Doug Marshall's Blog, page 7

My 14 Most Favorite Books of 2018

This blog post is devoted to sharing fourteen of my most favorite books I read in 2018. You’ll see that I like to read a variety of books. If you’re interested in learning more about a particular book, click on the book title and the link will take you to its Amazon page.

#14 – The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker, Genre: Fantasy

If you enjoy reading well written novels in the fantasy genre this is the book for you.  Many of the other books in this booklist have the potential to educate, inspire and positively influence your thinking.  Not so this book.  This book is for those who enjoy a well-written tome for the sole purpose of being entertained.  This book slowly but surely turns into a real page turner that is hard to put down.  It was truly a fun read.

#13 – Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Irin Carmon & Shana Knizhnik, Genre: Biography

You’re likely thinking that I must be a progressive politically if I’m recommending a book about one of the most liberal justices on the Supreme Court.  Not so.  I read the book because I was curious why liberals today consider Ruth Bader Ginsburg a rock star of the women’s movement.  After reading the book, her rock star status is well deserved.  It gave me a greater appreciation of the injustices that were perpetrated against women during RBG’s formative years.  Justice Ginsburg is one of the most influential people over the last 50 years to transform our thinking about sexual equality.

The book also gives the reader interesting insights into the personalities of several  Supreme Court justices, both past and present.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

#12 – German Boy: A Refugee’s Story by Wolfgang W.E. Samuel, Genre: Biography

This is the true story of Wolfgang Samuel, a German nine year old boy, who in 1945 is fleeing the advancing Russian troops in the last days of World War II.  If you didn’t believe war is hell before reading this book, you will afterwards.  And if you mistakenly believed that Russian troops behave no differently than American or British forces, German refugees would beg to differ, especially the women.  It is the story of the many hardships suffered by Wolfgang’s family in order to survive and eventually start a new life in America.

#11 – Young Washington: How Wildnerness and War Forged America’s Founding Father by Peter Stark, Genre: Biography

Have you ever thought the virtuous persona that George Washington is portrayed as having was a bit over the top?  Me too.  So it is revealing to see how Washington’s character developed during his teen years through his twenties.  The author shows the maturation process that slowly changed Washington’s character from being temperamental and self-centered to the one he is known for during the Revolutionary War.  And if you would like a better understanding of the French and Indian War and the instrumental impact George Washington had in this conflict this book is for you.

#10 – The River Why by David James Duncan, Genre: Fiction

Since its publication in 1983 this novel has become a classic.  Gus Orviston is a young man who decides to leave civilization to follow his passion of fly fishing.  Gus buys a remote cabin that is situated in the northern Oregon Coast Range that has no plumbing or utilities.

It’s been a long time, decades perhaps, that I’ve laughed out loud reading a book.  But to suggest that this book is only funny would be to do it a disservice.  This book emotes many different feelings: it’s a love story of an awkward teenager falling in love with a beautiful young woman.  The author also displays an awesome respect for nature and for native Americans.  His haunting story of retrieving the corpse of a missing fisherman out of the river convinced me that the author was a master storyteller.

#9 – Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout and Thrive with the New Science of Success by Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness, Genre: Self-Help

The secret to sustainable success is a simple formula: Stress + Rest = Growth.  In this book, Peak Performance, the authors show in many ways how this equation holds true regardless of what you are trying to grow.  If you are really interested in improving your performance, you should incorporate the rhythm of stress and recovery into all aspects of your life.  Studies show that just-manageable challenges, those opportunities that make you feel a bit out of control, are the best for growth.  Actively seek out challenges that just barely exceed your ability.  If you want to learn the science of success this is the book for you.

If you would like to read a summary of this book, click this link.

#8 – James Madison: A Life Reconsidered by Lynne Cheney, Genre: Biography

I confess I knew very little about our fourth U.S. president before reading this book.  I came away with a new found respect for his considerable influence, arguably the most influential of all our founding fathers, regarding the making of the U.S. Constitution.

The book’s Amazon page summarizes his many accomplishments well: “Along with Thomas Jefferson, Madison would found the first political party in the country’s history—the Democratic Republicans. As Jefferson’s secretary of state, he managed the Louisiana Purchase, doubling the size of the United States. As president, Madison led the country in its first war under the Constitution, the War of 1812. Without precedent to guide him, he would demonstrate that a republic could defend its honor and independence—and remain a republic still.”

#7 – 9 Things You Simply Must Do To Succeed in Love and Life by Dr. Henry Cloud, Genre: Self-Help

I’m a sucker for self-help books with titles like this one.  For whatever reason, I gravitate toward this book genre.  So it came as a pleasant surprise that Dr. Cloud could write content for a self-help book that I hadn’t heard before in some form or fashion.  He begins his book by introducing the reader to “déjà vu people.”  These are people who succeed in love and life because they have a pattern of behavior that they consistently follow that moves them forward.  They do not stay stuck repeating the same mistakes over and over again.  And as a result, they are getting what they have decided they want out of life, whether it be healthy relationships, a strong marriage, successful business pursuits, you name it.  Avoiding these principles can lead to disastrous consequences.  And unfortunately, over the years I’ve observed people who often ignore these principles.

If you would like to read a summary of the book, click this link.

#6 – Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth, Genre: Self-Help

My April 21st blog post was titled, “What do you when you get discouraged?”  I encourage you to read it if you haven’t already done so.  In this article I reference Angela Duckworth’s book.  This is a must-read book for anyone striving to succeed personally or professionally. For example, a high grit score for cadets entering West Point, is more important than any other factor in predicting whether a cadet will succeed in not dropping out during the first year at the military college. Grit is more important than intelligence, grade point average, athletic ability, leadership skills, etc.  As the author says on the inside cover of her book, “Grit is a book about what goes through your head when you fall down, and how that – not talent or luck – makes all the difference.”

If you would like to read my blog post on this book, click this link.

#5 – Building a Story Brand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller, Genre: Social Media Marketing

Most of us are clueless on how to clarify our message so that even a caveman (the author’s attempt at humor) would understand what we do for a living.  There are seven elements of great storytelling.  Follow these steps in the storytelling process and you will attract customers who will want to do business with you.  One mistake we commonly make is believing that we are the hero in the story.  Most websites portray themselves as the hero because it’s their company that provides the product or service that comes to save the day.  Right?  WRONG!  The hero is the customer and we are the guide.  To use a Star Wars analogy, the customer is Luke Skywalker (the hero) and we are Yoda (the guide).  Get that concept wrong, and most do, and your message falls on deaf ears.  For most of us, it’s time to rewrite our website based on the concepts found in this book.

#4 – Ordering Your Private World by Gordon MacDonald, Genre: Christian Living

This book is a classic with over a million copies in print.  I first read this book in 1986.  Since my first reading, I’ve read it three more times.  This time around I read it with someone that I’m mentoring.  The life principles that the author shares can have a profound positive influence on those who read it and more importantly apply what is taught.  This book provides timeless, practical advice on how to bring order to your private world.  This a must read for anyone who is struggling with feeling overwhelmed by living the busy life but is getting little pleasure from it.

#3 – Everybody Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People by Bob Goff, Genre: Christian Living

Everyone should read this book.  It is the second New York Times bestseller by Bob Goff.  The author is an excellent storyteller with remarkable true stories to tell.  Whether he is telling of his encounter with witch doctors in Uganda or how his family befriended their next door neighbor with terminal cancer you will be uplifted and encouraged by how he approaches the people he comes in contact with.  It’s a book that I should read at the beginning of every new year to inspire me to live a life of selfless abandon.

#2 – Mastering Fear: A Navy SEAL’s Guide by Brandon Webb, Genre: Self-Help

In his book Mr. Webb begins with this premise: “Mastering fear is not about becoming physically stronger, or tougher, or more stoic. It’s about learning how to identify and change the conversation in your head. That ability to self-monitor and redirect your interior dialogue is what takes you from a victim mentality to a proactive mindset.”

Mastering fear is all about controlling the inner dialogue and using it to your advantage. We are not to deny our fear. Instead become aware of it and redirect it. Focus on positive action steps you can take instead of having a victim mentality. The goal is not to eliminate the fear. It is something to embrace. Harnessing fear can change the course of your destiny. The author explains that there are five legs to the journey from being fearful to using fear to accomplish our goals.

If you would like to read my blog post on this book, click this link.

#1 My Dear Hamilton by Stephanie Drae & Laura Kamoie, Genre: Historical Fiction

Years ago I read the insightful biography Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. Last year I had the pleasure of seeing the Broadway theater production of Hamilton when the tour came to Portland.  I highly recommend reading the book and seeing the play.  Both are excellent.

My Dear Hamilton is a fictional account of Alexander Hamilton through the eyes of his wife Eliza Hamilton.  The authors did an excellent job researching the historical background of the main characters of the book.  But what sets this book apart from others about Alexander Hamilton were the authors’ ability to add the human element to the motivations, aspirations and character flaws that are often left out of well-written biographies.

I felt like I got to know in a much deeper way the men and women of that era, not only Alexander and Eliza Hamilton, but George and Martha Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Aaron Burr, James and Dolly Madison, the Marquis de Lafayette, and many others.  If you enjoy reading U.S. history I highly recommend this book.

Happy reading. Here’s my Christmas present to you. Click here to download for FREE the first two chapters to my newly released book, Mastering the Art of Commercial Real Estate Investing.  Have a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year!

I’d like to hear from you. Tell me about the favorite books you’ve read this year.

The post My 14 Most Favorite Books of 2018 appeared first on MarshallCf.

A Navy SEAL’s Guide to Mastering Fear

What are you afraid of? It’s a topic that most of us try to avoid at all costs because admitting to being fearful shows our vulnerability. And especially if you are an American male, admitting that sometimes you’re fearful is a sign of weakness. Ugh… We can’t do that!

So it was with great interest that I listened to the audio book, Mastering Fear: A Navy SEAL’s Guide by Brandon Webb. If a Navy SEAL can admit to experiencing fear from time to time, then I can too!

Controlling the Inner Dialogue

In his book Mr. Webb begins with this premise: “Mastering fear is not about becoming physically stronger, or tougher, or more stoic. It’s about learning how to identify and change the conversation in your head. That ability to self-monitor and redirect your interior dialogue is what takes you from a victim mentality to a proactive mindset.”

Mastering fear is all about controlling the inner dialogue and using it to your advantage. We are not to deny our fear. Instead become aware of it and redirect it. Focus on positive action steps you can take instead of having a victim mentality. The goal is not to eliminate the fear. It is something to embrace. Harnessing fear can change the course of your destiny.

The Five Step Process to Mastering Fear

That sounds well and good, but how do you go about doing that? The author explains that there are five legs to the journey from being fearful to using fear to accomplish our goals.

Step 1 – Decision

Mastering fear starts with a decision. The reason why so many of us fail to achieve what we set out to do is that we never really make a conscious decision to do the task at hand. We hold back. We are subconsciously afraid of failure so it’s easier not to fully commit and fail because of that, than to commit fully and see what might actually happen. But once you make a decision, follow through and act on it. Don’t second guess yourself.

Step 2 – Rehearsal

The next step is all about planning and preparing with the intent of stretching your comfort zone. Effective rehearsal does not eliminate fear but it gives you the tools to fall back on in that moment of maximum stress. Practice creates competence, which breeds confidence.

Let’s say you have a fear of public speaking (most of us do). Master your speech first in your mind. If your internal dialogue begins to turn negative, catch yourself and stop it! Practice under relaxed conditions until you have your speech down perfectly. Then push your limits by refining it and gradually ramping up the difficulty. Push the limits. When you start losing accuracy, scale back within your expanded comfort zone.

Step 3 – Letting Go

Once you’ve prepared as much as possible, there comes a point when you have to let go of whatever security blanket you’ve been holding on to that keeps you from moving forward.

Don’t get stuck in endless preparation. Practice and rehearsal can take you only so far. Don’t let it become an excuse for failing to take action. Tune out the negative self-talk. Understand that every great gain comes about only through taking risk.

Step 4 – Jumping Off

You can’t reason or talk your way into this step. And you can’t wait for the fear to go away, or until you’re 100 percent ready, because neither is going to happen. When the moment comes, it comes, and at that point it’s about action, period. Preparation is logical, rational, and methodical. Jumping off is visceral.

Resolve that the next time you find yourself in that hesitant gap between decision and action, you will cut the moment short and simply act. Once you’re as decided as you’re going to be, refuse to allow yourself the luxury of gratuitous hesitation. Just jump.

Step 5 – Knowing What Matters

Mastering fear starts with a decision, but it is knowing what matters that tells you which decision to make and leads you to make it in the first place. There has to be something important, that makes the risk worth it. If you don’t know what matters, fear will hold you back. If you’re crystal clear on what matters, fear will propel you forward.

Bottom Line

The best quote from the book is, “Everything you really want is on the other side of fear.” Think about that quote. It’s true isn’t it? When you master your fear, instead of running away from it, life has purpose. You can live a life full of regrets for not acting when you know you should, or you can take the plunge and see what happens. You won’t always get what you want but if you never try your chances of getting it drop to near zero. As the author say, “Embrace fear. Make it your ally. Trust it. Master it.”

Those are my thoughts.  I welcome yours.  What are you afraid of?  How do you overcome fear?

Do you have a need for financing? Contact me at doug@marshallcf.com to set a time for us to talk.

The post A Navy SEAL’s Guide to Mastering Fear appeared first on MarshallCf.

A Navy Seal’s Guide to Mastering Fear

What are you afraid of? It’s a topic that most of us try to avoid at all costs because admitting to being fearful shows our vulnerability. And especially if you are an American male, admitting that sometimes you’re fearful is a sign of weakness. Ugh… We can’t do that!

So it was with great interest that I listened to the audio book, Mastering Fear: A Navy SEAL’s Guide by Brandon Webb. If a Navy SEAL can admit to experiencing fear from time to time, then I can too!

Controlling the Inner Dialogue

In his book Mr. Webb begins with this premise: “Mastering fear is not about becoming physically stronger, or tougher, or more stoic. It’s about learning how to identify and change the conversation in your head. That ability to self-monitor and redirect your interior dialogue is what takes you from a victim mentality to a proactive mindset.”

Mastering fear is all about controlling the inner dialogue and using it to your advantage. We are not to deny our fear. Instead become aware of it and redirect it. Focus on positive action steps you can take instead of having a victim mentality. The goal is not to eliminate the fear. It is something to embrace. Harnessing fear can change the course of your destiny.

The Five Step Process to Mastering Fear

That sounds well and good, but how do you go about doing that? The author explains that there are five legs to the journey from being fearful to using fear to accomplish our goals.

Step 1 – Decision

Mastering fear starts with a decision. The reason why so many of us fail to achieve what we set out to do is that we never really make a conscious decision to do the task at hand. We hold back. We are subconsciously afraid of failure so it’s easier not to fully commit and fail because of that, than to commit fully and see what might actually happen. But once you make a decision, follow through and act on it. Don’t second guess yourself.

Step 2 – Rehearsal

The next step is all about planning and preparing with the intent of stretching your comfort zone. Effective rehearsal does not eliminate fear but it gives you the tools to fall back on in that moment of maximum stress. Practice creates competence, which breeds confidence.

Let’s say you have a fear of public speaking (most of us do). Master your speech first in your mind. If your internal dialogue begins to turn negative, catch yourself and stop it! Practice under relaxed conditions until you have your speech down perfectly. Then push your limits by refining it and gradually ramping up the difficulty. Push the limits. When you start losing accuracy, scale back within your expanded comfort zone.

Step 3 – Letting Go

Once you’ve prepared as much as possible, there comes a point when you have to let go of whatever security blanket you’ve been holding on to that keeps you from moving forward.

Don’t get stuck in endless preparation. Practice and rehearsal can take you only so far. Don’t let it become an excuse for failing to take action. Tune out the negative self-talk. Understand that every great gain comes about only through taking risk.

Step 4 – Jumping Off

You can’t reason or talk your way into this step. And you can’t wait for the fear to go away, or until you’re 100 percent ready, because neither is going to happen. When the moment comes, it comes, and at that point it’s about action, period. Preparation is logical, rational, and methodical. Jumping off is visceral.

Resolve that the next time you find yourself in that hesitant gap between decision and action, you will cut the moment short and simply act. Once you’re as decided as you’re going to be, refuse to allow yourself the luxury of gratuitous hesitation. Just jump.

Step 5 – Know What Matters

Mastering fear starts with a decision, but it is knowing what matters that tells you which decision to make and leads you to make it in the first place. There has to be something important, that makes the risk worth it. If you don’t know what matters, fear will hold you back. If you’re crystal clear on what matters, fear will propel you forward.

Bottom Line

The best quote from the book is, “Everything you really want is on the other side of fear.” Think about that quote. It’s true isn’t it? When you master your fear, instead of running away from it, life has purpose. You can live a life full of regrets for not acting when you know you should, or you can take the plunge and see what happens. You won’t always get what you want but if you never try your chances of getting it drop to near zero. As the author say, “Embrace fear. Make it your ally. Trust it. Master it.”

Those are my thoughts.  I welcome yours.  What are you afraid of?  How do you overcome fear?

Do you have a need for financing? Contact me at doug@marshallcf.com to set a time for us to talk.

The post A Navy Seal’s Guide to Mastering Fear appeared first on MarshallCf.

What Wealthy CRE Professionals Do That Most of Us Do Not

Less than two decades ago I was struggling financially, living paycheck to paycheck.  Today, I’m one of a small group of investors that owns several CRE properties valued at over $50 million.  How did that happen?

For my first 24 years in commercial real estate I was on a never-ending hamster wheel of low paying jobs.

Something had to change.

The First Leap to Financial Freedom: Starting my own business

I decided to make the great leap into the unknown when I started my own business.  For the first time in my career I was making good money.  But as good as it was making significantly more money, I knew there was no way that I was going to retire well.

I could do the math and I understood I was too close to retirement to make up for the hard, lean years.  I realized I may never be able to retire at all.

I watched my real estate clients prosper; their liquidity and net worth were growing rapidly as a result of investing in commercial real estate.

The Second Leap to Financial Freedom: Investing in CRE

So, eleven years ago I made the biggest and most financially rewarding leap in my career: I started investing in commercial real estate.

Today, not only could I retire if I chose to, but I could do so comfortably.  This year, for the first time, the passive income from my rental properties when added to my future Social Security checks significantly exceeds my personal expenses.   Once passive income comfortably exceeds personal expenses financial freedom is achieved.  And that’s my definition of retiring in style.

If I can do it, so can you!

I know that many of you reading this are in the same predicament I was in.  You’re either currently living paycheck to paycheck or you are financially prosperous, but you realize you’re not going to retire well.

I’m here to emphatically tell you if I can make the leap to financial freedom, SO CAN YOU!

Follow My Road Map to Financial Freedom

Simply put, by investing in commercial real estate you can slowly, but steadily build real wealth and grow passive income from your rental properties.  It’s not a myth.  And it’s not a get rich quick scheme.  It actually works.

With nearly four decades of CRE experience under my belt, I am now sharing everything I know so you can live the life of financial freedom I once thought was beyond my grasp.

Mastering the Art of Commercial Real Estate Investing teaches the timeless principles of real estate investing.  The book is peppered with real life examples of how to invest in CRE.  It is not only written from the perspective of my real estate experience but more importantly the experience of my many successful clients.

Read Now and Make Your 2019 Financial Goals a Reality

Skeptical that this book, or any book, can help you achieve your financial goals?  I would be too.  So for all the skeptics out there I have a free offer.  Click on the link below to get a free copy of the first two chapters of the book.  There is no obligation.  Just read it and if it stimulates your interest, buy the book.  It’s as simple as that.

Click on the link and start down your road to financial freedom now: Mastering the Art of CRE Investing

The post What Wealthy CRE Professionals Do That Most of Us Do Not appeared first on MarshallCf.

How I’m Retiring in Style and How You Can Too!

Less than two decades ago I was struggling financially, living paycheck to paycheck.  Today, I’m one of a small group of investors that owns several CRE properties valued at over $50 million.  How did that happen?

For my first 24 years in commercial real estate I was on a never-ending hamster wheel of low paying jobs.

Something had to change.

The First Leap to Financial Freedom: Starting my own business

I decided to make the great leap into the unknown when I started my own business.  For the first time in my career I was making good money.  But as good as it was making significantly more money, I knew there was no way that I was going to retire well.

I could do the math and I understood I was too close to retirement to make up for the hard, lean years.  I realized I may never be able to retire at all.

I watched my real estate clients prosper; their liquidity and net worth were growing rapidly as a result of investing in commercial real estate.

The Second Leap to Financial Freedom: Investing in CRE

So, eleven years ago I made the biggest and most financially rewarding leap in my career: I started investing in commercial real estate.

Today, not only could I retire if I chose to, but I could do so comfortably.  This year, for the first time, the passive income from my rental properties when added to my future Social Security checks significantly exceeds my personal expenses.   Once passive income comfortably exceeds personal expenses financial freedom is achieved.  And that’s my definition of retiring in style.

If I can do it, so can you!

I know that many of you reading this are in the same predicament I was in.  You’re either currently living paycheck to paycheck or you are financially prosperous, but you realize you’re not going to retire well.

I’m here to emphatically tell you if I can make the leap to financial freedom, SO CAN YOU!

Follow My Road Map to Financial Freedom

Simply put, by investing in commercial real estate you can slowly, but steadily build real wealth and grow passive income from your rental properties.  It’s not a myth.  And it’s not a get rich quick scheme.  It actually works.

With nearly four decades of CRE experience under my belt, I am now sharing everything I know so you can live the life of financial freedom I once thought was beyond my grasp.

Mastering the Art of Commercial Real Estate Investing teaches the timeless principles of real estate investing.  The book is peppered with real life examples of how to invest in CRE.  It is not only written from the perspective of my real estate experience but more importantly the experience of my many successful clients.

Read Now and Make Your 2019 Financial Goals a Reality

Skeptical that this book, or any book, can help you achieve your financial goals?  I would be too.  So for all the skeptics out there I have a free offer.  Click on the link below to get a free copy of the first two chapters of the book.  There is no obligation.  Just read it and if it stimulates your interest, buy the book.  It’s as simple as that.

Click on the link and start down your road to financial freedom now: Mastering the Art of CRE Investing

The post How I’m Retiring in Style and How You Can Too! appeared first on MarshallCf.

Why You Should Master the Art of CRE Investing

Less than two decades ago I was struggling financially, living paycheck to paycheck.  Today, I’m one of a small group of investors that owns several CRE properties valued at over $50 million.  How did that happen?

For my first 24 years in commercial real estate I was on a never-ending hamster wheel of low paying jobs.

Something had to change.

The First Leap to Financial Freedom: Starting my own business

I decided to make the great leap into the unknown when I started my own business.  For the first time in my career I was making good money.  But as good as it was making significantly more money, I knew there was no way that I was going to retire well.

I could do the math and I understood I was too close to retirement to make up for the hard, lean years.  I realized I may never be able to retire at all.

I watched my real estate clients prosper; their liquidity and net worth were growing rapidly as a result of investing in commercial real estate.

The Second Leap to Financial Freedom: Investing in CRE

So, eleven years ago I made the biggest and most financially rewarding leap in my career: I started investing in commercial real estate.

Today, not only could I retire if I chose to, but I could do so comfortably.  This year, for the first time, the passive income from my rental properties when added to my future Social Security checks significantly exceeds my personal expenses.   Once passive income comfortably exceeds personal income financial freedom is achieved.  And that’s my definition of retiring in style.

If I can do it, so can you!

I know that many of you reading this are in the same predicament I was in.  You’re either currently living paycheck to paycheck or you are financially prosperous, but you realize you’re not going to retire well.

I’m here to emphatically tell you if I can make the leap to financial freedom, SO CAN YOU!

Follow My Road Map to Financial Freedom

Simply put, by investing in commercial real estate you can slowly, but steadily build real wealth and grow passive income from your rental properties.  It’s not a myth.  And it’s not a get rich quick scheme.  It actually works.

With nearly four decades of CRE experience under my belt, I am now sharing everything I know so you can live the life of financial freedom I once thought was beyond my grasp.

Mastering the Art of Commercial Real Estate Investing teaches the timeless principles of real estate investing.  The book is peppered with real life examples of how to invest in CRE.  It is not only written from the perspective of my real estate experience but more importantly the experience of my many successful clients.

Read Now and Make Your 2019 Financial Goals a Reality

Skeptical that this book, or any book, can help you achieve your financial goals?  I would be too.  So for all the skeptics out there I have a free offer.  Click on the link below to get a free copy of the first two chapters of the book.  There is no obligation.  Just read it and if it stimulates your interest, buy the book.  It’s as simple as that.

Click on the link and start down your road to financial freedom now: Mastering the Art of CRE Investing

The post Why You Should Master the Art of CRE Investing appeared first on MarshallCf.

How To Get Off the Hamster Wheel of Low Paying Jobs To Financial Freedom

Today I am one of a small group of investors that owns several CRE properties valued at over $50 million.  Less than 2 decades ago, I wasn’t making ends meet; even borrowing from my parents to get by.

This is my story as a CRE professional

From 1980 to 2003, regardless of who I was working for, I wasn’t making enough money to survive financially. At times I had to borrow from my parents to make ends meet, I took out a home loan to tap the equity in my house and I even, at one point, took a job as a night janitor.

I was living paycheck to paycheck. I had no savings and certainly had no money saved for retirement. Financial distress isn’t really an accurate description of what I was going through. It was much worse than that. I was on this never ending hamster wheel of low paying jobs.

Something had to change.

The First Leap to Financial Freedom: Starting my own business

In August of 2003, I made the great leap into the unknown when I went into business for myself. It turned out that starting Marshall Commercial Funding was the single best career decision I have ever made.

Financially, things changed quickly and dramatically.

For the first time in my life I was making good money. I was able to sock away money into savings which was good because we all know what happened in 2008 – The Great Recession. I was able to weather the economic storm because I had enough money in savings to make it until the real estate market turned the corner. And when the economy improved I was able to pick up right where I left off before the recession hit.

Retiring well wasn’t going to happen

But as good as it was making significantly more income – and watching my savings account grow – I knew that there was no way that I was going to retire well. It just wasn’t going to happen.

I could do the math and I understood I was too close to retirement to make up for the hard, lean years. I realized it was highly likely that I may never be able to retire at all.

My clients were flourishing, why not me?

While Marshall Commercial Funding continued to grow, I watched my clients flourish. Their liquidity and net worth were growing rapidly. That is no exaggeration. I have a number of repeat clients and I saw how their financial strength increased dramatically from one year to the next. It was an amazing thing to watch! And I knew at that point that the only way I was going to retire well was if I started investing in commercial real estate.

The Second Leap to Financial Freedom: CRE Investing

So in 2007 I made the next biggest and most financially rewarding leap in my career. I approached one of my long-time clients to see if I could invest with him.

He had everything I was looking for in a real estate sponsor: He was competent, he was trustworthy and he had a proven track record. I asked him if he would be willing to take me on as an investor when he purchased his next rental property and he readily agreed.

Do you remember where the real estate market was in 2007? It was at the absolute peak of the last real estate market cycle. My timing couldn’t have been any worse. Nevertheless, over the last 11 years I have invested nine times with him.

Retiring In Style Is My Goal

Today, not only could I retire at this very moment, I could retire comfortably. But I don’t know about you, I don’t want to retire comfortably. I want to retire in style. I want to see and do all the things I’ve always dreamt of. As evidence of living the good life now, next year my wife and I are taking our children and grandchildren to Scotland. And as an avid golfer, the icing on the cake is that I get to fulfill a life-long dream of playing the Old Course at St. Andrews!

Currently I have seven sources of passive income generated from my real estate investments. I estimate if I wait a few more years I may have as many as two or three additional sources of passive income. And when the passive income from my rental properties coupled with my future Social Security checks consistently and significantly exceed my monthly personal expenses, then and only then, do I plan to retire.

At that point I’ll be able to retire in style. And although I haven’t quite gotten their yet, I’m ever so close to doing so.

If I can do it, so can you!

Why am I telling you about my journey from financial distress to hopefully retiring in style? Because I believe that 90% of you reading this, if not more, are in the same predicament I was in. You’re either currently in financial distress, as I was for the first 24 years of my CRE career, or you are financially prosperous but realize that unless things change dramatically you’re not going to retire well.

I’m here to emphatically tell you if I can go from serious financial distress to being on the verge of financial freedom, SO CAN YOU!

Follow the Road Map to Financial Freedom

Simply put, by investing in commercial real estate you can slowly, but steadily build real wealth and grow passive income from your rental properties. It’s not a myth. And it’s not a get rich quick scheme. It actually works. And I believe my book, Mastering the Art of Commercial Real Estate Investing, will help get you there.

So are you saying if I buy your book I’ll achieve financial freedom?

Heck no! No book can do that. But I strongly believe my book is a road map to retiring well as it is written from the perspective of my many clients and from the things I’ve learned personally throughout my many years in the industry both as a mortgage broker and as a real estate investor.

An offer you shouldn’t refuse

Are you skeptical that this book, or any book, can help you retire well? I would be too. I don’t blame you. So for all the skeptics out there I have a free offer for you to consider. Click on the link below and it will take you to the book’s landing page. Then click on the bright yellow button titled, Download Free Chapter. Doing so will get you a free copy of the Table of Contents, the Introduction and the first two chapters of the book. There is no obligation. There is no trap or gimmick that you will later regret. Just read it and if it stimulates your interest, buy the book. It’s as simple as that. Click on the link now. Go to my website: marshallcf.com/book/

The post How To Get Off the Hamster Wheel of Low Paying Jobs To Financial Freedom appeared first on MarshallCf.

We are in a negative leverage environment. Why is that important?

I know that when I talk about financing, that it’s easy for my readers’ eyes to glaze over.  The intricacies of financing seem boring and irrelevant to many.  But what I’m about to tell you, is important.  You need to focus.  Okay??

The Impact of Positive Leverage

Ever since the Great Recession we have been in a positive leverage environment.  By that I mean, if you added another dollar of debt when financing your rental property, it had a positive impact on the property’s cash-on-cash return.   The more the property was leveraged the better return.   Purely from a financial return point of view it made perfect sense to add as much debt as possible when financing your property.   NOT SO ANY LONGER!!

The Impact of Negative Leverage

We are now in a negative leverage environment.  The more a property is leveraged with debt, the worse the property’s cash-on-cash return.

I recently helped a client secure financing for a NNN lease, single tenant building.  The property generated Cash Flow Before Debt Service of $227,369.  The question I asked my borrower is how much debt do you want to finance your purchase?  I showed him four financing options: No leverage, 50%, 65% and 75% leverage.

Shown below are the results of leverage on the property’s Cash-On-Cash Return.  Each column represents one of these four financing options.

Owning the property debt free resulted in a Cash-On-Cash Return of 6.2 percent.  And as you can see, the more debt that was added to the property, the lower was the property’s Cash-On-Cash Return.

What is Neutral Leverage?

Being curious, I wondered at what interest rate would adding debt result in neutral leverage?  By neutral leverage I’m mean it would not help or hurt the property’s Cash-On-Cash Return.   It turns out in this particular case that an interest rate of 4.65% resulted in neutral leverage as shown below.

Some of you may be thinking right now, that adding debt of any amount will always have a negative impact on the property’s Cash-On-Cash Return.  Not so.  To prove my point, shown below I lowered the interest rate to 4.00 percent.

As you can see, with a 4.0 percent interest rate, the more you leverage the property, the higher the Cash-On-Cash Return.

How did we go from a positive leverage to a negative leverage environment?

This is the direct result of interest rates rising while capitalization rates remain the same.   For the past year we have seen a significant rise in interest rates without a corresponding rise in cap rates.  Everything else being equal, when interest rates rise the mortgage payment increases which reduces the property’s cash flow after debt service.   A lower cash flow after debt service reduces the property’s cash-on-cash return.  To reverse this trend, property values need to adjust downward to compensate for higher interest rates.

Why should we care that we are currently in a negative leverage environment?

Negative leverage is one more nail in the coffin of the current real estate market cycle, to go along with:

Rising interest rates
The moderating of rent increases
More product coming on line which will slowly increase vacancy rates and eventually add concessions
More regulation to reign in the rights of property owners

We should all be concerned about negative leverage.  If present trends continue, buyers will eventually realize that it’s better to pay the capital gains taxes than to buy an over priced property that doesn’t make financial sense to own.

Those are my thoughts.  I welcome yours.  Am I making a mountain out of a mole hill?

Do you have a need for financing? Contact me at doug@marshallcf.com to set a time for us to talk.

The post We are in a negative leverage environment. Why is that important? appeared first on MarshallCf.

How I’m Retiring In Style and How You Can Do It Too!

The Hamster Wheel of Low Paying Jobs

This is my story as a commercial real estate professional. From 1980 to 2003, regardless of who I was working for, I wasn’t making enough money to survive financially. At times I had to borrow from my parents to make ends meet, I took out a home loan to tap the equity in my house and I even, at one point, took a job as a night janitor.

I was living paycheck to paycheck. I had no savings and certainly had no money saved for retirement. Financial distress isn’t really an accurate description of what I was going through. It was much worse than that. I was on this never ending hamster wheel of low paying jobs.

Something had to change.

The First Leap to Financial Freedom: Starting my own business

In August of 2003, I made the great leap into the unknown when I went into business for myself. It turned out that starting Marshall Commercial Funding was the single best career decision I have ever made.

Financially, things changed quickly and dramatically.

For the first time in my life I was making good money. I was able to sock away money into savings which was good because we all know what happened in 2008 – The Great Recession. I was able to weather the economic storm because I had enough money in savings to make it until the real estate market turned the corner. And when the economy improved I was able to pick up right where I left off before the recession hit.

Retiring well wasn’t going to happen

But as good as it was making significantly more income – and watching my savings account grow – I knew that there was no way that I was going to retire well. It just wasn’t going to happen.

I could do the math and I understood I was too close to retirement to make up for the hard, lean years. I realized it was highly likely that I may never be able to retire at all.

My clients were flourishing, why not me?

While Marshall Commercial Funding continued to grow, I watched my clients flourish. Their liquidity and net worth were growing rapidly. That is no exaggeration. I have a number of repeat clients and I saw how their financial strength increased dramatically from one year to the next. It was an amazing thing to watch! And I knew at that point that the only way I was going to retire well was if I started investing in commercial real estate.

The Second Leap to Financial Freedom: CRE Investing

So in 2007 I made the next biggest and most financially rewarding leap in my career. I approached one of my long-time clients to see if I could invest with him.

He had everything I was looking for in a real estate sponsor: He was competent, he was trustworthy and he had a proven track record. I asked him if he would be willing to take me on as an investor when he purchased his next rental property and he readily agreed.

Do you remember where the real estate market was in 2007? It was at the absolute peak of the last real estate market cycle. My timing couldn’t have been any worse. Nevertheless, over the last 11 years I have invested nine times with him.

Retiring In Style Is My Goal

Today, not only could I retire at this very moment, I could retire comfortably. But I don’t know about you, I don’t want to retire comfortably. I want to retire in style. I want to see and do all the things I’ve always dreamt of. As evidence of living the good life now, next year my wife and I are taking our children and grandchildren to Scotland. And as an avid golfer, the icing on the cake is that I get to fulfill a life-long dream of playing the Old Course at St. Andrews!

Currently I have seven sources of passive income generated from my real estate investments. I estimate if I wait a few more years I may have as many as two or three additional sources of passive income. And when the passive income from my rental properties coupled with my future Social Security checks consistently and significantly exceed my monthly personal expenses, then and only then, do I plan to retire.

At that point I’ll be able to retire in style. And although I haven’t quite gotten their yet, I’m ever so close to doing so.

If I can do it, so can you!

Why am I telling you about my journey from financial distress to hopefully retiring in style? Because I believe that 90% of you reading this, if not more, are in the same predicament I was in. You’re either currently in financial distress, as I was for the first 24 years of my CRE career, or you are financially prosperous but realize that unless things change dramatically you’re not going to retire well.

I’m here to emphatically tell you if I can go from serious financial distress to being on the verge of financial freedom, SO CAN YOU!

Follow the Road Map to Financial Freedom

Simply put, by investing in commercial real estate you can slowly, but steadily build real wealth and grow passive income from your rental properties. It’s not a myth. And it’s not a get rich quick scheme. It actually works. And I believe my book, Mastering the Art of Commercial Real Estate Investing, will help get you there.

So are you saying if I buy your book I’ll achieve financial freedom?

Heck no! No book can do that. But I strongly believe my book is a road map to retiring well as it is written from the perspective of my many clients and from the things I’ve learned personally throughout my many years in the industry both as a mortgage broker and as a real estate investor.

An offer you shouldn’t refuse

Are you skeptical that this book, or any book, can help you retire well? I would be too. I don’t blame you. So for all the skeptics out there I have a free offer for you to consider. Click on the link below and it will take you to the book’s landing page. Then click on the bright yellow button titled, Download Free Chapter. Doing so will get you a free copy of the Table of Contents, the Introduction and the first two chapters of the book. There is no obligation. There is no trap or gimmick that you will later regret. Just read it and if it stimulates your interest, buy the book. It’s as simple as that. Click on the link now. Go to my website: marshallcf.com/book/

The post How I’m Retiring In Style and How You Can Do It Too! appeared first on MarshallCf.

5 Reasons Why Now is the Time to Sell Your CRE

No one, not even the most seasoned commercial real estate investor, has the ability to time the market. It’s anybody’s guess as to when the current real estate market turns from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market. It could happen today, next week, next month or five years from now. No one knows. That said, there are five obvious indicators that the market is in the process of turning to the dark side.

1. For most property types, the real estate market has peaked

I can only speak with authority about the Oregon CRE market and I believe it peaked last year. The one exception could be industrial properties which are still going strong. But for all other properties, rent increases have begun to slow down, and vacancy rates have bottomed out. With some property types vacancy rates have increased modestly in recent months as new product comes on line. As additional new properties continue to be completed expect this trend to accelerate with concessions a likely outcome.

2. It’s still a seller’s market – for the time being

Even with these changes, buyers have been slow to acknowledge that the market has begun to change. I can see why sellers are living in denial. They want this market to continue so they can sell their properties for top dollar.  Very little product is for sale and what is available is being gobbled up quickly by buyers. But even so, I am being told by real estate brokers that there are far more sale fails this year than what they’ve experienced in the recent past. Intuitively this makes sense to me. Buyers get a property under contract and then they dive deep into the property’s numbers. And what they are finding is that the numbers are not as good as they hoped so they back out of the deal. Makes perfect sense to me. If I were a seller, I would sell while the market is favoring them.

3. Interest rates are continuing to rise

This year we have seen a slow but steady rise in interest rates and there doesn’t seem to be any let up to this trend anytime soon. With rising interest rates, come higher mortgage payments resulting in lower returns on an owner’s equity. At some point buyers will take notice and stop buying. While the lemmings are still buying now is the time to off load those properties onto the unsuspecting.

4. Cap rates are inextricably linked to interest rates

If interest rates rise and continue to remain at these levels, eventually cap rates must follow. As I explained above a higher interest results in lower returns on an owner’s equity. In a high interest rate environment, in order to get the same return on an owner’s investment the price of the property must decrease. The higher the interest rate goes the higher the probability that property values will fall because at some point buyers will stop buying. When that happens, you don’t want to be a seller. You want to be a buyer and eventually that will happen. It has to. In my opinion they should have stopped buying months ago. Eventually there will need to be a correction in property values as cap rates and interest rates are inextricably linked.

5. For the first time in years we are experiencing negative leverage

I’m currently in the process of finding the best possible financing for one of my clients. While I was comparing different leverage scenarios, I discovered something I hadn’t seen in years. As more debt was added, i.e., the property was leveraged more, the return on owner’s equity decreased. This runs contrary to what we’ve seen for the past decade. Up until recently, the more debt you put on your property, the higher return on your equity. Not any longer. We are now in a negative leverage environment. This is happening because interest rates have risen while cap rates have stayed at historically low levels. What do you think will happen once buyers become aware that they are now in a negative leverage environment? It is just one more nail in the coffin for the death of this real estate market.

My personal strategy

In the past year, I’ve sensed the real estate market was turning. Again, no one including me can time the real estate market. But I sensed the inevitability of the market trending down and because of it I sold two properties. I sold the two properties that I didn’t want to own when the market turns. You see these properties won’t do well in a recession. They will at best limp along until things turn around. The property that I sold last week I decided not to do a 1031 exchange.  Instead I’ll pay the capital gains as it’s very difficult these days to find properties worth buying. I’ll use the net proceeds after I pay the capital gains tax either one of two ways:

As a rainy day fund to help me pay my bills during the next recession or
Hopefully I’ll have this money available when the real estate market bottoms out and I can once again buy a property at a bargain price.

Now is the time to sell

Now’s the time for you to sell those properties in your portfolio that you don’t want to be stuck with during the next economic recession.

These are my thoughts. I welcome yours. Where is my thinking wrong? I’m a big boy, I can accept your criticism. Bring it on!

Do you have a need for financing? Contact me at doug@marshallcf.com to set a time for us to talk.

The post 5 Reasons Why Now is the Time to Sell Your CRE appeared first on MarshallCf.