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THIS MATERIAL IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR LEGAL ADVICE FROM A TRAINED PROFESSIONAL.While the information contained in this document has been carefully edited and updated to accurately reflect the currentlaws and local state guidelines, real estate investing is a field that changes rapidly. Readers must use caution beforeutilizing the information and practices contained within this publication. At the time of this printing all links/URLs were valid.Over time, online businesses can change their URL/Domain names.This publication is covered under the protection provided by the copyright laws of the United States (Title 17, US Code). Itis illegal to reproduce any of this publication or its sections in whole or in part and anyone caught in direct violation of thecopyright protection laws shall be punished to the fullest extent under the law.PLEASE NOTE: This is a summary report.Your First 30 Days Investing In Real Estate Investing Clever Investor, LLC All Rights Reserved. This book may not be published or reproduced in any form without the express writtenpermission of the publisher.
IntroductionStarting out as a brand new real estate investor can be exhilarating because you are somewhat aware of the potentialresults, yet unaware of what steps are needed to reach your true potential.“When I first began researching being a real estate investor, I quickly realized I didn’t know what I was doing.In other words I didn’t know about what I didn’t know about. I knew I needed a clear plan and somementorship to help me find my bearings and I was thankful to find a guide like this one to take me by thehand and tell me what to do!”- Brand New Investor Josh W. AllenMy name is Cody Sperber and I put together this comprehensive 30 day action plan because I have been where youcurrently are. Before we started making millions, I made hundreds of thousands. and before that I made tens ofthousands. We all start somewhere and right now it is your time to take control of your financial future. Youcan achieve anything with the right mindset,education, and mentorship.Real estate investing has been done manydifferent ways by many different people. Luckyfor you this workbook is designed as a stepby-step, paint-by-numbers action plan that willgive you a clear direction of what your first 30days as a new real estate investor should looklike. When we first started we followed thesame processes and have succeeded in thisbusiness beyond our wildest dreams. And thebest part about it is YOU CAN TOO! Our hopeis that this workbook fast tracks your efforts soyou can start doing deals and making moneywithin your first 30-60 days.In order to get the most out of this action planit is my suggestion to have an open mind anda “won’t quit” attitude. You have to pump yourself up and force yourself to stick to the plan even if you don’t feel like workingthat day. We can tell you from experience that having the right “Millionaire Mindset” will be the key to your success as a realestate investor!Most new investors have heard you can be a real estate investor with no money and no credit. I prefer to say you can dothis with little money and no credit because there will be costs to educate yourself and market your business. There aremultiple strategies to invest in real estate and the reality is the strategies you choose may be influenced by your financialsituation. Some of you may have no money and no credit, some may have little money and good credit and others will havemoney and decent credit. If you factor your financial situation combined with your knowledge, experience, tolerance to risk,goals and financial ability you will quickly be able to determine how to approach this business and each deal. I’m not goingto tell you that this workbook will teach you everything you need to know about real estate investing, but what I can tell youis it should give you a great start to be working your first deal within the next 30 days. Part of the reason for creating thisguideline for you is that I see so many people get into this business and never do a deal and eventually they quit. Our goalis to give you a path that leads to your success if you are willing to take the necessary steps.
The Different Investing StrategiesLet’s assume you know nothing about investing in real estate. There are many exciting and profitable investing strategiesthat a new investor needs to learn in order to decide which one works for them based on their current resources. Whilesome take money, such as flipping houses or holding rentals, some strategies do not, like wholesaling. When I first beganinvesting I was on the “fake it until I make it” program and I vividly remember talking with other investors pretending like Iknew what wholesaling was. Pretty funny now that I look back at it, but at the time I didn’t have a handy little guide like thisone to break it all down for me!20%So what are the basic investing strategies?50% WholesalingBuy, Fix and StayBuy, Fix and Flip30%WholesalingWholesaling is BY FAR the easiest way to make money as a real estate investor and typically takes little to no money orcredit. In a standard wholesale transaction you are finding a property that you can buy at a SIGNIFICANT DISCOUNT andput it under contract. Then you are “flipping” your contract to someone who wants to Buy, Fix, & Flip, or Buy, Fix, & Hold theproperty as a rental for an amount higher than your contracted price. The best part about being a wholesaler is that thepaperwork is simple to create, and that you as the investor are taking on little to no risk, making this strategy perfect forbeginning investors.Requirements for Success: Knowledge of how to find motivated sellers and distressed propertiesKnowledge of real estate purchase contracts and assignment contractsAn experienced closing/escrow agent that understands the wholesaling process A database of buy, fix and stay and buy, fix and flip investors to sell your inventory toJust to review, when you are wholesaling you are not actually purchasing a property.you are simply controlling the asset byputting it under contract at a significant discount. It is our suggestion if you have little personal resources (money / credit)then you begin your career as a wholesaler and then use the profits you generate to begin “actually investing” in long termcash flowing rentals.Our motto is “Get in, get paid and move on to the next deal!”
Buy, Fix & HoldThe strategy of buying a piece of property, fixing it up, and keeping it to use as a rental property is the oldest and mosttime tested investing strategy around. The main goal one would have when owning rentals is to ensure they cash-flowand amortize. This means that each month after all expenses are paid (including taxes, insurance, and any other holdingcosts) you have some money left over as your profit. Amortization means that every time a mortgage payment is made, theamount you owe on the loan decreases by some amount. Now unless you are Mr. or Mrs. Moneybags most people buyrentals by means of a conventional loan from a bank, or creatively by working something out with the original owner of theproperty. Both ways work well as long as you are making sure that the local rental rates will cover any and all holding costsyou will have with the investment.What are some creative options to building a rental portfolio without money or credit? Ask for owner financing with an eventual balloon payment. Ask for a Lease with an Option to Purchase that allows you to sublease.Find a money partner who will put up the money and split the income and equity if you find the properties,manage the fix-up and manage the property. (sweat equity approach!)Requirements for Success: A good understanding of marketing so you can target the right potential deals A reliable real estate agent and mortgage broker that can help facilitate your transactionsA contractor or handyman you can trust (trust us when we say this.you want to make this a priority) A good property management company (unless you want the brain damage of dealing with tenants)The ability to analyze a property and understand how to evaluate holding costsPotential money partners willing to fund long term rentals The ability to convert your wholesale inventory to long-term inventoryBuy, Fix & Hold is the only strategy designed for long-term wealth. You will want to target homes in Working Class andMiddle Class neighborhoods. Trust us when we say this.STAY AWAY FROM LOW INCOME AND WAR ZONES. If youare scared to go to the property alone at night. Chances are you will end up owning a property that continually gets brokeninto and vandalized!As a last note, buying a property with a ton of equity is not as important as income potential, property age, propertycondition, and location. Take your time and be picky when choosing a rental.you will be a much more successful landlordbecause of it!Buy, Fix & FlipOf all the ways to be a real estate investor, Buy, Fix & Flip seems to be the “sexiest” investing strategy. Most beginninginvestors think this is where the money is and they think they can get wealthy “flipping” property. The reality is there are alot of issues you better be aware of if you are going to buy, fix and flip. While you can make this a very profitable businessmodel you are going to need capital, specialized knowledge, and a strong power team to be truly successful.Remember when we said one of the main buyers of a wholesale deals is a rehabber.well now you are transitioning over to
the other side of the equation. A successful rehabber has an intimate knowledge of the neighborhoods they are investingin. They understand how to accurately project construction costs, holding costs, and closing costs when running theirnumbers to see if a deal is good or not. This strategy is definitely for intermediate and advanced investors and can be alittle overwhelming on your first few “flips”. That is absolutely normal and in many cases it is a very good idea to partnerwith someone more experienced (like a general contractor or other investor) when you first begin.The good news is you do not need to understand construction to find success as a rehabber. I couldn’t swing a hammer ifmy life depended on it and I have flipped hundreds of homes over my career. What I did do is find a General Contractor thatI could trust. Over the first few deals I molded him and his crew into exactly what I was looking for (affordable, trustworthy,good quality) laborers. Now this is hard to find, so you may have to learn by trial and error. Start with smaller projects (paint,carpet etc.) then work your way up!Requirements for Success: Relationships with real estate agents, wholesalers, and bird dogs that can bring you good dealsA contractor or handyman you can trust (are you catching on yet?)The ability to analyze a property and understand how to evaluate holding and rehab costsPotential money partners willing to fund your dealsKnowledge of local home prices and their trendsThe reality is that the Buy, Fix & Flip strategy can be a great way to find your way to some BIG PAYDAYS. Just makesure you understand that no deal will ever work out exactly how you predict. Allow yourself some “wiggle room” by beingvery conservative when running your numbers and keep an eye on your holding costs (especially if you are usingexpensive financing methods such as a hard money loan).The Rest of The StrategiesIf you don’t pay your mortgage, the bank will foreclose on you and take your home. While the bank is processing theforeclosure, an investor, real estate agent, or some other “vulture like” creature will show up on your doorstep offeringconsulting advice, moving assistance, or money for your property. They will want to talk to you about doing a short salewhere they can get the lender to reduce the amount you owe so that you can sell your property and move on with your life.It’s important to understand that foreclosure isn’t an investing strategy it’s an acquisition strategy. Once you find aforeclosure or short sale, you will still have to determine the best way to purchase or control the asset. Now while detailsof these acquisition methods are outside of the scope of this action plan I do want you to be aware of the fact that once youacquire a property you will still wholesale, rehab, or hold the property as a rental. My point is this, you won’t always get outthe way you get in!Dana and I want you to run your investing business with purpose. It all starts with a business plan that will lead you togetting your first few deals done within the next 30-60 days.The plan we laid out before you starts with marketing. Most of your first week will be spent marketing your business fordeals and setting up your power team. You will then focus on the acquisition stage of your business determining the mosteffective ways to structure deals. It only makes sense that once you have a deal in your sights, you need to line up your
funding and end buyers. Now, it’s important to note that finding the money is probably the most important part of yourbusiness and we will jump in and out of different ways you can fund your deals throughout the entire 30 Day Workbook.From there we will focus on the different exit strategies that will get you paid and then evaluate your systems in order tomake necessary changes.WARNING: Too many people start a business, fail, and wonder what went wrong. Some of them were even very successfulin the beginning but once they ramped up the same processes that worked before seemed as if they no longer worked. Youhave to realize that the real estate business is constantly changing. A successful investor should never be “comfortable”otherwise be prepared to make a costly mistake. You have heard the phrase “who moved my cheese”.well get use to thatconcept because the only way you will be truly successful in this business is if you can foresee the upcoming marketchanges and adjust your business accordingly.We want to say once again before you begin CONGRATULATIONS on deciding to take action and begin your journeytowards real estate riches. Today is not just your first day as an investor.it’s a lifestyle change. You will have to erase thepast failures and build on your past successes. Most importantly forget about everything you’ve learned up until now andrealize that to be successful in this business you will have to change your way of thinking and be willing to think outside thebox. Place reminders around your home and office that will keep you focused and motivated. Maybe you still have a jobthat pays the bills for now but by implementing a solid investing plan you should be able to begin building profits before youknow it! Good luck and remember you never have to go at this alone. We are there for you so if you ever want a morehands on training visit www.CleverInvestorMentoring.com.Over the next 30 days this is the business model you will be focusing on:Step 1: MarketingStep 2: Acquisition StrategyStep 3: Funding StrategyStep 4: Exit StrategyStep 5: Evaluate and Repeat
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Understanding What It Takes To Be SuccessfulThe first thing you need to realize is that although you’re calling yourself a real estate investor, you are actually starting offas just a marketer. You will be marketing for motivated seller leads, buyer leads, and money leads to power your futureinvesting business! And as any great marketer knows you will need a plan so you are not wasting time or money onmarketing that simply doesn’t work. Your main goal for this first day is to get to know some of the basic real estatemarketing techniques so you can put together a solid marketing plan.Bandit Signs - These are cheap plastic corrugated yard signs that real estate investors place on major street corners.Visit www.banditsigns.com and learn about these signs. Put a small budget together and purchase 100 plain white 15 x19 inch signs without the metal “h” bars. Then go to Home Depot or your local hardware store and buy 100 little woodenstakes and a package of roofing nails. Visit www.youtube.com and search for bandit signs and watch how different realestate investors from all across the country use the signs to generate leads.Squeeze Pages - These are simple 1, 2, or 3 page websites designed to “squeeze” the name and email address fromvisitors of the website. Google “real estate squeeze pages” to start learning about these important website options.Networking - You will want to get involved in both online and offline networking. Visit www.nationalreia.com and locatethe Real Estate Investor Association in your area. Cruise their website to find out the resources they make available to theirmembers. Also find out when the main meeting is held along with dates for any smaller subgroup meetings and trainings. Go to www.meetup.com and locate any real estate meetup groups. Contact any that seem interesting in order to joinand plan on going to next scheduled meeting. Visit www.linkedin.com, www.cleverinvestor.com, and www.facebook.com and begin joining real estate groups.Search for “real estate investing for beginners” and you will find some great groups for beginning investors.Business Cards - Go to www.vistaprint.com and print out some of their affordable business cards. Put your name, phonenumber, email address and fax number (if you have one but not necessary). Some investors even put “CA H FORHOUSES” “ 500 REWARD” on the card. Hand out business cards to everyone you speak to throughout the day whetheryou know them or not. Leave them every- where you eat, sit, pump gas, work or play. The more you pass out, the greaterthe chance of you putting an important piece of your business together to include a deal a buyer or a member of your team.Notes:
Continue Your Marketing Efforts Over The First WeekToday you are going to focus on getting familiar with various online resources. These will include online classified sites,sites that sell investors pre-built catalog websites, and websites that help you compare and analyze residential andcommercial properties.Catalog Website - This is a standard 5 or more page website designed to promote yourself and your business. It is a goodidea to have a clean looking website and a good domain name. For example one of my websites can be found at www.SellQuickForCash.com. Check out www.investorpro.com, and www.supersmartwebprofits.com. Both of these sites provide pre-builtinvestor sites for a monthly fee. Pick something that will help you target the types of leads you plan on generating. If you plan on purchasing a domain name, search the internet for most affordable and easiest to use. If you plan on building your own site from scratch, you can visit www.fiverr.com or www.upworks.com to findweb designers that can build your site for a reasonable price. Once you have a website, blog, or squeeze page set up look into running a small Facebook Ad campaign to drive trafficto your site! Create your “About Us” page. This will be your 30 second commercial as to why someone who lands on yourwebsite will want to do business with you. Talk about your integrity, ability to perform, and reasons as to why theyshould choose you over your competition. Whether you have a website yet or not you want to get your pitchprepared and memorized. You will end up using it every time you are at a networking event!Check out www.blogger.com or www.wordpress.com. These are free blogging platforms where you can create a simpleproperty investing blog. They are easy to set up and hosted for you allowing you to have a blog up and running in minutes. The goal is to post local investing news, events that effect homeowners, properties you have for sale, and any otherarticles that you write giving you the image of being a community expert. Make sure to “search engine optimize” your posts by throwing in some local, long-tail keyword phrases such as “YourCity Cash For Houses” and or other phrases/SEO words throughout any of your blog posts. Also don’t forget to add“tags” to your posts that you believe searchers will search for on Google! Again, internet can help you understandkeywords to use.
Now it is time to learn how email marketing can help your business. You are probably used to sending emails on programslike Microsoft Outlook, Gmail, Hotmail, or Yahoo. While these free email systems will work when you are first starting, youwill eventually want to upgrade to a professional email marketing solution like www.icontact.com, www.aweber.com, orwww.constantcontact.com. The reason is because you want the power to mass email your investor database wheneveryou get a new property under contract. Also, within any of these systems you will be able to create a web form you canplace on your blog, website, or squeeze page that collects names and email addresses and drops them into a marketing list.This gives you the ability to create and send property flyers quickly and is one of the most efficient methods of marketing.We have successfully sold hundreds of wholesale properties this way and added thousands of investors nationwide to ourbuyers list!Since we use IContact.com I suggest you start there and see if any of their payment plans fit your marketing budget.Next, let’s spend some time today learning about Direct Mail Campaigns. A solid mail campaign will target a specific nicheof motivated sellers like pre-foreclosure leads (30, 60, 90 day late), absentee owner leads, and probate leads. The goal isto mail them a letter or postcard that entices them to call you. In most cases you will have to “farm” a specific marketinglist by setting up a small “drip” campaign. This means that you will send them around 3-4 mailings before you really see theresults your looking for. Visit www.yellowletterscomplete.com and www.salesteamlive.com to see what their “done-for-you” mail campaignscost to see if it fits within your marketing budget.Special Note: The uglier the letter or postcard the better your response rate will be. This is because the motivated ownerwill not feel threatened by you or feel they are calling a large corporation that won’t have empathy towards their situation!The last thing we want you to do today is get to know how online property flyers are distributed. There are free websitesout there such as www.vflyer.com where you can create and distribute online property flyers to hundreds of otherwebsites with ease. Every time you get a new property under contract simply create an online property flyer and allow thesystem to syndicate it out for you. You can also take the HTML code of your flyer and post it on your Blogger.cominvesting blog!Notes:
Today I want you to introduce you to video syndication. This is the process of automating your video marketing. First, youmay want to invest in a small USB video camera. Search the internet to compare prices and features. You will want to havea small video camera like one of these in order to shoot and share your wholesale investment opportunities with the rest ofthe world. Property flyers that have video are 2 times more likely to produce a cash buyer than ones without. I have alsoused my smart phone to shoot property videos as well! When taking a video of a property make sure to start off by saying your name, company name, street address, andany important specifications of the property such as year built and square footage. Do a quick walk through of theproperty and have a solid call to action at the end where you once again ask them to either call or email you fordetails. Edit your video with the software that is included with your camera and post the video to www. youtube.com. If youdon’t have a YouTube channel then you need to set one up at this time.Next visit all the other video websites (Vimeo.com, Metacafe.com, Howcast.com etc.) and set up accounts on thesesites. Then you upload your video to the websites and allow the software to syndicate your property video to dozensof other video websites with the click of a button.By using a syndication website you are saving yourself valuable time. Remember, even though it may be a pain in the buttto set it all up the first time, this type of technology is allowing you to set up a business that can run in just a few hours aweek!Next, let’s set up a Google Local Business Listing. These can be found on the first page of the search results ABOVE theorganic results. It is FREE to sign up for a Google Local Business Listing and produce great search results quickly. Nowbefore you set up your business listing it is a good idea to have a website, blog, or squeeze page set up and ready to collectleads. That way when you drive a potential customer there you can easily collect their information. Below is a link showingyou how to set up a business listing https://www.google.com/businessAction Plan For The Rest Of The Day:Practice a video walkthrough on your own house. Even if you don’t have a video camera practice by pretending your cellphone is a camera. What would you say? Where would you start off the video? How would you deliver your call to actionthat would make you stand out?
Joining Other Wholesalers VIP Buyers ListToday let’s focus on finding other Wholesalers in your local market. Our goal is to get on their wholesale buyers list so youcan start to receive their property alerts. This can be done a number of different ways. First, you can go online and Google“cash for your city houses”, “your city property wholesaler”, “your city foreclosure bidding services”, and “your city real estateinvestors”. I am sure you can also think of some other search terms to look up as well. When you find a website that youbelieve to be owned by a local investor or local investment company simply call and ask to be added to their VIP buyers list.Sometimes you can even do this right from their website!Another way to find local wholesalers is to attend local investment club meetings and start talking. Bring a pen and a padand take notes when you are networking to stay organized. Let anyone know that you talk to that you are trying to breakinto real estate and can act as a “bird dog” for them if they let you know what types of investment properties they typicallyinvest in. A “Bird Dog” is basically a property finder that searches the local real estate market to find good deals. Moreexperienced investors love bird dogs because it allows them to work less and still find decent deals. If you meet any otherwholesalers, exchange contact information with them in order to stay in touch and begin building a relationship.Why are we having you do this? Because we want you to see what your competition is doing. Also, to help you get someinventory. We have re-wholesaled other wholesalers’ properties and made easy money by bringing a buyer to the table! When you do get properties sent to you from other wholesalers create a property flyer making sure you mark it up a fewthousand dollars. Then post it on online classified sites like www.craigslist.com and see if you get any traction. If youdon’t get any bites, or if the wholesaler sells the property before you can find a buyer, what we usually do is dramaticallylower the price and re-post the property flyer. If you lowered the price enough you should generate some calls fromcash investors searching for good deals. Tell them that the property was just sold but if they have a second you can getsome basic information about the types of deals they are looking for and help find one for them! Great way to build yourbuyers list don’t you think?To finish the day go and put up 10-15 bandit signs on busy street corners. Target the types of leads you are trying to getand don’t be afraid to get creative with what you put on them! Here are a few ideas for inspiration: “Your Name Buy Houses” with your phone number“Really Cheap House 4 Sale” with your phone number“Handyman Special For Sale” with your phone number“Motivated Homeowner In Foreclosure Needs Help” with your phone number“Real Estate Investor Seeks Apprentice” with your phone number
Last Full Day Of MarketingIn the morning I want you to focus on creating some content we can distribute online. You need to get some quick exposureso we are going to create our first Press Release. Press Releases are a great way to get fast exposure and they are easyto write and can be free to distribute. I would announce the launch of your website and the fact that you specialize in aspecific niche (such as short sales, or stopping foreclosure). Below is a link to a “whitepaper” that explains thefundamentals of creating an effective Press ith-the-world/Now once you create your Press Release check out www.free-press-release.com, www.prlog.com, and www.pr.comfor FREE distribution optionsNext you are going to want to create and syndicate some real estate related articles. Article syndication is simply thecreation and distribution of a real estate related article to dozens of article websites called EZines. The goal with writingarticles is to make yourself a local real estate expert in your investing niche. You will want to write articles on specifictopics (300-400 words in length) that are for informational purposes only. In other words your article should not sound likean advertisement for your business but rather you showcasing your real estate knowledge!Articles are a great way to generate motivated seller leads because most homeowners search the internet for informationbefore they call anyone for help! If they find value in your article they will most likely call you for help! At the bottom ofevery article you create you will be allowed to place a link back to your website, blog, or squeeze page which is also goodfor search engine optimization purposes! Check out www.ezinearticles.com, and www.submityourarticle.comIn the afternoon look into purchasing some Veh
Buy, Fix & Flip Of all the ways to be a real estate investor, Buy, Fix & Flip seems to be the “sexiest” investing strategy. Most beginning investors think this is where the money is and they think they can get wealthy “flipping” property. The reality is there are a lot of issues you better be aware o
