Real Estate Investors Association of Greater Cincinnati

As a hard money lender, I see a lot of closing statements (aka HUDs) from many title companies. I’ve noticed an annoying trend that is also disturbing.

When lending money to a real estate investor, I send the title company my very detailed and specific lender requirements – one of those being a basic Lender’s Title Insurance policy from a well-rated underwriting company. In most cases, I do not require additional Insurance endorsements, and I never require a closing protection letter.

In fact, part of my title order says: “Do not add endorsements unless specifically requested. Do not issue a closing protection letter.” Yet, several title companies still try to include them. Sometimes, many of them.

Like this one, from an actual preliminary HUD:

• Closing/Settlement Fee to [xxxxxxx]  Title & Escrow Co. $295.00
• Courier/Shipping & Handling to [xxxxxxx]  Title & Escrow Co., $25.00
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Let’s face it: making deals complicates our lives.  

When we first become involved in real estate, buying a property can be very anxiety-provoking: I mean, really, even though we’ve done all our due diligence and run the numbers 15 different ways and talked to our favorite mentor about it and it STILL looks like a great deal, how do we ever REALLY know? And this leads to self-esteem problems, as we’re constantly second-guessing ourselves and berating ourselves over our lack of confidence. 

And even for seasoned investors, taking on a new deal is stressful—an accepted offer means that we have to find a buyer, or start a rehab, or put an ad in the paper to get a tenant. Plus, there’s the additional bookkeeping when the checks roll in, and, of course, the taxes to pay on the profit at the end of the year… 

Since stress and anxiety lead to psychological and medical conditions, including high blood pressure, overeating, bad hair days, fear of success, and a whole host of others, making deals should obviously be avoided at any cost. So, I think it’s important, for the sake of our own health and well-b
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There are 3 figures that go hand-in-hand when trying to determine a commercial/apartment property's value. They are; Net Operating Income (NOI), Cap Rate (CR) and Asking Price or Purchase Price (PP). If you know 2 of the figures you can always figure out the third.

Here I'll be talking about the Cap Rate of a property. More specifically, how the Cap Rate works in conjunction with the Net Operating Income (NOI).

Let’s get started. First off, Cap Rate is short for Capitalization Rate. In short, Cap Rate is, “The process of converting anticipated future income into present value” according to the American Heritage Dictionary. It’s also your rate of return if you bought your property using all cash.

Here’s an example: If I purchase an Apartment Complex for $1M and it generates a Net Operating Income at the end of 1 year in the amount of $100K, then my Cap Rate is 10%. The formula for Cap Rate is:

CR = NOI / PP

Cap Rate (CR) = Net Operating Income (NOI) divided by the Purchase Price (PP) of the complex. Therefore, if we plu
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We all love control.

I have a six-year-old daughter who constantly pushes the boundaries of her world. Whether it’s brushing her teeth or buckling her car seat, she loves to feel in control.

Isn’t this the case with you, too?

Imagine you're right about to take out the garbage unprompted... and then your spouse tells you to take it out before you even get a chance to. Now you're dropping the trash bag on the floor and telling your spouse to do it because now it is no longer your idea... it’s theirs. 

How about when it comes to your money? Do you want to feel in control of your cash?

Every human has some emotional tie to money. It’s frustrating and stressful when it feels like your money goes in one door only to go right out that same door the next day. How about those gas prices, huh? Or, as a real estate investor, what about those interest rates? Completely out of your control.

Let me ask you this: when you jumped into real estate or entrepreneurship, did you say to yourself, “The money part will just work itself out as long as I keep b
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Whether you are a brand-new investor or have been buying real estate for decades, it’s important to stay flexible while focusing on your overall goals.

Why flexible? Because the market is constantly changing. When the market changes, new strategies/opportunities come to the forefront. Of course, if you have been in this game for a while, you know nothing is new. Old strategies are just being recycled with a new flair. Remember bell bottoms and paisley patterns from the 70s? They are back, baby! 

So what is happening now? Affordability is the rallying cry. Gen Z and Millenials move into their own “pad,” as Airbnb, VRBO, and short-term rentals become increasingly popular, the housing supply is undoubtedly tighter. Prices are rising and sometimes out of reach. 

It’s just supply and demand. As demand increases, supply decreases, and prices for rent and purchasing go up. This is good news for builders and re-developers, especially in urban areas where older stock can be renovated and reconstructed to meet the needs of young people who enjoy the amenities of downtown living.

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There are so many questions about investing in the current self-storage market. Should I surge forward with all the deals that are being presented to me right now while the interest rates are low? Should I sit on my cash and wait for the looming recession to get worse? Will there be better deals as we get to the deepest parts of the recession? Or, should I invest in a new development project because of the great opportunities there are to get cheap money? 

Growth stocks and stock and bond funds are at the top of the list of possible long-term investments. However, your savings account, checking account or a money market account are at the top of the list for short term investments. 

There are many places to put your money that are great opportunities for solid investments. In terms of the stock market, we had a little dip at the beginning of Covid-19, but the stock market immediately rebounded and so a lot of people headed back to the stock market. And since then, wars, Inflation, an election, along with many other factors have caused people to pull their money out of the stock market and they are just sitting on the sidelines looking for a safe place to put that money. 

We also find ourselves in a
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I deal with a lot of investors. Everyone who knows me know they can just send a text, email or just call. I get so many investors asking me for a small loan just to finish a rehab they started.

I’m told or receive an email that says something like this. Hey Rob, I got this rehab I need to finish. I just need $15k, $20k etc just to finish.

There are two reasons I really hate these calls/texts/emails.

1. I often can’t help them because they owe too much on their property
2. I can help them but they don’t want to pay the cost, especially if they have a loan already on the property. We need to be in first position, and they don’t want to refinance their whole project.

Whether you are new at this or very experienced, the best way to approach your deal is to have some cushion. When you open a house, you don’t know what you might have missed when assessed your project. You need to have a cushion. You need to have a little room in there just in case you need it. I tell everyone I speak to, text, or email to ensure you have a little room, embellish your budget a little, or add a contingency line. We want you to succeed. If a deal is tight, you are in danger of losing money on the deal. Prices are coming down; be vigilant. We would love to be your partner today and 1000s of projects later.

We can help you with your fix-and-flips, fix-and-holds, buy-and-holds, refinance, new construction, unsecured credit, and more.

Securing the debt financing to purchase investment real estate has been fairly easy over the last decade as we have been in a long period of plentiful capital and historically low interest rates. It seems you could find lenders in every direction, ready to lend on a good investment property but as recently as a year ago, we started to see a shift. Interest rates had been climbing for a year or so, and newer, inexperienced investors started defaulting. The credit markets and private capital providers alike started pumping the breaks. So how do we as RE Investors, secure the debt financing to invest in today’s environment?

First, you have to start with a “good deal”. You would be shocked at the number of times, potential borrowers fill out an application for a loan on a property that has no chance at profitability. If you are a newer investor, educate yourself on what makes a deal a “Good Deal”. Attend your local REIA meetups, shadow a successful investor, JV with someone more experienced, hire a coach to teach you. Don’t just grab a contract and assume it will be profitable for you. When you present a “bad deal” to a potential lender, you immediately lose credibility. Let’s face it. No one wants their money to be
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What would happen if you were to step away from your business thoroughly?

If that question just gave you the chills, then I have a few more for you: 

• Do you feel your business owns you instead of you owning the business? 
• Do you see poor communication in your team? 
• Do you feel compelled to be involved in every business-related decision? 
• Do you have a problem getting the results you desire from your staff?
• Are you an entrepreneur looking to scale your business but don’t know how you’ll manage any more than you’re already doing? 

I was once told (while struggling with some of these questions myself) that your business is not measured by its success when you are there but by its success when you’re not there. 

It’s true. However, many real estate investors run businesses that cannot operate
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“You’re making too much money.”

That’s what echoed in Missouri native Ryan Haywood’s ears after his boss decided to slash his commissions—a “sales haircut,” as it’s bitterly known in the industry.

He didn’t realize it at the time, but this setback was about to unveil a path that would lead his family toward the future that Ryan and his wife Megan had dreamt about.

Ryan’s story is not just a testament to his determination to build his wealth on his own terms. This story is about his strategic, practical approach to building a truly successful real estate company in the face of uncertainty, full of solid insights that every investor should hear.

Ryan’s Journey From Sales to Real Estate

Ryan knew something had to change; he just hadn’t yet realized what that change would be. Shortly after receiving this news, Megan and Ryan had their third child. This meant Ryan was on paternity leave and suddenly had extra time on his hands. He wasn’t sure what his next steps would be—
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