All Forum Posts by: JT Taylor

I've been to several clubs in the DFW area and one of the best is DFWREI Club in Fort Worth. They meet EVERY Saturday from 9:00 - 12:00 noon. This is not a hype club that tries to sell you stuff. It is full of seasoned investors who are very helpful. Very friendly to new members and they have a built in networking time so you can meet and build your power team.

Their web address is: www.dfwreiclub.com. 

I have no financial interest in recommending the club, I just attend.

Starting out...and continuing on...is a series of overcoming obstacles. There are many: mindset, money, market, legal, which type of solution goes with which type of problem, etc. That is why I am a fan of putting together a business plan before you start. Doing this forces you to think everything through first. You will make fewer mistakes, make more money and I think save time in the long run.

Welcome to the forum. This is a good place to learn. Best of luck.

For its been a mixed bag...mostly good, but some not so good. I like going to them because I always learn new thing and they are motivational. I ended up hiring a local REI coach and that has been money well spent because everything is personalized.

Thank you for the tips. I appreciate you breaking down the opportunities in detail.

I'll chime in here. I heard about Phill from a radio spot to come to the REIA Club in Dallas for free. They have these twice a month and your first time is free, they have a sales pitch at the beginning where they give info and say if you want more come to the big live 3 day event. You get the 3 day event with a REIA 1 year membership that costs $100.00. It is an exceptional value! The 3 day event was fantastic and very, very helpful. He gives detailed strategies, step by step instructions and opens up ideas for how to invest successfully. The 3 days event was NOT a sales pitch event. It was 95% valuable content and 5% sales pitch. He clearly carves out the sales pitch, says it once and never comes back to it again. If you are interested, you meet with his team for further information and they explain all the various mentoring levels available. It was one of the best educational events I've ever attended, and the sales pitching was minimal. I can't speak to the add-on coaching as I didn't sign up for any of that.

Real Estate Investing IS starting a business. Different people have different risk tolerance levels and education and preparation enables people to feel comfortable with risk. There are two extremes:

1. Jump in and go for it and figure it out along the way

2. Research, plan, analyze things to death before moving forward

Neither of these is wise, but some people will find success even at the extremes. The vast majority of people however won't. As a business coach who has helped hundreds of small business owners I recommend the following threshold before calling on the "suits". 

Develop a detailed business plan.

Everything is created in two steps: 1. You build it in your mind, 2. You build it in reality. If you don't have a plan, then are making stuff up as you go along and you can get into tight situations and have to make quick, uniformed, un-thought-through decisions. Those increase your risk. 

Educate yourself enough to be able to articulate the Real Estate Investing model you are going to follow and then follow it. This actually doesn't need to take long. One shortcut is to follow the business plan of another investor. There are plenty of great Real Estate teachers who have turn-key systems focusing on various strategies. 

I suggest building an outline and putting on paper everything you need for your Real Estate Investing business and then focus and fill in each section as you learn. If that takes too long, then go the guru route. But whatever you do, have a business plan.

Thanks Matt for the tips. I appreciate the reinforcement. I'm working on my blueprint and in the stage of working up the numbers and then checking those numbers to see if I'm in the right ballpark. Then its all out massive action!

I'll be employing a wholesaling strategy at first to build capital and move homes that don't fit my long term strategies, although they might be perfect for flippers. Let me know if you want to be on the buyer's list I'm currently building for those.

Thanks again!

JT

I'm a new investor working on my business plan. I'm in the Dallas-Fort Worth market, specifically Hurst, Euless, Bedford, North Richland Hills, and I'm wondering what numbers to look for in rental properties. I'd like to get cash flow of $300 month after all expenses, including property management, vacancy reserve, maintenance, mortgage, taxes and insurance (did I miss anything?).

Is that possible/realistic. If so, what kind of numbers would purchases on a typical 3/2/2 need to look like?