Secure Your property for before Rehabbing!

After completing several property rehabs in Miami-Dade County, Florida, I wanted to try something out of the county but still in Florida. My parents lived in Sarasota, Florida so I thought this would be a nice place to start. Distance would be an issue but my father was down for the winter and he could check up on the progress being made on the individual properties. Also, my Dad is an electrical contractor which brings many rehab benefits but that is a future REIC posting.

I found a duplex FOR SALE fairly quickly on Debbie Street, Sarasota due to the advantage of attending Sarasota REIA group meetings on Florida's Gulf Coast. Other than the distance, four hour drive, I felt this would be like any other rehab.

I decided to start in February with a two week property visit. Well during that time, several problems arose that I didn't experience before, like:

• Most of the properties were on well water. Hard on the pipes, fixtures and tasted awful. Our duplex had city water service which was a blessing but caused me a problem I had to resolve.
• Septic Tanks! No county sewer systems had been installed. The drain field was the front lawn and it was clogged.
• Clothes Washer waste water line emptied onto the backyard lawn.
• Pine trees over fifty high. Pine needles build up on the roof and lawn.
• Gravel driveway that the neighbors thought they could use to park their cars.
• Drug addicts lived about 50 yards away in an apartment.
• On and On and On....

But the one problem that cost me the most in time and money was the city water lines.

Apparently it was very expensive to get connected to Sarasota's water system due to high impact fees. Impact fees are the city's way to tax you for hooking up to the water system network. You have to pay for the following:

• Impact fees
• Installation fee for digging up the street and installing the water meters.
• Hire a plumber to run lines from the city's water meters to the duplex's water system.
• Had to pay twice since it was two separate water meters, one for each unit of the duplex.

Luckily, my duplex already had these meters installed by a previous owner. The problem was the neighbors knew this and thought they could help themselves to the city water from our duplex. They would go to our outside water fixture and fill their 5 gallon water containers.

By the end of the month, I had a very large water bill which I couldn't figure out why? My rehab contractor said he never used too much water. I thought I had a water line leak from the meter to the duplex.

One day in July, my rehab contractor said he saw one of the neighbors filling up their containers and told me about it. I was flabbergasted but realized that this was going to be an ongoing problem!

Below is picture containing the anti-theft water system parts and installation video.....

Related Links, Blog Postings, Presentations or Articles:

• Section 8 Inspection Checklist
• Sarasota REIA on Facebook
• Sarasota Real Estate Investor Association on Twitter

Written by +Bob Burns.

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Life is a Beach. Go Find Yours! Real Estate Investor about.me/RobertKBurns Telephone #: 305-586-5280 email: sec8@planocho.com

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Miami Dade Housing Choice Voucher Program Building

HUD's fourth largest Section Eight or Plan Ocho program in the nation is managed by Miami-Dade Public Housing Agency MDPHA. It is a management nightmare! I remember the old Coral Way offices and waiting hours to see a Landlord case worker. The county decided to outsource the management of Miami-Dade Public Housing Agency MDPHA's Housing Choice Voucher Program. Miami-Dade awarded a multi-year contract to Quadel Consulting. They are responsible for:

• Section 8 Voucher Program
• Section 8 Home Ownership Program
• MDPHA Family Self Sufficiency (FSS) Program

This allows the MDPHA to save money and increase processing efficiencies.

Landlords, this is a great program to use for renting your investment properties. When a unit becomes empty, the clock starts ticking. You are losing MONEY! You need to lease this unit as soon as possible! Adding Section 8 or Plan 8 to your marketing funnel, increases the probability of finding a qualified tenant.

I put to together a simple video below that shows you the outside of the Miami Dade Housing Choice Voucher Program Building. Go down there NOW and set up an appointment to discuss the Landlord Program. Address is: 7400 NW 19th Street, Bay H, Miami, Florida 33126. Don't expect an appointment right away. They will schedule you via a 3-4 week window. Sorry, it is what it is!

Related Links, Maps, Blog Postings, Presentations or Articles:

• Miami Dade Housing Choice Voucher Program Building Map.
• Quadel Consulting Web Site.

Written by +Bob Burns.
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	Change! Nothing Stays the Same. MREIA's President about.me/RobertKBurns Telephone #: 305-586-5280 email: rkburns@investmentpropertiesmiamiflorida.com MREIA's Web Page: www.miamireia.com

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Why aren't Your Real Estate Taxes reduced when Property Values are Down? Time for Tax Appeal!

It is that time of year again! Every year counties within the United States issue their real estate tax bill to commercial and residential property owners. These funds are used for various line items of the county's budget. Your tax bill is based on the assessed value of the asset according to the tax assessor's evaluation of the properties contained within in the county (Using Arial Photos). It is also based on the last purchase price that you paid for the property.

In case you didn't notice but A LOT of people purchased properties at the height of the market. Did the counties care if you did that? Noooooo....the more you pay for the asset, the more taxes they collect. But what investors didn't count on was the market tanked and property values dropped like a rock in some parts of the country. Unfortunately that included Florida, mainly Broward and Dade counties.

So here you are, holding onto a property and paying taxes (pre-bubble burst) on a property that lost at least half of its value or more! Does the county government care about this? Nooooooo....If they did, there would be less revenue for the county coffers. So what can we do as property owners?

No Taxation without Representation!

Luckily for us our founding forefathers saw this happening too! This great country of ours was founded on tax revolt. They made sure our representatives are held accountable for their actions. So, most counties have made provisions in the municipal code to allow tax payers to appeal their accessed property values. There is a small window, yes I mean SMALL, during the calendar year where you can file the proper documents with the county to ask for a reduction. Now don't get me wrong, the county is not going to give up. They will fight you. You better be able to prove that you are being over taxed!

As a real estate investor, I don't relish the thought of doing this every year for the rest of my life for various reasons:

1. Time consuming.
2. Need proper documentation.
3. Dealing with government employees.
4. Traffic.
5. Parking Fees.
6. And on and on...

I leave that up to EXPERIENCED professionals. Let them hassle with this process. The advantages are:

1. They know the proper filing dates.
2. They are experienced.
3. They know the proper documents to file.
4. Familiar with the tax appeal system.
5. They only get paid if you win the appeal.
6. The asset looks attractive to other investors.
7. Nice profit windfall for investors. Found Money...Yeah Baby!

Now is the time to start considering how you can increase your cash flows on your real estate investment portfolio. Remember, the window for filing your real estate tax appeal is small so start considering your options NOW!

Do you have any experience with the tax appeal process that you would like to share with us?

Related Links, Blog Postings, Presentations or Articles:

• Update #1: After I wrote this posting, I started looking for a Real Estate Tax Reduction Specialist because current properties are severely over assessed. Here is a company that has been successfully appealing commercial property taxes for 21 years:
  Real Estate Associates - www.realestateassoc.net

• Update #2: RETA does residential and commercial. However many Homes are protected by the Save Our Homes Amendment and Homestead exemptions. Therefore the Taxable value maybe lower than the Market or Assessed value. Please send us your properties Folio Number and we will let you know if a reduction is possible.

Written by Bob Burns.
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	"God Bless!" MREIA's President about.me/RobertKBurns Telephone #: 305-300-6242 email: rkburns@investmentpropertiesmiamiflorida.com MREIA's Web Page: www.miamireia.com

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Accepting New Section 8 Applications for Waiting List in Pensacola, Florida

The City of Pensacola, Florida is currently processing applications for placement onto Section Eight' Subsidized Rental Assistance Program. Applicants must apply over the phone. Pensacola's Section 8 or Plan Ocho offices will be taking 25 applications every 2nd Wednesday of each month. The telephone number to call is (850) 858-0340 beginning at 7:00 am.

For Elderly, 62 or older and Disabled applicants have to call on the 2nd Thursday of each month to (850) 858-0350, starting at 7:00 am.

Note: Only one application per person per program. Once applicant's information has been taken over the phone, a preliminary application to complete will be mailed to determine eligibility for placement on Pensacola' Section 8 or Plan 8 Waiting List.

City of Pensacola's Housing Department Important Information for Tenants and Land Lords:

• Address: 222 West Main St. Pensacola, FL 32502, Tel. (850) 435-1603
• City of Pensacola Housing Department.
• Rental Assistance Programs.
• Apply for Rental Assistance Information.
• Land Lord Information.
• Waiting List Information.
• Landlord forms.

Written by +Bob Burns.
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	"I rather watch the grass grow from above than below!" MREIA's President about.me/RobertKBurns Telephone #: 305-300-6242 email: rkburns@investmentpropertiesmiamiflorida.com MREIA's Web Page: www.miamireia.com

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Top 10 Real Estate Gurus I'd have a BEER with!

As I was starting out in real estate investing, I took the grand tour of the usual seminars, workshops, boot camps and REIA clubs. Webinars were not around and the internet was just grabbing our attention. I had the benefit of helping run the Miami Real Estate Investor's Association MREIA which provided us the conduit for all the Real Estate Gurus that were currently HOT at the time and are still going strong today.

I am creating this TOP 10 blog list for the benefit of people that are coming into the business and need some guidance. Some are local to Miami, Florida and some national.

Again, this is only my opinion and you may disagree with me and that's OK. Please forgive me if I leave someone out of the list but I am providing the names that taught or brought us into their inner circle of influence.

Here goes:

1. WOW, what can I say about Preston? I met Preston Ely in New Orleans but we didn't know each other. We know each other through Freedom$soft affiliate campaigns but if I ran into him on the street, I don't think he would recognize me. That's OK because he is an awesome internet marketer whose niche is real estate investing! I like his style and his humor. He goes against the grain but it works. I enjoy his outlook on life and business acumen. He is refreshing and made me a lot of money! That is why he is number one on the list.

   ---

2. Mike Collins invited me to a Tampa workshop on real estate investing years ago. Mike was one of the first gurus to adopt the internet as part of his business. I drove up to Tampa Florida for the weekend and attended the event. I learned more about investing and realized that I had to adopt the internet as a channel for marketing my properties and business. Michael and his staff were very fourth coming with information about real estate investing and made me feel like I was very important to his success.

   Over the years I have seen Mike Collins speak at various real estate events and never lost that feeling that he was someone with a special gift of sharing his wealth of knowledge.

   ---

3. I sat right next to Sam Bell in New Orleans in the front row. Same place I met Preston Ely. I like to think that I knew everyone that was a player in the real estate investing world but I didn't know Sam. He was quiet and didn't say much but we did introduce ourselves by the end of the event. Next time I saw Sam was in Tampa, Florida and to my surprise he was presenting. Man did he surprise me! He delivered BIG TIME. He combined hardcore internet marketing with Real Estate Investing. Every time I listen to him I learn something new. You have to place him on your blog reading list! You won't be disappointed. Light years ahead of me.

   ---

4. Pete Youngs was the first guy I ever saw when I decided to start my real estate investing business. I started out as a rehabber and Pete was the guru's guru when it came to rehabbing houses. He was one of the very first GURU presenters with almost all the real estate investing clubs. I always enjoyed his rehabbing stories and his sense of humor. Also, due to his broad footprint among the real estate investment community, Pete would always have great investment deals or opportunities for his inner circle.

   ---

5. Josh Cantwell is fairly new to my sphere of real estate gurus. I just finished an affiliate campaign in December 2010 with Preston Ely (See #1) and was still fired up about the campaign even though it was over. I received an email from Britt Walker (great contact for affiliate campaigns) who was promoting Josh's "Instant Cash Infusion" product. I said what the hell, since I trusted Britt. Wow, I was impressed! Josh's foreclosure system content was really fresh with current market trends. Home foreclosures vary from state to state but Josh and lawyer Jeff Watson seemed to be on top of their game concerning nationwide foreclosures. Check them out, you'll learn something.

   ---

6. I have been working with Paul Woods since I started this business. Paul is a real estate attorney that has spoken at our real estate investment club many times. His strengths are Asset Protection using the Florida Land Trust and foreclosure defense. When building your team for real estate investing you must have an attorney that knows the legal structures (example: Florida Land Trusts) and contacts associated with real estate investing for your protection and success. Paul is your man!

   ---

7. I met Joel Bauer at an information seminar in Broward, Florida. You know, Fort Lauderdale, college..etc. From my understanding Joel does not come out to the east coast (USA that is...) often so I decided to catch his presentation. He is not a real estate guru but was considered a Info. Marketer. I always want to get ideas about how I can enhance my marketing skills so off to see Joel. It was the fastest workshop I ever attended. He crammed more information into one day than anyone else I ever saw. I thought he was a little strange at first but this was part of his presentation. He kept it real and didn't sugar coat anything. I learned about photo and video editing, business card development, testimonial development, on and on and on...I was very impressed and would see him again in a heartbeat. He's different but that is what I like about him. Never boring and you never know what to expect. Either you like him or you don't. There is no middle of the road with Joel. Pure Energy! He brings it...Baby!

   ---

8. Wayne Wagie is a different kind of real estate guru. He looks at the deal without money by negotiating the deal with the exchange of assets and or terms. Usually no money exchanges hands or very little. He runs a group called the "The Greater Miami Real Estate Exchangors (GMREE)" which meets weekly in Miami-Dade, Florida to discuss different strategies of exchanging real estate. You can exchange a piece of land for a boat or a car. Swap a house in Hawaii for one in South Beach, Florida. Create a note on your property and exchange the note for a percentage of another deal. Wayne teaches you to view and negotiate the deal using NO CASH! Awesome concepts! Check him and his group out.

   ---

9. Paul J. DaCosta runs the Port Charlotte Real Estate Investor's Association on the Gulf Coast of Florida. When I first went to the meeting, I didn't know anyone but Paul had me introduce myself and the rest is history. He has spoken at MREIA several times about real estate investing. Paul is an investor, speaker, author, blogger, internet marketer and is very generous with his time. Paul makes you feel welcome into his social community and if you are ever on the Gulf Coast of Florida make sure you catch Paul at one of his meetings in Port Charlotte, Florida. Right down or across Rt. 75. You won't regret that you did!

   ---

10. Last but not least, Donna Bauer is the first lady on our list. Donna is a real estate guru specializing in purchasing real estate notes. She was one of the first speakers I asked to present at MREIA since my first deal was a note purchase for 15 condo units. Controlling paper on a property is a great strategy for controlling an asset without managing the property. No cleaning toilets for me! She has a wealth of contacts and knowledge for anyone starting out in this business and wants to learn a very unique strategy of real estate investing.

    ---

Whew, that took me a long time to put together. There are so many gurus out there that it was difficult to narrow down the people who taught me the business. I Thank all of You!

Now it is your turn! Do you have a real estate investing guru that made a difference in your life? Please tell us about HIM or HER in the comment section below.

Written by +Bob Burns.
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	Sweet...... MREIA's President about.me/RobertKBurns Telephone #: 305-300-6242 email: rkburns@investmentpropertiesmiamiflorida.com MREIA's Web Page: www.miamireia.com

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Miami Florida's Section 8 & Housing Authority Office Locations and Contact Information

You don't know how many phone calls we receive asking about Section 8 or Plan Ocho program managed by the Miami Dade Housing Authority MDHA in Miami, Florida. The callers have many questions concerning HUD's subsidized rental program.

The most common question is "Where are Miami-Dade's Section Eight offices and how can I contact them?" We decided to put together a list of Section 8 or Plan Ocho offices that provide help for families in distress for Miami-Dade County, Florida. There are also several satellite offices for different cities in the county.

See Below:

Section 8 Plan Ocho Office Locations & Contact Data
Florida's Section 8 Public Housing Agencies PHA Offices.
HHA - Hialeah Housing Authority
Homestead Housing Authority
Miami-Dade Housing Agency MDHA
Miami-Beach Housing Authority
Section Eight or Plan 8 Property Web Sites
Access Section 8 Property Web Sites  Go Section 8, Social Serve, Florida Housing Search
Written by +Bob Burns.
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"Give Back to Your Community" MREIA's President about.me/RobertKBurns Telephone #: 305-300-6242 email: rkburns@investmentpropertiesmiamiflorida.com MREIA's Web Page: www.miamireia.com

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Video about Calculating Fair Market Rent FMR using a HUD Section 8 tool

While giving real estate investing presentations, especially about Section 8 and to new land lords, a common question from newbies is "How much can I charge for rent?"

WOW, that is a good question!

Remember, there are several things to consider while trying to answer this famous question:

• How many bedrooms?
• Demographics of the neighborhood?
• Have I checked the local newspapers?
• Did I call "FOR Rent" signs and see what other Land Lords are asking?
• What is the Multiple Listing Service MLS saying about rental prices in that zip code?
• Other Investors, what are they charging?
• Does your property have issues?
• Etc.

My point is that it would take a lot of time to do a good rental survey or Fair Market Rent FMR of your market before you can come up with a price.

But those days are over......

When I started using Section Eight I noticed that the case workers focused on:

1. Participant's current income
2. Inspection results of the land lord's property
3. What is Section Eight or Plan Ocho currently paying other land lords in the area.

They would always come up with a figure magically. I always wondered how they calculated the results to come up with the fair market rent FMR number. Fair meaning making it a win-win for the Housing Authority, the Land Lord and the Participant.

NOW...

Here is a tool where the Fair Market Rent FMR ceilings are calculated for you by HUD, from efficiencies, one bedroom and up to four bedrooms. Check out the video....

Written by +Bob Burns.

"Yeah Baby!" MREIA's President about.me/RobertKBurns Telephone #: 305-300-6242 email: rkburns@investmentpropertiesmiamiflorida.com MREIA's Web Page: www.miamireia.com

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Make sure you have the mail forwarded to your business address after you purchase a new investment property....Why?

I made the mistake of purchasing a property for rehabbing for about 50K and not forwarding the properties mail to my business address. It was a duplex but both buildings were gut jobs. See pictures!

Duplex inside the Main 2/1 house. 

The City of Miami placed a violation on the structure for being unsecured. This violation was mailed to the property address but since the property did not have a mail box, the post office refused delivery. One of the terms of the violation was the structure must be secured within so many days or a $250/day fine would be imposed.

Front view of Duplex Front House.

Guess What?

This violation was written before I even purchased the property. It had been sitting abandoned for years so you can imagine the size of the fine. My Title company missed it so I was never aware of it until I started to repair the property.

Front view of Duplex Back House.

Well the fine had accumulated to $250K. Now, I do not know about you but I wasn't going to pay a fine that was more than the property was worth. So after speaking with the Title company, the area inspector, the City of Miami mitigation committee, I was able to mitigate the lien down to a manageable level. I would tell you how I did it but that is another blogging event.

Complete view of Duplex.

 So the violation was resolved! The City doesn't want to make it impossible for you with unmanageable fines. Their objective is to make you correct the violation and comply. I was doing them a favor by bringing an abandoned property back online and producing additional tax revenue. The moral of the story is to make sure you are getting the properties mail. I would have known about the violation a lot earlier in the process if I forwarded the investment properties mail to my business address.

Written by +Bob Burns.

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"Pain is Temporary, Regret is Forever!" MREIA's President about.me/RobertKBurns Telephone #: 305-586-5280 email: sec8@planocho.com MREIA's Web Page: www.miamireia.com