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Did you make it BIG during the BOOM? This guy did....

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Real Estate Agent with Call Realty, Inc.

There were many factors driving the Real Estate BOOM from ~ 2000-2005.  Some of these, to varying degrees and in no particular order, include

                                                                                                              

  • shifting portfolios away from stocks (dot.com bust)
  • historically low interest rates
  • internet/tv based 'discussion' about real estate
  • 2nd home buyers
  • property flippers
  • genuine population growth
  • migration dynamics of our population

I highlight below the saga of one gentleman.  I am guessing many of you have read about him in the past.  It appears that he purchased 10's of properties throughout the southwest within the past few years and apparently made a 7 figure haul from his transactions.  From LA, to Vegas, to Phoenix and then Albuquerque, the links below chronicle his path to fortune (and apparently some fame).

                                                                           

To me, this leads to numerous questions.  The first group of questions - I wonder just how common was this?  Were there hundreds of saavy folks that did as this gentleman did and purchase numerous investment properties?  Were there only a handful of folks who purchased at this level - are these folks the true superstars/winners of the boom???

The second grouping of questions I have - did the fast cash that many investors obviously made during the boom permanently damage real estate investing from here on out?  Are fewer and fewer traditional investors purchasing with the idea of buy and hold for the long term?  Is the only type of real estate investing most folks know about today based on the quick buck and flipping?

The third group of questions I have - are such purchases en masse still taking place?  What do the agents in Albuquerque see?  What about Texas - do any agents have clients buying 10+ properties?  How about North Carolina or Georgia?

I am extremely anxious to get feedback from around the country as to whether this phenomenon still exists in small pockets and if/when you anticipate it returning if it is currently not occurring.

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Christopher Smith
EquityScout.com - Houston, TX

Note that some of these links are a couple of years old...

This guy was a speculator, and I'm not convinced that there's much to be learned here.  He made some huge bets and won, made a bunch of money, and has used the proceeds to buy Cartier watches and fancy cars.  

Everyone has seen the www.iamfacingforeclosure.com guy by now - he's the flip side of the same story .  

If these guys had switched places in time (the first guy started a couple of years later, and the second guy started a couple of years sooner) then their fortunes would have switched as well.  The iamfacingforeclosure guy would be wearing the Cartier watches instead of blogging about his impending bankruptcy.  

This isn't to knock speculating, by the way.  Speculators can do well.  It's just that speculating is different from investing, and has a different risk profile.  Either speculating or investing might be right for a given person - but the danger comes when you think you're doing one but you're actually doing the other.  

Jan 04, 2007 02:19 AM
Kaushik Sirkar
Call Realty, Inc. - Chandler, AZ

Yes, these links are certainly older.  I was thinking about this guy and dug up older links for this blog post.

So you suggest its all about timing/luck?  I would agree with that.  Mainly I was curious if such rampant speculation was still occurring, even if in small pockets.

Thanks for your feedback, insightful as always!  I need to get a few more featured posts so I can get more comments! :)

Jan 04, 2007 06:29 AM
Christopher Smith
EquityScout.com - Houston, TX

To say it's only "luck" might be a little too strong - although there certainly is an element of luck in all things.  But on the other hand, there are speculators who have a talent for spotting trends and who also have the nerve and risk tolerance to chase their intuition.  These guys consistently beat the market (think Warren Buffett) or consistently make far-out risky ventures work (think Richard Branson). 

Someone who establishes a track record through various investment cycles makes you think "hey - how do they do it?" 

Making money flipping houses during a booming market doesn't take any skill.  It just takes nerve.  But someone who consistently is able to spot the trends and can make their trades work in both bull and bear markets - now that takes more than luck. 

Jan 04, 2007 07:11 AM
Kaushik Sirkar
Call Realty, Inc. - Chandler, AZ
Very valid distinction - whether they can pull it off in all markets, or only when a market goes up 50% in one year.  One item of note - supposedly the gentleman in this set of articles didn't actually sell too many of his properties.  He was planning on holding for a slightly longer term - so technically he doesn't fall into the flipper category?
Jan 04, 2007 10:34 AM
Anonymous
Zarita

Kaushik,

Do yourself a favor a read the new 2007 Swanepoel Trends Report. It doesn't cover regional pricing, economic and mortgage rates but it gives a great detailed overview of the residential real estate business itself. With your keen eye I am sure you will spot numerous great opportunities to create a new real estate business venture that will succeed.

Remember money is not only made in the buying, seliing and flipping of house but in the industry itself. It is huge and serves over 2 milion licensed agents and another 3 million plus mortgage, title, escrow, home inspectors etc.

You will fid the Report very insightful. For more information go to http://www.retrends.com.

Good luck

Zarita

May 07, 2007 06:19 PM
#5
Nick Good
The Good Home Team with eXp Realty - McKinney, TX
www.TheGoodHomeTeam.com

This is a way I make money but I saw this post and I wanted to share it with everyone because Armando does offer some great tips in his e-books on how to flip properties. 

 

Internet millionaire Joel Therien, president of armandomontelongo.com
and Hotconference.com, two very popular websites has just
launched a new site called Armando Montelongo.com.

This site is a social networking site catered to one market,
entrepreneurial people and business opportunity seekers.

"The site is there for all types of people who want to
meet with other who have some of the same business
interests" says Therien " It caters to any type of
opportunity, investment clubs, franchises, Network
opportunities, Day traders, you name it and the site caters
to it.

With so many filters on the internet, even legitimate subscriber
email is getting blocked, which unfortunately rendering
newsletters somewhat ineffective leaving opportunity seekers
no valid or cost effective way to find or communicate with each
other.

ArmandoMontelongo.com is very different in that it allows
people to communicate in real time audio and video conferencing
in a secure environment.

People can join free knowing that others on the site will enjoy
hearing about their opportunities.

You can visit the site at
http://nickgood.armandomontelongo.com                                    

Jun 28, 2007 07:29 AM
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