10 Things to Do Right Now if you are a New Real Estate Investor

By: Loreal Loftus

1. Learn Creative Financing

• Study subject-to, seller financing, lease-options, and innovations.
• These tools help you create deals even when sellers owe too much or rates are high.

2. Build Your Buyers List

• For wholesalers and agents, cash buyers are your lifeline.
• Network at REIA meetings, Facebook investor groups, and auctions.
• Collect contact info and buying criteria (price range, location, property type).

3. Master Deal Analysis

• Practice running comps, calculating ARV, and estimating repairs.
• Use simple formulas: 70% Rule (ARV × 70% – Repairs = Max Offer).
• Confidence in numbers makes you faster than your competition.

4. Track Local Inventory

• Watch for listings that sit 90+ days — motivated sellers hide here.
• Set up MLS alerts or Zillow/Redfin searches for your ZIP codes.
• More days on market = more negotiation power.

5. Get Comfortable Talking to Distressed Sellers

• Practice scripts for pre-foreclosures, divorces, inherited homes, and tired Landlords.
• Sellers in distress want a problem-solver, not just another “lowball offer.”

6. Understand New Rules for Agents

• If you’re an agent, learn the new buyer-broker agreement requirements.
• Practice explaining your value and how compensation works now.

7. Line Up Private Lenders

• Start building relationships with people who want to lend mo ... Read More…

10 reasons why the real estate market could weaken in the next 6–12 months, leading to more foreclosures and more motivated sellers

By: Loreal Loftus

1. High Mortgage Rates Stay Stubborn

• Mortgage rates are stuck in the 6–7% range. This keeps monthly payments high, pricing out buyers and putting pressure on sellers who need to move.

2. Rising Inventory

• Active listings are already up 20%+ year-over-year. More homes on the market = more competition = sellers forced to cut prices or offer concessions.

3. Job Market Softening

• If unemployment ticks up, more families will struggle to make mortgage payments, which often leads to delinquencies and foreclosures.

4. Flat or Declining Home Prices

• Home prices have cooled. If values drop just a little, some homeowners who bought recently with low down payments could be underwater (owe more than the house is worth).

5. Expensive Operating Costs

• Insurance, property taxes, and repair costs keep rising. For Landlords and owners with tight budgets, this squeezes cash flow and creates more motivated sellers.

6. Wave of Adjustable-Rate Resets

• Borrowers who took ARMs or short-term financing a few years ago are now facing higher payments when their loans reset, creating distress and possible defaults.

7. Credit Tightening

• Banks are pulling back on lending—especially for commercial real estate. This makes it harder for h ... Read More…

 In a recent development, Massachusetts has introduced a new law aimed at enhancing transparency and accountability in the landlord-tenant relationship. The law, which was passed recently, brings in a series of measures that seek to provide tenants with greater visibility into their rights and the responsibilities of their Landlords.

Among the key provisions of the law are requirements for Landlords to provide more detailed information to tenants regarding rent increases, lease agreements, and security deposits. Additionally, the legislation mandates that Landlords must share project cost estimates with tenants before initiating any major renovations or repairs that may impact their living conditions.

These new regulations are designed to empower tenants by ensuring they have access to vital information that can help them make informed decisions and protect their rights. Landlords in Massachusetts will need to adjust their practices to comply with the new law and ensure that they fulfill their obligations towards their tenants.

Overall, the passage of this law reflects a positive step towards promoting transparency and fairness in the state's rental market, benefiting both Landlords and tenants alike. Stay tuned for more updates on how this new legislation will impact the real estate landscape in Massachusetts. 

I want to introduce you to some of the best kept secrets to get more motivated sellers contacting you. But can you keep a secret? 

Getting motivated sellers to contact you first is essential to any successful Real Estate Investor’s business. A truly motivated seller is the key to a good deal; the more motivated the seller, the better the deal. You will find very quickly, as I did, that you will be able to buy a lot more houses at much better prices if you target the right sellers. You will also more likely get the terms and at the price you want when the seller contacts you first, especially in some of today’s really hot real estate markets. You’ll want to target the kind of sellers who truly need to sell as opposed to those who just want to sell, including those sellers in pre-foreclosure. 

Marketing to sellers is also a numbers’ game. The more motivated sellers you are able to locate, the more motivated sellers you will have contacting you, and the more opportunities you’ll have to make good deals. The secret is in learning how to find the truly motivated sellers that no one else knows about. 

Whom exactly are you going to be marketing to? Motivation comes in many forms. Sellers need to sell for a variety of reasons. Some reasons have to do with the sellers themselves, such as age, health status, job situations, personal situations, financial difficulties, change in family size or change in marital status. 

Other reaso ... Read More…

Several times in the past few months, I’ve found myself explaining to students that the reason they couldn’t sell their wholesale deal was that they’d overpriced it, and the reason they’d overpriced was that they’d made a common logical error in figuring out the value.

See if you can tell what it is:

The subject property has an after-repaired value of $100,000, and the house has an outdated kitchen, bath, furnace, and flooring.

However, the house also has a section 8 tenant living there who’s been there for 5 years and doesn’t want to move. The house is rented for $1,000/month, and the annual section 8 inspection just came back requiring that the basement walls be painted and that one room of carpet be replaced--$1,500 in work, total.

You are offering this property to Landlords for $68,500 because $100,000 x .7 - $1,500 in repairs = $68,500.

Why is it not selling?

The answer is that it’s not a good deal, and you’ve conflated two different ways of analyzing a property.

You based your “value” on an “after-repaired value” calculation, and then didn’t estimate enough for repair costs to put the property into after-repaired condition.

By saying “This house is worth $68,000 to an investor”, you’re basically saying that with $1,500 in repairs, it would sell for $100,000. In fact, $1,500 will only put it into RENTAL condition, not RESALE condition.

It might even be TRUE th ... Read More…

Landlords have always had the ability to woo business travelers to their rentals. 

But now that online travel agencies such as Airbnb, HomeAway, and TripAdvisor have gone mainstream, it’s easier than ever!

Let’s define a corporate rental as dwelling that’s lease directly to a company or a business traveler who has a housing allowance. If a company is paying for the rental, and not the tenant, then it’s a corporate rental. 

When a company pays their employees or contractors to work remotely, then that tenant: 1 – Will behave and not embarrass their employer

2 – Will have a binary attitude towards your rates. Either they are within their allowance, or they aren’t.

These two characteristics make business travelers the most lucrative and ideal people for your rentals.

The Opportunity

Business travelers find that with short-term corporate rentals, they are able to afford more home-like conveniences for less. They are able to cook healthier, have more privacy, and have a richer travel experience when they don’t stay at a hotel.

That’s why the trend in corporate housing is spiking. Especially when a traveler is on an assignment for 30 days or longer.

Extended stay business travelers actively search for houses and apartments to live in. Many want to live in neighborhoods and not off freeway offramps.

Now, is it possible that you could furnish a rental to accommodate corporate travelers? Could you earn hotel- ... Read More…

Cabinets account for a large percentage of remodeling budgets. Flippers, Landlords, and homeowners, often focus on price during kitchen renovations.  Although cabinets made of different materials might look the same on the outside, what the cabinet is made from and how it is constructed, can have long-lasting implications, impacting not only aesthetics, but durability, environmental footprint and ultimate cost.

The least expensive cabinets are generally made of medium density fibreboard, MDF, an engineered product is made by breaking down hardwood and softwood residuals into fine particles, combining them with resin and wax, then applying heat and pressure.

There are several disadvantages to MDF.  Water absorption is one. MDF soaks up water like a sponge. If exposed to damp or humid environments, it can swell, losing structural integrity resulting in sagging,

MDF’s fine particles also make it difficult for screws to hold, cracking or splitting when screwed into the edge of the board. Although MDF’s smooth surface is good for painting and finishing, veneered or laminated MDF products are prone to chipping around the edges and often cannot be repaired.

Health risks are associated with MDF because it contains volatile compounds (VOC), such as urea-formaldehyde, that irritate eyes and lungs. It is important to wear a dusk mask when cutting or sanding to avoid inhaling the material. Be sure that there is good ventilation.

Although more expensive, cabin ... Read More…

The Families Flourish Program, (FFP), includes a mobility component to move families into neighborhoods and school districts that assist in a families’ specific career and educational development. FFP needs participating Landlords who accept a subsidy as a part of the full market rate rent. This enables families to advance in their careers, create stability for the family through things like increased savings for college and aid minor children with superior educational opportunities. The subsidies continue for three years.  This is a successful program in Columbus, Ohio and is being expanded into the Miami Valley Region. 

Click HERE for a PDF version of the Participating Landlord Program.

Last year, Dayton Police were able to send a Detective representative to speak with our members and guests about effective methods for protecting their property investments! 

One major concern from many members was that of "squatters", and Dayton Police had a lot of great information to share including these forms on their Right of Entry Program.  This program allows owner, co-owners, and property managers to assign permission for Dayton Police to enter the property when it qualifies under the circumstances and conditions listed in the program.   

Right of Entry Information Letter
  This form details the Right of Entry Program

Landlords in Montgomery County Ohio 2024" href="https://www.gdreia.com/Misc/MemberFiles/RF_009_Right_of_Entry_Agreement_7_09.doc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Right of Entry Agreement
  This form give the actual permission for entry