Real-Estate coach for hire!

True a mentor is as good as his/her student that is learning. A lot of good a mentor is if you don’t bring an A game to the table and follow through on what the mentor is teaching you.

So if you lack the drive,the desire and motivation to succeed in REI than don’t waste a mentors time or yours.

That is an excellent question…What makes a good student? I have a friend of mine that I will refer to as Bob. I have known him for at least 15 years and one of the things I have learned about him long ago was that he is a terrible student. Not in the school sense, but in the learning of lifes lessons. So one day early last year, he calls and tells me about a great real estate deal he got on a home in Detroit. Oh and he lives in california. My warning light in my head immediatly went on. He ended up paying around $65,000 for the house. $40,000 for the place, the rest for repairs. I asked him if he had taken some time to fly out and look at the house to make sure the repairs are legit. He said no, sight unseen purchase. He said he was working through a RE investor in cali who had connections in Detroit.
Fast forward 12 months later. The guy in Detroit ended up ripping off him and about 100 other folks thier money. None of the repairs were done and the house has been vacant the whole time. He cant rent it out because it is in shambles and he still has to forclose on the house from the investor. Talk about a mess. I can only imagine the strain it is putting on his marriage and life in general.

Here is the moral to the story. Bob never took the time to seek any kind of advice from someone who had been in the business for a long time. I mean, more then 6 months. I was kidding on the last part. He jumped in to a situation that was full of pitfalls and know is stuck with a property that he cannot sell unless at a substantial loss. And is paying interest on the money he borrowed to make the purchase.

We all make mistakes in the beginning. That is par for the course. But to not seek advice or wisdom with regards to investing out of state is insane and downright foolish. To have not even flown out to see the house at least once, is assnine. I have this saying, “No one will ever care about my money more than me.” That has kept me on the straight and narrow as a landlord and business owner.

Hello,
I finally signed into the forum looking for answers and information. I have come to the conclusion that I need a mentor. All of the post have great views and information and I thank you.

So what should I do? I’m in Kingwood, TX and looking to begin to profit with RE. I have bought and read everything I could afford but I have not done one deal. I’m looking for someone who can assist me in selecting the ‘right direction’. I know what I know but that may not be enough.

If any of this makes sense then great. If it does not then ignore it and I’ll continue trying. :banghead For once in my life I’ve decided to ask for help!!

Try your local REI club.

SKCharles,
Welcome to the board! Your post is very broad. How do you want to profit from REI?
Rentals, flipping, rehabbing, becoming a Realtor, commercial Real Estate, lease options, MHs, notes?
What are you interests regarding REI?
Have you started saving for your first deal?

You pose some interesting questions. That is probably what I have been struggling with-where to start I think flipping is where is would like to start. You mention have I saved any money for my first deal. Why would I need to have saved any money for a deal since it really is not my intention of buying and holding (but you didn’t know that).

You hear guru talk about buying real estate with no money down. Is that actually possible??

Yes it is possible to do deals w/ no money down. You coud find a bank to finance up to a certain amount (usually somewhere between 70-85% of your loan amount) and get the seller to finance the remainder of the portion. This means you have to find a seller willing to hold a note for you. The other potential issue is if the bank will be ok with this. If the bank asks to see your proof of funds in a financial statement, you’ll have to let them know you’re getting the seller to hold a 2nd on the property. The bank may not be comfortable with this and might not be willing to deal with you because you have nothing in the deal.
Another option would be if you can find a seller who is offering financing for the entire price.

SKCharles - I would like to add one thing to Justin’s response… I believe it is possible to buy with no money (as Justin described). However I also believe it will be extremely difficult to convince a bank to finance you if you don’t have good credit. So in short I believe you need to have either money or good credit to buy real estate. If you have both, better.

If you don’t have money or good credit, than one option to get started is to bird dog (there is a section in this forum dedicated to the it).

In addition there is a post from fdjake from few months ago where he gave some suggestions on how to start - The title is FREE ADVICE FOR ALL NEW GUYS but ONLY 1 out of 100 will follow it!! Here is a link → http://www.reiclub.com/forums/index.php/topic,36859.0.html

I recommend you read it and the discussion that follows. I took that advice to heart.

Good luck!

Good Advice…

 That was actually the post I reffered to in an earlier post on the subject of mentors. My desire to get into REI was stalled when I realized I had about a year of getting ready to be able to consider it seriously. 

 SK, I would suggest looking into wholesaling you can start with business cards, and bandit signs, and build a buyers list, you may even find your mentor(s) right there on your buyers list.