An easy way to start this process is by volunteering.  It is a much more rewarding experience to give a full day of your time than to mail in $20 to any given cause.  There are some great opportunities in the New Haven area where anyone can get involved.  You can find out if you have what it takes to be a teacher by teaching a business lesson to Elementary School children through Junior Achievement.  You can be an announcer/scorekeeper at the annual Special Olympics Softball Tournament that takes place every September.  You can learn a new skill and sign up as a Volunteer Income Tax Preparer.  Several organizations will train you and there is no experience required.  You will then help people in lower-income groups by preparing their tax returns.  If anyone wants more info on any of these opportunities, let me know and I can get you in touch with the people who run them.  Hopefully years from now I can look back and be able to say that I made some small dent in making my area a better place to live.

Step One, start a blog and put up some posts.  Check.  Step Two on the list, put in a crapload of links and pray that people click on them (see solicitations at the bottom of this page and on blogroll; feel free to click on them so I can check off Step Two).  Step Three is to gain as many like-minded online friends as possible using Twitter, LinkedIn, and RealEstateInvestor.com.  The first time I tried this technique my goal was to just friend everyone who had the term “real estate” in their name.  This time around I hope to be able to truly collaborate with my contacts more and not end up looking like someone who just found the secret to whiter teeth.  Speaking of it, I would like to know how to whiten my teeth more, but I just can’t give in…but I digress.  Step Four – actually have a place to direct web traffic to (my fingers are crossed hoping steps 1-3 actually help me direct traffic)…I figure for now I will focus on directing it to my brokerage that lowers people’s electric bills.  It’s the first business I’ve had that was actually easy to generate residual income.  Even though it’s only $55 a month right now, it is truly residual as I do not have to any legwork to keep it coming in.  Step Five is to figure out what I can write in a future blog and list them as Steps 6-10.  Hopefully this post can lead to some comments and the community can fill in a few more tips.  Anyone?…HELLO…Hello…hello… 

Here is my Step 2 in action (Solicitation Link is Below – Please Click) – My website that lets people sign up for free to lower their electric bills in 4 states…soon to be 6 states…Did I mention we also have 100% green electricity options… http://www.napower.com/100235

- Electricity Brokerage - Ramp up my electricity broker business, the only business I’ve been able to easily generate residual income).  I will have to develop a marketing plan that grows my business while I sleep.  The Green Energy portion of the business seems the most promising. 

- Stock Day Trading – Thanks to the help of a close friend, I have been learning the basics of analyzing charts to day trade.  My goal is to rely on a handful of stocks volatility to make 20-50% gains a year.

- Once I build up some capital, I plan to purchase a buy and hold investment property, preferably a 3 family.  I will then reinvest the income to purchase another, and another, until I have 3 properties.

- After that I will use the income from all of my sources and my knowledge as a CPA to start a financial planning company to help other people achieve their goals.

That about sums up the plan…I will try to post some tips and lessons learned along my way.

Video on Being an Energy Broker… http://www.napowerbroker.com/100235

Twitter - http://twitter.com/PeteNhhomesLLC 

LinkedIn – http://www.linkedin.com/in/petergiordano

Doesn’t it seem like out economy is taking a while to come back to solid footing? Is the news getting more and more depressing, to the point that you can’t seem to find any good news about anything anymore? Is the pain that we as Americans are feeling, or of people who we may know are feeling, becoming a bit too much to bear? It sure does to me, so I am sure many of you are feeling the same way.

This negative feeling can be turned into gold. Right now, at the time when the pain in our economy and the pain in our friends and family becomes too great, is exactly the time the prudent and intelligent investors begin to invest. These moments in history come along through the various cycles in our economy, but this down cycle is like one not seen since the great depression. During times of a down cycle, many people tell you to stay away from investing in Real Estate. It is only going to go down in value they say. Wait another year or two before investing so that you can “time” the market bottom. Well my friends, I would like to let you know of a little secret. Anyone who tells you they can time the exact moment when prices will stop declining is full of it.

What a prudent investor, or even a prudent consumer looking to purchase anything at any time looks at is what are the conditions currently. What are the interest rates that I will need to help me finance my property? What are the current prices for the purchase of my property in relation to what they were a few years ago? What kind of rents can I get for a rental property, and what would by fixed costs be each month in order to assess if the investment will generate cash flow? These are the questions the prudent investors are asking at this time. What is the answer to these questions? It depends on the individual deal you are looking into. However, there is almost no greater time in history to consider buying a rental property.

Take this as an example. A friend of mine purchased a 3 family property in which she will purchase as an Owner Occupant. She will live on one floor, and rent out the bottom two floors. At the price she will purchase the property for, she will generate $200 dollars per month in her pocket AFTER paying all expenses including the mortgage. Where is the risk is that? The prices and the interest rates are so low that it amazes me that more people are not looking into purchasing rental properties. They are a way to hedge the risk when purchasing housing as you leverage the tenants you put in the property to help you pay your bills.

I’m sure we have all heard of the stimulus package and health care package, yes? Well, when the government prints money at the frequency that we are currently on, there is only one result that is sure to follow…INFLATION! When prices begin to increase on goods and services, the government has one effective option, and that is to raise interest rates. The record low interest rates that we are currently enjoying will not be around for much longer. In fact, if consumers and investors don’t take advantage of the current rates, there is a good chance that we may see interest rates of over 10%, just like we had in the 1970′s.

There is a benefit associated to inflation however when it comes to holding hard assets such as real estate. Although prices have significantly fallen from their highs in the early part of this decade, inflation causes the value of these properties to increase. At the current low prices in the market, one can make a purchase today and 10 years from now enjoy a hefty profit. It is simply the economic cycle that we are experiencing right now. Do we have some new economic forces that we did not have even 20 years ago? Without a doubt. But by now means is it so different so as not to expect things will bounce back and our economy will reach another high point in the near future.

The demand for rental properties is increasing, and with this demand in conjunction with rising prices and inflation, the rental rates will be sure to follow suit. As people have been losing their homes to foreclosures, the demand for rentals has increased as these individuals can no longer purchase a home. These people were home owners in the recent past, and simply want a new start and a place to call home. These renters may be the best renters out there right now because they know what it is like to own, and have the skills necessary to maintain their own apartment / rental home.

This is the new decade of the real estate millionaires, and you can truly create a great future for yourself and your family is you make the wise decision to start purchasing property now. The stock market as we have seen is no place to place all your eggs in. Real estate is a much slower and safer investment, particularly in rental properties, because your expenses and return is generated from tenants, and the valuation of your investment does not change overnight as it can in a significant manner through investing in stocks.

I would be happy to talk to anyone interested in investing, as I myself am actively pursuing opportunities in this market, and have been finding many deals. My business is real estate, and my livelihood depends on it. Feel free to call me at 203-232-2462 and leave a message. I would be happy to chat with you.

Kind Regards,

Manolis Manny Sfinarolakis

It has been quite some time since I wrote my last blog, and a lot has been happening since then.  Thankfully, the reason I haven’t been able to blog at all is because my property management business is taking off.  On February 15Th, 2010 I quit my full time job as an accountant to jump into the real estate business full time.  My life since then has been much more interesting than it previously was, and I am grateful that I have made that leap.

However, what I effectively did was exchange one J.O.B. for another.  Property management is great because the skills that one acquires when getting involved in this business is invaluable.  From tenant relations, to meeting contractors who can turn over rental units quickly, from learning the latest and greatest ways to negotiate contracts on leases, there are many great benefits to this business.  The bottom line however is that I am managing other people’s properties, and not my own investments.  I am increasing the wealth of other individuals portfolios, and not my own.

This realization is important, because my main goal is personal financial freedom and security.  I have the financial security goal down, but the financial freedom portion is lagging behind.  Since I started this business in property management, I have not made strides to increase my own personal investing business.  My partners and I have realized the time commitment that I have towards property management, and we realize that each of us needs to focus our efforts on investing simultaneously in order to create the financial freedom each of us desires and deserves.

What does this mean for me?  Well, I will need to focus my efforts towards activities that bring me closer to financial freedom.  As with everyone, we each have obligations that we commit ourselves to that suck time out of our days.  These are not necessary events that we must attend, but rather, are events that we do because we “feel like we have to.”  As I look introspectively at myself, I see a few areas of my life that I am deeply involved in that suck a lot of time out of my day.  I am currently a board member and active local chapter member of a National non-profit organization.  At the age of 26, I have risen to this rank in the organization, but I am noticing that the financial benefits to this organization are not coming to fruition.  The contacts I have made will certainly benefit me sometime in the future, but for right now, I simply am spending far to much time initiating new chapters, dealing with the administrative backlog of membership, and making trips to all corners of the nation.

Although the organization is one that I believe in, I realize that if I am not secure and moving towards my goal of financial freedom, I am not happy.  The benefit of the organization does not offset the amount of time that I put into the organization and take away from my own personal business.  Many of us are in similar situations with churches, school functions, and various other small organizations, and I am sure I am not alone in this feeling of being overwhelmed.  The point is, you need to realize what is working and what isn’t working, and be selective over what you commit yourself to.  The more you commit yourself to non-real estate related ventures, the less time you will have to devote to reaching Financial Freedom.

The choice for myself has been made, and I will not seek re-election next year on the Board of Directors.  My choice is for the financial freedom of myself, and those around me who choose to see the opportunities that real estate can offer.  There is plenty of time to be involved in philanthropic activities in the future, and I know that will be a large part of my life when I retire.  For now however, I need to build a foundation in which riches can be built so that I can afford to give the greatest amount of good in my future endeavors.

I hope this post helps others struggling with the same time constraints that I have currently, and realize that YOU are worth your time and your business is worth it as well.

Kind Regards,

Manolis

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For those of you who have been joining the Dream Big Real Estate Network, I thank you for your first step towards building a better tomorrow for yourself and your families. For those of you who have not yet joined this network, I hope that you will be a part of us soon.

My blog post today is entitled, “The American Dream is Alive and Well – Gratitude” for an important reason. That reason reflects what I have been feeling the last few weeks in my new surroundings, and in my new profession. If you want to dream and create the life you desire, the American Dream is alive and well. However, if you don’t believe it can happen for you, then you are left without a key element of success known as faith. Faith is what will bring you up when your feeling down, and what will keep you going when your feeling tired or experience a setback.

The American Dream is alive! I see glimpses of it in places where most people would not even think that such initiative or hope could be found. The last few weeks has shown me a lot of changes in my surroundings, specifically in my living situation. I have moved into the North End of Hartford into a 47 unit building, and for those of you who are unfamiliar with the area, you can think of it as a place that would be just as similar as a city in your state or country that is notorious for crime. In other words, most people would not CHOOSE to live there is they had the option and the means to select the location of their choosing.

Even in these areas, there are those who dare to look past the misery, and focus on the positives. There are small businesses that are being erected. Store owners open up their doors every day in these areas, and they are hopeful for the future and what prosperity the day can bring. On a much smaller scale, one of the tenants in the building today, a nice old lady named Marta, became a restaurateur and cooked Kabobs for the neighborhood. She sold them at $2.00 per unit, and as far as I can tell, there were many people willing to pay such a nominal fee.

These people are in much worse condition than many of us at this current point in time, yet we as people continue to focus on the negative forces in our lives, and refuse to acknowledge that whatever negativity we may be having in our lives currently, is a reflection of our own actions and what we have attracted into our own lives.

I live in what is known as a Ghetto, but I see positive things every day. I see good people living in poor conditions, who seem to be perfectly happy with their station in life because they do not focus on the bad in this world, because they know that negativity will only attract more of itself.

Real Estate is a people business, and you need to be prepared to handle any situation, and any personality type at any given moment. If you handle a moment inappropriately, you may and will suffer consequences to your actions. This lesson in life as a Property Manager / Leasing Manager will carry me forward to new heights, and eventually life me from the Ghetto into bigger and better things.

The key to life is taking control of it, and not allowing anyone else to make the decisions for yourself that you known to be true in your heart.

Kind Regards,

Manolis

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Why am I writing this blog about the current group that we are in? Well, the purpose of Dream Big Real Estate is naturally to attract a group of investors to purchase a multi family property of at least 10+ units. This undertaking, although relatively large, can be done quite easily if we work together and each go “the Extra Mile” to make a group like this work. There has not been much activity other than an occasional blog post from myself, and I am reaching out to the other members of this group to really look within yourselves and begin to participate so that we can really make this Dream a reality.

Many of you know eachother, and know me. This isn’t a group that was made to just have a chat room and network together. This is a group to get things done and ACT upon the reason that we all joined this network. I know that within each of us who joined, there is a sense of desire to achieve great things in life, not only monetary in nature, but on a personal level. Lets prove ourselves that we have what it takes to make a deal happen.

What I propose is that everyone devote a couple of hours a week, and post a deal or sumbit a blog with your thoughts so that we can get some meaningful discussion going within this group. The more we participate, the closer we get to the ultimate purpose of this group to purchase 10+ unit buildings for investment purposes.

Thank you, and have a pleasant weekend.

Kind Regards,

Manolis

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Well ever since I started using these two simple tools, my life has become a lot more organized and productive.  The tools I am speaking of anyone can pick up at a local CVS or Walgreens:  A Calendar & a Note Pad.

This may sound basic to many of you, but recently I was speaking with a few friends of mine who do not have to-do lists and do not use calendars.  Knowing them personally, I see them complain about being unorganized and missing certain obligations that they said they would attend.  They constantly ask me how I continue to produce and do so much in a day that they say they would be able to do in a week.  Part of that is my shere motivation to produce to get to where I want to be in life quicker, but a huge part is organizing my thoughts in To Do Lists and placing my memory on autopilot with a Calendar.

I complete my To-Do lists at night for the next day ahead, so that I know what I need to do and I can think about how my day will go ahead of time, and even in my dreams (while sleeping).  When I wake up, I am ready to tackle what I had planned, and I wake up with extra juice in my step.  These To Do lists organize my activities on a daily / weekly / monthly basis.

My Calendar however I use for important appointments or phone calls that I MUST make.  There is no skipping out on things that I place in my calendar, and I hold them sacred.  Only during emergencies would I ever skip out on an appointment.  I review my Calendar almost daily, especially when I have a busy week planned.

So hopefully those people out there who have not yet discovered these two simple ways to organize yourself will go to CVS / Walgreens tonight and bring your game to the next level.

Kind Regards,

Manolis

New Haven Homes, LLC

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Kind Regards,
Manolis