RE Investors, Property  Managers, Home Owners, Realtors and Brokers struggle with the problem of stolen air conditioners every year at vacant houses.  Investors are continually looking for better and cheaper ways to eliminate theft.  We have found a cheap, easy and fast solution for the do it yourself investor to limit or prevent entirely the opportunity for someone to steal, or walk off with your air conditioner at a vacant house or any home.

Real Estate Investor Tip 1 How to Save Your Air Conditioner from Thieves

Link to the Short Video REI Tip

I just bought a sparkling cub cadet lawnmower for a killer price. It is one year old, self-propelled, mulches, every new feature, and I think you get the idea.  It was just like buying a house in this down market. Great deal, clean and neat, right color, big, sparkles.  Well not everything is as it seems all the time.  Sometimes there is a reason for the low price that is not as obvious to the untrained eye.

As a full time investor I look at lots of houses.  I look at hundreds of homes.  I have heard just about every story and seen most types of sellers’ peddling their houses. The Georgia Real Estate market I know but lawnmowers I do not know.  Do not get confused this story has a point.

The shiny, new looking, bright yellow lawnmower I got such a great deal on does not work.  Why doesn’t my great deal look so great now?  Well, let me tell you. I drained the gas, put in new gas, looked at replacing the spark plug, and looked at the air filter to see if it was clogged.  Next I took the top of the case off to check the magnetos and electrical connections.  I turned my lawn mowing machine over to see if it was bound up or hung up, then pulled on the rope starter 75 times until I was out of breath and my arm hurt.

Nothing worked and I thought maybe I just got taken.  Well as an investor, and buyer of Real Estate in Georgia,   I have learned to always have a way out or exit strategy.  Never buy any home at such a high price that you cannot sell it as a fixer upper and get out of the deal if you do not want to keep the house.

I thought with this lawnmower project I had the secret weapon…. I could not go wrong.  If I could not get it to run quickly my son could he is and engineer, a forensic engineer to be exact.  He can fix anything given enough time.  He was coming home and I would get him to look at this little project of mine.  I have seen him modify a Mecedes Benz, completely rebuild a 7.3 liter diesel engine, change out a truck rear end and transmission, and rebuild an entire F250 truck.  He even made a car rotisserie for a car repair shop once and custom designed and built scales for a race car driver that runs around the Atlanta Motor Speedway.  This little lawnmower problem I thought if I can’t make it work he can.

We spent his birthday working on my little lawnmower project.  He got it started but it would not stay running.  He took it and the carburetor apart. It needs parts. It needs a new carburetor. The ethanol gas had rotted and clogged it up.  My secret weapon had done his part, but now I need to spend some big money to replace the problem parts.  My great deal is now a deal with a lot of work invested, a lot of time invested and extra expenses.  So much for my story, here is the conclusion.

Buying a HUD home could be a great deal.  Let the buyer beware.  Just remember, a foreclosed home is often a neglected home.  If the home owner who lost it, could not pay the monthly note, how could they afford the upkeep and maintenance?  Bank owned usually means no one bought the house at the foreclosure auction.  Low cost may mean the copper pipes are gone and the septic tank is plugged or broken.

You may get a fixer upper house or you may just help stimulate the economy by buying a home for too much money and spend days, months, or years before you can live in it or sell it for a fair price.  You may be the lucky one and get a great deal and it is “move in” ready with no problems.  Do not hold your breath for this deal.

If you need a good deal on a home now, there are places to look and deals already on the books.  A O Home Solutions has a list of home owner and investor deals already under contract. Most of these homes come with a home warranty and a warranty deed.  The HUD homes I have seen come with a limited warranty deed and no home warranty.

You now get to decide on the possible yellow lemon deal or a safe and sound deal?  See your safe choices at www.sellorbuyhouses.com

Mark

First impressions count.  When selling your house, you have less than a minute to get someone to buy into liking or loving your home.  If you want to sell your home in this market for some reason other than low price you need to differentiate your house from the manyof similar homes on the market.  When someone goes house shopping looks do count.  The pictures above are of the same house.

The yard work really pumps up the the appeal on this Georgia house. Clean, neat, organized, and uncluttered houses have the edge in the market. With hundreds or thousands of homes for sale in any given market right now, your house needs to stand out.  This is another quick tip from Mark at  A O Home Solutions “your one stop shop for Real Estate”.

If you want to buy a house in Georgia now check out

www.aohomesolutions.com or www.gadiscountproperties.com

If you need to sell a house fast check out

www.granddadbuyshouses.com or www.sellmyhouseinga.com

Mark

My son and I were fortunate enough to have a retired ranger sniper and his son (who is currently a 1000 yard shooting champion) set us up and show us how to shoot the distance.  As an avid hunter, I would have never believed  I could shoot a target at a 1000 yards ( over ½ mile)  unless I actually did it.   The picture below shows one of five shots at 1000 yards in the black.  The view is from the spotting scope. This was my shot.

The 1000 yard shot

The next picture is me making the 1000 yard shot in the prone position facing the target with a savage 308 and a custom made bullet. Factory ammo is not accurate enough at this distance.

I will be the first to say without Ben and his Father’s help I would not have been able to hit the target let alone hit the x on the next shot.

If you want to know more and how to shoot like a pro you need to check out http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1156556564#!/pages/Cool-Acres-Sporting-Camp/157591414274290

These guys really know their stuff.  Great sport camp, excellent accommodations, super people, the best atmosphere anywhere and lots to do.

Now if you want to know how to get the best deal purchasing or leasing a home or a house or a true home run or  a thousand yard shot on picking the right house >>

check out www. AOHomeSolutions.com

Call Mark at 770-480-0209  We can find you that once in a lifetime deal.

Often the best house to buy is the house that is ready to live in today. Time is important.  If you want to do rehab that is great but takes time, money, skills and knowledge. The house we are looking at in this example was just refinished by professional remodelers with years of experience in under a month.

Something as simple as hanging antique or wooden doors so they glide smoothly in the tracks is a skill not every homeowner or remodeler knows.  At A O Home Solutions we use professionals for our remodeling work.  The picture show one pro working on squaring up the door in every direction before it is rehung. Having everything work well on a door after removing carpet and adding trim and reinstalling new hardware is not as simple as it looks.  No one like squeaky doors, doors that don’t shut all the way, do not lock, doors that hang crocked, or doors that are hard to open.

Pro working to rehang door properly

Buying a home with real hardwood floors is another area that needs to be checked closely before purchase. Professional remodelers know how to sand, prep, and put the right material on the floor to make it look like glass. A properly refinished floor not only looks great but is easy to clean for many years. A floor completed improperly can cause years of headaches and the poly coating can flake off.  A floor sanded too deep can make it weak and change the structural integrity of the house.

Refinished Hardwood Floors

The laminate floors most people put in over plywood today look good but may have problems in as little as six months if not completed properly.  Make sure the laminate wood floor is a medium or better grade has been properly glued or floated and trimmed so the edges are tight all through the house.

If you are a rehabber, the options are endless for redoing homes to a specific period or remodeling and upgrading for today.  There are advantages to doing the work yourself.  There are also advantages to letting the pros do the work and then just moving in and enjoying the home.

Not much can compare to purchasing a great home for less than it cost to build it. Clean and neat homes in the right neighborhood are not hard to find right now, if you know where to look. A O Home Solutions has many great deals in Georgia , McDonough, Stockbridge, Jackson, Forest Park and several metro Atlanta areas.

Remodeling can be fun but can also be dangerous. Painting a home built before 1978 has some special rules due to the lead based paint used in and on houses built in 1978 and before.  You can be fined for scraping and repainting your own home today if it was built in that period and you the owner and/or the painter have not taken and received proper certification to work on houses. The fine is over $30000 in Georgia.  Does it sound odd that you can get fined for remodeling your own home? After all who is to know you painted and scraped a wall if you do not tell anyone right?  That is not the point. Safety is the point. There are safety and health issues involved with scraping and repairing walls in an older home.

Great deals are out there everywhere but make sure you know what you are buying when you pick that Ideal Georgia Home or a house where ever you wish to live.  Owning Your Own Home is a great long term investment.

Mark

For Sale: 3BR/2BA Single Family House in McDonough, GA, $800.

Owner finance

Atlanta, the metro area or most anywhere are now being used by people who want to own their own home now.

Prices are at the lowest in over a decade.  Deals are all over if you know how and where to look. Most people if they can afford normal rent can own a home today.  One way to buy is known as Rent to own. home

Interest rates are the best they have been for the home buyer in many years.  Many sellers are allowing investors to buy homes at exceptional rates. This is a buyer’s market for homes.  If an investor buys a house for a real deal he can often lease purchase it to someone in need of a home or finance it to a home buyer. The advantage to the buyer is the house was purchased at a great deal and the interest rate is usually lower than you can obtain now on the open market.  What this means for the home buyer or Lease purchase buyer is the investor or seller doesn’t have to mark it up much and it is still a deal for a buyer who wants to own their own home now.

Investors are just as eager to sell houses in Georgia as people are to buy houses.  Owner financing has been around for as long as homes have been for sale.  When the banks and Wall Street  got greedy and decided to jump in and start making loans to everyone and do things they had not fully thought out ,the housing market crashed.

You can buy a house in Georgia for less than it costs to build a house right now.  With Owner Financing the house, one often makes a great deal on the purchase over time.  Lease Purchase Atlanta means minimum down and maximum benefit and if you do not want the house at the end of the term you can walk away with no foreclosure and no one hurt. Try Lease Purchase USA for some great ideas and tips and homes.

Ultimately it is up to the consumer to decide if they want to own a home. The long term advantages still make home ownership a great deal.   Just review the facts.  One can buy a house now at less than full price, pay less than the average mortgage, have all the tax benefits and pay it off sooner with owner financing. Why would anyone choose to rent?

Mark

1. Clean up your paperwork and books.  Make sure you’ve got deeds, leases, and closing documents in order.  Make sure everything is entered before year end and you send it to your tax person for first review before the busy tax season starts.

2. Clean Up Your Office.  The rule is “If it has not been needed in the last six months and will not be needed for taxes, trash it”. Shred every piece of paper you don’t need for documentation.

3. Backup Your Computer. Things always blow up at year end and holidays.

4.  If you lent your company any money, document it with promissory notes so you get the proper tax benefit.  Pay any subscriptions forward and deduct the expenses when paid.

5. Make Offers on Properties.  Prices are at historic lows. People and Companies are trying to finish the year strong, so make offers and set the closing date before year end to get maximum attention and the lowest possible price.

6.  Send out  those holiday Cards, Christmas baskets or other marketing pieces and get the tax deduction before year end.

7. Make Your Christmas List Tax Deductible.  Instead of your spouse buying you what you need, have your BUSINESS buy you that laptop you need for the office.

8.  Write your 2012 Goals now while you can think.  Do not wait until Jan. to rush writing goals.

9 Put your Corporate Records in Order.  You need an annual meeting of shareholders and directors documented with minutes in your corporate record book. Depending on the company this tax deduction may be in Hawaii or some warm place.

Holiday Sales from

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from www.aohomesolutions.com

and Mark N

first posted at http://wp.me/p10XAf-q

Weapons that changed History

There are turning points in every business cycle and economy.
This was a turning point in military history for the US.

Pam and I were at the fort this year holding one of the rifled shells used to break through the walls and change the course of Georgia and US history.
In the days before the Civil War, brick forts were America’s main defense against overseas enemies. In one two-day battle during the early stages of the Civil War, new technology proved its superiority to brick forts. The Union army used “a new and improved technology”, rifled cannons to bust through the walls of Fort Pulaski at Tybee Island, Georgia and bring about surrender by Confederates inside the fort. After this battle the US never built a built a brick fort again to defend the country or a state.
History usually repeats itself unless something changes. What can you do today if you cannot get a bank loan on a home but you still need somewhere to live? The old options of renting or leasing do not have to be the way you move into the future. A O Home Solutions has the solution. We have Owner Financed Homes under contract ready for you.
No or low upfront or down payments and monthly notes cheaper than rent. If you need a home, do not wait for a new battle, new deal or new economy. Prices have never been better and we have many Georgia Owner financed homes to pick from and Lease Purchase home deals for you right now.

Big or small houses for all!
Call Mark today 770-480-0209