Silently Crushing It In The Land Business—A Student Success Story

In today’s episode of The Art of Passive Income, Mark and Scott talk with Land Geek alumnus, Mike Ferreira. Mike, who bought the Investor’s Toolkit in 2014 has been flying under the radar and silently crushing it in land investing ever since!

Mike, who was in the gold and silver business when he found The Land Geek program, bought the Toolkit and went through the lessons but didn’t fully commit himself to the business for another year. Once he decided to go all in, he left the precious metal business behind because he found that land was “easier, more fun, and more profitable”.

Listen in as Mike talks about his journey and the challenges he faced in setting up his land business on his own. He tells us that if he could do it all over again he would have invested in coaching.

If I had done coaching or if there was Flight School at the time, the learning curve to really rocking this business would have been so shortened. I probably would have made a quarter of a million dollars more than I have in that amount of time. So the investment would absolutely have been worth it to me. 

Mike also shares:

• What he thinks about the competition
• What he learned from the gold and silver business that applies to land
• Deals—and why he prefers owner financing

Plus, he gives newbie advice for those who are just discovering the business and so much more!

Mike grew his passive income in land to exceed his fixed expenses… He works when he wants, where he wants and with whom he wants. So what does he do with all of his spare time?

He does MORE DEALS!

TIP OF THE WEEK

Mike: Check out SimpleTexting.com. It’s SMS texting where people will punch in and send a short code to a number and they get an automatic response and I can also do a blast just like an email blast to everybody’s phones for text messages. The open rate of a text message is way superior to email. I use it in conjunction with MapRight.com—an interactive mapping program. You can put interactive satellite maps on your website, but you can also send people links to the interactive map. And when you do so, they can open that link on their phone and download a free app which has the parcel outline of the property they’re looking at. It works in conjunction with the GPS on their phone. I use these two together.

Isn’t it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

---

In today’s episode of The Art of Passive Income—Round Table edition, Mark and the panel of Geeks…

• Mimi Schmidt
• Tate Litchfield
• Mike Zaino
• Jeannie Morem
• Erik Peterson
• Scott Todd

…were streaming live from the Facebook Group where they were taking questions from the community.

How long do you market a property on Craigslist and Facebook before you take it to eBay?

Should you consider eBay as the last resort? And, should you chalk a hard-to-sell property as bad property or just chill and adjust your marketing?

The gang all share their thoughts and rules about selling on eBay.

Also, find out Jeannie’s naughty little eBay secret!  

How do you create urgency in your ads?

Some ways mentioned were:

• Headlines
• Volume
• Copy
• Photos
• Communication

Listen in now to get all the details!

[bctt tweet=”The market speaks to marketing. You can have the greatest product out there, but unless you get the market right no one is going to know about it.” username=”TheLandGeek”]

TIP OF THE WEEK

Mike: Watch the Nite Cap episode with Scott Todd.

Isn’t it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

---

In today’s episode of The Art of Passive Income, Mark and Scott talk with Lane Kawaoka—SimplePassiveCashFlow.com.

You may remember Lane from a previous podcast. He started his real estate investing career in 2009 cash flowing single-family home rentals while maintaining his day job as a Project Engineer and Licensed Professional Civil/Industrial Engineer.

Still working his day job, he’s back to talk about his move to the multifamily realm.

Because of the differences between single-family homes and multifamily, Lane admits there was a bit of a learning curve in the beginning but has built up his portfolio to about 434 units, in 3-4 deals! His strategy is to go after B and C class properties, add value to them, then increasing rent which in turn increases revenue.

Listen in as we dive deep into the details of multifamily investing and why he made the move. Plus, we go over the numbers and delve into:

• Differences between non-recourse and recourse loans
• Differences between classes and why he chooses B & C class
• Advice on getting started
• What he doesn’t see changing in real estate investing

Also, find out why Lane thinks that multifamily is an unfair game and so much more!

TIP OF THE WEEK

Mark: Learn more about Lane Kawaoka and about the very exciting, sophisticated, cool, high return world of multifamily investing at SimplePassiveCashFlow.com and don’t forget to check out his podcast!

Scott: Check out the iPhone app called Boomerang for Instagram. It takes a burst of photos then turns it into a video.

Lane:  Don’t be an “askhole.” Don’t be that person who just asks questions. Find people who are in the position to help you and give value off of that.  

Isn’t it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

---

In today’s episode of The Art of Passive Income—Round Table edition, Mark is joined by:

• Aaron Williams
• Mimi Schmidt
• Erik Peterson
• Jeannie Morem
• Tate Litchfield
• Scott Todd

Live from the Official Facebook Group, the gang starts this week off by sharing what they did on Labor Day… do you celebrate it the same if you don’t have a job you have to report to?

TOPICS OF THE DAY

PROBATE—When the party or parties on the deed are deceased and there is no executor of the will assigned to transfer the property somewhere else. It has to go through a lengthy process of legalities to clean the title.

TREASURER’S DEED—A deed issued in a tax deed sale, so that the buyer is buying the property from the county. It’s no different than a quit claim deed. Selling can be a challenge though if the buyer wants to build right away because title insurance can’t be issued until the title is cleared and that can take several years depending on the state.

Listen in as the panel goes deep into the details of both situations, the time and costs involved in each, when you should consider buying, and when not to.

Plus, Mimi and Scott both share recent probate deals they proceeded on.

TIP OF THE WEEK

Erik: Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible. -Francis of Assisi.

Isn’t it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

---

In today’s episode of The Art of Passive Income, Mark and Scott talk with Rocky Lalvani Founder of RicherSoul.com—helping people create fulfilling and meaningful lives by taking money out of the equation so they can live richer lives and live their dreams without regrets or debt.

Rocky always had the mindset to save money. At a young age his goal was to be a millionaire, so he set up an automated savings plan that would get him there. Coming from the corporate medical world, he was shocked to learn that so many professionals lived at or beyond their means at a 6 figure income, they had no savings to show for it.

Join us as Rocky shares how he helps his clients get to the core of their purpose by being intentional and thinking forward. Having a purpose gives you meaning and it gives you something to work towards. And while money is not the destination, having that direction to their deeper purpose, people are more apt to make smarter money decisions.

[bctt tweet=”Take leaps but leap with a parachute to eliminate your risk.” username=”TheLandGeek”]

Rocky helps his clients eliminate wasteful spending by creating a financial balance sheet and a statement of cash flow and teaches them to run their life as a business.

Rocky also explains why these three components are imperative to creating a richer soul:

• Health
• Relationships
• Spirituality

Are you ready to get to your core purpose and start living a more meaningful life?

Listen in now as Rocky puts you on the path to a richer soul.

TIP OF THE WEEK

Mark: Start living a deeper, more fulfilling life. Learn more about Rocky by going to his website at RicherSoul.com.

Scott:  Check out the app FlagTimes.com to see times in different time zones.

Rocky: Do your best to take care of your body. Read, The Plant Paradox: The Hidden Dangers in “Healthy” Foods That Cause Disease and Weight Gain by Steven R. Gundry.

Isn’t it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

---

In today’s episode of The Art of Passive Income—Round Table edition, Mark is joined by:

• Aaron Williams
• Mimi Schmidt
• Mike Zaino
• Erik Peterson
• Jeannie Morem
• Tate Litchfield
• Scott Todd

As fall approaches and the kids are heading back to school, we want to get back to the fundamentals that really set up a solid foundation for a successful land business.

The three most important elements are:

• County Research—This is first and foremost. Good county research and knowledge support the next two elements…
• Mailing and Marketing—You have to know the area you are mailing to in order to send a fair offer amount. Every county has it’s higher valued areas and it’s lower areas.

KNOW your county, MAIL, then MARKET—Land Investing 101.

Listen in now as the panel of Geeks go over all the basics that helped them build strong foundations for their businesses.

County research is very important because the market is always going to change. -Mimi

TIP OF THE WEEK

Erik: Check out BuzzSumo.com—a research tool to help you develop content for blog articles about your land.

Isn’t it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

---

In today’s episode of The Art of Passive Income,  Mark and Scott talk with Sensei Gilliland—Founder and President of BlackBeltInvestors.com.

Sensei, a successful real estate investor, began investing in 1995 and since that time he has created cash through wholesale real estate, obtained wealth through rental properties and continues to teach his methods through seminars, personal training and club meetings helping people to achieve their dreams.

As a young karate student, he became heavily involved in martial arts competition during his high school and college years. Sensei received the honor of being ranked as one of the top three martial artists in the United States for five years straight. His first year out of high school, Sensei opened the doors to his own martial arts school and to this day owns and operates several schools from which he continues to teach actively.

Starting out in real estate before the internet and digital photography, Sensei took a big risk buying homes that were across the country from him. Living in California and buying homes in Florida, Sensei put faith in front of fear and it paid off. Starting in the buy, fix, and flip niche, Sensei flipped his first property in nine months.

Join us as Sensei shares how he made the transition from martial arts to real estate investing and why he chooses real estate across the country. Plus, we go over:

• The worst real estate training advice he has seen
• Why you need to cultivate the land before doing the surface work

We also dig deep into the biggest parallel between martial arts and real estate investing, discipline and how to be more disciplined in our real estate investing businesses and in our lives.

And, Sensei has a mic drop answer when Mark asks him to define success…

Success to me, this past week I took my family last Friday and we went down into Mexico and we built two homes for families that have never had a house. They have been living underneath blue tarps. If it wasn’t for real estate I would not have had the opportunity to donate my money and my time and give my family the experience to build two homes for families in need. That’s my definition of success.

Are you ready to earn your black belt in real estate investing?

Listen in now…

TIP OF THE WEEK

Mark: Learn more about Sensei Gilliland by going to his website at BlackBeltInvestors.com.

Scott:  The Google Chrome app that Scott recommends, Disable HTML5 Autoplay, is no longer being maintained.

Sensei:  Run comps off of MLS and get title comps as well—it’s a mixture of MLS sales and private sales. It might get you a high number.

Isn’t it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

---

In today’s episode of The Art of Passive Income—Round Table edition, a big misconception people have coming into this business is the time and effort it takes to build a successful land investing business. Some people look at the success of those before them and think that they can beat their timeline but when it doesn’t happen, or setbacks arise, they quit before they even give themselves a fair chance.

You are building a business, and that takes a lot of work! -Scott

Listen in as the panel of Geeks,

• Scott Todd
• Tate Litchfield
• Mimi Schmidt
• Aaron Williams
• Jeannie Morem
• Erik Peterson

…join Mark and dive DEEP into the effort and time it takes to set up the systems and processes correctly so you can have a successful business and reach that financial and time freedom that you’re looking for. They talk about their own timelines and setbacks and give advice on how to create goals, not deadlines.

Continue to follow through and know the results will come. -Erik

If you’re serious about land investing, you do not want to miss this episode!

Write down your goals and get rid of that artificial deadline. Whether it happens in 18 months, 17 months 3 days, or 36 months, once your passive income exceeds your fixed expenses, GAME OVER! -Mark

Isn’t it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

---

In today’s episode of The Art of Passive Income, Mark and Scott talk with Tim Rhode of 1LifeFullyLived.org—a non-profit organization that helps empower people of all ages to Dream, Plan, and Live their best life possible.

At age 25, Tim worked 16 hours a day as a grocery clerk and painting addresses on curbs to buy diapers for his two small children. Then, he found his niche in real estate, averaging 18 homes a month for the next 18 years.

Skip ahead to age 40, he’s made millions through real estate and is financially free so now he asks himself, “what’s next?”

Tim explains that he was able to create his own magnificent future so he decided to make it his mission to take as many with him as possible.

Join us as we dig deep into what it takes to live life fully, starting with a roadmap to get to your core by asking yourself these questions: “who am I? What’s my dream? What’s my plan? Where I’m I going with all this and who do I want to share it with?”

Tim on success—Tim prefers the word fulfillment, success with depth. He believes that success is too shallow and there are many components in the balance wheel other than career, money, and finances that you need to work on to have a fulfilled life.

Success may not always be as it appears. Financially, you may be successful… you have the big house, a cushy bank account, high-end cars but it’s all very superficial. When “success” costs you in other areas of your life, you’re not living a fulfilled life.

Tim’s advice to teens and young adults—question everything and know your financial ABCs.

• A-what’s coming in from all income sources
• B-what it costs a month to live on
• C-what’s left to invest and how I’m I going to invest wisely

[bctt tweet=”It doesn’t matter how much money you make, it matters what you do with the money you make.” username=”TheLandGeek”]

Listen in as Tim shares a lot of great advice, inspiration, and motivation. Plus, find out what horizontal and vertical income is, and why you should be investing in horizontal income.

TIP OF THE WEEK

Mark: Learn more about how to live a fully fulfilled life at 1LifeFullyLived.org.

Scott:  Check out the Chrome extension Go to Tab. It puts a little thing on the icon bar up on the side of your screen and all your open tabs just drop down in a nice orderly way that you can find them. And if you have so many open that you can’t decipher which one it is, you can type in the URL and it will take you to that one.

Tim:  Please read the book, The E-Myth. You can also read, The Richest Man in Babylon. And lastly, play the game CASHFLOW by Robert Kiyosaki. It’s about getting out of the rat race and becoming financially free. The object of the game is that your passive income is more than your expenses.

Isn’t it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

---

In today’s episode of The Art of Passive Income—Round Table edition, Mark is joined by:

• Tate Litchfield
• Erik Peterson
• Aaron Williams
• Mimi Schmidt
• Mike Zaino
• Scott Todd

There has been a lot of talk lately about an impending recession. We are in the longest real estate recovery in history, but is another one inevitable? Most likely, but the question is, when? It is a perpetual cycle that looms over us and sooner or later it will happen, you can’t predict when but you can watch for the signs and prepare.

Everyone shares:

• How they were affected by the last one in 2008
• Precursors to watch for
• How to prepare so we are sitting pretty when it rears its ugly head

Also, find out everyone’s thoughts on the impact it will have on the land business.

The last topic up for discussion is PROCRASTINATION. We all do it, it’s very natural. The reason we procrastinate is because we are avoiding some type of mental pain. But, how do you get over that mental block?

Everyone shares how they tackle procrastination, a few ways mentioned are:

• Outsourcing the things you can
• Theming
• Have a daily game plan

Listen in for all the details!

When you’re procrastinating from something you know you’re probably going down the path that ultimately you should be going down. It’s a clue that, hey, here’s some work that you should be doing. -Scott

Noteworthy resources mentioned:

YouTube video, How The Economic Machine Works and the book, Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio.

The 5 Second Rule: Transform Your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage by Mel Robbins.

TIP OF THE WEEK

Mark:  Check out, RocketBook—Notebooks of the future. You write on it like you would in a notebook but then you take a picture with the app and it uploads it into the Cloud, or email, Evernote, Dropbox, or Google Drive. It can even transcribe for you.

Isn’t it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

---