The Genesis

Posted on April 2, 2007 - Filed Under Philosophy |

The story about to be shared will probably span a few weeks.  It has been broken down into segments; showing what decisions were made and why.  The results of each decision, both good and bad, will also be discussed.

Let’s begin.

Towards the end of 2006, I found myself wanting.  Yes, the houses had been completed.  Yes, the value had shot up tremendously.  But this tactic was not what I wanted to pursue.

As much as I tout Kiyosaki’s philosophy of positive cashflow properties, I don’t practice it.  My first project relied heavily upon high appreciation, not cashflow.  My desire was for cashflow.

My mind really wrestled with this dilemma.  Deep down inside, I understand the ticket to financial freedom lies with income producing assets.  Dividends from stocks, cashflow from real estate, income from a business; it all combines to produce a steady stream of cashflow upon which one can live.

I understand this is not free.

For days, I wrestled with this question: How to obtain positive cashflowing properties?

In California, an investor would have to put 50% into a property before it broke even.  That’s the market here.  For me, I wanted to be able to put 10% down on a property and have it cashflow.  But those markets don’t exist in California.

The logical conclusion:  investing outside of California. 

This realization:  I would have to depend on someone else.  A property management (PM) company.  This would require a level of trust on my part.  Was I capable of that?

Then it occurred to me: risk is part of the game.  I wanted to sit in the big chair, make the big calls.  This is what investors do.  Being afraid of failure is ludicrous.    What was the worst that could happen?  I could lose a few thousand dollars and be forced to write it off on my taxes.

That is yet another reason why the USA is great: investors get a partial refund on their loses.  From my calcualtions: it is nearly 40 cents on the dollar.  Why not at least try?

The decision was made: I was buying multi-unit properties outside the state of California.

The next logical question: Where to buy?

If you liked that post, then try these...

Panorama on August 17th, 2006
WonderWoman was standing in my kitchen.

PMI is so . . . evil?? on May 3rd, 2005
I had lunch with a couple the other day.

Comments

2 Responses to “The Genesis”

  1. Kenric on April 2nd, 2007 12:17 pm

    Cliff,

    You’ve come to the same conclusion as I did. I’m beginning to set up my foundation for getting a large multi-unit. I don’t know where to buy yet either. But I’ve been browsing loopnet and see a couple nice looking cities.

  2. Clifford on April 2nd, 2007 1:15 pm

    Kenric, you were actually one of the people who pushed me in this direction.

    Decidedly I hope your venture pans out!

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