Customer First Homes is slated to speak at the 140 Character Conference in Detroit, MI at the Fillmore on October 20th.
Since the launch of the #140conf events, conferences have taken place in: New York City, Los Angeles, London and Tel Aviv. At these events we have explored the effects of twitter on a wide range of topics including: Celebrity, “The Media”, Advertising, Politics, Fashion, Real Estate, Music, Education, Public Safety and Public Diplomacy.
Home prices stay on upward swing
BY ALAN ZIBEL
WASHINGTON — Home prices rose in June for a third-straight month — with Detroit having the second-highest gain out of 20 cities — as now-expired tax credits inspired a burst of home-buying.
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August 31, 2010
A Detroit District Thrives by Building on the Past
By ALISON GREGOR
DETROIT — In sharp contrast to the rest of the Detroit metropolitan area, an area known as Midtown just north of the central business district has been holding its own in the recession.
Much of the success of Midtown — as it was branded a decade ago — is a result of the strength of institutions like Wayne State University, the Detroit Medical Center, the Henry Ford Hospital and the Detroit Institute of Arts, all of which contribute students and employees as well as residents.
Another component of Midtown’s success is that its developers are refurbishing older buildings, using tax credits and public financing, as much as they are building from scratch.
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By: Kevin Kaczmarek
By now we all have heard the rules of IRA investing Do’s and Don’ts. If not check out this previous post. With that in mind, its time to have two plans of attack in your Self Directed IRA investing plan. #1. You need to find your first investment in your IRA. I recently sat down with Edwin Kelly of Equity Trust who told me that 80% of Self Directed IRA accounts close within 2 years, not because they were unable to make money with investments in their IRA, but because they never made their 1st investment. It’s up to you to make a choice if you want to be a self directed IRA investor to find that first investment and make that investment.
Once you have made that initial investment, you are going to have to develop a system of adding investments onto this wealth growing machine. Herein lies where many people trip up. Your IRA is not your small company that YOU run, you need someone else to run it for you in a sense. To truly build wealth in one’s IRA, its best to find an investment company in your area that has extensive knowledge of IRA investing, and work with them to manage your investments for you. By doing so, you open yourself to opportunities that you might not find on your own. This might be counter-intuitive to solo employers but, is an effective strategy for wealth building.
Happy Investing Everyone!
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Meet Stbrina a repeat Customer First client who is very satisfied with her experience!
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Case study today is on land contract notes. Had a client come to me this week who had heard what we were doing with Self Directed IRA’s with land contracts and he wanted to sell a few owned properties on land contract and sell them to IRA holders.
The first question I asked Mr. Klaklulah was how much of a down payment he wanted to get on the properties. He promptly told me he was hoping to sell each property for $50,000 with $1000 down payment for 30 years.
I advised Mr. Klaklulah that the only way to be successful in land contract sales is to get a higher down payment. In his case, we recommend he find buyers that have $10,000 or more as a down payment. Not only that, but why amortize the land contract for such a long period of time? If his ultimate goal is to sell the contract to an IRA holder, he needed to think of the short term return that IRA holder would get. Maybe a $500 a month principle and interest payment per month would quickly let his IRA investor recoup their principle.
A little planning on the investing strategy with land contracts and IRA’s goes a long way to creating wealth.
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BY PATRICIA ANSTETT
Detroit Free Press
“For too many years, we’ve turned our backs on our city. We’ve ignored the high crime rate — and the low graduation rate. If you think it’s time to turn Detroit around, join us. Volunteer. Tutor a child. Clean up a neighborhood. If we all do something, we can do anything. Become a Believer.”
Tired of the city being blasted, some of the Detroit area’s biggest advertising, film and marketing geniuses want to use that statement to create a positive image for Detroit and build an army of volunteers willing to commit time and money to help make the city a better place to live, work and visit.
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By: Kevin Kaczmarek
You are probably starting to hear the buzz of selling properties on land contract as they have become en vogue again with the mortgage meltdown and the banking freeze out. With all the freelance aspects of putting together a land contract sale here are a few pointers to remember to successfully sell to completion.
#1. Require a healthy down payment. Offering homeownership for $1000.00 down does not create a vested interest in the property on the buyers behalf. Ask for no less than 10% down, and obviously more whenever possible. You want both parties to have a financial interest in the property.
#2. Know your states laws for selling on land contract. Depending on the state, there are restrictions to interest rates, terms you can and cannot write in a contract. For example, in the state of Michigan the max interest rate you can charge on a land contract is 11%. I can’t tell you how many times out of state note brokers send me notes to review in Michigan that exceed that number. Those are bad notes. You want to write a good note
#3. Avoid gimmicks. Don’t try to charge crazy closing costs and all kinds of fees and hidden charges. Properly disclose everything. Develop a simple word document to accompany the land contract and highlight ALL the components of the contract and both you and the purchaser sign off on each component.
#4. Make it a fair deal for both sides. After you sell the property on contract, you have three options. A. Hold onto the note for the life of it. B. Sell the note at a discount to another investor and C. your purchaser will cash you out with a mortgage. No matter the option, you want to make sure you write a note that can accomplish any of the three.
Selling properties on land contract can be a great additional avenue of revenue for your business, but you have to do it right. We all have a responsibility as investors!
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Farming plans gain traction
110 acres of city-owned parcels under discussion
BY JOHN GALLAGHER
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
Detroit businessman John Hantz is inching closer to a deal with the City of Detroit to commercially farm about 110 acres of city-owned vacant land on the city’s east side.
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By: Kevin Kaczmarek
In tight economical times you have to get creative with ways to save money. Even beyond that, you have to figure out ways to save for ordinary spending while still building your nest egg. But, what if a few small changes in your decision making process would enable you to save more money and fully invest into your IRA without sacrificing on your lifestyle any more than the economy has caused you to?
I want to introduce to you what I believe are three decisions that will enable you to fully fund your IRA without having to work more hours, or make anymore new deals. These are simply ways to divert your funds to the right place.
#1. Your Change: I have made it a habit to never make correct change when I am buying something. If the flowers I am buying for my wife total $19.07. I give the clerk a $20.00 bill and save the change at the end of the day into my change jar. Then on Sunday’s I roll the change myself (Never using the Coinstar machines, unless you own it) so it doesn’t become an overwhelming task. Pennies, Nickels, Dime and Quarters. I love them all and they add up! Over the course of a year I estimate you will end up with $800 in change that you can put into your IRA. I personally recommend once you get to $200 you take that change to the bank and make a transfer to your IRA.
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Pastor Leon Crawford speaks to his congregation about the value and importance of owning your own home utilizing Land Contracts after Ryan Wilkinson presented the seminar. A big thank you goes out to Pastor Crawford and the Uniting Faith and Family Outreach of Detroit. View the video here:
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Quicken’s move could inspire more firms to come downtown When 700 employees of Quicken Loans arrived for work Monday at the Compuware building, they each found a gift bag stuffed with discount coupons from nearby downtown restaurants and shops very eager to make their acquaintance. Long-suffering businesses downtown have been eagerly awaiting Quicken’s move from suburban Livonia, seeing it as a sign of better days ahead. Downtown has been suffering a king-sized hangover from the prolonged recession. Among the restaurant owners contributing discount cards to the gift bags was Jon Grabowski, owner of the Spa 19 24 Grille at the Westin Book Cadillac. “Any exposure we can give to new businesses coming downtown only helps this idea of a greater Detroit,” Grabowski said Monday. |
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Dan Gilbert: Quicken move could be start of ‘new era’ in downtown Detroit, Cavs have moved on from LeBron and Tom Izzo made right decision
“We’re going to work with all the folks in the city and hopefully build something special for a new era here,” Gilbert told host Paul W. Smith this morning on WJR-AM 760, noting he and more than 700 employees moved into the new Campus Martius headquarters on Monday.
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With jobs coming to Michigan, outlook is brighter for home sales
BY GRETA GUEST
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
With at least 2,500 jobs coming to Michigan in the next two years, relocation experts say a mini real-estate boom could be in the making.
Realtors are working with clients as diverse as the U.S. Army, GE and Hollywood production studios to find housing for their employees as hiring begins to pick up.
“I think we bottomed out and are coming back up,” said Linda Scope, the relocation director for Century 21 Town & Country in Clinton Township.
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Meet Pat Karbon, a Sales Agent at Customer First Homes who loves snowboarding and finding Customer First Clients their dream homes!
Thanks for all your dedication Pat!
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