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!
Monday, January 25, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
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.
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.
Monday, January 11, 2010
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.
"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.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
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!
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!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
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
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
Monday, January 4, 2010
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!
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!
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