REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS

I subscribe to a couple of sites.  Can't afford much more than a few bucks a month.  The value from two of the sites is quite good.  One of the sites has mini-forums that covers different topics with real estate being one of them.  Gary North gets others to answer and advise on the real estate forum that might be outside his range of expertise.  I thought I would share with you a few resources and comments from it.  John Schaub mans his real estate forum.  He's written a couple of books but his main strategy for buying property is one per year and rent them out.  As you accumulate one property per year or even every 3 years, by the time you're in your 70s and 80s you won't have to worry about rent for the rental income from the approximately 20 properties that you own will pay for your mortgage on the place where you live.  That forum is a great source for getting practical answers with traction.  In other words, they work to solve problems and disputes between owners and tenants.  

John Schaub's books are here.

A newbie real estate investor asked a question at North's site.  Here is his question.  "Dr. North, and others experienced in real estate investing, where would you advise beginners to start? Mobile homes? Billboards?"

And what follows are the replies to his question from a couple of forum members.  Neither of the replies, by the way, came from John Schaub. 

REPLY #1

1.  Join a local REIA (real estate investors association).  LA County and Orange County.

2.  Read John Schaub books.

3.  Study Bigger Pockets.

4.  Study Cash Flow Depot.

5.  Consider attending a John Schaub seminar or any of those given by Pete Fortunato.  This guy is the kingpin; he's been around since 1965.  That kind of longevity does happen without helping out hundreds if not thousands of people.  

6.  Gary Johnston [no, not that goofy candidate who ran on the Libertarian ticket with Weld back in 2016] offers good ones for beginners and veterans. Six months of study will give you a good answer to your question.

REPLY #2

I did everything on the above list except bigger pockets and Gary Johnston. 

Schaub runs a great seminar. No fluff.

Mobile homes wound up being my space. I started with the industry classic, Deals on Wheels by Lonnie Scruggs. Mobile homes are a great place to start if you live close by and can deal with more management headaches. The up front investment is smaller, and the profits are higher. The downside is that its tough to flip them and sell retail... banks are still wary. Gotta do it the Lonnie way (as lease-options today due to the SAFE Act). If you go the mobile home route, plan to be in the business a decade or more. 

So for those of you or those of us who are looking for long-term investments, real estate is still the way to go.  Gary North's monthly subscription I believ is $15, which is an incredible bargain.   

Deals on Wheels by Lonnie Scruggs  

And Building Wealth One House at a Time by John Schaub.  

Here is another real estate marketing strategy.