Over 15 Great Things about The Detroit Area

In the last post, I mentioned how I envision Detroit after improvements.

In THIS post, I want to identify things that are ALREADY really good about the Detorit Area.

• Professional Sports Teams: Red Wings, Tigers, Lions, Pistons, Shock
• Proximity to Universities (within 2 hours): UM, MSU, EMU, WSU, Adrian College, Albion College, Alma College, Olivet College, University of Toledo (Ohio)
• Coney Island Restaurants: Coney Dogs
• Arabic/Middle Eastern Restaurants & Culture: Largest Arabic Population outside of Middle East
• Pizza Papalis: Chicago Style Pizza
• Greektown
• Casinos
• Close Proximity to Canada
• Henry Ford Museum
• Greenfield Village
• Italian Bakeries & Fruit Markets
• Eastern Market
• Woodward Dream Cruise
• Mexicantown
• Close Proximity to Beautiful Parts of Michigan, including beaches and parks
• Near Many Orchards

What else have I missed?

My Vision: Real Estate in Detroit

I like to give tips, although it's hard, sometimes, because I'm just learning real estate.

Today, I'm going to share a little about what I envision for the future and how I see real estate being a part of that. Specifically, this is going to be about investing in Detroit, but it will apply to other downtrodden urban areas, too.

This is going to be a heart-to-heart more than a professional focused post. So hang onto your seatbelts, Ladies and Gentleman.

1. Bridging the Gap

This could mean many things, but I am focusing on two things, which sadly have too much connection between them.

I moved to the Detroit Area in 2001, and I've lived in several areas--more than most 37-year-olds have. Nowhere else have I seen the flagrant division between the city and its surrounding suburbs. In fact, most people won't admit they're from Detroit. I even had one person so much as say that Waterford is a suburb of Pontiac (an urban-suburb north of Detroit).

This not only is silly, but it's also harmful. Why? Economies flow when money flows freely. This statement by itself could spur its own article, but I will stick with Detroit and its suburbs for now. How can a metropolis thrive if it's heart (read: Detroit) isn't pumping blood into it's veins (read: suburbs), and the veins aren't returning that blood into the heart? That's exactly what is happening here.

The other thing I'd like to improve, if not entirely solve, is our huge problem with racism. It occurs in so many forms, but in the Detroit Area, the largest--by far--is black vs. white people. This is true in an area that has the largest Arabic population outside of the Middle East, and this relationship isn't always so cozy around here. No questions, though. The black vs. white thing is a big problem everywhere in the United States, but it's an even bigger problem here than most.

What's this have to do with real estate?

I would like to learn how to make money, and real estate is a key strategy for doing this--not the only but a key method. I want to learn the "how" well enough to be able to teach other people how to do this, too.

I remember when I was a kid, I volunteered to help tutor students in a poor section in Chicago on Saturdays. I thought nothing of it, but someone who connected me with the opportunity told me that I may be the only white person who ever smiled at them. At the time, I was too young to appreciate this fully.

However, years later, I got mugged in Winston-Salem. I was in the wrong part of town at the wrong time. I was nearly circled until I just threw my wallet away from me. It was entirely clear that I was targeted because I was white. For about a half an hour afterward, I was pretty shook up, and I didn't trust ANY black person as I waited inside the nearby store until the police came. During that immediate timeframe, I would be avoiding Obama--maybe even Tyra Banks, and she was HOT in the ninties. Seriously! How crazy is that?

Amongst many other thoughts, I started wondering, what if I hadn't ever had good experiences with black people. Once my head cleared, I realized that these were bad people who happened to be black taking out their frustrations on a momentarily vulnerable white person. My previous experiences allowed me this perspective, but not everyone is lucky enough to have good experiences to realize that this horrible situation was an exception--not the rule.

Many people who are different (men vs. women, nerds vs. athletes, etc.) tend to learn to "get along" once they are forced to work together. Another words, these people are forced into a position to realize that helpful people are better than unhelpful people, regardless of any differences. "Oh...THIS is the benefit to this person being in my life." You have enough of these experiences, the "differences" become invisible to you.

I would like to learn how to make money to teach other people how to make money, including people who are different than me. After that, I would like to teach other people how to teach other people. How easy is it for you to hate me if I'm showing you how to enjoy your life more?

Only one color really matters to me, and that color is GREEN.

2. Improving Detroit

Many people see Detroit, and they see a wasteland. "Blow it up, I say." I hear this often, and it's not unfounded, unless you see the potential. Many parts are not sparkling. However, there is a lot of nice architecture there. For those of you a little uncomfortable (or are truly afraid) of checking Detroit, ask around. There are some really nice neighborhoods in the city. Because Detroit has such a bad reputation, many home prices are the price of a nice car. Some homes cost less than a mediocre one.

I would like to improve these nice structures.

More importantly, I would like to improve entire neighborhoods. I envision an entire neighborhood getting renovated. However, there aren't many stores within walking distance. So I would like to find a way to make it attractive to businesses to WANT to move there, beside these nicely renovated neighborhoods. Of course, police presence would have to be premier. I don't know how to do that, yet, but this is essential to reviving Detroit.

You know what else ails Detroit?

Let me answer that question with a few other questions:

• Do you know anyone who lives in the Detroit Area for any reason besides family or business?
• Is there any reason, besides work or family, that you would visit Detroit if you weren't here, already?

I know! It must be the nice weather. Ummmm....Well, how about the pretty area? For some parts of Michigan this is true. Southeast Michigan, however, is not laden with beautiful areas.

So what do we have to offer? Right now? Very little, if anything.

Why not create some reasons? I don't know the answers, yet, but I'm thinking of things like a huge family friendly indoor water park. (Family vacationers bring HUGE money with them, and they spend it!) Perhaps, we can develop the nicest developed bike or snowmobile trails. After we build activity-based attractions, we can build awesome museums or improve the ones we have. We can build a specialty restaurant area that is family friendly, perhaps transitioning with Wayne State University. There's a start there, but there's so much more potential that can be realized there.

This is what I see for Detroit (and other areas that need help, too). Am I nuts, or does anyone else share my vision?

Over 10 Methods to Create Money for Investing

I believe firmly in education. So I take a lot of classes and attend a decent number of seminars. With all of that info coming at me, it's easy to lose sight of all of the cool things I learned.

So I am reviewing my mass of notes. I'm a slow reader, and it takes me a while. The upside to this is that I can enjoy this great stuff for bunches of days.

So...what's this have to do with my title?

You may have guessed, already, but I came across a memory that SHOULD be mental candy. I really like candy, so I'll make a lot of "sweet" references.

Here is one by Darrick Scruggs, the owner of My First Michigan Home and many other companies.

"Most of your problems will disappear if you become world-class at raising money."

Most people will read this and say, "Duuuuhhhhh!" Many of these same people will say that they don't have any money. If they had money, they say, THEY would be raking in millions, too.

I'm here to tell you that you NEED money, but nobody said it had to be your own. I know! Many of us have heard that, too.

Besides using your own cash, have you considered....

1. Making money as a middleman (a.k.a. wholesaling)
2. Borrowing from a lending institution (not always so easy nowadays but still can be done)
3. Refinance your home
4. Cash in on credit cards (for INVESTMENTS--NOT a new TV!!!)
5. Get a second mortgage (tap into your home equity)
6. Invest with your retirement account (401K, 403b, Roth, SEP, etc.)
7. Solicit other investors (they're always looking for good ideas)
8. Team with other investors
9. Finance with friends and family (Be careful with this one! Really!!!)
10. Work with a hard money lender (think cheaper credit card but shorter terms)
11. Explore Land Contracting

My friend took a loan from his 401K. He has to "repay" it at a rate of 4% or 5%. He used it for an investment that pays over 30% annually. Do you think he's being irresponsible using his 401K? I'm not even counting for the fact that he could cash in that investment (about 6-8 months later) and TRIPLE his original money.

Make sure that you have a plan and that you thoroughly thought out that plan. You do not want to make a habit of using borrowed money just to lose it. We all make mistakes, but make sure you do your due dilligence. Calculate your risk.

No matter your investment, remember this! NEVER...I mean NEVER "invest" more than you can afford to lose. That's called GAMBLING on the Hope-n-Pray method. Save this for your fun money. Feel free to ask me more questions about that.

For more information about Darrick Scruggs, the person who provided me this information, see his website http://www.myfirstmichiganhome.com/, especially if you want to learn more about key facts for first-time homebuyers. As a real estate investor, this is your biggest market right now. Go see his website, especially if you're in the beginning stages of investing.

Drive by Houses, Learn Neighborhoods

Hi, everyone!

It's been a while since I've posted on here. Truth is that I was getting stumped. I was getting stumped about what to write. More importantly, I was getting stumped about what to DO.

I don't know the truly right answer, but I did something that I should have done a LONG time ago as a beginning investor. I looked up some houses on Yahoo Real Estate (you can use other sources, too), and I drove by the houses.

This forced me to take action. I needed something to get "my ball" moving again.

This forced me to look at neighborhoods.

Hopefully, I can look at some of these houses with a realtor sometime soon. However, even if that doesn't materialize, I started thinking of real estate not only as an isolated property but as being part of a neighborhood--part of the whole package.

This takes some time. Well, the research takes very little time, but driving to find the places does. I bet it will take less time as I get to know my surrounding neighborhoods better.

So you beginning investors...if you aren't already, go check the web for places to visit.

Herbert Strather: The Master Real Estate Investor

Honestly, since I've been studying money making methods, including real estate, I've been fortunate enough to meet many different investors. Some of them are truly great.

You might notice my title of this post. I don't know whether Herb Strather is the best, but I know he's really good. Why am I writing about him?

Well, I saw him talk this past week, but truthfully, I see a lot of presentations. So that, alone, isn't it. Let me tell you. While he happens to capture me with his lambasting passion--you really can't help but notice it--what separates him from many others is that he removes YOUR excuses.

You see, Herb spent his childhood living in one of Detroit's "hoods." (For those of you who really know the City of Detroit, he was near Mack and Mt. Elliot.) He and his family had no money, but Herb used this to his advantage. This gave him a burning desire to find a way to escape life's prison.

Before graduating high school, he started working in a local factory. So he was making a little bit of money, but he wasn’t getting rich. However, he had the foresight to build his relationships with the bankers waiting on him. When he graduated, he borrowed the money to buy his first house and found a way to put cash in his pocket. That’s right! He got property AND cash! He had a debt to repay, but he used that cash to buy another property. Now many years later, he completed more than two billion (yes, billion) dollars in deals.

So if a poor, underprivileged black kid from inner-city Detroit can do it, what is most of the rest of our excuses?

Herb removes most, if not every, excuse not to invest successfully in real estate. Plus, he makes himself available so often at such reasonable prices. I saw him for FREE the other night. I bought a paperback and an e-book from him. Compare the price of those things to what many others charge you. (Remember: Herb did not require that we buy the book.) He is a pretty amazing resource. He has a passion for rebuilding Detroit’s dilapidated neighborhoods, and he is willing to help anyone, especially those that help revive the city. It’s an absolute shame that more people don’t utilize him.

If you get an opportunity to see Herb Strather, I suggest you run—don’t walk—to see him. In the meanwhile, check out his website: www.StratherAcademy.com.

Play The Cashflow Game

This piece of advice is coming from a beginning investor, but it seems like it makes sense, regardless of your investment experience level.

Play the Cashflow game. I'm serious!

Robert Kiyosaki, the author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad (RDPD) is an extremely polarizing figure. People seem to love this guy (almost in a cult-like fashion) or absolutely hate him. Personally, I think he has some excellent ideas, particularly the Cashflow Quadrant concept, an awesome brander, and he gives a lot of people hope. However, I acknowledge that his RDPD group seems to carry itself similarly to the way you would expect a snake oil salesman to behave, inviting a lot of resentment toward ALL of his products, services, and ideas.

The Cashflow game is very expensive, about $200.

One good thing about paying that much...I make sure I play it. To contrast, I bought Scrabble a few months ago for about $15. I've played it TWICE. At $7.50/game, did I really enjoy it as much as I would a movie?

I've played Cashflow, at least, twenty (20) times, and I will be playing it many more.

Why?

1. It's fun! It really is.

2. If you get together with Cashflow groups, you meet other people. From both the game and them, you will get ideas, not to mention contacts.

3. You can experiment with different investing styles and make mistakes--WITHOUT losing your REAL MONEY.

I've learned a lot by playing it.

I suggest that you play Cashflow with a group of people, before spending your own money on it. $200 is very expensive for a game, and if you aren't sure whether you will like it, this will allow you to "try before you buy."

Even if you do not like Robert Kiyosaki or get sick of hearing the mindless drones of people who try to quote RDPD (and they are really annoying), the game is really a good one. I've played with different people, and I've learned some things, often as a teacher of the game.

So, again, play the Cashflow game. You'll really like it. More importantly, you will learn something new each time.

Let me know if you would like any examples of things I've learned by playing.

Don't Understand Everything? Don't Worry!

I am writing this post from a beginner's perspective.

Have you ever gone to a talk, especially about real estate, and it seemed like you didn't understand everything?

I can't speak for anyone else, but this happens to me a lot.

Last Thursday evening, I went to the Oakland REIA. It covered real estate-releated legal updates and advice. A lot of people were saying how great this talk was, and it probably was. However, I could not take advantage of everything she was saying.

So did I waste my time? Other people may disagree, but I say, "NO!"

Why?

Because I understood about 30% of it, I was discouraged, at first. Then I realized that most of what little I understood on Thursday, I would not have understood AT ALL a year ago. Even if you don't know everything, you can learn things an managable increments, little by little. It accumulates quickly.

Plus, it gives me an opportunity to write down a couple of things to look up later. I may not understand during the talk, but I know something that I have to learn. I can learn it at my pace. Even if I don't understand it today, the next time I hear something about it, I will be in a better position to receive that same or similar info.

Lastly, I love meeting people at these events. You get a chance to learn their insights and experiences. Plus, the better people are there to encourage you. One person, in particular, just told me, "Just start." Obviously, you should do your due dilligence before making ANY investment, but it gives me hope that real estate is less complicated than my beginner's mindset might be making it.

So go to as many talks and talk to as many people in the field as you can. You might not understand everything, but you still can get something from it. More importantly, it will accelerate your learning--meaning that it puts you closer to your goal more quickly.

(Some of) My Goals

Hi, everyone.

I was talking with a couple of people last night who are (1) really nice people and (2) really intelligent, and they made a good point. I will try to bring real estate value to this blog, but I can and should bring other things, too.

I'm about to attend a webinar; so this has to be quick. However, I want to state a couple of my key goals.

I want to learn how to make money so that I can teach other people how to make money. Personally, I don't really care about getting a big home or driving a fancy car. I really like flexibility, but I really like helping other people. I'm a teacher by nature, and I have a degree in Math and Statistics. Now there is some use for these things. How much more use do MOST people have for making money?

Once I achieve this first small step, I have bigger plans, but I tend to be more motivated to help other people. So when I feel lazy, I'm more likely to remind myself that I'm not just cheating ME; I'm cheating other people, some of whom I've already met, others I haven't, yet. There will be many people in my future who will depend upon the knowledge that I provide them.

I look most forward to this day!

For those of you reading, if you have any suggestions how I can speed up this process, let me know.

3 Reasons to Go to Local REIA's

This post is for beginners and experienced investors.

Go to your local area REIA's (Real Estate Investment Associations). As the title promises, I'll give you three (3) reasons why you should attend REIA events:

1. Relevant News: They will help keep you current. You might know nothing; you might know a lot. However, you get a chance to hear about new laws, proposals for laws, new techniques, new products, websites, helpful software, classes, etc.

2. Networking: You get a chance to meet people. You never know when you will meet someone who can lead to a buyer, seller, an eventual partner, a vendor, a new idea, or just simply a motivational comrade.

3. Keeps You Moving: An event forces you to commit to spending time developing your real estate investing. After a while, you will see some of the same people, and some of these people will ask you about your progress. There are times that you will need or want this external motivation.

I live in the Detroit Area, and there are several around here. I've been to two (2) of them:

Oakland (County) REIA...http://www.reiaofoakland.com/
Macomb (County) REIA...http://www.reiaofmacomb.com/

While nothing ever is perfect, both of these are very good. Let me know if you have any questions about either of these. Personally, I am more familiar with the Oakland REIA.

For those who are insterested, there are others in Southeast Michigan:

Wayne (Country) REIA...http://www.reiawaynecounty.org/
Genesee (County) Landlord Association...http://www.geneseelandlordassoc.org/
Detroit Real Estate Investor Network (I cannot find a website for this.)
National Real Estate Network...http://www.megaevent.com/

Let me know if you know any others.

Keep Communication Alive!

Hi, everyone. This is Beginning Chris, again.

This will be a quick post, but it's an important one. Why? Because it covers something so simple that anyone can do it but not many people do.

When you are fortunate enough to meet someone from whom you might buy or sell or with some you might learn or teach, make sure you get their contact info.

OK! Is that all?

NO!

Make sure that you send them a note or call them. Tell the person that you are going to do this within a certain amount of time. Personally, I will tell them I will send them an e-mail within 3 days, but if my schedule allows, internally I target 24 hour turnaround. This WILL SEPARATE you. You might want to remind them how you met. Also, write something personal to let the person know that you remember them. They aren't simply a business card getting a standard greeting.

On the flipside, if someone sends you an e-mail, acknowledge it. Answer the person's question, or let the person know you remember them. Do this quickly!

As simple as this seems, it amazes me how few people actually do this.

Meet and greet is great, but met without regret is better.