Today I want to tell you about a different kind of success story…
It’s a success story that is only just beginning to unfold, but there’s a very specific reason I want to talk about it.
Yes, I like to tell you about the more intricate details of real estate investing, whether it’s doing splitters or JV’s, building a block of flats or just negotiating a deal with a seller or getting an approval from a local council…
I love to talk about all those types of deals and more.
And, of course, I admit that it’s always fantastic to tell you about my students taking my courses, doing their homework and the hard work necessary that leads them to replacing their income in a short period of time…
There are plenty of my students who do just that and they deserve their recognition just as much as they deserve the passive income that they receive from their properties.
But this particular success story is just as important, if not more so, because it involves a couple that were on the edge of total financial collapse.
Some dark days…
Here’s their story…
A little more than a year ago, Natalia and Tolga were both working hard to support their four children, pay the mortgage on time and keep food on the table.
Tolga’s job as a restaurant apprentice wasn’t paying enough and neither was Natalia’s. They were up to their necks in credit card debt and were borrowing money from both sets of parents…
And yet, they still weren’t able to make the ends meet the middle. They were, it’s fair to say, a bit despondent about life, especially Tolga.
He admitted that their whole financial situation was about to collapse.
“I was actually in a pretty bad situation,” Tolga explains, “I was ready to go bankrupt, actually.”
Ian offers a hand up
“We were really struggling,” says Natalia, “we were ready to call it quits. That’s when Ian stepped in and helped us out.”
(Many of you know who Ian Ugarte is. He started out as one of my students just like everybody else, and within a year had created a real estate portfolio with passive income of over $150,000 a year. He has since become an integral part of the iLoveRealEstate.tv team, Platinum Coach, a hugely successful real estate investor and much more.)
“We saw what Ian was doing and asked for his assistance,” Natalia continues, “so we sat down with him and went through the nitty-gritty of our situation.”
Well, Ian worked out a plan for Natalia and Tolga to follow, but Tolga was not interested in it. Worse, he didn’t’ believe in it.
But Ian told them that if they wanted help, they both would have to attend a Boot Camp.
Natalia had already done a course, and it took some persuading, but Tolga finally came around.
But it took more than one Boot Camp to get things moving in the right direction. They ended up doing a few Boot Camps, a few Millionaire courses and some one-dayers…
A change takes place
Now, with Ian working with them and building their knowledge base through the different events, a change took place…
It began with the first Boot Camp.
“My whole viewpoint changed dramatically,” Tolga says, and Natalia agrees. “Your whole way of thinking changes. Once you have a goal, you see that you can achieve it.”
A close family friend spoke with Tolga after a three-day Boot Camp and was amazed at the difference in Tolga’s outlook and ambitions in real estate.
“Every course you go to puts the information in your memory and gives you a boost,” Tolga explains, “and even though putting your goals on a board is great, but going to the courses helps me out more.”
Through Ian’s coaching and the iLoveRealEstate.tv courses, they found hope. But more than that, they actually had a plan.
Using what they have
Ian helped them to see a way out of their current difficult financial situation using only what they had…
“We revamped the back of our house to get value up,” Natalia says.
“We took that equity and bought a property in a mining town,” Tolga adds.
They have owned the mining property for over a year now…
Are Natalia and Tolga millionaires today?
No, they’re not. But let’s look at how their situation has changed…
Natalia, who has a health condition, no longer works. Under their prior circumstances, that would have been a disaster, but today, it’s not a problem.
With the passive income from the mining town investment property, they can still get by without Natalia having to work.
Getting back on their feet
“The property has helped us by food and groceries,” Tolga says, “(and) we’re managing ourselves without her parents or mine or anyone else helping us out.”
Now, think about that statement for a moment…
And then think about where they came from to where they are today…
Natalia and Tolga were both working, trying to support four kids, pay the mortgage and their credit card debt, leaning on both their parents for help and still about to go bankrupt.
Today, they are standing on their own two feet. How do you think that makes them feel?
How big of a change did attending iLoveRealEstate.tv events and getting coaching from Ian make in their lives?
It would hard to overstate it, wouldn’t it?
As they both will tell you, it’s the change of mindset that makes all the difference. They now look at their lives as being full with possibility…
Because they are.
No, Natalia and Tolga aren’t driving expensive cars and flying here and there in their private jet…
And they don’t have a fantastic real estate portfolio.
But that’s not the reason I wanted to tell you about them.
A real success story
Today, after hitting the very bottom of their lives, they are flying higher than they ever dreamed of…
And, as Natalia’s health has recovered, they have begun to make new real estate investment plans…
Their plans include building a duplex, working with a JV partner on a property in Sydney, and buying overseas real estate.
Now I ask you: Are these the plans of a couple about to go bankrupt, who are in debt and see no way out?
Or are these the plans of two people with a bright future together?
How’s that for a success story?