A update regarding my situation Probably not the smartest choice

[Cody May]

Hello BP,

So I did end up quitting my job. I am currently making my way to the west coast. I was hoping to drive a little farther tonight, but I been up since 6am. What would be my best bet to find real estate investors clubs or meetups? I am thinking I am either going to be driving to Colorado, Or Washington I'm not sure yet I plan to be at my destination either Monday night or Tuesday morning I'm not sure. I would also be open for places to check out around the Denver area, or out side that area. I am wanting to find a job along the lines of real estate, but I want to be able to find a employer that would understand that I would love to 1 day invest in real estate myself. Does any here know if employer would frown upon that. Since I been driving listening to the BP Podcast With @Brandon Turner and @Joshua Dorkin Which really is a incredible thing I have learned A LOT from the podcast, its great. Since listening to it on my way here I really want to get into Multi-Family investing. Has anyone heard of people being able to get commercial loans, and not have a Portfolio? I have yet to make a deal. I decided I was ready to get into real estate so I decided to finally get my hands dirty. Meanwhile though I quit my job. Was it the smartest idea I ever made... Ummmm probably not, But I need a change for the good, and getting into real estate, and making deals sounds like a very, very good idea for me. Soo this week I will be trying my absolute hardest to try possibly and find a job and a place to live within a 2 week period. I'm going to be going back to Indiana though for a day or so if i do decide to move for good. I just want to make sure I am set 100% to move to a area I am not familiar with at all. Still considering checking out Washington State as well. Any options are appreciated any knowledge and advice is very much appreciated.  

[Dean Weltman]

@Cody May, you probably need to put 110% of your focus on finding a job and a place to live - unless you're independently wealthy, in which case everything else is just a detail... I'm guessing you never heard that you're not supposed to quit your job until you have already found the next one. 

I know people talk about no money down deals all the time, but they're hard to come by. And most of those aren't truly $0 down, there are usually some costs associated with any purchase... And those deals are done because the seller believes you'll be able to post your end of the deal - hard to do that with no job when you're living out of your car. 

On the other hand, they say necessity is the mother of invention... Good luck. 

[Bill S.]

@Cody May unless you have 6 months of reserves you might want to reconsider. People do what you did all the time. The success rate is low. Try finding a place to rent in Denver with no job. I recently offered a property for rent and had over 200 inquiries. 6 application came from that. It was not even a cheap rental. It would be my observation that less than 1 in 10,000 people are able to pull of what you are doing

My advise. Take your mini vacation, go back home and get another job. Save money, and build a plan. Make your plan based on the experiences you have learned from here and then carry out that plan. 

No money, no experience and no job is not going to cut it to bust into multfamily investing. It's tough enough to do it wall all three. Very few are able to do it with 2 of the three.

I wish you well and wish I had a rosier outlook for you. I just call things as I see them.

[Cody May]

@Dean Weltman Thanks for the insight! Those are the 2 main things that I will be working on. I'm not independently wealthy. I just have a little money saved up, Absolutly hated my other job I drove semi and was never home, lonely, it's tough being out and away from everyone so long. I felt it was time for a change I was miserable. I don't mind putting a little money down on to a property im not necessarily looking for no money down deals. I am going to be living as cheap as humanly possible these next couple weeks. I no it's rare to hear about success story's coming from so one who up quit and left. We shall see I hope to surprise everyone!! 

[Cody May]

@Bill S. I a little to late to reconsider, I'm already on my way. I am just going going to save, and be as conservative with spend any money. I know I need to focus on finding a job as soon as possible. It's going to be interesting what happened. So they say "Big risk big reward". That's the plan it's only a little vacation pretty much. Just going to give myself an idea of what I'm wanting to get into. Absorb everything in, and one I get back i'll start looking over EVERYTHING, and make a final decision on rather or not I want to go and live there for sure. Also ill be more than likely accomplish what ever is in my way!! 

I was a little weary on rather or not I would be able to jump right into Multifamily investing with next to no experiences, and quitting my job like I did. I hope everything works out I feel alright about everything. Just have to take everything one step at and knock out as much as possible with my steps.

[David Dachtera]

@Cody May,

Probably the most important to learn, then is to attract and partner with private lenders. Leverage your savings as much as possible, rather than keeping it tied up in illiquid equity.

I admire your courage! My employment situation will change soon, but not by my choice. So for me, it will be a matter of survival.

David J Dachtera

"Success is not a destination. Failure is not an event. Success is a process, failure is a choice."
- DJ Benedict

[Brandon Turner]

Hey @Cody May- first, I get the job thing. Crappy jobs suck and sometimes you have to leave. Maybe not the smartest, but hey - life is short. You'll be fine. I wouldn't look at real estate as some kind of savior to bail you out YET- but I think you know that, which is why you are going to look for a job. Definitely make that priority one. 

As for where you end up - both Denver and Washington are great. Denver is expensive, but much drier :) Both are very expensive, unless you end up somewhere a few hours outside the big city. 

So I guess my best advice - pick where you want to live and then find a job doing something you love there. Then worry about your investing. 

[Mitch Ottoson]

Hey @Cody May, I admire the courage that it took to start new and take massive action towards your goals. If I could make a recommendation to you, I would look to house hack a small multi family property, live in one unit and rent out the rest to get a lower cost of living. In Denver, these properties can be pretty expensive but there are several homes with in-law suites or carriage homes that you can find. Best of luck!

[Matt Burns]

See if there are any property managers hiring in the area you're looking to live and work. It's important to understand operations as much as it is to understand investments. Not many employees work for the same employer for more than 5 years anymore. I don't think you'll have any issues. 

[Varinder Kumar]

Do you own any real estate at the moment? I would have purchased a rental or some sort of investment prior to quitting my day job. I would recommend finding a job asap and then finding a single family foreclosure or something cheap you can rent out and make a decent cash flow off of every month. I don't know how much you have saved up but know that once you purchase this investment and if it exhausts your savings, its going to be a long while before you can save to purchase another one. Unless the job you find pays very well. Good luck with everything wish you well 👍

[Raymond Ebbeler]

Quitting your job probably meant that it is time to leave your comfort zone. I was down sized in executive sales...what i call legalized lying. After losing my home i took half of my savings and purchased an RV to be mobile and work on call and still have glex times to do real estate. All i know is my hat is off to you because you took action that some people are in fear of doing.

[Mike Hanneman]

Moving out west is more expensive then the area where you just came from. Something to think about is I know a lot of people, both in washington and in Colorado ( just moved from there ) and they are all trying to invest back in your old area. Trying to find a deal in Denver or anywhere close can be a challenge in itself. Denver is one of the fastest growing cites in the US right now and prices reflectr that.

Glad to see your coming out west for something other then the new pot laws though. I've spoken to many people that moved to both CO and WA just because of that.

[Cody May]

@Brandon Turner Yeah you're right I don't plan to have real estate bail me out of anything yet. Do you think it would be a good idea to try, and maybe try to find a job through BP? I no I will definitely be trying to find a job asap.

I don't think I want invest in Denver, but invest a few hours outside Denver. I just made Denver my destination I have no set place to go. I'm going to probably hang out in Colorado for 3 or 4 days then go to Oregon  do the same thing there stay 3 or 4 days. Then I'll do the same with Washington. I'm really hoping to find a job as a PM or something similar to a PM. I'm not to big on wanting to be a RE agent.

[Cody May]

@Mitch Ottoson House hacking is definitely what I'm push towards to do! I really think that wouold be my best bet. I don't I'm wanting to invest in Denver, but possibly outside of Denver a few house. I ended up in Love-land Colorado last night. Thanks for the words I appreciate it!

[Cody May]

@Matt Burns Thanks for the opinion! I'm Not sure yet the area I want to be in, but ill be figuring it out.

@Varinder Kumar No I don't currently own any real estate. Honestly I've never bought a house. I'm Taking this little trip just to see what I can get into, and get my hand dirty. I have to go back home for at least a week, I'm also thinking about getting into house hacking. Live in a unit of the property and rent out the others. I believe I would be able to get a loan, and only have to give a down payment of 3.5. Thanks man for the kind words!

@Raymond Ebbeler Yeah I had to quit I was so unhappy never being around people, and just always being by yourself is not fun. I am definitely ready to get out of my comfort zone. I no I can do good. Every job I've had my supervisor has always said I've done great work, and the job I just quit  they would always say I do a great. Rather or not they mean't it is a different story. They have so many other truck drivers they have to worry about.

[Cody May]

@Mike Hanneman You are right everything out here is way more expensive. I kind of look at it like, I don't think that I would have to work as hard out west. With housing being more expensive flipping properties, you make a lot more money off flips. Back in Indiana you wont always make as much as you would on a flip therefor you have to purchase more properties, and work harder. I don't mind working one bit, but I'm just trying to make it as simple as possible and set everything up to where will have financial freedom hopefully by age 35-40. Maybe that could be the wrong way to look at it. I'm not sure. I look at the new pot law outs west just to be a benefit to everything.

[Michell P.]

Good luck Cody! Sounds scary but I've known several people who "just had to get out" and they went on a road trip, completely changed their lives, and they're all very happy they did.  It'll work out.  You might have to fight for it, but it'll be OK.  If you make it to Portland, check out Bluestone & Hockley they're large and may be a good PM lead for you.  

[David Hedges]

@Cody May you may get a bit more profit on a flip out west, but there is also a much higher cost of living than Peru, Indiana. Plus the entry cost even on a flip will be higher. You need to take into account that you are going to need to cover the holding costs on the property until it sells, and not all houses will sell right away. 

I think I'd lean more toward what some of the others are getting at... build up a pool of cash to work with first, then do your first few in areas you're familiar with. 

no matter what you decide to do in the end, good luck. 

[Jack Colmenero]

Hey Cody I am also a newbie in the real estate investing business, but if you do come to Denver and you still have your cdl there are jobs here for drivers. I myself am a full time driver and also real estate investor. Just thought I'd give you a heads up and good luck.

[Paul Timmins]

@Cody May

Locate and attend 3 different local REIA club meetings great place to meet people gather resources and info. Here you will meet wholesalers who provide deals and rehabbers (cash buyers). Find them through Google and meetup.com

Two Great reads, I bought both J. Scott The Book on Flipping Houses, The Book on Estimating ReHab Costs http://www.biggerpockets.com/flippingbook

Consider checking out HUD homes for small multi's owner occupied gets first crack.

Download BP’s newest book here some good due diligence in Chapter 10. Real Estate Rewind Starting over

http://www.biggerpockets.com/files/user/brandonatbp/file/real-estate-rewind-a-biggerpockets-community-book

Good Luck

Paul 

[Gina McKee]

Very courageous! If you want to PM in CO then you will need to get a RE license. It would be a great segway for you to learn the business and allow you to build up some funds. If that is truely something that interests you, why not contact some PM companies and see if they are interested in hiring you? Good luck!!

[Luis Miramontes]

Cody May congratulations on quitting your job. However, I would have advised you to first study a market before actually moving there; Nevertheless, you learn from mistakes so if anything just take it as a setback. If you're trying to find deals with little money down I suggest you find a seller finance deal or since you want to get into multi family you should apply for a FHA owner occupied loan. These loans allow you to put as little as 3.5% down. Follow your instincts and good luck!!