Welcome to the first installment of Real Estate Investing Reality!
Before we begin, you should know a few things about me. I’m not a real estate guru. I make a living as a landlord. I own apartments – about 1,200 of them. I’ve got a little retail space and an office building too.
You might inquire with some of the other advisors you
encounter how much real estate they actually own. There’s lots of folks out there peddling expensive advice that don’t own much more than a website.
I’m also a Christian. I’d like to think I’m a Christian before I’m a landlord. Certainly, being a Christian is more important. It’s got to be something more than just an hour on Sunday.
There are over 2,000 verses in the Bible that deal with money and finances. And the Bible has stood the test of time. I reserve the right to draw upon Biblical wisdom at any time.
That said, this is the No Judgement Zone. Biblical truth is available so I’ll know how to conduct myself, not so that I can pass judgment on someone else. Here’s a favorite passage from Matthew 7:1-5:
Do not judge, so that you will not be judged. 2 For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and look, the log is in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye!
It’s a good think this is a blog and you can’t see me winking at you. I seem to have this log in my eye!
Here’s another promise. I’ll always be truthful and spare you the hype. That’s why the blog is called Real Estate Investing Reality.
Here’s the first truth: there’s plenty of guys out there younger than me that have done it bigger and better than me. Some of them are my friends and I’ll introduce them to you. There are as many paths to success in business as there are people.
Notice I said business and not just real estate. I reserve the right to cross over into general business territory at any moment. But it will always be relevant to real estate too.
While this blog may be new, writing isn’t. Almost 20 years ago,
I wrote The Complete Idiots Guide to Real Estate Investing Basics. In January 2006, I published Cash In On the Coming Real Estate Crash with John Wiley, the largest publisher of business books in the world.
I have to admit that Cash In wasn’t a best seller. But I’ll bet there are plenty of people that wish they had read the book. For the young and innocent, real estate markets imploded as predicted in 2008.
I also started a blog 10 years ago about apartment living directed toward people living in or looking for apartments to rent. The main purpose of the blog was to have fresh content on my website for SEO optimization to maximize rental traffic. I never thought anyone would actually read it. But after a stretch, I started getting requests from other bloggers to guest post. In fact, there were so many requests, I didn’t have to write the blog myself anymore.
Here’s another truth. I have an ulterior motive for this blog. I’m trying to get another book published, How to go to the Super Bowl for Free and Other Lessons from a Lifetime in Business. Yes, I really did go to the Super Bowl for free.
But getting a book deal today is harder than ever, even if you’ve been previously published. You have to be a celebrity or have a “platform.” Having a platform means having millions of social media followers, a robust speaking career, or 100,000 names on an email list. I don’t have any of those – at least not yet.
But I think I can accumulate that email list. So I’m proposing we form a partnership. My end is to provide engaging, entertaining content. I’ll have a fresh post every week. I’ll answer your questions absolutely free. I’ll provide additional exclusive free content and discounts on my books. Your job is to share your email address with me and tell others about this blog.
Should you trust me with your email address, I will never share it with anyone without your permission.
If you’re already convinced, you can share your email in the red box below. If you’ve got a question, you can ask that the same way – in the red box. Or click the red box and put 15% off in the subject line to get 15% off the Super Bowl book as soon as it’s available. Please share the blog too. If you’re not convinced yet, that’s OK. I welcome the opportunity to earn your trust.
Thanks for coming along on the journey. Let’s keep going. See you here again next week.