All Forum Posts by: Scott Rowsick

Hey Everyone!

I've had my profile for about a month now, but I haven't gotten on this forum! I'm Scott, a Retail Marketing Specialist who lives in Irving, Texas. I've gotten into REI by picking-up a few books and reading about success stories. I realized that I could become financially free through time by doing this. I want to work for myself, and work hard, and love what I'm doing. This allows me to do all three!

I come from a large family in a small town near Pittsburgh, PA.  I'm the first in my family (including six older siblings, two parents, and countless aunts and uncles) to finish college with a Bachelor's degree (BS in Economics from Pitt), and the first to move out of the region.  I'm currently finishing-up a self-development book as well.  I will be self-publishing it by the end of the year.

My circumstances, in terms of debt, limit me to wholesaling and/or buy-and-live investing for the time being, but by January 1, 2018, I would like to be flipping single-family homes and soon after, get into small or mid-sized multi-family units.  

For now, however, I must begin wholesaling.  I want to obtain sufficient knowledge in the subject, make as many connections as possible, and start on my path to financial freedom.  If you're in the DFW area, please feel free to connect with me!  I'll look forward to serving both of our interests.

Thanks for reading!

All the best,

Scott

Hey Everyone!

Fun and helpful discussion here--any maybe even some inspiration.

What were some of your tipping points in REI? What were you reading or listening to that made you think this world of REI was possible for you? What was that one thing that got you started? What was that one deal that led to financial freedom (if you're at that point)? And more importantly (for me at least), what was going through your mind that made you push and go to that next level?

For me, I'm still in the very early stages.  But I'm BIG into self-development.  I read those famous (and sometimes notorious, depending upon the person with whom you are speaking) books like The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and The Success Principles.  And I've listened to Jim Rohn for years.  And Brian Tracy.  And, like many of you here, I assume, Robert Kiyosaki.  And I believe in them.  And many of them have real estate portfolios.  It seemed to me that real estate was a fairly common denominator between all of the people I admired.  So I began to believe that I was capable of the same thing.  And now I'm so grateful I've found this community, and I can't wait to start building my portfolio.

Thanks for reading, and thanks especially for sharing.  

I'm still waiting for my AHA! moment, but judging from some of these comments, I need to start listening to the podcasts more often!

Great discussion, by the way.

I'm not going to ask for cash buyers, and I'm not asking for a mentor or anything of that nature.  I simply want to be the best wholesaler in the DFW area.  There's a lot of competition for your services, and I want to set myself apart.  I want a great reputation.  And I want to go about this the right way.

What are you looking for from a wholesaler?  I know you don't want us to waste your time.  But specifically--what are the things that wholesalers do that are deal-breakers (so that I can avoid these activities), and what are things that you wish we would do?  Is it as simple as better analysis?  Better presentation?  

As always, thanks so much for your time and your thoughts.  I really appreciate it!

I'm in the process of becoming an Uber driver in DFW.  I will have to give this a shot!

Hey Guys,

Thanks for all of your help!  This community is something else.  I'm eternally grateful.  Now I have some additional books on my reading list, and a general sense that I can do this.  Deciding which option is best (buy-to-rent v. wholesaling) to start for me.  I'll get my plan together and execute it.  As Zig says, "If you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time."

All the best,

Scott

Hey All,

This is perhaps the one question that, without a clear and concise answer, stops me from getting the ball rolling with investing.  My fiance and I are recent college grads with significant student debt.  After taxes, our yearly incomes, together, make our debt-to-income ratio about one-to-one.  Also, due to our family, work, school, and life circumstances growing-up, our current savings is in the mid-four figures.  So things are tight.  Month-to-month cash flow is comfortable--we certainly aren't destitute--and we both work full-time.  Circumstances are never excuses, however, the situation "is what it is", so to speak.

What is my best plan of attack in this scenario?  I've looked around and haven't found a similar discussion, so I'm asking for a little bit of help.  My original plan was going to be the following; wholesale for a few years in order to pay down/off debts.  Continue this to build-up 3-6 months worth of expenses and a down-payment on a buy-and-live home.  Continue this for longer to save up for fix-and-flips, and continue until opportunities emerge in multi-family markets.  The economies of scale in multifamily residential attracts me.  I believe this to be my long-term niche.  

What would you do in my shoes?  What are my possibilities for the here and now?  And, although I'm sure of your answer to this question, I feel as if I must ask it; Can I do this? 

Thank you all again.  As always.

Scott

Wayne,

Congrats on your find.  That's very exciting!  Have you looked at the contracts under the Resources tab on BP?  There are a few contracts on there that seem to be pretty popular.  And anyone, please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong--these do not have to be long, convoluted documents.  A few pages, normally, should suffice.  

I hope this helps.  

All the best,
Scott

Hey All,

I almost wish I could post this anonymously; I'm admittedly feeling rather sheepish. I went to the REI Expo in Dallas today (I live in the area). I got some great information, met a few new people, and actually have the opportunity to go to a house flipping seminar over a weekend in March.

As I stated in my previous post, I'm new to this.  I'm new to Dallas, and I'm just now putting my foot in the water in terms of real estate investing.  I made business cards for this event that say I'm an Investor/Entrepreneur (I'm about six months from being a published author and 12-18 months from being a speaker), but I feel like I don't have much to offer most of the people there.  Maybe it's because I'm socially awkward, but, I'm wondering--how would you approach investors/patrons at this event in my shoes?  I'm more than willing to talk to people if I feel like I can offer them something, but I feel like I have no legs on which to stand.  Any clarity or wisdom on this issue would be very much appreciated.

Thank you all.  You're the best.

Thank you guys for the quick replies.  I'm a big reader, so I will definitely check out that book.  My credit score is good, I'm just worried more about the banks taking my D/I into too much consideration.

As far as a plan is concerned, I'm more interested in wholesaling and/or flipping in the short-term to get out of debt.  Working an extra job and kicking the tires on wholesaling should get me out of debt in a few years.  If that's done right, through everything I've read, it's doable.  And once that goal is accomplished, I want to buy and hold for cash flow and long-term wealth.