New Member Introduction

[Cameron Dirck]

Hello BP! My name is Cameron Dirck and I live in Chicago, IL. I recently graduated North Central College in Naperville, IL and am so eager to tackle my 1st multifamily deal. I am going book crazy and probably driving my family nuts about real estate because I constantly tell them "lets make some money and get in those offers!". I am absorbing all the knowledge possible about multifamily and hopefully will get to network with some of you!

Thank you guys for all the knowledge you give on a daily basis!

Cameron Dirck  

[Daniel A.]

Hello Cameron,

I just wanted to reach out to congratulate you on being so decisive and understanding the importance of education. I see so many people who decide they want to get into real estate because they see how others are making money, they then start asking how to get financing from lenders other than banks. They don't take the time to learn and to understand what all goes into being good at real estate. They think it's as cut and dry as buying a property and letting someone stay there for X amount per month.

Once you start delving into the nuances, you realize there are a whole bunch of laws you have to follow, a whole lot of ethical guidelines you must acknowledge, and a whole lot of work you have to put in before you can get to that point where you're bringing in the cash.

But I also mention that there comes a point where you can only educate yourself but so much before you bog yourself down with facts and knowledge, but nothing to which to apply it. And the thing about education, as I am sure we all know very well, you can read a book on tenant screening, but until you actually screen a tenant, there is a dichotomy between knowledge and experience. You can become knowledgeable about how to screen a tenant by reading a book, but the experience is where you apply the knowledge to create a more in-depth understanding.

I will throw out a quick story. When I worked up all of my documentation for a tenant to sign before moving in, I though it was all perfect. I had my friend look it over and he pointed out a few discrepancies - small stuff, you know, different penalty amounts in the Lease from those in the House Rules Addendum. Small stuff, but things that would come back on you were you to need to enforce them in a court of law. And then I had my Move-In Accounting Sheet. When I had a tenant sitting in front of me as I filled it out, I realized how disorganized it was on a practicality scale. It had all the lines for the security deposit and the first month's rent amount and so on and so forth, but once we actually sat down to fill it out, I realized it could be so much more fluid if I moved some fields around.

Keep the education a priority, as you will never learn everything, but also, be proactive. Get out there and talk, tell others what you do (or what you want to do), as it sounds like you're doing, and most of all, enjoy yourself. If you enjoy yourself, you lessen the stress and anger when you go over budget or when a drywaller doesn't show up.