This Issue: Dig Big Profits from Properties that Other Investors Ignore

In nearly every workplace, there’s “one bad apple” - someone whose negative attitude is so apparent that it’s a deterrent to everyone else in the office.

It turns out that the old adage is true. One bad apple can truly spoil the whole barrel. A person with a negative attitude can spread those negative feelings like a dangerous virus, bringing down the rest of the office and destroying an otherwise healthy and well-functioning team.

A new study from researchers at the University of Washington examined conflict in the workplace. It found that negative behavior has much more of an impact than positive behavior. So while negative people can spoil an entire office environment, a couple of positive good workers can’t “unspoil” it.

“Companies need to move quickly to deal with such problems because the negativity of just one individual is pervasive and destructive and can spread quickly,” said co-author Terence Mitchell, a professor of management and organization.

If you have one employee who is constantly complaining - whether it’s about the smallest of things or the overall success and mission of your organization - that undercurrent of unrest eats away at those people who sit and listen to the continuous carping. The atmosphere in the office takes on that person’s air of negativity and it overall just becomes an unpleasant place to work.

All of a sudden, formerly happy employees are discontent. They, too, are finding flaws where once there weren’t any. The bad apple’s negativity soon spreads like a cancer and everybody is complaining.

Ideally, bad apples shouldn’t be hired in the first place. When you’re hiring, avoid people who in general appear combative or disagreeable. It’s a sure omen of negativity in the future.

But if it’s too late and there’s already a negative person in place in your organization, the best you can do is keep him or her working alone as much as possible. The less interaction those negative people have with the rest of your team, the better. That way, their toxic attitudes won’t spread.

For more wisdom from Donald J. Trump and his faculty of experts, investigate The Real Estate Investment Training Program from Trump University. Make this your year to succeed.

“I have been doing great during the recent slump,” a Michigan-based developer named Jonathan told me recently. “I buy, renovate and resell one and two-family residential houses in inner cities. Other developers ignore these properties and prefer to work in more upscale locales. But there are many solid families in inner cities that are eager to own their first homes and live the American dream.”

That’s the kind of niche-oriented thinking that can keep sound real estate investing strong in slow markets. Smart investors are making profits in other niches properties like these:

• Rental properties near colleges and universities that attract students and faculty members. Also consider renovating apartment houses near hospitals for interns, physicians and other hospital employees. Even in tough neighborhoods, they represent pockets of value.
• Short term-stay apartments and suites near corporations, hospices, hospitals and anywhere else people short-term residences. For a glimpse at the profits to be made in this sector, search for “corporate housing” online.
• Self-storage depots in areas where new housing developments are cropping up. Storage facilities offer a great way to generate profits from raw land that you will sell or develop later on. A recent article in Slate presented an interesting perspective on the growth of self-storage facilities in America.
• Shopping centers in transitional areas. This is a fine time to renovate run-down malls in areas that are improving - or to build new malls near new housing developments. For more information, visit The International Council of Shopping Centers online.

That’s not a comprehensive list of real estate investing opportunities. This morning, I am really inviting you to look for values that other investors miss. Remember, a quick mind can overcome a slow market any time.

To learn to make substantial profits in any market, get involved in The Real Estate Investor Training Program at Trump University.

Back in 1997, a copper pipe burst in the wall of one of my properties. My plumber and I tore the wall open. He patched the leak. I let the hole stay open for about a month before I closed it up again. I repainted the room and moved on to the next job.

Then a few of my friends started asking me questions. Had I left the wall oven long enough to let the area behind it really dry, they wanted to know? Had I sprayed behind the wall with bleach to kill mold spores? Why didn’t I get an expert to make sure that mold wasn’t growing back there, ready to wreck my property and my investment?

I thought they were crazy. It sounded like paranoid nonsense to me. And luckily, I dodged the bullet, because I never had a problem with mold growing behind that wall. But a year later when I happened to be in western Canada, I saw dozens of homes boarded up because of mold damage. And that scared the heck out of me and made me see that mold really can wreck a property.

So when I was writing my five Make a Fortune in Real Estate books for Trump University, I decided to learn everything that I could about mold. Let me share some information with you, because it could potentially save you from catastrophic losses in the properties you own.

How Serous a Problem is Mold?

Very serious. You really don’t want mold in your buildings - not if you live in them and not if you have tenants. According to the New York Times, about 10,000 mold-related lawsuits are now filed in America each year. And according to the Insurance Information Institute, American insurance companies pay $2.5 billion in mold-related claims a year, most of them in Florida, Texas and California. That’s serious money.

But there are ways to reduce the chances that mold will wreck your investments.

Avoid buildings in low-lying, flood-prone areas. Also, buildings with past moisture problems such as flooded basements, leaking roofs or bust pipes.

• Have your building inspector look for visible and hidden signs of water damage and mold growth. Your inspector can inspect interior surfaces of walls by inserting a fiber-optic viewer through a small hole drilled in them. If you suspect moisture or mold, your inspector should also collect air samples in all rooms (basement, crawl spaces, attic, garage) and send them to a lab for testing.
• Remember, buildings with forced-air heating or central AC can be especially vulnerable to mold, because spores can spread through the air ducts. Your inspector should test for spores in ducts and outflow grilles.
• Be suspicious if you discover fresh paint in moisture-prone areas such as on sheetrock that covers a crawl space. It could be an attempt to conceal stains and discolorations.
• Have your attorney find out whether lawsuits or insurance claims have ever been filed by residents of apartment houses and condominiums you are considering.
• Ask your insurance representative about how to obtain adequate coverage to protect you from mold-related problems such as loss of property value and tenant claims. (Also visit The Environmental Risk Resources Association, as noted below, for information on policies that can product you.) Even better: If you suspect mold in a building, don’t buy it!

 For more protection, check out these resources . . .

• The National Association of Industrial and Office Properties.
• The Environmental Protection Agency’s Indoor Air Quality resource page.
• A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture and Your Home, a publication of the Environmental Protection Agency.
• The Environmental Risk Resources Association. (Offers information on mold insurance.)

Learn more ways to safeguard your real estate investments by enrolling in Trump University’s Real Estate Investor Training Program. Classes are forming now.

Trump University is launching a new blog, Mark and Rick’s Real Estate Adventures. I’d encourage you to visit this new blog today, and every day, because it is going to offer a wild and educational ride through the world of real estate.

Let me fill you in about how the blog came to be. Mark Covais and Rick Meadows, the young men behind it, met when they started working as admissions counselors at Trump University. Rick was already a successful entrepreneur who had owned several businesses. Mark had led college and university admissions teams for six years and before that, he was an advertising buyer with a formidable track record.

Once Mark and Rick were working side by side, they quickly discovered a shared addiction to the kind of jumbo-sized brainstorming that quickly becomes, “That’s a pretty good idea, now how fast can we make a few million dollars with it?”

Mark and Rick soon decided to launch a real estate development company together. (Hey, real estate is good, right?) And since they were in the right place at the right time -Trump University - they enrolled in our Real Estate Investor’s Training Program to learn the skills they needed to succeed.

Then they got another idea. They approached Michael Sexton, our President, to ask whether they could write a daily blog on the Trump University site to report on their real estate activities. Michael agreed. Under the guidance of Trump University’s elite real estate investing faculty and with the full support of Trump University, Mark and Rick could try to become real estate millionaires. Furthermore, Michael agreed to allow Mark and Rick to write anything they want on a blog of their own, unedited and unmonitored by the editor of the main Trump Blog, or anyone else. That way, they can report the low-down on how things are going with their real estate endeavors.

The result will be a new rolling blogumentary called Mark and Rick’s Real Estate Adventures. It’s already live on our site and it is going to be stimulating, funny and fun. Better yet, you can profit from Mark and Rick’s adventures and misadventures as they scramble up the learning curve toward real estate riches.