Credit repair. It's a frequent question that many real estate agents hear from their clients: "I'd like to buy a house, but I have some problems with my credit. It really is an honest mistake but I don't know how to go about getting it cleaned up." Having bad credit can prevent you from qualifying for a loan. If it doesn't flat out prevent you from getting a loan, it will cost you many thousands of dollars in additional interest payments whether you're buying a home to live in or as an investment.
In today's episode, we welcome back our first ever repeat guest on the podcast, Dave Cole. Dave was previously a guest on the show for Episode 32, when we covered Solo 401(k) plans. Today, Dave returns to the show to talk about the state of the credit repair industry. Listen in as he gives a (very) brief history of the credit repair industry and points out how the business model that most of these services have doesn't work any more, and their customers are simply wasting their money.
Dave shares a much better approach that leverages the law to compel the credit bureaus to clean up your file if they can't produce all of the legally required documentation. It's a 60-90 day process, it costs a fraction of what you might pay a typical letter writing service and best of all, it's guaranteed.
If you want to learn more about the service, watch the webinar Dave created for it.
Tinja Anderson Shiery has spent her entire professional life until recently as a consultant teaching professionals how to craft their messages for success.
One of the many classes she teaches is entitled "Winnings Words", and Kevin was a student of hers in his role in the Oil & Gas industry, and the class changed the trajectory of his career. Listen in as Tinja compresses this 3 day class into a one hour crash course for Karen. If you take nothing else away from this episode, wrap your mind around the art of the sincere and honest acknowledgement.
Tinja has recently started her own business and works every day now to adapt the model she learned from her parents to fit her new role.
You can find Tinja's jewelry business here: www.candibytinja.com
You can also find her on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/tinjashiery
Have you ever wondered what would happen to your property if you didn't pay your taxes? Most people envision the police eventually knocking at the door and throwing you out. The reality in Texas at least is that the knock will eventually come, but it will be an investor knocking, an investor like today's guest, Arnie Abramson.
Arnie has been investing in Texas tax auctions since the early 1990s. With a very long track record of success, he leads the Texas Tax Sales Resource Group, which is comprised of individual investors that have been investing in income producing real estate in Texas for many years. The Group helps members find, bid on, purchase, and own properties that go to public auction in all 254 counties in Texas.
The law in Texas is very favorable to investors in these properties. The winning bidder at the auction is immediately awarded ownership and possession of the property. The ONLY right the previous owner retains is the right to "redeem" the property, a process by which the investor is rewarded with a 25% to 50% profit on his/her investment. If you are or want to be a real estate investor, you should listen to this episode twice!
In addition to investing in tax auctions in Texas, Arnie makes available to his priority members investment in certain tax liens outside of the Lone Star State, through the Lien-to-Deed program, the details of which he also shares in this episode.
Karen and Kevin are both Priority Members in the program, and as Karen says in the episode, just having the knowledge and education that Arnie provides gives us the confidence to go and bid at the auctions, which to the uninitiated are intimidating and confusing. If you decide to become a Priority Member too, we've worked out a discount with Arnie if you call by Monday, March 13!
If you'd like to ask Arnie a question directly, please feel free to reach out to him at arnie@txtaxsales.com.
Effective writing is important. This is why this, the 10th and final Agent Commandment, is about writing.
We have seen far too many examples of horrific writing on the part of real estate agents. You don't need to read very many MLS listing descriptions before they'll start popping out at you. Poor spelling, bad grammar, lack of punctuation. They all jump right off the page and detract from the professional message you're trying to communicate on behalf of your client.
For this reason, we've enlisted the help of Laura Peterson, Author, Teacher, Entrepreneur, Podcaster, and Digital Nomad. On her podcast, Copy that Pops, you'll find a wealth of information on how to write effectively for your newsletter, ads, and blog posts to drive traffic to your destinations.
Listen in as we have a wide ranging discussion with Laura about the impact of effective writing, vomit comets, living in Europe, and International Dog of Mystery, Tuck.