Listen in as Mark and Damion talk about living on the beach, Damion’s journey to building an 8 Figure real estate empire, taking risks, making mistakes, putting systems in, and investing in QRPs. In this episode of the Best Passive Income Model, Mark chats with Damion Lupo, owner of an 8 figure real estate empire, multiple black belter, a renaissance man of life. Damion left home at 17, made his mistakes along the way, but made it by the time he was in his 20’s.
Damion mentions that when he left home at 17, he was moving fast, not listening to the rule, making his own rules, and just going for it. He did something unorthodox and brought what he learned from the experience of having his first big mess and stumbling around and learned what he didn’t know. Now, he has more than 30 businesses and companies.
When asked about Damion Lupo’s Tony Stark-ish lifestyle, Damion says that when he moved to the beach in California, he started getting up between 4 to 5 in the morning and doing whatever it is he was going to do including conquer the world and create stuff.
The journey to having 30 companies started in the late 1990s, when Damion owned an insurance agency at the age of 20. His friend, who later abandoned him, brought the deal to him. On December 30, 1999, he went to the closing and paid with his Visa Card. He remodeled that house and learned about electrical work by electrocuting himself. He says he also learned about roofing by falling off the roof. He then ended up buying 80 houses in the next 18 months.
On building a system, Damion says that it’s important to set up a system because you can’t do everything yourself. As you manage more houses, things will get exponentially more complicated. However, you need to have a balance. You should be setting systems up from the get-go but not to the detriment of people getting started so they don’t get stuck.
Mark mentions the Ready, Fire, Aim Approach where you take massive action, stretch yourself to the point of breaking, and make the adjustments later. Damion believes that making mistakes allow you to succeed. Go ahead and throw mud, move fast, learn, and expand because you don’t want to go to death’s door safely. He thinks that if you’re going to think big you’re going to trip and fall. The question is how fast you get up. When you think big, you don’t bring the past with you. You have a blank slate in your thinking.
Damion and Mark also discuss the Qualified Retirement Plan (QRP) as a way to use tax deferred money. Damion describes it as a big trust document. Basically, you can take the money and buy things like real estate and precious metals. Compared to an IRA, which has a lot of restrictions, the QRP is a much better alternative because you can put 10 times more money into a QRP than a Self-Directed IRA. At the same time, you can defer over $50,000 a year. The best part is being able to buy real estate, notes, and precious metals with your money. The best part of it is that you don’t have to deal with a third party and constantly having to pay fees. You just pay an upfront fee of $2,500 to set it up. Using a firm may be good because they can tell you which transactions are allowed. There’s a chapter in Damion’s QRP book that lists all these things.
QRP’s have a downside. Since you have direct control of the money, you might do some dumb stuff like self-deal or engage in a disqualified transaction. You have to be competent and responsible. If you’re irresponsible, don’t do it.
According to Damion, the coolest thing about the QRP is when it’s inherited. You can create a subaccount for a parent and hire them as an employee. If the parent/grandparent dies and leaves the asset to you, you can tap into that asset, grow it, and spend it no matter what age you are.
The QRP however, might go away. Congress has been discussing the possibility of abolishing it right now. This is something you need to do before it does because these will be grandfathered in.
When asked about Mark’s Best Passive Income Model, Damion says that it’s an awesome model, which he would have preferred to do when he started in the real estate business. However, he was moving so fast and didn’t think of another option.
TIP OF THE WEEK:
Damion: I want to give people a shortcut. My third book, Reinvented Life talks about the process of building my life back up. It’s an intimate encounter and story that is told on those pages that will help remove the pain and suffering of melting down.
Mark: Go to TheQRP.org and download Damion’s free book and set up your Qualified Retirement Plan (QRP) and start building your empire, tax-deferred and tax free. Avoid fees and get all these benefits.
Thank you for listening to the Best Passive Income Model podcast. Your support helps me to invite guests who share their knowledge that you can use to grow your business.