Real Estate Day Trading
“In the end, all business operations can be reduced to three words: people, product, and profits.” – Lee Iacocca
Earning more by working less – I’ve always found this to be an intriguing and inspiring idea … and I’d be willing to bet you agree. But is it really possible? Today, I’m going to tell you how I “cracked the code” in my own business, and how you can use the lessons I’ve learned to enjoy your own “work less, make more” lifestyle.
My No-Sweat, No-Money, No-Keys Real Estate Business
In my real estate business, I hardly ever have to come up with so much as a dime to buy most properties. I have literally bought and sold the same home within five minutes, while sitting at my desk. And I’ve made tens of thousands of dollars without touching the keys to a property or writing a check.
It’s hard to say this without sounding boastful – but “the less I work, the more I make” concept has become absolutely, 100 percent real for me in my real estate flipping business. And not only for me, but also for a ton of other folks who, like me, have taken the time to really understand and apply the secret behind this deceptively simple idea.
The Two-Part Secret
You may be asking yourself, “How does this guy buy and sell homes without ever touching the house keys?”
Are you ready for this? It’s not that hard. It’s a matter of making use of leverage, plain and simple. Specifically, my leverage is knowledge + people.
The first part, knowledge, means getting to know your “target neighborhood” inside and out. The second part is the one that sets my business apart from that of most real estate investors – and enables me to make thousands of dollars without even seeing a property. It’s the people I refer to as my “deal network” – the people who bring me a steady stream of deals.
Why do these investors continue to feed me with potential deals, day in and day out? It’s because I have made it clear that I’m willing to do whatever I can to help them be successful – and because doing business with me as a partner is easier and at least as profitable as competing with me.
I told you about my deal network in my last article for ETR. Basically, the members of my network blanket the area with their own marketing. As a result, they come across a number of excellent deals. And because I offer them so much incentive, I usually get the first shot at all the choice deals they choose to wholesale rather than purchase themselves.
In case you’re not familiar with the term, “wholesaling” is simply a form of flipping. It means you quickly sell a property to another investor at a discount, rather than holding it and attempting to sell it to the wider public at full retail price.
My network knows the kinds of deals I’m interested in. And because I have invested my time and energy in helping them grow their businesses, they know they can trust me. They know I’ll never steal a deal from them, and I’ll never leave them hanging.
Buying and Selling Real Estate in Your Pajamas
Okay. I don’t actually work in my pajamas (most of the time). But if I did, I wouldn’t miss a beat. Here’s a quick look at how my business works…
When a member of my network calls me with a potential deal, I ask them to describe the property to me, including any repairs that will be necessary. Oftentimes, I’ll have them e-mail me a picture of it too.
Armed with that information – along with information from several websites on comparable sale prices – I can analyze the deal right at my desk. It’s sort of like analyzing a stock purchase. Like a street-smart stock market day trader, I’ve got the knowledge and connections to do my due diligence quickly, and then make a decision to buy or not to buy. If I decide to buy, I can e-mail or fax a contract to the seller.
Then I can turn around and sell the property I just secured… again, without leaving my desk. Via the Internet, I can communicate with other investors quickly and efficiently, and have a deal that I just picked up sold before I even settle on it. Usually, I make sales like these to investors who are ready to take on the rehabbing of a property and then sell it themselves for full retail price.
It’s simply back-to-back wholesale flips. First my, network flips to me – then I flip to a rehabber. If you think such deals would be few and far between… think again. In the past three months alone, I’ve done four deals this way, generating $121,000 in actual profits.
Not only is this a profitable way to do business – one that requires little to no money to get started – it is relatively safe. Since you’re not taking ownership of the properties, the risks are low, low, low.
If you decide to build a business similar to mine, realize that you may have to go to a closing now and then. But if you’ve taken the time to (1) know your target neighborhood inside and out and (2) build a strong deal network, you’ll hardly ever have to come up with a dime to buy most of the properties they bring to your attention. You’ll be able to buy and sell houses within minutes – making tens of thousands of dollars while sitting at your desk.
[Ed. Note: Steve Cook will be our special guest at an upcoming teleseminar exclusively available to ETR readers. He’ll be covering how to make a great income in real estate… with no tenant hassles and no financing nightmares. Keep reading to learn how to reserve your space on this one-time call completely free of charge.]