Making the most of your investment...

Return Real Estate was created with a motto of:
"Helping you make the most of your investment..."

What does it mean to make the most of your investment?

Making money is different from keeping it..

This is why you should have good financial ideals before worrying about money:

Check out this story!


To our success,

Geoff Dearing

www.ReturnRealEstate.com

Have an opinion?

Everyone has an opinion, but few actually have the knowledge necessary to substantiate their view. I live within the boundaries of the most disrupted school district in Utah. Because of this I am constantly hearing people talk about how poorly our school administration is doing in handling the problems they are facing. Although the problems are definitely severe, most of the opinions I am hearing seem to be based on very limited knowledge. No one seems to have anything constructive to add to the solution, they are too busy focused on the problem.

Real Estate success goes hand in hand with good problem solving. In order to be a good investor, you must have excellent skill in handling issues beyond the grasp of the common man. Anyone can do this, but it requires cultivating a strong imagination.

Rather than wasting energy on contributing to the mountain of problems, learn to find a way to reduce it.

To your success,

Geoff Dearing
www.ReturnRealEstate.com

Organization and Strategy

One of the great things about my business is that I meet great people. I am constantly meeting people that surprise me with who they are and what they are doing. One of the major themes that I consistently find among these people are the skills they have within themselves to stay organized. Organization is an essential skill to success. This new year has brought more business to me in the form of new and existing clients needing my services.

With this added demand, I now feel more need to remain organized within the small working environment that I have. Fortunately I have stayed in front of all the demand by keeping organized in various ways and I am finding new means of handling the increased traffic to my business. The main focus I have developed recently is the use of teams. It is very important in any endeavor to use a team of professionals that you can delegate tasks to in order to get them all accomplished in time.

Real Estate investing is a demanding and fun field to be involved in, but be prepared to work hard, continually learn, and to be challenged daily.

To our success,

Geoff Dearing
www.ReturnRealEstate.com

The Five Laws of Gold: Law #5...

The final law sums up the other four:

"Gold flees the man who would force it to impossible earnings or who followeth the alluring advice of trickster and schemers or who trust it to his own inexperience and romantic desires in investment." The Richest Man in Babylon

Great Article about buying a home...

10 Rookie Home buyer Mistakes

I read this and thought I had to share it with everyone, what a great list to generate of things to consider, I agree with the author 100%.

Enjoy,

Geoff Dearing

www.ReturnRealEstate.com

Why not to take advice from a bank rep...

I was in a local branch of a national bank today and I could not help but overhear the advice that the 'financial expert' was giving to a customer.

The first thing that bothered me was the voice level this rep. was using. I could hear the entire conversation from across the building. For starters, The person he was speaking to must have thought he was angry at them. I have never enjoyed taking advice from someone screaming at me, let alone someone who knows absolutely nothing about what he is talking about.

This bank rep. then proceeds to tell this person that the bank Mutual Fund was the best place for the customer to put their money. Using arguments like, "the stock market is still down 4000 points from where it was, it is going to come back" and "this stock has an average return of 6% since 2001, it is a safe investment." Don't get me wrong, I do believe the stock market could quite possibly return to it's former glory, but predicting when this will happen is impossible to know. This gentleman was acting like he knew exactly what was going to happen and insisted that the customer place his hard earned money in their hands.

What bothered me the most about this situation was the way in which this rep. acted that there was only one option for this person he was helping. It also bothered me how this person seemed to be eating it up without giving any thought to who he was speaking to.

The bottom line is you should not listen to investment advice from a CLERK making 10 dollars an hour. The only motivation they have is the commission they will make from placing you in that investment. As I was walking out I heard him say that he just bought a motorcycle and got a loan to do it! I wonder what was motivating him that day?!

Be Careful who you take advice from,

To your success,

Geoff Dearing

The Five Laws of Gold: Law #4

"Gold slippeth away from the man who invests it in businesses or purposes with which he is not familiar or which are not approved by those skilled in its keep." -The Richest Man in Babylon

We better understand the basics of what we are investing in. I have seen people put money in things they were not familiar with and lose it. Fortunes, both large and small have been lost in this manner.

This is why education is such a basic, yet necessary aspect of any new endeavor. I spent nearly a year researching and learning before I ever made my first real estate purchase. To this day I don't approach anything without having a team together that can advise me on what to consider, even in a new real estate transaction.

I hope people are taking something away from these laws, as they are literally ancient principles, although the author is not.

To your success,

Geoff Dearing
http://www.ReturnRealEstate.com

The Five Laws of Gold: Law 3

"Gold clingeth to the protection of the cautious owner who invest it under the advice of men wise in its handling." -Richest Man in Babylon

This law is very complicated, although simple in principle. Most people believe that they are going to a professional when they have their taxes done, visit a financial planner, invest with a real estate group, or a myriad of other activities. How much homework are they actually doing before they invest with these groups?

Most people don't put nearly enough thought into this process before making such an important decision. I have to say your cousin, the financial planner, may not be the best choice for such financial decisions.

I encourage you all to take a closer look at what you are doing in your investments and decide if the person you are working with is a 'wise person' as this rule talks about. If you are giving your money to fools, you are going to lose it quickly.

Geoff Dearing
www.ReturnRealEstate.com

Law of Gold #2 Continued

I realize I said Wednesday, but the week got away from me.

Here is the second law of Gold again as a reminder:

"Gold laboreth diligently and contentedly for the wise owner who finds for it profitable employment, multiplying even as the flocks of the field."

When I first read this I could tell that many people would think, 'how can gold be employed?'

It is a simple meaning of the word 'employ' that will help us make sense of the phrase. In other words, We are putting our money to work for us.

There are many forms of getting your money to work for you. These can include savings plans, venture capital, hard money lending, note brokering, real estate investing, stock trading, and commodity trading. I specifically like real estate because of the predictability and stability that rental property provides with the right knowledge.

Getting your money to work for you is a key to success no one can do without.

The Five Laws of Gold: Law #2

"Gold laboreth diligently and contentedly for the wise owner who finds for it profitable employment, multiplying even as the flocks of the field." -The Richest Man In Babylon.

What do you think the author is saying with this law?

I will elaborate my thoughts on Wednesday, I want to hear what you all have to say about it first!

The Five Laws of Gold: Law #1

Gold cometh gladly and in increasing quantity to any man who will put by not less than one-tenth of his earnings to create an estate for his future and that of his family-From, "The Richest Man In Babylon."

Plainly put, anyone who can gain the discipline to set 10% of their income aside for investment can conquer poverty. They gain the power to direct their own destiny rather than working paycheck to paycheck solely to survive. There are a total of five rules that all need to be followed if one wants to get ahead in life, but this is the first and most important of all.

I have followed this in my own life and have found the rewards immeasurable compared to where I could see myself if I was not doing so. I will be sharing all five of these laws over then next few weeks, but I strongly encourage you to pick up this book and read them for yourself. You will not regret understanding how investing for your future will change your life!

Real Estate makes one rich...

Real Estate is a tool that many have used to become wealthy, but just as many if not more have become impoverished by investing in Real Estate. Hence the need for a high 'Real Estate IQ.' It is not hard to go and buy a piece of property in the United States. The hard part comes in determining the strategy in which you plan on making money doing so.

I have begun reading the book entitled, "The Richest Man In Babylon." The whole premise of the book is a character, who after squandering all the money he has earned, asks the Gods why he is poor. The answer is simple, but elusive to the average man, as he is. That answer lie in his tactics or in other words, strategy. You have to have a plan to not only make money, as he did making chariots, but also creating ways that your money will create new wealth. Literally anyone can go out and create money by the capabilities and talents they possess. The difference is within those who than take that money and spend it frivolously or reinvest in something to create additional sources of cash flow.

Real Estate is by far one of the best ways to do this, but without having the grand 'strategy' we need, you may as well sit on a wall and complain.

Persistence is king...

Here is one of my favorite quotes from a great book:

"It is seldom luck or inheritance or advanced degrees or even intelligence that enables people to amass fortunes. Wealth is more often the result of a lifestyle of hard work, perseverance, planning, and most of all, self discipline." Thomas J. Stanley-The Millionaire Next Door


Please feel free to post your thoughts, I don't feel there is much need for elaboration on this quote. I will say this, I am focusing on this subject in my own life and I can already feel it is leading me to greater success.

Putting Away childish things...

I am a big child at heart, but I have come to realize that certain things should be left in childhood. The reason I say this is because, success depends so directly on persistence towards a goal, that often our childhood tendencies get in the way.

For example, the desire to hang on to things we were good at as children can often lead to time wasted in pursuits that will not bring actual success. I am speaking from personal experience, as tonight I sit and write this I am in the process of giving up one of my favorite activities that I participated in as a child. This new year has brought much thought to play in how I need to change in order to get what I truly want out of life.

"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things" (I Corinthians 13:11) Whether or not you are religious, this statement contains truth that anyone can follow. So how does this pertain to real estate you may ask? I am asking myself the same question and the biggest correlation that comes to mind are the long term goals that I have as I grow older. More importantly, how I can put away some 'childish' activities in order to further develop as an investor, entrepreneur, and mentor to those I choose to work with. We all need fun and hobbies in our life, but for me I have found that too much emphasis was being placed on this aspect. Now I must bring things into harmony by giving one up!

Getting a 'good' deal in Real Estate

One of the most common questions that I hear in this industry goes something like, "is it a good deal?" Because of the nature of the question and the difficulty to answer, I decided that I wanted to comment on this very thing.

Getting a good 'deal' is superfluous and difficult to determine. As the saying goes, "One Mans trash is another Mans treasure." The definition of a good deal to one person could be completely different to someone else. The first step to take in determining whether a real estate transaction you are looking at is good is to gather information on what it is you are looking for in the first place. Without a clear picture in your head of the desired property, it makes getting that awesome price near impossible.

For example, I am working on several deals right now in my home state of Utah. One of these deals is a short sale for a client who was going to lose the home if I did not step in and find the proper solution. To them, it is a good deal to be selling, as it is a better alternative to a foreclosure on their record. But to many of the people that have looked at the home, it was not a fulfillment of the 'picture' they had in their mind about the perfect deal. I can see that the contract we have on it will provide the buyer with 40,000 dollars in equity on a property that needs little more than paint and carpet.The other parties do not view it in this manner and thus don't count it as a great opportunity like I do.

The key to success in real estate is to recognize and solve the problem that is causing the deal not to be viewed in the right light by the general public. That is what we do as investors, solve problems!

Do you know of any deals that you could change the public perception on? Thus making money for yourself.

To your success!

Geoff

Blogging in the New Year for Real Estate

I have to admit, I have been at a loss for words for the last few weeks as I contemplated the goals I made for 2009 and what I was going to try and accomplish for 2010. The most pertinent goal to this blog came when I decided that I wanted to make it even more of an outlet to relay information. I am going to begin posting thoughts and deals that I am looking at in order to make it more valuable to the reader.

Hence, the name change to Real Estate IQ. I have found that during the process of beginning to invest in real estate, I began to notice a direct relation to my success and the amount of time I was investing in myself. I have found it very important to continually educate myself on the varying aspects of real estate that have caught my attention. As I go about this year, doing deals and helping clients. I will be blogging 2-3 times a week with various updates on different subjects and information.

Thus, I am leaving an open invitation to those who may encounter this blog, to use it as a way to ask questions and hopefully get a strong answer or guidance to said questions.

May we all have a successful and fulfilling year in 2010!