Posted by Ronald * Starr on July 10, 2001 at 14:41:55:
I received the following e-mail from Jon in response to the above post. Seeing no privacy issues, I post it for general viewing.
-----THE E-MAIL-------*
From: “john gant” | Block Address | Add to Address Book
To: tigerinpa@yahoo.com
Subject: Re: foreclosures
Date: Mon, 09 Jul 2001 19:45:56
Thanks Ron , I really appreciate your advice on foreclosures. I will
first
seek Education…Ron do you know of Joe Crump in Indiana, and where
does a
beginner begin. Doing flips maybe…Thanks again, I look forward to
hearing
from you again…I trust your judgement…
-**–-------RESPONSE-------–---*
Jon------------
I do not know Joe Crump, sorry.
I do not recommend any particular way to start. I think that each investor has to develop an approach to investing that fits him or her. Uses skills and strengths that s/he already has. Does not require activities that s/he does not like doing or does not do well. Has elements that give pleasure to the investor. This means the investor will feel good and keep doing the activity for the many years it will take to get to financial independence–I estimate the average time to be about 10-15 years.
To develop your own approach, I recommend looking at a lot of different approaches. Talk to investors, read the postings on CREONLINE.COM, read books, magazine articles, newspaper stories. Try to look at them not from the standpoint of possible profit–which is probably why lots of beginners look into foreclosures–but what you would be like to do. And ask yourself “would this fit me?” Also “Does this make sense to do here in [where I live}? Will it likely work here, make money here?”
Pick maybe two, three, or four approaches that appeal to you and investigate them in more depth. Then pick one, or possibly two approaches and start trying to do it. Continue to learn. Learn by doing. Improve your approach to fit you better and to work better. If necessary, move the approach to some other environment where it will work better, if it is not working well where you are trying to operate it.
I recommend expecting to take about 6 to 18 months while figuring things out for yourself. In the meantime, you can be studing the market where you plan to invest. You can develop connections with other investors and possible help-folk such as attorneys, lenders, accountants, contractors, title company people, etc. You can also tighten your budget, saving money for investing, clean up credit if required, and generally position yourself for success. Take some classes at a local community college or adult school. Join an investment group if one exists.
Then get out there and work at it. Knowledge helps you steer toward success. Your energy, drive, get-up-and go will power you toward your success. You need both to get to financial independence in real estate investing, in my opinion.
Jon, I should point out that not everybody agrees with me on this approach. Some people advocate “just do it,” go out there and start investing. “The street is the best teacher,” they say.
I suspect for some people this may be a good way to go. I do not advocate it for most people. The problem is that the person may flail around for many months trying to find the right path for himself or herself. And may quit before finding it. S/he may get stuck in some poor deal for many years working to get out of it. This wastes time, your most valuable resource. Even if the investor finds some deals and makes some money, s/he may not like what was necessary to get the deals done–not everybody likes physical fixup, not everybody likes hard negotiating. The person may lose enthusiasm for real estate investing. And possibly even quit.
This is why I advocate what I do. I think it gives the potential investor the best possible chance to be successful as a real estate investor.
Good Investing*****Ron Starr****************