How would you like to pay zero property taxes?  Think before you answer.  If everyone paid zero property taxes, then we can say goodbye to silly things like schools, roads, policemen, firemen, EMTs, etc.  So, do you still want to pay zero property taxes? 

Most of us don’t mind paying our fair share – we understand the benefits.  It’s just that we don’t want to pay more than our fair share.  So here are the steps Kim and I take if we think our property taxes are overly high. Read More→

Every year, we get bombarded with questions from property owners asking how they can lower their property taxes.  Most feel their property taxes are higher than they should be.  Problem is, they don’t know what to do and wonder whether it’s worth the time and effort to fight.

In 2006, Kim and I were in that same boat.  But after watching the property taxes on our investment properties skyrocket from 2003 to 2006, we decided that enough was enough.  We made the decision to fight.  We didn’t care whether we won or lost, as long as we fought.

What kind of results did we get that first year?  Though we didn’t know what we were doing, we appealed the taxes on four of our properties – and won all four appeals! Read More→

Last week’s column titled, Will the Number of Foreclosures Increase in 2012, brought in a number of calls and emails.  Several folks in the real estate field accused me of being negative and trying to drive down real estate values.

I asked one caller, “Do you really think my weekly real estate investing column influences real estate values?  Seriously?”

The truth is, Kim and I are along for the ride just like everyone else.  But in case my column CAN influence values, let me try an experiment: The value of fifteen-year-old, two-bedroom, one-bath mobile homes in Cartersville, Georgia just shot up one million percent!!!!  And I just happen to have one I’ll sell you for only $800,000. Call me! Read More→

Many real estate investors shy away from the ugly house business because they fear hiring contractors. We have all heard the horror stories of rehabbers who lose their shirt because a contractor took them to the cleaners.

I am here to tell you that contractors can be your worst enemy or your best friend, depending if you hire a good one or a bad one. So how can the beginning novice real estate investor make the correct choice- the hard working team player that gets the job done on time, on budget and at a high standard of quality?   The answer is by following all eight of the critical prescreening steps below. Read More→

A couple of months ago, a real estate investor who works the same market we do, told me he wished I’d never write or teach about foreclosures again.  He said all I was doing was creating more competition for him at the monthly foreclosure auction.

Over the years, folks have wondered why Kim and I host a monthly real estate investors meeting.  After all, by teaching folks how to be successful investors and landlords, we are creating competition for ourselves, right? Read More→

Many years ago when I was just getting started in real estate, I went to a Ron LeGrand seminar.  I heard Mr. Ron say that you can open a Roth IRA and buy and sell real estate from it TAX FREE!  I came back from that seminar so excited I could not sleep!  I went over to talk with my older cousin, who is a long-time and well-respected Certified Financial Planner in this area.  I thought, “Surely he will be as excited as I am, because now he can earn his clients much higher returns than they can get in the stock market, and I can use their funds to buy and sell real estate!”  I saw it as a win-win-win for all three parties involved.  I was going to finally earn the respect of my older, wiser, and wealthier cousin. 

That’s not what happened.  My cousin promptly told me that you can’t do that–you can’t buy and sell real estate inside a Roth IRA, and that it sounded like a scam and illegal to him.  That was a huge disappointment for me, and I went home with my tail between my legs.  I began to doubt both what Mr. Ron had taught me, and myself for listening and believing such pie-in-the-sky nonsense.  When you are new to real estate, and even as time goes on and you gain experience, sometimes you just don’t know what is fact and what is fiction. 

My experience with my cousin set me back a bit, but those of you that know me, know that NOTHING stops me from moving forward in the real estate game.  I turned my setback into a comeback, by doing research myself and getting the FACTS, not just someone’s opinion.  I since have moved on to know what you can and can’t do with Roth IRA’s, and my business has prospered as a result of not listening to the “they’s” in this world. Read More→

Over the Christmas Holidays my sweet friend, Cindy, called and expressed her desire to succeed in real estate investing.  She also conveyed her frustration over how slow her progress has been.  Her goal is one that most people can understand – build wealth so she and her family can live life comfortably and at its fullest.  But understandably, and like most people, she wants it yesterday. Read More→

The “Real Estate Principles – Your Personal Path to Prosperity” eBook was created to provide you with a through overview of the tools and skills you need to build a successful Real Estate Investment Business including Organizational skills, Marketing skills, Deal Funding skills, Time Management skills, Exit Strategies, Closing skills and Wealth Building techniques designed to enable you to take your business to the next level.

This innovative, practical Guide includes valuable information on: Read More→

“The journey of ten thousand miles begins with the first step” – Lao Tzu

So I  took my first step to look for a commercial real estate investing which will give me the immediate cash flow, potential income and opportunity to expand. After more than one and half year I found it!

My name is Sophie Ting. I would like to share with you my journey. I started with Robert Kiyosaki’s free seminar, and then moved on to the 3-day $500 seminar. I turned down the next course, which costs $25,000.

My first venture into commercial real estate investing was student housing. I chose it because I was very familiar with it, but it did not work.  I am really glad today that it did not, because the net income has no comparison to what I am getting today. Read More→

Serendipity abounds, there are no coincidences. It’s a phrase I often use in attempt to explain the abundance of goodness that exists among what people normally perceive as ordinary. Such was the remarkable life and the historical contributions of Martin Luther King Jr. The actual imprint he will have left on humanity will long survive the fading memory of the significance of his contributions.

Just as Martin Luther impacted the religious traditions of the known world by triggering the protestant reformation with the tacking of his famous 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg church in 1517, MLK is singularly credited as being the progenitor of the modern civil rights movement in the United States. The parallels of significance between these two seemingly very different personalities and the depth of contribution to civilization cannot be understated, although a parallel is rarely, if ever drawn.  Read More→

For some reason, many folks think luck plays an important role in whether a real estate investor is successful or not.  The truth is, luck plays almost no part in an investor’s success – or lack thereof. 

Think of it this way: Let’s say you decide to run a five-kilometer (3.1 miles) race three months from today.  You run every morning.  Each morning, you run a little further than the day before.  Finally, two weeks before your big race, you’re able to run four miles without stopping.  When race day comes, you easily cross the finish line – raising your arms in celebration for having achieved your goal.  Here’s the important question: Was your success due to luck or was it due to persistence and determination? Read More→

In business, goal setting encourages business owners to put in substantial effort. Also, because every one has defined expectations for their role, little room is left for inadequate effort to go unnoticed. Goals are therefore an important tool for business owners, since goals have the ability to function as a self-regulatory mechanism that everyone involved put forth a certain level of activity. Shalley, Locke and Latham have distilled four mechanisms through which goal setting can affect individual performance:

1. Goals focus attention towards goal-relevant activities and away from goal-irrelevant activities.
2. Goals serve as an energizer; higher goals induce greater effort while low goals induce lesser effort.
3. Goals affect persistence; constraints with regard to resources affect work pace.
4. Goals activate cognitive knowledge and strategies that help employees cope with the situation at hand.

On Monday, January 9th at the Atlanta REIA Main Meeting & New Year’s Celebration, I will be talking about how we can all set some realistic, easily achievable goals to make 2012 our most successful and profitable year ever. I hope to see you there! Read More→