Beginning Real Estate Investing - Understanding Leverage

This is one of a series of articles on beginning real estate investing. One of the fundamental concepts to understand as you are beginning real estate investing is the concept of leverage. Leverage is the ability to move or control something very large with a very small object or force. Leverage as it applies to real estate investing is the ability to control high value properties with small amounts of your own cash.

To understand why this is important, and why leverage is so valuable, an example will help. Let’s assume you are just beginning real estate investing and you have $20,000 cash to invest. The exact amount is really unimportant, so long as you understand the principle involved. To illustrate the power of leverage, let’s assume you are faced with three possible choices of how to invest your $20,000.

Choice one is to purchase a small single family home with a purchase price of $20,000. The market rent for this home is $250 per month, or $3,000 per year. For purposes of this illustration, let’s pretend there are no such things as taxes, Realtor fees, or any other costs involved with purchasing a piece of property. Wouldn’t that be nice? As a you are beginning real estate investing you’ll soon learn otherwise, but for now let’s indulge in a little fantasy.

Choice two is to purchase a duplex for $40,000 by putting our $20,000 cash down and borrowing the additional $20,000. The market rent for this duplex is $500 per month, or $6,000 per year. The monthly payment on our loan is $200, so positive cash flow is $300 per month, or $3,600 per year. Not too bad, considering we are just beginning real estate investing.

Finally, choice three in beginning real estate investing is to purchase a multi-unit apartment building for $140,000 by putting $20,000 cash down and borrowing the additional $120,000. The market rent for all the units in the building totals $1,500, and our monthly loan payment is $1100, leaving us a positive cash flow of $400 per month, or $4,800 per year.

Let’s see which of these three situations best demonstrates the power of leverage. To do this we need to make a simple calculation, called Return On Investment (ROI) for each choice. This is a very important calculation to learn as you are beginning real estate investing. ROI is calculated by dividing the amount of return we get back in a year’s time by the amount of cash we have invested.

In choice one, $3,000 return divided by $20,000 gives us a Return On Investment of 15%. Not bad, considering we’re just beginning real estate investing, but let’s see if we can do better. Choice two gives us a return of $3,600 per year for the same $20,000 invested, so our ROI is $3,600 divided by $20,000, or 18%. That’s excellent, but we still have one more choice to look at.

Choice three gave us a return of $4,800 on our investment of $20,000, so our ROI is a whopping 24%! Why so big? Because even though we’re just beginning real estate investing, we were able to “move” or control a much more valuable piece of property with a very small “lever”… in this case, our $20,000. What gave us that leverage? The ability to use Other People’s Money (OPM), but that’s a topic for another article.

Until next time, I’ve written another in-depth article called Beginning Real Estate Investing.

Now, go make more offers!

Beginning Real Estate Investing - Understanding Leverage

This is one of a series of articles on beginning real estate investing. One of the fundamental concepts to understand as you are beginning real estate investing is the concept of leverage. Leverage is the ability to move or control something very large with a very small object or force. Leverage as it applies to real estate investing is the ability to control high value properties with small amounts of your own cash.

To understand why this is important, and why leverage is so valuable, an example will help. Let’s assume you are just beginning real estate investing and you have $20,000 cash to invest. The exact amount is really unimportant, so long as you understand the principle involved. To illustrate the power of leverage, let’s assume you are faced with three possible choices of how to invest your $20,000.

Choice one is to purchase a small single family home with a purchase price of $20,000. The market rent for this home is $250 per month, or $3,000 per year. For purposes of this illustration, let’s pretend there are no such things as taxes, Realtor fees, or any other costs involved with purchasing a piece of property. Wouldn’t that be nice? As a you are beginning real estate investing you’ll soon learn otherwise, but for now let’s indulge in a little fantasy.

Choice two is to purchase a duplex for $40,000 by putting our $20,000 cash down and borrowing the additional $20,000. The market rent for this duplex is $500 per month, or $6,000 per year. The monthly payment on our loan is $200, so positive cash flow is $300 per month, or $3,600 per year. Not too bad, considering we are just beginning real estate investing.

Finally, choice three in beginning real estate investing is to purchase a multi-unit apartment building for $140,000 by putting $20,000 cash down and borrowing the additional $120,000. The market rent for all the units in the building totals $1,500, and our monthly loan payment is $1100, leaving us a positive cash flow of $400 per month, or $4,800 per year.

Let’s see which of these three situations best demonstrates the power of leverage. To do this we need to make a simple calculation, called Return On Investment (ROI) for each choice. This is a very important calculation to learn as you are beginning real estate investing. ROI is calculated by dividing the amount of return we get back in a year’s time by the amount of cash we have invested.

In choice one, $3,000 return divided by $20,000 gives us a Return On Investment of 15%. Not bad, considering we’re just beginning real estate investing, but let’s see if we can do better. Choice two gives us a return of $3,600 per year for the same $20,000 invested, so our ROI is $3,600 divided by $20,000, or 18%. That’s excellent, but we still have one more choice to look at.

Choice three gave us a return of $4,800 on our investment of $20,000, so our ROI is a whopping 24%! Why so big? Because even though we’re just beginning real estate investing, we were able to “move” or control a much more valuable piece of property with a very small “lever”… in this case, our $20,000. What gave us that leverage? The ability to use Other People’s Money (OPM), but that’s a topic for another article.

Until next time, I’ve written another in-depth article called Beginning Real Estate Investing.

Now, go make more offers!

Best Real Estate Investing Program - Monopoly Theory

Everybody has a different theory about how best to win at Monopoly. Some say The Railroads are the answer, others the Utilities. For some it?s crucial to own Boardwalk and Park Place, and for others it?s the green and orange properties. When it comes to deciding on the best real estate investing program, you can learn a lot from Monopoly.

If you?re actively looking for the best real estate investing program, and you?re trying to decide whether to invest in houses or apartments, you could try approaching investing like you would approach a game of Monopoly. If nothing else, it will make for an interesting exercise.

When you own property in Monopoly, your primary goal is to acquire all of a particular color group, and your purpose is clear- to be able to build houses and, ultimately, hotels. The more houses, the higher the rents, and hotels allow rents that are higher still. This remains one of the best Monopoly strategies, and I believe it?s also the best real estate investing program for many people.

I consider a hotel in Monopoly to be roughly the equivalent of an apartment building.

Following the Monopoly logic, you would begin by acquiring houses, both single family and duplexes. Using a combination of creative financing, rehabbing, and wholesaling, and being very careful to buy value, you would build up your cash and equity reserves. This is the first phase of the best real estate investing program.

In the second phase of the best real estate investing program, you would leverage this equity and cash into larger 3-5 unit apartment houses in appreciating neighborhoods. At the same time, you will be acquiring topnotch property management skills, and learning the ins and outs of 1031 exchanges and financing strategies.

Phase three would find you trading some of your mid-size apartment houses for large apartment buildings and multi-unit complexes, letting the economy of scale and the cumulative power of depreciation, appreciation, and cash flow make you a very wealthy Monopoly player. Can you see why this may be the best real estate investing program of all?

Over a 5-10 year period, making allowance for a mistake here and there, there?s no reason you couldn?t wind up controlling several million dollars worth of property, and several hundred rental units. Then your toughest decision may be whether to sell Connecticut Avenue and buy Park Place!

For more on getting started right, see The Best Real Estate Investing Program

Now, go make more offers!

Beginning Real Estate Investing - Understanding Leverage

This is one of a series of articles on beginning real estate investing. One of the fundamental concepts to understand as you are beginning real estate investing is the concept of leverage. Leverage is the ability to move or control something very large with a very small object or force. Leverage as it applies to real estate investing is the ability to control high value properties with small amounts of your own cash.

To understand why this is important, and why leverage is so valuable, an example will help. Let’s assume you are just beginning real estate investing and you have $20,000 cash to invest. The exact amount is really unimportant, so long as you understand the principle involved. To illustrate the power of leverage, let’s assume you are faced with three possible choices of how to invest your $20,000.

Choice one is to purchase a small single family home with a purchase price of $20,000. The market rent for this home is $250 per month, or $3,000 per year. For purposes of this illustration, let’s pretend there are no such things as taxes, Realtor fees, or any other costs involved with purchasing a piece of property. Wouldn’t that be nice? As a you are beginning real estate investing you’ll soon learn otherwise, but for now let’s indulge in a little fantasy.

Choice two is to purchase a duplex for $40,000 by putting our $20,000 cash down and borrowing the additional $20,000. The market rent for this duplex is $500 per month, or $6,000 per year. The monthly payment on our loan is $200, so positive cash flow is $300 per month, or $3,600 per year. Not too bad, considering we are just beginning real estate investing.

Finally, choice three in beginning real estate investing is to purchase a multi-unit apartment building for $140,000 by putting $20,000 cash down and borrowing the additional $120,000. The market rent for all the units in the building totals $1,500, and our monthly loan payment is $1100, leaving us a positive cash flow of $400 per month, or $4,800 per year.

Let’s see which of these three situations best demonstrates the power of leverage. To do this we need to make a simple calculation, called Return On Investment (ROI) for each choice. This is a very important calculation to learn as you are beginning real estate investing. ROI is calculated by dividing the amount of return we get back in a year’s time by the amount of cash we have invested.

In choice one, $3,000 return divided by $20,000 gives us a Return On Investment of 15%. Not bad, considering we’re just beginning real estate investing, but let’s see if we can do better. Choice two gives us a return of $3,600 per year for the same $20,000 invested, so our ROI is $3,600 divided by $20,000, or 18%. That’s excellent, but we still have one more choice to look at.

Choice three gave us a return of $4,800 on our investment of $20,000, so our ROI is a whopping 24%! Why so big? Because even though we’re just beginning real estate investing, we were able to “move” or control a much more valuable piece of property with a very small “lever”… in this case, our $20,000. What gave us that leverage? The ability to use Other People’s Money (OPM), but that’s a topic for another article.

Until next time, I’ve written another in-depth article called Beginning Real Estate Investing.

Now, go make more offers!

A Real Estate Investing Idea For Total Newbies.

Copyright 2006 Donovan Baldwin

All right, you’ve seen the infomercials for people like Carleton Sheets, or you read an ebook by somebody like T. C. and Vickie Bradley, and you’re hot to trot out your wallet and get rich with real estate investing…just like everybody else.

Whoa, Trigger.

Not everybody IS getting rich with real estate investing, no matter what the hype leads you to believe.

First, let’s understand a couple of things. There ARE people getting rich with real estate investing. Many of these people have followed the lead of Carleton Sheets or T. C. Bradley or other real estate investing gurus. Those are facts.

Here’s one additional fact. If you don’t know what you are doing, you can lose your shirt in real estate investing…like a lot of other people.

That’s not to say you can’t learn, and it’s not to say that people like Carleton Sheets or T. C. and Vickie Bradley can’t teach you. What it does mean is that you can’t listen to one tape, or read one book and run out the door asking for somebody to please take the contents of your wallet! You have got to take the time and make the effort to learn the facts, steps, and inside information necessary to become successful in real estate investing.

However, I realize that those dollar bills are burning a hole in your pocket and you want to get started NOW, so here’s a simple way to begin your trek to the top.

Let me tell you how Lois got her real estate investing empire started in Austin, TX. She looked around until she found a small, but well-maintained 4-unit apartment complex in a nice Austin neighborhood. The price was right, so, not having the credit herself to swing the deal, she got her dad to cosign with her. Once the place was hers, she moved into one unit (no more rent to pay), the rent from another unit covered the monthly mortgage, and the rent from the other two units was hers to keep.

Not exactly a get rich quick plan, but it was a start. Since she still had a full time job, she used the extra money from the apartments to pay off bills and loans, including the mortgage, at an accelerated rate. This gave her leverage to buy another unit, and the rest is history. She now is an Austin slumlord…! Seriously, she has done well in this simple way and has grown her initial real estate investment considerably.

In his article, “Buy High Yielding Turnkey Real Estate Investments With Your Signature Alone!”, Bill Young, a former bank mortgage officer and real estate investor since 1980 gives valuable pointers in getting started in this sort of deal, sometimes with no down payment required. You can find a copy of this article at http://real–estate–investing.blogspot.com/2006/03/real-estate-investing-buy-with-your.html .

While wheeling-and-dealing in real estate investments can make fortunes, there is a learning curve required to make the kind of money professionals like Carleton Sheets and T. C. Bradley do. If you are a total newbie and just HAVE to get into real estate investing, you might be well advised to follow the example of my friend, Lois, and start with small, occupied apartment units, perhaps using some of the space as a residence, as she did, and using income from the units for investment growth.

About the Author

The author is a graduate of the University of West Florida with a BA in accounting. He has worked as an accountant for the Florida State Department of Education, as Business Manager of a community mental health facility, and in various other management positions. You may read additional articles on this topic at http://real–estate–investing.blogspot.com .

A Real Estate Investing Idea For Total Newbies.

Copyright 2006 Donovan Baldwin

All right, you’ve seen the infomercials for people like Carleton Sheets, or you read an ebook by somebody like T. C. and Vickie Bradley, and you’re hot to trot out your wallet and get rich with real estate investing…just like everybody else.

Whoa, Trigger.

Not everybody IS getting rich with real estate investing, no matter what the hype leads you to believe.

First, let’s understand a couple of things. There ARE people getting rich with real estate investing. Many of these people have followed the lead of Carleton Sheets or T. C. Bradley or other real estate investing gurus. Those are facts.

Here’s one additional fact. If you don’t know what you are doing, you can lose your shirt in real estate investing…like a lot of other people.

That’s not to say you can’t learn, and it’s not to say that people like Carleton Sheets or T. C. and Vickie Bradley can’t teach you. What it does mean is that you can’t listen to one tape, or read one book and run out the door asking for somebody to please take the contents of your wallet! You have got to take the time and make the effort to learn the facts, steps, and inside information necessary to become successful in real estate investing.

However, I realize that those dollar bills are burning a hole in your pocket and you want to get started NOW, so here’s a simple way to begin your trek to the top.

Let me tell you how Lois got her real estate investing empire started in Austin, TX. She looked around until she found a small, but well-maintained 4-unit apartment complex in a nice Austin neighborhood. The price was right, so, not having the credit herself to swing the deal, she got her dad to cosign with her. Once the place was hers, she moved into one unit (no more rent to pay), the rent from another unit covered the monthly mortgage, and the rent from the other two units was hers to keep.

Not exactly a get rich quick plan, but it was a start. Since she still had a full time job, she used the extra money from the apartments to pay off bills and loans, including the mortgage, at an accelerated rate. This gave her leverage to buy another unit, and the rest is history. She now is an Austin slumlord…! Seriously, she has done well in this simple way and has grown her initial real estate investment considerably.

In his article, “Buy High Yielding Turnkey Real Estate Investments With Your Signature Alone!”, Bill Young, a former bank mortgage officer and real estate investor since 1980 gives valuable pointers in getting started in this sort of deal, sometimes with no down payment required. You can find a copy of this article at http://real–estate–investing.blogspot.com/2006/03/real-estate-investing-buy-with-your.html .

While wheeling-and-dealing in real estate investments can make fortunes, there is a learning curve required to make the kind of money professionals like Carleton Sheets and T. C. Bradley do. If you are a total newbie and just HAVE to get into real estate investing, you might be well advised to follow the example of my friend, Lois, and start with small, occupied apartment units, perhaps using some of the space as a residence, as she did, and using income from the units for investment growth.

About the Author

The author is a graduate of the University of West Florida with a BA in accounting. He has worked as an accountant for the Florida State Department of Education, as Business Manager of a community mental health facility, and in various other management positions. You may read additional articles on this topic at http://real–estate–investing.blogspot.com .

A Real Estate Investing Idea For Total Newbies.

Copyright 2006 Donovan Baldwin

All right, you’ve seen the infomercials for people like Carleton Sheets, or you read an ebook by somebody like T. C. and Vickie Bradley, and you’re hot to trot out your wallet and get rich with real estate investing…just like everybody else.

Whoa, Trigger.

Not everybody IS getting rich with real estate investing, no matter what the hype leads you to believe.

First, let’s understand a couple of things. There ARE people getting rich with real estate investing. Many of these people have followed the lead of Carleton Sheets or T. C. Bradley or other real estate investing gurus. Those are facts.

Here’s one additional fact. If you don’t know what you are doing, you can lose your shirt in real estate investing…like a lot of other people.

That’s not to say you can’t learn, and it’s not to say that people like Carleton Sheets or T. C. and Vickie Bradley can’t teach you. What it does mean is that you can’t listen to one tape, or read one book and run out the door asking for somebody to please take the contents of your wallet! You have got to take the time and make the effort to learn the facts, steps, and inside information necessary to become successful in real estate investing.

However, I realize that those dollar bills are burning a hole in your pocket and you want to get started NOW, so here’s a simple way to begin your trek to the top.

Let me tell you how Lois got her real estate investing empire started in Austin, TX. She looked around until she found a small, but well-maintained 4-unit apartment complex in a nice Austin neighborhood. The price was right, so, not having the credit herself to swing the deal, she got her dad to cosign with her. Once the place was hers, she moved into one unit (no more rent to pay), the rent from another unit covered the monthly mortgage, and the rent from the other two units was hers to keep.

Not exactly a get rich quick plan, but it was a start. Since she still had a full time job, she used the extra money from the apartments to pay off bills and loans, including the mortgage, at an accelerated rate. This gave her leverage to buy another unit, and the rest is history. She now is an Austin slumlord…! Seriously, she has done well in this simple way and has grown her initial real estate investment considerably.

In his article, “Buy High Yielding Turnkey Real Estate Investments With Your Signature Alone!”, Bill Young, a former bank mortgage officer and real estate investor since 1980 gives valuable pointers in getting started in this sort of deal, sometimes with no down payment required. You can find a copy of this article at http://real–estate–investing.blogspot.com/2006/03/real-estate-investing-buy-with-your.html .

While wheeling-and-dealing in real estate investments can make fortunes, there is a learning curve required to make the kind of money professionals like Carleton Sheets and T. C. Bradley do. If you are a total newbie and just HAVE to get into real estate investing, you might be well advised to follow the example of my friend, Lois, and start with small, occupied apartment units, perhaps using some of the space as a residence, as she did, and using income from the units for investment growth.

About the Author

The author is a graduate of the University of West Florida with a BA in accounting. He has worked as an accountant for the Florida State Department of Education, as Business Manager of a community mental health facility, and in various other management positions. You may read additional articles on this topic at http://real–estate–investing.blogspot.com .

Best Real Estate Investing Program - Monopoly Theory

Everybody has a different theory about how best to win at Monopoly. Some say The Railroads are the answer, others the Utilities. For some it?s crucial to own Boardwalk and Park Place, and for others it?s the green and orange properties. When it comes to deciding on the best real estate investing program, you can learn a lot from Monopoly.

If you?re actively looking for the best real estate investing program, and you?re trying to decide whether to invest in houses or apartments, you could try approaching investing like you would approach a game of Monopoly. If nothing else, it will make for an interesting exercise.

When you own property in Monopoly, your primary goal is to acquire all of a particular color group, and your purpose is clear- to be able to build houses and, ultimately, hotels. The more houses, the higher the rents, and hotels allow rents that are higher still. This remains one of the best Monopoly strategies, and I believe it?s also the best real estate investing program for many people.

I consider a hotel in Monopoly to be roughly the equivalent of an apartment building.

Following the Monopoly logic, you would begin by acquiring houses, both single family and duplexes. Using a combination of creative financing, rehabbing, and wholesaling, and being very careful to buy value, you would build up your cash and equity reserves. This is the first phase of the best real estate investing program.

In the second phase of the best real estate investing program, you would leverage this equity and cash into larger 3-5 unit apartment houses in appreciating neighborhoods. At the same time, you will be acquiring topnotch property management skills, and learning the ins and outs of 1031 exchanges and financing strategies.

Phase three would find you trading some of your mid-size apartment houses for large apartment buildings and multi-unit complexes, letting the economy of scale and the cumulative power of depreciation, appreciation, and cash flow make you a very wealthy Monopoly player. Can you see why this may be the best real estate investing program of all?

Over a 5-10 year period, making allowance for a mistake here and there, there?s no reason you couldn?t wind up controlling several million dollars worth of property, and several hundred rental units. Then your toughest decision may be whether to sell Connecticut Avenue and buy Park Place!

For more on getting started right, see The Best Real Estate Investing Program

Now, go make more offers!

Best Real Estate Investing Program - Monopoly Theory

Everybody has a different theory about how best to win at Monopoly. Some say The Railroads are the answer, others the Utilities. For some it?s crucial to own Boardwalk and Park Place, and for others it?s the green and orange properties. When it comes to deciding on the best real estate investing program, you can learn a lot from Monopoly.

If you?re actively looking for the best real estate investing program, and you?re trying to decide whether to invest in houses or apartments, you could try approaching investing like you would approach a game of Monopoly. If nothing else, it will make for an interesting exercise.

When you own property in Monopoly, your primary goal is to acquire all of a particular color group, and your purpose is clear- to be able to build houses and, ultimately, hotels. The more houses, the higher the rents, and hotels allow rents that are higher still. This remains one of the best Monopoly strategies, and I believe it?s also the best real estate investing program for many people.

I consider a hotel in Monopoly to be roughly the equivalent of an apartment building.

Following the Monopoly logic, you would begin by acquiring houses, both single family and duplexes. Using a combination of creative financing, rehabbing, and wholesaling, and being very careful to buy value, you would build up your cash and equity reserves. This is the first phase of the best real estate investing program.

In the second phase of the best real estate investing program, you would leverage this equity and cash into larger 3-5 unit apartment houses in appreciating neighborhoods. At the same time, you will be acquiring topnotch property management skills, and learning the ins and outs of 1031 exchanges and financing strategies.

Phase three would find you trading some of your mid-size apartment houses for large apartment buildings and multi-unit complexes, letting the economy of scale and the cumulative power of depreciation, appreciation, and cash flow make you a very wealthy Monopoly player. Can you see why this may be the best real estate investing program of all?

Over a 5-10 year period, making allowance for a mistake here and there, there?s no reason you couldn?t wind up controlling several million dollars worth of property, and several hundred rental units. Then your toughest decision may be whether to sell Connecticut Avenue and buy Park Place!

For more on getting started right, see The Best Real Estate Investing Program

Now, go make more offers!