《富爸爸穷爸爸》第49章

？Make　lots　of　offers。　When　I　want　a　piece　of　real　estate；　I　look　at　many　properties　and　generally　write　an　offer。　If　you　don"t　know　what　the　〃right　offer〃　is；　neither　do　I。　That　is　"the　job　of　the　real　estate　agent。　They　make　the　offers。　I　do　as　little　work　as　possible。
A　friend　wanted　me　to　show　her　how　to　buy　apartment　houses。 So　one　Saturday　she；　her　agent　and　I　went　and　looked　at　six　apartment　houses。 Four　were　dogs；　but　two　were　good。 I　said　to　write　offers　on　all　six；　offering　half　of　what　the　owners　asked　for。 She　and　the　agent　nearly　had　heart　attacks。　They　thought　it　would　be　rude；　that　I　might　offend　the　sellers；　but　I　really　don"t　think　the　agent　wanted　to　work　that　hard。 So　they　did　nothing　and　went　on　looking　for　a　better　deal。
No　offers　were　ever　made；　and　that　person　is　still　looking　for　the　〃right〃　deal　at　the　right　price。　Well；　you　don"t　know　what　the　right　price　is　until　you　have　a　second　party　who　wants　to　deal。　Most　sellers　ask　too　much。 It　is　rare　that　a　seller　will　actually　ask　a　price　that　is　less　than　something　is　worth。
Moral　of　the　story：　Make　offers。　People　who　are　not　investors　have　no　idea　what　it　feels　like　to　be　trying　to　sell　something。　I　have　had　a　piece　of　real　estate　that　I　wanted　to　sell　for　months。　I　would　have　weled　anything。　I　would　not　care　how　low　the　price。　They　could　have　offered　me　ten　pigs　and　I　would　have　been　happy。　Not　at　the　offer；　but　just　because　someone　was　interested。　I　would　have　countered；　maybe　for　a　pig　farm　in　exchange。　But　that"s　how　the　game　works。　The　game　of　buying　and　selling　is　fun。　Keep　that　in　mind。　It"s　fun　and　only　a　game。　Make　offers。　Someone　might　say　〃yes。〃
And　I　always　make　offers　with　escape　clauses。　In　real　estate；　I　make　an　offer　with　the　words　〃subject　to　approval　of　business　partner。〃　I　never　specify　who　the　business　partner　is。　Most　people　do　not　know　my　partner　is　my　cat。　If　they　accept　the　offer；　and　I　don"t　want　the　deal；　I　call　my　home　and　speak　to　my　cat。　I　make　this　absurd　statement　to　illustrate　how　absurdly　easy　and　simple　the　game　is。　So　many　people　make　things　too　difficult　and　take　them　too　seriously。
Finding　a　good　deal；　the　right　business；　the　right　people；　the　right　investors；　or　whatever　is　just　like　dating。　You　must　go　to　the　market　and　talk　to　a　lot　of　people；　make　a　lot　of　offers；　counteroffers；　negotiate；　reject　and　accept。　I　know　single　people　who　sit　at　home　and　wait　for　the　phone　to　ring；　but　unless　you"re　Cindy　Crawford　or　Tom　Cruise；　I　think　you"d　best　go　to　the　market；　even　if　it"s　only　the　supermarket。　Search；　offer；　reject；　negotiate　and　accept　are　all　parts　of　the　process　of　almost　everything　in　life。
？Jog；　walk　or　drive　a　certain　area　once　a　month　for　ten　minutes。　I　have　found　some　of　my　best　real　estate　investments　while　jogging。　I　will　jog　a　certain　neighborhood　for　a　year。　What　I　look　for　is　change。　For　there　to　be　profit　in　a　deal；　there　must　be　two　elements：　a　bargain　and　change。　There　are　lots　of　bargains；　but　it"s　change　that　turns　a　bargain　into　a　profitable　opportunity。 So　when　I　jog；　I　jog　a　neighborhood　I　might　like　to　invest　in。 It　is　the　repetition　that　causes　me　to　notice　slight　differences。　I　notice　real　estate　signs　that　are　up　for　a　long　time。　That　means　the　seller　might　be　more　agreeable　to　deal。　I　watch　for　moving　trucks；　going　in　or　out。 I　stop　and　talk　to　the　drivers。　I　talk　to　the　postal　carriers。　It"s　amazing　how　much　information　they　acquire　about　an　area。
I　find　a　bad　area；　especially　an　area　that　the　news　has　scared　everyone　away　from。 I　drive　it　for　sometimes　a　year　waiting　for　signs　of　something　changing　for　the　better。　I　talk　to　retailers；　especially　new　ones；　and　find　out　why　they"re　moving　in。　It　takes　only　a　few　minutes　a　month；　and　I　do　it　while　doing　something　else；　like　exercising；　or　going
to　and　from　the　store。
？As　for　stocks；　I　like　Peter　Lynch"s　book　Beating　the　Street　for　his　formula　for　selecting　stocks　that　grow　in　value。　I　have　found　that　the　principles　of　finding　value　are　the　same　regardless　if　it"s　real　estate；　stocks；　mutual　funds；　new　panies；　a　new　pet；　a　new　home；　a　new　spouse；　or　a　bargain　on　laundry　detergent。　The　process　is　always　the　same。　You　need　to　know　what　you"re　looking　for　and　then　go　look　for　it！
？Why　consumers　will　always　be　poor。　When　the　supermarket　has　a　sale　on；　say；　toilet　paper；　the　consumer　runs　in　and　stocks　up。　When　the　stock　market　has　a　sale；　most　often　called　a　crash　or　correction；　the　consumer　runs　away　from　it。　When　the　supermarket　raises　its　prices；　the　consumer　shops　elsewhere。　When　the　stock　market　raises　its　prices；　the　consumer　starts　buying。
？Look　in　the　right　places。　A　neighbor　bought　a　condominium　for　100；000。　I　bought　the　identical　condo　next　door　to　his　for　50；000。　He　told　me　he"s　waiting　for　the　price　to　go　up。　I　told　him　that　his　profit　is　made　when　you　buy；　not　when　you　sell。　He　shopped　with　a　real　estate　broker　who　owns　no　property　of　her　own。　I　shopped　at　the　foreclosure　department　of　a　bank。　I　paid　500　for　a　class　on　how　to　do　this。　My　neighbor　thought　that　the　500　for　a　real　estate　investment　class　was　too　expensive。　He　said　he　could　not　afford　it；　and　he　couldn"t　afford　the　time。 So　he　waits　for　the　price　to　go　up。
？I　look　for　people　who　want　to　buy　first；　then　I　look　for　someone　who　wants　to　sell。　A　friend　was　looking　for　a　certain　piece　of　land。　He　had　the　money　and　did　not　have　the　time。　I　found　a　large　piece　of　land　larger　than　what　my　friend　wanted　to　buy；　tied　it　up　with　an　option；　called　my　friend　and　he　wanted　a　piece　of　it。　So　I　sold　the　piece　to　him　and　then　bought　the　land。　I　kept　the　remaining　land　as　mine　for　free。　Moral　of　the　story：　Buy　the　pie　and　cut　it　in　pieces。　Most　people　look　for　what　they　can　afford；　so　they　look　too　small。　They　buy　only　a　piece　of　the　pie；　so　they　end　up　paying　more　for　less。 Small　thinkers　don"t　get　the　big　breaks。　If　you　want　to　get　richer；　think　bigger　first。
Retailers　love　giving　volume　discounts；　simply　because　most　business　people　love　big　spenders。 So　even　if　you"re　small；　you　can　always　think　big。　When　my　pany　was　in　the　market　for　puters；　I　called　several　friends　and　asked　them　if　they　were　ready　to　buy　also。　We　then　went　to　different　de