Fixer Houses High Profits, Low Risk
by Fixer Jay Decima
William Nickerson, author and fix-up millionaire, began fixing rental houses
over fifty years ago. Bill concludes in his best-selling book, How I Turned
$1000 into Three Million in My Spare Time, "The chances for success are 1600
times better owning and operating rental properties than for starting another
type of business." If you need more convincing, I suggest you write to Bank of
America Business Services Dept. or Dun and Bradstreet Credit Rating Service,
Inc. The information they provide about starting other businesses and the odds
for success are quite gloomy by comparison.
Opportunities for serious minded real estate investors who want to earn a bigger
share of the American Dream, create a more rewarding life for their families and
ultimately achieve financial independence, are better today than ever before.
Fixed-Up Older Houses Rent for the Same as Equivalent Newer Houses
I decided to buy older houses and small apartments that needed fix-up. My
reasoning was this: I can do much of the work myself. Plus, I can buy them for
much less cash down because there are fewer serious buyers for unsightly
distressed properties, I also thought, and it proved to be correct, that once
fixed and cleaned up with bright new paint, older rental houses would command
about the same rents as equivalent sized newer houses. The same thing is true
with older rundown apartments, but I've always favored houses because tenants
rent houses quicker than apartments. Why is it that very few people ever achieve
their financial dreams and what do the few successful ones do differently from
the majority who fail? Could it be they plan to fail? I don't think so. It's
more likely that they fail to plan. Many folks waste much of their most valuable
resource, their own time, trying to figure out ways to make money quick and easy
without much effort. These people are only fooling themselves. Nothing
worthwhile is accomplished without a plan and without some hard work.
"It's More Likely That They Fail to Plan"
Often hard work can be greatly reduced by smart work, but generally this doesn't
happen until you are well into your plan and have reached a certain level of
experience. Seldom can one get the experience without the hard work initially.
Looking back now, I still wonder where I found the time to do it all. It was
hard work, but it was certainly worth all the effort I gave it. Let's review
what I told you earlier about a plan. First, I said you must know where you want
to go. Obviously, you must direct yourself towards a target. In my case, I
wanted to own enough income producing real estate to support the life style I
planned for myself. That meant I'd need to own rental properties that would
provide enough cash flow every month to pay for that lifestyle.
At first, $1000 every month was okay .Then $2000 seemed more appropriate. When
that happened I adjusted my goal to $3000, then $5000 and so forth. Remember,
when you're working your plan, adjustments and fine tuning are perfectly all
right.
The second part of my plan involves how to get there. You must choose a method
for achieving your goals within your personal capabilities. This means
financially and physically. You must know yourself first. Evaluate what you can
and cannot do. This is not the place to dream. In my case, I had very little
money saved. However, I've watched others start with even less. Money to start
is much less important than starting and continuing. Persistence will be the
most important ingredient of your plan.
The most dangerous roadblock facing every career changer is procrastination,
There is no doubt that many folks with the best intentions and a good workable
plan will procrastinate forever. How many people change careers versus how many
talk about it? Not very many. However, don't let the odds hold you back.
Financial success is not a stroke of luck. It's a solid workable plan and it's
you working the plan. The success part comes automatically.
Taking advantage of new opportunities means being willing to roll up your
sleeves and do it. Making things happen is a lot like kissing frogs to find your
prince. Chances are you'll have to kiss a lot of frogs before you finally meet a
prince. You cannot stay inside the comforts of your house and wait for the frogs
to hop in and kiss you. Frogs don't do that. Kissing frogs is rough. You cannot
ask your friends, your real estate broker or secretary to do it for you. You
can't keep changing kissing styles and you can't spend all your time in kissing
school. And don't kiss the same frog forty times - it shouldn't take you that
much smooching to tell a frog from a prince.
"...You'll Be Able to Tell If You Have a Prince on the Very First Kiss"
Kissing frogs is a lot like investing in real estate. The more time and effort
you put in, the more experience you gain. After a while you'll be able to tell
if you have a prince on the very first kiss. The point is, forget shortcuts.
There are none.
Bio:
Jay P. DeCima, known to many as "Fixer Jay" is a seasoned real estate investor
with more than 40 years of hands on experience; nearly half that time has been
devoted to Jay's specialty - fixing-up rundown houses and adding value. Fifteen
years ago, Jay Decima began teaching others about his money-making strategies at
seminars and at his popular house fixer camps in Redding, California.