All Forum Posts by: Scott Thompson

@Tim Haag I'm in the same boat as you! I just attended my first REIA meeting this past Thursday and smacked myself in the forehead when I got in there, introduced myself to someone, and someone said "well let me get your card!". I learned a valuable lesson before the meeting even started! I think a lot of people here are echoing the same thought- yes it's important, but don't get hung up on it. Here's what I say, in the event that you're anything like me...

Go on Vistaprint right now and order cards. Literally, after you read my post, go to the website. Take less than 5 minutes to settle on a design. Pick one that is simple/clean. Put your name, what your current focus is (wholesaler, buy/hold investor/agent/etc), email, and phone number. Order.

Now, you'll at least have something to hand people to get in contact with you. I agree with those saying business cards are very valuable, impressions are important, having a polished and professional card says a lot about you, etc. BUT I maintain that a basic card is better than no card at all, which is what will happen if you're like me. Even after getting home from the REIA meeting I began researching where the best place to order cards from was, thinking about what I should name my "business", what kind of design I should use, etc... I probably spent an hour doing this and it was all very daunting and I decided I'd "finish tomorrow". At some point you will need to do all these things, and I do think they are very important, but in the event that this all takes you longer to do than you think (it will), at least you'll have something to give to contacts in the interim.

Don't fall victim to analysis paralysis like I tend to.

Hello everyone!

My name is Scott Thompson and I'm brand new the the real estate investment game and am excited to be here!

Who am I? I'm 23 years old and just graduated from college with my bachelor's degree in Accounting last summer...not even a year removed from school! I'm currently working full-time in a cost accountant role at Texas Instruments. I just moved down to Dallas after graduating and am brand new to the DFW area having moved from Indiana. When I'm not working or reading about real estate I can usually be found at my church, either working with our youth group or playing with the worship team, or sitting in my living room working on some goofy spoof of Justin Beiber or the Frozen soundtrack.

Why am I here? After graduating I decided that I refused to learn how to handle money from making my own mistakes, and sought the wisdom of those much further along in life than myself. After scouring the internet for any personal finance article I could get my hands on and seeing repeated recommendations to read Rich Dad, Poor Dad, I picked up the audiobook and my outlook on money is completely different. I also read Kiyosaki's Cashflow Quadrant book, and have decided that I want to start putting my money to work now. I want to own my own income stream. I am here to learn and soak up whatever wisdom, advice, and knowledge this community has to offer.

I'm not looking for any get-rich-quick scheme, since the journey of a thousand miles happens but one step at a time, but I have begun to see the opportunity in REI and want to know more.

My short-term/immediate investment goal is to purchase my first property by the end of this year (2014). Mostly because I am a knowledge fiend, which often leads to analysis paralysis, and I know that is a weakness of mine. So I have put down in writing that I wish to purchase my first property before 2015, with acknowledgement that I may make mistakes. I cannot continue to fear mistakes, because then I will never achieve success. So I'm jumping in. Not with haste, but with diligence and effort and determination and courage.

Due to the fact that I have little savings and credit history, I have quite a challenge ahead of me. I won't be able to put down a large down-payment, so I'm certainly interested in learning more about creative financing. As of now, I'm considering FHA loans and living in my first property (duplex/triplex) for a year. I have to pay rent somewhere, so I might as well pay it towards my own mortgage.

I'm looking forward to taking control of my financial future and am aggressively tackling it now. If you're in the DFW area, I'll probably see you at local meet-ups/seminars! I'm easy to spot, I wear bow-ties :).

Nice to meet you!