All Forum Posts by: Perry Apawu

@ Kimberly Stofan I would say first and foremost as stated in an earlier commenters post check out your most accessible options first like going to your local REIA or finding some investor's that are in your area here on bigger pockets. Second I would get Brandon Turner's book or audiobook on low or no money down. This book can really give you some other options other then putting a down payment. All in all even if you can't find the money, analyze deals with the calculators here on the site and I'm sure if it's a great deal with potential you will find someone willing to give you the money.

I would say check out Brandon Turner's book on low or no money down investing. As in previous post having some money saved is always good but saving big down payments may not make much sense as far as time is concerned. Your using bigger pockets, get to know some experienced investors in your area.  Brandon gave some great advice in one of his webinars, analyze 3 properties a day and once you start pulling that data I'm pretty sure you'll find some great deals that can be funded by a partner or other creative ways where it doesn't involve a big down payment. Again having some cash on hand is always great but I don't think you necessarily need to wait until you have a big down payment.

Hi Shanair,

I'm new to the area myself. I myself along with my wife are also interested in the Tampa Bay area. We just recently moved from Chicago a couple of months ago and have been checking out different neighborhoods here in St. Pete. Great to network with someone who is also interested in this area.

I would say looking in the South Surburbs that would be a great place to start, prices are fairly resonable, great working class neighborhoods and neighborhoods are family oriented. Another decent area is the woodlawn/hyde park area this area can be tricky but with a really in- depth search you can find some great deals.

@ graham m

things are working out pretty good right now, I am focusing on knocking out my credit card debt since that has the highest interest of all of my debt, once I free that cash up from paying that debt down, I will focus on marketing . For now I am reading a bunch on bigger pockets, driving neighborhoods and planning my strategy. I want to wholesale but I don't think that is the best strategy for me now, so once my debt is paid up I am going to focus on purchasing my first duplex since that is what I want to do anyway. For now I'm working my full time job and running a part-time carpet cleaning business to pay down my debt and build some savings for my first purchase. All in all its hard work and the key is just building some momentum.

In the end I realize it's all in the numbers, but when you are starting from not a big budget or zero budget, cold calling, knocking on doors, driving for dollars, passing out business cards to everyone you meet, are all means of trying to get a deal. That is what I am looking to accomplish, in the past I have tried direct mail and I realized that I would not be able to sustain the cost for that.

So the reason for my post was to find some alternative ways to market without breaking my pockets or going broke before I get my first deal.

Everyone screams direct mail and I know its great but for the beginner what most fail to mention is it takes many touches between 3 to 7 touches to actually get some leads that will turn into deals from doing that. For the beginner or the individual with little or no budget all of those above marketing alternatives I mentioned above are a great start, the key is just starting once you get that first deal pay yourself a small percentage and throw the rest of it back at marketing.

Yeah, all of you guys have some great suggestions, I will keep with the bandit signs and I have a couple of door magnets also, I guess my problem is actually doing something everyweek well actually, that is my problem, whether it be hanging bandit signs or cold calling. I need to focus and get my marketing rolling on a consistent basis. Thanks again for the great advice.

@ AaronMazzrillo. Thanks Aaron, you are very right $200 is not much, lol, that was one of the main reasons I was thinking of giving cold calling a try and driving for dollars, and once I get a deal or two reinvest all of the profits back into marketing. I'm still working my 9 to 5, that helps a whole lot and once things get rolling I can up my budget, because in the end I know nothing can happen without quality leads.

Thanks for the great advice !!!

I was just wanted to get some ideas from everyone. How do you stay persistent with marketing when you don't have a big budget, right now my budget is about $200 per month, now I know that is not a whole lot of money but that is what I have for now. I'm doing bandit signs right now but I think I am going to phase those out and flyers, thinking about doing some cold calling on the phone also. Just wanted to hear some other ideas.