Posted by Christina on May 06, 1999 at 18:13:28:
Hey Matt,
Sorry to hear that they were both duds. I was hoping for your sake that you’d found the deal of the century! I think I’ll feel exactly the same when I purchase my first property - I’ll want to buy a property I’d be comfortable living in. As I’ve read in so many of the posts and articles here, the NEIGHBORHOOD is as important as the home itself.
You do have the advantage of having some money in which to use. I think if you keep in touch with everyone here (who are so helpful) and keep everyone updated on where you’re at in the process, you’ll do just fine. It is a little scary, I know. I’ll be scared when I try it for the first time too. But sometimes feeling scared just reminds you that you’re alive…it’s a good thing!
I, on the other hand, really need to figure out a way to purchase real estate with none of my own money out of pocket. L There’s no money there to be used! So it’ll be a bit more tricky, but I do think it’s possible.
Let’s keep in touch.
~C
Newbie: Diary of a Deal - Posted by Matt
Posted by Matt on May 06, 1999 at 06:10:45:
OK I’m new at this, but I’ve built up enough courage and am actually going to go out and do this. I’ll keep you good folks up to date as to my progress.
Day 1: Have spent the last few days searching the net for houses in my area that are in my price range. Have narrowed it down to 2 but 1 in particular has my interest. It’s a 3 bedroom, 1 bath listed for $19,500. All the comparable houses I can find inside of a 1 mile radius are in the 50’s.
Okay my first thoughts are it’s either in shambles or it’s in a war zone. I’m looking for a fixer-upper but I don’t want to buy a money-pit. Today I’m going to drive over there and take a look, if I don’t get car jacked I’ll call the Realtor this afternoon to look inside.
Re: Newbie: Diary of a Deal - Posted by Christina
Posted by Christina on May 06, 1999 at 08:09:54:
Hi Matt,
I had the privilege of chatting about this with you when I e-mailed you. I’m really curious to know how things went!
I’m about as new at real estate investing as I can be…but today I went to the articles here at creaonline and printed out dozens of them. That’s my first step.
So, tell us what happened!
Take care,
Chris
Re: Newbie: Diary of a Deal - Posted by matt
Posted by matt on May 06, 1999 at 12:08:19:
Hello again Christina,
Actually the deal we spoke of was for 15K and it turned out to be a misprint, they left out a zero!
The two properties I looked at today were both duds.
One was a tiny (and I mean tiny) cement block house where if you stepped out the front door you are standing in the street. The other was in a very run down neighborhood and there was about 20 people sitting on the curb in front of it, and this is 11am on a Thursday!
I think I need to rethink my price range, morally I Won’t rent out a house in a neighborhood I wouldn’t live in myself. I think I set my price so low because I knew if worst came to worst I could always just write a check for the whole amount. I think I’m going to have to go beyond my comfort level if I’m really serious about this.
Matt . . . two points: - Posted by Joe Kaiser
Posted by Joe Kaiser on May 07, 1999 at 11:18:16:
(1) This notion that you won’t rent out a house in a neighborhood you wouldn’t live in needs to be looked at. It sounds good, but it doesn’t make much sense. There are lots of houses I’ve bought and sold and rented that are in areas I wouldn’t live in. But, they were in areas that a whole lot of other people consider home. How could that possibly be a problem?
(2) You’re looking for houses. That’s rarely a great idea. Instead, look for motivated sellers and hope their properties are something that fit your investment plans. Looking at houses and then hoping the sellers are motivated is a huge waste of time.
Figure out who the motivated sellers are in your town, get you name and number into their hands, and good things are bound to happen.
Joe