Making Money in Real Estate

Its no secret that people have become Millionaires using Real Estate as their vehicle to wealth than any other method. It is said that McDonald’s is not in the food business they are in the Real Estate business. If you look at their property and the property values you’d agree. Before becoming a Realtor and an Investor I communicated with a number of wealthy people across the World, and the one thing that almost everyone of my wealthiest clients had in common was ownership or past ownership in Real Estate. With my point being made the issue for you becomes how do you make money yourself?

The first step for you should be becoming more knowledgeable. Knowledge with action equals wealth in Real Estate. Knowledge can also equal disaster when it is incorrect or used incorrectly. Paraphrasing the book “The Richest Man In Babylon” don’t use financial advice from your plumber. Far too often we get our advice from people that don’t know what they are talking about, or worse yet may be trying to deceive you. I attend several investment association meetings each month and I am troubled when I listen to some of the investment offerings at these meetings. One such offer was for town homes that were being sold and within one year the owner would make $30,000. They did not have to make a payment on the property for two years! Sound too good to be true? Well in that same market there are currently eight homes on the market for every buyer. The normal ratio is less than half of that. So basic with a basic knowledge of economics a person would be able to ascertain that the prices should be leveling off or decreasing rather than increasing with those conditions. Unfortunately, people are buying into these types of promises everyday.

Another offer was to buy lots in North Carolina and Tennessee. The seller claimed that they had already made $60,000 on the lot that they were selling. This offer was being presented in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Only a limited number of buyers would be able to acquire these lots. If it were such a great offer why would they have to come to us in Minnesota wouldn’t they be able to sell it in Tennessee? Wouldn’t one of the previous buyers buy more lots if they were making so much money on their first purchase?

There are just as many people losing money if not more than those making it in Real Estate! I had another person tell me of a building in Chicago being built close to a project being done by Donald Trump. It was a copy of what Trump was doing, but it was being sold for half of what Trump’s offerings were and supposedly would be worth the same as this properties in a couple years. There is always that bridge for sale in Brooklyn….

Where do I propose you get your knowledge from? Well first off one of the greatest sources is your Library or local bookstore. There are plenty of great books on Real Estate. Robert Kiyosaki is a fantastic writer. His book series “Rich Dad Poor Dad” has priceless information. It is written on a very basic level and is fun to read with a variety of examples. My friends and clients often say that books like Rich Dad are too basic and don’t work with their specific situation. The funny thing with that is the same people seem to miss his most important lessons. One of the very first things Kiyosaki talks about is to buy property close to home. Then these same people wonder why owning something 1,000 miles away is difficult to manage.

Seldom will one book make you a instant millionaire, but if you pick up one Idea from each book you read or CD you listen to your well ahead of the game.

I have found that Robert Shemin’s Millionaire series “The Millionaire Landlord” and others are great as well. He has many practical Ideas.

Along with reading or listening to the information you need to find a Mentor. Going back to the thought of where are you getting your advice look for someone who already has been successful. I had a friend that built his Real Estate portfolio from nothing to several million within four years. Every time I could buy him lunch I’d do it. I was his shadow any time I could be. He didn’t mind showing me what he had done and what he was working on. Occasionally, he asked me for advice. He liked having someone to give him another point of view. On my first purchase he came with me and gave me his blessing on the deal. It is amazing what I learned from him and he enjoyed the fact that someone wanted his advice.

If you want this kind of advice just ask for it. I wanted to know more about Rehabbing property so I started hanging out with people that were doing rehab work. One day I went to a home and used a shovel to take up old tile from a floor. I didn’t charge the owner for my time, and I learned what he looked for when he purchased buildings. Neither he nor my Mentor-friend charge me a dime, and I have since made ten’s of thousands from the information that they have provided to me. Look for a mentor that isn’t looking to make money from you. Offer them your time and help and they’ll be willing to show you just about everything they know.

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