All Forum Posts by: Cole Swartz

As others often point out on BP, focus on your strengths and not your weaknesses. Starting out, you obviously are lacking in capital and experience (track record of successful deals), perhaps for no fault of you own. However, you can make up for those initial deficits in other areas. Human capital (your education and knowledge) as well as networking (connections) are both things you have control over. If you know how to run the numbers and have invested a good amount of time in your education, you should be able to find good deals. And thus, if you have legitimately good deals and are out there constantly interacting with folks, such as on BP as well as local REIAs and so forth, you should be able to find ways to make those deals happen. Might not be the way you originally imagined your first deal or two going down, and you might have to partner up, but as is often said, a part of a deal is better than no deal at all. Plus, it would give you a successful track record to build on and give you more legitimacy when pursuing the kinds of financing you mentioned in the OP.

Joel,

I imagine you are getting quite a few questions about this success story. If you don't mind, I just have a few quick questions for you?

You are currently where I aspire to be. I am 20 and I am on track to graduate next Spring. I've been lurking on Bigger Pockets and trying to soak up all I can and will be starting to post more and immerse myself in the community rather soon. Upon graduating and landing my first job, the goal is to purchase a Multi-Family with an FHA and "house hack". Until that time however, I would like to position myself as best I can before then. Saving (obvious), credit (building up as much credit and best score I can), networking (BP, LinkedIn, Local REIs, and learning as much as I can here on BP so that if a bigger opportunity potentially comes along, I have the tools and ability to go after it.

After going back and reading one of your first posts on BP, I see you had some experience with flipping through your family and growing up. I also see that as of roughly 1 year ago you pursued a business partnership with a local business owner with you getting your realtor license and him getting his contractor license. Is this partnership still ongoing and did you end up getting your realtor license?

So I guess my questions would be along the lines of what things did you do to help set yourself up

1.) What was your financial situation looking like upon graduating (credit, savings, etc)?

2.) Obviously, being a young person and not having the highest credit or savings, not the easiest to self-finance deals. And without any experience, kind of hard to build trust to secure partnerships or private money early on without a track record. Any suggestions for overcoming these difficulties as a young person in your first couple deals?

3.) How did balance the timeline of pursuing a job following graduation with trying to jump into REI as quickly as possible. Would just be interested in your mindset there.

4.) And finally, any other suggestions you would have for me over the next year or so before I graduate?

Cole