For about 20 years, my brothers always told me that they couldn’t figure out how I was always so ‘lucky’ with Real Estate dealings. I told them, “Perhaps it’s not luck”!
Keith
Whenever someone calls me lucky all I can think about is if they would have called me lucky during my most difficult times… times when I lost a lot of money doing stupid mistakes in business, no luck there.
The only luck you have is the cards you were dealt with at birth. Luck after that is created by your own will.
Part of my reason for not expanding my business this year is due to being deployed (military) for about 75% of this year. I wasn’t even going to let that completely deter me because I was trying to work a deal on another 6-unit multi-family from my hotel room here in El Salvador. I was trying to get a couple monetary things straightened out too which would help my position with my lender. So with time running short until I leave for the rest of the year, my wife and I have decided to continue to aggressively pay down debt and save for a purchase when I return. She was pretty apprehensive about taking over a new building with me on my way out the door. But I’ve definitely been bitten by the “bug.” I’m going to get really aggressive when I return and should be in a much better position to do so. I’ve even put my “dream truck” up for sale to try and reduce debt & acquire more money for REI. I wanted a nice big diesel truck for years, but now I just want to get something cheaper and buy some more houses!
Too many people make too many excuses as to why they’re not doing something for a better future. All of us Navy folk have people come out to talk to us about investing for our future. We’ve been shown the example of how to invest $100 per month from age 20 to 30 and you’ll be a millionare by age 65 using historic stock market rates of return. Even so, many of these people would rather go spend over $100 on a night of drinking every weekend. These are the same people who will be working forever and wonder why they have nothing saved when they get old.
More than just an excuse, this is a BIG time legal issue. Mind you, I’m not saying that Hoosier would do something of this nature, but, from a Common Law/United States law standpoint, getting into contracts with someone under 18 is very, Very, VERY risky. From what I’ve learned, I would NEVER enter into a contract with someone under the age of 18. Its too easy for a minor to use the law to their advantage to make me lose trust in them. Again, not saying that Hoosier would do that. Just that it isn’t a wise business practise in general.
However, as tatertot said, ramp up your learning as much as possible till you’re 18. Start networking and just be up front with people that when you turn 18, you’ll be ready to go. Discuss some possibilities that you’d like to work with them on at that time. On that morning of your 18th birthday, start calling around to all those contacts and inform them of your readiness and what you can accomplish for them. 10 years from now, you’ll look back and realize that you didn’t miss out on a thing.
Dean
Believe me, ive tried.
I JUST turned 17, and nobody is willing to put their name on contract that was masterminded by somebody my age. Its not a big deal, im still young. When im 17 and 8 months old, im gonna search hardcore for a good deal, the day im 18 that sucker will be mine!
As for right now im just going to sit back and read and learn as much as I can.
(Sits back and goes back to the main forum page).
www.myspace.com/hoosierluv check me out.
Lets not make this thread about me though.
[/quote]
Hoosier,
You included your myspace page… so, I took a look. LOOK at yourself. How can you blame anyone for not wanting to co sign for tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars for you?
Do you look like a young man hungry to do a real estate deal? …or, do you look like an irresponsible, young kid jokester?
Now, I hope it goes without saying that I’m not trying to insult you. But ask yourself those questions. Then ask yourself: what can I do to give others adults who can co sign the confidence to invest in me?
Instead of :hey ma, i’m going to chill at john’s house…
how about: Mom, I’m going to a real estate meeting. I’ll be back about 9, so I’ll miss dinner.
Instead of: yo’ man, let’s go shoot hoops or whatever…
how about: No man, I can’t go do that. I need to work. (driving the neighborhood to see where’s a good place to invest.)
Instead of: plastering your my space page with pics and honies
how about: posting a more appropriate profile of yourself with details about where/when/how you’d like to start REI. so that WHEN you find that mentor/investor/(OR SELLER who might google you) they will see that you are at least worth their time to listen to.
I’m sure you get the idea. And i’m not being hard on you. I tell the same stuff to my younger relatives. If someone offered you a car, but it was a hoopty, you might say, i’m not going to waste my time. But if someone offered you a car, and it didn’t look half bad, but needed some minor investments to make it better, you’d probably be more willing to put some time into it.
If you’re truly serious, when you’re my age, You’ll be a very wealthy man who can sit around on his boat with his working 9-5 friends, and say, man, let me show you guys something funny: I had this myspace page…
I have No Excuse because I invest all the time as well as help others get started but . . .
The 2 main reasons I have found why 95% of most people do not invest in Real Estate, after working with new investors for 5 years is this.
-
Fear - They are afriad of failure, and sometime success
-
Education - They lack the education needed to become a successful investor and are
very Lazy and would rather "Just “Be Rich” without taking the time to
Study, Learn, Take Classes, Go to seminars, Read helpful books and post,
work with a mentor, or Just Take Action!
Like Nike says “Just Do It”
On a side note:
This is the Perfect Storm right now for investors.
I feel this is the best time in years to invest in Real Estate. Does anyone else agree?
Fear - They are afriad of failure
They should be afraid of failure. The truth is that the vast majority of newbies fail, so a fear of failure is a good thing. That fear should be used to motivate themselves to do whatever it takes to learn the business before they spend a dime on a property.
Like Nike says "Just Do It"
“Just Do It” might be good advice if you’re talking about buying a pair of tennis shoes. However, it is terrible advice regarding starting a business. “Just Do It” and you’ll soon be broke and out of business.
Mike
What is the deal with being 18? I don’t know any reason why a 17 year old can’t sign a contract. I don’t think it would be illegal to do so. Now, the parties ability to enforce the contract should something go awry may be another question.
But, if Hoosier can perform, why not get out there and put something under contract?
Agreed, but FEAR cripples people from trying most things. That is why I recommened to take some classes or whatever to Educate yourself and then the Fear is not as bad.
So “Just Do it” to me means that you should first Educate yourself on the type of investing you want to do as much as you can, but don’t get paralysis by analysis and think you can or have to learn everthing before you invest, then take action.
Hope that clears it up a bit for you Mike :cool
Hoosier,
You included your myspace page… so, I took a look. LOOK at yourself. How can you blame anyone for not wanting to co sign for tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars for you?
Do you look like a young man hungry to do a real estate deal? …or, do you look like an irresponsible, young kid jokester?
Now, I hope it goes without saying that I’m not trying to insult you. But ask yourself those questions. Then ask yourself: what can I do to give others adults who can co sign the confidence to invest in me?
Instead of :hey ma, i’m going to chill at john’s house…
how about: Mom, I’m going to a real estate meeting. I’ll be back about 9, so I’ll miss dinner.
Instead of: yo’ man, let’s go shoot hoops or whatever…
how about: No man, I can’t go do that. I need to work. (driving the neighborhood to see where’s a good place to invest.)
Instead of: plastering your my space page with pics and honies
how about: posting a more appropriate profile of yourself with details about where/when/how you’d like to start REI. so that WHEN you find that mentor/investor/(OR SELLER who might google you) they will see that you are at least worth their time to listen to.
I’m sure you get the idea. And i’m not being hard on you. I tell the same stuff to my younger relatives. If someone offered you a car, but it was a hoopty, you might say, i’m not going to waste my time. But if someone offered you a car, and it didn’t look half bad, but needed some minor investments to make it better, you’d probably be more willing to put some time into it.
If you’re truly serious, when you’re my age, You’ll be a very wealthy man who can sit around on his boat with his working 9-5 friends, and say, man, let me show you guys something funny: I had this myspace page…
[/quote]
[b]Dude, I laughed so hard when I read this. I understand how goofy I look, but its all just fun and games.
I understand where your coming from… perhaps maybe I should start to grow up.
(Laughing on floor)[/b]
[[[[[…This is the Perfect Storm right now for investors…]]]]]]
Wallace Hobbs… you’ve got that right: low prices, cheap interest , and sellers who are scared out of their wits.
Real estate is a cycle. Buy low and wait. It’ll go back up.
Hoosier, your my space is a lot more dignified than most. Just be aware that employers and landlords have learned the trick of checking my space on their applicants.
It’s OK to have fun on my space, just be aware when you do business, you must be in “business mode” to be taken seriously. Also, just in case your potential investment partner does check my Space, you don’t want to have anything oin there that you don’t want him to see.
I’ve rejected several tenants because their My Space bragged about their drinking and drugging, and/ or they had nearly pornographoc photos of themselves posted.
I don’t expect My Space to be a resume, though. It’s supposed to be fun.
I debated whether I would reply to this forum for fear of being criticized. It also took me a few days to get real and honest with myself about why I wasn’t investing.
Bottom line: fear.
I don’t want to be upside down on a property.
I don’t want to have things beyond my control.
I don’t like operating without a cash cushion.
I have been foreclosed upon. I’ve since recovered, and live debt free. The property was foreclosed because I didn’t have adequate cash reserves to account for the missing payments. {renting to a friend of a friend. }
Expensive Lesson learned. I don’t want to keep learning expensive real estate lessons, and I feel like I need to know certain things before I start investing.
- Having sufficient cash reserves per property.
- Exit strategies.
- Being realistic with myself about what I know about REI, and accept that I have to take baby steps until I have built my confidence.
Now that I’m a single parent with half the income, I don’t want to get into anything risky that could hurt my children financially.
If I’m out and I lose $20 in the street, I’m going to say crap, and move on.
If I have a property that I put under contract and have no buyer, then it starts to hurt my reputation and my family…What happens then, I’m sued by the seller for not closing the deal? I’ve got a rental with no cash reserves…
I’m back in the expensive lesson category.
I know that I can live below my means, and work 160/hrs a month and save the slow and painful way… Or I can learn how to wholesale, and amass cash and move forward with investing at a level where I’m comfortable.
Maybe I’ll be “RealNew” {a real estate newbie} for a while. Maybe I’ll lurk here uncertain whether I have the guts for REI glory. Sometimes being on the boards is like getting a drink of water from a fire hose. This is an excellent resource and very informative. I’m grateful for the site and the people who contribute to it. Sometimes it’s overwhelming, and admittedly, I don’t want to appear unable to keep up or less knowledgeable than others.
I know that anything I want for myself, or my family, cannot be done on the sidelines. I think I’ve been honest enough with myself to admit my fears and to face them, and that’s a very good start. Small bites with comprehension, and build from there.
RN
P.S.
And I almost forgot… I know the market is cyclical… so when’s the Great Depression’s cycle? Seems like we’re darned close to it. WTH does anyone do whose holding rentals when those people lose their jobs? Unfortunately, I don’t have the cash on hand to take full advantage of this great time in economic history. Even if I did, I don’t know that I’d buy rentals.
There’s nothing illegal at all about entering into a contract with a minor. You can enter into contracts all day long with minors, and publicly announce it to the world, and nobody will press any law suits against you. (You may happen to observe a march of sleezy lawyers heading in the minor’s direction). And yes, minors can conceivably perform just as well, or even better, than adults. However, if they do not, and its you that tries to press a law suit against a minor, don’t complain if you don’t get the results you want. Or any results at all. Since I’m not an attorney, and it would take too long to explain it in a post on the internet, I will simply advise that you either consult one about minors and contract law. Or that you take a college Business Law class (like I did), and then consult with an attorney. If you, or anybody else does not, I have a big fat I TOLD YA SO!!! all ready if you ever post here about When Teenagers and Their “Contracts” Attack :shocked
Dean
Well, I think my list may beat most people’s. So, here we go:
Already have two rentals that don’t cash flow, thus most lenders won’t give me the time of day on funding more investment properties.
I’ve been spending most of the month of February doing my taxes. Finally done, by-the-way, as of today. $10,000 tax return. Yay!
I’ve still trying to do catch-up from job loss last year and medical expenses that are over 1 year not paid.
I’m working on finishing my basement.
My kids consume large portions of my free-time.
I am going to school studying business management.
I work a standard 40 hour job to put food on the table and pay the bills, which will increase by $200+ since I’ve come to discover that I’m not taking enough credit hours in school so my student loan won’t defer payments anymore. If I have to start taking more classes to fulfill that, that will kill even more real-estate investing time.
My wife keeps dragging me to multiple pump-you-up investment meetings per week.
Did I already mention my kids? I hate to be the pessimist on marriage/family, but real-estate is exceedingly complicated and difficult when very young children are part of your life.
Did I mentiong my kids? snicker While they are a drag at this point, I do look forward to the day when they will get to come along with me as I go to evaluate properties. “Daddy, what’s that big yucky spot on the ceiling.” :bobble
My debt to income ratio.
My lack of network relationships.
My lack of buyers.
Because of bad investments in the past, I’m extremely hesitant to spend more money on speculations. Thus, I’m sure I pass up on some good deals. sigh
My current job is contract and only scheduled out till about May.
I haven’t built up any saftey net for when/if my job dies out.
I’m lazy.
I had ADD.
I’m lazy. :help hehe
I think that’s it for now. So, I dare you all to try and beat that list!
Hope I didn’t burden anybody down with too much negativity there. I suppose I should end on a positive note. I’ve chosen to ignore most of what The Secret says, and I don’t try and hide from or ignore all the above mentioned challenges. I choose to fully accept and acknowledge them and keep them front and center. I believe that will motive me more to take action to deal with them as opposed to “pretending” they don’t exist, thus, they will linger around and never truly get taken care of. That seems to work for me.
Dean
You need to find some deals Dude!!!
Get a nice wholesale single family and just write an option on it. I use these things like kleenex. Find a house you can buy for half price. Give the owner $500 for a 60 day option at the half price, price!!
Then get out there and ADVERTISE that sucker, make some calls, put it on Craigslist, do whatever it takes. Find a buyer GIVE THEM A GREAT DEAL and pocket $10K on your $500 investment. Options are BEAUTIFUL when you have a GREAT DEAL but NO MONEY OR FINANCING! They allow you to LOCK UP the property THEN sell it for a PROFIT!!
This would be PERFECT FOR YOU!!!
That lease option idea sounds pretty good. However, around my neck of the woods, I’m not finding these properties where people will sell to me at half-price. Most people’s house values are less than what they paid to get them, so if they give me their house at half-price, they still have to pay the other half to the lender.
In this modern age, with the ability to research anything you want on the net, you could be 14 years old and operate a successful business and still handle all the legal aspects. Would you like to know how? No, I don’t have the answer but you can read about a 17 year old self-made millionaire(now about 25) Ephren Taylor. You will be inspired, and hopefully stimulate your mind enough for you to find what you “can” do about it. We are very to be living in a world of abundance, so many resources around you, know how to find it.
You can either have success or you can have excuses.
You can’t have both.
God almighty I hear this kind of excuse everywhere and it irks the hell out of me.
How many sellers have you talked to last week?
How many offers have you made in the last week?
In the last month?
How about targeting homeowners with free and clear homes?
40 hour work week + kids is not a good enough of an excuse to me.
40 hour work week + kids is not a good enough of an excuse to me
That may not be enough of an excuse for you, but you’re not one of my kids.
Ok. So the next time a seller says to me “$150,000??!! And how am I supposed to pay the other $150,000 that I owe to my lender?” If you have an answer for this, I need to know it, because it sure as hell kills my confidence in trying that same trick to the next seller when I still don’t have an answer for them.
Sellers talked to last week: Since I’ve been focusing on pre-foreclosures, they’re not technically “sellers”. Aside from that, I try to talk to 2-5 per night after work on the drive home. I would say that I talk to 10-12 per week. Oh, and on Saturday, I call another 6-10 on the phone.
Offers made last week: Of the people that aren’t pissed as hell that I’m bringing up their possible foreclosure, I make about 1-2 offers per week to handle the owner’s pre-foreclosure.
Last month: I don’t count February nor January since I was doing taxes. December was a good month. It was also the month I started for real. Just multiply my above numbers by four. You do the math.
If you want to count my wife in all this, she obviously has more time than me and she does 3x - 4x as much as I do and has been doing it 4x - 5x as long as I have. Again, you do the math.
Current bottom line: 2 rentals that barely break even and we can’t get sold. :banghead And a few dozen offers that, if the sellers even responded, they weren’t at all interested in. My wife does have a possible real-estate sale and a third-party seller finance in the works. Possible payout in several months. Oh, I guess you can count a no terms, indefinate, orally defined accounts receivable of $14,000 that who knows if, or when, they will pay us. Again :banghead
Now before you all say that I need to talk to more people… No duh! Ya think?? My numbers are low, but I have consistency to compensate in the long run (hopefully not that long of a long run). On the seller side, I just had an idea while writing this post that I’ll put to practise. On the buyer side, all the buyers I come in contact with are all rip-roarin’, ready-to-go and they want 40% - 50% LTV, too. The ironic thing about that, they can’t find it on their own either. :rolleyes
Now, another extremely nasty monkey-wrench recently tossed into the engine. I’m currently taking a business law class at college and we’ve been discussing oral contracts. If I tell someone, or even more so, put it into writing via email or a letter, “I will buy your house in 30 days for 50% off”, I had betten damn well cut them a check by 11:59PM on the 29th day or they will have a completly valid law suit against me. That will equate to either a bankruptcy or jail for me, which will in turn dramatically increase the possible loss of my son. I am quite prepared to risk many things to succeed in real-estate, but risking an active relationship with my son is NOT one of them, nor will it EVER be worth any risk.
My current state of real-estate investing is this prepared → :bs to follow thru on the recently mentioned oral contract. The lenders I’ve spoken with won’t lend me anymore money because of my debt to income ration due to the 2 rentals + my primary residence. I still have some more lenders that I’m planning on talking with; a new one I just found today. I guess the next step is to find private lenders. Something which I have 0 experience with, but I just had a second good idea about that while writing this post.
Geez, sorry for an overadundance of details there. I guess I needed to rant a bit. Yes, you may all call the above just a bunch of excuses - if you’re so inclined to negativity like that. I prefer to acknowledge all this as facts of reality that need to be dealt with. That’s something I can do - I can productively deal with things. In any case, my two biggest challenges: 1) getting funding for the next deal, 2) convincing a seller to sell me their house at 50%. Ugh! If I could just accomplish those two steps!! The idea that fdjake mentioned is a real good one and I’m looking forward to put it to action. With my tax return this year, I’ll have some good money to get some advertising going to pick up both sellers and buyers. I’ve already had some success with finding buyers from a website that I’ve put together, and I plan to expand on that. I am very much looking forward to some positive growth in my work this coming year. I swear to every last person on this website, I am merely inches away from the success of a lifetime in all this. I swear I can feel it, and it feels good. I get myself excited about it everytime I think about it. Awesome.
Anyways, thoughts, comments, suggestions, start a new thread if one feels so inclined. Thanks for everything from everybody in all the forums on this board! Keep in mind, anybody’s input must factor in father-son time. I can tell you right now if your ideas interfere with that, they won’t work. They just won’t.
Dean