_{Want to know how I make BIG checks in real estate investing?}

_{Well, the one thing you must do first so that you can go to the bank later is to consider how you will sell a property before you buy it!}

^{Proven types of Exit Strategies We Consider}

The exit strategies we consider are determined at the beginning of a deal process. We make our money when we buy the home, such as when we negotiate a sellers debt in a short sale process, however we don't realize our money until we exercise one of the below exit strategies.

• Wholesale – The business of locating houses, usually needing repairs, at bargain prices and quickly passing them off to bargain hunters well below retail value.

• Retailing – The business of locating houses at bargain prices, usually rehabbing them and selling to the end user for all cash with new financing. This exit can offer the greatest return however, requires the most resources.

• Quick Turn – The business of acquiring a home, needing little repairs, well below market value, perhaps through a short sale, and immediately putting the home on the market to find a 100% financed homeowner.

• Getting Ownership – The business of getting ownership to pretty houses in lovely areas by taking over existing debt. Creating seller carry back financing, and finding a new homeowner.

• Lease Options and Options – Taking control of a property by leasing it from the seller or obtaining ownership from the seller with the intent to quickly find a new quick turn buyer or lease option buyer for the home.

• Auctioning – The business of taking a home that we acquired well below market value and holding an auction for the home to create instant buyers and quick sales. This exit strategy is targeted for executive style homes.

Why is it so important to know how you will sell? You need to know your options. Let me explain. If you don't know all your options to sell than you taking a huge risk of losing a deal when new complications arise that I refer to in one of my courses, The 77 Biggest Mistake Real Estate Investors Make.

Biggest Mistake #44 that a lot of real estate investors make is they do not have more than one exit strategy to their deal. Now, the reason why this is important for you to know is because the more exit strategies that you have in your business with your properties and your deals, the easier it's going to be for you to get in and get out and get paid and move on to the next deal. Whereas if your only exit strategy is to sell a property for all cash to an end-user buyer, then you're very limited on the people that can buy that property from you, and you're really cutting yourself short to a lot of different exit strategy avenues. Quite frankly, most of what you're going to be able to do with your exit strategy is going to depend on how you purchased the property. So, just keep in mind that whenever you plan to make an acquisition, whenever you plan to purchase a property, you always want to have an idea on what your exit strategy will be when you purchase that home. For example, if you can buy a property and have the seller owner-finance it to you, then you have a lot more flexibility on what you can do with it in the back end. If you want to sell it for all cash to an end-user buyer and the numbers make sense, you can do that. If you want to sell the property as a lease to own and put a tenant in it and collect a down payment, you can do that. If you want to sell the property with owner financing and do a wraparound mortgage to your end-user buyer, you could have the option to do that. Whereas if you buy a property and get a mortgage on it in your own name and do a small rehab job to it and it's a one or two year ARM where the rate is going to go up soon and you're going to be very limited after the rate adjusts, your only goal and your only intention is, "Man, I've got to sell this thing for cash so I can get out of it and pay off that loan!" Well, you're very limited to what your exit strategy is with an approach like that. And unfortunately, this is where a lot of real estate investors fail, because they do not have flexibility with their exit strategies. They only have one exit strategy that they can do in their business. So, just keep this in mind as you begin or continue and grow your business: Always think about what your exit will be before you buy. Keep your exit in mind and be as flexible as you possibly can to the end-user buyer so that way you can get in, get out, and get paid quickly. Want to learn more? I have great news, my new book; How To Make Money In Your Local Real Estate Market is now available! Here's the link to buy directly from amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Brian+Evans+Make+Money&x=0&y=0&ih=10_6_3_0_0_1_1_1_0_1.89_54&fsc=-1 You will be amazed at how much information is in this book – the EXACT same investing strategies I used to get where I am today and continuing using on a daily basis. Don't miss the forward by Ron LeGrand, multi-millionaire investor and mentor.

Today's post is directed to new investors out there and focuses on your buying strategy. Before you decide to buy a property (excluding short sale purchase, which you will get under contract first) you need to estimate repairs that are needed. There are plenty of real estate investors out there who don't know how to quickly and accurately estimate repairs on properties. If you drag your feet trying to determine repairs for too long the deal can get up and walk away from you.

For a lot of seasoned investors and rehabbers out there, this one probably doesn't apply to you. But to everyone else, it's very important to know how to quickly and accurately estimate the repairs on a property. And obviously, in the beginning days this is not going to be as easy, but really, it's not as difficult as you would think. And I'm not a rehabber. I don't rehab properties. I don't do construction personally. So, if I'm able to understand and accurately and quickly estimate repairs, then you can too.

I believe the best way for you to start to really get a good understanding in the early days is hire a couple, or request a couple construction bids on some properties that you're considering buying. And definitely hire more than one. The more you can get the better. And the more you do that on different properties, you'll start to see a pattern and you'll start to understand where certain things fall into play and what they cost. And as far as the little items go, you can always go to Home Depot or Lowes and price some things out. But the majority of the repairs that you need to always keep in mind when doing rehab job properties are incorporating the labor costs. You've always got to keep this cost in mind, especially if you hire this out, which you should hire this out – remember, I don't recommend doing repairs by yourself. And the majority of your cost when you write that check after it's all done is going to consist of manual labor.

Now, what you'll come to find, and the way we estimate repairs now, we try to do it very simply, but it's going to come down to really one of a few things. It's going to cost $5,000, $10,000, $15,000, or $20,000 plus. And if you're in for a $20,000 plus rehab in your early days, then it's probably an investment that you want to avoid because $20,000 plus rehabs, you never know what could happen. If you're doing a rehab that is going to cost that much, then be careful. In fact, I would avoid it until you've got a little bit more experience under your belt. But typical rehabs fall within $5 – $15K. This usually includes kitchen replacements (cabinets, counters) and bath upgrades (fixtures, possibly tile) and the customary carpet and paint expense, sometimes a new roof. Once you get a good basic understanding of the algebra, the details of it, (especially if you know what the average costs for the typical repairs/upgrades run) then you can start to quickly say, "Okay, this is probably going to cost between $7500 and $10,000. So, somewhere between $5,000 and $10,000." And that's how we do it. There's no exact science to it, but if you want to be in this business, then you've got to act quickly. You've got to be able to make decisions quickly and accurately and you're never going to be able to estimate it to the T anyway. So, why bother. So, start to quickly understand and accurately understand how to estimate repairs on these properties so that way you can grow your business, especially if your niche is more along the lines of doing rehabs. Here's to a great weekend and plenty of showings on properties. You can learn more details about estimating your purchasing power by going to:

www.freemakemoneygift.com/invitation.html

As always, I am here to help you with your real estate investing, feel free to reach out to my staff or I at www.BrianEvansSupport.com