From 2 to 60 units in 7 months!

I'm sure most of us have read "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" and immediately caught the vision for real estate investing.  I first read the book back in 2000, and finally took serious action this past October.  What took me so long?

I was finally fueled by frustration.  I always know I'm about to do something big when I'm seriously frustrated.  We often look at it as a negative emotion, but I've found if you harness and direct it, frustration is a powerful motive to change.  You see, I was doing fine in the stock market, until last summer my oil stock lost $50,000 in value almost overnight.  I was fed up with the roller coaster ride.  

So this time, I decided to study.  To become a serious student of real estate.  Every morning for 1 hour while working out, I devoured podcast after podcast on BP.  I needed to learn this to get comfortable with investing.  "A fool and his money are soon parted."  Well, I had no desire to be that fool.  

Robert Kiyosaki's primary advice is "Build a business or businesses then invest into real estate."  Often missed on his book list is "The Business School," which is a book I read right after Rich Dad.  The book explains how he views network marketing as the perfect business for most average Americans to start because of the low start up, no employees, sales training, and business system already in place.  He explains how it gives you the same advantage as a large "B" quadrant business without all the capital and risk.

 I was already in network marketing, and this book gave me the confidence to stay with it through the ups and downs.  I now have a business that does over 1 million a month in sales, with no employees, accounts receiveable, inventory, debt, and a highly marketable product.  This business provides me with plenty of excess cash to invest into real estate passively.  I recommend to young men and women all the time to at least consider and do some research on this business model as it could be their ticket to large amounts of passive income, provided they are willing to work hard and stay the course.  But this post isn't about network marketing or convincing anyone to do it, just to lay the groundwork for how I'm able to fund my real estate investments.  

So back to October.  After listening to several podcasts from a self directed investor show, I purchased a single family in Arizona all cash.  This one has been a mistake.  More on that next blog.   I purchased an 11 unit apartment complex with a cash out refinance of my first single family rental I owned since 2008 and I got a commercial loan on 80% of the purchase price. This purchase also was a mistake.  No regrets I learned a lot.   Next up I purchased a single family in Indianapolis.  This purchased triggered a direct mail letter from my now good friend Bert, who I've purchased 55 of my 60 units from, mostly duplexes, but also a 3, 4, and 8 plex in there too.  To fund those, I've used a combination of a HELOC (home equity line of credit on my primary home), cash, and a commercial note.   These properties are producing amazing returns and made me glad I stuck it out and kept in the game.  I refer other investors to him all the time and they all can't wait to buy more.   I can go into more details on the exact numbers but this blog is already getting too long.  

So, yes it's a catchy title of 2 units to 60 in 7 months, which is all true, but that wasn't from scratch with no cash.  I built a high cash flowing business FIRST then kept my living expenses in check and took the excess cash and excellent credit score and converted that into a quick six figure passive income stream.  

I love helping new investors so any questions or comments please feel free to post!