Last Friday I saw an omen. I saw a coyote in broad daylight on my way to work. I even saw his eyes...a yellow-brown color.
And I knew the sh** was about to hit the fan because coyote medicine has never been a good omen for me.
Yesterday I get that awesome letter from the IRS that we all look forward to with baited breath. And this one is going to tell me that they're taking all of my tax refund for a debt from 2000 that I paid off more than 10 years ago.
Except here's the problem: All of my records from that time frame have been purged. After all, "they" (the government themselves) say that you only have to keep records for a max of 10 years before "safely" getting rid of them because they're of no use anymore, right?
Well, folks, that's the scam. Right there. Because what the IRS and the Department of Treasury won't tell you is that any "debt" they deem you owe with them will NEVER expire. It can be a 50-year-old debt (or older) and it will never expire, never go away, and apparently after you pay it and "safely" purge your old records from over a decade ago (because they disappeared, as many bill collectors will after they are paid in full), they will resurface like the gigantic destructive sea serpents they are to collect on a debt that, they'll claim, you never paid.
"Oh, you don't have any proof of that payment back over 10 years ago? Oh, well. I guess you'll just have to pay it again then."
Beware! This is the latest IRS and Department of Treasury scam. And who are you to (a) fight the government, and (b) have any proof even that this debt was paid?
Even worse, the IRS is seizing the bank accounts of anyone who is foreign (but legally here) who owns a legitimate mostly-cash based business because, well..."Didn't know know the IRS laws surrounding cash deposits into your bank accounts? Oh no? You didn't? Well, I guess you're running an illegal operation so...we'll be taking that money. Thank you very much."
Doesn't matter that these people are running a completely legal above-board convenience store in their community where most people pay for things in cash. The government doesn't want people paying with cash. Gives them less seizing control over the money when they're broke and need it most. And they'll pick on foreigners who don't know they have any rights.
Like now. The U.S. Government is not doing really well financially. In fact, after now dealing with this new-old IRS issue from 15 years ago, I'm quickly starting to realize that the government is in the Rob-Peter-to-Pay-Paul mode as to disguise how devastating the cash-crunch situation is with our country. I think the money situation within our government is much worse than they'll ever lead anyone onto believing.
So, the strategy: Since they have to pay for an over-bloated defense budget coupled with keeping the freeloaders on welfare dependent on the system, they have to steal that money from somewhere. And it's going to be in a way where they can target the weakest links: foreigners with cash businesses and anyone with old debts with any government agency/department who wouldn't possibly have records of these debts being paid off.
And that could be you. Especially if you had an old IRS debt that you paid off. Don't be surprised that AFTER you threw away that proof of that debt being paid, all of a sudden they come back to haunt you, stating that you didn't pay a single cent toward it.
This is basically what my sweet IRS letter was about. Even worse, they won't tell me what I "owe" and refuse to give me an itemization of anything.
Now I have to have an attorney step in and deal with it.
Did you know that most Americans can't afford an attorney to deal with situations like this? Again, this is something else the IRS and Department of Treasury will bank on. It's a numbers game. They know that about 90% or higher of the people they harass and seize money from won't have the financial ability to fight it by hiring an attorney. Some will (less than 10% or probably an even lower percentage) but most won't have the resources, especially after the government will steal the resources from them.
Here's a tip: If you're like most Americans who have had issues with the IRS, make sure you NEVER throw away ANY of those records. I don't care about the 10-year rule. No rules apply to the U.S. Government, as you should well know by now. (They are hitting me with something that's 15 years old thismonth...and I have no proof to show that they've been paid in full. Not a scrap of paper. And I can't even go to my bank to get the cashier's check because the bank purged that our of their system at the 10-year mark. How f****** convenient for the IRS, right??) So, save those records, including tax returns, FOREVER!!
You know...I was just thinking about something last night and I actually had a one-second panic attack. I'm like, "Holy shit, I'm not going to get Social Security because of this!" And then I started laughing at the ridiculousness. Maybe it's because my monthly SS may be about $1,200 a month (give or take) by then. And what the hell am I going to do with $1,200 a month? By then I'll probably need a minimum of $10,000 a month just to survive.
I suddenly envisioned myself making pies and selling them on a street corner which would make well over what SS would pay me...since I won't ever qualify to get that money. Forget how I've worked since I was 14, paying into this pot before most people even think about getting a job. Or that I'm an American citizen. I simply won't get it. (We have to make sure the freeloading welfare recipients keep getting paid, you know. Doesn't matter if they're legal or not. Meanwhile hard-working Americans have to keep feeding these deadbeats.)
And you want to know something? I actually didn't care about the notion of working till I die. In fact, I sort of expected that this would be the case. I'd have more than enough in passive income anyway to keep me afloat so I didn't have to sell pies (or crack) on a street corner when I'm 82 years old. My only fear -- and this is a very real fear -- is that I won't be mentally stable enough to pull this off? Will I have dementia or Alzheimer's disease and I won't be able to perform on any type of commerce level? That was my only real fear in all this because I don't mind working till I drop dead.
The other fear was...will I really live till 82 or longer? What a drag that would be along with all the other "benefits" of being that old including crapping my pants and not being able to walk to the mail box without breaking my hip.
Most of you know that I just did my 2-day Internet Cash Flow Boot Camp Seminar. It was a very intense event. I have to admit that it's been the hardest and most intellectually taxing event I've done in many years because of how in-depth my presentation was. I left no stone unturned. Every single detail one would need to start an Internet business from scratch was revealed.
But I will warn you. This information is both cutting-edge but short-lived. It'll help you build a multi-million-dollar business between now and a few years from now but after that...you'll have to learn a whole new set of marketing strategies by 2018 to fit with our ever-changing New Economy.
I had a kick-ass event. Lots of testimonials (which I'll put up in a few days). Lots of amazing wealth-building strategies that, guaranteed, NO ONE will ever show you. I packed 20 years of marketing experience with the most cutting-edge Internet marketing strategies into 2 short days.
And it can make you very wealthy IF you follow the steps exactly as I lay out.
Also, I didn't officially start marketing my upcoming event for Vegas on May 15th and 16th but it's my first 2-day No-Cash-No-Credit 100% LTV Real Estate Cash Flow Boot Camp Seminar. (Say that 10 times in a row!) I already have 26 people registered and I didn't even tell anyone (except my Internet seminar attendees) yet. Vegas will be awesome and I absolutely cannot wait. And yes, I have another kick-ass partnership opportunity to present that will ONLY be applicable (and usable) to those who attend this phenomenal event. So, clear your schedule for this kick-ass upcoming seminar!
The other day I was playing a ball game in the street with my little girl. She likes playing with me with these "scoop" things and a Wiffle ball. She drew these 2 circles, one for me and one for her to stand in. Then she wanted to keep score with chalk on the sidewalk using a "scoring" system that she could understand, heavily weighing in her favor of course.
So, I started adding things to this "scoring" system. Such as, if you step out of the circle, you lose a point, even if it's my fault that I throw the ball in such a way to force you out of the circle. Then I added even more. If it takes more than 3 seconds to get the ball, you lose 2 points. I added something else that would make her lose 10 points if she offended the rule. Before the game really started, she was already in "debt" to the scoring system. It was getting so ridiculous that she slowly started to see that she couldn't ever win in this losing game I was setting up for her. This caused her to disregard my scoring system altogether. (Smart girl.)
I started to think about it. This is exactly how the "money system" is set up for the Average Joes of America. It's set up so that we all lose UNLESS we're rich, powerful, and elite. This game is actually very well articulated for you to lose. It has been set up this way for about 100 years and probably was in the "planning works" by the powerful and elite long before it was successfully implemented.
Even worse, most people to this day still don't know that the odds of them scratching and clawing their way out of this avalanche of new laws, rules, and regulations to keep people poor is getting harder and more impossible by the day.
Take a step back and look at it. Analyze what's going on here. Understanding what the few powerful families of the entire world are setting you up for.
Every one of us was designed and trained to become a slave for the purposes of supporting only a handful of super wealthy families. No, it's not as obvious as it used to be when our grandparents were working assembly line jobs in a dead-end factory (that's been long put out of business thanks to China). Instead, we're blinded by what's really going on with distractions such as the latest iPhone release, video games, endless amounts of "stuff" to watch on television (I just learned what "binge watching" means the other day), and any other distraction you can think of. If only we'd take a few hours to actually sit, ponder, and think about the "bigger picture" on what's really going on.
Of course, there's not much you can do about the momentum of how the ultra-wealthy have gained and sustained control over the mass population over the past century or two but what you CAN do is take control over your own future.
The first thing you can do is...stop watching so much freaking television, especially the news. This is numbing your brain into a dummy-ville state. Stop it. Lay off the iPad and the video games, too. This is putting you into a non-existent fantasy land that will only disservice your ability to think creatively as time goes on.
The second thing you can do is...start reading some reallygood financial magazines. My all-time favorite is Bloomberg Businessweek. I also like Forbes and The Economist. Reading only these three (or just Bloomberg alone) will keep you ahead of the curve on rapidly developing changes. Students often ask me how I just "know" things about real estate and different trends/changes. It's because I read and I don't watch the useless news anymore, that's why.
The third thing you can do is...understand how "financial leverage" works and how you can use it yourself. The worst thing that most Average Joes fall for is the "scam" get-rich-quick business model that, at the end of the day, yields exactly nothing for them. This includes MLM schemes, envelope stuffing, chain letters, or anything else that promotes ultimate laziness while they are supposedly going to get super rich overnight (by doing nothing at all, of course). None of these things work. They aren't designed to work for you. What they are designed for is to give you hope, let you fail, and then make you feel "burned" so you don't step out of line or even think about climbing out of those salt mines that the ultra rich want to keep you enslaved in.
The most powerful form of leverage that I learned about is being able to tap into other people's money (OPM) through credit. Even more powerful, I learned the "credit on steroids" secret by understanding how business credit works.
Do you want to know what's so sinful about people's basic understanding of economics? Here it is: Average Joes are NOT taught the things that can make them successful entrepreneurs and investors. They are taught about everything else except these things.
A couple of weeks ago my daughter was learning about Lincoln. They are even teaching 6- and 7-year-olds about how Lincoln was shot in the head by a guy named Booth. I'm thing...WTF? I went a step further and gave my daughter's teacher a picture of my daughter standing in front of the ACTUAL CHAIR where Lincoln was shot. (It's in the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit. And yes, there's still blood on the chair!)
But I started to think about it. Who f****** cares about Lincoln getting assassinated? What about the economic cycles tied to the Civil War during that time? Or anything that could be remotely useful about why the guy got shot in the head?
Each time I sign in to bring my daughter into the school, I look at the analog clock and spend several seconds trying to remember how to tell time with such an antiquated device. I don't bother balancing my checkbook, ever. The only reason I leave generous tips at restaurants (usually in 10s) is because I can't add worth a shit and just about everyone says that they can't read my handwriting.
But I have a unique understanding of what's going on "behind the scenes" when it comes to economic cycles and the economy at large. (No, I can't predict everything but neither can the highest regarded economic scholars either.)
This, my friend, is ALL that matters if you want to not only survive (financially) but to THRIVE in our current New Economy.
Part of this has to do with understanding how to leverage OPM. The only two (2) ways that I know how to do this is by (1) building business credit, and (2) raising funds through investor partnerships.
I've learned both very well. And so can you.
Ignorance is the first obstacle to overcome, as this information wasn't for the Average Joe like you and me to ever sink our claws into. This is the obstacle that I am here to help you overcome.
Getting access to hundreds of thousands of dollars in unsecured business credit isn't hard to do but it can be tricky. First of all, you can't make any mistakes when setting everything up for this endeavor. Second, you have to follow suit with a specific strict set of action steps. If you screw up any step or decide to screw it off (and not do it) then your business building activities will suffer drastically. Third, this doesn't happen overnight. (Sorry, impatient Americans who want everything today but...to do this correctly will take a few months!)
Think of it this way, though. To have access to, in the very least, tens of thousands of dollars (by doing a half-assed job) and up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in unsecured business credit in only a few months is amazing. It'll be summer time then. You'll be a few months older. But you'll have MORE leverage than you have now.
So, what do you do with all this credit? You put it into money-making instruments such as passive income real estate (ideally) or to fund a new business or for other types of investments. This is how the rich get richer, folks. It's because they get OPM to allow themselves to get wealthy while the Average Joe wonders how he/she can make more money by trading hours for dollars. And that is NOT to right way get wealthy. Using OPM for passive income assets and investments is how you do it.
Time for you to stop accepting the "worker bee" programming "they" installed in you from the moment you entered the school system and start using some of these incredible financial secrets so you can enjoy a piece of this wealth pie that you deserve to have!
Last week my daughter had a $20 bill in her lunch sack. I asked her where she got it from. She said that some first-grader wanted her 3 Oreo cookies at lunch and gave her $20 for them. I knew the "right" thing to say was to tell her to return the money but I smiled knowing that my little girl is already showing signs of being an entrepreneur.
I think about all the things I wish I knew when I was first starting off as an entrepreneur, namely about being able to expand quickly through the use of OPM or other people's money. I always hit a "glass ceiling" with everything I was doing when I first started out in business...20 years ago this year, actually! (Time really does fly!)
I have to say that the biggest, most valuable thing that I know now that I didn't know then was about credit. Yes, the only significant "life lesson" my mother ever taught me was to "take good care" of my personal credit. But what about going a step beyond that? What about business credit?
I knew nothing about such things. Nothing at all. Not at that time.
And because of my lack of knowledge, I struggled my ass off with both investing and business because I didn't know how to tap into OPM (other people's money) quickly and easily. I thought that OPM was reserved for the wealthy, established business people, or people who already had money or assets to use as collateral for getting loans and credit.
Boy, was I wrong!
One thing that's unfolded quickly over the past decade -- and even more radically over the past 36 months -- is access to something called business credit. And no, this access is NOT reserved only for the wealthy with assets to use as collateral but rather anyone who knows how to access these funds.
Except the problem is, most "Average Joes" have no idea how to access these funds that are ready to be lent out for those who know how to tap into this credit. Little do they know that it's quite accessible when you understand the simple process needed to gain access to this money.
(I should mention that, for the most part, I'm all for a lot of your John Q. Citizens to never get access to this money otherwise they'll probably end up ruining it for everything. Part of what Rockefeller aimed for back in the day was to keep the lowly "worker bee" completely ignorant of being able to climb the ladder into wealth because, without these worker bees, the rich can't get richer. This is how and why we are all trained at a very young age to go to school on a strict schedule, follow orders, work your way up the ladder, don't question authority, and don't buck the system. Because of this antiquated system, it's "trained" most average people to think like average lowly worker bees which doesn't include understanding how to be fiscally/financially responsible. Therefore, if you are one of these people who embark on a path of gaining access to hundreds of thousands of dollars in this available unsecured credit, you MUST use this money responsibility. You must use this to either invest or build a business...or both!)
It wasn't until the early 2000s when I discovered the power of building business credit. In 2003 I had to file for a personal bankruptcy which I regret even to this day (although it's long gone off my credit report, it still comes up with lenders). (This was based on poor legal advice doled out by a sleazy attorney who wanted me to file so he could get paid.) My first husband wracked up a bunch of debt after our divorce that I was tied to. Knowing what I know now, I could have easily and quickly had all of those debts removed but...as they say, young and dumb. Or rather young and uneducated about things like this.
After my bankruptcy, I learned everything I could about fixing and rebuilding personal credit. It was during this "rampage" that I stumbled on the concept of business credit. And it was through a late-night infomercial from a blow hard named Ray Reynolds. (Ever heard of that guy.) I bought his course, learned next to nothing about building business credit from it, but I was first "clued in"on this new world of credit that is NEVER talked about among "Average Joes" like you and me. (We were never meant to know about this powerful OPM leverage that only the rich use to continue building massive wealth.)
I also found that there wasn't any legitimate information out there about building business credit. I had to essentially figure it all out on my own.
Then things drastically shifted about 3 years ago between banks lightening up lending for businesses (to encourage economic growth) while a much more efficient business credit reporting system went into full swing. Between these two elements of the "perfect storm" it now allows for people to gain even quicker access to business credit, even with newly formed corporations!
For those of you who need access to money for real estate, business, and investments then you need to listen to this audio seminar now: http://www.monicamain.com/biz_credit_mentorship_deal
In only a few months -- by this summer -- you can start experiencing the SAME OPM leverage that rich people can access. You can start getting richer, just like they are. If you don't, you'll probably end up getting poorer just like the masses, especially as the middle class dwindles down to nothing. (My theory is that there will be 2 classes left in the next couple of decades: poor and wealthy. Which one do you want to be in?)
See you at the top!
Your mentor,
Monica Main
www.MonicaMain.com
P.S. We're on the March seminar final count down. You have only 7 days left before enrollment closes and we begin the event. We also only have 4 seats left. Click on this link if you want to attend this mind-blowing upcoming Aggressive Income Strategy event in Los Angeles on March 14th and 15th: http://www.monicamain.com/internet_cash_flow_event_in_la
I was on a conference call with my agent for almost 2 hours yesterday. Yes, I have an agent. For those of you who have no idea what this means, when an author wants to get a book deal (or sell a screenplay or is an actor or even athletes) an agent comes in handy. They help you get a book deal and other relevant contracts.
So, this is what's happening with me. I got an agent back in December from a book proposal I had sent out last July. It was sitting in a "slush" pile when this agent picked it up and thought it was the most awesome thing since sliced bread. (Well...not really but he did say it was one of the best he's seen in recent years. I'm not sure if that's saying a lot or not.)
After much legal back and forth, I ended up in a contract with this agent and yesterday I was informed that we are going forth with the original book (that was in the proposal) along with a couple of others "to start."
Since publishing has changed so much since the recent collapse of our economy, many publishers are scrambling to figure out how they can turn a profit while figuring out the new forefront of publishing which has gone heavily digital in today's day and age. Of course, this makes the Big 6 (as they call it) publishing companies very hesitant in publishing anything that isn't "mainstream" enough. In other words, if your name isn't Hillary Clinton or Oprah Winfrey, forget getting anything published for the next handful of years until they figure out this New Publishing Market (which is part of the New Economic Culture we're experiencing right now).
I love change. I like when old outdated institutions are sent out to the pasture to retire (and ultimately die) while new, more efficient methodologies are put into action. And this is precisely what's happening with publishing (and many other industries). I'm really excited to be part of the "New Publishing" which is unfolding as we speak.
So, what's the bottom line in all this? What's the "big news" that I'm eluding to here?
I'm going more mainstream. I decided that I have a responsibility to my students and to those who are seeking financial independence using passive income assets to accomplish this in getting the RIGHT education. I'm so sick of all these "gurus" running around throwing out real estate books that teach you exactly nothing or, even worse, putting you on the wrong track altogether. That's doing a major disservice to the mass population as a whole and I don't want to be one of them.
For many years I've been sitting on the fence on what I want to do. I could retire at any time but, as I've indicated before, I really have nothing else that's worthwhile to do. What am I going to do? Sit at home by the pool all day? Turn out screenplays while going mad because I'm alone most of every day? (I feel like I want to blow my brains out just thinking about it!)
I have to do something meaningful that can be helpful and life-changing to others. I have to teach and help more people. I'm good at it. I like doing it. And I want to do it on a larger scale. (Move over Suze Orman!)
And it's my time to break out and do it now!
So, that's my big news. I'm going more mainstream with publishing mainstream books. I've finally gotten clear in what my direction needs to be and now it's time to go full throttle ahead.
Good news, I'll be able to help more people. Bad news, I'll become less and less accessible as time goes on.
My recommendation to you is that you use me for as much as possible and for as long as I'm around to be able to personally answer emails, doing webinars and IM sessions, etc. As time goes on, my personal accessibility will have to be less.
Also, I will have to narrow down my focus to concentrate on what I do best which is real estate investing. (This also includes other applicable components such as building business credit and raising capital.)
This will be the time for me to mention that my last bit of training on Aggressive Income Strategies will be ending. My last 100% Aggressive Income Event will be next month on March 14th and 15th in Los Angeles. After this time, I won't be divulging anymore Aggressive Income Strategies, as I will be focusing on Passive Income Strategies from that time forward.
All of you know I'm a pretty good marketer. Many of you may or may not know that I've made millions from the Internet and I make a consistent fortune using the Internet as a marketing tool. However, because of my new career direction for training and teaching, it would be wise on my part to stop divulging my Internet secrets (otherwise competitors will find it too easy to copy me). This is why my Internet Cash Flow Boot Camp Seminar will be the last of its kind.
The early-bird deal ends tomorrow then the registration price goes way up. This is basically your last chance to get in on this one-time-only event at the lowest price possible.
About a month ago a student of mine brought to my attention that he was receiving emails from me about some type of MLM binary profit sham...and asked me if I really had something to do with such a sham.
Answer: NO! Or rather [BLEEP] NO!!
For those of you who know me well enough, you'd know that I've uncovered the full thrust of the "network marketing" or MLM scam about a decade ago and that I do NOT recommend anything MLM related anymore. So no, the email about some type of "binary paycheck deal" is NOT from me.
This would have been about the same time that I learned that people are copying and reselling my products online as downloads, on eBay, and in many other places that I can't even fathom right now.
Unfortunately, I can't control people ripping off my materials and reselling it. Years ago I caught several people doing this on eBay and had their listings removed while having their eBay accounts permanently banned because of it. But...well, who has that kind of time to be the "Internet police" these days? I certainly don't.
And if they want to sell my old outdated stuff from 2010...so be it. Very little of it has any relevance in today's marketplace anyway. I just feel bad for the sap suckers who are actually buying these outdated materials because a lot has changed in only 5 years, if you know what I mean.
Then I get this email only last week from this "pastor" or "archbishop" out of Chicago going under the name of Archbishop Dr. Allwell A.L. Ezekiel who is selling stuff on real estate investing. Hmmmm...sounds weird to me.
Now, at the risk of offending a bunch of people here (not that THAT has ever stopped me before) but this isn't going to sound good for SOME of you who are deeply religious and part of the church. However, based on my personal experience ONLY (and not referring to ANYTHING that anyone else may or may not have experienced), I have always had "issues" with those who put themselves blatantly out there as being religious "leaders" or even avid church-goers while then trying to sell you something else. To me it's been a Trojan Horse ploy to gain someone's trust and then to ultimately crush that trust sometime along the way, usually in the near future.
Sorry, this has just been my experience and may not reflect your experience but...that's just how the ball bounces, I guess.
(One of my former employees didn't trust the church or anyone who "outed" themselves as a Christian or Catholic; come to find out that she was molested as a child by a church Bishop for years and her mother never believed her. Unfortunately, stories like that don't surprise me. My former mother-in-law tells everyone who will listen that she is a Christian but she'll take any opportunity she can to stab someone in the back the moment they're not looking, will lie in court as she has on many occassions, has stolen money from me, and will probably lie to God Himself when she ends up at the Pearly Gates of Heaven in a few years... or hopefully sooner. That will be seconds before she's sent to hell, no doubt. Maybe then she can write me to tell me how Hilter is holding up.)
So...I'm not sure how to process all of this except that, upon further research, we've determined that there is no Dr. Allwell A.L. Ezekiel in Chicago but there is someone with the same name running under a bogus Nevada-formed corporation who has had numerous arrests under his belt and now he's contacting me (and others who know me) as if he's part of my personal "inner circle" because...well, this would be that Trojan Horse I was just telling you about. The red flag for me, of course, is when any "pastor" comes at me with...a real estate course? Really?? And, no, pastor. If you contact me as you state you will in your email, I will NOT be endorsing you! (So don't ask!)
To be clear, I don't endorse anybody anymore. I used to endorse a couple of people's commercial real estate courses many years ago but I don't do that anymore, as I've come to the market with much more real and usable information that nobody can hold a match to me. (Hey, that's reality and I call it as I see it.)
So there you have it. I'm a one-woman show with no room for anybody else on my stage. I do this so that I can make sure that I have full control over the knowledge and information that is poured into my students' heads because it's my duty to make sure that what you receive is 100% accurate and applicable.
I had a student call our office last week because he wanted to cancel his personal credit service that he signed up for late last year.
The reason?
He just pulled his credit report and his mid FICO is 778 so...he didn't need us anymore.
And he's freaking thrilled like you wouldn't believe.
For those of you who are (for some weird reason) not seeing the value in beefing up your personal credit score...why? Unless you have a score like the one I listed above, you really need to consider fixing your credit because, well...you won't get very far doing anything without good credit.
You won't be able to invest in real estate.
You won't be able to build a business using unsecured credit.
You won't be able to tap into some of that down payment cash in the form of BLOCs (business lines of credit) to acquire property for passive income purposes.
In fact, you'll just be like every other Average Joe who continues being a "victim" to the wealthy, the government, and everyone else who wants to use you as a doormat.
And why is this? Well, it's because you don't know how to use the system to your advantage...or maybe you're not interested in using the system to your advantage. Maybe you'd rather complain about how unfair life is instead. (Hey, some people like that. Misery is company sometimes.)
Banks have really lightened up on the lending purse strings just in the past few months. I had an issue with a misspelling on my bank account so I went in to waste time sitting at a desk at Bank of America a couple of weeks ago. While I was sitting there, pissed off that I was wasting away in a crappy rolling chair, and wondering when this banker was going to type a little faster with her Flo-Jo nails, she looked up at me and said, "They're offering your new business a credit card. Do you want it?"
By "new business" she was referring to a brand new LLC that I had started for a new set of properties I am purchasing in Michigan. The LLC isn't even a few months old and she was already throwing credit at me.
"How much are we talking about?"
She didn't know. Whatever they wanted to give me once she clicked the "submit application" button.
I ended up walking out of the bank having been approved for 2 unsecured business credit cards totaling $23,500 that I didn't even need but...well, what the hell? Right? Even Icouldn't pass up the $200 cash deposit they'd give me for spending $1,000 on the cards within the first month I got them not to mention the bait of having 0% interest until November of this year.
And this is on a brand new business that has NO CREDIT RATING whatsoever.
But...how did I pull this off, you ask?
Because my PERSONAL mid-FICO is in the high 700s. That's why.
My credit wasn't always fantastic, of course. I worked many years going through a guessing game on what worked and what didn't for rebuilding and fixing bad credit. Now I've streamlined my unconventional and highly effective strategies into both a 4-week mentorship group as well as my Personal Credit Building Course for 2015.
Since my 4-week mentorship starts next week (on Wednesday to be exact) and, conveniently, it's Washington's birthday this weekend, I decided..."What the hell? How about a blow out at such a super low price that it'll make your head spin?"
After all, no more excuses.
The most frequently asked question among students that I get almost daily is, "Monica, where do I start?"
The good news is that it only takes a few months and then you can have a really solid FICO score. Get that mid score over 700 and you're golden!
Okay, so here's the deal. I have a blow out where you can get a super deal on both the mentorship and the 2015 Personal Credit Building Course (on CD-ROM).
But, I know a couple of you have been asking about my Personal Credit Building Service and if you can still get the deal that I offered as the Holiday Blitz for the lowered monthly price. The answer is...sort of. If you CALL my office at (661) 295-5050 then I can offer you that Holiday Blitz price of $77 a month (for ever how long you need it, cancel at any time) for us to fix your credit. But, again, you have to call the office and ask for the deal and you have to call before this blow out ends on Tuesday at 5pm PST.
See you at the top!
Your mentor,
Monica Main
P.S. We have about 11 spots left for the Internet Cash Flow Boot Camp Seminar and, I should mention, the early-bird pricing deal for that event will end next week. (It was supposed to end today but I dropped the ball on notifying my students so we're extending it another week.) Here's the link for the event: www.monicamain.com/la2
I love writing controversial emails because then I notice that a bunch of people "opt out" of my email list which allows me to lose the deadbeat tire-kickers who plan on doing nothing with their lives anyway. Best to get rid of the chaff so I can focus exclusively on those of you who want to do something other than watching television with your lives.
I got this email from one of my long-time students, Mike Z., the other day:
"I am interested in the REO course for 2015 + the 8 week mentorship.
I know you are good to great to getting people off their ass to take action.
Maybe some other people dont appreciate your bluntness & frankness but I do because I know if you are not blatantly truthful with your self it is not going to happen.
I need to take action. I am your Dad*s age & need to get off my ass & do it.
I will be in contact by online or calling Lea."
I like Mike but, well...how do I put this "delicately?" The guy really does need to get off his ass and take some action because I remember Mike back in 2009 taking one of my first initial apartment building mentorship groups. And that's a really long time to procrastinate without doing anything. (Mike, I love you so don't hate me but...yes, you need to start DOING some of this stuff you're learning about, okay??)
Now, maybe this is when some of you realize that apartment building investing isn't for you. That's fine. It's not for everyone. I'll be the first to admit that this business isn't for everybody. (And for those of you who think I'm "rough around the edges," it's because of this business and how I have to be in order to deal with listing agents, brokers, and sellers. So...for any of you who think I'm a little "too much," if you can't handle me then you won't make it in this business. Period.)
But what if you really want to do this business but everything else keeps getting in the way?
Here's a VALUABLE tip: I understand that life itself gets in the way when you're trying to do something else. I get all that. So, instead of making superior demands on your time (i.e. trying to spend 10 to 20 hours a week doing this), take "baby steps" instead. Start working on your real estate business for 15 minutes a day or for 30 minutes twice a week. Then in a couple of weeks start adding in an hour on Saturdays. You can get a lot of work done in that little bit of time if you're not drifting to Facebook or trying to watch the news at the same time.
I have a gift to give to you in a couple of days. (Watch out for it. It'll come in my next email to you.) It demonstrates that you can, in fact, sit at your laptop for little bits of time and start your entire real estate empire without doing much else.
P.S. We have a handful of seats left for Gold VIP at the next one-time-only 2-day event in LA. I believe we're sold out of Platinum VIP. (Not sure yet, I'll have to confirm.) Here's the link: www.monicamain.com/la2
Yesterday I received what I perceived as being a death threat from a student whose property deal wasn't selected for the partnership opportunity.
[Sigh!]
First of all, I have no control over which properties my invest partner decides to select. I did notice that he took a liking to properties strewn between Texas to Florida but he never -- at any given time -- told me in advance that he was selecting properties in those immediate areas. I'm thinking that, after receiving the boatload of deals he received through me, he'd devise his own "real estate empire" strategy in which he would minimize how far-reaching these properties would be from where he's located. I'm only guessing because I really don't know.
Sometimes I feel like I'm an American Idol judge. You know...there are those contestants who can't sing worth a shit. You know he can't sing. I know he can't sing. So when Randy says, "It just wasn't good, dog," the contestant storms off insisting that he'll "be big one day" and that they'll all "regret" not choosing him because nobody knows what they're talking about.
But...he sucked. Everyone knows he sucked except, well...him. He's the only one living in the fantasy that he doesn't suck.
Okay, so maybe that's a little far-fetched of an example. Most of the properties that were submitted in were actually pretty good. Some had some pretty kick-ass cash flows. But, again, I'm not even a "judge" but rather just the "assistant" who passes on paperwork and takes orders from "the man," in this situation. I had absolutely NO CONTROL over which properties were chosen.
Now, what happens to the "death threat" student? A police report has to be filed since I do have his full name and his address. (He did attend the seminar, after all. What a freaking bonehead!) And since my investor is actually considering a couple more deals, he's taken out of the program altogether, never to be considered for ANYTHING ever again. Talk about burning bridges with millionaires...not a good plan!
Let me address something again that I talked about last month. Doing partnerships isn't all what it's cracked up to be. You essentially become a slave to a millionaire (or, in some cases, a billionaire) much like being a Pinocchio working in a salt mine, day in and day out for little payout. In the case of my Texas investor partner, it was a 67/33 split. He got the 67%. You, the student, gets the 33% portion.
Okay, fine. That worked out really well for my student with the $12.4 million property but that was the largest property that was done in this program. Other properties ranged from $1.5 to $8 million. The smallest cash flow was, I believe (if I recall correctly), about $8,000 (and change) per month (but it may actually have been less: I get my "8s" and "6s" confused sometimes). On a 67/33 split, my student was only making a paltry $2,640 (or so) per month on the cash flow split. The gained equity wouldn't come into play for years, if at all, depending on if the property could be sold for higher than what they paid for it after the contract period expires (in 2018).
So...here this student will be doing all this administrative work, generating umpteen reports for my investor partner, working like a dog to manage the property, and still having to hold down a full-time job because the $2,640 per month isn't enough for him to cut out on his current day job.
Yes, partnerships are awesome when the property is a MULTI-MILLION-DOLLAR BUY but...not so much when it's on the "lower" end of the financial spectrum.
So...what I tell my students who weren't able to get their partnership deal done is...it was ablessing in disguise but you just don't know it yet.
This is part of the reason why I personally no longer do partnership deals with these multi-millionaires and billionaires. I got tired of being the "whipping girl" in the deal because I'm fairly convinced that we've abolished slavery, yet I felt like every bit of a slave in every single one of my partnership deals with these Big Boys.
So...
Back to you, my dear student.
I think many of my students feel intimidated in doing deals on their own and would prefer someone to take them "under their wing" to do their first deal or two. However, if you truly knew what a partnership set-up looks like, you'd know that the person doing the partnership with you expects YOU to do everything and to KNOW everything already. There is no one-on-one training, no crash course, no "nurturing," and no education that they provide. They throw you out of the nest the second you show up and you damn well better know how to fly instantly otherwise you're screwed.
Here's a better way...
Do your own deals. Do smaller deals. Stop trying to set up a $10,000,000 deal off the bat. Stop wanting that 300+ unit apartment building as your first deal. Ain't gonna happen!
Furthermore, many of you don't know that doing smaller deals are:
1) Easier for a newbie to do from a psychological standpoint; you can easily wrap your head about doing the deal so you don't get cold feet when you get into contracts (if you get that far).
2) Better for negotiation because smaller deals are owned by mom-and-pop investors who will do partial owner financing, lower the price, do creative financing deals, etc. Larger buildings...you just can't do any of those things.
3) Better because of the lower operating cost. You can get a smaller building down as far as a 30% expense ratio against the GOI (gross operating income). The average for a smaller building is about 45%. The average operating expense ratio on a larger building is well over half and, in many cases, up into the 70%+ threshold. This means that 70%+ of your rental receipts is going back out in expenses to operate the property, and that's if you're lucky. We had a 600+ unit building in the south that cost 85% of the GOI to run...and we had to cut it loose back in 2009 because we were at a 96% occupancy and could barely break even on the cash flow. And that's freaking ridiculous. Never again will I go after larger properties because of that reason.
4) More profitable than you think; technically you need anywhere from 3 to 7 smaller buildings to gain enough monthly cash flow to meet (and exceed) your current monthly income requirements. By "smaller" I mean buildings between 5 and 24 units each. Many of my newbie students think that they need 100 buildings to make decent money and that simply isn't the case. I don't know about you but I'd rather have under 10 buildings that are small and more manageable (and more profitable) than even a couple of over-sized properties that are nothing but a management nightmare. (But that's just me. What do I know, right?)
Need I say more?
Okay, so how does someone with no cash and no credit acquire real estate?
There are a few ways:
1) Start off as a bird-dog where you get a cut out of the deal when you can "flip" it to another investor. This will allow you to get your feet wet in the business while building up your "pot" to be able to invest in your own deals. One of my students in one of my current mentorship groups just recently made $27,500 off a bird-dog deal just did. That's a nice chunk of change, don't you think?
2) Use your 100% LTV option. The main one is the 100% LTV Bond Funding Program (144a). When finding a kick-ass cash flowing property deal that can support a 100% LTV, this is definitely the route to take.
3) Get bank-direct funding. This is done by acquiring REO foreclosure properties (multifamily assets) that a small- to mid-sized bank still has in their inventory. Yes, these are still very much available and now these banks are trying to flush them out of their system so that they can lend on new mortgages (which they cannot do as long as they have heavy loads of toxic debt on their books). When a bank opens a new mortgage on what was otherwise considered a "toxic debt," it then reverts to being classified as something else on their books which is a high motivating factor for these banks to do this type of arrangement with any investor wanting to buy an under-performing property.
This is definitely something you need to listen to if you want to understand what's going on for this last-ditch multifamily trend that's going on for 2015, which should end by the end of this year!
See you at the top!
Your mentor,
Monica Main
P.S. We're still accepting enrollment for the Internet Cash Flow Boot Camp Seminar in Los Angeles on March 14th & 15th! We're not quite full yet but we're pretty damn near close to full. Click on this link for more information: www.monicamain.com/la2
I finally have the tally for the investor partnership deals that we started in my November Detroit seminar. We were supposed to do a total of 13 deals but 2 fell out of contract because of due diligence problems. So, we ended up with a total of 11 deals as partnership deals with our students.
So...a huge congratulations to those students who ended up being "overnight" millionaires because of that extremely rare partnership opportunity!
Of course, as I already mentioned, since these deals were done directly with my investor partner and because I had no management or administrative part in these deals, I didn't take a piece of the action. This was for my students and not for me. And no, it's not because I'm being "nice" but rather I don't partake in deals where I get less than half of the gained equity and monthly cash flow.
One of the deals was a bank-owned property in Texas that appraised out at $3.2 million. My investor partner and student ended up negotiating that building down to $1.9 million because it had only a 62% occupancy level. Pretty damn good, if I don't say so myself.
So, how does this all work with REO foreclosure properties, especially apartment building properties? Are there still foreclosures available?
The answer is YES! There absolutely are multifamily and commercial foreclosures still available. And the banks are in a massive rush to push these final toxic debts off their books and onto an investors' shoulders.
You see, small- to medium-sized banks are pushing the last bit of their REO foreclosure inventory back into the market due to the U.S. Government regulations on lending. Any bank with an excessive amount of toxic debt on their books cannot lend money. And if they can't lend money by opening new mortgages, they don't make any money.
The economy has taken off in full force. Investors are buying properties left and right, especially passive income properties. They are especially interested in fully performing properties and not so much the "problem children" properties that have occupancy issues, as with many REO foreclosure properties.
This leaves the playing field wide open for you!
But...I'll be honest. These banks are quickly flushing out these REOs as fast as they can. And they are doing what they can to get rid of them including sending them to auction (which isn't paying off as they had hoped).
Time for you to step in and claim some of these properties that you can still get below market value! In fact, these are pretty much the ONLY types of properties you can still get below market these days: bank-owned REO foreclosure properties.
Now, there are some things you need to know that will work in your favor:
1) Banks are still offering something called bank-direct funding. Since many of these REOs are below the lending requirement of 85% in occupancy level and banks don't honestly expect most investors to shovel 100% cash into a deal anymore, they are willing to offer, on average, a 90% LTV plus rehab money (in some cases) if needed!
2) Our 100% LTV source can get you the cash for these deals if the bank doesn't want to offer bank-direct funding for the acquisition. They don't have an occupancy level requirement either provided that you are getting the deal at or below 80% of the appraised/market value.
3) You cannot and should not purchase a 0% occupied board-up abandoned/vacant property. Those days ended back in 2011/2012. Don't make that mistake in today's 2015 economy! Instead, find a property that is still "in service" with at least some tenants that are still occupying the building. Properties that are anywhere from 10% to 80% occupied are REO deals you can get below market and can quickly "cure" occupancy problems within 3 to 6 months in most cases.
I initially started teaching my REO strategies back in 2010. And I hadn't done a major upgrade to my course since then...until now. I now have the 2015 version of my NEW Apartment Building Foreclosure Cash Flow System which I'm "re-coining" as The NEW REO System for 2015.
What's exciting about this course are all the elements that reflect in today's multifamily and commercial REO environment as well as all new resources to make your deals work.
Even more exciting, I have a video with the course that shows you HOW to find the REO deals, HOW to draft the offers AND a required proposal to the bank, and HOW to get your deal financed if you're not getting bank-direct funding. I've never revealed these fine-tuned details in ANY presentation I've ever done on REO investing...until now!
For my amazing blow out deal for this weekend and through early next week, I'm offering this brand new course for a basement-bottom deal. Even better, you can get in on the upcoming 8-week REO mentorship group (which is also brand new) so you can learn exactly how all the processes work.
For 2015, all of my mentorship groups are going to include live training webinars. This is something I've never done before except for my Apprenticeship Group which I stopped doing 4 years ago! These live training webinars are instrumental in you understanding how all this works!
Here's the link to check this out including an incredible audio seminar I put together:
Somehow I ended up getting a customer service email sent to my email inbox this past Friday. This would be, of course, only hours after I had a lengthy conversation with my attorney about how people seem to only be getting dumber as time progresses and how he thought is was "sad." He noticed this when he read blog comments on Yahoo! articles and he couldn't believe how stupid, uncompassionate, and just plain pathetic people have become.
My response: "I think it's freaking fantastic that 90% (or more) of the population are dumber than a box of rocks. It presents much less competition for me. It means I can go out there and accomplish anything with much less vigor and 'work' than, perhaps, it would have taken me only a decade ago!"
So...back to the email that popped up in my email box by a seemingly "brilliant" customer of mine by the name of Richard B.
Here it is:
"hey, are you brain dead or just what? I just got your course about to open it maybe in a few minutes, or do you have two disabled kids yourself that you are trying to make a difference in their lives?"
And that was it. Nothing before or after the statement above.
Hmmmmmm...I'm guessing the only one who is "brain dead" here would be Richard. Not me, clearly, since I've actually never personally had any communication with this guy before this email came in. Is it me or is he making absolutely NO SENSE in his completely grammatically incorrect sentence above?
Again...there is nocompetition, folks. No competition at all here in America. Because the likes of Richard B. is all you got to compete against and...well, we can obviously see that this guy probably barely rolls out of bed just to...who knows? To fall face first onto the floor to then drool and piss on himself before heaving his heavy body off the floor several hours later? I'm thinking Homer Simpson would be a bigger go-getter than this mentally challenged sloth. And since Homer is a cartoon character, you don't have any real competition to speak of.
What concerns me about people like this: basic brain scruples are required to be successful in business and investing. You have to have common sense, which I don't have the ability to "teach" people. You have to communicate well, which I also cannot show people how to do. So, if you're somebody like Richard B. above, I hate to be a Negative Nelly here but give up now while you're ahead. Go back to your assembly line job gluing the arms on Punch and Judy puppets and forget about any venture into entrepreneurship because you simply won't make it in my world.
Am I being harsh?No, not at all. Those who are in the real business world will chew you up and spit you out without any warning or reason as to why they're doing it. I always tell people who have "issues" with me being as direct, honest, and "real" as I am: If you can't handle me, Bubba, then you won't be able to handle a commercial real estate agent or anyone else in business who will hurt your feeling much more than I could ever do.
And they do hurt your feelings.
This is why I have a "liaison" between myself and any commercial listing agent; typically a verbal "dog fight" ends up happening on the phone whenever I call on a prospective property that I want to invest in. I simply won't tolerate stupidity anymore. While I understand that you get more with honey instead of vinegar, my fuse has burned out years ago and along with that went my tolerance for manipulation, lying, cheating, and especially men who like to talk down to women...all because they have a 3-inch pecker and a sock stuffed in their underwear. (Hey, but I have bigger balls. That's all that matters in thisgame.)
So, how does this all fit into your world?
I have thousands of students and they fall into different categories. I want you to see which category you fall into:
The Smarties: These are my doctors, dentists, lawyers, engineers and other professionals (or just people who are smart) who want to get involved in a home-based business or real estate investing. The problem with this very small segregated portion of my student database is that they talk themselves out of doing most everything due to "informational paralysis." They read and watch and study...yet find that maybe some of this stuff is "too good to be true" or they lack the confidence in moving forward. So...they do nothing. Thus, they fail.
The Busy Bees: These are the students who are working more than 40 hours a week, usually hate their jobs to the core, and they find that at the end of the week they are too exhausted (mentally and/or physically) to commit to doing something else. They rationalize with themselves with the end-of-the-week internal bargaining they do which is that they need a break to "recharge" and that they'll commit to working on their business or real estate deals in a few hours, tomorrow, or next week. Or even this summer or next year or [fill in the blank]. Yet they never seem to get around to it.
The Fearless Puppies: This is my group of students who jump the gun. They get my course or come to a seminar event. Without doing quite enough study -- even by a couple of days -- they're running out there to work whatever steps have stuck in their heads that they remember. The problem is that they don't work out all the details, didn't spend enough time building their own step-by-step action plan, and then they wonder why they're never quite able to get their business or investing activities off the groups. It's because they're missing some serious steps that they never took the extra time to absorb and understand.
The Excuse Makers: This could be a "hybrid" of those who fall into the above Busy Bee category. These people put off starting for one reason or another. However, the key difference between Busy Bees and Excuse Makers is that time really isn't the biggest issue. Confidence is the issue. They don't believe they have the ability to do this and they don't want to see themselves fail so they use excuses as a ruse to never begin. Or they may begin on some minimal level but they never continue to any meaningful and required level to test whether they can be successful or not.
The Just Plain Dummies: Now, I'd like to assume that this actually encompasses a smaller percentage of my student database than sometimes it seems. These would be the people like Richard B. above. They simply don't have the required amount of brain cells in their head to mentally navigate through the required steps to success (no matter how basic and "dumbed down" the instructions are). They have no common sense. Their IQ is much, much lower than the nationwide average or they suffered from some brain-eating amoeba. Any hope they would have to follow basic instructions or be able to make any type of business or investing strategy work simply isn't possible by genetic and DNA design. (Hey, they can blame their parents for that one!)
Which category do you fit in?
With the exception of the very last category, you can do something about the other categories. For example, my Smarties can just keep moving forward, gaining more education, until they feel comfortable enough to pull the trigger. I had this issue with my engineer out of Vermont, Paul S., who is one of my smartest students yet would over-analyze everything to death. Then do nothing for fear of making the wrong decision. All of a sudden, he started investing in apartment buildings and he's pretty damn close to retirement at this point.
If you're a Busy Bee, make the time. Even if it's 15 minutes a day or 3 hours on a Saturday. MAKE THE TIME! If you don't realize now that everything in your life you're experiencing right now will be exactly the same 5 years from now. And if that's okay with you then...that's okay. Right? But if it's NOT okay then you need to start chiseling away at your new dream little by little till you get there.
My Fearless Puppies need to think more like my Smarties and put a little more time, effort, and energy into understanding what's required to start their business or to invest. You can't leave steps out even if you're raring to go now. You have to take the extra time to understand the entire process otherwise if you miss steps, you won't find the success you're looking for.
My Excuse Makers...easy. Stop making freaking excuses. Confidence will build as you successfully pass each of your action steps and especially after you make your first deal happen. However, if you keep wanting to make the leap and you never do, unfortunately you'll never experience anything one way or the other (positive or negative). You can't adjust your "flight pattern" if you don't take flight to begin with. Just take flight and you'll figure the rest out in the sky.
So, that leaves a couple of things:
1) Just understand one very simple concept: unless you find a way to get yourself some checks each month by winning a very large insurance settlement or winning the lottery, you're going to have to find a way to get a stream of monthly passive income in otherwise you're on the treadmill till you drop dead. (What a depressing thought that is!) So, you have to decide on a means of Passive Income that can not only sustain your current lifestyle requirements but that actually grows as the years roll on. I recommend multifamily residential-commercial (apartment building) real estate investing.
2) In order to gain access to these multifamily assets, I recommend that you find an Aggressive Income Strategy that can help you do 2 important life-changing things: (1) allow you to break free from that vampire-sucking job or business that you're in right now while, (2) allowing you to put some cash into these Passive Income property deals so you can line yourself up for a lifetime of financial freedom.
Right now I have something that can help you with #2.
