In the metaphorical sense of getting out of the “rat race” I wanted to pose a question to any/all RE veterans. Is my third eye really opened about getting out of the rat race if I’m still stuck in it? And, by third eye, I mean is the light bulb of financial success flickering. The reason I ask this is that there are way too many ways to make money in this world, and I’m speaking strictly in the legal and ethical sense here but I’m still stuck at my nine-to-fiver, so to speak. I too have studied in-depth the real estate market, but I don’t have the availability of loans, or even cash like my fortunate novice counterpart who’s starting off with $2M. I guess my question falls more along the lines of not just any newb starting out here, but a newb starting from rock bottom.
My goal is to help others in time, but I cannot position myself as a mentor and help others if I cannot help myself first. In time I will position myself as the foundational guide who will prove to anyone who’s listening that you can start from nothing.
I have positioned myself over the years as a knowledgable employee but nothing beyond that. Currently, I’m investing my time positioning myself as a finder for tax liens/deeds. Little money down, depending on situation, and probable ROI and split 50/50 with investor. Finding investors is a whole other issue as well.
Thanks in advance to any seasoned vets willing to tip their hats with some directional knowledge, and I also apologize for possibly being a little vague.
The only issue with tax liens are the odds of getting a property. If you are planing on doing this simply for the interest that you will obtain off of the investment then I highly recommend doing them… If you are planing on buying them to obtain property then the odds are stacked against you. I don’t know what the exact odds are on getting a property in a Tax Lien situation yet I do know that even personally I have purchased probably well over 250 and never have gotten even close… If you buy liens for vacant land your odds will probably double?? I wish I could tell you exactly what the odds are on getting property and give you an exact answer on that yet I don’t know.
Thanks for the intel FIO! Yes, I am simply looking at a quick, low cost way of getting an ROI and eventual capital. Like I stated before this seemed a decent route for someone up-and-coming with little to start.
Lots of people dream about being able to quit their jobs, but ultimately they keep working for someone else because of fear. Either fear of the unknown or fear of how much work is involved. They may have heard about the guy whose former tenants completely tore up his rental house and abandoned it so they fear rental properties…or the guy who bought a house to rehab and resell but the repairs were way more expensive than originally thought so now he’s upside down and can’t sell the house. They know what is expected of them at work and they have a finite paycheck coming for that work so they stick with the job rather than taking risk elsewhere.
Tax liens may be ok for some income as FIO said, but you’d have to have money to pay the back taxes to start that up. If you really have little or nothing, are you going to have enough money to really get anywhere with tax liens? People also recommend bird dogging (finding properties) for other investors as a way to get started with little money. Maybe one day you can get to the point where you can rehab/resell properties or hold them for cash flow, but it doesn’t sound like you’re at that point yet.
In reality, it may be best for you to take another part time job for some extra money at this point. You could still study different forms of REI and even bird dog, but at least you’d build some money to be able to buy property later.
My aspirations (dreams) are not falling into place due to fear. No, I am certainly motivated but my time is the hard part. I spend my evenings outside of a regular job learning and growing. I just wanted to see here what some of the professionals had to say based on my post and current situation. Thanks for replying and the inspiration.
John,
I saw in your other thread that you’re in the military. I am as well. I’m a Navy pilot. My wife and I have built a rental business over the past five years that brings in well over double what I make thru the military. I know exactly what you mean about having time to do things. I have become very good at time management thru all of this to balance work, our business, four children, and now MBA classes. Set your goals and see yourself achieving them. Look at the little victories along the way as putting you one step closer to your goals. Our goal was to be able to leave the military and just work our business. That’s already become reality and I’ve still got five years left to build the business more before we have to live off that income.
I started rock bottom. I was broke on unemployment and was basically homeless. Now I am multi and have help others do the same. What turned it around was faith in yourself, you simply have to believe that what you choose to be is there regardless of how it looks if you don’t subconsciously you will slip back into doing the things that you produce what got you your 9 to 5. The three key areas in turning around are building a large social network of people who are where you want to be, educate yourself and turn what you learning into experience by making easy to follow systems, then identify the highest priority activity that you love and do it in large volumes over and over again but concentrate on your attitude while you are doing these things its more important than the activity itself. Be patient and persistent and take it easy on yourself look at the result without judging and adjust you will always be changing and improving take it step by step don’t be a perfectionist because there is no limit to how great you can be no matter how much money you have.
Great replies Andrew and Justin! I thank you both. The motivation and inspiration are there. Finding the system and taking the first step without knowing anything is the hardest.
Thanks again, and too for your military service Justin.