All Forum Posts by: James Vermillion

I am all for helping new investors. Good luck!

@Onan Dumas ...I'll be dressed and ready to accept my award.

Chris, a couple things:

1) Sure, I suppose we could debate whether or not you listed steps, but there is no winning that debate for you. There a plenty of posts here on BP with steps, that simply was not one of them.

2) It is also hard for me to believe your purpose was to help investors when you post a link soliciting others...which is in clear violation of the BP forum rules.

3) In regards to training...it can be free of charge or very close. I have not spent a dime on real estate education outside getting my sales license (which I have made back many times over in saved commissions), and a few books (most of those I borrowed from the library anyways). Sure, there are some mentors out there that can help you, but to say training "will never come free of charge" is not true. Fortunately, we live in a time where so much information is available via free college courses, websites like BP, free books, blogs, podcats, etc...you just need to take the time to find which resources are most valuable.

Eli,

I started seriously considering real estate investing in November 2010. I spent approximatley 1 year learning about real estate investing, meeting with lenders to determine financing options, interviewing contractors, learning accounting skills, setting up a business entity, getting licensed in real estate sales, and developing a business plan. I closed on my first property in November 2012 and have since flipped about 10 properties and hold 2 rentals.

I cannot say any of it was easy, but it has been very rewarding!

I love hearing my family members talk about what they were doing during that important moment in American history, because just as Bill said, everyone knows exactly where they were, what they were doing, and how that felt at that time. As far as the conspiracy theories go, I cannot say I believe one particular theory, but I would not be surprised to find out there was much more behind the assassination. I watched "Killing Kennedy" the other night and learned a lot I did not know about the events leading up to and following the assassination.

Welcome to BP Gary. The most is gained through BP by patricipating in the community, so I know you will find a lot of value in doing so. Good luck and please let us know if you are unable to find something.

Kyle,

Welcome to BiggerPockets. You have come to the right place to learn about all things real estate investing, and if you cannot find something you are looking for, just ask. Make sure you pay special attention to the threads and blog posts about analyzing investment properties and determining value...those two things are absolutely critical no matter what kind of property you are buying. Good luck!

@Eli Hood , with all due respect, the mental barriers occur when people are not prepared for the challenges ahead. Thinking positive is great, but that alone will get you nowhere in this business. "Difficult" and "challenging" are not discouraging words, they are truthful words, and unfortunately, many people do not like to face the truth, but it is inevitable.

I have been on BP for quite a while now and have seen hundreds of people come and go, many never completing a single deal. The main reason I believe this occurs in unrealistic expectations. People think it is "easy", but it is not. When they start to discover the true work, knowledge and skills required, the mental barrier you mentioned occurs. It is important for new investors to be aware of the challenges and embrace them, but not pretend things are going to be easy.

Welcome to BiggerPockets Christine. I have found that you learn a lot more from this community when you are actibly participating, so good call on creating a forum profile...see you around the site.

I think the title of this post is quite misleading. This thread is labeled 3 simple steps to get started in the real estate, yet the three things listed our actual strategies. Sure, I guess they are simple in theory (but so are most things), but they actually require a lot of knowledge. Take #3 for example...wholesaling is not a simple step in real estate investing, it is a rather difficult strategy / job which requires skills in marketing, determining property value, negotiating, etc. There are thousands of threads on BP about wholesaling and it is anything but simple (just ask many of the people who have worked for months and months and have not closed a deal).

Just my .02. I think it is discouraging to new investors when people make things sound so simple, but when they try to execute they find it is much harder.