Advice on going full time

General Real Estate Investing
1

Hi Everyone, I was hoping I could get some advice about investing in RE full time. I live in NY and currently work for a financial company that is closing in the fall. I have been asked by the parent company to stay until the end to assist with the wind down operations. This means I have a job until the fall and with severance I basically have a paycheck for all of 2010.

I have invested in RE or should I say dabbled in RE investing for quite some time but have never given the business the attention it deserves. I now want to change careers and work in RE full time. I have all of 2010 to get my business off the ground. I was wondering what some of the more experienced full time investors had to say about this? What steps should I take to start a RE business, keeping in mind I have 1 year to make it work? Should I get my RE license?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

2

Hello,
I would like to offer my advice & opinion on your desire to become a full-time RE investor. You are in a ggreat position by being able to stay on your job till the fall, and then having severance for the rest of the year. You say you have dabbled with RE…what areas of real estate have you dabbled in?..The area of RE investing that most interests you will allow me to give you my honest opinion. Do you know what area(s) seem the most entising to you?

Depending on the amount of monies that you have to get started with, and the arena(s) you want to pursue, it may or may not be in your best interest to take on RE investing full time…If you could easily transition into another similar job that you currently have in the late fall, you might want to consider this…the reason, it would be nice to have steady cashflow coming in while you are building your new RE venture to an annual protable machine. You are currently used to a weekly check, and depending on the area you pursue, your income may come in on a much different schedule…it may take you a little time to get used to this.

I’m really glad you asked this question, I think we should talk some more so I can have a better idea of what advice to give you. Let us start with what areas of real estate you are most interested in? Also, the capitol you have to start with? And, are you planning to stay in the area you are currently living in near the colleges? Luckily, time is on your side…you have a good 8-10 months to methodically strategize * develop a great plan for your future riches…I reall hope I can be of assistance in developing this plan for you.

Looking forward to hearing back…have a great day

3

Start now by educating yourself in the strategy you choose to begin with. You can’t be all things to all people from the get-go. I suggest you look at options and lease options to begin with. Good luck.

4

Thank you both for you replies. I agree that I am in a good position to start building a business because I have all year to grow the business and profit. I don’t think it would be very difficult for me to find a job in the fall as suggested by taxlienadvisor, but I feel that will defeat my purpose. Is it not reasonable to grow a successful RE business within a year?

When I say I dabbled in RE, i own a house in TX which is currently rented. I also partnered on a multi-family in Florida. I have also assigned a lease option contract. That is pretty much the extent of my experience. I’ve always been to busy with work to dedicate enough time to be successful in RE. That is now changing, as I mentioned. I have this whole year to succeed and I also happen to have extra time on my hands everyday while at work.

AJ, I agree education is very important and I have done quite a bit to educate myself and will continue to do so. I do like the business of lease options and have actually tied up a property and assigned the contract to an end-buyer. I am also interested in wholesaling. Any recommendation on a book or method of marketing for these potential sellers?

5

AJ290’s advice is direct and indeed necessary. Educating oneself to the chosen field would certainly do the job. Good luck to you! :biggrin

6

I question if most ‘full time’ investors are really full time! Many who claim that status also have a full time mortgage broker job, real estate agent job, etc. Investors are entrepreneurs at heart and will typically engage in other endeavors. You buy a strip mall and have a vacancy, the investor will acquire a franchise and become his own tenant and develop another income stream. Others will find their entrepreneur spirit building sales organizations with network marketing companies while they invest.

Your situation is unique as you have a year of income before you need to generate profits from R.E. Investing. If I were coaching you, I would advise to focus on more than one thing to build multiple income streams. A good reason might be the recent fall in the mortgage and real estate markets in mid 2006 and 2007. While I was painfully losing nearly $500k in empty house payments, my other businesses generated over a 6 figure income.

I’ve been investing since 1991 and have completed nearly 400 transactions. Is that full time? Could you have done more working full time? While we were flipping 400 houses, we have an insurance business, a water business, a design business, a music business, a consulting business, all of which generate revenue. Multiple income streams is the safe way to go and that is what I would say to any of my students around the country. Start with doing a concentrated effor on doing one R.E. transaction…then, do another, then another and so on.

Don’t fall into the trap of the significance of a ‘full time’ status. You have plenty of time in the day to do deals and still pursue other business interests, which are necessary in this economy. Also, if you are in a position to obtain corporate work for a high guarantee, and considering this economy, take it!!! You can still invest and profit while involved in other interests.

I’m sure this response will ruffle a few of your ‘full timers’ feathers but how about coming out of the closet on this issue and stop misleading the newbies with this topic. Most of you know you are doing something else…even those of you who lead REIA meetings…I’ve heard many of you introduce yourselves as ‘full time investors’ and then present a commercial for your mortgage lending business…come on and clean this up, if not for your own integrity, do it for the new people entering this great business!!!

One man’s humble opinion.

Rob
R.E. Investor/Mentor

7

Rob, you make a great point and I am sure you are right. I guess when I say becoming a full time RE investor it doesn’t mean I have to limit myself to only REI. I think a better way to phrase it is, I am interested in Entrepreneurship. I think it makes sense for someone to have multiple businesses, if they can. My goal is to leave the corporate world, which I have been a part of for 15 years. I have done well in the corporate world, currently a VP in a financial firm, but I really don’t enjoy it. I’d like to take all the experience I have gained and utilize it in my own business. Real Estate investing is the profession that has always fascinated me, but part of the fascination is probably the way the guru’s sell it. This is why I’m am reaching out to people on forums so I can get a real world perspective on the business.

8

Hey Vanic

Dennis here. I certainly wish you the best either way.

I’ve been at this for 25 years full time. I do have other side businesses, like mentoring real estate investors, but this is my bread and butter.

Here’s my suggestion.

#1 figure out what it takes to replace your current income and write out for yourself how that could be done:

example: wholesale 1 house a month for $4k each.
Obtain on rental cashflowing $300/month

etc.
#2 definitely get yourself educated and connected.

Dabbling in real estate investing is not the same is investing in real estate. YOu have to take the punches that come with it.

#3 Get a mentor and start doing deals.
I definitely recommend wholesaling for starters as you maximize your profits while limiting risk.

#4 Take that year and see if you can match your current income with your real estate investing portfolio.

That’s the proof right there.

I’ve got a power point presentation on my website you can have that shows you all the steps you need to take to invest quickly, profitably, and wisely. Just fill out the Contact form and it’s yours!

I also have links to your local real estate clubs.

Dennis

9

Dennis, That is good information…thank you.

Writing down my goals is something I have always taken for granted and never really done. That is a good step to understanding how to accomplish what I need to do.

Networking is also something I have never been good at…I know I will have to step out of my comfort zone and really get connected.

Thanks for the advice…I will be looking for that presentation on your site.

10

vanic

Good to meet you…

I have to say that the former posts are very good commercials and great advice, nuggets of material, that you’ve been given… I have yet to meet a successful full time investor… I have met a few full time not so successful investors. The difference being that once you learn that this job you’ll then have the opportunity to do other things. Rather it be vacations or water companies… Personally I find it rewarding to help others achieve so I don’t vacation as much as I should.

This business is fairly simple… There are only 3 aspects of it… Lead Generation, lead capture and lead fulfillment… All of which are easily learnable and due able within a few hours a week especially if your goal is to replace a moderate income…

With that said, its the approach you take in the beginning that decides which investor you are going to be … the full time one or the part time one.

I would suggest that you write down your goals … Here is a link to a goal ebook I wrote… http://www.reimentor.us/Goals.pdf

Once you write them down then have a chat with various mentors who have different game plans for you and see which one fit your “person”… Hell I am a gorilla and if your a mouse we arent going to get along…

As you chat with those guys and gals who teach write down some notes that you can refer back to… Reason for this is that we trainers understand how to motivate you and how to get you excited. However getting you excited doesn’t make you any money it only makes us money…trainers are known for the “BIG” you can do it, when in reality we also know that only 5% will do it…

So know going in that you’re applying for a job where the odds of you failing are enormous… Worse yet is this job doesn’t have a severance program or benefits…

In my program for the first few weeks we dont even talk about buying houses… I teach how to set up your business so youre in a position to buy houses. Certainly everyone can get lucky and find a house to buy that makes them money… The trick is to do it over and over on purpose. Then delegate the act of buying to support staff so all you do is cash checks…

After I get you believing that you can do this thing predictably we start finding out what kind of investor you want to be… And move into learning those three parts of the business, generation, capture, and fulfillment.

I could sit here and tell you hundreds of stories of how great I am and the deals I have done… Frankly that seems self serving to me… I would rather kick you into shape so at the end of the day the last thing you say to me is “Michael” you weren’t that smart… Followed by thank you…

Good luck on your house killing

Michael

11

Can’t understand how one can claim to be a full time investor when he is also a realtor, a real estate broker, and a mentor. OK…maybe my 37 years of business experience has led me down the path of being uninformed…go figure!

I still say my So.Cal. colleague is not a full time investor, but that’s one man’s opinion!

Rob
R.E. Investor/Mentor
No Commercial Intended

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13

It is unbelievable how so many new to investing believe that some book ,strategy or mentor is going to make it big for them. If you want to believe thats ,ok by me the tooth fairy is coming to your house too.Full time investing concept is easy, buy low, sell high. It does not matter which strategy, book guru, course or whatever, when the bottom line hits ,it is still the basics of business.
If you have time then spend the time to learn the market for yourself so you know what a bargain is and is not.You won’t have to ask anyone what to do ,you will do it without hesitation. If I said that I will sell this 10 dollar bill for 5 dollars,everyone has a reference to jump on the opportunity. If I say I will sell this 50,000 dollar house for 45000 how many will take it. You won’t because you don’t have a reference of the market. I may not be telling the truth or a lot of other scenarios would talk you out of it. If you know the market you may be able to find a comparable house for 25,000 dollars. Bam you have a reference and you ready to buy. look ,look,look, compare ,compare,compare, that is the only way,or you trust others that do not have your interests as there first priority.
redhawk

14

Good Post…vanic your the man (person).

15

Wow Rob, you left Michael speechless! If Michael has his license so if something comes along he can get a commission for helping someone buy or sell a house, maybe it’s just another way to generate an income stream as you say.
Or is this just a pissing contest to get a newbie to call you instead? There’s an awful lot of name dropping around here as of late. I find it comical that you have to sign your posts with “mentor” while you tell everyone they really need a mentor and you also have it in your signature file. If someone is really that stupid that they can’t figure out you’re a “mentor” by looking at your signature file, you probably would have a hard time working with them anyway…
There are still plenty of people here willing to give sage advice without charging for it. If people need to have their hands held as well as pep talks to tell them they can do this too, they should probably not be doing this.

16

Commentary withdrawn for the benefit of this forum and to support cleaning up this forum. Good job to Michael Q. for leading the way!

17

Hello Y’all

For the record I chose to remove a comment I made regarding a post… I felt the personal issue we posters have should be confined to privacy…

I began posting on rei sites probably 5-6 years ago… Mainly on another site which I left because of the constant fighting between “experts” … It became an insult contest… And very difficult, I imagine, for new investors who want to learn to decide on who was right as the battles became fairly rough…

For a long time this site has policed itself very well… Some of the best moderators in the business. However lately, and I have to admit I fueled the fire somewhat… Maybe a lot… Its deteriorated.

I think there are at least 4 posters, myself one of them, who are advertising as much as they are advising and sometimes we cross the line… I know I have… I will challenge Rob from Atlanta, taxlienadvisor, ReCoachDennis, and others to pull back a little from the Mentor dialog and stick to honest answers which aren’t based upon how good we are…

I think this site is cool… The fact that we can advertise in our signature should be blessing enough… That liberty can be taken away fairly quick I imagine and I bet the silence of the moderators is an indication of the storm that may follow if we don’t…

Good Saturday to all and I hope you’re living the dream…

Michael

18

thanks for the posts Rob & Michael, a lot of good, solid, and ethical strategies…I enjoyed coming back to this thread to see what had been answered.

Are either of you involved with any other forum sites that are as good as this one? Would be interested to visit them if you have any suggestions.

thanks

19

I don’t write on any of the others anymore… However… here is a list of the sites I know of

creonline
The Creative Investor
Naked-Investor (I think they’re a member here too)
Bigger Pockets

There is probably a host of others… Heck I use to have one as well…

All seem to be good… And you’ll find some of the same folks there that are here…

Have a great weekend.

Michael

20

My view exactly. all this “guru” this “mentor” that talk is BS. know your market and you’ll understand what a good buy price is. Talk to some realtors and they’ll share with you the steps of purchasing property the conventional way so you are not in the dark. When you are comfortable with that and want to diversify your buying strategy you reach out to other investors and network(most of the time a fellow investor won’t charge you for this information as long as you’ve fostered a good relationship with them).
Happy investing.

Kamere Realty Group