All Forum Posts by: Jimmy Delcamp

Thanks for the input guys. One house I'll need 15k and the other I'll need about 17k. I plan on paying it back over a longer term of 3-5 years from renting out the homes. But, honestly now that you mention it Rich, I am a little lost in the exact way to pay it back. How is this situation handled? Lower the monthly payments to the owner so I can pay back the down payment money in bigger monthly chunks?

So to keep a long story short, I have been working with a few mentors in my area that have been helped me to step my game up. Not only do I get their experience and advice on deals, as well as partnership, but I also get to benefit from their private money resources.

Here's the dilemma:

They are only interested in a few specific areas to focus their investing on. Which is just fine and dandy. But, the area I live in, which is about 20 miles away, doesn't fit their criteria to invest in.

Now today and yesterday I have made three offers. All three were houses in the area I live in and are owned free and clear. I have negotiated with the sellers to offer Owner Carry as long as I pay them a 10% down payment. Since this isn't the area that my mentors are interested in, it leaves me on my own to figure out where to get the money for the down payments on the houses.

With all the help that Bigger Pockets has given over the years, I figure someone might shed some light on my situation. Any thoughts?

Out of all the Real Estate Guru books I have read so far, Peter really set it off for me. He focuses on using Lease-Options, but in a way that makes sense to even the most novice investor.

It is scary how well his script worked on calling motivated sellers. He offers it for free as well!

What were the hardest things for you to overcome when you started your investing career?

Thanks for the input guys. Definitely helps put things in perspective

The more I am learning, the more evident it becomes that marketing is key to becoming a successful investor. Anyone disagree?

Along with these realizations, comes the question: How do I effectively market to Realtors, Mortgage Brokers, Attorneys, etc . . . to get them to send referrals of sellers?

I suppose the real question lies in, what can I offer them to make it worth their time to refer clients to me?

Any help would be much appreciated!

Thanks All,

Jimmy D

"Don't wish it were easier, wish you were better."
-Jim Rohn

I couldn't agree more. It is definitely easy to get mixed up into doing a deal like this because of how new and exciting everything is in the moment.

Now that I got that over with, I can start focusing my efforts on deals that will actually put money in my pocket.

Thanks Ya'll!

Thanks for all the responses everyone.

After taking things into consideration, I valued the deal with a lot more risk then with reward, for the time and effort involved for such as small profit and such a big potential for pitfalls.

With that, I took the honest approach and contacted the sellers and told them that the deal just doesn't fit with my profile as an investor and gave them some suggestions to help them find another buyer in place.

The way I structured the deal was to give me the opportunity to get out if necessary. Although it is easy to get mixed in all the hype, I felt it best to get out and make my life and the sellers life a lot easier.

But, now that I have proved to myself that I can get a $258,000 house under control, I know that I possess what it takes to make it happen. This is really what I was hoping to gain by getting the first deal under my belt. No more jitters!

Like my man John D. Rockerfeller said, "Control everything. Own nothing."

It is a down payment/option payment, but not out of MY pocket. It is contingent upon my finding tenant/buyers to sublease it to and collecting a larger up front option payment.

The home is still in the owner's name, so they are taken care of property taxes, insurance, etc . . . It is just $1850 a month with the 3 year option to buy at $258,000.

The homes in the area are valued at $269,000 at the moment.

Now in the event that I cannot fill the property in the time agreed, I still have an out based on whether or not I find a tenant/buyer in place. The profit potential for this is small to none, but it showed me that it is possible. And that my friends is the moral and the importance of me sharing this story.

In the event that the 3 years passes and I decide not to exercise my option, I will have to cover the carpet cleaning costs and repaint the walls. Thats what I call leverage!