All Forum Posts by: Erica Nagle

Thanks! I just called him and will meet him Thursday! Please still send recommendations if anyone has them!

Does anyone have any recommendations for a hardwood floor refinisher? We have a project in Haverhill that may need a complete replacement but we want to try and save the floors. Can anyone recommend a good flooring contractor? Floors have pet stains and will need some pieces replaced. 

Thanks in advance for any help!

Does anyone have recommendations for a good plumber that works in the North Shore area? We have a project in Haverhill that we need a plumber for. Possible main drain pipe replacement and new natural gas heater needed. 

Thanks in advance for any recommendations!

Thanks for the advice! I have subscribed to the Wells REO emails so I have that but that just becomes a waiting game that could be years (like you said).

@Mark Elliott how would you have gotten the house that they donated before it happened? Was there some way you would have known it was going to be donated? 

What is the best way to get a hold of a property that has been foreclosed but is not yet on the market? I have a two properties that research shows where forecloses in in the last few months and I can't get much further than that. One is a Wells Fargo property and the other one owned by Wilmington Savings Fund Society/Christina Trust. Both of these have websites that you can look up properties but Wells doesn't have the property up and Christina Trust has minimal info. I tried calling any numbers I saw on the sites but just got automated menu's that lead me nowhere. Suggestions? Does anyone have strategies that have worked?

I agree with @Rob Beland except I'm not sure if calling out Middlesex county is necessary. Maybe it is...who knows. Those submarkets are correct for finding professionals in your area, networking with investors that you could do business or getting general advice about the market. I'm not sure what other reasons you'd need to have submarkets?

How do we actually get this to change? We can talk about it forever but no point unless it will actually happen. 

Originally posted by @Scott White:

Sadly, they're are always a lot of "wanna bees" at any event like this. They don't validate locations, gather an understanding of what their buying into, after all, "real estate is sexy again".  

So true. While not all investor training is worth the $$ paid, not all people paying the $$ should be investors. 

@Darren Moeller

Getting started is indeed overwhelming. Especially if you've attended seminars and are listening and reading all of the great information here on Bigger Pockets. There are so many different ways to make money, people have different approaches and of course everyone has an opinion. The good news is there is no one right way that you have to figure out.  

I remember everyone saying network, network, network. You should go to all the REI meetings you can, get involved everywhere you can and meet as many people as you can. While this is good advice it adds to that feeling of being overwhelmed. One thing that helped me was when I heard a very successful flipper/wholesaler say that he works with a group of about 6-7 other investors and that supports his entire business. They wholesale to each other, pass each other leads, use each other for references on good people, etc. You don't have to know and be connected to hundreds of people in order to be successful.

We haven't yet found this small group but we are getting there. I have a couple of trusted people that I know have our best interests in mind and are smart enough to realize that we (or any other investors) aren't a threat. We can all make each other money if we just work together. 

Find your niche, trust your gut, grow a thick skin and remove all negativity (like those saying your market is dead). Anything is possible and you may even find some new and improved way to make money along the way! It will all come, it just takes time.

Its so easy for everyone to balk at the amount of money she spent and criticize her signing a contract that she didn't read in depth. Also I've heard many people say that 'you can learn just as much from diving in to REI than you can at a seminar. While this may be true the amount of time it will take to learn for yourself what they teach and the amount of money you'll lose on those hard lessons needs to be acknowledged.

Full disclosure, I went to one of these, paid lots of money and was frustrated at times that deals weren't dropping into my hands. I even lost about $5k on a deal I backed out of that I paid too much for and the rehab expenses were growing quickly. In looking back on what went wrong I realized we didn't follow the the principles that we paid thousands for. 

Everything is what you make of it. If you get just one Fdeal using just one thing you learned from the 'guru' or a combination of deals that total more than the $41k in profit over the course of your life then it was worth it. that really isn't all that much in the realm of REI.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. However it seems that most of those opinions come out after someone has done something wrong. Of course everyone seems to know that they were so foolish right? let's look at this constructively... There companies are large multi-million dollar organizations that must offer something of value or they would be dead in the water. Teaching people to raise their credit limit to gain access to cash is a good thing. Suggesting ways to use the additional cash to grow wealth is also a good thing. Ultimately it's how you choose to use the information that is the key to success. What works for me may not work for you but that doesn't mean it's wrong. 

Not all 'guru' companies are bad. Yes there are some but all. It's all about what you do with the information that determines it's value. For those of you that have spent thousands or are thinking about it...just remember that it's what you make of it and nothing include is free.maybe you can learn the same amount from diving in as you can drink 'guru' program but how much time and money will it take to be at the same place than if you went through the program? This should defiantly be taken into account.

Intelius.com has worked well for us. I think it's $19.99 a month