I see these posts all the time from people just starting out......

"HELP...Need advice..... I have no money, bad credit, no job, but I'm just DIEING to start investing in REAL ESTATE!! NEED ADVICE ASAP!!!!!!!

Here's some PRICELESS advice given to me by a SELF MADE real estate MILLIONAIRE. This gentleman has a 6th grade education he built his business from NOTHING. He now owns 12 Dunkin Donuts Franchises (which are all triple net leased back to his "managers") and about 20 Class A commercial office buildings.

This was his EXACT advice to me 20 years ago???

"Kid, you've got a job. That's good, KEEP IT!! Now I want you to save at LEAST 10% of your gross earnings for 1 full year then come back and see me. Until you can do that, we have nothing to talk about."

I now know this was a BRILLANT tactic. This man KNEW I looked up to him, he also knew I wasn't coming back without that money in the bank. I went out the next day and got a PART TIME job in ADDITION to my ful time job. 1 year later I had saved $15,000 and brought the bank book with me to our meeting. You could see the shear JOY in this man's eyes. I had actually LISTENED to his advice. He then told me something that STILL blows my mind.....

"Kid...I've given that same advice to about 100 people. They ALL tell me they want to learn about real estate. Out of that 100 how many do you think come back a year later??? So far.. Including YOU.....2 have actually done it" ................2................

I couldn't believe that. I now can tell you that in my 20+ years of investing this number has NOT changed. I have given this EXACT advice OVER and OVER. Never under estimate the LAZINESS of people!

The KEY to the 1 year plan is it teaches you DISCIPLINE. Without that YOU WILL NEVER SUCCEED! By learning to WAIT for your reward your learning the basics of building wealth. SACRIFICE and DISCIPLINE!!!!!!

My mentor walked me through my first deal, he went in with me on that house, showed me what to look for, what to stay away from, and a TON of others things I'll always be thankful for.

The lesson most people miss here is just how IMPORTANT developing the SAVING habit is. Making that small deposit every week is about as BORING as it gets. But...........SLOWLY.........those numbers get BIGGER....then, like someone threw a switch, suddenly that MONEY doesn't represent THINGS you could buy. It represents YOU, your discipline, your hard work. You don't want to just go out and blow it. It took you a long time to save it. Then the game has changed. Once you hit that point, your on the way!!!

So who here is going to be the 1 out of the 100????????????????

You can do it, but very few will!!!!!!!

Thanks for sharing that post with us Jake. I have been around message boards for about 4 years or so and have seen newbie after newbie put up posts about "getting rich quick" and "making money NOW in real estate". Hell, I was one of them! I used to go to reiclub.com all the time and put up posts on how I was going to make it FAST and have tons of money NOW!! LOL. Didn't quite work out that way.

It does take time, learning, patience, and commitment. This **** ain't easy and it ain't fast!!! It's a marathon, not a sprint. Anyway, thanks Jake!

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Thank you for being a part of the FIB Team!

Jared,

I hope more newbies read your post.

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John Corey

Real Estate Investor (REI) with over 20 years of experience.
Multiple states and countries; present portfolio spans 11 time zones.

Always open to answering questions. See the contact page on my blog; link below.

Pay it forward.
www.ChelseaPrivateEquity.com/blog

does walking pace count?

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"I'll make you an offer you can't refuse"

Great post!

Honestly, I never expected to break into real estate investing without a plan, money, credit, etc. This is like any business as it takes education, planning, money, credit, and good working ethics.

I have a buddy in Biloxi, MS that read a Ron LeGrand book and became bandit sign hero! Spent like 1k in bandit signs and soon had his first double closing. Made 5k and talked his dad into purchasing a home for 90k and sinking 25k into repairs as they thought it was a sure bet at making money!

1 - they didn’t research the market, 2 - they didn’t know the market, 3 - all they read was how to obtain properties. No exit strategies in mind. Just do like the flip this house shows do. Put up a “for sell” sign up in the yard and it will sell.

7 months later their home is still on the market and they will make no profit. They are actually in the whole. This being said, people do not take others advice. They expect this business to be easy as that’s what the late night infomercials brain wash them into believing.

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You can roll with me or under me. I don't care which one you choose! - - "me"

I still get this call about 2 times a week from guys that are getting in the business to make a mint. They don't have any credit, they don't have any money but they are going to flip houses!!

They usually don't even have a clue about where to start, but they want to replace their job income in two months!!!!

Crazy

Then I am a buzz killer when I tell them to go back to work LOL!

I even had one guy that said that he did not have a job, any money, or any credit, in fact he is on disability and filled bankruptcy about 6 months ago, but the rich dad guys said he could flip houses easily!!!!!

Now don't get me wrong it is not that you cannot do this. Or that you cannot do this without credit or money. But if you do not have either one of those things you have to have some sort of educational advantage or at least a time and motivational advantage. Hell I started with crappy credit and no money, but I pulled myself up by my bootstraps and busted my butt to get it done. I worked 10 shifts a week waiting tables and looked at at least 15 houses per week to make offers and attended at mentor class in person locally. All this at the same time. Sleep was not that important. I went at it like that for 2 years solid before I let my wife quit working, and another year before I did the same. I had built my passive income to cover my monthly bills at that point, so I could justify jumping out there.

So I guess I am not a buzz killer, but I can just smell it on them when they want it easy and don't want to work for it, which in this market will not work at all.

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Steven Brown
Cash 4 Houses, LLC
HomeVestors
Mobile, Al
251-366-HOME
steve.brown@homevestors.com

Steve,

Your not a buzz killer, your a guy who knows what the hell he's talking about. NOTHING IN BUSINESS IS EASY!!!

I used to wonder why successful business people seemed to be so cynical to new guy's. Now I KNOW why... They start out WILLINGLY offering advice based on hard earned lessons. But... when nit wit after nit wit completely ignores them, they eventually just don't bother anymore.

My mentor was the same way.....He wasn't going to waste a second of his time on me if I wasn't SERIOUS and DISCIPLINED. He was straight with me from the start. He told me he didn't think I would save the money I needed to, and that most people just like to TALK. That motivated me BIG TIME!! I wanted to PROVE to this guy that I could do it. Not only did I want to prove it to him, I wanted to EXCEED his expectations. I showed up a year later with what amounted to TWICE what he advised me to save.....At that point he knew he wasn't wasting his time. He jumped in with both feet and REALLY helped me learn this business. He still say's that he KNEW I was going to make it because I was willing to sacrifice for a pay off later. That was 20+ years ago.

This country would be in FAR better shape today if a majority of people thought this way. But........They don't. THEY WANT IT NOW!!!!!

I love this post because as a newbie, I didn't come in with any grand ideas that I was going to get rich quick off of real estate. Granted I don't have the best credit in the world and I don't have a whole bunch of money either (see my blog post and you'll get a greater understanding of that), but one of the things I do have that someone mentioned is both time and an educational advantage over the people that just watch Flip this House and other shows and they think it's easy. It's not. I looked at probably 15 houses before I even submitted my first offer on one, and that one was rejected. I then looked at another 20-30 properties before I finally found the one I purchased earlier this year. But by the time I got to the point where I could purchase it, I had done so much research and learned so much about real estate just from having conversations with people while networking, talking to people that are already immersed in the arena, and from reading everything I could get my hands on that might help me further my endeavors, I was able to put some of it together on my own.

The reason I'm searching for a mentor now is so I can refine the process. I could go out all day and find properties by myself because I already have a power team in place (mortgage broker, realtor, appraiser, title company, etc.) to help me close my deals, but I want to get better and more efficient for the long run because I plan on being in this for the long haul. And everyone is right. This is a business that takes time but most people think you get rich overnight. Yes, you can make a good income if you're positioned right, have a sound business plan but more importantly an exit strategy, but if not, then this business will eat you alive. I don't plan on getting eaten alive, I plan on eating better as a result of this business.

Great post!

InvestorsWntd,

So you looked at about 45 houses before you found a deal? THAT'S PERSISTANCE, and THAT's what makes you MONEY is this business. GREAT JOB!!

The more you do, the more you'll learn.

This forum is THE BEST mentor you'll ever find. You have access to hundreds of seasoned pro's here. The thing I like about these sites is any BS advice that is given is almost IMMEDIATELY identified as such. I've seen too many new guy's take the wrong advice from some dope who drives around in a Porsche ACTING like he has money. By the time these first time investors realize the guy's a stroker it's too late. Those guy's don't last long in this type of arena because there are too many SEASONED guy's here DOING it...DAY IN, DAY OUT. We can smell a BS story a mile away.

Be careful of anyone OFFERING to mentor you. I my experience the guy's who DON'T want to be mentors are the best ones.

Hey, I drive a porsche!!! LOL

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Steven Brown
Cash 4 Houses, LLC
HomeVestors
Mobile, Al
251-366-HOME
steve.brown@homevestors.com