Investment News
Newsletter of Mid-America Association of Real Estate Investors
How to Save up to 90% on Title Insurance
By William Bronchick
If you have ever bought or sold real estate, you have
probably paid for title insurance. What exactly is title insur-
ance? Why do we need it? How can I save money on title
insurance? These are common questions asked by real
estate investors.
Whenever title passes, the seller usually gives a deed con-
taining certain guarantees or "warranties" (hence the name
"Warranty Deed"). The seller warrants that title is good, that
is, no one will come challenge the integrity of the title. For
example, if a deed that was passed before him was forged,
all subsequent transfers are void. Other problems may be
more subtle, such as a deed with an incorrect legal descrip-
tion or misspelled name. Any irregularities in the "chain of
title" will place a "cloud" on the integrity of the title.
The Title Search
When you are ready to sell a property, a title search is per-
formed by a title company or attorney. The title searcher
follows the chain of title back about 50 years, tracing the
ownership through deeds recorded in pubic records. The
searcher also checks to make certain that previously re-
corded mortgages and other liens have been released.
Based on documents found in public records, the title com-
pany or attorney will prepare a "title insurance commit-
ment." A commitment is a statement that based upon cer-
tain documents found by a search of public records, the
company will issue a title insurance policy for a certain fee.
The Title Insurance Policy
The title insurance policy, unlike most insurance policies,
covers past events. For example, the daughter of a previ-
ous owner claims that her father conveyed a deed while not
mentally competent, the current ownership may be in jeop-
ardy. The title insurance company will defend the claim and
pay for any damages (usually the value of the property).
The policy does not cover claims based on events that oc-
cur after the policy is issued. Furthermore, the policy usu-
ally contains numerous exceptions, such as claims based
on information undisclosed to the title company. Thus, if
you are aware of any potential problems that might lead to
a claim, your failure to disclose this information to the title
company will lead to a denial of a claim based on those
events.
Ask for a "Re-issue" Rate
April 2008
414+ Members
A title insurance coverage starts from ancient history and
ends from the date you transferred title. Since most
transfers are insured by a title company, the longer you
own the property, the more the policy costs. Consider
this: if you buy a property and the transaction is covered
by title insurance, then you sell it six months later, what
are the chances that something went wrong in the last
six months? The answer is that the chances are slim to
none, so the risk of a claim against the title are slim to
none. For this reason, title companies offer a "re-issue"
rate. The re-issue rate is a discounted price (usually
about 40%) on the title insurance policy if another policy
from a title company was issued on the same property
within the last few years. The rate is lower because any
claims that arise from events before the previous owner
are covered by the previous policy. Thus the new policy
really deals with the risk of claims from events that oc-
curred while you owned it.
Try a "Hold-Open" Policy
If you are buy-
ing a property
with the intent
of re-selling it
within a year,
ask the title
insurance
company for a
"hold-open"
policy. For a
small fee
(usually an
additional 10%
on the policy),
the title com-
pany will hold
a title commit-
ment open for a year or more. Rather than issue a policy
based on the first transfer (from the seller to you), they
will issue a policy on the second transfer (from you to the
next buyer). Since the seller usually pays for title insur-
ance, you can pay the additional 10% when you buy,
saving 90% on title insurance when you sell.
 MAREI
Mid-America Association
Of Real Estate Investors
Mid-America Association of Real Estate
Investors (MAREI) is one of the largest
real estate investor associations in the
mid-west. MAREI members consist
of full and part-time investors, beginning
investors, real estate brokers and agents,
attorneys, contractors, accountants,
property managers, renovation specialists,
appraisers, bankers - people who want
to enjoy the many benefits of
real estate investing.
MAREI was established in 2003 and
promotes networking and educational
opportunities to its membership.
MAREI services members in
Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.
MISSION STATEMENT
To provide education, discussion and
networking opportunities to help real
estate entrepreneurs & investors reach
their financial goals using sound,
honest business practices.
BADGE POLICY
All members of Mid-America Association
of Real Estate Investors and guests
must wear a name badge to all General
Meetings. There will be no exceptions.
Mid-America Association of
Real Estate Investors
115 E Gregory Blvd, Suite B
Kansas City, MO 64114
Info Line:
Phone: 816-374-5885
Fax: 816-523-4448
www.MAREInet.com
Info@MAREInet.com
Page 2 ———— Investment News —————
Investment News
April 2008
INVESTMENT NEWS © 2008 by Mid-America Association of Real Estate Investors
(MAREI), a Real Estate Trade Association. Published monthly by MAREI and in-
cluded as benefit for our members. Quotations and reprints are permitted with full
credit given to author, plus “The Investment News: Newsletter of Mid-America As-
sociation of Real Estate Investors.” Subscriptions are $59 per year or are included
with membership.
MEMBERSHIP
Twelve month individual membership is $99, 2 Person Membership is $149. Guest
Fee is $25.
Articles must be received by the 1st of the month two months prior to issue date to
be considered for publication. To be considered for a specific issue, it is recom-
mended you contact the Editor at least three months prior to issue date. All submis-
sions are at the discretion of the editor and are subject to editing.
Advertising space deadline is the 1st of the month one month prior to publica-
tion. All camera-ready artwork and materials for non-camera ready ads are
due by that date. Please see www.MAREInet.com for more information.
CODE OF ETHICS
MAREI members are expected to be civic minded and willing to operate with high standards of honesty and integrity.
It is our duty to conduct ourselves with the highest principles of the free enterprise system. We strive for MAREI to be
synonymous with competence and fairness. As MAREI members, we hereby bind ourselves to this code of ethics:
1. We shall not discriminate against any person with regard to race, color, religion, age, national origin, sex, handi-
cap or familial status as defined by current Kansas, Missouri, or Nebraska law.
2. We shall recognize that real estate is a service related industry.
3. We shall refrain from engaging in any illegal practices, or defrauding any member, customer, or association, with
the aim of always conducting business in a professional manner.
4. We shall endeavor to stay informed and updated on matters affecting housing in our communities, and adhere to
local, state and federal laws.
5. We are individually responsible for our own due diligence and continuing education. Members are expected to
verify any and all assumptions regarding business decisions to prevent falling victim to fraud, misrepresentations
and illegal practices.
Further, if any allegations of conduct considered detrimental to the purposes and interest of MAREI are received in
written and signed communication to the management, we will consider the matter. Should a decision to take further
action be made, a furnished copy of said allegation (s) to the accused, who shall be given adequate time to reply.
Thereafter, management shall take such further action as it may deem property and in accordance to this code of ethics.
The information contained herein is believed to be accurate; however, it is not guar-
anteed or warranted in any manner and is subject to change without notice. Writers’
and speakers’ opinions are not necessarily those of MAREI. You are advised to
seek professional advice.
Mid-America Association of Real Estate Investors
is a Member of the National Real Estate Investors Association
And the National Association of Responsible Homebui
www.MAREInet.com
 Illegal Flipping and Lender Seasoning
By William Bronchick
There has been a lot of negative press and misinformation
lately about double-closings. Many people have been in-
dicted recently under what the press has labeled "Property
Flipping Scams." Misinformed lenders, real estate agents
and title companies will tell you that double-closings are
now illegal. In fact, they are nothing of the sort.
A double closing is simply two back-to-back closings
wherein the proceeds from the second closing is used to
fund the first closing. Both closings are done in escrow so
that the "middleman" can buy and resell a property for profit
without using any of his own cash. The middleman profits
because he buys the property below market and resells it
for market price. This process has been done tens of thou-
sands of times over the last 100 years - legally, ethically
and PROFITABLY!
The so-called "illegal property-flipping schemes" work as
follows: unscrupulous investors buy cheap, run-down prop-
erties in mostly low-income neighborhoods. They do
shoddy renovations to the properties and sell them to unso-
phisticated buyers at inflated prices. In most cases, the in-
vestor, appraiser and mortgage broker conspire by submit-
ting fraudulent loan documents and a bogus appraisal. The
end result is a buyer that paid too much for a house and
cannot afford the loan. Since many of these loans are in-
sured by the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), the govern-
ment authorities have investigated this practice and ar-
rested many of the parties involved.
Despite the negative press, neither flipping nor double-
closings are illegal. The activities described above simply
amount to loan fraud, nothing more. Newspapers have in-
appropriately reported the activity as illegal "property flip-
ping," rather than simply "loan fraud." So, whenever you
hear a real estate agent or mortgage broker say, "flipping is
illegal", you know they are misinformed. The misunder-
standing of the flipping business has not been without con-
sequence. Many title and escrow companies simply will not
do a double-closing. Fortunately, there's many that still do
double closings, but they are also keeping a close eye on
potential fraud (as they should).
Some lenders have placed "seasoning" requirements on
the seller's ownership. If the seller has not owned the prop-
erty for at least six months, the lender will assume that the
deal is fishy and refuse to fund the buyer's loan. This may
be a problem if you bought a property cheap and are resell-
ing it quickly for a profit (the good, old American way!). This
should not be confused with LAW - it is simply an under-
writing guideline for some lenders. Of course, guidelines
are just that - by going up the chain of command, you can
generally get approval from loan underwriting by showing
the property is being resold for a higher price because ei-
www.MAREInet.com ———— Investment News —————
ther it was purchased in a distress situation (e.g., foreclo-
sure) or that substantial repairs were made. Keep good
records of your repairs to show to the lender.
If the buyer is getting an FHA insured loan, there is no way
around the "seasoning" issue. FHA regulations prohibit the
funding of a purchase where the seller has not owned the
property for at least 90 days, NO EXCEPTIONS. This gen-
erally should not be a problem in a fix-and-flip situation,
since it will likely take you 90 days by the time you ac-
quire, rehab and sell. But, if you are planning on buying
the property and reselling it in a double-closing, the end-
buyer CANNOT go with an FHA loan.
Bronchick's Rule #14: Always Remain in Control of
Your Deals!
A smart investor should stay on top of the process and
anticipate these issues. If you are buying a property and
reselling it quickly, particularly in a double closing situa-
tion, you must anticipate this problem and deal with it. Let
the buyer, his real estate agent and his lender know that
there may be a seasoning issue. If you stay in control of
the loan process and steer your buyers to a mortgage
company that doesn't have a hang-up with double-
closings, then seasoning won't become an issue. Gener-
ally speaking, only FHA and subprime lenders have the
"seasoning hang up" - FNMA underwriting guidelines do
not prohibit funding a purchase money loan where the
seller has not owned the property for a minimum period of
time.
If you do get into a last-minute jam in a double-closing
situation, there is a solution, which is called a "reverse
assignment". You simply assign your contract with the
end-buyer back to the owner and step out of the deal.
Your "consideration" for doing so, is the profit you would
have otherwise made. This consideration can be docu-
mented in writing and secured by a lien on the owner's
property to be paid to you at closing.
William Bronchick, CEO of Legalwiz Publications, is a Na-
tionally-known attorney, author, entrepreneur and speaker.
Mr. Bronchick has been practicing law and real estate since
1990, having been involved in over 600 transactions. He
has appeared as a guest on numerous radio and television
talk shows including CNBC Power Lunch. He has been fea-
tured in Who's Who in American Business, Money Maga-
zine, the Los Angeles Times and
the Denver Business Journal.
William Bronchick has served as
President of the Colorado Asso-
ciation of Real Estate Investors
since 1996. He also has numer-
ous articles at MAREInet.com.
Page 3
 General Meeting - April 8th, 2008

Protect your Investment

Use Your Title Company

Attorney Ron Kraft from Accurate Title

Currently, we probably all know that we need a title insurance policy on every real
estate transaction. But do we know all the things our title company can do for us? We
have asked Ron Kraft and his staff from Accurate Title to join us on Tuesday April 8th
to answer a few questions: What does a Title Company Do, What is Title Insurance,
How do We Order Title, What are The Fees, Who Signs
What When, and more!
Remember that we record our General Meetings and make them available to our members online.

Join us at the Overland Park Marriott on Tuesday April 8th 2008.

6:00 to 7:15 pm Networking & Vendor Expo
7:15 to 7:20 pm Announcements
7:20 to 7:30 pm 30 Second Deals
7:30 to 9:00 pm Presentation and Questions and Answers.

Please see www.MAREInet.com and click on General Meeting for exact addresses, more information and to check on scheduling
changes due to weather. Please note that the month of August, our normal meeting space will be undergoing renovations, so we will
be meeting in an alternative location!

Vendor Expo: At every general meeting we have tables that

our vendor’s can reserve to share their product or service with our
members. We generally see between 100 and 130 people at these
meetings and they include new and experienced investors who may Please Note
need what you have to offer today or may need you in the future.
Take this opportunity to create a positive impression by visiting with
members and visitors about real estate and how you can help our August Meeting
members in their real estate business. Full and Half Tables for ei-
ther Member’s or Non-Member’s can be reserved by going to
www.MAREInet.com and clicking on Calendar of Events. Select
Will Not be at the
the appropriate deadline and reserve your table today. For our Sil- Double Tree Hotel
ver and Platinum Members, please email us at
info@MAREInet.com to reserve your tables, remember they are
first come, first served, so reserve your’s today!. Marriott will be doing renovations!
Who should reserve a vendor table: Lenders, Realtors, Contrac-
tors, Insurance Providers, Property Managers, Wholesalers, Private
Lenders, Real Estate Attorneys, Accountants, Appraisers, Tenant Screening Services, or anyone with property for sale
or a service to provide to real estate business owners.

Member’s be sure to visit with all of our Vendors at each meeting to see what they have to offer. They specialize in
products and services that many area investors need. They just may have something you have been looking for or may
have something to offer that you may need next week, next month, or next year. Take the time now to get to know them
now so you don’t have to scramble to learn more about them at the last minute.

Sponsorship: If you would like more exposure than the standard vendor table, sponsor a meeting. Sponsors will
receive a vendor table at the meeting, 10 minutes to speak at the beginning of the meeting, Announcement here in the
newsletter that you are the sponsor as well as an announcement on the web site. Plus all sponsors are allowed to place
marketing materials on the chairs through out the room. If you would like to learn more about sponsorship, please email
us at info@MAREInet.com or call 816-523-4400.

Page 4 ———— Investment News ————— www.MAREInet.com

 Assignments and Double Closings
By Kim Tucker
You have listened to some training somewhere and you are
all set to start wholesaling or flipping houses. You just
need to find a property, tie it up with a contract, then find a
new buyer and assign it on over to them. Sounds easy.
While not all that hard, you need to do a little homework
ahead of time to make sure everything goes smoothly.
First you need to know exactly what you mean by assign-
ment of contract and double close. You need to be able to
explain this to the person selling the property to you, the
person buying the property from you, the buyer’s lender,
and the title company. Not everyone will be as educated as
you are, so you need to be prepared.
So, what is an assignment. Basically in an assignment
transaction you act as the middle man. First you find a
property and get it under contract to purchase. Next you
find someone who is willing to pay more for the property
than your purchase price and then execute an assignment
of contract between you and the end buyer. The end buyer
is paying you an assignment fee either at the signing of the
assignment form or more often you will get paid as a fee
from the closing agent. You will provide the closing agent a
copy of the purchase contract as well as the assignment
contract. The closing agent will prepare a closing for your
end buyer to purchase the property in your place from your
seller. If you are getting paid through the closing agent,
you assignment fee will appear on the HUD for both your
seller and your buyer to see.
You need to know that all contracts are assignable, except
for contracts that state that they are not. For example if
you are purchasing a bank owned property, more than
likely their contracts state somewhere that “this contract is
not assignable”. The reason for this is very simple: Too
many new investors fresh from real estate investing school
who were going to assign contracts did not close on their
sale and cost the bank sellers money. So they all have had
their attorney create a clause that states this contract is not
assignable and made their earnest money deposits non
refundable and now require they be in the form of a cash-
ier’s check.
You maybe able to get around the non assignability issue
by using a double closing. But please be aware that many
title companies that close for banks will not allow a true
double closing. They may need you as the middle man
buyer to completely fund your purchase and then get paid
back from the proceeds of your sale.
For a true double closing, you buy a house and sell a
house all on the same day and you fund your purchase of
the property with the proceeds of the your sale, brining no
funds to closing. This is two separate purchase and sale
www.MAREInet.com ———— Investment News —————
agreements: one between you and the seller, and one
between you and the end buyer. There will be two sepa-
rate closings and while the closing agent will disclose to all
parties that it is a double closing, they do not disclose how
much money you are making.
If assignments and double closings are in the works, you
now know what they are, but you may ask why would you
need to explain what they are to anyone.
First you need to explain them to the title company or clos-
ing agent. Why . . because you need to be absolutely
sure before you bring them a transaction that they will
complete it in a fashion that you want, namely with out you
bringing any money to the table. Some companies will tell
you that these are illegal transactions, some because they
have an attorney on staff telling them that they are and
other times because they don’t know your terms. So be-
ing able to describe what it is, may help you find a closing
agent that will do the deal.
Second, to prevent the transaction from blowing up before
closing, you need to explain what you are doing to your
buyer. By being upfront with your buyers and letting them
know that you purchase properties to resell to other inves-
tors, and that you use assignments or double closings,
you can save yourself a lot of time. If you buyer knows
this going into the deal, he will be less likely to have a
problem further on in the transaction. And if he is getting
financing, both your buyer and you will need to be able to
explain what you are doing to the lender.
If you have buyer’s lined up and they are paying cash,
then there probably is not much of a problem. But when
you find your buyer is using a lender, you need to be able
to explain what you are doing to the lender. Some lenders
will be fine with your transaction and others will not go
along with the deal. If this is the case it is time to find an-
other buyer or find your buyer a different lender. So be-
fore you jump into the wholesale business you need to line
up buyers who are able to buy through an assignment or a
double close, and also start interviewing lenders to find a
few to turn in case of emergency.
Last, you may need to explain the process to your seller.
At the same time you may need to have some kind of out
clause or extension clause in your original purchase con-
tract that lets them know that you may have to back out of
the contract or extend the contract to allow you time to find
an end buyer. If you are prepared to buy the property any-
way, then you have no problems. But if you have no way
of buying the property, you need to have something in
your contract that will allow you to get out of your pur-
chase contract.
(Continued on page 10)
Page 5
 Tucker One Workshops: Financing Investment Properties
Financing Investment Properties is an in depth workshop, designed to cover how an investor can financing single family
and other investment properties. Covering the following topics:

♦ Establishing Good Credit!
♦ Improving Bad Credit!
♦ Cash & Conventional Financing!
♦ The Magic of a Rehab Loan.
♦ Rehab Loan vs Hard money Loan.
♦ Unsecured Lines of Credit
♦ Investing Tax FREE with Self Directed IRA’s
♦ How to Find a Private Lender
♦ Applying for A Loan: The 1003, The Personal Fi-
nancial Statement, Your Credibility Kit
♦ With personal examples along the way.

Presented by Donald & Kim Tucker of Tucker One Properties, Inc.

Don & Kim Tucker have been investing in real estate in the Kan-
sas City market since 1999. Specializing in buying homes to re-
hab and resell to both owner occupants as well as investors they
have worked with many aspects of real estate investing.
Don has many years in construction and environmental including
as a past Section 8 Inspector and home inspector. He also spent
a little over a year as a mortgage loan officer, learning the ropes
of a lender. He inspects our homes, manages the rehab and the
contractors, and deals with all aspects of financing both for our
purchase as well as for our buyer's purchase.
Kim's role in the beginning was to locate the properties and nego-
tiate a good purchase price. They started out buying bank owned
properties and for 4 years Kim specialized in selling bank
owned properties and completing BPOS. They also would find
one or two extra deals each year that they did not have time to
renovate or were not in their area that they wholesaled.
In 2003 they purchased a large group of rental properties and
learned the ins and outs of being a landlord. And along the way
they were on the board of directors with a local Kansas City
Investment Group and in 2003 started Mid-America Association
of Real Estate Investor. With both groups they have attended
many different real estate training events and have studied
many different aspects of real estate investing.

SPECIAL OFFER! Workshop Package (register by March 21st & attend receive E-Book of workshop FREE)
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ness.
Register Now for bonuses and to reserve your seat
Dates/Hours Location Register by 4 pm on May 25th and receive your free copy of
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Please check one: □ One Attendee $59 Member Price □ Two Attendees (Spouse / Partner) $99 Member Price
Please check one: □ One Attendee $79 Member Price □ Two Attendees (Spouse / Partner) $109 Member Price

Registrant #1 _____________________________________________ Billing Address _____________________________________________

Phone ___________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________

Email ____________________________________________________ Method of Payment □ Visa □ Master Card □ America Express

Registrant #2 ______________________________________________ Credit Card # _____________________________________________

Phone ____________________________________________________ Expiration Date ___________________________

Email _____________________________________________________ Referred by Mid-America Association of Real Estate Investors

Fax form to (816) 523—4448
Register Online through the Calendar at www.MAREInet.com
Or Call 816-523-4400

Page 6 ———— Investment News ————— www.MAREInet.com

 Service Guide
Advertising Supplement

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www.MAREInet.com ———— Investment News ————— Page 7

Newsletter & Service Guide
Our monthly newsletter is the Investment News. All of our MAREI Business members receive a Business Card ad or a monthly $25
credit for a larger ad. The Investment News is currently mailed out in paper version to approximately 320 addresses and handed
out at our monthly meetings. We also post our newsletter archives on our web site for any new members or guest to read past arti-
cles. Or write an article to be included in our newsletter that will showcase your expertise. We will include your contact information
at the end of the article. Cost is currently just $100 for a one page article in the newsletter and posted on the web site.

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Page 8 ———— Investment News ————— www.MAREInet.com

 MENTORSHIP PROGRAM
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816-453-5532 OR 816-456-1843
Patrick and Marta Grace pgrace3@kc.rr.com

GRACE REAL ESTATE COMPANY LLC 5545 NORTH OAK TRAFFICWAY #1

REHAB LOAN COMPANY

HELPING INVESTORS GET THE MONEY
√ Commercial & Blanket Loans
√ Hard Money Loans
√ Purchase Money
√ Corporation / LLC Loans
√ High LTV Investment Property Loans
√ Rehab / Short Term Loans
√ End Loans
√ Lines of Credit
√ Rate and Term Refinance
√ No Seasoning on Title Loans

Call With Your Scenarios and for Qualifications.

Quick Closings, Good Service, Good Rates!
Pat Grace 816.453.5532 or 816.456.1843

www.MAREInet.com
———— Investment News ————— Page 9
Vendor Expo
Each of our General Meetings feature about an hour trade show before the presentation. Please arrive around 6 pm to visit with all
of our vendors who have reserved tables. If you would like to have a table at the meeting or would be interested in sponsoring a
meeting, please visit the calendar on the MAREI web site for more information. Vendor Tables are $35 for members and $75 for
non members or sponsor the entire meeting. Reserve your table through the Calendar online or email us at info@MAREInet.com.

Due Diligence NEED TO FLIP A

An investigation or audit of a potential investment. PROPERTY FAST?
Due diligence serves to confirm all material facts in
regards to a sale. T.O.T.L. (TOP OF THE LINE)
Generally, due diligence refers to the care a reason-
RENOVATIONS
will complete all your rehab
able person should take before entering into an
agreement or a transaction with another party. Per- quickly, at a reasonable price.
form your own due diligence on all deals, service pro- We specialize in: Now Accepting
viders, product providers, lenders, realtors, contrac- • Make - ready
tors, etc . . Before going to contract with them! • Siding and Windows
• Carpentry & Roofing
• Plumbing & Electrical
• Painting & Flooring
• Drywall & Doors
• Fences and Decks
• Kitchens and Baths

Call Anthony @ 816-606-0266 or

Emily @ 816-252-0095

FINANCING AVAILABLE

(Continued from page 5) Assignment and Double Closings

Please take some time to get your ducks in a row before
you start trying to assign or double close and the process MAREI
will be a lot smoother when you start negotiating deals.
Take some time to do a little online research on the top-
2008 Conference & Vendor Expo
ics. Then find one or two closing agents that will be able
to work through an assignment or a double closing. Find Robyn Thompson
out if they have any special forms you might need to use. Rehabbing & Retailing
Then if you are going to be wholesaling investment prop-
erties, start building up your list of buyers and interview Steve Dillon & Curtis Brooks
them to find out how they will be financing their purchases Short Sale Investing
and that an assignment or double close will not be a prob-
lem for their lender. Also find out what types of properties Plus 6 other National Trainers
that they are looking for and the prices they are willing to
pay, the repairs they are willing to make, and the loca- Reserving Vendor Tables for the Weekend
tions they like to buy. Then you are ready to go out and
start looking at properties to purchase and wholesale. Watch the Web for more info on
Kim Tucker along with her husband Don have been investing Speakers
in real estate since 2000 in the Kansas City Metro area. Kim
spend several years selling and buying bank owned proper- Vendor Table Pricing
ties. Currently the Tuckers wholesale investment properties in Sponsorship Opportunities.
the Kansas City Metro area, their available properties can be
found online at www.TuckerOneProperties.com. They also
offer workshops on investing to the members of MAREI

Page 10 ———— Investment News ————— www.MAREInet.com

 New for Members: Over 15 FREE
Teleconferences, Value over $300
Have you logged into the MAREI web site lately? Log in and click
on GURU to listen to all of the following:
Alan Cowgill on Private Lending Made Easy
(will need to register with Speaker’s web site)
Anesia Springborn on Systemizing your
Landlord Business to maximize cash flow
Darius M Barazandeh on Asset Protection and
Tax Lien Investing (will need to register with
Speaker’s web site)
Doug Ottersburg on Mobile Home Investing
Lou Castillo on Real Estate Investing
(will need to register with Speaker’s web site)
Paul Wells on Foreclosure Investing
Rachel Young on Finding Motivated Sell-
ers
Robyn Thompson on Rehabbing Houses
Scott Rister on Finding Motivated Sellers
www.MAREInet.com ———— Investment News —————
Than Merrill on Finding Motivated Sellers
Thomas Kish on Unsecured Lines of Credit
(need to register with Speaker’s web site)
Troy Meyer (our own member)
Stop Working Overtime
William Tingle on Buying Subject to
Bruce Norris on Mobile Home Parks
Lonnie Scruggs on Mobile Home Invest-
ing
MAREI has been setting up teleconferences with many
national trainers and they have all been recorded. We are
also requesting copies of other prerecorded events to add
to our library.
In most cases these recordings are in MP3 format and you
can listen to them on our web site or download them to
your computer. From there you can listen on your own
time using a media player on your computer or load the
file onto your MP3 player and take the show on the road.
If you are not yet a member, just go to our web site
www.MAREInet.com. Click on Membership Benefits and
then on Join Today. It just takes a few minutes and $99
on your credit or debit card and you will gain instant ac-
cess to all of these great presentations!
Page 11
 How to Network with Seasoned Investors Without
Scaring Them Away (And How I Did It All Wrong)
This article is for the new real estate investor who is trying to net-
work and get to know seasoned investors. It’s for anyone who’s
looking for an investor with some experience and success to
“mentor” them.
What is a Seasoned Investor?
Quite simply, a seasoned investor would be someone who has
bought and sold, repaired or rehabbed or wholesaled several
houses – one who pretty well knows the ins and outs of real es-
tate investing. This is just the type of person many new investors
are looking to learn from.
Just the type of person you want to learn from, right?
So, you want to find someone you can wholesale deals too?
Someone who will show you the gold mine areas for houses, al-
low you Multiple Listing Access (MLS), and give you the security
of knowing they can close and pay you on your house or flip it in 5
business days? Maybe you want to take the seasoned investor
out to lunch—heck, you’ll go so far as to buy lunch!
What’s Standing in the Way?
Well, most seasoned investors are great to know, and together
you can make a lot of money. However, these investors often
elude the new investor. Is it that you are intimidated by their vast
knowledge and experience, or maybe they are initially just too
busy to catch up with? Whatever the reason, a seasoned investor
is great to get to know, but one important thing to understand is
that this kind of relationship can’t just “happen” overnight.
First, it’s a given that seasoned investors tend to be pretty busy
people. They run usually a small business, where they are busy
managing, advertising, and bookkeeping – or managing those that
do. Outside the office, they are driving around all day looking at
properties, running crews, dashing to Sam’s club buying new
printers and problem solving with staff, realtors, and their title
company. This, of course, is in between trips to Home Depot or
Lowe’s where they scour the isles looking for that one elusive
item.
During all this, there are rehab crews waiting and the seasoned
investor is constantly feeling pressure, pressure and more pres-
sure as the cost of labor is expensive, especially when the crew
waits around!
What I have found in the Las Vegas area is that most seasoned
investors are around 30 or more years old, with families. There-
fore, they are busy with family life as well, such as taking kids to
practice and trying to have a social or spiritual life with family and
friends. Just maybe at the end of the week, they can carve out
some oh-so-precious time all to themselves.
So yes, they are busy. Very busy.
How I Tried to Find A Seasoned Mentor (and Failed)
When I began, I simply assumed that a seasoned investor would
spend time with me as they realized I would bring them great
deals, and because I was serious about this business.
It seemed like a fair trade to me—their time and expertise for my
house deals and soon-to-be house deals and endless (but sin-
cere) questions. And if I’d offer to meet them for lunch, and actu-
Page 12 ———— Investment News —————
ally PAY for it, well then the sky’s the limit, baby!
I mean, who could turn that down?
Well, my dream was to have many house deals, but it was only a
dream at that time. And one thing I didn’t really understand was
that these types of people often have lots of wide-eyes tender-
foots, just like me, calling and emailing them for their time on a
regular basis. And even the most generous of people must begin
to say “no” to the “good” for the sake of what’s “best”.
“Why Are They Avoiding Me?”
As time went on and I tried again and again to pursue these
kinds of relationships, slowly I began to get it. The reality of the
seasoned investors’ world, and the natural time constraints in-
cluded, became more and more apparent.
And as I began to do more and more deals, an interesting thing
started happening. I actually started having new investors who
started calling me, wanting to take me to lunch! Can you believe
it????
So what did I do? I gave graciously of my time, for I was surely
not going to selfishly limit myself same way that some of the old-
timers did to me when I was new. I was going to give of my time
and expertise freely. Humpfh!
I would tell each new investor, “I will help you along, and then
you can offer me your house deals first over other investors.”
And they, of course, readily agreed.
So as the new investors would call, we would “talk shop”, and I’d
answer their many questions, answer their emails, and even run
comparables (comps) for them on their prospective deals. If
needed, I would even stop what I was doing and perform skip
traces to find their missing sellers (Deb is great, she can find a
needle in a haystack nationwide.)
Sometimes I would take them to my best areas and subdivisions
where I found deals—my gold mine areas. Other times, we
would get lunch and I would listen and encourage them in their
hopes, challenges and dreams.
Yes, we were off to the races! Until…
The Other Side of the Coin
I started noticing a disturbing trend. I started getting calls from
my “apprentices” notifying me that they were fed up with this real
estate investing thing, couldn’t make it work, and were ready to
throw in the towel.
At first it was only a few of them. Then a few more. And eventu-
ally it seemed that about 95% of them were suddenly on their
way out the door. Some said they were going back to collage,
while others were getting a nine to five job and so on.
It was then that reality hit me. I began to realize that most of the
newbies had stars in their eyes, and wanted to get rich quick, or
were looking for an easy out from college. The older ones often
had too many battle scars and couldn’t seem to get up again,
due to some past experience. It’s tough to say, but true to form.
So where did that leave me…the now-seasoned investor?
(Continued on page 13)
www.MAREInet.com
Honestly? Frustrated, let down and occasionally angry. And yes,
burnt out with newbies. After all, I’d graciously invested hours and
hours of my time, not to mention a good deal of mental energy
and focus, into helping these folks take steps toward the real es-
tate investing dream they’d seemed so passionate about before.
And now it was all for naught.
Then I would read in the real estate forums, “How do I find sea-
soned investors to work with?” – And often spoken with almost an
air of entitlement.
Now I Get It.
Now it all makes sense. Now I really and truly understand why I
had such a hard time getting on the “inside” with these guys, and
why so many others do as well. And that, my friend, is why I wrote
this article for new investors like you.
There’s no doubt at all that the seasoned investor has a LOT to
offer the budding newbie. They have great real estate software,
MLS access, cash, and experience. They offer great resources,
knowledge, have title companies and realtors in their back pock-
ets, and know the other seasoned investors. They possess all the
tools of the trade that anyone new desires.
Furthermore I can say without hesitation the seasoned investors
DO want new investors to bring them good wholesale or birddog
deals. Believe it or not, they are looking to make new investor
friends.
So what do you do to ally with these guys? How do you get “on
the inside” with them.
How To Get A Seasoned Real Estate Mentor…
First, do your homework and don’t be lazy about it. Study and
learn the areas, types of houses, cost of houses you will make
offers on, and basic costs of repairing the rehabs.
Then drive for dollars find a house. Driving for dollars means driv-
ing around a subdivision looking for abandoned or boarded-up
houses and locating the owner. Do your work or research on the
house.
Invest some of your own time, effort, blood and sweat on the front
end, to prove that you’re not just looking for a free ride or a cow to
milk. And by this point, you should be able to talk to a seasoned
investor and compare apples and apples with the experienced
investor.
Know enough in advance to be able to determine fairly well if
there is even money in the house before you call him.
www.MAREInet.com ———— Investment News —————
See who owns the property and find out if it’s possibly a moti-
vated seller. Or is it owned by a realtor, county owned or does
another investor own it? If it’s the latter, you may decide not to
waste your seasoned investor or your time going after it.
Next, continue to do your homework and attempt to contact of
find the owner/seller.
Now, when you call the salty investor, try saying something like
this;
“Iggy Investor, I have a 3 bed 2 bath boarded up 1500sf single
family. Cross streets are Jones and Bethany. Owed is $30k,
comps at $170k. I have done research and can’t find the sellers.
Want to grab a cup of coffee and see if we can get it?”
Now, doesn’t that sound better than the old “let’s us grab some
lunch, so I can pick your brain.” approach? Honestly I cringe
when I get that line from a new investor I just met.
Why doesn’t that work? It’s simply because it’s a one-sided rela-
tionship, all give on the investor’s part and nothing from the new
investor except his or her dreams of what they may or may not
do.
You need to start by GIVING, well before you even try to receive
anything. You need to ask yourself,
“What can I do to EARN this relationship, and all the power-
ful benefits that could come along with it?”
Don’t Focus On The Money
Notice in the hypothetical conversation above, I did not men-
tion wholesale or birddog. One thing a seasoned investor
taught me a long time ago was to forget about me making
money. That’s right! Get my mind off my pockets initially and
see if I could birddog, not even do wholesale, but just birddog.
When I would “dog some properties” to show my willingness
to help make him money, they would take more time with me.
Trust me. The first 15 houses I bugged my seasoned inves-
tors with were definitely not deals. And by “bugged,” I mean
that took precious time out of their day to look at my no-deal
houses. Of course, the next hundred or so were definitely
worth their time, but initially it was more like wild goose-
chasing on there part for months.
I hope this makes sense and that I’ve been able to help you
look at this “mentor” relationship from flip side of the coin. If
so, then you will have a much better chance of making a new
strong profitable relationship with seasoned investors.
Don’t be afraid of these relationships. They’re well worth pur-
suing, and can really take you to the next level when they hap-
pen. But don’t start off feeling like you somehow deserve them.
You don’t. The only thing you’re really entitled to is the same
school of hard knocks we all have to learn from.
But if you can earn the respect of a seasoned investor or two –
by truly adding value to their business FIRST – then you’ll likely
find some delightful short cuts to your learning curve as an inves-
tor.
All the Best,
Bill Guerra (Bill in Vegas)
www.WillBuyAnyHouse.com
Reprinted from www.flippinghomes.com
Page 13
 Upcoming Events
Bulk Wholesale
April 8th - General Meeting
I keep seeing posts on message boards and in emails Ronald Kraft and Staff from Accurate Title
that come across my desk top that look something like: Protect Your Investment and Save
by Utilizing All Your Title Company has to offer
“I have $100MM in NV REO's. These are little or no re-
hab and ready for retail/rental. Property management April 12th : Lee’s Summit Investor Breakfast
services are available if requested. Bundles of $5-15MM
cherry picked to the buyer's request are also available. April 18th, 19th, 20th: Mobile Home Millions 6
NOI, POF required for list. We, too, are next to the seller,
no daisy chain.” April 19th : RocMan Investing Workshop
Investing 101
And unless you are in the business, it looks like a bunch
of gibberish. I asked the author of the above paragraph, April 19th: KCIG
Larry Fosgate, Fund Administrator, Foreclosure Investing Workshop with Don DeRosa
www.sunriseholdingtrust.com to break this down a bit for (speaking at MAREI on different topic in May)
us, and his response is below.
April 23rd : Northland Investor Lunch
The REO is the acronym for bank owned properties, for
which they have a motivation to liquidate either because April 23rd : RocMan Investing Workshop
of reserve restrictions or because the mortgage insur- Working with Your Contractor
ance will compensate any difference between the face
value of the mortgage and what they receive. April 26th : RocMan Investing Workshop
Never Pay Too Much for a Property Again
The bundle we currently have is $100 million, but can be
broken down according to the wishes of an investor to May 1st : Tucker One Workshop
smaller bundles of $1 million to $15 million. When cherry Financing Investment Properties
picking from the bundle the discount must be adjusted.
May 10th : Lee’s Summit Investor Breakfast
NOI or LOI is a "notice" or "letter" of INTENT. This states
that the investor intends to purchase $XXX of May 13th - General Meeting
"_________" type of REO's if found to be as represented Don DeRosa
and accepted upon inspection and due diligence. How to Sell Your House FAST
for Maximum Profits
POF is "Proof of Funds." This is normally presented by
the prospective investor as a bank letter of credit, a de-
posit, and or sufficient references from known sources to August 12th - General Meeting
add credibility to their offer. When dealing with unknown Larry Goins
clients, this is an act of good faith. Once a satisfactory Wholesaling Houses
business arrangement has been established, it often is
waived. Note the August General
Meeting will be held at the
A "daisy chain" is alluding to the number of principals in- Double Tree Overland Park
volved in the transaction. Normally only one party sepa- 10100 College Boulevard
rates the buyer from the representative of the seller, so 4 College & 69 Highway
parties are involved. More than that complicates the
transaction and often inflates the cost. October 11th & 12th
MAREI 2008 Conference & Vendor Expo
Brevity is used when wishing to flush out those who are 8 Speakers / 20 Vendors / 2 Days
players from those who are spectators.

I hope this clarifies some of the terms used in bulk whole- See Calendar at www.MAREInet.com
saling of real estate. for complete details.

Page 14 ———— Investment News ————— www.MAREInet.com

 Working With Your Contractor
Just to start off, I am a contractor; however, I have been on
the other side of things too. My wife and I buy, remodel,
and sell homes. So, I have had every problem with
contractors you can have. I suppose that is why I became
one. I got tired of dealing with the issues that typically
come up when you are working with a contractor. I am not
saying they are all bad (I mean I am one after all), most of
them have your best interest at heart but things go wrong in
a job when a contractor is not sure what is expected of
them. I wanted to find a contractor that would provide me
reasonable prices, quality work, and a good work ethic.
That is why I became a contractor. I already knew how to
do all the work, and I got tired of trying to babysit these
issues. I decided it was time to do it myself, and low and
behold, now I have a remodeling company (RocMan
Rehabs). So short story long (ha ha), I have experience
from both sides of the table and I would like to shed some
light on the subject to hopefully aide people in the
“arduous” task of dealing with contractors.
· Always have more than one bid – this will help
with trying to keep the bids competitive and will
weed out the people that are going to charge you
an arm and a leg.
· Bids – make sure your contractor itemizes your bid
and breaks down exactly what he is charging you
for labor and materials for EVERY piece of the job.
· Quality of work and materials – be specific about
the outcome you are looking for on a rehab. Most
of us do one rehab if the house will be a rental and
another rehab if the house is going to be sold, let
your contractor know this up front and what kind of
materials you expect him to use. For example
what brand of paint. This way you get an accurate
bid of what the job will cost and there will be no
surprises at the end of the job.
· Timelines – find a way to make it worth your
contractors wile to meet his deadlines (offer them
your next rehab job, offer bonuses…). Keep in
mind that unexpected delays often come up in a
rehab. If this happens ask your contractor how
long the problem is going to take to fix and add that
to your timeline without penalizing the contractor.
· Be specific about what you are asking for – for
example don’t call a contractor and ask “do you do
electrical work”. There are many forms of electrical
work and they might be able to do things like
change out outlets and rewire your lighting but they
might not be licensed to change out an entire
breaker box. This contractor is likely to say “no”
and move on, but if you are more specific about
what you are looking for “I have 5 outlets that need
to be converted to gfci’s, do you do that?” you are
www.MAREInet.com ———— Investment News —————
likely to find a contractor that can do that and will
charge you MUCH less than the major electrical
companies would to do the same job.
· Have a contract with your contractor – make
sure that your contractor gives you a contract that
specifically states the work that he will be
completing. Make sure you READ this contract
thoroughly! It is a good idea for you to have a
contract of your own that states what you expect
from your contractor.
· Be approachable – be stern and specific about
what you want, however let your contractor know
that no matter how minor the detail, if any problem
arises you need and want to know about it, and
together you can find a solution to the problem.
· Check on the progress of the job – visit the job
site after the contractor has left for the day, make
notes on anything that you have questions about.
Don’t warn the contractor, just do a pop in visit
and ask him about the issues you noted the night
before.
Hopefully these ideas will help you communicate with your
contractor better and give you the outcome you desire in a
rehab. Please check the MAREI calendar for upcoming
classes or call us for a full class schedule. And of course
we would love to help you rehab your property.
Rocky
RocMan Rehabs
Rocky & his wife Amanda Ahlering are
913-631-8482 new to MAREI and are both area in-
vestors in the KC metro. Rocky is a
contractor and Amanda is a Realtor
with Keller Williams Realty in the
Northland. They have several short
workshops and an all day event on the
calendar in April that you will want to
take a look at:
♦ 19th: Real Estate Investing 101
♦ 23rd: Working with Your Con-
tractor
♦ 26th: Never Pay Too Much for a
Property Again
Go to www.MAREInet.com
and click on Calendar of
Events to learn more
Page 15
 PRESORT STANDARD
Mid-America Association US POSTAGE PAID
SHAWNEE MISSION KS
Of Real Estate Investors PERMIT NO. 185

Building Networks for Success!

PO Box 8685
Prairie Village, KS 66208

Info Line: 816-374-5885

Business Office: 816-523-4400
Email: info@MAREInet.com

General Meeting
YOU CAN
HELP Overland Park Marriott
Let’s combine forces to 10800 Metcalf
reduce the impact of our Just south of I435
newsletter on the envi-
ronment. Reduce the Tuesday April 8th, 2008
amount of paper and ink
used and discarded in Attorney Ron Kraft from
the trash. Reduce the Accurate Title
use of energy used to
create the materials and Registration, Networking, and Vendor
the newsletter as well as Trade Show open at 6 p.m.
used to deliver each and
every one to your mail See page 4 for more information.
box. Reduce the amount of paper clutter in your office.
Read your newsletter online!

MAREI mails a paper copy of the newsletter to the primary

member of every membership and emails the newsletter to
all secondary members. If you would rather save a tree
and read the newsletter only online, please let us know in
one of two ways.

(1) Go to www.MAREInet.com and log on to the member

area, click on my info, scroll to the bottom and select
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