Summary: In this article you’ll read 6 real estate investing success stories from real investors. Many of them started with little or no money and are now making as much as $13,000 per month in passive income. Learn how they did it!
Introduction
Back in 2006, we knew that California real estate was in a frothy bubble. That’s why we advised our members at RealWealth to SELL California property and exchange it for properties in more affordable markets.
How did we know it was a bubble?
Simple: Affordability. The average person could not afford the average property in California in 2006, without the help of crazy stated-income or negative amortization loans. Of course, those loans would inevitably adjust and the borrower wouldn’t be able to afford the higher payment.
At that time, I advised a woman who owned 3 properties in Stockton to sell and exchange those homes for properties in Dallas, Texas. Dallas real estate was actually undervalued by 26% at the time. In fact, salaries were increasing much faster than home prices, unlike California.
She listened to me, and sold each Stockton property for about $420,000 and was able to exchange them for 9 cash flow homes in Dallas.
She had been receiving $1200 rent on the California properties and was elated to discover she could get the same rent on her new properties, and effectively triple her monthly income! This gave her the extra income she needed to retire.
Keep in mind that the California properties were old, in high-crime areas and in need of repair. The Dallas properties were brand new, in middle class neighborhoods near high-paying jobs and good schools.
Just a few years later when the credit crisis hit, the Stockton properties she sold were worth about $100,000 each. Instead of
losing 1/4th her net worth, she tripled her monthly income and saved her nest egg.
RealWealth has been helping thousands of investors nationwide understand market cycles in order to avert disaster and build sustainable wealth.
Keep reading to discover 6 REAL success stories from real estate investors we’ve helped.
Success Story #1
Claudia: How I went from $0 to making $20,000 per month in just 6 months
One of our members, Claudia, inherited a home in San Francisco that was in poor condition and needed lots of work. It was a tear down, essentially, but it was still worth $800,000 (yes, San Francisco prices…)
Claudia decided to list it this past summer for $1.3M to see if she’d get an offer. Sure enough, she and her husband received an ALL-CASH offer for $1.45M, and they closed in 10 days!
While this was exciting, it also meant they had 45 days to identify new properties or they would face enormous capital gains. Fortunately, they had been attending RealWealth events and listening to weekly market updates.
At RealWealth, we search the country for affordable markets that are experiencing both job and population growth. Once we identify those locations, we search for the best real estate teams who can provide our members with turn-key properties.
“Turn-key” means the real estate company purchases the property for a discount, renovates it to like-new condition, places a qualified tenant, and offers on-going property management.
We referred Claudia and her husband to our favorite turn-key property providers in Indianapolis, Houston, Cincinnati and Jacksonville, FL.
They couldn’t believe they could exchange their ONE San Francisco property for TWENTY cash flow properties… and their monthly passive income went from zero to $20,000 per month!
Success Story #2
Kim Bosler: How I invested in 13 properties that pay me $7,236 every month
“About a year ago, I met with our financial planner and she asked about our goals. I said, “You know, we’ve raised a large family in California. We love to travel, and we love to do fun things. I’d like to continue doing that, but I’m just not quite sure how we can once we stop working. In fact, we don’t know if we’ll ever be able to retire!”
She sat down with all of our charts and said, “My suggestion is investing in annuities, and safe bonds.”
I looked at how much money our financial advisor wanted upfront and how little we’d actually receive in return. And we wouldn’t receive it until we were 90! This was not a workable plan.
Three weeks later I was at the gym jogging on the treadmill next to a friend who’s done a lot of real estate investing. I asked him how many properties he had now and he said, “Fourteen,”
I said, “Are you kidding? How have you been so bullish in doing this? I mean, aren’t you afraid that it might not be the right timing or location or price or whatever?”
“No, I’m really not,” he replied. “I’ve been really successful at it with the help of RealWealth and Kathy Fettke’s podcast, The Real Wealth Show.”
When I got home, I went right to the computer and joined RealWealth and the Real Wealth Investor Academy. I immediately started learning so much and just loved it. I felt like it was exactly what I’d been waiting for.
Since then I’ve made lots of friends through the network. I was introduced to top-notch, investment property providers, builders, lenders, and property managers – the very cream of the crop. I have not met one person that I just haven’t loved, and the numbers all made sense.
The biggest problem was really whom to choose because there are so many good teams – really, really good people and good prices.
We now have several properties and are still purchasing more. I can sleep at night now knowing that we have done our due diligence.
My husband and I feel really good about the properties that we’ve purchased and our financial future.”
Success Story #3
Wayne & Danielle Brice: How we bought 16 properties that pay us $8,700 per month
Wayne: I retired from the Navy after 20 years. When I received my retirement check, I learned that if I died, my wife wouldn’t get access to those funds! I literally couldn’t sleep at night knowing this.
We got busy and searched on-line for solutions, and my wife discovered RealWealth. After doing some due diligence, we went to some of their events. We met the property providers and it all looked good, so we purchased some of the rentals.
Danielle: We followed the plan we developed with their investment counselors, and sure enough, I was able to accelerate the growth of my own retirement. In fact, a month ago I was actually able to retire before Wayne! This has freed up my time so that now I can focus on everything that’s important to us.
Wayne: The amount of hours I’ve spent listening to information has been like getting a college education. Just recently we attended RealWealth’s asset protection seminar. There were many experienced investors in the room, and I could tell by their questions that they were learning things they hadn’t known before – new, cutting edge information. They were taking lots of notes!
Life is messy, right? Stuff happens that you don’t expect, but every time, without exception, the property manager has done what has been actually to our benefit. Sure, it’s our capital that we’re putting down, but we’re getting more back than we’re giving.
Danielle: If we went and did this on our own, we’d have to make a lot of mistakes, and that would have cost us our cash flow.
Success Story #4
Paul & Cheryl Choate: How we invested in 7 properties that pay us $3,008 per month
Paul: We run an appliance repair business, and it makes us a living but no retirement. So I thought, “I’ve got to get some money saved. I can’t rely on my kids putting me up.”
So I went on the Internet and started looking for investment groups. I had done some investing on my own and made some money and lost some money. So I made myself a promise. I wasn’t going to just buy the first thing I saw. I was going to do my homework.
I came across RealWealth and discovered it was just what I was looking for. Their motto is “No Back of the Room Bootcamp Seminars!”
They want people investing in real estate, not spending money on expensive, outdated programs. They make their education very affordable – yet the quality is far better than those $20,000 bootcamps!
During our strategy session with one of their investment counselors, we took a look at the performance of our beach house in North Carolina. We loved it but we were losing about $1,200 a month. We decided to sell that home – even at a loss – at the worst possible time, but we still ended up with a chunk of money – about a $100,000.
That money helped us buy four homes in Ohio. It went so well that we bought two more the next year.
Cheryl: One of the things about RealWealth is that they actually do the research on companies that they bring in. For me, the key thing was property management. That was key.
Paul: We learned to use all the money we were making and put it towards paying off that first home loan. And we actually paid off that house in two years! Ohio may not be sexy, but the cash flow is!
If we keep paying off loans, we’ll have 6 homes free & clear in 7 years and can retire with the same lifestyle we have right now.
Success Story #5
Claudia & Julian Fraser: How we found 13 properties that make $12,841 every month
Claudia: It’s been a lifesaver to find Kathy and her team at RealWealth. Some say it’s all about location, location, location, but Kathy says it’s really about timing, timing, timing. She keeps her finger on the pulse and finds markets opening up before anyone else does.
Julian: We had a house in San Francisco. It was a rental property, and we knew we wanted to sell it, but we would have had to pay hefty capital gains tax.
If we deferred the taxes through a 1031 exchange, we’d have to find $1.5M in replacement property. We had no idea how to do that! And there was no way to get the returns we wanted in California where we live.
We heard Kathy on the radio and her message sounded too good to be true, so we were cautious. We took our time, and joined the Real Wealth Investor Academy to learn. We followed the entire whole program, and learned a lot!
Claudia: We went out and looked at properties with their teams in three different states they recommended. We loved what we saw, so it was just paperwork after that. We were able to sell that one San Francisco property exchange it tax-deferred into 20 properties. We increased our income six-fold!
I know the old rule of thumb was “You should live within 30 miles of your rentals.” That’s not really necessary any more, thanks to modern technology.
I also didn’t want to become a landlord so I needed great property management teams to take care of all the maintenance. They are great, and we don’t do a thing. We basically accept e-mails and direct deposits in a bank account. It can’t be any easier than that!
Julian: We’ve tried to tell our friends, but they just can’t believe it’s that easy.
Success Story #6
Rich & Kathy Fettke: How we created RealWealth, so no one else has to go through what we did…
Kathy: I know what it’s like to have a financial plan that doesn’t makes sense. I know what it’s like to lose everything you’ve worked so hard to build. I know what it’s like to miss out on important family moments because work doesn’t allow it.
How do I know?
13 years ago, my husband, Rich was diagnosed with melanoma and told by the doctor that he had 6 months to live. While I refused to believe it, I was determined to take over the finances so that he could get better. I was the host of a radio show at the time, and immediately shifted the focus to wealth building.
I interviewed self-made millionaires each week to learn their secrets, and discovered quickly why real estate was their #1 passive investment of choice – for the tax benefits, asset protection, leverage and overall wealth creation. (This show is podcast on iTunes – just search Real Wealth Show with Kathy Fettke.)
Rich and I learned the power of leverage, so we refinanced our home and bought 14 income properties. We soon discovered the thrill of owning hard assets that don’t disappear overnight, that can be insured and protected, that are paid off by someone else, and that provide on-going cash flow for life.
The Real Wealth Show listenership grew rapidly, and we soon realized we were not the only people desperate for this information. That inspired us to create a safe place for people to learn with out the pressure of buying outdated bootcamps and expensive “guru” programs, so we founded the RealWealth. We have grown to 19,000 members, and continue to share the secrets of real savvy real estate investors. Membership is free.
We now know what it’s like to be able to take a month off and travel to Europe with the family, to go surfing whenever the waves are good, to attend our kid’s most important events, and to give to the charities we support.
We love to inspire and teach others how they can acquire cash machines producing double digit returns that will pay them for the rest of their lives. And anyone can do it! You can use IRA’s, 401ks, bank money, private money, 1031 exchanges… There are unlimited ways to reach your goals. The key is getting the right education.
Oh, and by the way, the doctor was wrong. Rich is as healthy as ever, and thoroughly enjoying Real Wealth.
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