All Forum Posts by: Tamara Pickens

@Jacob Pereira  Thanks for the great response, i love this insight.

My first question is: what do you do for a living, how much do you make, and how long have you been making it? I work in IT, so right now I make $65K+ a year and I've been at my job for 9 years in March.

My second question is: how much do you have saved up. This one is a little more dicey as I've only just started getting serious about putting a lot away, so I don't have 10K....yet.  Do you think I should wait a year to save this and then look at investing?

My third question is: how much discomfort and work are you willing to put up with? Well, *I* think i'm willing to put up with some discomfort because I feel like i do that already in my apartment complex, lol.  The quality of tenants where I live has taken a nose dive, so let's just say, I'm well versed in the spicy side of neighborly experiences.  I also work hard (I work too hard at my job, lol), so Im not a stranger to the grind or sweat equity/getting dirty.

I will PM you as well to get your thoughts, thanks again!

@Michael Lee  Thanks so much!  Im actually the child of someone who served, my father is a Vietnam vet and serve for 32 years.

@Lisa Bujulian  Thanks for the warm welcome, I will be reaching out, look forward to talking with you!

@Jason Hirko  Thanks so much!

Greetings, my name is Tamara!  So, according to my profile, I've been a member of Bigger Pockets since 2009, but I am also a part of the scores of people who have dreamed about investing in real estate but HASN'T.TAKEN.ACTION.

Welp, I'm finally tired of sitting on the sidelines, lol

When I joined Bigger Pockets back then, I was a champ at lurking but now I know it is much better to engage, ask questions, give value, and connect with others.

I've lived in Austin, TX since about 2010, married, and working a 9 to 5 (for now).  I am reading, educating myself, and beginning to build connections so that I can buy my first investment property this year.  I am actually looking to house hack a multifamily property to start with as it seems to make the most sense for the market I am in and for the goal of buy and hold/cash flow investing. I don't necessarily want to make real estate investing my fulltime career, but a very lucrative side hustle to my own business in holistic wellness and urban farming.

In 2009, I WAS looking to make real estate investing my fulltime career, mostly as a wholesaler but I've since realized that I do not have a passion for that particular niche, but I do love the flexibility, cash flow, and wealth creation that building a healthy property portfolio provides.

At any rate, I look forward to FINALLY engaging with people on the forums, learning, DOING, and sharing with others. Some random things to know about me is that I love to strength train (I have and plan to again compete in Strongman competitions), I hold a PDC (Permaculture Design Certificate...which basically means I love working with nature), I'm currently learning to be a DJ (like, learning how to scratch on actual vinyl type of DJ), and I am a former Army brat (so I'm not technically FROM anywhere, but hey "It's not where you're from, it's where you're at").  Feel free to ask me about any of these things, if you like, lol.

Nice to e-meet everyone!

Ok, so the yellow letters I wrote up are already doing better than the postcards did. I dont have a deal yet but ive already gotten more calls. Once i DO get a deal, im probably gonna sign up with Michael's company to do more volume.

I may try out the yellow book idea, it sounds promising.

Cant wait to hear your results, Derek!

If I were gonna give bandit signs another try, I heard that making sure you putting them in a high cash sales area is good and aside from intersections, try putting them on long stretches of road that is 40 mph and under. Im still kicking around doing bandit signs more creatively (negotiating with homeowners on a busy street, convenient stores, etc) though.

Hmm, i didnt know List Source has recent cash sales lists....

I would think that newly self employed ANYONE's feelings the day after they leave their job would have to correlate to how well they planned out their initial departure. Plus, unless they have passive income coming in, you still have a job, ....its just that now, its all yours lol.

Ima newbie too and Ive been going back and forth on whether to proceed with yellow letters or stick with postcards (i have two mailing campaigns that i did with yellow postcards, 100 absentee owners and 100 30 day mortgage lates, ive only gotten 1 call thus far). I definitely need to get the phone ringing so i think im gonna switch to hand written yellow letters (hey it cant hurt at this point lol). Im also setting up a pay per click campaign to my website (did bandit signs before but i dont feel good doing it, so switching to online lol).

I also work a fulltime job, time is limited tho im willing to make time and i dont have loads of disposable income to dump into marketing. Once I get a deal or two done, i will GLADLY buy one of these pro's services so that I can begin to automate my business.

Nice work, im also a newbie and its great to hear from someone who is in the same boat (not rich, works a demanding fulltime job, doesnt necessarily have boatloads of disposable income to drain into marketing). Ive been thinking about blogging my journey and i think this thread has inspired me to start blogging.

The two i keep seeing are:

Lifestyles Unlimited (im a member)

and

The San Antonio Real Estate Investors Asssociate (or SAREIA, http://www.sareia.com/)

HTH!