The Investment Real Estate Corner

Entries from January 2008

Phoenix Waterpark Interactive Map for Waveyard in Mesa, Arizona

January 22, 2008 · 1 Comment

The legendary investor Warren Buffett speaking to a graduating MBA class part four

I found an interactive map of the new Phoenix waterpark that will be located in Mesa, Arizona.  Click Here to View.

The 125 acres will be purchased by Wave Yard from the city of Mesa.  The price tag will be $30 million, with $10 million upfront.  

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Donald Trump’s The Celebrity Apprentice Fires Gene Simmons

January 18, 2008 · Leave a Comment

 The legendary investor Warren Buffett speaking to graduation mba class part 3

Every Thursday night I watch Donald Trumps’ The Apprentice.  I enjoy both its entertainment value and the business lessons it demonstrates.

This season is called the Celebrity Apprentice. The celebrities are not vying for a $100,000 job with Donald Trump, they are raising money for their favorite charities.

In this episode, Gene Simmons, from KISS fame, happily moved over from the all men team, Hydra, to the women’s team called Empresario.  The task was to raise awareness of how Kodak’s new inkjet printing system saves consumers up to 50 percent on everything they print.

Surprisingly, the team that won did not produce the best packaging or slick promotional material, but focused on the goal of the client.

With coffee-ruined laptops, last-minute promotional material, sloppy set-up, and a sub-par layout, Hydra was singularly focused on making sure each prospect understood the new Kodak inkjet system would save printing cost money.  Empresario, with the “benovelent dictactor” Gene Simmons, decided to go the route of big picture highly stylized and flashy vision of it’s a “Kodak World.”

What I learned from this episode is that promotional material is important.  However, having a focused understanding of what your product or service can provide and effectively communicate that knowledge in a clear, concise way is of greater importance and can be done more cost-effectively than any expensive 4-color fluff piece.

If Empresario was able to just tweak Gene Simmons fantastic promotion to explain how it could save the printer ink buying public more time and money they would have won.  In relation to real estate, this could be equal to having a great product, in a good location, but not being able to deliver in terms for financing.  It is important to understand the entire picture, yet focus on the point that will get a unique product, service, or concept sold will ultimately solve a client’s “heartburn” issue.

If you miss the mark on what your unique service proposition should be you will ultimately hear the words that Gene Simmons did from Donald Trump, “You’re fired!” 

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Myths About Buying Foreclosures

January 18, 2008 · 1 Comment

The Legendary Investor Warren Buffett talk to a graduating MBA class Part 2

This year thousands of homeowners will step into the abyss of having their homes foreclosed.  The number of folks who think that buying foreclosures is easy, is staggering.

But that is simply not the case. There are so many things that can go wrong when trying to purchase a foreclosed property.  Foreclosures simply aren’t easy to buy!

One of the things that makes’ it difficult, is the uncertainty of communication.  There are multiple layers of red tape you have to go through just to get to a decision-maker.

Here are my five Keys to buying a foreclosed property:

1.        Don’t assume–no matter what the list price is, do your own comparables.  Talk with the neighbors, they might know something about the property that the bank doesn’t know, and wouldn’t tell you if they did.

2.       If you want a smoking deal then search for properties that have been on the market for over 200 days then offer 20-30% less than what they are listed at.  Just because it is a bank has it listed at a certain amount, doesn’t mean they know how to price properties to sell.

3.       Treat your real estate agent as your best friend… even if they aren’t, because you will be talking with them often.  Many times they don’t know what’s going on with the bank either… so you might as well be on the same page with them.

4.       Don’t be intimidated by the banks seller addendum’s.  They aren’t scary… just lopsided because they want all the terms to be in their favor.

5.       When you feel like it is a big hassle and you want to quit, repeat three times; “I like helping to pay my landlords mortgage payments!

You have to be patient in dealing with banks, it could take between four to six weeks just to get a response from the banks about your offer.  If you’re renting, it’s best to get a month-to-month extension because when it’s time for you to close, you’ll need to close quickly.

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How To Market Your Online Business Part 1

January 6, 2008 · Leave a Comment

Legendary Investor Warren Buffett Speaking To A Graduating MBA Class Part 1

Side-Step The Big Business Branding Techniques That’ll Leave You Broke And Disappointed And Discover Cost-Effective Branding Strategies That Small And Home-Based Businesses Can Start Using Today

  1. Directly offer a product/service for sale at your website. You can offer a product or service on your webpage or you can offer free information to lure people to another where you then have a product or service available. This is the most popular way of making money on the net because it’s easy to set up and you can get the initial profits rolling almost overnight.

Or,

2. Get as many visitors to your site as possible by enticing them to come with something special you offer (Such as valuable information, help, files, free stuff, etc.). Then, once the visitor counts are high enough, you can sell advertising space on your site or sponsorships or banner advertising.

The above aspect of online marketing, with the intent to sell advertising space, is not talked about as much because it doesn’t generate instant cash and requires an investment of time and money of at least six months. Once these sites are successful however, they pay off big and the time commitment and maintenance from that point on is minimal. A good example can be found at http://www.theautochannel.com.

The autochannel site has been a success because it offers daily news on the automotive industry and free information on all things automotive (including new and used car prices and dealer invoice costs). To the best of my knowledge, the AutoChannel generates over three hundred thousand visitors a week (that’s millions of hits a month) and can sell premium advertising space. They generate over $100,000 each month in advertising fees from corporations like Pennzoil and Allstate, regardless of what else they are able to sell.

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Happy Investing,

Kendall E. Matthews, CRMC
Phoenix, Arizona Investment Real Estate

P.s. Review my new e-book “101 Legit Tips To Boost Your Credit Score” Click Here to learn more.

P.s.s. Click here to receive my Free mini e-course for new and experience real estate investors. “7 Steps To Better Real Estate Investing.”

 

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Get It Straight In 2008!

January 1, 2008 · Leave a Comment

Happy New Year! 

For me this past year has been one that proven very educational.

From going through the market changes of real estate to becoming the sole breadwinner for my family I have learned a lot. 

In 2007, one the two things that I have learned is that the only thing that I can control is my actions and attitude.  I can’t control nothing else, but my actions. With my new focus of just focusing on controlling my actions I have a motto for 2008 and a motto is “Get It Straight In 08!” 

For me, 2008 is a two prong approach for personal and professional success one that will involve simplification and massive action. 

I hope that you enjoy watching me in 2008, as I focused on simple-massive-action results-oriented behavior. 

If you have a motto for 2008 please share? 

“Get it straight in 08!” 

Moving Forward, 

Kendall E. Matthews  

Categories: Articles of Interest