949-392-1999
SHOW NOTES FOR EPISODE 261: RETIRE WITHOUT SETTLING FOR LESS
Retirement can be everything you always dreamed of or it can be a daily struggle where you scrutinize every dollar spent and constantly assess and re-assess your investment portfolio, weighing risk vs. return. In today’s podcast episode, Ross Stryker, former military man, retired orthodontist and investor extraordinaire, shares how he was able to maintain his pre-retirement lifestyle and take the trepidation out of retirement through real estate investing.
What You Will Learn
- Why you don’t have to settle for “living with less” in retirement
- How leveraging the right opportunities for your specific needs is critical in developing your retirement portfolio
- Real estate investors’ top mistakes
- What your most important investment should be
- The 3 best things an investor over 50 should do first
- Why there is no such thing as a U.S. real estate market
- 4 great cities to invest in today
About Our Guest
Ross Stryker
After 12 years serving in the military and over 20 years running a successful private practice, Ross Stryker realized if he didn’t alter his course he’d be trading hours for dollars forever. It was this belief that led him to launch Smart Asset Opportunities. He’s helped raise almost $100 million, owns 40+ single family homes, 14 ATM’s, a coffee farm in Panama, apartment complexes, office parks, storage units, and ownership in a Belizean resort. Ross is living proof that your money is better off of Wall Street, and you can achieve financial freedom.
More About Ross
- Ran a very large, successful dental orthodontic practice for over 20 years
- Did work on over 10,000 patients
- Loved his work
- Have enough money and passive income that they would never have to work again
- Was an “accidental” real estate investors owning rental homes early on
His Light Bulb Moment
- His motivation in getting into real estate investing was prompted by the many people, who were professionals like he was, who had great incomes, but who didn’t know how to “unplug” and still maintain the lifestyle in which they were accustomed
- As he was approaching retirement, he talked with financial planners who told him that, in retirement, he would have to cut back on many things, like charitable giving. This really offended him
- He has a heart to help military veterans – his “Why” – and he’s committed to continually supporting vets
- He asked himself, “Who wants to live a lifestyle that is less than what they are used to?” and “Who wants to give less than they used to?”
Getting Educated
- Started researching and educating himself on what he could do to maintain his “pre-retirement lifestyle”
- Real estate investing stood out as a vehicle to help him achieve his goal
- Joined mastermind groups to learn more about real estate investing
- His first mastermind group was with a group of dentists who were active real estate investors called the Freedom Finders, who met in Dallas, TX
- They talked about getting “safe” returns
- He was used to getting safe returns at around 3% but they shared how you could safe returns at 10% and higher with real estate passive investing
- As he researched and started to invest a little at a time, he found their claims to be true
- 95% of dentists retire to a lifestyle less than what they were
- Most people are programmed to believe that they have to learn to “live with less” in retirement. He sees this more a matter of poor planning.
- This prompted him to start Smart Asset Opportunities – to help people retire and not have to settle for less
Smart Asset Opportunities
- At Smart Assets Opportunities, he scouts out good passive investments and presents them to his clients
- The best opportunities are hard to find
- Started out passive investing in turnkey properties and went into better commercial property investments
- Also created lending opportunities
- Didn’t want to hold people’s hands to walk them thru buying their first rental home
- Had over 40 single family homes but has sold most of them in lieu of commercial real estate investments
- Knew he had to scale into something different – apartments, office buildings, self storage, assisted living, etc.
- He tells clients not to just throw money at him but to do their homework first
- He wants to educate people so they can do it on their own
- When people ask, “Should I invest in this opportunity or that?” he says everyone’s situation is different and you need to take all factors into account
- Most people in their 40s or 50s are more interested in return, while people who are already retired are seeking cash flow and equity on the back-end.
Biggest Mistakes
- Poor property management
- Overstated Pro Formas
Biggest Success
- Continuing to network
- Member of three mastermind groups
- Continuing to find the people that lift him up, are doing things the right way and avoiding those who are negative and not serious
Advice for Old Dawgs Who Are Considering Real Estate Investing
- His advice:
- Invest in your self – Get educated about real estate investing (terminology, etc.). Read books, etc.
- If you own a business, keep the value of your business up.
- Network with the right people. Real estate is not about buildings, it’s about people.
- Your expectations need to change
Goal for His Company
- To help as many people as he can
- Don’t hire a lot of employees with a “W-2 attitude”
- He asks them how they are doing in reaching their “Freedom Plan” because he wants to see them financially independent one day
- He doesn’t want people working for him. He wants people working with him. He wants people learning.
There is no Real Estate Market
- When he hears people talking about thee real estate market, he always has to ask, “Which real estate market?” You mean the Kansas City real estate market? The Indianapolis real estate market? The Detroit real estate market? Multifamily? Commercial? Single family? Self Storage?
- There is no such thing as one real estate market but there are many, many real estate markets: sub-markets, niches, asset classes
- Even in the worst of times, you can make money in real estate
His Favorite Sub Markets
- He doesn’t want to compete in markets that are too large or too small
- His favorite markets are secondary (under 1 million population) and tertiary markets (under 500,000 population). Central U.S. East of the Rockies. West of the Appalachians. Within 2.5 hour private plane flight (he’s a pilot)
- Birmingham, AL
- Kansas City, MO
- Indianapolis, IN
- Columbia, MO
Rap-It-Up
- Favorite real estate book: The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason and Cashflow Quadrant by Robert Kiyosaki
- Favorite business book: Note Investing by Dave Van Horn
- Most valuable web site for success (other than your own): CCIM.com
- Favorite app: Facebook and Turbo Scan
- Favorite quote: “You can have everything in life you want, if you just help other people get what they want.” Zig Ziglar
- If you had to start all over, knowing what you know, and you only had $1,000, what would you do to launch your real estate investing business? Seek out the people he has created relationships with because it’s all about relationships.
How to Reach Ross
- His website: Smart Asset Opportunities
- Sign-up for his weekly blog
IF YOU LIKED THIS PODCAST, we would love if you would go to iTunes, Stitcher or GooglePlay and Subscribe, Rate & Review our podcast. This will greatly help in sharing this podcast with others seeking to learn real estate investing as a means to achieve a successful retirement.
Check out our other podcasts at olddawgsreinetwork.com.
Get a FREE copy of our 3-Minute Rental Property Analyzer at olddawgsreinetwork.com.
Episode Sponsor: Meno Studio – menostudio777@gmail.com
