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Use Other People's Money to Leverage Real Estate Riches

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A recent article in Forbes highlights the risks of using other people’s money to leverage personal success.

Using other people’s money (or “OPM” as slangsters like to say) can be extremely risky in the corporate world - especially if you drain the corporate coffers to fund initiatives that don’t work out. But in the world of real estate investing, where it is possible to apply leverage in all kinds of different situations, it can be a very smart thing to do.

I recently spoke with one real estate developer, for example, who leveraged his way into owning a lot of property by using none of his money at the outset. Let’s call him Ben.

How? Ben went to a wealthy friend and offered to act as an intermediary for buying and improving properties. His pitch to his friend went something like this:

“If you lend me $40,000 to make a down payment on a house and renovate it, I will handle all the details for you. I will find the property, negotiate the purchase, supervise the renovation and then make the sale. You and I will split the profits.”

They shook hands, executed the plan and each made just short of $35,000 on their first joint venture. They then did another deal, after which Ben headed out on his own.

And you noticed, he brought it off without spending a cent of his own money. Of course, the last thing you want to do is lose a friend’s investment. But if you know your stuff and put a deal together wisely, you can make it happen.

A Special Welcome to our International Readers

The Trump Blog is an international community. Yesterday we had visitors from Saint Petersburg, Geneva, Shanghai, Winnipeg - and most everywhere else in the world.

You do not have to write perfect English to share your ideas and opinions here! You are an important part of the Trump Blog community. So welcome to you. We await all your great ideas and input from an international perspective.

Barry Lenson is Executive Editor at Trump University.

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9 Comments

[-] Posted by Richard_G on 05/18/2007 12:04 PM
Barry,

This is an excellent concept, but any that apply this should be aware of the commitment they should have to complete it with success. Knowing the housing market of where you plan to pursue this is also very important. Don't go out to a location where housing has been dropping like a rock, even though deals may seem great, the interest to purchase ratio is likely low and you could wind up holding the bag.

Even if you're working a full time job, 9 - 5, there is still time during the evening and weekends to put in the hours and effort to be successful. You don't have to do all the work yourself, home builders make an excellent profit by simply finding good contractors.

The only questions would be: "Do I know enough about real-estate deals or should I take training?" and "Can I commit to the time and effort required?"


Sincerely

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[-] Posted by Daniela -Madrid on 05/18/2007 8:14 PM
Mr. Lenson,
OPM system...look that system like:*your home-tell me how you dream about* and the customer have possibility*s to choose from 1,2 until 5 rooms , nice design, almoust zero energy BASF principle...
well, as developer creating a system to help exposed areas, but such a standard method to act in, and to produce profits 3times winn winn winn
like: touched area by developement and investment summit, hmmm,
just 8 weeks from the contract till the house in place...joint of two modules..well to be aplyed for China which have huge demographic restrictions, the farmers suffer at most by, so as density is large one, than the standard must be applyed on vertical high than wide, but the procedure to market this..hmm...
Mr Lenson, Mr. Guyon have a great day!
Daniela
[-] Posted by user89187 on 05/18/2007 10:41 PM
What a concept. Why didn't I think of that? Probably because money doesn't interest me although I know it should.
[-] Posted by Veronica Da Metz on 05/19/2007 3:27 PM
Kind of Ironic concept, now the real estate market bubble bursts, so people have to downsize their 4 bedroom upgrade to a 2 bedroom condo. So profits are still around just "the savy" is the key word for this transition. And as things become more and more expensive the weak ones of socitey find it the most difficult to coop, I noticed a post by the "third generation Jr" how he would like to pursure an endevour on a retirment community, he is very sweet to pursure this, granted that most retirment homes for one person start at $2,000 per month, no doubt there is demand, and demand will grow.



In the article, the irony is also with Don McGhan bigger is not always better, watch for those that seek to improve a falicy, dreamers can reach the sky in thought but crash land once the dream ends. Sure $100 million would of been great to use in order to redicover another more natural healthy form of implant, this would of, for sure, captivated the market. Yet the power house of Dow Chemical wont allow such an embargo, so it was only natural to see the direction that McGhan would end up in a briar patch.





Don McGhan bet $100 million of real estate deposits that he would be the next king of silicone implants. The bet didn't pay off. Donald K. McGhan has long tried to parlay a supporting role in the invention of silicone breast implants into a successful business. Now 73, McGhan has founded and abandoned a string of unsuccessful companies, among them breastmaker Inamed, which booted him from its board in 1998 after the company discovered he had misused investor funds. undeterred by investor lawsuits and a $50,000 civil penalty from the
[-] Posted by Veronica Da Metz on 05/19/2007 3:46 PM
Does Mr. Gottlieb of Tri-State Home Sales, have networks on the WestCoast, because it looks like it is an East Coast LTD?

I do like his technique, clever man,

http://www.tshomesales.com/
[-] Posted by www.BigOLLC.com on 05/20/2007 1:31 PM
OPM is great! For those that don't have friends with money, good credit can be your best friend. You can develop good credit by applying for and exercising credit cards. By this I mean using your credit card for all normal expenses and paying them off every month. Get credit cards that give you money back. There are rewards cards that will give you around $200.00 cash for every $20,000.00 charged. Wow free money. All I do is pay for my gas every month using a credit card. Pay it off every month so I don't pay any interest. I make $200.00 plus a year just on charging my gas to a credit card. So after you have around 5 credit cards and have exercised them for a year. You make around $1000.00 or more cash back. Your credit lines go up and you start to get these 0% to 4% offers to draw cash for 3 months to a year. So I bought a lot, hired a contractor and built a home in 18 months using 0% interest. The total costs from start to finish was $150,000.00. I had the home appraised at $290,000.00 and took a cash out loan of $150,000.00 @ 5% interest. My payments are around $700.00 per month and I rented the home for $1400.00 per month. I took the $150K bought two homes with 10% down each and kept the remainder as emergency cash reserves in a guaranteed interest checking earning 3%. This is just a small picture of what is possible. I can go on for pages. Eventually you will have every banks credit card until you can’t apply for anymore. That’s when you start a corporation. Basically a different entity that represents you. Then you start the process all over again using that corporation. Credit cards for me have been and still are the easiest way to attain low interest money for short periods of time. They have enabled me to create a multi-million dollar portfolio so that I can now get long term low interest investment loans from the banks.

Good Luck!

Dennis O'Donnell
CEO, Big O, LLC - www.bigollc.com
Vice President, Precision PCB Services, Inc. - www.pcb-repair.com
Owner/Realtor, Lucky U Realty - www.Lucky-u-realty.com
[-] Posted by user89187 on 05/20/2007 11:01 PM
At least you guys get weekends off, not to mention I'm sure labour day. Sure must be nice.
[-] Posted by member1597727 on 05/25/2007 12:38 AM
Mr. Lenson:

Many people are hesitant to pursue a partnership with a private lender. Often the lack of confidence is prompted by a family member or friend who means well but does not realize he/she is stealing someone else’s dream to pursue success. A person, who must use OPM to get started, needs to realize their worth. They should not let anyone discourage them.

There are many professionals who have money but lack the time and energy to pursue a real estate investment. Being approached by an enterprising individual with good management and trade skills could be a welcome solution. Yes there is risk but there is more risk in not trying.

Another idea which works very well is to partner with the owner of a home for sale. There are times when a rental property owner might consider, carry back financing up to 100%. The reasons can vary but one reason might be as simple as the owner being sick and tired of property management. If the person with no money recognizes the owner’s problem, he/she might be able to purchase the property at a substantial discount in order to facilitate a quick sale for the owner. The new owner rents it for 2-5 years, earns the appreciation and sells it for a substantial profit. On the surface this transaction might not appear to be a true partnership; however the previous owner is funding 100% of the deal and trusting the new owner to make payments on time and take good care of the property.

Respectfully,

Jerry Gallegos – Wealth2020, Inc.
http://www.invest-for-wealth.com/
[-] Posted by member11075110 on 02/10/2010 4:36 PM
This needs to be fleshed out more thoroughly. Particularly with regard to the CROOKS who feed on other people's money and/or efforts with no intention whatsoever of EVER splitting the profits let alone returning the money they've taken.

I'll post the name of the crook who did this to me, in Indianapolis, about 15 years ago.

Joint Venture ? Don't trust people enough, anymore. Sources of capital are drying up so something will have to change very soon. Banks are a total waste of time and using shared-leverage might be a renewed concept. Any Lawyers out there with an idea of how this SHOULD be done with the least amount of paperwork ?
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