August 7, 2024

Something I’m Reading

While I was in London, I read The Housemaid series. It was free on Kindle so I figured why not and I enjoyed it. It’s a fiction series with three books.

Something I Photographed

 
 

It seemed like I was saving time and money by buying a couch at Costco, but after having to rent a U-Haul to move the couch and make two trips to Costco not to mention unloading and building it….maybe not the best use of my time. Dan Martell would be disappointed.

Something I’m Excited About

Just launched "First Deal" and the first call was AWESOME. Some really good people in that mastermind. And its not too late to join. If you are a beginner and want to make sure you buy a rental property in 2024... check it out.

Landlording Tip of the Week

“YOU NEED TO CALL ME… YOUR HOUSE IS ON FIRE.” That’s the text I received at 10:32pm while at a real estate conference 1500 miles from home. The sender was a tenant I was trying to evict for not paying rent and trashing the house. I called, but it went to voicemail. A few minutes later, the Fire Department confirmed my first rental house was burning down.

The problem? I didn’t properly screen the tenant. I’ve since learned to vet tenants using TurboTenant, which makes background and credit checks easy. TurboTenant also helps market rentals, create custom leases, and manage automatic rent payments. Save time and money with TurboTenant. Use code Brandon10 for 10% off at TurboTenant.com/betterlife.

Marketing Tip of the Week
One of the best deals I’ve ever gotten was for my daughter, Rosie. After sending direct mail, talking to sellers, and making offers, I closed on “Rosie’s fourplex” in Aberdeen, Washington. It was a dirty property, but I fixed it up, put it on an 18-year mortgage, and put it in my daughter’s name. This one property will pay for her entire college education.

I wouldn’t have found the deal without direct mail, which is why I partnered with Ryan at Ballpoint Marketing. They handle everything: creating lists, writing and sending letters, and even setting up a CRM. For up to 15% off, visit BallpointMarketing.com/BetterLife. I don’t earn anything if you buy—I just believe in their work. They offer a “done for you” service that really works.

Some Thoughts to (Hopefully) Make Your Life Better

A few weeks ago, I posted this on my Instagram:

In the comments, there was a good discussion, so I thought I'd elaborate a bit here.

First, I may have misspoken when I said cash flow's "ONLY" purpose. Cash flow is still about financial freedom. However, my main point was that cash flow from normal rental properties is REALLY hard to get these days. Appreciation, on the other hand, remains strong due to the massive shortage of American housing stock and the lack of new construction.

If you can't achieve normal cash flow from traditional rentals, ensure you accurately analyze those deals to cover CapEx, vacancy, repairs, the loan, and other operating expenses. (Need help with that analysis? Take my 5-day analysis challenge!) This way, you can secure the long-term win. Big wealth is created by owning and holding real estate.

There are ways to get MORE cash flow from real estate. You just need to explore some "fringe strategies" instead of the single-family-house-traditional-rental model. Strategies like assisted living, sober living, rent-by-the-room, and midterm rentals can provide significantly more cash flow IF you're willing to put in the work to build those business systems (which is hard but not impossible).

So, cash flow IS doable, and it CAN buy you financial freedom... but it has changed.

Thoughts? Let me know below.

 

Disclosure: “Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you click on the link and make a purchase. However, please note that all opinions expressed here are my own and I only recommend products or services that I have personally used and found valuable."

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