I’m 19 and work full-time in a cubicle. I don’t have much money saved. I recently bought Bill Vaughn’s Simple Man’s Guide to Real Estate and have been slowly working my way through its contents.
I want to become financially secure by investing in real estate. One of the methods detailed in the course is the double escrow, which would allow someone like me to profit in real estate without having cash or credit, which seems crazy.
I’d like to read some responses from members of this online community who’ve actually profited in real estate without any money of their own. I’d like to know how you did it, what you learned from it, and your advice to others who’d like to do the same thing.
So…I guess what I’d really like to know is this: is it possible–realistic, even?–to become financially secure in real estate without having cash or credit, and, if so, what is the best way to do this, and who teaches it best?
I’m brand new to this. But you never purchase property without money. That statement that flows through books and latenight gurus is a poorly worded statement. You are always using money, though it may not be your money.
Lastly, there are expenses with real estate. There are associated costs, making bids, advertising your property, on and on.
You always use money and will always need money to broker a deal. Whether you need the bank’s cash or not…you need $$$. It’s a lot of work and a lot of thought. The payouts are not nearly as extraordinary as people imagine, but you can make a living at it.
Main advice is to gain a mentor in your area and learn from him/her.
There are multiple ways to make money in RE without having money of your own, but it is not as easy process or get rich quick thing. I know a guy who started in Oct by placing 100 signs in junker/older neighborhoods and he got 5 deals. He wholesaled each for around $3k-$5k. He doesn’t keep any of the houses because he needs the cash to live on.
Another method is to find people with assumable loan and get them to finance the rest. The challenge then becomes how do you pay for the mortgage payment and the fixes. You can do that by wholesaling couple of houses and maintaining a day job till you build little capital.
There are many creative financing methods you can use, but you will need to some advertising money and the guts to get started
Good luck with it, and don’t give up… it is fun process and great learning experience.
start at square ONE. purchase your own residence. It the easiest money get a loan for (can do 100% financing), allows you to build equity and get your feet wet with all the particulars of getting a RE deal to close.
don’t get me wrong, I like renters. They pay my mortgages and expenses on my dozen or so apartment building and put cash in my pocket every month… ;D
Definitely need to be looking for your own property first. There are very few instances where this is not the logical first step toward building your wealth with RE.
As aak has said, it is the easiest form of RE financing to get. Banks love first time homebuyers.
I’d suggest that you look for a fixer to live in and practice your negotiating skills to get the best deal possible. If you find something for 60-70% of value and do your fixup while your living there, in a few months, you’ll have a property that has 30-50% equity (fixed up properties are worth more) and you’ve solved your “no money” problem.
As to no credit, if you’re looking for a personal residence, there a some lending programs that don’t require credit. However, the easiest way to fix no credit is to get credit. Get a credit card and make a couple of purchases every month and pay them off every month. Put some money in a CD/savings and open a credit line against it. Pay 2/3 months payments and then pay it off. Get a gas card. Get something that reports to at least one of the credit agencies.
Right now the market is pretty easy for an individual to get into their first home with little or nothing down. I just sold a house where I will pay 3% of the buyers closing costs. He is a veteran and he will basically get into a $100K house for little or nothing.
This same deal was a lease with an option to purchase where I will make about $10K with $500 down and $2,500 in carring costs. It took longer to sell than I expected.
Own Your own home first possibly look for a multifamily home so someone else can pay your bill.
