There’s a reason you live where you do. It might be because it’s close to where you grew up or it could be because the lovely woman who said yes to your marriage proposal likes taking long walks on the beach with you at sunset. Then again, you might live where you do because you were driving cross-country between your junior and senior years of college and had mechanical problems there, liked the atmosphere – and returned after graduation. Regardless of the specific reason, you live where you do based on an emotion or a series of emotions. Just because you live there doesn’t make it a good place to invest in real estate.

Real estate is a decidedly unemotional commodity unless you’re shopping for your primary residence. If it’s not – it should be. Thousands of successful real estate entrepreneurs know that in all ways real estate is a numbers game. Up markets, down markets, stagnant markets – it’s all about numbers. You contact ‘X’ number of sellers before you find the one property you ultimately buy. Because you live where you do, conditions may or may not be conducive to great investment opportunities. While conditions around the corner from your home might fit your investing goals, it’s a safe bet that you can find better conditions and better opportunities somewhere else. Is it written on a stone tablet somewhere that you have to invest where you live? If that’s what you think, you need to hurl it to the ground so that it shatters your erroneous thought process. Use stone cold reason to unleash your potential for profiting from your real estate investments.

The very emotions that make your neck of the woods such a great place to live are the very same reasons that could make it a lousy place to invest in real estate. With that said, you could live in an ideal area for real estate investing.If you live in a tourist trap or an area with an abundance of beaches, fair weather, and amenities that are considered ideal to the majority of people, a lot of other people will want to live there as well. If rental rates and property values are extremely high, you don’t necessarily live in a solid area for real estate investing.

Instead, look at the numbers without being bound by the emotions that fueled your desire to live where you do. Explore and examine other markets across the country or even abroad. The good news is you can do this business “virtually” without having to personally visit or live in the area in which you’re considering investing.You may find by looking at numbers from a variety of research and data sources that St. Louis, Missouri, Charlotte, North Carolina and McAllen,Texas make sense to you. Don’t get hung up on whether or not you would want to live there. It doesn’t matter if you like the atmosphere, the environment, or the look of the community. All that matters is: What do the numbers tell you?

Willie Sutton didn’t rob banks because he particularly liked the ambience of bank lobbies, the great customer service, or the way the bank President tipped his hat to all the ladies he passed walking on the sidewalk. He robbed banks because that’s where the money was. Politicians of every political persuasion have learned that mingling politics and religion to the point that you debate the merits or faults of vastly differing viewpoints is suicide. So don’t kill your potential to turn a promising real estate investing career into a never-ending cycle of personal disappointment by allowing emotion to enter your real estate investing equation. X +Y=Z, but when you plug emotion into the equation you get chaos – and missed opportunities.

Keep emotion out of it and remember it’s all about the numbers. Live where you want to live and invest where it makes the most sense. If you do you’ll discover that the numbers will be on your side and your profits will be in the bank. Now that’s something to get emotional about!

Blessings,

Charrissa Cawley

www.REIconferences.com

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Hello All, this is my favorite week of the whole year – Just a reminder to give Thanks for all that we are blessed with in our daily lives.

Below are some links that I hope you’ll find useful.
My Mother in-law sent me this and I had to share it with you. Its really great!

1. Do you like words? Improve your vocabulary and help the United Nations World Food Program end world hunger:
http://www.freerice.com/

2. It may be hard to believe but San Diego not only has a website where you can ask for and RECEIVE street repairs! About 6 months ago they put in a special left turning light near my home. Initially it was fine, turning green immediately if there were no cars coming from the other direction – but then that wonderful function stopped. By using this website they actually fixed it!
http://apps.sandiego.gov/streetdiv/

3. Here’s a place you can view Teacher’s projects that need funding and choose any that interest you. Donations as little as $10.
http://www.donorschoose.org/homepage/main.html

4. To remove yourself from those Pre-Approved Credit Card & Insurance Offers. If you choose to Opt-Out, you will no longer be included in firm offer lists provided by these four consumer credit reporting companies.
https://www.optoutprescreen.com/?rf=t

5. American Red Cross website to list yourself “Safe and Well” so your loved ones won’t worry in case of a fire or some other emergency.
https://disastersafe.redcross.org/default.aspx

6. A friend whose mother was recently diagnosed with breast cancer was told by her Dr. that women should not drink bottled water that had been left in a car. He said that the heat and the plastic of the bottle have certain chemicals that can lead to breast cancer. The heat causes toxins from the plastic to leak into the water and they have found these toxins in breast tissue. Use a stainless steel canteen or a glass bottle when you can!!! I bought my stainless steel water bottle at Whole Foods, La Jolla.

7. And finally, an link to the  “7 Wonders”: www.reiconferences.com/files/7wonders.jpg

Happy Thanksgiving!

Blessings,
Charrissa Cawley

www.REIconferences.com

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