All Forum Posts by: Seneca Stephens

I might be the youngest person so far to make a comment about financial independence but most people look for it no matter the age. For me it's a matter of a vision of things that I would like to do even more so than things I would like to have (sure a car newer than a 01 Malibu would be nice, but my 01 runs).

With the economy being in a state I really don't know how to describe and the "never ending" yet slowly decreasing student loan debt things like being able to travel (Haven't been out of North Carolina much at all), help people navigate the chaos known as credit and having a much broader social life feel like far off dreams. Being only 25, things like that shouldn't feel so unachievable.

I agree wholeheartedly that money doesn't buy happiness, the material goods don't mean happiness in the long run. The relief from financial rat race, the notion of being able to do things for self and/or others without the immediate repercussion of falling back into the debt hole struggling to climb out that a few extra bucks can provide are the things that I think about.

The title may not be the best considering my thoughts, but here it goes.

There are quite a few questions that come to mind especially when I saw a news report about more people renting than owning property (has me intrigued but not completely sold on the idea).  Some of the things that I have wondered about are how those who are already landlords got the properties that they are renting?  Is it ever a good idea to go with a pre-rented deal (property owner selling and they already have tenants living in the unit)?  How you handle the process of tenant screening?

I would put more but as of right now I'm still looking, researching the different avenues of RE investing so this may seem like a scatterbrained post.

I've thought about my fears quite extensively and I think the biggest thing for me is going in blind.  I've been thinking about purchasing properties to rent out and I know that there is a bounty of information on this site but I'm still the type of person that would like to see the process.  That and the fact that I'm still a holdout for a permanent full-time work position (currently working temp) have kept me extremely hesitant on making a move.

I had the feeling that the notion of financing wouldn't work out nicely for auction homes.  Still it's nice to know that it has been done with some success.  I should figure a way to get more involved cause I'm more of a hands on learner but the auction homes caught my attention.

I noticed a house in my neighborhood up for public auction on auction.com, thought it could make a nice rental property and I wonder if a anyone in North Carolina, or more specifically Greensboro has purchased property through an auction?  I figure that this way wouldn't be ideal starting out, plus I don't have the funds to even consider participating but the thought was intriguing.

I keep looking, reading and learning quite a bit from Bigger Pockets but I needed a more personal thought about jumping in.
Personally I've looked at my grandmother's house (I stay there with my bro taking care of her) I've noticed the some of the issues that can be found around the home (leaking roof, plumbing issues currently) that I'm unfortunately not financially able to take care of directly. That is actually one reason I want to get into investing, to keep from feeling the paycheck to paycheck pressure. That in combination with me wanting to fix my credit has me still holding back.
I can't help but wonder what brought people into real estate investing, the fears with starting and what helped overcome it. I apologize if this post is incoherent or just plain does't make sense I just didn't want to lose the thought.

Well I was looking at a few strategies for investing and the thought of rental portfolio with lease options came to mind, especially after just browsing Craigslist (was looking for a cell phone but ended up getting bored). Looks like a little more research on the matter will be required for this to work.

I guess one thing that weirds me out is the thought of investing with no money. Before now I've always been under the notion of actually needing to have fat pockets and godly credit (neither of which I have) in order to make a move. I've even seen a few houses in my neighborhood that are up for sale, but my thoughts always went to what could and how could I do something about these?

Jacob Allen I've been in Raleigh quite a few times, though those times the thought of real estate investing wasn't even a thought, may have to take another look.
Karen RittenhouseI'll have to see what I can do. One thing I did notice from one quick online search before joining Bigger Pockets is the number of properties for sale in the city. Though I can't help but wonder if there are any particular locations in the city better than others when it comes to investing.

Welcome to the 'club'. I'm a little surprised to find someone else my age looking into this. I'm pretty sure you'll get great help, especially in your area.