Over the past few months I have taken 2 seminars and bought A LOT of programs, books, etc. In November, I attended RObert Allen’s Creating wealth with real estate-the nothing down system. Last weekend I attended the Focus on Foreclosure class and I also signed up for advanced classes and the Mentor program. I tried to explain these things to my parents but they weren’t buying into the idea of buying with nothing down and believe that this is not the time to get into real estate investing in Indy. My brother, who has been in the real estate business for 20 years + says the same thing. I REALLY to make some money as my primary job is not cutting it paywise. Any thoughts, suggestions, etc,? Thanks, Tamsue
Without typing this again, here’s a post I made as a reply in a previous post. I think reading this would assist you. 
Well guys, one person once said that, fear is false evidence appearing real. Don’t kid yourself here, fear in it’s PURPOSE, could be an asset, but fear in itself, is a complete liability.
Fear in it’s PURPOSE, why do we fear? Well, we fear because our current situation or the topic that we are focused on, lacks in details. So we fear the future, we fear failing. There’s a way to get around that.
We also fear out of pain. That cobra snake looking at you and coming your way, causes fear. So we fear feeling that enormous pain that snake will put us through. There’s a way around that as well.
What else do we fear, well some fear success and gain. That means, once I have acquired all these “things,” what do I now do to maintain them? What if I can’t maintain them? There’s a way around this fear as well.
There’s more fears, but overall, my point is this fellows and ladies, fear is a result of a lack of planning. And another saying goes that if you fail to plan, well then you just about plan to fail.
Real Estate Investing is all about planning. A plan to get the property, fix the property, and sell the property. Of course you might say, well, I’m afraid of some things within that process. Well, you just take the fears out by doing ADDITIONAL planning.
While I’m not an enemy of study, I do believe that a lot of real estate students study too much, and the studying doesn’t even apply to what they realy want to do in their career. They study and read books, without even FIRST, having a definite direction they want to go in Real Estate.
Lol, it’s like a college student just going to college JUST BECAUSE their parents said to do so. That student has no plans, doesn’t know why he’s even in college, he’s just there because his parents said so. Then he gets out of college, has a Master’s Degree, but can’t find a place of employment or ends up working in a career he doesn’t really even like.
Bottom line, you have to first know which area of Real Estate Investing you want to do. The next thing, is to figure out what type of income you want, whether it be a residual income or a quick buck. Then you need to study some potential areas of the United States that this would work great in, and more importantly, HOW LONG it would work great in. The next step, go out and attain the TAILORED information that applies to your goal and plan. Become the EXPERT in your Real Estate Investing Niche. Then begin building your team, find a reliable money source, tell that source what you’re planning to do and obtain a letter stating you have a source of capital. Go to your particular area, and begin putting the plan in force.
Do you see how the success comes? The success comes because you have a direct, tailored, unique, niche you are working in. You are doing what you know, and doing it well. You’re not reading all this information, taking all these seminars, just getting overboarded with information. The ONLY information you take in is applying to your niche, and THAT IS WHY you do it well. It’s not magic, it’s direct, tailored, planning.
As you can see, this takes a lot of planning. Do NOT just take the Carlton Sheets course and go out and START. Lol, everybody does that, that’s why majority of people in Real Estate Investing are not succeeding well. They are all chasing the same deals, the same seller, the same buyer, the same area, the same house, it’s just a mess. Don’t do that.
I want you to have a unique and new strategy to succeeding in a particular niche of Real Estate. It’s not magic ladies and gentlemen, it’s planning. You DO NOT just go to a motivational seminar and come out swinging, lol, it anything you’ll come out losing and going bankrupt. The reason is, you don’t have a unique, direct, tailored, FOCUS. You’re not focused in one area, you just are studying “REAL ESTATE” but not a particular “AREA,” hey, there’s a lot in the industry about REAL ESTATE. What area are you focused on? You’ll be surprised as to how, “everybody is doing real estate,” but hardly nobody is focused on doing just ONE PARTICULAR AREA.
I believe in God, I have all the faith in the world, but it takes more than just believing and having faith, you must have a plan. A plan that is unique, a plan that is yours, and a plan that will produce for YOU.
- John
Save your money on those seminars and programs, their making money selling books and information, listen to your brother who is in real estate. Unless I’m wrong every transaction needs a deposit with a contract, normally 10% unless your going for 100% financing. Hard money lenders will normally only give you 70%. If you want to make money quickly go to your township ask for their tax repository list, get a copy for 6 bucks and take the money your spending on those programs and buy some property. Advertise the property for $5,000 with owner financing in your local classified, Put your initial investment back in your pocket and your profit in your sock draw, do this for one year and you won’t need to be at the mercy of the seller! Good luck.
It appears to me that you are a “seminar junkie”. That’s what the gurus call someone who spend a ton of money on seminars and training but never actually get started in REI. If you’ve already taken 2 seminars and read a bunch of courses and seminars, you certainly should have all the info you need to get started. When I started, I spent 1 week completing the Carleton Sheets course and then bought my first property. Real estate is not brain surgery. It requires a LOT of work but is relatively simple.
If your brother is a real estate investor, ask him for help. If he is a traditional realtor, he may not be very helpful (realtors look at things very differently than investors).
Good Luck,
Mike
Well again, to the original poster, while I love people telling me “good luck” as far as success goes, success has nothing to do with luck.
Success is calculated planning.
Here’s what you do. You’ve read the general Real Estate books correct? Pick an area of Real Estate that you want to do, maybe you see lots of potential in that area, maybe you would love doing that area, but pick AN AREA of Real Estate.
Now, go out, use some money to go to a Borders and buy a couple $20 books on the SUBJECT OF REAL ESTATE you want to do.
Become an expert in it, then find the area of the country it works best in, then begin forming your strategy, your team, and doing what you need to do to succeed.
While it appears that “everybody” is in Real Estate these days, hardly “nobody” is doing anything DIFFERENT. Everybody chases the same house, the same town, the same buyer, it’s just a mess. Why not treat this is a career not a job, and pick an area of Real Estate and become an expert in that area?
I’m not kidding, be really an expert. “Expert Flipper,” “Expert Landlord,” “Expert Apartment Manager,” this is how you make money in business. You make money in business by doing something you love (and what you love is where your wisdom is), and doing it well (because you love it, you invest more time in it, so you get more and more wisdom to do it better.
Money in Business = Wisdom in an Area of Business.