Investing | Southwest Michigan Realtor Blog

March 10, 2013
by Michael Delaware

Last Day! Download the eBook: ‘Land Contract Homes for Investors’ for free!

I am making my Kindle format eBook: Land Contract Homes for Investors available for free download on Amazon for one more day. Today (March 10, 2013) you can click on the image of this book, and go to Amazon to download your free copy of this book today. This book covers the subject of Land Contract Homes from an investor perspective, and gives insight into how to make such an investment successful.

It is the companion book to the first book entitled: Understanding Land Contract Homes: In Pursuit of the American Dream which was released just before this one in December 2012. This first book covers the subject for both the buyer and seller, and make the subject understandable and offers a basic outline of a Land Contracts use and application.

If you choose to download your free copy of Land Contract Homes for Investors, I would ask that you also click on the ‘Like’ button near the book down load area to share this with others. Additionally, when you are done reading it if you will come back to this link and write an positive review that will help share this valuable information with others, I would greatly appreciate it.

Land Contracts have long been in use in our country as a form of seller financing, however, the potential to the investor has not been fully realized. This book seeks to open some doors of understanding on the potential of utilizing land contracts as a means to further ones investment portfolio, and at the same time help others enjoy the opportunities of home ownership. It is a book that not only discusses the investment potential in an easy to read format, it also discusses the details of the components of the contracts themselves, as well as how to screen a potential buyer, market and sell the homes.

March 9, 2013
by Michael Delaware

Download: ‘Land Contract Homes for Investors’ for Free Today!

In December of 2012, I published two books on the subject of Land Contract homes. They are both available in the Kindle eBook format on Amazon. The first book is entitled: Understanding Land Contract Homes: In Pursuit of the American Dream. It covers the basic subject for both buyers and sellers, and help one understand the fundamentals of how they work, how to structure them and where best to find them. The second book is entitled: Land Contract Homes for Investors. This book covers the subject from an investor point of view, and how to provide Land Contract Homes as a form of seller financing, and make it a great investment opportunity while doing so. Both books are regularly available for just $2.99 each.

As a special promotion, I am making my book: Land Contract Homes for Investors available for free today on Amazon. You can click on the link on the book title here, or on the image of the book to download you copy free today (March 9th, 2013) and avail yourself of this information to get you started as an investor. I ask in return that when you go to the link, you take a moment and click on the ‘Like’ button to encourage others to also look into my books in the future. Additionally, if you could author a positive review of your own for my book, I would greatly appreciate it. You can do this on this link as well.

Land Contract homes have long been in use, and understanding their benefit to investors is a information that I always wanted to share. There is tremendous potential in this form of seller financing, and this book: Land Contract Homes for Investors explores this potential. It covers the different scenarios, and even addresses capital gains, finding properties, screening buyers, and structuring the land contract so everyone wins.

January 1, 2013
by Michael Delaware

My Life as a Writer, and a Look Forward in 2013

I have been an active blogger for over 4 years now, and I have been a writer all my life. I have started many projects, and have many incomplete books in drawers on various topics covering both my experiences and knowledge I have acquired, and wanted to share with others. Until 2012, I never really had broken through and published any of my works, other than share information I learned on my blogs.

Understanding Land Contract Homes: In Pursuit of the American Dream

My first published work available now as an eBook in Kindle format on Amazon.

In December of 2012, I finally published my first two books. They were a combined project that took me six months to compile into a book format, and I was determined to self publish them. I finally released both of these book just before Christmas.

The first book is entitled: Understanding Land Contract Homes: In Pursuit of the American Dream. It covers the basics of understanding the subject of Land Contracts for both buyers and sellers. The follow up book was focused on the viewpoint of the investor in selling homes by means of a Land Contract. It is entitled: Land Contract Homes for Investors.

Both of these books are in the field of real estate, and there will likely be many other topics that I write about in this subject field. However, I have many other books in the planning stages which I intend to release this year in 2013, that are on sales, marketing and even a memoir of 15 years as professional stained glass artist. The book I am working on right now is about sharing my experiences as a sales manager, and the lessons I learned. I hope to have this available for sale in January or February of 2013.

Writing has always been my ambition from the time I was a young man. I wrote short books with my younger brother when I was 9 or 10 years old, and even glued and bound them to share with my parents. They were on crazy humorous topics that we as kids were interested in, but they were representations of my first ambitions as a writer.

Currently my plans include only making books available in eBook format, but I may offer some selected titles in traditional paper form later this year. I look forward to an exciting 2013, and wish everyone who reads this a Happy and Prosperous New Year!

December 31, 2012
by Michael Delaware

Land Contract Homes for Investors by Michael Delaware

I recently published a new book entitled ‘Land Contract Homes for Investors‘ which addresses the subject of Land Contracts from an investors perspective. Buyers in Michigan where I am a licensed Realtor have often approached me inquiring about the existence of homes for sale on Land Contracts. Many want to become homeowners, and there are often few homes available on the market. Often this is because they are sold quickly when they are, and the other reason is not enough investors are educated on the benefits of seller financing.

Land Contract Homes for Investors was written to help fill the gap of missing knowledge out there for investors seeking new ways to survive in real estate during the current times of high foreclosures, and challenging financing terms offered by conventional lending. Seller financing by means of a Land Contract or ‘Contract for Deed‘ as it is sometimes called offers a great return on investment that at present is even superior to most people’s 401K stocks, bonds and mutual funds.

My first book entitled: Understanding Land Contract Homes: In Pursuit of the American Dream was written to educate both buyers and sellers in the process. This second book however, is to educate the investor into the advantages and how to survive successfully in using seller financing to build their investment portfolio. It also addresses issues that were not relevant in the first book, such as capital gains, means to defer capital gains and what exactly are the best ways to market a Land Contract home to find the right buyer.

So Land Contract Homes for Investors is a new viewpoint on the subject, and it is entirely that of the investors viewpoint. It is about not only profit, but also purpose. You will find insight in the book about how to succeed, as well as what to avoid in this type of investment activity.

March 18, 2011
by Michael Delaware 1 Comment

Investment Properties: Where Do You Begin?

When one is looking to take some investment dollars away from Wall Street, and placing it on Main Street in residential investment property, where does the average investor begin? There are countless ‘do it yourself’ investor groups out there on the internet, and many have some good information, but others I have found will lead a new investor into the ditch.

There are many great deals around Southwest Michigan these days.

It is important to have a basic foundation of understanding on the subject, to avoid costly mistakes. One key piece of advice I can offer as a Realtor is to do some homework. What kind of homework? Well for one, study the city you intend to invest in with residential rentals. Ask some other landlords in the area. A good way to reach them is through a landlord association.

Find out what areas of the City do they have a demand for rental homes. Are there any areas that they never seem to have trouble getting tenants? What are the rents? Ask these questions of several different landlords, and plot some of this information on a map. This will help you get a feel for where the demand is.

You will also want to check with the local police department, and find out where the

Investment homes are a growing trend.

troubled areas of the city are, and places they suggest you avoid. I once had an experienced investor describe the perfect neighborhood as one that “You can send your Grandmother to collect rents at on a Saturday night, and have no worries.” As humorous as it sounds, you may have to go collect once in awhile, and this will make sense to you when faced with that situation.

I created a short video on some of this information for the new investor, and have included it here in this blog. If you would like some more information on investment property in Southwest Michigan, give me a call at: (269) 441-8182 or contact me through my website at: www.michaeldelaware.com.

October 25, 2010
by Michael Delaware

An Ideal Time for Residential Property Investors all over Southwest Michigan

This is an ideal time for residential property investors all over Southwest Michigan. Residential property investors will find that prices have never been lower for acquiring quality rental property.

Rural Rental Properties can be a great long term investment.

The landslide of foreclosures in recent years has hit Michigan hard, spurred on by job loss, and other harsh economic conditions. This has displaced many from their homes, and created an increase in bank owned properties.

It is an ideal time for residential property investors all over Southwest Michigan. Rural or small community rental property has many desirable aspects and some negative aspects. On the valuable side of the equation is that there is often a demand from renters for the quiet country life, and therefore these types of rentals in most areas, if the home is in good condition are easy to rent.

The negative side of it is that most of these properties are on a well and septic system, and

There are many great deals around Southwest Michigan these days.

renters can sometimes be hard on septic systems. I have encountered several renters with small children frequently having plumbing calls for the child flushing some toy down the commode. Imagine what this kind of behavior can do to a septic system?

However, careful screening and a solid lease agreement that defines responsibility for certain types of repairs is often the solution for resolving these concerns. Right now in Southwest Michigan, there are many small communities where lower priced homes can be acquired that make good rentals.

Investment property prices have never been lower in history.

This is an ideal time for residential property investors all over Southwest Michigan. Working with a Realtor that knows the area can be a great benefit to getting the jump on the best deals on the market. Frequently you will find manufactured homes on small acreage going for a song, and if you are willing to hold this kind of property for several years, it can be a good return on investment.

Manufactured homes currently are more challenging to finance, and are often slower to sell, but they can be great low cost deals for an investor. Many of these types of homes require very little repairs, and are in good condition, but just have the stigma of being a manufactured home. They make good rentals, and often the asset management companies will sell them from cash at lower prices to offload them from their books if they have been on the market for awhile.

So for information on prospective investment property in Southwest Michigan, contact me through my website at: http://www.michaeldelaware.com/ or give me a call at: 269-441-8182. As a Realtor in the Southwest Michigan area, I will be happy to share my experiences in the various areas to get you started with your portfolio of rental homes. This is an ideal time for residential property investors all over Southwest Michigan.