Thread: Elevated Financial Education

the get-together from the last couple of years have been great sources of information and, more importantly, great contacts.
I guess most members don't realize how much activity is going on between forum members and that is done thanks to meeting the right people.
Diane Kennedy's blogs have been very good sources of info.
About real estate and specifically apartment buildings, there are a couple of newsletter I subscribe to that help a lot. Maybe I should also subscribe to Vollucci's newsletter.

I didn't know about some of these. Andres, you are right about the deals and contacts. I learn something new almost every day.

This forum is where I get my thirst for knowledge fed. I also IM with 2-3 people each week for several hours. Lot's of ideas generated that way and lot's of learning done. I also check out biggerpockets and magic bullets. ++speed to you two for new sources.

Originally Posted by AroundTheWorld

Vollucci Newsletter (newsletter for a national look at apartment market)

How do you subscribe? I did a google search and couldn't come up with anything.

Vollucci lives in the dino age. Isn't online. Can you imagine? Get his contact info from his book.

It is about $300 for a year. He also sends his investment "opportunities." It isn't actually a newsletter... more like a list of metro areas and where they fall in the cycle (according to Vollucci)

ATW,
what are your resources for self storage?

Also, JScott has that link to marcus and millichap. I have found has lots of information.

Originally Posted by Bilgefisher

ATW,
what are your resources for self storage?

We drew on our past experience more than anything. I had a background in business. Hubby had a background in construction. We just - - - figured it out.

Self Storage really isn't that hard. It isn't as complicated as apartments.... you don't have dogs peeing on the carpet and people getting threats of power shutting off in February. You don't hear the sob stories about skipping Christmas this year because the ex decided to hop a train to New York and take all the credit cards with him. If they don't pay - you lock them out and you are done with it. Can't do that on a residence.

You don't have the overhead of many other traditional brick n mortar businesses either.

Having said that - - - there really isn't much out there. There is a book, I think it is called "How to Make Money in Self Storage." It is a really paper thin book and it is primarily designed as an upsell tool. (The author is a Self Storage Consultant).

There is a site: www.selfstorageguide.com It is okay..... nothing special. More like a resource for current owners. People post on the forums - questions like "I have a customer that hasn't paid in 2 months. What should I do?"

Originally Posted by AroundTheWorld

We drew on our past experience more than anything. I had a background in business. Hubby had a background in construction. We just - - - figured it out.

Self Storage really isn't that hard. It isn't as complicated as apartments.... you don't have dogs peeing on the carpet and people getting threats of power shutting off in February. You don't hear the sob stories about skipping Christmas this year because the ex decided to hop a train to New York and take all the credit cards with him. If they don't pay - you lock them out and you are done with it. Can't do that on a residence.

You don't have the overhead of many other traditional brick n mortar businesses either.

Having said that - - - there really isn't much out there. There is a book, I think it is called "How to Make Money in Self Storage." It is a really paper thin book and it is primarily designed as an upsell tool. (The author is a Self Storage Consultant).

There is a site: www.selfstorageguide.com It is okay..... nothing special. More like a resource for current owners. People post on the forums - questions like "I have a customer that hasn't paid in 2 months. What should I do?"

Thanks for the reply. I saw your name on one of the posts there. I'm still looking at all my angles, but I want to make an educated decision on the route I want to take. That website is a good start though. Are you a member of the self storage association? Is there information pretty decent?

Another great source of information for me has been my CPA.
He is also a Real Estate Investor so it is great to bounce ideas off him.

I was exactly like you. I'm in my office right now and can see about 12 "purple books" on my shelf. Same as you, I enjoyed reading them (I like Kiyosaki's writing style) but not a ton of content.

I started going to the book store every week. I have read alot of books about money and real estate in general. Anything that looks like it might enhance my financial education. I have alot of Trump books (which seem to follow the RD content level). I have read The Millionaire Next Door, The Rules of Money, Going Broke, and two Iacocca books just to name a few.

I have picked up something from most of these books. I have also asked this same question on line before and got alot of answers that made me think my OP wasnt read right. Alot of people telling me about alot of fiction books to "enrich me on the whole".

Finally I would suggest you read a little about our country's finanial past. Its a very good lesson to see how/why the economy has fallen & risen in the past. See what mistakes were made and how to avoid them.

I have also found that the more I read, the more I realize how everything money is linked together in some way and you will find yourself much more knowledgable about money/the economy, in general.

I'm going to Diane's "Loopholes of the Rich" seminar this weekend.. I'll give you guys a review when I get back.

If the opportunity presents itself please tell her that she is missed. Have fun.

Originally Posted by Runum

If the opportunity presents itself please tell her that she is missed. Have fun.

Agreed!

Originally Posted by AroundTheWorld

I'm going to Diane's "Loopholes of the Rich" seminar this weekend.. I'll give you guys a review when I get back.

Hello? Anyone home? How did the seminar go?

Too funny! I was just searching for this thread so I could post an update.

Let Me See....

Diane has created some really helpful tools to help you find the "sweet spot" for yourself in terms of how to earn money and still do what you love doing. We spent a lot of time going through her exercise.

Other than Diane, we had a few other guest speakers.

Sharon Lechter spoke about writing books - - - and the different reasons to write a book...

Write to:

Establish Credibility
As a Brochure for your Business
To Make Money (from book sales)
To Promote Something else???


She has some great - quick tips for dealing with the publisher. The short answer is this: You don't have to accept the contract the publisher sends you. You do have the ability to negotiate with them. Pay attention to the small print, because it can make a huge difference.

Sharon and her son, Philip also spoke about Sharon's new project.

We also had Aaron Morgan there to speak about the current credit circumstance. It was REALLY interesting to me to hear about what is happening "out there." He knew of one bank that bull-dozed an entire subdivision of completed - never - been - lived - in homes. They did this because they felt the homes would not rent, not sell - and they would rather hold vacant land than hold vacant homes.

Aaron is starting a new, private bank - as he is seeing a lot of lending opportunity right now. He is seeing banks say no to 800+ credit scores, with liquid capital in the bank on an 80% LTV. These investors need money, and he would feel comfortable loaning to them, so he is taking advantage of the opportunity he sees.

All in all, this seminar had an underlying message for me... adaptability.

Times are Changing - - - and if you want to thrive, you have to look around, see what is happening, and position yourself for the new opportunities.

During times like this, opportunities do not go away. They simply move. Find out where they went.

Diane Kennedy is creating new things for herself....
Sharon Lechter is creating a new venture....
Aaron Morgan sold his mortgage broker firm and is now moving on a new opportunity...

The other, overall thing I took away from this were some new contacts (... some very promising and exciting ones....)

Thanks ATW. +++speed

Thanks for the update, ATW!! +++

Your point about adapting to your current market is SO true. We are finding the same in our situation..... the opportunities have just moved - need to adjust and realign with the ever changing market.

Glad to hear you made some good contacts.

yup. That is right. Opportunities have moved. How do I know? Because what I knew how to do is not working anymore, but there are other opportunities out there to pursue. Thanks a lot for sharing.

I've come to realize that there is really no such thing as general "advanced" financial education. By the time you get to the "advanced" level - what you actually need is SPECIALTY education.

Running a Business? You can seek education in:

Managing People
Marketing and Advertising
Setting up Business Structures, etc.

Real Estate Investor?

Seek education on:

Raising Capital
Due Diligence
Land Use / Zoning
Etc.

Here is another resource I've found lately. They have an interesting calendar of events. They certainly are covering a wide variety of niche markets.

Law Seminars International - "The Power of Information"