What can I bring to the table as a complete newbie?

Question

Andrew Holmes · Answer

Hi Emery. Like a few folks wrote earlier you have a great attitude. It's a huge plus to start out with good attitude please don't lose that as you gain experience.

Just a couple of simple suggestions

1. Spend all your time looking at houses. Doesn't really matter what you look at in the beginning. Look at short sales, pre foreclosures, fixed up deals. Just look for the sake of looking. Take one area and get to know the inventory. Every single sale. Get to the auction pricing, MLS pricing and other third party sales. Each will have a different pricing structure. You will start seeing patterns. You will start finding people who do multiple flips. If you have access to your local MLS if you have a license or if you know how to down load owner tax data you will be able to sort for all recent sales with seller or buyers. I would identify the ones with multiple sales and I would start observing what they are buying properties for. What they sell them for. Who has been in business for a long time.

2. At the same time start going to local REIA meeting. Talk to everyone and take everything that is said with a grain of salt. Please DO NOT BELIEVE what people say. Look at the long term results. In a place like Baltimore there are hundreds of very successful real estate people at all different tiers. Start getting to know them and start figuring who you want to emulate.

The greatest ability you can learn that costs no money is get to know your market inside out. Every single sale. I mean every single sale in your suburb or area. Then start by making offers. The best way to control deals is get good ones under contract and then it's easy to find partners when you know your number.

Thanks. Hope that helps

Andrew.

Steve Vaughan · Answer

Hi @Emery Green!  I like your attitude.  So many want to just find a mentor and have everything handed to them early on.  Refreshing to hear your take on it!

The best requests I have received have been from folks who just offer to come help someday.  Turning a rental or remodeling, painting or pulling weeds or whatever.  They have seen me in the yards working at one of my apt buildings or have been the appliance delivery guy or in the paint or flooring dept when I made a purchase.  They just offer to be 'around it'.  Obviously in turn I would work beside them and share what I know of what they are interested in while we work.

Another way is to bring an opportunity to a meetup and run it by an ethical pro for analysis help.  Keep your ear to the ground at work, church, the gym or wherever for someone sharing about a friend or whomever that needs to sell a place. Lots of people in transition if we just listen for it!

Jennifer King · Answer

Thanks, @Emery Green, for bringing up this topic! I had been wondering the same thing, and this comment thread really helped me come up with some ideas. Special thanks to @Mindy Jensen and @JJ Conway for suggesting we newbies remember hat we have skills in other (non-real estate) areas!

JJ Conway · Answer

@Emery Green I love this question!!!

In addition to what @Steve Vaughan said (which is awesome by the way), I would add on look at what skills you DO have - real estate related or not - and offer those up. For example, if you work in design, perhaps offer to help investors at your local meetup or REIA with staging in return for mentoring.

Another thing is to offer to volunteer to help work the REIA or meetup events - when I host seminars I let the volunteers get in free and they also get materials. So that's another idea that might help you.

Finally, don't be afraid to spend a little taking the experienced investor out to lunch or something.  I've found that WELL worth the cost.  I had a friend who said he got a mentor's attention by offering to pay him just to ride in his car for a day as he worked on properties. I don't think  you need to pay anyone (plenty of free mentors here on BP and at your local group) - just throwing that out as an example of what a newbie did to get himself some valuable education.

JJ Conway · Answer

Hi @Bonnie Holmes so glad you're here!Actually, from what you wrote you bring a LOT to the table!  You come with design experience, and you come with good connections in most areas that a rehabber might need.  While I hear of rehabbers who build their team and stay with it, I've seen more people having to continually rebuild your team.  Put all that together, and you are one marketable chica! Look forward to interacting with you!

Ned Carey · Answer

@Emery Green wow you have gotten some great advice here. I vaguely recall in another post you said you weren't back in Baltimore yet. If that is true hit some local investor groups. You will probably get a little different perspective from the groups in Baltimore.

When iin Baltimore I strongly suggest going to the BWI Meetup (hit other groups too, just don't miss the BWI group) Lots of people at all levels ther to talk to beginner up to nationally known investors. Go talk to anyone with an Advisory Board badge. They are there to help new members and can refer you to others in the group. Easy to find BWI Meetup on Google

JJ Conway · Answer

@Emery Green and @Jennifer King there are SO many talents out there that an exprienced investor may not have- in a sense you're bartering your talent for their educating you.  I'm always partnering with folks who are good at marketing, photography, videography, hosting, event planning, etc (or just plain volunteering at my events).  Someone wanted to learn about investing, and I needed my last rehab recorded so I could make a new class.  win win for both of us.

I'm sure you both will do just fine, since you seem to be the type to take action!

Mindy Jensen · Answer

I'm going to jump on top of what @JJ Conway said. What do you know how to do? What is your current job, hobby, passion?

There are a lot of investors who aren't so awesome with computers. They may need help organizing their data or files. Perhaps they have money, but no sense of style.

You have things you can offer investors - as a psychologist selling a property in SF, you may have a couple of dollars you could use to fund a project - in return for some hands-on experience.

But like @Steve Vaughan said, offering to do the very basics can yield huge returns. Anyone can paint. Anyone can pull weeds. Anyone can clean.

Paul Timmins · Answer

@Emery Green

Welcome. You have been given some good advice. Fill in the foundation below to be more valuable.

Check out the Start Here page http://www.biggerpockets.com/starthere

Check out BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginner's Guide - A fantastic free book that walks through many of the key topics of real estate investing.

Check out the free BiggerPockets Podcast - A weekly podcast with interviews and a ton of great advice. And you get the benefit of having over 100 past ones to catch up on.

Locate and attend 3 different local REIA club meetings great place to meet people gather resources and info. Here you will meet wholesalers who provide deals and rehabbers (cash buyers). Find them through Google and meetup.com You should also connect with the local landlord association meetings.

Two Great reads, I bought both J. Scott The Book on Flipping Houses,  The Book on Estimating ReHab Costs  http://www.biggerpockets.com/flippingbook

Download BP’s newest book here some good due diligence in Chapter 10. Real Estate Rewind Starting over

http://www.biggerpockets.com/files/user/brandonatbp/file/real-estate-rewind-a-biggerpockets-community-book

Good Luck

Paul

Account Closed · Answer

What a great post. @Emery Green You are getting me motivated :-) and thanks to @Ned Carey for posting about the BWI meetup. The link for it is here: http://www.meetup.com/BwiMeetup/

Next meeting is 2 May (I won't be free Wednesday nights until the end of the semester but when I get a chance I will be going to this.)

What can I bring to the table as a complete newbie?

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