If You Are Rich, Why Do You Need My Money

I am a Real Estate Investor. I look for deals, put together the financing, close and either resell those properties or hold on for rental income. This is what I like doing.

It never ceases to amaze me the number of people who claim to be in a position to help you achieve your goals but can only do that if you pay them. Now I have no problem paying for services rendered. I have a problem paying when the only person who benefits is the one who receives money.

Let me explain. I am always looking for lending sources. I find some who say they can give me the money I need to purchase but I have to pay them a fee. This is to either cover insurance, to cover processing fees or administrative fees. When I was a novice in this business I use to pay these upfront fees and find lenders would never close my deals. The fees were never refunded and the only person who got paid was the lender.

I changed all that. Now I only pay for items that you have to pay upfront in order for a lender to make a decision - namely for appraisals and maybe credit reports although many run their own credit reports on you. I never pay any fees that the lender charges to process my loan. Those are administrative fees and should be paid when everyone makes money. That is at the closing.

I adhere to the principles that everyone must win. I must win. The seller must win. The lender must win. Anyone associated with a deal of mine must win. People will not work for you for long if they are constantly taking a hit and not winning in the transactions.

The same goes for all of these self proclaimed real estate experts who have made their fortune in real estate and now look to make it big based on people paying to connect with them. You are not connecting based on "we do a deal and both get paid". No, its "you pay me a fee to help you and hopefully you will close and make some money". Problem with this philosophy is if the deal doesn't close you are not going to get your money back.

I think businesses in the 21st century have been hurt by people only trying to get money for themselves. Many of those who participated in the flip houses series on A & E have begun to have seminars. That can be good. But to milk the public out of money promising people future riches is wrong. There is a lot more to being successful than having a system, having a mentor or spending thousands on books and CD's hoping you will emulate their success.

Rich people should not take advantage of those less fortunate and require money from them.

How about using your wealth to help others do better in life?