Looking for a mentor

[Justin Wooten]

I have been working in law enforcement for 18 years in north Texas and as time goes on I find myself not enjoying it any longer mainly due to the current conditions but that's for another time. I have been interested in real estate investing for years and was actually driving two hours weekly to Dallas REIN and found the people and education to be not very helpful with my learning style. I live in Johnson county Texas and I am looking for a mentor close to me to help me start investing where I live. I would need to begin on a part time basis until I can supplement my current income. Any one willing to help would be greatly appreciated.

[Brett Snodgrass]

@Justin Wooten well there ya go:)  

Sounds great. You can read through the Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Wholesaling and get The Book on Flipping Houses first. 

Then I'd recommend to land a good mentor for wholesaling to do the following (you can tweak the advice for flipping as well). 

1. Set up a keyword alert for your specific area.

2. I'd then create a post on BiggerPockets saying where you are from and that you're looking for advice on how to find an ethical mentor in your area.

^This will help promote you with other people who have keywords set up for your area. (this post could work but sometimes they get taken down for solicitation. If this happens just do what I'm recommending)

3. Then I'd be on the lookout for established wholesalers and investors in your area that pop up from your keywords. You can also join your local REIAs (search meetup.com) and find investors there.

4. Once you find a few that look interesting, take them out to coffee. Make sure you interview them and get a feel for them. (working with them is a mutual agreement)

5. If you like them, and they seem like a good fit, then ask if you were to find some deals, if you could bring the deals to them for them to buy and then offer a 60/40 split (they get 60%) if they'll agree to walk you through the process of closing on it/selling it. And state that you'd obviously do a lot of the leg work, you'd just need to be shown what to do.

6. Then offer, if they have any other needs in their business, that you're really hungry to get involved and to learn the business, so if they needed help answering phones, cleaning toilets or whatever, that you'd love an opportunity to work with them and help out.

7. Then actually do it, if they offer you something.

8. Begin looking for deals via free resources, (here's a good guide to get you in the right direction: https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2014/04/2...). Also consider driving for dollars, posting signs at coffee shops, etc.

9. Learn how to run comps and analyze deals the best you can (search on the BP blog for 65% rule for wholesalers) and then when you think one might be a good deal, bring it to the investor who has agreed to purchase the property, and ask him to confirm your comps and give you feedback.

10. Then if he likes it, boom: you now have a real estate mentor and you just rinse and repeat moving forward.

Many investors are happy to help, but lack the time. Being able to provide value just makes it doable for many of them. 

Lastly, just a tip for Bigger Pockets forums - if you use the @ symbol before a name and click on it when it pops up that person is notified when you're talking about them. Almost didn't see that you had responded:)