What is your excuse?

Howdy All:

What is your excuse for not getting started. I have heard them all and have used a lot of them myself. Please feel free to add to the list or discuss why you have not started yet:

Have not formed LLC or Corp to protect assets
No job
No credit or credit is horrible
Bankruptcy
No money for down payment need 20%
Have not found a deal
Flipping is illegal
Need license to be a birddog
Need more education before I start
Too risky
All the houses in my area are vacant and they are just giving them away
Too high priced real estate in my area
Can not make the deal cash flow
Do not like being a landlord
Management expenses too high
Hate Realtors Movie I saw last night “Lemony Snickets”
Can not estimate the rehab costs
Can not sell the house when finished rehab
My hard money lender or attorney stole my last deal
Did not set a goal to get started by a certain date
Meant to read the course/book but just have not

I am sure I forgot a lot of them. There are many posts here that hint to one or more of these. Read my success story http://www.reiclub.com/success-stories.php?id=12 and see how I overcame many of these myself. I have posted here lately about the idea of just jumping in and doing a deal. You surely need to know something about the business and you need a little earnest and appraisal money but there are deals out there and folks are making them happen everyday. Whatever your excuse it is probably not a valid reason. I challenge each of you to set a goal to get started and get out there and do a deal.

I hope we get a lot of discussion here and can get some off you off the fense or sofa and become a successful real estate investor.

Hi Tedjr,

That’s an interesting question you pose. Now that I work in RE and have “seen the light” I always wonder why the heck I didn’t start doing this sooner. Here’s some of the reasons I’ve come up with as to why I waited and why most people will never start. You already touched on most of them:

1. KNOWLEDGE DEFECIT-I knew RE was a great way to get rich but thought that I would have to get formally educated to learn the tricks of the trade. I finally learned I could just go to a bookstore and spend $30.

2. MOTIVATION DEFECIT-I knew RE was a great way to get rich but just sat back and said that I would do it later, when everything in my life was in order. I finally learned that nothing in my life will ever be in order and that now is as good a time as any.

I read your success story and was very encouraged by it. I appreciate all of the helpful free info you put on the forum. Hope this helped.

Dont have the forms (transfer of equity and deed forms) and do not know where to get them.

Beyond looking in the paper and looking at realtytrac, not confident on finding good leads. I want them to FIND ME as much as possible!

Do not have a title company lined up and/or experience in dealing w/them and not getting ripped in the process.

Doubts: getting the mbr to say yes if they are not motivated enough. I have the right frame of mind and I want to help them but how do i overcome their suspicions…or am i simply looking at it wrong. My first day out (yesterday) led to 1 empty property that looked like it had already been rehabed and one “missing” one where the addr simply could not be found, it was in an industrial area anyway.

With a credit score of 570 - 600 depending on which report you look at, and income of 60k in 2002, and then drastically falling to 15k in 03 and 04, not confident i can get the funding needed.

Do not want HML’s inquiring on my credit and dropping it further. How do I get a lender that will say YES the first time around without asking for tax records and credit reports?

Howdy Nomore925:

You have the right attitude and that is about 95 % of investing everything else will fall in place if you know you can do it no matter what it takes. Forms are the easy part and it is just two sheets of paper you can copy and print off the electronic box you are looking at right now.

The last 3 deals no 4 deals I did were from the MLS and one being the multifamily MLS or Loopnet as it is called. It is nice getting Realtors and owners to call you. That just happened yesterday and I put in an offer on a REO that is not on the market.

If the seller is not motivated you do not even need to make an offer in the first place. That is the first thing I find out kind of by verbal offers etc.

Credit score, what is that. Credit check?? If HML’s start asking alll that and w2’s and tax returnsI tell them to take a hike. If I had all that I would not be going to them to do deals and I tell them that too. With the rates and fees they charge they do not need all that stuff.

THats a heck of a success story u got there JR. I havent started yet but I will… Theres quite a few excuses on your list that I’ve been using but for now I will just stick with this one.

IT’s to dang COLD out there!!!

fear of failure. You are working with bog money, so you need to be really educated. That are my fears.
I am still trying to overcome them, since I am a new investor.

"Credit score, what is that. Credit check?? If HML’s start asking alll that and w2’s and tax returnsI tell them to take a hike. If I had all that I would not be going to them to do deals and I tell them that too. "

Well then I want to buy and hold as much as possible, to extract the value of equity to re-invest …etc etc…

If I want to do this to build a system would I be looking for HML’s or would I need a traditional loan.??(I would love to get this answered)

I get butterflies in my stomach when I think of holding 3 or 4 properties and thinking of all that interest…

Like yelena says, its big money (from the point of view of a little guy like me).

Im not afraid of risk, im afraid of ignorance. Am I looking to get ripped by a shady lender if that is my strategy?

By the way, I live in the Palmdale/Lancaster CA area.
If there are any lenders listed in the area I would appreciate any pointers.

Just tell me where to look!

ted i really like your attitude and youre motivation thanks!imlooking for agood deal

You guys are great! I have been reading posts on this forum and a couple of others. I’ve learned alot. Although I still have a couple of questions, I am extremely motivated to start. I’ve found a couple of “owner financed” properties that I intend to inquire about. Wish me luck! Also, I plan to research several tax properties and hopefully bid on them next month (if they’re worth it).
I am a procrastinator, so I have to “jump” into this or I’ll never start.

P.S. I would love to hear more success stories from those who did deals with no or little money (especially those in NC). ;D

Thanks again to everyone!

cjterry_nc

Have not formed LLC or Corp to protect assets
—This can be done before or after the purchase----
No job
–Great time to start most Americans are two checks away from BK this will only make you hungry!!!–
No credit or credit is horrible
–use someone else’s and/or is there a better way to fix your credit then to add a mortgage?–
Bankruptcy
–happens to the best of us!! after you file BK its easy to get a loan because you cant do it again for awhile–
No money for down payment need 20%
–re-structure the deal there are tons of ways around this!! (this is by far the easiest objection to overcome)–

Have not found a deal
–Keep looking or look for new places! The deals are everywhere!–

Flipping is illegal
–That is not a problem I have never heard of flipping being illegal!! It may be hard for title seasoning issues but why would our government make something illegal where they make there money?–

Need license to be a birddog
–this is True you need a drivers license its hard to take the bus to look at houses–

Need more education before I start
–just like monopoly after you learn the rules just play the game–

Too risky-
–There’s a risk associated with any activity, whether it’s real estate or not. The point is to select activities that minimize risk how risky is your 401k? or the stock market? its this objection that will keep you in the broke house and that’s more risky then buying a house or two!!

All the houses in my area are vacant and they are just giving them away
–That is why to try to get to the top of the giving list Buy low sell high–

Too high priced real estate in my area
—Real estate is always going up in price if not work in another area—

Can not make the deal cash flow
—look for another deal or structure the deal different—

Do not like being a landlord
–hire a property management company they are fairly cheap

Management expenses too high!
–So is the price of doing it yourself! Pay people to do what there good at it frees up your time to do more profitable things!

Hate Realtors Movie I saw last night “Lemony Snickets”
–Have not seen that movie Realtors serve there purpose–

Can not estimate the rehab costs
–Hire someone to rehab the more time you spend rehabbing the more money you loose remember time=money

Can not sell the house when finished rehab
–Get more creative in your approach there are currently 28,000 houses for sell in Denver I can sell mine in a week!

My hard money lender or attorney stole my last deal
–That’s always the case! until you find people to work with that are worth a _ _ _ _!

Did not set a goal to get started by a certain date
–Yesterday is history tomorrow is mystery today is the gift NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT!!!

Meant to read the course/book but just have not
–Start reading or better yet go to a course it makes you set the time aside

There is no excuse left is there?

Tedjr,
Awesome topic… But the great thing about discussion forums like these is that all the answers to the “excuses” are found right here…

Lord only knows that those are the reasons I was using… But as I found the answers here, that pushed me more and more closer to taking my butt out there and doing SOMETHING…

There is a duplex in my area that is FSBO. I wrote the number down, called the seller and found out the asking price, size, etc… I gathered a few comps from my realty team and noticed that the asking price was actually pretty reasonable so that killed the whole idea of a “motivated seller” even though the seller wanted to sell as soon as possible. I emailed my info to 3 different investors I am developing relationships with and bird dog for and received a response back from one stating that the seller wasn’t motivated enough. That is fine with me, but the point of getting out there and doing it was fun. I am waiting to hear back from my 2 other investors and regardless of how it comes out, dangit I’m trying!

And the more I educate myself and stay active in the various discussion forums, the stronger and bolder I get. I have written a personal real estate plan for 2005 and I will not let anything stop me from making it happen…

So there are no excuses, just get up and go to work.

Excuse me for getting a little excited… ;D

We newbies have to get in the game so we can shed that name… Once a few deals go through, i am going to just be SD vice SD Newbie…

Anyway thanks tedjr for fuel…

Hi, tedjr, how about fear of the unkown and just haven’t a clue as to how to find a motivated seller. This is a great web site.

Howdy ask47:

Those two excuses are as lame as some of the ones I was using for years.

Fear of unknown: What do we know for sure? Nothing. Over 100,000 folks in South Asia were alive only seconds before they perished without any warning except seeing the water wash them away. The sun will rise more than likely tomorrow but not for those poor souls.

No clue how to find motivated seller: Talk to 100 sellers tomorrow and you will find a deal. Look at the MLS, ads in paper, preforeclosure lists, Hud deals at 85 % or so net to them, REO property from banks and other mortgage companies, follow the hearse to the cemetary, estate lawyers, BK attorneys, your neighbor who can not find a new job, the list goes on for sourses of motivated sellers. What did you do today on new Years day to find a deal while sitting on the sofa. I was up at 4 am looking at the paper and found a 6 plex for $85,000 with 10% down no qualifying owner finance that rents for 1500 per month and is all leased. All I need is $8500 and the deal is done. Oh yes I need to look at the building to make sure it is there. Not a super wholesale deal but not bad for a hold and rent with leverage. I bet she will go lower on the down or price or both. I find deals like this everyday, just not enough money and too many deals.

I tell you there is not one excuse that is a valid reason maybe except a coma or other serious health conditions.

I appreciate you pointing out these two and hope I have not personally attacked you. If these are indeed your excuses I had as bad of ones only a few years ago before joining this club and getting my motivation back. Go see The Aviator, it is inspiring.

When ever you go back into the old posts and see something this good you just have to bring it back to life GREAT POST TEDJR

Well, besides many of the reasons listed above unfortunitely, another of my big problems is getting all of the necessary paperwork together. I’m afraid I’ll go out there, actually find a seller, and then have NO idea what the next step is or what contracts need to be filled out, etc.

Can anyone please tell me WHERE I can get contracts? Do you need to just go to a lawyer and ask them to draft up all new documents for you? But then, how do you know what documents to ask them to draft??

I’m very lost…

???

DO WHAT DO YOU BEST OUTSOURCE THE REST!!! Pay a lawyer to do your contracts until you figure it out it will cost you $100.00 dollars and you know it is legal!!pay your appraiser and pay your inspector! The common problem is to many investors try to do to much! I am now very lazy and am doing much better and working alot less then I did!!! pay people to do what they are good at!!!

Howdy Jen5273:

REO has some good advice. You may need someone to help you fill out the contract forms, A Realtor, lawyer, title company agent, friend, another investor, etc. The forms are available at title companies and from Realtors or even on line at your state’s real estate commission’s website. Do get a lawyer to go over the contract to help you get familiar if you feel it is best. Others can help too as mentioned above. Once you have done a few it will become old hat and you will feel easy filling out the forms.

3 feet from the edge, jump or run home… I don’t know.
I am ready to rehab big time I want more time with my family and a healthy life slaving over a horrible job I don’t like everyday has given me dangerously high blood pressure and a bad evening attitude to match. I love building things I have done plenty of house work drywall/carpet/electrical/decks so I know I loved that work and would love this but the unknown is what is hard. Like in the earlier posts. I am always seeing a new requirement. Taxes, paperwork, insurance? Does anyone have time to type out a example rehab?
The step-by-step process and what you actually need before you make an offer on ANY house.

I appreciate everyone taking time to read these post’s even some of you that make so much you could have someone typing the post’s for you. You all dedicate so much time and help to people with no experience and I have to say God Bless you all! This type of site shows we can all come together and create incredible things.

THANK YOU

Hello to all,

Just wanted to say this is a very good post. It made me think back to just about a year ago and to where I was at then.

I had bought a lot of the “Guru” programs myself with no success for over a year, but did not give up.

I am so glad I did not. I later found what gave me the courage to act and move foward on my first deal. I made over $38K on my first deal, and that really motivated me to do more.

After that I was very excited to do more and still am.

Even if you only make $1,000 on your first deal, who cares?

It was a $1,000 more than you started with and you have gained valuable experience.

There is a ton of great information on www.Reiclub.com as well as a lot of great people to help you move forward.

Join a local REI club, get a program that has had good results for others, put a “I buy Houses” Ad in the paper, whatever your niche is get it going, for whats right for you!

I suggest to learn all you can everyday and just start small, but get started if you already have not.

Happy Investing