William Nickerson, author and fix up millionaire, began fixing rental houses over fifty years ago. Bill concludes in his best selling book, How I Turned $1000 into Three Million in My Spare Time, "The chances for success are 1600 times better owning and operating rental properties than for starting another type of business." If you need more convincing, I suggest you write to Bank of America Business Services Dept. or Dun and Bradstreet Credit Rating Service, Inc. The information they provide about starting other businesses and the odds for success are quite gloomy by comparison.
Opportunities for serious minded real estate investors who want to earn a bigger share of the American Dream, create a more rewarding life for their families and ultimately achieve financial independence, are better today than ever before.
Fixed up older houses rent for the same as equivalent newer houses.I decided to buy older houses and small apartments that needed fix up. My reasoning was this: I can do much of the work myself. Plus, I can buy them for much less cash down because there are fewer serious buyers for unsightly distressed properties, I also thought, and it proved to be correct, that once fixed and cleaned up with bright new paint, older rental houses would command about the same rents as equivalent sized newer houses. The same thing is true with older rundown apartments, but I've always favored houses because tenants rent houses quicker than apartments.Why is it that very few people ever achieve their financial dreams and what do the few successful ones do differently from the majority who fail? Could it be they plan to fail? I don't think so. It's more likely that they fail to plan. Many folks waste much of their most valuable resource, their own time, trying to figure out ways to make money quick and easy without much effort. These people are only fooling themselves. Nothing worthwhile is accomplished without a plan and without some hard work.
"It's more likely that they fail to plan."Often hard work can be greatly reduced by smart work, but generally this doesn't happen until you are well into your plan and have reached a certain level of experience. Seldom can one get the experience without the hard work initially.Looking back now, I still wonder where I found the time to do it all. It was hard work, but it was certainly worth all the effort I gave it. Let's review what I told you earlier about a plan. First, I said you must know where you want to go. Obviously, you must direct yourself towards a target. In my case, I wanted to own enough income producing real estate to support the life style I planned for myself. That meant I'd need to own rental properties that would provide enough cash flow every month to pay for that lifestyle.
At first, $1000 every month was okay .Then $2000 seemed more appropriate. When that happened I adjusted my goal to $3000,then $5000 and so forth. Remember, when you're working your plan, adjustments and fine tuning are perfectly all right.
The second part of my plan involves how to get there. You must choose a method for achieving your goals within your personal capabilities. This means financially and physically. You must know yourself first. Evaluate what you can and cannot do. This is not the place to dream. In my case, I had very little money saved. However, I've watched others start with even less. Money to start is much less important than starting and continuing. Persistence will be the most important ingredient of your plan.
The most dangerous roadblock facing every career changer is procrastination, There is no doubt that many folks with the best intentions and a good workable plan will procrastinate forever. How many people change careers versus how many talk about it? Not very many. However, don't let the odds hold you back. Financial success is not a stroke of luck. It's a solid workable plan and it's you working the plan. The success part comes automatically.
Taking advantage of new opportunities means being willing to roll up your sleeves and do it. Making things happen is a lot like kissing frogs to find your prince. Chances are you'll have to kiss a lot of frogs before you finally meet a prince. You cannot stay inside the comforts of your house and wait for the frogs to hop in and kiss you. Frogs don't do that. Kissing frogs is rough. You cannot ask your friends, your real estate broker or secretary to do it for you. You can't keep changing kissing styles and you can't spend all your time in kissing school. And don't kiss the same frog forty times it shouldn't take you that much smooching to tell a frog from a prince.
"...you'll be able to tell if you have a prince on the very first kiss."Kissing frogs is a lot like investing in real estate. The more time and effort you put in, the more experience you gain. After a while you'll be able to tell if you have a prince on the very first kiss. The point is, forget shortcuts. There are none.
About the Author: Jay P. DeCima
Jay P. DeCima, 'Fixer Jay', of Redding, California, has specialized in fixing up ugly houses and small apartment buildings since 1977 and currently manages and oversees two hundred investment houses he owns. He began teaching others 16 years ago, and personally conducts his popular three day House Fixer Camps four limes annually in Redding, California. Jay also writes the informative monthly newsletter, Trade Secrets.
