I am looking into REI, but am petrified of making a big mistake, small ones I can probably live with, I have a FICO of 750+, don’t live quite paycheck to paycheck, I dispise remodeling(used to be a profession and have sworn to NEVER do it again) so I would rather not refurbish, but feel really squimish about rentals, as I used to manage a 110 unit complex and SAW and SMELLED just about all the horrors you hear about. I went to a seminar a couple of years ago, but couldn’t come up with $25K to invest in realestate in Las Vegas. As for time, I have some, not a lot, but my wife is willing to help (always a plus), I have read “Rich Dad”, “Cash-flow quadrant” even played the game a couple of times. I don’t really even know where to start, I talked to a RE broker a couple of times, but he wasn’t really that helpful. If there is anything that anyone can do to help me find a good place to start, or any more information that would be of use to know, please let me know. I don’t know where to start, how to start, or even if I should start.
Also, very little down, probably not enough to mention
Find a deal and pass it on to another investor for a few thousand.
Example. Find a 50,000 house selling for only 20,000, but it for 20,000 and pass it on to a investor for 23-25,000. This requires no money for you to do, do if your not confident in your skills, you have nothing to lose.
Just read through all the forums, some good stuff here.
Yes, you are a lost cause for real estate investing. You say in your post that you are basically adverse to risk; don’t want to remodel; don’t want to deal with tenants; don’t have much money to invest; and don’t have much time - I think that just about rules out being a real estate investor. I’d move on!
Good Luck,
Mike
Well, you don’t HAVE to do the work on a remodel. You can manage the process. You don’t HAVE to manage your rental property yourself. You can hire a property manager and take a hands off approach if you want. It’ll cost you. With all that said, why are you looking into REI? What do you hope to gain from it as opposed to other investment vehicles? I think a RE broker may have a hard time helping you if you don’t what you want. Don’t go spending a lot money on seminars and programs. Read more books that go into more detail about different types of investments than the “Rich Dad” books. They’re O.K but not specific enough. One book I like is " The millinare Real Estate Investor" by Gary Keller. If you read enough cheap books and these forums while asking questions, you might find an area that suits you. Don’t spend a lot of money only to find REI is not for you. Good Luck.
Okay, I appreciate your honesty, thank you
Ask yourself if you want it badly enough. Badly enough means will you do whatever it takes?
If the answer is no, you are lost cause.
If the answer is yes, there is hope.
The idea of raising cattle, feeding them, cutting their nuts off, and whatever else I have to do to them, so one day I can slaughter and chop it up into little pieces of meat is not my idea of a good time.
However Give me a good piece of rib eye and a charcoal grill and I can cook one heck of a steak…
Point being that you can hate a lot about this profession as long as you find the niche you’re willing to work within.
As long as you have the drive to succeed and have a pair between your legs you will be fine… Certainly there will be days you will get bucked off. Just dust yourself off, learn from your mistakes, and get back on. Hell if this job was easy everyone would do it…
Michael
I would not think of you as a failure or lost cause @ this point. I startedcontracting and wholesaling in 02 and this was following a period of 10-15 years of fence riding and rationalizing , you know the drill, the first real step is the hardest and can take a little time to get around to. Sounds like you just have not run onto the right person to send you on your way down the REI trail. Interestingly enough, if you care to know, the individual whom served this very purpose for me was actually intended to be a fin savior of sorts highly recommended to me by my church counselor. He turned out to be blessed w/ something less than honor. He may have had several very under handed transactions and was frequently flatout dishonest. He was just sort of a rich acting jerk in short, a chiseler. Later I learned that I was just a mule for him to pay a sliver / deal while he took down obscene profits, and the silver lining was this fact; there was NOTHING restraining me from taking my deals elsewhere to flip up to other investors. Point being; Though he conned me into REI, he succeeded in gaing my trust and I used that to get off my pockets, this was the purpose he served in my life. I hope you get off your pockets one way or another, but don’t expect a smooth stress free ride, just buy the ticket and ride the ride. Learn from everone you come into contact w/, and dispense w/ the pity party posts, go get a shack under contract and post in the appropriate forum! I’ll be looking for it…
Well, we are long time rental property investors in Las Vegas. The worst smell we ever came across in one of our rentals was dog pee in the garage. Rental investing is better than ever now - with low acquisition prices and high rents. The rental income is steady and reliable and rates are going up every time we start a new lease.
If you are willing to get over your squeemishness over rentals, no better time than now to get back to investing in Vegas. Oh and another thing, we put 20-30% down on all our rentals, so you should definetly save up if you want the best deals with the best possible cash flow.
Good luck!
Start with wholesaling and thank God you did not invest your $25k. Lots of wholesaling material on this site. After a few deals, you need to get into commercial property. No remodelling, no cleaning etc. The rent will be enough to pay a property manger AND still get a decent monthly cash flow!