All Forum Posts by: Tim West

Welcome Emeline! Pierce County is a great place for REI, and I wish you much success! Don't hesitate to reach out if you need anything. Good luck to you!

Thanks,

Tim

There are other ways to get loans for investment, so touching your 401K seems like a premature move if you haven’t explored other options. 

Like many others on this thread, I too have taken loans against my 401K in the past when I had to, but it’s certainly only something to do if you can feel confident about meeting the payments, timeframes, etc. I think the decision is impacted more if you have significant investment in the 401K, as $30K vs. $300K for example would present different options and consequences.

There are several ways to get unsecured loans, and I have used several, such as Lending Club and Lightstream, both of which were great low interest options that allowed for quick investment capabilities with relatively little impact, and multiple pay back timeframe options. Credit score certainly helps here.

I agree with both sides, don’t touch it unless you understand what your potentially impacting long term, but also remember that you want your money working for you. What I can tell you is that you should be thinking about how to not be counting on any one source of income or investment for retirement, as there are no guarantees and you need to be creating multiple streams of income to give yourself a higher chance of success. Good luck to you!

@Amber Brown You are experiencing what most would call the grind. There are an abundance of deals in Pierce and King counties, but you have to expand your approach. Not every deal is a foreclosure or behind in mortgage or an estate sale. Those are the ones that everyone chases, and it is doubtful you will find a deal that every other Wholesaler isn’t also pursuing, especially off of lists. 

First step is to learn to let go of properties that just simply aren’t deals. Three properties like this is no different than not having any properties at all, except they distract you from finding real deals. You should try going outside the norm and find a niche that you enjoy working. Mailing works for some people, but you have to make sure you’re investing the right effort, money and resources into it. Driving for dollars works for others, but you have to be consistent and know how to track people down. 

Whether it is direct mail marketing, cold calling or any other method, you have to be consistent in your approach. You have to build a pipeline of prospects and then be methodical in your follow up. Motivation comes in all types of ways for sellers, so you just have to be putting helping the seller as priority, and being ethical as the top priority. When your intentions are good, deals start coming with hard work. Nothing in this business is easy, otherwise everyone would be successful. There is no substitute for hard work, strong strategy, and consistent execution. Good luck!

Welcome to BP @Bryan Close! It's always great to see another investor here in the 253. Sounds like you have a lot going on, and I wish you the best of luck. Please never hesitate to reach out if you need anything.

@Robert Spears Welcome to BP, and I am sure you are already seeing the great information and resources available to you on here. Please feel free to reach out if you ever need anything, and I am happy to assist! Good luck to you in your search for rental properties, but I assure you there are many tremendous deals out there to ensure you maximize your investment.

Welcome to BP @Aaron Lee! You have found a tremendous resource here, and there is a large support system here for any questions or challenges you have. Please never hesitate to reach out if I can ever be of assistance, and I hope things go well for you.

Terrific idea @Lisa Thoele! I am interested to see any responses around this concept. I think you could take it a step further than Mobile Home style parks, and design it to feel more like an actual neighborhood, just smaller! Good luck to you on this, and I am anxious to see where it goes.

Welcome to BP Jonathan! There is a great opportunity in front of you, so execute on your goals and lean on the great membership here on BP for any questions you have. Good luck to you.

@Sara Marshall there can be a ton of competition on the foreclosures, and I have seen the prices driven up in many cases opposed to what you used to get them for. However, there are still many good deals out there, and as a wholesaler I also see a ton of off market properties that come in at a deep discount. The issue is having the cash to take advantage of those, so you may want to build your network to include some hard money lenders that could work with you if that fits your investment model/goals. Good luck in your pursuit, and enjoy yourself along the way!

Welcome to BP @Sara Marshall! Glad you have caught the investor bug, and now all you have to do is follow your passion. I see many times investors spend a lot of time "preparing" (myself included!), listening to podcasts, reading books, sometimes even going to "gurus" trying to make sure they have all of the tools ready to get started. The truth is, you best learning tool is to get out and start ACTION. There will never be a perfect time, and once you get started everything seems to fall into place, even if there are many learning experiences along the way. I am excited for you, and please never hesitate to reach out if you need anything.