NAREI Newsletter

9 August 2007

Plan to be with us tonight...details below!

Dear Narei.com Member,

Read below how you start "from Scratch"...and then even more!

Marc & Paula,

We had been searching for years for an answer to the questions “How can we become financially free?”  We are the parents of five, soon to be six, children and want to spend as much time with them as possible before they are gone. Then we happened upon your book “Unlimited Real Estate Profit” in our local library and were immediately hooked.  We have one single family rental home in our local market, but the environment is such that it didn’t make sense to buy any more.  The cash flow is alright, but there are no prospects for appreciation.  This book was like turning on the proverbial light bulb.  We especially love to quote the lines “Live where you want, but only invest where it makes sense.”

Well, we have now been on one buying tour with plans to go on many more in the future.  The tour exceeded our expectations and the market we are in is awesome.  We have been there for a little over a year and have already seen some great appreciation in addition to the cash flow we get from each property.  We came away from the tour feeling like we were greatly educated and continue to study any materials we can get our hands on.

We feel that out goal of “financial freedom” is on its way to becoming reality.  It has been so exciting for us that we already have other family members asking how they can participate.  We appreciate the valuable service you provide. You are genuinely great people.  We hope to have an opportunity to mentor others as you have with us.

Sincerely,

Thomas & Leanna Hatch

Columbus, Ohio

Now a note from Marc Stephan Garrison:

 
I started investing in real estate in 1978.  I had started working for an electrician in 1969 when I was 14.  During the next 9 years I kept running into two real estate investors who hired my boss to upgrade the electrical services on the homes that they were working on.  But, I didn't know at that time that they were real estate investors.  In fact I didn't know yet what a real estate investor was. 
 
Little did I know that they were buying and selling homes to make money.  I actually thought that they were crazy.  I thought that the only reason to buy and fix up a home was so that you were able to move into it yourself.  When I finally figured out what they were doing I asked them to teach me.  And, teach me they did. 
 
I paid for lunch after lunch while they taught me the business of flipping houses.  My goal was to make at least the $25,000 that they told me that they made on average on each home that they flipped.  Fueled by my wife's pregnancy with our first child I put together my investing team and bought my first home with all the money that I could scrape together. 
 
When I bought that home I was really scared.  I worried that I wouldn't be able to fix it up on time.  I worried about making the payments until I could resell the home.  In fact, the more that I thought about it... the more depressed that I became.
 
Finally my family rallied around me and we started what would become one of the sweetest deals that I have ever done.  I didn't make $25,000 on the home.  I only made $16,000.  But I didn't care.  I realized that what I had done could be repeated, and repeated, and repeated again.
 
That first deal was awesome.  The next and next and next deal only got better...
 
I am often asked the question, "What would I do if I were starting over from scratch?"
 
My answer would be pretty simple.
 
I would advise somebody just starting out to -
 
1)  Learn how to determine what market cycle stage your target investing area is in.  I have been doing this since 1985 and it is essential to know what your market cycle is. Learn how to determine if it is in expansion, equilibrium, decline, or absorption?  Go to narei.com for a complete explanation of any market's cycle stage.
 
2)  Learn how to form a definition of value.  How much are basic homes selling for.  This can be done very easily by choosing to work with a professional real estate broker / agent.
 
3)  Learn how to understand what a property can rent for.  The very best way to do this is to get to know a good property manager and to have them share with you what the properties that they manage are renting for.  Understanding market rents can make you money.  I don't care where you invest... but negative cash flow is an alligator that will bite you and kill off your investing program.  Learn how to work backwards.  Understanding cash flow then determining what you can afford to pay keeps your investing program alive.  Too many negative cash flows will suck you dry.  I have a student right now who invested in about 16 properties before he came to me and became part of my Challenge program.  He is working his day job 7 days a week, 10 to 12 hours a day just to afford the negative cash flow deal that he bit off.  We are working together right now to get rid of those properties and to shift his investments into high profit deals that cash flow from day one.
 
Do you like what you are hearing.  This is just the start.  On Thursday, August 9th our Buyer's Broker Paul Chenoweth and I will teach you just what you need to learn to become a successful real estate investor today.  We both will share with you our experience as real estate investors.  And we will share with you exactly what would we do if we were starting from scratch building wealth.
 
Our weekly TeleWorkshop will start Thursday night, August 9th at -
 
6 PM - Pacific
7 PM - Mountain
8 PM - Central
9 PM - Eastern
 
The number to call is - (507) 726-3200
 
The access code to participate in this call is - 44295 followed by a #.
 
Since 1985 NAREI.com has grown to be one of the most powerful and influential groups of hands on real estate investors that exist.  We welcome your participation in our weekly TeleWorkshop series.  Come prepared with your questions.
 
We have 3 BuyingTours that are schedule for the remaining months of 2007.
 
- August 20th - 26th
- October 22nd - 28th
- December 3rd - 9th
 
We wish both you and yours the very best!!!
 
Marc Stephan Garrison
(334) 328-7778
 
P.S.  Feel free to call me with your questions.  I would love to be a part of your success team.

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