I've started so now what??
Has anyone out there found it overwhelming that has recently started their journey and found getting started seem like an impossible task? Here I am in my 40's and really just starting out in the marketplace due to the fact I stayed home most of my adult life raising kids.
Well, the last of the kids are in high school now and I'm really seriously thinking more about my future. You ask, why hasn't she thought of it sooner? Aren't we all supposed to start saving money and investing right out of high school?
I don't know if anyone out there can relate but my husband and I (who I met in high school) have done everything wrong in our lives that you can possibly imagine! We got married way too young and started having kids right away and we have been through many jobs and businesses and have ended up empty handed and worse in debt with nothing to show for it! A lot had to do with irresponsibility and due to the "hard knock" school of life instead of taking great advice from wise people.
Now that I'm finding myself in this world of investing I am terrified that I will "lost my shirt" in my new ventures. Apparantly I still have the courage to move forward however the start in my real estate investing has been at a snail's pace!
And what's up with all the areas you can get involved in? Once I started diving into this stuff I've been amazed at how many ways one can make money in this business!
What I have concluded is that I am just trying to help others in their businesses in order to learn and looking for that next step to take to be able to eventually go out on my own! The biggest hurdle to face has been that I am finding deals and I don't have any money. I also know that the job I have now doesn't pay me enough and I can't live long enough or work long enought to be able to save the amount of money to get started.
Is there such a thing as a "no money" down deal? I've yet to come across one and I've been hoping and praying for the deal to come along if I dig deep enough.
I've decided to just start blogging to share inner thoughts and perhaps some of the new investors out there can relate to me one way or anotherf!
Comments (4)
Hey Jessica,
You mentioned that you are coming across deals. That is the name of the game. Pass those deals onto friends who are in the game. See if they buy the property that they will give you $1,000 or maybe $2,000. Would that help??
After a few of those, you will have the money to get into a buy and hold.
OR ask every seller that you come across if they would be open to taking a little down payment and payments for the next 10 or so years.
Rick Pozos, over 5 years ago
Hi, Jessica.
I'm a fairly new investor - I am currently working on my first flip and recently bought a one bedroom condo to rent out. My goal is to go full time as an investor.
Like you, I'm not a young investor - I figured out just 18 months ago at the age of 49 (and a divorced mom of two teens supporting a household ) that I want to pursue this path! I have been an accountant all of my adult life but am looking for a stable second act career and cash flow to fund my hopefully-not-too-far-off retirement. Fortunately, I had some capital to get myself started and I got my boyfriend hooked on the idea as well, so we are investing together. I applaud you for taking the first step and encourage you not to give up. It took almost a year and several deals that didn't work out before I really got started.
I concur that tackling any "bad" debt is a good place to start. I own my car outright and pay off my credit cards in full every month. This gives me a lot more flexibility towards my goal of getting out of the 9-5. Set a budget, make a plan, track your progress. Take a second job, AirBnB a spare room, trade down to an older car, do whatever you need to do to clear up your financials because at mid-life with kids, risking losing it all by being over-leveraged is a dangerous proposition.
Good luck!
Tracey
Tracey G., almost 8 years ago
Hi Jessica, I am a newbie as well and am experiencing some of those same emotions. I recently quit my job to pursue my real estate investing career, just this week in fact! There are far better and more qualified people to respond to this post then me when it comes to real estate but let me offer you some advice from the personal finance side and a little from the emotional side. These are steps that can be taken to help yourself out;
1. Make a personal budget - excel offers standard personal budget templates that you can use to create this. Figure out what streams of income you have coming in and most important where you are bleeding money and then figure out a strategy to plug the holes.
2. Credit cards - If you have credit cards, this should be the first thing you should tackle. If your credit card charges you interest than roll the balance over to a credit card which offers interest free credit for an introductory period, like IMMEDIATELY. Citi offers an 18 month interest free period, you will have to pay a fee on the roll over but the money saved by not having to pay interest is well worth it. Having the interest free period means you are getting free money which will give you flexibility to pay down the debt and you won't be throwing away money by paying credit card interest.
3. Read Rich Dad Poor Dad (could argue this should be #1) - this book will stimulate the creative financial thinking part of your brain and really its a must read if you are serious about this career path
4. Stay focused and committed - The path is going to have bumps, I am experiencing them already, but that's when you dig your heals in. Remember when life ends there is no reset button, we don't get to pick the parts of our life we want to redo. You have started down a path you know will make you happy keep going, stick close to bigger pockets (this has helped me a lot even before I became an official member).
Now I don't know if you feel this way, but being new even I say to myself, "Why didnt I figure this out sooner" especially when I read about some 20 year old investor who has already made it in real estate. But such thinking misses the bigger picture, which is YOU FIGURED IT OUT. That is all that matters, remember there are A LOT of souls already in the ground who never did.
Best of luck and feel free to reach out!
Gary Domermuuth, almost 8 years ago
There are ways to get 0 money down, like if you are a veteran some programs allow that. Another way is having family or colleagues invest in you and give you the money to get started. Its often hard to have that happen if you do not already have a portfolio. My best advice would we to budget like a junky and be as frugal as you can. Set up a runway of emergency cash for a year, and start with cash and a conventional loan 3% down or if you cant qualify for that, an FHA loan. There are a lot of good books out there that would help.
"Set for life" is a great book I just finished. Really put me in the mindset of how to be frugal and how to get started even if you're struggling in debt.
Again, I would focus on trying to pay off that debt first, if you don't want to take that route because it might take just too long... you can always look at focusing on setting aside your bills and save everything after that and work off of that.
Wil Reichard, almost 8 years ago