All Forum Posts by: Doug Smith

Robert,

I know EXACTLY how you feel. I was there myself about 7 years ago. I was a full-time employee at ExxonMobil and spent my evenings and weekends trying (unsuccessfully) to invest in real estate part-time.

I'd say that I was putting in about 10 hours per week reading online articles and attending local real estate meetings and another 10 hours per week putting out We Buy Houses signs, fielding calls, meeting with sellers, and making offers.

I did this for 8 months without buying a single property. Seems like every deal fell through for a different reason. I was extremely discouraged. But I didn't give up. Instead, I did something that many would think is crazy. I quit my full-time job and went full-time as an investor. Over the next 2 months, I spent 60+ hours/week pursuing real estate investing. During those 2 months, I purchased 6 properties and eventually made over $100k from those deals.

I'm not suggesting that you quit your job and go full time without ever having done a deal. But I AM saying that it worked for me. It was "sink or swim". I swam, and I think there's a good chance that you'll swim, too.

The reason I was able to quit my FT job is because I lived very frugally. I was making $55k/year at ExxonMobil and only spent about $15k/year. I had $60k in the bank from several years of eating Ramen Noodels and living in a tiny apartment. I knew that I could live for 4 years without earning a penny.

So, if you do decide to go my route, you'll need to dramatically slash your expenses in the short-term so that you and your family can survive for at least 3 or 4 years with no income. That'll give you the breathing room, and peace of mind, you need to make things work. In the end, the sacrifices you make today will likely pay off in spades.

I'm sure my approach isn't customary, but it worked. I haven't had a J.O.B. for 6 years now. I don't need one to fund my existence. And don't plan on ever getting one again.

Hope that helps!
Doug

Thanks for the welcome Blake. Glad to hear my team and I have been able to help you with your investing. We'll keep sending those Central Texas and LA-area deals your way! Can't help you with San Diego ... YET. ;-)

Hey everybody! I live in Houston, but my website provides a list of wholesale deals and motivated seller leads in 15 cities, including Pittsburgh.

My team and I did a fair amount of research on Pittsburgh a few months ago to see if we should expand our website to cover that area. We were looking for a city with a relatively stable real estate market and relatively low home values, which tend to equate to better cash flow if you choose to be a landlord.

After looking at about 30 cities, we chose Pittsburgh because its economy is based more on health care and IT, which are somewhat stable compared to banking and finance, for example.

Before we expanded there, we knew ... 1) median home values were nice and low at about $109k, 2) home values never went sky high, so they're not likely to fall as much, 3) the economy is pretty stable, 4) it's best to buy rentals for cash flow as opposed to the fix/resell model.

After we expanded there, we learned ... 1) the # of active wholesalers in Pittsburgh is really low, 2) it's very difficult to get motivated seller leads via PPC there, and 3) we have to work harder to get members to sign up for our website there.

So overall, it's a good investing climate, but there's not as much investor activity as there should be. A Pittsburgh local needs to spread the word that they need to be investing right now! ... It really is one of the best places in the country to invest ... Or, just keep it all to yourself to avoid the competition!

Thanks for the big welcome everyone! It's especially nice to get a welcome from the site owner (Joshua), a local to the Houston area (Chris), and someone who appears to have been a member of the website I own (Stephen Moore). I have a Steve Moore out of Philly in my database. Stephen, is that you?

Hey there,

I'm a somewhat experienced investor ... bought over 40 houses and still own about 15. I started young ... at age 22. Just wanted to see what this "social networking" thing is all about and help out a few people in the process. Maybe I can answer some questions that beginners may have. Nowadays, I spend much of my time providing a list of wholesale deals and motivated seller leads to investors on my website. I chose to be a full-time investor for the LIFESTYLE and the freedom from the prison they call Corporate America. :-) Looking forward to getting to know a few of you!

Great site Josh! I'm very impressed.

Doug