In many expert’s opinion entrepreneurship has a high degree of risk, and the needs to increase the security of the investment is to have solid info about the business for sale and its financial status.

There is a price to pay when you make a buy a successful business for sale; the costs are a lot higher than if the company would have been on the verge of bankruptcy. Moreover, it takes more out of the pocket to buy a business than to actually start it.

There are very intricate issues behind the merger or the taking over of one company by another one, and all need to be cover in detail so that no problems may appear later.

Before looking for any business for sale, it is important to know what you want. How much do you know about that business?

Are you ready for total commitment? Can you handle difficult situations without losing your temper? Is the potential risk assumed by the purchase of a business for sale well calculated?

Analyze all the arguments for and against the purchase and even ask for some expert opinion. Some people want to find a business for sale to practice a hobby in the spare time or after retirement, others want to give a kick to their competition and last but not least, many investors are simply after an opportunity to get in control of their career.

The next step to take is to check several sources where you can find a good business for sale. Consider the necessity of relocation, in case the business activity is carried on in another city you should either change your home or move the business; the owner’s relocation or the transfer of business to a different site therefore remain important decision making factors.

The first place to look for a business is in newspaper classifieds as they are one way to identify a business for sale in large metropolitan areas.

Another viable source of information comes from brokerage newsletters and all sorts of publications. If you want a professional opinion for the purchase of a business, then brokers are the specialists to talk to. Sometimes, if the entrepreneur is not satisfied with anything in the offer, other brokerage agencies are contacted. In fact the circulation of the business listings among brokers is nothing new or restricted.

I was recently asked a question that I would like to share with you. I think the information will be valuable to you.

“I’ve been reading everything I can about why lenders would be willing to sell properties at large discounts…

In regards to lenders and their concerns, what factors determine their choice to sell discounted mortgage notes? Since we are trying to think in the mind set of the LMREP, it would be helpful for us to understand their concerns so that we can sell our services”.

My reply: Make sure you distinguish (in your thinking and in your language) properties from mortgage notes. You mentioned both in your question above.

You mention both in a question to a bank rep and if I were them, I’d immediately write you off as a knucklehead who doesn’t know a deed of trust from a deed and wouldn’t respond to any further emails or calls from you.

A Tip For Buying Mortgage Notes

Just a word of caution to bone up on your note lingo before you talk to the banks:

You get one chance to make a good first impression, when you’re talking to the key person/gatekeeper when buying mortgage notes.

Great information right?

A few reasons:

Institutional-Level Reasons to Sell Mortgage Notes:

a) Selling notes is quick. Sometimes the banks need to clear their balance sheets or may be in the process of merging, in these instances they need to move fast.

b) their might be a relatioship between the borrower and the bank, or some kind of other circumstance.

c) the bank may not want “bad press” and might be under to pressure not take aggressive recovery actions like foreclosure against the borrowers. An example would be minority first time home buyers.

d) bank may not want to actually take borrowers to sale, though having no trouble with foreclosure procedures. (I’ve often found myself in the position of buying mortgage notes from a bank 1 week prior to sale because they didn’t want to be seen carrying out the actual foreclosure)

3) sometimes the warranty cover/expense is not worth the hassle when the loan is upside down, especially when the loan amounts are so small. (when buying notes, these types of deals are a great opportunity)

f) bank wants to “price” a part or all of its non-performing book, in which case it sends out loans to bid to see what the market would pay for them.

Individual Rep Reasons to Sell Mortgage Notes:

a) in some cases, the loss mitigation rep does not want to deal with borrower anymore. Reasons for this can be the borrower unwillingness to discuss matter, or broken promises of repayment.

b) borrower is non-responsive, no contact

c) foreclosure processes in their state are too long

e) rep or rep’s direct boss has authorization over certain level of write-offs and mortgage note sale (unsolicited or solicited) is within that level (take note here: e.g. 30% discount on $30k loan is $9k – rep’s boss may have authorization to write off up to $20k/loan, same 30% discount on $100k loan is over that limit, would require boss to send “up the line” and takes too much work for rep and his boss, so they’ll pass)

f) the rep might be shooting for their monthly bonus and sell off some mortgage notes to reach this. Sometimes it could just be a matter of meetin a monthly quota.

I hope you found this information useful.

Gambling is a game, a contest. When you gamble, you take a chance that you will increase your money or lose your money. There’s no way of knowing what will happen.

Some people play with investing like a game. When you invest your money, you believe that the company you invest in will be successful and the investment will increase in value. Some people who look at investing as a game want to make money, but they also enjoy themselves. Others just do it to make money. Why don’t the others look at it as a game?

Investing is not the same as gambling. There are many different ways to invest your money, and some ways are not even close to gambling. When you invest in a government bond, you are guaranteed your principle and interest. It’s not a gamble if you know for sure you’re going to be paid back. There is a slight possibility that they government won’t pay you back, but the government would have to be in a lot of trouble for that to happen and getting your money back would be the least of your worries.

How does the stock market work differently in the case of gambling? When you purchase stock, you become part owner in the company. By investing in that corporation, hopefully when they make a profit, you’ll be paid in dividends, or if they are growing and increasing in value, the value of the stock will go up.

When you put money down on a football game or when you give your cash to a casino, you own nothing. Your earning power does not depend on the success of anything or anyone. It depends simply on chance.

By investing, you are adding another source of income to your existing income. In your investments, your money is working to make more money. If you ever receive a large sum of money for anything, invest it in a stable, low risk investment. By gambling it you are essentially throwing it away and won’t make nearly as much as you would by investing in it.

For example, we’ll say you inherit $10,000 for an Aunt. You could either choose to gamble it for double or nothing to $20,000 and then double it again for $40,000, etc. Sure, you could double it 10 times over, but the chances of you even doubling it the first time are very slim. You can pretty much assume you will not be able to double it ten times over. In you invested invested it into stocks and earned an average of 8% a year for 30 years, you would have over $100,000. Lose it all or multiply it by ten?

Recent years have seen a surge in people investing in real estate. They seem to have finally realized that real estate is possibly the only investment which offers a tight safety-net in today’s volatile and highly unpredictable world economy. While the U.S. dollar can not seem to rise out of its nosedive and the U.S. economy seems to be a victim of a very bad case of volatility, land remains an important source of income for many people as it has remained for so many others since the beginning of time.

Up until the very recent past, the number one arrangement for real estate investment remained to be partnerships. Partnerships have been a force to be reckoned with, be it in terms of real estate or in terms of any other field such as sports, music, movies, etc. However, lately, people seem to be opting for TIC arrangements instead of partnerships for their real estate investment needs. This has proved to be a very wise decision as TICs are able to offer safety as well as the prospect of high profits by nullifying the hindrances found in partnerships.

Firstly, unlike partnerships where the investor would own a stake in the partnership which in turn would own the property, TICs allow investors to own a fractional interest in the property themselves. Secondly and more importantly, while all partners in a partnership need to be in accordance when replacing a property, TICs allow investors to easily cash-out of the investment or replace it without the need to consult other co-owners. Additionally, TICs further benefit investors by granting them the freedom to exchange their individual undivided interest at any time rather than having to wait for the disposal of the asset as is the case in partnerships. TICs also do not forcefully bind an owner to remain with any of his/her co-owners in the future.

Remember though that is not where the list of perks ends. TICs make it possible to compete with institutional capital and attain high-quality properties; so TIC owners not only attain access to better investment options, but they also have the option of diversifying their property types and geographical locations, thus reducing their risks. TICs also allow investors to benefit from professional third-party management which ensures a steady and reliable cash stream.

This third-party management plays a vital role in distinguishing TICs from other real estate investment arrangements. These third-party managers, known as Sponsors, take on all responsibilities of running the investment on a daily basis, hence freeing up time for owners. This concept thus runs opposite to partnerships where if you do give up the day-to-day responsibilities of the investment and become a general partner, you are forced to leave the daily running to one of your partners who may, or may not, be the right person for the job. TICs, on the other hand, ensure that the day-to-day running remains in the hands of professionals who know exactly what they are doing at all times. Additionally, since these Sponsors handle more than one property at any given time, they have considerable leverage with financial institutions. Therefore, they are able to attain very favorable lending terms for the investment.

TICs also allow an investor to benefit from various tax breaks. Moreover, these ingenious arrangements grant an investor the chance to diversify his overall investment portfolio of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, business investments, etc. So it is easy to conclude that TICs are here to stay. Whether you are for them or you are against them, you will not be able to deny that given the current economical situation in United States, TIC arrangements offer a safety net which remains unparallel in the market.

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