Good Debt, Bad Debt

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Every day I meet people at a stage of their lives where debt is greatly affecting them. They are beginning to realize that debt takes much more than just your money.  

I am talking about people with average salaries—and people making good money or even exceptional money, but not necessarily making financial progress. These are good people, people that deep down know there is a better way but never seem to find it.  

When I refer to Good Debt, I am actually using shorthand meaning “good uses of debt.”  Debts, like guns, are actually neither good nor bad in and of themselves. In both cases, it takes a human to pull the trigger. When we sign, scan, or otherwise acknowledge indebtedness, we are pulling the trigger. It is how we use debt, and what we use it for that makes it good or bad.  

Using debt without considering value of the goods, services, or property being acquired is the beginning of serious trouble.  

Using debt wisely can increase your wealth, net worth, and cash flow. Using it poorly decreases or destroys these things. Never using debt at all
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Is Buying Land a Good Investment

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7 Reasons why buying land is a better investment than traditional real estate. 

Real Estate investment is HOT right now. Every time you turn the TV on, there’s a new house-flipping show. But you see a deeply-edited version of reality. Buying a house to flip is so much more difficult than it seems.

Land is a different story. When you compare buying land to buying houses, the advantages pile up fast. Land flipping is both a no-brainer and a well-kept secret. Here are 7 compelling reasons why buying land is a better investment than buying houses.

  1. Less competition
  2. Extensive education unnecessary
  3. Less hassle
  4. Less cash upfront
  5. Less risk
  6. Read More...


Are You Hiring the Right Tenants

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          I have a friend in Colorado Springs who owns a bank. Several years ago, I complimented him on his employee retention. My banker and I both understand that his most important assets walk out of his bank each night to go to their respective homes and that his job is to get them to come back each morning. His key to hiring great employees is to screen for proper job skills, attitude and moral code and then empower them to be the best that they can be.

          Jim Collins states in his book, Good to Great that all great companies put the right people on the “bus” and that great people will know where to drive the bus. He is saying that great companies hire the best people that they can find and then let these people “drive” the company where it needs to go in order to make the company soar. Great employers do not micro-manage or hire for specific tasks as much as empower great people to grow into their potential and be great at what they do.

          I believe that if landlords would take these examples and apply them to their rental business, then their success and bottom-line profit would increase dramatically. Landlords expect tenants to do a job, but many have never defined th
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What is the Holy Grail of Real Estate

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          When I work with new investors, I find that most of them are looking to me to provide them the Holy Grail, the single source key for the mother lode.

          They ask, “What is the absolute best way to generate leads, or the best script to use. How can I go from broke to filthy rich in 30 days or less?

          What is the one secret that if I learn and apply it untold wealth will be mine?”

          They say, “I know it must be there because I see these guys on late night TV, I know because I’ve been to a seminar, I know because I bought this course....” 

          Living in Florida makes this even more entertaining because long before the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock, a Spaniard named, Ponce de Leon, was roaming through the Florida swamps looking for the fountain of Youth. I visited it last year and even had a sip of this rather vile water, I honestly didn’t feel any younger and now a year later, my grey hair remains. Anyway, back to the story.

   &nbs
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Why Private Money Rocks

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This topic is near and dear to my heart. When I started my RE career, I heard about the necessity of finding private lenders. In fact, I even found two. But then I stopped. For four years I PROCRASTINATED. I didn't get it!!! For four years I continued to go to banks and jump through their hoops. I also had used hard money lenders but found them VERY expensive.

It wasn't until I quit my J.O.B. and found that banks wouldn't loan me money that I realized that I needed to bring private lenders into my life quickly.

When I took that step, everything changed for the better.

What are some of the advantages of using private money for your real estate investments? Well, if you haven't decided whether or not to use private money, I decided to lay it on the line here for everyone to see.


• You can get money fast & you can buy at a discount
• No credit check & doesn't show up on your credit report
• Unlimited funds
• Control because you set the rules
• Help your friends, family & associate. Meet a great group of people
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What Are You Waiting For? Get Started Already…

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Just this morning, I was having yet another conversation with a fellow educator about the frustration we have with students who have the brains, education, and resources to make deals—but who, month after month, do everything BUT make deals.

We discussed people who spend big bucks on courses, set up their LLCs, draft land trusts, buy marketing/accounting/management software, attend local REIA meetings religiously, have a color-coded filing system, get their real estate license, start a buyer’s list, concoct every conceivable question about every conceivable scenario in a deal…

…in fact, do everything that it takes to be a successful real estate entrepreneur except make offers.

Many of these people are successful in their other endeavors; many have good jobs, nice houses, great kids, you name it. But they can never seem to get to the point of actually buying a property, no matter what we tell them or how much time passes.

What many of you seem to be waiting for is that NEXT bootcamp or the NEXT investor meeting or the NEXT meeting with their coach.

And what you’re hoping for is
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Why Private Money Rocks

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This topic is near and dear to my heart. When I started my RE career, I heard about the necessity of finding private lenders. In fact, I even found two. But then I stopped. For four years I PROCRASTINATED. I didn't get it!!! For four years I continued to go to banks and jump through their hoops. I also had used hard money lenders but found them VERY expensive.

It wasn't until I quit my J.O.B. and found that banks wouldn't loan me money that I realized that I needed to bring private lenders into my life quickly.

When I took that step, everything changed for the better.

What are some of the advantages of using private money for your real estate investments? Well, if you haven't decided whether or not to use private money, I decided to lay it on the line here for everyone to see.

  • You can get money fast & you can buy at a discount.
  • No credit check & doesn't show up on your credit report.
  • Unlimited funds
  • Control because you set the rules.
  • Help your friends, family & associate. Meet a great group of people. Read More...


The Importance of Accountability in Reaching Your Goals

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          I think that for almost everyone, there are 2 sets of priorities in life: the things you HAVE to do (go to work, clean the house, pet the dog, pet the husband, etc) and the things you don’t have to do, but which bring much greater long-term rewards (flip enough deals to quit the job, buy a house, train the dog, train the husband).

          The first set of goals is relatively easy to accomplish, if only because day-today life doesn’t proceed very well without them. The second set is more difficult, because, in all honesty, your life won’t change much if you don’t flip a house this week. That particular lack of change should, of course, be viewed as a BAD thing, but if everything else is going OK (you haven’t lost your job or been faced with a giant medical bill or something), it’s not a bad enough thing to spur you into action next week.

          In an already-full life (which I think most of us would agree that we have), it’s often difficult to find the time to do something that will eventually lead us to a better life; it’s so much easier to tick off the “must dos” and put off the “wanna dos” until tomorrow.

The Must Dos in Your Life vs. the Wanna Dos

          For example, th
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Myths about Land Trusts

South Jersey Real Estate Investors Association

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Myths about Land Trusts

By: Mr. Land Trust®, Randy Hughes 

I write and teach a lot about the many benefits to using a Land Trust to hold title to real estate investments. There is a lot of misinformation in the marketplace about Land Trusts and a lot of bad advice given regarding these title holding trusts. After using these trusts for more than 40 years, I have found that the myths outnumber the facts. In this article I will dispel some of the myths that I hear over and over.

MYTH: Only bare land can be put into a Land Trust

TRUTH: Any real estate (or real estate related asset) can be titled in a Land Trust

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How to Build Your Dream Team of Contractors

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          In my business of rehabbing and reselling house, it’s impossible to make any money without the right contractors: those who get the job done on time, on budget, and right.

          Novice retailers usually don’t have such people at their fingertips, so how can you build a team of good contractors? The answer is by following all eight of the critical prescreening steps below.

 

Ask the contractor how long they have been in the business. I prefer at least five years of experience in the trades. I want a contractor who has seen and repaired every strange, odd, and crazy thing that could be wrong with a house. Experienced contractors know how to estimate all tough projects and experienced professionals can give an accurate price to fix any problem.

Inexperienced contractors, on the other hand, under-estimate repairs to get the business, and then they try to push their mistake on the property owner by upping the price halfway through construction.  When this happens, you need to stand firm and say no. NO is the most powerful word in
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