All Forum Posts by: Christina R.

I agree with @Russell Brazil

 that's why you  need to network in person at local REIAs so you come to understand who the legit ones are (not so many) and I agree, take your time.  There's the excitement but you can really be in trouble quick if you don't have knowledge. 

Great job and great detail in your experience, thanks for sharing so much.  Like you, my second campaign did not fare as well but it's also a consistency play - it may not be this month or even this year but when they're ready, the one that has mailed the most probably is the one that is going to get the call.  

keep up the good work!!

@Carson Sweezy

 @Karen Y.

http://www.meetup.com/bwimeetup  

They are actually having a happy hour in Northern Virginia next month.  

Meeting is the 2nd Weds of the month near the BWI airport

General meeting is always free to attend!!  There is a fee to pitch products or services.

D'Aydra,

Actually I think wholesales are a great way to get a good foundation in REI because you have to learn how to evaluate deals and estimate costs - and those 2 aspects stretch over multiple facets of REI. The way I went about it is I went to many meetups and REIAs, did a ton of reading here on BP, bought some books (check out the 2 by J Scott that are offered here on BP/Amazon) and listened to how successful wholesalers go about it in this area (@Terry Royce is a prime example). All the while - because that took me several months because that's the speed I felt comfortable progressing at - I was saving some $ to start a direct mail campaign (@Jerry Puckett). Then when I was ready to try, I took the $ and the knowledge and started. What was great was I had established a support system in the months leading up so I could ask for advice and I had people ready to buy my deals and luckily I got two. I also took people out and paid for dinner or lunch while they let me ask a million questions. That's what worked for me because I had an idea of how I wanted it to progress (wholeselling to using that $ to buy rentals). It didn't quite work out in that order but the former has helped with the latter and now doing my first rental - which is requiring a fair amount of work to get rent-ready - I am learning so much that helps me evaluate deals, so I can wholesale better (and rehab better).

There are so many different ways to make money in REI and this site can be overwhelming at times but you can learn so much by punching a few keywords in the search engine and just reading.

Good luck!

Welcome to BP!  Sounds like you had a great first investment experience with your beach rental (at some point I'd really like to pick your brain about that).  This sight will answer a lot of your questions and also hopefully some people up your way in MoCo can chime in with local REIAs and Meetups that you can attend.  My personal fave is the BWI Meetup which a lot of BPers attend but there are many all over the DMV area. 

Welcome to BP - I know what you mean about it being an addictive website!! So much to learn here. As Robert mentioned, wholesaling has a low barrier to entry but it is probably one of the hardest things in REI to do effectively as there are many different parts you need to master to be EFFECTIVE. Wholesellers tend to have a bad rep but the ones that are good and ethical are worth their weight in gold.

It really helped me to attend local REIA meetings and meetups.. I listened alot and watched to see who the main players are in my area. I would suggest you do the same because these people will help you with your wholesaling, they'd love to buy your deals if they are great deals!!!

Good luck!

Awesome - keep up the great work!

go to the Hub City REIA meeting in Hagerstown and discuss with investors there . Mike Webb probably mentioned a guy that attends that knows that area. You might find someone to JV it with - after all Hagerstown is over an hour from here and Cumberland farther.. even a project manager needs to be checked up on with regularity.

Today my first rough-in inspection failed (HVAC)  - need to put the return in the ceiling instead of the floor upstairs per the inspector (who I'm told by my contractor is one of those nasty inspector guys... I couldn't tell ya!).  

So I tried the "glass half full approach" by asking my HVAC guy, "Did we pass everything else?"  the response was yes so I said, "well great, then all we have to fix is this one thing." 

He was like, "No, not great - I was expecting a check from you today"  because he gets his next payment when the rough in is greenlighted.

I can almost guarantee you this will be fixed in 24 hours and our only hold up will be scheduling with Mr. Inspector to come around again.

Hence my comment above - s/he who controls the majority of the money is in control of the project.  With the 3 major trades I did a third-third-third.  Third up front (so far so good, but that could have been a major mistake), third at rough in and third at final.  Going forward it's going to be much different with the bulk of it coming at the final. 

Maryland law stipulates a contractor cannot ask for more than 1/3 up front.  Though when I was getting quotes people liked to throw out 50% all the time....

Welcome - you have a REIA right in your back yard.

Google MAREIA and check it out, I used to go there.  my personal fave now is the BWI Meetup - a little distance for you but I think well worth it.