All Forum Posts by: Benjamin Ertl

@Dawn Anastasi -- I'm glad to see another person from Wisconsin on here. I took a look at your website in your signature -- definitely looks like you've been doing well for yourself, have you considered making changes to your website to increase business?

Just putting that out there for you to think about...

The idea of taking out a loan scares the sh*t out of me...probably because of all the school loans. I would feel easier spending my own money, but of course that means starting extremely small -- which means it would take longer to start making "real" money.

I'm looking towards relatively small investments. I love the idea of passive income which is why I'm most interested in long-term investments. I would prefer income through rent and the like, or through long-term appreciation -- buy low, sell high.

Is it even possible to make an investment with $100? Maybe...

I'm just starting out and have been reading about all the people you should have on your "team" to start investing: lawyer, lender, mentor, etc. While I can agree with all of this, at this point I would much rather be a small investor who does his own thing.

I'm a junior in college with limited funds -- if you haven't picked up that vibe already.

The idea of investing in raw land or in a mobile home interests me the most but it seems like there isn't much money to be made in that field due to the costs of maintenance, development, etc. Plus it seems like the cheaper the cost, the more risk and cost of repair.

What sort of initial capital would I need to even start investing? $100? $1000? $100,000?

I would love some personal stories of investors that made small investments and had some success with it. My mind is a sponge so any and all advice is welcome.

@Brad Chandler I'll send you a message soon. 1400+ homes is extremely impressive and I look forward to our talk.

@Michael Heisterkamp I might have to look into that. The first thing I read when I got to this site is how wholesaling is "bad" haha. Maybe I shouldn't have judged to quickly.

My big challenge right now is simply making enough money to start investing. I'm working like crazy for school, college swimming, and that freelance marketing work I do. If college teaches you one thing, it's that time and money are the two factors that dictate everything.

@Shaun Reilly thanks for the advice. I'm definitely going to need a lot of researching and learning (and working) before I can even consider making a move towards investing.

I'm definitely thinking long-term stuff right now. Whatever that means haha

Thanks for the friendly "hello". I'll definitely have to find those and give them a try. Also glad to here that this site is actually useful.

Hey everyone,

My name is Ben and I'm a junior in college looking to learn more about how I can better secure my financial future. I'm definitely a beginner when it comes to real estate investing but hope to learn more and potentially use the knowledge later in life.

I'm also very very short on cash which has me pretty limited on investing options, but that doesn't I can't learn.

I've tried eBay sales, working various low-wage jobs, etc but only recently started to do freelance online marketing work for an Arizona company -- which has been pretty good. I hope to someday save enough to invest for the long-term.

I'm majoring in economics and German so I have some background in how markets function, but like anything you can only really learn by doing (at least for me).

Hope to hear from some of you, any and all advice is welcome.