I have 6K cash for real estate investing. No more no less. What are my options for generating more money from this?
Wholesale marketing
You asked a number of questions in a number of threads recently. You also mentioned various developments going on with you.
First, you mentioned not only you’re moving, but not sure where you’re moving to. About a week or two ago, it’s “Savannah or bust”, but now it’s which city is good for millennials.
Then, looks like you’re not settled on a profession or business. You said your landscaping equipment is old and inadequate, the weather in the summer was too hot to do it, and manual labor is too much for you. From this we could tell why the business is not a great success.
Third, you were asking about living in a car or a garage. Believe you have so many issues you should tackle the important ones first and go on from there.
Then, you have a real estate license for Georgia that is no use if you move to Texas. And you asked about going back to college.
“Ears”, if you move somewhere, find housing, you have to decide and settle that quickly. The problem with moving to a part of the country you know absolutely nothing about is it’ll take time to familiarize yourself to the terrain, local customs, establish contacts. You’ll have to start anew with a landscaping business, and take time to learn the local real estate market. You have demonstrated that you read books, took the courses, hung around REI clubs, websites, and still don’t know where to start.
My suggestion is to hold on to the $6,000 till you know where you’ll be or what you’ll do. Your’re one step away from a homeless shelter if you’re not careful. So don’t waste it on marketing in an area you know nothing about, let alone knowing where to start.
Let’s talk about RE investing for a moment. I’m from NYC and thought NYC was too expensive, and always been. In 1983, I considered Philadelphia and upstate NY where it’s much cheaper, Philadelphia prices back then was 1/3 that of NYC. Finally I decided on NYC because I lived here all my life, it’ll take me too much time, and travelling to learn an entirely new area. Good thing too, I bought 3 properties by 1984, and the real estate market crashed here in 1987. But prices already doubled in NYC between 1983 and 1987 and I would’ve missed a whole cycle had I decided to learn a whole new area.
I also started businesses from scratch and it’s tough. I didn’t spend enough time and effort on marketing. Finally, I bought one, an established one for over 30 years. But the key here is you’ll need time and money to do marketing in either case. There’s no free lunch.
Good luck.
I was forced into starting my own business because nobody was hiring me or if they hired me the job paid too little and or I encountered difficult coworkers. I spent half of my career just applying for jobs and being rejected during the great recession. Its hard for older folks to fully realize how this is.
Get hired is not so easy anymore. Id love to have a steady job that pays enough to survive. It would be so easy. And after a couple years of that I could afford a house or property of my own. You understand Millenials are making drastically less money then boomers ever did at the same age.
So what Im experiencing sucks but other then giving it my all and constantly trying to better myself, what more can I do? I never sit around watching TV, I never drink, I dont smoke, I dont play video games – all I ever do is keep pushimg through and being responsible and educting myself and I only getting a smidgeon of where others are at, and at a pace of 10-15+ years earlier then me.
I wanted to be a live in property manager. I was not even hired or called back for dozens of jobs in that field, Im talking assistant property manager and leasing agents. Nobody will hire me. A lot of people gettimg those jobs get them through nepotism. Lots of people in real estate are just grandfathered in for free.
You guys are going to go beserk from this stuff. Why? I could see if I was sleeping until noon and drinking beer all night and never studyimg and never trying – that deserves someone to scream at them. But here I am doing everything and still totally failing and doing everything so wrong.
Am I the only millenial in the world who feels totally bombarded by dissappointmens and rising pressure from the new economy?
Im so frustrated. I want to make enough money to survive.
Now I have money saved up. Im so tired from doing everything alone. You guys had families supporting you in your corner I don’t.
I think saving my $6000 is smart advice. I will have to sit down with a pencil and paper and write down some ideas about what to do with it.
My first landscaping business attempt made practically no money. I was new to the area and knew nobody and had zero business skills. It was started on $300 and it was excruciating.
My second attempt at a landscaping company is what I have today. It was started on literally $100. Its been better but still Im struggling.
Ive been learning the business ropes the hard way that is for sure but its slowly getting easier or Im just developed stronger skills with business, or Im just calloused from it all. The reading of books helps since I do not yet have a business mentor other then this site.
Im not going to Savannah.
Yes the manual labor and heat is tough on me. In summer after 5-6 hours Im done. Sometimes less. I dont like it.
Real estate in nyc is different since 1983. The middle class is practically wipes out. I am moving back and need to rent a room anywhere near the city. Inexpensively as possible. $600-750 max per month and it can be alternative rentals like a living room space. Let me know if you have any leads on a decent room to rent because Im almost packed up, seriously, and ready to leave in a few days.
“Ears”:
Let me first say, welcome to NYC. Two bedroom apartments goes for $1,600 to $1,800/month. Theres plenty of "find a roommate websites for NYC if you Google it, though I can’t give you a recommendation.You can also try Craigslist. I haven’t dealt with roommates lately due to the negative issues I experienced.
Second, I done hiring, training, and supervision of employees throughout my career, either as a business owner, and as a manager in large companies. I don’t know what kind of resume you presented, but if it list your 2 recent lawn mowing services, and as you mentioned, it’s mostly off the books and can’t be verified, its pretty thin. So I can see why you had no luck being interviewed and hired. Employers like to see a solid work history.
You certainly would not be able to qualify for mortgages either, given your work and employment history, as someone had suggested to you buying a house, live in the basement, and rent out the house. And from your posts, I can see you salivating about “no down deals” that only exist in fairy tales, especially in the NYC area.
Now if you’re 55 and over, which I believe you are, here in NYC you may be in luck. My last job was with a NYC senior center, and the local AARP has a job placement program for folks 55 and over. In fact, when I retired a short while ago, they provide training and paid a prospective employee the first month or two of the salary, so a potential employer can try you out first. My replacement was hired this way.
Then, the city itself has a Title V program, federally funded that you can apply for, where they put you through job training, pay you currently 25 hours a week at the current NYC minimum wage of $11.50/hour. You may have to check residency requirements. If you get in, you get to stay up to four years where they pay you while you look for work. See:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dfta/html/volunteering/job_training_and_placement.shtml
The agency I worked for always had a few “Title V” folks on the payroll. People I met in the program usually cannot find employment because their skills are obsolete. Mostly its folks working for a large companies for 20 to 30 years or more, working at the same job, like computer entry, or customer service, replaced by automation or outsourcing to call centers in India.
So, hurry up, finish packing, and Good luck.
Appreciate the response, Frank. You can probably sense the frustration in my typing. Im glad you know not to take it personal. Im pissed off.
I’m in Atlanta still. I’m not older. I’m in my 20’s. A millennial. Would like to find similar government help. Thanks for the info and guidance again
I think you need to change your mind All Ears. Reading your posts all I hear is the same whining about being a millennial and others have it easier.
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Don’t compare yourself to others- it’s false information because you don’t know the whole true story, you’re making it up. Ask yourself, always, “is this true?” Then ask yourself “do I know for sure this is really true?” You might find you’re jumping to conclusions and bringing yourself down for no reason.
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Life is what you make of it. Practice gratitude. Think of things to be grateful for and list them off. That will help you with an attitude adjustment. E.g.: I’m thankful for my eyesight, and to live in america, for access to the internet, for the sun today, for people to reach out to when I need help that will give me varying advice…
And with that $6000…that’s a great start. But don’t be stupid with it. What are you going to do with it? What are your goals? What’s the next step in achieving your goals?
yea wholesaling will probably be your best option. I would invest some money into yard signs and simple marketing on facebook
Why not direct mail?