The concept of buying and selling real estate properties, or flipping, is indisputably one of the surest means for the accumulation of wealth.  Although the strategy involving flipping is itself short term in nature, it is not a get-rich-quick idea.  Garnering a sizable real estate portfolio is a process that can take anywhere from a few years to many years.  Currently I’m focusing on building my cash reserve using wholesaling.  After which, I’ll focus on buy and holding to accumulate wealth. 

 The patient and diligent investor who applies a well-defined and systematic approach over time will enjoy a high probability of earning above-average returns for his or her efforts.  As a real estate investor, the fruit you enjoy, however, is directly related to the amount of effort put forth on your part.  One is unquestionably a function of the other. 

Just as a beautiful and healthy tree requires sunlight, food, and water for proper nourishment, so does the process of building wealth.  Leave your fortune to chance, and chances are you will have no fortune to leave.  To build wealth, you must plant the proper seeds and then nourish them with food and water over time.  Almost before you realize it, a strong and magnificent tree will begin to take shape right before your very eyes.  Although the grand and noble oak tree exhibits towering beauty and strength above the surface of the earth, it is the tree’s root system, extending deep beneath the surface and unseen by human eyes, that gives it the ability to withstand the mighty forces of nature.  Like the oak tree, you, too, must be well rooted in fundamentally sound principles of real estate before your branches can grow.  As you apply the principles you learn from this book, you will eventually be able to enjoy a sweet comfort from the shade that your branches will provide.  Although the winds of adversity may descend on you with great vigor, if you are prepared, they shall not prevail.

To be successful in real estate does not happen by chance.  My mentor told me once, “Real estate success equals persistent effort over time”.  You must have a well-defined plan outlining your specific objectives.  Determine exactly what it is you want out of your real estate investment activities and identify your time horizon for accomplishing your goals.  Be realistic as well as specific about your objectives.  You must begin with the end in mind.  In other words, you must know where you are going before you can begin the journey to your destination.  If you don’t know where you are going, how will you know when you will get there?