Realty411 Magazine The Future of Real Estate is Here | Page 83

Vet Out Turn-Key Property Providers, pg. 24
Our member told me,
“Earlier this year, I
had spoken with
the guy current-
ly behind bars
and explained
how reneging on
commitments (guar-
antees, payments) made
during the property purchase would
undermine confidence in the company.
He believed, probably rightly so, that if
the company didn’t make such across
the board adjustments, the whole
company would go under. According
to the lawsuit, it was his partner who
relied on the above more desperate
title fraud approaches to raise cash and
keep the company going.” Whatever
the reason, no one wants to get stuck
in a situation like this, and they don’t
have to. There are so many ways to
protect yourself when buying real
estate. I asked our member what advice
he’d give. Here’s what he said:
10 Ways to Protect Yourself
1. Do not invest all your capital or
entire retirement in one geo-
graphic area, especially a
distressed location.
2. It’s best to avoid
highly distressed regions
if you are a first-time
investor.
3. Use a reputable title company
or attorney to make sure the property is
properly recorded at purchase.
4. Always purchase title insurance to
ensure clear title.
5. Be leery of turnkey deals that isolate
the owner too much from rental property
operations and financials.
6. Prior to purchase, insist on hiring your
own property inspector.
7. Determine how the appraiser was
selected. I suspect that Bay Area Equity
Group was trying to influence the apprais-
al process.
8. Visit the property (or at least visit the
area initially so you understand what
you’re buying).
9. Look up public records so you know
who currently owns it, how much it
sold for before and if it has an IRS tax
lien or other liens.
10. Ask for a scope of work done prior
to purchase, and verify it with an inde-
pendent inspector.
Real Wealth Network has been vetting
out property sellers since 2003. These
are just a few of the items on our check-
list. If you’d like to receive the full due
diligence checklist or receive a list of
companies that passed our scrutiny,
simply visit www.RealWealthNetwork.
com or call 888.RWNetwork
About the Author: Kathy Fettke is the
CEO and Co-Founder of Real Wealth
Network. She specializes in helping
people build multi-million dollar real
estate portfolios through creative
finance and planning. Kathy is also
host of The Real Wealth Show and is a
frequent guest on CNBC, FOX Business
News, CNN and CBS MarketWatch.