Thank You, Harry!

How I Got Interested In Real Estate Investing

I’m writing this post because I believe there are some of you who also have an interest in real estate investing, but you just don’t realize it yet. Hopefully, my story will spark that “something” within you that propels you down the path I followed and perhaps you will find your passion in life along the way.

So, here’s my short story …

As a young boy, my parents used to take us to see the Bokanos (Harry and Joan). My dad used to work in a slaughter house in downtown Detroit as a calf skinner and Harry was someone he worked with. They were friends outside of work and Harry had a cottage on a lake somewhere up north. I remember how much I enjoyed going there and skipping stones off the dock and even tried water skiing once. That trip ended early, though, when my dad tried to ski on one leg - it ended badly! Well, my dad was OK, besides the bruised ego and the beat red burns from head to toe -- I thought he was doing a trick as he cart-wheeled across the surface of the water -- but that was probably one of the best trips ever!

Anyway, Harry and Joan lived (and continue to do so) well below their means and sunk every extra penny into real estate (rentals). As I grew older and as I would listen to the stories being told, I knew that Harry was doing something very smart, although I didn’t really understand it all back then. But I can say that Harry is the original source of my interest in real estate (I was around 8 at the time) and I knew that it was a way of saving up for the future and that somehow it would mean that Harry would have money to spend when he was old.

Fast forward many, many years. While I was serving in the U.S. Army as an Infantry soldier (1982-1986), I became aware of a No Money Down program being advertised by Carlton Sheets on late night TV. Yes, THAT Carlton Sheets! I was so intrigued by his sales pitch and I new that there was money to be made in real estate so I did like many other investors have done - I picked up the phone, credit card in hand, and I bought the program! (I later sold my Selmer Tenor Sax for $500 to help pay for the program, much to my parents displeasure!)

Well, the program of video tapes and books sat on my shelves for many more years collecting dust (as they did for many other investors like me!) but I knew that money could be made in real estate if I would simply imitate the actions of others who were successful before me and if I would just work hard. I just didn’t seem to have all the pieces I needed to get started. I needed more details!

Next, (around 2001) I stumbled upon Robert Kiyosaki’s books, “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” and “Cashflow Quadrant”, and I must say that these books (among some others) helped change my mindset. I no longer see scarcity, but rather opportunity. There is no lack of money in the world, only lack of knowledge and creativity to move some of the money from the pile into my own bank account. I knew that my biggest problem was that I kept spending my money on things that took more money and didn’t return any. I learned from Kiyosaki that I had to spend some of my money on money-producing assets. That is, I needed to buy something that would produce more money over time than what I spent to acquire it. Does a car do that? Does an expensive closet filled with clothes or shoes do that? Does a swimming pool or big screen TV do that? The answer is, NO! These things take your money (liabilities) and give you nothing in return other than the entertainment and enjoyment you receive from these items.

But I wanted to start buying assets that would generate money, not just consume it. That’s where real estate comes in to the picture for me. I eventually met my business coach and the man who showed me the details I needed to get started, Mark Ijlal. In my next post, I will tell you more about how I met Mark and what he showed me to help me get past my hesitation to launch my business.

Hopefully, you will see yourself in this story at some stage. Perhaps you know deep inside that real estate is the place to invest. I hope my story encourages you to keep exploring, keep reading, and never stop dreaming about where you want to be next year, three years, and five years from now.

Dream, plan, then EXECUTE!