Novice from Houston Area

[Aaron Foster]

My name is Aaron Foster. I live in Stafford, Texas which is a suburb of Houston. I have been a waiter by profession for about 8 years. Just a young single guy working and living with my roommate. I am not formally educated, but I have a strong passion for learning nonetheless. When a subject interests me, I just read up on it as much as I can until I can put it into action. I love learning new things.

I have been interested in real estate investing for about ten years. My first introduction to real estate investing was taking Russ Whitney's REI course. From there, I read various books as well, but I never got to a place where I felt confident enough to put what I had learned into action.

I have recently been reading about the subject of wholesaling, especially on biggerpockets.com. It appeals to me because it is a way to get started in real estate investing that doesn't require a large amount of money. My profession affords me a limited amount of disposable income.

At this point, I have joined my local real estate investing club (RICH Club Houston). I have been able to take a couple of wholesaling classes and do a lot of networking there. I have also started a direct mail campaign, which has gotten me on the phone with several sellers. My budget is small, so I can only afford to send out so much mail consistently without landing a deal. Therefore, I am currently seeking to mail to a market rich with motivation to sell quickly and below market value.

My first mailing went out to out-of-state absentee owners with property near my zip code and equity at 91-100%. The sellers I have spoken to so far do not seem to have an urgent need to sell, but I have gotten some good practice using my phone scripts. However, I am thinking of adjusting my target market to get a little more bang for my buck. Perhaps a different percentage in equity or maybe target probates or mortgage lates. I'm sure I'll find my answer once I ask the right question.

Even though I am still seeking my first deal, I would have never gotten to this point without the articles that I've read and the people I have come in contact with on this site. The thing that blows me away is how willing the more seasoned investors are to share what they know. I am trying something completely new, but I can move forward with confidence because whenever I have a question, I can just post it here and get almost immediate responses. I am grateful to have found this site, and I hope to be more of a contributor in the future. Anywhoo, I read something that said I should introduce myself here, so there we have it. I wish everyone bigger pockets.