By: Heather Seitz

Rather than talk about a “real estate” issue this week, per se… I want to address the topic of taking action and getting started – and being accountable.

I’m going to warn you that this might be a little hard, but I’m getting tired of all the “poor me” stuff going on out there. I agree… the economy is less than perfect… the housing market has its challenges… financial institutions are on the fritz…

But, you don’t have to sit there and take it lying down and it doesn’t have to signal the end of your world. So let’s talk about some of the issues we hear all the time and nip them in the bud…

1) “The Market’s In the Toilet. I Can’t Get Into Real Estate Right Now…”

Okay… I DO AGREE that there are some challenges in real estate and I know of more than a handful of SUCCESSFUL investors that are using foreclosure as an exit strategy. Heck, if you’re on a sinking ship holding a bag of lead weights, the smart choice is to toss the bag out and save the ship!

So… if you have properties and you’re in this boat, you’re not alone and you CAN repair your credit. But don’t let that stop you from moving forward.

This is THE TIME TO BUY property. This is THE TIME THAT MILLIONAIRES are made!

People are buying property and people are selling properties. You just have to know the numbers and go with them. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence until you climb the fence! So… get off the fence and start making some money! (Just do your numbers more conservatively and look for the creative solutions for financing)

2) “The ‘Gurus’ Are Always ‘Selling’ Something”

I gotta be honest here… this one drives me mad!

Everyone is looking for the MAGIC pill, but success and financial security don’t come in a pill. It takes hard work, commitment and dedication.

I LOVE INFORMATION and I buy several things a week. Sometimes, I spend $47 for an ebook. Other times, I spend $4700 for seminar or event. Here’s the difference. I’m looking for ONE SINGLE tip that can make a difference.

For instance, I spent $1997.00 on a downloadable training program. I have only gotten through the first 1/2 of the first session and I’ve already implemented one of the strategies that has made me back the investment. Everything else is gravy and now I have permission to invest in another program!

When I started, I didn’t have 2 nickels to rub together, but I was creative and scrounged up the funds on borrowed money to attend a $4000 workshop. I learned a ton, but I got 2 things in particular that enabled me to make $40,000. But you see… I had to DO SOMETHING in order to make the money.

So… invest in your education and invest wisely… and realize that there’s always going to be something more ESPECIALLY with how fast things are changing with the industry and on the Internet.

3) “I Don’t Have the Time or Money. I Need Something That Will Do It All For Me…”

Folks… ANYONE that makes claims like this to you is lying. Don’t buy their stuff. There is NOTHING that you can do that make you wealthy if you don’t invest time or money.

There are systems and tools that automate a lot of things. There are virtual assistants that can give you back your time and you can essentially run a business on autopilot, but it’s going to cost you some money. So… be prepared to work.

There’s a great book by a guy names Larry Winget. The title is “It’s Called Work for A Reason” and he’s got another titled, “You’re Broke Because You Want to Be” (Or something like that).

This is the harshest pill of them all to swallow because it holds you accountable for your success or failure. There is no course that is going to give you every answer to every question when it comes to real estate. PERIOD. There is always a what if, but here’s what you do… You take action… When you take action, you’ll find out what you need the answers to and then you BUY the information when you need it.

For instance, let’s suppose you find a homeowner willing to sign over the deed, subject to. But, you don’t know what contract or form to use or what paperwork to file or whatnot. You THEN buy the information. This way, you don’t have a bookshelf full of unopened courses on the shelf.

What does this have to do with real estate you ask? It has to do with the fact that I want you to be successful, and to realize that ultimately it all comes down to taking action. I’m with you… I love information, but without action, you’re just a broke, smart person!

And wouldn’t you rather have buckets of cash?

So here’s what to do: Write Down 3 action items that YOU WILL DO this week!

These should be MONEY-GENERATING actions. I’m not talking research a market, set up my entity (though you should do this sooner than later), etc. I’m talking things that can directly put money in your pocket.

THIS is the only way to overcome these objections. You have to put the information you’ve already purchased to good use. If you have $50,000 in courses on your shelf and haven’t done a deal, I am hard pressed to believe that ALL of that information was faulty!

Here are some examples of action steps you can take and I’m even assuming little to no money out of pocket here:

• Talk to 50 sellers (Call Newspaper Ads) – this will help you learn to talk to people and ask the hard questions that take some time to master
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• Distribute 250 Fliers In Your Target Neighborhood – You can print these from your home computer and distribute themselves or have a teenager do it for you.
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• Write 3 Lowball Offers on REOs – Don’t worry about assignability, financing, etc. JUST DO IT! 🙂

Heather Seitz

About Heather Seitz…

Heather has an extensive background in sales and marketing and is the author of The Real Estate Rant newsletter and co-author of Guerrilla Marketing for Real Estate. While working in marketing with several startup companies, Heather began studying real estate and evaluating the investment opportunities. Very quickly, she realized the potential of investing in real estate and immediately started buying, fixing and fliping property, which was her main investment strategy for her first 5 years in the business. Since then, she’s also worked with lease options, straight rentals, seller held paper, etc.