All Forum Posts by: Lee Arnold

Hey @Andres Jaramillo , 

Welcome officially to the site. Hey are you going to be at the meet up tomorrow?

Welcome to you both! Don't know if you have seen it yet, but we have a Houston Meet up coming up Thursday the 7th. If you click where it says Network above then Events and Happenings you will be able to find the post for the Houston Meet. I would suggest attending to meet fellow investors that are in the area and get a good start in the market. Good luck and hope to see you both Thursday!

I think one key point was touched on but not fully addressed. I am a teacher here in Houston making around $50k annually. The same position in CA would make anywhere from $65k - 80k annually and that comes from the higher cost of living in CA. To answer the big question of how they get the loans done, that would be a start. It is cheaper to live in TX 

JMHO

@Sam Allen if you are up for the drive, we have a biggerpockets meet coming up Thursday in Houston (midtown area). Go to the Network tab and click on events and happens and look for the Houston meet up post. The information of where it is being hosted and time are there. I went to my first one last month and it was a great way to meet like minded investors and other newbies. The who you know is just as important as what you know. Let me know if you have any questions. 

@Charles Nguyen I'm looking forward to another great meetup. Let me know if you need help with a venue cause I have a recommendation. Check out The Phoenix on Westhiemer near Shepard. The owner's name is Vu. Let me know if you want me to give him a call.

@Charles Nguyen I'll be here

One thing that I learned many years ago was a lesson from the book Rich Dad Poor Dad and that is to work for free. Now I'm not the kind of guy that had no self worth or sense of value for myself so this is not a discussion post about building your self-worth initially. Doing this required a lot of self-worth but it also means knowing how to be humble which is important in this business. 

I was a student at the University of Houston looking for a "home", my niche that would be a marketable skill that not many people possessed. I found that with the forensic society (not the crime scene type but speech and debate) and started working my craft. I love public speaking and constructive argument which is what the organization was all about. After a few months I realized that the team needed some reorganization and stronger internal leadership and pushed myself to be that person. The position I created for myself was an office worker, which they had as a paid position as part of the team, but I was doing it for free. 

There were a few key things I want to share from the experience that I think are important for newbies, like myself, to go for when trying to find a mentor:

1.  Be willing to skip a paycheck - this is the biggest thing, if you can learn to not get paid in money you can focus on the skills you will learn from your mentor (the best form of payment). 

2. Be on the lookout - by not focusing on a paycheck you learn to look for opportunities to generate money. Mine was being able to teach classes on public speaking and now if I wanted to I could charge $100s or $1000s as a debate coach. 

3. Be ready to receive advice - your mentor will give you nuggets along the way and if you listen carefully those nuggets will stay with you for life. It's the kind of wisdom that comes from experience and a lot of times failures that you, as a new investor, should not repeat

and lastly, 

4. Be a good "mentee" - respect is a two-way street, you need to have respect for your mentor and they should have it for you. They key is to earn that respect from one another. You should do it by being respectful of their time, their money and their goals. Work to help them hit their goals and they should do the same for you. The relationship should be one of mutual benefit and that means your are providing value to each other. 

I don't claim to be an export but I think it is important that we share our experiences here and since I'm new to the process of investing, I can share the knowledge I do have. Hope it helps. 

@Charles Nguyen I may know of a venue if you're starting to make plans for the next meeting. Let me know. 

Lee

@Steve Babiak Haven't seen that one before. Is that a plan to limit the offer to get the best possible deal?

@Jon Holdman thank makes sense, I think I just need to get a deal under my belt to get a full grasp on it.  Thanks

@Jean Bolger thanks, that was the question. I want to be confident in having that conversation with a buyer when I wholesale and be able to use it for exit strategy when I move into doing flips and buy and holds