All Forum Posts by: Chase Hayden

OK... I am 2 weeks into my real estate investing adventure. At this time, my goal is to rehab/flip 2 homes this year. I enjoy my current career, and do not want to leave it. Rather than investing in stocks/mutual funds/etc I would like to go a different route.

I have listened to 15 or so podcasts, read a bunch on the forums, and have attended 1 expo for REI. From everything that I have come across, it would seem that the basic template would be:

1.) Find home (distressed, foreclosed, short sale, etc)

2.) Rehab

3.) Sell

4.) Sit on beach with good looking girl sipping your favorite fruity drink. (just kidding)

I have a few close friends that are general contractors, floor layers, painters, etc. So I do not see the rehab part as being a big roadblock. I am more stuck on the house finding aspect. Would a newbie without real estate knowledge be better off going right to a wholesaler and taking the wholesaler cost into account with the 70% rule, or are they better suited finding a real estate agent to help them? I know there is also the option to go through the MLS, but without back-end access and not having experience I question my effectiveness of finding a "good" deal. I welcome your thoughts and council. Thanks.

Thanks again everyone for the recommendation to go, and for the discount code to get free tickets.

I really enjoyed the expo, but it was pretty overwhelming as a newbie. There were multiple break out classes with 15-40 people in them. It was good talking to people and asking questions. I few people stuck out and really took the time to answer my questions, and talk to me in a helpful way, while other people basically tried to end the conversation and talk to the next person when they realized I was a newbie and that I didn't have a clue what I was doing yet. All in all it was a great experience. It was good being able to ask questions and get answers in real time rather than reading them (not that reading here hasn't been awesome, just a different experience).

Thanks again.

Thanks for the input everyone. I signed up to go (thanks for the discount code idea @Daniel Guillermo @Uyen Hoang , and @David Edgerton ). I have recruited a few people to go with me to bounce ideas with while we are there, and so that I don't fall into the trap of going, and being to shy to ask questions. Apparently both my father and uncle have been doing work with Lifestyles (not investing, fixing stuff for the investment properties) so when I invited my father to go with me he gladly accepted, and said he would introduce me to a few guys that invest with them... small world.

I will let everyone know how it goes after attending tomorrow.

I am very new to BiggerPockets, and to real estate investing as a whole. It is something I have wanted to do for a while, and after procrastinating long enough, I finally decided it was time for me to learn more about this longing I have had for a while.

Needless to say, I have listed to some podcasts, read the beginners guide, forum posts in the last few days, and have multiple books on order to start reading.

This weekend in Houston Lifestyles Unlimited will be having an expo ($39) and I was wondering if it is worth it. I have read multiple posts about "gurus" and tiered programs and don't want to waste money walking around talking to vendors and contractors since I am not knowledgeable enough to invest at this time. On the other hand, if there are classes, basic "how to get started" discussions, and people I could pick brains with, I would not hesitate to drop $39 and go. From what I have read here on BP, and across the internet, I do not see myself signing up with them, but I am always a fan of more information.

Any thoughts you have for a newbie with 0 experience would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Thanks for the warm welcome yall. I would tag you individually, but I am not quite sure how to do that yet. Thanks again!

Hello everyone, I am new to the site and to real estate. I have been reading through the forums for a while now, and finally decided to create an account and become more active with it.

My full time profession is no where near the real estate realm, so I feel like I am going back to school again with new vocabulary, acronyms, and lingo, but I am enjoying it so far.

At this time I believe I would like to have single family home rental properties, but to be honest, I am still to new to know what I want to commit to as of yet. I still feel like I do not know nearly enough.

Needless to say, I just wanted to introduce myself. I originally stumbled across the site looking for books (beginners guide) to investing.