8 Simple Steps To Riches In Real Estate Or In Any Other Field, For That Matter

By Reggie Brooks

Before I got involved with real estate I tried various other potential money-making ventures. I created a company called Advanced Video Productions, and spent the first 4 weeks designing the all important ‘logo’. I might have thought that my income was totally dependent on a well designed, slick logo. I hadn’t learned anything about time management yet.

I created another company that sold satellite systems. This was way back when satellite dishes were huge. They could have been mistaken for UFO’s. My success? I sold 1 satellite system, period. And that one system was sold to a friend. I hadn’t learned anything about marketing.

Another time, I got involved with a Multi Level Marketing group and ended up with a garage full of water filters. Well, it really seemed like a good idea at the time…..

Through the many successes and failures that I’ve either experienced over the years or witnessed others experience, I’ve identified 8 steps you can take that can put you on the fast track to wealth. These are simple, powerful steps that really work!!

The 3 Cornerstones Of Success

I’ve taken a lot of seminars and classes over the years, and I’ve learned that personal and financial growth requires an investment. You must be willing to invest your money and your time. Then you must make a commitment to discipline yourself. What good is having a superior knowledge of creative real estate if you don’t discipline yourself to use it? Many successful real estate investors have invested many thousands of dollars in their creative real estate education. Their libraries are bulging with books, tapes, CD’s, DVD’s, and any other form of media necessary to put money-making techniques into their heads. They understand the power of “The 3 Cornerstones Of Success”.

The 3 Cornerstones Of Success are like a 3 legged stool. As long as there are 3 legs, the stool will support your weight. However, if you loose just 1 of those 3 legs, you’ll crash to the floor. This is a perfect parallel to the 3 Cornerstones Of Success.

The 1^st Cornerstone Of Success is continued education. As successful investors, we make our money buying distressed property from motivated owners. In order to do that, we must learn how to creatively solve the problems that owners have with their properties. None of us were born with this creative knowledge. We have to invest our money and our time into our education, and we have to learn the smart, money-making principles and techniques. Then, we use these smart, money-making principles and techniques as tools to creatively structure win-win deals. This is why we continue to read books, listen to tapes, and take classes. This brings us to the 2^nd Cornerstone Of Success.

The 2^nd Cornerstone Of Success is discipline. You must discipline yourself to use the smart, money-making principles and techniques that you’ve learned. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to spend 15 hours each day to work your business. It could mean that you simply discipline yourself to write that offer, or send that letter out, or talk to that owner or neighbor, or anything else that you been procrastinating about. So much of the time we’re so close to success, but we give up just before we achieve it. Most of the time we give up because it is to scary or to painful to proceed on. Anticipating an owner who says no instead of yes can be both scary and painful. Dig down as deep as you need to and find that spark of passion that you can use to generate the discipline that you need. Use it like a magic carpet to fly above the pitfalls to success.

The 3^rd cornerstone is productive action on a daily basis. You must continue to learn, you must discipline yourself to use what you’ve learned, and now you must put it to work on a daily basis. It may be that the productive action of the day may only take 15 or 20 minutes. Success comes to the person who has made him/herself worthy of the success that they seek. And you make yourself worthy by following the 3 Cornerstones Of Success. Then, you’re prepared whenever opportunity comes along.

People sometimes ask me, “Come on, Reggie, tell me”. “What’s the secret to being successful in real estate”? There is no one individual ‘secret’ that will make you an instant millionaire in real estate. It’s more of a matter of doing a whole lot of little things correctly that empowers us to create a tremendous wealth. Doing smart things systematically toward your goal every day will breathe life into the 3 Cornerstones Of Success. There is nothing on this earth that can stop you if you simply follow the 3 Cornerstones Of Success. Here are a few other ideas that can help you to achieve your own level of success.

Don’t Take Your Financial Advice From Broke People

When I first got involved in real estate, I let everyone know that I was launching into a new career. I told them that I was studying courses on how to perform creative real estate deals that would make me rich. I told them I was learning about no money down deals, how to get owner financing, how to rehab to increase profits, and so much more. I was so excited about my new real estate career that I had real trouble shutting up about it. As a matter of fact, I think that I got a little cocky. I’d tell anyone who would listen to me about the wealth that I was going to build in real estate.

I finally realized that I was sharing my excitement with the wrong people. I was sharing my dreams with people who had no respect for them. They would find ways to tell me that my dreams would never work. “There’s no such thing as a win-win deal”. “When someone wins, someone else has to loose.” They also said things like, “You can’t do no money down deals because there’s got to be some money in the deal someplace”. They never stopped to think that the money doesn’t have to come from you. It can come from the seller, the lender, the realtor, from private sources, or a great number of other places. It doesn’t have to come from your pocket.

This is when I realized just how important it is to share your ideas with the right people, and not the wrong people. Share your ideas with other investors or students who are of like mind – either doing deals and making money or learning and growing in creative real estate education. If you share your dreams with people who are not educated or not experienced in creative real estate techniques, you leave yourself wide open for opinions. When you get opinions from people that you respect, you have a tendency to believe them. This can be especially hazardous for new investors.

Always ask yourself the question, “By what authority does this person give me this advice. Has he/she been trained in this field? Has he/she worked in this field and made money?” If the answers are no, don’t listen to him/her. No matter how much you love or respect the person, you have to protect your financial future from well meaning people who are not qualified to give you financial guidance.

If you have a new born baby, you wouldn’t dare even think about exposing that baby to the harsh elements that could make your baby sick. You wouldn’t leave your new born baby outside in the rain or the snow. You wouldn’t leave your baby in the heat of the sun, or with unsavory characters as baby sitters. Treat your new real estate business just as you would your new born baby. Expose your baby to the people who can help it grow big and strong, but keep it away from those who will do it harm. And the difficult part is that for the most part, our uninformed friends don’t mean any harm. But if you let their unfounded opinions influence you, it can be fatal to your business.

If you will continue to learn the right things – the things that create win-win situations between you and the owner – the things that make you money, now you’re ready for the next lesson.

Don’t Get Greedy

My friend and mentor, Dr. Albert Lowry tells his students that it’s OK to be a bit of a pig (I call it good negotiating). It’s OK to structure a deal where you make a lot of money. But don’t be a hog. You can blow a good deal by trying to hog all the profits. Don’t forget about the seller’s needs. Dr. Lowry says, “Pigs get rich, but hogs get slaughtered”. Makes sense, doesn’t it? Keep this phrase in mind. We’re going to talk about a principle that was so important in changing my life. As we discuss this principle, keep in mind that you can get rich faster by doing a lot of $20K to $30K deals than holding out for that big $100,000 deal. So, without further ado, I present to you “The Win Principle”. Caution: This principle works best when used with The 3 Cornerstones Of Success, which we talked about earlier. Here’s how it works:

The “WIN” Principle stands for “What’s Important Now”. Once you’ve educated yourself in creatively investing in real estate, you’ll know what you should be doing at any given time. Whether it’s using what you’ve already learned, or, if you’re a little short on knowledge, maybe taking in a seminar, workshop, bootcamp, or listening to books and tapes. It may be that you need to take a break, or the rest of the day off, or even a vacation. Whatever it may be – you know deep inside exactly what you should be doing at any particular time.

If you will discipline yourself to do What’s Important Now, you WILL accomplish your financial goals. What do you want? Do you want to be rich?? You can be rich!! If you will diligently exercise the 2 principles that I’ve outlined above, you will accomplish your financial goals!!! Does it sound easy? It does to me. I think it’s a simple thing to do, but it’s certainly not an easy thing to do.

Failing To Screen Your Sellers

As investors, we make our money when we buy property from motivated sellers. I had to find that out the hard way. Very early in my career I found an little old lady that lived in a huge old house in Hollywood, California. Her name was Alice Jordan and she was part of a big mailing campaign that I was working at the time. When she responded to one of my letters, it felt like my heart was going to jump out of my chest an on to the floor!! My palms were sweaty, and my voice trembled. She said that she wanted to sell her house!! We immediately made an appointment to meet at her house the very next day.

It was sheer agony having to wait until the next day to meet with the lady in the big house. The thoughts running through my head were non-stop! Will she contact someone else? Will someone else contact her? Maybe a family member. What if she changes her mind? Am I really ready for this? This is a huge step! What if it doesn’t work? What if I fail? I don’t want to loose any money. Does any of this sound familiar to you? I think we all suffer with Uncontrollable Thought Syndrome. There’s nothing like doing a good deal and making yourself $20,000 to $40,000 to make all those negative thoughts disappear. You might still have those uncontrollable thoughts running through your head, but they’ll be a little different. Let’s see, I wonder if we should go to the Bahamas, or if we should go to Hawaii? Should I go for the Mercedes, or should I go for the BMW?

Back to the little old lady. For three weeks, we went back and forth. Every time I thought we were close, she’d throw some garbage into our deal that would bring negotiations to a halt. Then I’d call her after a few days, we’d reach what I thought was an agreement, and we would resume. This would happen over and over. You’d think I’d have gotten a clue about this one, but I didn’t.

I happened to be talking with a friend who was a fellow investor, and I mentioned Ms. Jordan, the lady that I was dealing with, and how frustrated I’d become. He looked at me with a little sly smile on his face. He said, “You mean Alice Jordan”? I said yes.

Needless to say, I was stunned. The uncontrollable thoughts started again. I quickly took control by feebly asking, “Uh, how do you know Ms. Jordan”? His answer cut like a knife. “Everybody knows old Alice. She gets lonely and calls on someone’s newspaper ad or direct mail piece. That’s how she entertains herself. She never leaves the house.’

I was crushed. I was merely an old lady’s entertainment. Everyone else knew about Ms. Jordan. I didn’t. My friend even called her by her first name!! That’s when I learned how important it is not to waste time on sellers that are not motivated. By the time you make an offer based on your profit criteria and you get a counter offer back from the seller, you’ll know whether you have a motivated seller or not.

Lack Of Focus

There are so many different ways to make money in real estate. You can buy, fix up and sell. You can buy and hold for cash flow. You can wholesale to other investors. Come to think of it, you can even make money without ever owning the real estate. You can buy mortgages, and you can lend money and charge hefty interest rates. And this is just to name a few. It’s easy to see how a new investor can jump from one strategy to another. A new investor is usually excited about the prospect of getting money worries out of the way, and as a result they’re usually more than just a little impatient. The expectations are high, but the patience is low.

Success in real estate investing is directly dependent on your ability to take action, analyze your results, make your adjustments and take action again. It’s a sweet little cycle that you use to get rich. A success cycle, if you will. The best way to capitalize on this cycle is to focus on a system that is simple and easy to work, like Creating Wealth With Abandoned Properties. As you begin to work your system of choice, make sure you continue to learn from your results while you fine tune and tweak your business. This is how you become a master of your investment system. This is how you get RICH!!

You must stay focused on your goals. I read a book that my wife gave me when we first got together, called the Peak To Peak Principle. This was another one of those life changing experiences. I say experience because that’s what it was. It wasn’t just ‘reading a book’. It was the experience of learning a principle that could help make me rich.

Here’s how the Peak To Peak Principle works. Visualize yourself as a mountain climber doing what you do – climbing a mountain. If your goal is to reach the top of this mountain, then you’ll do well to keep your focus on your goal – the peak of this mountain. However, if your goal is to conquer other peaks then, before you reach this peak, you must shift your focus to the next peak. If you don’t shift your focus, you allow the first peak that you reach to become a plateau. It will take a lot of energy to get your momentum moving in the right direction again.

When you relate this principle to your real estate business, your plateau becomes a comfy little haven where you’ll find yourself sitting and relaxing. You might eat a sandwich, read a book, or listen to the radio. You might be so comfortable that you decide to spend the night, or the week, or the month, or the rest of your life.

Since you have your momentum going in the right direction, go with the flow. If you apply the Peak To Peak Principle to your real estate business, you can get to your goals a lot faster.

I THINK WE’VE JUST FOUND THE SECRET TO GETTING RICH!! It’s a matter of learning these and other ‘wealth-building’ principles and using discipline to operate my real estate business under those principles. For the first time, I can see the how of getting rich!

Having the scientific type mind that I have, that just made this revelation even more powerful. I can actually see in my mind’s eye exactly how I’m going to get rich!! I floated around on cloud 9 for a long time after that. As a matter of fact, I’ve never come down, and I never will. It’s almost like having a ‘secret weapon’ that most other investor don’t know much about. Learning and using the wealth-building principles can give you the edge over your competitors.

Managing Your Fears

Every human being on the face of the planet has experienced fear in some form or another. I’d even be willing to bet you that every animal, insect, rodent, and every winged creature as well, has experienced fear. Fear definitely has a useful place in our lives. It’s purpose is as a early warning system. To alert us about possible dangers so that we can modify our path and create a solution to eliminate the danger. Fear was never meant to scare us into non-action.

Here’s an interesting idea. I believe that there is a purpose for every living creature on earth. Beavers build dams, humans solve problems. If you take a careful look around, you’ll see a whole lot of stuff that was created by the human species. If you look deeper, you’ll find that the purpose of each one of these inventions was to solve a problem.

It has been said that we learn better by doing, rather than by reading. In other words, at some point, you’re going to have to get out there and get your feet wet – you’re going to have to get started. I know, I know… It’s scary. Whenever you launch into something so big and significant that it can change your life, you’re going to get a little scared. Here’s a good way to handle your fears:

This solution to handling your fears is so simple that even I was able to master it. First of all, arm yourself with an abundance of knowledge about the situation. Be careful not to over-analyze the situation. You only need enough facts to make an intelligent decision. If you have a fear of writing your first offer, you may have to pick up a book, or take a seminar. You might have to make a bunch of copies and practice writing offers. Do what ever you have to do in order to arm yourself with the knowledge that you need. Then, keeping the WIN principle in mind, you simply take action. Isn’t that simple? It really is. The one antidote for fear is action. Intelligent, systematic action will not only make fear disappear, it can also make you rich.

Sometimes we have a certain type of fear that robs us of an important part of our growth. We’re afraid of making mistakes. Even though we’ve only been involved in real estate for 5 minutes, we have this crazy notion that we shouldn’t make mistakes. After all, we did take that 1 ½ hour seminar last year, we should be rich by now. If you have a problem admitting and accepting mistakes, you’re missing out on one of the greatest tools that you could have in the creation of wealth.

I was in my early 20’s when a 17 year old kid taught me something that will be with me for the rest of my life. He taught me that mistakes are our friends. He said that every mistake that we make has within it a lesson for us to learn. Some people are so busy trying not to make mistakes that they totally miss the lessons in the mistakes that they do make. By learning these lessons, then making the correct adjustment in our paths to success we can get to our goals at a very fast rate of speed.

What if you were able to look into the future. You might see that, in order for you to become a millionaire, it will take you making 175 mistakes, learning the lessons in each of those mistakes, applying those lessons to your business, and moving on to the next mistake. You might find yourself jumping out of bed and hurrying to meet the day! You can’t wait to make the next series of mistakes, because you know that at the end of your mistake making, lesson learning day, you’ll be closer to your goals! If you only made 5 mistakes yesterday, you’re going to kick it up today. You’ll make 10 mistakes today!! And, by the time you learn your lessons and apply the changes, you’ll be surprised at how quickly you can be very far along in reaching your goals.

You’re A Winner – Read On, And I’ll Prove It To You!

Always remember the winner that you are! You came into this world to create. So, create!! You have an ability within you to create whatever solution you need to overcome whatever problem that you think is standing in your way. If you will follow the principles that I’ve outlined in this article, you can do much to accomplish every one of your financial goals.

You are a winner. Remember? Three and a half million sperm chasing one egg. You won! You’re here! That’s evidence of the winner in you. Peace and prosperity to you and your family.

Reggie Brooks, is an international speaker, author and educator, dedicated to inspiring others to achieve personal success through real estate investment. He is also the #1 Vacant, Abandoned & Distressed Property Specialist in North America.

Having risen above a life of poverty, he has achieved what many people consider to be impossible. He went from making $36,000 per year at the local telephone company, to making over $40,000 per month in his real estate business. Today, Reggie delivers his personal philosophies for success at major business venues and expositions throughout the United States. Reggie attributes his success to faith, dedication to success, and to the invaluable coaches he has had along the way.

The Easy Way to Make Money Online Today – Affiliate Marketing

By Lex Levinrad

Do you want to know a little secret about one of the easiest ways to make money online today that takes very little work and effort?

You can make a lot of money relatively easily in a short amount of time with affiliate marketing. My motto with all of my real estate students is to “stop trading your time for a paycheck”. Affiliate marketing is one of the easiest ways for you to do this.

I will give you a great example of affiliate marketing and how I use it every day at work. I like to buy books and I read a lot of books (about 3 a week mostly ebooks). I also like buying electronic gadgets, computers etc. And the place that I do most of my shopping is online since I don’t have the time or inclination to do retail (remember don’t trade your time for a paycheck). I buy a lot of stuff on www.amazon.com. When I say a lot I mean every single day I buy mp3’s, ebooks, movies on demand, gifts, books, electronics you name it and I buy it online mostly on Amazon.

I noticed that Amazon had an affiliate account and so I signed up as an Amazon Affiliate. Once you are an affiliate they give you access to your affiliate account where you can get links to products that are listed on their website. You can paste these links anywhere online. You can put these links on your blog, Twitter, Facebook or anywhere else online.

So how is this useful? Well let’s look at some ways that you could utilize this to make money. Let’s say you had a real estate web site or blog. You could add a page called “real estate books”. You could then put together a list of your favorite real estate books on that page and you could have affiliate links set up for each one of those books.

If anyone clicked on any of those books and ultimately purchased them from amazon you would get paid a “commission” or referral fee. The fee is small (4% to 15%) but what is important to note is that once you have set up your page once you never need to do anything ever again. And any time in the future if anyone clicks on any of those books and then buys it from Amazon you will get paid. This is called passive income which is way better than trading your time for a paycheck.

This is just one example of affiliate marketing. Here is another. Sign up as an affiliate on our website at the following link: http://www.lexlevinrad.com/Affiliate.html It takes less than 2 minutes to sign up as an affiliate. Set up a free real estate related blog using www.blogger.com or www.wordpress.com and put some real estate information on your blog (add a real estate news feed and a few real estate articles you can use mine). Then add one or two banners to different products that we offer on your real estate blog. If someone clicks and then buys the product you get paid an affiliate commission.

That affiliate commission is called passive income and that is what affiliate marketing is all about. I highly encourage you to seek out multiple affiliate opportunities in your niche (real estate or elsewhere) since this is one of the easiest ways to make money online.

Dealing With Negative Cash Flow

By Bruce Kellogg

The Problem For Investors

As property prices rise in many markets across the country, it is becoming increasingly difficult for investors to acquire properties with a positive cash flow. Nowadays, it is all the more important to know how to deal with negative cash flow (“NCF”). Here are a number of solutions.

Intelligent Property Selection

Although it should be obvious, the first step to avoiding NCF is to resolve to acquire only properties that don’t have it, or can be structured not to have it. Especially in strong markets, some investors adopt the position that NCF doesn’t matter because the market will bail them out through appreciation or rising rents. This doesn’t always happen! Buy intelligently in the first place!

Increase the Units

It’s pretty well known in real estate investing that the more units acquired the greater the cash flow for any given price range. For example, in Silicon Valley a 7-plex for $1.4 mil. will probably cash flow better than a $1.2 mil. 4-plex. Generally-speaking, for more cash flow, buy as many units as possible.

Buy Better Quality

It is also well known that “low-income” properties suffer from greater turnover, more vacancies, and higher maintenance expenses. They are also more management-intensive. Buy better quality whenever possible. Leave the “war zone” properties to the commando’s!

Transaction Structuring

After a qualifying property is identified, structure the transaction for success. This involves the right price, the right down payment, the right entity (e.g., partnership), the right loan terms, and so on. Over the long term, proper design of the transaction is probably the most important step.

Lower the Price

Although intuitive, the first step toward reducing NCF is to negotiate a lower price. Go back and forth several times if necessary. It will benefit throughout the entire ownership period.

Set Up A Cash Reserve

When structuring the purchase, if there will be an unavoidable NCF, set up a cash reserve for the period that cash flow is projected to be negative. It could be a cash account, or a tax refund, or a note payoff, pending inheritance, whatever. But get it done!

Offsets

Another approach is to designate a specific note or specific property in the portfolio that has a sufficient positive cash flow to serve as an “offset” to the NCF. But be sure to tie the two together. Don’t just say, “The portfolio can cover it.” Often, that kind of “loose thinking” can get an investor overextended as more properties are acquired.

Recruit Partners

Usually, an effective way to handle NCF is through the use of a partner. There are several kinds of these. An investor/partner could be brought in with a Limited Partnership (LP), or a Tenancy-in-Common (TIC). Or, in some instances, it is possible to partner with the seller using a Lease-Option or a Shared-Appreciation Mortgage (SAM). It is also possible to partner with a tenant using a Lease-Option (“Rent-to-Own”) or Equity-Sharing. These all work well under the right circumstances.

Creative “Carryback” Financing.

If there is seller financing in the transaction, there are several note terms that will reduce NCF. One is to delay the first payment as long as the seller will agree, perhaps a year. Another is to agree to interest-only or principal-only payments. How about accruing all payments until maturity? (That’s a risky one!) And on commercial property transactions, the Graduated-Payment Mortgage (GPM) is still possible under Dodd-Frank.

Improve Operations

Many times when an investor purchases a property, it is with the objective of enhancing its performance. This typically involves raising rents, reducing expenses, increasing occupancy, and improving management. All of these actions will reduce NCF.

AIRBNB

A new investment type, AIRBNB, has come on the scene, and generally offers impressively strong cash flows. This is outside the scope of this article, but the reader is advised to investigate it to see if it is for them. Start with an internet search.

Conclusion

Even in highly-appreciated markets, it is still possible to invest and deal with NCF. You just have to learn how, or work with an expert who knows. Because market conditions change, it is prudent to factor a possible 10-15% rent decrease or vacancy factor increase into the calculations. You don’t want to get caught short at an inopportune time. Having an unused credit line is also a good idea.

Good luck!

Bruce Kellogg

Bruce Kellogg has been a Realtor® and investor for 36 years. He has transacted about 800 properties in 12 California counties. These include 1-4 units, 5+ apartments, offices, mixed-use buildings, land, lots, mobile homes, cabins, and churches.

Mr. Kellogg is a contributor and copy editor for two national real estate wealth-building magazines: Realty411, and REI Wealth Mag.

He is available for listing, selling, consulting, mentoring, and partnering. Reach him at [email protected], or (408) 489-0131.

5 Apartment-Hunting Secrets That You Need To Know

By Wendy Dessler

Getting The Best Living Situation

Apartments can be useful for a number of reasons, though they can also be expensive, and they can be a real hassle if you don’t choose carefully. Following are five considerations to help you make the best choice in terms of your rental living situation.

Use Available Resources To Streamline Your Search

At The Urban Avenue you can get an idea of the city in terms of available apartment rentals; according to the site: “Whether you’re completely new to Dallas or have lived here your entire life, we can help you find the best available deal for your move-date.”

(source: http://theurbanavenue.com/dallas)

Wherever you happen to be apartment-hunting, you want to use resources like this to help you find the best possible options. Check out classified ads online and in local print publications. Ask around as well. There are sometimes rental opportunities that are unlisted, but if you get an idea of the local “spread”, you’ll likely find something which matches your needs.

Know Gas And Electric Differences

Depending on your geography, this may not make a big difference. In Los Angeles, you’ve got to worry more about air conditioning than you do about heating. But if you do have gas or electric atmospheric controls, you’re going to have a different utility bill. You’re likely going to find that gas heating is less expensive than electric heating.

Understand The Neighborhood And Cost Implications

Another example from Los Angeles, but worth considering: your neighborhood will affect both your cost of living, and your safety of living. Sometimes cheap apartments are that way because they’re in the middle of a high crime community. Sometimes they’re not centrally located, and the commute is high. But you can shoot yourself in the foot if you’re not careful.

Say you’ve always wanted to live in Hollywood because you’re some kind of aspiring performer. So you find an apartment for only $1,500 a month just off Hollywood boulevard. That’s actually not a bad deal at all. Sure, the apartment is a studio with a bed in the living room, an attached kitchen, a small bathroom, and nothing else. But it’s right in the middle of everything!

Meanwhile, just ten miles north of you, in San Fernando, there’s an apartment that’s three times the size, costs half as much, and is located in a less crime-ridden community. The catch is the commute. If you leave at the wrong time, or take the wrong route, it can take you two hours to travel that ten miles to Hollywood. What’s the solution?

Well, if you take the cheaper option north of town at $750, you’ll save $9,000 a year—in an expensive town like LA, you’re going to need that. It would be advisable to learn traffic patterns and adapt yourself to fit the more cost-effective situation. What’s the takeaway for you? Wherever you choose to live, know the neighborhood, cost, and travel considerations involved.

Also, know your own personal situation. If you’re a single guy, you’ve got a little bit more latitude than a newlywed couple, and newlyweds have more latitude than a family.

Tour Multiple Properties

Don’t just take the first apartment which fits your price range, proclivities, and location needs. Look at five different apartments at least. Especially as you are on the hunt for a new living situation you’re going to have a temptation to settle. This may net you a bad lease, a bad deal, or a rough situation of some caliber that you’re stuck in.

A better way to go about it is to look at multiple properties and choose the best one. Find five that meet your qualifications, and go with the best deal in terms of location, neighborhood, utilities, and commute.

Keep Copies Of All Paperwork

This is a strange one that you’ve got to be aware of today in the wake of Craigslist. There are going to be rental or room share or cohabitation opportunities out there which aren’t as “official” or “established” as that which was available in previous years. These are great ways to save money and get more for what you spend, but they’re also great ways to get stabbed unexpectedly in the back.

Imagine if you signed paperwork and paid a $500 deposit only to have the “landlord” of the property go “sideways” on you, demanding you do things that weren’t in the initial lease agreement. If you didn’t keep a copy of the agreement, you’re out of luck; it’s his word against yours, and he owns the property. If you’ve got a copy of the lease agreement, meanwhile, you can “keep him honest”, as the saying goes.

Getting The Best Apartment In Your Area

You can additionally check out this further list of apartment considerations to help you modify your search. It can be difficult to source a dependable rental living situation, but it isn’t without the realm of possibility. If you take your time, know what you’re getting into, scout multiple possible properties, and retain the paperwork after you decide, you’re likely to find a more dependable situation that will better serve your needs.

Probate Leads: Massively Discounted Properties in Your Market that You’re Not Getting… But Your Competition Is.

By Kristine Gentry, Ph.D.

VP of Innovation, US Probate Leads

“My market is crowded with investors and everyone is chasing the same deals.” That is usually what we hear when we first speak to a potential customer. They are often looking for a source of leads where there isn’t “so much competition,” and they are thrilled when they begin to realize we have a solution for them – marketing to probate properties.

Increasing Numbers of Properties Available at a Huge Discount

Baby boomers believed in collecting assets like real estate. Many are cash poor but asset rich. They often own property outright with no mortgage or at least have a lot of equity in their property. Often their homes are in great condition with only basic updates needed. We are entering a phase where baby boomers are passing their assets on to their heirs.

Generation Xers and Millennials, who are inheriting the assets of their parents, lived through the rise and fall of the 2007 bubble. They are often strapped with debt. When they inherit property from their parents, they suddenly find themselves responsible for paying all of the estate expenses with little cash to do so. Also, inherited property is often split between multiple family members, so offering $20,000 less on a property may only be a $5-10,000 loss per person. Since the heirs didn’t put money into the property, unlike a foreclosure or divorce, they are more interested in selling the property quickly than they are in trying to get as much money out of the property as possible. They want cash – quick.

Studies have shown that over the next 30-40 years, more than $30 trillion is projected to transfer from baby boomers to their heirs. This means that there will be a lot of properties passing through probate. Moreover, when property is inherited, most often the heirs will sell or transfer the title of the property within 18 months. Probate leads are a great and growing source for smart real estate investors.

Many Types of Properties Available in Probate

Real estate tops the list of probate assets that can frustrate heirs and impede the probate process. Anything from residential homes, to rental units, vacant land, office buildings, and even commercial property may be among the inherited property the Executor is left to negotiate.

Personal assets also generally fall into the probate property category. These include items such as valuable cars, heirloom pieces, pianos, jewelry, antiques, and other such pieces that may have been long forgotten or remain in state of familial limbo but still possess value.

Probates may also include business interests. More and more, heirs don’t want to be bothered with assuming control of the family business. And yet there is opportunity there as well.

A knowledgeable probate investor can work with the Executor, ease the burden of their job, and creatively get the family the cash needed to clean things up while creating their own income opportunity.

How to Get Probate Leads

The good news about probate is that it is public record and available at all county courthouses across the country. The bad news is that each county handles probate leads in a different manner. In some cases, it is a painstaking process of daily visits to the courthouse to manually collect probate data. In other cases, an individual can sort through public, county records that are available online. Either way, researching and collecting probate leads on your own is very time consuming and ineffective, which is why this source of leads is often overlooked. However, one company, US Probate Leads, developed around the need to make probate leads simple and easy to use. US Probate Leads has been walking people through this process now for over a decade.

A Probate Investing Program

US Probate Leads has literally taken the lead on providing timely and local probate filings to investors looking for a growing source of access to motivated sellers. We have a large team of researchers dedicated to doing the legwork of gathering and organizing probate leads so that you only have to buy and work those leads.

Investors can purchase leads at whatever level (25/50/100/250) they deem appropriate. Or, you can invest in a plan which provides you all of the leads available within a given county. A very affordable pricing structure and a guaranteed “in” as far as knowing what is available in probate filings, make this a wonderful opportunity for savvy investors. US Probate Leads’ flexibility is perhaps what makes their program most attractive. Getting in at whatever price point you’re comfortable with, and however many leads you can manage is certainly feasible.

Probate Leads Available Now – In Your Area

US Probate Leads has access to virtually any county in the United States, meaning regardless of where you live, you can start receiving leads monthly. Go to the US Probate leads site: www.usprobateleads.com, click on your state and get started. Or you can contact them directly at: (877) 470-9751. Now is the time to make your mark in this little-known niche – never before have more properties become available than will in the coming years. Becoming a US Probate Leads subscriber could really be the start of a whole new future, a more lucrative career, and an exciting investment opportunity.

Liens and Encumbrances Affecting Real Property

By Dan Harkey

What is a Lien?

A lien is a legal right, usually referred to as a security interest, in real or personal property given to a creditor to hold and possess as consideration for a loan. The creditor /lender has a charging interest against the collateral and may seek possession in the event of default by the borrower. A borrower willfully grants the security interest in a real property by agreeing to sign instruments called a deed of trust or mortgage which are recorded in public records as an encumbrance to the real property in consideration for the loan. A lien refers to a monetary claim which may be attached to one or more properties.

What is an Encumbrance?

An encumbrance refers to a claim and/or agreement to enforce the rights and obligations relating to a property. There are literally dozens of items that may be recorded in public records that create either a lien or an encumbrance on the property. The first will be the original tract map. Then comes utility easements, other easements, government mandated requirements such as historical registries, association by-laws, ownership and partnership agreements leases; various public notices such as notice of weed abatement, notices of substandard condition, lis pendens, property settlements, divorce decrees, subordination, non-disturbance and attornment agreement (commonly abbreviated as an “SNDA agreement”) parking easements, reciprocal usage and parking agreements, signage easements, property tax, federal or state tax liens. etc.

The lending industry sometimes uses the terms lien and encumbrance interchangeably. However, a lien is a monetary charge against the property. All liens are encumbrances, but not all encumbrances are liens. They both create a claim against the property that impacts the transferability and restricts the free use until the claim is lifted or is conveyed.

How does an attachment to a property occur?

In the United States we have a government system referred to as the municipal recorder’s office. The recorder’s office has the task of maintaining public records, documents; and in this case, relating to real estate ownership. Additionally, their task includes recording and maintaining records, making those records available and identifiable to the public. Those public records can relate to both voluntary and involuntary rights and claims.

Each of the above creates a cloud on title that must be dealt with, either accepting to property with the conditions or clouds, removing from title, releasing, modifying, or rejecting the property because the risk of accepting all the conditions is go great or not practical.

Each document that is recorded on the property may also contains an agreement, considerations, prohibitions, and risk that must be dealt with. A recorded trust deed may have 20-40 pages of legalese that need to be reviewed. The document may contain clauses such as “due-on-sale”, “due-on-further encumbrance,” etc. This subject relating to clauses in loan documents should be addressed in another article, because of its tremendous complexity.

Sometimes a property owner may record changes in amends ownership status. An example would be changing or conveying the title of a property from “husband and wife as joint tenants” to a “revocable family trust”. Another example may be the recording of a divorce decree or a quit claim relinquishing one’s interest in the property.

This body of knowledge and law and the process of recording and maintaining the documents becomes very important when establishing the priority of a lien or encumbrance. California law regards lien priority as “first-in-time, first-in- right”.

What is a first, second and third lien priority?

Lien priority is related to the point of time that the document is recorded in the public records office. When a document is recorded it is date stamped and given a sequential recording reference number. If a borrower or his/her title company recorded 3 liens at the same time on one property, that would create a first, second, and third lien, regardless of the dollar amount of each lien. The first lien is considered a senior lien, the second and third liens are junior liens. with the second lien being senior to the third. After the documents are recorded and scanned into the public records computers the borrower will receive the original documents back for safe keeping.

What insures the order of the recording. How do you know that the recorder did not make a mistake and record the documents out of order? You may order and pay for an insurance policy referred to as title insurance from a title insurance carrier. The policy guarantee’s your lien priority position or may be required to pay insured claim. If you were to go to the recorder’s office yourself, stand in line, and have the documents recorded you could check the sequence of recording yourself. But, generally your recording of documents is done by a title company in relation to a sale or loan transaction in which you are a principal party.

Let’s assume that there was a first lien of $100,000, a second lien of $50,000, and a third lien of $25,000. on a property that you own. If you paid off the first lien, the second would become a first lien, and the third would become a second lien. If you were to refinance and consolidate all three liens, then all three liens would be reconveyed and removed off public records. A new recording, with a fresh date stamp and recording number would be placed on public records reflecting a new first lien position. A reconveyance is a written form instructing the recorder to remove and release the lien from public records.

There are written agreements that can be created by principal parties that modify the priority of a lien, or multiple liens. One is called a subordination agreement that can be recorded that may make a lien junior to another lien even though it was recorded earlier with an earlier date stamp.

California law regards lien priority as “first-in-time, first-in- right”. California law also provides for exceptions for some types of liens whereby some liens are given “skipping power” to the front of the line. Government mandate permits certain liens to be advanced so that they become senior in priority to other liens. Mechanic’s liens, meant to ensure that tradesmen and contractors are paid, is an example of a priority lien with “skipping power”. That right is protected by the California Constitution, and further enumerated in the California Civil Code (Section 3110 et seq.)

There are limits, however, on the “skipping power” of mechanic’s liens. These relate to technical requirements such as when the construction began and the process that the claimant must follow to enforce that lien. Even in situations where the mechanic’s lien appears to have been “wiped out” by a senior lien holder at a foreclosure sale, the lien is not automatically expunged. For more specific requirements for mechanic’s liens the lender should work with counsel knowledgeable about construction law and mechanics lien law.

Other exceptions relating to “skipping power” may include issues relating to property taxes, special tax assessment districts, and in some cases homeowner’s or mutual property associations.

As a rule, a written tenancy agreement has “first-in-time, first-in right” priority. Tenants who have written agreements with dates prior to the recording of a new trust deed will have a right of occupancy and enforcement that is senior to the new lien. The tenant’s rights will run with the property until the rights expire or are modified in writing.

A real estate lender may require some modification of the statutory priority by using a written agreement between the borrower, the tenant, and of course, the lender. There are times where it may be in the lender’s best interest not to preserve the tenancy in which case a straight subordination may be used. Any change in the chain of title, whether it is a sale, a new loan or a foreclosure, can cause the priority of tenancy to be lost.

In some cases, the lender may wish to preserve the tenancy of credit tenants in order to preserve the value of the property. A subordination, non-disturbance and attornment agreement (“SNDA agreement”) may be the appropriate document to have recorded. SDNAs are agreements between a tenant and a landlord that lays our certain rights of the tenant, the landlord, and other third parties, such as the landlord’s lender or a purchaser of the property.

If I can answer questions or I refer you to good service providers, I am only a phone call away. Please visit my web site www.danharkey.com to read more of my articles related business, real estate finance, and humor & prospective.

Thank You!

Dan Harkey

Business and Private Money Finance Consultant

Bus. 949 521 7115

Cell 949 533 8315

The article is for educational purposes only and is not intended as a solicitation

Justin French on Business Strategy, Leadership, and SDIRA Wealth

Justin French is the kind of CEO who understands collaboration is the core of innovation. With a growing team that is now nationwide, French’s focus is on the strength of its people.

“I have always believed one of the best investments you can make, as a leader, is in the people you surround yourself with,” French said. “Great leaders never try to do everything on their own. They know a great company is built by everyone performing at their peak level. I spend most of my day working directly with my team and our affiliate partners so I can better equip them to be successful. In return, all of us at SDIRA Wealth are collectively raising the bar and achieving our goals.”

French uses his business-oriented insights to empower his team. He takes inspiration from one of the greats.

“Steve Jobs is a true innovator of our time,” French said. “He wanted to change the world. He did. He made an impact on everyone. He was successful not because he suddenly realized personal computers were his passion. That was not it at all. He knew computers could change the world. He wanted to be part of something bigger than himself.”

French said he admired Jobs’ dedication for making things simple to use, and this simplicity mindset is something French helps cultivate at SDIRA Wealth.

“What we do as a company is remove the barriers of having to deal with headaches of real estate, leaving our clients to enjoy all the benefits of it inside of their retirement accounts,” French said. “Making something simple requires harder work on the front side. You have to have the right talent and put enough time in to define the process. It’s worth it in the end because you have a product that is innovative and easy to use.”

His big-picture thinking combined with detailed actions has helped French make SDIRA Wealth a game-changer for retirement planning.

“The traditional way of retirement investing has been broken for a long time. Many people don’t know the 401(k) plan was never meant to be the main source of retirement funds that it is today, and sadly, pension plans have almost disappeared entirely. The problem is the money people are setting aside for retirement isn’t producing enough of a return for them to actually live on and maintain their standards of living in the future.”

To solve the problem, French said they had to answer three questions. What do people want? What do people need? Can we bring value? SDIRA Wealth’s solution answered all three.

“All great companies solve a problem and create value,” French said. “We don’t look at ourselves as a real estate investment company. We are an education company that provides a great product and solves America’s retirement epidemic. Real estate just happens to be part of that solution. We made the process simple and easy for everyone.”

French and his team are passionate about educating people about the benefits of real estate and Self-Directed IRAs.

“Our team is obsessed with educating others about all the benefits that Self-Directed IRAs bring with the power of real estate,” French said. “Most of the wealthy are already doing it. Look at Mitt Romney. He educated himself and took action for him and his family.”

Many people who invest in real estate are doing it the hard way, according to French.

“People expend a lot of their time finding properties, dealing with the headaches of being a landlord, trying to find ways to finance and leverage, and connecting all the players it takes to make a real estate transaction work,” French said. “That’s ok if you want to be an active investor. But what if you wanted the investment to be passive and to use your retirement dollars while still following all the rules and regulations?”

Complexity mixed with French’s drive for designing simplicity created perfect storm for a solution.

“Where there is complexity there is opportunity,” French said. “When companies focus on making things simple and easy for the end client, that’s when you start to innovate. We made real estate as easy as a stock.”

French said part of making it easy has been about solving challenges.

“People want protection from market volatility, they want a higher rate of return, they don’t like hidden fees, and they want to have control of how their retirement plan is designed,” French said. “We have been able to solve all four. We do this with our solution by utilizing an asset that has been creating millionaires for decades. That’s residential real estate.”

From those four problems, SDIRA Wealth created the acronym PACT, which stands for People Achieving Change Together.

“PACT started out small but now has become a movement across the country with our affiliate partners,” French said. “It also represents the four main benefits our clients love about SDIRA Wealth’s investment solution, which are protection, acceleration, control, and transparency.”

After building and honing the solution, French started focusing on telling people about it by launching a nationwide affiliate campaign.

“We are blessed to work with some amazing affiliate partners who are wealth advisors, investment firms, and big-name influencers. They have same values and beliefs we do of disrupting status quo when it comes to retirement investing. They have been waiting for something like this.”

SDIRA Wealth helps affiliate partners best serve their clients in their market.

“By offering an additional product to accelerate their clients’ portfolios and reach their goals faster, our affiliate partners stand out in their market and attract more cliental,” French said. “Many say it’s the ace in their back pocket that has allowed them to satisfy their clients needs in ways they were not able to before. Their clients see they truly care to represent all the investment choices allowing their clients to win in the end.”

French said affiliate partners are passionate about solving America’s retirement challenges.

“Our affiliate partners understand the benefits of real estate,” French said. “They are excited about what we are doing and see the benefits of what our solution solves. Every week we interview new potential partners. Most of them come through our website or meet us at events.”

French’s success stems from his skills of finding and developing talent.

“The people you surround yourself will always determine your success,” French said. “One of my mentors always reminded me, ‘Show me your team and I’ll show you your success.’ This has always stuck with me and has always been true. With every successful team I have built over the past 20 years, the one thing I have always been very involved with is the interview process. It is vital we are always selecting natural market leaders and influencers who fit our culture and have the ability to make our company better.”

French has three tips for entrepreneurs who are striving for success.

One, “take time everyday to reflect and be thankful.”

“Always remember to have gratitude for the things you already do have,” French said. “Practicing thankfulness has changed my mindset and my life. It’s easy to think about what you don’t have as we are always working toward building our future. When you develop an attitude of gratitude you become thankful for everything that happens to you in life. Don’t be so focused on the finish line that you forget to enjoy the journey.”

Two, “stay true to your vision.”

“Find something you are good at,” French said. “Create something that will bring value to others. Focus on it. It’s easy to get sidetracked into creating new features, getting involved in wrong projects, listening to too many people’s ideas. In the end if you believe in what you do and your product can solve a problem, you are going to bring value to a lot people. If you can do that, success is just the byproduct of adding value and serving others.”

Three, “write down your goals to create accountability.”

“It’s proven people who have their goals written down attract more success,” French said. “As soon as you start working toward a goal you will encounter resistance and hurdles. By writing things down you will overcome these obstacles by focusing on your goal, making the challenges feel like small road bumps. Even more effective is sharing these written goals with someone who can help follow up with you. If you focus on your goals and take action the results will soon follow.”

Skrrt, Skrrt… Cars and Real Estate…

Exclusive Article by Fuquan Bilal, NNG Capital Fund

Before I discovered real estate I had a passion for cars. I even owned a body shop as one of my first businesses. I now keep my businesses and investments diversified within the real estate industry. Yet, I still love cars, and there are a lot of great lessons that correlate between the two.

When I was younger (and often lived above my means) I had Range Rovers and new BMWs. I would lease and trade in every year to get the latest model. I liked to live flashy, like many new real estate investors do.

I’ve learned and matured a lot since then.

I now drive this 1982 seven series BMW. I’ve had it since 2010. I restored it, and still love working on it.

It’s one of those great pet projects that is good for distraction and decompression from the business. It recharges me.

When I visit places like Miami, I’m still excited by new supercars and exotics. I can appreciate the appeal. But, I’m honestly much happier now with my classic.

It’s durable. It’s a vehicle that lasts. I purchased it as a long term investment. I’ll still have to keep up with maintenance and will make modifications. It’s worth it though. It’s rewarding to make a better product.

Classic cars like these go up in value over time, instead of down. This is another reason it really made sense to me.

I invest in real estate for the same reasons. It’s durable, can go up in value, lasts long term, and can be fun and rewarding to see the transformation when remodeling rental properties.

The cash flow from my apartment investments allowed me to recently purchase a car for my mom too, as she always wanted to drive mine!

I’m so grateful that my smart investments allowed me to go pay cash for a car for her. It was not a brand new car, but it was a strategic investment.

It won’t be long before my kids are ready to drive too. When it’s time, I’ll work with them to buy a mortgage note. Then they can use the income from that investment to buy a car or make payments on one if they really want to go that way.

What are you driving and why?

Investment Opportunities:

Find out more about investing in secured debt and real estate, go to NNG Capital Fund

Invest in Overseas Real Estate to Retire Smartly

By Matt Malouf

The 401k plan at your workplace is as traditional as apple pie. You know what it is and you can rely on it. You’ve grown up hearing about this kind of investment being beneficial in life. It’s just something everybody does, and what you should do too.

All it takes is landing a job and investing in your company’s 401k plan throughout your career. After that, you’ll have peace of mind that your retired life is covered.

Wrong!

In fact, a traditional 401k model might be jeopardizing your retirement plans and you don’t even realize it! If you too are investing in a 401k plan and not focusing on other potential investment opportunities out there, are short changing yourself. You must know that typical plans like these only work as retirement savings plans when everything falls into the right place at the right time. That doesn’t happen all too easily.

Do you know many of these plans come with hidden expense and fees ratios attached? For instance, if you invest $10,000 in your 401k plan, over 20 years you could easily more than lose $3,000 to hidden expenses or fees. This is not at all a hypothetical scenario. In fact, many TDFs (target-date funds) have huge secondary fees attached to them.

Also, it is not at all a comfortable feeling or a smart decision to invest in a plan where your retirement depends on the words and actions of many other people. As you may know, the return depends on the month, day, political climate as well as rumors on Facebook and Twitter and so on!

So, what is the premier and smart alternative to secure your retirement while exploiting better opportunities for higher returns?

Well, let me suggest – Overseas Real Estate!

People who truly understand the potential of overseas property investment understand what it brings to your table at the age of retirement. Even if you just compare both of these options side-by-side, you will be shocked to learn how much you have already lost by letting other people control your retirement investment in a typical 401k plan.

Here are some of the endless advantages of investing in the overseas real estate;

Tap into Different Housing Markets

One of the main advantages of investing in overseas property is that you can tap into other growing real estate markets. If you select the country wisely, you are more likely to find a market that is far more profitable than the one in your country.

You can spread your fortune by making property investments in different overseas countries. On the contrary, if you invest the same amount in your home country, the amount of money may only help you buy one or two properties. Whereas the same say USD $200,000 can buy three to five properties diversifying your portfolio even more.

All you need to get a good return is invest into a growing market and you will certainly get the benefits from capital appreciation. There is another good way to utilize your overseas property and that is by renting it out. Think about receiving rental income but in another currency. Isn’t that an excellent way to hedge your financial risk?

Holiday Properties Around the World

An overseas property provides you with different holiday opportunities all over the world. This means that if you fancy jetting off to spend summer in some other country, you have got guaranteed accommodation and that too, for free.

The story doesn’t end there. Overseas real estate also brings another kind of stability besides a financial one. It’s called personal liability. If you own a place overseas, you can always go there if the need ever arises. In short, you can call it your ‘escape hatch’. A place to write, brainstorm, think and get away from the daily grind.

There are many cases where owning an overseas real estate properly is the first step to fully obtain residency there. Doesn’t owning an overseas real estate property add appeal to your ‘Plan B’?

Income and Investment Diversity

For sure you must have heard of the saying ‘don’t put all of your eggs in one basket’. This saying holds true for almost every other aspect of your life and undoubtedly investment is a major part of them.

So, if you actually want to maintain a safe financial standing for yourself, especially after your retirement, put your eggs in different baskets. Overseas real estate should certainly be one of those baskets you consider in your overall plan.

Investment in overseas real estate does not only offer diversification in terms of investment but also in terms of currency. For instance, if you are a U.S. resident, then having all the money in U.S. market means you are surely at the mercy of just one economy. In other words, if you are keeping 100% of your investment in one currency (like U.S. dollar), your investment future is highly dependent on the fate of the dollar.

Therefore, in addition to having a diverse investment portfolio, if you set up an income stream abroad (like renting out your overseas property), you generate an income stream that is totally independent of the U. S economy and sometimes dominated in some other country.

Never Underestimate the Security of Hard Assets

Remember that in the current economic climate, nothing is a more sensible and smart investment decision than investing in real estate. Particularly, overseas hard assets are the best and most logical investment class to secure a strong long-term value.

Even from the point of view of above-average returns and rental yields, the foreign country rental market can be a lot more lucrative if you find the right country to invest in. For instance, the gross rental yield (average) in the U.S. is around 4.2%. If you compare it with today’s emerging international market, it’s much less. Costa Rica, for instance, has a 8.4% rental yield. Other emerging economies in South America can yield you over 15%.

Let’s face it. From a smart retirement plan perspective, when you combine these benefits, there is simply no comparison. Overseas real estate investment is clearly the winner by a long shot!

The actual point of this discussion is not to discourage or dissuade you from going for a 401k plan at work but to help you think farther and smarter. Venture outside the box, think of the possibilities on how you can diversify your life and retirement. There is no harm in considering overseas real estate investment in addition to a good 401k plan.

Matt Malouf

Author-Investor-Pioneer

http://www.MyLifeWorldWide.com

So… You Want to be a Real Estate Investor…

By Lou Brown

If you have the intention to be successful in Real Estate, taking a look at what is working for others may be a good place to start…

Let’s understand what you want to accomplish. Do you want to have your own business in real estate?

Do you want to buy and sell, or buy and hold, or deal in mortgages, or buy and renovate, or build, or subdivide, or some derivation of these?

Frequently I meet individuals who just think about real estate investing in terms of a way to make money, without considering the direction to take. In my mind, that’s similar to a teenager saying, “I want to get a job, so I can earn some money.” Well, that’s great… but what kind of job?

With a general goal like “making money” or “being a real estate investor” people proceed based on what they think they should do next. Which may or may not be a smart move.

Think about the traditional process we go through to start earning a living…We start with over a decade of school.

Now, did they teach us a skill to go into business at school?

No, that is NOT what is taught at school… they teach you how to work for someone else! Even courses entitled Entrepreneurship, Business Management, and Business Applications don’t teach what you need to know about creating, and more importantly… sustaining, a viable business. You see, they don’t teach what you need to know about the process of owning and running your own business. They do teach much of what you need to know about how to work for someone else, but unfortunately they do not teach us how to work for ourselves.

Not only are you not taught how to start or maintain a business for yourself, they also don’t teach how you can get wealthy. That’s the process of how to create assets that work and create income for you, instead of you working for it.

So, what can you do to learn this?

1) You must learn from someone who has done it for themselves. 2) More importantly, you must learn and adopt a process to have that happen for you without all the expensive and time-consuming trial and error that comes with creating a business without a path to follow.

Michael Gerber, author of “The E Myth,” stated that 1,000,000 people go into business in the United States each year, but within 5 years, 96% of them are out of business. I don’t know of anyone who has that intent, but that’s what happens.

They, like you, are attracted to creating a business in hopes it will provide a good living and retirement income too. But for 96% of them, that promise, or vision does not come true and they lose the chance to get freedom from the shackles of working for someone else.

Gerber goes on to say that those with the dream of entrepreneurship thought business worked one way when in actual fact successful businesses work in quite a different way… hence, the title of the book, “The E Myth.” He reports that when the entrepreneur follows a different path, 75% are still in business AFTER five years.

What he found is that those who enter business with a franchise are able to build and sustain their business because they have a path to follow… a clear, direct, tested and proven path that leads them right to the money without the risks and pitfalls that so many others fall into.

Seems sorta obvious, right? Think of some franchises…McDonalds, for example, has a system that works. It works worldwide. Follow their system and it’s almost a guaranteed succeed.

Let me relate a story. Years ago, I invested in building a Holiday Inn, (funded using private money). We could have opened that hotel and called it “Lou’s Motel”. That would have saved us a ton of expense, but would it have been an uphill battle for us to find customers? You bet it would! Not only that, we would have had to create our own reservations system, housekeeping training, accounting software, resources for supplies, and all the rest.

Instead, we opted to go with a known brand – Holiday Inn. Now at the time, this was very expensive; tens of thousands to use their name; multiple thousands for their training and more for their software and 8% of every dollar that came in, for the entire length of the franchise agreement was theirs.

Whew! But we opened the doors to an immediate 100% occupancy and understanding of the proper way to manage the hotel, staff, marketing and lots of support. We were able to take their training, tools, technology and team and have an up and running business without having to make it up as we went. That made sense to me -Doesn’t that make sense to you?

So the question you may be asking is…” Does the Real Estate business have such a path?” You bet it does! And you can actually choose the path to follow.

Your real estate investing needs to be thought of as a business – not just buying and selling a house – and just like a business, you’ll want a business plan to follow; one that allows you to build a business that will generate a good income and a future of dependable continuous cash flow for you and your family.

Your business plan needs to cover all the aspects of this confusing real estate business…

Provide for safety and allow for controlled expansion.
It needs to include all the possible profit centers in Buying, Renovating, Managing, and Selling.
The paperwork and processes need to support all the aspects, so profits and risks don’t get overlooked.
It needs to provide a business model that can be easily duplicated regardless of the size or economic condition of the market you are in.
It needs to have a training and support component to allow for adjustments as the market changes.
It should provide branding to benefit from nationwide recognition and marketing.
It should support building a sellable business, so you can exit when you want to without having to liquidate.

In order for this concept to work in your real estate business your business plan needs to include all the necessary Tools, Training, Technology and Team(tm). It needs to be a holistic approach rather than a concept from here, a form from there, a piece of marketing from someplace else all jumbled together like some untested recipe. In fact, that is the recipe for disaster that so many would be investors follow.

And this is why, as Gerber explained, 96% of businesses without a plan will be out of business in such a short period of time.

Does this make sense to you?

So how do you get a true, time tested business plan that works in all locations and takes advantage of the most compelling profit centers in the business – complete with support to be sure that occurs?

You have to look at people who have and have been using a plan that survives the test of time and still produces results. Fads come and go, and so do the cycles of the real estate market, so don’t base your future on a trendy investing “flash in the pan.”

In my 40+ years of running my successful real estate business, I’ve identified the component parts to make a real estate business work – for anyone – regardless of their current net worth or monthly marketing investment.

I developed a system that allows you, regardless of income or background, to build a business that will have all the benefits a franchise offers without nearly the typical investment. It includes Tools, Training, Technology and Team™ … all in one place AND with the component that is the most important – the wealth aspect and huge profit center of holding property.

Anyone who is serious about having control of their financial future should have holding income producing real estate as the center or at least as a component of their portfolio. You need assets that will work for you for the rest of your life.

This is where real WEALTH resides… assets and equity working for you instead of you working for it.

The combination of Income, Depreciation (tax benefits), Appreciation (growth), Equity Build-up (appreciation and mortgage pay-off) and Leverage (using O.P.M. – other people’s money) makes this the IDEAL unbeatable combination of investment benefits usable by anyone in any walk of life.

Because of your involvement with Realty411, you likely have the basic tools already. That is a good start. You may be someone who can see the value in the holistic approach including branding to allow you to take advantage of all the profit centers.

If you understand the benefit of the “franchise concept” (a proven model and system of success that can be duplicated by anyone) and would like to structure your business to run systematically, then you are welcome to take a look at how I’ve structured my business. It’s a model that has provided me with a lifestyle I love and has provided hundreds of other investors with the same.
You can access a free training on this system anytime, 24 hours a day, by going online to millionairejumpstart.com/dealw.

Equipped with the right holistic tools, training and support, you will achieve your goals. My mission and prayer for you, is success in this business that will benefit you and your family for many years and generations to come.

Warmly,

Lou

Certified Affordable Housing Provider