All Forum Posts by: Robert Shearer

Thank you all very much for responding in a timely manner. I greatly appreciate all of your detailed responses and taking the time to assist me with this matter. All of the information provided is tremendously beneficial, and I now have a better understanding of how credit cards are used to invest in real estate, and the process used to mitigate the amount of interest you accrue. I am also thankful for your cautionary words, and reminding me of how quickly credit card balances can accumulate.

@Joe Villeneuve... Some financial institutions charge a fee for balance transfers or treat balance transfers as a type of cash advance which will not necessarily have a higher APR, but will begin to accrue interest immediately, which could quickly deplete your profits. The process in which you provided would be beneficial and cheaper, due to eliminating the higher APR on the balance transfer, but it is still possible to have to pay a balance transfer fee or have interest begin to accrue immediately due to some financial institution (FI) considering a balance transfer a type of cash advance.

Are you able to share any suggestions, insight, or possibly another process on how to fully eliminate any additional interest from accruing or having to pay a balance transfer fee, besides finding a FI that doesn't have those terms? Or is the process, in which you described above, the most common, most efficient, or only way of using credit cards to acquire properties?

Thank you, in advance, for your time and valuable responses.

@Joshua Dorkin... I am having the same issue. I am able to send a Colleague Request and include a message without any issues initially. The issue occurs when I receive a response to my initial message, and then I want to reply and continue the conversation, it will not let me send a response. It will also tell me that the body of the message is too short, and provide a character length limit, which is different every time and I exceed the number it states. I enter something into all of the fields, and receive the message every time. I am mainly using a desktop computer, but this issue also occurs on my laptop. Everything else is working great, and I absolutely love the site, but this issue requires me to send a reply message using the email address provided when I would prefer to continue using BP to have the conversation. I thank you for your time and help.

Hello BP... I hope everyone is doing well and having tremendous success in their REI ventures. It is always great to be able to use an incredible resource like BP, and have the opportunity to benefit from everything BP has to offer. As always, I know that I will be able to receive some assistance on this matter that I don't quite understand fully. In advance, I wanted to thank everyone for taking the time to respond and helping me with this matter. Its greatly appreciated. The question is as follows:

I have been told multiple amount of times , mainly by guru's, that it is always best to leverage other peoples money in order to acquire properties and get your REI business started. I understand that it would be helpful if family or friends would loan the money to you and there's always the option of private or hard money lenders, traditional loan, and other options, but the suggestion of using credit cards has created some lingering questions that I hope to get resolved with the help of this great website and all of you knowledgeable real estate professionals here on BP. I understand the concept of obtaining additional capital with the credit limits on each card you receive, and paying the minimum payment until acquiring enough profit to pay off the full balance. What I don't understand is how the credit cards are used when acquiring properties. When at closing, are you able to just swipe your credit card(s) just as if you were completing a normal transaction at the store, or is it necessary to complete either a cash advance, withdrawal, or obtain convenience checks in order to successfully acquire a property when at closing? The reason I ask is because a normal transaction is going to have your APR for purchases and there will be a period of time that you can possibly pay that back in full to prevent interest from accruing. If it's necessary to process some sort of cash advance to obtain actual cash, that process is going to create an even higher APR (usually 2% higher than the purchase rate) and the interest will begin to accrue immediately until it is paid off in full which will deplete your profit very quickly. I do know that each credit union or bank differs with their policies concerning credit cards, but from what I've heard and researched, this seems to be a common policy for almost every financial institution. Does anybody have any insight, experiences, and/or suggestions on this particular matter, and how a credit card is normally used to purchase properties or if it is even an ideal form of capital to use?

Hello Alexa... Welcome to BP. Bigger Pockets is without a doubt a great resource to obtain information and network with others in the area who all share common interests. Wish you the best of luck, and I hope to stay connected.

Thank you all very much for your responses and the information, as well. I look forward to staying in touch and I wish you the best of luck with your future endeavors.

Thank you all very much for your responses and the information, as well. I look forward to staying in touch and I wish you the best of luck with your future endeavors.

@ Joshua Dorkin... Thank you very much for everything you have created and provided for the Real Estate Community. I also want to give a big thanks to everyone who contributes and maintains the BP website, as well. This is an absolutely exceptional website, and the amount of benefits and resources that it provides is amazing and essential. I am so glad that I came across and found out about BP. It is greatly appreciated, and I am going to be upgrading very soon. Thanks again BP!!!

Thank you very much to everyone that responded. I appreciate all of the information provided that will be beneficial for me in becoming successful in REI. It was a pleasure meeting and reading what everyone had to say, and I hope to stay connected with everybody. Good luck to everyone with their future endeavors.

Hello Bigger Pockets, My name is Robert Shearer. I am 27 years old and I currently reside in Fairfax County, VA. I have always had an interest in real estate. As soon as I graduated from West Virginia University, I got my Realtors license, which I currently still have but it is in an inactive status. I have really been interested in getting into the investing side of the real estate business. I have spent the majority of my time researching the Internet about REI, reading books on the subject, and attending seminars/workshops/ and REIA meetings. I am extremely interested in developing a business and beginning to acquire properties to wholesale, rehab, or buy-and-hold, depending on the certain situation with the guidance of a mentor/coach. I am extremely aware of the necessity of continuing my education on the subject of REI and the importance of a mentor for guidance and knowledge that a seasoned and experienced real estate investor who has already been successful in the business could provide. I wanted to make sure that I took this time to introduce myself and emphasize the seriousness, dedication, and devotion I have to become successful in REI. I am hungry and I will not allow anything to hinder my ability or eagerness to achieve my goals in becoming a successful real estate investor. Any tips, strategies, insight, resources, and experiences that anyone can share that will be beneficial for me in reaching my goals will be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time and assistance.

Hello Bigger Pockets, My name is Robert Shearer. I am 27 years old and I currently reside in Fairfax County, VA. I have always had an interest in real estate. As soon as I graduated from West Virginia University, I got my Realtors license, which I currently still have but it is in an inactive status. I have really been interested in getting into the investing side of the real estate business. I have spent the majority of my time researching the Internet about REI, reading books on the subject, and attending seminars/workshops/ and REIA meetings. I am extremely interested in developing a business and beginning to acquire properties to wholesale, rehab, or buy-and-hold, depending on the certain situation with the guidance of a mentor/coach. I am extremely aware of the necessity of continuing my education on the subject of REI and the importance of a mentor for guidance and knowledge that a seasoned and experienced real estate investor who has already been successful in the business could provide. I wanted to make sure that I took this time to introduce myself and emphasize the seriousness, dedication, and devotion I have to become successful in REI. I am hungry and I will not allow anything to hinder my ability or eagerness to achieve my goals in becoming a successful real estate investor. Any tips, strategies, insight, resources, and experiences that anyone can share that will be beneficial for me in reaching my goals will be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time and assistance.