| Right now everyone is talking about niching down. It’s a hot, sexy topic. And with the shift in the market, it makes sense. But did you know there are niches inside niches? And you can work (and profit handsomely) both at the same time? As real estate professionals, we can be so laser-focused on the house that we overlook the fortune that might be sitting there right in front of us in plain sight. Remember the childhood story about Rumpelstiltskin? He’s the guy who could weave straw into gold. So what does he have to do with probate real estate? The obvious money in real estate is in the house. But did you know you can turn the contents of those houses into gold? One of the sub-niches of probate that is often overlooked is personal property. I’m talking about all of the stuff left behind in the houses you get under contract. These inherited houses are always filled with tons of stuff. At first glance, it usually looks like piles of useless junk. But then there’s the old cliche, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure!” There’s a huge golden opportunity hidden in there. You just need to know what to look for and what to do with it once you’ve found it. My students and I have picked up some pretty marvelous things over the years. And some of my students have even gone out and formed complete businesses built on the buying and selling of these items. And the market has never been riper for the sale of these nostalgic items than it is right now. Retro is HUGE. Our digital age has taken its toll on society and people are hungry to reconnect with their inner child. Adults are buying the toys of their childhood because they want to reconnect with a time when innocence and simplicity ruled the day. And this nostalgia can be converted into serious money. Even the restaurant giant McDonald’s is cashing in on this craze. Earlier this year they introduced the adult happy meal. It has zero to do with the food. You can order a Big Mac or Chicken McNuggets off the menu all by themselves. It’s all about nostalgia. My students have reported back that they have picked up sought-after vintage comic books, retro video games, 80’s BMX, Mongoose and GT bikes, Cabbage Patch Kids, Thunder Cats, A-Team action figures, Voltron, Strawberry Shortcake dolls, and the list goes on and on and on. One of my students Jerry, has carved out a very lucrative business and actually traded in his real estate operation altogether because he gets so much pleasure (and profit) in finding all of these items. And people are willing to pay some serious grown-up money for the toys that they couldn’t afford when they were kids. All this talk about toys is getting me excited for Christmas. From the Probate Family to yours, I’d like to wish you a very merry Christmas! To your success, Ernie “Happy Meal” Vargas | The Probate Fox |
December 23
Wanna Be the Rumpelstiltskin Real Estate?
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