When do foreclosure auctions occur

#WordWednesday this week is on the phrase: "When do foreclosure auctions occur?"

I work in Missouri and foreclosure sales happen every day of the week. When I answer this question, a lot of investors at REIA meetings seem surprised. And often they seem more surprised when I tell them that it's different in every state - for example, in Georgia the state only allows ALL foreclosures to be conducted on one day per month....which we call "Super Tuesday" and can have upwards of 300 properties sold with hundreds of buyers on that one day.

Many foreclosure sales in Missouri occur during the morning hours - such as 9am or 10am. And that's a perk of being a foreclosure auction manager.....getting to work in the morning and having the afternoon off! The status of the properties can change at anytime though. Some days, the trustee gets a call from the bank literally as they are walking up to auction the property. It can be cancelled or postponed for a variety of reasons.

The more I learn about jobs in real estate the more that I'm impressed at such a variety in people-types and skill-types. It's such a neat industry with so many moving parts and so many ways to make money and meet awesome people!

How do real estate foreclosure auctions work

#WordWednesday for the week is the phrase: "How do real estate foreclosure auctions work?"

Many people I speak with at real estate investor meetings are surprised by the answers when I tell them there are often only 1 or 2 buyers at the auctions.

Last week, I noted a few details about buying so I'll share a bit more about how they work at the time of sale....
Upon arrival outside of the courthouse (in Missouri)....literally ON the courthouse steps that is the county seat for that area...the Trustee who is handling the sale will ask buyers for proof of funds - meaning, most require a cashiers check IN HAND at the sale to be allowed to purchase; some require a letter of credit.
Most people arrive a little prior to sale time because many sales only take about 5 minutes to complete. The trustee reads disclaimers and their details then the legal document is "cried" (think of a town crier walking thru the streets 100 years ago). After the "credit bid" is offered, anyone in the public can bid $1 or more over.
Some counties may have 3 attendees, some may have 7, but many have only one buyer. Once the hour strikes, the sale is 'cried' (think: Town crier from 100 years ago) and within a few minutes the property is auctioned - bought by either a person (labeled a "third party") or by the bank ("returned to bank"). And that's that folks!
If you've bought before, I'd love to hear your experience from Missouri and any other states!

Note buying: What is a land contract?

Learning about some new topics while studying for an upcoming investing class on buying notes.

Today's article helped me understand about a concept less discussed in my circle of real estate investors: Buying Land Contracts.
I'm looking to buy notes to create everyday income as well as create a snowball with my IRA investing (building up with little purchases that will pay out anywhere from 11% to 89% return on investment!!).

Photo I took of the land around us near a glacier on a trip to Alaska

Here is the opening blurb that really focused the terminology for me:

"The reason you first got into real estate investing was to own property. Buy and hold. Let the tenant pay the mortgage. A strategy that is a solid, conservative, time-tested approach. As time has passed, maybe your objectives have changed. Maybe holding real estate assets no longer fits your goals or lifestyle. Your properties are leased. Selling with a tenant seems challenging. Why not consider selling TO your tenant? Not a lease-option. Sell that investment property your tenant calls “home” to the tenant.

A different investment option is selling with a land contract to your great tenants. Land contract is a frequently used option that allows an owner to sell their property while earning a nice return by creating a paper investment."

Credit: www.wilmothgroup.com/land-contracts

Excited to get started! If you are looking to start with as little as $5K (cash or IRA money), let's talk! If you are looking to sell your note, let's talk!

Hours that people work in real estate

(Snuggling my puppy on the floor when he was watching out the front window on a weekday afternoon)

I think I have the 'fun' version of working in real estate. My foreclosure auctions usually occur in the mornings and my real estate investor meetings are a night or two each week. So that means I have most afternoons off to do my other gig = being a mom to four boys and wife to a husband who's a nurse. That means that many days are the best of both worlds - work a little and still have time to help kids with homework, get all the soccermom driving duties done, and snuggle too! I definitely don't have my balancing act together to get home cooked dinner on all evenings - there's always areas I need to improve (for real!). But I'm pretty happy with opportunities right now.

When I was a kid, I remember interviewing and job shadowing professionals but I never knew exactly what I wanted to "do". I know many real estate investors that are working hard but their ventures require them to work crazy long hours. (Which I used to do in corporate event planning but is why I don't do that anymore!)
My son is starting middle school and being asked the annoying question of "What do you want to be when you grow up?" I say annoying because who really knows this answer? I never have. In whatever venture I've sought after, I did my best to enjoy it....and am doing so with real estate!

A recent video I saw on LinkedIn said it quite nicely - There is work/life balance. There's only life. And what you do with life is your balance.
**May you find your balance!**

Who are your favorite friends

(Bailey Family photo from 2015 - Husband of 13 years and boys aged 8, 6, 4, & 2)

For my Friday posts, I'm going to go with the theme #FriendsFriday. I'll try to answer the question of "Who are your favorite friends" by featuring my favorite investors that I meet at all the REIA meetings that I go to...the movers and the shakers that are crushin' it. A business club that I was in had the concept that: Marketing is best done when your company is promoted by others, giving it a seal of approval. That way your already established relationships can find the people they need to know to do business instead of you just promoting yourself. So I'll highlight different people that are rockstars in the Kansas City real estate market.
But for this first #FriendsFriday post, here are my absolute favorite people....my husband and "the Bailey boys".

What is my "Why"

On Sundays, I'm going to call the posts #SundayFunday. I like websites that personalize the business experience. A phrase I hear often in real estate meetings is: Find your WHY or What is your WHY...... meaning that working hard gets tiring and you need to know your reasons to work hard so that you can be successful.
Earlier in June I went to a three-day training on investing in note buying. And let me tell you. It was boring and overly detailed and hard stuff to learn. Spending 27 hours talking and learning about a topic is not usually how I prefer to spend my weekends.
On the start of the second morning, I am reminded of one of my whys......my kids.

When my brain is already feeling tired and overloaded, I opened my notebook to see a drawing of dragons created by my 6 year old. And then they had donuts...one of which I picked just because it had sprinkles because it's a favorite of my two little boys. (Every Sunday, our church has the yummiest donuts and it's a tradition for all four of our boys to get a donut when they help me in the nursery. Ridgewood Donuts are the best!)
As things get hard, remember your why and push past the worry to find success!
"I'm convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance." -- Steve Jobs


**Facebook - If you'd like to connect on FB (or LinkedIn), I post some of these thoughts on social media.
Investor MatchMaker on Facebook here
Rachel May Bailey on LinkedIn here

How to buy real estate foreclosures

For this #WordWednesday, we are addressing the phrase: "How to buy real estate foreclosures."

The short answer is - It's different in every state. Look at ForeclosureLaw.org to get details state by state.
A little longer answer is - Understand the basic rules for states that are judicial or non-judicial.
The judicial states will involve the court which means longer cases since the files go infront of a judge (and more expense). Many judicial states have a process that takes at least 120 days. In New York, it can take almost 2 years!!
The non-judicial states do not involve a judge and are run by trustees (lawfirms) so they are less expensive and take about 60 days.
Where I work as a foreclosure auctioneer is in Missouri which is a non-judicial state so the process has a trustee oversee the legal portion and my employer advertises the sale online.

So.....for the how in Missouri....
Look online or in the county newspaper for the listing; ads starting a minimum of 21 days prior to sale date. Contact the trustee who is handling the sale to see how they collect funds - most require a cashiers check IN HAND at the sale to be allowed to purchase; some require a letter of credit. Arrive a little prior to sale time and be ready to bid $1 over the "credit bid". Once you win, you will fill out an agreement to wire the remaining funds to the trustee. Many of the regulars have tips about their buying process so never hesitate to go watch a sale.
If you go to an auction, please comment here or on Facebook and let me know about your experience!!

Signature lines to find leads

After listening to a podcast on Investor Carrot, I am working on changing the signature in my emails. Why you say? Because you never know who you know that have friends that need to know you!

I've never liked those marketing programs that told you to "Find Leads!" The suggestion in the podcast was to add a tag line under your name with contact info. So for me, instead of just my name at the end of emails, I could change it to this:

From, Rachel Bailey
email: InvestorMatchmakerLLC@gmail.com
web: https://www.facebook.com/Rachel-May-Bailey-investor-in-real-estate-investor-in-people-1917866568231031/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel
P.S. Our family business of IRA investing yield 8-10% backed by real estate. I'd love to help you invest with us!

Bam! Normal email just going about my day and then - kapow! They get a tiny message that gets them thinking! For my message, maybe they don't have IRA money to invest but they do know their Aunt passed away and the cousins were talking about how to invest inheritance money....... and you never know where those leads may come in from people you already know and DO NOT have to sell to!
Let me know if you change your signature and what results you see!!
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#InvestorCarrot #SellingNotSelling #RelationshipMarketing

Creating yourself!

Prior to being in real estate, I chose my careers based upon interest and always felt that I had to work in one specific role. After being in real estate, I see so MANY ways to make money based off your skill set and not just based off your job title.
For almost ten years I was a professional event planner.
PROS = Amazing experiences with incredibly fun people.
CONS = Lonnnnnnnng hours during event days and no free weekends.
Initially I worked for the Kansas City Zoo planning logistics for the events that were for companies/professionals who came to our venue for an event. Then I moved up to being a recognition event planner for a specific company; planning in-house events for our internal staff. And finally I planned travel and meeting spaces for a career fair company......but as the value of my time became more expensive than my job would pay = aka, I had kids!

My employment ended and I worked from home over the next 4-5 years.....I say "worked" but I didn't get paid. My job was to save as much as possible by doing everything myself. And I quickly learned that I was 'making' almost $80K with all the awesome things I could for my family instead of paying someone else to do them for me.
Jump forward 4 kids and the goal to get a bigger home came into focus, I took on a side job in real estate calling foreclosure sales. This year marks three years in real estate.....and my eyes are opened! There are just SO many ways to make money in R.E. and it doesn't have to be tied to just a label that someone has created for a company.
I've recently discovered a tool to help me narrow my life vision so as to give me focus. This blog is created to go along with my mission of "Stir bravery to cultivate growth."
As join me, comment with what helps you be brave and what inspires your growth!!