Steps to take...

What got me started was determination. Who got me going was Dean book BARM. What keeps me going is knowing that failure is not an option.

For me real estate investing was something I was interested in for a long long time, over 10 years. My motivation was desperation! I didn't have any confidence, but I was willing to try anything at this point! I was facing eviction in 30 days with three dependants, no money and nowhere to go. I HAD to take action! I was determined to find a decent home and failure was NOT an option. I read every book, took every course I could afford, contacted every resource I could find to learn how to become a homeowner. It was when I took action, that things started to happen. I knew I made the right decision after buying and selling my first home successfully and that also gave me the confidence to go after my next deal.

I have always loved houses and real estate in general. I have always dreamed of owning a big house with all the bells and whistles. My wife and I have always dreamed of owning a house on the beach. This is just a short time away.
I was also in the commercial real estate business for some time and found out that it was way too corporate for me, and not personal at all.
So I got to a point where I was sick of corporate America, I didn't like answering to a boss all the time, working crazy hours (I have to work this 4th/July weekend UUGGGHHHH!!!!)
So now I am here with all of you like minded individuals who want to be our own boss and make a lot of money.
I have yet to do a deal. I have yet to visit a distressed homeowner. I have yet to make an offer. I have yet to sign a contract. Now is the time to get started. There is no option to wait any longer. I have read too much. I sound like a pro but have to practical experience. It stops now!!

I got started with a "travelling road show" that put on free seminars a couple of times a week in SoCal. (They were very legit, making their money as brokers and property managers).

I bit the bullet, swallowed my fears (VERY real fears) and scratched out a check for a VA foreclosure.

(One point of all this.. is that RE "changes". When I was first getting started, I was reading a ton of books about assuming loans. But assuming [actual assuming- not subject to] was already obsolete for the most part. But when I got started, VA foreclosures were a great way to get started. Now they arent.)

I've only been pursuing REI for around four years now, did two successful deals, one break even, and I own my dream house (at least for now) along the way I've continued my REI education. Things have changed tremendously just in those short four years... I'm always looking for the new "hot" tip to making money in REI today. A close friend told me I should be a professional student, I always enjoy sharing what I learn! It's ironic, I hated school but I love to learn.... Go figure! LOL
Sorry, I didn't mean to get off the original topic of this post.... Oops my bad!

I got started because I felt like a failure in life. I was going nowhere. It felt like my world was tumbling down. I hated my job, my girlfriend left me, and I didn't know where to go. I saw Dean's infomercial one night about 3 years ago and he said you could buy property with no money down. Then I ordered his kit and there was a DVD and some CD's in there that basically said that any one can succeed in life. I just believed it. I started running with it as hard as I could go. Believing the whole time that I was going to be a millionaire real estate investor. I didn't know anything about real estate and that didn't matter because now I had a dream. What keeps me going when things get tough are all the things that people told me all my life about being a loser and that I would never amount to anything. I will never go back there. Now I am going to the top.

Hello My name is Dashaun & I'm new & looking for someone who can point me in the right direction. I have questions about how exactly to get started. I'm reading Deab's book (Be A Real Estate Millionaire) and I'm reading and learning a lot of things. But I'm anxious to get started and try to make this work. Can you give me some advise on how exactly how to get started & what steps to follow. If you read the how long after you got the book did you get started. I'm just anxious & trying to see what steps to follow. I appreciate any help you can give. Thank you.

hi dashaun, welcome to the site. you are going to learn so much about REI on this site. before you start anything, you should really finish the book, while reading up on the content of these forums.
i guess besides reading the book and following all these entries, you should join your local REI club. You can google real estate investment clubs in your general area and join. these meetings are great places to meet everyone you need to succeed in this business - fellow investors, general contractors, attorneys, accountants, RE agents, etc.... NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK!!!!! talk to as many people as possible. pick their brains. be a sponge. you can not know enough before jumping into the deep end.
hope this helps.
Nick

I saw Dean informecial several years ago and i thought maybe he was just like the rest of all the other guys that promised you fortune and prosperity in real estate by ordering their materials and programn and gives you nothing but empty promises. I've always wanted to invest in real estate, but with all the systems and programs i've ordered in the past has brought me nothing but more debt and more money out of my pocket. On March 2008, i saw Dean informecial again and i thought, what the heck, i've spent thousand dollars on other programs and other materials and what's another $39.00? Boy was i wrong? I found what i've been looking for in the past 10 years, and the window of opportunity has become wide opened for me. Dean's book has given me everthing that i need to know of the what, when, how and why? It is now my roadmap to success and doing something i've always wanted for a long time, and that is invest in real estate and become a Millionaire Real Estate Investor. i've already purchased some properties since i bought the book and working or more deals right now. It's a dream come true in making my dream becoming a reality.

Lloyd

I was encouraged by my dad to purchase my first home right out of college. In the years following I purchased and sold many homes that were my personal homes. I found that I was accumulating equity. I enjoy remodeling homes, so increasing their value just happened. Then I got married and started a family. It was not as easy to pick up and move as it had once been. About six years ago I decided to get involved in RE again. I got my RE license, with the intent to help family and friends buy and sell RE. I started buying vacant land as an investment. In three years, those properties have more than doubled in value. I refinanced my home, took the equity, bought a new home, and lease optioned my old home for a positive cash flow of over $400 per month. When my leasee could not qualify to buy home in two years, I sold home, and paid cash for a vacation home in the mountains. I inherited a Christmas Tree farm, that gives me around $2000 a year over expenses. When My wife and I sat down to figure our net worth we were amazed at what RE had done to improve our net worth compared to our other investments. When we saw Dean's program on TV, we decided to get serious about RE investing. After all, we had made alot of money in RE when we had no idea what we were doing. We figured that if we got some training, we would do very well.

I love how you say "After all, we had made alot of money in RE when we had no idea what we were doing." Great stories around here.

My husband comes from a construction background. He, his dad, brother, and brother-in-law all worked construction (for local companies). So in our early 20s we started by building a couple of spec houses, only making small profits with each (probably because we knew nothing about marketing them). When we had $5,000 in our hands, even though our own house was totally unfinished, I convinced him that we should invest in a rental (I don’t know where I got the idea. Probably a realtor?) to get some extra money coming in, especially since we wanted our kids to go to a small Christian school in our community. So I was off looking at properties with my 4 little kids in tow.
We ended up using the money as down payment on 2 really cheap houses, which we rented out for $450 & $350 which has helped pay for all their schooling. Over the years we’ve built and sold a couple of houses, bought, held and sold a few, and currently have 7 SFRs and a duplex ,and will be closing on another one this month.

I’ve loved real estate since I was very young. My own family moved 16 times before I was 18 (never MAKING $). It drove me crazy to live in the same house for 3 years straight when we were first married. Now we have lived here for 22 years, and I’m fine with that because I get to quench the “moving” thirst with REI!
Here’s the awesome part! I thought we were doing well until I saw Dean’s infomercial in April. I watched in amazement his infomercial late that night. What he said and the stories he shared were so compelling!! And I believe that’s the first time I saw Matt Larson’s video, and those of others, that inspired me so much. I ordered the book immediately, expediting the shipping. I got it and read it through the same day. It has literally changed my life! My thinking, my actions, my resolve, my determination, my focus, everything! (Just ask my family & friends. lol) When the coaching team called, it took me 3 days to convince my husband that we HAD to do it, and I PROMISED him that I would make the 5 deals required for the refund. We have 2 deals under our belt since April, and one more closing this month. My goal is to have 20 rentals by end of 2009. Of course if I surpass that, GREAT!
I owe so much to Dean. Even if I DIDN”T get so much out of being on this website (which is immeasurable!), I would feel compelled to be here to share what I have learned and to encourage others delving into their new REI lives. I am so grateful!!!!

I want to say Congratulations to EVERYONE who has chosen to TAKE ACTION after buying “Be a Real Estate Millionaire”. I know it will change your life like it has mine!! DON’T give up. If I can do it, YOU can do it! We all have obstacles that stand in our way, but there is ALWAYS a way around them.

Best wishes,

Rina

Thanks for the comments, it does sound pretty good. I surprise MYSELF sometimes.

As Anita said "determination" is a big part of it!!!!

My story has two separate and distinct things that led to REI. To start with, I have owned six different homes over the years but all purchased the standard/conventional way (have a mortgage and living in the home) I found that I was accumulating some equity and we enjoyed remodeling them and increasing their value just happened a little here and there. But still my thinking was STUCK until one huge epiphany.

Three years ago, we wanted to buy a larger home, I traded a lot we owned for the down payment, BUT our old home did not sell. We ended up renting it out and it has been going well. But I was not thinking of doing anything different!!!!! Still STUCK in my own blindness to bigger and better possibilities!

I've wanted my wife to not work so much out-side the home and be more available for our two teenage kids. Well, bills still need to be paid and we kept doing the same thing the same way (insanity)!

Early one morning in April, 2008 while walking on our treadmill in the basement (avoiding the snow), I saw Dean's infomercial and it hit me like a ton of bricks (did I say epiphany). I final saw how my wife and I could; work together, work towards a better future, involve and teach our kids skills, be able to give more to our church and other charities while earning a living!!! so ordered the materials on the spot!

Ordered Deans kit 04/15/08
Joined Deans team 05/05/08
Started DeJor Prop, LLC 05/12/08
Opened Business checking 05/16/08
Set up Equity credit line 05/19/08
Purchased rental 05/23/08
Ordered Deans book 05/27/08
Website www.DeJorProperties.com 06/13/08
Purchased home to flip 06/30/08
Made 52 offers between 05/09/08 - 07/02/08

Like Rina said, Dean has literally "changed my life! My thinking, my actions, my resolve, my determination, my focus, everything!" including my wife and family!!!

I could write a lengthy outline but you get the idea. Determination pays off

Regards,
Rohn & Shelley
DeJor Properties, LLC

Great stories folks! Thank you for sharing them with all of us! I love hearing this stuff, it's way better than anything on T.V.
God Bless,

A lot of my family is in real estate and i know there is a fair ammount of money to be made in it. I never imagined how much you could make until i started visiting this site and doing a bit more research though. I think, pretty much everyone on here gives me motivation. Seeing people from all walks of life succeed, just makes me feel good you know. Also, I'm still young so I cant really get a decent paying job, and working for minimum wage job in restaurants is horrid. The steps I'm taking would be to buy and reads Dean's book as soon as it gets here and visit the website and constantly read forums and learn as much as i can. Also, I'm going to be investing in the mentor program as soon as i can get the money, again, another reason i want to get started ASAP so i can have extra money, not having just enough to pay for my car and insurance:(.

I hear ya. Many of us are in the same situation you're in. We work a full time job and barely make our bills every month. While the cost of living keeps rising, the wages stay the same. So we HAVE to invest to get out of this rat race. I won't ever achieve that just working a j.o.b. That's what I stay focus on. If one plan fails I'll try another and another til I reach my goal, financial freedom!! So you're on the right track, stick with it no matter what obstacles you face it'll pay off. I just read a story how this guy, fresh out of prison in 2000 with only $25, got started in REI and is now a multi-millionaire teaching other ex-cons how to do it. Hey, if they can do it, with all those odds against them, then why not me? Or you? Or any of us here? Right? ;D