Yes, I am a newb. Very much so. I have A LOT to learn, and I realize that. What I am hoping some can help me here with is what they would do if you were me? That way I can begin my research there while I determine what form of investing is best for me.
Here is my situation: I have about $125,000 in total cash available, my credit scores are very good (760), I live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
I am not an overly handy person, though I am not completely inept. I do currently work a 9-5 kind of job and would probably like to maintain it until I could replace that income elsewhere.
So if you are in my shoes, what kind of investing would you do?
Any advice would be seriously appreciated. Thanks!!
With that much money, I would set up a rental property business that would replace your income. If you work hard, you should be able to do that in 5 years or less. BTW, I would hold onto that money and buy the rental properties no money down
That is exactly what I did a little over 3 years ago. I owned another business. It was a good business but required continuous work to generate the cash I needed and provided little in the way of retirement. I looked at the various real estate businesses and found that rental properties offered the chance to work very hard for a few years and then semi-retire with significant wealth and a nice monthly income. I worked like a dog for about 2 1/2 years and now I can enjoy the fruits of that work. My schedule these days is to work 3-4 hours, about 4 days a week. All other real estate businesses require you to keep hustling indefinitely if you want the income and don’t help you build wealth.
Renting/Cash flow is the avenue that initially appealed to me. Right now I need to learn to find the deals because I very quickly discovered that properties listed on the MLS would not generate a cash flow.
yes, if you’re going to be a RE investor, then finding the real deals is a must.
I’d also recommend reading up on RE investing and the various types/modes of investing available. As sad as it is, the real truth is that not everyone is cut out to be a landlord. In fact, I’d wager that MOST people aren’t cut out to be a landlord, at least a good one. No, scratch that. The better term would be a ‘profitable’ landlord.
Any business venture that you start will require a lot of extra time. Developing a rental business that can replace your income in 3-5 years is VERY DEMANDING.
I’d suggest that you determine what your goal(s) are with starting something new and then decide what may be the best course of action.
You would not believe the number of people who post on here that think they can just call their local realtor, buy some rental property, and make money every month. the fact that you already understand that almost none of your property is going to come from the MLS is huge.
Place some ads in your local town newspapers, in very few words explain what you want to buy and that you can close in 10 days (people who need to sell don’t want to wait) These ads should cost no more than $50/ month/ paper. Then be patient and look elsewhere for more deals. The great thing about the ads are they work 24 hours a day for you.
Remember the first rule of advertising… People have to see it, remember it, then FIND it when they need it.
My advice is take out the ads and let them rot. You will get calls, it’s a numbers game. The best part is in some cases you and the owner will be the only people who know the place is even for sale. That can be a BIG advantage for you.
DFWNewbie,
Wow…it’s GREAT to know there is someone in here with the attitude as I do. A winner! I too am a relatively NEW investor, and after being screwed with no protection on my last deal in 06 by some shady lenders (BenchMark Mortgage), I am more determined than EVER to get it right this time! :cool
But here’s my situation: PLEASE HELP!!
I have about 1K to start with NOT so good credit anymore! Around 530 tri merge. (Thanks for nothing Benchmark). I want to get started immediately wholesaling / Section 8’ing tenants, but have this nagging fear of “cant get nothing with no money down and bad credit”. Please help fellow investees with any and all advice and encouragement. Thanks in advance.
You can do alot with that much cash. I would find a few good rental properties. Flipping is also good since you can do an all cash deal. You got the upper hand and also saving money on loan fees.
I wouldn’t touch that money until I have invested in my own education first.
I would read all the articles I could read
I would find as many books to teach me about real estate investing as I could
I would research to purchase courses that appealed to my interests.
I would do this because I know the time I spent doing it would save me hundreds of thousands of dollars in mistakes I would make if I didn’t.