This powerful, practical book shows you how to get started and achieve financial independence as a real estate investor, and faster than you ever thought possible.”
-Brian Tracy, Author of The Way to Wealth
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Strait Path to Real Estate Wealth Reviews
Truth in Status Updates
Those of you who have facebook accounts will update your facebook status. Some might say, “just had the best yoga session ever!” some might say “seriously!? There is snow outside and it’s May??” But last night, one of my friends wrote:
“SAVE MONEY… SAVE MONEY… forrrr… retirement…lol… im getting old & is scared of the futre”
This friend of mine is not even 30 yet! But unfortunately, this thinking is not uncommon. A lot of us have asked this question with quite a bit of serious concern. What would you say to her to help her get out of her scarcity mode??
Building Our Real Estate Portfolios
What is 1,400 pages long (about 200 pages longer than the Bible) and is not any form of encyclopedia or foreign language manual?
It’s the Senate’s “multiprolonged overhaul of financial regulations.” 1,400 pages! Seriously!?
MSNBC reported a story today that addresses the shaky (which is an understatement) future of the Wall Street reform. The article goes on to say that “in an effort to reach consensus, some of the contentious issues have been left for regulators to sort out – if and when the bill becomes law.” Well, hopefully at this point, most of America has learned something about investing in Wall Street. To, uh, not do it.
Not only is the stock market unstable, a lot of the people who run Wall Street are even more unstable and not to mention power hungry and ridiculously overpaid. Like waaay overpaid. But, no matter.The government can hash out 2,000 manuscripts at 5,243 pages each for all we care.
While some people sit around and wait for the Senate and Congress and Obama to sort out the mess of Wall Street, we REIC-ers will continue to build our real estate portfolios. We aren’t just talking the talk and creating documents with too many big words and rules, we are actually doing real estate and building our futures.
The Lease Option: Benefits For Homeowners And Renters Alike
From the press department of REIC, special contributors, Kris Krohn and Kevin Clayson
A lot of people have asked me lately if this economy is good for lease options. I believe the economy has created a perfect opportunity for investors to utilize a lease option strategy, and likewise created a bridge to homeownership for families struggling under the weight of bad credit, job loss, and tight lending guidelines across the board.
Homeowners are finding that a lease option can help keep them from slipping into foreclosure, and even turn a scary situation on their primary residence into an opportunity to become a real estate investor.
If lease options are set up correctly, the investor saves thousands of dollars in vacancies, repairs, and eventual selling costs while enjoying a positive monthly cash flow from day one. In addition, investors do not have to take care of property management and maintenance, and they are giving families that have been hit hard by the global crisis a chance to achieve home ownership.
The question remains: how many families are out there looking for lease options? A common misconception is that only a small group of individuals are interested in a lease option program. I believe investors underestimate how many families could benefit from a lease option. The hundreds of families I have helped enter a rent-to-own program typically fall into one of three categories:
1. A family with great credit and a good job that can qualify to finance a home today. They are interested in building more equity than the banks will allow, and do so by spending thousands less on a down payment through a lease option. These families may already be homeowners, but are looking to move. They have discovered that in order to move into a new home without selling their existing home, they must have a minimum of 30% equity in their existing home. The only way many of these very qualified candidates can now purchase a home is through a lease option. In many instances, they spend less money and build more equity, but still enjoy the benefits of homeownership.
2. A family that purchased a house they should not have qualified for, but loose lending practices and dangerous ARM loans allowed them to buy the home. Many of these families found that as their ARM’s reset, they could not afford the new mortgage payment. Perhaps they defaulted on a payment or two, perhaps they sold the home as a short sale, or perhaps they slipped all the way into foreclosure. They still have a good, stable income, but the new mortgage was out of reach, and their credit has taken a hit. They can no longer qualify for conventional financing, but they are not willing to go back to renting, because they are used to the benefits of homeownership. These families are great candidates for a lease option because they want to be in a home and they can afford the payments.
3. Renters who are looking to become homeowners are the top candidates for lease options. With millions of Americans renting, and many looking for an opportunity to be homeowners, investors can find great tenants to enter a lease option. Renters may not be able to qualify for a traditional loan, or perhaps they need to work on their credit score or save money to purchase a home. A lease options provides a slow, safe path to homeownership.
Now, if someone asks you if lease options are a good idea, either for investors or potential homeowners, you can offer a positive response. Lease options do not have to be predatory; they can be beneficial to everyone involved in the transaction. The current economy is the perfect time for the lease option.
The First Step
Even though our clients are experiencing unreal success through the Strait Path System, it is still important to keep in touch (just a little) with the actual real estate market and see how through all of its’ failings, we the REIC people and clients are accomplishing some pretty amazing things!
We just had our annual wealth summit with over 700 people in attendance (almost 4 times as many people as last year). Many of our clients brought friends and family members to the event, introducing them to what most of them hope will help them re-build their retirements and build a future for their families.
This month’s issue of Newsweek contains an article, “The New Math for Retirement” and the tagline? “Financial advice you’ve gotten in the past may have been misguided and miscalculated (hmm…401(K) anyone?”)
The article then goes on…”There’s one key fact of life that most retirement planning advice gets wrong: the way people actually live and spend when they retire.” Imagine that?
When you stop working and retire, you still have to buy food, buy gas, pay utility bills, etc. What kind of retirement is that anyways? Bills? Responsibilities?! Doesn’t retirement mean sunshine, beaches, pina coladas, vacations and visors? Sure it does if you saved up a billion gajillion dollars and plan to stop contributing to mankind and experience personal growth and development. You don’t have a billion gajillion dollars and have about 5 years before retirement?
Well luckily, through REIC, some hard work and an “I-Can-Do-It!” attitude, we’ll help you every step of the way to help you achieve that financial liberation you need to become successful, not just financially but in every aspect of your life. Reading our blogs and watching the testimonials of others who have “made it” is a great first step.
Real estate is not an easy road, but we’ll be right there with you. So all you gotta do is just start walking! Visit our website and attend an event to learn more!
Kris Krohn Signing Books
Kris Krohn’s new book, The Strait Path to Real Estate Wealth, just arrived on yesterday. We received 1000 copies for the 2010 Annual Wealth Summit.
Kris shot this video so you could see all of the books that he had to sign.
Utah Gallops Into Housing Boom
Talk about a national housing boom.
There’s even buzz from the Beehive State.
Better known for its share of the Rocky Mountains, vividly colored plateau and canyon vistas, salt flats, Mormons, a bright, multilingual workforce and the likes of outlaw Butch Cassidy (Circleville), Donny and Marie Osmond (Ogden), Roseanne Barr (Salt Lake City), James Woods (Vernal), and Loretta Young (Salt Lake City), Utah is swiftly coming into it’s own as a hot housing habitat.
“We have been through a weak cycle that has affected all areas of the State of Utah. However, this year looks very promising,” Mark Watterson, from Keller Williams in Midvale, UT reported to the Realty Times Market Conditions Report.
How hot is it?
The 45th State to join the Union, Utah now ranks 35th in home appreciation, moving up fast, 15 spots from its dead last position a year ago, according to the just released Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight’s First Quarter 2005 Home Price Index.
The index says the selling price of Utah homes rose 6.3 percent from the first quarter of 2004 to the same period this year. That’s only about half the national rate of increase, at 12.5 percent, but some Utah markets are much, much hotter.
The Utah Association of Realtors own first quarter report revealed Salt Lake County, the state’s largest real estate market, clocked an 8.09 percent increase in the average sale price of single-family detached homes, put at $204,311 in the first quarter this year, up from $189,013 in the first quarter 2004. During the first quarter this year, nearly 3,500 homes (single-family detached and condos) sold in the Salt Lake County market. Condo prices rose only 5.98 percent.
In smaller markets, some of them resort areas, first quarter prices truly skyrocketed.
According to the association, after Salt Lake County, the next largest markets and their quarterly sales (all homes), along with average price increases, were:
* Utah County, 1,015 home sales, house prices up more than 19 percent, condo prices up 15 percent.
* Washington County, 724 home sales, house prices up more than 21 percent, condos up more than 15 percent.
* Weber County, 690 home sales, house and condo prices both up nearly 18 percent.
* Davis County, 686 home sales, house prices up nearly 10 percent, condo prices up by more than 14 percent.
* Resort town Park City yielded more condo sales (184) than single-family home sales (140) and clocked a 15.5 percent increase in average condo prices and 19.3 percent for houses.
“Some experts feel that Utah is unvalued by 25 percent. I feel a 10 percent growth rate is extremely likely,” said Watterson.
“With all the out-of-state investors looking into Utah, it can only improve our appreciation over current levels. This is an exciting time as we watch our most important investment become more valuable. This is a great time to be in the game and not on the side lines,” Watterson advised buyers and sellers who’ve been waiting to move in, up or out.
Utah’s more affordable housing market is enjoying some housing market spill over from it’s booming neighbors.
“Utah real estate values have appreciated more solidly in recent months, a trend expected to pick up speed in 2005 and 2006. The reasons include more impressive economic growth and the fact that Utah real estate is again ‘bargain priced’ versus its neighbors,” said area economist Jeff Thredgold.
On it’s western border, Nevada currently has the nation’s fastest appreciating home prices, which rose more than 31 percent in the last year. The nation’s most populous state, California, just west of Nevada, is No. 2 on the OFHEO’s Home Price Index list with home price appreciation higher than 25 percent. To the south, Arizona enjoyed a 19.43 percent home price appreciation during the first quarter and ranks No. 7 in the nation on the OFHEO Home Price Index list.
However, Thredgold says Utah is leaving in the dust its first recession in 50 years (from 2002 to 2003) and can hold its own economically. The state is a mecca of academic and higher education institutions that produce a well-educated workforce and its pro-business climate attracts existing and start-up businesses in the technology, pharmaceutical and biomedicine fields, among others.
The state’s net job creation is second in the nation only to Nevada during the last 12-month period and the jobs aren’t just lower-paying service jobs, but employment gains in manufacturing, finance, trade, transportation, utilities, professional and business services and construction, as well as the leisure and hospitality sectors.
Unemployment is down to 4.6 percent from the nearly 6 percent two years ago, Thredgold reported.
“Utah is the 5th fastest growing state and the real estate market is showing it,” Mayra Sanchez Johnson of Prostar Realty reported to Realty Times’ Market Conditions Report.
“Prices are steadily rising and a well-maintained home will sell in less than 30 days. New housing is booming and there are offerings from condos and townhouses to starter homes and luxury homes at very affordable prices,” she added.
Interview on Real Estate in Focus
Kris Krohn’s interview on Real Estate in Focus, this past Saturday, is now available online. It was a very positive interview, taking up the entire hour. Kris did an excellent job promoting his book and REIC Global.
Real Estate in Focus airs on the Access Radio Network, which is broadcast to 21 radio stations, nationwide.
You can listen to it below:
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The Strait Path to Real Estate Wealth For Free
Everyone at REIC is excited! There are so many new and fascinating things going on that it would make your head spin. Many things are happening all at once: tons of new video footage is being produced, new audio is being edited and readied for release, web site modifications are taking place, Kris Krohn’s book (The Strait Path to Real Estate Wealth) is about to be released to the public, FOR FREE!!!…and the list goes on and on.
One of the single biggest events we have planned is the 2010 Annual Wealth Summit that will be held Thursday, May 6th at the Provo Marriott Hotel (101 West 100 North, Provo, Utah). Kris Krohn will be holding a book signing at 6:00 pm and the Summit will begin at 7:00 pm. Please attend if you can make it, and bring friends and family. We hope to see you there!!
To keep abreast of everything that is happening, keep visiting us on the web at REICGlobal. If you would like to sign up for one of our free, live (Utah and Salt Lake County, Utah) seminars, visit REIC Events for more information including a schedule and a list of locations. Also, if you would like to learn more about what we are doing at REIC, e-mail us at info@reicglobal.com.
Big Business and Technology Expo in Orem fosters ideas to fight the economy’s sinking ship
Published: Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010 8:09 p.m. MST
By: Lois M. Collins
OREM — The recession is clearly bad news for some, but if you’ve got imagination, energy and the right business approach, it can spell opportunity, five successful Utah entrepreneurs agreed during a panel discussion at the two-day Big Business and Technology Expo.
“It’s not a recession for good ideas and innovation,” said Michael Alvarez of Avantar.
Recession is part of the American business cycle, said Brian Ford, entrepreneur and author. His company, 8 Pillars, has done fine, he noted. “My guess is we’re all going to do just fine. … The best years are ahead of us if we learn from our mistakes.”
That view was echoed by the other panelists, including Ryan Caldwell of Entice Labs, Kris Krohn of Real Estate Investors Club and Garrett B. Gunderson, entrepreneur and coauthor of “Killing Sacred Cows.”
While Caldwell noted the “huge benefit” his company has reaped from the recession, Krohn characterized the economic downturn as a “beautiful opportunity to clean up” businesses and practices that perhaps shouldn’t survive but sometimes do in good economic times.
They also answered questions about their very different styles of corporate communication. Gunderson, for instance, shuns e-mail, while Krohn and Caldwell embrace it. Alvarez said he has trouble setting boundaries.
“You have to use technology to your advantage,” said Ford, who breaks action into “doables” and “deliverables.” With the former, “I’m checking e-mail, (so) I think I’m busy,” while the latter actually delivers results, he said.
The expo, which ran Tuesday and Wednesday at Utah Valley University’s event center, drew hundreds of participants and dozens of exhibitors who networked, looked at products and ideas, and listened to discussions related to business success. And they capped off the event Wednesday afternoon with a rock-paper-scissors battle that had 16 combatants and a sweet prize: The winner of the single-elimination tournament got to haul away a baby grand piano.
To see the article online, click here.
