Monsters don’t live in the bathroom I was a guest on podcast recently with my mentor Bill Cook where we were discussing things that hinder the success of newer investors. As we talked, Bill asked me if I thought a lack of education is something that stops newbies from moving forward. I told him I didn’t think so. You see, there’s a ton of information out there about how…
Find the right advisor I got a call from a brand-new baby investor last week. The reason I describe him this way is because he had made the mental leap of wanting to invest in real estate but had not done a deal yet. He is still in the fact-finding scramble stage of trying to figure out where to begin. I like this guy. He was younger, but…
Do they understand why? In the book “Extreme Ownership: How Navy SEALs Lead and Win,” the author Jocko Willink describes a time when he and his team were put into a situation that they didn’t like. Jocko’s unit was conducting missions in the battle for Ramadi, Iraq and they had been doing well. But then a decree came down from the higher ups that said that the SEAL unit…
The family board meeting Investors talk a lot about the financial freedom that comes from having investment property. We glamorize going on trips, not having a J.O.B. and feeling like we are more in control of our future because of the passive income from rental properties. But are those the real reasons why we invest in real estate? Let me clarify what I mean by that. …
Three questions for the end of year review It’s that time of year again. It’s time to reflect on 2022 and then make new goals for 2023. What have you done to prepare for the coming year? If you’re not sure what to do, I’ll tell you the strategy we use that I learned from Jocko Willink, author of “Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy Seals Lead and Win.”…
Real estate investors make people cry I sometimes hear people talking about real estate investors in a poor way. They will refer to us as vultures circling around. (I guess they see us as waiting for people’s homes to die so we can swoop in and greedily make massive profits off others’ misery) And just like with any profession, there are some investors out there who care more…
Things are changing Ashley and I were sitting on the couch this morning, sleepy-eyed, but trying to make the most of our few moments together without child interruption as we sipped our coffee. You see, life has changed quite a bit for us this past month with having a newborn. I’ve been saying this since our two-year-old was born. Having babies is a young man’s sport. And I…
Disposable income The other day, I took my road bike to my local bike shop to get it looked at. It had something weird going on. On my previous ride, I started hearing a ticking sound in my wheel. Prior to the ticking sound, I was averaging over 18 mph. But when the tick sound started, it was all I could do to hit 15 1/2 mph, and it…
Why buy rentals? Boy, we’ve had a week — maybe more than a week. You see, it really started when Ashley’s water broke last Thursday. When that happened, I spent the following Friday trying to finish everything I possibly could. I knew our fourth baby would be here soon, and I wanted to get as much done as possible in final preparation for that impending event. And I wanted…
Death in a rental I was talking to a real good friend named Nicole recently, and she had something happen in one of her houses that she wasn’t sure how to handle. It’s a very delicate situation that you as a landlord may run into at some point. And I thought I would share her story, what she learned and what she plans to do in case you ever…