Posted by Al C on January 07, 2003 at 11:56:29:
Hi:
Specialize. Find an area in real estate that you like all around.Easy for you to do right now and do just that over and over again. The more you do the more ways you will learn to make more money at it. Let the rest go for now. Soon You will be the expert in that type of real estate.
Al C
I have no dollars, or sense - Posted by js-Indianapolis
Posted by js-Indianapolis on January 07, 2003 at 06:33:38:
I’ve finally thrown myself back into REI, after my first couple months of chasing my tail. To fill you in slightly, I’m starting with nothing aside from a good understanding of my area’s home values, and desire to build not just a business, but my career on making my living from them. To tell you what I’ve done, go read every warning of mistakes to avoid. I had to prove to myself that those are really things to avoid, and have walked right into most of them.
Now, I’m back at it, with much reflection. I now know what to avoid. Now, I just am trying to figure out what to do. More specifically, what to do this month, this week, this day, this hour. I’ve got as much of a business plan as my informal mind will allow. I just don’t have a good sense of where my time should be spent, for the fastest, biggest return.
Should I go drive more neighborhoods, or contact tired landlords first? Maybe I’ll go pull another stack of foreclosures from the courthouse, and call some more people in denial…I mean foreclosure. Perhaps I’ll run around town cramming a sign on any post I can find, so I can go see which one’s get ripped down by Friday. I figure I’ll be doing any one of these, sometime, just don’t get the sense I’m spending the time wisely, right now, today.
For those of you who have your “system” established, how do you prioritize the long list of priorities?
Re: I have no dollars, or sense - Posted by Brad (sd)
Posted by Brad (sd) on January 07, 2003 at 17:15:38:
Hey js,
Your right, I havent seen any posts lately. Well were in the same boat, organization wise! I’ve got a funky little system of yellow post-its on the side of my 4-drawer file cabinet which seem to work ok, but I am realizing that my organization might be fine for me, its my desire to actually do the things I plan.
You mentioned that your not very formal, but you probably file things just fine right now, in a way that works for you. ADHD kids always get knocked for not paying attention, in reality they are paying more attention than any other kids in the class…just not to the same things! Just keep up the effort, organization will come when you know whats important.
I agree with Ron Starr, Congrats on learning property values! Seems to be an extremely important skill to master.
Good luck JS!
Brad
Re: I have no dollars, or sense - Posted by Ronald * Starr(in No CA)
Posted by Ronald * Starr(in No CA) on January 07, 2003 at 14:43:55:
JS–(IN)------------
Congratulations on learning market values. That is a big benefit for your future investing. If you have not read my post for beginners, I recommend you do so now. Put “beginners success” into the search function here on the main board of the CREONLINE.COM website. The latest version, from Sept, 2002, should be at the top.
If you are interested in buying bargain properties, I can recommend John T. Reed’s “How to Buy Real Estate for at Least 20% Below Market Value,” available on his website johntreed.com . I have just reread it, in the lastest edition over the last couple of days. I’ve heard a couple of complaints that it is not detailed enough, but once you are past the first two or three chapters, I feel the specific investing strategies are described in adequate detail to get out and start doing them or at least know what you want to try and then try to find some more details on the techniques, if you can find some.
Good Investing**********Ron Starr***********
You know values. Make offers. - Posted by Brent_IL
Posted by Brent_IL on January 07, 2003 at 12:17:20:
Nothing will determine if a seller is ?motivated? faster than making a CRE offer. You can?t buy houses without them.
If a seller truly believed that your offer was without merit, he would not continue to ask questions. He would ask you to leave.
A customized purchase contract can be so much more that a pre-printed legal form upon which an offer to purchase real estate is scribed.
A properly-worded, written contract can perform functions ordinarily provided by:
a traditional banker;
a flea market;
a highly-skilled negotiator;
an annuity;
a hard-money lender;
an option contract;
a prospecting system for non-real estate commission sales;
a rehab loan;
a statistical database of ?sold? properties;
a J.O.B. that pays weekly;
a tax-reduction strategist;
an employer-paid retirement program;
a mortgage broker;
a ?bird-dogging? set-up;
and a simplified screening device that gauges a seller?s motivation to sell as if it were magic.
There is a lot of property being bought and sold. If you continue to make good offers using techniques that emphasize your strengths and minimize any less-than-stellar points, someone, somewhere, will accept.