All Forum Posts by: Brian Risi

Hi @Pawnee Davis 

Welcome to Bigger Pockets! I'm a fellow Washingtonian (have lived in both Northern VA and now DC). I'm very new to investing as well, but my best piece of advice would be to start by reading the "Ultimate Beginner's Guide to REI", and then listen to the podcasts. There are a number of them that pertain to wholesaling (assigning contracts). If you're anything like me you have a grueling commute. The podcasts are a great way to learn and be inspired while sitting in DC traffic. I would also suggest attending some REIA meetings in the area (there's no shortage of them). I attended my first one the other night, and the networking opportunities alone were well worth my time. You can find a lot of them on meetup.com. Best of luck to you. I look forward to following your progress.

Brian

@Troy Fisher I won't deny that I have a little analysis paralysis. Real estate investing is a complete 180 from my day job, and the more I read, the less confident I become. That's part of the reason I'm trying to take action by attending some REIA meetings. Don't get me wrong, though. I'm more than willing to part with $20 (and more in the future) to get to learn from and talk with other investors. Lets face it, I could easily spend more on a few happy hour drinks and not get anything in return except for a buzz. I guess my skepticism could more accurately be described as cautious optimism.

@Troy Fisher Thanks for the valuable info! I'll definitely keep it handy when looking at other REIA's to attend/join.

I appreciate everyone's 2 cents. I'm pretty skeptical in general so I should know pretty quickly whether tonight's meeting is worth it. If I can at least start to get my finger on the pulse of the local market and connect with a few individuals I'll consider it money well spent. 

Hi Joshua,

I'm very much a beginner, and am still making my way through the podcasts but here are a few that I've listened to recently that gave me a lot of inspiration:

BP Podcast Show 91: Getting Started as a Real Estate Wholesaler with Ben Grise

BP Podcast 081: Generating Real Estate Leads Through Direct Mail with Michael Quarles

BP Podcast 077: Negotiating Your Way to 1000 Wholetail Real Estate Deals with Michael Quarles

I know there are many more, but I would start with these. I'm sure others have a more extensive list. Hope this helps. Best of luck to you.

Brian

Thanks everyone! I'm still blown away by how quickly everyone here is willing to answer questions and provide info.

@Nicole A. The group is Capital City REIA. The meeting is at a hotel (conveniently on my way home from work), so I'm guessing most of the cost is going to cover the renting the meeting room.

@Joe Villeneuve Sounds like a good deal...wish I was in your area :)

@Paul Timmins That's what I figured, and like I said, I'm willing to invest the money in my education. I did actually sign up for this particular one through meetup.com, on the advice of another BP member.

Greetings BP!

As a newbie I'm trying to absorb as much of the great info here as possible. I'm scheduled to attend my first REIA meeting this evening. However when I received the confirmation email it indicated a registration fee of $20. I didn't see anything about fees when I signed up and although I have no problem paying the $20 for potentially great info and networking possibilities, I was just wondering if this is typical. I understand the organizers have to pay for the venue, so I'm guessing its normal and not something to run from. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

Brian

Hi @Victoria Winters 

Great, thorough post. I have a follow-up question. When you say you hand-wrote 20 letters, do you mean you literally hand-wrote each one, or were they typed using a handwriting-like font? Also, were they each personalized to address the different, unique situations of your neighbors? I'm looking at a similar strategy to get started with a limited budget. Thanks.

Brian

@Brian Watkins Thanks for the advice. I've never understood how/why bandit signs work, but they must since I've had a number of people suggest that strategy to me. And there's no shortage of them posted around my community.

@Morris Lucas Thank you for taking the time to respond so thoroughly to me. I'll be checking out the podcasts and blogs by all the people you mentioned. I think fear of the unknown is the number one thing that's holding me back...which is why I enjoy reading posts like yours. If you don't mind me asking, what kind of marketing budget did you start off with? 

@Joe Villeneuve I've already signed up for a couple REIA meetings in my local area. Until then, I'd love to get my hands on as much literature as possible. If you have the time feel free to pass along anything you think would help. Thanks so much.