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TRUMP UNIVERSITY WEALTH BUILDING 101

afford to, won’t, fearing that future price gains in high-priced, low-
yielding areas might fall short of past experience. As a result, they
believe these properties present too much risk.
3. If you can’t afford, or don’t want to, invest where you live—due to
negative cash flows, or a stagnant or declining job base, you might

consider a third type of property market, which represents emerging
areas of growth—the optimal possibility. In these areas, you can fi nd
newly built properties that sell for less than $125 per square foot. In
1
addition, such properties tend to offer reasonable cash fl ows and high
potential for future price increases. Many housing forecasters place
Charlotte and Dallas into this “optimal” category. We revisit this
emerging growth investment alternative in Chapter 14 .

Strategic Management

In the eyes of many potential investors, owning rental properties entails too
much hassle. “I’d never invest in property,” some say. “Who wants to get

called out at 2 a.m. to fix a stopped-up toilet?”
No doubt, if you self-manage real estate, you will put in time and effort, but
unless you’re a glutton for punishment, you will set up systems and trade persons
to maintain and repair your properties. Self-management need not create an
undue burden. In my early years, I self-managed dozens of my low- to moderate-
income rentals. Yet, at the same time, I held a full-time university faculty posi-
tion and also enrolled full-time in a rigorous PhD program in business.
To focus on negatives such as cleaning toilets, mowing lawns, or cajoling
wayward tenants to pay their rent misses the more significant point: Property

management offers a lucrative opportunity to craft a market strategy for
your properties. Rather than a burden, self-management presents a blessing.
As you will see in Chapter 14 , self-management jumpstarts profi ts through
entrepreneurial vision and execution.

Think Like an Entrepreneur

As an entrepreneurial owner, you figure out how to maximize your net income

by tailoring your property’s features and benefits to match the intense,

unsatisfied needs and wants of a specific market segment of tenants.
Yes, you can steer clear of property management if you choose to, by delegating

operational duties to a property management firm (or personal employee). Keep
in mind, though, in our society, entrepreneurs earn the largest rewards—a bounty
that lies out of reach for those less involved people who invest passively.

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