You got into this business for freedom, right?

Money freedom , yes. But also time freedom, and life-on-your-terms freedom.

But here’s a truth a lot of us don’t realize early enough—and it handicaps us:

Independence isn’t…Independent

At every stage of this country’s history, it’s been groups of people, acting together, that have secured the blessings of liberty for themselves and others.

From overthrowing British rule to ending the practice of slavery to suffrage to the civil rights movement and on through today, new freedoms have only come when enough people got together for a common cause, organized to achieve what they wanted.

Guess what? Personal financial freedom is ALSO a team sport.

No one builds wealth in a vacuum. No one protects their property rights to it by themselves. And no one makes it to the top without a whole bunch of people who have  their back.

Wanna do new things without messing up? You need vetted education and advisors.

Wanna scale? You need team members and financial friends.

Wanna get past the inevitable mistakes? You need partners and allies.

Wanna keep what you’ve built? You need a team that fights for your rights when the government comes knocking.

That’s us.

COREE isn’t just some “club”.

We’re a community of real people building real freedom—and making sure nobody takes it away.

We teach each other, challenge each other, help each other.

We h ... Read More…

“What in the world? Where is all of my money?! I just had over $100,000 in my bank account yesterday, and now I’m down to $1.50.”

If I had a nickel for every time I heard a real estate investor say something to that effect, I’d have several dollars and could buy (maybe) one scoop of Cold Stone ice cream.

At some point or another, you have probably read “Rich Dad Poor Dad” (This book is pretty much a prerequisite to being a real estate investor, so I highly recommend reading it.) And if you’ve read and really enjoyed it, you have probably played the board game Cashflow 101, also by Rich Dad author Robert Kiyosaki.

In his penultimate book and board game, Kiyosaki talks about the rat race. The whole point of the board game is to get out of the rat race. The rat race he references at a high level is getting up, going to work, trading your time for money, and then doing it all over again the next day—forever and ever and ever.

I’m guessing that you probably got into real estate, too, because at some level, you wanted to get out of the proverbial rat race. So, you started a real estate investing company and began doing deals since that was one way to escape.

Or so you were told…

I will be very honest with you. This was one reason I started doing real estate deals. The idea of working every day and doing the same thing over and over again was really depressing to me. The whole idea of the rat race st ... Read More…

Several times in the past few months, I’ve found myself explaining to students that the reason they couldn’t sell their wholesale deal was that they’d overpriced it, and the reason they’d overpriced was that they’d made a common logical error in figuring out the value.

See if you can tell what it is:

The subject property has an after-repaired value of $100,000, and the house has an outdated kitchen, bath, furnace, and flooring.

However, the house also has a section 8 tenant living there who’s been there for 5 years and doesn’t want to move. The house is rented for $1,000/month, and the annual section 8 inspection just came back requiring that the basement walls be painted and that one room of carpet be replaced--$1,500 in work, total.

You are offering this property to landlords for $68,500 because $100,000 x .7 - $1,500 in repairs = $68,500.

Why is it not selling?

The answer is that it’s not a good deal, and you’ve conflated two different ways of analyzing a property.

You based your “value” on an “after-repaired value” calculation, and then didn’t estimate enough for repair costs to put the property into after-repaired condition.

By saying “This house is worth $68,000 to an investor”, you’re basically saying that with $1,500 in repairs, it would sell for $100,000. In fact, $1,500 will only put it into RENTAL condition, not RESALE condition.

It might even be TRUE th ... Read More…

Begin by teaching them about the lifestyle choice that they’ll get to make each day of their lives… the lifestyle choice of being either rich, poor or middle class. Once they make that decision, show them how they can use real estate as a vehicle for reaching their chosen destiny.

Let’s face it… for almost everyone first starting out, investing in real estate is just another job… part-time, but a job that takes additional time away from family and friends. Rare is the first-time real estate investor who has the available funds to jump into rehabbing or buying rental units without another “job” to support them. Most of us get started as real estate entrepreneurs by doing real estate “on-the-side” in the evenings and on weekends while keeping our day jobs to meet our families’ financial needs. Thus, the goal for most newbie investors is to earn additional money for the family while not losing that valuable family time.

My wife and I got into the real estate business quite accidently. Out of necessity we would buy junker houses to live in because that was all we could afford. Then we would fix them up while we lived in them. As the family grew, we would buy another house with more bedrooms and baths and fix that one up. All this was being done as our children were young.

I got started as a real estate entrepreneur when a friend of mine who was in the business of rehabbing houses talked me into buying a house at ... Read More…

Financial freedom isn’t just about stacking cash—it’s about designing a life where your time, choices, and income are truly your own. Pete Fortunato, a legend in creative real estate, teaches that wealth is built not just with properties, but with people. His approach focuses on crafting win-win deals, using creativity over capital, and building lasting relationships—what he calls “financial friends.” Want to hear it straight from the source? Check out this insightful podcast episode with Pete: HERE

As you can probably imagine, there’s a LOT that goes on in the background in running this big and growing community.

One of those things is an annual meeting where our team looks at big picture things like vision, mission, big projects for the year...all the things you probably do for your real estate business.

Years ago, we outlined a “Proven Process for Creating Successful Real Estate Entrepreneur” based on my decades of experience watching members join and then either meet their goals or not, and the first step of that process is, “We Meet You Where You Are”.

Over the years, that idea has guided a lot of the programs and decisions you’ve seen here, and it’s a philosophy we go back to over and over as the real estate market, and the economy, and world events, have evolved.

It’s a guiding principle here at COREE, and here’s why it’s so important to you:

1. You are at a unique level in your real estate knowledge and experience, and so we provide education, resources, and support for new, active, and experienced investors to meet your needs NOW, and as you progress in your learning. You’ll always find topics here that you can use to grow your business, no matter how “advanced” you get or how new you are.

2. You’re also going down a certain path in WHAT you want to do: wholesaling, retailing, creative finance, notes, short term rentals, mid-term rentals, growing your retirement plan, and ... Read More…

I remember when I attended my first seminar, and the speaker said you have to have a system and discipline. I knew what the system was because he was teaching it. But I did not know what the discipline was until I began to apply the system. The discipline is that you have to take the action to make the system work properly. Through months and years of trial and error, I now know what he meant by discipline. I had to discipline myself to always take action, even when I didn’t feel like it. Despite all the easier softer ways of doing things today, I still sometimes don’t feel like it. But I force myself to take action.

Many years ago, I found something on the internet that I printed and framed, and it is on my office wall. It’s called, the “7 Excuses”.  I can’t do it, I’m not feeling it right now, I’m too busy, I’m too tired, there’s no guarantee it’s going to work, I’m not good enough, and my luck sucks. I still to this day do not know who the author is, but I read that from time to time to keep me motivated. I always check to see if I’m making excuses. Let’s break it down.

I can’t do it: if that’s what I’m thinking, I’m probably right, but if I change it to, I can do it, I’m also right. I must program my mind that I can do it, then all I need to do is try, and if I run into a hurdle, I find a way around it and with some fine tuning, I find that I can do i ... Read More…

Trusts can be a powerful tool to have in your financial tool box. They can be a resource to help you build your financial wealth if you learn how and when to use them.

The first step is to understand the two main categories of trusts, revocable and irrevocable. When you use them, think of it as pulling a hand tool versus a power tool from your toolbox.

For example, a revocable trust is similar to a hand tool, relatively easy to set up and use. It is easier to administer and relatively inexpensive. A revocable trust can be changed easily and offers some asset protection.

A common way to use a revocable trust is a Land Trust which can hold investment properties and personal homes. Another common use is a Personal Property Trust which holds cars, boats and even notes. A living trust, used mostly for estate planning, can hold your personal home, assets, stocks and bank accounts.

An irrevocable trust is similar to a power tool because it is a little more complex to set up and operate. There are more rules to follow. It can cost more and can be permanent but it offers much better asset and privacy protection.

Common ways to use an irrevocable trust are an Asset Protection Trust and a Children’s or Special Needs Trust which can provide income for minors or people with special needs.

Another powerful way to use an irrevocable trust is an Installment Sale Trust which can help you defer taxes when selling assets or businesses.

When building a house, the right tools make ... Read More…

Landlords have always had the ability to woo business travelers to their rentals. 

But now that online travel agencies such as Airbnb, HomeAway, and TripAdvisor have gone mainstream, it’s easier than ever!

Let’s define a corporate rental as dwelling that’s lease directly to a company or a business traveler who has a housing allowance. If a company is paying for the rental, and not the tenant, then it’s a corporate rental. 

When a company pays their employees or contractors to work remotely, then that tenant: 1 – Will behave and not embarrass their employer

2 – Will have a binary attitude towards your rates. Either they are within their allowance, or they aren’t.

These two characteristics make business travelers the most lucrative and ideal people for your rentals.

The Opportunity

Business travelers find that with short-term corporate rentals, they are able to afford more home-like conveniences for less. They are able to cook healthier, have more privacy, and have a richer travel experience when they don’t stay at a hotel.

That’s why the trend in corporate housing is spiking. Especially when a traveler is on an assignment for 30 days or longer.

Extended stay business travelers actively search for houses and apartments to live in. Many want to live in neighborhoods and not off freeway offramps.

Now, is it possible that you could furnish a rental to accommodate corporate travelers? Could you earn hotel- ... Read More…

Note: Laws and regulations regarding the advertising, registering, and formalization of private loans vary enormously state-to-state. Generally, these rules apply to the borrower rather than the lender, but even lenders should be aware of what the laws in your state say about these transactions. Of course, this article is not intended as legal, accounting, or other professional advice. Always consult with your legal, accounting, or other professional before making any investment.  Further, nothing in this article should be construed as an offering or solicitation of a security.

          Private lending is a strategy in which even moderate-income investors can easily get involved.

          There are plenty of real estate entrepreneurs and rehabbers who want to borrow your money; if you let it be known you have as little as $20,000 to lend in most markets, someone will be right there ready to put that cash to work.

          If all goes as it’s supposed to, it’s a truly hand-off investment; you just sit back and collect checks. And the return is oh-so-much-better than other fixed-rate investments; you can expect to average around 6-8% per year total (because higher rate loans are generally also shorter term; when you loan money to a rehabber at 12% but he only uses that money 9 months a year, that still works out to 8%).