Investing in Duplexes, Triplexes, and Quads: The Fastest and Safest Way to Real Estate Wealth by Larry B. Loftis

Part One
 REAL ESTATE
 WEALTH BUILDING

Chapter 1
 WHY REAL ESTATE?
 Buy land. They’ve stopped making it.
 —Mark Twain
 For the majority of people, real estate is the single best tool
 for wealth building. For the average person, real estate may be the
 only vehicle to carry him or her to retirement wealth. Sure, one of the
 best ways to become wealthy is to build your own business. After all,
 that’s what Bill Gates and Michael Dell did. And the owner of the car
 dealership down the street is doing fairly well, right? And isn’t the
 owner of the McDonald’s franchise downtown making big bucks?
 Without a doubt, building a business can be very lucrative. But how
 many people possess the money or skills to be able to create and
 build a multi-million-dollar business? Can the average person do it?
 How many people have the genius of a Bill Gates or a Michael
 Dell? And have you checked to see the latest price tag for buying a
 car dealership or a McDonald’s franchise? Typically, those
 businesses are bought for upwards of $500,000 to $1,000,000. Oh,
 and the franchisor wants you to work actively in the business 50
 hours a week. Can you start your own business? Sure. But
 according to the Small Business Administration, 95 percent of new
 businesses fail in the first three years.
 You’ve probably heard the quote that 75 percent of millionaires
 made their money through real estate. I don’t know if that statistic is
 true, but all the wealthy people I know either made their money
 through real estate or sold a business and invested the proceeds in
 real estate.
 One of the best and most original books I’ve read in recent years
 is Rich Dad, Poor Dad, by Robert Kiyosaki. In his book, Kiyosaki
 recounts a story about how Ray Kroc, founder of McDonald’s, asks a
 University of Texas MBA class what business he was in. After a few
 chuckles, one of the students tells Kroc what he expects: “You’re in
 the hamburger business.” Pausing for effect, Kroc responded,

Investing in Duplexes, Triplexes, and Quads: The Fastest and Safest Way to Real Estate Wealth by Larry B. Loftis