Hey Guys, My name is Cooper, Im 26 yrs old from Charleston, SC. Quick little summary of me. I have been interested in Real Estate for as long as I can remember. I am an entrepreneur at heart and it shows from the fact that I have jumped from about 5 jobs in the last 2 years (never fired, just better opportunities). I wasn’t a great student, however I did graduate with a degree from the University of South Carolina. My problem is I have always had people (my parents, friends) tell me to get a safe job with good benefits and save for retirement. Nobody has ever taken me serious about me doing my own thing and eventually working for myself. I understand where they are coming from because that is what they did and they have had good lives and are happy. But I’m the type of person who wants to take some risks and wants to see my hard work pay off for me, not somebody else. With all that said it leads me to where I am at now.
Im 26 and working another job where I just can’t get motivated because it’s all for someone else, my voice is not heard, my hard work makes someone elses pockets fatter, not mine. And the whole time I’m at work, all I’m wanting to do is learn and study more about REI. It’s just not the lifestyle im looking for. Im sure many of you can relate. That leads me to my next step in life.
I’m ready to take the plunge into RE investing. Problem is, with the job and bills I have, I am not able to save hardly any money I make. So my savings are pretty slack at the moment. I have been focusing my attention to wholesaling to get me started. I have a pretty good strategy to come up with a buyers list that I have learned from a wholesaling course I purchased for a pretty reasonable price. However from reading a few posts on this board I have found that it might be a better idea for me to look into Lease Options to get started. So Im at the moment stuck on where to focus my attention. I am also thinking about looking into finding a mentor of some sort I could follow around and do some work for to get my experience level up. I guess what I am looking for is advice from people who have been in my shoes and maybe some encouragement to get me started. I am as motivated and excited about getting started than you can imagine and i know that when I do get started and rolling I will be successful because I truly believe it and have a very competitive spirit. I’ve written down my goals so it might give you a better idea of what I’m looking to do. Any suggestions and criticism is welcome, I can take it. Like I said I am still learning. Here’s my goals though.
GOALS: (REI only, not life)
2011 - Create buyers list, join RE club, do 2-3 LO or wholesale deals, find mentor or internship, keep learning…
2012 - 1 LO or Wholesale deal a month, flip 2 mobile homes, buy my own house, keep learning…
2013- QUIT MY FT JOB!!! (work for myself), 20 LO or Wholesale deals for the year, flip 2 single family homes, buy rental property for cash flow (duplex, multi unit apartments, college house, etc…)
2020 - Retire, live off cash flow from multiple investments (rental propertys, commercial rentals, storage units, land, stocks, etc…) , Be able to give advice and help others out on there way to their real estate dreams…
PS…I DREAM BIG…but I believe it can happen and I’ll work my tail off to make it happen. I also know that REI is not a get rich quick scheme. It takes hard work and a lot of knowledge, i know this.
With all that said, bring on the feedback…positive or negative. I plan on posting often to keep a written journal of my progress. Thanks and sorry for the length.
- Cooper P