Choices - Posted by Carmen_FL
Posted by Carmen_FL on March 16, 2000 at 07:47:35:
Definition of Insanity: Doing the same things you’ve always done and expecting different results.
We’ve all heard this.
I don’t have an answer, but I think what you need is a shift in your mental state. We all make choices in life. There is fear and uncertainty in every single change in life - how did you feel as you graduated high school, got married, had your first child? All of those things were probably very stressful and scary - and exciting! This is another “turning point” in life, and only you can decide whether and how to move from “exchanging hours for dollars” to having the freedom of owning your own time and making as much money as YOU can make. There are answers; you just need to find them.
It will be difficult to replace a 6-figure salary straight out in REI. But not impossible. Especially if you have some cash and credit, and a good job to fall back on. What you need is a plan. You have a trade-off between time and money. But where there’s a will, there’s a way!
For instance - do you think you could buy, fix and resell 5 houses in a year? If so, you could make $100K. Sit down and think about it, hard. “Hire” your “employees” well, and you can do this with minimal time investment. This is not particularly “creative”, but it would be effective. What would you need? A realtor to find the properties in the MLS. Very quickly, you could borrow the hard money to purchase the homes, and pay only for the repairs. Hire a good contractor to get them done for you. Then hire a realtor to sell them. Minimal time on your part. The entire process may take longer than if you were devoting yourself to this full time, but since you’re working, you’re not in a rush to get everything done yesterday, as you would if this was your only source of income.
Or, work with a partner that has the time, motivation, etc. but may need some of what you have to offer - repair costs, access to lenders, etc.
If it makes you feel better, instead of re-investing, save every penny of profit that you make through investing until you have one year’s salary behind you. It should only take you a year or so; a little longer if you split with a partner; 5-7 rehab houses a year is not impossible.
After you have that behind you, and decide to take the plunge, then you can start diving more deeply into the more creative (but more time consuming) REI techniques - like finding motivated sellers yourself, L/O, flips, wholesaling, or whatever else you want to do.
Just a couple of thoughts. My husband took the full time plunge, and I’m down to part-time at my JOB - so we’re just steps away from doing this full time. I know what it feels like. Sometimes I wish we had nothing when we started, so we would have nothing to lose. But unless you have nerves of steel and a cushion to fall back on for at least 6 months, I would not recommend that anyone with responsibilities just “jump in” blindly - but if you “plan the work and work the plan”, it’s MUCH easier.
