All Forum Posts by: Dave W.

For those who are experienced rei's, and have read this book, what is your take on it? Is it realistic? Is it a good guide to use? If I follow their advice, & do their action steps week-by-week, can I expect to be successful at finding properties in my own back yard worth investing in? (they say there's plenty of investment property opportunities w/in X miles of where anyone lives).
Dave.

We're thinking of renting out our house & purchasing another home for our primary residence. There are several property management companies in our local yellow pages. How do I choose which one is best? What should I expect from the company? What should I look for/avoid?
Thanks!
Dave.

We're in a "pick-a-payment" adjustable loan, & we suspect it may be a predatory loan. We recently saw a gentleman interviewed on the news talking about predatory loans, & said that 100% of the loans they've evaluated that originated in a certain time period ('02-'06?) have been determined to be "predatory". Here's a link to his website: http://voidmymortgage.com/victim.html.
He charges $400 to evaluate a loan to determine if it is predatory. He says that if it is, you have legal leverage to go back to the bank & have them adjust the loan. My question(s) would be: if our loan is determined to be predatory, what would the bank legally have to do? If the loan was originally with one company, but then sold to another, would the new bank have the same responsibilities? Is there a simple way to determine if our loan is predatory (some equation or something) w/o paying $400 or hiring an attorney?

(excuse the misspelling of "predatory" in the subject line--it won't let me edit that now that I've posted this topic)

Any thoughts on this? Seems kinda pricey at $200, but if it gives you a good education, maybe it's worth it. For those who have played the game, would you say it's a worthwhile investment? What can be learned from the game?
Dave.

A friend of mine just went to the 3-day seminar this past w/e in Reno. She basically confirmed what most of you have said. The free seminar is a sales pitch to get you to the 3-day, which is a sales pitch to get you to the advanced seminar, which was close to $10K for the cheapest package. Robert Kiyosaki not only owns real estate, he owns businesses. This is definitely a business, & I'll bet he's making bank. He's probably using the money to buy real estate.
"A fool & his money are soon parted". I'd say RK is preying on the fools.

Sounds like good advice, all! Thanks.
I'll be saving my PTO at work & not attending this "free" workshop.

I'm thinking of attending one of Rich Dad's Free Workshops in my area next week. It's a 2-hr workshop, & attendees receive a free cd entitled "Budgeting Your Money", which I'm really interested in hearing. The write-up on the cd states it will show you "why living below your means is not a financially intelligent way to become rich"--this goes against the advice of a book I just read, "Total Money Makeover", by Dave Ramsey, so I'm interested in what Robert Kiyosaki has to say on the subject.
I'm wondering if anyone here has gone to this workshop, & if it's worth my time. RK won't be the speaker, & I'm assuming it may be a 2 hr sales pitch to buy into a 2 or 3 day seminar or some course. Any insight/advice? I've read a few of RK's books, & know that many people on this forum appreciate his books for their motivational value more than their "how-to" content.
TIA,
Dave.

ps--here's the link to the workshop: http://richdadeducation.com/workshop.aspx

Update: I did buy Ramsey's book, Total Money Makeover, & am reading through that. I like the idea of becoming debt-free, but don't think I want to get so intensely focussed as to sell my truck (which we have 2 yrs left to pay on) or our used 5th-wheel that we just bought & haven't even taken a camping trip in yet. I will, however, be creating a written budget instead of just paying the bills & spending what's left. I'm also going to focus on getting rid of our credit card debts & paying off the truck & trailer asap.
I met with Randy to go over the credit card info I had gathered. He recommended only applying for one at this time, & using it for regular spending items such as gas/groceries, etc that I would pay for as I use it, to build up revolving credit & get credit-line increases. The way he said I'd use the card when the credit is built up is for cash for down payments on rentals. He buys them at auctions, and he said the way I'd do it w/ a credit card is to have a preapproval ltr w/ me at the auction, use the card for the down payment, & then immediately refinance the loan and pay off the card balance, or when writing up the loan docs specify that the credit card is to be paid off w/ the loan--something to that effect. Does that sound like I'm making sense? (I'm trying to explain what was explained to me once--sounded perfectly logical when he was explaining it to me, but when I try to regurgitate it, I'm not sure I'm making sense).
Dave.

Thanks, Jon.
When he initially asked what I was calling him for, I mentioned birddogging & wholesaling. He asked what I meant by wholesaling, & the way I described it, he said that they've really cracked down on wholesaling here in CA, & it may be illegal if not done properly. Maybe I didn't describe it correctly, but the way I described it was putting a house under contract and then finding another buyer to purchase it. He referred to it as a "double close" or "double escrow" or something. (forgive my ignorance--that's why I'm in the "starting out" section!). I guess it's possible, but not widely practiced? Maybe someone else familiar w/ CA can give some input on that?
So, I think the reason he recommended $100-150K is not only for down pymt in purchasing, but also for making purchases in rehabbing, like kitchen appliances at Home Depot or Lowe's, for example. I'll find out what exactly the credit would be for, what the minimum would be in order to get started, etc. He may be used to working w/ larger numbers himself if he's working on several properties at once.
And having debt on rentals is just using OPM. A common (& intelligent!) practice, if used properly.

Good points, all.
I am contributing to a 401K, as is my wife, to the tune of about 40K combined. I don't think it would be wise to pull that out to invest in RE, do you?
Also, he didn't come out & say he would "educate" me b/c he wants to "give back", those were just my words. It's much like on this forum, he's willing to help me out. I've heard it mentioned here that one should join a local rei club & become friends w/ someone who's successful. I see this as much the same thing, only I didn't meet him at a local rei club. Are ALL successful investors active in local rei clubs? Couldn't some of them just have their contacts (buyers, bankers, lawyers, etc) already in place, & have no desire or need to join a club or go to meetings?
Would you suggest I talk to my friends & relatives & try to borrow money to invest? I could see this as ruining friendships, so I'm reluctant to do that. Besides, people's circle of influence are generally in the same income/lifestyle category. If I don't have a substantial savings account, I don't expect my circle of friends to have one, either. My folks I'm sure have money, but they're 75 & enjoying their retirement. There's no way I'd want to risk any of their money they worked so hard to accumulate. I'm young enough to bounce back from a financial setback.
That being said, I will definitely be on the alert to any purchase not being a safe deal. It will be a while before I'm in the position to buy, & I will definitely take your advice on learning the 70% rule & 50% rule before making any purchases. I'll probably run the numbers by you to see if they look right.
One thing he said is that he likes to buy rentals near Delta College here in Stockton. He also likes to rent to young nursing students, the younger the better, for several reasons: 1) The younger they are, the more likely they are to have mom & dad back their finances. 2) Nursing students aren't there to play football, cheerlead, or party. They're more serious about their education. 3) You get a multi-year renter. He has many of them sign a 3-yr contract. He said it's easy to get renters, & it's easy to get GOOD renters.
I'll ask him next time we meet to explain to me how this works w/ the credit cards, & run it by you for your input.
And I am working on improving my own financial house (part of the reason I want to get into real estate investing). I will soon be picking up the book "The Total Money Makeover" by Dave Ramsey. I also have a long list of re books on my wish list, thanks to Jeff Fairchild and others on this forum, that I will be reading over the next year.
I appreciate all your feedback, especially the skepticism, so I can be on guard while I'm getting to know this guy better, & know what I should ask about when talking w/ him.
Any other suggestions?