Making Dreams A Reality Through Real Estate

The best reason for investing in real estate is that it actually works! Real estate investing proves that the American dream is still very much alive. What other avenue can an individual begin in virtually any circumstance in life and build an empire of wealth in a relatively short period of time? Real estate investing does not discriminate against education levels, class, age or region.

You do not need a college degree to understand the fundamentals of real estate investing. You do not need to have a high-paying job or already be wealthy to get started. It can create enormous amounts of wealth for any person who is simply willing to follow the system. There is no need to re-invent the wheel; our system has been proven for any investor in any circumstance or economic condition. You’ve heard similar claims so many times now that they almost sound cliché. Well, even the most skeptical critic will soon see the power of real estate investing as the avenue you’ve been looking for to change your life … that is, if you choose to get started.

All you need to start investing in real estate is determination, self discipline, creative thinking, willingness to work hard, confidence and a dream. The dream is the most important element. The dream’s power will make the other qualities come naturally. Have you ever struggled to follow through with a project you’ve started? It may not be because you’re lazy or lack self discipline, but because you never had the appropriate motivation. Perhaps the goal wasn’t that interesting to you to begin with, or perhaps you never really believed you could attain it. It is important for you to realize what is attainable so that your dream is not limited. Realizing that you can live a life of abundance makes it possible for you to have the ultimate dream.

I’m not talking about the dream of a nice house, fancy clothes and a sports car in the driveway. The dream I’m referring to is much larger—all-encompassing. It is the dream of freedom. You may think, “This is the United States. I am free.” Let me ask you, do you own your time? Can you wake up in the morning and spontaneously decide that it is a good day to take the family out on the boat? Can you leave for that month vacation in Hawaii you’ve always wanted to take? Can you sit at home and read a book from cover to cover? Can you take the piano lessons that you always wanted but never had the time or money to take? Can you go back to school for the college degree that you never completed? Can you stay home and raise your children? If you are like most people in this country, you cannot. If you are like most people in this country, you do not own much sunlight in your life. You wake up just before the sun rises, go to work, return home just as it sets and retreat to bed. Then you wake up and repeat the process again and again until, if you’re lucky, you’re 65 years old and you retire—too tired and too old to do all those things that you put on hold until you had “some time.” You are not free until you own your time. Time is the most valuable amenity that wealth can buy. That dream, the ability to own your time, is really the essence of the American dream. Ironically, it is a dream that few people attain, yet it is readily accessible to all. Using real estate as the vehicle, we will teach you how to become wealthy, buy your time and know how it feels to live your dream and be free.

Before we outline real estate's power to help you achieve your dreams, it is important that you understand how we define wealth. We don't define wealth as an adjective to quantify someone in terms of their net value (millionaire or billionaire). Wealth is simply when passive income exceeds your expenses. In other words, someone is wealthy when their assets or investments generate enough income to cover all of their living expenses. For example, the interest that is credited to your bank account each month isn't a result of any work (in the traditional sense) by the account holder. No matter how small the interest payment may be, every month it gets put into your account. You didn't "work" for it, but it is your money. This is what is meant by letting your money work for you. If your monthly living expenses were $2,000 and the interest you earned from your savings account was also $2,000 per month, then you would have achieved wealth. By not having to rely on a job to pay your expenses, you have become financially free.

Most people do not have enough money saved to earn the interest necessary to cover their living expenses. So how do you create a passive income large enough to allow you this financial freedom? You must buy assets that produce enough income to exceed your living expenses. An asset is anything you own that produces cash; a liability, on the other hand, is anything you own that takes cash out of your pocket. For example, a shiny new car with a shiny new monthly payment would be a liability because it takes money out of your pocket each month to own it. A property that you rent for more than its mortgage payment and expenses is an asset. Instead of it costing you money to own, it actually creates income. This is just one example of the many ways in which real estate can create wealth for you.

Wealth is really another word for control. You are wealthy if you can wake up and do nothing all day, every day, while your assets produce enough money to cover your expenses. You are wealthy when you control your own life, when you decide what you do day after day — soaking up sun and sand in exotic locations, staying home to raise your children or having time to pursue your own interests and hobbies. Wealth is having the time and money to do whatever you want whenever you want to do it.

Real estate has a proven history of making people extremely rich. What most people don’t know is what steps to take and in what order to take them. Most real estate investing "gurus" offer a "one-size-fits-all" approach, providing generic ideas and uncertain results because their philosophies fail to consider individual experience and circumstances. The best success in real estate will come to you by matching strategy with your strengths and desired outcome.