How to (Actually) pull the trigger

Question

So, I have read and read and read... I've listened to the audio books and podcasts. Here is where I sit... I am almost to the point where I feel less ready then I was when I first started and was "ready" to jump in head first.

Being from a construction background, I want to get into fix and flips but the more I learn the more I find I am not in a position financially to even take the first step and that is such a demoralizing place to be. I am incredibly afraid to spend 5k to 10k on marketing to trying and locate my first deal when I am not all that well equipped to land that deal should one present itself.

Spotting value is something I am naturally good at which is a bonus. This has been true my whole life in almost every walk in life. The house I live in now was bout 3 years ago and after about 4 months of ownership it went up in value 35% and is currently worth more than double what I paid. This eye for value is something I have always been good at but I dont even know where to START looking.

Here is the endless cycle I have myself in - How do I find a deal? How do I fund the deal? Do I find a deal that try to fund it? Do I get funding and find a deal that fits the funding? Which do I do first?

Matt Huneycutt · Answer

I think Brandon Turner said on one of the Podcasts...Start where you stand, in your own back yard.  Who do you know?  Do they have houses?  Do they have money?  Have you asked them?  Who do they know? You may surprise yourself with a millionaire next door.

I was looking for a duplex to buy so I could house hack for free living.  A fantastic tactic.  When I called my old agent to set up a viewing on a house I found, she told me she was now a mortgage broker and referred me to another agent.  I met with the agent, and after hearing me describe what I was looking for, he turned me down to be his client, and offered me a partnership hunting houses.

On a trip home to see my family, I came across some vacant houses next door to my Dad.  I asked my Dad what the deal was with them and he told me they were for sale.  He said that he could not get a partner or a bank to back him on buying them.  He didn't know the right words to say.  he didn't think of me as a partner either, in his pursuit.  When I asked the questions, we connected the dots.  I knew how to get the money, and he knows how to do the work.

When Josh and Brandon ask at the end of every episode..."what is the difference between people who are successful, and those who quit, fail or never get started?" the only answer is persistence.  turn over every stone you can find until a situation needs you, just exactly as you are.  That is where you start.  Nobody can answer that question for you.  It is your own unique story.

Last part:  This industry is a service based industry.  We are all here to solve someone's problem.  I urge you to first consider what you have to offer, to solve someone's problem.  Is it money? talent? skills? inventory? energy?  When you figure that piece out, then go find the person who is looking for you.  Every time you find an opportunity, ask who-needs-what here? And then, provide it.

as a side note...the slowest that things will ever be is when you are at the start of this thing.  Don't quit.

Cheers!

Tyler Bardwell · Answer

Wholesaling does sound like something I would be interested in once I have my foundation laid. I am actually in sales at this point in my career, still construction but I look at blueprints all day and sell. Haven't swung a hammer in quite a while.

I was extremely excited out of the gate and I think I just beat myself down with information and I found some discouragement.

Thanks for the advice and help here. I want to get involved in the AZREIA asap so I can start getting to know the industry from people who are intimately involved. Just need to keep adding gas to the fire right now!

Matt Huneycutt · Answer

@Henrietta Mateaki

Wholesaling is what you might consider an apex skill in Real Estate.  Though some folks have been successful at it early on, It is typically something seasoned buyers ascend to when they hone their skills.

To be successful takes not only a lot of research, but also up front money for marketing with no hope for return in the first year.  Wholesaling also pairs well with a certain personality type.  A large portion of the process is in closing the deal, not just finding it.  Folks from sales backgrounds are usually more comfortable with it, than those with a labor backgrounds.

The point is, its not as easy it may sound, and it's not for everybody.

Welcome BTW!

Henrietta M. · Answer

why not do some wholesale deals for a few months and save the cash to invest in your first fix and flip? I'm new here and have no actual experience yet, but this makes the most sense to me.

"Loving what I see ahead!"

Tyler Bardwell · Answer

There is an issue with using a HELOC for my first deal. My wife and I agreed together that we would NOT fund our first deal by tying its success and/or failure to our family home. It's not off the table in the future, just off the table for the first deal.

Mark Freeman · Answer

@Tyler Bardwell

Start looking for deals everywhere you can think of and have read about. Look into a home equity line of credit to fund your deal. If you use your gift and find a great deal, good things will happen. You will find the money or a partner for a joint venture or you can wholesale it to another investor if all else fails. (On the flip side, if you think every deal is a good one, it might be hard to find other interested parties in the project and a wholesale becomes difficult if not impossible).

I started out without any money and a reluctant business partner - in my dad. He had some money and I knew if I found a really good deal, he would be eager to get on board. The rest is history, just put one good deal in front of another.

Finally, when you find it - PULL THE TRIGGER! You'll learn tons on that first deal no matter how well it works out.

Elizabeth Colegrove · Answer

You know our plan we we got started 3 years ago is NOT the core business practices that have made us successful today. So the key for us has been flexibility and adapting. We are buy and hold investors but we buy off the mls. I am sure we could be alot more successful and get better deals. On the other hand if we waited for these "perfect" deals we might/probably wouldn't have the 5 houses in 3 years that we have.

How to (Actually) pull the trigger

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