I had always said that I could do better on my own than being told what to do by a committee of people looking to be promoted through attrition, so I put my money where my mouth is.I bought my first investment grade rehab project and was off to the races. 

And this is with all the construction and materials contacts we had.

Do NOT do a handshake deal or T&M (time and materials) because a lot of guys turn into dairy farmers and in the end the cost is double what they said it would be and then they just look like the Olsen twin meme with their hands in the air like they didn't know.

I am just asking them to pay for the materials and expenses I paid out of pocket to cover their failures to live up to the lease. 

I am buying all the materials for a flip.

I only have leather like living room furniture as well, less penetrating material, easier to sterilize and clean.

I learned how to focus on getting the job done and because I wasn't a threat to the end client's W-2 employees (I could never get promoted to the corner office), I could get away with ignoring office politics.

Brian you take your land basis and add in legal costs, labor costs, material costs,usually 10% contingency fund, other fees, etc. to get your overall cost per sq ft.Then you find out cap rate for sale with a newly minted lease local to your area with 15 years on it.

in some areas home prices peaked in the 80s and 90s  think Rochester NY for example or Buffalo.. in some areas real estate seems to make new highs then 10 years later it makes new highs again  think SF bay area , at the end of the day building materials are up land prices even being zero  it cost more to build a home than you can buy an existing one in a huge swath of America so until that changes.. who knows.then in the areas that are slowing but surely turning into rental dominated markets  ( we know which ones those are ) those values will really only move if rents move or investor accept a much smaller return that what they want today which is basically 6 to 10% COC with 20 to 30% down.. 

Since I read the book, I have been assisting to different “Free Events” promoted by the Rich Dad Company, and this is where I was first exposed to “Real State” as a vehicle for financial freedom, but at the same time, I was enrolled in the Physical Therapy Assistant program.