Cash-on-cash is a rather popular return many real estate investors use for real estate investment analysis because it is easy to compute.
Nonetheless, many investors who forego real estate investment software and attempt to make the calculation themselves are doing it wrong, and therefore it seems appropriate to discuss it.
What is the Cash on Cash Return?
Cash-on-cash measures the ratio between the cash flow a real estate investment property is anticipated to collect during the first year of operation and the amount of cash investment the real estate investor initially makes to purchase the property.
Often, where many real estate investors go wrong when computing cash on cash is not to correctly compute the amount of initial cash investment made to purchase the property. Namely, down payment, loan points, and cost of acquisition (escrow and title fees, appraisal, and inspection costs).
Instead, real estate investors tend to consider only the down payment as the cash investment and ignore inclusion for loan points and other costs associated with the purchase like escrow and title fees.
Perhaps not a major deal, but anyone seeking to compute cash on cash correctly, and as accurately as most real estate investing software solutions, should make the adjustment.
How to Calculate Cash on Cash
Cash on cash is relatively straightforward. Cash Flow divided by Initial Investment equals Cash on Cash Return.
The result is expressed as a percentage. For example, $5,000 cash flow divided by $100,000 cash investment equals 5.0% cash on cash return (or CoC as most APOD's and proformas might show it).
How to Use Cash on Cash during the Real Estate Investing Process
Cash on cash enables the real estate investor to gauge the profitability of one investment opportunity to another quickly. Regardless whether the investment opportunity is residential or commercial real estate or another-type investment, cash on cash is a suitable way to measure the return on cash invested to the anticipated first year's cash flow.
Cash on cash enables the real estate investor to compare similar real estate investment properties easily. Again, whether the investor is considering the purchase of residential or commercial real estate, cash on cash helps the investor to measure and compare returns various real estate investment properties might yield.
Summary
Not unlike most returns useful for real estate investing, by itself, cash on cash should not be used to decide whether a property is fit to buy.
Moreover, in as much as it does not account for time value of money, cash on cash is primarily useful to a real estate investor one time during a real estate investing analysis--as a measurement of the first year cash flow, not future year's cash flows.
Nonetheless, cash on cash is not without advantage, and real estate investors would benefit to compute it when making real estate investing decisions, to work with real estate professionals who can compute it, or when deciding to purchase real estate investor software to be sure the software includes it.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
How To Have Articles Written For As Little As $5 Each!
One of the best ways to get your site indexed is by using our "Article Site Submitter" software. By submitting articles you can get one-way links as well as direct traffic to your web site.
But writing content takes time! Some people can take an hour or more just to write a single short article. That's time that could have been spent doing other things... like creating more Adsense sites!
And not everyone is a good writer. A lot of people have a hard time putting their ideas into words.
Or maybe you have a lot of Adsense sites on many different topics! How do you create articles to promote all of them?
The more effective way is buy hiring writers to create articles for you! It's a lot easier and less expensive than you probably think!
We've hired writers to create over 500 articles for us over the past two years and it has paid off MANY times the price we paid for them.
The following is a step-by-step formula that has worked for us:
Step 1: Compile Your Keywords
If you want the best price on articles, you have to buy a bunch of them at a time. So the first thing you need to do is compile a list of keywords you want your articles written for.
It's a good idea to make sure your keywords aren't too general. In fact, the more specific the better!
For example, if you have a site about "Car Insurance" you could have an article written about "Car Insurance For Women". Or if your site is about student loans, a good keyword would be "Student Loan Interest Rates"
Step 2: Write Your Job Description
When hiring writers, you want to be as specific as possible when it comes to the job description. Just saying, "I'm looking to have 10 articles written on various subjects" isn't going to cut it.
At a minimum, you need to specify the amount of words each article must contain (400-800 is ideal).
Also state your price range. You can say "We want 10 articles written for about $5 each"
You might want to also specify what the keyword density should be. For example, you can say, "The keyword must be repeated at least 7 times throughout the article"
You should also state: "Writers must have a firm grasp of the English language. Good grammar and spelling is a must!"
Also specify that all articles must be original! Any articles that are plagiarized will NOT be accepted!
And finally, ask that all writers give an example of something they've written in the past if possible
Step 3: Post The Project
The following sites are great places to find writers:
http://www.elance.com http://www.scriptlance.com http://www.rentacoder.com
There are a lot more sites out there (do a search for "freelance projects" and you'll find a ton) but these three are the ones we have had the best results with.
Step 4: Give The Writers Time To Bid
After you post your project you will get a couple of bids right away. Resist the urge to contact them! Give it at least 12-24 hours before you choose a writer.
Step 5: Review The Bids
You probably got a bunch of bidders and some of them say they are willing to do the job at the price you requested. Now you have to choose the right one!
First, look at what they said in their bid. How is their spelling/grammar? If their bid is riddled with misspellings, your articles probably will be too!
Also, some freelance sites give previous job posters the ability to "rate" the freelancers. Check to see if YOUR bidders have good feedback/score.
Step 6: Contact The Writer(s)
Now you should contact all the writers that met your qualifications before choosing one for your project.
Give your writers the list of keywords you created in step 1. You could also give them a list of article titles instead.
For example, instead of giving them the keyword "Car Insurance For Women" you could give your writer the title "How Women Can Save Money On Their Car Insurance".
The more specific you are, the better the article will be written.
Tell the writers to create a quick paragraph based on the keyword/title, and wait for their responses.
Step 7: Review Their Responses
We give the writers 24 hours to email us a sample paragraph. Some of them won't contact you at all. But the ones who are serious about completing your project will!
Look over the same paragraph they gave you. Check it for incorrect spellings and bad grammar.
Step 8: Pick a Writter
Choose a writer based on the following:
1. Spelling/Grammar 2. Their Price 3. How quickly they responded to you
...In that order of importance.
Give the winner the entire list of keywords/titles and tell them to submit the articles as soon as they finish each one so you can review them.
Step 9: Paying For The Articles
If the quality of the first article they send you isn't what you expected, cut your loses and pay them for just that article. Let them know you're sorry but the quality of their work isn't what you were expecting.
This is a lot better than having to pay them for all 10-20 articles if they're bad!
Some freelance sites require you to put the money in escrow. If this is the case, it is more difficult to get your money back if you decide not to pay the writer if their quality is poor.
Step 10: Repeat The Process
You should post another job a week or a month later to get more potential writers for you.
When you find a good writer though, work with them directly in the future! Tell them you like their work and ask if they can continue to create articles for you at the same price.
This is a lot easier than going to this process every time you need articles!
Once you have a few good writers at your disposal, you can skip the freelance sites and just email them when you need new articles.
We hope you found this lesson helpful. It might sound like a lot of work... but it's one of the best ways to promote your Adsense sites!
But writing content takes time! Some people can take an hour or more just to write a single short article. That's time that could have been spent doing other things... like creating more Adsense sites!
And not everyone is a good writer. A lot of people have a hard time putting their ideas into words.
Or maybe you have a lot of Adsense sites on many different topics! How do you create articles to promote all of them?
The more effective way is buy hiring writers to create articles for you! It's a lot easier and less expensive than you probably think!
We've hired writers to create over 500 articles for us over the past two years and it has paid off MANY times the price we paid for them.
The following is a step-by-step formula that has worked for us:
Step 1: Compile Your Keywords
If you want the best price on articles, you have to buy a bunch of them at a time. So the first thing you need to do is compile a list of keywords you want your articles written for.
It's a good idea to make sure your keywords aren't too general. In fact, the more specific the better!
For example, if you have a site about "Car Insurance" you could have an article written about "Car Insurance For Women". Or if your site is about student loans, a good keyword would be "Student Loan Interest Rates"
Step 2: Write Your Job Description
When hiring writers, you want to be as specific as possible when it comes to the job description. Just saying, "I'm looking to have 10 articles written on various subjects" isn't going to cut it.
At a minimum, you need to specify the amount of words each article must contain (400-800 is ideal).
Also state your price range. You can say "We want 10 articles written for about $5 each"
You might want to also specify what the keyword density should be. For example, you can say, "The keyword must be repeated at least 7 times throughout the article"
You should also state: "Writers must have a firm grasp of the English language. Good grammar and spelling is a must!"
Also specify that all articles must be original! Any articles that are plagiarized will NOT be accepted!
And finally, ask that all writers give an example of something they've written in the past if possible
Step 3: Post The Project
The following sites are great places to find writers:
http://www.elance.com http://www.scriptlance.com http://www.rentacoder.com
There are a lot more sites out there (do a search for "freelance projects" and you'll find a ton) but these three are the ones we have had the best results with.
Step 4: Give The Writers Time To Bid
After you post your project you will get a couple of bids right away. Resist the urge to contact them! Give it at least 12-24 hours before you choose a writer.
Step 5: Review The Bids
You probably got a bunch of bidders and some of them say they are willing to do the job at the price you requested. Now you have to choose the right one!
First, look at what they said in their bid. How is their spelling/grammar? If their bid is riddled with misspellings, your articles probably will be too!
Also, some freelance sites give previous job posters the ability to "rate" the freelancers. Check to see if YOUR bidders have good feedback/score.
Step 6: Contact The Writer(s)
Now you should contact all the writers that met your qualifications before choosing one for your project.
Give your writers the list of keywords you created in step 1. You could also give them a list of article titles instead.
For example, instead of giving them the keyword "Car Insurance For Women" you could give your writer the title "How Women Can Save Money On Their Car Insurance".
The more specific you are, the better the article will be written.
Tell the writers to create a quick paragraph based on the keyword/title, and wait for their responses.
Step 7: Review Their Responses
We give the writers 24 hours to email us a sample paragraph. Some of them won't contact you at all. But the ones who are serious about completing your project will!
Look over the same paragraph they gave you. Check it for incorrect spellings and bad grammar.
Step 8: Pick a Writter
Choose a writer based on the following:
1. Spelling/Grammar 2. Their Price 3. How quickly they responded to you
...In that order of importance.
Give the winner the entire list of keywords/titles and tell them to submit the articles as soon as they finish each one so you can review them.
Step 9: Paying For The Articles
If the quality of the first article they send you isn't what you expected, cut your loses and pay them for just that article. Let them know you're sorry but the quality of their work isn't what you were expecting.
This is a lot better than having to pay them for all 10-20 articles if they're bad!
Some freelance sites require you to put the money in escrow. If this is the case, it is more difficult to get your money back if you decide not to pay the writer if their quality is poor.
Step 10: Repeat The Process
You should post another job a week or a month later to get more potential writers for you.
When you find a good writer though, work with them directly in the future! Tell them you like their work and ask if they can continue to create articles for you at the same price.
This is a lot easier than going to this process every time you need articles!
Once you have a few good writers at your disposal, you can skip the freelance sites and just email them when you need new articles.
We hope you found this lesson helpful. It might sound like a lot of work... but it's one of the best ways to promote your Adsense sites!
Mortgage Marketing With Realtor Referrals
Getting Your Foot In The Door With Realtor Referral Partnerships
When it comes to selling mortgages, you already know that those inbound mortgage calls are way better than the outbound ones, right? You also know that it is difficult to get your business receiving more inbound calls than outbound calls. The key is to find a way to make that happen so that you are handling calls instead of making them.
The best way to get more calls coming in about mortgages is to get more referrals from real estate agents or real estate mortgage referrals. How, though, are you supposed to get real estate agents, who are always being hounded by mortgage people, to send their clients to you instead of someone else? The answer is to use a variety of techniques to get the right realtors working for you. Follow my advice by following these strategies and you will be amazed at the realtor referral partnerships you create.
Finding the Right Agents
Before you can get agents working with you, you have to find the right agents, right? There are a couple of ways to do that, so consider which ones may work best for you. If you are really ambitious, try using all the methods. Remember, inbound is better than outbound any day.
1) You can work your way to the agents through a good escrow officer. The process is really pretty simple. First, find five big title companies around your area. Use the number one escrow officer at each individual company to perform a transaction and make sure you give out the best possible service to your client. Then, have the officer fill out a customer satisfaction survey at the closing to show off what a great job you do for clients. From there, send a gift to the officer and a week or so later go in and ask for referrals. You have to put in some effort, but you can find some diamonds in the ruff from some top performers this way.
2) Another way to get the right agents is to research. If you talk to your title officer, he or she should be able to tell you who the top real estate agents are in your area. Once you know who the top performers are, then you can target them and woo them for their referral business. If you are going to get referrals you may as well make sure you are getting them from the best, right?
Asking Realtors for Referrals
Once you know who the agents you want to work with are, you have to find a way to get them to talk to you. They need a reason to send their customers to you. So here are ways that may help you get your foot in the door with customers.
The Approach Letter: The approach letter is one of the best ways to make initial contact with a real estate agent. The secret is to tell them what they want to hear and make sure it gets read.
First of all, make sure you are sending out a lot of letters. In fact, it is a good idea to make it part of your routine. Send out one or two letters every day that there is mail service. You can help yourself to stay organized by using computer software.
Next, make sure you send the letter in a manner so that it will get noticed. Making sure the letter gets read is important. You can send it in an overnight package, make it look important, but don't send any chintzy gifts as you can come off as crazy since you don't even know the realtor. No matter what, though, find a way to get eyeballs on what you have to say.
In your letter, be sure to say something useful and to the point. Make sure that you offer some sort of selling proposition, tell about yourself so they know who they are working with, and give them a heads up that you will be calling in a day or two to schedule a face to face meeting to further describe the selling proposition.
Using a Program
There are never enough ways out there for you to get in partnership with real estate agents. After all, they are the ones that are in front of the clients out there. So if you do not know about letters and phone calls, consider some other methods out there. Find a golden mortgage marketing strategy that produces results.
If you do some research, you will find that there are programs out there that can help you partner up. In fact, there are some that can help you get real estate agents calling you instead of vice versa. Just like with mortgage customers, inbound calls are always better than outbound calls.
When it comes to selling mortgages, you already know that those inbound mortgage calls are way better than the outbound ones, right? You also know that it is difficult to get your business receiving more inbound calls than outbound calls. The key is to find a way to make that happen so that you are handling calls instead of making them.
The best way to get more calls coming in about mortgages is to get more referrals from real estate agents or real estate mortgage referrals. How, though, are you supposed to get real estate agents, who are always being hounded by mortgage people, to send their clients to you instead of someone else? The answer is to use a variety of techniques to get the right realtors working for you. Follow my advice by following these strategies and you will be amazed at the realtor referral partnerships you create.
Finding the Right Agents
Before you can get agents working with you, you have to find the right agents, right? There are a couple of ways to do that, so consider which ones may work best for you. If you are really ambitious, try using all the methods. Remember, inbound is better than outbound any day.
1) You can work your way to the agents through a good escrow officer. The process is really pretty simple. First, find five big title companies around your area. Use the number one escrow officer at each individual company to perform a transaction and make sure you give out the best possible service to your client. Then, have the officer fill out a customer satisfaction survey at the closing to show off what a great job you do for clients. From there, send a gift to the officer and a week or so later go in and ask for referrals. You have to put in some effort, but you can find some diamonds in the ruff from some top performers this way.
2) Another way to get the right agents is to research. If you talk to your title officer, he or she should be able to tell you who the top real estate agents are in your area. Once you know who the top performers are, then you can target them and woo them for their referral business. If you are going to get referrals you may as well make sure you are getting them from the best, right?
Asking Realtors for Referrals
Once you know who the agents you want to work with are, you have to find a way to get them to talk to you. They need a reason to send their customers to you. So here are ways that may help you get your foot in the door with customers.
The Approach Letter: The approach letter is one of the best ways to make initial contact with a real estate agent. The secret is to tell them what they want to hear and make sure it gets read.
First of all, make sure you are sending out a lot of letters. In fact, it is a good idea to make it part of your routine. Send out one or two letters every day that there is mail service. You can help yourself to stay organized by using computer software.
Next, make sure you send the letter in a manner so that it will get noticed. Making sure the letter gets read is important. You can send it in an overnight package, make it look important, but don't send any chintzy gifts as you can come off as crazy since you don't even know the realtor. No matter what, though, find a way to get eyeballs on what you have to say.
In your letter, be sure to say something useful and to the point. Make sure that you offer some sort of selling proposition, tell about yourself so they know who they are working with, and give them a heads up that you will be calling in a day or two to schedule a face to face meeting to further describe the selling proposition.
Using a Program
There are never enough ways out there for you to get in partnership with real estate agents. After all, they are the ones that are in front of the clients out there. So if you do not know about letters and phone calls, consider some other methods out there. Find a golden mortgage marketing strategy that produces results.
If you do some research, you will find that there are programs out there that can help you partner up. In fact, there are some that can help you get real estate agents calling you instead of vice versa. Just like with mortgage customers, inbound calls are always better than outbound calls.
Freelance Jobs
Freelance jobs are an excellent way to make money online. Outsourcing has become a major way to do business competitively. There are numerous ways to freelance online and several good websites that match buyers and providers for freelance projects. There are several different categories of freelance jobs, and these range from creative or descriptive article writing to complete web site design, and everything in between.
To be successful at freelancing, and to actually make money online from it, you must be able to work independently and meet project deadlines. There is no boss reminding you of things, so being organized is a plus if you plan on freelancing. Sit down and list all of the skills and qualifications that you have. Honestly assess how well you can use a computer and the Internet. Figure out what operating systems and software you are proficient with. These facts will determine exactly what freelance job categories you are qualified for.
There are a number of websites that you can join to bid on freelance jobs to make money online. Most of these sites are free to browse jobs, but if you win a bid and accept the project then there is usually a fee unless you are a member and pay a monthly or yearly fee. If you plan on doing a lot of freelance work to make money online, then it is a good idea to pay a flat fee per month and save some money. This is because the fees can add up to hundreds of dollars each month, depending on which job categories you qualify for and can do successfully. Some web design projects may pay a thousand dollars or more for one or two weeks work.
Only use freelance programs that offer an escrow feature for your own protection. An escrow account ensures that you receive payment for your work, and it also guarantees the buyer that the project is completed to their satisfaction before the money is released. A lot of these sites allow the provider and the buyer to rate each other after the project is complete, and these reviews are available to other buyers and providers. This allows buyers to evaluate the quality and professionalism of your skills, and lets other potential sources of income know how you rate as a freelancer.
To make money online by doing freelance jobs, you must first honestly evaluate what categories of jobs you would be successful at. Once you have decided this, research some of the freelance websites out there and join one or two at least. Browse through the available jobs and bid on the ones you can do. Once you have bid and won a project then you can accept it. Never start the project until the money has been deposited into an escrow account, so that you do not end up working for free. Making money online by doing freelance jobs is very possible if you know how.
To be successful at freelancing, and to actually make money online from it, you must be able to work independently and meet project deadlines. There is no boss reminding you of things, so being organized is a plus if you plan on freelancing. Sit down and list all of the skills and qualifications that you have. Honestly assess how well you can use a computer and the Internet. Figure out what operating systems and software you are proficient with. These facts will determine exactly what freelance job categories you are qualified for.
There are a number of websites that you can join to bid on freelance jobs to make money online. Most of these sites are free to browse jobs, but if you win a bid and accept the project then there is usually a fee unless you are a member and pay a monthly or yearly fee. If you plan on doing a lot of freelance work to make money online, then it is a good idea to pay a flat fee per month and save some money. This is because the fees can add up to hundreds of dollars each month, depending on which job categories you qualify for and can do successfully. Some web design projects may pay a thousand dollars or more for one or two weeks work.
Only use freelance programs that offer an escrow feature for your own protection. An escrow account ensures that you receive payment for your work, and it also guarantees the buyer that the project is completed to their satisfaction before the money is released. A lot of these sites allow the provider and the buyer to rate each other after the project is complete, and these reviews are available to other buyers and providers. This allows buyers to evaluate the quality and professionalism of your skills, and lets other potential sources of income know how you rate as a freelancer.
To make money online by doing freelance jobs, you must first honestly evaluate what categories of jobs you would be successful at. Once you have decided this, research some of the freelance websites out there and join one or two at least. Browse through the available jobs and bid on the ones you can do. Once you have bid and won a project then you can accept it. Never start the project until the money has been deposited into an escrow account, so that you do not end up working for free. Making money online by doing freelance jobs is very possible if you know how.
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