Hey @Ryan Hoover
it's nice to meet you. I'll be honest I didn't kick start with myself because I didn't think I would be able to contribute much value. I'm not a broker or a wholesaler and the only investment I have made was 2 tax liens in about 2013. I moved from LI NY to Phoenix in february with the decision in mind that wholesaling must be the best place to start for the following reasons.
1. Ease of entry and low cost to get started.
2. An excellent way to start making money on the side along with my day job as an electrician.
3. A way to start learning things like marketing, advertising, business, sales, deal analysis, running comps and the costs associated with purchasing and selling real estate.
4. A way to network with so many individuals like investors, brokers, inspectors, contractors, appraisers, attorneys etc.
But being in self quarantine since february and surfing BP forums I think I have found some flaws in starting with wholesaling. These are obviously based on my needs.
1. Lack of a network of people who have real experience wholesaling and are willing to teach you anything.
2. No MLS access.
3. Having to educate lay people about who you are and what you do, then convince them you are not a scammer out to take advantage of them. This one has been my main driving thought on the subject. While i'm sure some brokers "may" run into this same issue im confident it pales in comparison to that of a wholesaler. I think it would be hard for a seller to say that someone licensed by the state of Arizona to buy and sell real estate is out to scam them and take their house.
With this in mind wholesaling starts to sound like an unnecessary uphill battle. Especially when I realize that being an agent can reap many of the same benefits as a wholesaler. I wanted to keep this as local as possible to Arizona so that maybe if there is something specific to Arizona that I am missing it can be brought to light so myself and others can learn from it.
If I were to kick this thing off with my own experience. It would look something like this.
* I have seriously considered wholesaling as a way to get started learning and earning. But due to quarantine I have become a BP stalker instead for the time being.
* This would have been my first choice because of the wealth of knowledge and experience it can provide. But in light of new information and realizations thanks to the BP community, I am realizing it may not be the best path for me.
* The investments that I have made up until this point have been very lucrative! 2 tax liens that I purchased in 2013 and have since expired and become worthless haha. Some gold and silver over the years as well as some stocks in my Roth IRA. If I could go back and do it differently I would have been much more cautious with my investments in tax liens. And paid more attention to my liens once I had them so I could have taken better advantage of them to make some money.
* I have been Investing here and there over the past 7 years in precious metals and stocks. The writing was on the wall for me that I would have to move out of state some day so I was not comfortable putting down roots in real estate. I am comfortable with the decisions I have made givin my personal situation. But now that the move has been made and we are moved in I am burning to get started, i'm sick of being on the bench.
It's not the prettiest story and there's more to it but it's my truth and I hope this can help someone else.
