How to get back into it?

Real Estate Investing Real Estate Financing
1

Hello.
A little backstory:
I started investing in RE in 2003 with a partner. We did rehabs to a couple houses, before parting ways because of financial indifferences, and I chose to go about it by myself. The first property I bought upon my liberation from our partnership turned out to be the worst thing that’s happened in my life. I won’t go into specifics, but I made a poor decision that ended up leaving me with two contractors that stole roughly $50k from me, and wasted even more money on work and materials put into the project. This in turn combined with the financial meltdown and real estate bubble, left me financially ruined, which eventually led to me defaulting on the mortgage over 3 years ago, of which is still in my name because the bank has yet to foreclose on it. All of this turned me into a depressed cynic. I also spent whatever remaining money I had on attorneys and court fees trying to sue my money out of them. My life has pretty much been nothing but a blur of sadness and hate for the past 4 years…I’m 30 now.

So after mulling everything over, I’ve decided I want to get back into investing. It’s been a nagging thought in my mind for who knows how long. I can’t stand my job, and quite frankly, I can’t stand HAVING a job. Working for someone else is horrible, and I’ve always felt it wasn’t something I was meant to do for the rest of my life…sitting behind a desk looking at a computer doing the same crap every single day until I die. To be honest, I didn’t think I’d have a job past the age of 28; it was actually a goal I wrote down many years ago, and getting up to go to work on my 28th birthday was one of the most depressing days in my life. But I just have absolutely no idea where to start. First of all, who’s going to lend someone money when they already own a house with a defaulted mortgage on their credit? And even if the bank forecloses tomorrow, that means I’m going to have a foreclosure on my credit record for another 7 years. Second, I really don’t have much money. Granted, I didn’t have much money when I first started, but I at least had good credit and a financial partner to help out. Also, I was still living with my mom when I first started…so any money I made didn’t have to go to bills. Now, that’s not the case. And third, I don’t have the time to do it full-time. I can only do this part-time for now because I have a job, and I need this job to pay my bills.

So I’m looking for some advice about getting back on my feet and being able to live the life I feel I’m meant to live…I really felt that if I was able to complete the nightmare that I started 4 years ago, it would’ve been the deal to put me into the next level of personal success, affording me the ability to quit my job and invest full time. Sadly, it all came crumbling down. I’m not looking for a pity-party…just to be pointed in the right direction.

Thanks

2

Hanging out on Creonline is a great start. Welcome back and you will find the market is fantastic right now for investors. There are a lot of great ways you can go to generate income streams for the short-term and long-term. I think wholesaling is a great way to jump back in, but flipping retail is working well right now as well and this is a fantastic time to buy and hold for the long-term.

Find your comfort spot and enjoy the market.

Jim

3

Tough love

Blue Fox,

First, what is your name? It seems more helpful to know who one is talking to. More so if they are looking for a future that might include investment partners.

  1. You need to figure out what you bring to the table. We can definitely list a bunch of negatives if we wanted to. Many of the negatives could actually be positives. I seriously doubt you would be as naive as you were in the past so the battle scars from bad deals is an asset when you think about it.

I once was at a meeting of a new investment bank where a comment was made about the chairman and why he was backing a fallen investment banker. The answer is the chairman knew the investment banker now knows how bad things can be and he was likely to be a much more savvy about dealing with bad situations.

Similar to Silicon Valley where a person who has had a failed company can many times raise funds for a new company easier than someone who has never had a failure before.

  1. Congratulations on stepping up and posting. It shows that you want to get started even if you do not know how. A business coach said recently that you need to focus not the why without worrying about the how. How you will accomplish things matters after you decide on what you want to do and why you are starting. If there is no desire to move forward how to do so does not matter.

  2. There might be a deal to be done for the house you are still connected to. Clearly the bank is having issues in terms of what they should do next. Maybe they will agree a short sale or something even better so you can close the door or open the next phase of your life.

  3. Man up in terms of the job. It keeps you feed, pays the bills and will be pretty critical in terms of your future ability to attract lenders. It does not have to be your job for life. At the same time you can not let it get you down while you start on the foundation for your future. If the job is really that bad, find another one and make it a keeper as you will need a job for a while. If it was easy to be an investor starting out without a job the unemployment statistics would not be an issue for the country.

If you are looking to hang with some experienced investors and folks just starting out, CREOnline is a good place. If you want to have a pity party you will not like the conversation here. I suspect you are serious about wanting to get restarted with real estate investing. Many who have started did so with less experience and even more debt or negative credit than you have described.

One things I like to point out to people who have credit issues or the lack of capital. Even investors who start out perfectly will one day find a deal that exceeds what they can do with their existing cash and credit. Learning how to do deals when you have little other than your time and desire is critical. Those who start out without credit and cash will learn quicker as they have no other option.

If it all seems too hard and you want to give up, grab a beer, watch the sports on TV and enjoy Monday’s when you go back to work. One way or another the choice is in your hands. Only you can make it happen. Some here will offer a hand up if you want to grab on and do your bit. We just do not have time for pity parties when there is money and deals waiting.

4

For starters, I think you need to figure out where you went wrong. It sounds like you made some mistakes in your partnership, and some more after the partnership ended. You need to be really critical of yourself and your skills in order to improve.

Second, what is it you bring to the table? It’s not money. Is it finding deals? Construction expertise? You have to have something, more than desire, to bring to the table if you want to partner with someone who has money.

Lastly, if you hate having a job, you have to realize that full-time real estate investing is just another job, and I can assure you that it’s a lot more pressure than your current job.

Think hard. I can see that you want to make a change, but I’m not convinced that real estate is where you need to be.

Best wishes.

–Natalie

5

I know where I went wrong.

Second, what is it you bring to the table? It’s not money. Is it finding deals? Construction expertise? You have to have something, more than desire, to bring to the table if you want to partner with someone who has money.

Well, I do have some investing experience. I’m also an architctural designer for a major development firm in NJ. With this job, I work closely with a lot of construction personnel.

Lastly, if you hate having a job, you have to realize that full-time real estate investing is just another job, and I can assure you that it’s a lot more pressure than your current job.

I disagree on the first part…investing isn’t a job, it’s a business and a way of life. A job is working for someone else. Pressure doesn’t bother me…I’ve done it in the past and enjoyed it.

Think hard. I can see that you want to make a change, but I’m not convinced that real estate is where you need to be.

I disagree wholeheartedly. I really don’t see where you got that from my post. All’s I’m asking for is advice as to how to get back into the swing of things…not for people to analyze my words and try to tell me what I want.

6

@bluefox1081

Its hard to say what you should do.
I can say that one of my friends that bankrupted in the re collapse a few years ago; paid 200 bucks, took a class, got a realtors liscense and because he wasent a bad “investor”, he turned out to be the best realtor around. Pretty soon he started rehabbing again, he also kept a few houses as rentals when it made sense, and after a few short years, hes actually ahead of where he was when his previous winning formulas all failed.

7

[QUOTE=bluefox1081;883634]I know where I went wrong.

Well, I do have some investing experience. I’m also an architctural designer for a major development firm in NJ. With this job, I work closely with a lot of construction personnel.

I disagree on the first part…investing isn’t a job, it’s a business and a way of life. A job is working for someone else. Pressure doesn’t bother me…I’ve done it in the past and enjoyed it.

I disagree wholeheartedly. I really don’t see where you got that from my post. All’s I’m asking for is advice as to how to get back into the swing of things…not for people to analyze my words and try to tell me what I want.[/QUOTE]

Blue Fox,

I am slightly surprised by your response. Two reasons really.

  1. You appear to have a better starting point than many given your history, background and current job.

  2. You appear to only want to take advice from people who agree with your gloom and doom version of your past.

How about you just get started? You said you know about investing. Go start and report back what you are encountering. If you have specific questions or specific hurdles you can bring them back for specific advice.

You just need to make a decision to get started. While there might be some problems getting started, many have it worse than you do at present and they have done so. Focus on your strengths and avoid the weaknesses.

BTW - One of the reasons people focus on what you say is that is all we have to work with. As all the replies have been from people more successful as investors than you have been maybe they are spotting things about your words, the messages you give off and other things that we know will hold you back. You do not have to agree. Just remember that you are disagreeing with people who are already where you want to be so maybe we know more about it than you.

8

@bluefox1081

Since you have obviously spent enough time engaged in introspective thought, and are now looking for actionable ideas -
You might try putting a simple add in your local newspaper that just says
"We Buy Houses" and your phone number.
If you can get you hands on a really good deal, the rest takes care of itself.
In the beginning, I ran that exact add. I couldnt believe how much it cost(more than a weeks gross earnings from my job), per month to run it. I did it anyway…

9

[QUOTE=AmotoXracer;883651]Since you have obviously spent enough time engaged in introspective thought, and are now looking for actionable ideas -
You might try putting a simple add in your local newspaper that just says
"We Buy Houses" and your phone number.
If you can get you hands on a really good deal, the rest takes care of itself.
In the beginning, I ran that exact add. I couldnt believe how much it cost(more than a weeks gross earnings from my job), per month to run it. I did it anyway…[/QUOTE]

Good suggestion. Let’s see what Blue Fox has to say.

10

Bluefox,

It’s hard to communicate on the internet and have your message received in a constructive manner. One of my downfalls is that I am direct and to the point. That combined with communicating over the internet doesn’t always make me present myself in the best manner.

With that said, I think you need some tough love. You say you know where you went wrong. I can tell from your post where you went wrong. You made a series of bad decisions. As long as you know this, no further discussion is warranted on the subject unless you are looking for critical feedback on specific events. I wasn’t trying to tell you what you want. I was implying that what you want might not be where your skills lie.

As far as what you can bring to the table, I think you are going to have to lean toward finding deals.

John and AmotoXracer gave excellent advice. It sounds like you need to go out and find a deal. Just get started, and come back for specific advice.

–Natalie

11

[QUOTE=John_Corey;883640]Blue Fox,

I am slightly surprised by your response. Two reasons really.

  1. You appear to have a better starting point than many given your history, background and current job.[/QUOTE]
    That may be so John, but regardless, I still feel like I lack a lot of knowledge and information as to what to do given my current situation.
  1. You appear to only want to take advice from people who agree with your gloom and doom version of your past.

Another place we disagree. I’m just looking for advice period. I gave my backstory in hopes someone would be able to offer any advice to either help my situation, or not offer any irrelevant information.

How about you just get started? You said you know about investing. Go start and report back what you are encountering. If you have specific questions or specific hurdles you can bring them back for specific advice.

See that’s the thing…get started how? Telling someone to “just get started” isn’t good advice when they’re asking how to get started. I said I have experience investing, not that I know about investing. What I know about investing isn’t what I would call a good base of knowledge. I didn’t use any creative methods to when I was in the game. Unfortunately, everything I did came out of my work, my money, and my credit.

You just need to make a decision to get started. While there might be some problems getting started, many have it worse than you do at present and they have done so. Focus on your strengths and avoid the weaknesses.

This is the type of vague advice I’m not looking for. I mean, you tell me there are people that had it worse than I do (and I believe you)…so who? Since you know of them, maybe you can expand on this thought? Maybe you can give me their contact information, or a course they’re offering, or a how-to book, so I can figure out how to get out of my situation. Because if I knew about who these people were, and how they did it, I wouldn’t be here asking random strangers on the internet for life advice.

BTW - One of the reasons people focus on what you say is that is all we have to work with. As all the replies have been from people more successful as investors than you have been maybe they are spotting things about your words, the messages you give off and other things that we know will hold you back. You do not have to agree. Just remember that you are disagreeing with people who are already where you want to be so maybe we know more about it than you.

I used to be a member of another forum (thecreativeinvestor) that seems to not be around anymore. I found out that a lot of the people that posted there, probably most, weren’t actual investors. Most were either realtors that didn’t invest, or they worked in the real estate field, or they just read books and took courses and bootcamps but never actually did anything…so you gotta understand why I’m a little less than content at taking advice about things I’m not asking for…which is really the only thing I disagreed with her about.

12

Start with your own goals. Where do you want to be in several years and several months. From there, establish a plan to meet your cash flow objectives. Maybe you start with wholesaling to avoid risk, from there maybe you progress to flipping retail and from there maybe you head to a buy and hold strategy. The whole process starts with you and your goals.

Jim

13

Wisdom from Ed

I was looking at some posts by Ed when I came across one that seems helpful for this discussion. Here is a link to Ed’s reply.

http://www.creonline.com/forums/showpost.php?p=881475&postcount=2