The Journey Begins- Am I Really Doing This?

"Who does that?" was a phrase I heard from many when I made my decision. After all the debating, doubt and rationalizing, I had my answer. I do that. And now that's how I respond.

Back in December, I decided a few days before Christmas to go down to Florida to visit my son for the holidays. There was a lot of darkness in my world in the preceding months, I didn't really have anything major going on and I needed a getaway desperately. Not to mention, the weather was too cold and dreary for me. So I packed up my dog, jumped in my car, and headed down to sunny Florida....for the holidays....and maybe hang around until my new nephew was born. 

Well, three weeks into my "temporary" stay, my son asked me if I had to go back soon. I was a little startled because he's 23 and independent and I see him twice a year. Before I answered, I thought about it and then said "nope, there's nothing back home for me really. Yes, I'll stay". 

Fast forward two weeks after that, my nephew was born and as I was driving to the hospital to see him, traffic forced me to to take the scenic route. While driving, I kept seeing all of these amazing homes and new complexes that weren't there when I lived in the city 15 years ago. It tripped me out. It's like the entire city exploded into all of this newness. When I got to the hospital, I overheard two older gentlemen talking about investment property. Investment property? I thought. Does that even make sense for someone like me? But I listened (OK eavesdropped) and was getting more intrigued. Then I gathered myself and went up to see the baby.

Three weeks later, I was driving down Turkey Lake Road and saw a brand spanking new Keller Williams office. Who am I kidding? It was more like a complex! I can't explain what it was, but something made me u-turn my car and go inside. Until that point, I had only been looking at homes and trying to figure a way to solve my problem at home and get rid (or save) of my house, and not to mention, that conversation I heard was still in the back of my mind. I sat in the parking lot for about 5 minutes asking myself what I really wanted to do. 

After 5 minutes I said, look, let's do it, and went inside. I didn't know what I was looking for or what to expect. I guess God figured it out for me because the entrance I walked into, which was closest, was to the Real Estate School. I told the receptionist I was there to get information and blurted out that I was interested in getting licensed. I swear to you I don't know where that came from because when I woke up that morning, that was the last thing on my mind. She gave me an information packet and the name of the lady who was teaching the class. I was in luck, there was a class beginning that same day in the city I am staying in about 2 hours! But the bad news was I wasn't in a position to do it.  So I took the information and went on my way.

Later I got a message from the lady who teaches the class and I got so excited. When I left the school, I was a little deflated because I couldn't take the class. So I asked God to give me a sign if this is something I should pursue. That call was confirmation. She told me about the upcoming schedule and an open house Keller Williams was having. My heart jumped. So I looked at the calendar and laid out my plan to go to real estate school.

About a week later, I jumped on the internet and decided to look up real estate investing because I had second thoughts about becoming a licensed agent. After all, long term, I want to be an investor. I never thought about becoming an agent to work for someone else. Then I found a site called Real Estate Mogul. I wasn't mesmerized by it. It had a few great blog posts, but it was lacking on other content. So I bookmarked it and made a mental note to go to the library to check out some real estate and investing books. I went to Amazon and started getting Kindle books on real estate and investing to read later.

Then I found Bigger Pockets. Holy **** I hit the jackpot! 

I was up that night until about 3AM just reading. Reading blog posts, reading the forums, searching for people close to me, taking it all in. I got all the books and podcasts I could get and started diving in. I found so much information from investors and agents that it helped me decide to go ahead and get licensed and start planning what I wanted out of a real estate investing career. 

I went out the next morning and purchased a pink (don't laugh) composition notebook and labeled it "Wealth Building". I followed the advice of some of the seasoned folks on here and thought about what my goals were. I wrote three pages worth. Then I set up my Evernote for a journal and a scrapbook so I can document my journey as I go. 

Two weeks ago, on my birthday I signed up for the real estate sales license class through Real Estate Express and began my studies. It has been a little hectic because right now I am in the midst of completing my bachelor's program and I'm currently taking International Business and Advanced Statistics concurrently with the real estate course. Yeah, fun times. LOL But I'm plugging along. I attended the review class last week Saturday for the real estate exam even though I wasn't yet done with the class. I wanted to make sure I was processing the information. Some areas I need to dedicate a little more study time, but it's OK.

Last week I went to my first CFRI (REIA) meeting and loved it. I met some wonderful people and began networking. I went to my second meeting this past Monday in a different county. There were more people and I made some incredible connections. Now I feel good about joining officially.

I feel like Bambi at times, stumbling to walk as a newborn trying to get those leg muscles going. I just really jumped into this thing. When I came down here, I had no intentions of starting a new career or even moving down here. But I'm here. I'm taking classes. I'm meeting people. I'm reading and listening. At 46 years old, I am a newbie, a freshman, a novice. And I'm OK with that. Ten years ago, I wouldn't think such a thing would be appropriate because of ego. But I am open minded, eager to learn and ready to make this a reality. 

Well, I'm on my way. This is the beginning of a new, life changing adventure. I still have things to work on in my life in general. And there are other goals I want to meet. But I am so glad I eavesdropped on that conversation. It was the catalyst. Now that I've gotten that out of the way, I hope you'll come back to my blog to watch my evolution as an agent and investor. I'm probably going to mess up a lot. But I know I'll get a lot right too. Am I afraid? Just a little bit. But I'm determined to learn and grow. I'm all about making it happen.

Any newbies out there that need support? Let's be there for each other. Thank you Bigger Pockets for giving us this platform.