Book Review: A Millionaire’s Real Estate Secret by Adriana Dodge
A self-reported “knowledge junkie” like many investors, I have devoured dozens of books, tapes, courses, and seminars on real estate, investing, and tips and techniques for taking your business to the next level. A lot of what’s out there is, to put it nicely, literally NO VALUE – old, misinformed, irrelevant, unrealistic information, based solely on “theory” that cracks under application pressure, or is even totally illegal.
“My system is very complete,” says Adriana Dodge. For the most part, I completely agreed after reading her book. No fluff, no filler, just a simple real estate investment technique explained from the soup to the nuts. If you’re looking for an encyclopedia of real estate knowledge or a bunch of motivational gibberish, you won’t find it in A Millionaire’s Real Estate Secret.
What you’ll find is the right mindset, organizational system, steps, forms, paperwork, and guidelines to easily complete a “subject to” home purchase transaction without cash or credit, and build a business doing more deals if you do. he wants it. .
Adriana says she states her investment strategies are “subject to” after having purchased numerous properties at courthouse foreclosure auctions and becoming frustrated with the limitation of needing cash for transactions. By building her system herself, she has created an aggressive investment model that others can follow.
As an investor, Adriana epitomizes the importance of mastering a niche before moving on to something else. With so many options and opportunities in the world, not to mention just the world of real estate investing, we can sometimes get bogged down and overwhelmed with all the paths we COULD take. For her, the niche was “investable,” a technique of acquiring property with little or no cash required that involves taking possession subject to any existing financing that remains in the seller’s name until the buyer/investor completes its exit strategy. (sale/refinancing). While this type of investment may not be the business plan for everyone, if you are an opportunist at heart, it is certainly a great vehicle to get you where you want to go.
Adriana came to this country from Colombia with a job that paid for her residency but did little else. It certainly wasn’t a race. Looking for something she wanted to do with her life, she also set a goal of buying a house that would bring in at least $10,000 when sold in a year or two. In late 1996, after coming to the country and saving money, and praying to God to show her a good investment, she bought her first house in Minneapolis on a one-acre lot for $63,000. In just over a year, in early 1998, she sold the house and land separately, earning more than $41,000. That’s when she knew she wanted to be an investor. Certainly those are not huge sums for anyone reading this, but she will recognize Adriana as the risk taker in all the success stories. I bet you have a similar story to tell, don’t you?
In addition to the many obstacles, risks, and frustrations of any typical new investor, such as financial headaches, dealing with contractors, supply deals, and finding the right people to do the job, Adriana had to deal with being fluent in English. her learning a new culture, battling residency issues, and dealing with the somewhat unprofessional image of a pretty Latina woman under five feet tall. These experiences uniquely qualify her to speak to that opportunist and believer in all of us, and give her a voice that people hear and respond to even when others are singing the same song or preaching a similar message. She wondered how disarming her appearance must be to a motivated seller facing possible foreclosure, that she sees others in her niche as “all business” at best and vultures at worst. . She managed to turn what most would see as stumbling blocks into stepping stones.
As an author and teacher of real estate investment topics, Adriana comes across as very genuine. A certified trainer and trainer who has been investing in real estate and training others full-time since 2001, she possesses that rare trait of a truly inspirational person in that she achieved her current status through the sweat and entrepreneurial risks of thousands of uncertain yesterdays. . -and she is more than willing to share both the triumphs and the struggles with those who ask her for help.
Knowing Adriana Dodge is knowing energy and excitement, focus and charisma, all coiled up and ready to explode from her perky 4ft. 11 inch frame. I had the pleasure of having three separate discussions with her where she shared with me and our readers her thoughts on success, real estate, “subject to” investing, mentoring, building a business and much more.
Among the words of wisdom shared were these gems:
Always duplicating yourself.
Listen to others but know that you must make the decisions.
In frustrating times, remember: we expand, we grow, and then we deserve more.
No matter how you feel, it all comes down to numbers.
Hire people with a great attitude. You want people who go the extra mile.
Some people in your life are a liability: distance yourself from negativity.
Treat people fairly.
Build relationships, don’t just trade.
Don’t fall in love with a property or investment.
Communication is key in business: always let people know what’s going on.
You can’t afford to burn bridges.
Surround yourself with a great team.
Have fun with the negotiations.
Finding people who are “X” is easier when you are “X”…example: “honest”
You can maintain your integrity and still make money investing.
When I finished writing this, I thought of something powerful in addition to encouraging those who now want to read Adriana’s book to do so. Each of us as entrepreneurs often have someone in our lives whom we would love to empower to do something else, to take risks, to realize their potential and to pursue a better life. It seems we want more for them than they do. themselves. It can be a wife or girlfriend, a mother or a brother, a teacher or a preacher. Sometimes getting our breath isn’t enough; sometimes it is not the message but the messenger that is key to catalyzing a great achievement. If you, too, have such a person in your life, and she’s interested in real estate, give her this book and let the inspiring Adriana Dodge be your messenger with A Millionaire’s Real Estate Secret.