How do you find an investor?

General Real Estate Investing
1

Good Afternoon Everyone,

My husband is very interested in the world of real estate investing. He has bought various programs and has done tons of research. I would like to know how one would go about finding a real estate investor that would be willing to show a newbie the ropes? We are in the DFW area so there must be several in this area, I just don’t know how to find them…lol I know that once he is able to learn hands on that he can be very successful, but it’s just getting to that point.
Any advice you can give is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Jennifer

2

Hi Jen,

Sorry for my ignorance, but what is the DFW area?

I am in the same boat as your husband, brand new, ready to do my first wholesale deal. Contemplating quiting my job as a mail man to go full time, and I have yet to get a check!

That’s crazy…but something I am seriously considering.

When you despise your job as much as I, crazy seems incredibly sane.

Anyhow, I wish you luck finding such and investor. It’s kinda like showing your competition all of your secrets…which is not something a lot of business owners care to do.

At this point I have absolutely nothing to lose and nowhere to go except for up…so I’m just going to jump in with both feet and see what happens. If it doesn’t work out for me, there are always a million dead-end jobs out there waiting for me :wink:

If your husband has all that information in his head, all he needs now is to apply it in the real world. So tell him not to delay any longer, and just get started.

Waiting for a mentor might take a little too long and who knows how quick he can close a deal if he gets out there.

Just my inexperienced two-cents.

GOOD LUCK!
Keith

3

Hi Keith thank you for your two cents. DFW area is Dallas/Ft. Worth.
It sounds like you’re in the same boat as my husband. He despises his job and would be willing to jump into this with both feet. But I on the other hand would like a little more information and stability before I left him take that leap. We have our own mortgage and kids to support and me being the planner that I am I always want to know where the stable money is coming from.
With that being said I also do not want to squash his dreams of making this all a reality with my cautious nature.
I have so many questions like where do you get the money to get started? What type of lawyer do you need for this type of venture? Do you need friends in the banking industry? If so how do you get them…lol? So many questions and these aren’t even the half of them.
Thank you for your reply and any additional information anyone can provide is greatly appreciated.

Jen

4

ahhhh Dallas Fort Worth…that makes sense.

Wow, it seems not only are your husband and I alike, but you are very similar to my wife. I mean, If I quit my job, we not only lose $50K/yr. salary but also nice benefits.

I just have to do what I hate doing for another 26 years and I can get the retirement…NOT GONNA HAPPEN.

So I made my wife a little deal: We just got a settlement offer from our credit card company. If we can raise $1,800 by June 13th, 2005 we can pay off our balance which is more than double that.

I told her, if I could close a real esate deal by then, with a big enough check to at least pay that $1,800 and put a little in the bank, that I could quit the Post Office and go full time.

That’s all the motivation I need, believe me!

Maybe you and your husband could make a similar deal. If he can close 3 deals in the next 45 days, he gets to quit his job. Or something like that. See how fast he moves with that deadline.

As for your questions:

I have so many questions like where do you get the money to get started? The only cost of flipping a house wholesale I can think of is a title search. For this, if you don’t have it, borrow from a friend or someone. I wouldn’t lose a couple of grand because I couldn’t raise a couple hundred.

What type of lawyer do you need for this type of venture?
Real Estate attorney. Again, shouldn’t need one to wholesale.

Do you need friends in the banking industry?
Not for wholesaling, although a friend like that can NEVER hurt.

If so how do you get them…lol?
I don’t know, as soon as I get one ill let you know how I did it ;D

5

I was in the same boat as far as a Job I hated! That was back 10 years ago and jumped in with both feet and I am sooo glad I did of course I am not saying quit your job ( I don’t like anyone at all blaming me down the road LOL) I now am 30 years old own quit a few rentals and even more notes! And no longer work the daily grind. I woke up on my 30th birthday and told my wonderful wife that I was done tried to retire totaly and after two months of sitting around drinking coffee with my 72 year old uncle and his buddies decided That was not for me! so I started doing deals again! Oh and buying toys that I really needed (wink wink) it is a great life just do it right! have a great day

6

so. i am new to the to BUT if you search hard enough you can find a mentor. i have one that i just stumbled upon and he is great. getting some one to help you hands on is great. i havent made any money yet but i can see it comming.

7

Same situation here. I will be moving to the D/FW area here in about 6 weeks or so. I don’t have a mentor, but I’d love to find one.
Since i don’t know anyone in this area, I have been looking at the real estate classified network ads and found several REI clubs in the D/FW area. Thats my first step, attend a few of those and try and network with other investors. Eventually through these meetings and contacts , I’m definately going to find someone thats willing to help. Maybe try that and see what happens.

8

Hi Jennifer,

I am also new to REI in the DFW area (I live in Celina) and would love to be able to do it full time at some point. I am still in the education phase. I have previously been a mortgage banker and a licensed realtor on 2 different occasions, so I have a little background.

Check out this website: http://www.aireo.org/

It is a real estate investors club in Dallas. This would be a good place to meet other investors and network, and maybe even meet someone who would be willing to mentor. I have not yet attended a meeting, and unfortunately my real job will take me out of town so I will miss the June meeting. Hope this helps.

Marty

9

I want to thank you all for your help. I am so glad that I found this board. Talking with other people in the same situtation we are in and talking with people who are where we want to be is very helpful and getting me very excited to join in this venture with my husband.
Marty we are actually pretty close to you as we live in Royse City. Thank you so much for the link to Aireo we will definately be attending the meeting in June.
Again I look forward to getting to know all of you and I appreciate all of the great helpful responses you have already given me.
Jen

10

Jen,

You might also try dfwrein.com. It is another local investor group. They tend to have a lot of educational type programs, but I have not been real crazy about their forum. What type of real estate investing is your husband interested in. There are so many aspects, it is hard to give advice without know what he wants to do.

Wilson

11

here’s a couple thoughts:

  1. have you every been self-employed; it has it pluses and minuses. along those lines, how would your financial picture be if you had no income for 1 month? 3months? how about 6months?

  2. how much RE investing have you done? make sure you like it (and know what you are doing) before you make it your occupation. it is much easier to “test-drive” as a part-time (i.e. moonlighting investor) before your jump in “with both feet”

Not trying to scare you but some things you should really consider from a practical sense.(forget about the millionaire in 90 days/making $50k/ mn stuff; if you are really, realy good and lucky this might happen). The grass always looks greener from the other side.

Just some thoughts from a well-educated and professional guy who has doing REI for 8 yrs (~20 deals), been self-employed (not REI) for part of the time (by choice). Can you make really great money in REI? Yes! Just do things that make sense for your situation and personal style.

Best of luck

12

For a newbie, I partnered up with a title company they were small and very helpful. ANYTIME I called with a question they answered. ANYTIME I started going in the wrong direction they corrected.

You have to find someone to close your deals for you and they don’t charge by the hour like an attorney does.

13

Well first you go to the closest indoor bathroom and turn on the light, look in the mirror. What do you see? Just Kidding as I am new to this group. My name is Tony and I live North of Atlanta Georgia. In 1995 I was in the same situation as many of you are now I had a job with good benefits and good enough money to keep me working at Lockheed Aircraft for 17 years. I hated every day of it and had 17 more years before I could retire. I have never regretted leaving. I have earned a good living investing flipping and developing real estate every since. Is it risky only if you don’t do your homework yourself on every deal. Build your own skills and confidence for you will use them over and over. Learn how to analyze properties and markets (both sales and rentals). Find you a real estate agent or become one yourself, a closing attorney and a title company to work with. These can be great assets. Good Hunting!
Tony Roland

14 
If your just looking for an investor to learn from I would find a local real estate BROKER (as opposed to agent) that is experienced in the exact kind of investing you want to get into and pepper him/her with questions while implying future commisions from repeated business resulting from their execlent guidance.
If your looking for an investor to invest, I would concentrate on finding the great deals and the money will come easy, I have seen many people including myself,  find out via talented mortage brokers that they never needed an investor at all.
15

I was looking for a mentor myself and wasn’nt having much luck. I contacted Claude Diamond, but of course, he wants to be paid for his services, I contacted the owner of another RE website and I never even got a response from him - and he’s someone my family has been dealing with for quite a while and I know a home builder here where I live, but that just didn’t sit well in my gut. Soooo…

I decided to just go ahead and call a Mortgage Broker (whom I’ve talked to many times before RE was my dream) and guess what? I found someone who does exactly what I want to do. He’s steering me in the right direction and telling me some things I need to know to get deals done when dealing with FSBO’s and home builders.

EXACTLY what I was looking for. Sometimes things just fall into place when your least expecting it.

16

Scorpio, RedRoom, and Clay - you’re making me grin from ear to ear! Now I see I know LOTS of potential mentors!!

Actually, I guess it would even be ok to have more than one - I envision myself taking them to lunch and pick, pick, picking their brains.

17

I have been reading through the postings and am a little confused. Some people mentioned that a real estate broker would be a good asset and another person mentioned a mortgage broker would be. Can someone clarify why these two figures are useful? Why a mortgage broker? Also, what is the difference between a real estate broker and a realtor when it comes to how much they can help a newbie with RE investments.

Thanks,
Investudent

18

I hear you all. I have along with my siblings become an investor in the South Miami area. I am a teacher full time with fourty three students and now self employed as of the month of May. Talk about jumping in with two feet.

I/we have attended seminars, read, read, read. I must make this work. I am so, so new at all of this.

I really would benefit from a mentor. As posted earlier, I have noticed that it is really hard to find a mentor as an investor that wants to work with you. (Just what I have found).

19

You’re Mortgage Broker can help with lenders, finding the right financing and getting you the best rates. Mine happens to be in my niche with many L/P’s, so he is an awesome source of information and knows what kind of assistance I need just starting out. He even helped me with my negotiating skills. If you’re just starting out, as I am, his words of advise were - “just tell them how you want to do the deal and be honest. The worst they can say is no. You can then counter or leave it and move on.” SIMPLE!!

I also work with a home builder (the person I was negotiating with) who happens to be a RE Broker. Not only can I do deals with him, but he can write the contract on site! VERY convenient! He’s been a builder for 25 years and yesterday called me because he had a couple looking for a home to lease. He throws people my way and he also offers information and tells of his own experiences (he has many rentals of his own).

Because I have these two on my side - I’m a very lucky girl!