1000Houses.com Podcast

David Finkel is an ex-Olympic level athlete turned business multimillionaire. He is a Wall Street Journal and Business Week best-selling author of 9 business and financial books, including co-authoring SCALE with Priceline.com co-founder Jeff Hoffman.

David is the founder and CEO of Maui Mastermind®, one of the world’s premier business coaching company which has worked with over 100,000 business owners, helping them grow their companies and get their lives back. David’s clients enjoy an average annual growth rate of 64.2% while at the same time increase their companies’ “Owner Independence” by an average of 97.4% per year. Over the past 20 years, David and the other Maui coaches and advisors have personally started and scaled companies with an aggregate value of $63 billion.

His weekly business owner e-letter is read by 100,000 business owners around the world and his syndicated business articles on Inc.com and Huffingtonpost.com garner over 150,000 readers every year. His work has been featured in such prestigious media outlets as the Wall Street Journal, International Business Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, Fox Business, MSNBC, and Inc. Magazine.

An in-demand keynote speaker, David’s message of how to grow a business by strengthening its core systems, team, and culture has galvanized business audiences around the globe.

He and his wife Heather, and their three young sons live in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

Frank Rolfe has been an investor in mobile home parks for almost two decades, and has owned and operated hundreds of mobile home parks during that time. He is currently ranked, with his partner Dave Reynolds, as the 5th largest mobile home park owner in the U.S., with over 250 communities spread out over 25 states.

But it all began with one mobile home park, Glenhaven, in Dallas, Texas. “When I bought Glenhaven, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing or how a mobile home park worked. If I had, I would have never bought that park, as it saddled me with a master-metered gas and electric system – two of the biggest challenges a mobile home park owner can face – and a tenant base that was straight out of COPs. We had carnival workers, hookers, the absolute dregs of society. It even had a wrestling ring in the back.

A few years later, I had unbelievably turned that dump into a nice, quiet, family community, with a neighborhood feel and kids riding bicycles down the streets. Another five years later, the park was worth around $1 million more than I had paid for it.” With his success with Glenhaven, Frank continued to buy more mobile home parks, focusing on parks that had good locations, but were terribly managed.

Frank has always believed that mobile home parks are all about “affordable housing”. “Beginning with Glenhaven, I noticed that a mobile home park – when properly managed – offers a significantly better quality of life than a comparably priced apartment. Nobody likes to have neighbors banging on their walls and ceilings, or the lack of a yard or nearby parking – or just the lack of a neighborhood “feel”. It occurred to me that I could have my phone ringing off the hook if I could deliver an affordable detached dwelling with a yard that was safe, clean and respectable. That’s what I delivered at Glenhaven, and that’s what I’ve been doing ever since.”

Along the way, Frank began writing about the industry, and his books, coupled with those of his partner Dave Reynolds, evolved into a course and bootcamp on mobile home park investing that has become the leader in this niche of commercial real estate. “Dave and I have trained hundreds of investors on how to properly buy and operate a mobile home park, 100% based on our real-life experiences in the hundreds of parks we have owned and performed due diligence on. It gives us great satisfaction when people tell us about the mobile home park that they have purchased and how well it’s going. We really wished that someone had given us some direction when we began – it would have saved us a lot of money and stress. But I guess it all worked out pretty well in the end.”

Frank lives in a small town in Missouri with his wife and daughter. He is very active in community affairs, being a member of the Lions Club, the school board, and Chairman of the Landmarks Commission. He holds an A.B. in Economics from Stanford University.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

Frank Rolfe has been an investor in mobile home parks for almost two decades, and has owned and operated hundreds of mobile home parks during that time. He is currently ranked, with his partner Dave Reynolds, as the 5th largest mobile home park owner in the U.S., with over 250 communities spread out over 25 states.

But it all began with one mobile home park, Glenhaven, in Dallas, Texas. “When I bought Glenhaven, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing or how a mobile home park worked. If I had, I would have never bought that park, as it saddled me with a master-metered gas and electric system – two of the biggest challenges a mobile home park owner can face – and a tenant base that was straight out of COPs. We had carnival workers, hookers, the absolute dregs of society. It even had a wrestling ring in the back.

A few years later, I had unbelievably turned that dump into a nice, quiet, family community, with a neighborhood feel and kids riding bicycles down the streets. Another five years later, the park was worth around $1 million more than I had paid for it.” With his success with Glenhaven, Frank continued to buy more mobile home parks, focusing on parks that had good locations, but were terribly managed.

Frank has always believed that mobile home parks are all about “affordable housing”. “Beginning with Glenhaven, I noticed that a mobile home park – when properly managed – offers a significantly better quality of life than a comparably priced apartment. Nobody likes to have neighbors banging on their walls and ceilings, or the lack of a yard or nearby parking – or just the lack of a neighborhood “feel”. It occurred to me that I could have my phone ringing off the hook if I could deliver an affordable detached dwelling with a yard that was safe, clean and respectable. That’s what I delivered at Glenhaven, and that’s what I’ve been doing ever since.”

Along the way, Frank began writing about the industry, and his books, coupled with those of his partner Dave Reynolds, evolved into a course and bootcamp on mobile home park investing that has become the leader in this niche of commercial real estate. “Dave and I have trained hundreds of investors on how to properly buy and operate a mobile home park, 100% based on our real-life experiences in the hundreds of parks we have owned and performed due diligence on. It gives us great satisfaction when people tell us about the mobile home park that they have purchased and how well it’s going. We really wished that someone had given us some direction when we began – it would have saved us a lot of money and stress. But I guess it all worked out pretty well in the end.”

Frank lives in a small town in Missouri with his wife and daughter. He is very active in community affairs, being a member of the Lions Club, the school board, and Chairman of the Landmarks Commission. He holds an A.B. in Economics from Stanford University.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

Between 1980 and 1982 Jackie Lange’s whole life changed when her son and daughter were born. She made the decision to quit her long distance operator job so she could stay home to raise her children. Luckily, she had a husband that was very supportive of her decision.

But, as the years went by, she realized that her whole life and livelihood for she and her children were completely dependent on her husband. With national statistics proving that 50% of all marriages end in divorce she knew that she needed to do something to create income of her own.

After being out of the workforce for 12 years, her employment prospects looked bleak. So she knew she would have to find a way to be her own boss if she wanted to make the kind of money she would need to support she and her children.

She looked into all kinds of work at home opportunities. The only one she found that would create the kind of income that she wanted to make was real estate. Instead of working 40 hours a week, she could make the same kind of income working just a few hours a week with real estate.

Real estate investing offered flexible hours and an unlimited income potential. After reading a few books in the library and studying a few courses, she started her quest to make money with real estate investing. From that point it only took her 3 weeks to cash her first check for $8,000.

She was totally hooked.

Now, she’s been successfully buying, selling, leasing and investing in real estate for more than 20 YEARS and has created a “not so small” fortune from real estate. She’s bought anything from a $400 mobile home to a $20 million dollar mansion to an 18,000 acre ranch and everything in between! She did this all with no college education (heck, she did good to make it through high school) so don’t worry, you don’t need a PHD or years of training to make the kind of money many doctors dream about!

It does not matter what’s happening with the economy. There are always opportunities to make money with real estate and people will always need a house to live in. What’s happening on Wall Street or with the government does not affect Jackie. She’s created her own economy and financial security.

In 2000, she met Jack Miller. He was the most brilliant real estate investor she had ever met. His seminars were filled with creative ideas but there was one problem. If you could not get on a plane and fly to his seminar, you could not learn from Jack Miller. So many people could benefit from learning Jack’s strategies, but they can’t all fly to a seminar every month. So she wanted to get Jack’s information recorded and online to help him reach more people. It took a lot of convincing, but after several years, she talked Jack into letting her record his events and get his information online so everyone could get the information they needed to be more successful in their real estate business. That’s how Cash Flow Depot was born.

Looking back, she can’t imagine where she would be if she had not discovered how to make money with real estate. It is the quickest and easiest way to make a lot of money fast.

She now lives in a tropical paradise in Central America…. thanks to the cash flow from her real estate investments. She owns a small coffee farm and still invests in real estate in Panama. In 2010 she started PanamaRelocationTours.com and now offers relocation tours in Panama and Ecuador.

You never know .. real estate investing could lead to an entrepreneurial lifestyle. Even if you don’t make a full time business out of real estate investing, just a few deals a year can keep you completely out of debt. Real estate can provide monthly cash low, wealth accumulation, and tax savings not available with any other type of business.

There are many ways to make money with real estate which don’t require buying the house or getting a loan.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

Stephen understands the dreams, challenges, and goals of business owners because he comes from a family of entrepreneurs. His grandfather (Pop) immigrated to the United States from Greece in the early 1920s. He worked as a dishwasher in a small Canton, Ohio restaurant until he had saved enough money to open his own place.

He named his first restaurant “The Ideal.” Pop’s business savvy and discipline would make any corporate executive envious. Pop’s determination and grit were what helped him keep his restaurant afloat during the Great Depression. He sold a soup and sandwich combo for a nickel. How’s that for a value menu? Pop’s business plan was simple, “No matter how bad the economy gets…just remember…everyone’s got to eat.”

Stephen owes a debt of gratitude to his mother, Evie, who owned a successful bakery for 14 years (making the most elegant cakes) and showed him the meaning of hard work and dedication first hand. Also, to his Aunt Elaine and Uncle Bill, where, at 10, he worked cutting strawberries for pies and watching the parking lot for violators. Quite an adventure for a young lad! Then, at 11, Stephen worked for his other Uncle Bill and Aunt Chris, beginning his illustrious dishwashing career. He started out making .25 an hour and got a raise to 1.25…he felt like Donald Trump in those days!

Ten days after he graduated from high school Stephen left all of his family and friends behind and headed to Air Force basic training. What he didn’t realize is that he would learn lessons that forever changed him as person and helped shape Predictive ROI to this day. It is there that he re-learned the meaning of entrepreneurial grit. When his drill instructors would stand over his head, look into his eyes, and shout, “Airman Woessner…you are required to perform 25 repetitions of this exercise. However, you ARE encouraged to do more.” Rest assured, he never did 25 – it was made abundantly clear that the minimum requirement was not an acceptable standard.

He would be remiss if he left out the part of his story where he has made costly mistakes along the way. Stephen built one of his previous companies up to a valuation of $10 million, only to lose millions when the dot com bubble imploded. This very expensive lesson is where he became passionate about measurable ROI! Stephen went on to write two bestselling books based on all of his research and also to share what he has learned through workshops, training seminars and keynote presentations. He is happiest at his whiteboard and flip-charts, empowering others to do digital themselves!

For a number of years he served as the business education coordinator and a business counselor at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Small Business Development Center. He had the privilege of teaching many training sessions throughout the University of Wisconsin System, including the prestigious UW-Madison School of business.

In 2011 he launched Predictive ROI LLC because he wanted to devote himself fulltime to sharing what he has learned and to strip away the mystery of digital marketing. They work with clients, using Stephen’s patent pending ROI process, so that they can dramatically increase their sales immediately. It is their passion and they never give just the minimum! One of their core values is “One More. Hustle.”

One of the many blessings that has blossomed out of the conception of Predictive ROI is that Stephen has been able to realize his commitment to paying it forward through education; because he believes that is the greatest equalizer. What he did not mention above is that Pop accomplished all he did with only a third grade education. Pop had to drop out of school to care for his family when his father was tragically killed in an accident. It has been Stephen’s greatest honor to provide scholarships to children in need.

When he is not analyzing streams of data, working with his valued clients, or speaking with amazing business leaders, you can find Stephen enjoying his wonderful wife, Christine, and daughter, Caitlyn. They find great joy in bike rides, hikes, football games (Go Broncos and Buckeyes), and all things Disney.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

Laura Alamery was born and raised in beautiful Vicenza, Italy – only 40 miles from lovely Venice on the Adriatic Sea.

In 1985 she relocated to United States, moving to Honolulu in 1987 where she became a college student at Hawaii Pacific University; just 4 miles from the beaches of Waikiki.

She began developing a keen interest in real estate, so she started reading everything she could find – watching late night infomercials and buying courses by Dave Del Dotto, Robert Allen and Carlton Sheets.

That same year she became a real estate agent to help pay for her college studies. She joined Dolman and Associates in Honolulu, and right away she was inspired by some of the top agents on the island. She began following their lead and in her first year in the industry, She became a multi-million dollar producer!

In 1991, Laura graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and moved to Missouri that same year. Once on ‘the mainland,’ her real estate career really took off. She started to purchase properties with no money down using creative financing.

Laura continued her education by earning an MBA in Finance, still working part-time in real estate. Then she began a new career as an assistant controller in metal commodities, planning to climb the corporate ladder and keep real estate as a side business.

By the mid-1990s, Laura had already acquired a sizable portfolio (over 20 properties) consisting mostly of multi-families for rental income – and she was barely 30 years old! She was making more money in part-time real estate (less than 10 hours a week) than in her full-time corporate job, so in 1996 she decided to flip the switch and devote herself entirely to real estate. Once she was able to immerse herself full-time into real estate investing, her career skyrocketed.

In 1997, Laura began sharing her knowledge of real estate investing, proven strategies and creative financing techniques by hosting real estate seminars. And, given the widespread use of the Internet, she decided to also share her practical knowledge and experience as well via online mentoring and coaching. In 2010, she opened The REI Lab, Inc. – the culmination of various companies she had started and closed in the past.

With a love for laid back lifestyle and great weather (she really missed being near the water), Laura decided to relocate once more in May of 2015. This time the move was to Broward County, Florida; midpoint between Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

The Miami-Dade area is full of opportunities, and 59% of the real estate transactions there in 2016 were cash – more than twice the national average according to the National Association of Realtors!

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

Mike Zlotnik has been a debt and equity investor in real estate for since 2000. He started his career and had spent nearly 15 years in the information technology field managing risk, Business Intelligence and Quality of complex systems, software and processes.

While building a successful career in IT, Mike’s passion has always been in real estate investing because of its predictability of outcome and well understood risks. In 2009, Mike joined Tempo Funding, LLC (Mortgage Pool Fund) as a managing partner, and Vice President of funding operations. Since January 2014 Mike has assumed the responsibility of a CEO and has since founded TF Management Group, LLC, launching 2 new real estate investment funds.

Under Mike’s Leadership, the company has seen continuous double-digit annual growth, delivering strong returns for the fund investors. Mike holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Binghamton University. Mike is a member of multiple real estate mastermind groups such as Collective Genius, Venture Alliance, CA Investors (Private).

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

Mike Zlotnik has been a debt and equity investor in real estate for since 2000. He started his career and had spent nearly 15 years in the information technology field managing risk, Business Intelligence and Quality of complex systems, software and processes.

While building a successful career in IT, Mike’s passion has always been in real estate investing because of its predictability of outcome and well understood risks. In 2009, Mike joined Tempo Funding, LLC (Mortgage Pool Fund) as a managing partner, and Vice President of funding operations. Since January 2014 Mike has assumed the responsibility of a CEO and has since founded TF Management Group, LLC, launching 2 new real estate investment funds.

Under Mike’s Leadership, the company has seen continuous double-digit annual growth, delivering strong returns for the fund investors. Mike holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Binghamton University. Mike is a member of multiple real estate mastermind groups such as Collective Genius, Venture Alliance, CA Investors (Private).

What you’ll learn about in this episode: