Looking for flip mentor / JV partner / wizard

[Simon Stahl]

Hi there

for the last year I have been educating myself, read books and the BP forums, went to meetups, networked, signed up with a bunch of wholesalers, talked to realtors, lenders, contractors and other investors and even did some DM, but nothing worked out and now I feel stuck. I had properties sent to me by different folks, but I could never make the numbers work so I never pulled the trigger. I start thinking that something in my analysis is wrong or that I should find another way to find deals. 

That is why I am now hoping that I can find someone that would be willing to help me out with some knowhow on my way to my first flip. I would do the financing and all the work. All I need is someone that I can meet for coffee every now and then and who can give me tips along the way. I would be fine to split the profit on the first flip in return - or we could find another agreement. 

FYI: I am trying to rehab and either sell or hold SFRs in the area between Oakland, Pittsburg, Antioch, until up to Stockton and Sacramento.

Thanks Simon

[David Faulkner]

It is great that you've figured out what you want and have identified a path of finding a mentor to get there. Your market is a bit of a different sort of RE beast, so it does not surprise me at all that you may have a hard time applying stuff you've read online and in books to your local market, and think you are on the right track to find a local mentor.

My advice on next steps would be to figure out what things a mentor like the one you describe would likely need or want, and then position yourself to provide one or more of those things to them. That way, when you do find them, you are not just asking for something, but also offering something in return. This does not have to be money, in fact I would say it is probably best if it is not money because that will filter out many less than honorable guru types. Often times in life you have to give in order to get, and the more ways you find to help people the more you will tend to be rewarded in return. The key to longevity in this and any other business is to make sure that you are always delivering more value than you are extracting, and value has many different forms ... if you do that consistently for long enough, then you will not need to search for business or deals, because they will find you. Everyone, everywhere, always claim that they do this, but very few actually do in reality. You want a mentor that also shares this mindset and actively practices what they preach rather than just giving it lip service while in actuality they really have a predatory business model.