All Forum Posts by: CJ Witmer

Matthew Koch , mind if I ask what you paid for the property?

David Venancio I was in the process with the bank on a 203k loan for my personal home when someone came in and yanked out all the copper. The bank told me I was out of luck, but nothing had been signed and maybe they needed to get rid of the place because they came back and asked me to get 3 quotes of local plumbers to do the repairs and then, of course, pursue the lowest. So they knocked off that amount from the purchase price. We mentioned this to our contractor and once he started, his plumber did it about $300 cheaper than our lowest quote, so we got kinda lucky there! Lemons out of lemonade I guess.

Rick Bassett can you speak to how much this process is costing you if you don't mind? Would be nice to know in order to figure in to having to possibly do this some day. I'm still just looking for properties, but this type of thing would be exactly the type of thing to make me nervous about the process. I appreciate you sharing all this as it gives newbies insight on the uglier side of things.

Matthew Koch tell us about the details on your first deal? I'm a bit behind you, in that I'm just starting to read BP and listen to podcasts, etc. but I'm hoping to be in your situation in a year or so...or sooner! I just posted my intro last night in the newbie section and already got answers to some questions I had. Welcome and best of luck!

Ryan Keeton I'm in IT (Server Administration) for a large utility. New CTIO comes in and wants to shake things up... To your question about a partner, I kind of wanted to do it on my own to start just because I've seen relationships ruined over disagreements and that sort of thing, but at the same time, if it's my way in, I'd consider it, but just being super cautious!

Hey Mark Nolan , I did read over them, thanks. I'll be honest, I skimmed a bit though. :). Did I do something inappropriate or were you just suggesting it as a beginner step? Ryan Keeton I'm afraid the tri-annual reorg is becoming a standard it seems. All one can do is be ready and keep a fresh resume' Looking forward to everyone's input.

Hello BP,

I've been reading some posts on here and have gotten a ton of good info.  I've also downloaded a few of the podcasts and have started to listen to them as well on my long commute home from work.

Speaking of work, I work a full 40hr/wk job and make a decent income.  In the last few years, Ive become intrigued with real estate and the possibilities for financial freedom that it could afford me and my family.  Lately, some "reorganizations" at work and some things in my personal life have made me realize that there is more to life (or there can be) than making a salary and making someone else rich.  If I were to pick a strategy I'd most likely start with, it would be "Buy and Hold" on "multi-family homes".  I'm still learning terms, so bear with me.

I have zero experience in real estate except for the incredibly miserable one involving my own house.  Let me explain.  I work in IT and I had a steady job in the rural area where I live.  I had an opportunity for something almost double my salary and I took it.  However, I had to start as a "contractor" for the first 6 months.  Well, over this time, we were also looking at purchasing a house.  Little did I realize, SO many banks wanted you to be able to show 2 years at your current job.  Well, as I had just started a new job, and although it was substantially more than I had been making, they wouldn't accept a dime of my income.  Long story short, we got a family member to co-sign on a 203k loan on a foreclosed house.  During the experience, I can honestly say it was one of the tougher experiences in my life, dealing with such minutea.  It got down to the "brass tacs" of me having to explain a $300 deposit in my bank account for a couch we sold on Craigslist!!  I don't foresee all real estate being that way though, but I know it could happen again.  I think some of it was the extra pressure of working a new job as well, but I do recall how miserable it was and I believe the 203k process didn't help that either.

Anyway, with all that, we bought a foreclosed home for $93k and put $63k into it and we LOVE it.  It's basically a brand new home.  My wife's uncle was a very intricate part of the rehab.  That whole process, although dealing with the bank was miserable, kind of gave me the itch for real estate.  I thought, if I can deal with this process and all the headaches, I might be able to dip into real estate.

I've set a goal for myself to be matching my salary in 5 years, but I realize that's an incredibly lofty goal, but you got to start somewhere, right?  My wife stays at home watching kids and I'd love for her and I to be able to work together.  She loves design and decorating and has done a fabulous job in our home, so I know she'd be a huge help on the same for real estate ideas as well.

I'm now in the process of getting the money straight.  I've got a Jeep and a motorcycle I'm selling to raise some more funds and then I'm hoping I can either find a reliable partner, or I can go it on my own.  I have my wife's uncle and a family friend who've indicated they'd be willing to provide input and help me get started, so I've been reaching out to them for the preliminary questions I have and I've also been reading and soaking up all I can on here.  They both have several rental properties and would be a great resource I'm sure.

Thanks so much to everyone on here whose posts I've read and have yet to read.  Those who contribute have no idea what the information means to someone like me starting and trying to decide if this is for me.

I've only been on the forums about a week or 2 now,  but it's great info. and I'm looking forward to learning more and hopefully dipping my toes in the water and moving towards working for myself and being truly happy!

So I got some questions for those with the time to answer:

1. Tell me about your first endeavor into real estate.  How did you start?  How did you get money?

2. What kind of research did you do before pulling the trigger?

3. Did you have a mentor or someone for ideas or were you on your own?

4. Did you make money or lose money, and explain why you made or lost?

5. Succeed or fail, did you do more?  Either way, why or why not?

Thanks so much to everyone!!

Regards,

CJ