Posted by David B (NJ) on December 05, 2003 at 14:57:09:
Todd and others,
Thanks for the ideas. They’re very helpful and start giving me some motivation. I’ve done reasonably well with my full time work which is as a marketing writer in the computer industry (I write articles and brochures for networking companies such as Cisco). It’s ironic that I’m in marketing. However, i established my business 10 years ago so I do very little marketing now; almost 100 percent is word-of-mouth. 10 years ago I did a lot of marketing and I know what it takes to establish yourself so you DON’T have to market. I think working withr realtors is an excellent idea, Todd. In fact, I just got an email from a realtor with an investment property that might work out. But I suspect it will require the traditional mortgage route from a bank.It always seems through agents that creative techniques don’t work. Am I wrong on that? If I propose a subject2 through the agent, when does the agent get their commission. There’s isn’t any actual closing, per say, or is it when the seller signs over the deed? How do you work with an agent on creative real estate? But if I can work it out, using an agent would be a great way to keep doing real estate without having to invest huge amounts of time and energy. Then, perhaps as I got more experience and a few under my belt, I would feel greater confidence and motivation to do more aggressive marketing tactics. Thanks again for your great thoughts.
David
Ideas for Getting Out of a Funk? - Posted by David B (NJ)
Posted by David B (NJ) on December 04, 2003 at 12:06:45:
I’m caught in a funk about real estate investing now and not sure how to get out of it. I’ve been successfull with preconstruction investing, but haven’t had the energy and drive to get past that into another mode of investing. I know there are profits to be made by finding that motivated seller, but to be honest, it requires great effort, whether it’s running ads, making cold calls, putting up bandit signs, sending out direct mail. The gurus make it sound like it’s so simple, just go out and do it. The problem is I already work a full-time job and have kids. I don’t have the energy to engage in this aggressive marketing campaign. Cold calling is HARD WORK. Anyone that’s done it knows. Also, I had problems on my last pre-con investing getting a loan; had to put down 20 percent and it wiped out a lot of my cash. So I’m a bit gunshy at the moment. I guess I need an excellent motivational seminar to get me jazzed again. Any other thoughts would be most appreciated. Thanks.
Re: Ideas for Getting Out of a Funk? - Posted by Todd_OH
Posted by Todd_OH on December 05, 2003 at 05:44:04:
David:
Running any successful business requires hard work. Yes, the gurus make it sound EASY. For a lucky few, things start off easy. For the majority of us, success comes only after focused persistence.
If you have a full time job, and you don’t hate it, then use that to your advantage. Simply don’t expect to get rich by Christmas. Worst case scenario is that you only buy one rental house a year for the next ten years. As John Schaub says, this will make you richer than 98% of all Americans in ten years (presuming you buy well located deals at a discount). I know that doesn’t sound glamorous, with all the “buy and sell quickly” hype, but it works.
Having said that, if you are strapped for time and energy, you need to leverage your time and energy. The easiest way to do that is working with Realtors. So I would suggest spending some time educating yourself on how to work with Realtors effectively to accomplish your investment objectives. Admittedly my best deals come from the home owners directly. However, I have bought many properties, and made a ton of money, dealing with Realtors.
Re: Ideas for Getting Out of a Funk? - Posted by Brent_IL
Posted by Brent_IL on December 05, 2003 at 24:02:30:
Yeah, it is hard work. It seems simplistic, but I?m of the opinion that after obtaining a working knowledge of creative real estate, directed activity is the primary determinant of CREI success.
The way to solve most money problems, and the way to solve financial or marketing difficulties with real estate, is to increase your momentum to a higher level of focused activity. Frenzied motion, doing unimportant busy work, and wasting time worrying won?t solve anything. You need to be doing the right things, and doing them fairly often.
I?ve found that if I have sufficient deals in the pipeline, I never make marginal deals. When I?ve allowed things to slide and offer presentations are few, I tend to attempt to manufacture a good deal by force of will instead of allowing the numbers to determine if the deal is good. I don?t succeed.
I fight a constant battle to focus on the things that are important, and not just on those things that I prefer to do, or that keep me busy. In your case, something low key like calling newspaper ads throughout the week can be productive, and it can be done a half-hour at a time.
Re: Ideas for Getting Out of a Funk? - Posted by Del-Ohio
Posted by Del-Ohio on December 04, 2003 at 21:08:21:
… or you could first read or reread all the success stories on this site, if that doesnt work, find the next real estate conference and get yourself to it fast, if that still doesnt work you should take a off go sit at a coffee shop, with a blank paper and a pen and figure out WHAT you really like to do, what WOULD really excite you, what WOULD get you motivated, then go do that.