My Story ...

Before I go into the basics of how to put these deals together I feel it is important to tell you something about myself. I didn't just arrive here with this information in hand. There is a story behind the ideas. So let me tell you how I got started.
Well, let me start by telling you it wasn't easy. You see, as a child I never stayed in any one place for very long. My father was an enlisted man in the United States Army. Being enlisted in the Army meant that we had to move every two years. I learned early on that I should not depend on others for my emotional or financial well-being. Since we moved every two years, I was not able to make long lasting friendships. Not that I couldn't, but simply because it was less painful (emotionally) when we moved if I was not great friends with other kids in my neighborhood. I developed a skill that allowed me to easily develop relationships when we moved to a new area and pick them back up again when I saw my friends
Have you ever heard that one person's trash is another person's treasure? This is just like John D. Rockefeller's statement about turning a disaster into opportunity. I did not realize it as a child but I was turning other peoples disasters into money. I was creating money from an asset that everyone else thought was worthless.
I have never been a person who was afraid to work hard to make money. I just discovered early on that working hard and working smart are not necessarily the same thing. I also learned that no one was going to simply hand everything to me on a silver platter. My family was not rich being in the military.
Some of my friends came from more well to do and flat out wealthy families. To keep up I needed to generate cash. I had paper routes, cleaned gutters of leaves on houses and continued to do flea markets. I would average $100-$200 per weekend. This allowed me to purchase my first dirt bike and do some of things my wealthier friends were able to do.
In my sophomore year in high school my mother and I had a discussion about college. You see no one in our family had a college education. My mother told me that they did not have enough money to send me to college, even state school. They had a little money that could pay for my final two years of high school at a private school or use the money to pay for ½ a year at college, if they still had the money. I made the decision to attend private school and I believe it was one of the best decisions I ever made. I was an “A” student in public school. In private school I was a “C” and “B” student. When I graduated I was a “A-“ student. I still did not know what I was going to do for a living.
My stepfather convinced me to join the Army. I had always told myself I would not join the Army, but here I was convinced out of fear to take the easy way out. I joined the Army right out of high school and was part of the Special Intelligence division of the Army. Even in the Army I found that I was a wheeler-dealer. I loved to make things happen and put deals together for people. I worked with a lot of the higher brass solving problems. And boy does the military have a lot of problems.
While I was in the Army I started my college education because I had always been told that you need a college education to get a job. I was slowly falling into a trap.
After I was honorably discharged from the Army I was trying to figure out how to make more money to buy a better car, a house, go on skiing vacations, etc. At the time I was forced to live in a room in my parents garage because I did not have enough money to get a place of my own. I got a job as an engineer, based on some of the skills I learned in the Army. I realized that in order to get ahead I needed to do something different. Everyone kept saying I would get more money and a better position if I got a university degree. So I started to go to night school. I was a full time student at night with a full time job during the day. Like I said I am not afraid of working hard if I can see the benefits down the road. Even though it looked like I was on the right track, I still felt as if something was missing. I knew I did not want this full time job. School was fun, but I did not like punching a time clock every day. So I started to look for other ways to replace the income I was making at my job.
I was reading every book I could on real estate investing and foreclosures. I started to buy rental properties and foreclosures. When purchasing real estate I often came across homeowners who did not want to sell their homes. They wanted to stay in the home instead. So I learned how to make money by helping people stay in their homes which gave me cash flow and then when people really could not afford to make the payments I was able to buy the home from the homeowner and do a short sale with the bank without any competition from other investors.
I also came across a lot of mortgages that were owned by individuals and banks where the owner of the mortgage was foreclosing on the homeowner because the homeowner did not make their required monthly payment. I started testing to see if the mortgage holder (the one receiving the payments) would be willing to sell the mortgage prior to the auction date of the property. Some were.
Learning how to buy the paper at a huge discount leads to huge returns. Learning how to “flip” the paper to another investor generates immediate cash. Combining a defaulted mortgage, foreclosure, forbearances and short sales together gives you multiple profit centers on the same deal.
What if you want to get started right now, but you don't even have any money to get started. What could you do? You could find other investors to process your forbearance and short sale deals.
Today we process forbearance deals all across America. I found that you can profit from real estate without ever actually buying the property. We help homeowners stay in their homes and avoid foreclosure and as a result we get cash flow today and if the homeowner gets into trouble later we are there to help them again and possibly do a short sale on the property.
I am not any smarter than you. One thing I found that separates me from my friends and associates is persistence. You see, I never like to quit. That is one thing I got from my father; don't quit. Because I refuse to quit I was able to learn from my mistakes to the point where I created a full fledged business where I employ a lot of people and can provide a nice standard of living for me and my family.
I ended up putting myself through school, my way, without help from my parents. I continued my education and over the next several years ended up getting an Associates Degree in Computer Science, a Bachelors Degree in Management Computer Information Systems, and an MBA in Finance and Real Estate. Part of my drive to finish my education was that no one in my family ever had a college degree. Through school and going to seminars I found out that real estate and specifically foreclosures can be a wonderful thing.
“I’ve probably done about 15 – 20 deals and made on average about $800 - $900 per deal.”
James R., Ohio
Here's something I accomplished that should make you sit up and take notice.
I recently purchased my own home using the same system you are about to learn. I found the lead by approaching the homeowner who was in foreclosure with an offer to help them stay in their home using a forbearance. It turns out they were ready to move and I took over the deed. I negotiated a short sale on the property and ending up getting a beautiful 5,300 foot house with $550,000 in instant equity.
And this same system that I use is what I want to share with you. It's not fair that these secrets are held by just a few of the most successful real estate investors. I want to help more people stop foreclosure on their home and I can do that by showing you how to help homeowners. In the end we can make a difference in our life and the lives of people around us.
