Referrals are great for any business so why not use them in your real estate investing business? Word of mouth can generate great, steady income if it spreads to the right people. So how do you start using referrals in your real estate business?

In real estate investing, they are called “bird dogs”. Bird dogs are people you have working for you who go out and find deals and bring them to you. You can choose to pay them per lead they bring you, or per deal.

If you pay them per lead, $5-$10 for each is a typical amount and if you pay them per deal, $1,000-$1,500 per deal is typical. You want to pay a fee high enough to keep the bird dogs working for you and coming back with more and more deals which mean more profit for you.

How and where to do you find bird dogs? You can put an ad in your local newspaper or on Craigslist. Your local REIA (Real Estate Investors Association) meetings are another great place to find bird dogs.

At most REIA meetings, there is a networking table where you are allowed to place flyers and advertisements. Simply make a flyer stating you are looking for people to bring you deals and that you pay referral fees.

Once you find your bird dogs, you will want to provide them with training. You will want to clearly explain to them what you arelooking for and what you are not looking for.

If you really want to systemize your bird dog system, create a training manual outlining your process and what types of properties they should bring you. You may even want to include photos of houses that meet your criteria and houses that don’t. Like the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words.

It is helpful to provide your bird dogs with tools as well. You may purchase them magnetic vehicle signs or t-shirts that say “I Buy Houses.” That way, when your bird dogs are around town, they can attract homeowners with houses for sale. At that point, the bird dog takes the homeowner’s information and passes it along to you.

When bird dog finds you a deal, you will do your research on the property and contact the seller. You are responsible for turning that lead into a deal.

Be careful of real estate laws. Some states do not allow individuals without a real estate license to receive referral fees for real estate. If this is a problem where you live, you will want to structure the payment in a different way that is not referral based.

Remember, just like your real estate investing business, your bird dog referral system needs to be consistently advertised. It is like a business within a business. You will need to continuously spread the word that you are looking for people to bring you deals so you can keep those deals coming.

Jared Lim is widely known for his innovative real estate marketing apparel, Money Magnet Shirts. After generating a ton of leads with a t-shirt he designed as a joke, Jared designed a full line of apparel. The entire selection of apparel, can be found at www.MoneyMagnetShirts.com

Commercial property loans are used by many sectors of the business world to finance future investments and expansion efforts to grow a business.

With the recent collapse of the U.S. sub-prime mortgage market, credit is increasingly difficult for consumers to come by. Lenders are reducing their exposure to high-risk ventures. Lingering uncertainty about the credit market as well as the stability of the international money market causes widespread reluctance to finance ventures.

Fortunately for investors seeking commercial real estate financing, the commercial sector is not directly affected by these developments. Although riskier ventures will still be more difficult to finance with credit, the current economic climate has not stalled lenders.

With the recent developments in both the U.S., and across the international credit market, debt is becoming a well known concept.

While economic uncertainty would demand that all investors be prudent about entering into debt, most Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries are not in recession. In fact, they have actually experienced record growth and prosperity over the past decade. This lends some robustness to the major western economies.

Most business expansion is financed using commercial loans, so provided debt is entered into for purposes of investment, building, and expansion of the business (rather than a fundamental cash-flow problem). Debt is not in itself a negative thing. It is the return on that debt that is the problem.

Commercial real estate financing can be secured to fund the purchase of land for infrastructure and services development. Power plants, streets, utilities, shopping complexes, office or apartment buildings, parking facilities, parks, resorts, and golf courses, and even medical clinics or private hospitals are just a few such real estate investments.

Frequently, commercial property loans are sought as a means of refinancing existing debt to increase the total value of the investment. It is possible for private investors and companies to make a career in the reiterative process of reinvestment. Financing the cost of expansion against the projected profits of the venture can be quite lucrative.

It is true that there is still some volatility and uncertainty about the stability of the western economies. Consequently, investors should be as vigilant as ever about entering into unprofitable arrangements. Such factors influencing profitability include cost blowouts, too little potential return, or inherently risky ventures.

Investment consultants have made a market for themselves in advising smaller scale investors on commercial real estate financing, and providing them with the means of determining which projects are worth entering into, based on the available information. This includes taking into account the possible blowouts, and considering what might go wrong with any given project.

By applying basic rules of thumb, and not investing beyond certain thresholds, investors can increase their chances of sticking to projects that are within their means.

With the use of specialized software, this process can be further streamlined, allowing financiers to quickly weed out which projects are potentially unprofitable. Based on the available data and taking into account uncertainties and potential threats to the project, financiers can make smarter lending decisions.

Taking advantage of commercial real estate financing in the current market can be lucrative for you. If you are looking for a way to grow your business, investing in property is a potential solution. The professionals at KISCL offer software to make the task easier. http://www.kiscl.com

Forced appreciation has often been compared to printing money. In apartment investing, taking a few simple steps this will give you the ability to increase the commercial real estate rents.

Forced appreciation is often as simple as new landscaping for your investment, or adding amenities and services such as cable or wireless Internet service. They are simple steps that are not overly expensive, but that give you the ability to raise rents higher than the past owner was able to get for the property. You can also offer premium suites to discerning tenants. This may have an initial cost for refurbishing, but it will also allow you to rent them at a much increased price. These simple ways allow you to use your property management to create a better environment for your apartment investing, giving it an advantage and creating an increase in income.

You also have the option to impose and enforce late fees on any non-paid rents by tenants if they aren’t paid by the date specified when the lease was signed.

There are other income opportunities in apartment building investing or property management such as parking and garage rentals, laundry facilities, storage, vending machines with candy, soda, or soap powder; pay phones and video machines in the laundry facility. By adding amenities such as these, the property is more convenient for the tenant, and it also creates some extra income from the building. It may also make the building more attractive to potential tenants that come to see a unit.

In every apartment building there are pet lovers who are willing to pay extra for their pets. Allow pets at premium rents and charge pet fees for each pet. Adding cellular towers, billboards and gift shops to the property will also earn you extra income in your apartment investing.

Decreasing expenses is another way to get money out of your property. These expenses include property tax, utilities, maintenance, management efficiencies and insurance. These expanses can all be passed on to the tenants. It is always wise in commercial real estate to decrease what expenditures you are able, as this increases your income and makes the property management job easier.

Also, make every attempt to decrease vacancy. Less vacancies means more rental income, getting the best result with your commercial property management. Move-in specials are one way the property management can keep the rental units filled. Gross leases, tenant referrals and increasing advertising are just some of the ways to bring in more potential tenants and keep vacancies at bay. Just like any other business, apartment building investing requires needs proper advertising. But, it may be the extra amenities that entice potential tenants.

David Jackson is a real estate investor & author who has found a niche in apartment investing. Find out how you can buy apartments while being broke & with no money of your own at http://www.mymassivecashflow.com. Register for his newsletter & claim a CD at http://www.freeapartmentbuyingtips.com

Those who are fortunate enough to call Southern Louisiana home are well aware that the weather is rather agreeable most of the year for some sort of outdoor activities. There are few days throughout the year when the weather is too disagreeable to enjoy the great outdoor. The Tammany Trace allows those who call this area home to enjoy the best nature has to offer almost any season of the year.

The Tammany Trace is a huge draw when it comes to Mandeville Louisiana real estate. Part of the reason is the increasing focus on health and fitness that is being recognized across the United States.

Another is that people simply want to have a safe place to ride bicycles with each other and their children. They want a safe place to take a walk in the evening and enjoy the beautiful scenery. The Tammany Trace offers exactly that to those seeking Mandeville, Louisiana real estate.

Of course, those who already call this area home have plenty of opportunities to get out and enjoy the great outdoors with events planned along the trace, outdoor activities on Lake Pontchartrain, and easy access to some of the best festivals, flea markets, and fairs that can be enjoyed under the Cajun sun.

If you are looking for a home in the area, you need not limit your search to Mandeville or Covington, Louisiana. Real estate abounds in all five cities that make up the 31-mile Tammany Trace. Other cities where real estate can be found in this desirable landscape include Abita Springs, Lacombe, and Slidell.

If you are looking for a family friendly place to call home, any of these cities should provide a little something special to your search.

Some of the activities that may be enjoyed on the Tammany Trace, an old railway that has been converted into a trail, include running, jogging, walking, riding horses, bicycling, and roller bladeing.

During daylight hours, Rangers regularly patrol the trails in order to further the feeling of security. If you are looking for a great place to get a little exercise or just something to do a few times a week, or daily, then it is quite possible that property near the trail would be a good investment for your needs.

There are also events that take place along the trail on occasion. Keep a lookout for upcoming events, as they are often very family friendly and a lot of fun for everyone. Kids of all ages enjoy life in the Tammany Trace area and Mandeville real estate is in high demand as a result.

If you have exhausted the resources in Mandeville, Louisiana real estate be sure to check out the real estate offerings in Covington, Louisiana before giving up your search for the perfect home along Tammany Trace. The Trace winds through all of the area towns.

If quality of life is a key ingredient when selecting your next home, be sure to check out the fabulous finds available in Covington, Louisiana real estate. You never know when you are going to find the one home that is just right for the right price.

The sense of community and the great warm climate of Southern Louisiana combined with the stunning architecture of many of the areas homes make a great combination for family fun any time of the year.

For Mandeville real estate information, contact Gregg Tepper, Prudential Gardner and the rest of the Home Selling Team. They are professionals experienced in St. Tammany and Tangipahoa Parishes and surrounding communities. Online at http://www.greggtepper.com/

The real estate syndicate is a pooling of resources of many investors to buy a building or long-term lease-hold. When you buy an interest or participation in a real estate syndicate, you buy a part of a building or the lease-hold.

The real estate syndicate with large public participation is about 10 years old. It sure is big business now. Forbes Magazine estimate that in 1958-1959 3 billion dollars worth of public participations in syndicates were sold.

There must be good reasons for this success and there are. Investors are promised and get substantial returns such as 10 percent, 12 percent or more per year, part of it tax sheltered. Good syndications offer a reasonable degree of security. Many investors have been rewarded with substantial income and even growth of their equity. But others have lost money.

Are you going to invest in a syndicate that will continue to make payments in 10 or 15 years from now and perhaps increase its payments? Or are you going to invest in a loser? The answer is simple: know what you buy. Our problem then is to get the facts on which to make a decision. Where and how do you get that information?

How to get information

First make sure you have the full brochure or prospectus, not just the “Sales letter”. Most real estate syndicators are honest and want to give you all the pertinent facts in their brochure. Many syndicators are members of the Association of Real Estate Syndicators, Inc., whose code of ethics requires full disclosure of all material facts. Furthermore, most state laws require full disclosure of all important facts. If the offering is in “interstate commerce”, that is if the offering is made in several states, the prospectus must conform to the disclosure provisions of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Syndicator and You

You will receive a booklet (the brochure or prospectus) crammed full with information concerning the propery, its tenants, location, the projected distributions, leases, mortgages, refinancing, distribution of proceeds of sale, repurchase agreement, tax treatment, opinion from attorneys and accountants, lease-backs and summary of purchase contact. Before you get this, someone must have done some work to get the project so far under way. Someone did.

The promoter of the syndicate – we shall refer to him as the syndicator – has probably put a great deal of time and effort and also money into the syndicate. In today’s market, he had to look at many properties to find one that promises to yield a sufficient return with a reasonable degree of safety to make it suitable for syndication. Then he had to deposit money when he signed the purchase contract.

Next he conferred with attorneys, accountants, and probably obtained rulings from the director of Internal Revenue. Then he had to lay out more money for printing and other promotion expenses. All this is a full time job. But he still does not know whether the syndicate comes off the ground. Perhaps you, the investor, and others like you don’t like this deal. If that is the case, the deal falls through and the syndicator has wasted a great deal of time, lost his deposit and also his other expenses.

As you can see, the syndicator has a man-size job. Very often he incurs substantial risks. For his work, his imagination, the risk which he takes, the syndicator is entitled to make a profit on the deal. You may be sure he has counted himself in, even if it is not obvious on first reading of the brochure.

If you begrudge the syndicator a reasonable profit, you better stay out of the syndicate. But even if you agree that the syndicator is entitled to a reasonable profit, you should know what he makes and how he makes it. You determine for yourself whether it is reasonable (by comparing it with other deals).

Investigate the process thoroughly and you might find this is an investment for you.

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