July Ono BLOG

The human body needs to be in an alkaline state for optimal health. In this alkaline state, the body remains healthy and disease is unable to occur. However, when we create an acidic environment in our body, it opens us up to disease. Consuming food such as coffee, alcohol and animal meat creates acid in the body. In moderation, our bodies can handle it. In excess and through chronic abuse, the body starts to break down.

We can be mindful to create an alkaline environment for our body with some simple steps to start with, such as lemon water. As in all things, too much lemon has been known to damage the teeth in some people but 1 or 2 cups of lemon water a day is a great alkaline drink.

Start each day with the juice of half a lemon in a cup of lukewarm water. First squeeze the lemon juice in to the cup. Then pour filtered room temperature water half way. Top up with hot water so as not to destroy the enzymes in the lemon. Heat destroys vital minerals and enzymes that the body needs to assimilate.

It is important to start your day with water due to the time lapse between going to bed and arising. If you don’t like lemons, you can use limes. Lemons should always be at room temperature. To extract the most juice, roll the lemon around on a counter or table a few times.

Lemon is perhaps the most valuable fruit therapeutically. It is especially helpful for people who have eaten a high fat/high protein diet. Lemon can stimulate and aid elimination in digestion and helps to destroy putrefactive bacteria in both the intestines and the mouth. It is used to purify the breath. Its antiseptic, anti-microbial and mucus-resolving action make it useful during diarrhea, colds, flu, coughs and parasite infestations. It benefits the liver, encouraging the formation of bile. It improves absorption of minerals. It promotes weight loss. It cleanses the blood. It improves blood pressure and helps weak blood vessels. Lemon increases the production of fluids in the body and is often used for calming the nerves, treating sore throats, cramps and diabetes which are all marked by fluid deficiency. In Chinese Medicine it is considered a cooling fruit.

Although it is acidic in nature with a pH of 2 to 3, Lemon is alkaline-forming in the body and when added to water is a great way to begin a healthy day. It is not the relative acidity/alkalinity of the food but rather the effect it has on the body that is important. Many foods such as lemons, limes, and tomato are acidic in their basic state but once metabolized by the body has an alkalizing effect. The high alkaline mineral content of these foods means that once consumed and metabolized, they increase the alkalinity of the cells of the body.

Add a pinch of cayenne to your lemon water for some added benefits. Cayenne increases metabolism, stimulates the circulatory system, improves cell structure of the arteries and regulates blood flow to equalize pressure. It’s great for stomach and intestinal tract as it helps with assimilation and elimination. Many people don’t realize that it’s great for heartburn.

Dr. John Christopher, the famed natural herbalist, was persecuted relentlessly by the government for his practice of herbal medicine all the while assisting patients in curing heart disease, cancer, tuberculosis, infertility, rheumatism, leukemia and every other incurable under the sun. One of his greatest stories in his long career was how he could instantly stop a heart attack if he could get the patient to drink a glass of warm cayenne water. He said “a teaspoon of cayenne should bring the patient out of the heart attack”. For more information about cayenne, visit http://www.cayennepepper.info/health-benefits-of-cayenne-pepper.html

A group of us traveled to the Sanoviv Medical Institute last week (Nov 19-24, 2011) and had the most amazing time of our lives. Although Sanoviv specializes in chronic degenerative disease issues such as cancer, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinsons, fibromyalgia, this holistic hospital also specializes in detoxification and education. Six of us visited Sanoviv for a health retreat under the 5-day Ambassador Program. Thanks to Teresa Holoman for spearheading the trip. We didn’t know what to expect except that everyone who had been there had only fantastic testimonials.

I thought I was pretty healthy going in and to my surprise, I have some work to do. For example, I thought I was drinking lots of water for my body weight (6 to 8 cups a day). I actually need to drink 12 to 14 cups of water a day. The Microscopic Blood Analysis showed the proof. And I need to chew my food better so that it goes down my throat as a paste instead of in chunks. I actually counted 83 chews eating a coconut-spirulina snack.

In addition to the various tests, they focus on education and every evening there is an education session. I was so impressed with the information, that I just have to share it with you all.

Oh, and Teresa picked up this DVD called FoodMatters with startling and profound information that the pharmaceutical industry doesn’t want us to know. You can find out more at www.FoodMatters.TV.  The amazing thing is that this is all common sense stuff that we already know, so why aren’t we all doing it and living a life full of vitality. It takes work. It takes work to learn about health, educate yourself and then implement it into our daily lives.

I’ve spent the last ten years working on my financial success. It’s time to balance the scales and bring optimal health into my life so that I can enjoy my wealth. So I am on a personal journey to eliminate 25 pounds of excess weight, and being more mindful of what activities I do and what I consume.

Here’s to your health.

MotionX GPS Drive App

My webmaster recommended this app. It’s 99 cents or $1.11 with taxes in. Right now you get the voice navigation for free for the first 30 days or you can purchase it for an additional $9.99 for the year in their limited holiday offer. You definitely need the voice guidance if you’re using the app in place of a GPS. We got the car accessory that mounts the iPhone to the window. We prefer it to our Magellan.

Website

Buy

I love this new APP called MyFitnessPal. It’s free. It’s simple to use, tracks your exercise and food intake, has a million food entries to select from. I’ve noticed that whenever I put anything into my mouth, out comes my iPhone and I become conscious of what I eat. As a result, I am already 1.6 lbs lighter after 5 days.

Trivia: Did you know that minorities were not allowed to vote until after 1948 in Canada?

The municipal elections are taking place on November 19, 2011. In my local riding of Delta, there are 4 candidates running for Mayor, 13 candidates vying for 6 available council seats and 20 candidates vying for 7 seats on the school board.

I vote in every election because Japanese were not allowed to vote in Canada until after 1948. The Dominion Elections Act  S.C. 1900 prohibited minorities including women from voting in Provincial and Federal elections. In 1948, the basis of race as exclusion was repealed but it took another year to earn the right to vote. In 1949, Japanese persons won the right to vote in Provincial elections. It wasn’t that long ago that I wasn’t allowed to vote because of my race and gender. I don’t know who fought for my right to vote, but I am deeply grateful for their dedication and commitment. We live in a country that is the envy of the world. We don’t have to worry about getting shot at while crossing the street. We don’t have to worry about food shortages, blackouts, water contamination. We have it pretty good.

If you don’t vote, you are abdicating your sovereign right to make your vote count. Imagine having that right taken away from you and you are forced to live in a world where only the self-professed elite will dictate how you live.  If you don’t vote, you have no right to complain about government.

Interestingly, none of the candidates that I have voted for won office until this past decade. I felt a little frustrated that for over 20 years, my candidates never won.  But I kept voting. I think what changed is that I became more strategic in my voting. What an elated feeling I had when my candidate took office. Now I know why those political conventions in the United States are so popular.

To give you an example of strategic voting, I Googled all 37 candidates including the incumbents. I looked for press releases to see how active these candidates were on getting the word out. Do they use Facebook? Do they communicate clearly and concisely about why they are running? How strong a case do they make? What kind of qualifications do they have? Do they have a unique value proposition? I would then circle the name of the candidate that appealed to my values.

I couldn’t even find a picture of some of the candidates. Other candidates had no independent article written about them but were merely line mentions in a general message. Some articles were vague and I wasn’t sure exactly what they were saying.

I have the circled names of my candidates and up to voting day, I shall be keeping my eyes and ears alert for additional information to either back up my selected candidates or reconsider them.

I invite you to take some time, even if it’s just an hour, to consider whom you will vote for in the upcoming municipal election. Your vote counts.

Security
I lost my iPhone the first week I got it. My only recourse was to call the number and wait for someone to pick up. A guy answered the call. I could hear lots of background noise and pinpointed the location to the restaurant I had just left.  I located my iPhone because the guy was still playing with it at the table. So that taught me to (1) password secure my phone and (2) activate the Find My iPhone feature on iCloud.

The password secure function is under Settings, General, Passcode Lock.

To active Find My iPhone, go to www.icloud.com. The Apple ID is created when you activate the phone when you purchase it. You use this ID to log into iCloud. You can set it so that iCloud sends a message to the phone with instructions on how to return it to you, send a message with an alert or wipe everything remotely.  For any Mac user, they already have their ID when they activate their device after they purchased it.

iCloud
Why go to iCloud? It syncs all of your IOS devices with your Mac: your laptop, desktop, iPhone, iPad, iPod. I only have to make 1 calendar entry and it updates across all the platforms. No more redundant entries. As soon as you sign in to iCloud on your Mac, it automatically configures email, calendar, notes and address book. There is nothing to do. Everything is uploaded and downloaded automatically. I take a picture with my iPhone, it goes to iCloud and the moment your other devices are on wifi (iPad, iPod Touch, Apple TV, Mac) it automatically downloads it to them, the picture downloads on any other IOS device including Apple TV. This is called Photo Stream.

AppleTV
What is Apple TV? Apple TV is the size of a puck. You can take it anywhere with you and watch Netflix, YouTube, Vimeo, all podcasts on iTunes, radio, NHL and MLB games, live feed news stations with the Wall Street Journal Live app and anything that you have on your IOS device. You can stream that onto the Apple TV. Watch the video that’s on your iPhone on Apple TV using airplay. There’s also iTunes rentals and movie purchases available. It’s like having your own personal portable cable network. Some hotels don’t even have the HBO channel much to Steve’s chagrin. Apple TV runs using wifi. This is great for travelers. Take the comforts of home with you. It’s $120. And it’s constantly being updated.

I got an iPhone last month and I must say that I am now a convert. I gave up my Blackberry. What’s amazing is how the iPhone makes me feel. I feel like a kid in a candy store. My phone is my toy and a powerful tool but the toy aspect keeps me engaged with the technology. I get to play with it every day. Now this may seem silly but let’s face it, we’re all kids at heart. We not only like to play, we need to play. I’m learning all this cool stuff, so I’d like to share it with you.

TUNEIN RADIO

Today, I learned how to get tuned in to any radio station in the world. You can download this free APP called TUNEIN RADIO. http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tunein-radio/id418987775?mt=8

If somebody opens the lid of your computer, as soon as someone opens the lid or touches the keyboard and does not enter the correct password in time, the alert function takes a picture of the intruder and emails the picture with an alert notification to you. Is that cool or what!  Here is the APP: http://ialertu.en.softonic.com/mac

Question:

Thank you also for the insights on the property.  I do understand that I should not consider purchasing until I have all the solid facts in front of me.  I wonder though so many people have said to us make an offer you can always change it as you discover things in your inspections, if its a good deal you will miss out if you do not move quickly.  So how do you balance that?  Having all the info but not missing the deal because as a rookie you are trying to confirm what the seasoned investor can see without getting all the info first.  Or is that just not good advice in the first place?  I also wonder about the foreclosure aspect of this property will the bank even be able to confirm things like the rent was getting paid prior to them taking over and what the expenses are.  If the tenants pay all the utilities do I need to know what that number is or do I just need to confirm that they are paid up to date?  I understand that I do not have to assume the tenants with the purchase of the property but I do have to give them 90 days notice do you find that tenants that are maybe not great and thats why your not assuming them tend to just not pay the final 90 days?

I also wonder about Condo’s, we have had so many conflicting opinions about condos and the value of them as a rental property especially for beginners like us.  In the Rein seminar we attended last weekend a lot of investors there really liked condos and felt that they never would have been able to get a start without them.  I found it interesting to learn that here in Alberta it is illegal to put a rent cap on any properties so although condo boards will write rules saying only so many can be rented they dont have a legal leg to stand on, that being said it does not stop someone from just plan making your renters life hell so they will leave.  I have come across a lot in Edmonton under the 70k mark and some in areas that are close to NAIT and Grant McEwan so I am thinking that they would be worth looking into.  I have some info here on buying condos for investment and what you need to look at to do proper due diligence but was wondering what you would consider to be some of the most important things you need to really watch for when looking at condo purchases? Laura.

July’s Answer:

There are many answers to your questions because there are many styles of investing. What are you comfortable with? There is a balance between being the first one in with an offer to tie up the property while you determine if the property works for you. But if you do this all the time and let the property go, you will start to get a reputation as someone who ties up properties and doesn’t close. In a small market like Edmonton, word gets around and there are names on the Realtor’s black list of people they will not work with.  So be professional. Realtors and mortgage brokers need to make a living and they don’t want to waste time on a lookey-loo.  If you are a novice investor, you need to study up and know your comparables inside out. Research the area that you are interested in buying. You should be familiar with the past ten year trend of that area, list price, rents, demographic profile, economic drivers, traffic patterns. Then when a property comes on the market, you will know instantly if the profile fits your criteria. Then you can act swiftly. This is why the experienced investors can act quickly. They’ve already put in the groundwork. They know how much money they need in contingency for deferred maintenance. They know the market and how desirable the neighbourhood is.  When it comes down to moving quickly on a deal in order to not feel like you’re going to miss out on a deal, this is not sound real estate investing in my opinion. I missed out on lots of deals when I first started but the problem was … I didn’t know what a good deal looked like. Build your solid foundation first.

Dolf de Roos says that out of 100 deals, you may make offers on 3 and buy 1. So I set out to analyze 100 deals. It was at property #68 when I found the deal of the decade.  It took me 6 months to find it.  That’s 180 days, looking at approximately 2 -1/2 deals per day. I knew it was a great deal because the previous 67 deals were all duds. I knew by looking at the list price and the rent amount that the property was a fantastic deal. How many deals have you analyzed so far? I used a spiral bound note book and listed the numbers on top of each page. Keep your notes because sometimes the same deal you’ve analyzed will come back a year later.

I am not concerned if I lose out on a deal. I do not play that game. I walk away from bidding wars. I play my own game. You need to ascertain what your game is. This will be determined by your personality, values and philosophy.

If you’re playing the MLS game, then you are in the running with hundreds of other investors including the people who just want to find a place to live. This is why I prefer not to use the MLS listings to find properties. I have created a network that refers properties to me before they get listed. Before that, you can go through your neighbourhood and find properties that you like, and make an unsolicited offer. You would do this strategically of course so as to benefit the owner. After all, what owner likes having hundreds of people invade their abode.

As for foreclosures, you are purchasing the property in “as is” condition. You need to conduct thorough due diligence on all the expenses. This means that you must independently verify all these costs through a third party that is not related to the owner or the Realtor. Preferably at source such as call City Hall Tax Department and confirm the property tax. Get written permission from the trustee to release the utilities information. If there are tenants, get permission from the Realtor to conduct a Tenant Acknowledgement Confirmation. You would go through the property, with or without the Realtor, to confirm that the tenant actually lives there, how much rent they pay, if they paid a deposit, who pays utilities (landlord or tenant), if there are any rental incentives in their current lease.

When it comes to taking vacant possession of a building, remember that an empty building is a worthless building. If you are going to float the mortgage without rental income, then you must be prepared with your renovation budget and double the time frame. If you think it’ll take 3 months to renovate, then make it 6 months. If you think it’ll take a month to rent a unit, factor in 2 months. If you have the cash flow to sustain the property throughout this time, then go for it. I never buy a property with no tenants. I am buying the property for the income. And from what I’ve seen from the experience of other investors, their renovation projects are rarely on time or on budget.

I buy underperforming buildings because I have the expertise to deal with the deferred maintenance issues and undesirable tenants. Who is going to handle your renovations? If you farm this out, you will pay a premium versus being the general contractor yourself. Sometimes undesirable tenants turn out okay. It’s because they were mis-managed by the previous owner/manager. Once you put systems in place and explain your policies, tenants will have no excuse to pay rent late and will be responsible for damages. Sometimes it is necessary to evict and it’s a great learning experience. You will gain a lot of intangible skills such as renting to the right tenant and filtering out the unqualified tenants.

Okay, my take on condos in the Edmonton area.  Read the Bylaws and the Condo Reserve Fund Study. There are some condo associations that are making it difficult for investors to rent their units. I know of one association where you must submit the tenant applications to the condo board for approval. You know what that means. The applications could be held up for weeks or months. The best way to get a feel for the condo is to interview the condo board, specifically the President and the Treasurer. Preferably not by phone. Meet them in person. They are much more personable face-to-face when they see a real person instead of talking to a mysterious investor over the phone. Also, condo associations don’t like dealing with absentee owners especially when it’s their tenant that creates disturbances or infractions.

The most important thing to look for is management. Check out the credentials of the property management company that takes care of the condo. Check out the reputation of the managers. What other properties do they manage in town? Check those properties out. Talk to the tenants, owners. What are their impressions, experience dealing with them? You’ll find out soon enough.

And before you buy anything, you must know your exit strategy. Are you planning to hold the property for 5 years, 10 years, indefinitely? Are you buying the property on your own or with another investor/partner? How many properties are you planning to purchase? Have you planned how to make multiple purchases of single family dwelling units? Are you planning to refinance in 5 years or sell? What are your plans if the market goes soft in 5 years? If the market goes up in 5 years? How do you plan to get financing for your 4^th property, 5^th property, et cetera? Who is going on title on which properties and why? When you go on title, this will affect your total debt service for future financing. Your partners can become beneficial owners without being placed on title. Are you aware of this?

This answer is not meant to be complete. It is designed to get you to Think and Plan.

Just know that once you have about 80% of what you need to know, the other 20% comes in the doing.

Question:

The property is in forclosure and in very bad shape. It cashflows by the number the realtor gave me and I added in all the utilities because originally he said that it was included but later found out it was not. so going back to the numbers it would cashflow nicely but the tennants that are in the building would not take care of the place if we did upgrade and if we let them go and then upgraded I dont think we could float everything until we could get new people in place. The property is zoned for multifamily and the place could be knocked down in the future and a 4 plex or 6 plex could be put up. So I wonder could we just leave the current tennants in place not put in upgrades until they leave or we have no choice and happily collect the rent cheques but I dont think that is the right thing to do either. Anyhow going to relook at the numbers with the increased reno up front and rent reduced by one unit cause tennant could not stay if place was cleaned up as he would destroy it again overnight I suspect, and see what they say. Laura.

July’s answer:
When your Realtor gives you numbers, you cannot rely on this information. You must have all numbers verified by an independent third party. For example, utilities. You need proof from Hydro or the gas company to verify the amounts. I always verify property tax payments with the municipality tax department. Just because an owner gives the Realtor numbers doesn’t mean they are real. In my experience, every financial statement that I have reviewed had false or misleading amounts listed … or in some cases, not listed. This is part of due diligence.

Same for verifying tenants and the rent they pay. I usually have my Realtor or my law firm go through the property with a Tenant Acknowledgement Form to verify (1) the tenant is actually there (2) the tenant names correspond with the rent roll (3) the rent amount is correct (4) whether tenant or landlord pays utilities (5) amount of security deposit (6) any rental incentives – a promise made by the owner for free rent which usually comes due on the last month of their lease. Stuff like that.

You need to write our your plan for the property. Wondering about it is a very poor plan. Shoulda Coulda Woulda is not a plan Laura. Put your options down on paper and see which approach you would like to take. You can have an Option A and if that doesn’t work out, you fall back to Option B or Option C. I have as many back up plans as possible for my apartment purchases. Do the math, do the calculations, see how much money and time it will take for you to rezone the property and build. If you’re not into that, write out your other options. What is the highest and best use of the land that you are willing to do? I don’t want you wondering about things. I want you to take a decisive stand and consider your options. This is a business and you need to know your options. Then when you go to the bank, you will have confidence because you will already have researched all your options.

We are at a seminar and have come to the upsale part and we are interested but don’t know the right move can you help

Thanks for writing and taking the time to make a decision not based on hype, the hallmark of great real estate investors. Don’t be like the masses who go without a plan or you will end up responding with herd mentality. You’ll end up following the crowd. What is it that you want?

Some pointers when you attend a seminar and you really like what you hear, it resonates with you, and you feel pressured into buying. All good sales people have a compelling close. I just don’t let the pressure tactics work on me. I choose to buy when I’m ready for my reasons.

1. Consider any seminar that you attend as research time, you are gathering information and data (this will be one of many information gathering seminars)

2. Your marketing strategy at these events is to network and collect as many business cards from the people you meet

3. Enter all these contacts into a database – use Outlook or Mac Mail or Excel or a SQL based program

4. Follow up within 48 hours after the event (less than 1% of people who attend events do this) and you will stand out from the crowd of mediocrity

5. Create your newsletter (go to www.YourMillionDollarNetworkBook.com to get you started)

6. Check out the next Millionaire Mind Intensive in your area at http://www.peakambassador.com/cmd.php?af=2000&p=1

7. Write out an inventory of your current resources (time, talent, skill set, money, network) Create an email database, your first newsletter is the most important as it cannot spam people

8. What is your 10 year intention? Mission, vision, purpose, plan. (eg. When is your financial freedom day. I am so happy and grateful that I earn $5,000 per month net passive income by May 8, 2014; that I own a $5 million portfolio by May 8, 2014; that I own my primary residence outright; that I zero balance my credit cards every month)

9. Then work backwards from your end game. Break down the 10 year Intention into a 3-year Goal, break that down into three 1-year goals, break that down into 4 quarters, break the quarters into 12 weeks, break down the weeks into 3 daily activities that take you towards your 3 month goal, that takes you towards your 1 year goal, that takes you towards your 3 year goal, towards your 10 year goal. It is the cumulative effect of these small action steps taken every day that adds up to 3 x 365 = 1,095 activities that you would not otherwise have done

10. Check out Meetup.com in your area for free real estate networking event, go to a Cash Flow 101 game, create a network itinerary and go out at least once a week

11. Stay in contact with your mentor(s) on a regular basis

12. Get a coach

There are a lot of great programs, workshops, seminars, events out there. The key is to focus on which event is going to give you the best ROI (return on investment) of your time and money.

Your education is not an investment until you do something with it. So at first, it will feel like you’re going all over the place, feeling overwhelmed, scattering your attention and energy, chasing one concept after another. You’re in the information gathering phase. This is normal. Then it’s time to settle down and start narrowing your focus. This is where you go back to your inventory and look for a match. Stick to your strengths and harness this area. Stay away from weak areas because it will take longer for you to develop a skill set in something you aren’t particular suited for.

You will hear about the money mountains and creating multiple streams of income. That’s all well and good but you can’t build it all at once. There are several areas to focus on generating money such as real estate, publishing, internet, building a business. Within each of these categories, there are many avenues.

Take real estate for example. There are several categories such as raw land, unserviced lots, serviced lots, resort, hotel, industrial, office, commercial, residential. Let’s take residential for example. You can buy & hold, flips, lease to purchase, foreclosures, assignments, rezone. Each of these sub-categories requires specialized knowledge and skills, preferably in alignment with your core strengths.

When I attend a seminar, my minimum goal is to recover the cost of the event which includes the program, travel, air, ground, hotel, meals, taxes. My target goal is to earn ten times my investment. My extraordinary goal is to generate 100 times the investment. It’s good to have these types of goals going in to a program so you treat the workshop like an investment. It puts you in a different head space than the other participants.