Is Your Morality Keeping You From Real Estate Riches?

-Your beliefs matter not to the wisdom of this message and how it can help you in your Real Estate business.

By Gerald Romine
All Rights reserved - www.kickassrealestate.com

Before I get into today's column, let me tell you that I am a very spiritual person and whether one believes in religion or not we are all seeking something better in life. Your beliefs matter not to the wisdom of this message and how it can help you in your Real Estate business.

Many of my friends get a kick out of a 'Money Talks' Newsletter I produce because of the exciting headlines, our boldly named website www.KickAssRealEstate.com, and how they know personally I'm rather quiet and prefer to be anonymous. But, they also know I'm a businessman! So, today let's start with an ancient proverb:

The wise and moral man
Shines like a fire on a hilltop,
Making money like the bee,
Who does not hurt the flower. — The Pali Canon (500-250 B.C.E)

In this proverb Pali is telling of the wise and moral man shining like a beacon and prospering in the same way as the bee with its relationship to the flower. Bees make money (honey) by working with the flower and the flower is not harmed, but helped in the exchange. Real Estate is the same way and by helping people we are able to prosper.

Case in point; about three years ago I purchased a house that was owned free and clear from an elderly couple and the husband was in very poor health. The house was a rental in terrible condition with less than desirable tenants that wanted to prevent any sale from taking place. I dealt with every problem and to make the seller's life easier arranged for the title company to bring the paperwork and a notary to the seller's home so the husband would not have to go through the physical ordeal of going for a drive to the title company.

The sellers knew the home was being sold below market, were happy with the sales price, and more interested in spending the time they had remaining together. I made the transaction as easy as possible for them and after I bought the house and evicted the tenant there was extensive "new" damage to the property including concrete like material poured into the drain lines. Not once did I complain to the seller or even bring up what happened; I'm sure they would have corrected any damages, but I thought it was more important to not disturb them. (As it turned out I sold the house using the Work For Equity System, www.workforequitypro.com, and didn't have to deal with the damage either).

Since then the seller referred me to a friend and told them they should sell their house to me because I'm fair and hassle free. No, I didn't buy their friend's house, but that was OK.

It's been about 3 years since I bought that house and last week the seller called me to discuss my buying her personal residence. Unfortunately her husband passed away a few months ago and now she may want to sell her free and clear house and move across town to be closer to family. When she called we caught up on things and she wants to get together so we can discuss her options. I've already told her we can do whatever she wants and I could even help get her a moving truck and that she could leave behind anything in the house she no longer wants or needs).

Hopefully, I'll buy the house, but if I don't it really does not matter because like the bee, I make my money when I help the flowers. And, I've found it is a lot easier to have things come to you when you are the beacon than it is to chase them. Do you understand the difference?