All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Okay this is THE most important and slightly lengthy topic that confuses and baffles most, but fear not! For I shall attempt to simplify this topic as much as I can for those starting out to help in building a better personal financial future.

Credit score! This dirty word can be the green light to your success or the road block between your dreams. There was a day way back when where cash was king and references were gold.

Landlords now only accept tenants with near perfect scores despite terrible rental histories, banks check credit scores to determine if you are worthy enough to give them your money, car insurances calibrate their rates against your score despite a superb driving record, hell employers now check to see how you are with the paychecks they give you! There's no doubt that today your life is dictated by a number no matter what type of  individual you are, l know, I've been there! Having never established credit and cash paid everything the world has progressed over me and I was left scrambling to catch up.

Here are some strategies that I have learn along the way for those with No, Low or Bad credit.

1. Know your score! 

You can't begin the race without knowing where the starting line is. There are several ways of finding your score. Contact the credit bureau which will cost around 25$ to get. Sign up with free credit score sites like credit karma. (I also have a free program through the bank which, with credit karma, gives me access to all three scores.) but the best way I found was to contact a home lender. They will do it for free and not only will you know your score, they will inform you of any collections or negative marks and how best to resolve it. (I discovered that my ex left a pretty good amount in collects under my name which I never knew until I received my score. They gave me the numbers to call and the strategies to resolve it.)

2. Pay off any collections!

If, like me, you find some surprises don't give up! Take a day to be upset if need be but get back up and begin to resolve the issue! Call the collection agents, you'll find that a lot of them are really nice and are even willing to negotiate a payment plan or reduce the amount owed entirely. Budget your income as to best pay off these negative remarks and once paid you can now begin the momentum movement upwards. ( if you owe a staggering amount it may be best to talk to a credit specialist first.)

3. Establishing and building credit! 

Okay by now you may have discovered you don't have one score...you have three! Experian, Transunion and Equifax. They all flip and flop to their own beat, and once established you'll understand them better. So to better help your situation I'll just explain what I've done. 

First- I opened an account with a Credit union bank. They report your info to the credit bureau, so be sure that account is pristine. I also opened a savings assist loan which was designed for those starting out in the credit world. They credit your account with funds and you make automatic monthly payments on until it's free and clear. Also have at least two bank accounts. Multiple accounts look good on your credit as well as the age of the accounts. I use one for savings and the other for bills. If possible apply for a credit card here.

Second- I leased a lamp. Yes...that happened. I discovered that Aaron's reports your payment info to the credit bureau, so I went in and leased one lamp. They may get pissed off and say you can't do that, but fear not...you can. They are sales trolls and would rather you lease a monster screen tv in hopes you default on it. Just explain you don't NEED any more stuff and that you're just building credit. I paid 10$ a month for a lamp that sits in my closet. Also be sure that is automatically paid each month aswell. Automation is key.

Third- I applied for a credit card...was denied and as a result my score dropped, more on that at the end. So I found that my bank offered a secure card. My balance would be whatever I paid into it. For example I put 1000$ on it and so that's the balance I can borrow against each month as well as that 1k is automatically placed in a two year CD earning interest. Win-win.

3. Tips and tricks. 

Okay now that you've established multiple ways of building credit be sure ALL of which are within your means of doing so. Be sure ALL payments are automated, be sure your accounts have the funds to be withdrawn for payment and after a while the score will build itself.  

Be sure the credit cards are used each month as inactivity looks bad. 

TIP: use cards only on the inevitable. I use one card per bill. Electric, water, fuel etc. Stuff you have to pay no matter what, channel it through credit building. Don't buy crap you don't need!

Be cautious however! Anytime you apply for a card, landlord checks your credit, online service checks to see if your "qualified" all are considered Hard Inquiries, which is jargon for when ppl check your score. Which in turn will lower your score, so avoid this as much as possible. (You can check your score for free without any loss each year on your birthday.)

Also DO NOT use more than 30% of the balance on your credit card. To do so makes the bureau think you are dependent on credit and so too will lower your score. (take your limit and multiply by 30%  Ex. 1000$ x .30 =300$ A month)

Remember!! Automation is key!!! If you attempt to make all these payments personally you may forget one and the castle crumbles!

I started out this year with a 499 score!!! After applying these tactics as of today Dec 1, my score is 720ish!

Confused? So am I , this topic is absurdedly complicated, as a result I may have forgotten several key topics for which if remembered I'll apply or the BP community will correct it for all.

1. If you are like me... You do not have a high paying job. You earn just enough, barely or not even close to "making ends meet." 

You spend 1/3 of your life or more wasting at a job you dislike for pay that struggles to keep you afloat while the higher ups never appreciate all you do and become seldomnly seen around holidays/ New Years as to avoid employee paid time off, bonuses and raises. You miss time for life, family and friends. You feel lost, hopeless and have no idea how you're going to survive this let alone how to even begin breaking yourself free to engage your dream of real estate.

There is a way.

Even if you are a minimum wage janitor you can position yourself to be better able to save money on the side for investing and to improve your income.

First things first. Make two lists. On one list label all the necessaries, utilities, rent, fuel, food, phone bill etc. And on the other any non essential expenditures like take out, booze, movies, nic-nacks, etc.

Now add up all your necessaries for a month and subtract your actual take home pay for a month from the necessities. What's left ( if any ) you should put into savings.

It won't be easy due to the bad habits you may have developed money wise over the years, so don't get discourage when you relapse and spend it all at the bar one night. Try again and again and again. Make your savings a holy relic that cannot be touched.

The best way is to open a bank account. That way you don't have instant easy access to the funds when you get a persuasive impulse to spend it.

It's not gonna be fun at first as you'll have to sacrifice some, but as you notice the number increasing you will begin to experience hope and joy and a renewed sense of drive that will push you to better position yourself.

Rent too high? Try to find a smaller more affordable place. 

Utilities too high? Do you really need that supra hd flux capacitor light speed internet?

Cell phone too high? Honestly you can get by just as fine with a 30-40$ a month prepaid plan. I pay 1/10 of what my peers do and yet have the same services.

Food too costly? Keep an eye out on specials, bogos, and discount. Plan meals around those.

Position yourself below your means to better increase your savings potential, strategize, maybe even try to find a higher paying job, even slightly increases your savings potential.

 Don't be trapped into paralysis by your current financial affairs. Instead free yourself from yourself.

A great read to help you with this is "The Richest man in Babylon." - George S. Clason. 

It's a short read but very powerful in opening your eyes into focusing on the financial situation that you are in and how to begin the journey to the situation you wish best to be in.

Roger that. 

I agree, I see 'em soar right off the MLS and the few left behind are over priced and needs overhauling.

Hey all,

I'm looking to purchase a multi family complex (1-4 unit) in the Navarre, Gulf-breeze, Milton, Mary Esther, Fort Walton area. Lots of single fams in the area tough to nab a multi.

If you know anything or just wanna talk local markets feel free to contact me. 

Thank you all.

Disclaimer: I'm not super tech savvy, so I may have several forum posts/discussions regarding this topic instead of one continuous thread. Just check out the profile for updates. 

Thank you all!

These next few post will help to better fill in the gaps from the beginning to where I am currently.

Education.

Congratulations! 

If you made it this far then you have made the active effort to educated yourself in some way or fashion. 

Never before has the human experience had such a buffet of knowledge to digest. As a result the magnitude of information that is circulating can be so anxiously burdensome that many fail to begin because there is no obvious start line. You sorta just have to dive in anywhere and sift through all the misinformation and learn what's best for you. 

Personal education and improvement is essential for the success of your future endeavors, however, too much of anything can be bad for you.

There are two sides of the sword with self education, on one sharpened side the benefit helps to alleviate the stress and anxiety of not knowing. Which establishes and builds confidence. Whereas the opposite side of the blade is too much self education. This can cause an overwhelming feeling of inadequacy, helplessness, worthlessness, self pity and doubt which erodes and destroys confidence.

After reading the Holy Scripture of self education books (Rich dad poor dad) I realized how terribly wrong I've been doing everything. The book had such an impact on me that I devoured any and all books on financial, business, real estate self-help etc. As well as devoting hours to podcasts, webinars, seminars, youtube videos and on and on and on. A whole year of this thinking that if I learned enough things will begin working out for me...they didn't. As a result I did learn a lot, so much so that it began to become repetitive (which is the obvious sign that one should act on what they've learned.) I began to notice as the more I learned, paired with the lack of action, I began to lose that drive, that confidence, that motivation to take on the world head on and thus the death spiral of self doubt began. Luckily there cannot be darkness without the light, this pulled me back from the education realm and I resumed my normal life feeling as though I had failed, but the education remained. As a result the self pity began wearing off over time and I began to feel motivated again and so pivoted into action.

I also realized that unless you apply what you are learning it soon is forgotten. The brain holds on to that which is useful and dumps the rest. Hence why "Are you smarter than a 5th grader" was such a hit.

Reading and hearing of the successes of others can help remind you that it's possible, but too much can lead you to believe everyone BUT you is accomplishing success. 

Life is a continuous learning experiment. Never stop educating yourself and do so in healthy moderation.

Thank you all. This should be as interesting as it is informative...maybe even comical at times.

My plan is to buy and hold multi and singles. See where it goes from there.

Hey all,

I just wanted to start a thread showcasing the struggles and tactics of beginning to begin your real estate journey using my experiences, as they unfold, to explain through personal examples how anyone can push through the stressful anxiety of overwhelming drive to accomplish the steps necessary to traverse the trail on your path to success.

I am not a successful investor.....yet. 

Instead of doing what others do by waiting for success to then teach the world how, I will be documenting my progress, or maybe lack there of, as I push through.

This way the struggle is real and fresh and not forgotten in the aftermath of accomplishment.

I hope my experience is of some use and please feel free to contribute. 

Thank you all and wish me luck.