Real Estate Networking and Charity Happy Hour with The Gilliard Group

We here at the Gilliard Group are very excited to announce the Real Estate Networking Happy Hour for Charity on November 13, 2009, 5:00pm! As the Gilliard Group grows, we are afforded the luxury of giving back more and more to our community, building a stronger Baltimore one day at a time. Please RSVP to Glinda at glinda@investgg.com and show your support for the Baltimore Station. Not only are we all working to support an outstanding cause, but we will get to have a lot of fun in the process! Mark your calendars NOW!

About the Charity:

The Baltimore Station’s mission is to provide rigorous self-help programs in a safe, caring residential setting to support men, most of whom are veterans, who are transitioning from the cycle of poverty, substance abuse and homelessness to self-sufficiency.

Because typical institutional treatment programs last for only 28 days, most participants relapse after leaving. At The Baltimore Station, they have the knowledge and real-life experience to know it takes months of living in a highly-structured, therapeutic environment to learn and practice a new way of living. And this program works!! At least 65% of the men who stay in our program for one month are still here six months later. After 18 months, most are living independently, gainfully employed and/or enrolled in college, and contributing members of the Baltimore community. Station graduates hold jobs at Baltimore businesses, nonprofits, museums, hospitals, and at BWI Airport.

About the Gilliard Group:
The Gilliard Group’s mission and the impetus for the daily growth and development of the Gilliard Group, is the desire to attain peace of mind; the peace of mind that comes with the knowledge that we are making a difference in communities. The Baltimore Station is a non-profit organization that shares a common interest with the Gilliard Group as we are both working to improve Baltimore City. So come out and help this great cause. All are welcome!!

In support of The Baltimore Station We will be accepting donations of $15 at the door

RSVP to glinda@investgg.com
Bring plenty of business cards to network - Door Prizes
WHEN-Friday, November 13th 5 P.M.
WHERE-George’s Mt. Vernon
101 W. Monument Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
WHY-To Help Homeless vets

RSVP to glinda@investgg.com
Happy Hour Specials
2-4-1 Bottle Beers
2-4-1 Rail Cocktails
2-4-1 House Wines
$5 Appetizers

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”  - Winston Churchill

Would you call yourself a pessimist? An optimist? Or maybe even a” realist”? So many people today avoid these types of labels. It’s often far easier to disregard them, or to only use them socially when it helps a person “fit-in”, and therefore they are identifying more with their peers then with themselves. So now take a moment to be honest with yourself… Are you a pessimist or an optimist? Picture this: tomorrow is trash pick-up and you need to gather up all the garbage from your home and take it out to the curb.

What does your picture look like?

Reluctantly gathering bags of trash from all the different waste buckets in your home, touching the gross, smelly Chinese food from 4 nights ago, lugging the big bag out to the can, throwing off the lid, tossing in the trash, and dragging the can down all the way down to the corner in your socks stepping on every single pebble along the way… and then ahhh.. finally done. Thank God.

Or have you been looking forward to cleaning up this unsightly mess? You remember this is the perfect time to clean out your desk drawer and gain some organization, not to mention toss those silly knick-knacks lying around you can’t even remember why you bought. Maybe while your picking things up you will find that battery you have been meaning to replace in your favorite watch! If nothing else, you know you really don’t want all that trash lingering around for another week.

See the difference?

The path to becoming a real estate investor, or achieving whatever it is your picture of success looks like, is a long, windy, bumpy, and sometimes unforgiving road. You are guaranteed to meet many challenges and obstacles along the way. The question is, how will you meet those challenges? If you’re first deal doesn’t close, will you decide that maybe this isn’t really for you? That your dream isn’t “realistic”? Or will you take what you’ve learned and move forward with even greater confidence, knowing in your heart you will make it, somehow, someway? When you look at the world through pessimistic goggles, every step along the way is a pain in the butt. Something else you’d rather not do or don’t have the time to deal with. You will tend to procrastinate, or simply never accomplish anything. It will consume your attitude, drain your energy, and bring your negative emotions to the forefront of your thoughts. Every time you hit a bump, you lose ground.

When you see through optimistic lenses, your world can change entirely. Every problem has a solution. Every obstacle has a way over, under, around, or straight through. Each challenge provides you the opportunity to grow, and therefore takes you once step closer to achieving your dreams. So ask yourself again, “am I an optimist or a pessimist”? Are you bigger than your problems, or are your problems bigger than you?

Remember, defeat only becomes failure when you stop trying. Sometimes changing your perspective is just the push in the right direction you need.
Eric Penn (C)2009

This is the KEY to success in this market or any market for that matter. Read on.

We at The Gilliard Group pride ourselves on the use of systematic real estate investing.  It is through proper investment strategy and systemization that The Firm has achieved its success and expansion.

First, determine your strategy, and then systematize it.

Strategy

Let me start of by saying this is not a “bad” market. Markets i.e. real estate, stocks or commodities typically trend in one of two ways…up or down. We are currently experiencing a “down” market in multiple assets classes (the stock market and real estate) at the same time. Again, markets are not inherently good or evil they simply react to supply and demand, available credit etc. Upward or downward trending markets present SIGNIFICANT investment opportunity if you employ the appropriate investment strategy for that type of market. In fact, some of the greatest fortunes have been amassed in markets like our current one.

Our Firm believes strongly that there are always big opportunities no matter the market conditions. Take today’s “Doom and Gloom” market for example; every time I meet someone new, the question of “what do you do?” comes up. I tell them I am in real estate, and a look of sorrow comes over their face and they say “geez, sorry to hear that”. I always chuckle to myself before I explain how our Firm invests in real estate because I realize this person is making an assumption…you cannot make money in real estate in a “down” market?

Most have written off real estate as a good investment because property values are falling. Several years ago when the market was “good” it was beneficial to be a seller because it was a sellers market and prices were appreciating. Now that prices are falling, we see it as an opportunity to buy properties at a steep discount. In a buyers market like the one we are in now, the buyers set the terms of the transactions. Therefore in order to take advantage of these market conditions one must become a buyer or work with buyers. Market changes simply call for a change in investment strategy. A famous man (read Warren Buffet) once said “Be greedy when others are fearful and fearful when others are greedy.”

If you don’t personally have the resources to purchase and hold properties; then find an investor that is doing so, and work with them. You can find these investors at the local Real Estate Investment Associations (REIA) or by looking through the public records to see who has purchased multiple houses in the last six months.

I could write a whole article about approaching these investors and developing a working relationship with them but just realize that their time is valuable and that you should bring some kind of value to them if you expect them to pay close attention to what you have to say. Speaking of value, let’s talk about something that will set you apart from every other investor.

Systemization

Finding the right investment strategy is only one part of the puzzle to utilizing systematic real estate investing. Just as important as realizing the appropriate strategy is systematizing it. You must observe your strategy from a process-perspective, not only to automate the revenue stream in the long term, but to identify and eliminate problems in the short term. Whether you are a solo investor or you have a team of people you work with, a step-by-step approach allows you to focus on a specific area of the process, then identify problems and correct them.

By forcing yourself to evaluate the investment strategies from a process-perspective, you will be able to verify the necessity of each part of the process. This eliminates wasted time and money (particularly important in today’s market). Apply the process-perspective to your business and you will not only be building a long term and sustainable business with the systems to ensure it efficiency but you will improve short term profitability as well.

If you have questions or comments about post, we welcome them. Please share your thoughts below.