This Issue: Sure-Fire Real Estate Strategies for Uncertain Times

“Luck is when opportunity meets preparedness.”

I don’t know who made that statement. But whoever said it, I agree.

I've often heard people talking about how so-and-so is so lucky (as if to emphasize that they themselves are not lucky). I think what's really happening is the complainers aren't “working themselves into luck.” If you want to be lucky, prepare for something big.

Developing your talents requires work, and work creates luck. Having this attitude toward success is a great way to set yourself on a rewarding course to create wealth throughout your life.

There was a lot of talk for a while about venting your frustrations and anxieties and how it might be healthy to get them off your chest. To a point, yes, but to an exaggerated degree, no. I read an article recently about how complaining, without doing anything about it, is actually detrimental to physical and mental well-being.

With the advent of blogging and all the other sorts of opinion-gushing venues available to everyone now, people are spending way too much time harping on negative themes. The emphasis is out of balance, and the negative focus doesn't help the situation.

Don't dwell so much on a problem that you've exhausted yourself before you can even entertain a solution. It just doesn't make sense. It takes brainpower and energy to think positively and creatively - and to see creatively and positively. Going negative is the easy way, the lazy way. Use your brainpower to focus on positives and solutions instead, and your own mindset will help create your own luck.

Shakespeare put it this way, in a famous quote from Julius Caesar:

“The fault is not in our stars, dear Brutus, but in ourselves.”

That's a clear message. We are responsible for ourselves. We are responsible for our own luck. What an empowering thought! If you see responsibility as a bum deal, then you are not seeing it for what it really is - a great opportunity.

Let's say you're facing some big challenge today. I can tell you right now you've got a lot of company. What will separate you from the complaining crowd will be how you choose to look at your situation. If you believe you are in control of it - and you are - you will know exactly who to look for when you need help: yourself. You could be your greatest discovery yet for success, luck, power, and happiness.

When I encountered enormous financial challenges back in the 1990s, I was mature enough to assume responsibility and know that the problem was mine. I knew it wouldn't do any good to blame other people. That would be a waste of time, and that's one kind of loss I don't like. Time is something that cannot be replaced. If you find yourself slipping into the blaming others mode, get out of it quickly.

Give luck the chance it needs to play itself out in your life. No one can do it for you. As soon as you discover that luck is yours to create, you'll be thinking and seeing things in a whole new way. So work hard, have fun, and good luck.

Foreclosures are at an all-time high. In most parts of the country, this is a terrible time to sell a house. The inventory of unsold new homes has never been bigger.

That’s all bad news. And it’s all true.

But then you hear the story of James, who negotiated his way to owning a newly constructed home outside Atlanta - with no money down - because the builder was so eager to move one of the unsold houses in a development. Now James has the house rented out, he’s realizing positive cash flow - and he expect so sell it for a substantial profit when the market turns around.

And you hear about Melissa, who bought a pre-foreclosure house from its owners, just by making a few back mortgage payments - also, with no money down. Like James, she is now applying a buy-and-hold strategy for the property.

So is the current real estate marketplace awful?

Well, it could be ugly. Or it could be beautiful. It all depends on your skills and knowledge. James and Melissa, because they apply the strategies that we teach in our Real Estate Investor Training Program at Trump University, don’t think these times are so bad. In fact, they think the current market is great, because they have the skills to turn current trends to their advantage.

Can you do what James and Melissa have done? Yes you can, if you have:

• Up-to-the-minute knowledge about foreclosures, current lending practices and other critical information, so you can minimize risks and move ahead with confidence.
• Keen negotiating skills to start real estate investing with little or no money down.
• Good, clean credit. Although in today’s climate, you can find eager sellers, even if there are “dark spots” in your credit history.

So don’t sit on your hands. With the right real estate training, you can seize the unique opportunities that exist in the current real estate world.

Many people are surprised to learn that a retirement plan such as an IRA or 401(k) has the flexibility to own real estate. If you're one of those people, don't feel bad. You're certainly not alone!

Currently, more than 90 percent of all retirement plans hold nothing but “traditional” assets such as stocks, bonds and mutual funds. That makes sense when you consider that the people who set up retirement plans are usually the same people who sell stocks, bonds and mutual funds.

But be assured, you can own real estate in your retirement account. However, there’s one critical thing you must know:

You can't personally use your retirement plan-owned real estate - and neither can your family members.

So the first question to answer is, do you intend to use the property personally before it is distributed to you from your retirement plan and taxes are paid? Will the property be for "personal use," or purely for investment?

Your answer to those questions might alert you to the fact that the real estate you are considering is not suitable for ownership by your retirement plan.

“Personal use” includes living in the property, even if only occasionally. It also means that you cannot allow “disqualified persons,” including family members, to use or live in the property. So if you desire to purchase a vacation property or for use by a relative, your retirement plan is not the way to go.

For example, let’s say you find a two-bedroom condominium in Deer Valley at a distressed price and acquire it for $500,000. Ultimately, you rent out the condominium about 40 weeks a year. Even though the condominium stands empty for the remaining 12 weeks every year, you or family members are unable to use it, because doing so constitutes a prohibited transaction.

So, if you want to provide a place for your brother-in-law to live, while at the same time building wealth for your retirement, you will not be able to do so and enjoy the tax benefits of a retirement plan.

But if you are looking for a way to acquire pure investment properties today - and to put your retirement funds to good use at the same time - consider buying properties in this way. Bear in mind, you will be entitled to all the benefits enjoyed by the other investments that are held by your retirement accounts. The income you get from renting your properties will not be taxed, nor will the money you make when you sell the properties. Those factors alone make the option of IRA-owned real estate worth considering.

To learn more cutting-edge strategies for protecting your assets while your wealth grows, read my new book Trump University Asset Protection 101.