OfflineAs everyone discovers in life, friends will keep you on the straight and narrow, but a true friend will be sitting in jail next to you. 
We have discovered that this web site, DG.com has many people that will become friends. Starting out in this venture, we will need friends, but soon hope to find some true friends.
In the past, we have made attempts to start different business ventures. Our friends would try and help us by keeping us on the straight and narrow. They would say things, like, “You won’t make any money doing that.” or “You have to have money to make money.” Or “Just work your JOB for 25 – 40 years, retire and collect Social Security, you will get by in your retirement years.” You all probably have or have had friends like this. I’m not saying these friends were not trying to be helpful, but they didn’t want to take any risks or think outside the box. They had no creative way of thinking.
We bought a 2 family house once. We had no clue what we were doing. This house became our pet project. We installed all new windows and vinyl siding. Completely gutted the Kitchens and installed a washer and Dryer in each unit. We poured money into this house. Rented it out and spent many more hours working at the house doing the landscaping, cutting the lawn, shoveling the snow, showing the house to renters, evicting tenants that were not properly screened. You name it, if it needed to be done, WE did it. Life happens and we had to relocate to another State to take care of a family member. Soon 1 tenant moved out. We were not in the area, (Due to lack of education, we didn’t even know about property managers.) so we asked our other tenant to find another renter. Never did get another tenant. We kept making trips back to the house when something would break and fix it ourselves. Well our little 2 family house became a hindrance and we decided to sell it. Fortunately for us, the Boom of the market was High and we sold for a profit. We wrote off investing in real-estate.
We both continued to work and were planning on retiring in 2013, move off to “The Villages” in Florida and live the good life.
This was the short version of the Past.
Coast To Coast Property Investments
*** No disrespect to the hard working loyal employees that go to work every day to keep America running while meeting your obligations, responsibilities and providing for your families, much respect. ***
However, longest job I ever had is 10 years and I hated the last 5 years of it lol. I could not phantom being at a job for 25- 40 years. Im an entrepreneur at heart, also big shout out to the friends and FAMILY who said “you won’t make any money doing Real Estate.” Maybe I should show them the rehabs Ive done via you tube. I understand most of them where trying to protect me and help by giving me their safe and secure plan. I do appreciate that.
Congratulations on the two family unit, I know that’s way after the fact, however a lot of people don’t have the confidence and nerve you had to pull that trigger. I laughed when you said you gave the daunting burden of property management to the uncompensated current tenant. ( im still laughing) That’s on the level as ‘reinvestor42’ said he bought his first house by accident lol. I didn’t have the nerve to tell him my second house I thought it was a 2 bdrm after closing I found out it was a 4 bdrm lol.
When you say you have tried many different business ventures, I totally relate. However, Real Estate was the only business Ive started and made any money. As you mentioned about friends, I find now days my friends have changed. All of them are Real Estate related. Some were old friends who now are into Real Estate, but most are new likeminded people.
As you mentioned, “Life Happens” and it has happened to all of us. Plans, dreams, goals derailed often without much notice. I have had my dreams, aspirations, hopes and desires more than once in life derailed, crushed, and destroyed.
However, I don’t own a white flag of surrender and I don’t believe you do either. As long as we have the desire and courage to pick up the broken pieces and learn the lesson from it all, we will go on to build something better out of the ashes of our stumbling blocks. Keep the torch lit and fire burning !!!
*Disclaimer I am not an attorney nor am I offering any professional advice, just some thoughts I am sharing*
Robert...I can relate to your post. I have also had to sell a house because "Life Happens." Bennie...I really like you last two paragraphs and can relate to them also. It's so nice to be able to come here and find like minded people who have been through similar problems and have similar goals.
The Present
Came home from work one day April 2012. Wife says to me, hey there is a RE seminar tonight at the $%#@ Hotel. Do you want to go? To think, I could have said NO. But being the DH I am, I said if you want to go, we can go. It shouldn’t last to long and we can go out to dinner afterwards. (Needless to say, I did not get any dinner that night.)
We showed up at the event and they wanted us to fill out some form about ourselves. You all know what form I am talking about. Needless to say, we bought in on the package that night. And YES, we get to go to a 3 day weekend as part of our purchase price.
The 3 day weekend is only 1 ½ hours from home, but they were going to be generous enough to put us up in a hotel during the event. Crap, the weekend it was scheduled for was the same weekend we were leaving to go on a cruise. Our first HURDLE. The guys at the event said no worry, they do lots of events in NY State. We can just go to the next one. Call this phone number in the morning and they will set it up. We called and were told there was no other 3 day events scheduled for NY State. What about the surrounding states? The closest event scheduled over the next 2 months is Roanoke, Virginia. That is an 8 hour drive. Hurdle # 2. We go on the cruise, I spend every minute studying the package we bought at the 1 night event. I listened to the cd’s and read the books that were on CD as well. I get home from the Cruise on a Sunday, Called DG offices and scheduled myself for the Roanoke event. Good thing I was still on Vacation.
I go by myself and drive the 8 hours to the event. (Mothers day weekend.) Anybody who went to the 3 day weekend knows what we went through. They filled you up with so much information in such a little bit of time, your head was spinning, but our speaker left us wanting more, so we bought the next package. (I sold the wife on the fact there was a trip to Vegas included in the package. I am so sly.) I know I cannot get any more time off work until 2013 for the Vegas trip, but with what we were taught, we should be rolling in money by then. OOPs was I wrong.
I had my nice bag full of books and headed home. I spent the next month or so reading every chapter that was in the nice fancy bag. One thing I failed to do with every chapter, the action steps. I figured if I read everything first, things will start rolling on its own. Hurdle # 3. Trying to do things the way I wanted to do it.
Well, I get a phone call from PMI telling me about the INNER Circle. I signed up for that. Again, I was going to do it my way. What could the Coach teach me I already had not learned from the books. Again, failed to perform the Action Steps.
Next was “Boots on the Ground” weekend. Well the nearest event for me was in Scranton Pa. Mary and I both attended. We learned alot on that weekend. Problem was learning the books and how to implement them still is not action. Came home from that weekend, ran a few CL ads, got a few phone calls, but never went looking for any deals to wholesale. Hell, with all I now know, the deals should have been coming to me. Again, No Action on my part. (To be Continued.)
Coast To Coast Property Investments
just like the gym, to get the muscles you got to spend the time to lift the weights.
*Disclaimer I am not an attorney nor am I offering any professional advice, just some thoughts I am sharing*