Hello from Massachusetts, I must be crazy.

[Mike Godfrey]

Hello,

I am living in a North Shore community just north of Boston.

The only experience I have with real estate is when I bought a house, fixed it up while I lived there, and sold it for a good profit. Then I put that profit into a townhouse in 06 that I live in now and it has lost about 25% of its value. But people seem to think now is a good time to buy....but who knows....

I'm here to learn. I've managed property in the past, I've done plenty of construction and have lots of contacts in the construction field. What I want to learn more about is how to get financing. I don't have much to start with (I put almost everything I had in the down payment of my townhouse), but I got to start somewhere. Banks seem to want 20-30% down payments for investment property. But I don't have anywhere near that amount, so I'm trying to see what opportunities exist for someone in my situation.

How does a regular guy get involved in real estate? I feel like the biggest hurdle right now is getting the financing. I have great credit and some money in the bank just not enough for a down payment of 20-30%. I'm looking at multifamily properties in the $300K range, but who has $60k just lying around?

I just joined a real estate club, first meeting is in a couple weeks. So I am going to try and get some tips there.

Anyways, just wanted to say hi and good luck to everyone!