Sherman L. Ragland, II

Academy Main Menu

What Students are Saying

“…In March 2004, after hearing about the importance of goal setting discussed at a local DC-REIA meeting, I went home and set goals. My major goal was monetary: to make $100,000.00 as a RE investor in my first year. Well, I am glad to say that I completed my first wholesale deal in June 2004. After that, I left my job to work as a full-time investor. I have now completed 6 deals, including 2 rehabs, and have made over $117,000.00 since I set those goals one year ago. Here is a summary of the deals I have completed so far: in June ‘04 a Wholesale Deal for a profit of $10,000; in Jan ’05 a Wholesale Deal for a profit of $15,000; in Feb ’05 managed a rehab for another investor for a profit of $4,900, closed on a rehab deal with a partner where we split a total profit of over $81,000, and listed/sold a property for a commission over $8,000; March ’05 closed rehab deal for a profit over $40,000!”

- Scott Gunn

"I want to thank you immensely for your guidance in raising private capital to fund our real estate transactions. Although we have wholesaled a number of properties to generate operating capital for our business, we were anxious to raise private funds to take our business to the next level and break into the realm of $30K+ profit per deal. This type of profit is virtually unattainable if you do not have access to significant capital to buy great deals when you find them. -- I am truly appreciative of your willingness to help us, even though you were not profiting from our venture. As a result of your guidance, we were able to host an incredibly successful Private Investor Seminar at The Army-Navy Club on October 23, 2004. The initial results indicate that we raised between $500,000 and $1,000,000 to fund our property acquisitions! This event marked the end of the wholesaling period and the beginning of being the dealmaker that buys the deals from others! Thanks again and please let me know if we can reciprocate in any way to help you!"

- Marcus Lackey

Home

Faculty

Sherman L. Ragland, II

Sherman L. Ragland, II, Wharton MBA, is the Host of Real Investors Talk Radio™, a nationally syndicated radio program dedicated to assisting people in all walks of life to learn the correct way to invest in real estate.

In 1984, as a college senior, Ragland’s life was changed through his interaction with his first mentor, Jim Rouse, a nationally known real estate developer who thought Ragland would "do well" in commercial real estate, and after completing his MBA at the Wharton School Ragland worked for two national real estate development firms in the areas of finance and real estate development. In 1990, Ragland started his own company, Tradewinds International, which acquired the rights to run the only private jet facility at Washington, DC’s National Airport (DCA). On September 11, 2001, this operation and its 65 employees were forever changed due to the terrorist attacks in New York and the Pentagon in DC. In one day, his $24 million a year business was wiped out due to new FAA/Secret Service restrictions on private jets entering airspace in close proximity to the White House.

Needing a new source of cash to live, and continue the fight to reopen his aviation business, Ragland returned to his real estate leanings starting with the renovation and sale of single-family homes. To maintain his family’s life-style, he quickly learned numerous "quick-cash" and "no-money down" strategies which put large chunks of cash into the family bank account and within a year started teaching others in the Washington, DC area these same "street savvy" investing strategies, as well as "traditional" long-term real estate investing ideas.

In 2002, Ragland was presented with the prestigious "Blue Vase" award and named Investor of the Year at the National Real Estate Investors Conference in Atlanta, GA.

Today, Ragland is a full-time real estate investor and his team takes on real estate ventures of all sizes including: large mixed-use developments, retail, apartments, land development and, yes, even the renovation of single-family houses. Ragland is quick to proclaim: "Never again will I allow my family’s financial health to be tied to only one income source".

In addition to his own investments, in 2001, Ragland began to share strategies from day one with an initial "Master-Mind" group of four investors. According to Ragland, "I know first hand how difficult it is to make the transition from employee to entrepreneur. Associating with other like-minded people is one of the keys to making this transition". With each monthly meeting this group grew and it is now one of the largest real estate investor groups affiliated with the National Real Estate Investor’s Association.

Through his appearances in leading magazines and national business publications like: Fortune and Investor’s Business Daily, and participation as a frequently invited guest lecturer at leading graduate institutions like The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and George Mason University, Ragland is widely regarded as one of the "Top 10" National Teachers on the subject of Real Estate Investing Strategies for Professionals. He has recently completed two books: "7 Habits of Highly Successful Real Estate investors" and Walking With the Wise For Entreprenuers, Co-Authored with Suze Orman and Donald Trump.

Ragland emphasizes that: "With focus, team building and applied knowledge, you do not need an MBA to succeed in the real estate game!"

Website: http://www.GoingInMotion.com/