When it comes to your real estate investments, it’s good to be a control freak. This is not what talking head hosts will tell you on the cable financial shows. They want you to drink the Wall Street Kool-Aid and do your best zombie imitation as you follow the broker of your choice's advice down the hemlock-laced path. The surest way to become a spectacular failure as an investor is to give up control of your portfolio to someone else. We’ve talked before about the three essential problems...

The term Ponzi Scheme, named for Italian-American, Charles Ponzi, back in 1920, describes an investment flim-flam that requires an ever-increasing volume of cash to stay afloat. The influx of new investor money is used to pay original investors and to line the pocket of the person that started the whole thing. The problem is, the model is destined to fail. Either the pool of suckers runs dry or the SEC figures out something illegal is going on, usually very late in the game. Does the name...

Here’s a question for you. Fill in the blank. “My government is ___” A. criminally stupid B. criminally criminal C. criminally insane D. desperate E. all of the above and then some At Platinum Properties Investor Network, we would like to make a case for answer D. For quite some time now, it appears our politicians and others who contribute to economic policy have had their brains replaced with sawdust. You’ve heard of inflation, right? It’s that nasty little superbug that trivializes...

We know it sounds counter-intuitive to say you can get rich borrowing money during inflationary times but, if you’ll stick with us for a few minutes, we’ll show you how it makes perfect sense. Let’s start with a simple economic truth – the value of a dollar declines over time. In fact, it declines a whole lot. In real terms of stuff you can buy, a dollar in 1972 has fallen all the way down to where it’s only worth .24 cents today. This is what is referred to as inflation. It attacks the...

At Platinum Properties Investor Network, we don’t know any other way to do it than to keep beating the same drum – investing in Wall Street’s lies will lead to disappointment. That game is rigged to siphon your money a little at a time (or sometimes a lot at once) until you have nothing. We know it’s hard to turn your back on the stock market. Your parents and grandparents probably invested in it also. The ultra-rich con men who run it, along with their willing accomplices in the media, have...

These days, investors are poised like vultures in trees along the roadway, ready to dive on the next foreclosure hitting the market like roadkill on pavement. Do your homework and there’s no doubt you can find a heck of a deal investing in foreclosures but think one step ahead and you might get an even better deal by buying the property BEFORE it’s foreclosed upon. This method of acquirement is known as a short sale or pre-foreclosure. The term “short sale” simply means the bank is ready to...

At some point, most of us realize that life is a gradual process of acquiring the knowledge necessary to stay alive and maybe make a little money along the way. Remember when Mom told you not to eat stuff off the sidewalk? There’s a reason for that – you could get very sick. Or when Dad told you not to stand on the very highest rung of the ladder because it’s not safe, as he soon proved by going to the very top in a psychotic effort to clean the last leaf from the gutter – and promptly fell...

As you may know, we at Platinum Properties Investor Network believe that real estate, income properties specifically, are the premium investment asset in the world. It vexes us mightily to realize that millions of hard-working Americans are coming home from a day’s work to plop themselves down at the computer and see what their stocks have done that day. We can already tell you the answer to that without even looking – up, down, sideways. Forward two steps, backwards two steps. It’s all over...

Like a broken record, we keep telling you that big-time inflation is just around the corner and now is the time to adjust your investment strategy. But why do we think inflation is coming? Okay, fair question. Here is the chain of economic events we see coming. 1. The natural consequence of our politicians “print more money no matter what” philosophy is increasing inflation. As prices go up, more investors will sell bonds in an attempt to preserve their wealth. This will place an upward...

What’s to stop an interested income property investor from showing up at one of our heralded educational events, find out which markets we’re recommending, and head out to make your own connection with your own real estate agent? The short answer is nothing. There is absolutely to stop anyone from doing that. It’s not illegal. It’s not immoral, and we won’t hate you for it. We do, however, sort of cringe because we know a certain percentage of educational event attendees are doing just...

Ahh, your own private bank. Wouldn’t it be great? Working, well, uh, banker’s hours. Plenty of cash at hand when you’re ready to begin investing. At Platinum Properties Investor Network, we’d like to point out there is a private bank you can use for income property investing you might not have thought about. It’s called your home. Yep, the structure you live in. You’ve got equity in there, right? Our average customer comes to us with about $300,000 equity in their home but don’t get...

If you’ve been interested in income property investing for any length of time, whether you’ve actually pulled the trigger and bought a property or not, you’ve likely run across the “No money down!” hucksters. They’ll show you pictures of happy couples relaxing on their favorite beach, living a life of frivolity and luxury on the income from their rentals. Don’t get us wrong, you can create plenty of wealth using the income property approach but at Platinum Properties Investor Network, we...

The answer to the question posed in the headline is “When hell freezes over” or, to put it more politely, “Never.” We feel pretty sure in making such a definitive statement because there is no logical way inflation will ever stop being a serious economic issue as long as our wrongheaded politicians think increasing the money supply is going to solve every problem. How does the government cause inflation? We love a good conspiracy theory as much as anyone but this time it’s straight forward....

Most of the time, we at Platinum Properties Investor Network would tell you that taking out a loan against your 401k retirement plan would be a bad idea. The reason is that the majority of people would waste the proceeds on the trappings of wealth – boats, cars, expensive vacations. If that describes what you would likely do with a 401k loan, you have our permission to skip the rest of this blog. For those of you still with us, there is one situation where we think it’s a great idea to...

Warren Buffett, the Sage of Omaha, seems like a kindly old gentleman when you see him on television but never forget the man got to where he is in life with an eagle eye constantly cocked for opportunity. Recent events in the stock market are a good lesson for why we say the average investor should run from Wall Street investments with all due speed. Buffett, banks, and other elite investors are using the bodies of the middle class American to climb to even more wealth. How does it work?...

Spend any time with television or radio these days and you likely will hear the pitch that corporate credit is the answer to it all. World peace, hunger, nuclear proliferation, a veritable free flow of money that gushes into your pocket any time you want it to. At this point, any thinking human with more than two brain cells to rub together should be a little suspicious. Is there anything in life that works like that? To this, we feel safe in saying “no.” But there are some potential...

We talked earlier about the four critical areas of rehab when you’re considering a foreclosure purchase for your income property portfolio. It’s good to be at least somewhat aware of these four areas. After all, accurate estimates could be the key to profitability. Most foreclosures recommended by Platinum Properties Investor Network are not going to have major trouble in these areas but it’s a good idea to at least be aware of the possibility. Roof – The primary areas for concern are wood...

Until recently, Platinum Properties Investor Network didn’t like to recommend foreclosures to our network. With the generally low quality of the selection, it was just too much of a risk to our reputation for finding excellent properties. But, for reasons you’re probably aware of, things have changed a little bit. Much of our track record for success can be traced to our ability to quickly react to changing market conditions. We now take foreclosures into consideration and even recommend...

Just when you thought we were done proving how easy it is to create wealth in real estate through income property investing, we’re back with three more reasons. Reason #4 – “Realtors are a difficult bunch.” This is very NOT true when you work with Platinum Properties Investor Network. Our local area managers are real estate agents who LOVE to work with you. If they don’t, we quit sending them business and, believe us, they want our business. Reason #5 – “I might lose money.” Real estate is...

Why aren’t more people investing in income properties when it’s the most lucrative, safest choice in history? Good question. Probably because people would rather watch television than improve their financial condition. Sure, everybody says they want to get rich but what are they actually doing about it besides flapping their gums? Talking wistfully about something you have taken no action to achieve is called whining. Don’t go into the Green Parrot Bar in Key West with that attitude. It’s an...

Many contracts say that rent is due on the 1st of each month but the late charge doesn’t kick in until the 10th. So it’s no big deal if the check arrives on the 5th, 6th, or even the 9th. Right? We hate to break the bad news but your leniency on rent is only going to encourage more delinquency. You've heard this before from us - human nature! Maybe it’s time to get more serious about on-time meaning ON TIME! Here’s an idea crazy enough that it just might work. Don’t give them nine days of...

If you were starting out in real estate investing today, which direction would you go? At Platinum Properties Investor Network™, we believe that income properties are a great way to start, but another alternative to consider is a mobile home park. When we say mobile home, we mean either a traditional trailer or manufactured home. The voracious demand for affordable housing and financing is likely to keep the demand rising into the future. Some people consider a mobile home park the closest...

Not ALL real estate seminars are a rip-off but you can get taken to the tune of several thousand dollars without getting much actionable material in return if you’re not careful. Here are a few things to watch out for: 1. Be wary of price extremes. Very cheap or very expensive seminars should be examined closely, although for different reasons. If the event is cheap or free, face it, there will be a hard sell involved. Getting people into a room is expensive, so the promoter has to sell...

Your broker has turned you on to an incredible income property deal that will cash flow big time from the beginning because it’s already leased long term. You’re so excited you might pass out. There’s cash in the bank to cover the purchase. Pull the trigger? Not quite that fast. Despite antiquated conventional wisdom to the contrary, buying a property with cash is not something a savvy investor would do. The problem with buying on a cash basis is that you short circuit the benefit of a...

If you’re part of the crowd of millions tired of getting slapped around by Wall Street chicanery, it’s only natural to be hesitant about committing more money to alternative investments, especially when you’ve been brainwashed your whole life to believe stocks, bonds, and mutual funds are IT. There is no other investment class. At Platinum Properties Investor Network™, we’re here to tell you real estate is not an alternative to the stock market. The word “alternative” implies the two...