All Forum Posts by: Paul De Luca

@Yonah Weiss

I got my degree in Economics and got a minor in Business just so I could take real estate classes in the business school, so I’d say it turned out to be helpful.

Would I have been fine without it? Absolutely. However, my interest in real estate was sparked in college so I probably would not have gotten into real estate investing as early as I did without it.

• @Brandon Wine

1. Strong employer base. Jobs bring people, and companies go where they can find customers and employees.
2. Positive population growth trends
3. Easy access to major roads, interstates, buses, trains, etc.
4. Socio-economic trends of the neighborhood. What are the income levels? Is it mostly families? % renters and homeowners?
5. Good schools, and low crime

Hey Mike, to add to @Kobe Xin and @Jake Fugman's plugs for eXp Realty, the start up costs are low too so it's justifiable as a side-hustle or to just do your own deals. I joined about two months ago as a full-time agent and it didn't take long to get started.

eXp is a virtual, cloud-based brokerage so it has the flexibility that a completely remote position offers which makes it an attractive choice for agents who aren’t sure exactly how many hours they will log this week or where they will be when they log them.

Any agents here that have followed Ricky Carruth's Zero to Diamond agent program? If so, I'd like to hear your thoughts or results.

I'm a newer agent in the western suburbs of Chicago, and I'm thinking about trying his program. Please feel free to recommend your own favorite agent sales resources (books, podcasts, audiobooks, etc) that you have found useful for education and becoming a better agent.

I've read the majority of the books BiggerPockets has published related to investing and I've read the Millionaire Real Estate Agent and Shift by Gary Keller. I'm about halfway done with Sell It Like Serhant right now on Audible and I'm liking the book so far. 

Hey Ben,

I first read the book years ago but listened to it on Audible recently to reinforce the content.

It's a pretty amazing book, especially for the time period in which it was published. In my opinion it was very ahead of it's time. Consider that today, you can find tons of personal development books pretty much parroting more or less similar concepts and angles of thinking about acquiring success and wealth. 

I'm not aware of any other personal development books that are as old as Think and Grow Rich but have stood the test of time. I think there's some great anecdotes about hard work, desire, and persistence in pursuit of seizing opportunity in order to become successful.

We know thoughts become beliefs, beliefs become actions, and actions become reality. I think Napoleon Hill does a fantastic job explaining that mindset is the most important thing because in order to take "rich" actions, you first need to have rich thoughts. 

In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson "the ancestor of every action is a thought."

You are your own biggest impediment to success, and your path to success will mostly depend on how YOU react to things that happen to you. Additionally, hard work is a necessity if you want to get "lucky" in seizing opportunity because you are prepared. You can either view obstacles as opportunities to improve or play the victim. Self-limiting beliefs and excuses should have no place in your mind.

Some of my favorite quotes from Think and Grow Rich are:

"The starting point of all achievement is DESIRE. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desire brings weak results, just as a small fire makes a small amount of heat."

“You are the master of your destiny. You can influence, direct and control your own environment. You can make your life what you want it to be.”
― Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich: The Landmark Bestseller Now Revised and Updated for the 21st Century

I found Chapter 15 "How to Outwit the Six Ghosts of Fear" was especially good for knocking down anticipated excuses. Some chapters, like Chapter 11 "The Mystery of Sex Transmutation", were a little bit weird to me though.

I’m an agent that has been house hacking a duplex in Berwyn for over a year now. When I move out and rent the other unit it will very likely meet the 1% rule, but I don’t think that’s common for Berwyn.

The 2-4 units tend to go very fast with multiple offers, even when overpriced with high taxes.

I’ve been looking for my next house hack in the western suburbs and NW Chicago and it’s been difficult to find something that makes sense.

26 years old, 1 rental, duplex.

@Mark Faustrum

These are the types of reviews I like to hear! @Zack Karp

Sounds like I’m in good hands.

@Mark Faustrum

Thanks for the tip Mark. I spoke with Zack on the phone shortly after he commented and we’re going to be working together now!

This was the first time I spoke with this LO, so don't you only discuss terms after you've found the property you want to buy? He just wanted to check my credit and ask me preliminary screening questions like gross income, debt-to-income etc. He asked for W2s, bank statements, pay stubs, but we didn't discuss terms of the mortgage.