Free Business And Real Estate Investing eBooks

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Welcome to Winston Rowe and Associates knowledge blog, scroll down to the right for posts about commercial real estate.

This is a list of free books about real estate investing, commercial real estate financing and business strategy.

We’re always on the lookout for great free books so bookmark this blog and check back for monthly updates.

These links are not affiliate marketing links, just publications that we feel may add value to people and businesses.

Commercial Real Estate Finance

The eBook Commercial Real Estate Finance, by Winston Rowe & Associates discusses the fundamentals of the different types of commercial property, the various options that are included with properties and the capabilities that you will have as a commercial property investor.

Real Estate Investing Articles

This is a link to 1226 real estate investing articles written by industry veteran’s.

25 Productivity Tips for Successful Business Owners

Productivity is critical to your success at work. Business owners, managers and executives all want to get the most from their employees. If you’re not performing as efficiently or effectively as others, your long-term job prospects could be in trouble.

Real Estate Investing: How to Find Cash Buyers and Motivated Sellers

“Real Estate Investing: How to Find Cash Buyers and Motivated Sellers” teaches real estate investors and those interested in learning to invest in real estate how to define and target ideal cash buyers and motivated sellers. The book covers absentee owners, rehab investors, Section 8 landlords, and other buyer types. Some of the marketing topics include mailing lists, postcards, both online and offline marketing strategies along with examples. Anyone who wants to wholesale a house or is curious about flipping houses should pick this book to get educated on cash buyers and motivated sellers for their real estate investing.

Real Estate – Breaking Bad How to Flip Decaying Real Estate Properties for Profit

Tired of working 9 to 5? You should think of making money with real estate! Yes, the effort is well worth it! You just have to ditch the misconceptions and embark with all the passion you have in store for this amazing trip of rehabbing old houses and giving them a new look and a new owner.  Your reward? A nice profit!

Real Estate Forms Portfolio

A FREE and ready-for-download eBook consisting of a comprehensive collection of real estate-related forms for real estate investors.

Real Estate Secrets Exposed

This FREE e-Book sheds some light on the often mysterious and sometimes daunting world of real estate.

Use 1031 Real Estate Exchanges to Create Multiple Streams of Income

Discover how to use 1031 tax-free exchanges, tenants in common interests, and zero cash flow properties to create new sources of income. Learn how to offer bundled services and attract new clients. This FREE, ready for download eBook is perfect for anyone involved in real estate, taxes, mortgages, insurance, or law.  Download it now!

Make Money Through Real Estate Renovations

Download this FREE eBook and learn how a successful investor makes thousands of dollars from real estate renovations. Download it now!

Discover the Secrets of How to Fund Your Real Estate Deals with Private Lenders

Download this FREE e-Book, and discover the new secrets of funding real estate deals in the post-bubble real estate market, where traditional lending sources are getting very difficult to obtain. Download it today!

Real Estate Investing Strategy for Rehabs

This eBook is about residential rehabbing and the multiple strategies that can be used to maximize profits in this current economic climate. My goal has always been to share knowledge with folks that are truly interested in rehabbing and view it as not only for monetary gain but also see is as an “art and science” like I do. Happy Rehabbing!!

How to Be A Super Property Investor

A FREE, step-by-step guide that will help you become a super real estate property investor. Learn all the basic and some advanced investing techniques that have generated millions for property investors. Ready for download now!

Financial Terms Dictionary – 100 Most Popular Financial Terms Explained

This practical financial dictionary helps you understand and comprehend more than 100 common financial terms. It was written with an emphasis to quickly grasp the context without using jargon. Every terms is explained in detail with 600 words or more and includes also examples. It is based on common usage as practiced by financial professionals.

The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli

Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli was an Italian diplomat, politician, historian, philosopher, writer, playwright and poet of the Renaissance period. He has often been called the father of modern political philosophy and political science.

The Science of Getting Rich by W. D. Wattles

This book is pragmatical, not philosophical; a practical manual, not a treatise upon theories. It is intended for the men and women whose most pressing need is for money; who wish to get rich first, and philosophize afterward. It is for those who have, so far, found neither the time, the means, nor the opportunity to go deeply into the study of metaphysics, but who want results and who are willing to take the conclusions of science as a basis for action, without going into all the processes by which those conclusions were reached.

Sun Tzu Art of War

Written in the fifth century B.C., Suntzu and Wutzu still remain the most celebrated works on war in the literature of China. While the chariot has gone, and weapons have changed, these ancient masters have held their own, since they deal chiefly with the fundamental principles of war, with the influence of politics and human nature on military operations; and they show in a most striking way how unchanging these principles are.

Make Extra Money Flipping Houses While On Vacation by Jason Medley

Reveals his simple and proven systems to automate, delegate and outsource nearly every function of his business except cashing his checks. He shows the exact steps that has allowed him to go on multiple vacations with his family throughout the year while having his system continue to flip houses for him.

Achieving Wealth Through Real Estate: A Definitive Guide To Controlling Your Own Financial Destiny Through a Successful Real Estate Business

Have you ever thought about making money with real estate? In Achieving Wealth Through Real Estate: A Definitive Guide to Controlling Your Own Financial Destiny Through a Successful Real Estate Business, author and entrepreneur Kirill Bensonoff takes you through the process of starting your own real estate business step-by-step, featuring his expert tips and tricks.

Business Loans Uncovered

Knowing if you qualify is one of the most important things to know when applying  for a loan of any type. Blindly applying for a loan and being declined increases the chances of you being declined again and again because you not only lower your credit score each time you apply, multiple inquires also serves a red flag to other lenders and as a result lenders put you in a high risk category and charge higher interest rates in the event of an approval Includes: ​Traditional Lenders, Government Sources, The 7(a) loan guarantee program, SBA Low Doc loan program, SBA Express loan program, Factoring, Venture Capitalists, Angel Investors.

50 Simple Secrets To Be A Happy Real Estate Investor

Discover the secrets used by successful real estate investors to create happiness in their lives and businesses. Naturally create more happiness for yourself by implementing time-tested secrets to happiness used by other real estate professional and investors just like you. Start to experience more productivity, satisfaction, and success immediately.

50 Simple Secrets To Be A Happy Real Estate Investor

Discover the secrets used by successful real estate investors to create happiness in their lives and businesses. Naturally create more happiness for yourself by implementing time-tested secrets to happiness used by other real estate professional and investors just like you. Start to experience more productivity, satisfaction, and success immediately.

Marketing Strategies for Real Estate Photography

One of the biggest problems that real estate photographers have once they have set up their business as a legal entity, obtained all the right equipment and perfected their technique is obtaining new clients.

Clients and customers are the lifeblood of any business, but how do you obtain new clients after starting your business?

By developing and executing a strategic marketing plan tailored to your business.

This short guide has been written to help real estate photographers develop their marketing plan and assist with winning new business.

It includes a series of digital and direct marketing strategies along with useful tips and lessons the author has learned from his own experiences that can save you time and money when growing your business.

A marketing action plan template has been included to help photographers execute the strategies learned in this guide book.

Books by Dr William Edward Deming

William Edwards Deming (October 14, 1900 – December 20, 1993) was an American engineer, statistician, professor, author, lecturer, and management consultant.

Educated initially as an electrical engineer and later specializing in mathematical physics, he helped develop the sampling techniques still used by the U.S. Department of the Census and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In his book The New Economics for Industry, Government, and Education Deming championed the work of Walter Shewhart, including statistical process control, operational definitions, and what Deming called the “Shewhart Cycle, which had evolved into Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA). That was in response to the growing popularity of PDCA, which Deming viewed as tampering with the meaning of Shewhart’s original work.

Deming is best known for his work in Japan after WWII, particularly his work with the leaders of Japanese industry. That work began in July and August 1950, in Tokyo and at the Hakone Convention Center, when Deming delivered speeches on what he called “Statistical Product Quality Administration”.

Many in Japan credit Deming as one of the inspirations for what has become known as the Japanese post-war economic miracle of 1950 to 1960, when Japan rose from the ashes of war on the road to becoming the second-largest economy in the world through processes partially influenced by the ideas Deming taught

How to Prepare an Apartment Pro Forma

The term “Pro Forma” is short for Pro Forma Operating Statement. A Pro Forma is an annual operating budget for an income property, and it is probably the most important single document in an income property loan package. An experienced processor will always assemble the package with the Pro Forma as one of the very first items that the lender sees.

Because you have been provided a form entitled “Pro Forma Operating Statement” the actual preparation of a Pro Forma is merely a matter of filling in the blanks.

The numbers you choose to insert, however, must be supportable and well documented. The stakes are high. If a lender does not accept your Pro Forma, he will not take the time to prepare one of his own. He will merely select a very conservative operating expense ratio such as 40 to 45%. Operating expenses of 40 to 45% will kill most deals.

Remember, the loan size rather than the interest rate or points is usually the sticking point in income property negotiations.

At this time, please take a moment to review the attached Pro Forma Operating Statement form. Since this is a universal form, only a few of the blanks will be filled in for any individual property.

First let us discuss Gross Scheduled Rents. You should usually use the current actual rent roll. Insert in your rent roll the market of any vacant units.

The only time a lender will accept projected rents is if the rent increase letters have already been sent. It is helpful, but not mandatory, to include a few samples of the rent increase letters that have been mailed. However, be careful not to scare your client away by asking for copies.

The new rent level should be no further off than 90 days. Then if the lender objects, the Placement Officer can suggest that the file be put aside for a few weeks until the rent increase is in effect. Invariably the lender ends up accepting the projected rents now. Another time you can get away with projected rents is if the apartment building is located in a city with rent control, and the annual increases are scheduled to take effect within 90 days.

There were times in the late 1980’s when lenders would consider in certain areas, such as the Bay Area, the greater Los Angeles area and the greater San Diego area, a Vacancy Allowance of less than 5%. Those days are gone. You must use at least 5% today.

The lender may insist on 7% to 10% for Sacramento, the Central Valley and most outlying California areas; however, you should still insert 5% for these areas and pray.

Borrowers will often protest with claims of actual vacancy rates of 2% to 3%. In these cases, remind your borrower that a Vacancy Allowance is really a shortened version of Vacancy and Collection Loss Allowance. Anyone in business eventually gets a few bounced checks and deadbeats.

Inserting the actual operating expenses is greatly simplified if a well-done appraisal arrives with the package. In this case, simply insert the expenses as listed in the appraisal, and footnote them as follows:

Based on the MAI appraiser’s estimate.

However, you usually should not order an appraisal until the lender has reviewed the package and the borrower has accepted in writing the lender’s proposal. Therefore, you must be prepared to estimate the expenses yourself, and you should document them well.

Few borrowers, however, keep records that current, and you must be careful not to scare the borrower away by demanding that he spend hours poring over his records.

Be careful not to double count the insurance premium or real estate taxes by annualizing them. Remember that these expenses are just paid once or twice a year. The best source for the annual real estate taxes is the preliminary report. You might find the annual insurance premium in the previous year’s tax return, or you might simply have to ask the borrower or the borrower’s fire insurance agent.

Here are a couple of useful rules of thumb. Because of Proposition 13, real estate taxes in California are computed by taking 1.25% of the original purchase price. To compute an estimate of a fire insurance premium, use $5.50 per thousand dollars of coverage. Therefore, if the sum of the existing 1st mortgage and your new 2nd mortgage is $787,000; you can take 787 times $5.50 to arrive at a very rough estimate of the new fire insurance premium.

There will be times where the borrower simply has only a few months operating history. Examples include properties taken back in foreclosure, and recent purchases. In cases like this, ask the borrower to prepare for you a Utility Statement. A Utility Statement is a breakdown of the building’s various monthly utility expenses for the last 12 months or less. You can annualize these numbers for your Pro Forma.

The real estate taxes can be obtained from a prelim and the insurance premium from the borrower.

To estimate Repairs and Maintenance, use between 6-10% of Effective Gross Income, depending on the age of the property and the quality of the tenants.

In the absence of specific offsite management numbers, you should use 5% of Effective Gross Income. This is what most professional property management firms charge. Onsite management should be handled as follows.

Show the full market rent of the resident manager’s unit on your rent roll and on your Gross Scheduled Rents.

Then list as an expense under Management Onsite the difference between the market rent of the unit and what the resident manager actually pays. This difference is known as a rent credit, and is fully taxable under the IRS codes. If the resident manager receives a small salary in addition to a rent credit on his unit, be sure to include this as well.

Many small units do not have resident managers, and lenders will accept this. However, even if a building is owner managed, you should include an off-site Management expense of 5% of Effective Gross Income.

The reason why is because in the event of a foreclosure, the lender will have to hire a professional property management firm to manage the property.

Business Financials For Due Diligence Explained

Real Estate Investing

All business professionals need a good working knowledge of financial statements to include how they are created and how they can be used to make key business decisions.

Business transactions are transformed into financial statements through a due diligence and accounting process.

Three required statements are produced:

Income Statement

Balance Sheet

Cash Flow Statement

The statements provide results of business activity, not the reasons. To understand the reasons, we must look at relevant ratios.

These ratios are standard indications of business reasons and serve as the basis for key business decisions.

They are derived from a combination of calculations of components of the financial statements to indicate a unique and universally accepted metric or measurement.

We can glean relevant indications of the company’s success from these metrics. They become the “language” through which we understand business activity and we use them to help understand and analyze financial statements and also compare one company to another or one financial period to another.

Winston Rowe & Associates utilizes an initial due diligence review that provides an in depth understanding of business and financial activity as it pertains to the financing commercial real estate transactions.

With a core focus on flexibility, Winston Rowe & Associates really wants to be able to find a way to help everyone who comes to them find a funding solution that meets their needs.

The best funding solutions occur when they combine data with consultation and common sense.

They can be contacted at 248-246-2243 or visit them online at http://www.winstonrowe.com

Guidelines for CRE Debt Restructuring for Apartments and Multifamily Winston Rowe and Associates

Winston Rowe & Associates, a no upfront fee commercial real estate advisory and due diligence firm, specializes in providing funding solutions for commercial real estate transactions

They have prepared this article to provide advice for refinancing or debt restructuring for commercial real estate.

For more information about Winston Rowe & Associates and their commercial loan programs, they can be contacted at 248-246-2243 or visit them on line at http://www.winstonrowe.com

Debt Restructuring loans are a common type of commercial real estate loans. Listed below are some of the key detail items that lenders consider when reviewing this loan type.

First.  What is the reason for the refinance and why are you not working with your current mortgage holder?

Some questions your new lender will have are: Did you violate a covenant in your current mortgage agreement? Did your property drop in value? Are there economic problems in the area your property is located? Do you have personal net worth or liquidity issues? Did you shop your loan request to death creating high risk profile with too many credit report inquiries in a short period of time? Just to name a few.

Second. The commercial refinance loan criteria are very straight forward. Your maximum loan to value (LTV) will be 60%. You will need to have a minimum personal FICO score of 680 with no bankruptcies in the previous 7 years. Your personal net worth will have to be equal or greater than the gross refinance amount and the occupancy rate will have to be 80% for a conforming loan.

Third. The supporting documentation will include the review of the last three years of your personal and business financials as well as rent rolls. If there are improvements to be made to the subject property you will need to submit a detailed plan with the necessary permits.

The key to a smooth refinancing process is to be truthful on your loan application and to fully cooperate with the due diligence and underwriting specialists “this is how I do it” approach does not work. If you don’t cooperate and misrepresent material facts, you will most likely not receive your commercial loan.

At Winston Rowe & Associates, their primary objective is to provide the most reliable and efficient means of sourcing both debt and equity funding for your commercial real estate loans.

BUYING AND FINANCING A BUSINESS WINSTON ROWE & ASSOCIATES

How To Finance A Business

Even the most lucrative and attractive business deal can freeze in its tracks if an entrepreneur cannot get adequate business financing. This aspect is especially important if there is an opportunity for business acquisition, as really remarkable deals can be very few and far between, and getting adequate business purchase financing on time is the key. If you have ever thought about buying an established business, are you certain that you are adequately prepared?

Nowadays, it can be difficult to get business acquisition financing using either approach, given tight credit market conditions and wary investors. However, a knowledgeable entrepreneur should not face any insurmountable obstacles.

If you choose to follow the first approach and borrow a certain sum of money, there are several key aspects to be aware of. To begin with, to get a loan from a bank or any other lender you will almost inevitably have to demonstrate your business skills. The lender will also likely want to get adequate information on a particular venture you want to purchase, your collateral, and your plan on how you will repay the money back.

To secure business acquisition financing, you will need to keep several other things in mind. First, always have a backup plan – get approved by as many banks or other lenders as possible to protect yourself in case one of them backs out. Second, know that adequate business purchase financing should also cover operating costs. It is advisable to have a contingency plan in case the revenue drops. Third, make sure you have a comprehensive business plan, as this is ultimately what may convince the bank or another lender to finance your business acquisition.

Equity financing is another option. In this case, you would agree to sell a share of your business to outside investors. By choosing equity financing, you would not have to take a considerable risk and repay the debt; however, you would have to give up partial ownership of the company, possibly giving up some control as well.

Key To Business Acquisition Financing –

In addition to the options mentioned before, you are highly encouraged to be inventive when attempting to secure business financing. The easiest approach is to try to secure seller financing. This would mean that the seller is willing to wait a certain period of time to be paid off. In addition, he or she will probably do their best to help you ensure the profitability of the business. The downside is that not every seller is willing to explore such an opportunity, and the asking price can increase anywhere from 5 to 25 percent.

If you are denied a loan by a bank or another lender, you should apply for a Small Business Administration loan (ie. a SBA loan). SBA loans have quite favorable terms and requirements; however, you cannot have funds available from any other sources.

There are also many other possibilities. You can try to get business acquisition financing from your friends or family members. You can draw from your 401(k) plan, and if you are looking for franchise business financing, you can contact franchise financing companies. With so many options available, getting financing for business is not too difficult, don’t you agree?