Classes

The Real Estate Financial Planner™ and all our resources are made to help buy-and-hold real estate investors, Nomads™, and house hackers find success. Explore our library of classes to learn more about every step of the investing process, from choosing the best investment strategy for you to buying your first property to managing your portfolio of rentals.

If you’re in Northern Colorado, don’t forget to check out our Northern Colorado Real Estate Investing Group to attend classes live!

Seasons Of My Life Budget™ Spreadsheet

Seasons Of My Life Budget™ Spreadsheet

Life is constantly changing and you’re moving through new seasons. Maybe you’re saving to buy your first owner-occupant home, or first rental, or first apartment, or 100th rental property Maybe you’re having your first child, or 10th child, or your last kid is finally moving out Maybe you’re getting your first job, or a new job, or being laid off, or retiring Maybe you’re getting married, or divorced or re-married Maybe you’re getting a new kitten or puppy or losing your best furry friend Maybe you’re paying off your first property, your owner-occupant property, your first rental property or all … Read more

What Does Financially Independent Mean?

Wikipedia defines financial independence as: Financial independence is the status of having enough income or wealth sufficient to pay one’s living expenses for the rest of one’s life without having to be employed or dependent on others. But, what does that mean more mathematically? And, practically? And, specifically, how does that look different for real estate investors than investors in more traditional stocks, bonds and other asset classes? How I Define Financial Independence My definition of financial independence is a little different. I define it as when the following 3 major sources exceed your personal expenses: 1. Passive Income I … Read more

Why You Still Might Want to Invest in Real Estate Despite High Prices, High Interest Rates, and Lagging Rents

Despite high real estate prices, high interest rates, and lagging rents, real estate investment may still be a viable option due to the potential to build up an asset and convert to free and clear properties, as well as other strategies to improve cash flow. This class was taught live by James Orr on January 5, 2023. In this class James discusses: Why the First $100K Is The Hardest Return Quadrants™ and how that can help you achieve your first $100K and first million Some real estate financial modeling

Real Estate Nomad™ in Your City

This class was taught live by James Orr on Black Friday November 25, 2022. In this class James walks you through the  Baseline Nomad™ for YOUR CITY. He created over 300  Scenarios utilizing a very basic Nomad™ real estate investing strategy but using the home prices, rents, insurance, taxes, income, and goals for someone in that city. Click to Select Your City  Model Of course, you can change any of the assumptions in case your unique situation is different than what he used. Go to the Models page and select your city, then the  Baseline Nomad™ Scenario to follow along … Read more

Modeling Your Real Estate Investments – Rules Overview

This class was taught live by James Orr on November 23, 2022. In this class James covers how to model your own real estate investing strategy using all the different  Rules. Scenarios  Scenarios are buckets for grouping  Accounts,  Properties and  Rules together to model your entire real estate investing strategy. Model Your Own Plan As we go through these  Rules, think about how you might use them to model your own unique situation. If you haven’t already done so, create a free Real Estate Financial Planner™ account. Basic Steps The basic steps for modeling your own plan is: First, create … Read more

Are FHA Loans for Suckers?

You can purchase a property using an FHA loan with just 3.5% down. Heck, sometimes you can even get down payment assistance to help with the 3.5% down payment. But there are other loans with lower down payment options. However, when you put less than 20% down, FHA loans require you buy insurance to protect the lender in case you default on the loan. This insurance… called Mortgage Insurance Premiums (MIP) for FHA loans or the equivalent of Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) on other types of loans… has both an upfront premium and a monthly premium. And, with FHA loans … Read more

Having Confidence with Modeling Retirement with Real Estate Investments

Mortgage Interest Rate Confidence Meter™

This class was taught live by James Orr on October 13, 2022. In this class James introduces the brand-new Mortgage Interest Rate Confidence Meter™, what it is and how to us it. You’ll discover what a reasonable mortgage interest rate is when modeling future real estate purchases and how to tell if the assumptions someone else is using is optimistic or not. Resources Mentioned In this presentation James mentions the following resources: 30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage Average in the United States from The Federal Reserve Download the Mortgage Interest Rate Confidence Meter™ for Microsoft Excel The World’s Greatest Real Estate … Read more

Impact of Rapidly Rising Interest Rates on Real Estate Investors

Interest Rate Hikes

This class was taught live by James Orr on October 7, 2022. Topics discussed in this class include: Interest rates have gone up rapidly recently. Is this the fastest we’ve seen rates rise? The most we’ve seen rates rise? Federal Funds Rate versus Mortgage Interest Rates Infographic of 35 Years of Interest Rate Hikes from VisualCapitalist.com Interest rates hikes and rate of change of the rate chart 30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage Average in US What is the impact of rapidly rising interest rates for real estate investors. What if you ignored financing and bought properties free and clear (with some … Read more

Real Estate Investor Rubicons

The recording failed so there is no recording. Topics discussed include: Definition of Rubicon and Milestone and how they relate to real estate investing Dan Sullivan’s The Gap and The Gain and Ben Hardy and Dan Sullivan’s The Gap and The Gain Charlie Munger’s idea that the first $100K is the hardest Math and a series of charts and tables showing why the first $100K is the hardest A discussion of ideas from Mike Summey’s book The Financial Security Bible: How to Build Wealth and Be Happy including: The Lifestyle of Failure The Lifestyle of Ordinary The Lifestyle of Success … Read more

Overcoming Hurdles to Real Estate Investing

Most real estate investors face similar challenges, hurdles and obstacles: Where do I get my next down payment from? How do I overcome negative cash flow or improve the cash flow I have? How do I qualify for the best loans? How do I find what I’m missing (deals, dream team, partners, tenants)? How do I commit to achieving my real estate goals, get the courage to act despite fear, gain the capabilities I need or eliminate fears? This class helps you solve those challenges and more. Listen to the audio of this for free on the real estate investing … Read more