Posted by Jeff Neville on May 31, 1999 at 18:41:44:
Keith - I also am a new investor, also in Michigan. I too have been studying courses and trying to learn… I honestly think that there is an awful lot of knowledge right here at this site that can answer many questions. I hope that someone here with alot more experience than me will post a response, because I don’t like the phone much either! Good luck. Jeff
New investor in MI - Posted by Keith
Posted by Keith on May 31, 1999 at 03:43:02:
Hi!
I’m currently studying the Carleton Sheets course and have also studied MANY books on the subject a few years ago, not to mention taking the Ed Beckley No Down Payment course several years ago–and letting all this knowledge collect dust. Ugh! Fear is the thing that always stopped me. When I approached the phone to “make some calls” on the ads I had circled, I tightened up and felt weak and out of my element. But the books and tapes said to “push through the fear” and “make those calls!”, so I did. I still never enjoyed it much, but it did get a LITTLE easier after a while, but I wasn’t always the smoothest at it cuz I was usually nervous and unsure–even though I was studying ALL THE TIME and really had laid a good foundation by that point. Semmed no matter how much I studied the books and listened to the tapes, when I got on the phone with a real live seller, it all went south (or much of it), and I couldn’t think quickly on my toes and got a little lost. Sellers or realtors were always asking me questions that I couldn’t answer, or asking me to explain what I meant by something, and sometimes I couldn’t. So I walked away feeling very unprepared (no matter how much I studied!) and silly.
Anyway, I just want to ask how some of you here push through all the rejection, negativity, and just plain grouchiness you seem to get (I do anyway) from a lot of people when you make a bunch of calls and ask your questions. I mean, the one thing I’ll say ALL these real estate courses (even the really good ones) are wrong on (in my experience anyway), is when they say stuff like this:
“Pick up the phone and call a bunch of local realtors and meet with them and tell them who you are and what you’re doing, and ask them about prices and rents in the areas you want to invest in…they’ll be happy to help you out.” Right. When I tried that at several offices a few years back, they were puzzled as to what I needed from them, and a couple even made a comment like “No offense, but we’re very busy here and don’t just meet to teach investors the going rent rates and prices in town.” Stuff like that. It was awkward many times. And when I did as the books and courses said and invited a few out to lunch, they were even more puzzled and suspicious of my motives for some reason.
Same goes for title companies; Once I did as a book suggested (they all do) and walked in and introduced myself and said I just wanted to let them know I’d be investing in properties soon and wanted to meet them and just introduce myself… The woman smiled uneasily and said "Ohhh…um…OKaaaaay. UH. Fine. " She didn’t have much to say to me and I left soonafter wondering what the whole point was. I’ve found that many professionals in these fields you need aren’t always quite as happy to help you out as the books and courses would have you think. The real world doesn’t seem to work that way much.
And also, when calling sellers, I encountered many anxious, suspicious, grouchy people, who questioned my motives when I asked questions about “creative financing” and “seller financing”, etc. A few even seemed to be purposely grilling me on my knowledge and experience, forcing me to admit I was “still new to this” and had no properties under my belt yet (a few realtors were downright rude with me, prolly cuz I was nervous and stumbling with this stuff that was all new to me). It’s hard work to fight through all that kind of junk on a daily basis. Made me really dread the phone and what it represented. So many people just seemed downright negative towards me–even though I was trying to be extremely friendly and cheerful (I’m like that by nature).
How do you fight through all this and keep making calls and actually get to the point of ENJOYING it like I see so many investors exclaiming in books and on TV? How do you keep the phone from representing something downbeat and confusing? I found it very scary and quite rattling sometimes. It’s many years later now and I have changed a lot, so I hope it gets better (and EASIER!) with growth and age. 
Thanks for letting me vent. Sorry I rambled. Heh. You’ll prolly be seeing me post here a lot in the near future…
Keith