New to this site. What an awesome site!!!!!

[Douglas J.]

Hello, everyone!

My name Doug and I have wanted to get in the real estate game for years! I became a patron at a pool hall with a snooker table(love that game) and the owner at the time was a hands on owner. As I spent more time there and got to know the owner, he began talking to me about real estate investing. He moved the bar/pool room to a new facility and I helped him build a new bar in one end of the building. I would come in after hours(2am) to work on it. It was during this time that Joe started talking to me more seriously about real estate. He explained that he had purchased the new property with no money down. I didn't realize at the time that he was beginning to take me under his wing. I listened and started researching online and reading books. I just didn't believe that I could do it, too!

I left his business and began an insurance sales career. Despite what I was told about it being my own business, it was anything but!! I was still being told when to be at the office, how many appointments I had to have and so on. That lasted about 18 months and ate up about 20k of hard earned dollars and I spent more time working at that than when I was butcher working 60-70 hour weeks and made less than 10k total. I was very good at getting appointments and building rapport with clients. I just couldn't make the sale. It's tough selling a product that you cannot see or touch, outside of a piece of paper. I do believe that this was to help me later, in this business.

I went back to work for Joe. it was then that he told me he had planned to bring me on a deal he was looking at when I worked there before. He had done the deal and it seemed to be going okay. Fortunately, I was not involved when the deal went south and he gave the property back due to an issue that I do not have the details on. He continued to talk to me about REI, but let me know that it would be up to me to act on it. Anytime I had a question or advice, he would be glad to help me as much as he could. I continued to work for him until March 2011.

Fast forward to February 21, 2012. I was working for a new company. I came home for lunch and had unknown and extremely rare condition in my spinal cord bleed. This rendered me paralyzed. Fortunately, surgery was able to fix the problem but not all of the effects. I can now walk with a cane but there are many other issues that I must take medications for to be able to cope and have a somewhat 'normal' life. This does not include being able to work a regular job.

As I laid in the hospital for the next six weeks, I research and read as much as I could on REI. I didn't have any idea if I would ever be able to walk again and had to find a way to support my family. I spent the next 8 months in short term care, and physical therapy. Had to spend down to qualify for medicaid so that the medical communities could get paid for my care. I opted out of my company insurance, it was a joke. It wouldnt have paid even 1% of my bills.

So, here I am, nearly two years later trying to live on 12k a year with a family of 4. I am not willing to live the rest of my life like this. I am not trying to get rich quick.I know that this is a process and a journey. I to will get rich, eventually, through REI. I just need as much help as I can get. Whatever it takes.

I belive that I was brought to this state of poverty, as the way to make me realize, I have, literally, nothing to lose and everything to gain. I am now ready to take the next step.