“The Man In The Arena”
Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, France
April 23, 1910

Theodore Roosevelt

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Truly words to live by.

CashFlow101

What is it ?  It is a board game from Robert Kiyosaki’s group. 

Why play it ?  It sets the basis for how to get out of the rat race.  Since I invest only in real estate and my business growth, I only use the real estate cards to “get out” of the rat race.

REI Strategies:

The best part about the game is that you can fail playing a game.  I even play by myself sometimes.  Pathetic…I know.

Anyway, you can try different methods:  You can focus on aquiring rentals first and see how long it takes you.  You can focus on flipping your properties and see how quickly that affects your exit.  You can merge the two.  Flip for cash and keep some for rentals (i.e. cashflow, etc)

This is the reason my website is CASHFLOWdotcom.com.  You can flip all you want, but until you transfer those profits, or pickup cashflowing deals along the way, you are technically still in the rat race.  You can not live off your cashflow from your assets.

I live at a multiunit property paying less than $250/month to live in my own single family home.  The benefits of having tenants pay your mortgage are tremendous.

The great thing about cashflow 101 is that it helps train your mind as to how things you do/buy will impact you financially.  This is an item that most school systems are missing out on training our students for.  We are raising a bunch of “dump your money into 401k” kids.  Don’t get me wrong: that is better than nothing…I guess. 

Note: Cashflow 101 is trademarked and owned by the Richdad company.  Just want to throw that disclaimer in there.

Happy Investing, Your Friend and Mentor,

Brandon Yeager

For beginners in real estate, choosing which niche can sometimes be enough to make your head start spinning.  This will be a first in a week long study for beginner real estate investors.

Education

The first step you need to take is to get some quality education.  Buy some courses.  Read discussion forums.  Attend a bootcamp if you can afford it.  These are all great tools.  My office is stacked with various courses and I have attended 3 different bootcamps.

Your choices:  short sales, buying REO’s, buying nonperforming notes, working vacant houses, landlording and rental properties, buying sub-2, buying owner financed, using lease options, using options, wholesaling, rehabbing, private lending, and the list goes on.  Eventually, you see that these all tie together

Action

It doesn’t do you, or your family any good to not take action.  As a matter of fact, this is where many people get stuck.  They obtain a lot of book/forum smarts, but can’t bring themselves to pull the trigger for the life of them.

For Better or Worse

Look at where you are today.  Do you think that by taking some actions, you could possibly be in a better position.  Or better yet:  what is the worst that could happen ?  Will you die as a result of a poor decision ?  probably not.

However, is thee a possibility that you will be better off ?  Absolutely.  When I look back at my first dozen or so properties I purchased, I made mistakes.  I believe that is how you learn this business the best.  If you are going to fall short, at least fall forward.  Use that momentum to catapult yourself to greater things.  Look back at each experience and come away with several ahh-has that can help you next time. 

Deal experimenting also allows you to find a certain comfort zone with particular types of investing.  Some you will like, some you won’t.  Some may be more profitable in your area, others won’t.  Don’t despair.

Continue On, Your Friend and Mentor,

Brandon Yeager

You came here for a reason.  Call it luck, call it destiny, I don’t know.  All I know is that I haven’t held up my personal responsibilities and been a great communicator.  I have knowledge in my head and haven’t achieved one of my life goals…to help others.

Prayer Request Enters The Scene

I received a prayer request this morning.  It contained information regarding a young man (about 35) who lives near State College, PA.  He went to college with me.  I reallllly has me thinking.  You know…our stay here on earth is short.  Whether you believe in God or not, I feel we all owe our fellow mankind nothing but the best.  Greg (the young man) has been having lots of complications, and many surgeries.

Why do I say this ?  I feel as though I have so much information I need to share with new and experienced investors that I haven’t been doing my part lately to “pass it on”.  That is going to change right here, right now.

Life is About Change

What is it that holds you back from being all that you can be ?  What road blocks present themselves that you just can’t overcome.  Maybe you are too shy to call up an agent.  Maybe you hate talking on the phone.  Maybe you are scared that you will make a mistake. 

Hey, I’ve made mistakes.  As Tony Robbins said:

“Success comes from good judgment.  Good judgments come from experience.  Bad experiences lead to good judgments”. 

So, you have a choice:  you can look at your life and realize that if you are not doing the things that are making a difference in your life, then something needs to change.  Real estate investing has done many wonderful things for my life.  I have looked on the world in completely different ways.  I have learned more about simple things…what I buy: is it an asset or a liability ?  Too often, people are not able to get financial control of their lives because they place their money in the wrong bins.

Step Up to the Plate

Take a swing.  It doesn’t have to be for the fence.  Many games are won with singles.  The game of real estate investing is no different.  Take little strides and continue to move forward in small incremental paces.  Increase your knowledge.  Find a niche you enjoy and work at it!  You will get there.  You just need a good game plan.

To Your Success:  Your Friend and Mentor,

Brandon Yeager

You’ve Seen Them Before

Have you ever been reading through a product pitch and seen somebody flashing a check written to their company or themselves with $143,000 ?  Maybe even “only” $53,000 ?  I have and nowadays it makes me wonder.  I’m sure some of these are legitimately showing true “profits” from a deal.  However, I would bet (though I’m not a gambling man) that most of these are bogus and not true profit checks.

How Can That Be ?

Well, it’s pretty simple.  Suppose that somebody borrows $55,000 from a friend to do a deal.  They bought a house for $25,000, put $45,000 into it (they ran over budget on their repairs) and sell it for $80K.  After closing costs, etc, the seller probably REALLY only realized a gain of a few thousand dollars…if that.  (They also had utilities, taxes, interest payments, etc) But keeping the math simple:

$80,000 – $25,000 – $45,000 – Agent Commission and Closing Costs = A Few Thousand Dollars.

However, at closing, perhaps this “loan” from their friend was unsecured.  Or possibly instead of a friend, it was 3 credit cards they had, or a line of credit on another property.  Suppose in the end, the seller walks out of closing with a check for $72, 126.00.  They then take pictures of this check and show anyone how they can do the same and make tons amoutn of cash. 

Truth Exposed

In actuality, after paying off their loans and underlying debt, they’ve only made $2,126.00.  Yet, it appears, and you are led to believe that they made $72,126.00.  Ridiculous right ?  Nobody would ever do that.  Don’t think for a second it doesn’t happen.  They may also word the photo and accompanying paragraphs in a way that maybe they aren’t directly lying, but they are giving the perception…and that is not right.

Can you make $72,000 on a deal ?

Yes.  Absolutely.  However, I just want to caution you that sometimes, everything is not as it appears.  Just make sure they are presenting all the facts and know that you are buying whatever is being sold from a credible source.

Another Example ?

Sure.  I have some large lines of credits on free and clear properties.  Why can’t I go to the bank and have issued some cashier’s checks back to my company name for $72,126.00 and make it appear to be legit.  Look at these checks!  They are real!  You can do it too! 

Then I simply put the money back into my accounts against the lines of credit that were just borrowed from.  Would somebody pay somebody else money to allow them to get these photos taken ?  Probably. 

So, buyer beware when you see guru flashing big checks.  Yes, sometimes they are probably legit.  Othertimes, I believe, due to their wording, that they are misleading you down a bad, unethical path.

Brandon Yeager