882 » How Richard Roop Lost $6M in Real Estate and Bounced Back

Nearly everything I learned in real estate came from the marketing brain of Richard Roop. I used to drive a lot to work, and I hauled around his CDs in the back of my car to listen to on the drive to the office. After a hiatus, Richard is back to give some evergreen real estate advice, and to share his wild story of how he lost his real estate portfolio. “I can get you that price, but I can’t give you those terms” is one of the phrases that Richard coined. As an early adopter of creative financing like subject twos or lease options, Richard taught his students how to engineer a variety of deals that would appeal to a seller. The Baby Boomers drove the price appreciation over the last few decades, but they’re starting to downsize. Richard predicts a long-term trend of flat or down for the next 10-12 years, and right now is a great time to control without ownership. Becoming familiar with lease options is a convenient way to own without actually possessing the property. Additionally, buying with long-term owner financing or getting in and out with quick flipping could be great options in the next decade. The Ultimate Strategy is when you target homes in your area that are owned free and clear. By structuring phenomenal financing, you can get into nearly any of these homes. And as long as there’s positive cash flow and you’re paying down the mortgage, this will only be a winning strategy for you. But is it still a great strategy? As a general warning from Richard: Get very good legal advice if you’re soliciting private money. While he’s still under a gag order from many of the events surrounding his years-long legal battle with the local division of securities office, he can give us enough details to offer a cautionary tale. What’s Inside: —As a transaction engineer, Richard loves figuring out the different ways a deal could be structured. —There’s no way you can buy bad if you have the right numbers. —Richard’s ultimate strategy is simple: Look for houses with equity. —Is the Ultimate Strategy applicable for today’s market? —Why you should over-disclose for transparency’s sake.