Archive for the ‘success’ Category

Follow Schwarzenegger’s Advice to Put Fuel on the Fire

Thursday, December 13th, 2012

“Adversity causes some people to break, and other people to break records.” — Anon

The Governator

I think one of the most powerful motivations in my life is when someone tells me that I can’t do something.

In his autobiography, Total Recall, Arnold Schwarzenegger puts it this way:

Sometimes you have to appreciate the very people and circumstances that traumatized you. Today I hail the strictness of my father, and my whole upbringing, and the fact that I didn’t have anything that I wanted in Austria, because those were the very factors that made me hungry.

Every time he hit me. Every time he said my weight training was garbage, that I should do something useful and go out and chop wood. Every time he disapproved of me or embarrassed me, it put fuel on the fire in my belly. It drove me and motivated me.

What strikes me, is that it wasn’t the fact that Arnold was tormented that made him into the over-achieving force of nature that he became (warts and all), it was the the way that he used that ordeal as motivation to reach his goals.

Arnold’s motivational story:

 

My favorite blog articles for the week:


The 5 Rules on How to Lose Money and Get Your Rental Property Trashed by Tenants

Friday, August 10th, 2012

The Arizona Network of Real Estate invited me to give a presentation to their group about my book “Fix em Up Rent em Out.”

I thought the video might be available to the general public but it looks as though that’s not going to happen.

However, so that no one feels left out, I am going to provide  a summary of the key points that I hit during the presentation. As someone who was regularly picked last for teams in gym class, I’m sensitive to people feeling left out. Casting modesty to the wind, I am also including exclusive photos of the event.

So here are:

The 5 Rules on How to Lose Money and Get Your Rental Property Trashed by Tenants (based on an article by Andrew Stefanczyk)

1. Choose the Worst Possible Area

Location will determine the kinds of tenants you will attract, and how much rent you can fairly charge.

Do you want these bearded wonders as tenants?

The best approach is to identify target areas in your city where you would like to focus your purchases. I like to focus on “transition zones” (where there is a mixture of housing types) which are good for investors because we can purchase properties at lower prices, and there is high demand to live in these areas.

2. Put in the very best of things when fixing up  an investment property

Use new and expensive sinks, doors, refrigerators, light fixtures, etc. Never shop at stores that recycle construction supplies. Spare no  expense.

Of course, the problem is that tenants will not take care of our properties as well as we would,

Habitat Store

so we end up with many broken or worn out items. The better alternative is to shop at used building supply stores, and to purchase good, inexpensive, supplies for our rental houses. One such store is the Habitat for Humanity store.

3. Make sure you have absolutely no experience in make basic repairs

Not knowing how to change electrical outlets, unclog drains & toilets, and replace broken windows will cost quite a bit down the road.

The better way is to:

A. Learn as you go, and comply with EPA regulations

B. Take construction classes at junior college

C. Learn from handymen and contractors

D. Take the Zen approach to  house repair learn to do everything yourself

5. Utilize fix-up books, investing books, & YouTube to find answers on how to make house repairs

4. Do not screen your tenants

Being as uninformed as possible about who you rent to may be the best way to lose money as a landlord. Do not ask for or check references. Do not call previous landlords and ask questions like, did they pay rent on time? How was the condition of the house or apartment when they left? Did they ever disturb neighbors with loud music or shouting matches? How often would you have to make special trips for repairs? Being as uninformed as possible about whom you rent to will make a huge difference and will increase the chances that you will get tenants that will trash your property and refuse to pay rent.

However, the better way is to:

A. Use a checklist for tenants. Decide what kind of tenant that you want ahead of time.

B. Look at their paycheck to verify income.

C. Check county records to see what illegal activities they’ve been up to.

D. Know the Fair Housing Act. Never select tenants based strictly on “race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status or handicap (disability).”

E. To find new tenants, use Craiglist, put up arrow signs, and host an “open house.”

5. Make sure you have not learned about your rights as a landlord

Be completely unfamiliar with the eviction process to guarantee long, drawn out disputes with tenants. Don’t keep up to date financial records or copies of correspondence with tenants. Most states provide online information about tenant and landlord rights so avoid reading these.

The better way is:

A. Get an authoritative legal guide like  “The Arizona Landlord Deskbook” by Carlton Cassler.

B.  Copy forms and letters from your legal book to send to tenants.

C. Comply with legal ways to deal with bad tenants.

D. Use memos to communicate with tenants so you have a record of correspondence.

E. Use a month to month lease instead of long-term lease to more easily scrape off bad tenants like barnacles.

F. Reward tenants for paying on time by discounting their rent $25.  

G. Send good tenants Target  gift cards for Xmas.

In Conclusion

Share Your Knowledge

“Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.”

–Albert Schweitzer

Carve Out Your Niche Update

My award-winning book on self-publishing, Carve Out Your Niche, is now available in Kindle format.

The Midwest Book Review called Carve Out Your Niche,

“Invaluable for anyone seeking to successfully write, publish, and market their own work.”

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A Passionate Life, Turn Your House into a Rental

Saturday, June 5th, 2010

In the movie Man on a Wire, French tightrope walker, Phillipe Petite, runs a cable between the two World Trade Center Towers in 1973, and walks across the 200 ft wire.

It is truly an awe-inspiring feat. People on the ground watching commented:

”It was extraordinary, it was very very beautiful. It was like he was walking on a cloud.”

“It’s beyond anything you can possibly imagine. It’s mind boggling. The awe of the event and the overall largeness of the scale was magical. It was just profound.”

Even one of the NYPD officers who were sent to remove him said, “I personally thought that I was watching something that no one else would ever see again in the world. But it was a once in a lifetime experience. Everyone (all the police) was spellbound in watching him.”

Petite planned the event for 6 ½ years.

He said, “There is a great joy when I am on the wire. Passion is something that knows no bound. It’s not that I am ready to lose, it’s that I’m ready to gain. It’s living intensely. I lose myself in my passion. I do not care about the aftermath.”

“If you are passionate, you are going to do what you want to do all day long, and you are going to become the best at it.”

Movies like Man on Wire remind us that passion is an option and a choice in our lives.

Sometimes it may take something like losing our job to realize that we are not following our passion, and to provide us with the opportunity to pursue that passion.

Following your passion can involve something as simple as turning your house into a rental.

"Fix em Up, Rent em Out" Featured in Newspaper Article

Friday, December 5th, 2008

.
I was recently interviewed by the Arizona Daily Star and responded to a variety of questions related to my house fixer-upper business, such as:

Why did you write the book?;
How did you get into the fixer-upper business?;
Can you give away one secret of success?;

as well as several other questions that inquiring minds want to know the answers to.

Here is the complete interview, entitled “UA researcher fixes up houses on the side, writes about it.”

See also:

For yet another newspaper interview that I did see: Fixer Upper Business Highlighted in Newspaper Article.

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Develop independence and your kids learn too

Monday, October 29th, 2007

Want to teach your kids how to manage money? Do you want them to share your desire to develop income independence?

In the post “Do As I Do” at Overcoming Real Estate Obstacles, Carol says, “You’ll never be financially secure working for someone else. Your job, as much as you love it, is always at risk for many different reasons. Therefore, you need to make your job a bit less important. The only way to do this is to start a business of your own. You can begin small, while you’re still working. That way, you will be prepared if your fired, laid off, or the company you work for shuts down.”

And she says that the way that our kids learn about financial realities is by setting a good example. If they watch us do it, they are far ahead of the pack. I encourage you to read this excellent article.

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