(ARA) - If you've been in the market for real estate recently, you know prices have gone through the roof. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) the national median existing-home price for all housing types is likely to reach $221,700 by the end of the year.

That's great news, particularly for people like Mike and Erica Bessinger of California. They bought their first home for $139,000 7 years ago and it quickly appreciated.

Most people would just sit on their "nest egg" and wait till they were ready to sell to reap the financial benefits, but Erica credits an infomercial she saw while pregnant with her now 5-year-old daughter for convincing her to tap into the money sooner.

While having trouble sleeping one night, she caught the infomercial for Carleton Sheets' No Down Payment Course, and signed herself up. "I wanted to buy a commercial property with zero down so I did exactly what the course said. I had the bank reappraise my house," she says.

When the appraisal came back at more than double what she had bought the house for, she took out a $225,000 home equity line of credit and used it to put a nice down payment on a 12-unit property.

"We did a tremendous amount of repairs," Erica remembers. They separated the meters and rehabbed the units as they became empty. And once each unit was finished, they raised the rent to reflect the fair market value of the property.

A few years later, they sold both their primary residence and the 12-unit property at a profit, and bought a larger home and 14-unit property, which they are now in the process of rehabbing.

While Mike still works full time as a film editor, Erica spearheads their real estate activities, and since she's able to maintain a flexible schedule, remains a stay-at-home mom to their daughter - without sacrificing the extra income or her go-getter attitude. "It's perfect for me," she says. "People can see that I am really happy. I love it!"

To learn how to jumpstart your future, log on to www.carletonsheets.com. A 30 day trial of the course materials is available now for the low introductory price of only $9.95.

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