Consider Yourself in the Light of Greatness
/What if I told you this morning that you are destined to be great? Not great tomorrow, but today. Would you believe me? I think that many of us get up and go through the day without much thought to our greatness even though it’s inside of us ready to explode into the world. Well, I want to challenge you to consider yourself in this light. Why should you settle for being good when you can be great?
Believing that you are great is a key to obtaining a wealthy life. I will leave you with that thought for the week.
In the meanwhile, I want to provide you with several resources that should be valuable to you if you have the desire to buy a house (or a second one), or you want to reap some benefits from renting. Better yet, perhaps you’re a landlord and want to reward your tenants for being good stewards of your property.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve come across ways to:
Provide you cash for your all-cash deal home purchase. As I’ve discussed before this year, and you may have experienced, the competition for buying a home is fierce. Part of the reason many buyers are being locked out of securing their dream home is that other buyers are offering all-cash offers. Whoa, right! Cash offers are attractive to people selling their homes because sellers do not want to risk a delayed or failed closing due to a challenge with the financing, which typically comes in the form of a mortgage. Well, look no further because companies like Flyhomes, Opendoor, and Ribbon are helping home buyers, especially those early in the process, move to the front of the line of competitive offers. These companies may front buyers the cash to buy their homes outright, or buy the house on a buyer’s behalf and then sell the house back to the buyer later. Check out this Wall Street Journal article to read more about the personal stories of several families who have taken advantage of these new financing options. Remember, however, to do your homework and understand all the terms and conditions.
Reward you for being a reliable tenant. Would you like to get rewarded for paying rent on time, renewing a lease early, or referring other renters to a building you’re currently living in. Well, have no fear because Watson Living is here. Watson is amongst a new cadre of start-ups offering you rewards for your reliability. Your landlord will pay a subscription service that helps them retain valuable income because they keep you as a tenant. It would be nice to get paid for doing what you’re supposed to do as a tenant plus a little extra. Watson prides itself on its ability to increase lease renewals, increase on-time payments, and increase resident engagement. Now, companies like Watson are just starting out. But, ask your landlords if they could look into the service and hopefully you can reap the benefits too. If you’re a landlord, check out Watson and other companies that might help you keep vacancy rates high and stress low!
Form your own real estate investing group. Remember that wealth is a collective pursuit. While Western cultures will have you believe that wealth is an individual pursuit, true wealth comes from the power of pooling resources and working together. I’ve followed Hope Investment Group for a few years now, and their model is powerful. Their mission is to “rebuild the connective economic network within our community by investing together in various investment opportunities, supporting our community and each other’s charitable passions, and cultivating our social and professional connections.” Together, they have invested in 3 different types of real estate deals (2 in Silver Spring Maryland and 1 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), totaling over $650,000, and have an expected annual cash-on-cash return from 10-14% across the three deals. Want to know how to get started? One powerful step is to form a wealth circle!! Check out ‘A Wealthy Girl’ corner for more information.
A Wealthy Girl Corner
I recently purchased the book, The Whiteness of Wealth: How the Tax System Impoverishes Black Americans--and How We Can Fix It, by Dorothy Brown, a phenomenal wealthy girl in her own right! Dorothy Brown became a tax lawyer to get away from race. As a young Black girl growing up in the South Bronx, she’d seen how racism limited the lives of her family and neighbors. But, she has dedicated her adult life to exposing how racism shows up in the American taxation system, which culminates in her book. Dorothy Brown testified before the Senate to share her research findings. Check out this Whiteness of Wealth cheat-sheet from ProMarket on the main arguments of the book.
It’s very important to recognize how racism in the American tax system has negatively affected wealth levels for persons of color. And, simultaneously, you must try to buck traditional systems to build the wealth you want. I strongly believe that wealth isn’t only for white people. You can develop strategies to build wealth for yourself, just like the Hope Investment Group has done as noted above. You can build wealth together by establishing wealth circles with others committed to your wealth pursuits. Check out my book, A Wealthy Girl: 7 Steps to Prosperity, Peace, and Personal Power for more information on how to do so and get stories of others who have done it.
