There’s another book you might have heard of that begins with 10 commandments. While AIPIS agent certification doesn’t claim to have the absolute authority of God – if you happen to believe in the Bible – but we do have 10 fundamental truths that will serve you well going forward as either a real estate agent or income property investor. Let’s take the first five.

1. Thou Shalt Become Educated: Knowledge may be the most powerful force on Earth. It’s right up there anyway. To become a successful investor requires you take it upon yourself to become the expert in your field. It can be a combination of classes, certifications, and informal study. Without knowledge, don’t expect success.

2. Thou Shalt Have A Professional Investment Counselor: You want a trusted adviser who will be with you for the long haul, and who is following his own advice by investing his own money in his recommendations. He should be paid based on results. This is far different from your typical Wall Street broker, who can dispense junk or biased advice and still make a killing off fees and transaction commissions.

3. Thou Shalt Maintain Control: This is a big one. We believe in direct control of investments. This means you pull the trigger and do the deal. No middleman to muck things up. We’ll go into this idea in more detail in the near future.

4. Thou Shalt Use Prudent Financial Planning Techniques: Always keep your goals in mind while investing (wealth creation, retirement, financial independence). Some Wall Street techniques might (and that’s a VERY big might) reward you handsomely, if the stars and planets are all aligned correctly and nobody sneezes. More likely, you’ll lose a chunk of it. The funny little secret is that you can invest conservatively, according to your risk tolerance, and generate better returns than the Street at the same time.

5. Thou Shalt Not Gamble: Speculating, flipping, or gambling is not the way to lasting wealth. You want to gamble? Go to Vegas; at least you’ll get a swanky hotel room and a few good meals. Income property investing done the right way is not a get-rich-quick method. More like get rich slow and steady.

Does your typical real estate agent certification course tell you these things? No. AIPIS is a different sort of beast. For too long people have considered real estate primarily as a place to live. The real money comes from investing in them. Spend some time incorporating these first five commandments into your investment thinking. There is much to sink your teeth into. We’ll be back soon with the final five commandments and a deeper look at why you should be a direct investor. The AIPIS agent certification is leading the real estate revolution.

The AIPIS Team

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