Mike Watson’s “Retire in 5 Years!” Course Review

Think real estate investing might be fun and profitable? Are you tired of working with clients who end up wasting your time – especially after you’ve worked countless hours for them getting them financed, researching properties, writing offers, and more… just to have them change their mind or use a friend who just got licensed? What if you could work that hard looking for deals where you would not only earn a commission but also share in the profits? What if you had other people on the lookout for profitable deals for you – how great would that be?

If that sounds intriguing to you, read on. The Mike Watson Institute (MWI) offers a fresh approach to real estate investing using the license, skills, and talents you already possess as an agent. And don’t think this is just another get-rich-quick scheme because there will definitely be some time and hard work involved on your part to make this a successful venture.

Recently, I had the pleasure to go through the CDs and workbook from a Super Camp event held in Phoenix by the Mike Watson Institute. This program is packed full of all kinds of relevant information about real estate investing as well as some very creative concepts and several live student presentations.The “Retire in 5 Years!” Home Study Course includes 16 audio discs plus a workbook of informational slides and some notes on the student presentations.

Two of the most interesting concepts promoted by the Mike Watson Institute are that it is…

• geared toward the real estate agent who wants to become his or her own best client and it

• promotes a viewpoint of looking at properties in a different light in order to earn profits by seeking out the property’s highest and best use, not just to improve it from where it is now - as is common in many “fix and flip” or other investing programs.

The program begins with Mike’s presentation on retirement. His definition is slightly different than you might expect. To him, it’s not just about stopping all work and going on social security or other retirement income. His definition focuses more on finding out what is important to you now and how you envision your future – and the key to getting there is to have the earning power and free time to accomplish all your goals. In other words, you may still need to work to accomplish those goals, but the focus changes to your ability to pay for your life now and also create continued income to pay for the rest of your life.

Notable concepts regarding the investment process presented throughout the program include:

• Deal Evaluation – learn some basics of the system and new ways to find, evaluate, and profit on the best real estate deals in your area

• Area of Expertise – it’s recommended that you establish a small area of your city that you’ll focus on (one to four square miles); you should avoid CC&Rs and other restrictions that could affect your profits; and find ways to make your area better in the process while earning profits

• Power Teams – this is probably one of the most important aspects of having a successful investment business according to MWI; people from different professions such as escrow officers, lenders, contractors, and more help you find deals and work with you to raise capital and earn tremendous profits; it is SO important that Mike emphasizes that every seasoned student who currently has a properly functioning power team is a multi-millionaire

• Seller Financing – this is where you can get super creative and that doesn’t mean it’s illegal; creative financing solutions can exist whether or not the seller owns the property free & clear; and these arrangements can have benefits for both the buyer and the seller

• Creating & Enhancing Equity – the goal of every deal is to create & enhance equity both during the escrow period and after ownership; tools for doing this through escrow can include cash purchases, short sales, seller/lender paid closing costs, etc.; tools for doing this through ownership can include zoning changes, government incentives, remodeling, decreasing expenses, condo conversions, etc.

• Flips, Fixer-Uppers, and Flixers – these sections discuss how to buy for the lowest amount possible, make changes or give the appearance of changes, and sell for a profit; this is not just your average fix and flip advice as there are many creative approaches to create value here

The program is packed with student presentations and real-life success stories. One, in particular, caught my attention probably because she is a mom like me trying to balance the workload of raising her children and earning some income to better her family’s life:

Jennifer Hawkins started with MWI in September 2006 and has since increased her net worth by $350K. She has made offers on properties anywhere from $100K to $8 million. She currently has a 14-person Power Team who send her non-compete deals – this means that there are 14 people out there who are finding deals and giving her the exclusive rights to earn profits! This certainly shows the benefits of how people can work together and help both you and each other retire in 5 years.

Jennifer shared the details of some actual deals she has recently worked on. For example, she bought a run-down duplex for $260K, remodeled the first unit, and converted it to a condo. She sold just the one condo for $175K. During the remodel, she was also able to use a contractor from her Power Team to do the work thereby reducing her costs significantly; the contractor was willing to do this because of the other benefits and profit-sharing that he receives by being a part of her team. Another great benefit from this deal was that in her city, she did not have to go through a government process for the conversion – this was a great find for her and increased her profits. This example proves that if you educate yourself on little-known government regulations and incentives, profits can be had for essentially doing nothing.

What I enjoyed most about this MWI program was that the information presented is not just hype; there are practical solutions to investing scenarios and real-life experiences from actual students. In addition, by joining the MWI program, you have access to the forum and ways to network with other students. You can see what is working for other students and gain access to helpful questionnaires, forms, and systems used by other successful investors.

For more information on the Mike Watson Institute of real estate investing, visit http://www.mikewatsoninvesting.com/.