to note if there were any seller concessions used to help with the sale. Use the lowest values for “sold” properties to guide you when making offers on properties in that area. A note of caution: in some areas where property values are still falling, be sure to use only very recent sales comps. Data from properties sold as recently as three months ago may be outdated. Another note of caution: If the buyer for your property needs to get financing from a lender, that lender will require an appraisal. Banks are being very cautious in their lending in today’s market, especially in areas where home prices are still falling. Many times the comps the bank appraiser uses are from sales of distressed property, REOs and short sales. These comps will be low and if the appraisal comes in lower than your selling price, the deal will fall apart. Be proactive, and make sure you interact with the bank appraiser during the visit to your home. Show the appraisal you have based on sales of properties that are in the same condition as yours. Hopefully this will help the bank appraiser give you a more realistic appraisal, but there is no guarantee and the bank has the final say. If you are lucky and get multiple offers on your property, a cash offer, even if it is at a lower price, might be more appealing than a higher offer that is contingent on bank financing. Also, you could put a 48 hour clause in your acceptance of an offer contingent on financing, giving you the option to accept a cash offer that might come at a later date.
• The major key to being able to offer a selling price that beats the competition is to first buy the property at a very low price. Buying low and selling high doesn’t work in a buyer’s market. You need to sell low, but buy lower.
• Don’t play the game that most sellers play by setting a high asking price, then reducing the price every few weeks until you get some action. Start with a low asking price, sell your property fast, and move on to the next deal.

2. Be prepared to offer some incentives to your buyers. Sellers are offering plasma TVs, vacations, golf memberships, sometimes even cars and boats to entice a buyer to close the deal. If your asking price is low enough, you shouldn’t have to offer incentives, but be prepared just in case. The cost of any additional incentives should be accounted for in your original purchase price for the property.

3. Remember that at times, cash is king; rather than offering TVs or other stuff, consider offering to pay part of the buyer’s closing costs, a few months of Homeowner’s Association (HOA) fees, their first mortgage payment, etc. Be creative, but only offer these concessions if it is truly necessary in order to save the deal.

4. Clean, clean, clean…and clean some more. Other than price, nothing will help sell a home more quickly than having it nice and clean. Very few people really want to buy a home that needs extensive cleaning. A weekend spent hauling away junk and trimming a yard can potentially add tens of thousands of dollars to your sale price.

When cleaning the inside of the home, the two most important places to focus on are the kitchen(s) and the bathroom(s). If the toilet can’t be cleaned spotless, put in a new one. It will be a few hundred dollars very well spent. If tubs can’t be cleaned, consider having them resurfaced. Although this can be expensive, it is also worth the cost. Kitchen counter tops should be replaced if they can’t be cleaned properly. A lot of people in the construction industry are looking for work right now, so you should be able to negotiate good prices for this type of work.
5. The home not only needs to be clean, it needs to smell clean. This means that even though the carpet may look good after being cleaned, if old smoke or pet odors remain, you may need to replace the carpet or have a professional deodorize the entire home. Remember, if you can smell it, you can’t sell it!

6. Once your property is clean from top to bottom, consider staging the home. You could hire a professional, but if your budget is tight, you should still seriously consider staging the home yourself. You don’t need a lot of extra stuff; in fact, for good staging, less is better. If you don’t have any extra furniture in your own home or from homes that you have purchased and resold, you can rent items at a fairly reasonable cost. You should stage the inside of the property, as well as the outside.

Inside

• Living Room/Family Room – Living rooms and family rooms are the places where families spend time together; you want your potential buyers to be able to visualize doing just that in your home. Your goal is to get your buyer to mentally move into the home. Make the room look as big as possible. For staging, an average size family room should have no more than five pieces of furniture: a sofa, chair, small table, coffee table, and a TV (you can get a nice looking, but non-working TV from the secondhand store for a really low price). Add a decorative lamp and a house plant to give the room warmth.
• Kitchen – Again, you want to make the room seem as big as possible. Nothing should be on the counter tops, indicating that there is enough room for toasters, blenders, etc. to be stored out of sight. A small table with a couple of chairs and nice, simple place settings matching the color of the room add a warm feeling.
• Bathroom(s) – Bathrooms are one of the main features that sell a home. Take extra time to make sure that bathrooms show just right. Assuming they are very clean, you only need to add a neutral shower curtain (if required), one small throw rug in front of the tub, a plush bath towel with matching hand towel and wash cloth, all hanging neatly on the towel bar. Scented soaps and candles are not necessary and may be ill-advised, as some people may be allergic to or turned off by the scents.
• Bedroom(s) – You want the bedrooms to look as large as possible, so keep your staging simple. A neatly dressed bed, nightstand(s), and a dresser are all you need. If you have a large room, you could add a reading chair and a lamp. Closets should be kept empty so they appear as large as possible. If the closets don’t have lights, you can get battery operated lights for a minimal cost.
• Plants do add warmth to a home, but add no more than one plant to each room.
• Furnace rooms, utility rooms, and garages should be empty, but cleaned thoroughly. If you have a nice car, you could park it in the garage for the showing.

Outside

Creating great curb appeal is probably the most important part of your staging efforts. No matter how nice the inside of the house is, if the outside isn’t inviting, people are not likely to come inside.
• Haul away all the junk.
• Trim all bushes and trees, and cut the grass as needed.
• Flowers are great if you are selling in the flower season. Be sure to pull any weeds from flower beds.
• New paint and/or siding will be an investment that will not only help you sell your property fast, but get a higher price, as well.
• A new front door is always a good investment if the old door just looks bad. At a minimum, a brass kick plate and new paint can make an old door look more inviting.
• If the home has a porch, one or two nice chairs/rockers add a warm feeling.
• Don’t forget the mailbox. Make it fresh-looking and rust free.
• If it fits the style of the home, a nice white picket fence across the front yard can add curb appeal. It makes a home look clean and inviting.

7. Hire a professional inspector to provide a complete inspection report for the property. The report should address: plumbing, electrical, roof, pests, mold, heating, cooling, foundation, etc. Have this report available to show prospective buyers. It goes a long way toward bolstering a buyer’s confidence that he or she is buying a sound property without any hidden flaws.

8. Consider purchasing a home warranty plan that covers heating, cooling, plumbing, wiring, appliances, etc. for a year or two. This will likely cost between $300 and $500 dollars, but it will give your new buyer peace of mind, and may be just what it takes to close the deal.

9. You could also have an appraisal done by the appraiser on your team or a local bank’s appraiser. Make sure that he or she will give you a fair appraisal based on the condition of your home. The value should come in at the value of other properties in similar condition that have sold in your area in recent months. Assuming you bought the property right, your asking price will be below this appraised value. This way the prospective buyer has further proof that they really are getting a good deal. Be sure to have the home staged prior to having the appraisal done.

The next thing you need to do to sell your property fast is to advertise, advertise, advertise! Details on the many ways to advertise your property will be presented in Part 3 of this series on “Selling Your Home in a Buyer’s Market.”

Selling a property (especially for the new investor) can be daunting even in a good market, let alone a buyer’s market. But knowledge and preparation will go a long way toward making it easier to sell your properties fast. Make sure your exit strategy is very clear before you buy a property, and make sure the analysis accounts for all of your expenses, including being able to offer a substantial discount to your prospective buyers. Remember, buy the property right. Then it’s just haul, clean, fix, and sell!

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It’s true. The rich have an unfair advantage – a great financial education. Learn how the rich view the world through the lens of business and investing, and how you can too, in Chapter 11 of Conspiracy of the Rich.

Chapter 11 excerpt:

Today, those who have a strong financial education have an unfair advantage over those who do not. With a sound financial education, a person can use taxes, debt, inflation, and retirement to become rich rather than poor. Conversely, the forces of taxes, debt, inflation, and retirement rule those who do not have a strong financial education

Go To http://conspiracyoftherich.com/read/current to read now!

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Chapter 10 Excerpt:

Building for the Future

The Big Bad Wolf: “I’ll huff . . . and I’ll puff . . . and I’ll blow your house down!”

In the fairy tale, the first two pigs learned their lesson and soon built their own houses of brick, and they all lived happily ever after. But as you know, the Three Little Pigs is just a fairy tale. In real life, people ask the government to rescue them with taxpayer money, and then they rebuild their straw and stick houses all over again. The fairy tale continues, lessons are not learned—and the wolf lurks in the darkness.

All over the world, people are asking, “What are our leaders going to do?” I believe a more important question is, “What are you and I going to do?” More specifically, “How can you and I build our own house of bricks?"

Go to http://conspiracyoftherich.com/chapter-10 to read more.

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