All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

@Caroline Apostolos You are in a  fantastic market.  I was there about a year-and-a-half ago as an observer to a mentoring in that market, and I was so impressed, I considered buying a home down there and spending time in that market.  However, I didn't because I considered it unethical because of the way I learned about it. 

The mentor got the guy set-up with a wholesaling machine in that market.  It think that guy ran into some personal difficulties that had nothing to do with real estate (bad life choices) and had to leave the market.  Real shame, because the guy was given the keys to the kingdom.

There are a lot of active investors with your same goal in the Cleveland area.  I think one of the BP moderators (James Wise) is in that market, and I think he is a realtor.

Consider reaching out to him.

In addition, if you haven't already, join your local REIA. You will find out a lot about your local market there.

I used to poo-poo REIA's. But after almost a decade of absence, I rejoined and have found it worthwhile.

I decided I needed to make a lot of money as quickly as possible.  Rather than fooling around trying to figure it out on my own, I found an on-site mentor who dropped into my market, taught me a proven system that works, and helped me set-up while he was there.  

The result is that I have made hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years from what he did for me.  

You can learn this business by trial-and-error, which may seem free but can be the most costly of all, or do what I did.  Hire someone.

If you are interested in the later, contact me.  The guy I used is still in the business over ten years later, still teaching people in the field.

Anyone who has been in this business for any length of time has taken his or her lumps.  Good for you that you take yours as a bump in the road and not a total wreck.  Positive mental attitude is everything.

While I have a good credit score, I don't let banks get their hooks in me.  This is extreme, but this is the way I feel about them - their only goal is to doom you to a life of indentured servitude.

You need to learn to buy property "subject to" and using seller financing primarily, private lenders (including private equity funds) secondarily to get back in the game.

Contact me privately if I can help further.

Since you have a full-time job, consider bird-dogging for the dominant wholesaler in your market.  That will allow you to learn and earn without spinning your wheels and becoming discouraged.  

This business is like a jet taking off.  You burn a lot of fuel getting off the ground, but once you are at altitude, you can throttle back and enjoy the ride.  Bird-dogging allows you to be a co-pilot on the jet.

I run a robust wholesaling operation in multiple states. Got my start over a decade ago with an on-site mentor who spent three days with me in my market, helping me get deals in my market while he was there, helping me get buyers for those deals while he was there, and teaching me everything I needed to know to not only pay for my training but launch a business that has grossed me hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years.

I know it's hard to pick the right mentor. I have read too many instances and heard personally of too many instances where people spent $45,000 or more for "training" and are yet to do their first deal. I am glad to share the name and number of the guy I used if you are interested. He is still active today (the fact that he has stood the test of time speaks volumes about the quality of his work), and gladly share his contact information for the asking. I love this business and am glad to do my part to help people get off to a good start.

Chicago is a good market for wholesaling.  I was part of a mentoring team there a couple of years ago and was so impressed with it, I considered setting up an operation there myself.

Fundamentally, it is no different.  You have some latitude as a licensed agent that you don't have without a license.  You also have some restrictions.

As an agent, if you take more than your allowed commission, if one of the parties in the transaction is unhappy with the money you made, the disgruntled party can complain that you had superior knowledge as an agent and sue you - long shot, but it can happen.

In addition, your broker is going to want a cut of every deal.  Moreover, you are bound by the rules of your broker.  You will have to follow the rules that broker sets forth for transactions that flow through his or her brokerage.  The only way around that is to become a licensed broker yourself and set up your own brokerage.

You also are bound by law to make disclosures to the parties involved.  Your licensing education will teach you all about those.

I can appreciate your bitterness, but don't throw the baby out with the bath water.  While sadly, many colleges have become platforms for indoctrinating kids into a political agenda instead of teaching them how to become self-sufficient entrepreneurs, that does not mean college has no value.

I earned a BA from Northwestern University and following, a MBA from Washington University in St. Louis.  I cannot emphasize enough the value of the contacts I made while attending both schools that I maintain today and the doors they opened.  In addition, I learned methods of critical thinking and expressing myself that probably would have taken me years to develop on my own, if ever.  

While I am now independently in business, I didn't start there.  Because of my background I was able to find employment with a large, multi-national real estate company.   I learned the way professional real estate firms operate, and when I left, had the knowledge to put together a real estate syndicate that made hundreds of thousands of dollars for my partners and me.

Currently, I am a principal in a real estate hedge fund and a principal and director in another that is on the verge of launching a crowdfunding platform that will turbocharge the ability of its member owners to raise funds with the new 506(c) rules.

I share this with you not to impress you but to impress upon you the value of a college degree from a good school.  While the paradigm that your mom followed let her down, that doesn't mean you should discount it entirely.  Bigger Pockets, while of value, is no substitute.  Kiyosaki's work, while of value, is no substitute.

The key is to have goals and plans for achieving them:  in the words of Napoleon Hill, a Definite Major Purpose.  I have done extensive work with his work, but this forum prohibits me discussing it here.

In conclusion, I applaud your enthusiasm for this business and more importantly for becoming a self-employed, self-sufficient entrepreneur.  Develop a master plan for yourself and get in the game.  Figure out where you want to arrive, and the journey towards it becomes easy. Focus.