For SERIOUS investors only

[STR8UP]

Any of you who are SERIOUS about investing should really consider studying some of the more non-conventional materials to find something that suits you that has the potential to give you a much higher return than this 5, 6, or 8% that I keep hearing.

I do this for a living fellas. You have to know that the whole "get a good job, save your money and invest" thing isn't the only way to make money outside of your job. In my case this is the ONLY way I make money. There ARE alternative vehicles to invest in that can provide HUGE returns even if you plan on keeping your full time job your entire life.

It just seems to me that a lot of you are interested in this stuff but tend to only be focused the standard boilerplate investment strategies that take forever and require you to live a more frugal lifestyle. To me being a money miser to raise capital and earning a meager return just ISN'T an option.

I have studied and practiced this stuff for the past 10 or so years and I can't imagine having gone through my life not knowing or not believing that it would be possible to become wealthy while I was still in my 30's.

I'm telling you guys, I wouldn't trade my life for any movie star, doctor, lawyer, or politician on the face of the earth. The path I have traveled certainly isn't for everyone, but when I look out my window and see my neighbors (mostly doctors and lawyers) not getting home from work until 8 or 9 pm while I basically "work" less than 10 hours per week, I realize that I chose the right path for me.

I am unbelievably grateful for having had the opportunity to learn a different perspective on investing than the general public is usually exposed to. The sad part about it is that even when most people are given the opportunity to learn something different, the conditioning they have recieved their entire lives prevents them from even considering the possibility that it can be done.

So, to all of you SERIOUS investors out there (and especially those considering becoming one), make sure you keep an open mind and learn as much as you can. Consider ALL possibilities. You just might open your eyes and realize that with the right knowledge and plenty of trial and error you can acheive unimaginable results.

 

[LT1]

Could you be more specific with your investment type vehicles that allow you a greater return than the average investments?

 

[Reiki]

Im not an investor yet, but I know that I will become one and im open to ways that are unconventional and willing to learn all I can.

 

[STR8UP]

Originally posted by LT1
Could you be more specific with your investment type vehicles that allow you a greater return than the average investments?

Business-

Not necssarily running businesses (preferrably not running them at all if possible), but investing in them or buying and selling them. It has plenty of disadvantages and the learning curve is steep, but it has the most potential for a large return.

Real estate-

I'm not talking about saving a 20% down payment and buying one house every two or three years....I'm talking about learning how to buy lots of property with little down. Whether you are flipping houses, holding onto rentals, dealing in contracts only, or any number of other methods or combination thereof that suits your style.

Keep in mind that you can't learn this stuff overnight and the more effort you put into learning and PRACTICING the better your results will be. The biggest asset an investor can have is wisdom gained from experience. This (amoung with other things) is what diminishes the "risk" of lots of investments that the general public wouldn't dare touch.

 

[Phoenix_of_the_ashes]

How can you practise with investments and such without seriously screwing yourself over?

 

[penkitten]

str8up, this was a good post and showed alot of positivity about investments.

 

[spider_007]

there are great migority of people who don't even have something simple as RRSP.......really sad....

Lot of things you are talking about wouldn't be right for a lot of guys. Me for example, i suck at people skills, so doing something that requires selling would be a nightmare. Buying a house and renovating it, I could handle. But trying to find someone willing to give me the house to renovate and sell and nagotiating a contract.....i would just hate it...

when you look at it this way; you work almost your entire life (8-10 hours a day for 30 or so years), you give up most of your day (working or going to work, or preparing to work), why wouldn't you take couple of weeks, go to a library/financial paner/personal banking menager/internat and find out about all the apportunities out there to make money the easy way. If it cuts 3 years of your working life, isn't it worth it. You'll be spending those three years working on your hobies and sh1t.

 

[Page]

I am still very highly interested in Real Estate.

Right now, I'm building my credit (My credit line was doubled this month, and I've only had my first card for under a year, about 8 months, IIRC.) I get lots of pre-approved cards in the mail, but I toss them out b/c I heard that if you are offered credit and turn it down, it can help raise your FICO. Is this true?

I plan to pay off the small balance on my first card before I take on any more credit. (not easy since I'm inbetween jobs, so I'm keeping my spending low.) When I do pay it off, i'm also goign to try to negotiate a lower interest rate. Is this wise, or am i using the wrong strategy?

I'm also searching for a job that I can use to establish proof of steady income. I've had nothing pan out so far, and I've been applying all over the damn place.

 

[al77]

Originally posted by STR8UP

Real estate-

I'm not talking about saving a 20% down payment and buying one house every two or three years....I'm talking about learning how to buy lots of property with little down. Whether you are flipping houses, holding onto rentals, dealing in contracts only, or any number of other methods or combination thereof that suits your style.

There are several thing that bothers me about RE investing for people who never tried it before and don't know anything about it from their experience.

1. If you plan to flip a property you will have to buy lower than the market value and find a buyer fast since you don't want to pay taxes, assosiation fees, etc. This may take a very long time to find a property that is selling below market.
These days everyone is trying to get in RE and those properties are not abundant. How long does it take to find one?
A RE agent will not showyou one. You'll have to find one...
Is a half a year seem resonable time?

2. I checked in my area: most citie shave the rate of property appreciation below or equal to 8%. Does it seem much including that when you sell it, you will have to pay usually I guess around 25% in taxes due to capital gains?

So many people here are talking "RE!! Ohh ahhh!! Great!!!...". BUt I have never seen a guy who STARTED RE investing and talking about some decent gains. That means it takes years just to learn how it works and how to make profit.

A couple of guy (you in the first place) have been doing it for years, yes, but they are already very experienced.

 

[A-Unit]

Re:

STR8UP,

I recall some of the books you posted and went to CREONLINE.COM.

Any other avenues.

I've been scrounging cash now to learn stocks and dumping some stuff in very hig fliers. There's the SLOW and FAST routes.

I advise ALL to get their act together and begin with a SMALL plan, learn the mechanics and get to a MEDIUM plan and then a large one.

Got any good sources of books or online material. I have or own what you posted before. Didn't know if you had ADVANCED stuff.


Nice post.



A-Unit

 

[Double]

A-Unit i've heard you are a subscriber to IBD. i want to learn stock trading too so would you recommend it?

 

[STR8UP]

Originally posted by Phoenix_of_the_ashes
How can you practise with investments and such without seriously screwing yourself over?

Lets put it this way.

Most people think losing money is a bad thing. I see it in an entirely different light. To me, it is simply a step towards success. I know that it doesn't matter if ten times I lose $1000 ($10,000), if on the eleventh try I make $10,001. Then maybe the next five times I lose the entire $10,001, but on the next try I make $11,000 because I am getting the hang of it. See where I am going with this?

Money is paper. It can't kill you. If you think of it as such you are more likely to succeed.

 

[Industry]

$300K home in Florida and an interest only loan.

Let's say you pay $2k a month and rent it out for $1300. You're taking a loss in the short-term but in the long-term your home is appreciating 20%+ a year. So even though your personal bank account is showing a 9k loss for the year, your PAPER trail is showing a 60k profit.

Just one example of how to get started in real estate.

 

[Egoist]

i still think this is a sh!tty place to discuss business.

but yeah, i agree with the original poster in general.

 

[SamMalone]

Any good books to read up on real estate investment/investing in general?

 

[STR8UP]

Originally posted by penkitten
str8up, this was a good post and showed alot of positivity about investments.

Wow, coming from one of my harshest critics that's a HUUUUUGE compliment. Thanks.

Originally posted by spider_007
Lot of things you are talking about wouldn't be right for a lot of guys. Me for example, i suck at people skills, so doing something that requires selling would be a nightmare. Buying a house and renovating it, I could handle. But trying to find someone willing to give me the house to renovate and sell and nagotiating a contract.....i would just hate it...

That's a big reason why real estate works so well for me. It is still a people game.....but almost everything is a people game to some extent when it comes to making money. The good thing about RE is that it is much less people intensive than business. I wouldn't worry too much about negotiating contracts. It's pretty easy and actually a lot of fun.

I am a very impatient person and as such I don't make a good manager. I love creating and building buisinesses, but I hate running them. And when you are just starting out and have few resources usually the only way to get rolling is to run it yourself.

when you look at it this way; you work almost your entire life (8-10 hours a day for 30 or so years), you give up most of your day (working or going to work, or preparing to work), why wouldn't you take couple of weeks, go to a library/financial paner/personal banking menager/internat and find out about all the apportunities out there to make money the easy way. If it cuts 3 years of your working life, isn't it worth it. You'll be spending those three years working on your hobies and sh1t.

Exactly!

But what if instead of 3 years you could cut THIRTY years off of your retirement age?

I am sure that many people I know enjoy what they do for a living. However......many use the fact that they enjoy their job as an excuse to pursue wealth. They don't think that they have it in them or that it is even possible without luck, and they automatically tell themselves that they will be working until they are old. If only people realized that they have other options!

Like I said, I wouldn't trade what I do for anything in the world. Once you get a taste of freedom you can't go back. You just can't put a price on being able to attend ALL of the family gatherings and birthday parties for your neices and nephews while some other family members are stuck working and wishing they could be with their family. I just couldn't imagine having to go back to working 40-50 hours per week like most people I know. I don't have it in me.

 

[STR8UP]

Originally posted by Page
I am still very highly interested in Real Estate.

Right now, I'm building my credit (My credit line was doubled this month, and I've only had my first card for under a year, about 8 months, IIRC.) I get lots of pre-approved cards in the mail, but I toss them out b/c I heard that if you are offered credit and turn it down, it can help raise your FICO. Is this true?

Congrats on doubling the credit line! I have quite a few Visa, MC, and Amex cards that just keep upping my limit once or twice per year. Lets put it this way....at this point (after 16 years of building credit) I could easily walk into a Ferrari dealership and put a new one on plastic. Of course I use them primarily for business and convenience purposes, but this illustrates just how much unsecured credit you can get your hands on if you work to build it.

And no, as far as I know rejecting cards has no bearing on your credit score. Actually it is the opposite when factored over a long period of time if you keep your balances low in relation to your credit limits. It might drop your score a bit temprarily when you get a new card but it will improve your score over time with proper use. It also serves to up your total credit limit which helps you keep your debt lower thus raising your score.

I plan to pay off the small balance on my first card before I take on any more credit. (not easy since I'm inbetween jobs, so I'm keeping my spending low.) When I do pay it off, i'm also goign to try to negotiate a lower interest rate. Is this wise, or am i using the wrong strategy?

It can't hurt to negotiate a lower rate. As far as paying off your balance......the best thing for your credit score would be to carry a balance of less than 50% of your available limit and pay a little more than the minimum every month. BUT.....

Don't be afraid to run up the balances temporarily if you are going to use it to make money. It will hurt your score short term by carrying high balances on cards but when you pay them off it usually brings it right back up.

Pay the $7.95 per month for http://www.myfico.com and observe closely the relationship between your actions and your credit score. I have learned a lot since I signed up awhile back. Plus it allows me to monitor my score so I can plan out using my revolving debt (credit cards) in between financing real estate so I can "repair" my credit score and get a better rate on RE purchases.

 

[STR8UP]

Originally posted by al77
1. If you plan to flip a property you will have to buy lower than the market value and find a buyer fast since you don't want to pay taxes, assosiation fees, etc. This may take a very long time to find a property that is selling below market.

No one said it's easy. These are all factors you have to consider but if you let every detail stop you then you can't ever go anywhere.

These days everyone is trying to get in RE and those properties are not abundant. How long does it take to find one?
A RE agent will not showyou one. You'll have to find one...
Is a half a year seem resonable time?

Currently I am not investing that way, but I know people still make a living doing it. And there is ALWAYS opportunity in RE. It does change from time to time, but rest assured that you can make money in pretty much any market if you know your stuff.

2. I checked in my area: most citie shave the rate of property appreciation below or equal to 8%. Does it seem much including that when you sell it, you will have to pay usually I guess around 25% in taxes due to capital gains?

Because you aren't factoring in the magic of LEVERAGE into your equation!

Of course if you pay cash for say, a $100,000 condo that appreciates 8% in a year, you will only benefit from the 8% gain. But if you split that money up as a down payment on more properties or use it as a downpayment on a larger project, your gains increase tremendously.

So many people here are talking "RE!! Ohh ahhh!! Great!!!...". BUt I have never seen a guy who STARTED RE investing and talking about some decent gains. That means it takes years just to learn how it works and how to make profit.

A couple of guy (you in the first place) have been doing it for years, yes, but they are already very experienced.

You think you are going to snap your fingers and money will appear just like that? Everything takes time and effort and you have to start somewhere.

 

[STR8UP]

Re: Re:

Originally posted by A-Unit
Got any good sources of books or online material. I have or own what you posted before. Didn't know if you had ADVANCED stuff.

What do you mean by advanced?

Most of the books that I recommended contain plenty of information that will help you even after you are established.

Once you have read up on this stuff you have to get out there and start practicing. That's really the only way to learn the REAL tricks of the trade. As you go along you can find more material that relates to what interests you and expand your knowledge. You will also get many of those "ah-ha!" moments when you realize that you are doing lots of things that the pro's recommend.

Keep in mind everyone....ther is no such thing as a how to become wealthy book. You have to compile lots of knowledgeand try things to see what works best for YOU. It isn't a one size fits all kind of deal.

 

[STR8UP]

Originally posted by Industry
$300K home in Florida and an interest only loan.

Let's say you pay $2k a month and rent it out for $1300. You're taking a loss in the short-term but in the long-term your home is appreciating 20%+ a year. So even though your personal bank account is showing a 9k loss for the year, your PAPER trail is showing a 60k profit.

Just one example of how to get started in real estate.

Keep in mind that this is really actually SPECULATING and not INVESTING.

That said, this is exactly what I have been doing for the past year and a half and it has made my partner and I an UNREAL amount of money (in equity) in that period of time. Don't ask me how much, but I will tell you that when the residential market cools down I will have enough to roll into commercial RE that will provide me with a comfortable enough cash flow to never have to work again for the rest of my life if that's what I choose.

I DON'T RECOMMEND THIS FOR BEGINNERS! There is a ton of money to be made but if you don't have the experience and the right connections or it can easily go the other direction and sink you.