A drug conviction can destroy the kid's life, government assistance, housing, tuition, acceptance to colleges, holding any public office, gun permits or possession of a firearm, voting in some states, employment applications and the list goes on.

Although I am no longer a licensed agent in Texas, this is the time frame that it took me to go from un-licensed to licensed:Jan 3rd - Ordered course online from agentcampus.comJan 20th - Found broker to sponsor / hang licenseJan 30th - Submitted 150 completed course work to TRECMarch 1st - TREC responds needing finger printing & bg checkApril 15th - TREC BG check / Finger prints receivedApril 15th - Pay HAR/TAR/NAR/CSS/Broker duesApril 20th - License "active"May 1st - 1st contract writtenSo it takes roughly 5 months from start to finish.

I've had no success emailing Craigslist FSBO & FRBO and some other online FSBO websites.I am thinking of posting newspaper ads, using realtors or doing business in other geographic areas.

Will reading real estate investing books help me better than taking an online class or getting a mentor?

BiggerPockets has grown to become one of the most respected online real estate destinations for quality news, discussion, networking, commentary, how-to's, and much more.

The cost of repair/restoration should be less than 5% of the purchase price.The offer was made online through the HUD system, and the contract will be presented to me tomorrow for signature.

Hey everyone,I am very new to real estate investing, and in fact haven't yet graduated from college.

But I have other things to do, like make money in RE as I have bills and college age kids, etc.

BTW I am a soon to be college graduate (2013) who will also have student loan debt.

I did plenty of residential investments and loans with online lenders.