July 15, 2008 Edition

Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?

Franchisee Todd Reid helps sons build a rental portfolio By Leah Templeton   Kaillin Reid, 9, buying his first rental property while his brother Deklan, a fifth grader and experienced landlord, gives him legal advice on how to structure his Illinois style land trust. Are you smarter than a fifth grader? Unless you’re buying rental properties to build your real estate portfolio, then maybe not. Brothers Deklan Reid, age 11, and Kaillin Reid, age 9, are already investing in their future by investing in real estate. Their father, HVA franchisee Todd Reid, owns Nosara, Inc. in Roswell, GA, and uses his business to instill values like money management and entrepreneurial spirit in his boys. "The boys meet regularly with me to discuss management issues of their properties," says Reid. "We talk about everything from how much to charge in rent to understanding the balance sheets."   Reid is also ensuring the boys will have the funds necessary for college tuition. When eldest son Deklan was 9 years old, Reid decided that involving him in the purchase of a property would be a valuable educational tool with real life applications. When younger brother Kaillin turned 9, he was ready to follow in his big brother's footsteps and purchase his own rental property.   Reid has been a HomeVestors franchisee for nearly 10 years and despite the negative attention surrounding the current real estate market, he prefers to focus on the positives, and has bright hopes for the future - starting with two young businessmen. "There's so much fear in the market right now," Reid added. "But it's the perfect time for developing a rental portfolio. I looked at this as an educational opportunity for my kids. I'm teaching them about financing and mortgage and getting them interested in it at a young age." . . . Leah Templeton is an account executive with HomeVestors' public relations agency BizCom Associates.

Selling Franchises Again!

Five new franchisees join Team HVA; more seminars, webinars scheduled By Jason Killough   Jason Killough After a five-month moratorium on franchise sales and transfers, HVA's Franchise Development Department is selling franchises again. And it didn’t take long to begin bringing new members to the HVA team. The following new franchisees joined the network in June: Marc Fearon in Nashville, TN (Marc is relocating his family from Brooklyn, NY) Cory Harrington in San Antonio, TX (Cory is relocating his family from Sacramento, CA) Bucky King in Tulsa, OK Martin Zidell in Houston, TX Timm Meyers in Denver, CO Two of these franchisees bought existing franchises, following an introduction by Franchise Development. While we cannot guarantee that we can help a franchisee find a buyer for a franchise, we've had some recent successes in this area and several more are in the works. If you are considering selling your franchise, we will assist where we can. Please contact Tim Poulin in Franchise Development for more information.  Collect Your Bonus Through December! HVA is again offering a $10,000 bonus for referring the next new HomeVestors franchisee! You must pre-register your qualified prospect with the Franchise Development Department in order to receive the bonus. In 2007, HVA paid $130,000 in referral fees to franchisees! We'd like to top that number this year. To be a qualified referral, the prospect must have heard about the HVA franchise opportunity from the referring franchisee and must be registered with the Franchise Development Department. If a lead's name and contact information already exists in HVA's sales database, the lead does not qualify for this program. This referral program does not include transfers of existing franchises although Franchise Development will continue to offer $2,500 in advertising credit for each transfer referred. For more information, or to register a referral, please contact Sherry Wallace at 972.619.0089. President and CEO Dr. John Hayes shares information about the HVA franchise opportunity at a recent REIA meeting. Franchise Seminars Set For Las Vegas & Atlantic City Franchise Development will exhibit at the 2008 Annual Subway/Franchise Brands Convention, July 21–24. During the convention, HVA will sponsor a Franchise Development Seminar Wednesday, July 23 at the Palace Station Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, from 7 – 9 p.m. We are also returning to Atlantic City, NJ on Wednesday, Aug. 6 from 1 – 3 p.m. for a Franchise Development Seminar at the Tropicana Casino and Resort. These events are a great opportunity for your franchise referral prospects to learn more about HomeVestors and meet with the Franchise Development team. Please let us hear about your local investor or franchise shows. Franchise Development will consider co-sponsoring local shows.  We can help with displays as well as development and marketing materials. For more information, contact Gregg Stengel at 972.532.8007.  Webinars Accessible Every Tuesday Franchise prospects can learn about the HVA franchise opportunity by joining a live franchise development Webinar each week. During these phone and Internet presentations, prospects learn about HomeVestors and interact with the Franchise Development team from the comfort of their homes or offices. They can ask questions via phone or e-mail, enjoying the same opportunity to interact with the team as they would at a live seminar. Webinars are offered every Tuesday at 4 p.m. CST, and last from 40 to 50 minutes. For registration information, visit the "Own a Franchise" section of HomeVestors.com, and click on "Upcoming Events/Webinars." . . . Jason Killough is vice president of Franchise Development for HomeVestors. He can be reached at  jason.killough@homevestors.com or by calling 972.532.8009.

Do You Have The Ugliest House This Year?

If so, it may be worth more than you know! By Joanne Graupner   Breaking News: You may now enter assigned properties into the the Ugliest House of the Year contest! At the Mid-Year Sales Summit in early June we announced the return of the Ugliest House of the Year contest and asked you to start taking high-resolution photos and videos of your ugly houses. For those of you who weren't in attendance at the MYSS (and for those who were in attendance, but got so excited that they forgot all the details), here again are the details: All franchisees – even those who do not rehab – can enter by submitting photos and videos. From all entries received, the HVA Leadership Team will select 10 finalists. BizCom Associates, HVA's public relations group, will issue national and local-market press releases in mid-October. The finalists will be posted online for voting. The 2008 Ugliest House of the Year selection and the winning franchisee will be announced at the 2008 Annual Convention in Las Vegas. Photos. A description of the house will be distributed to national and local news media. Second- and third-place winners will also be recognized at the convention. If you have rehabbed the winning house, we invite "after" photos as well, although this is not a requirement for entry. If provided, "after" photos will be an extra bonus in the press release and in local media pitching, allowing the winner to showcase the home's transformation. So what is a really ugly house worth to you? First Prize: $10,000 advertising credit to be used in Q1, 2009. Second Prize: $5,000 advertising credit to be used in Q1, 2009. Third Prize: $2,500 advertising credit to be used in Q1, 2009 Entry Details and Rules are available under “What’s New” on the HVA home page. Look at your 2008 inventory. If you haven't already purchased a house that qualifies as a truly, stunningly, unequivocally ugly, start looking for that house now! . . . Joanne Graupner is a Regional Marketing Manager for HomeVestors. She can be reached at Joanne.Graupner@homevestors.com.

Dallas Tops HVA Markets For 2Q Investments

Four Texas markets among Top 10 Four Texas markets, with Dallas leading the way, were the most active for the second quarter. Here's how they fared: 1. Dallas, Texas 2. Houston, Texas 3. Atlanta, Georgia 4. Denver, Colorado 5. Fort Worth, Texas 6. San Antonio, Texas 7. Charlotte, South Carolina 8. St. Louis, Missouri 9. Milwaukee, Wisconsin 10. Chicago, Illinois; Kansas City, Kansas (tied) This is the first time Charlotte, SC, Milwaukee, WI, Chicago, IL and Kansas City, KS have been been included in the list this year. Philadelphia, Minneapolis and Phoenix were ranked among the ten most active markets during the first quarter, but did not make the second quarter list.