#billham

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What You Must Understand About Real Estate Before Closing Your First Deal -

The following is adapted from Creative Cash by Bill Ham, Gino Barbaro, Jake Stenziano. After almost eight years in the real estate business, I made one of the costliest mistakes of my career, losing over $1 million on a deal because I didn’t understand something important. Yes: $1 million dollars! It makes me sick just thinking about it. […]

Pillar #1: Market Cycles

Markets go up, and markets go down. Prices go up; prices go down. What most people don’t realize is that market shifts are quite predictable.

Keep in mind that all markets cycle—the real estate market, the stock market, apartments, offices, single-family homes. These are all individual markets and will have their own cycles independent of, and sometimes in sync with, the national economy. Understanding past market conditions will allow us to deploy the most accurate business model in the present.

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Creative Ways to Overcome the Barriers to Entry in Real Estate -

The following is adapted from Creative Cash by Bill Ham (author), Gino Barbaro (contributor), Jake Stenziano (contributor). Along with my partners, we have over 25 years experience operating vertically integrated real estate businesses, and have over $100 million in assets under management. If there’s one thing I’ve learned so far, it’s that everyone faces barriers to entry […]

Barrier #2: Qualifying for a Loan

To qualify for a loan, the borrower usually needs to have at least the same amount of net worth as the loan amount. In many cases, net worth needs to be 1.3 times the loan amount.

So if I want to qualify for a $1,000,000 loan to buy an apartment complex, then I need to show the bank at least $1,000,000 in net worth—possibly $1.3 million. The net worth for the loan can also be a collection of your net worth plus your partner’s net worth, but in this case, you’d need millionaire partners to sign on the dotted line.

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How Distressed Assets Could Be Your Ticket to the Best Real Estate Deals -

The following is adapted from Creative Cash by Bill Ham (author), Gino Barbaro (contributor), Jake Stenziano (contributor). If you’ve been in real estate for decades or are just starting out, there’s one truth I’m sure you know well: it’s hard to find good deals. When you’re using creative and seller financing (CSF) to close deals, there’s another wrinkle […]

If you’ve been in real estate for decades or are just starting out, there’s one truth I’m sure you know well: it’s hard to find good deals. When you’re using creative and seller financing (CSF) to close deals, there’s another wrinkle you have to consider in your hunt for good deals: the condition of the properties. Most likely, you’ll be dealing with a distressed asset.

Because if a property is up and running and making tons of money, why would sellers finance it to you? They probably wouldn’t. They would just sell it on the open market to a qualified buyer.

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Want the Best Multi-Family Real Estate Deals? Start with Problems. -

The following is adapted from Creative Cash by Bill Ham. There’s one thing that is common among all people: problems! It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor. It doesn’t matter if you’re just starting in the real estate game, or if you’ve been here for years. Chances are, you have problems. See where I’m going with […]

Most sellers have problems. At the very least, they might be having trouble finding someone to buy their property at the moment. They may have occupancy problems. They may have repairs that haven’t been done for a while. They may not be able to manage the asset anymore. They may be a “burned-out” landlord.

If you can solve the seller’s problems by creating cooperation, then you don’t need to be rich to start in the real estate business. Creative and seller financing (CSF) is based around creating value through problem solving. There are a few easy ways to identify problems in your market. These problems are seller problems as well as investor problems.

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Want the Best Multi-Family Real Estate Deals? Start with Problems. -

The following is adapted from Creative Cash by Bill Ham. There’s one thing that is common among all people: problems! It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor. It doesn’t matter if you’re just starting in the real estate game, or if you’ve been here for years. Chances are, you have problems. See where I’m going with […]

When Working with Sellers

These are some of the problems you can look for with sellers.

Distressed assets: This can include deferred maintenance, low occupancy and bad management.

Burned-out landlord: They’ll be tired of dealing with current management (bad management), tired of spending money on the property or are an “accidental” landlord. Some people inherit property and don’t really want to be in the business.

Can’t find qualified buyers: This can be a real problem in a down cycle for most sellers. Many buyers have exited the business or are waiting on the sidelines to get back in during an up cycle. Or you can look for sellers who’ve had a deal fall out of contract more than once. These sellers will be motivated and educated on the lower value of their property.

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How Distressed Assets Could Be Your Ticket to the Best Real Estate Deals -

The following is adapted from Creative Cash by Bill Ham (author), Gino Barbaro (contributor), Jake Stenziano (contributor). If you’ve been in real estate for decades or are just starting out, there’s one truth I’m sure you know well: it’s hard to find good deals. When you’re using creative and seller financing (CSF) to close deals, there’s another wrinkle […]

What is a Distressed Asset?

The term “distressed asset” can refer to many things including:

Deferred maintenance

Low occupancy

Bad management

Units that need to be rehabbed (multifamily)

Bad tenant base (large number of non paying tenants)

Exterior building damage

These are common areas of distress I’ve encountered while building my portfolio. It’s worth mentioning that in all the real estate I’ve dealt with, I’ve never done a deal that didn’t have some level of distress or upside (the ability to raise its value through renovations) to it.

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Creative Ways to Overcome the Barriers to Entry in Real Estate -

The following is adapted from Creative Cash by Bill Ham (author), Gino Barbaro (contributor), Jake Stenziano (contributor). Along with my partners, we have over 25 years experience operating vertically integrated real estate businesses, and have over $100 million in assets under management. If there’s one thing I’ve learned so far, it’s that everyone faces barriers to entry […]

Along with my partners, we have over 25 years experience operating vertically integrated real estate businesses, and have over $100 million in assets under management.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned so far, it’s that everyone faces barriers to entry in the real estate business. Some of these barriers are big and seem insurmountable, while others are smaller and merely annoying. Regardless, barriers can leave you feeling intimidated or hopeless.

But entry is not impossible, no matter your background or experience level. You might think you don’t have enough money, or that you’ll never get approved for a loan.

[certaincollections]

How Distressed Assets Could Be Your Ticket to the Best Real Estate Deals -

The following is adapted from Creative Cash by Bill Ham (author), Gino Barbaro (contributor), Jake Stenziano (contributor). If you’ve been in real estate for decades or are just starting out, there’s one truth I’m sure you know well: it’s hard to find good deals. When you’re using creative and seller financing (CSF) to close deals, there’s another wrinkle […]

What is a Distressed Asset?

The term “distressed asset” can refer to many things including:

Deferred maintenance

Low occupancy

Bad management

Units that need to be rehabbed (multifamily)

Bad tenant base (large number of non paying tenants)

Exterior building damage