Starting Out
We all know that investing can make people very wealthy and successful. People sometimes belive that the whole thing is "too good to be true" or that "you must buy a package to get started" This isn't true.
When I first started out, I was just turing 19, working full time at the Home Depot at 4 a.m. and trying 2 balance school, to get an education and be somewhat successful. I had always wanted to try real estate as a career, but I always though I need money to play with.
I was soon mistaken. I talked to people who were also getting into investing, and they suggested local REI clubs to check out, so I did just that. I ended up meeting my futuer partner, and he took me under his wing, and showed me the ins and outs of foreclosures and wholesaling. Not only did he do that, but I began to search for properties for him, and we ended up splitting profits, because I was becomming so good at it, and making him wealthy.
I am now turning 20 in January, and I have another partner, now making two, that does the same thing with me. I find the deals, do the leg work, and get paid from the profits. I do anywhere from 1-3 deals a month, and for 20 years old, the money I'm making is almost fairytale.
To make this long story short. Get out there and educate yourself. By telling people that your a newbie and that you want to be taught, the people who can help you and use you the most might pass you up. Tell them you have an idea what your doing, and ask them basic questions that just look like your touching up with them, rather than asking them what to do. An example would be "So where did you usually go for your souces to find properties, I just want to see if we try the same system." I used to use that line ALL the time, and 9 out of 10 times, it worked.
Keep your head up guys. The road to golf 4 times a week and long vacations with your loved ones is JUST around the corner.
I really enjoyed your article birddog1, I am new to the investment game and I have been a member of this site for a couple of months. I have developed concrete feet because for of the same reasons listed by kdye43. I am a real esate agent in Atlanta and I see wholesalers list propery with an ARV of nearly twice the common sense value. So I believe I will start doing the leg work myself by picking up a monthly foreclosure listings in my areas of interest. Thanks again for the encouraging words.
Man its great to see some one my age in the same situation as me out in the REI field. Its kinda tuff for me being as young as I am (Im all most 21) and haveing as little money and credit as I do to be in REI. So its realy good encouragement for me to see some one like my self doing great at REI, I hope to get some deals going soon so I can at least come close to your sucsess Birddog1. Keep up the good work.
i'm 22 and i have one deal that i'm currently selling now. dont let the age thing scare you off or let the money/credit thing scare you off... i have no money and piss poor credit, not bad credit... piss poor credit.. but i still have a house that i'm selling and i'll probably get 10k out of it, but who cares?! i'm still selling a house that i've put in $10 for and i'll walk with 1000x as much. Dont wait for soemthing to happen, get in, find someone at your local REI meetings to take you under this wing...
i sound like a sales pitch... "Act now, dont wait, houses are standing by waiting for you."
Yes. I love younger people doing it. I'm 18... was going to get into investing and then got starting into being a real estate agent. I know a lot of people through my parents so I am going to be doing that until I can afford doing some investing. Then I will do both! Lol. My long time goal is to probably become a developer, or retire early with a lot of passive investments... but I don't think I could ever lose the joy and love of business. I couldn't ever stop once I get started.... Good luck! What better of time to have money? When you're young and can enjoy it.
Chase Gochnauer
Chase:
You're 18, just starting out and already your talking about retirement???? Set your short term, medium term, and long term goals. For now, keep focused on the present and take one step at a time.
I can't tell you how many people I know who planned to retire at 40 who are still working at age 65. LOL
Hey, Sammy lay off the kid, heh as a 23 year old here, I definately want to retire at 40. You gotta have goals as opposed to just looking forward to every Friday like many of my peers.
I think you and I are somewhat in line, but I say focus on the future, screw the present. The future is where you will spend the rest of your life. If you want to retire at 40, it's easy. Figure out how much money you need, take how much you have, currently, and discount it 20 years to figrue out the rate of return you have to earn.
Your friends that talked about retiring at 40 probably only did just that.
Good article birddog1...I have been educating myself for about 6 months now with books, courses, and this site of course (which I have found to be the most helpful of all). I feel though like I am at knowledge overload. I have not made deal 1 yet and am having a hard time pulling the trigger. I really want this to happen for me and I know I can do it. I have made a couple of good contacts from this board who have helped me along, but it is soley up to me to move ahead. I am really interested in lease options and wholesaling, and that is what I have been spending a great deal of time on learning. I have my goals written out and plans made, and I know where I want to be in 6 months to a year....but no deals yet. Can you give me any advice on how to get over this plateau I have hit?
Thanks again for the article and good luck to you and your success
Birddog1,
I would first like to say excellent post. Articles like this give new investors motivation to get started. I agree 100% with everything you said. I just want to add this very important part. Newbie Investors, YOU HAVE TO BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL WHEN PICKING YOUR MENTORS. Nothing referred to you Birddog1, but I'm in Atlanta and there are a bunch of fraudulent investors here. They especially looking for new investors that are so anxious to get started and they are prime targets for these unethical people. What they do is tell the newbie that they have a property for them to by. They also tell them that they can get cash at closing, usually $25,000 or so. They then tell them to hold the property and rent it out. What happens after a year, the newbie investor spends most of the money and then tries to sell the home only to find out that they have a house with about $50,000 or so in upside down equity. The newbie has been a prime suspect of loan fraud. I am by no means trying to scare you into not getting a mentor. I'm just telling you what could happen and does happen at times. My recommendation is to do like Birddog1 and LEARN HOW TO DO THE LEGWORK. As soon as can, learn how to pull comps. Get contact with a realtor. Analyze your mentor. Meet with them if possible. Are they professional looking, seem credible at all, or are you seeming too overly anxious to get there help. That leaves you open to get taken advantage of. There are numerous ways to get taking advantage of, but learn the basics and you can avoid most of the scams. I actually had one investor try to sell me a home. I asked her the address of it and what was the price. They said they would sell it for 185K, and it needed no work, and I could sell it for 230K easily AND THEY SAID THEY ALREADY HAD AN APPRAISAL AND NOT TO GET ONE. They said I could pull out 35K at closing. So I said let me get back to you on that. I checked MLS and the tax records on the address. The person on MLS had just sold the home for 75K and it needed 25K repairs. 100K total investment. Comps in the area were around 120K. Hmmm. I said how did they come up with 230K. lol. You see dealing with people like this give the good mentors and investors a bad name. Again, not trying to discourage, but be extremely careful who you select. If they immediately say they have a property for you, that should be a red flag. If it's so good of a deal, why wouldn't they sell it. Just my 2 cents, or might I say 10cents (I just typed an article myself in here).
Kyle
Hey man... That is just so awesome. It great to see someone like you creating deals and making things happen...
Congrats man... you have a great life