4 Good Ways To Live Life With Integrity
Life can be challenging and in an effort to save time and energy we sometimes cut corners by settling for a little less or doing a lot of what we don’t want because it’s easier. But that little voice inside of us that voice that tells us that something isn’t right, that we should expect more keeps coming up. Living a life of integrity is not the easiest path. It can mean consistently going against the majority, taking a stand for yourself in a way you may not have before and putting your foot down even if it means upsetting a friend. Not everyone wants to rock the boat but for those who want to create a life that fulfills them, a life that just feels right, here are four ways to get started:
- Don’t settle for less than what you deserve in your relationships – Too often we believe that it is humble to settle, based on what I like to refer to as a shame-based belief system. Somewhere along the way someone or something let you know that you were less worthy. As a result, you took that assumption as true and have been settling for less ever since; less than ideal partner, less than supportive friends, less than gratifying job, even a less than happy you. The bottom line is that living with integrity requires that you challenge yourself by asking what your life would be like if you had your ideal partner, more supportive friends, a more gratifying job or even a happier, more fulfilling life. How would those changes look and feel? You’ll find that because they look and feel better than what you’re currently experiencing, you’ll be more compelled to make the changes that align with that new vision of your life.
- Ask for what you need from others – We have been indoctrinated to believe that if we ask for what we need from someone else then we are needy. As a result suffering in silence has become noble, even romantic. I submit that martyrdom is just another form of settling for less. Our bodies are great example of asking what for what you need. If you’re stomach grumbles, you give it food. If your eyes are heavy, you get some sleep. If you are coughing and sneezing, you take cold medicine. We fulfill those needs quickly because they are physical. But what happens when you have a friend who says she is going to take you to the airport but when you call her, she went on a trip out of town for the weekend without letting you know? What need does that violate? Reliability, trust, respect, honesty, those are just some of the needs we should expect from others. Understanding your needs helps you to establish solid boundaries. Making your needs known helps you to enforce those boundaries and teaches others how to treat us.
- Speak your truth even if it makes others mad – How many times have you disagreed with what your friend did to someone else but were afraid to tell them because you believe that they you would lose a friend? It’s common for us to let little injustices slide because it would just be easier; evidence of that is in the world around us. The problem with that habit is the little things have a tendency to add up. Having a voice to express our truths is one of the most powerful privileges we have as humans. If we speak our truth with caring and respect, then the message can be that much more effective. If you wind up losing a friendship because of it, you have to wonder if that person really was a good friend after all.
- Make choices based on what you believe – When I was being too much of a teenager, my mother would ask “if your friends were jumping off a cliff, would you jump too?” While my answer was obvious, it’s a lesson that belies the simplicity of the question. How many of us have done things, said things, been things that others believed we should be while ignoring who we really are? It is easy to get caught up in the latest and freshest because a lot of other people believe it’s relevant. What if that’s not what we believe or who we know ourselves to be? The quickest way to stifle potential and waste precious time is to live the unlived lives of others. Those desires you have for a more fulfilling job, starting your own business, traveling more, mean something otherwise, why would they repeatedly surface? Making your choices based on your beliefs is one of the best ways to live with integrity
Working on these four points helps you to behave in ways that align with your personal values and to become who you need to be. Only then will you be able to understand what it means to live with integrity.
The 3 Reasons Stopping YOU From Fulfilling Your Real Estate Investment Dreams
Have you scanned the paper, the net, dreaming of what these investments could do for you?
If so, what has stopped you?
There are 3 reasons why people don’t move ahead with this dream.
- Knowledge
- Finance
- Fear
Now there are list subheadings under these 3 reasons
The first one is Knowledge which include:-
- You are a procrastinator
- You are a perfectionist
- You lack confidence
- You analyse to the point of being paralysed
- You are not committed to learning
- You have poor priorities
- You lack organisation
- You just feel overwhelmed
The next issue is Finance, What stops you in this area?
- Your lack of knowledge of the market
- Your ability to negotiate
- Your fear of bankers
- Your inexperience of finance
- Your lack of confidence
- Fear of losing you money
- A misunderstanding of what money is?
- You feel overwhelmed
And then for most of us there is fear?
What are we fearful of? There seem to be 2 major fears. Which group do you fall into?
- Fear of failure? What will people think if it doesn’t work? Will I end up with nothing? What if I want to sell and I can’t? What is your self talk on failure?
- Fear of success? Some of us fear success and what it will do to our lives. Again, will people still like/trust/be friends with me if I’m successful? Will I be able to manage the success
OK! What can we do about it?
- Realise that people aren’t thinking about you. They are thinking about themselves, just like you!
- Other people won’t pay your bills, educate your children, feed or house you. It is your responsibility. Get going!
- Do research on finance. Go and talk to bankers, it’s like shopping. Talk to finance brokers. If you don’t have a cat, don’t buy cat food! Don’t buy what you don’t want!
- Get educated. Knowledge is power. Knowledge gives you a feeling of control. Read. Real estate people have freebie evenings. Go to a few and pick through what is truth.
- Keep an eye on the real estate sites so you get a good idea of values, time on the market, what is good buying, areas that are good.
- Learn to negotiate. Don’t worry about what the salesman is saying about the price, the owners, and the market. Set your price, go in a bit lower so you have a bit or ‘wriggle’ room. Stick with your evaluation.
- Negative sentiment in the market can be helpful!
- Don’t get emotional about the property. Properties are like buses, another one will come along tomorrow! There are plenty of opportunities.
- Don’t beat yourself up. ALL business takes time!! But remember, at some stage the rubber has to meet the road, there must be action.
How To Motivate Yourself To Tackle Those Chores
In today’s busy world, there never seems that there is enough time to get everything done. The days are too short, the time just passes by too quickly and that “Honey Do” list seems to get longer by the minute. Why is that?
Perhaps it seems that there are never enough hours in the day to get to all the things you have to do because things on that “To Do” list aren’t tasks that you look forward to. You try not to think about it, you procrastinate, you don’t give it a proper place on your priority list, or you don’t place it there at all. You know those chores need to get done but you go about your day finding other things to do, or waste your energy coming up with excuses for not doing them.You may not realize that it is you that will ultimately suffer by your non-actions.
By putting things off, you are just adding to the problem. Take a minute and think of this example: one of those chores that you dread, could be dealing with those monthly bills and trying to balance your budget. It might be something that you are not really looking forward to, especially if finances are tight. By not tackling that chore and ignoring it or pushing it aside, it becomes an open wound that starts to fester. Your “balance owing” will start to increase in size with interest charges. Not only that, your credit rating will be affected which in turn will have a negative impact on any future plans. Your life is certain to be interrupted by nagging phones calls from collection agencies and your stress level will also increase that now impacts your health. All this could have been avoided, had you dealt with the issue at hand properly and in a timely manner.
“Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.” – Thomas Jefferson
There is great wisdom in Thomas Jefferson’s words and they are definitely words to live by. Find motivation in those words to alter your thinking and take action. It’s all in how you approach things.
Change your way of thinking. Look for ways to pretty up that “To Do” list with check marks. With each check mark for a task completed, you will feel a weight lifted and experience a sense of accomplishment. Turn the “have to” chores into “want to” adventures. It will make you more effective and more satisfied at the same time.
Act in Faith
Quote of the Day – “Faith is thinking something is true to the extent we act upon it. ” W.T. Purkiser
Act in faith is a principle that must be learned by experience. Faith without works is dead. Most people, regardless of their faith, are familiar with that verse of scripture in the Bible from James. However, the idea of blind faith is ridiculous. However that is a far as many individuals ever get. They have no idea that James was talking about having faith in God. Faith in faith doesn’t work. Faith in the power of the living God does work.
You have to place your faith in something powerful enough to accomplish the goal you have in mind. You can place your faith in self but self is limited to your knowledge and experience.
Faith in God is unlimited and it makes more sense to trust in an unlimited power instead of the limited power of self.
Self might be able to accomplish a few task on this earth but still it is limited.
The key to accomplishing a major goal an impossible goal is to trust in the living God to help you accomplish the goal. You can’t accomplish anything without first having faith then act in faith.
You can’t jump off the highest building in the world and expect to live. However, if you get a glider, parachute, or a small plane to fly off the building with you will accomplish your goal. First you must have the power greater than self a glider, parachute or a small plane. Second, you have to trust the tool to get you to the bottom safely. You will never accomplish your goals with just faith or with just the act.
You want to get to the bottom of the building but you must first have faith in the power or tool then act on the faith.
I think I might be complicating this subject. Maybe not, act in faith. Have faith in a power greater than self because self is limited. Trust in self you will accomplish little chores. Trust in God and you will move a mountain.
Faith in action is critical to accomplish any goal in life. I want you to take a faith test. Pick someone you think you can trust. I dare you to try little faith test. Have someone stand behind you. You face away from the person and close your eyes. Ask the person to catch you as you fall backwards into their arms. Can you do it without flinching. I can’t do this very well because I have a trust issue with people.
To be honest, at times I have a trust issue with God. Yet, in order to move forward in my life I have to trust others and trust God to catch me when I fall.
Remember faith requires actions.
By: Dr Bob Wilkerson
There Is No Someday
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday.
See, there is no Someday!
What are you waiting for? Tell him. Tell her. Take that trip.
Ask for what you want.
Enjoy the moments you have with the people you love. Leave them a legacy of their time with you. Live in the moment. Carpe Diem, seize the day, as Robin Williams taught his poetry students in the movie, “Dead Poets Society”. Seize the Day
There was a really sad story in the news about this apparently wonderful guy who ran a huge government agency. It seems that everyone adored him and he was great at his job, which was running the water utility in Denver Colorado. If you know about the issues regarding water in the Western United States, you will understand the magnitude of his influence and responsibility. People still go to war in the Western United States over the distribution of this scarce resource.
This gentleman, Chips Barry had announced his retirement, bought a ranch to. He also bought a tractor that was going to be needed to work the ranch. Unfortunately, just a month before he was going to retire, the tractor turned over on him and killed him.
I hope this well loved man lived his life. I hope he told those he loved how much they meant to him. I hope he was able to travel, play, learn, laugh and love the way he wanted to. He sounded like a great guy and I hope he didn’t wait until Someday to do what he wanted.
I really hope we all live our lives free of the interminable wait for Someday.
We can live for now and still plan for the future, but everything our species has learned about happiness leads us to think that living in the moment is key.
By enjoying who you are and what you experience in your relationships and in of your life, it’s easier to be happy.
No matter the words, the idea is an essential one for humans, Count your blessings.
Here are some quick tips:
1. You have got to accentuate the positive
2. Eliminate the negative
3. Latch on to the affirmative
4. Don’t mess with Mister In-Between
Remember, there is no Someday.
By: Steve Litt
The Law of Abundance – Ways to Bring Happiness Into Your Life
Happiness is something we get to choose to have in our lives. It is not something that is strictly an external effect (although if done right we can help people achieve happiness from the outside). You have the choice every day in every situation to decide if you are going to be happy or not. It does not matter what happens to you at any given moment, you can choose to be happy about it or not happy about it. I personally vote to choose to be happy as often as possible. If you implement the follow 4 steps you will be successful and bringing more happiness in your life.
Step #1: Know what makes you happy
I know this seems rather simple, if you want to be happy know what makes you happy. The point is that it is that simple. Sadly, most people do not take the time to do this basic first step. People complain about not being happy, they lament the fact they are unhappy, but they have no idea what does or would make them happy. Keep in mind happiness ultimately comes from within, but there can be effective external triggers that help. If you are struggling to manifest happiness from within then find what makes you happy outside of you and have that around you more.
Step #2: Focus on only doing things that bring you or will lead to your happiness
This is building on step #1, once you know what makes you happy then make sure you are constantly taking action every day to have these things around you. If they are things that you need to acquire, then take time and effort every day working towards acquiring these things. Remember once again that happiness ultimately comes from the inside, but by having some things around you that make you happy you open yourself up to the feeling of happiness and get more used to knowing how it feels so you can create it for yourself more often.
Step #3: Find out what makes those closest to you happy
This is the next step in being able to create happiness in your life, learning what it is that makes those closest to you happiest. This will take some effort, often you cannot learn this just by asking a couple of questions. You really have to be present, observant and watch what things create a feeling of happiness and joy in these other people. Once you know what it is that is bringing them happiness then you are ready to move on to step #4.
Step #4: Make other people happy
Once you have a clear understanding of what it is that makes those closest to you happy, then create situations in which those situations occur so they are happier more often. If hugs make them happy then give hugs, if having their dinner appreciates makes them happy appreciate their dinner, etc. Why am I focusing on making other people happy? Because when you are around happy people you naturally become happier. If you are not ready to manifest happiness from within, help others have it and you will absorb it naturally from being around them.
So ultimately the key to having more happiness in your life is learning how to create it from within. In order to learn how to manifest happiness you have to experience more happiness. If you follow these simple 4 steps you will start to experience more happiness, which will lead you to being better able to manifest it from within for yourself.
By: Sean Adams
Eight Tips For Launching Your Real Estate Investing Career
Eight Tips for Getting Started in Real Estate Investing
Introduction
This article is just the basics for getting started in real estate investing. This is not a how to article but an article that gives you some information about things to do to get started. Everything in this article is tools that can be applied to helping anyone get started in real estate investing. I am going to give you my eight keys to getting started. Nothing is right or wrong but reflects the point of view of the author. Laws and legal practices vary from state to state, and laws can change over time. The author does not vouch for the legality of his opinions, nor is there any intent to supply legal advice. The author strongly encourages the reader to consult with professionals and an attorney prior to entering in any real estate transaction or contract. The author is not a writer but he is a real estate investor. There will be grammar mistakes and errors, so don’t be too critical of the grammar but focus your energy on what is being said. With that said prepare yourself to think a little differently and expand your mind. Let’s get started on an amazing adventure.
The Eight Tips are as follows
1. Desire
2. Goal Setting
3. Learning What To Do
4. Attending a Real Estate Investing Seminar
5. The Billings Montana Market
6. Finding a Mentor
7. Your Real Estate Team
8. Just Do IT
1. Desire
Before we get in to the bolts and nails of real estate investing in I want to talk to you about desire. If you are going to be successful at anything in life including real estate investing you have to have the desire to do it. Desire is defined as longing or craving, as for something that brings satisfaction or enjoyment. Desire stresses the strength of feeling and often implies strong intention or aim. In real estate investing if you don’t have a desire to learn and grow as a human being and really get satisfaction out of it, then real estate investing is going to be hard to do. When I go out and look at a property it brings me a lot of enjoyment. Every aspect brings me joy from talking to home owners, figuring out how I can make a deal work, to buying the house and to finding a good homeowner or tenant for the house. Real estate investing may not be for everyone but real estate investing can offer anyone the financial freedom we all crave for. If you do not have the desire for real estate investing that is ok, it can still help you to live your dreams and help you to get where you want to go in the future.
Why is real estate investing an amazing avenue for anyone to live out all of their dreams? Let me ask you a few questions. Do you have enough money to do anything you want? Do you have everything you want? No debt? A nice house? Great Marriage? The freedom to do anything regardless of how much it costs and the time it takes? If you have all of these things then you are one of the few people in America who does. Most people may be working fifty hours a week and making just enough to pay their bills. In today’s day and age most people are living pay check to pay check never really knowing if they will make enough to pay the bills that just keep piling up. If you cannot keep up with your monthly bills how are you going to plan for retirement or send your kids to college or have time to enjoy life. The answer to all of these questions is becoming financially free. Now it’s not going to be easy everyone will have to get off the couch and out of their comfort zone. Real estate is proven to be one of the fastest ways to get your out of the rat race of the nine to five and begin living the life you deserve to live. Everyone wants something different out of their life. Some dream of traveling the world, spending more time with family, volunteering, golfing, laying on a beach, giving back to the community, or anything that will make them happy. There are thousands of things that make people happy.
Making it in real estate takes a person who has a strong desire to change their lives for the better and think big. Anyone can become a great real estate investor. It is going to take a lot of work and can be a struggle at times but in the end it will be the most amazing feeling ever. The people that make it in real estate investing all have a few things in common. First they run their real estate investing business like any other business out there. Second they get out there and network with anyone and everyone. Some people might be like me and have a hard time talking to other people. If you are that is ok, anyone can learn how to become a people person, it just takes hard daily work. You have to push yourself past your comfort zone. The third thing is that you cannot be afraid to fail. Everyone has failed at something but the most successful people out their learn from their failures. The fourth thing is that you have to put a good team together. I will go into putting a team together in a later chapter. The concept of putting a team together is so that when you don’t know something you have team members that know what to do and can help you with questions. The can also make sure that you are not working yourself to death. You do not want to be the person doing everything in your business. Doing everything is a receipt for failure. You have to put together good people who you can trust and rely on. The fifth thing is that you need a mentor. Sixth and final is the desire to do it. No one can become successful at something if they don’t want to do it and don’t get satisfaction out of what they are doing.
2. Setting Goals
Having goals is one of the most important aspects of achieving what you want in life. You don’t want to just have your goals up in your head you want to write them down and past what you have wrote on the wall somewhere or in the bathroom mirror. You want to review your goals daily and read them out loud to yourself. This way you remind yourself everyday why you are building your business.
How should you start to write down you goals? First off you should think big, and by big I mean HUGE. If your goals are too small you will easily achieve them and have nothing else to look forward too. You should start off by asking yourself the question if I had all the money and time in the world what would I do, what would I buy, how would I spend my time, and how would I spend my energy. Are you starting to write these down? Well you should be. Think about what you want, spending time with family, traveling the world, the best cars, a castle, owning a small country, running for president, having the biggest real estate investing business in your area or in the country. Whatever your dreams and what you want out of your life, write it down. Some of my goals are becoming free, traveling the world, having a Ferrari, having 10 vacation homes all over the world. Right now I am just trying to get you out of your comfort zone of thinking and let your imagination run.
There are several ways to set goals. I have learned a lot of ways you can set you goals and there is no right or wrong way. The best ways that I have found to set your goals is to break them up into two categories. First your short term goals. This should be goals from a month out to around a year. The second is your long term goals these goals are you think big goals and what you see for your future.
For year one I like to first make a list of what I want to achieve this year and I will give you an example of how to do that. For year one you want to be very specific first you want to list what you want your income to be at the end of the year, next how much cash in the bank you want (this is money in your checking account, not assets). Next you want to list how much you are going to give. Giving is a very important, this can be giving to charity, giving of gifts to friends and family, giving to your school or anything you can dream of. As long as what you give brings joy to others who need it more than you. Next list what bad habits you have that you want to eliminate. Weather is be quitting smoking, spending too much on junk, drinking too much, working too much, not spending enough time with family, too much TV, not exercising and many more. We all have bad habits that need to be changed in order for use to grow as human beings. Under each of these bad habits list out some steps that you can take in order to quit them. If you bad habit is being lazy and not exercising enough what can you do to change that. Well you can get a gym membership or a home work out program. Commit yourself you following through with a plan to work out 3-5 days a week. For you to change these bad habits you have to be totally committed and follow through with a detailed plan you set for yourself. After you have your plans in place you should start listing several things you want to achieve or do in the next year. This can be start a successful business, spend time with family, travel to 2-5 places and so on. Now under each of these you should also write a detailed plan on what you need and what you need to do in order to achieve these goals. Finally you should take all of this information you have a write on page on what you see your life being over the next year. Doing this is a great exercise to really see what you want out of life.
Goals Year One
This is what I am going To Do This Year
Income: $500,000
Cash: $100,000
Give: $20,000
Bad Habits that will be changes:
Over Sleeping 1. Go to bed at 11 p.m. 2. Use a timer and set it for 8 hours 3. Set the timer on the other side of the room
Buying things that you don’t need: 1. Going out shopping less 2. If you have the urge to buy something think to yourself is thing item going to help me to achieve my goals of becoming financially free? 3. Tell friends what you are doing, so they can help to stop you.
What I want to Achieve:
Start a successful Real Estate Investing Business: (you should write a detailed step by step plan of everything you need in order to achieve your goal)
Travel: Where do I want to visit? 1. Gators football game (what I need to do it, money, etc)
And last your own page about what you want to achieve using words like I will and only positive words.
For long term goals you don’t need to be as specific right now, but you should list them and under them list a few steps or smaller goals that need to be achieved before you are able to achieve them. With the long term goals always think big. Another good exercise for long term goals is to make a collage of you goals. Put pictures of the house you want on it, places you want to travel, a picture of your family, a number of what income you want in or anything you can think of.
3. Learn
Knowledge builds confidence and destroys fear. If you are starting any kind of business you need to learn the ins and outs of that business. The best way I have found to learn about real estate investing is to read all about it. But once you know it you have to apply what you have learned. Learning and reading is just one step to take. There are thousands of books on the market about real estate investing and everyone has something you can learn from. You don’t just want to read real estate investing books though. You also want to fill yourself with motivational and leadership books. Every successful person that I know if a reader and they all spend at least thirty minutes a day reading something that will teach them about improving their business or helping themselves to become a better person. Some of the best books that I would recommend reading are listed below.
1. Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki (read this first and also ready everything in the rick dad poor dad series, great books to start with and will expand you mind)
2. Be a Real Estate Millionaire by Dean Graziosi
3. Flip your way to financial freedom by Preston Ely (this is an E-Book)
4. Four hour work week by Timothy Ferriss
5. The Attractor Factor
6. Short Sale Pre-foreclosure Investing by Dwan Bent-twyford and Sharon Sestrepo
7. Keys to success, by Napoleon Hill
8. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
9. How to win friends and influence people
10. Any Book by John C. Maxwell (he has tons of amazing leadership books)
11. Getting Started in Real Estate Day Trading by Larry Goins
12. The E Myth by Michael Gerber
13. How to be a quick turn real estate millionaire by Ron Legrand
14. The Power of Full Engagement
15. The It Factor
16. Anything by Anthony Robins
There are tons more you can read but these will give you a great start. You should also read books on negotiating, sales, motivation, and biographies on American business people.
I hope this list gives you the knowledge it has given me. If you learn and apply what you have learned from these books there is no reason that you should not become very successful.
4. Attend a Real Estate Investing Seminar
Attending a Real Estate Investing Seminar can be one of the best places to learn about real estate investing from some very well known experts. There are several seminars going on all over the country every weekend. If you live in a big city it will be very easy to find one. If you live in a town like Billings Montana you might need to travel a little ways to find one. Now most of the best meeting cost money to attend them. Some range from five hundred dollars for three days and some can be up to $20,000. There are a few that I would recommend. Than Merrill is a great speaker to go hear. I have learned a ton from him. You can find his company online by Google searching him. Also rich dad poor dad has seminars all over the country. I attended one of their seminars in Billings Montana for only $500 dollars and learned a ton from it. There is also Preston Ely, Larry Goins, and hundreds of speakers out there. If you find a great book that you really enjoyed, then just simple search for that person online and see if they are speaking somewhere or offer a seminar close to you.
Another reason I recommend going to a seminar is because they get you pumped up and motivated. I have not yet found anything else that just gets you feeling like you can do anything. When you get back from one of these seminars you will have tons of energy and knowledge. Every time I get back from one all I want to do is going out and do a deal or ten.
These seminars will also provide you with several opportunities to purchase amazing real estate investing tools, software or learning material at a fraction of the cost. Believe me when I tell you all of the low priced seminars try to sell you something. But a lot of times what they are trying to sell is some really good stuff.
Another reason to attend a seminar is to network with other investors and build relationships with them. You can meet other investors who you can partner with on a deal, sell a deal too, people who will provide you with deals and so on. You should have hundreds of business cards made up and try to give them all out. You never know how much one business card you hand out can make you.
5. Learn About the real estate market in your area
Most real estate investors start their career off my investing around where they live. This is why I do my real estate investing in Billings Montana. You can venture out when you have more experience. The reason behind this is because we feel more comfortable with the areas and know the areas better. It is also easier to get local real estate information that we need. Investing in your local market is also cheaper to start out, there is less travel costs, you can see what you are buying and it may give you a feeling a comfort.
First you have to decide which part of town is the best place to invest in. This can be determined by what kind of real estate investing you choose to do. I have not gone over the types of real estate investing but some include rehabbing (fixing up and selling), wholesaling (finding deals and selling them to other investors), buying to rent, and there are a few others. These are the real estate strategies that I use for the most part. When looking at the market you need to see where other investors are buying their houses. Most of the best deals will be found in low to middle class neighbors hoods. By low I don’t mean drug infested war zones, what I mean is blue collar safe neighbor hoods that might have somewhat older houses and houses that are not on the higher end price side. Now you can find deals in the higher priced neighbor hoods but most will be in the low to middle income neighborhoods. When looking where others are buying ask local realtors, other investors or appraisers.
When talking with investors ask them several questions such as what neighborhoods they prefer, what type of houses they buy (3 bed 2 bath), and what they do (rehab, rent, wholesale). You should not look at other investors as competition but try and work with them.
There are different types of markets such as appreciating markets, flat markets, and deprecating markets. Appreciating markets are markets that there is no enough houses or a very high demand for houses which causes the price of houses to go up. The reason there is a high demand for housing can be because of job growth, a very appealing area, or several reason. Flat markets are markets that have no or very little growth. This means that there is not a lot of demand; buy just enough to fill every ones needs. Depreciating markets are where there is a lot more houses than people to fill those house. This causes house prices to start going down. This can be because of a large employer leaving the area, a natural disaster or just over building. There is an old saying buy in a bust and sell in a boom. In depreciating markets you can pick up several deals, while in appreciating the house prices are going to be much higher and harder to find great deals. The deal will still be out there you just have to know where to find them.
Learning your market is another key to becoming successful. Real estate Brokers and experts in your area can be the best source of information for you. Learn to use them to find out what kind of market you are in. If you are in Billings Montana we are in a pretty stable market. Billings Montana has not seen the ups and downs that other markets have experienced. I will have to say that I have been noticing a little bit of a downward trend but not much. Once the first time home buyer credit is over with we might see a little more decline. Every market can vary by neighborhood, so make sure you know you market well. I have seen the same houses just one mile apart selling for totally different prices.
6. Find a Mentor
Having a mentor to help you can be your biggest learning experience. Mentors can help you with any questions you may have, walk you step by step through the investing process, give you moral support, you learn from their proven system, and also network you with others in the business. Every successful real estate investor that I know says they owe a lot of their success to the mentors they have and had in their lives. I have had one of the best mentors around, my father. He is teaching me something new every day and pushing me to become successful.
When trying to find a mentor I would suggest network with the investors at your local real estate investors club meeting. There is a real estate investing club in Billings Montana that meets once a month. You can find information about real estate investing clubs in your area by searching for REA or real estate investors club then your area in Google. When you go to the meetings ask around who the biggest investors are. Then ask if you could get together with them sometime and discuss real estate investing. Ask them if they would consider working with you to get their career going. Offer your services as a bird dog. Bird dogs are people who go out find deals or leads about deals and give them to other investors. A bird dog gets from $500 to $3000 dollars depending on the deal. Make sure that you have a bird dog contract signed with the investors saying that if you find them and deal and they buy it that you get paid a certain amount of money. Being a bird dog helps you to build credibility with the investor and they are more likely to mentor you if you have something to offer them. If you would like to contact me with a question go to my web site Big Sky Property Solutions LLC.
7. Your Real Estate Team
Building an effective team can make your life as a real estate investor a lot easier. You are only one person and cannot do everything or be an expert in every aspect of real estate investing. Going at a project alone can become one of the most frustrating experiences you will ever encounter. Many people have become frustrated and quite real estate investing because they try and juggle too many things. Make sure that when putting a team together you provide everyone with win-win opportunities. When someone knows that working with you is going to make them money they will put you as a higher priority on their list. But you have to prove it to them that you are the real deal.
People to have on your real estate investing team include
o Real Estate Agents ( find the top agent for volume of sales in your area and other agents who work with real estate investors)
o Real Estate appraisers (find an appraiser that has done a few hundred jobs or more and make sure they carry errors and omissions insurance)
o Real estate contractors (good rehab crews that can get the job done in a timely manner, have 3-5 crews and on every deal get 3 estimates done. Ask for referrals from them and make sure they are licensed)
o Real estate attorneys (every investor needs an attorney, they can help to protect your assets, make sure you find one that works with investors)
o A property management company (can manage your properties and will give you leads on property they are managing that might come up for sale)
o Title companies (take care of the legal process and make sure there are no liens against the property you are buying, choose one that does hundreds of closings a year)
o Home inspectors(charge about $400 but will give you a great inspection and could save you thousands in the long run)
o And your Mentor
All of these people can help you in various aspects of real estate investing. You might find that there are a couple others that are keys to your business but this is just a list of a few.
8. Just Do it
There is no better phrase out there then JUST DO IT! Once you have learned all you can networked with investors in Billings and learned real estate investing strategies there is nothing left to do but get your feet wet. There is no better learning tool out there then doing a deal. Once you have completed that first deal you will know what to expect and find out that it is not as hard as you thought it would be. You will have learned what you did right and what was frustrating. Take that experience and ask yourself what would have made it run smoother. Apply that to your next deal. Then the next deal will be easier and it keeps getting easier as you go. I will say that every deal is different from the last but that what makes this business fun. You have to be creative and always keep on learning and growing with your business.
The average person never uses what they learn. Don’t be average apply your knowledge. When going out and doing your first deal act like you have done 1000′s of deals. The fastest way to change a habit is to act like it is true.
Five keys for success
1. Specialized Knowledge
2. Tools of a professional
3. Have the mindset of a winner
4. Mentors
5. Money and the knowledge of leveraging it (you don’t have to have millions to invest in real estate, there are many strategies out there to use other people’s money, or no money at all)
This is going to conclude this article about getting started in real estate investing. I hope this gave you some ideas about how you can get started. I didn’t give you any strategies at this point but look for some in upcoming articles. These are simple steps you can use to get started. If you read this article thank you for listening.
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If you would like to contact me and discuss anything you can find me at Big Sky Property Solution LLC by just clicking the link below. This article was wrote by Christopher Seder of Billings Montana |
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3689376
TRUTH: What Guru’s Fail To Teach You As An RE Investor
Now let me start this off by saying I am not a guru nor do I have plans on becoming one. And not all Guru’s are bad in my eyes. I’ve learned a lot from them good and bad, and even what not to do. But it’s time I tell you the truth. One of the biggest Main overlooked characteristics to become a successful investor is growing spiritually & mentally stronger. See you can do every strategy that the big time guys teach you and still have no success. And you start to wonder why aren’t you getting the results you are looking for?
Well there’s a reason why, and I’m going to tell you now. You have to grow as a person first, and than the everything else will come into play. If you fail to grow spiritually and mentally you will make a lot and lose even more and be left with a confused face, and can lead into depression. Ever wonder why majority lottery winners end up losing all of the money in 5-6 years, and some even become in debt? Well that’s because they failed to grow and change there mindset and way of thinking. There is a big difference in how millionaires think than people in poverty or lower class. And it has nothing to do with the money.
The best way to grow what I like to call “your bucket” is by hanging around people you look up too. They say your the average of the 5 people you hang around the most. So if your hanging around broke people, you might want to limit that time if you want to get rich. Also start to read tons and tons of motivational, positive, mental growth, business books. I read at least 2 new books a month. Read the bible as well, especially the book of JOB. Stop watching the NEWS, it’s to much negativity on there and you won’t benefit much besides finding out what the weather will be for the next day. If you start to do these things, further your education in real estate investing, as well as take massive action your bank account will start to increase. Who you are has to match what you want!!!
(5 Ways To Profit) Real Estate Investing
Real Estate Investing in today market is a great way to develop monthly Cash flow rather it be though rental or creating lump of cash by buying and Selling of real estate.
There is lot of opportunity because of the housing slump for investors to create wealth, if they have the proper knowledge and contact.
Here is five ways to profit in real estate.
Education
Nothing is better than having the proper knowledge about what you are doing especially when investing in real estate. Getting the right education sometime can cost a lot of money as you try to put together the pieces of the real estate investing puzzle together and learning the difference investing strategy.
Example You know of a couple who is interest in buying a home, they been on their job for about six years and have about $6,000 in saving. But can not qualify for a loan because of credit issues they said that the loan officer told them to pay off some debt and they could qualify in about a year, as you continue to talk with the potential buyers asking what type of home, what area and where they wanted their monthly payment, you tell the buyers that you would find a home and place them on a program that would allow them to move in while they work on their credit, after locating a property that fit the buyers and negotiating a deal, you meet with the buyers show them the home and explain the terms, purchase price, down payment, monthly payment, and financing period, draw up the purchase agreement and necessary forms, have the buyers to sign, get the down payment and close the transaction. If you did not have the proper knowledge you would have let the buyer wait a year, or some other investor with the knowledge services them.
Develop a Plan
One of the best ways to get off track in real estate investing is not having a plan for this plan is you guide though the wildness of investing in real estate it is your stability when thing do not go the way you expect.
Some ideas to include into your plan.
a) How many properties you want in your cash flow portfolio.
b) How much cash profit per house do you want to generate from buying and selling.
c) What is your farm area (the area you want to buy properties)
d) What is your exit strategy (at what point you will come out the deal.)
Work with Professional
Real estate investing requires being in contact with those who is expose to deals that can produce maximum profit. Most Real Estate Brokers and Agents work in co-operation with one another and they come in contact with buyers and sellers, as a result being able to speed up your buying and selling actively. You will be surprise how fast you can grow being connected to the right people and having the proper education.
Learn Difference Strategy
There are difference strategy which fit difference type of situation and market condition the more strategy you learn the more people you are will able to help. There will times that knowing what tool to use can make or break a deal. Some strategies you may prefer over another, for this reason to have an overview of real estate investing is merited, especially if you are just starting out.
Make Lots of Offers
Making offers is easy but getting the price you want is something difference this is the reason behind making many offers. Determine how many properties you want in your portfolio break that down to how many you need to purchase per month and at what price, if you want to buy two per month make 5-10 offers per week in fact market condition being as they are you may be surprise at how many you will acquire at your price.
By: Frank Berry
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