GETTING STARTED IN MULTI-FAMILY DWELLINGS
Your experience with multi-family dwellings cannot only improve your financial picture, it can improve virtually every aspect of your life.
A substantial increase in income provides increased security, more access to the things that make up “the good life,” and more quality time with your friends and family. Investing in real estate, especially in multi-family dwellings, really can change your life. For example, the instructor describes his business life not too long ago as being in “despair,” noting that real estate investment was an essential part of eliminating that despair. More than that, real estate has provided a means of securing a firm position today in that “good life” so many seek.
Most of us have heard of “the American dream”, and that is a worthy goal. Unfortunately, not many of us are exposed to the pitfalls and dangers associated with chasing that dream. This is particularly true for those of us just beginning the chase. That’s because seeking such a goal can create stress with your job, your family, and other aspect of your life.
The beginning of a career is often characterized by a bumpy start. As you make more money, your personal and business goals often change, and change is sometimes difficult to handle. Make no mistake about it: the American dream is achievable by anyone who seeks it. However, achieving that dream takes careful planning, hard work, and consistent effort over time.
There’s no such thing as a free ride. The real danger begins when you first start making a bit of extra income. There’s a natural desire to “keep up with the Joneses,” to buy a new car even though the old one runs fine – to move up, move out and move on – to spend more of that income. And that’s a totally natural feeling. Perhaps you’ve been to school, put in the years to graduate from college, and now it’s time to enjoy some of the perks, right? This is the point when you start paying attention to advertisements promising “low monthly payments” or “easy monthly payments.” It’s a terrific marketing ploy, but it’s also a trap. It’s so easy to buy things on credit and with credit cards that seem to be continually arriving in the mail. Before they realize it, the family with a little extra income has put themselves into a situation in which they have significant debt – all of it on “low monthly payments.”
One of the things that seems to happen with what we may perceive as success is the loss of quality time. Success in the form of promotions, raises, bonuses and perks comes along and you figure it’s natural to trade your time for those benefits. You even begin to think about moving out of your apartment and into that first house. Of course, sacrifices must be made so a spouse who has not been working suddenly has to become employed just to make ends meet. Spouses become the proverbial “ships passing in the night.” Is that how you really define quality time?
Real estate investing can help you put your financial picture and your family life back in sync. One of the best tools for making this change is leverage, which is basically achieving a lot with a little. Success can be yours, but you will have to make the commitment to put out consistent effort. Achieving the American dream really is simple, but it is not easy. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to achieve great success in real estate investing, but you do have to apply yourself and make consistent effort. Effort is necessary to achieve success over time. It may sound contradictory, but the more you invest in real estate, and in this case particularly multi-family dwellings, the more time you will find for building your business, investing in yourself, and spending quality time with your family. Time is one of our most important assets, and consistent effort and investment will help you to reap rewards in both time and financial assets.
Consider how many Americans “live for the weekend.” How many of us are excited only about a 48-hour period or a short two-week vacation as opposed to being excited about every day of our lives? Successful real estate investors know how to make every day a weekend or every week a vacation. It’s a significant change in attitude from the typical nine-to-five mentality so prevalent in our society.
The Second Estate can get you started on a sustainable path for changing your financial life.
