Posted by Chris in FL on July 08, 2011 at 10:17:26:
Woody,
I just found a guy with money looking for a good, safe rate of return… A guy like any of a million other guys that are out there right now. At some point, a little further down the road, there is a fair chance I will be that guy, looking for some budding young go-getter RE investor that will give me good, safe returns, with no buy/sell/ownership hassles on my part. It was nobody that I knew previously.
Ended up this guy lived in my subdivision, and called me off my bandit sign. I had put the same type of sign up for over a year, and he was always interested, but it took a year of persistence for his situation to be right, for him to finally pick up the phone and call me.
Interestly, I read books and talked to people about building wealth, and I was always seeking the answer to the question “what is the best way for me to do it?” I would get so frustrated, because people seemed to evade telling me. Now that I have done it (for the most part), I realize doing it is the only way I could possibly understand it… No one can tell you what is the one best way for you to build wealth, find your private lender, protect your assets, etc. Each of us travels our own path, and we can share insights, but what works for one may not work for another… We all come with different backgrounds, relationships, networks (or lack thereof), personalities, etc., and we each have to find what works for us. We each have to find our own niche, where we can be excellent at what we do. I am very content owning and managing properties… Compared with any other job I know of, I love doing it. I have a friend that absolutely hated dealing with tenants, but he has become very successful at building wealth through rehabbing and retailing houses (not to survive, like many rehabbers do, but to really get ahead financially). Another friend loves being a wheeler-dealer… He owns an electrician company, wholesales a bunch, rehabs a few, and keeps a few too, very successfully. He couldn’t possibly do only one thing like landlording or rehabbing - he would burn out and quit from boredom. He loves the action. I worked full time and did real estate full time as well for many years, and at that time in my life it was the right thing for me. Now, with no job except RE investing, and at 42 years old, I am cutting back more and more below even a 40 hour week because 1) my finances permit it, 2) I want to enjoy life more - do things before I get too old, and 3) I want to really know my two boys, and be a part of who they are and what they do every day. Even for the same person, different things work at different times. From 1998 to 2005 or so, bargains were hard to find in my area - that took extra effort… My best deals were fixer uppers, and I did a lot of fixing myself. Today, I can buy bargain houses needing a lot less work, and hire out most of it, because the market has changed, and I have changed. Now my challenge is finding the money - that takes the effort. Even with one private lender, I still consistently look for more - I don’t know when something may change with my guy, plus I would like a longer term (my guy is an older gentleman, and won’t do over 7.5 years).
Anyhow, my where or who may let you know it can happen… But if you need a private lender, to find a where or who of your own, you need to persistently explore every possible avenue until you find the one that works for you. It might take a day, a month, a year, or a few years. But, just like any other goal, if you make good plans, and consistently pursue them every day, eventually it will happen for you. Problem is, I have a bunch of investors from my REIA ask me how I am doing it, or how I did it, but almost none of them are putting in the effort necessary to do it themselves. They want to drink the milk, but they don’t want to milk the cow first! Good luck, Woody.
Best wishes,
Chris in FL
