1/15/12: Getting to the Next Level – Are You Ready for a Coach?

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…the NFL playoffs!

There’s so much you can learn about life and business through football!  As we considered how to kick off (get it?) the New Year, we thought it would be fun to look into the notion of coaching for real estate investors.  After all, what professional football team heads into a season without a coach?

So we put on our thermals and headed to chilly (but VERY pretty) Salt Lake City Utah to pay a visit on the folks at Rich Dad Coaching.

It’s no secret we’re fans of Robert Kiyosaki and the Rich Dad message.  And on one of our recent field trips we got to know some people who had good things to say about their experience in the Rich Dad Coaching program.  So who better to talk with about this subject than the Rich Dad team?

Behind the microphones for this episode of The Real Estate Guys™ radio show:

• Your frosty breathed host, head coach Robert Helms
• Your frost-bitten co-host, head case Russell Gray
• Special guest, Director of Rich Dad Coaching, Eric Lloyd

Elite achievers in every profession (not just athletics!) use coaches to provide training, accountability, motivation and encouragement.  It only makes sense that someone pursuing excellence in real estate investing would at least entertain the idea of having a coach.

So once the microphones thawed out, we asked Eric to help us understand who needs a coach, how coaching works, what to expect and how to work effectively with a coach once you decide to take  the plunge.

Eric tells us that you don’t need a coach if you’re satisfied with your current level of accomplishment. But we’re guessing most people want to improve.  And even though the Green Bay Packers won the Super Bowl last year, they still entered the 2011 season with a coach.  So even when you’re just trying to stay at the top of your game, it probably makes sense to have a coach – and certainly if you want to get to the next level.

And speaking of getting to the next level…how about those 49ers?  Look at what an amazing difference coaching makes! A team made of essentially the same players as last year’s team is one game away from going to the Super Bowl!  Though they wouldn’t think so, anyone looking at the 49ers would have to say that even if they lose to the New York Giants, they’ve had an epic year.

When you look at the 49ers turnaround, it makes you wonder what’s possible in your own life with the right coaching!

Eric explains to us that a good coach is a great listener.  And after learning about who are and what you have to work with, the coach helps you develop a game plan that fits YOU.  Just like in football, a good coach will help you play to your strengths and mitigate your weaknesses.

Eric also points out that a good coach brings a team of coaches to effort.  Just like a head football coach has specialty coaches, so Eric says a good investing coach will have associated “resource” coaches to provide technical training and additional perspectives.  We like it.  We know it’s always good to get a lot of brains working on a challenge.

There’s lot more that Eric shares with us, so be sure to listen to the entire episode – and at the end, Eric offers a free resource to reward you for your perseverance.

Listen Now:

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Discover Marvelous Memphis Tennessee with The Real Estate Guys!

The Real Estate Guys™ are going to Memphis, Tennessee March 2nd thru 4th, 2012!!!

Ready to join us? Click here to download your registration form now.

Otherwise, read on and we’ll tell you all about it!

Setting the Tone – Our trips are EDUCATIONAL, so don’t worry about getting trapped in a room and getting hard closed to buy (we call this the “timeshare experience”).

Even though you’ll meet local market experts who’d love to do business with you, none of that happens on the trip. This is about exploring the market and meeting potential team members. If you like what you see, you can follow up afterwards. No pressure!

Trip Logistics

When you schedule your flight (please wait until we confirm your registration – sometimes we sell out), plan to arrive at the Memphis International Airport (MEM) on Friday in time to catch the airport shuttle to the hotel by 4:30 pm. Your registration includes your room, which will serve as home base for the weekend. We’ll tell you which hotel…and the secret handshake …after you’ve registered.

Friday night, you’ll meet your hosts (those handsome guys at the top of this page) and your fellow field trippers. We’ll have a market overview presentation (and a special guest speaker), then we’ll head out for dinner (included!). Then back to the hotel for some shuteye.

Saturday morning we’re up and at ‘em early. After a quick breakfast, we’re into the bus for a FULL day of touring the market. You’ll see a variety of neighborhoods and employment centers, and get an understanding for the overall health and vibrancy of the market.

You’ll meet a variety of experts on specific neighborhoods and property types. You’ll learn how to look for the telltale signs of opportunity (or danger!) at the neighborhood level. This is important because you don’t buy a market, you buy a neighborhood.

We emphasize single and multi-family residential because that’s what most people are interested in, but we’ll also see commercial and retail areas.

We keep the group small, so there’s ample time to ask questions and lots of interaction with the guest speakers, tour guides and your fellow field trippers. We cap the day off with a fun dinner and some tasty libations. Then back to the hotel for a nap.

Sunday morning is a lively interactive strategy session, some Q&A, and presentations from local experts.

By now, you’re brain is swollen with market knowledge, you heart is racing with excitement, and you’ve made a lot of new friends and strategic connections. You’ll get more done in one guided weekend than most people accomplish in multiple trips on their own!

So Why Memphis?

It’s no secret we date other markets. Each one has it’s own unique personality and attributes. And after the Great Recession (which we heard ended June 2009, but we must’ve missed the memo), it’s critically important to be careful and strategic when selecting markets. The volume, location and quality of the jobs in a local area is essential to long term rental property investing success.

To be safe, we like markets that have major job centers that are geographically linked to the area. That is, the primary employers can’t easily pack up and move to China, India or some other location where labor and land are less expensive.

Memphis has a great strategic location and infrastructure which makes it an ideal distribution hub. Maybe that’s why Fed Ex made it their HQ. And with low cost land, labor, no state tax, and close proximity to distribution, Memphis is attractive to U.S. manufacturers who want to stay in the U.S.

It’s also important to have the price-to-rent ratio be favorable to creating positive cash flow. This is important on so many levels, there isn’t time to describe it all! But you’re going to REALLY like the numbers in Memphis!

“Live where you want to live, but invest where the numbers make sense.” – Robert Helms

Also, Tennessee is one of only seven states with no state income tax. This is attractive to both businesses and retirees. If the U.S. economy continues to struggle, and as U.S. baby boomers try to retire on portfolios that have been wounded by the Great Recession, markets like Memphis have a very strong appeal – which you’ll understand when you see it with your own eyes.

We could go on and on (can you tell?), but a website isn’t a substitute for a field trip.

So what are you waiting for? Click here now to download your registration form and we’ll continue the lesson in Memphis!

Who are these people – and why are they smiling???

Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki and his lovely wife Kim Kiyosaki (author of Rich Woman), plus several of their Rich Dad Advisors® are all part of The Real Estate Guys™ 10th annual Investor Summit at Sea™.

And while the idea of spending an ENTIRE WEEK at a conference may seem a little boring, nearly seven of the eight days take place aboard a cruise ship sailing the Caribbean and visiting four beautiful ports.  That’s the complete opposite of boring.

Wow!  Fun in the sun and financial education too.  No wonder Robert and Kim are smiling.  And when you join us, you’ll be smiling too!

After all, we already have people coming from ten different countries.  Just imagine the caliber of people you’ll meet, the quality of conversations you’ll enjoy, and all the things you’ll learn!  Plus we have an all star faculty – all of whom have committed not only to teach,, but to hang out with you at our private parties, shore excursions, round table discussions and nightly shipboard meals.  Really, is there ANY other place you can go to get this level of education, access and entertainment?

Here’s a special message from Robert Kiyosaki:

And this special message from Robert and Kim is for couples: 

This Investor Summit at Sea™ is a VERY RARE opportunity for you to learn from and get to know the Kiyosakis, their Rich Dad Advisors and, of course, The Real Estate Guys™ and the rest of our amazing Summit faculty – all aboard the spectacular Carnival Dream.

So make your plans NOW to be on board March 30th – April 7th, 2012.  Space is limited and your reservation must be secured many weeks in advance.  If you wait too long, the event may sell out.  Don’t miss the boat!!! For all the the details, click here now.

 

 

 

 

10/9/11: Market Spotlight – Exploring Atlanta, Georgia

One of the largest metros in the United States, Atlanta is strategically located in the southeast and serves as a major transportation and distribution hub. We like that because it means those jobs, and all the businesses (and those jobs) that rely on being near that infrastructure, are probably more likely to stay in the area.  In times like these, it’s really important to pick your markets carefully!  Maybe it’s just us, but we prefer the ones with jobs for our tenants.

To learn more about Atlanta, Georgia we invited two market experts to visit our illustrious studios.

Under the headphones and behind the microphones for this exhilarating episode of The Real Estate Guys™ radio show:

• Your peach of a host, Robert Helms
• Your peach fuzzed co-host, Russell Gray
• The Godfather of Real Estate, Bob Helms
• Atlanta residents and market experts, Ken Corsini and Bruce Carlisle

So we were hanging out at an airport (something we do often) and over-heard these two guys talking about great weather, low cost of living, strong population growth and solid rents.  Our ears perked up, and we invited them to be our guests on the show.

Not really.

Actually, we’ve been talking on the show about the importance of strategic market selection and some of the qualities we think are important in a real estate market – especially for long term buy and hold real estate investing.  The next thing you know,  Ken Corsini calls and asks, “Have you heard about the Atlanta real estate market?”

Well, of course we’ve heard of Atlanta.  But after about 10 minutes it was obvious we really didn’t know that much…but Ken did.

Now we get these calls all the time (don’t you wish you were us?  We know we do!), but before we invest valuable air time we decided to throw down (which is better than throwing up) a few hoops.  After all, we like to know who we’re putting on the radio.

So we asked Ken to fly to Dallas and hang out with us at one of our recent field trips.  And he did!  This gave him a chance to hear all about Dallas (a market we like a lot) and let us know how Atlanta stacks up in comparison.  Not dismayed, he showed up in Dallas and took notes, asked intelligent questions and Ken began our education on the investment opportunities available in Atlanta real estate.

The short of it (we know, it’s already been long) is that we discovered Ken’s a really nice guy, he knows Atlanta very well, and he impressed us enough to invite him onto the show.

As a special bonus, Ken brought along his associate, Bruce Carlisle, who’s not only a lifelong resident of Atlanta and a raving fan, but he’s also a long time real estate practitioner that has been nice enough to write a special report on Atlanta (which is conveniently located in our Special Reports library and yours for the asking).

So without stealing too much thunder from the show, we found that Atlanta has a young, well-educated population,  great education and transportation infrastructure, and offers its residents and businesses a very friendly, low cost place to live and do business.  So far so good!

Toss in great weather, lots to do, and a strong and diverse economy – and it’s no wonder that Atlanta has enjoyed strong population growth over the last decade.  People like it!

Of course, once all the basics of a strong long term real estate market are in place, what we really want to know is whether the numbers make sense.  When Ken and Bruce started telling us about prices and rents, we got excited about getting to know this market better.  So sometime in the near future,we’ll be heading out for a pre-field trip scouting trip.  And if we like what we see,  The Real Estate Guys™ just might be organizing an Atlanta real estate field trip.

For now, to find out more about the Atlanta real estate market, listen in on the conversation and be sure to check out Bruce’s special report on Atlanta.  We learned a lot and we think you will too!

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10/2/11: Zero Tax! Deductions and Benefits that Matter Most to Real Estate Investors

Active real estate investors should NEVER pay tax on their cash flow or gains..EVER!  So says CPA Tom Wheelwright, our hero with a zero (taxes that is) and Rich Dad’s tax advisor to Robert Kiyosaki.

And unless you’re Warren Buffett, we’re guessing you’d probably rather pay LESS tax than more.

Maybe when we’re multi-mega-billionaires like Warren, we’ll want to pay more too.  Give us a few years and we’ll let you know. For right now, less tax is better.  We’d rather save on taxes today and use the money to buy more real estate.  Weird, we know…but that’s just us.

The GOOD NEWS is that even while most governments’ appetites for taxes is growing, real estate investors still enjoy some of the best tax deductions and benefits there are!

To learn more about this taxing topic, we flew to Arizona and met face to face with Tom Wheelwright.  He says with proper planning, real estate investors can get their effective income tax rate to ZERO!

Manning the microphones for another exciting escapade into broadcast brilliance:

• Your host with benefits, Robert Helms
• Your big zero co-host, Russell Gray
• A master of brilliant deductions, Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Tax Advisor and CPA, Tom Wheelwright

Zero tax!  Now THAT sounds pretty stimulating.  In fact, Tom says the tax code is a treasure map to a series of stimulus programs.  So to get your personal economy working better, be sure to organize your investing to maximize tax deductions and tax benefits.

Tom tells us:

• Why the tax code is a powerful tool for increasing your cash flow and accelerating  your real estate wealth building
• How to avoid the number one MOST COMMON MISTAKE real estate investors make on their tax returns
• How to save money on everyday items by using the tax code to make more of your expenses tax deductible
• Why every dollar saved in taxes is worth five dollars of real estate!

And there’s even more!  So grab a note pad and listen in as The Real Estate Guys™ interview CPA Tom Wheelwright.

• Listen Now!
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The Real Estate Guys™ radio show and podcast provides real estate investing news, education, training and resources to helps real estate investors succeed. Visit us on Facebook!

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