All Forum Posts by: Raechelle Carroll

@Franklin Romine I realize there are ups and downs it's just hard to recapture motivation but I'm sure I could recapture plenty if I could catch one of those $100 bills.

@Andrew SyriosI have definitely learned my lesson about contracts. I took it all as a learning experience. It's a lesson I'd rather learn now than thousands of dollars later.

@Randy E. My dad has been in the real estate business my whole lief so I've seen the ups and downs first hand. I'm sure that this is what I NEED to do I just have to get back in the game,

@Steve Vaughan I love that quote! I will have to put it on my wall somewhere. I will be sure to watch where I step so I can avoid piles of dung in the future. lol

@John C S. I'm a very jovial, happy-go-lucky kind of person so I hate to see the worst in people. I think that from now on I won't use my 6th sense and I will instead get better contracts.

I recently moved and decided to give real estate a try. After reading, listening to podcasts, going to at least 40 different REIA meetings I met a few good people and began my journey. I was cooking with gas and then...life happened. I got really sick, went on vacation, and started a new job. On top of that I'd "partnered" with one of my "mentors" on a deal and never got paid. I'm never on to focus on the negative so I just put that lesson in my back pocket and decided never to work with him again.

Though I decided to continue trying it has been difficult to recapture my motivation but i think i'm finally back on track. I hear and read a lot of success stories but i hardly ever hear about the setbacks and/or failures so I decided to share mine in the hope that it would give me some motivation to continue on to success.

If anyone has any advice or anecdotes they'd like to share with me then I WELCOME THEM ALL.

Sincerely,

Devested but Dedicated

Hi Angelo and welcome! I would reiterate what Christian said. You should really concentrate on just one thing. Wholsaling is chaepest to get into but one of the hardest niches to master. Meanwhile, rehabbing is much more expensive but a little easier to get started doing.

There are tons of people who will talk about using private money but the reality is I would be wary of taking someone else's money when I'm not quite certain what I'm doing.

Either way you are starting out in the right place. There is wealth of great information on this site and plenty of books that you can read.

Good luck!!

The beauty of wholesaling is you can do it anywhere. If you can't find any wholesalers or cash buyers in your area then maybe you should try wholesaling in another area. I know that people say you should do real estate "in your backyard" but if there's more opportunity somewhere else then why not do that? Also, if there aren't any wholesalers in your market then there's probably not a ton of rehabbing. You could always find a few partners (your contractor perhaps) and get started in rehabbing instead.

The niche you choose (rehabbing, wholesaling, landing etc.) really depends on your personality, what kind of time you have, what kind of money you have and what kind of lifestyle you live. 

If you're looking to have cash flow every month then landlording makes sense. If you just want to make a quick buck and move on to the next deal then you might want to choose one of the other strategies. 

My favorite financial book is the Millionaire Next Door. My favorite flipping book is called Flip. It goes step by step through the way to rehab.

I purchased an absentee owner list then got really sick and couldn't do the marketing. I'd love to know how your experience turns out.

@Micki M. I'd never thought of or heard of a "blanket" loan. I'm going to be getting into some rental properties but I have no income (my husband is the only working member of my household) so I was worried about how many loans we could get.  My plan was to only do deals with owner financing but I'd love to have the opportunity to do conventional financing. Thanks for that information!!

@Debbie Lee I understand how you feel. Analysis paralysis can easily set in if you let it but you just have to keep going. I analyze every deal I come across. Even if I have no intention of doing the deal I analyze it from all three angles, rehab, wholesale, and buy and hold. Doing this on a regular basis gives me a lot of practice so that when a "real" deal comes along I will be ready.

Just keep working and you will eventually find a deal!

@Rachel Gill I'm happy I could get you motivated this morning. It's hard when you feel like nothing is going your way, or even worse, when nothing is happening at all. 

@Account Closed What do you mean by flip? yes you can definitely wholesale for 5k. Heck you could wholesale for $500 but I haven't yet seen a rehab that only took 5k. If it only need 5k then retail buyers usually snap it up quick. Especially in my market.

@Account ClosedI think the mentor thing has been said and said again and again...and again lol. That's why I decided to leave it out but I alluded to it when I spoke about finding someone in your niche. People often think that because they are new they have nothing to offer an experienced investor but except money. TOTALLY LIES!! You can JV, do administrative work, do his/her taxes, shine his/her shoes, babysit, wash dishes etc. etc. etc. EVERYONE has SOMETHING to offer.

As a newbie investor (been around the business for 25 years but just got started on my own) there is no shortage of advice from "seasoned" investors.  Every place you turn there is someone waiting to tell you some "exclusive" information that will "help you grow your business". IT'S OVERWHELMING!!

Here are the top 5 pieces of advice that I'd give a newbie investor:

1: Do what works for your situation!!! If you are shy, don't want to quit your job, have children, are married etc. then you must take those things into account before choosing an investing strategy. For instance, if you have a great paying job that you like then why be a wholesaler? You could just as easily collect passive income by owning property with cash flow.

2. You will NEVER know everything so don't worry about it. Most problems can be fixed with minimal hurt, heartache, tears, or cash. You are always going to run into a problem that you don't know how to solve. That's why you have to learn on the job. Network and find people who are experts in your niche. When you run into a problem, just call them. Don't forget to compensate them for their time/advice. No one will keep answering your questions if you don't seem appreciative. Even if you just take them to coffee and send them a thank-you card, appreciation goes a long way.

3. Some people are just negative so utilize them when you MUST but don't spend too much time with them. Experienced jaded investors can suck the life and motivation out of new investors. You can't move forward if you are always whining about the present or the past so don't let those soul suckers be in your life for long. Nothing worse than someone reminiscing about the "good ole' days" and how "there's no deals anymore."

4. You have to work hard and/or long if you don't have money. If I had a dollar for every guru who advertises to "spend your spare time investing and make millions with NO MONEY DOWN" then I wouldn't have invest in real estate. Look people, (MILLENNIALS I'm talking to you), either you have the money or you have the work ethic. PERIOD. You cannot spend 4 hours/week investing in real estate unless you already have a good chunk of money (50k or more in my area) to start with. Then you could go buy some cash-flowing properties or flips and life would be easy. Either you will spend your time networking, marketing, looking at 2 dozen properties/week, or GCing your rehabs but whatever you do IT WILL TAKE LOTS OF TIME.

5. Don't give up. It may take time to find that first deal. It may takes months or even a year but you can't give up. You can and should re-strategize if you see something isn't working (don't do that too often) but don't just stop. I listen to audiobooks and podcasts about real estate to stay motivated when I feel like things "just aren't working" and it helps.

I hope this info helps newer investors. You get the benefit of my experience as a newer investor who has listened to and read over 300 hours of advice.