Help!

Mark, If your credit is shot I would suggest you start out by building a buyers list and bird dogging or wholesaling to gain some capital. Once you have some money you can get a partner with great credit and team up to buy properties.

Hi Mark,

So sorry to hear about your job loss. There is never a good time for that to happen, but you're right, when it happens during the holidays it hits even harder. Bah Humbug...

As nice as it would be for you to jump full time into REI, I'm afraid it may not be practical for you at this point. It sounds like money is tight and while you are pursuing your life in REI, you need to keep a roof over your head and food on the table. In addition, when you do start working on deals you will find it very difficult to come up with financing if you don't have a full-time job to help establish your credit worthiness.

I don't know if you've been able to spend much time at DG.com with us, but if you have you are most likely familiar with "Indiana" Joe. Joe is a CPA and works full-time during the week at a firm, going out nights and weekends to find properties and spending as much time as possible studying and seeking out deals via the Internet, newspapers, magazines, well just about anything he can lay his hands on. He and his wife, Stacey, started on their REI journey less than a year ago and have already achieved great success. I think so far he is up to 10(?) completed deals. He loves REI and plans to pursue it full time. Yet even with all the success he and Stacey have had, they have both kept their day jobs and pursued their REI passion in any "free" moments they have. He is just now thinking of quiting the CPA job and starting REI full time.

I've been where you are and I know if feels like you've been hit with a ton of bricks. You tend to get flooded with all these thoughts, feelings, what ifs. What I'm suggesting is that you take the weekend to take a deep breath, size everything up, and then start on your path. You could/should also spend some time rereading Dean's book, take notes, set REI goals, and put together an REI to-do list for next week. Then on Monday I think it's probably best for you to start hunting for a job. Unless someone is independently wealthy, it is difficult at best to devote yourself full-time to REI, especially while you're still learning, and hope to make enough to cover your bills.

The other good thing about reading Dean's book again is that the lessons he is teaching reach far beyond RE. Everytime I read them I find something that can and should be applied to all parts of my life. And everytime I read them, I'm happier by the time I put the book down.

Be kind to yourself this weekend, regroup, and then hit the ground running Monday. I can hardly wait for to report back to us with your progress in REI and your first deal.

Take care.