Rushing In vs. Plan It Out

[Anthony Tarantino]

I just finished reading "The Beginner's Guide...". Great job by Joshua Dorkin and all who put that article together. It was a great start for a newbie like me.

The article lays out a road map that, if followed diligently, should lead to success. It appears from reading the article if you set up a good business plan, find your niche, set reasonable criteria, learn how to finance your deals, learn the terminology and have a solid marketing plan, thinks will turn out great.

Obviously starting out, most people are going to have a rough time figuring out what a good "deal" is, what all the terms mean, what ARV is, and so on. They might not even have a plan, think about developing a long term plan, or consider developing a plan a waste of time!

From listening to the few podcasts and reading the forums, it seems many investors starting out just trying to get by, not really having that "plan" developed.

So my question to the more experienced investors out there is: How much did you know before you rushed in? Did REI happen upon you, or did you have a solid plan in action? How has that plan evolved since you began?

Going back to my reading....