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Real Estate in Your IRA: Free Seminar 10/27

October 21, 2012 by Michael Borger

October 27 2012

Join Us at The Bishop Museum!

Want to discover how to invest in Real Estate inside your IRA? Want to learn how to flip houses or skyrocket your portfolio as a private lender — tax free?

If you’re interested in breaking free of the regular (and volatile) stock and bond heavy portfolio determining the future of your retirement funds, then you’re in luck. My colleague Dan Falardeau of New Direction IRA (formerly Entrust) is holding TWO FREE WORKSHOPS next Saturday 10/27/12 at The Bishop Museum. The first workshop is at 10am, the second at 12pm noon, each lasting roughly 90 minutes with time for Q&A after. Free pupus provided 🙂

Dan has also graciously asked me to co-host this event with him. Dan will be doing the majority of the presentation on all aspects of Self-Directed IRAs and then I’ll present for a bit on specific real estate questions and opportunities.

So if you’re interested in taking charge of your financial future and taking advantage of all the IRS freedoms available to you (that they don’t want you to know about), then register for one of our two FREE workshops on Saturday, October 27th and the Bishop!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Hawaii investing, Self-Directed IRA

Hawaii Real Estate Investment Opportunities

May 10, 2012 by Michael Borger

Hawaii Real Estate Investment Opportunities

The recent ups and downs of the housing market, both nationally and locally here in Hawaii, have put both current and would-be homeowners in a pickle. If you’ve been hit by the economic downturn, maybe even put in an underwater mortgage situation, then you’ve either had to seek help, such as a short sale or loan modification, or be forced to ride out the wave until the market picks up.

However, for real estate investors, there’s no denying that the doldrums of the market the past five years have presented unique investment buying opportunities. The old adage of “Buy low, sell high” certainly rings true when a bottom falls out, whether it be in stocks, baseball cards, cars or, yes, real estate.

The drop in prices combined with very low interest rates present unique buying opportunities for savvy real estate investors in Hawaii, especially with inventory starting to shrink to normal levels. Of course, not all investors are the same and the type of investor one is determines what, where and how one views these opportunities and ultimately invests. Let’s look at a few examples:

The House Flipper – Today’s investors who flip houses (such as my company, Big Rock Investments) can find opportunities in Hawaii today in niches such as short sales and preforeclosures. It wasn’t too long ago that Hawaii’s foreclosure rate was in or near the top ten nationwide. While the moratorium on non-judicial foreclosures for most of the past year brought that “deal source” to a crawl, there were still judicial foreclosures being processed. These are homeowners who need options, and the investor who can have a short sale processed can pick up great properties at discount prices. Most of these are centered in the Ewa and Kapolei areas on Oahu, but neighborhoods across Oahu and all Hawaii (ex. Kihei in Maui) have all had distressed properties hit the auction block. Now, with the expiration of the moratorium set for this summer, these homeowners won’t have that protection anymore and will need a helping hand.

The Landlord – For the savvy real estate investors who love the idea of cash flow (who doesn’t?), picking up properties in Hawaii now to buy and hold for the long haul is a great idea. Buying houses and condos now before prices increase allow you to capture rent checks monthly in addition to market appreciation – passive income now with a long-term upside. While Hawaii has, no doubt, been a difficult place to cash flow compared to other states in the country, there are good deals out there. Look to multi-family properties in neighborhoods of Honolulu such as in Kalihi, Kaimuki and Moiliili and out west in Maili and other parts of Waianae. You can also pick up plenty of cheap studios, 1 and 2-bedroom condos in Waikiki and Kihei that you can use as vacation rentals for international visitors. Guess what? They’ll pay well if it looks good!

The Property Buyer – Some people just love to own property because they know that real estate is almost universally a sound investment – if acquired strategically and wisely. Hawaii is at the top of many lists for these types of real estate buyers and with good reason: it offers year-round wonderful climate, it attracts international visitors and is easily rentable if desired. The sand, sun and surf sure help as well! These types of investors usually have a very long timeframe in which they view their investments, and the aforementioned low interest rates with low housing prices make now a good time to pick up a house or two while the opportunity is there. How about a house in Poipu, a multi-family house in Kailua or a couple condos in Lahaina? All good bets right now.

The “Hands Off” Private Lender – If you’re not familiar with private lending, please check out our full-length explanation video at http://bigrockinvestments.com/smart . Basically, private lending allows a wise investor to park their funds in one of our short-term rehabs with a fully collateralized and recorded lien while they earn 10% or more on a fixed rate promissory note. Since the value of the property is always worth significantly more than the loan, the investor is always in an equity position while they passively earn a very high interest rate. No volatility of the stock market, no susceptibility to unforeseen market events and no miniscule returns of savings accounts. If you like the idea of collateral and high fixed interest but don’t want to do the actual ‘heavy lifting’ of a house flip, you can align with a local investor company like us who can put your funds to use, all held by a third-party escrow company. You can even use a Self-Directed IRA to earn the interest tax-free or tax-deferred – ask us how.

As you can see, the Hawaii real estate market offers opportunities to a diverse array of savvy buyers. With the anticipated summer expiration of the non-judicial moratorium, there will be more distressed properties hitting the open market. While this increase in supply may, in the short term, prevent a large uptick in prices it will also present more properties to be had with upfront equity at closing since these types of properties – primarily short sales and REOs – tend to be sold off quickly at discounts to move them through the pipeline.

If you’re a Hawaii real estate investor, no matter the type, who wants to get into the market while the time is right, don’t spend too much time on the sidelines. There are great deals to be had, but it remains to be seen how long they will be available.

Aloha,
Mike

Filed Under: Buying & Selling, Foreclosures, Hawaii Tagged With: Hawaii investing

Building a Buyers List — Why You Need to Start Now (Part 1)

November 28, 2010 by Michael Borger

If you really want to break it down, being a real estate investor, in Hawaii or anywhere, is just about buying and selling. Sure, the strategies change as do the timescales on which these happen, but it’s about buying a piece of property at one time and (hopefully) selling it at a higher price at some point down the road. It could be three to six months for a standard flip or maybe several years if you’re holding it for cash flow as passive income.

While there are many attractive deals out there to be had, remember to think about who your end home buyers are going to be when you have Hawaii real estate for sale. Many investors when starting out focus so much on finding the property that they ignore the other end of the transaction. Of course when analyzing a real estate deal you’re going to look at the after repair value (ARV), required renovations, financing fees, title/escrow costs, etc. to determine your maximum offer and profit spread.

But it’s also critical to think of who the person is that’s going to buy this piece of island real estate from you. Is it a homeowner? A landlord? Another investor? Local or mainland? Who’s looking for investment property in Hawaii? Different buyers look for different prices or discounts. A homeowner will generally pay more for your property than a landlord. Understanding your buyers is critical to getting the price you want at the day of closing.

Having a list of interested buyers ready to go solves many potential problems. One, they have already indicated they’re looking for property to purchase. So while you can still list your property on the Hawaii MLS (house listings for sale) to attract a greater pool of potential buyers, and therefore a possible higher price, you may also be able to ‘pre-sell’ the property to one of your buyers. Just have them place a deposit in escrow with a contract ready to go. This saves you time, marketing and other holding costs. Two, by selling to your repeat buyers you establish a business relationship that you can go to over and over again. If the previous closing with a buyer went smoothly, you can likely eliminate some of the worries that come about as you approach the next closing with the same buyer. Three, repeat buyers will often come to the table with cash, facilitating your closings even more.

So if you have a pool of qualified cash buyers who can go to contract on your Hawaii properties for sale before you’ve even completed a rehab, saving you significant time and holding costs, wouldn’t that be worth a discount to them? This, in turn, helps ensure a happy buyer who is more likely to purchase from you again. It’s much better to sell your properties this way than to go to the open market every time not knowing if your new buyer is going to close or not. Having a qualified buyers list helps eliminate these worries for smoother closings and greater profit for your Hawaii real estate investment business.

Click here for Part 2 of How to Build Your Hawaii Real Estate Buyers List!

Filed Under: Buying & Selling, Hawaii Tagged With: cash buyers Hawaii, Hawaii investing, Hawaii investment properties, Hawaii real estate buyers, Hawaii real estate investment

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