Want to beat Sam Zell's billions?

[Caroline Gerardo]

How did Sam Zell get rich?

Zell made his fortune investing in undervalued real estate properties and holding them for the long term. He is a pioneer in the real estate investment trust and created two of them. Zell has described his strategy as "dancing on the skeletons of other people's mistakes."

In this market there are and will be more opportunities.

Is your team built and ready to rock?

Compile cash into checking account, raise your FICO score, have your lender partner on top of list contacts in your car bluetooth.

You have a: CPA who knows you, a real estate attorney who is your cousin, realtors in the locations you haunt, handyman, contractor, know the costs of rehab, and so forth?

Zell bought undervalue and held long term, he bought in different markets with a variety of property types, and negotiated hard and fast.

2007 he bought Equity Office Products in the last crash when everyone was sitting on their hands.

Okay you don't have to be this big, today. What do you need to build your portfolio?