Eager Newbie ready to invest!

[Mia Garic]

Good Afternoon,

My name is Mia Garic and I wanted to introduce myself to the BP community. I have always had a passion in real estate and have finally started reading, researching, and doing what I can to get started as an new investor. I appreciate all the forums and podcasts, and I am looking forward to my first webinar. I am located in Austin,TX , usually traveling back and forth from Austin to Phoenix,AZ, and I would like to connect with others in the area and network. If you are in the area, please feel free to reach out, looking forward to making new connections!

[Michael Lee]

T.   Hello and welcome to BP!  I currently live in Sallas County and I have several friends that moved to Austin but none are in real estate.  Austin should be a good place to be around.  It has changed very much with many housing options.  I listen to two guys down there called "Paperless Agents" every Thursday at 11:00am.  They have stayed very up to date on digital marketing.  They are really doing ads at Facebook.  One of the guys (the president) has been in the real estate business for about 20 years and the other guy has been doing marketing for about 20 years and now, among other things, teach a class for$67.00 per month.

Keep whatever niche you select to a simple task and keep it simple, when you start.  The main reason I have not paid for what they offer is because when I was 54 (now 60) I had a brain anuerism and a stroke very surprisingly.  I was very unexpected because my Docter had been telling me for about 30 years. Your networking in Phoenix is the smart to do with people you trust and will help you to reduce your traveling.

Do not trust anybody unless you know them well.  Do not assume anything and stay in control of what you are responsible for.  I am 60 years old now and I found BP about 19 months ago.  I have not made any decisions yet because of my medical condition.  I cannot walk or drive yet but my wife, luckily, has been saving money for about 25 years and she is very frugal.  She is a computer programmer who I am trying to talk to her about the importance of diversification.

When I was young my father use to take down to Austin several times when he was in the carpet business and was working for a friend that was building apartments.  He is now about 82 years old and has been in real estate (mostly  commercial) brokerage for about 45 years and has taught me a little bit.  I had a broker license for about 30 years but never did that full time.  I felt more comfortable in the construction business. I have been in that business since I was 17 including those college years eventhough my business degree emphasized real estate.

Several of my freinds have moved down to Austin but none are in the real estate business. After my brain anuerism and stroke I became most interested in a thing that is more flexible. There are several things you might should do before you start investing and have selected your niche. One of those things is to form some type of corporation or a LLC.

You might need to hire an attorney and/or a CPA to advise you on the best way to go.  That way you can keep your personal things out of reach by any legal action.  Another thing to consider is to figure out any financing you will need and get a loan letter that says the average closing time for your loan and the maximum amount you qualified for.  Another item to consider is an office location that is convenient and has minimal distractions.

You can locate your office in your place if you can close it off and has minimal distractions.  Track all expenses and income on the properties you own and review them regularly and try to cut expenses and increase income.  Having others involved will help you.  Do not cut any corners to make something look better on paper but not in actuality.  Do not think that a business card title of a person means they know anymore than you.

Good luck to you!