Getting into real estate investing (Part 1)

Celebrated author and financial commentator Robert Kiyosaki says “I would rather buy a property and collect rent and other income for a long time.” Property leasing is one profitable business that you can embark when investing in a property. Recent indicators for the rental sector have been encouraging so far attracting new players to invest in the development of residential and commercial properties just so to serve and take and advantage of the rising demand for home and office spaces.

But just because buying or building a property for investment entails quite an amount to be able to join in the market frenzy does not always mean that you just sit and watch people raking in money for themselves or wish for your lucky numbers to come out in the lottery. We need to stop wishing and seriously start considering how we can actively take part of the opportunity. And I posit that it can be done. It can be done for the average call center agent, teacher, law enforcer, or civil service professional, bank teller, salesman or a rank and file employee. More so for OFWs who think about how they can grow their money than spend most of it in duty-free shops.

Did you just say, "You can't be serious."?  I am serious because there is a way. You only need to push that “will” button so you can achieve your dream to own a lucrative and long term business. “If there is a will, there will always be a way.” as Lady Wisdom puts it.

Robert Kiyosaki was not born with a silver spoon in addition to his checkered past. He was like you and me with a day job selling copiers and was at one point bankrupt and homeless. However, these did not pull Kiyosaki down. He took it as a point of resistance instead of just easily giving up. And to cut the long story short, he put up a small business and re-invested his earnings in passive investments which include among others real estate.

I am not a great fan of Kiyosaki more so with his motherhood statements on investing. His books do not teach anything concrete when it comes to growing your money in such methodical fashion like Benjamin Graham's investment classic "The Intelligent Investor." The latter is said to be the bible of any serious investor. But in fairness to Kiyosaki, he typifies drive, resilience and purpose which he believes that the average Joe and Jane can do more with what he has through investing instead of being perpetually caged in the confines of their offices and retire poor and miserable.

And I agree. But we need to set our priorities straight; we need to be forward thinkers by securing our future today. That is basic in investing.

The problem with most of us is that, we do not like to invest. Whenever an insurance or real estate agent comes to us we easily come up with excuses just to avoid talking to them. And yet it is easy to swipe our credit cards to buy a new gadget or a hip car which does not only wear out quickly but also wears you and your paycheck without mercy. I mean why is it that most of us want to spend our money on things that make us look rich when in reality these things will eventually make us poor?

We also have this notion that employment is our only and secure source of income that’s why it is so easy to spend or charge against our salaries on the things we want because we always look forward to our next paycheck. It makes us complacent of the future that we have no motivation to save because we know that the next pay is just only 15 days away. Thus, investing is not something that easily appeals to people who are accustomed to getting paid every 15th and 30th day of the month. (To be continued)

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