franchisor may be able to increase your profits. (NAPSA)—How’sthis for a business strategy: buy “ugly houses”at below-marketprices, renovate them and sell them ata profit? A growing number of independent real estate investors are making money this way, but overcoming three common problems can help investors become even more successful: finding more houses to buy finding the capital to buy and renovate more houses and * acquiring the operational know-how to build a full-time business One way to solve these problems and get the help needed to build a successful real estate business is to work with a home-buying franchisor in buying what are described as “ugly houses” in need of a makeover. The franchisor can help in several ways. It can link the home buyer/franchisee with a highimpact mass media campaign that grabs customer awareness. It can offer a customized financing program that lends franchisees the money needed to buy houses. It can provide access to a computer software system that helps fran- chisees evaluate properties and needed repairs. It also makes it easier to sell the home through an ownerfinanced mortgage system that provides loans to first-time and credit-injured buyers. Such arrangements are becoming increasingly popular. For example, HomeVestors of America grew by almost 50 percent annually for the last three years. In 2004, nearly 250 of HomeVestors franchisees contracted to buy 6,243 run-down houses in just 28 states. HVA franchisees plan to buy more than 8,500 houses this year, most of them in need of repairs. HVA was created in the 1980s by Ken D’Angelo, who spent 20 years in traditional real estate before capitalizing on a niche market he described as “ugly houses.” By 1995, he was purchasing more than 170 houses annually and the next year he franchised the business. Opportunities to own HVA franchises currently exist in 26 states. For more information, visit www.HomeVestors.com or call 1888-495-5220.
