All Forum Posts by: Brent Barnes

Honestly I would look at your diet, are you eating junk? You shouldn't be exhausted mentally or physically from a teaching job. I worked in youth corrections with the worst children in the state, but still had the time to investigate and educate myself about real estate. It does come down to how bad you want it. In the back of your mind you probably know you don't want to be a teacher forever, that should be motivation for passive income that real estate can potentially bring. If its important you'll find a way, if not you'll find an excuse.

@Brent Barnes

Hi Brent,

I work 50 hours a week in the restaurant business and have done so for the past 20 years. I have a daily commute of between 45 minutes and 1 hr 15 min depending on where I work that day. I turned my car into "car university" as I heard suggested on the Bigger Pockets podcast. It takes a lot of energy to work ten hour shifts in a restaurant and then have the kind of commute I have, so I thought my work might suffer if I tried REI on the side. But the opposite happened. I was invigorated at work because I had a big "why" driving me. I now have 5 properties, 3 of which are on Airbnb, and I have just surpassed my W2 income this year with rental income - something I would have never thought possible with only 5 single family homes. I am so thankful to Bigger Pockets for the information and for the motivation to do this. And I'm glad I didn't let my full time job be my excuse to never get started. Good luck!

@Brent Barnes I bought my first property when I was working +70 hours a week in a super stressful job. Do whatever it takes to keep your mindset right! Read books. Listen to podcasts on your way to/from work. Keep an intention journal. Carve out those few minutes each day that you need to advance towards your goal. You don’t need to take huge steps each day. If you just do one small thing a couple times a week, you will get there before you know it!!

@Brent Barnes so I am also learning and we will be purchasing our first property this year as well. We have 3 boys all under the age of 6. My husband works full time as an electrian and I work part time at Ups and own a cleaning company in Fort Worth Texas. I started Sunshine Cleaning Services to start building our cash reserves. So while I am at work I always listen to pod casts from bigger pockets. That has helped me tremendously. I have learned so much! Honestly that has really given me the courage to purchase our first property. Now it's just about finding one that the numbers make sense. One tip I did hear on 1 of the podcasts is you can speed up the audio so you can listening to an extra 1 a day. So when you are walking or playing with the dog use that time to listen to the podcasts as well. That will give you the motivation you need to keep going ! Best of luck to you on your journey.

@Brent Barnes

Easy. Sell the dog. Then use the cash to buy Audible subscription and use the time/energy spent on the dog for podcasts and audio books.

@Brent Barnes

Brother it comes down to where you want to be in life in the next year, three years, ten years, etc. and what you are willing to do in order to reach your goals.

Remember the old saying that if it was easy everyone would do it? Same applies in real estate. Your why should give you that drive to put in the extra work now, work through delayed gratification, and reap the grand rewards your efforts may bring about later on.

I have flipped homes, done renovations from the joists to the roof spendings two hours here after long work day and some whole weekends at a time to get projects done. You HAVE to be willing to put in the work. Education, podcasts, seminars, and books are wonderful resources to learn strategies and be able to setup up solid bases but you have to jump out there and try it at some point. Expect to fail along the way, but plan your hardest not to. And when you do fail, learn from it in every way possible and never let failed plans stop you. The only time you truly lose is when you stop trying.

Educate yourself (due diligence), get a plan based off your schedule/lifestyle, and get after it. You can learn and adjust plenty along the way. After that, breath, prioritize, and execute.

@Brent Barnes - you don’t know how easy you have it right now. Enjoy it for all that is.

Two thoughts for you: (1) Jocko popped in my head. His simple answer would be, “figure it out. Just do it.” No need to overthink it. Just put 20-min a day into the activity. Your progress and development will come. (2) Time management is likely an opportunity for you. Consider Andy Frisella’s 75 Hard program (its free). It will give you focus, strengthen mindset and dial in your time management.

@Brent Barnes Find/buy/create a DEAL that forces you to learn. That's how I did it and I never looked back. I forced appreciation by living in a construction site. I've since moved on to another property (baby steps) and I'm currently looking for another deal. You can't sugar coat a property and assume anything in 2021. Retail buyers are driving the market. Don't get caught up in that and you'll be on the right path. 

You didn't mention any kids or difficult life situations. I'd think you could do the same working 40 hrs a week. The REI dream doesn't come over night. It takes a few years for people like us. I don't make very much money at the 9-5 but you can bet I track every freaking dollar coming in and going out for my properties. Set some realistic goals (6 months to save more cash, 6 months to find a DEAL, 6 months to remodel the property, at year 1 rent, refinance, and move out, etc.). Just like that you're 1.5 yrs into a property and moving the needle forward.

Most of us started this way. But your question frankly makes me worry about your chances of success. At this stage you should have so much motivation that you can't sleep at night. REI is not a decision, it is rather a passion. I have seen a lot of people that like the idea of REI and the financial impact it can have, but they have zero passion for the job, so their engagement is usually short lived.

Hey @Brent Barnes I currently work 60 hours a week with a 1 hr commute to and from work and have 2 small kids at home. I think “MINDSET” is everything. I work 20 Hours OT a week for 4 years now to fund my real estate investing. I could easily just work the regular 40 hrs and be complacent, but I have a vision that one day I will be out of the rate race and have generational wealth to pass on to my 2 kids. I create a To-do list for everyday and make my absolute best effort to complete those small tasks daily. Small tasks add up over time; analysis 1 property a day turns into doing 30 a month. By doing the little things I have managed to buy 2 rental properties in 4 years and hopefully another within the next 2 weeks. It’s not a sprint it’s a Marathon. I just wanted to share my personal experience to show IT CAN BE DONE. Reading and asking questions is what I recommend to do to gain knowledge as fast as possible then the next step is to go through it. Once you go through it you learn things that you can’t read in a book.