All Forum Posts by: Pierce Dandridge

@Pierce Dandridge

I'll second @Trevor Ewen's advice, and it's the exact same I'd give you and almost anyone else looking to start in the business without experience or much capital to start. A big part of real estate is trust, and you are coming into this with a disadvantage having a criminal record, but you know that already. Of course there are people without records who are less trustworthy than someone with a record, but it'll be your job to prove that people can trust you moving forward. Use your motivation and try to learn as much as you can here; the forums have a lot of information, as do the blogs, and there are a lot of lists and posts about great books you can dive into.

If you can find a property management company to work for you'll learn from the ground up, which I think is far more valuable than trying to come in top-down. You could also go work for an investor doing whatever or wait until you have some experience and then offer your services (probably for free) to an investor who could use another hand on deck in exchange for their time and knowledge.

Keep at it and you'll be OK.

Honestly I don't think being a felon will stop you. You're looking to do this on your own not work for someone. At the same time you MUST operate 110% above board in all of your dealings. If you screw up... Guess what the persons first words are going to be? Yep. You got it!

@Pierce Dandridge As @Brian Gibbons said, your best bet would be to study creative finance techniques. With no money and no credit, this would be your best bet. But as @Mindy Jensen pointed out, CA is a much harder state to do creative finance unless you are away from the big metro areas. Just keep on working your regular job and work on your credit, network and study. If you stumble upon a deal, don't be afraid to work with other investors to learn the ropes. Good luck to you on your endeavors.

Creative financing

Subject to, lease options,  wraps, private landings  Ira loans

Get a coach

Avoid banks

@Pierce Dandridge

@Pierce Dandridge

Welcome to BP. Unfortunately our economy is not particularly friendly to people with criminal records. For my part, I think this is shame, because everyone deserves a second chance. Furthermore, you want to work, so it's terrible to let that go to waste.

I would recommend getting involved on the contracting and property management side of the biz. You can throw your time into the mix, and not have to put up a lot of money. I imagine for the first few years, this will be actual work, and much less investing. Eventually, after establishing a track record, start to take a piece of the deal(s) that come through. If your reliable, investors will be happy to give you a taste.

Your record will make people do further due diligence when working with you. However, given time, you can develop trust and work directly with investors who need a pro, if you want to be that pro.