New Forum Idea - New Investors: How to get started, how we got started, a Mentor for everyone, etc.

What a great thread! I know that I need that hand holding. It is in deed like on-the-job training where you're gaining knowledge as you go, but you need guidance.

I've taken my first step by posting an ad on Craigslist and while I haven't had a tremendous response to it, I did get a prospective buyer who has been approved for a $250,000 FHA loan. Now if we were talking about any other market -- say the midwest or something I think that's a great amount. But he's looking for a deal in areas that don't come anywhere near his price range. (I'm in LA). I've done a search on FSBO.com - nothing. The homes that come up are far away. I searched REOs and did come up with some that are closer, but still not where he wants to buy. I'm going to do a bit more research before I contact him because I told him that I'd get back with him by today. But I'm thinking that he's going to need to expand his area.

Am I correct that an REO can't be assigned? That I need to buy it and then do a double close (sell it to him)? Since I have no money that would need to be done with a proof of funds from Coastal Funding? Is that correct?

Hello Everyone

I new at REI and am broke and was layed off. I was wondering if someone can advice me if it is wise to find a hard money lender to purchase forclosure's and if it is possible. I am having such a hard time tring to find sellers that I can assign. Your advise would be much appreciated.

Jose,

Indiana Joe
You and your wife are a great inspiration. I enjoyed so much alllll of your input with Dean. Every bit of information is necessary to move up to the next level and I appreciate you both for the time you are putting in to this venture not only "doing" the business, but sharing your success with us...the DG family. I for one have been and will continue to track your experience, input and encouragement. Thanx again!

Q- Can you give me some input on "how to structure" a "Lease Option offer"?
I"ve got my eye on a duplex, built in 06, owned by an out-of-stater who wants to sell.
Her mortgage is an ARM, she say's she is going to re-fi. I don't have any other details yet.

Rod

Hi, Bene here with some helpful input hopefully. If the bank could not sell the foreclosure, then the house is taken back by the bank and now is considered to be an Reo (Real Estate Owned). What is needed is for the bank's listing agent to be contacted to see if you can purchase this Reo. I have made a few attempts to contact banks regarding their Reos. Once the bank takes back the property, they will figure out what their asking price is and then contact their listing agent (real estate agent). During this time, a for sale sign will not be placed in the front yard, a realtor's lockbox will be placed on the front door, and other investors will not know that this property is available because it will not be listed in the Mls (Multiple Listing Service). This is your optimum time to place an offer for this house.
If you need help, I might be willing to help you for a piece of the profit.

Thanks for reading,

Bene (Doug Iles)

Congratulations on wanting to take action and make a difference in your life! It sounds like you are right on track with reading Dean's books, being an active part on the DG website and ordering the EDGE course home edition. You should be proud of yourself to want something better and you are willing to have faith and try something new to get to where you want to be in life!

We are so glad that you we were finally able to convince your husband to order the Gain the EDGE home edition. If people devote the time to this program they can achieve extraordinary results! Some of the keys include having an open positive mind, putting in the time to read review and apply the concepts and strategies. We find it interesting with our friends sometimes, because it is easier for them to complain about something or their current situation rather then to put the energy into something to try to make a differrence in their life or try to spend the time on a plan to make something new work. Most people that are unhappy with their current situation may choose to do nothing to make a difference. We give you tremendous credit for wanting to take action with Dean's program. It is that chance to find something that will help change your life for you and your family. Even as you experience success you will still encounter naysayers. You just need to stay positive and focused.

Dean always says if you know your "Why" your doing this, nothing else matters. You CAN DO THIS! You have already taken the first step. Good Luck on all your deals. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

You may have to do the double close on some deals to get them completed. Most banks do not like an REO to be assigned, but if you lock-up a great deal and find a cash buyer that could be a possibility. The LA market is a tough market because of the price base of properties.

Just keep looking for the deals and the idea is to find the deals that others may not see or not know about. These types of deals could include FSBOs, motivated sellers, short sales, foreclosures, estate sales, and search for unlisted probate properties, etc.

Another idea may be to find a cash partner and if you fidn soem great deals that offer a great return you can begin to build up a little cash base for future investing. Good luck on all your deals. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Congratulations for wanting to take action in real estate. The key to success in real estate is to find great deals. Once you locate and tie up a potential deal you have several options such as to assign the deal, close on the deal through funds from a hard money lender or find a cash partner to provide fund for the deal. The better the deal the more options you may have. Good luck with your deals. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Thank you for the nice comments, we appreciate it. It is true that anyone can do this business if they believe they can and put in the time and energy to learn the most information they can.

The key to a lease option is to make sure you generate enough cash flow from the property to cover the property and maybe even have a positive cash flow after everything gets paid. Also, make sure you cover all the facts in the option andget the option recorded. Several improtant things to remember include:

1. Record your option at your county recorders office. This provides "notice to the world" that you have an option on this property.
2. Establish a contract with the seller giving you the option. Pre-determine a price at what the home will be optioned for. For example, say the duplex is worth $150k today and your option is to buy it for $160k in 3 years from now
3. Determine how much of your monthly payment will go towards your option ourchase price. The more the better. For example, if you pay the seller $1,200 per month that $200 of the $1,200 per month may be applied towrd the purchase price. Thus, after 3 years when you exercise the option you would have a down payment already paid in at $7,200 ($2,400 x 3 years).

There are also some helpful other DG formums links at:

http://www.deangraziosi.com/node/5643

http://www.deangraziosi.com/node/12463

Good luck with this potential deal and your future deals. The more you explore, the more you will learn that will prepare you for this deal or other deals. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Thanks Joe for all your kind words and evrything you do here, you have been one of my biggest inspirations and motivators I will not let him stop me and I can't wait to prove him wrong then maybe he will join me and we can do it together.

Thanks again,
Mary

You can do it and all the DG members will be very happy to hear about your progress. Good luck on all your deals. Believe and Achieve! - Joe & Stacey

Anybody have an idea how I can convince my husband to get involved with real estate investing? I am ready to get started, but he is so busy working that it's hard to get in a word edgewise. He is a skeptical person when it comes to things like this. He likes to invest in rocks (arrowheads) and guns. He studies a lot about those things so he knows what to look for. I believe he would do well in real estate, too, if he thought it was worth the effort. I will not get into this without him.
Cheryl

Hi Cheryl,

My name is Myra and I'm new to investing. I read your comments and I
understand your dilemma. Maybe if you try leaving bits of information
laying around the house, where your husband is most likely to pick
them up, he will eventually start reading them. Try looking for things
from Dean's website that have an attention getting headline or even
his books. Keep moving them from place to place until he has no choice
but to pick it up, or casually bring up bits and pieces of information
you've read on the website or in the books. Who knows, it might help.

I know I'm glad my husband and I signed up for the academy, I'm just
really sorry we had been away from the website for so long we totally
missed the opportunity to get in on the Edge.

Dean and his team of people are really great, if they can't help you
nobody can.

Have a Blessed Day! And Good Luck!

I have been doing research on investing for two or more years. I have read some very interesting information on multi family units.

Has anyone on the site looked into multi family properties yet?

Recently found my first property i want to invest in. I found the property on an investment website.. the properrty is already priced 39% below fmv but needs a lil tlc. I have a couple thousand and pretty decent credit. I own my own home already and wanted to know what exactly should i do to move forward to getting a loan for this property for myself with out giving it to another investor. and should i keep it at the asking price they want to sell it for or go lower since i have to do a little rehab to the house

THANKS
Syp2215

Try to find a good time maybe on the weekend to discuss your plans for the future with him. Maybe talk about another person you both may know that is in real estate. Discuss with your husband that you are looking for another way to give you more options in your future. Discuss that this could be the way. You may be suprised when you have the discussion. Good luck. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Depending on the area, multi-unit buildings can be a good investment. You would want to ensure they cash flow themselves. Some of the benefits about multi uints is they have a lower cost per unit than if you purchased single family homes. They also can generate other revenue from coin operated laundry etc. Tenants usually stay in multi-family less time than a single family home though. The fianancing could be another issue. Anything 5 units or more would probably be viewed as a commercial property. The financing rates could be more. If the numbers work good, I believe they are worth looking into. Good luck on all yoru deals. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

You may want to determine what your exit strategy would be for the home and this can help you to better craft your offer. If you have an idea of what you may assign it for, sell it for or rent it for, then it would help. You may want to get comps of similar homes that sold in the area for the past 6 months. In some areas prices have been fluctuating. You may want to offer low and go up from there. You never know how motivated they may be. Good luck on this deal. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Hi,

I'm new and so afraid to talk to realtors. Don't feel confident enough to ask whether they would want to work with me. Any suggestions for perhaps a script that I can use as a practice with my kids?

Romaine

You may want to try a few things. First go to some open houses in your local area. Meet some realtors and just talk to them about the home or maket in general. See if there is someon you can work with. Get their business cards and make notes on the back of the cards.

Second, email them later with some general questions about the type of properties you may have an interest in. This may be a good way to start and ease into investing. Once you have your questions together you could even email a few other realtors in your local area. I hope this helps. Good luck. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

I've been at this for a little over a month and I come to this site every chance I get. I just made my first post yesterday. It's good to see so many people willing to express thier fears and doubts. Also, it's good to see so many willing to help. I have a 14/14(days) work schedual and when I'm gone, I'm gone out of state. I don't have any internet or email access at all. This will be my third set of days off since starting this and I work at it almost constantly when I'm home. I'm in the success academey and I also got the EDGE home version. The people I've talked to and the information I've read along with all the advice people have given on these forums has been very heplful and encouraging. As far as being afraid to start, I was a little nervous, and still am from time to time. I've talked to other investers in the area and a RE agent, telling them what I'm trying to do and they are interested in doing business with me and I've joined a REI club. So far I have a few sellers and one buyer, just haven't found the deal to put them together yet. BUT I KNOW IT'S OUT THERE!! Like many of you, I have no money and bad credit. Along with that I have a determination to do this and a better future out there for my family. I keep reading you have to have a "WHY". My "WHY" is being able to tuck my six kids into bed every night. I appreciate everyone who participates in this, both the askers and the answerers, and I encourage all the other "newbies" to knuckle up, kick fear to the curb, and go out there and get what's yours.
Fear Not,
Jeff

Congratulations on taking action and making the decision to pursue real estate. It sounds like you are doing all the right things and will be well on your way. Ond day things will all come together and the hard work and knowledge gain will pay great dividends for your effort. Dean always says if you know your why nothing else matters. It sounds like you know your why and you will succeed. Thanks for some great insight and a fabulous post. Good luck with real estate investing. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

I need to update a few things. Earlier i said tucking my kids in at night was my why, but without the support and encouagement from my wife this would be something I would have a very difficult time with. To be honest, it would probably not happen at all. She gives me the strength and courage to do this. At the end of a long day when I work hard she calls me her hero, and the sacrifice is well worth it.

Fear Not,
Jeff

Thanks for the update. We are very fortunate to have supporting spouses in our lives. Over time you want to make a better life for your family and it is great when you can do it together. Also, it is okay to have more than one "why". The power of the "why" will make the bad days easier. Good luck on all your deals. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Joe,
I stay online almost all day. Back and forth from here to my email to craigalist. Trying to learn, make contacts, and build my contacts list(buyers and sellers). Where else can I look to to find people for this. Also, I understand the concept of the ghost ad, but I feel a little crooked posting a false ad like that. Do you have any other ways of doing that or am I looking at it wrong?

Fear Not,
Jeff

It would be helpful if we did know someone in real estate. If I knew someone around here who is investing using Dean's techniques, that would be great. We live in Macon county. Brandon Hunter called me yesterday to ask if I would be interested in the new idea for the infomercial. He was asking me questions to see if I qualify for what they are looking for. He needs to talk to me and my spouse. So, somehow, I have to present this idea to Jim as a great opportunity, not to be missed. Thank you for your prompt response. That helps a lot.
Cheryl

Congratulations on taking action with real estate. You may want to make a plan of action for the next week and even month. Try to devote your free time to making flyers to post into stores or gas stations. Also, get business cards and leave them in various places such as bulletin boards in stores and hand them out to everyone you meet. To increase your contacts try to meet other investors in your area through local investment clubs, realtors, etc. The more people you meet the more you will increase your network.

I believe a ghost ad is ok as long as you inform people that the current property in the ghost ad is no longer available but you would be interested in helping them for future deals. The way I look at it is it can be a win-win situation for everyone because in the future you may find a great deal to assign to them or help a family into a home that they could own.

The same thing sometimes happens if I ran an an for a home for rent. It may have rented in the first day or two but I paid for the ad in the paper to run for the entire week. When other prospective tenants call, I tell them the unit rented but I get their information for maybe a future deal or rental. Keep up the good work and things will begin to happen. Good luck on all your deals! Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Congratulations on taking action with real estate. You may want to try to expand your network in your local area and discover other seasoned investors. Most real estate investment clubs are an excellent resource to meet and learn from others. I also believe that realtors, apprasiers, bankers, etc. can be a valuable resource to network and learn from. Dean's books are great because they have all the information you need to be successful with real estate. Thus, reference back to Dean's books for ideas, information and inspiration. Good luck with real estate investing. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Like many of you I am a newbie. I am not afraid to venture out but have credit and finance challenges since I am out of work and have no savings.However I feel I can do this thing and become financially independent within three years!
Thanks for all the encouraging posts ! Let's do it guys !

you inspire me this morning
I have Dean's books for a while and did nothing until a few days ago when I join the group
Do not no where to start...
I do know that I can do this...need directions
reaching for advise. FASONS

Congratulations on taking action, being part of the DG wbesite, and starting your investing career. There are many opportunites in today's market and with effort, knowledge and a good attitude it will happen. Good luck with real estate investing. Believe and Achieve! - Joe