Posted by Chris- WFL on February 06, 2007 at 22:54:23:
Seldon/Paul
I knew I would get this response from someone… While I do not necessarily agree with the way most schools teach or train you to work for somebody else I still believe that a four year degree is needed at a minimum.
I know plenty of very successful people that do not have a traditional college education. But at some point or another, without continual education, they will plateau. Your college education will give you the basics you need to run a successful business. A fairly successful buddy of mine who does not have a degree does not know that basics of his P n L?s. When I ask him questions he simply states that he made a ton of money and his accountant takes care of it. He will never be able to fine tune his biz to make more money or save more money by using his money correctly. Of course this will not always be the case but you get the point. Do you think Donald Trump would have gotten to where he is today without his degree from Wharton?
College can and should be the best time of your life. Have some fun, learn a little, understand that they are probably teaching you to work for somebody else, and continue to educate yourself constantly. Also, remember you have a good chance of meeting a cute little sorority girl that is only in school to find and marry a rich aspiring real instate investor.
Ok so here is my situation any suggestions would be great… I am 21 years old I have been reading stuff on this site since I was 18 still in high school. I am a college dropout only completed one semester, I currently don’t have a job anymore (I used to work at a restaurant for 5 years since I was 16) but I am looking for one. I knew I wanted to get into real estate one day so all I did was save. After 5 years of saving I have 26 grand. I am at the point where I want to take a risk and buy houses before they go into foreclosure to save peoples credit. Eventually flip them for a profit. What should I do I am kind of scared because I have never done this before and that is a lot of money I don’t want to lose. If I do lose the money I decided I am going to go back to college. Personally I think it’s a win-win situation. I have read a lot about the hidden costs of real estate and I know what needs to be done to make a profit. What should I do is it worth taking the risk. Do I have a good enough start up capital? Any suggestions would be great thank you!
Posted by Don (VA) on February 07, 2007 at 18:57:44:
With all due respect to seldon, I agree completely with Chris. Look, there’s nothing wrong with going back to school AND investing in real estate. And school shouldn’t be your fallback position. (“If I do lose the money…I am going back to college.”)
College can be semi-affordable if you go to an in-state school…and a growing number of state schools are really terrific. You’re also in a great age range…young enough to return to school without any problem, but with enough real-world experience that you’re going to find some real benefits there.
I love Chris’ advice about buying a duplex or some close-to-campus housing. Do it right, and you can live nearly (or entirely) rent-free. So, you’ll pick up an investment property that’ll pay for itself…you’ll get a college education and have some fun…and (because you don’t go to college 8 hours a day, 5 days a week) you’ll have some time for more investments.
Posted by Chris- WFL on February 06, 2007 at 01:08:00:
Paul
Take the money and go back to school! Sign up for some general business classes or inro to business classes. Start working on on your bachelor’s in General Business Admin or similiar. If you do not like these courses or have a tough time with them than REI is not for you.
Buy a duplex near your college to live in and rent out. Rent both the other side and rent rooms to your friends or roomates. DO your research and make sure the numbers work.
It also took me a long time to figure out I wanted out of school. I did not make any sense to me until I started taking some business classes. It was also about this time that I bought my first duplex and did exactly what I propose you do.
Great job saving up your money but go back to school. Keep reading everything on this board and anything else about RE you can get your hands on. Search the archives here, go to the library, read read read, and learn your market.
Dont gamble. Do it right! Get a part time job in RE somewhere and have fun.
Posted by seldon on February 06, 2007 at 04:54:56:
Chris,I bet you would be very surprised at the number of people who frequent this board and are doing very well who never went “back to school”. To Paul: Depending on where you invest 26K should be enough cash to do a small deal or two and still leave yourself a few bucks in reserve for contingencies.Just be careful and cautious and get a job for now to keep up your cashflow.Tou may also want to check out the mobile homes forum on this site as MH investing has fantastic returns with less cash and risk involved.