Getting started - Posted by Artie

import · May 22, 2006, 9:11pm

Posted by John Corey on May 23, 2006 at 10:05:24:

MBBenson,

Welcome.

Confidence - A feeling of assurance, especially of self-assurance.

To the others who read but are afraid to post…

It is mostly something you create in your own mind. Very few people bite here. Those that do do so with words and we all have heard that “words will never hurt me” when compared to sticks and stones.

John Corey

import · May 22, 2006, 9:11pm

Getting started - Posted by Artie

Posted by Artie on May 22, 2006 at 21:11:00:

I’m a newbee. Haven’t invested in anything as yet, but want to learn. How do I go about learning? Seems there are so many “groups” and “clubs” out there that will help, but for a lot of money!! Who is honest and good? Where do I go?

import · May 23, 2006, 6:55am

Re: Getting started - Posted by John Corey

Posted by John Corey on May 23, 2006 at 06:55:11:

Artie

I know some of the folks who have replied. The ones I know are people who do multiple deals each year and have been doing so for years. Hence the advice is coming from seasoned investors. Definitely listen to what they have to say. Also notice that there really are multiple possible paths.

My suggestions.

Before starting recognize that you are starting a business. RE investing is not like buying shares you hold for years earning 2% to 5% in dividend payments. RE investing can change your life as it can produce results that exceed what you can make selling your time with a job.

As a business you need to identify what you want to accomplish, research how to get there, create a plan and then execute that plan. Adjust as you go as the marketplace will provide feedback for what is working.

Where to start? Start right here on this site. The success notes, the how-to articles and the forums are great. Head over to the store and look at the reviews there. Get people to offer advice as to what courses they liked or worked for them. Set up a budget for your education and then spend it confidently as you have a budget and the ones you buy come recommended by people who have applied the material.
As noted by a few people you really will not learn certain things until you do them. Even if you really research the topic some things just do not register until you are in the deep end. Some course materials will only make sense after you have seen the issues first hand.
Confidence will build from study. It builds faster from action. You will never be completely confident as you can not predict the future so have a bit of fear before each deal is to be expected. Avoid FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt). Call on the folks here for advice. Act as if you have hundreds of people cheering you on and offering advice as you do at this site.
Some things take time. Improving ones credit, building experience you can share with a lender, setting up a legal entity and then building credit in the name of the legal entity are examples. Some of the credit aspects can take 2 or more years to make a difference so you need to start a few things now so that time in on your side.
Even people who are not aggressive about finding great deals can make a large amount of money in RE if they buy smart and then wait. Time can really help produce much larger results than most any job. The secret is to buy and hold some property so that time is on your side. I am assuming positive cash flow and the fact that you will have to invest time and energy to monitor/maintain the investment. If you feel that you should have bought 1 or more properties 10 years ago then remember that feeling when a further 10 years has passed. If you have property that supports itself (including all costs including property management) you can afford to wait for appreciation to happen even if it is slow in coming.

John Corey

import · May 22, 2006, 10:35pm

Re: Getting started - Posted by Killer Joe

Posted by Killer Joe on May 22, 2006 at 22:35:21:

Artie,

Here is where the jump-off point lies…looking at 100 properties.

You can read read read, study study study, but if you don’t know your market you won’t recognize a REAL deal if it reached up and removed both your glutious maxiumises (byao).

If you take two REI twins, and one of the twins only studies, and the other not only studies, but also looks looks looks, the difference in thier growth is astronomical. HTH

KJ

import · May 22, 2006, 10:17pm

Re: Getting started - Posted by Eric (MI)

Posted by Eric (MI) on May 22, 2006 at 22:17:59:

Everyone seems to suggest flipping but I have had the least amount of success going that route.

I would definitely get a good book on the terminology used in real estate transactions because a lot of it will sound foriegn and you can get confused easily.

Carlton Sheets course offers a rather large overview of investing.

Best way however to get a lot of information on getting started is to type it into the search engine. Search for “Johnboy getting started” and you will get a treatise on it.

import · May 22, 2006, 9:31pm

Re: Getting started - Posted by LK

Posted by LK on May 22, 2006 at 21:31:13:

There are many good REI books out there for less than $20. Read several. You could also spend hours reading articles and posts on this website. But don?t make it complicated, stick with the basics at first. While you’re reading the books you can get a “real world” education by studying the classified ads and riding through neighborhoods calling agents and FSBOs getting a feel for the market. You will probably run across an investor or two doing this. Then, buy something at the right price. Then keep reading, studying, talking, and buying…and oh yeah…making money.

import · May 22, 2006, 9:26pm

Re: Getting started - Posted by dutch

Posted by dutch on May 22, 2006 at 21:26:13:

The best learning is OJT. However, we all need some guidence. My advice, buy a good course and work it to perfection. Along the way, you will learn a lot more about other types of deals and all the other just that experience can give you. Don’t know what kind of investor you want to be. My advice for most newbies it to start out wholesaling. It’s cheap, easy, doesn’t need money or credit, and has fast rewards. Get Bronchicks course “Flipping”, here or at legalwiz.com

Dutch
OKHomesavers

import · May 22, 2006, 9:18pm

Re: Getting started - Posted by Luke Hoppel

Posted by Luke Hoppel on May 22, 2006 at 21:18:14:

Go to amazon . com and search for real estate investing. I would suggest a book with a title like “real estate investing for beginners.” This way you get a broad overview of investing and it gets the ball rolling. From there, you can delve deeper into various sectors of real estate.
Good Luck!
Luke

import · May 23, 2006, 9:09am

Re: Getting started - Posted by mbbenson

Posted by mbbenson on May 23, 2006 at 09:09:06:

Wow! What great advice!

(from someone who’s frequented this site for a while and admired all of you, but until now, didnt have the confidence to do anything more than lurk.)

import · May 23, 2006, 7:09am

Re: Getting started - Posted by Brandon

Posted by Brandon on May 23, 2006 at 07:09:20:

Great post, John!

I especially like the line, “…selling your time with a job”. More people need to see life that way. Well, at least ones that want to be successful.