Realty411 Magazine featuring NORADA Real Estate Investments - PART 2 - FREE REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT MAGAZINE!

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WEALTH
It’s On Us
Marco Santarelli
Leads NORADA
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Plus, Where Are
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Insider Secrets:
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411411www.realty411guide.com | Vol. 4 • No. 4 • 2013 A Resource Guide for Investors
Print • Online • Network

07 Publisher’s note
08 Insurance myths
11 Meet Tim Herriage
13 It’s a seller’s market
14 What are tax liens?
16 Photo tips for investors
18 Invest in mobile home parks
19 Snail mail success
20 Sound advice on leverage
22 Flipping Boston on A&E
24 Notes with Scott Carson
25 Tips on rental management
27 Questioning convention
with Marco Santarelli
31 Proﬁle of Equity Trust
35 Tony Martinez and notes
36 Sensei’s entrepreneurial life
40 The 401(K) sinking hole
42 Coast to Coast REIA
44 A secure investment?
46 Nick Vertucci always wins
48 Market selection advice
50 Q&A with IPX/AZ
52 The power of direction
54 Beneﬁts for investors
56 Find your partners
contents Here’s The KeyTo Your Real Estate Insurance Needs ...
“ ”
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• Theft coverage available on vacant locations
• Coverages underwritten by AM Best “A” or better
rated insurers, such as Lloyd’s of London, Scottsdale,
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• Insure multiple owner/controlling entities under
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• Basic or Special form coverage options
• Premises liability of $1 million per occurrence
• Liability coverage only is available
• Available in all 50 states
• Insure properties held in IRAs, Trusts, LLCs,
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• Embedded program(s) available for property managers,
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• Coverage available for non-US citizens
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Realty411Guide.com PAGE 5 • 2013 reWEALTHmag.com

Richard Desich
Sr. starts Mid-
Ohio Securities
on January 1,
1974
The IRS approves
Mid-Ohio Securities
as a non-bank, passive
custodian for IRA’s
A Drug Mart
store in Ohio
becomes the
company’s first
non-traditional
asset held
within an IRA
The company’s
services expand to
include all 50 states
Equity Trust
Company is
founded
Mid-Ohio Securities
moves its self-
directed accounts
to Equity Trust
Company
Rapidly growing Equity
Trust moves into its new
16,000 square-foot facility
in Blyria, Ohio
New Equity Trust
website created,
www.trustetc.com,
receives 1 million
unique visitors
Equity Trust holds
40,000 active
accounts
Inaugural Equity
University Networking
Conference brings
hundreds of self-
directed investors to
Orlando, Florida for
proven self-directed
investment strategies,
education and
networking
Equity Trust
hits the 20,000
account
milestone
1970s
1980s
2000s1990s
EQUITY
TrUsT
Company founder Richard Desich realized early in his career
that investing in real estate and other alternative investments
in an IrA could be a valuable retirement savings tool. In 1974
he began Mid-Ohio securities (which later transferred its self-
directed IRA accounts to Equity Trust) and the company's first
real estate investment in an IrA took place in 1984.

Equity Trust Company
hits $3 billion in assets
under administration
Company acquires
Texas-based Sterling
Trust, bringing Equity
Trust’s client to 115,000
Jeff Desich is
named CEO of
Equity Trust
Company
Equity Trust
Company’s
client base
tops 130,000
Equity Trust
Company opens
Denver office and
launches Equity
Advisor Solutions
Company’s South Dakota
service and operations center
opens - Equity Trust Company
now operates from 5 facilities in
4 states
Industry first online client portal,
myEQUITY launches, giving clients access
to 24/7 networking and education
Equity Trust’s Facebook
fan base surpasses 5,000
Ira the bear becomes Equity Trust’s
official mascot, takes on the task of
travelling to spread the word about
self-directed IRA’s
Equity Trust debuts a new look and
enhanced services
2010s
Almost 40 years later, the company and demand for self-direct-
ed IrAs continue to grow. Equity Trust is the nation's leading
provider of self-directed IrAs and 401(k)s with over 130,000
clients in all 50 states and $12 Billion of retirement fund assets
under custody.
Company website,
www.TrustETC.com
educates and informs 2
million unique visitors
Equity Trust
Company hits
the milestone
of $12 billion
in assets under
administration

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TheStateoftheNoteMarketTheStateoftheNoteMarket
Why is now the time to
invest in bank notes?
F
or Asset Ventures’ Tony
Martinez, the answer is
as clear as writing on a
wall. Martinez entered
the bank note business through
his earlier experiences buying
and selling real estate — in par-
ticular, short sales.
“I negotiated more than 300
short sales through the real estate
side,” said Martinez, “and I was
looking for a better way.”
And for the past several years,
that “better way” has been in-
vesting in notes. A mortgage note is a lien against a property,
created where someone has borrowed money against it.
“It’s basically an IOU, which states the terms by which the
borrower has to pay back the lender,” said Martinez. “What
we do is buy institutional notes that were created by a bank
or mortgage company.”
notes
The real opportunity began in 2007, according to
Martinez, when the market shifted and suddenly those
notes were nearly worthless to banks; the unpaid balance
stayed in place, but when the loans stopped performing,
the banks were in a bind.
“Millions of dollars’ worth of notes were no longer
of any value to the banks,” said Martinez. “Remember,
they used the value of those notes in order to borrow
money to lend and make their money, and now they had
nowhere to go with all this collateral.”
Imagine you’re a bank, said Martinez, and you have
1,000 notes, and every one is performing. “You’re sitting
in a pretty good position,” he said. “If one goes bad, it’s
not really a big deal, you’ll just sell it off, or foreclose,
or whatever options are available. You might spend the
time and work out something really attractive for the
borrower, because you’ve got all those other notes working
for you.”
But in a major financial crisis, it’s another matter. “When
there’s a huge hit, and all of a sudden you’ve got 50% of your
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Mentor to the note industry
Continued on pg. 36
by Robb Magley

inventory becoming worthless, and you’ve got to figure out a
way to create some liquidity,” said Martinez. “So you’ll start
selling off your bad paper at fire sale prices.”
The need for that liquidity is fundamental, according to
Martinez. “If I’m a big bank, the government requires me to
freeze some of my good liquid assets to protect my bad debt,”
he said. “That limits my lending power on the other side.”
That’s because a bank is allowed to loan as much as ten
times its liquid assets; for every $100,000 in liquid assets, it
can loan $1 million.
“Now, if I have a loan of $100,000 that’s not performing, I
have to freeze the equivalent of $1 million in lending,” said
Martinez. “That really affects my business in a negative way.”
Now, he added, imagine if the bank can sell a non-perform-
ing loan that’s worth -- on paper -- $100,000 to someone for
$20,000.
“Suddenly I have $20,000 in liquid assets, and I can loan
$200,000,” he said. “There’s a huge benefit to them to do this;
the benefit to us is we can buy these notes for pennies on the
dollar.”
Several other factors have come into play that make this a
good time to get into notes, said Martinez. Right now, he said,
most of the notes that are available for investment are ones that
were taken on originally by larger banks -- and their time is
running out in at least two ways.
“Those big banks have until the end of this year to relin-
quish as much of the bad debt as they can, and still receive up
to an 80% reimbursement for their loss,” said Martinez. “So
that’s a huge motivating factor for the banks to get these off
their books.”
Also, after the TARP money runs out at the end of this year,
the government is putting increasingly complicated lending
regulations in place for the following year. “So the banks want
to put themselves in as much of a liquid position as possible
right now, to continue to be able to borrow from the govern-
ment at a very low rate while there aren’t as many regulatory
restrictions,” said Martinez.
Finally, banks are simply tired of the resources they expend
keeping up with non-performing notes.
“The maintenance of a bad note costs them so much more
than that of a good performing note, probably 10-15 times
more,” said Martinez. “They really don’t want to deal with
them. You have to think at their scale; while we’re looking at
10 or 100 of these, they’re dealing with thousands. It makes
more sense to sell it off.” Martinez said the note market is
probably going to remain strong for several years, particularly
due to the volume of inventory.
“There’s hundreds of thousands of delinquent notes,” said
Martinez. “It’s going to be impossible to move them overnight.
We’re probably looking at a year or two’s worth of inventory
lagging behind, even if the market changes dramatically.”
And, he said, no one he talks to thinks that’s less than 3-5
years away.
For more information or to receive a free informational DVD
on the note market, visit: www.assetventuresllc.com
bring in 7-8 older repo homes to in-
crease occupancy and sell them on
a lease-to-own program. Then raise
the lot rents by $10-$25/month (de-
pending on the market).
After 18 months when you have
increased the annual lot rent in-
come by $30,000, sell the park for
$450,000, which would be a 10 cap
for a new buyer (don’t be greedy on
the sale — leave a nice return for
the buyer). After paying the seller
back and your investors a nice profit
and returning their principal, you
should have at least $125,000 in
your pocket.
Step Two of the plan is to get the original investors to
reinvest their $100K along with your $125K and buy a
distressed 50-space park. Use the exact same formula as
Step One for the 18-month period. You should end of with
$250K in your pocket after that sale.
Step Three is to buy your 100-space park as notated in #2
above. This business is not rocket science. Anyone can do
it. A quick example: A guy I bought a
park from in Raleigh, NC at the end of
2009 had owned the park since 1979. He
never went to college. He raised his fam-
ily in the park and the cash flow allowed
him to send three kids to college. After
I purchased it, he netted out $3 million!
I paved some of the roads, added some
cosmetic repairs, and brought in 15 older
repo homes to fill empty sites. I owned
the park for two years and was able to net
out $1 million in profit after I sold it in
December of 2011.
Mike Conlon is a President/Owner of
Affordable Communities Group, LLC,
(www.acgmhc.com), which invests
in distressed mobile home communi-
ties throughout the Southeast and the
Midwest. He is also President/Owner of Carolina Turnkey
Properties, LLC, which buys distressed single-family homes
in the Raleigh and Charlotte markets. He has been a full-
time real estate investor for the last 10 years. He is based
in Cary, NC. He is also an author, speaker, and educator on
real estate investing. His book, “Unconventional Wealth: The
New Main Street Millionaires,” was released in August 2012.
Mike Conlon can be reached at mike.conlon@acgmhc.com
The New Main
$treet Millionaires
M I K E C O N L O N
Mike has the unique ability to provide
Americans with a realistic, no B.S. view of the
financial world today – one that comes from
his years of street-wise investment success
in three different businesses – financial
planning, mid-sized apartment complexes,
and mobile home communities that have
made him a true Main $treet Millionaire.
He has bought, rehabbed, and sold over $50
million worth of commercial multi-family
(affordable apartment complexes and
mobile home parks) involving 15 projects
over the last ten years. He was a leader in
the financial planning business in the 1990’s
and early 2000’s as he grew a financial
planning broker-dealer from $1.2 million in
gross revenues to $40 million in six years and
then sold it to a large national insurance
company; he also managed over $100
million of client money in his own financial
planning practice before becoming
completely disillusioned with Wall Street
money machine. He is a 1990 graduate of
the University of Minnesota Law School.
Mike’s basic investing premise has brought
him success over the last decade and he
foresees even more opportunities over the
next 10 years. Unconventional Wealth gives
readers insight into the skillz they need to
become Main $treet Millionaires.
UNCONVENTIONAL WEALTH:
The New Main $treet Millionaires
In this book, Mike Conlon will show you an unconventional path
to prosperity in this very difficult economy by providing quality,
ethical, and affordable services to America’s largest and fastest
growing consumer group. In order to prosper on this path, you
don’t need a college degree, only the willingness to work hard
and learn.
UNCONVENTIONALWEALTH:MIKECONLON
TheNewMain
$treetMillionaires
Making $100,000 per year, pg. 18
The State of the Note Market, pg. 35

Why Should You Invest In A
Mobile Home Community?
Why Should You Invest In A
Mobile Home Community?
Log on to any websites
below to get more information
on investing in Mobile Home
Communities and to
score a free copy of
Mike’s new book:
Unconventional Wealth
Creating the New
Mainstreet Millionaires
Learn how I made over
$500,000 in profit in
two years by buying
one distressed
community
This advertisement is an offer for an educational product is in no way
an offer to solicit or sell any investment or security. All investments
contain risk, including potential loss of principal. Please consult your
financial advisors before making any financial decisions.
AFFORDABLE
COMMUNITIES
GROUP
3 The demand for affordable housing is
skyrocketing
3 Very little, if any, affordable housing has been
built in the U.S. since the mid-1990’s
3 Much higher cash flows than apartment com-
plexes as they are less maintenance intensive,
have much less resident turnover, and much
lower ongoing capital expenses
3 Higher barriers to entry as the costs to build
a new park are high and available land near
larger metro areas is scarce and expensive
3 Much easier to manage when the majority of
residents are just “leasing the dirt”
Why affordable communities group?
3 10+ years experience in buying, rehabbing and
selling over 3,000 units
3 Have completed 15 full cycle deals (buy, rehab,
sell) resulting in over $50 million proceeds
3 Experts in the property management business
as we self-manage all our properties - very
“hands-on”
3 Keep a tight geographic focus - diversified, but
not too spread out
3 We put our own capital into every deal
Mike Conlon, President/CEO
MIke Conlon, aka Main Street Millionaire, has the unique abil-
ity to provide a realistic, no b.s. view of the investment world
today as he is highly educated but also has 15 years+ of street-
wise investment success that has made him a multi-millionaire.
Mike tailors his business strategy around providing outstanding
customer service and quality, affordable products to the fastest
growing consumer segment in the U.S., to the working poor.
mainstreetmillionaire.com
affordablecommunitiesgroup.com
carolinaturnkeyproperties.com

Entrepreneurial Lifeby Stephanie Mojica
S
ensei Gilliland is a husband, father, real estate inves-
tor and entrepreneur. He has little time to spare. He
runs businesses that are automated to pump out large
sums of cash every day. Sensei is the founder and CEO
for Black Belt Investors, a real estate company that offers
investments, education and consulting. Sensei also owns a
chain of martial arts schools, a marketing company and an
real estate auction bid service focused in Phoenix, Arizona.
Multiple Streams of Income is the most preached about
rule for real estate investors, but with that systems must be
placed. How can we as investors automate our real estate
investing business or agency with
other endeavors that we may
have? Read on to find out...
Question: When you first started
your martial arts business, were
you expecting that it would be-
come a full-time business and a
growing company?
Answer: At first, I started it with the idea that it would be-
come an income stream, until I figured out what I wanted
to do as a career. During college I realized that I was mak-
ing just as much money working my part-time martial arts
business as the professors who worked full-time careers.
I received my associate’s degree and quickly exited college
so I could focus my attention on building my business.
Q: At what point did you venture into real estate?
A: I got started in the real estate because I was looking for
a business that would give me a passive income stream.
First my eyes were set on coin-op car washes. I understood
the car wash business model, but what I didn’t understand
was how to lease or buy land. Now, I had to learn the real
estate business. Here’s what I learned: He who controls the
real estate, controls the business. That was a big lesson for
me, so I quickly dove into the real estate investing world
as I wanted that control.
Q: Was there a particular real estate niche that attracted
you and why?
A: Yes, I was attracted to fixing and flipping houses be-
cause I wanted big paydays like I read in the books.
Q: At what point did you realize that your real estate busi-
ness was going to take off and decide to devote yourself to
building a second career?
A: That’s funny you ask... I knew this business was for me
right after I took my first real estate workshop. I had cre-
ated such a passion for flipping houses that failure was not
an option for me, especially after I had to break the news to
my bride that I just spent $30,000 on a package of real estate
seminars. You men reading this article know what I’m talking
about. After my first 5 years of flipping houses across the na-
tion and continuing my education, I added other cash generat-
ing real estate niches such as wholesaling, purchase options
and rentals. I had such a momentum that many people started
to inquire about my business and that is when I decided to
expand my business to consulting, education, private money
lending and asset management.
Q: I see that Black Belt Investors has many spokes to its
hub. Would you mind telling us which spoke is the most
dominate income stream and which spoke captures your
passion?
A: Oh that’s easy. Buying and selling real estate is my cash
machine, rentals is my wealth builder and my passion be-
longs to educating.
Q: You’ve boot strapped your business, and as I understand,
you run a lean and mean machine. What do you do your-
self, what does your staff do, and what do you outsource?
A: That’s a fully loaded question, but let me put it in simple
form. I personally like to focus on the creative side of busi-
ness. I enjoy to tweaking, testing and enhancing my products
and services to stay on the cutting edge. I also love to build
new businesses that compliments one of my other businesses.
I have a powerful staff that I can rely on that enjoys their
work. Some of my staff works in the office, some are out in
the field and many are set up to work through a virtual office.
They relieve me of many duties that would normally tie me
down just to maintain the business. I know that if I want to
HowtoControlYourtime&moneywithsensei’ssecretstoan
‘...my definition of wealth is having
income streams to control my time
without compromising my lifestyle.’

grow, then I must be relieved of the work that a $10 an hour employee
can handle as ‘time is money’ and my time is much more valuable than
to do the tasks of a $10 an hour job. I will mention a few of the duties
that I outsource that most businesses can relate too, such as database
managers, internet marketing, social media managing, services and
product sales team and transactions coordinators.
Q: I know that you own multiple companies. How do you manage
and control these businesses?
A: I think it is very important to focus on your strengths and hire your
weakness. If you are going to own one or many businesses, then you
need to learn how to develop systems that can be operated by employ-
ees. Let’s take McDonalds for an example... here you have a fast food
chain that will pull in billions in revenue each and every year op-
erated by minimum wage workers. How can that be? It works
because of the powerful business branding and the systems
that are in place. By having great branding and systems, it
allows the owner to oversee the business and not be in the
business, which ultimately allows more time for the owner
to focus on business building.
Q: You’re a strong advocate of “personal branding”.
Could you define what that means to you?
A: I had no concept what branding meant until about
eight years ago. Branding to me is a name that stands
for something in prospects’ minds. Google stands for
“search”. Home Depot stands for “home improve-
ment”. Redbox stands for “video rentals”. Developing
a great brand and you will have what I call “positive
magnet marketing”. Prospects will be drawn to you
and your business. Don’t brand yourself properly and
you will have “negative magnet marketing”, which
means you will push your marketing to find prospects.
Q: How do you define entrepreneurship?
A: I define entrepreneurship as “the passionate pursuit of
opportunity.” Entrepreneurship is not for the weak. One
must work harder, faster and smarter than the competition.
Q: How do you define wealth?
A: The definition of wealth is very personal to each indi-
vidual, however, my definition of wealth is “having income
streams to control my time without compromising my life-
style.”
Q: What is next for Black Belt Investors?
A: I am continuing my work to grow the company and to take
advantage of the current market. I am excited to have a few irons
in the fire that will increase the value of the company and keep
me challenged. I am always working to build the brand, better our
service and products and enjoy myself along the journey.
Black Belt Investors is a real estate company that offers properties,
education and consulting. To learn more about Sensei and Black Belt
Investors or to sign up for his free newsletter, visit:
www.BlackBeltInvestors.com or call 951-280-1900
photo by Nathan York

from Jason Hartman’s
Financial Freedom Report
I
t’s not much of a secret
that the US government
is in the midst of big
financial problems.
The annual structural government
deficit is well in excess of $1 Trillion
dollars, with no end in sight. In addi-
tion to this, there are a growing number
of people who are hurtling toward
retirement with insufficient assets to
sustain themselves during their retire-
ment years. Reports of people making
early withdrawals from their retirement
accounts have caused some to proclaim
the 401(k) to be a failure, and have ex-
pressed a desire to replace the current
401(k) individual retirement accounts
with a universal government sponsored
pension.
Ordinarily, such a proposal would be
dismissed as the pointless rants of folks
from the far-left fringe. However, on
October 7, 2010 Senator Tom Harkin
(D-Iowa) held a recess hearing where
he heard testimony from people advo-
cating for a “Guaranteed Retirement
Account” (GRA).
The fundamental feature of a GRA
system is that the government would
seize 401(k) accounts, set up an ad-
ditional 5% payroll tax and distribute a
“fair” pension to everybody. The line
of reasoning that is used to advance the
proposal among its proponents is that
it replaces “market based” retirement
plans with a government pension that
is “more stable.” Of course, this is all
a thinly veiled cover for confiscating
multiple trillions of dollars in private
wealth to bail out bankrupt government
programs and union pension plans.
However, it provides a very impor-
tant lesson to the people who have
invested their time and effort into
building a financial nest egg to fund
their retirement. This message is that
the government has already prepared
proposals to come after large amounts
of private wealth. When the govern-
ment-entitlement state eventually comes
to the point of collapse, the political
establishment will become desperate.
This creates a tremendous degree of risk
for investors, since they may end up
with a situation where their hard work to
save and invest is literally stolen by the
government and invested into govern-
ment treasuries that pay a rate of interest
below the rate of inflation.
In this way, there is a persistent risk
that the once vaunted 401(k) could
become a financial sink hole that
Avoid Falling In
The 401(K) Sink Hole…

cal landscape to
determine when
or if such actions
will be required.
Furthermore, now
is a prime op-
portunity to begin
diversifying your
investing activi-
ties into areas that
are not concen-
trated in highly
visible pools of
capital.
One highly ef-
fective vehicle for
achieving this goal is income property.
Since rental real estate is highly frag-
mented, it will be much more difficult
and costly to confiscate than 401(k) and
IRA assets. In this way, fragmentation
serves as a defensive mechanism for
investors. Another way that fragmenta-
... now is a prime opportunity to begin diversifying
your investing activities into areas that are
not concentrated in highly visible pools of capital.
devastates many
millions of middle
class investors just
as they are nearing
the age where they
expected to retire.
It is important for
investors to under-
stand the true na-
ture and gravity of
the situation. The
US government
does not currently
have the power
to confiscate your
retirement assets,
but that power
could be granted by congress. From
there, the bill would need to be signed
by the President, and would almost cer-
tainly trigger a major court challenge.
However, the proposals have already
been advanced, and it seems to be only
a matter of time before somebody in
Washington DC becomes desperate
enough to come after the private wealth
of the millions who have invested their
earnings into a 401(k) plan.
This demonstrates two fundamen-
tal truths. The first is that desperate
governments will resort to highly risky
and unethical measures to avoid the
consequences of their collective fiscal
irresponsibility. The second is that our
financial resources may be at risk if
they are concentrated in a place such as
a 401(k) where they are easily visible
by government agencies.
Now is not the time to incur a
penalty and withdraw all of your funds
from the 401(k) or IRA plan that you
have established for your retirement
assets. However, it is most certainly a
time to pay diligent attention to what is
happening in the financial and politi-
Action Item: Diversify your
investments into fragmented
vehicles such as income properties
that are not concentrated in large,
highly visible financial institutions.
This will help you defend against
the risk of the government confis-
cating retirement accounts to fund
a universal pension system.
tion works in the favor of income prop-
erty investors is because laws regarding
the landlord-renter relationship are all
local. This means that a single sweep-
ing change from Washington D.C. is
unlikely to completely change the land-
scape of the income property market for
the entire country.
Thus, the 401(k) carries an increas-
ing risk of becoming a sink hole for
investors. The government is running
out of time before the full extent of their
generational financial irresponsibility is
brought to bear. The risk is not yet im-
minent, but is still very real. Intelligent
investors should understand that the
current world is one where the rules that
were originally created to help people
secure a happy, prosperous retirement
are poised to be pulled out from under
us at the most inopportune time pos-
sible.
Jason Hartman has been involved in sev-
eral thousand real estate transactions and
has owned income properties in 11 states
and 17 cities. His company, Platinum
Properties Investor Network, Inc. helps
people achieve The American Dream of
financial freedom by purchasing income
property in prudent markets nationwide.
Jason’s Complete Solution for Real
Estate Investors™ is a comprehensive
system providing real estate investors
with education, research, resources and
technology to deal with all areas of their
income property investment needs.
Contact Jason at www.JasonHartman.com or 714-820-4200.

by Isaac Newkirk
I
t’s common knowledge that tremendous money-mak-
ing opportunities exist by investing in real estate. But
questions still loom large: Where are the best deals?
Is my local community ripe for investments or do
neighboring cities offer better opportunities?
What’s the best way to determine pricing trends in
any given community?
And this is only the beginning: The deeper you go into the
real estate investing environment, the greater the number of
questions. The ever-changing market and uncertainty can be
difficult even for real estate veterans to deal with. It is for
this reason that many savvy investors with years of experi-
ence under their belt are increasingly turning back to their
local clubs for guidance. These groups are known as REIAs
(Real Estate Investors Association). Traditionally, many have
been under the National REIA umbrella, a non-profit trade
organization with local chapters nationwide. However, a
recent surge in industry activity has skyrocketed the number
of independent associations and networking groups.
The new Coast to Coast REIA™ (commonly known online
as C2C REIA) is one such organization. What makes this
California-based investment club organization different?
“Our main focus is not selling education, but encouraging
real estate deals to be done within the group’s membership,”
explains Pete Asmus, CEO and co-founder.
The organization is comprised nationally of localized
C2C
REIA
groups of like-minded individuals. They meet regularly to
share ideas, discuss market changes, learn new concepts and
trade industry referrals, including who to stay away from in a
designated market. Most importantly, the main objective is to
share equity opportunities within the group.
Pete got into the real estate business seven years ago and
became quite skilled at flipping houses, so much so that he
was constantly being asked to conduct seminars about the
process. It didn’t take him long to realize that, not only did he
have quite a knack for the seminar process, it was something
that he also enjoyed. Last year Pete, and his longtime friend
and business associate Ivan Oberon, founded Coast to Coast
REIA™. Ivan handled the real estate side of the business and
Pete was in charge of networking responsibilities. Today, they
have over 1,100 members and 32 chapters in many states,
such as Washington, Oregon, California, Colorado, Maryland,
New Jersey, New York and Washington, D.C.
It may seem like instant success, but the duo have been
building connections in the real estate industry circuit for
nearly a decade, and they were able to tap into an existing da-
tabase of thousands. Coast to Coast REIA™ also merged with
existing clubs already in place in some markets.
Pete believes that investing in the success of club members
creates a stronger organization. “The seminar companies want
to make money from just training.” He adds: “When all you
do is care about the money coming in from training, then
you’re not going to care about the end result, which is their
California investors begin Coast to Coast REIA clubs
to encourage deal participation among members.
>
Pete Asmus (left) and Ivan Oberon,
founders of Coast to Coast REIA
Photographs by Shannon Asmus

financial freedom.”
Pete says if he is going to help teach someone, inevitably,
he’s hoping his student will create wealth and “desire to be a
partner” in future deals. Coast to Coast REIA™ was created
to be a network of real estate partners. An organized group of
business relations across the country, Ivan says.
The core foundation of Coast to Coast REIA™ is the Re-
gional Managing Partner (RMP), the individual that runs the
clubs in the various markets. “Part of what our organization is
about is bringing people together who are great at something
different than what you are,” Ivan confides.
The organization’s mantra is “connecting people face to face
from coast to coast.” The ultimate goal of a Coast to Coast
REIA™ meeting is to connect the right market with the right
type of investor. “The one thing you need as an investor is
a team. That’s what we provide,” Ivan says, adding “I’m all
about trying to get you into a network to realize that’s where
the real opportunities come from.”
While education is great, Pete and Ivan say that what makes
Harvard such a fantastic school is not the professors, but the
The organization’s mantra is “connecting people face to face
from coast to coast.” The ultimate goal of a Coast to Coast™
meeting is to connect the right market with the right type of investor.
Want to Connect with
Coast to Coast REIA?
http://www.c2creia.com
http://www.youtube.com/
peteasmus
https://www.facebook.com/
C2CREIA
https://www.facebook.com/groups/
C2CVirtualChapter/
http://www.ustream.tv/
channel/c2creia
Or register for our weekly webinar
Journey to Success
http://www.anymeeting.com/
PIID=E954DD83824F3D
For information email:
info@c2creia.com
alumni. “When it comes to investing in real estate, you don’t
have to know everything, says Pete. “You just have to be con-
nected to people who do. Then, you can accomplish anything.”

What Exactly
is a Secured
Investment?
by Chris Gleason, MMG Capital
I
f you stick around the real estate investing community
long enough, you’re bound to hear the term secured in-
vestment at some point. The word “security” is thrown
around all over the place with the intent of meaning
a lot of different things. Unfortunately, because it
means so many different things to so many different
people, it’s often used incorrectly. And since there’s no
uniformity in the way that the word is used it logically follows
that there is a general confusion or a lack of understanding of
what the word is supposed to mean in the context of real estate
investing.
Who really cares though, right? So what if it’s used incorrect-
ly? How does that affect anybody? The truth of the matter is that
it’s extremely important. For instance, if you were asked whether
or not “your investment is secured,” could you answer confi-
dently? Or if you were asked “what is your investment secured
by?” would you confidently know what to say? Knowing the
difference between secured and unsecured can be the difference
between profits and losses. The economic implications can have
a drastic effect on your pocketbook and the way that you decide
what investments are appropriate for your portfolio.
Here are a few ways to tell whether an investment is secured
or not. Your investment is probably unsecured if:
• The value of the investment fluctuates with the market.
• There is risk for significant loss.
• There is no limit to the investment’s upside.
Some examples of unsecured investments include: stock or equi-
ties, direct ownership in real estate (flipping or holding for cash
flow), ownership in partnerships or entities that own real estate,
most REITs, and promissory notes.
On the other hand, an investment is likely secured if:
• The value of the investment does not fluctuate and is not
market driven.
• The investment comes with some form of guarantee.
• The downside risk of the investment is very limited.
Some examples of secured investments include: bonds and
debt instruments, trust deed investments, real estate tax liens, or
secured promissory notes and mortgages.
Secured Investments are not necessarily better than non-
secured investments, and vice-versa. Each has their own set of
pros and cons and each is more appropriate given certain market
conditions and expectations. So again we have to ask the ques-
tion, “why do we care?” To answer simply – different types of
investments are better suited for different types of investors de-
pending on their goals and risk tolerances, and different types of
investments will vary significantly in their expected yields. There
are plenty of different types of real estate investing strategies out
there, and some will be suited for certain investors and others will
be suited for the rest. What works today may not work next year,
and so on and so forth.
As an example of what we’re talking about, consider the com-
mon case of Real Estate Investor A that has a little money in their
pocket and is trying to decide what to do with it. In most cases,
this investor will go out and buy a piece of investment real estate.
They may even utilize a loan to purchase the real estate, hoping
to increase their return on equity. At the same time, Real Estate
Investor B is in the marketplace with some money and is trying to
decide what to do with it. Rather than purchase a piece of invest-
ment real estate, Investor B decides to become a secured lender
and use their cash to make a loan to another real estate investor.
Continued on pg. 47

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N
ick Vertucci knows the
real estate market has a
bit of an image problem
in the media.
“Right now, when I tell
people I’m a real estate investor, they
generally look at me with a face that
says ‘Are you doing OK?’” he laughed.
But between the radio shows, the
real estate seminars, and the peren-
nially-active business he’s built NV
Companies into, Vertucci is doing bet-
ter than OK.
And he forgives his new clients for
wondering.
“People thought that the best real
estate market was five or six years ago,
Nick Vertucci
WINSinANYMarket
profile
“I control the whole environment from start to finish”
when we had the run-up to the bubble,”
said Vertucci. “But the fact of the matter
is, all the savvy investors were selling
their product when everyone else was
buying. Those people were speculating,
and they were mostly following the herd.”
Vertucci said the challenge right now
is explaining that right now is actually the
time to buy. “We’ve never been in a better
real estate market,” he said, “but most
people don’t recognize that, because they
only understand appreciation.”
The model Vertucci and NV Compa-
nies have built their success upon doesn’t
count on an investment appreciating;
rather, they advise investors to “cash-
flow” properties — set them up with rent-
ers, and hold on through the up-and-down.
That relies upon two
things: getting a decent
deal on the investment
to begin with, and the
ability to manage the
property going forward.
The first, according to
Vertucci, has been a
matter of paying close
attention to markets.
Until recently, NV
Companies and its
investors were focused
almost exclusively on
Las Vegas — a city
with an exceptionally
high run-up in appre-
ciation headed into the
bubble, followed by a
precipitous 60% drop in
value.
“It had always
been an appreciation
market,” said Vertucci.
You could never really cash flow there,
because the prices were too high. But after
the bubble, it got to a point where you
could actually cash flow at an 8% to 10%
cap rate in the good areas, and then just
wait for appreciation.”
So a few years ago Vertucci and his
investors went into Las Vegas in a big
way. “We told all our investors to get in
and get good cash flow, and they did,” he
said. “And now that market — between
the hedge
funds going
in there and
buying,
and all the
investors,
people
from Cali-
fornia —
you can’t
get product
out there
any more at a good price, it won’t cash
flow, the prices are too high. But everyone
that has purchased there made at least 20-
30% on their money since last year.”
The key, according to Vertucci, was that
they were paying attention.
“Probably about 8 months before the
Vegas market just stopped, we saw the
writing on the wall,” said Vertucci. “Then
we saw Orlando shaping up with the same
type of market, just about a year and a half
behind Vegas. So we went to Orlando to
build the infrastructure there — and when
the Vegas market puttered out, we were
already up and running.”
That infrastructure is the other half of
the business’ success, Vertucci explains.
His company doesn’t just find and sell
property; they offer a rehab and manage-
ment package — “Soup to nuts,” he said
— that includes all the ingredients needed
to make the investment pay off, leveraging
the bulk buying power of the 50-70 prop-
erties they take on every month to bring
down expenses — and retain control.
“When my investor buys, they get a
property that’s already been rehabbed,
that has a renter in it, and is managed by
us,” said Vertucci. “I don’t pass them on
to third party management because that’s
where people get hurt a lot; they get all
Continued on next page >
by Robb Magley

So Investor A takes a loan from Investor
B and purchases a piece of investment
real estate, utilizing 50% leverage and
50% cash down for example. To make
the numbers simple, let’s say that the
purchase price of the property was
$100,000. So, we have two investors
that are both investing in real estate.
In fact, both have an investment that’s
based on the exact same piece of real
estate. They even put the exact same
amount of cash into that piece of real
estate. So then are their investments the same? Of course, we
know that the answer is “not at all.”
Investor B has made a secured investment by lending
money to Investor A. Investor B’s downside risk is minimal
because they have a loan that Investor A has promised to
repay. The loan is secured by the property which is valued
at twice the amount of the loan. Investor A is an unsecured
investor. Investor A bears the full economic risk of the real
estate market in this transaction and also bears the obliga-
tion of repaying Investor B’s principal plus an agreed upon
amount of interest. In short, the amount of risk that Investor
A is taking is much higher than that of Investor B. Suppose
that the real estate market was to decline by 10% and that
$100,000 property is now worth $90,000 and Investor A
decides to sell. What are the economic implications?
When the property is sold for $90,000 all secured inves-
their profit taken away by management companies over-bill-
ing. So I control the whole environment from start to finish,
and then I manage these long-term for them.”
Vertucci said it’s not just a solid business model, but also
a great way to instill confidence in an investor: His reputa-
tion rides along. “I realized that’s the only way I could get
folks to buy these without the fear of being 3,000 miles
away,” he said. “I had to account for everything — I help
them put on the right insurance, review their documents at
the title company, help with putting the properties in their
IRAs, help them form LLCs... everything you can think of
for an investor to succeed, even one with no experience.”
By cash-flowing and not being dependent upon appre-
ciation, Vertucci’s investors can weather a lot of financial
storms. “If the market gets worse, people still have to
live somewhere, and their first money goes to rent,” said
Vertucci. “The worse the economy gets, the stronger your
asset is. Now, when the market turns, and suddenly we have
appreciation again, you’re just going to get that cherry on
top. You win if things go up or down. Holding that brick-
and-mortar asset is the safest investment you can make.”
For more information about Nick Vertucci, please visit:
www.nvcompanies.com or contact: 800-328-6418.
Nick Vertucci, Wins, pg. 46
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Round Rock, TX 78680
Ph: (512) 788-1710
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What Exactly is a Secured Investment, pg. 44
tors must be paid first. That means that Investor B will be
due to receive their entire principal balance plus any interest
and fees that they’re owed. In other words, Investor B’s
investment wasn’t at all affected by the market decline. They
received every penny that they expected to. Investor A on the
other hand is unsecured. They own the property and there-
fore bear the full risk of the investment. Since Investor B has
already been repaid their $50,000 plus interest and fees, that
only leaves $40,000 or less for Investor A (after all costs).
Investor A has lost, at a minimum, about 20% of their invest-
ment from only a 10% market decline.
Now consider the alternative: Say that the property is sold
for $110,000 instead of $90,000. Investor B’s economics
don’t change. They receive their principal plus interest and
fees at closing. Investor A’s economics change drastically,
however. Instead of a 20%+ loss they now have almost a
20% gain (less interest, fees and costs that were paid). Inves-
tor A makes a great turnaround and receives the benefit of the
upside of the investment while Investor B’s economics didn’t
change.
So here’s the reason behind this simple analysis as stated
previously in this article: To become a sophisticated inves-
tor, at the very least, you must be able to analyze risk and use
that information to distinguish between a good deal and a bad
deal. In our scenario, Investor B took far less risk than Inves-
tor A. An investor who takes less risk should expect lower
returns. An investor who takes more risk should only do so if
they believe that they can achieve much higher returns.
So if you take one thing from this article, please take this:
there are a number of different ways to invest. There are even
a number of different ways to invest in real estate. Some
carry more risk than others. Some carry much more risk than
others, especially in certain market conditions. Get to know
more than one strategy so that one day when you’re consid-
ering purchasing a piece of real estate (unsecured) and you
expect it to yield a 12% annualized return you’ll know that
you could have achieved the same while reducing your risk
with a secured investment. If trust deed investing or secured
loans are producing similar returns then you’ll know why you
should think twice about buying that property.
For more information, contact Chris Gleason, managing
director of MMG Capital LLC: 310-295-1121 (ext. 301).

O
ne of the most important deci-
sions a real estate investor can
make is choosing which real estate
market(s) to purchase investment proper-
ties. All too often I see investors focus on
short-term high cash flow without consid-
ering the long-term outlook or high risk
factors.
Let’s start out by listing a few of the main criteria for buy-
ing safe real estate investments that generate passive cash
flow month after month after month.
•Inventory of homes for sale (current inventory, average
days on market, upcoming foreclosures,...)
•Pro-landlord laws and regulations
•Good school systems and a focus on universities and col-
leges creating a skilled work force
•A strong and diverse economy with multiple employment
sectors, including high tech, finance and health care
•Low crime
•Housing affordability
•Vacancy rates
•Good rent ratios
Now, just because you can buy
an inexpensive property in a mar-
ket with good rent ratios doesn’t
guarantee high cash flow. Many
investors purchase in areas such
as Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago,
Buffalo, and Pittsburgh with the
expectation that the cash will be rolling in each month. Unfor-
tunately their reality can be vastly different.
With over 1,400 property transactions, I have personal
experience investing in each and every one of these cities
and a few battle scars to prove it! Here is just one example of
a scenario that can be devastating to a real estate investor’s
cash flow.
In many of these cities a Certificate of Occupancy (read:
tax) is required. A COO is where a city or county official
inspects your property and hands you a list of repairs that must
be completed before they return. Usually there is a fee for each
inspection, plus there is a fee for the COO. Unfortunately, these
officials are not business people and the improvements requested
can outweigh the cost of the property.
I had one house in Chicago built in the early 1900s that was
called out for a full “green” initiative requiring new windows,
doors, and insulation in the walls and ceiling. By the time I was
done with the quotes, it would have cost me over $40,000 just to
complete the requests. Ouch! This was certainly not practical for
an investment property so the house was sold to a homeowner
who didn’t mind making that kind of an investment for their
primary residence.
I know that many people have lost substantial wealth in the
down turn and feel like they need to “catch up”. In turn, they
are taking risks by going into areas that claim to have unusually
high cash flow on paper. The truth be told, year after year, any
solid cash flow market will yield 6-12% cash on cash returns.
Anything higher than that will usually turn out much lower after
you take into account vacancy, repairs, regulation and taxes.
Bottom line, when you invest to “catch up”, invest in the
markets that will be strong in 5 to 10 years from now and where
the monthly cash flow allows you to keep the property.
One of my favorite sayings is “You won’t lose money in real
estate as long as you aren’t forced to sell.” So, as long as the
monthly cash flow covers the cost of holding the property (and
a little more!) and you are in the right market with the right type
of home, you are in the right spot to grow your wealth and catch
up. Taking the time to research and make smart decisions before
you purchase can save you from costly and stressful situations
after you purchase. For more information on real estate market
selection, download a free copy of my new Real Estate Investor
Checklist on my website.
Take Care,
Lori Greymont
P.S. Our team of experienced real estate professionals can help
you create a customized investment plan and find properties in
the best rental markets in the country that fit your plan.
To reach Summit Assets Group, please call: 408-782-9162 or
visit: www.SummitAssetsGroup.com
Investor Beware!
Real Estate Market Selection Advice by Lori Greymont
markets
“You won’t lose money in real estate
as long as you aren’t forced to sell.”
imagebyJosephMercier

Hitting the High Notes, pg. 24
changed their tune dramatically over the last couple
of years.”
There’s obviously a method, even an art to pick-
ing up property for fifty cents on the dollar; after
a few years of doing it successfully, Carson said it
only made sense to start teaching. The “Note Buy-
ing for Dummies” workshop was launched in 2008,
and Carson has taught hundreds since, building a
network of trained investors all across the country.
“I teach people who to call, what to say, how to
evaluate the notes from different banks, different
pools,” said Carson. “I teach them how to cherry-
pick, how to market the deals they find, how to find
buyers for them.” Carson said he also gives ideas
on how to raise private capital, to leverage what
you’ve got to take advantage of the deals you find.
Note buying has been around for years, Carson
said; banks have been selling pools of mortgages to
other banks and other entities for decades. But a lot
of his students had always thought you had to have
$5 to $10 million to even get in the game.
“And sure, to buy from Bank of America, Chase,
or Wells Fargo, yeah, you do,” said Carson. “But
besides those big banks, there’s a whole lot of other
banks that will sell you stuff at a smaller level.
They’re not trying to close a $20 million deal,
they’re saying, ‘Just buy something from us.’”
Carson stressed his workshop is a hands-on four
days. “It’s not a pitch festival, it’s a workshop,” he
said. “I bring in real asset managers and hedge fund
guys, and we get on the phone and make calls in
front of everybody so they can see what to say, and
how I do it. I give them scripts to start from, they
get a nice 200-page manual of contracts and forms.
I get online and show them how to find these phone
numbers and email addresses for asset managers
and mortgage bankers, and give them an idea of
some of the resources that are out there.”
And if you’re looking for an even more intensive
learning environment, Carson offers 1-to-1 coach-
ing. “This is for someone who’s willing to work,
because it does take work,” said Carson. “You’ve
got to make the calls, you’ve got to follow up. It’s
not something that will just happen overnight.”
But, for someone who’s motivated and ready to
put in the time and effort, Carson said it again: It’s a
great time to be in the note business.
“There’s a lot of inventory still sitting out there,
plus we have a huge commercial foreclosure wave
that’s still going to hit us,” said Carson. “You can
make a ton of money on this by working diligently,
and when it starts going, it’s really a lot of fun, too.”
For additional information about Scott Carson and
Inverse Investments visit: www.WeCloseNotes.com
Economical, cash-flowing Georgia properties
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Question & Answer with
Investment Property Expertsby Stephanie B. Mojica
W
ith significant apprecia-
tion since 2010, Phoe-
nix remains one of the
strongest real estate markets in the
country thanks to an influx of new-
comers moving in from around the
country in lure of warmer climates
and stronger job markets. To get
the latest pulse on Phoenix real
estate, we interviewed Daniel But-
terfield, owner of IPX (Investment
Property Experts). He has been investing locally for fifteen years
and gave us great insight on this important market.
Question: Tell us some highlights about the market. What has
changed since last year?
Answer: The market has changed significantly. Since the market
in Phoenix has increased 44% (Monthly median sales price in
Maricopa county per the Cromford Report) and inventory levels
are at an all-time low, many of our purchases are
coming from pre-foreclosures with equity opposed
to short sales or lender-owned property. In addition,
there has been a huge increase in traditional sales.
Q: What type of opportunities are you seeing now?
A: We are in a seller’s market, however we are still
able to find great cash flow investment property, as
long as we buy properties in distress in high demand
areas and do the remodel ourselves. This is precisely
the value we are able to offer our investor clients.
Q: What is the best part of being an investor in your
area?
A: Cash flow real estate still exists and appreciation is constantly
growing. For a very modest investment you can purchase an
investment property, have your tenant pay-off your investment
property, obtain a great cash-on-cash return, qualify for numer-
ous tax write-offs, sell your property for a profit all while hedg-
ing against inflation and increased taxes.
Q: Currently, how is the rental market doing?
A: The rental market is solid and consistent. It is not growing
but definitely not decreasing. We are starting to see more renters
buy properties, which is good for investors as this creates higher
demand and appreciation for starter home investment properties.
Q: When did you start your investment career and how?
A: I started investing in real estate 15 years ago, my objective
was to obtain tax write-offs to reduce my W-2 taxable income
from my day job as a consultant for Andresen Consulting (Ac-
centure). Since then I made substantial money in real estate and
turned my real estate investing activities into my full-time job
with my focus being helping other investors obtain the same
goals I have personally created using my existing infrastructure
of real estate professionals and service providers.
Q: What makes your company unique in the marketplace?
A: Our company is the only company that offers turn-key real
estate investment services to investors, which allows them to
purchase renovated and occupied properties that cash flow. In
addition, we also help investors roll over their retirement ac-
counts, obtain conventional financing as well as lease and man-
age their investment properties.
Finally we are able to help our clients also sell their invest-
ment properties when the time is right so they can capitalize on
the appreciation in the market place, then re-invest their money
again if they want. We also offer alternatives to traditional real
estate investing, such as Deed of Trust Investing where you
can earn a constant 12% annual return on your money while
invested in a Deed of Trust.
Q: Tell us why investors should investigate your market?
A: The Phoenix Metro market has the perfect balance when it
comes to an attractive real estate investment: Cash flow along
with an appreciating marketplace. Phoenix has been ranked
in the top 20 cities across the nation for many months and will
continue to be one of the best places to invest for a minimum of
two more years due our economic growth.
Q: Can you give our readers some sound advice that can help
them in their investment careers?
A: Work with professionals who have proven track record.
Don’t try to do it all yourself in this marketplace. Watch out for
“new” investment groups and agents who lack the investment
experience to help you achieve your investment goals.
To schedule a complimentary investment consultation with IPX,
visit: www.ipxcompanies.com or call 602-254-6244.
Daniel Butterfield

IPX is your true turn-key solution provider...all under one roof!
CALL 602.254.6244 · www.AZInvestmentPropertyExperts.com
Reserve your seat at our next Investor Roundtable - Check us out for FREE!
Within over 15 years in the property investment industry, we are focused on maintaining
margins through our proprietary acquisition model.
Disclaimer: All information and materials are for educational purposes only. Returns displayed are estimates only. All parties are encouraged to consult with their
attorneys, accountants, and financial advisors before entering into any type of investment. All services displayed are OPTIONAL. Some of the real estate related services
offered by IPX are provided by entities that are: 1) managed or controlled by or under common control with IPX or 2) Not owned, managed or under common control with
IPX. Clients of IPX may utilize non-affiliated service providers for any professional services offered by IPX or its affiliates
Real Estate Brokerage
Renovation Company
Mortgage Bank
Property Management
Marketing & Technology
ARE YOU MAKING AT LEAST 12%
ON YOUR MONEY?

tools
ThePowerofDirection
(The Iron Fist Inside the Velvet Glove)
as well as a majority before any directive can be
issued to the Trustee.
For example, you might appoint seven Direc-
tors who would only issue directives arrived at
in formal meetings of at least 5 of them, with a
three-fifths majority required to take any action.
This would obviously take a lot of “cooperative”
people to construct and might not be worth the
trouble unless a lot of money is involved.
One of the advantages of using a Board of Di-
rectors is that you could place younger inexperi-
enced heirs on the Board and provide Land Trust
training via the Board meetings. Eventually the
heirs would “graduate” to understanding the for-
malities of Land Trust administration and begin
forming their own Land Trusts for privacy and asset protection.
Oftentimes a Land Trust has multiple Beneficiaries and to des-
ignate just one to hold the POD is a matter of convenience and
possibly business acumen. A Land Trust will operate much more
efficiently if only one person holds the power over the Trustee
(especially if that person has more business and life experience
than the other beneficiaries).
Occasionally, Land Trusts are established to hold income pro-
ducing real estate to provide support for minor children or men-
tally handicap adults. In this event, the minor or incapable adult
would serve as beneficiary (receiving all the proceeds and avails
from the trust property) and the parent or benefactor would serve
as Director making all critical decisions over the trust assets.
The POD is a Property Right and as such is considered per-
sonal property. This Property Right can be assigned away from
the beneficiary temporarily, permanently or conditionally. For
example, if the Beneficiary currently holds the POD s/he could
assign this right to another party for one day, for the life of the
Trust or until Bakersfield, California receives 10 inches of rain in
a twenty-four hour period. Conditional rights like this can be fun
to create and a night-mare for your adversaries to penetrate.
It would be prudent at this point to mention that anytime the
beneficiary or holder of the POD is changed, the Trustee must
be notified in writing. It also is important to always protect the
personal liability of your Trustee and this can be done by written
notification (to the Trustee) and acceptance (by the Trustee) of
by Randy Hughes, Mr. Land Trust
M
any people (especially some
attorneys) do not believe there
are any benefits to using a Land
Trust to hold title to your real estate invest-
ments. After 44 years of investing in Single
Family Homes (and using Land Trusts for
30 of those years) I have found that the
practical (and often unforeseen) benefits to
using a Land Trust are not always obvious.
Using a Land Trust to hold title to your
investments is like using a gun to protect
yourself. Your adversary must ask, “Is the
gun loaded?” If the gun is not loaded there
may or may not be much protection. But, if the gun IS loaded
does your adversary really want to take you on? A smart
adversary will move on to the next target. Case in point: Here
is an example of how to put bullets in your Land Trusts.
In my Land Trust seminars and home study courses, I talk
a lot about the many benefits to creatively using the Power
of Direction (POD) in a Land Trust. This article will address
some specific advantages of the POD and how you might use
it for privacy and asset protection benefits.
The Power of Direction is the steel hand inside the velvet
glove. The Director of your Land Trust (which might be you
as the beneficiary or someone else who is not the beneficiary)
holds all power over the Trustee. Remember, unlike many
other types of trusts, the Land Trustee cannot act without
specific direction (in writing) from the person or entity that
holds the POD.
Typically, when a Land Trust is formed the Beneficiary
also holds the POD, but this is not mandatory. The POD can
be designated to the Beneficiary at the inception of the trust
or assigned to another (person, corporation, partnership or
another trust) immediately or subsequently to forming the
trust agreement.
There are many strategies that you can employ when set-
ting up your Land Trust and designating a Director. If you
do not trust any one person to hold the POD, you can set up
a Board of Directors and mandate what constitutes a quorum
‘One of the advantages of using a Board of Directors is that you
could place younger inexperienced heirs on the Board and pro-
vide Land Trust training via the Board meetings.’

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any and all changes to the Trust Agreement.
With partnerships and corporations or other trusts as
single or joint beneficiaries, the POD can be assigned to a
specific individual (in each) acting as a representative of
the organization, or by the organization itself upon proper
resolution of the individual partners or Board of Directors.
Or, the whole problem might be resolved with a Beneficiary
Agreement.
A Beneficiary Agreement (BA) keeps multiple benefi-
ciaries from suing each other over the POD of a trust. The
BA would set forth rules for apportioning the POD among
them, provide for resolution of problems and for the broad
policy pertaining to administration of the trust by the
Trustee. Then the only Directives would be “as needed”
exceptions rather than having every decision require a vote.
It is VERY important to note that when the Beneficial
Interest of a Land Trust is transferred, it has the effect of
cancelling any previous assignment of the POD (unless
the assignment was irrevocable) and it then belongs to the
assignee. Because this POD is not based on any document
other than the Trust Agreement, which is not made public
or placed into the public records, it is an easy thing for
lawyers and courts to overlook.
By adroitly controlling the POD through contingent
transfers, assignments and use of other Irrevocable Trusts
(as holders of the POD) unique asset protection benefits
can be obtained without public knowledge for the Primary
Land Trust. For example, by designating the POD to an Ir-
revocable Trust any legal attack on the Primary Land Trust
could trigger a contingent transfer of beneficial shares to
another trust with another Trustee in another jurisdiction
with another POD in another Irrevocable Trust.
Further asset protection benefits can be obtained via the
POD by using non-citizens as co-directors. If a US court
ordered the citizen co-director to make a disposition of the
trust property (which would be against the best interests of
the beneficiary), the foreign non-citizen director could re-
fuse to cooperate and no legal directive would have effect.
As you can see, the sky is the limit when it comes to
creative uses of the Power of Direction over a Land Trust.
And, the POD is just one of the many parts of a Land Trust
that will allow you to be creative in your structuring of
asset protecting concepts. It is important to point out that
I teach these techniques to honest law abiding real estate
investors to protect themselves against contingency fee
lawyers and their clients (and others who view real estate
investors as easy targets for a lawsuit). If you are serious
about protecting your assets, you need to learn how to
form your own land trusts for privacy and asset protection
now before you lose your life’s saving to the unscrupulous
people in our society.
For more Land Trust knowledge, please go to: www.
realestateforprofit.com or call me, Mr. Land Trust, at 866-
696-7347. If you would like a FREE copy of my booklet,
”50 Reasons to Use a Land Trust” send me an email at:
randy@mrlandtrust.net
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SignificantBenefitsforInvestors
Legal Shield is a beneficial
tool for landlords, brokers
and real estate investors
by Christy-Ann Olivares
W
ithout a doubt,
investors
need quality
attorneys that are avail-
able to answer unlimited
questions on any subject
matter, i.e., real estate
questions, taxation, in-
terpretations of laws and
usury rates, just to name
a few.
If you have never needed legal repre-
sentation for your investing business or
for yourself, believe me it is just a matter
of time. Buying property in this day and
age can most certainly be a liability in
every sense of the word.
The word “Attorney” puts a feeling of
uncertainty and fear into our very being.
Not many of us like to call an attorney for
advise or help of any sort, as we know up
front, the charges we incur can be of an
amount extremely large. This puts many
of us in a difficult situation of whether we
should spend the money for attorney fees
or to take the risk of not having council,
by doing without the cost or expense, and
unfortunately, without the professional as-
sistance that we might need or require.
Many of you have heard of Legal
Shield but really know very little
about how it can help you in
your business.
Legal Shield offers a plan
that is called “The Home
Based Business
Rider” in the
United States
and Canada.
This Rider
attaches
to the
“Expanded
Family Plan” and
in combination
enables the investor
and his family to
have significant benefits, such as:
Unlimited questions answered
for business or personal matters. Three
letters drafted per month on behalf of your
business. Unlimited calls or letters made
for you and your family, one per subject
matter. Plus, up to three initial debt col-
lection letters written per month on your
behalf for your business.
You can have three contracts or docu-
ments up to fifteen pages in length, per
month, reviewed by your provider law
firm. Also included with your Business
Rider is unlimited small business consult-
ing service through www.GoSmallBiz.
com.
Included in your coverage with the
“Expanded Family Plan” is pre-paid trial
protection that is included as part of your
membership. This benefit grows each year
you stay a member with Pre-Paid Legal
totaling up to 335 hours by your
fifth year. It also includes auto-
mobile representation for you
and your family no matter
where you had the accident
or the ticket occurred. You
can have your Last Will
and testament and your
Living Will created as
part of your family
plan benefits. If you
already have these im-
portant documents in place
then they can be updated
free of charge with your
membership.
As part of the business rider you will
have consultation service for your small
business. This service is provided free as
part of your membership through www.
gosmallbiz.com.
For only $40.50 per month is there any
question why an investor would not want
or need this type of coverage and repre-
sentation?
I wish you all the best and I’m confident
that you will find a tremendous asset and
tool for your business in Legal Shield Ser-
vices.
To learn more about how Legal Shield can
save you and your family money and grief,
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6. A claim that occurred before I (or my
entity) owned the property shouldn’t
affect MY insurance rate…
7. All policies and coverages are created
equally...
8. Self-insurance is too risky…
9. I need “builder’s risk” coverage for a
vacant or rehab project/deal/property…
10. It is worth it to hire the “handyman”
to do work on my rentals…
11. If I use my personal vehicle to
service my properties, my personal auto
policy is sufficient...
12. It’s enough to simply require renter’s insurance in my lease...
13. Cheaper is better…
The National Real Estate Insurance Group covers more than
12,000 investors each year. Norris says even experienced real
estate gurus tend to believe myths such as “cheaper is better” as
well as “all policies and coverages are created equally.”
“The attitude that insurance should be treated as a commod-
ity can be blamed on the industry itself, who, as a knee-jerk
reaction and effort to grow market share, seem to not really
understand the needs of the public. Their ‘contact us to save
$XXX on your coverage’ advertising campaigns reinforce the
13 Insurance Myths Debunked, pg. 8
public attitude that insurance
is a ‘one size fits all’ industry
and getting the lowest rate
makes the most sense. Un-
fortunately, when you really
need it, this planning, or
lack thereof, has hurt more
consumers than it has ever
helped,” Norris says.
Norris and his highly
trained employees work
closely with each client to
develop unique insurance
plans. Some investors do
not need liability insurance.
Other property owners need
liability insurance to protect
contractors as well as renters. Every real estate investor at least
needs to cover the property against acts of God or criminal activi-
ties, according to Norris. “As part of your business plan, insur-
ance can help you when you need it, but not drain you when you
do not,” Norris says.
To learn more about the National Real Estate Insurance Group,
call 800-900-5324 or visit www.nreinsurance.com.
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O
ften, I am asked how I can find raising capital to
be relatively easy. There is a lot of money sitting
on the sidelines. But many investors are so wary
of losing money that only the most compelling
projects attract their attention.
It seems like people with deals are always chasing money.
But it’s not actually that way. A small percentage of deals
experience the opposite. These are great deals. I believe that
all great deals get funded. The only question is, “Who will
fund the deal? Will it be me, you, or someone else?” Great
deals experience a lot of competition. Money will chase
good deals. Raising capital for weak projects is difficult.
An investor in New Orleans recently told me: “I had a
great deal on a townhouse complex, but it fell through be-
cause I couldn’t get it funded.” My contention is that it may
have looked great on paper, but probably wasn’t a great deal
in the eyes of the person considering investing their own
funds. That’s why it didn’t get funded. Again, all great deals
get done.
OK. Let’s say you have a great deal. Now what? How do
you go about raising capital?
I’ve raised several hundred million dollars in my career.
In my experience, raising capital is based on three funda-
mental elements:
•Relationship
•Trust
•Results
RELATIONSHIP
If someone you didn’t know approached you and said, “I
have a great deal. There’s an opportunity to make a lot of
money. All I need is $2 million to make it happen.” Would
you commit $2 million of your own cash with someone you
didn’t know? I know that I wouldn’t, and I believe that most
people wouldn’t do it either. I raise capital from people that
I’ve developed a relationship with.
The relationship comes first. As part of building that
relationship, I know what is important to my potential fund-
ing partner. All money has an agenda attached to it. If the
agenda for the money and the goals for the project don’t
align, then don’t take the money. It won’t work in the long
term.
Let me give two examples. I have two funding partners
with vastly different goals.
1. One of them wants to make high rates of return on a
short-term basis. They’d like to recycle their money into a
different project every 90 to 120 days.
strategy
FINDYOURFUNDINGPARTNERSVictorMenasce,authorof“TheGreatCanadianTakeOver:HowSavvyCanadiansareProfiting
WildlyfromtheMeltdownintheUSRealestate”shareshisinsightsonlocatingyournextJVpartner.

“I’ve raised several hundred million dollars in
my career. In my experience, raising capital is
based on three fundamental elements...”
2. I have another funding partner who believes that short-term
projects can make high returns, but that money will sit on the
sidelines between projects earning zero. He prefers to make a
more modest return, but wants his money working for him in
longer-term projects. His philosophy is that he will make more
money and have lower risk by keeping his money at work.
I can’t say that one is right, and the other is wrong. They’re
just different. I’m not going to try and convince a short-term
investor to make a long-term investment, and I’m not going to
convince a long-term investor to do a short-term transaction. It
wouldn’t make any sense. Always take care to align the goals
with the agenda associated with the money.
I never ask a potential funding partner
for money. I’m never desperate for cash.
Instead, I offer funding partners the
opportunity to collaborate on a proj-
ect. That’s a completely different
posture. When partners work
together to create value,
great things happen. I in-
vite my funding partners
to become full partners
in a project. I’m never offer-
ing a passive investment for a share
in the profits. This is required to be
in compliance with securities laws. A
promissory note with a fixed rate of
return is perfectly legal and protects
the funding partner. I will often secure
the funding partner’s interest in the
property by granting a mortgage on title,
or a membership pledge in the event of default
on the terms of the promissory note.
TRUST
Trust is at the foundation of raising capital. Trust has a lot of
layers. There’s much more than “Are you an honest person?”
The astute funding partner wants to know:
•Can I trust you to ask the right questions about a project?
•Can I trust you to put together a good plan?
•Can I trust you to execute that plan?
•Can I trust you to manage risk appropriately?
•Can I trust you to communicate openly & transparently?
•Can I trust you to communicate when there is a problem?
•Can I trust you with my money?
•Can I trust you to hire good people?
If the answer is “no” to any of these questions, then the fund-
ing relationship will run into difficulty. If you’re interested in
learning more about this aspect, I recommend a great book
by the son of Stephen Covey of “7 Habits of Highly Effective
People” fame. Stephen M.R.
Covey wrote a wonderful book
called “The Speed of Trust”. It is
a powerful book that will change
your perspective on all relationships, personal and business.
RESULTS
What results can you show? Show me a track record of suc-
cess. Show me what you’ve done, mistakes and all. Past results
can often be a predictor of future results, but not always. Will
you invest with someone who has lost money on eight out of
their last ten projects? I wouldn’t!
E-Bay uses a rating system and enables customers
to choose their seller based on their
rating. This rating documents their
track record. Reputation in business
is part of that all-important founda-
tion of trust. Some new investors see
a dilemma in what I’m proposing.
“How can I raise capital without a
track record? How can I develop a track
record if I can’t raise any capital?” My
response to that is simple. First of all,
investors prefer to invest in businesses,
not the self-employed. Business is a
team sport. If you’re not part of an in-
vestment business and you’re just start-
ing, then join an established business with
a track record of success. Work in that business for
a period of time. You can then legitimately borrow
some of their credibility and track record. While
you don’t own that track record yourself, you can
show that you have played a key role in successful
projects. This is often enough to show a funding partner that
you know what you’re doing.
It’s important to be aware of securities laws and make sure
that you’re in compliance with Securities and Exchange Com-
mission (SEC) rules. The SEC has strict rules on securities and
solicitation for investment. It is illegal to solicit for investment,
unless very specific criteria have been met to market a security
to the public, or to accredited investors. Canada has similar
legislation that is administered by the provincial securities
regulators such the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) and
the Alberta Securities Commission.
The keys to developing funding partners for life are: rela-
tionship, trust and results. Always be mindful of these three
factors. They are foundational to raising capital.
Victor Menasce teaches workshops on raising capital across
the United States He can be reached via email at:
victor@greatcanadiantakeover.com

actually lists reasons not to. Now, the
mortgage is not one of his reasons, but
why would it be? Like I said...he is
one of the wealthiest men on earth!
The point is that a 30-year mortgage
has become standard and not only
standard for what companies want to
show, it has become standard for what
investors want to see.
How Do Investment Compa-
nies Show their Numbers?
Many companies, who provide invest-
ment opportunities, including mine, will
show a mortgage projection based on
the 30-year mortgage. Why? Because it
is what the average, every day investor
wants to see. It is how we have been
programed. A simple search of the
Internet will return article after article
extolling the benefits on using a 30-year
mortgage, especially for the positive ef-
fects it has on an investors’ cash flow.
When I first started investing, I was
coached to use the 30-year mortgage
as a tool to boost my monthly income
while allowing a renter to pay down my
note. When I first started, I loved the
idea of using a 30-year mortgage and
putting 20% or less down as a GREAT
tool to boost my cash flow. And it did.
It made my cash flow go up and I had a
certain level of comfort with that. The
problem is, unless you have significant
reserves in place, heavy leverage can
come back to bite you on investment
properties.
Another major point that I missed
when I first started investing and has
been taught to me over the years from
some investors much smarter than me,
was that for the first 25
years of my ownership
of that property, I would
be paying more in interest
payments than I was earning
in cash flow. In the first 15
years it would be substan-
tially more!
Own Property
Outright And
Reap The Rewards
I am a big proponent of
owning real estate out-
right. I have used leverage
sparingly over the last four
years and only as a tool to
acquire properties and not
as a tool to own proper-
ties. I have put every
property that I have used
leverage to purchase on a
quick pay off schedule.
Many homeowners and real
estate investors will tell you
that there is a simple strategy that
makes a 30-year mortgage a good
investment. You simply place a 30-year
mortgage on an investment property and
pay it off like it is a 15-year mortgage. I
am neither for nor against this strategy,
I just do not use it myself for the reasons
I will expand on below. I know as I write
this that there will be some readers who
will comment that yes, this is the precise
strategy that they use and that they
calculate each month exactly how much
money to pay to reduce the principle
each month. They feel that they get a
lower rate since a 15-year mortgage can
cost as much as .25 to a .50 point more.
To those readers that follow this strat-
egy and actually follow through on this
strategy, I
will say that
I believe you
are in the minor-
ity and congratu-
lations! It takes
tremendous self-
discipline to be able to
make that strategy work
and I have met many inves-
tors who claim this will be their
strategy only to find that they like
bragging about higher cash flow more
than they like bragging about owning
the property. The discipline it takes to
carry out this strategy is often missing
from many investors.
Put Your Self In Position
To Own Your Property
Outright
As I stated earlier, the better strat-
egy and the one that I am seeing
more investors come around to is
using leverage to purchase proper-
ties, but not necessarily carrying
that leverage for long periods of
time. In fact, many investors are
choosing to structure deals so that
they are paying off the properties as
soon as possible. Investors taking
this route are usually financially
secure and are not necessarily real
estate investors. Often times, they
recognize the need to diversify into real
estate, but are often passive investors
looking for the security and consistent
return that real estate can give them.
They see real estate as a secure invest-
“...I am seeing more investors
come around to using leverage
to purchase properties and cash
to hold them long-term.”
Continued on pg. 60
Surprising Investors with Sound Advice..., pg. 20

Investor Education a Top Priority for Equity Trust, pg. 31
Learn from THE National Expert
on how to use Land Trusts
for privacy & asset protection.
Visit Randy's website for FREE Land
Trust information or call him now @
866-696-7347 with your questions.
Meet Randy Hughes in Person!
Attend his next
Land Trust Seminar
For Information, Visit Online:
Randy Hughes
Mr. Land Trust
40 Years Experience
RealEstateforProfit.com
The Choice Is Yours
Do You Want the Pain of
Paying More Taxes?
Or, We Can Do
Advanced Tax Planning for You
Callnowat805-898-9177•www.abwtax.com
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Glenn R. Wilson,
EA, ATP, ATA, ABA
In less than 3 years, Victor amassed a
portfolio spanning 3 time zones from
his office in Ottawa Canada. Learn how
itʼs done at:
Buy his best selling book at amazon.com
Canadians are the #1 group of
foreign investors in US Real Estate.
They have cash. Are you qualified
to work with Canadians?
www.greatcanadiantakeover.com
assets from investors in all 50 states. “People have a lot of fear
about the economy, but this is truly a great time to invest espe-
cially in real estate,” Desich said. “Without a doubt, the overall
economy is difficult for everyone, and with the stock market not
doing so well, it brings a sense of distrust or lack of confidence
in clients. But this is a benefit to us because we offer customers
to take control of their retirement investments and invest in a
market they know and trust, rather than just stocks.”
While exact statistics vary according to the investor, even be-
ginners regularly see “double digit” returns, according to Desich.
Since Equity Trust does not charge transaction fees for normal
activities such as purchasing or selling an asset, that helps its
130,000 clients see more revenues. While other brokerages typi-
cally charge $175 for the purchase, sale or re-registration of real
estate interests; Equity Trust offers this service free of charge to
its clients.
“We don’t nickel and dime you,” Desich said. While IRAs are
the bread and butter of the firm, Equity Trust handles other types
of retirement vehicles including 401(k). Every client regardless
of portfolio size can take advantage of a wealth of informational
resources ranging from personalized
account managers to virtually instant
access to one of 400 highly-trained self-
directed IRA specialists. Each Equity
Trust account executive team member
completes at least 160 hours of rigorous
training. Training of employees and cli-
ents has been instrumental to the success
of the company, which Desich’s father
Richard founded in 1974.
“I have always been extremely
proud of my father and the company
he started,” Jeff Desich said. “As more
people get burned by the stock market,
(self-directed IRAs) becomes a way for
them to take control” of their financial
future.
For a complimentary consultation with a
self-directed IRA specialist, call
Equity Trust at 888-382-4727 or visit
www.trustetc.com
Marck de Lautour
Wealth Builder
ph: (816) 994-9401
marck@sbdhousing.com
www.SBDHousing.com
Call us for upcoming
seminar information
or a personal tour of
Kansas City Property!
Building Wealth for
Our Clients Since 2001

Surprising Investors with Sound Advice..., pg. 58
ment and rental properties as a product that will have contin-
ued demand in the foreseeable future. I have a good friend
here in Tennessee who is a very successful executive and he
has recently made moves to acquire property as he seeks to
diversify. When he and I had lunch, he explained his very
reasoning and his absolute distaste for taking on credit risks
and leverage. This is a common theme among more and more
affluent investors looking to diversify. They are using several
different strategies to purchase the properties.
1. They are purchasing properties for cash and holding for a
consistent rate of return recognizing that they can place mini-
mal financing against the property in the future to assist with
leveraging a larger portfolio.
2. They are purchasing property using a 15-year mortgage.
They then take the cash flow each month and use it to reduce
the principle. In some cases, this can reduce the term of the
loan to less than eight years.
3. They are structuring the term of the loan to
match the monthly note to the rental amount
received.
4. They are purchasing using a mixed bag of
options including cash purchases, refinancing
existing properties at low leverage, bundling a
portfolio to acquire leverage for new properties.
Regardless of the scenario that investors are
following, they are using leverage to increase
their purchasing ability and using the cash flow
produced from each investment property to
reduce the principle. The idea behind affluent
investors purchasing plans are to own the assets
outright in the shortest amount of time. This
enables them to keep as much of the return on the investment
as possible.
The Single Biggest Expense
In A Leveraged Property
They recognize that there is only one fixed expense that the
investor can be in direct control of and that is interest. Man-
agement, taxes and insurance are all fixed costs, which the
investor has little to no control over. Vacancy is a variable cost
that even with the most prudent management is going to affect
an investor at some point and there is nothing an investor can
do to prevent. Routine maintenance and major replacement
costs are also variable costs that, while an investor can prepare
for and take steps to reduce, there is still little an investor can
do to limit and nothing an investor can do to eliminate these
costs. That leaves interest costs as the only major expense that
an investor has control over as it relates to earnings potential
on a property.
Many investors that I am talking to today are choosing to
do everything possible to reduce the over-all costs of interest
including choosing higher interest rates to secure shorter
terms and buying cash flow properties not for the cash flow,
but to purchase more properties faster. I want to make sure
everyone caught that last sentence. While in San Francisco,
this was a big point I was trying to get across to the audience
and based on their reaction, it made sense to them.
How I Buy Properties
As an investor, I believe in buying properties that make
sense based on what I have experienced as an investor. I
have bought junk properties. I have bought “cheap” proper-
ties. I have bought properties and done the minimal amount
of work to get them “rent ready.” I have bought properties
with creative financing such as ARM mortgages and even
bought a couple with interest-only loans. Every one of those
strategies was aimed at producing Higher Monthly Cash
Flow. And every one of those strategies almost sunk me
completely as an investor.
Today, I buy properties where the fundamental econom-
ics make sense. I told the crowd in San Francisco that when
buying properties that produce a monthly positive cash flow,
they should consider using that money to reduce principle.
I cautioned them that if they were attracted to real estate
and cash flow because they needed to pay bills, then, in my
opinion, they really needed to be positive they were getting
sound financial planning before buying. I told them that in
my opinion, real estate purchased for buy and hold is a great
way to build and maintain long-term wealth, but a lousy way
to earn short-term money. I told them that real estate has
the greatest pay-off when you own it outright and that as an
investor, getting to that point should be your highest priority.
Using leverage to build your long-term portfolio is a great
tactic. Using leverage to build your short-term monthly cash
flow is not.
Am I off my rocker? Am I spot on? Let me know what
you think…
Chris D. Clothier is a Partner at MemphisInvest.com and
Premier Property Management Group. He can be reached at:
chris@memphisinvest.com or 901-751-7191.

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