Actually the Carleton Sheets course is decent. I don't believe it's worth the $150 - $250 price I've seen. I picked one up for $40. Well worth the money. How can you go wrong?
Last week I started going through the Carleton Sheets course for free online. Just go to http://www.thepeionline.com and click on “Get Started Now FREE!”
Plenty of good info on there… I feel like I’ve picked up a lot already.
ReGrasshopper,
I’m a newbie to real estate investing and have been actively making offers for my first property for the last couple of months. I’m sure my story is not unlike others here.
At one time, I was a financial mess. I had a bunch of credit card debt and bad credit. Like yourself, I thought that real estate investing could get me out of trouble. I bought the Carleton Sheets course. I soon learned that I had to get my financial house in order before that could happen.
The turning point for me was purchasing some Rich Dad books and cd’s. I learned my lifestyle had to change.
I scaled my spending back to a bare minimum. I took a job in the industry I work in now and freelanced/moonlighted on nights and weekends. I started paying down my debt and repairing my credit. I was miserable at that job but I was making slowly making progress. Then, I got laid off from that job. In hindsight, that was the single best thing that ever happend to me!
I now work for myself and have paid off all of my debt. My vehicles and equipment for work are paid for. I have “0” debt and have ample savings to start investing and have reserves for a rainy day. It took some time and sacrifice for me just to get to the point of being able to invest. The CPA I use for my small business has a real estate brokerage as well. I’m working with a great agent who is also an appraiser and investor. She understands exactly what I’m interested in and has actually talked me out of properties that weren’t good for me. Conversely, she has brought properties to my attention that I’d have overlooked. I view this as the start of my “team”. This is my starting point for investing.
For education, I would read or listen to Rich Dad, Poor Dad and The Millionare Next Door. I just downloaded propertymanager’s book and read the first half of it in one sitting. In a word, it’s SOBERING! I recommend it.
My advice to you is to get control of your business and finances by making whatever changes are necessary. Get a realistic view of where you are and where you will be if you don’t change anything! Adjust your lifestyle and live well within your means. Repair and monitor your credit and build up some savings. Then go at it!!
JP
jfpen - great post… How long did it take for you to get control of your financial life? You mentioned that it improved slowly.
I believe most people think they can have a hectic financial life for years and then when they decide that enough is enough and start to fix it, they feel discouraged when it takes time to improve it.
Have a nice day!
Anyone with no money and bad credit should read this post, twice! Sometimes the truth hurts, but it is still the truth. REgrasshopper, we obviously don’t know all the specifics about your financial situation, regardless, it does not seem like a good time for you to commit significant time to real estate. You get a few properties under your belt and it becomes a full time job, I am not exaggerating. Real estate takes more time than you realize. If you are busy with other work all day you will not be able run a real estate business. You should look at real estate first and foremost as a BUSINESS. It runs on the same principles as every other business. If you don’t run a tight ship you will sink. You have to stay on top of every detail of your properties all the time.
I play in the commercial field, but I’ve done some residential stuff. Believe it or not, most of the local “We Buy Houses” investors buy homes “subject to”, not cash. I’m assuming you know what “subject to” is considering the money you’ve spent on education. Now, they have the ability to pay cash, but they usually assume a loan if they can. You need very little money and no credit to assume a loan. You then find a tenant/buyer and do a lease purchase or sell outright. I would highly recommend calling the “We Buy Houses” investors in your area and use whatever means necessary to get their advice. Remember, it’s give and take, so figure out what you can give. Some will brush you off and others will be willing to help you in any way they can. Call ALL of them, not one or two. Just don’t sound desparate, people that sound desparate sound out of control, be professional and don’t whine to them. You will find that some are actually trying to wholesale deals to the actual investors, so not everyone you call be doing anything but flipping.
Ultimately, I would work towards having some capital on hand or having access to it just for good measure, but you have to start by getting your financial situation in order and free up time to commit to real estate. Just remember, if you want something bad enough, you’ll figure out a way to get it done.
I’d say about 5 years. I was in deep. I was living a lifestyle that I thought I deserved. However, that lifestyle wasn’t earned, it was borrowed. Through a consumer credit agency I had a five year plan to be debt free. They were able to adjust my 23% plus credit card rates to around 7-10%. I was on track when in the first year of my plan I lost my job. It was very slow going until I was able to start working for myself. Then I finished the plan almost 2 years ahead of schedule. The last three years have been spent networking and investing in my own little bread and butter non-real estate business. All my credit scores are above 750 now.
JP