The hard cold reality is that the economy sucks. 

People are losing their houses to foreclosure. Companies are laying off people. Banks are shutting their doors. A new President is coming which will bring in even more change and uncertaintity.

In short things are rough for most people.

But here’s where we have to draw the line in the sand and YOU need to decide which side of the line you’re gonig to be on. The dumb and broke side or the smart real estate investor and getting richer side.

My question to you: Are you going to crawl up into the fetal position and cry like a baby and whine with everyone else over the economy? 

Most people will and statistically that includes you. Sorry to be so blunt but it’s decision time and you’re either going to step up or get rolled over.

Me? I’ve decided I’m not going to participate in the bad economy! Sorry… it’s simply not for me. 

So here’s 2 things I want you to do right now. (Take 15 WHOLE minutes to be by yourself).

1. Ask yourself… Am I satisfied with where I am going in my life? (if yes you are done)
2. Decide what you are going to do differently to get where you want to go in life.

I know… sounds simple but the sad truth is the dumb and broke people will do nothing and stay dumb and broke. They don’t have to buy anything, go anywhere, or do anything another than think and take fifiteen measely minutes of their time to participate in something that could be life changing. 

Pick your side of the line.

There’s your short and direct message from me to you. I’m hoping your in the 5% that take action.

Author: Gerald Romine

My good buddy Joe Barton was in town this week and it’s always a pleasure to hang out with him. Joe’s a leader in natural health and alternative remedies and you can check him out at http://www.bartonpublishing.com/blog/.

Last Saturday night we went out for a nice steak dinner at Monti’s Steakhouse with his team then headed over to Dave & Busters which is a Chuck E Cheese’s for adults with video games, basketball shooting, and an endless amount of video games all stuffed into a huge sports bar and restaurant.

Chery,David, Joe Barton, Ben, Todd, and Gerald Romine

My video game playing days have long since passed me by… but when we get together the guy camaraderie and competition comes out and we head straight to the Nascar Racing or anything that is head to head competition. We had a blast acting like big kids and it was a great way for his team to cut loose and have some fun.

Gerald Romine With Joe Barton at Dave & Busters

Tuesday night found me in an “A League” softball tournament that was play and stay until a champion was crowned. First game we won easily. Second game we struggled and managed a 7 run rally in the third inning to win the game and advance. Third game we were beaten in the Championship Game by a better team that played error free softball.

But I have a confession… three games of back to back competitive softball was a serious physical workout. Man… my legs were sore for days but that had more to do with hitting three infield home runs and having to ‘boogie’ around the bases. Heck, I even slid head first into home plate which is a rarity for me because I don’t like to hit the dirt unless it is absolutely necessary. After the game we grabbed a few drinks at a sports bar and in no time it was midnight and I had to be up in a few hours to hike a mountain.

Wednesday Morning: Joe asked me to join his team and hike Camelback Mountain bright and early. And since I had agreed prior to thinking out the effects of a softball tournament, post game celebrations, and sleep deprivation I was not feeling 100% that morning.

Camelback may soundseasy because it is only 1.2 miles to the top… but to get there you gain over 1200′ in elevation, climb rocks, scramble over boulders, navigate rocky trails, and it starts off mean and just keeps getting worse. I must be a sado masochist because I hike camelback a few times a month and on this day I was thankful for the liesurly pace to the top.

Joe Barton & Gerald Romine On Camelback Mountain

Side note: A good time on Camelback Mountain is 30 minutes or less and there is an informal “Under 30″ club which is for the elite few. The best of the best can make it to the top in the low twenties.

While most people struggle to do Camelback 1 time there is one old timer in his 70’s(I think) known and loved by the regulars who hikes Camelback 2-3 times per day almost every day of the year. Just after this picture another hiker says “trip him… I’m trying to catch him.” The old timer is unbelievable and my hat goes off to him because I believe I could beat him up the mountain 1 time but know there is no chance of keeping up with for all three trips in the same day. There’s a lesson in humility and inspiration.

Gerald Romine With 2-3 Per Day Camelback Pro

Combine that with real estate, internet projects, and taking the kids out on Haloween and it’s a very full week. Life is great! And with tomorrow comes one more softball tournament!

My story is told in Real Estate Magic 101: How To Get Rich In Real Estate Even If You Are Dead Broke and I can’t recommend it enough. While many people are struggling in these financial times I learned real estate investing in a market that had zero appreciation at a time when I had no money for down payments and no ability to qualify for loans. Sound familiar? The best part is the book is a “how to” guide to teach you how to be successful in today’s market and for a lifetime.

Author: Gerald Romine

Lenders are freaking out and stressing out with short sales because of the current market conditions. In fact, there has been a major paradigm shift and lenders are accepting ridiculously low short sale bids and not even balking at paying real estate commissions.

The key is short sale contracts/offers must be packaged and presented to the lender/investor/loss mitigator/decision maker in the right format with all of the right documents to streamline and speedline the process.

To accomplish this give lenders a short sale package that does their job for them and makes it easy to sign off on your package without having to do research (www.kickassrealestatesoftware.com prepares perfect packages in 5 minutes instead of 5 hours).   All you want the lender to do is review your short sale package, order the BPO, and declare the deal a go!

The next step is to find a professional title company or closing attorney that specializes in short sale closings because they are worth their weight in gold.

How Much To Offer On A Short Sale

Because nobody knows how much further prices are going to fall it makes sense to make VERY LOW short sale offers to the lenders and it is not uncommon for lenders to accept 30% of the defaulted loan balance.

Let’s be clear… this is an aggressive short sale offer and MOST will be turned down but when you get one super short sale offer accepted it makes up for all the declines. You’re looking for killer deals and doing just a few per year will make you a wealthy real estate investor.

Take Action. Right now there are PHENOMENAL DEALS available in short sales and REO’s. With the glut of inventory you can make offers so low you will feel ‘weird’ until you experience the joy of success.

Make it happen then tell me about your success.

Author: Gerald Romine

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all
ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it
would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that’s what they decided to do.

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the
arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. ‘Since you
are all such good customers,’ he said, ‘I’m going to reduce the cost of
your daily beer by $20.’Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so
the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free.
But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they
divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his ‘fair share?’
They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted
that from everybody’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would
each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested
that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by roughly the same
amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing
(100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).

The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four
continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men
began to compare their savings.
‘I only got a dollar out of the $20,’declared the sixth man. He pointed
to the tenth man, ‘ but he got $10!’

‘Yeah, that’s right,’ exclaimed the fifth man. ‘I only saved a dollar,
too. It’s unfair that he got ten times more than I did!’
‘That’s true!!’ shouted the seventh man. ‘Why should he get $10 back
when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!’

‘Wait a minute,’ yelled the first four men in unison. ‘We didn’t get
anything at all. The system exploits the poor!’
The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up. The next night the
tenth
man didn’t show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers
without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered
something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them
for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors,
is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get
the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, or attack
them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact,
they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat
friendlier.

David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics
University of Georgia

For those who understand, no explanation is needed .

For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

Now is the time to be on the hunt. You don’t need your own cash either. For more info join my newsletter at http://www.kickassrealestate.com.

Author Gerald Romine

The same is true for the economy, the financial crisis, and the so called recession. Some people will be eating steak and others will be eating beans. Is this a harsh wake up call for you?

KNOW AND UNDERSTAND THIS

The same ocean of money is in constant motion; it just flows in different directions from time to time. It’s up to you to move where it is flowing!

Have the economic times changed? Absolutely. Is it harder to near impossible to get loans? Yes. This is the constant motion I’m talking about and if you’re old business model required loans then it is time to change models. It is up to you to move to where the money is flowing.

Right now short sales and REO’s are hot and if you are playing in this arena you need to have money to close or real estate investors to flip to and here’s a big surprise: People are still flipping houses and doing very well. Need proof… check out an auction or two and you’ll see folks paying a lot more than you would which means they are a source of potential buyers.

OPPORTUNISM

You, yes you, need to capitalize on the opportunity delivered by the so called financial crisis. Know that all UBER SUCCESSFUL Entrepreneurs and Real Estate Investors are opportunists. There is no difference between “good” or “bad” events in the value offered to opportunists because opportunists take action on the events given without prejudice.

If you are a real estate investor just starting out or even a seasoned pro be sure to get my FREE Online Real Estate Investing Course. There’s no strings attached so you don’t have any excuses.

Author: Gerald Romine

So to bring a point home let me share an alternative bailout program that makes more sense.

Instead, I’m in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a We Deserve It Dividend.

To make the math simple, let’s assume there are 200,000,000 bonafide U.S. Citizens 18+.

Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up..

So divide 200 million adults 18+  into $85 billion that equals $425,000.00.

My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a We Deserve It Dividend.

Of course, it would NOT be tax free.  So let’s assume a tax rate of 30%.

Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes.  That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam.

But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket.  A husband and wife has $595,000.00.

What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family?

• Pay off your mortgage - housing crisis solved.
• Repay college loans - what a great boost to new grads
• Put away money for college - it’ll be there
• Save in a bank - create money to loan to entrepreneurs.
• Buy a new car - create jobs
• Invest in the market - capital drives growth
• Pay for your parent’s medical insurance - health care improves
• Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean - or else

Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+  including the folks who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces.

If we’re going to re-distribute wealth let’s really do it…instead of trickling out a puny $1000.00 ( “vote buy” ) economic incentive that is being proposed by one of our candidates for President.

If we’re going to do an $85 billion bailout, let’s bail out every adult U S Citizen 18+!

As for AIG - liquidate it.  Sell off its parts.  Let American General go back to being American General.  Sell off the real estate. Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.

Here’s my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn’t.

Sure it’s a crazy idea that can “never work.”

But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party!

How do you spell Economic Boom?

I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 Billion We Deserve It Dividend more than I do the geniuses at AIG or in Washington DC .

And remember, The “We Deserve It Dividend” plan only really costs $59.5 Billion because $25.5 Billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.

Gerald Romine

Note: I did not write the above article and the math error has been left intact.

Some people might see that as a harsh or egotistical statement but it is simply a statement of fact.  Those who are prepared thoroughly do better than those who are not.

The same holds true for real estate investing.  Those that are prepared with knowledge and systems will excel as a real estate investor while others fail. The question becomes how prepared are you for investing in real estate?

If you are unprepared and buy houses without having an understanding of the market, conditions, and sound investing principles it only makes sense that your success is based more on chance than making a sound investing decision. You’re failure is expected!

This is critically important in today’s real estate investing world.  If you look at the investors that are making money you will see that they have a system in place and are doing the same successful things over and over.

Why.

Because in real estate investing the math is critical. If you are buying a rental property what is your return on investment? If you are flipping properties what are your buy and sell ratios? In other words what are wholesale buyers paying for a property and if something goes wrong are you certain you can move the property for less and still make a profit?

My ULTIMATE Real Estate Investing System will go a long way in helping you become a great investor that makes sound financial investments. It will analyze your deals, prepare all of the paperwork, and open you up to a world where real estate investing is easy and systematic.

If you are serious about investing be sure you have and use this system.
www.kickassrealestatesoftware.com

Author: Gerald Romine