JEFF: I’ve been a member of Del’s company Lifestyles Unlimited now for nine years. I’ve been on the team here for two years teaching some of the introductory classes and helping new members with their real estate investing questions. And that is what I’m here to do for you as well on the radio whether or not you are a member of Lifestyles Unlimited.
If you’re a first time listener, the company that Del has operated now—run, founded, operated, he is the president of—it’s a 19-year-old real estate investor and mentor group that teaches people how to build wealth and passive realized monthly income streams using everything from single-family homes to several-hundred unit apartment complexes and everything in between.
If you have any questions about any of it from property locating through evaluating, negotiating, financing, closing, leasing, make-readies, rehabs, management, then please call into the program. Remember this is a caller-driven radio program. It is at its best with your participation. So regardless of whatever topic we may be going on about, get your question answered. If it’s own your mind, it’s on many, many other people’s minds.
Now, you often here on this program that real estate investing is a team sport. You just cannot go out there and do everything yourself. The pastor at my church told me one time there are three prices when he has to make repairs to his home. One is the price that he could have somebody come in and do it, the price that he could do it himself for—but that’s a false price. Because the real price there is the price that it costs for him to do it himself and then to have somebody else come in and correct what he did.
So having said that, I would like to introduce you to a guest on the program today with me his name is he is Alfonso Munoz. He is my colleague here at Lifestyles Unlimited. He assists me in helping new members with their real estate investing questions. So if you have a question, again, remember today is a special day because we get to—you might get two perspectives on the same topic. We’ve both been through Del’s training.
I’ve been through his two-day class, my goodness, it must be about nine or ten times by now. That first year I took it I would imagine—I would imagine it was three times that first year I took it. I’ve taken it again occasionally over the last nine years. And that really brings me to why Del isn’t here today on the radio.
Del is en route to Dallas. He is teaching his weekend financial freedom program seminar there starting tomorrow at 7:30 in the morning. If you are a member this is the most important part of your core training. If you haven’t taken it yet or if you want to become a member so that you can take it, then call the office and make sure that your name is on the class roster. The most important part of your training, Dallas members, is tomorrow.
You know what, if it’s been a while for you, I would highly recommend you go back and take that class again. Certainly if your circumstances have changed — maybe you’ve gone from bad credit and no money now you have some credit and money, well, your strategies are going to be a little bit different. If you have gone from — if you are ready to move from single-family to multi-family, the strategy there is going to be significantly different. Again, I highly recommend you get in there and take that class again.
But for today’s program I’ve brought in Alfonso because he and I were having a discussion earlier where I was talking about how yesterday I went to my daughter’s school. She’s in elementary school. And I mentioned here on the program how scared I was putting her on the bus that first day of school ‘cause she’s my oldest child—she’s five—and she was starting kindergarten that day, and it was just terrifying for me. As soon as she got on the bus, I realized what a horrible mistake I had made. I fully intended to follow that bus to school and I did. My intentions were to get to the school, give her a credit card a cell phone, and a karate lesson just in case.
ALFONSO: Just in case.
JEFF: That’s right. And well, I only did one of the three.
ALFONSO: You gave her the credit card.
JEFF: Well, I did. I set up a lunchroom account. And well, two days ago that account ran out. I had to go back to the school. Had the most terrifying experience of my life. Standing there in the hallway at the wrong time. I got there in the morning on my way here to Lifestyles Unlimited, looked into that lunchroom and there were 500 kids having breakfast. And I will tell you what, breakfast in our country is a joke. It’s full of sugar. The kids who weren’t eating, they probably had cereal, sugar-soaked cereal before they got there. And the folks there they were having what waffles, pancakes and things like that with syrup all over it.
ALFONSO: Breakfast is more of a dessert here in the U.S. than it is—
JEFF: There you go. So you can imagine, I thought I was looking at a bunch of monkeys hanging off of the rafters. And it was just terrifying. Luckily some lady with white hair as nice as could be who—certainly not as intimidating to a kid as I am—just came over and helped me and got me into where I needed to be to set up that account. But I can’t tell you how ridiculously afraid I was to go in there. As careful as I am or try to be with my children, I couldn’t imagine not seeing someone and maybe stepping on a little kid’s toes or something. And it was just awful. And Alfonso, you substitute taught.
ALFONSO: When I was in graduate school I used to substitute teach. And I actually was terrified of ever going to the elementary schools. And I used to go—this is going to sound kind of crazy—I used to go to the alternative school where the felons would go to school. I felt more comfortable going there and I never substituted at the elementary school because I was terrified of the little kids staring at me or whatever little kids do, you know.
JEFF: Sure.
ALFONSO: And after the first time I substituted at an elementary school I absolutely loved it. And the kids were so sweet, and they just want to make you happy. And they’ll like find you a rock and just come up to you and show you the rock—of course my background is in geology so I love kids showing me rocks.
JEFF: Sure, sure.
ALFONSO: And I just realized, you know, there was nothing for me to be afraid of. Why was I afraid of going to elementary schools?
JEFF: And there you have it. What has held you out of real estate investing until now? If you’re listening to this show you certainly have an interest and when we come back from the break we will continue with Alfonso Meneos and answer any questions you have about your real estate investing, any of those “what ifs.” Don’t go away. This is the Del Walmsley radio show I’m Jeff Smith with Alfonso Meneos.
