Guide 2 the Grind

It’s one of my favourite things in the world to see real estate investors finally take the leap from student to practitioner. When they finally take that step and buy their first investment property, it’s truly something special to watch all of their fears go away.  

It’s not that they don’t have things that concern them, but it changes. The primary fear that causes people to hesitate is “What if I lose all my money?”.But the first thing that happens to new investors is their mindset shifts from “What if I lose all my money?”, to “How do I make this work?”.  

It might not seem like much from the outside, but that fear keeps people locked in “Analysis Paralysis” for months, years, or sometimes forever.  

I mean think about it, we all that friend or relative who’s told us something like,

“Ya know… I coulda bought that property way back in the ‘70s for next to nothing. Have you seen what it’s worth now?”  

The worst part is, that’s a regret they’ve been playing over in their mind for decades, and it’s going to continue to play until the day they die. The fear of losing what seems like a minuscule amount now in comparison, kept them from taking action, and caused them to miss out on the benefit of owning that property now. A time in their life when that extra income would make a massive difference.  

So how do you overcome that fear?  

That’s exactly what we’re talking about on today’s episode of the “Investment Property Income” podcast. Our first guest of 2022, realtor, investor, property manager, Bailey Kramer, got started in real estate investing just over a year and a half ago. He now owns 7 short term rental properties in different parts of the US, and did it all using other people’s money and experience.  

The most fascinating part is he’s only 21, and doesn’t have a background in Real Estate. He decided that he wanted to learn. Found every meetup he could. Networked with as many people as possible, and no matter what was going on in the world, set a goal and is on track to achieve income independence by the spring.  

Everyone needs to hear Bailey’s inspiring story.  

www.guidetothegrind.com

As we work our way into the start of the year, something that’s on a lot of people’s minds is, “What the hell is going on with the economy?”

Canada’s inflation rate has hit an 18 year high at 4.7%, and it's almost double that for our neighbours to the south. Housing prices are skyrocketing, food has jumped massively in price, supply chains are stressed, if not breaking down entirely… 

what does it all mean to me?

Well, this is a bit of a touchy subject for some, but I’m always reminded of what the great orator, Jim Rohn, used to say. 

Whenever Jim was asked what he thought the economy would be like in the coming years, his response was always the same. 

“About the same as it’s been for the last 10,000 years of recorded history.”

Human history has always been a mix of prosperity and poverty, turmoil and triumph. Some people blame the politicians, some blame the virus, some blame their neighbour’s dog. The fact of the matter is, when the winds start to blow in a different direction, you have to set a different sail. 

It’s up to us to determine our direction, regardless of the wind that’s blowing. 

For example, 2008 was one of the worst financial collapses in history. People lost fortunes, and businesses closed. Yet we marched on as a species. 

In fact there are a lot of people who made fortunes during that time because they were able to pivot. 

I think specifically of one friend that told me a story about how 2008 was the best thing that could have happened for him. He was working at the bank just after the collapse happened. He realized that his pay increases weren't keeping up with inflation and he was making less money every year. So he decided to start investing in real estate. 

Right after the collapse you didn’t need a down payment to buy a home. This created massive opportunity to those who had set their sails to the changing winds. 

Now, 14 or so years later, he runs a super successful real estate business with his wife, and he’s never looked back. 

No matter what’s going on in the outside world, we all have the ability to pivot when things are changing, and that’s exactly what we’re talking about on today’s episode of the “Investment Property Income” podcast. 

www.guidetothegrind.com

I hope you had a great holiday season!

This time of year, as we all know, everyone is talking about setting goals, and making resolutions. 

I’ve already accomplished one of my goals for the year. My goal was to go to the gym as much as possible… since all of the gyms are closed down again in my province… I got to go once, goal achieved!

I say that as a joke, and it’s also how a lot of people approach their goal setting. They make a bunch of outlandish statements about money, and health, and relationships, then a few weeks later, they’re right back to the same old habits, except they feel a little worse because they’ve let themselves down… again. 

This becomes so much of a burden to some folk’s mental state, that eventually they quit setting goals all together. 

So… is goal setting a waste of time?

Absolutely not. 

We have to have direction that we’re moving in. If we don’t have our compass set to a point on the map, life gets stagnant. We, as humans, work better when we’re progressing toward something.  

Here’s the trick, well actually it’s a two parter. First you have to know what it is you’re going after. It has to be specific, and based on real emotional anchors. It doesn’t have to be logical at first. After all, we make decisions based on emotion, and then justify them later with logic, don’t we?

The next part is breaking down the end goal by time and effort needed. Here’s what I mean, let's say your goal is to make $10k extra this year. Break that down by weeks, months, and days. $10k is a big number to think about. But, if you break it down, that’s only earning an additional $27.40 a day. 

Is it easier to figure out how to make an extra 25 bucks, or 10 grand?

On this episode of the “Investment Property Income” podcast, Geoff and I take a deep dive into this very different, very attainable system of setting your sail for the year. 

www.guidetothegrind.com

There’s all sorts of so-called “gurus” out there that talk about how to keep a positive mindset, but very few talk about what happens when you lose.  

If you play the achievement game long enough, you’re bound to lose at some point, so how do you deal with it?  

That’s exactly what we’re talking about on this episode of the “Investment Property Income” podcast. Geoff and I are sharing some of the strategies we’ve used to overcome losses, not only financially, but psychologically as well.  

There’s a lot of useful content here, you’re not gonna want to miss it.  

www.guidetothegrind.com

By now it’s no secret the darn near every media outlet that talks about first time buyers has nothing but the most dire of news to report. Every time you tune into something related to first time homebuyers, all you hear about is how hard it is, or how you’ll have to save for decades to be able to get into the market. 

What none of them are talking about however is how is it possible now?

You see the media has a vested interest in getting people to focus on the negatives, because we’re naturally drawn to the click bait. Of course they’re gonna report the bad stuff, they get way more people to listen that way. 

Today on the “Investment Property Income” podcast, we’re doing the exact opposite of what the news teaches us. Geoff and I are discussing new ways that first time home buyers can  not only get into the market, but make their real estate investment viable long term. 

It’s not what happens in the market that matters, but rather how you respond to current conditions that makes you successful. 

www.guidetothegrind.com

I don’t know if you’ve been watching what’s happening in real estate news lately, but if you haven’t…. don’t.

If you have, ask yourself this… which headline is gonna get more clicks, “Everything is Just Fine.” or “The Bubble is Gonna Burst!?”.

It seems that every time I search for real estate news, because I like to stay informed on my industry, inevitably there is always a headline somewhere in the search, or on the page I pull up, saying something about the bubble is gonna burst, or a correction is coming, or it’s be be the end of days. 

For the most part… it’s all crap. 

Let me qualify that statement. First, who is the person reporting this? Are they a real estate expert? Do they have intimate knowledge of how finance works? What’s their reason for putting this story together as a journalist?

Something I learned a long time ago is, be very careful whose opinion you buy. If you buy their opinion, you buy their lifestyle. I’m not saying all reporters are bad, but make sure it’s the right person’s opinion. 

Secondly, it’s real estate. It’s probably the most controllable investment class on the planet. I can’t really influence the value of a stock on my own. If it’s taking a nosedive in the market for whatever reason, there’s nothing I can directly do to step in and keep the stock from going to zero. 

With real estate though, I have so much more control over my own property. I can make improvements to the property, I can change the zoning, I can build it up, tear it down, or just do nothing and ride out the storm. 

As long as you have a sound strategy from the beginning, and you remain able to adjust and adapt over time if you need to, there’s no reason to be worried about what the news keeps saying. In fact, you can ignore it all together, and just concentrate on what matters to you. 

Today on the “Investment Property Income” podcast, we’re talking about why now is the best time to invest in real estate, why it’s not nearly as scary as the media would have you believe, and some of the strategies to keep your investments safe in stormy waters. 

www.guidetothegrind.com

How far can you go as a real estate investor?

Is there a ceiling on what you can achieve?

In short, the only limitations on our personal, and financial growth, are the ones we have in our own minds. 

That’s why it’s so important to always be seeking out new ideas, and learning from as many sources as possible. People and ideas open your mind to new possibilities. 

Being on your own as a real estate investor leaves you with blind spots you don’t even know exist. It takes other people, with different experiences and perspectives to shine light into the areas that are darkened by a lack of understanding. 

Today on the “Investment Property Income” podcast, we have a bit of a different discussion. Jacob Vanderslice from VanWest Partners joins us today to talk about the institutional approach their fund takes when investing in storage and commercial properties. 

Jacob and his partners have raised a number of funds for real estate investing, and have several million dollars under management. Of course this requires a lot of technical and experiential knowledge. After all, it’s not just their money any more. They’re managing other people’s money too. That’s a lot of responsibility. 

What’s really crazy… Jacob started with only one rental property. 

This is what I mean when I say the only limitations are the ones we have in our mind. Like most RE investors, Jacob started small. As his knowledge base grew, so did his aspirations. Now he and his partners are running a multi-million dollar fund. 

So I ask you… how far can you go as a real estate investor?

www.guidetothegrind.com

One of the biggest challenges I see investors face is the funding ceiling here in Canada. This usually happens when you have 4 - 6 single family homes as rental properties, and the bank no longer looks at the financing the same.  

The shortest, and simplest way around this is making the leap to multi-family residential properties.  

This can seem like a giant leap though.  

Thankfully, I can say with absolute certainty that it’s not nearly as big of a stretch as you might think. In fact, it’s easier to get a multi-family property financed than multiple single families.  

For example, did you know that you can get CMHC insured mortgages on multi-family properties?  

Heck, even the mortgage rates are a whole lot cheaper than you’d think.  

So what’s holding you back?  

Today on the “Investment Property Income” podcast, Chris Larsen, author of Next Level Income, joins us once again to discuss how he made the leap from single family homes, to owning over 2000 doors in multi-family rentals. He shares a ton of great experience with us.  

www.guidetothegrind.com

Have you ever set a massive goal, achieved it, and then realized it wasn't what you thought it would be?

Astronauts, Olympic Athletes, and business owners alike know the disappointment that can come with the realization of a dream. 

So what do you do about it?

It’s not as simple as just setting bigger goals. You need to have a vision. Not just any vision, but one that’s going to last for the rest of your life. 

Proverbs reads, “Where there is no vision, the people perish”

You see, the challenge that all achievers face is, after a goal is reached, there’s nothing to look forward to. 

Here’s a smaller example that pretty much everyone can relate to. When you’re looking forward to a vacation, everything is so exciting. You spend days, if not weeks planning your retreat. As the date draws nearer, you get steadily more excited. Until finally that last day before you leave, your excitement hits a peak. 

That excitement lasts a day or two, but then you start to count the days until vacation is over, trying to make the most of every one. Then, inevitably the vacation ends, you come back home, and that empty feeling comes over you. That feeling of having nothing to look forward to. 

That’s the same feeling that all achievers have had to contend with at one time or another. 

Today on the “Investment Property Income” podcast Chris Larsen, author of “Next Level Income” joins us, and shares his experience in the disappointment of achievement, and what he did to create a long term vision for his life. 

This conversation took a very deep, and meaningful turn from where it started. I know you’ll want to listen.

www.guidetothegrind.com

One of the hardest parts of becoming a real estate investor is being on your own, and not knowing what to do when challenges arise. 

OPE, or Other People’s Experience, is the shortest route through these challenges. At times when things seem the most bleak however, it’s difficult to know where to turn for that experience. 

More importantly… who to trust. 

We welcome back to the “Investment Property Income” podcast, Mark Stubler from Joe Home Buyer. Mark shares what instils in the investors he works with, and some of the places they turn when unexpected circumstances arise in your investing business. 

www.guidetothegrind.com