Lately, I’m finding that lots of my successful – non-real estate investor – friends are wanting to get their foots in the door with real estate investing. This is a sign that the tides are turning because “real” investors are wanting to get in on the deals!

The 5 most common questions that come up include:

1. Is this a good time to invest in real estate?
2. What if the market continues to go down?
3. Is this a good deal – or type of deal – for me to get involved with?
4. What’s the best strategy for this market?
5. How can I protect myself in the current economy?

Let’s take a quick look at each of these questions: Read the full story

Real estate investing is really simple if you simply follow the basics. The problem is that we have the tendency to complicate things more than they really need to be AND that we over-think things too much. We get “too much” specialized knowledge that it begins to cripple us from ever getting started in real estate investing.

When I started out in the business, I made a commitment that I had to implement at least one thing from any home study course I purchased, event I attended, or book that I read before I could buy something else.

You see, we all tend to keep looking for the “magic pill” to riches in real estate and no such thing exists. You need to actually take action and apply the specialized knowledge that you are getting — not simply go from strategy to strategy, never actually implementing anything.

In addition, when you take this piece meal approach to getting started in real estate investing, you often get contradictory information, which makes you start to question if a strategy will work. Read the full story

Real estate investing is really simple if you simply follow the basics. The problem is that we have the tendency to complicate things more than they really need to be AND that we over-think things too much. We get “too much” specialized knowledge that it begins to cripple us.

When I started out in the business, I made a commitment that I had to implement at least one thing from any home study course I purchased, event I attended, or book that I read before I could buy something else. You see, we tend to keep looking for the “magic pill” to riches in real estate and no such thing exists. You need to actually take action and apply the specialized knowledge that you are getting — not simply go from strategy to strategy, never actually implementing anything. Read the full story

The only real solution for real estate investing mistakes is consistent action! You’ve got to stick with it and realize that part of learning process. You WILL make mistakes… and you will continue to make them for as long as you choose to invest.

The key is to learn from each and move on. Add it to a policy and procedure manual so to speak! And avoid that particular real estate investing mistake in the future!

When I first started in real estate, I would document every real estate deal in detail. I would be sure to document: (1) What went well, (2) What didn’t go well!, Read the full story

There are only 7 steps you need to master to be successful in real estate. If you fail to master any single step, you’re building your real estate business on a weak foundation. Wouldn’t you rather build your home on a rock-solid, unbreakable foundation?

Step #1: How To Set Your Business Up And Build Your Team

I defer to Napoleon Hill! If you look at people that have been successful in the past, a common thread is the people they are surrounded with. You need to build your team with the RIGHT people.

Remember, you get what you pay for! (To give you an idea Read the full story

It’s easy to get caught up in the “stuff” of day to day life. It’s easy to get overwhelmed, fed up, frustrated and scared from time to time. But every now and then, it’s great to stop yourself and think about what you are thankful for in life.

I remember – it must have been 10 years ago now – I got a journal-type book from Barnes and Noble and began to use Oprah’s idea of “The Gratitude Journal” and every single day, I would force myself to come up with 5 things that I was thankful for. It sounds easy enough, but after about day 5, you run out of the obvious. You start REALLY digging deep for things that you are thankful for.

But beyond that, something happened internally! I began to really BE thankful for everything and I stopped taking things for granted. I started looking at all the people that were important in my life and rather than going from generic statements like, “I’m thankful for my mother,” I started getting specific. “I am thankful for the encouragement my mother gave me to get started in real estate”. That’s when I really began to appreciate everything on a deeper level.

So… in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I encourage you to post your comments to this post and write 5 things that you are thankful for in your life. Then… share them with the people that you are thankful for when you’re sitting around the table with family and friends! Read the full story

Whether you’re a seasoned real estate investor or brand new to investing, you will – at some point in your career – need to turn to hard money!

Many people turned away from hard money except on the REALLY UGLY properties for much of the early 2000s or if they had pretty beat up credit. This was because conventional lenders were giving money away for all intents and purposes! Virtually anyone ““ first time home buyer to seasoned investor ““ could get 100% financing on their properties and it didn’t seem to matter how many properties one had!

Well”… welcome to the new market: The “conventional” lenders (like Chase, Indymac, Countrywide, etc.) have tightened their reins, and for good reason!

Before we go into how to get hard money, let’s talk about some of the pros and cons of hard money versus conventional financing! Read the full story

I can remember back years ago when I was getting started in real estate with my first business partner and long time friend. We heard the warnings. We read all the horror stories of partnerships gone bad. And then… we decided that we were different and our situation was “different”!

You see, we’d been friends for years before, had started several different businesses together and had lived and worked closely for the past 5 years. So all those bad things that happen to other partnerships surely wouldn’t happen to us.

Plus, we were going to make sure we did things right! We were going to set up a business entity. After going back and forth from attorney to CPA; LLC to S corp, we eventually settled on the S Corp. It was cheaper and since we couldn’t find any conclusive reason not to, we dove in and were now 50/50 partners in our own business.

A few years later after our adventure began, we found ourselves in litigation and in an ugly battle! So, why did things take such a turn for the worse?
Read the full story