I was invited to speak at the upcoming Think Rich Pinoy Seminar on December 3, 2011 and I want to ask “How may I help you?”.

If you are attending the seminar, I would like to know what is it that you want me to discuss that would be most helpful to you. My talk will only be for 40 minutes and I want to make it count.

Just to give you an idea of what I have shared during some of the past Think Rich Pinoy Seminars, here are just some of the topics I have already covered:

• I have shared some of my experiences and lessons I have learned in buying foreclosed properties, including challenges and success factors.
• I also talked about how and why I decided to quit the rat race to go full-time with real estate investing and internet marketing.
• I also shared in detail how I ended up transitioning from being an I.T. professional to a real estate investor and what questions one should ask (along with some of the answers) when one is just getting started with real estate investing.

This time around, I plan to give a presentation on “how to do the numbers” which attendees can use to analyze potential deals. However, I still want to verify if that is really what you want to learn from me on December 3.

My objective is to help attendees go beyond the learning, and to start with the doing!

Please let me know what you want by leaving a comment below.

Click here to learn more about the Think Rich Pinoy Seminar on December 3, 2011

If you can’t make it to the seminar…

If you are not attending, I still want to hear from you!

What do you want to learn about foreclosed real estate investing?

Please let me know so I can prioritize which articles I should publish first. I have more than 30 articles in draft, excluding listings of foreclosed properties, and yet there are more I want to share about investing in foreclosed properties.

Please go ahead and hit the comments section below, Thanks a lot for your help!

~~~

To our success and financial freedom!

Jay Castillo

Real Estate Investor
PRC Real Estate Broker License No. 3194
Blog: http://www.foreclosurephilippines.com
Follow me in Twitter: http://twitter.com/jay_castillo
Find us in Facebook: Foreclosure Investing Philippines Facebook Page

Text by Jay Castillo and Cherry Castillo. Copyright © 2011 All rights reserved.

Full disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

How may I help you in the next Think Rich Pinoy Seminar on December 3, 2011? is a post from: Foreclosure Investing Philippines

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You are all invited to the next Think Rich Pinoy wealth seminar this Saturday, August 27, 2011, 8am to 6pm, at the L/G Skyland Plaza Bldg. Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati City. The venue is very near the Makati Post Office.

If you want to learn from Larry Gamboa and the Think Rich Pinoy Team who have been investing in foreclosed properties for years in the Philippines, then this seminar just might be what you’ve been looking for.

I attended the same seminar last August 18, 2007 (yes, that was more than 4 years ago!) and here’s your chance to attend what I often refer to as a “life changing” seminar.

What to expect

Here’s a preview of what’s in store for you in the Think Rich Pinoy Seminar on August 27, 2011…

If you have ever inspected a foreclosed property, you know that most of them need a lot of repairs...

Here’s more:

• Discover how Pinoy Investors are applying Robert Kiyosaki‘s Rich Dad Principles for Investing in Real Estate
• Find out how to become part of an exclusive Buyer’s List for hot real estate prospects
• Learn the best techniques for raising capital today
• Unlock the secret of how to analyze the numbers to ensure maximum returns w/ minimum risk
• Get In Touch With The Only Group In The Philippines Franchising People To Real Estate Success
• Learn how to overcome your biggest investing challenge in 2011

I will be one of the facilitators during the Cashflow 101 game in the afternoon. As someone who has actually invested in foreclosed properties, I would be more than happy to share my own experiences and answer your questions in relation to the Cashflow 101 game and how you can do it in real life.

Yes, it can really be done, and it really is possible to do it all in an ethical, morally upright, and legal way!

I hope to see you at the seminar!

Click here learn more about the Think Rich Pinoy seminar on August 27, 2011

Happy learning!

~~~

To our success and financial freedom!

Jay Castillo

Real Estate Investor
PRC Real Estate Broker Registration No. 3194
Blog: http://www.foreclosurephilippines.com
Follow me in Twitter: http://twitter.com/jay_castillo
Find us in Facebook: Foreclosure Investing Philippines Facebook Page

Text by Jay Castillo and Cherry Castillo. Copyright © 2011 All rights reserved.

Full disclosure: I am an affiliate of the Think Rich Pinoy Seminar on August 27, 2011 and may earn affiliate commissions.

You are invited to the Think Rich Pinoy Seminar this Saturday, August 27, 2011! is a post from: Foreclosure Investing Philippines

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After attending the “How to be Truly Rich Seminar” by Bo Sanchez last July 21, 2007, I saw a flyer about the Think Rich Pinoy Seminar that was to be held on the following month.

I was so excited and I hurriedly registered because my wife and I had already read the book “Think Rich Pinoy” by Larry Gamboa about 8 months earlier. We both believed that the book was like an outline on how to apply Rich Dad Poor Dad principles and do foreclosed real estate investing in the Philippine setting. I wanted to learn more!

August 18, 2007 came and it turned out to be a very stormy Saturday, but the flooded streets I encountered on my way to the seminar venue did not deter me from attending. I had a good feeling about this seminar.

I was not disappointed!

Although I was a bit late, I was still able to attend and I met Larry and the rest of the Think Rich Pinoy team.

A stormy Saturday... but the seminar room was full! That's me in the red shirt on the right listening to Larry Gamboa's talk.

I learned about the “desert experience” from Bo Sanchez and how important it is, not just for me, but also for the people around me, especially my son. I Also remember answering a questionnaire that Bo gave to all attendees. It gave an accurate picture of how financially literate I was back then, or the lack of it. Bo also talked about the true purpose of becoming rich. Awesome!

I also saw more examples of investing in real estate in the Philippines through real life real estate deals, not just from Larry, but also from the Think Rich Pinoy franchisees. I wanted to validate what I understood from the book, and I felt I was on the right track.

And then there was also this one thing that happened during the seminar that I shall never forget.

A preview of things to come?

In the afternoon session, seminar attendees played Robert Kiyosaki’s Cashflow 101 board game. I remember that I had already played the board game before, but I was not able to get out of the rat race. (You can read more about cashflow 101 here: Top 7 lessons learned from playing cashflow 101)

That changed however during the game in that fateful day more than 3 years ago. Our team got out of the rat race, in record time(we were the second team to get out), when we simply grabbed an opportunity that came our way in the game and never looked back.

It also helped that the game card we picked was for a truck driver, which meant our expenses were very low, and this really helped us get out of the rat race faster.

It was exhilarating to hear game master Ronald Cagape announce that we got out of the rat race and later on I was congratulated by Larry Gamboa himself!

I shall never forget the words Larry said to me on that day.

“Great work Jay, now you just have to do it in real life.” as he shook my hand.

Our team got out of the rat race! In this picture, we were holding our financial statement and money from the game. (Sorry I forgot my teammate's name and I also lost her number thanks to ondoy)

Was this a preview of things to come? Will I really be able to get out of the rat race for real?!

Of course, getting out of the rat race in the Cashflow 101 game is one thing, but doing it in real life is something totally different… or is it?

You see, last January 31, 2010, I got out of the rat race. But this time around, it was for real.

Yes, it really is possible!

As I look back, I truly believe It was just a matter of believing that it can really be done. Because of the seminar, I was off to a good start!

Now you know why…

Whenever I get the chance, I volunteer to help facilitate the Think Rich Pinoy Seminars. I even bring my own Cash Flow 101 board game to help make sure that there are enough boards for all to play.

I also actively promote the seminar here in Foreclosure Investing Philippines. I believe this is one seminar that I will never regret promoting.

Now I get to share my story

I was invited by Larry Gamboa to speak at the upcoming Think Rich Pinoy Seminar on May 28, 2011, and I look forward to sharing how I got out of the rat race for real.

Let me give you an idea of what I’m going to share. People are known to attend seminars and get to learn new ideas, and do nothing with them. I was also like that before.

But things happen and you just have to believe that it can be done, and you have to start taking charge of your life… and that’s exactly what I did!

I look forward to sharing my story. See you at the seminar!

Photo credits: Jomar Hilario

~~~

To our success and financial freedom!

Jay Castillo

Real Estate Investor
PRC Real Estate Broker Registration No. 3194
Blog: http://www.foreclosurephilippines.com
Follow me in Twitter: http://twitter.com/jay_castillo
Find us in Facebook: Foreclosure Investing Philippines Facebook Page

Text by Jay Castillo and Cherry Castillo. Copyright © 2011 All rights reserved.

Full disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

PS. Join me at the next Think Rich Pinoy Seminar by Larry Gamboa! Click here for more details.

My Think Rich Pinoy Seminar experience and how it changed my life is a post from: Foreclosure Investing Philippines

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I was supposed to write a post about the Think Rich Pinoy Seminar which I helped facilitate last December 4, 2010 but it turns out that someone already did. I received an e-mail about what happened during the seminar from Larry Gamboa himself, and I would like to share it with all of you here. Anyway, let me spice it up a bit with some of the pictures I took during the event.

Think Rich Pinoy rocks Manila!

December 4, 2010 MANILA, Philippines – People from all over Metro Manila and some even flew in from different parts of the country to join the Think Rich Pinoy Wealth Seminar at Philamlife  Center UN Avenue Manila.

The seminar started with Larry Cleto who spoke about wealth management tackling the Filipino’s inherent trait of not being comfortable in talking about money even with family. He shared that it causes needless rift when you keep mum about finances.

Alvin Barcelona, the “rocker preacher”, wowed the crowd on a different take on the theology of money by overcoming the giants – like nagging thoughts that it is hard to earn money and the absurd thought of losing our friends when we get rich -  that hinder us from being wealthy.

Many people think money is the root of all evil...

... actually, the love of money is the root of all evil, as emphasized by brother Alvin Barcelona

Larry Gamboa was in his form when he discussed about the technology of money and what financial literacy is all about. Larry also shared with attendees his 13 secret lessons for success using the experience and journey of Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao as an example.

With Larry Gamboa and TRP seminar attendees

Aside from these foundation speakers, the attendees had the privilege of hearing Vic Gamboa discuss his expertise on property management and Victoria Lucker, the staging handy woman, who spoke about her passion for designing and renovation.

Also, real estate investors  Eden April Alemania-Dayrit and Randy Manaloto gave true to life examples of deals that the participants can aspire for in the future.

Eden Dayrit during her talk

Of course, the cashflow game was the runaway winner with the crowd. The attendees felt the joy of acquiring real estate deals and the frustration of getting downsized – at least in the game.

Just one of the tables playing cashflow101...

The facilitators

More pictures of people playing cashflow 101:

(All pictures shown here and more were uploaded to FIP’s facebook page, feel free to tag yourselves and those you know who attended the seminar. You need to “like” the FIP page in order for tagging to be available.)

All in all, people were satisfied to the brim and walked away inspired. With eyes and mind open, they are ready to take the next steps to secure their financial freedom.

I suppose this should give an idea of what to expect if you were to attend the Think Rich Pinoy Wealth Seminar. If you are interested in attending the next one, it will be on February 26, 2011. You may visit the following link for more details: http://www.foreclosurephilippines.com/events/think-rich-pinoy-seminar

Happy learning!

To our success and financial freedom!

Jay Castillo
Real Estate Investor
Real Estate Broker License #: 20056
Blog: http://www.foreclosurephilippines.com
Follow me in Twitter: http://twitter.com/jay_castillo
Find us in Facebook: Foreclosure Investing Philippines facebook page

Text by Jay Castillo and Cherry Castillo. Copyright © 2011 All rights reserved.

PS. Change your mindset and start thinking like a real estate investor! Attend the Think Rich Pinoy Seminar on February 26, 2011. Click here to learn more!

PPS. Don’t be the last to know, subscribe to e-mail alerts and get notified of new listings of bank foreclosed properties, public auction schedules, and real estate investing tips. Mailbox getting full? Subscribe through my RSS Feed instead!

Think Rich Pinoy rocks Manila! is a post from: Foreclosure Investing Philippines

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Although it’s already 2011, I simply cannot let 2010 go without giving thanks for another year full of blessings.

Let me look back at 2010 for one last time to give thanks and count the blessings for the year that just passed.

After all, 2010 was the year…

Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011!!!

I quit the rat race

2010 was the year I quit the rat race and got to enjoy what I believe was by far my most stress-free year ever in my adult life! Yes, there were also stressful moments (more on this later), but if I compared this to the job I left in the corporate world, it’s like a walk in the park! It’s also so much more fun, rewarding, and healthier!

But wait, before anyone out there gets any ideas, you need to consider a lot of things before you can really quit your job. I’ll discuss these in another post.

We won the apprentice challenge

In 2010, I also got to be part of the team that won the first ever apprentice challenge and I got to meet so many people, most of whom became good friends and mentors, for which I am so thankful.

I did however decide to leave the RYP team later on. One of the reasons I left was because of too much stress, which I found to be unhealthy. I also needed to focus on a lot of things left undone. Let’s just say things did not work out the way they were supposed to.

I did stay on to finish the coaching program initiated by Trace Trajano but I should have trusted my instincts.

Update dated June 2, 2011 – After much thought, I have decided to leave Trace Trajano‘s local coaching program and my role as one of the local coaches. I would also like to inform everyone that I am not part of Trace’s other programs.

For those who don’t know, I was once a student of Trace, and I was also part of the team that won his first apprentice challenge, although I decided to leave the RYP team last September 2010. I became one of the local coaches as part of the now defunct Terrific Trio University. I also helped promote his seminars in the past including TRQ 1.0, TRQ 2.0, TRQ Cebu, his quick cash seminars, and the last one was TRQ 3.0.

It has also come to my attention that some materials that Trace used in marketing some of his seminars might make it appear that I am one of his partners. I would like to make it clear that I am not a business partner of Trace Trajano.

Things did not turn out as planned, but lessons have been learned, and I feel it is time for me to move on. ~ end of update ~

Nevertheless, I’m still very thankful for the whole experience and for all the lessons learned.

One of the happiest places on Earth

Last August 1, 2010, we were finally able to attend The Feast at the PICC. I really wanted to attend The Feast sooner, as in a couple of  years sooner at the Valle Verde  (beside ULTRA), but I wanted to do so with my wife and our son.

When my wife heard about The Feast at the PICC, I was surprised when she insisted on attending. I even played hard to get and asked if she was serious. It turned out she really was and we have been attending regularly ever since. I guess this was one of those examples where things will fall into place, in due time, with the help of prayers of course!

To our sources of real estate investments

Thanks again to the various banks in the Philippines and other lending institutions whose listings of foreclosed properties and repossessed cars were featured here in Foreclosure Investing Philippines. Please keep them coming in 2011 as I’m sure a lot of people out there are just like me, and always look forward to finding good real estate investments through your lists.

To my mentors and friends

I am even more thankful to all my mentors for real estate investing and internet marketing that I mentioned in my thank you post for 2009. I continued to learn a lot form all of you in 2010.

It was also great helping facilitate Larry Gamboa‘s Think Rich Pinoy Seminars where I not only got to see the likes of Larry, Bo Sanchez, Alvin Barcelona, Randy Manaloto, Jay Mclean, Victoria Lucker, etc., I also got to know better the Think Rich Pinoy franchisees, team members, and a lot of seminar attendees.

Other awesome events worth mentioning are the Internet Marketing Boot Camp, The Money Summit and Wealth Expo, John Calub’s How to become a Money Magnet seminar, Maven Secrets (I  re-attended to review and sharpen the saw), and Roy Alejandrino’s Strategic Investing and Practical Fundamental Analysis.

In some of the seminars above, I not only met friends and mentors, I also met business partners.

2010 turned out to be very interesting because my wife started to attend seminars with me. Several years ago, she would often say things like “Puro ka na lang seminar, wala ka namang napapala diyan…” (In english: “You’re always attending seminars but you get nothing out of them…”). Now the tables have turned.

To my dear readers and subscribers

I would also like to thank YOU, for taking time to read what I have to share here in Foreclosure Investing Philippines. I owe the success of FIP to all of you and I shall always be gratefull.

Sorry if I may take a long time to answer the avalanche of e-mails, comments, and text messages, or if I have failed to answer them at all. I guess I was not prepared for these last 2010. Hopefully I’ll find a way to multiply myself through better automation, virtual assistants, and outsourcing.

Speaking of outsourcing, a good example would be the time when I outsourced the transfer of the title of one of my properties. I hope to do more of this in 2011.

My thank you’s won’t be complete…

Of course my thank you’s won’t be complete without mentioning my wife and my son, who I love so much and inspire me to do what I do, and to our God Almighty for everything, none of which would have been possible without him!

By the way, today is our 7th Wedding Anniversary, and my son recently celebrated his 6th Birthday. I guess it’s about time for another “baby project”.

Thank you also to my family, friends, and just about everyone out there who has helped in one way or another. Of course, there are so much more things to be thankful for in 2010, but I guess putting them all here might not be a good idea as this is already too long as it is, so this will have to do. Remember to count your blessings too!

Let us all keep moving forward in 2011!

To our success and financial freedom!

Jay Castillo
Real Estate Investor
Real Estate Broker License #: 20056
Blog: http://www.foreclosurephilippines.com
Follow me in Twitter: http://twitter.com/jay_castillo
Find us in Facebook: Foreclosure Investing Philippines facebook page

Text by Jay Castillo and Cherry Castillo. Copyright © 2011 All rights reserved.

PS. Don’t be the last to know, subscribe to e-mail alerts and get notified of new listings of bank foreclosed properties, public auction schedules, and real estate investing tips. Mailbox getting full? Subscribe through my RSS Feed instead!

Photo credit: Eustaquio Santimano, on Flickr

Thank you 2010! Let us keep moving forward in 2011… is a post from: Foreclosure Investing Philippines

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I first learned about the “Matthew Effect” when I read the book “Outliers: The Story of Success” by Malcolm Gladwell. In his book, Gladwell cited stories of successful people ranging from professional hockey players in Canada, to the likes of Bill Gates, and The Beatles,  as examples of how “accumulated advantage” played a big part in the success of these people. I believe the same applies to real estate investing.

“For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.” ~ Matthew 25:29, New Revised Standard Version

In the first chapter of Outliers, the bible verse above was the very first thing that I heard (I was listening to an audio book version of Outliers), and as I listened further, it all made more sense to me.

In Outliers, Gladwell tries to convince readers that successful people neither achieved success only through sheer hard work, nor did they achieve it all by themselves, but rather with the help of advantages and opportunities from “where they came from”. Successful people used these opportunities to their advantage. In turn, these produced even more advantages and opportunities.

In essence, to those who have (made the most of advantages and opportunities that came their way), more (advantages and opportunities) will be given, thus the term “Matthew effect” in reference to the passage quoted above.

In other words, success leads to more success, and failure (or the lack of success), can sometimes lead to even more failures or continued lack of success.

Obviously, I was convinced by what Gladwell proposed in his book, which in turn has led me to believe that this also applies to real estate investing.

How the “Matthew Effect” applies to real estate investing

Have you ever wondered why some people who venture into real estate investing seem to have more success or were able to achieve it faster than others? Sometimes I also find myself asking the same question. I now have a more concrete answer, thanks to Outliers. Let me offer the following examples on how I got started with my own real estate investing career.

The “opportunity” to learn and be financially literate

What if an aspiring real estate investor just happened to learn about the importance of being financially literate and took concrete steps to manage his money properly?

I believe that pretty soon, he will have a little bit of extra money, which can eventually grow big enough for him to actually acquire his first real estate deal.

His advantage is his growing financial literacy.

His opportunity that led to this advantage is the opportunity to learn about the importance of managing money and his personal finances.

That could have come from a book, a seminar, or even from a friend, as the case may be.

In contrast, someone who wants to be financially free, but falters in managing his personal finances, may find it very hard to move forward. He never gets past the question:

”Where do I get money to invest in real estate, I can barely manage to get through a month and I’m living paycheck to paycheck?!”

This question lingers in his mind even though he is moving up the corporate ladder.

His disadvantage is he does not know that more money is not the solution, managing money properly is.

Actually, the person I described above was me. The opportunity that I was missing then was the chance to learn about financial literacy, and the proper way to manage money.

I had nothing (in terms of financial literacy), and even what I had (my monthly paycheck in this example) was taken away, or it was mostly gone before the next payday.

I’m just glad the opportunity to learn about financial literacy eventually came through a friend, who introduced me to the book “Rich Dad Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki.

After I read the book, I was hooked, and I looked for more knowledge about financial literacy. This gave a jump-start for my quest for financial freedom.

I truly believe that financial literacy is a big advantage when you want to go into real estate investing.

In fact, I also believe that it is required!

How would one be able to manage the financial aspect of having investment properties, if one cannot even manage his own finances?!

The opportunity to be financially literate is available for everyone, but I guess very few people actually take time to learn about it, and apply it in real life.

The “opportunity” to learn how real estate investing can be done in the Philippine setting

This time around, the “opportunity” began with an “incident” that happened last December 31, 2006.

I was in a drugstore and I was about to pay for my medicines when my wife called me on my cellphone because I had to move my car. I hurriedly went back to the car and as I sat on the driver’s seat, a soft cracking sound came from my pant’s rear pocket.

Apparently, I had put my cellphone there instead of my wallet. I had just destroyed my phone’s LCD.

Anyway, because of that incident, I decided to go to Nokia Care at Greenbelt 1 to have my phone fixed. After I got a quotation and a referral to another Nokia authorized service center who might have parts readily available, we went to National Bookstore which was nearby.

As I entered, the first book that got my attention was “Think Rich Pinoy” by Larry Gamboa.

Larry’s book was an eye opener, it showed how real estate investing can be done in the Philippine setting. I believe this was a big advantage and opportunity.

Reading the book eventually led to my attending Bo Sanchez’ “How to be Truly Rich seminar“, from where I learned that Larry also had Think Rich Pinoy Seminars which I also attended.

This also made me look for more seminars about real estate and I found Urban Institute’s Comprehensive Real Estate Seminar And Review (CRESAR) for the November 2007 Real Estate Brokers licensure exam which I also attended.

Although I attended primarily to learn more about real estate in the Philippines, I also took and passed the licensure exam and became a licensed real estate broker.

I also became a member of REBAP Marikina and through another member, I learned about an auction during the first Philippine Real Estate Festival way back in 2008. I participated in that auction and it was the first time I made a winning bid for a foreclosed property. As they say, the rest is history.

I would like to believe what happened to me was a series of “opportunities” which I grabbed, that helped me get started with real estate investing.

To have more and be given more, or have the little I had be taken away

I started with virtually nothing in terms of any know-how when it comes to investing in real estate, and instead of thinking that it was too hard and cannot be done, I decided to look the other way and move forward.

When I decided to become a real estate investor and began to have more knowledge about real estate investing, I was presented with more  opportunities, not just to learn, but to actually have the means to do it.

In contrast, if I went the other way, the little that I had would have been taken away, not by anyone else, but by myself. I would have taken these away, had I decided to give up.

Up next in Part 2 of this series

In the next part of this series, I’ll share more examples of opportunities that anyone can grab that can help get them started with real estate investing, and how this continues and becomes a series of opportunities that become “accumulated advantages”.

To our success and financial freedom!

Jay Castillo
Real Estate Investor
Real Estate Broker License #: 20056
Blog: http://www.foreclosurephilippines.com
Follow me in Twitter: http://twitter.com/jay_castillo
Find us in Facebook: Foreclosure Investing Philippines facebook page

Text by Jay Castillo and Cherry Castillo. Copyright © 2010 All rights reserved.

PS. New visitor? Click here to get started with learning more about foreclosure investing in the Philippines.

PPS. Don’t be the last to know, subscribe to e-mail alerts and get notified of new listings of bank foreclosed properties, public auction schedules, and real estate investing tips. Mailbox getting full? Subscribe through my RSS Feed instead!

The “Matthew Effect” and how it applies to real estate investing (Part 1) is a post from: Foreclosure Investing Philippines

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It depends! Obviously not all foreclosed properties are good deals.

It’s common sense that not all properties are good investments, foreclosed or otherwise, you don’t need to be a real estate investing guru to know this. However, based on the number of times I’ve either heard people ask or get asked this very same question, I feel that a significant number of people out there either have a misconception about foreclosed properties, or they are simply clueless.

Let me make it clear, NOT all foreclosed properties are good deals, and it would be foolish to think all of them are.

Don’t ever expect all foreclosed properties to be good deals because if you do, you are setting yourself up for frustration, disappointment, and failure, especially when you start finding foreclosed properties that turn out to be horrible deals. More on this later.

“Hey Jay, are you saying foreclosed properties are no good?”, you might be asking.

As I said, it depends. No, I’m not discouraging you, I’m just trying to help with managing expectations. Admittedly there are more bad deals out there than good deals, but there are still more than enough hidden gems out there that can make worthy real estate investments, and the key is finding them. One needs to look at a lot, and when I say a lot, I mean a lot of properties, to find those hidden gems, after all, investing in foreclosed properties is a numbers game.

Investing in foreclosed properties is a numbers game

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, investing in foreclosed properties is a numbers game.

The greater the number of foreclosed properties you look at, the greater the chance that you will find those good enough deals, and even some great deals. However, you will find a lot of bad deals in the process, but that’s just part of the game. It’s okay to find horrible deals, as long as you find out before you bought the property, and move on.

Keep in mind that one cannot just give up after looking at a few properties. I often hear people get frustrated with foreclosed properties after looking at just one or a couple of properties, or even with just one listing that really did not have many properties to begin with. And then they give up and say things like “I’ll never find any good deals…” or “The numbers will never work…” or “This is too hard…” or “I’m just wasting my time…”. Sorry, nobody said foreclosed real estate investing is easy! It may sound simple, but it isn’t easy.

The 100-10-3-1 Rule

You basically need to look at a significant number of properties to find those properties that are worth a second look.

How many would that be? The general recommendation would be to find about 100 properties worth a second look, after doing initial shortlisting. Out of those 100 properties, you will probably find 10 worth inspecting. Out of those 10 worth inspecting, you might find 3 properties that are worth giving offers for or bidding for, if they were for sale through a public auction. Out of the 3, you may end up buying 1.

That’s a brief overview of the 100-10-3-1 rule. I’ve read many variants of this rule from books and also from some of my mentors but they are basically the same. You analyze 100 properties, inspect 10, submit offers on 3, and end up buying 1. These are just average numbers, but you’d be surprised how accurate this average can be in real life. Been there, done that!

Other numbers to consider

Of course there are other numbers to consider when applying the 100-10-3-1 rule and when “doing the numbers”.

Numbers like After Repair Value (ARV), projected repair costs, target profit, Maximum Allowable Offer(MAO), Cash on Cash Return (CCR), Return-On-Investment or Return Of Investment(ROI), Net Operation Income(NOI), Cashflow, etc., to name a few, also need to be considered. For each of these numbers, you as the real estate investor will ultimately have to decide what is acceptable for you. These numbers will determine if a foreclosed property is a good deal or not.

If this sounds too daunting and tedious for you, I would be the first to say that this might not be for you. But there’s no harm in trying right?! Imagine what could happen if you consistently did this until doing the numbers became a habit and you actually became good at it!

No, I won’t have time to explain all of these numbers now, but one by one, they will be covered here soon.

Sometimes it’s all in the mind

I still remember during the early part of 2008 when I found myself unable to find any good deals in any of the listings of foreclosed properties that came my way.

I was still recovering from feelings of being betrayed after how Dinna Revilla, a former real estate mentor, got arrested and became a “fallen real estate guru”, and in disgust of what she allegedly did to those who trusted her(as far as I know, the case is still pending), I just decided to invest in mutual funds instead of real estate.

My respite from real estate investing however was short-lived because I eventually met another mentor, Doctor Jon Abaquin, who was also featured in Larry Gamboa’s book “Think Rich Pinoy”(see page 155), who later challenged me and a couple of my friends to each buy a property within 90 days.

Lo and behold, from the same listings lying on the table in my bedroom where I could not find any suitable properties, all of a sudden I was able to pinpoint at least 3 very promising foreclosed properties from 3 banks and I ended up submitting an offer for the most promising one. Later, that one offer got accepted. That experience opened my eyes and from that point onwards, I truly believed that there were good, and great deals out there, I just had to look a little bit harder!

But what if I do find a good deal but have no money to invest?

My take on this: Financial literacy is a prerequisite to real estate investing.  Being financially literate leads to proper management of one’s money and finances, which should then help one save enough capital for investing. When that right deal comes, you will be ready. If you think that would take too long, then another option would be to find investors for your deal, although personally, I would recommend that beginning investors do it by themselves, especially on the first few deals.

I believe you should build your track record with your own money first before risking other investors’ money. If you can’t even handle your own money, how do you expect to be able to handle the money of investors?! Sorry if I may sound harsh, but hey, this is just my opinion.

So how many properties have you looked at?

Have you looked at 1, 2, 3… and have given up already? Are you looking hard enough?

Remember, the more you look and do the numbers, the greater the chance that you’ll find that real estate investment for you.

Next time someone asks you, “Are foreclosed properties good deals?”

I’m pretty sure most of you out there will eventually encounter this question once you decide to invest in foreclosed properties and people learn what you do. Well, I hope to help save you the trouble of coming up with your own answer, which can turn out to be a very long one, just like mine. If you want, you can just send them over here, and I hope my answer above will be of help.

Next question please!

Good luck and happy investing!

To our success and financial freedom!

Jay Castillo

Real Estate Investor

Real Estate Broker License #: 20056

Blog: http://www.foreclosurephilippines.com

Follow me in Twitter:http://twitter.com/jay_castillo

Find us in Facebook:Foreclosure Philippines facebook page

Text by Jay Castillo and Cherry Castillo. Copyright © 2010 All rights reserved.

PS. Are you a new visitor? Click here NOW to start learning more about foreclosure investing in the Philippines

PPS. Don’t be the last to know, subscribe to e-mail alerts and get notified of new listings of bank foreclosed properties, public auction schedules, and real estate investing tips. Inbox getting full? Subscribe through my RSS Feed instead!

Are foreclosed properties good deals? is a post from: Foreclosure Investing Philippines

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I have always believed that real estate investing and internet marketing complement each other, they go hand in hand. Real estate investors use the internet to find properties, foreclosed or not. Nowadays, the internet is also where majority of buyers and sellers look for properties, or sell their properties.

On a personal note, I found out that more than half of real estate buyers come from online marketing, and this is in terms of inquiries and closed deals. Think about that!

This makes me believe that one simply cannot ignore the internet and internet marketing. Furthermore, since one will be engaged in internet marketing in one form or another, we might as well do it the right way to harness its full potential, right?!

Why don’t we make the most out of internet marketing? Borrowing the words of  Larry Gamboa:

“Don’t just build a website. Build a business!”

Well, here’s good news, my mentors Larry Gamboa, Anton Diaz, and Randy Manoloto have organized the first ever Internet Marketing Bootcamp in Manila on July 29-30, 2010 at the Dusit Thani Hotel. In this boot camp, attendees will learn about doing Internet Marketing the ethical and truly effective way… and still gain great financial returns, while learning to discern and avoid all of those Internet Marketing hype. Sounds good?

Attend the boot camp and grab the chance to:

1. Educate yourself on the Internet Marketing Foundation versus a pitch-fest seminar where the speakers would have a selling mindset.
2. Listen and Learn from featured Internet Marketing Practitioners who are running their own successful Internet Marketing business
3. Discover How to Dominate with Internet Marketing achieved through different Internet Business Models and how to make more money through the internet.
4. Find out how to exactly do Internet Marketing – the right and correct way.
5. Be part of a 90-day program that ensures you continuous learning even after the seminar.

…plus there will be case studies and examples to inspire and guide you as well.

Train with other Internet Mavens in the Internet Marketing Boot Camp to be held on July 29-30, 2010 at Dusit Thani Hotel

BOOTCAMP SCHEDULE:

Day 1: July 29, 2010 Thursday

Different Internet Business Models

VENUE: Dusit Thani Hotel

8.30 AM: Introduction

9.00 AM: Keynote: Bo Sanchez, “Membership Site for a Cause”

9.45 AM: Jason Lee, Ebay Southeast Asia, “Ebay, the Global Marketplace

10.30 AM: Ken Tan, Paypal Southeast Asia, “Using Paypal as a World Wide Currency”

11.15 AM: Brad Geiser, Lola Techie, “Social Media for Business”

12 NN: LUNCH

1.30 PM: John Stauffer, Ogilvy, “360 Degree Marketing in the Digital Age”

2.15 PM: Paulo del Puerto, ABS-CBN Interactive, “The Multiply Business Model for Businesses”

3.00 PM: Edgardo (Tedjie) Herbosa, “B2Bpricenow: Enabling Financial Services for the Unbanked”

3.45 PM: Aileen Apollo, “Search Dominance & Google Search Best Practices”

4.30 PM: Donald Lim, “Digital Marketing Strategies”

Day 2: July 30, 2010 Friday

Applications of Internet Marketing

VENUE: Dusit Thani Hotel

9.00 AM: Ian del Carmen, “Power Affiliate Marketing”

9:45 AM: Larry Gamboa, “Real Estate Membership Site & Product Launch Strategy”

10.30 AM: Jojy Azurin, “Digital Membership Sites for Profit”

11.15 AM: Dustin Andaya, “Running a Dominant eStore Business”

12 NN: LUNCH

1.30 PM: Jomar Hilario, “Scale up your business through Virtual Assistants and How to set-up one”

2.15 PM: Irene Diokno Bernardo, “How to make money in Ebay?”

3.00 PM: Randy Manoloto, MyUSMailbox.com, “From USA, to the Philippines – the ‘Last Mile’ Delivery Fullfillment Challenge.”

3.45 PM: Anton Diaz, Our Awesome Planet, “How to Monetize Your Passion online & offline”

4.15 PM: End Note: Anton Diaz 90 Day Coaching Program

KEY TAKE HOME POINTS:

1. Learn the different Internet Business Models directly from the Internet Marketing Gurus/ Practitioners who dominate their niche.
2. Get concrete ideas on how you can earn money passively online by just marketing 100% on the internet.
3. Establish a network with people who are passionate about the Internet Marketing business.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

1. Business Managers and Leaders at every level in your organization :If you are a CEO, Director, President, Vice President, Manager, Supervisor-you will benefit from this seminar.
2. Marketing Practitioners:Brand Managers, Digital Marketing specialist, Internet Marketing Agencies, and Marketers who want to leverage on the Internet Marketing boom in the Philippines.
3. Entrepreneurs :Small and Medium Entreprenuers who want to setup their own Internet business or who wants to bring their brick & mortar business online.

TRAINING INVESTMENT:

Registration Rates and Inclusions:

One day Bootcamp P5,977 + VAT

Day 1 & 2 Boot Camp: P 10,977+vat

Day 3: Hands-On Workshop: P 2,977 +vat

I’M READY TO PAY AND REGISTER FOR THE SEMINAR! (CLICK HERE)

BONUSES!

All participants get the following for FREE!

1. USMailbox.com 6 months Subscription (valued at P3,240)
2. ThinkRichPinoy 6 months Gold Subscription (valued at P2,700)
3. Maven Secrets Online 6 months Subscriptions (valued at P7,290)

Total Bonus worth P13,230 for all paid Attendees!

SURPRISE BONUS! After the Bootcamp, they will give you a 90-day webinar follow-up (worth Php45,000) to get you started on your business. Anton, Randy and Larry won’t leave you in the dark!

CLICK HERE TO PAY AND REGISTER FOR THE SEMINAR!

NO-HASSLE-NO-QUESTIONS-ASKED REFUND GUARANTEE:

The organizers guarantee that you’ll benefit from the bootcamp. If after attending the two-day bootcamp you feel that you did not get your money’s worth, you just have to pay for the food & logistics of the event and you can ask us for a 50% refund.

“We guarantee a NO-HASSLE-NO-QUESTIONS-ASKED Refund process.”

Sign up and be the next Internet marketing success story in Manila!

What are you waiting for? Sign up now! With the money-back guarantee and the bonuses you’ll receive for attending, what do you have to lose compared to what you will gain for your investment?

Happy learning!

To our success and financial freedom!

Jay Castillo

Real Estate Investor

Real Estate Broker License #: 20056
Blog: http://www.foreclosurephilippines.com
Follow me in Twitter:http://twitter.com/jay_castillo
Find us in Facebook:Foreclosure Philippines facebook page

Text by Jay Castillo and Cherry Castillo. Copyright © 2010 All rights reserved.

PS. Attend the first ever Internet Marketing Boot Camp in Manila on July 29 and 30, 2010, an event created by Internet Marketing Maven Anton Diaz together with Larry Gamboa and Randy Manaloto. There will be 17 speakers in this two-day event in Dusit Hotel. Register now!

PPS. Don’t be the last to know, subscribe to e-mail alerts and get notified of new listings of bank foreclosed properties, public auction schedules, and real estate investing tips. Inbox getting full? Subscribe through my RSS Feed instead!

Real estate investing and internet marketing, why not do both? is a post from: Foreclosure Investing Philippines

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Welcome to the third part of this series on the 3 types of income one can get through real estate investing. This was supposed to be the third and last part which is about passive income, but it has turned out to be a huge article in itself (more than 4000 words) , which is why I will have to split it in two. This will be the first half .

Before you begin reading this article, I recommend you review the first two parts about portfolio income and earned income:

How to get portfolio income through real estate investing

Earned income through real estate investing

Next we continue with passive income…

What is passive income?

Wikipedia defines passive income as income from “trade or business activities in which you do not materially participate.” Furthermore, the IRS website defines that “in general, all rental activities are passive activities, even if you do materially participate. You materially participate in an activity if you are involved in the operation of the activity on a regular, continuous, and substantial basis.” These may sound complicated so I would rather stick to the simpler definition that passive income is income that comes in consistently without having to do much physical work.

Examples of passive income are dividends from paper assets like stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, interest income from certificates of deposits, mortgages, income from advertisements  on the internet, income from a business where the business owner need not work in the business, residual income from royalties from the sale or use of intellectual property and multilevel marketing activities, and of course, rental income from the leasing of real estate.

Passive income from real estate investing

In real estate, you get passive income by investing for cashflow. This is when you focus on buying properties whose rental income exceeds all expenses, including taxes, and any payments for loans, if any. Basically, the monthly cashflow would be the monthly rental income less monthly expenses less the monthly amortization you pay to the bank if the property was bought through financing.

Using our previous example again, where I bought a foreclosed property for Php1Million by putting down 20% downpayment or Php200,000, with a remaining  loan principal balance of 80% or Php800,000, let’s assume the balance is payable in 20 years at 8.5% annual interest rate(this is the current rate for Pag-IBIG for a loan of Php800,000).

This results in a monthly amortization of Php6,942.58/month( You can verify this by using our mortgage calculator)

For this example, lets also assume that my monthly expenses as the landlord are monthly homeowners association or condo dues, maintenance, property management, real property taxes(I just divide the annual real property tax by 12 to arrive at monthly figures), maintenance reserves, etc. all add up to about Php4,000/month and the property can be rented out at Php15,000 per month.

My monthly cashflow for the example above would then be as follows:

Monthly Cashflow = Monthly Rent – Monthly Expenses – Monthly amortization

=Php15,000 – Php4,000 –  Php6,942.58

=Php4,057.42/month

Do take note that the cashflow figure we arrived at above is before taxes, more on the applicable taxes later.

Examples of rental income

Rental income can come from the leasing of houses, lots, house and lots, townhouses, condominiums, parking slots, apartments, buildings, hotels, office-space, space used for cell-sites, billboards, or just about any residential or commercial space. Did I forget any?

One can even earn passive income by having a real estate business, more on this later.

Advantages of passive income from real estate

Least taxed – Passive income in the form of rentals is the least taxed among the types of income one can get through real estate investing. Remember, income in the form of capital gains are taxed at a rate of 6%, while earned income is taxed up to a high of 32% in the form of income tax.

For rental income, the taxes range from a low of 3% percentage tax to a high of 12% VAT. Please take note that percentage tax and VAT are mutually exclusive, you pay one or the other, depending on which is applicable.

The lease of residential units where the monthly rental per unit exceeds Ten Thousand Pesos (P10,000.00) but the aggregate of such rentals during the year do not exceed One Million Five Hundred Pesos (P1,500,000.00) are exempt from VAT, and shall be subjected to three percent (3%) percentage tax.

It follows that the 12% VAT applies to the lease of other properties not covered by the statement above. Please refer to this article:  Save Money On Taxes: Exemptions From VAT On The Sale And Lease Of Real Estate for more information and a sample computation.

Of course, income tax is still applicable. The good news is you can still lower your taxable income through allowable deductions, thereby lessening the payable income tax. My wife will create a more detailed article about this in the future. I will force her to do this if needed.

Income comes in without the need to sell the property – An obvious advantage with passive income through rentals is you have income coming even if you don’t sell the property. If you don’t have to sell the property, you obviously do not need to pay any of the major taxes like Capital Gains Tax (CGT) for capital assets or Creditable Withholding Tax (CWT) for ordinary assets, whichever is applicable.

Less affected by a recession or financial crisis (at least for residential properties) – If you invest for passive income, I believe that you are less affected when a recession or financial crisis happens, unlike flippers who might get devastated because they will no longer be able to sell their properties at their desired selling prices as property values  plummet.

Even if flippers rented out the properties they could not sell, most may still end up with negative cashflow because the cashflow was not considered at the very beginning. It is easier to find a property that can be flipped for a profit but has negative cashflow, than a property that has both positive cashflow, and can be flipped for a profit. If that were the case however, I would think twice before I sell a passive income generating property as it is like a goose that lays golden eggs.

Without the need to sell a property, investing for cashflow is simply less vulnerable and less risky, in my opinion.

In addition, I believe that demand for residential properties that are for rent would still be pretty high, as people still need a place to live in, even if there was a recession or financial crisis. It would be logical to conclude that the people who would forego buying their own homes would  just rent. On the other hand, commercial properties that are for rent would face less demand in times of a recession or financial crisis and would most probably be greatly affected.

Provides a consistent stream of income – Passive income in the form of rentals of real estate provides a reliable and consistent income stream that can really replace a person’s earned income that comes from having a job.

Money works for you - We often hear about the sayings “instead of working hard, we should work smart” and “instead of working hard for money, money should work for you” and passive income from real estate fits the bill. By finding a good rental property, the work is front-loaded, and the rest is just maintenance, and yet the money just flows into your pocket. Now that’s working smart!

You get to enjoy the fruits of property ownership - As you remain as the owner of the property, you also get to enjoy the fruits of ownership like gaining equity as time passes where part of your rental income is paying off your loan, if any, and you also have the benefit of any future appreciation of the property, if you do decide to sell or refinance the property down the road.

The disadvantages of investing for cashflow

Smaller income as compared to capital gains - The example above illustrates that the passive income we can get from a rental property looks small compared to the capital gains that we can get through flipping. Php4,057.41/month versus Php100,000/property(assuming you can really flip at least 1 property per month with a net profit of Php100,000). However, I still prefer rental income because in the long run it will help you get out of the rat race, more on this later.

Furthermore, you can have bigger passive income by focusing on properties that command higher rental rates, decreasing expenses through better and more efficient property management and maintenance, increasing the loan payment term to lower the monthly amortizations, etc. You can even go for a rent-to-own agreement where the option to own the property justifies higher monthly payments, resulting in bigger positive cashflow.

Requires property management – Property management is not really a problem if you have 1 to 4 rental properties. Beyond that, property management would probably feel like you you are back in the rat race , another 9 to 5 existence where the only difference is you own your job.  This is just my opinion. Again, you can eliminate this by going for a rent-to-own scheme as the tenant-buyer will the one to manage the property as the property owner.

It is harder to find properties that can generate positive cashflow – Like what I mentioned earlier, It is easier to find a property that can be flipped for a profit but has negative cashflow, than a property that has positive cashflow. If you are consistently doing the numbers with the free foreclosed listings that you get from foreclosurephilippines.com, you would know what I am talking about. If you are not doing the numbers, what are you waiting for, Christmas?! Knowledge gained left unused is knowledge wasted!

Rent control – The coverage of the Rent control act of 2009 include all residential units in the National Capital Region and other highly urbanized cities, with a monthly rent for each of which ranges from One peso (Php1.00) to Ten thousand pesos (Php10,000.00) and all residential units in all other areas, the total monthly rent for each of which ranges from One peso (Php1.00) to Five thousand   pesos (P5,000.00).

One can avoid this by investing only in properties that command a rent higher than Php10,000, although this could mean VAT becomes applicable. Another option to avoid rent control is to use a rent-to-own agreement, although in effect you are already selling the property, even if you still get positive cashflow for the duration of the rent-to-own agreement.

You get all the expenses related to property ownership – Expenses like maintenance, cost for fire and acts of nature insurance, real property tax, property management, and other expenses that cannot be passed on to your tenants, remain to be your responsibility as the property owner, unless you enter into a rent-to-own agreement. Monthly dues, utilities, and other miscellaneous expenses can be passed on to the tenant.

You might encounter tenants from hell – Tenants from hell are probably the most dreaded thing that would-be landlords are afraid of. Yes, it happens to the best of us, it even happened to Larry Gamboa, which he shared during the recent Think Rich Pinoy Seminar. The only way to get around this is to pre-qualify your would-be tenants or tenant-buyers.

Things to remember about passive income from real estate investing

Each passive income generating property is like a goose that lays golden eggs – If you remember Aesop’s fable “The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs”, the goose laid a golden egg consistently each and every day. A rental property is just like that as it lays “golden eggs” in the form of passive income every month.

Passive income generating real estate still needs maintenance and some work; you still need to take care of your “goose”

• You need to have property management which can be done by you if you have 4 rental properties or less, or you can just outsource it to other competent people who can do it better than you if you already have more than 4 properties. Take note that the 4 properties is just my own estimate. You may even start outsourcing property management with your first rental property, as this will make it truly passive, and avoid those things that go with property management that might turn you off, like fixing toilets at 3am.
• If you don’t take care of your property and your tenants, either the golden eggs will become smaller and smaller as expenses begin to pile up because of deferred maintenance that eventually catches up with you, or the eggs will just stop when the goose dies as you lose your tenants or when your property becomes unlivable, whichever comes first.

Don’t sell the goose – If you sell your property that lays “golden eggs”, then you will obviously have no more eggs, just like when the farmer decided to kill the goose to get all the golden eggs inside of it. But unlike the farmer who found no golden eggs inside the goose when he killed it, you might end up with a big golden egg in the form of capital gains if you sold the property, but that would be the last golden egg, and you will have to find another goose. It is always tempting to make a lot of money quickly. Don’t be too greedy!

How to turn earned income to passive income – There are actually ways to convert earned income into passive income. Here are a few of my ideas:

A. Treat real estate investing as a business – The key is to set it up like a business where you are the business owner who works on the business, and not in the business. You need to systematize your real estate business and delegate as much as possible, among a number of things, that would help make a business like this succeed, and this will turn you into a true business owner, not just someone who owns your job.

It would be like setting up your real estate business to function like it was a franchise of McDonald’s or Jollibee, where the least skilled can do most of the work, which lets you, the business owner, work on the business. Some aspects can even be outsourced like internet marketing for example, which can go for as little as USD2.00/hour, right here in the Philippines, as mentioned here by Yaro Starak. A working system used for such a real estate business can be easily replicated and can even be turned into a turnkey operation like a franchise, as described in the book “The E-myth revisited” by Michael Gerber. I believe this is also Larry Gamboa‘s goal when he started his Think Rich Pinoy Franchise.

B. Setup a passive “residual” income stream – Another way to turn earned income into passive “residual” income would be to set it up like a legitimate multi-level-marketing (MLM) company. For real estate brokerage, what if it was setup in such a way that real estate agents are assigned the bulk of the offline tasks and leg work? They do this for the licensed real estate broker they are registered with, who in turn earns a small override for each sale. Lets say the agent and the broker split the 6% commission(now referred to as professional fee as real estate brokers are now under the PRC with the RESA Law) with 4% for the agent and 2% for the broker. The agent will do a lot of legwork but this will justify the additional 2% they will earn, which results in twice the earnings of what they usually get. You as the broker earn the 2% passive “residual” income. Do you think this idea of mine would work?

Devote time and effort in finding properties that generate cashflow – If you just focus on flipping properties, it would still be like a 9 to 5 existence because you will always have to flip a property to have cash coming in. If you invest for cashflow however, those small income streams in the form of rental income will eventually become as big, if not even bigger, than the income flipping can generate, as the number of rental properties increase.

The only difference is, if you reach your passive income monthly goal, you have a choice of stopping and yet the monthly cashflow still comes in. If you only have earned income, even if through real estate, you won’t really be out of the rat race.

Coming up next: Financial freedom and how it can be achieved through passive income from real estate investing

Now that you have a general idea of what passive income is, along with its advantages and disadvantages, I will next share my thoughts on what financial freedom is from my own perspective, and what it would take to become financially free through real estate investing.

I will also try to answer questions and statements like “Can it really be done?”, “Where do I start?”, and “In reality if it was easy, everyone would be doing it…”

See you next week for the second half about passive income which would be the series finale on the 3 types of income one can get through real estate investing.

*Click here to read the final part of this series!

To our success and financial freedom!

Jay Castillo

Real Estate Investor
Real Estate Broker License #: 20056
Blog: http://www.foreclosurephilippines.com
Mobile phone (Call/SMS): +639178843882
Follow me in twitter:http://twitter.com/jay_castillo
Find us in Facebook:Foreclosure Philippines facebook page

Text by Jay Castillo and Cherry Castillo. Copyright © 2010 All rights reserved.

PS. Are you a new visitor? Click here NOW to start learning more about foreclosure investing in the Philippines

PPS. Don’t be the last to know, subscribe to e-mail alerts and get notified of new listings of bank foreclosed properties, public auction schedules, and real estate investing tips. Inbox getting full? Subscribe through my RSS Feed instead!

Passive income through real estate investing – the path to financial freedom (Part 1) is a post from: Foreclosure Investing Philippines

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A guest post by Sha Nacino

For the past few weeks, I have been on a six-day work week. This set-up really drained my energy. Most importantly, it made it impossible for me to go home to our province, a 10-hour bus ride from Manila. I miss my family so much! How I wish I could go home and see my family as often as I want.

Last Saturday and Sunday, I had no work – a very rare chance! I wanted to go home to our province but I was already so tired, physically and emotionally. I just decided to have a laidback weekend where I could relax, sleep, eat, read, think, and write.

Image by Sha_Nacino

As I was reflecting, I noticed that there are so many interesting activities outside the confines of the corporate world. There’s toastmasters, a public speaking club that will help you develop your communication and leadership skills. There’s swimming, which is a good way to beat the heat. There’s travelling. Photography. Badminton. Running. Jogging. Volunteer work. And many more!

I engage in all these activities and more! You could just imagine how physically taxing that was.  Not only that, some of these interests could be expensive too!

I couldn’t juggle everything!

I want to do everything! Yet, I don’t have all the time and money to pursue everything at the same time. I have to cut down on some of these activities. Guess where most of my time goes? Yes, to my work because I spend at least 11 hours a day 5 days a week in the office (inclusive of travel time).

Does my work make me happy? Let’s just say that I love a lot of things about my employer – the culture, the people, the activities, its corporate social responsibility projects, its personality development programs, and interest clubs.

But if money were not an issue, I would definitely be somewhere else. Yet, I cannot resign just yet because my work is my bread and butter.

I need more time and money!

I want to have more time and more money at the same time.  I want to have as much time as I want to spend with my family and loved ones. I want to have more time to do volunteer work. I want to have more money to help our less fortunate countrymen. And I also want to have more money so I can do the things I want to do.

If I work overtime, I could increase my money but this also means less time for my family and other important things in life. How could I have more of both time and money?

What my mentors taught me

My mindset was limited because I knew only of one way to earn money – that was through my job in the corporate world. If I wanted to have more money, I needed to work overtime.  I need to work hard for money!

Then I met my mentor Robert Kiyosaki through his book “Rich Dad Poor Dad”. I was shocked when he said that I could earn as much as I want even without working! He termed this as passive income. He also advised me that instead of working for money, I could make money work for me.

Wow! I felt so liberated! If I could learn the art of earning passive income and of making money work for me, then I could have more time to spend with the persons that matter to me most and I could also have more money to use to help others.

When the student is ready, the mentor will come

Last August 2009, I attended the Think Rich Pinoy Seminar of Larry Gamboa, author of “Think Rich Pinoy”, “Grow Rich Pinoy”, and co-author of Trace Trajano in “Think Rich Quick”. This got me really interested in real estate investing.

I guess I was ready to learn more about real estate because a few months back, I met my real estate mentor Trace Trajano. Trace taught me and my team how to invest in real estate with little or no money down. Trace conducted his first ever Think Rich Quick seminar in March 27, 2010. After learning from Trace’s teachings, my team was able to sell a condominium unit in just six days! Trace is really a fantastic mentor!

Dedicated to your success,

Sha Nacino

Sha Nacino is Trace Trajano’s co-author for the book “Think Rich, Yuppies!”. Sha was also a former teammate of mine in the now defunct RYP Realty team.

Added on September 20, 2011:

Sha Nacino NOT connected with Trace Trajano

by Sha Nacino

This is to inform everyone that I am NOT anymore connected with Mr. Trace Trajano. I do not endorse him or any of his seminars and programs. I also do not intend to do any business with him moving forward.

We co-authored the book Think Rich, Yuppies which was published earlier this year. The book is our last project together and after the initial printed copies of the book are sold, the book Think Rich Yuppies will no longer be printed and distributed.

I have moved on. At present, I am writing books on personal financial management. I am also committed to continue writing many more books on financial management and other topics. If you have any comments, please email happysha.ph@gmail.com.

Source: http://seminarphilippines.com/2011/09/sha-nacino-not-connected-with-trace-trajano/

—

Jay’s thoughts

In a nutshell, Sha just wants to be financially free, who doesn’t?! I totally understand where she is coming from as I used to be as busy as her, if not even busier. I am happy for Sha because she decided to take action and make concrete steps to be financially free.

Good luck Sha and to everyone on the same journey!

Added on September 20, 2011 - I’m also happy to see that you have also moved on, just like me, as mentioned here.

To our success and financial freedom!

Jay Castillo

Real Estate Investor
Real Estate Broker License #: 20056
Blog: http://www.foreclosurephilippines.com
Follow me in twitter:http://twitter.com/jay_castillo
Find us in Facebook:Foreclosure Philippines facebook page

Text by Jay Castillo and Cherry Castillo. Copyright © 2010 All rights reserved.

PS. Don’t be the last to know, subscribe to e-mail alerts and get notified of new listings of bank foreclosed properties, public auction schedules, and real estate investing tips. Inbox getting full? Subscribe through my RSS Feed instead!

A busy yuppie that wants to have more time and money is a post from: Foreclosure Investing Philippines

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