Richard's Journal

Hi Everybody,
First of all I have to say how much I enjoy all of the positive energy that flies around this site every day! As a guest, I've been checking out the site for the past six weeks or so and I'm truly amazed at the amount of information and support that is here. My sincerest thanks to Dean and his awesome team for creating such an excellent platform for this community and of course to all of you who participate and make it as wonderful as it is!

I just registered on this site today and I'm happy to "officially" be part of the DG family. So let me introduce myself: My name is Richard DeBadts. I'm 40 years old and divorced. I grew up in a small, Upstate New York town. There aren't many of us who actually got out of that town! Over the last twenty-some years I have worked in the theatre and marine industries. I spent about 10 years living in Buffalo, NY where I bought my first house, a two-family home. I lived in that house for a couple of years and after quitting my theatre job to go sailing I leased out both apartments. Although the property has generally paid for itself, I can't really say that it cash-flows. I've somehow been very lucky (read: good tenants) and have been able to manage it from afar but it has been a real pain to deal with at times. Just yesterday I fanally spoke to a Property Manager about it. Anyway, I still have it and know that its just a start.

I've spent the last six years almost being a vagabond. I had a tiny sailboat that I sailed from the Chesapeake down the east coast, spent a while in Florida, moved to the Caribbean and worked there for three years. While there I got a job driving a bigger boat. And for the past year and a half I've worked on a much larger yacht doing charter work. Also during this period of time I sailed thousands of offshore miles delivering boats from point A to B. In fact it was just about a year ago while delivering a sailboat from Charleston, SC to LaPaz, Mexico that this whole discovery process began... where I really started asking myself some tough questions and did my best to answer them honestly.

You may be asking yourself: What is the point to all this? Well, as much fun as it all might sound, I've realized that drifting around is not really what I want to be doing. I know I am capable of doing great things and I just need to stop, focus, apply myself, and move forward.

So, all that being said, I am just getting started in REI and figure this journal is the best way for me to keep track of what I do and hold myself accountable!

I ordered Dean's books on September 22, 2009 but, due to my job, did not actually receive them until October 21st. I had only seen Dean's TV show for the first time maybe a week before I placed my order! Once I received them (BAREM & PFRERN) I immediately read each book cover to cover.

Currently I work as the engineer aboard a for-charter sailing yacht that moves around most of the year. All the crew (eight of us) live aboard 24/7. This makes it especially difficult to get seriously involved in real estate investing when you are always on a boat, away from land, and even out of the country for six months at a time..."with no permanent address."

So, last week I made the decision to quit my job. That's right, in spite of Dean's advice ("Keep your day job."), I gave my notice. I still have about a month to go and then I'll finally be able to jump in to REI with both feet! In the meantime I am studying, researching, and doing everything in my power to prepare and use my time as wisely as I can.

I am planning to move to Baltimore in mid-December. It has always been one of my favorite cities. Yes, I will have to find another job when I arrive but at least I will be in one place where I can drive the neighborhoods, post flyers, set up a team, network with others, and all the other things that go along with making this happen! Oh yeah, I guess I'll have to buy a car too!

So, there you have it. Sorry this was so long but it gives me something to go back and re-read in the future to remind me of how I got started. Thanks. I look forward to some great discussions here. You are all very inspirational.

My 2010 is going to ROCK!

~Richard