When should I start making $$$?

Question

Guys, I am working with a real estate investor as the acquisitions manager, but we haven't closed on a deal since I've been with the company - over 5 months.  I'm at a crossroads...

I'm a recent college graduate, living at my parents house with my wife and daughter.  Rent is free, so I'm able to afford to work for free for a little while, but I can't go much further for free.  Should I get a part-part job, or even a full-time job so I can start making money and invest in rental properties on my own?  Or should I stick it out with the RE investor?  Or should I find another RE investor who is actually making deals happen - which I've found?

The problem with leaving my current mentor is that she has spent a lot of time and money on me through various trainings.  I feel a certain sense of loyalty to her.  But I want to learn more about RE, and make $$$$.  We're never going to move out of my parents' house if I'm an eternal student...

Your replies are greatly valued!

Jeff Filali · Answer

@Jared Abbott Need more details to advise you.  Have you located deals that the investor just hasn't liked or closed on?  Or are you saying you haven't located any deals worth closing on?  Two totally different problems.

If you're locating deals that you feel are great deals within the target criteria of the investor, but they aren't closing on them, you need to have some other investors evaluate the deals, and may want to consider working for other investors.  I would never work with only one investor unless I knew they were actually going to buy the deals that fit their criteria.

If you're not finding any deals worth closing on, then maybe you need to ask for help locating deals or get into another business.

On another note, take a job to earn regular income, and continue the real estate part time. How bad do you want it?  Take two jobs, and grind everyday!!  I'd be taking advantage of your current living situation to generate as much income as possible, and save up enough cash to start investing on your own.  That's how I got started, downsized my lifestyle, found a way to live with very little overhead, was able to pay off all my debt and saved up enough cash to get started in real estate.  Best decision I ever made, sacrificed for a few years, but it took me from the JOB lifestyle (Just Over Broke) to being debt free, with cash in savings and being able to start investing in real estate and now making well over 6 figures after my first 12 months.

Craig Curelop · Answer

@Jared Abbott - It is tough for me to gauge the relationship between you and your real estate investor/mentor. I would suggest having a conversation with her, see what her plans are, and then decide if you want to be part of it. Great success often times follows great failures and 5 months really is not THAT long of a time, especially if you are in the Raleigh, NC market.

I would suggest picking up Uber/Lyft driving part time as a means to make some extra income for you and your family. You can save up some money and start doing a few deals on your own.

Hope this helps!

Best,

Craig

I would suggest picking up Uber/Lyft driving part time as a means to make some extra income for you and your family. You can save up some money and start doing a few deals on your own.

Hope this helps!

Best,

Craig

Christopher Brainard · Answer

@Jared Abbott

Without knowing all the details of the situation, its really hard to make a judgement call, but if you've been working full time for five months, strictly marketing for properties, and you haven't found any, you're in trouble. Either the system that you're using isn't effective at all, the criteria that you're using is worthless, you're a terrible salesman, or you aren't putting in maximum effort. The first two could possibly be fixed by learning from a different investor, but even if you're just knocking doors or sending direct mail, five months is a long time to go without randomly running into someone who wants to sell. If you've been getting the marketing contacts and just haven't been able to close, you can learn salesman skills. Anyhow, you need to identify specifically why you aren't finding any homes, and go from there.

-Christopher

Chris Martin · Answer

@Jared Abbott not sure of what your parameters are or what you are looking for. I am/was acquisitions manager for my company. I am not active in Wake county, but a quick look at active and pending trustee sales shows the market is still competitive and volumes are still reasonable. I've seen worse, but I'll say I'm glad I'm not you;) I don't miss the newbie bidders walking the price up to retail and beyond.

Most places start from the company's business objectives. For most, flipping is very different, acquisition wise, from buy & hold. The better defined your objective and operational matrix the more likely you are to succeed, IMO. Sounds like it's time to "reset" and reexamine the objectives.

When should I start making $$$?

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