Phoebe Chongchua's Live Fit Magazine

Headlines say foreclosures on the rise, real estate market plummeting. US Air Force pilot Ryan Simms simply smiles. At 28 years old, Simms is unwavering in his mission to become a real estate millionaire. While many people may think that his mission is nothing more than a sky-high dream-especially now because of the poor speculations about the real estate market-Simms knows better. He, like many savvy investors, sees the potential, not the frustration of current market conditions.

Simms has been watching all the bad news about real estate but his investment portfolio isn't suffering.           

"I'm still making an average of 10 percent appreciation if not more than that on all of my properties. In the last four months I've probably gained $20,000 to $30,000 in equity in all of my houses just by doing nothing," said Simms.           

Cries, across the country of a too-good-to-be-true real estate market, fall on deaf ears for Simms. He's not buying into any bubble-bursting theories. Simms's, through his real estate investing, is on a mission to create independent wealth and so far he's on track using a method that has exposed him to real estate markets that offer fundamental growth, opportunity, and successful returns.           

"If you look at the growth on a nationwide scale, the vast majority of the sub-prime market problems originated from states like California, Florida, Arizona, and Nevada. Those are the states that have the highest rate of sub-prime mortgages and consequently the highest rate of default mortgages. But if you take those four states away, on a national basis the rate of foreclosures has actually gone down," said Simms.           

"The reality of the market is that there's no such thing as a national real estate market," explained Frank Richards, CEO of NorthPoint Real Estate Investment Services. He added, "There are markets in both large metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) and small MSAs that have continued to perform very well during this rather challenging year of 2007."           

In fact, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) some markets have performed favorably for several years and even through the second quarter of 2007. NAR reports that due to strong local economic growth and affordable housing prices, two-thirds of the 149 markets surveyed registered an increase in home prices. Additionally, inside large market areas there are micro-market neighborhoods that are performing opposite to the nationwide downward cycle.           

It's that thought process that led to Simms' real estate passion. Today, he owns a total of three investment properties in Tacoma, Washington; Lawrenceville, Georgia; and McMinnville, Oregon. But he didn't find these properties on his own and he admits he couldn't have done it on his own.           

Simms originally planned to buy a house to live in using a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. His goal was to eventually make a final payment and then own his home free and clear.           

"I realized after a while there were better ways to profit from real estate," said Simms.           

He found the better way through NorthPoint. http://www.gotonorthpoint.com The company changed Simms' thinking and his investment portfolio while giving him a first-class education in real estate investing.           

"Everyone I had talked to said you had to know the market [you plan to invest in] intimately. It can be very intimidating for someone who has just bought a house and had success but doesn't really know what the next step is and wants to make a safe move," said Simms.           

NorthPoint got Simms out of his own back yard where he had become priced out of the market. Instead, the company introduced Simms to multiple markets with solid potential.           

Simms said that NorthPoint provided him with current data, statistics, and market conditions of various possible areas to invest. NorthPoint's research identified markets that have the strongest fundamentals for sustainable growth. This gave Simms a complete understanding and the confidence to invest.           

"We believe there has not been a better time to invest money in real estate in the last 20 years," said Richards.           

It's more than just a belief. Richards said, according to the National Association of Realtors, the markets where his clients are investing with NorthPoint's help are all appreciating and he says national predictors of risky markets have classified the markets that NorthPoint currently invests in as low-risk.           

"When you look at Private Mortgage Insurance's risk rating, each of our markets resides near the lowest side of risk. So, we have hand-selected markets that, again, we feel are tremendous performers over the long haul based on their fundamentals; it's no different from looking at the fundamentals of a stock," said Richards.             

Richards said that the cumulative supply that exists on the national market makes this a tremendous time to buy real estate.           

"When you look at the very large publicly-traded builders-although they have regional markets like ours that are performing well-they ultimately have supply around the country that they need to consume to get back into a balanced market," said Richards.           

"I had to secretly keep my jaw from dropping," said Simms about his first experience touring an area with a NorthPoint Market Analyst.             

The research data is incredibly hard to come by, said Simms. "I have been on the Internet; you have to pay money for research tools and information of that caliber. I asked Steve Roesch, the NorthPoint Market Analyst, where he gets this information from and why I didn't have it," said Simms.           

The answer: a multitude of sources including strategic relationships. With years of experience on Roesch's side, he builds long-lasting business relationships with industry influencers such as politicians, Realtors, and developers.           

"Roesch basically knows a lot of information I could never have access to," said Simms.           

NorthPoint's philosophy stems from what you might call a glorified "personal shopper plus" mentality. NorthPoint does it all for the investor, closing the gap in a niche market that's long been in need of this type of full-service quality customer care.           

"Besides NorthPoint we are not aware of any other national intermediary or service provider that provides a national full-service solution for the individual real estate investor for the one-to-four-unit residential real estate investment market," said Richards.           

"They help you find the best house on the best lot on the best block, in the best neighborhood, in the best growth area of the country," said Simms.           

Then the company helps you purchase it and manage the property. Richards knows that finding financing for investment properties is often a challenge, so the company has established strategic partnerships with the nation's premier lenders to offer competitive financing options.           

"If traditional investors went out on their own and tried to acquire financing on a five-year interest-only arm for an investment property, they would probably be getting a mortgage rate somewhere around 7.50 to 7.75 percent," said Richards.           

But NorthPoint leverages its competitive position in the marketplace to get in to great appreciating markets at discounted prices and with tremendous features in the homes being bought.           

"Today as an example, we can offer financing on a five-year interest-only arm for an investment property at 6 percent versus the current market rates," said Richards.           

The corporation currently invests in: Portland, Oregon; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Austin, Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; and Raleigh, North Carolina.           

Following smart money and smart Market Analysts leads to a real estate investment experience that lays the foundation for a solid portfolio to grow your wealth sky high.