5/6/12: Catching the Wave – Where Tropical Profits are a Breeze

One of the secrets to making a lot of money is to catch a profitable wave.  Sounds interesting, but how does it work?

Well, a financial wave happens when a variety of forces converge to move people or their money in a particular direction. That movement can have a substantial impact on any given asset class or geographic region – and the effect can be much more pronounced when the asset class or region is very limited in size.   That’s why we’ve been intrigued over the years by the tiny country of Belize.

In this episode of The Real Estate Guys™ radio show, we’re on location at a beautiful beachfront resort in Ambergris Caye, Belize.  Yes, it’s a rough life on the road as radio talk show hosts, but someone has to do it.

Sipping coconut juice behind the microphones while the tropical breezes blow:

• Your light and breezy host, Robert Helms
• Your coconut co-host, Russell Gray
• Special guest, top producing international real estate broker, John Turley

As part of the preparation for our upcoming field trips to Belize, we headed to San Pedro Town in Ambergris Caye, Belize.  Yes, it’s THAT San Pedro – the one Madonna sings about in La Isla Bonita.

When you’re here, you understand why Madonna fell in love with San Pedro…and why we stopped here during our recent Summit at Sea™, then came back just a few weeks later for this trip, and are now going back for Memorial Day, again in June and staying into July.  Yeah, it’s an addiction.

But for John Turley, formerly from the Rocky Mountain state of Colorado, his visit turned into a 7 year (and counting) transplantation.  And in those 7 years, big John has become the #1 real estate agent in the entire country of Belize and the #2 international property (non-US) agent in the RE/MAX system.  In case you didn’t know it, RE/MAX is the #1 (as in top selling) real estate brokerage in the world.  So John Turley is not just #1 in his cubicle.  He’s #1 for the #1 company in the world.  Hey, nothing but the best for our listeners.

So NOW you can see that we have a LOT to talk about.  Like, why did John decide to leave his life in the USA, uproot his family and start all over again in some dinky third world country? Hint: it’s beautiful, peaceful, friendly and insanely profitable.  But listen in and let John tell you himself.

What’s important to note is that John is just like MILLIONS of other people in the US, Canada and around the world who are looking for a change.  And as that wave of people continues to discover enchanting Belize, many are grabbing homes and filling hotels.  Hmmmm….does that sound like real estate investment opportunity?

John explains how tourism is UP over the several years.  What?!?  We thought there was a global recession and everyone was hunkered down waiting for the storm to clear.

Some are.  But it seems that others have decided that financial and political storms bring big waves, so it might be fun (and profitable) to go ride one (figuratively speaking, of course).

John reports that the interests of the people who come through his office have changed significantly in the last several years.  It used to be that people came to Belize because it’s beautiful, quiet, affordable and friendly.  After all, Belize is the ONLY English speaking country in Latin America, and it’s government and currency are stable.  Did we mention that it’s breathtakingly beautiful?

But today, according to John, MANY people are coming into his office because they are concerned about the direction of the United States.  Now, you may or may not be concerned, but apparently lots of folks are.  So much so, they come to Belize not to vacation, but to establish a second home that could be easily converted into a primary residence.  Kind of a Plan B (like Belize).

There are lots of other interesting tidbits in this interview, and your job (should you choose to accept it) is to listen as Big John Turley shares his perspectives on what’s driving this very popular real estate market – and how you can catch the wave of interest that is building about Belize.

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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.

 

 

 

 

Explore Enchanting Belize with The Real Estate Guys!

Join Robert Helms, host of The Real Estate Guys™ Radio Show for a memorable weekend discovery trip to the beautiful country of Belize!  Three great dates to choose from: Sep 15-18, Oct 6-9 or Nov 3-6, 2011

Why Belize?

Three words: Location, Location, Location (we’ve heard those are important for real estate).

Click here to download your registration form.

Belize is the former British Honduras and is located just under Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Mainland Belize features lush green tropical rain forests, while it’s Eastern border faces the Caribbean ocean safely nestled behind the world’s 2nd largest barrier reef. The islands are postcard perfect and attract vacationers, diving enthusiasts and celebrities alike. Harrison Ford, and more recently, Reese Witherspoon are known to visit Belize for private, relaxing getaways. Leonardo DiCaprio purchased a 110 acre island known as Blackadore Caye. We’ll show it to you when you attend this discovery trip!

But beyond beautiful, Belize has other unique attributes which make it attractive to investors and tourists alike. Belize is the ONLY country in Latin America whose official language is English. This, and the fact that its currency is pegged at a fixed 2:1 exchange rate with the U.S. dollar, make it a friendly place for Americans. Plus there are direct flights from several U.S. cities including Atlanta, Miami, Dallas, Houston and many others. Belize is actually closer for most Americans, Canadians and Europeans than Hawaii!

The Real Estate Guys™ will show you Belize!

Click here to download your registration form.

Robert Helms and his team have been visiting and investing in Belize for several years. He’s led several investor field trips with as few as one couple and as many as forty-five. The feedback on every trip has been over the top positive! Robert will share his extensive market knowledge, introduce you to local market experts, and personally show you the mainland, the islands, and several different developments.

This is an EDUCATIONAL event. This is not one of those “fly n’ buy” sales trips where aggressive salespeople are waiting to pounce on you. We believe the right approach to real estate is to start with the market first, then build a team, and then select property that meets your personal and investment goals. This trip is about exploring the market and meeting people who may become part of your team down the road.

Discover the real estate, banking and lifestyle opportunities available to you in beautiful Belize during a semi-private tour led by The Real Estate Guys™ Radio Show host Robert Helms.

Click here to download your registration form.

Trip Logistics

Once you’re enrolled, our registration team will contact you to help arrange your air travel. Your round trip airfare is not included in your tuition, but it’s very important that your arrival is coordinated through our team. While you’re in Belize, virtually all your trip expenses including transportation, hotel accommodations, speaker sessions, materials and most meals are included. Alcoholic beverages, souvenirs, extended stays and certain other incidental expenses are not included. Upon receipt of your completed registration form, we’ll provide you with information about what to wear, pack and expect.

The Opportunity is Now

There are lots of reasons to like a place like Belize (is there any other place like Belize?), but the opportunity today is better than ever!

Americans haven’t lost purchasing power in Belize because of the fixed exchange rate, while many other countries have gained purchasing power because of a soft U.S. dollar. Baby boomers in the U.S. still dream of warm weather, low tax, beautiful places to resort and retire, but many of the more established areas remain relatively expensive in a post recession economy.

Belize offers an English speaking, affordable, “non-touristy”, and reasonably nearby alternative. And popular TV shows like House Hunters International are helping a growing number of people discover Belize as a great option not just for retirement, but also full time residency for a growing new class of telecommuters and independent information workers. Think about it: would you rather sit in a corporate cubicle in Cleveland or a beautiful beach in Belize?

Additionally, Belize still enjoys a great reputation as a tax friendly jurisdiction with strong privacy banking and asset protection laws. As citizens of “developed” countries face increasing concerns about privacy, taxes and frivolous litigation, the affluent are seeking off-shore alternatives in greater numbers than ever.

All of these trends point to increasing demand, but the wave is still growing. Alert investors can position themselves in the market to provide the properties that tourists, retirees, remote workers and ex-pats will want to buy or rent. Besides, if the worst thing that happens is that you have to live or use your property for personal use, would you rather it be a duplex in Detroit or bungalow in Belize? Meanwhile (check with your own tax advisor), once you have investments in Belize, your trips to visit just might be tax deductible. Very cool.

A Visit is with Worth a Million Words

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a personal visit to paradise is worth at least a million. Come see it with your own eyes!

Click here to download your registration form now.

We look forward to seeing YOU in beautiful Belize!

12/12/10: International Real Estate for Resort, Investment or Safe Haven – Pros and Cons of a Changing Landscape

Whew!  That’s a big title.  But it’s fitting for a big topic – one that reminds us that the world is not only getting smaller, but is changing rapidly.

Money, jobs and people are moving around the world like never before. And while fewer people may feel rich coming out of this recession, there are other good reasons many are still looking at international real estate – both as an investment strategy and a safe haven hedge against inflation.

While we were at the International Property Congress in Miami Beach, in addition to talking big picture economics with National Association of Realtor’s Chief Economist Lawrence Yun and Federal Reserve Bank VP Thomas Cunningham (see our 11/21/10 show), we sat down and talked about who’s buying international real estate, where and why.

Behind our well-traveled microphones for an international chat-fest:

• Your host, the internationally renowned Robert Helms
• Your co-host and internationally obscure Russell Gray
• The man who has seen more changing landscapes than a migrant farm worker, the eternally international Godfather of Real Estate, Bob Helms
• Special Guest #1: International Property Journal reporter, Kevin Brass
• Special Guest #2: Representative from SECOVI, a Brazilian real estate trade association, Flavio Amary

It’s no secret that every country in the world has it’s own unique strengths and weaknesses.  As the dominant economy in the world, Americans have long enjoyed a uniquely stable and high quality of life.  It wasn’t necessary or commonplace to travel abroad.  Even today, the  majority of Americans do not have passports.

However, the world is changing.  The US dollar, while still the dominant currency, is facing serious challenges.  Job losses, deficit spending, an aging populace and huge unfunded entitlements are all piling up on Uncle Sam.  Meanwhile, other countries are emerging as powerful economies in their own right – most notably China.

But this isn’t an episode about the woes facing the US.  These aren’t the first challenges and they won’t be the last.  Every country has its ups and downs.

This episode is about discovering how and why the dynamics of the world’s economies are changing the way people are approaching real estate.

While we’re more traveled than the average American, we took the opportunity while in Miami to connect with Kevin Brass.  Kevin has been covering the international real estate industry for over 20 years and his articles and analyses have been regular features in the International Herald Tribune and the New York Times.  Today, Kevin writes for the International Property Journal.  His work takes him all around the globe and keeps him connected with many industry leaders worldwide.  In this episode, Kevin shares his perspectives on the changing landscape of international real estate.

We also discuss some recent changes to the once vaunted tax and privacy advantages of Panama, who recently entered into an information sharing agreement with the United States.  Tax and privacy advantages are often a prime motivator for people to acquire real estate and move to a particular country.  Is what happened in Panama a portend of things to come?

Of course, what would an episode on international real estate be without an interview with someone with one of those really intriguing accents?  We were privileged to find someone who not only sounds really cool, but has some very useful things to share with us about the robust economy of Brazil.  If you haven’t been paying attention to Brazil, you may be surprised to hear about what’s happening there.  Hint: not everyone’s in a recession.

Buone Feste, Boas Festas, Felices Fiestas, Frohe Festtage, Wesołych Świąt, Bonnes vacances, Sarbatori Fericite and Happy Holidays!

The Real Estate Guys™ Radio Show podcast provides education, information and training to help investors make money with their real estate investments.

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Let’s Go to Beautiful Belize!

Quick!  Before you let your summer end, squeeze in just one more FUN trip! And to make sure you have no guilt about having going, let’s make it an EDUCATIONAL trip designed to ENHANCE YOUR INVESTMENT KNOWLEDGE.  Now that sounds like a REALLY GREAT IDEA!

Here are SEVEN REASONS to join The Real Estate Guys™ on the next FIELD TRIP TO BELIZE:

1. Belize is warm, beautiful, friendly and fun.  Much better than looking at fixer uppers in Detroit or Oakland.
2. Belize is still a largely undiscovered country.  Imagine getting to Hawaii or the Bahamas before the rest of the world figured it out.  But once you’re there, you don’t have to wait as long.  The pace of discovery is much shorter now.  There’s a reason Belize is one of fastest growing cruise destinations.
3. Robert has been studying Belize for three years.  He and his team have several dozen trips under their belt.  It’s always better to go exploring with an experienced guide. You’ll be amazed at how much you see and learn in just 3-1/2 days.
4. Did we mention Belize is warm, beautiful, friendly and fun?
5. Robert will introduce you to real estate developers, brokers, bankers and other important local contacts.  It’s power networking in your shorts.  You’ll be better connected in one weekend than most people are after several months.
6. It’s a GREAT ITINERARY!  You’ll see the mainland, the biggest cities, the #1 tourist destination,and the islands (including Leonardo DiCaprio’s) while you travel by bus, boat and plane throughout the country.
7. You’ll make new friends. Every field trip and investor summit, we not only get to know our guests, but they get to know each other.  And you never know who you’ll meet or what good thing may come from it.  But one thing is for sure: if you don’t go, it’s certain you won’t meet anyone.  So come join the fun!  Watch the video.

Still not convinced?  Check out these comments from some past attendees.

Click here to get all the details on our next field trip to Belize.  Or, download your registration form now.

7/25/10: Entrepreneurs in the New Economy – Getting Paid to Solve Problems

Do you remember the old “new” economy? That was the one where technology companies could go public without profit.  In some cases, they didn’t even need revenue. Ahhhh, those were the days.

The new “new” economy (the Great Recession one) hasn’t been nearly as fun – unless you’re an old school entrepreneur.  That’s the kind who looks at problems as opportunities.  Guys (and gals) like that are having a lot of fun right now because there are opportunities galore coming out of the Great Recession.

The Real Estate Guys™ headed off to Freedom Fest in Las Vegas a few weeks back.  We heard that money manager / economist / author / Senate candidate Peter Schiff would be there (among many other people with very strong opinions about the U.S. economy) and we wanted to do some interviews.  We’re happy to report we got lots of great stuff, including Mr. Schiff and the CEO of Forbes Magazine, Steve Forbes.  Watch for those interviews in future broadcasts.

So we fly into Las Vegas in our private jet (the one operated by Southwest Airlines), and get to the convention venue and start setting up our booth.  Before the event had even started, a man stops by and sees our banner for Belize (we were promoting our upcoming field trip to Belize) and asks a few questions.  The short of it is that we find out he’s working on a very exciting project in the Caribbean – one that solves a problem we’ve been trying to figure out too.  Russ gets so excited that he hugs the guy. Very weird.

After the appropriate apologies and some follow up male bonding, our new friend agrees to do a radio interview.  And that’s what this broadcast is all about.

Manning the microphones for this edition of The Real Estate Guys™ Radio Show:

• Your host, the Larry King of real estate radio, Robert Helms
• Co-host, our “I love you, man” booth babe, Russell Gray
• Special Guest, Investment Banker, Entrepreneur and assault victim, Jeff Villwock

Any time we get around smart people, we jump on the opportunity to talk with them. In this case, Russ literally jumped on Jeff.  When Jeff recovered, we got him on the mic, so you can listen to what he’s doing, where he’s doing it and why.  There’s lots of lessons to be gleaned!

Freedom Fest is an event that attracts people with strong political opinions.  In many of the interviews we did there, those opinions come out.  Great!  We think the world works better when people respectfully debate important issues.  Sharing ideas is among the most sacred of our freedoms, especially if you’re radio guys.

We also realize that the U.S. (the bulk of our audience) is pretty polarized right now.  Now, we love our entire audience and our show isn’t political.  However, policies affect economics and economics affects real estate. There shouldn’t be a serious student of real estate who can look at the last several years and deny that.  So politics are going to get into the discourse from time to time, which is a very good thing.

We think these Freedom Fest interviews are great.  If you disagree with the political views of our guests, don’t let that get in the way of hearing what’s being said.  Here’s why:  a big part of real estate investing is understanding demographics and human nature. How people think and believe affects where they (and their money) will be moving.  Even if you disagree with them, if they believe it, it will affect their actions. So YOU need to understand them (even if you disagree) if you want to anticipate their behavior.

Did we mention that Jeff’s project is in St. Kitts?  It just so happens that St. Kitts is one of the stops on our upcoming 9th Annual Summit at Sea!  So we ask Jeff if we can visit his project as part of our already planned real estate shore excursion in St. Kitts. Not only does Jeff agree to allow us to visit, he says he’ll meet us there and show us around.  Awesome!

Once again, we’re reminded of the importance of getting out of our cubicles and into the world where real people are. No doubt that virtual networking is powerful, but just as phones did not replace face to face meetings, neither will social media replace conventions as a great place to make important connections.  This is one of the reasons we attend trade shows and promote our field trips and the Summit at Sea™.  It’s a great way to get to know great people in the real world.  We hope to see YOU at one very soon!

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7/4/10: Profiting from Your Vacation – Exploring New Markets in Your Bathing Suit

Most people don’t get into real estate investing because they like tenants, toilets and all the tribulations you go through. And most of the time, they don’t get into properties they would like to live in or visit on vacation.  In fact, most investors would be happy if they never saw their properties.  That’s probably why stock investing is so popular.  You just buy a line item on your brokerage statement.  You never visit the company or meet the management.  It’s all very sterile and anesthetized.  Maybe that’s why you almost can’t feel it when the stock market gives you a networthectomy.  But we digress (how unusual).

Anyway, with summer time in full swing and people heading off for a well-deserved vacation, we thought it would be refreshing to talk about how to combine real estate business with vacationing pleasure.

In the radio mini-van, headed to the beach of broadcasting for fun in the sun and investing too:

• Your host and mini-van driver, Robert Helms
• Captain Speedo, Russell Gray
• The Godfather of Real Estate, Bob “Board Shorts” Helms

Before we hit the road of conversation we do a quick check of the packing list.  Did we remember to pack our investor mindset?  What about our notebook to keep track of our ideas, conversations and those all important (potentially) tax-deductible expenses?

We’re all good, so off we go!

Since most people don’t vacation in C-class neighborhoods, we start our conversation on the idea of resort area investing.  But as soon as we jump out of the mini-van, we are faced with that ugly limiting belief, “I can’t afford it”.  It’s easy to look at real estate in a beautiful area and disqualify yourself before you even get started.  So we talk about how to push through the traffic of doubt in one’s mind by asking the question, “How can I afford it?”

We decide to ride this train of thought and talk about the importance of getting the right answers and advisors, by learning how to ask the right questions. Bad questions yield bad answers.  It’s like, “Which Speedo looks best on Russ?”  That’s a bad question (and worse visual) with no good answer.

Of course, we can’t miss the opportunity for some shameless self-promotion, so we hang a u-turn on the notion of making one’s vacation an opportunity to look for real estate.  What about the idea of using a real estate trip as a vacation? Many of our listeners have come with us on our Investor Summit at Sea™ or field trips to Belize, Cabo San Lucas or other fun places we’ve gone.  Even though the main purpose of the trip is to look at real estate, is it against the rules to have fun?  So, when time and budget is limited, it just makes good sense to leverage your vacation / real estate “research and development” budgets.

We have a fun time with this show.  We think you’ll like it too!

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Seven Lessons from the Summit at Sea

The Real Estate Guys™ 8th Annual Summit at Sea was a huge success! We feel sorry for everyone that wasn’t with us this year.   All the energy, education, experiences and relationships are hard to put into words, but we have 7 lessons we believe will help you.

We kicked off the 2010 Summit in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Many Summit attendees wisely came in a day early and made plans to stay a day or two later in order to enjoy the hospitality of this amazing city.  Those who got the most out of their trip had invested the time to research the city beforehand.  When they arrived they had geographical context and some idea about what they wanted to see and do.  One of our attendees had plans to attend a certain restaurant he’d heard good things about.  The food of the French Quarter was certainly one of the highlights of this trip. Russ took the opportunity to try turtle soup and fried alligator.  Both were great and he’d order them again!

Summit Lesson #1:  Life’s best surprises go to the curious and adventurous. Invest time to visit new places, meet new people, try new things and discover new ideas.  You’ll be the richer for it.  If you’re not that way naturally (like Russ) – hang out with people who are (like Robert).  Some of our best real estate deals and business relationships have come from simply exploring.  Deal hunting is as much art as science.  You can’t always script it.

Back to our attendee. So this guy is heading out according to his plan.  But when he steps into the hotel elevator, he runs into Rich Dad Advisor® Wayne Palmer and his family.  The short of it is our guy ends up going to dinner with Wayne!  We’ve been at Rich Dad events with hundreds and thousands of people in attendance, many of whom wait in line for a long time just to get two minutes with an Advisor.  Can you imagine being able to enjoy a long casual dinner with Wayne Palmer?

Summit Lesson #2:  Great opportunities to meet interesting people and learn new things won’t happen to those who stay home, arrive late, leave early or aren’t flexible. If you want to build strategic relationships, you must go to where the right people are and put yourself in a position to get lucky (speaking purely in terms of business).

As real estate investors, it’s important to practice exploring markets. There’s so much more you learn from actually being there.  The internet can’t capture the spirit of a market.  From cab drivers, to hotel and restaurant workers, to local shop keepers and business owners, to the people on the street, there is a lot you will discover about what’s REALLY happening in a local economy when you’re physically in it.  People living in a community know what’s happening right now with rents, prices, migration trends, demographics and job creation.  Only when you add this anecdotal information to your own real life observations can you begin to put statistics into useful perspective.  Remember: stats reports things that have already happened – not what’s happening now.

We noticed that New Orleans is a very entrepreneurial city. Perhaps in the wake of Katrina (the effects of which were still apparent) the bravest, most resilient and dedicated people have returned first.  In any case, these folks weren’t asking for handouts.  They were happy for the opportunity to earn our business – and very thankful for it when they got it.  As our nation and world continues to work through the effects of the financial crisis, the people of New Orleans gave us hope.  If people all over the world dedicate themselves to working their way out of a mess like these people are, our world is going to come out of this Great Recession just fine.

Summit Lesson #3:  Entrepreneurship and hard work (not handouts) are the keys to personal and societal recovery. Everyone who’s struggling in this economy should take a trip to New Orleans and see how winners react to adversity.  No wonder the Saints won the Super Bowl.  If we all take the spirit of New Orleans back to our businesses, this recession will quickly fade into the rear view mirror.

After a great session in the hotel, the group headed to the pier and boarded the ship.  We sailed on the Carnival Triumph, which was SOLD OUT!  Cruise lines are actually weathering the financial storm pretty well.  Why? Perhaps people realize that a cruise is a great value, meets a basic human need (to refresh themselves) and attracts financially capable people from all over the world (a broad market).  Do these principles apply to real estate investing?  It’s obvious that real estate meets a basic human need, but we’re reminded of the importance of having a large, financially capable target market.  No matter how badly someone wants something, if they can’t afford it (or don’t think they can) they won’t buy.

Summit Lesson #4:  Pick markets and properties that appeal to a large demographic of financially capable people and you will weather difficult times more easily.

The next lesson came later, but is an extension of lesson #4.  Rich Dad’s Real Estate Advisor Ken McElroy talked about the markets and properties he targets:  B-Class apartments (meets a basic human need – housing) with affordable rents (provides a great value) that appeal to working class people (a large, financially capable demographic) in markets with good mid-to-long term job creation (he focuses on areas with fundamental and growing industries such as energy).

What was very interesting is that on the real estate shore excursion to Belize, we saw a very different variation on the same themes.

In Belize, we visited a piece of beautiful waterfront land and listened as the developer shared her vision for the property.  She plans to build high quality, moderately priced residential units suitable for resort, retirement or ex-pat full time occupancy.  While the country of Belize is sparsely populated and very poor, it is a land of breathtaking natural beauty and terrific year round warm weather.

Like the cruise ship, the project in Belize provides great value, satisfies a basic human need and desire, and appeals to a worldwide, financially capable demographic.  In other words, the project’s success isn’t dependent on the local population to be successful.  It attracts people from all over the world.  And because there will be so few units available relative to the size of the market, it’s hard to imagine the project won’t be successful.  It’s very different than B-class apartments, but like the cruise line, follows a similar fundamental formula.

Summit Lesson #5: Essential principles of successful investing don’t vary much, even though markets, properties and target customers might. Or as the old adage says, there’s more than one way to skin a cat (though we have no idea why anyone would want to do that – it’s cruel).

Even though this was our 8th Summit, there is no doubt it was our most compelling line up of speakers. We were very fortunate to have not one, but THREE of Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Advisors® teaching at our Summit.  Creative real estate genius Wayne Palmer taught a powerful and practical series on how to create capital, produce profits and generate cash flow with the creative use of private notes.  Even though people had to ice their brains after each session, Wayne was gracious to make himself available during non-class times.  He answered questions and even did some individual personal consultations.  These opportunities weren’t part of the official program, but some people at the event got lucky (see Summit Lesson #2).  People left the event believing they could use the education they got to do at least one deal which would more than pay for the cost of the entire Summit – and next year’s too!

To quote Robert Kiyosaki, “Savers are Losers”.  Though we agree with his premise (and highly recommend you read his latest mega bestseller Conspiracy of the Rich), we’re saying it for a completely different reason.  We think people who “saved money” by not coming on the Summit actually lost money.  We know.  That sounds like sales pitch.  But anyone who’s ever tried to do an event like this knows that no one is getting rich by promoting it.  More, if you saw the surveys of the people who came, you’d realize that we still haven’t figured out how to over-promote the Summit.  Everyone felt it was easily worth the time and money.

When you’re around people who know how to make money in a tough economy; who are optimistic about the future; who are resourceful and busy taking advantage of all the opportunities they see in the market, you quickly realize those who lost out were those who wanted to attend and chose not to because they told themselves “I can’t afford it”.  This paradigm looks at the Summit (or similar events) as an expense and not an investment.  The difference is that an expense pays for something that is consumed and doesn’t produce a profit.  An investment pays for itself and returns a profit.  The paradigm should have been, “I can’t afford not to” and “How can I afford it?”  Most people believe a college education is worth the price, yet hesitate to invest in non-institutional education.  Could it be they believe the degree is more important than the knowledge?  What do you believe?

Summit Lesson #6:  Paradigms affect potential and profits, so pick your paradigms carefully. The Summit was full of winners and after living with these amazing people for a week we found ourselves picking up new paradigms and making commitments to shed some bad ones.  One of the great challenges is to manage the influences to our thinking.  We look for every opportunity to hang around top performers.

One common theme we noticed in the presentations of nearly all the speakers was “control”.  Wayne Palmer talked about his rules for risk.  He follows strict (but flexible) guidelines for collateral, loan-to-values, target returns and cash flows in order to control the risks he takes in any deal.  Rich Dad’s Asset Protection Advisor, attorney Garrett Sutton, talked about entity planning and how to structure your affairs in order to control liability and tax risk.  Attorney Mauricio Rauld spoke on international entity structures which further control liability and tax risk when investing outside of the US.

Ken McElroy talked about his guidelines for market and property due diligence, as well as his dogged attention to cash flow.  He uses these disciplines to control market risk.  He says this control is why his real estate investments aren’t in trouble even though he’s going through the same challenging market conditions that are wiping out so many others.  He doesn’t rely upon the market to do the work for him.  He looks for deals with upside and works to improve the cash flow, which in turn increases the equity.  Then he uses prudent leverage to release the new equity and return his seed capital so he can move forward with positive cash flow – all on no money invested.  This produces what Robert Kiyosaki calls “infinite returns”.  Meanwhile, he recycles the seed capital to do the next deal!

Robert Helms stressed the importance of controlling one’s mindset when investing in the wake of an unprecedented drop in values (see Summit Lesson #6).  Each had a different angle, but again, all variations on a theme: control.

Summit Lesson #7:  Pay careful attention to the things you can control so you’re able to withstand the challenges caused by the things you can’t (inflation, taxes, market cycles, interest rates, etc).  When it comes to investing, most people are out of control.  Fear overrides common sense and they buy high and sell low.  They turn their money over to bankers and Wall Street and hope for the best (hope is not a strategy).  They manage cash flow by feel rather than budgets and bookkeeping.  Worst of all, they wait for external circumstances to get better rather than investing in making themselves better with education, relationships, strategies, disciplines, systems and a willingness to take action in the face of uncertainty.

We could go on and on!  There are SO many great lessons to glean from the Summit.  Of course, the only way to really get them is to actually be there.  The Real Estate Guys™ Summit isn’t the only event of its type, but after reading the surveys of the attendees, and even more, hearing the feedback of the Rich Dad Advisors®, we think it’s one of the best.  And we’re already making plans to make next year’s Summit even better!

We encourage you to make it your goal to be with us in 2011. Without exception, every survey we received said the event exceeded expectations and was well worth the time and money invested.  Over one third of this year’s group has already signed up for next year!

To make sure YOU get the upcoming announcement about The Real Estate Guys™ 9th Annual Summit at Sea in 2011, be sure to sign up for our newsletter. To be extra sure you get the early bird deal, use our feedback page to let us know you’re interested and we’ll put you on our VIP notification list.

All the best!

Robert Helms and Russell Gray
Hosts
The Real Estate Guys™ Radio Show

Part 1: Report from the National Association of Realtors Conference

This is Russ. I just got back from 3 days in beautiful San Diego where I attended the NAR Annual Conference.  Robert drew the short stick and had to go to Belize to handle some business. Poor guy.

In case you don’t know, the National Association of Realtors is the world’s largest trade association, boasting well over a million members. Pretty good for an industry that’s been at the epicenter of the “world financial crisis”.

I noticed the AP reported on FHA Commissioner David Stevens’ speech at NAR.  They said that Stevens told the Realtors “that concerns the agency is headed for the same financial trouble that snared Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the subprime sector are unwarranted.”

Really?

I didn’t hear the speech because I was more interested in what people on the front lines were thinking and feeling about the market.  Besides, we’d already commented on our observations about FHA in two previous blog posts: Are We Going to Lose our Fannie? and Hey FHA! Your Fannie is Showing. You can find those in the Clues in the News category.

Why should you care about FHA? As quoted in the AP article, Stevens said it best, “Without FHA there would be no (housing) market, and this economy’s recovery would be significantly slower.”

The surest sign there’s trouble is when a bureaucrat comes out and tells your there isn’t  (“Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!” ).  Especially when all evidence says there is.  It’s even worse, when the “no problem” evidence provided is (again, from the AP article), “the agency has $31 billion in capital – $3.5 billion more than it had a year ago.”  But (and it’s a big one), how does that compare to the number of loans insured?  The AP article says that FHA has insured nearly a quarter of ALL new home loans made this year.

Consider these recent FHA related reports:

11/10/09 MiamiHerald.com – “FHA moves to boost condo market – The FHA recently announced more lenient, albeit temporary, underwriting guidelines for condo projects”

11/12/09 DSNews.com (reports to the mortgage default servicing industry) – “The FHA told Congress and reporters Thursday that its cash reserve fund had deteriorated to $3.6 billion – the lowest it’s been in the agency’s 75 year history.”

11/13/09 Wall Street Journal – “The FHA’s Bailout Warning – Whoops, there it is. – Critics of Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac were waved off as cranks and assured that the companies would not need a taxpayer bailout right up until the moment that they did.”

11/14/09 AP – “FHA Boss: FHA is not the new subprime” (this is the article written at the NAR conference that I opened up talking about). Hmmmm……I’m having déjà vue all over again…again.

Not to be redundant (okay, maybe a little redundant), but Supply and Demand only work when there is capacity to pay.  If 100 people are starving and there’s only 1 Big Mac for sale, one would think that the price would get bid up, right?  But that assumes (dangerous word) that those people have the capacity to pay. If they don’t, the price won’t rise.

The lesson?  Stevens is right (for now) that FHA money is a BIG part of housing.  If it goes away or is tightened, then there will likely be a dip in prices as less people can compete for available properties.  Does that mean stay away?  Not necessarily.

Eventually, private money (and there’s lots of it!) will make its way back into mortgages. Why? Because it’s profitable and real estate is real and the demand for it is forever. But until the sands stop shifting, private money will stay away. It’s no fun to play a game when the rules keep changing. As long as private lenders think they will have to compete against government (taxpayer) subsidized non-profit lenders, and/or that legislators will impede or negate their rights to recourse under the contract (i.e., stop a foreclosure or force a modification), then private money is going to stay away.

And who can blame them? But, (oops, my opinion is showing), even though all this government tinkering is designed to lessen the pain (ironically caused by government tinkering), it will also prolong it.  But I guess private money is coming to the rescue one way or the other, since taxes take private money and funnel it into housing through the government via bailouts.  Not my first choice, but that’s the way its working right now.

For joe schmo investors like us, bread and butter properties in highly populated markets with good transportation, education and economic infrastructure still make sense – as long as they cash flow and you’ve got reserves to allow you to own for 10-20 years.  Because when private money does come back and is added to all the new money we’ve added through stimulus, it’s very conceivable that prices will go up.  But if you have positive cash flow, amortization (pay down of today’s cheap loans over time), and tax breaks, you will still look good in 20 years.  And who doesn’t want to look good in 20 years?

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Join The Real Estate Guys in Beautiful Belize!

The Real Estate Guys are going back to Belize!  And who can blame us?

In our continuing quest for emerging growth markets, we’ve discovered great opportunities in the beautiful country of Belize!

Would you like to have invested in Cabo San Lucas Mexico 20 years ago…or Hawaii 30 years ago?  Then come explore the white sand beaches, crystal blue seas and gorgeous rainforests of the only English speaking country in Latin America!

Robert Helms and his team have been to Belize nearly 50 times in the last 2 years!  They will take you on a guided tour of both the forest covered mainland and the magical tropical islands which sit safely nestled inside the largest barrier reef in the Northern Hemisphere.

You’ll see raw and ready to develop land, single family homes, condos and more.  Hear from bankers, appraisers, local real estate brokers and developers, and other experts!

Is it possible to profit in paradise?  If you don’t go, you won’t know!  Come discover Belize with The Real Estate Guys™ on our next field trip!

Registration is only $2,297 per person double occupancy* (add $400 for single occupancy) and includes $500 airfare credit, ground transportation, boat tours, receptions, 3 nights lodging, most meals; and all speakers,  presentations and hand out materials

You can’t call this a vacation because we work hard and cover a lot of ground in a short period of time. But you’ll still have TONS OF FUN!  Come hang out with The Real Estate Guys – and discover why we LOVE Belize!

It’s gonna be great!
But don’t take our word for it – check out comments from folks who’ve been to Belize with The Real Estate Guys™.

Download a registration form or call 1-888-489-7723 or use our Feedback page.

* We will make every effort to match same sex individuals as roommates so both may enjoy the double occupancy rate.