I LOVE YOU. Say these three simple words every day to the people you love and you will have magic in your life. I used to take love for granted and assumed my loved ones knew they were loved so why would I have to say it every day. The answer is that we need to say “I love you” to stay connected to heart and other people need to hear those words to feel your connection. I used feel stupid saying those words because it caused me discomfort. One of my mentors challenged me to look in the mirror every day and say to myself “I love you”. The secret to this technique is that you need to love yourself first before you can love others. It is through the abundance of love that you have that the overflow is easy to share. Valentine’s Day is not one special day of the year reserved to show, give, say, feel that special loving. Valentine’s Day is every day of the year.
DINNER IN ORLANDO
Steve planned our trip to Disney World a month ago and it coincided with an NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) course hosted by Richard Bandler that Julie Zhu, Will Chen, Andy Barrett and Selena Cheung were attending. In between their course and theme parks, we met up for dinner at Big Fin Seafood Restaurant for a delectable meal. And as an additional bonus, Steve and I were able to watch the Olympics in the evenings. Since we don’t have cable at home, it was a treat to watch tv in our hotel. Way to go Canada!
PROPERTY MANAGER-IN-TRAINING
We have hired a resident manager for the Ontario portfolio; actually a full time manager and a part-time assistant manager. All of the resumes we received were heavy on the maintenance work with minimal administrative experience. The key to effective property management is not maintaining the buildings although that is important. The key is in your communication and documentation. We decided to train a newbie with no property management experience. The great thing is that he has no bad habits to unlearn. The exhilarating part is watching our new team implement the systems put in to place. Laying the foundation for a successful business takes the most time and effort. Once it is operating as designed, you have taken yourself out of active management. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.
INVESTOR SAVVY: CREATING VALUE
This is Al & Shelley DeMelo from Kamloops. We joint ventured on a 6-plex in Thunder Bay. They decided to visit us for a week as their way of creating value for me. We hosted them on our air mattress in the living room and they got to experience what it’s like being a resident property manager. After we inspected their lovely property, they helped us with an eviction in our Lakehead portfolio. It was an eye opening process and we had a lot of fun discovering the how-to’s.
CALLING IN THE SHERIFF
My property management staff had a wonderful learning experience on how to process a sheriff enforced eviction. We were dealing with a professional tenant who knew how to use the tenancies act to their advantage. As a result, this person was able to live in their unit for four and a half months without paying rent. The eviction process usually takes two months. Please note that in Ontario the Landlord Tenant Board will not process any hearings in the month of December. For details about how an eviction is processed in Ontario, please go to my blog.
FOR REAL ESTATE INVESTORS ONLY
My business coach Andrew Barber-Starkey is hosting an exclusive seminar in Calgary, Alberta on March 15th from 6:30pm to 10:00pm. I know from personal experience that being able to analyze deals, knowing contract law, being motivated are not enough to help you become successful. Why do you think so many real estate investors fail? It is not for lack of training or education. It is because of their lack of a plan and the system to implement that plan. Andrew has an exceptional program designed for entrepreneurs to help you achieve your goals. He states double your income, double your time off and double your speed to financial freedom in less than three years. In 3 years I was able to go from $40,000 in debt to multi-millionaire and I continue using his program. It was less than easy for me to unlearn all of my bad habits from years of doing it the wrong way. That’s why it is a 3-year program. Why stop using a winning formula? That’s the other half of my secret. When most people achieve their initial goal, they stop using the system that got them there. If you are looking for a way to be a more successful real estate investor, you can check out what Andrew and I have been up to Here.
Never forget: the secret of creating riches for oneself is to create them for others. Sir John Templeton.
July Ono
