Getting Advice - What is the best way?

I thought I'd post this!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi! Thanks for adding me as a colleague! :) I can't wait to get to know you better! (not to sound creepy or anything...). I'm new to this site, but so far, the atmosphere is reassuring and packed with useful information. Anyway, congratulations for making $1 million in net assets! I hope I can do that someday. So, what got you started in the real estate business?

Brian Gibbons Sent on: 10/09/08 at 02:52PM   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Jamie:

Like anything in life, i am interested in what my friends do to make money.

So I hung out with millionaires in real estate, some residential, some commercial, some mixed use.

I found one guy (I was 24, he was 60) that was a millionaire, and he had owned many businesses as Silent Partners. Mostly were financing real estate and real estate services, like cleaning and renovating houses. He taught me a lot about RUNINNG BUSINESSES and helped me not with money but with knowledge.

One of my first books was http://www.amazon.com/Real-Estate-Money-Machine-Wade/dp/0974574988 Wade Cook. Although Wade did not pay his taxes, and got in trouble, his mind was before his time in creative financing.


In the late eighties, Barney Zick (Houston, http://zick.com) taught me more about negotiation than any "guru".

So, with the help of a mentor that I trusted (and he PUSHED ME) and with me reading a lot, I got my first property at 50% of value (estate sale), bought hard money (16% interest only, 10 pts for the privilege, 65% LTV), I got it rented on a lease option after a minor $8K rehab - cosmetic mostly - and I got them financed into a 3% down payment FHA after 6 months renting at market rent + a bit more.


Jamie, this market is not easy, but get a mentor with 10 - 20 yrs experience and you will make some money (maybe not a lot in the beginning like me! :) but you will learn HOW to do it, like CPA s and Lawyers and Financial Planners do learn their craft when they get their degree.   Ultimately, we are in the money and finance game. We need to learn the terminology and learn mortgage and private mortgage financing and learn small business skills.

If you need to stay motivated, then read this EVERY DAY:

http://finsecurity.com/finsecurity/mmmenu-topic.html?bjgibbon

Pick one subject you wish you had more of.

I hope this has helped you.

This is a terrific time to be in REI, and a great state is Georgia!
All the best,

Brian Gibbons
http://REISkills.TypePad.com
[email protected]