BiggerPockets

when will i be ready to pull the trigger???, thats a tough question i ask myself every day. i am a 31 yr old husband and father of two who gets up and goes to a job every day to make other people wealthy. i am truly deep in the trenches of the "rat race" and it's killing me to see it every day. it also kills me to se everyone around me every day that is exactly where i am and they dont even know it, they're too busy worrying about vacation, 401k, house payments and all the toys they can get loans for.

well i'm reading all i can get my hands on and cruising this as well as other forums all the time. i am determined to someday work for myself even if it's just enough to support my family. one thing that is lucky for me is that we are accustomed to living below our means, meaning we can get by on very little compared to others.

i have absolutely !NO! capitol and less than desirable credit, as r.d.p.d. states i work my a$$ off trying to get out of debt but am really going no where.

i have heard it all... no money down, investors, wholesale, probate as well as some other avenues to get started. what i am asking here is this...

how can i possibly know when i'll be ready??? i have obligations to people and it's not that i'm afraid of failing (i've experienced that plenty in my short 30 yrs) but how can i know... i'm not looking to up and quit my job, that's just ludicrous as far as im concerned... i'm more worried about getting in too deep too fast and having to not only work my full time but work full time on a side project.

i am very interested in getting into rentals both res. and com but i've been told not to just jump into it, then i read books that say the best way to learn is to suit up and jump in
:roll: i should probably be posting this in the psychology forum instead huh :lol: well thats all that i have to say about that... if you're still reading... well thanks for giving me a minute to vent my thoughts to you...

I'm in a similar situation as you. All I can say is there will never be a good or perfect time. You have to go with your gut. Make sure you do your due diligence and then do it again. Do everything you can to make sure the numbers are correct and that you are leaving your emotions out of it.

I have purchased two rentals and one worked out but the other didn't. I currently am about as far away from being a true real estate investor as one can get. It's tough to know what you want to do but not have a clear way to get there. Take it day by day while always keeping an ear to the ground and your eyes open. When it's meant to be it will be.

Best of luck to you!

i'm more worried about getting in too deep too fast and having to not only work my full time but work full time on a side project.

There is absolutely no danger of that if you keep the status quo. Of course, there is also absolutely no possibility that you'll make progress toward your goal of being self-employed either. If you want to get into rentals (or anything else), then you need to build at least a small reserve fund - $5,000 would be a good start. In addition, you need to fix your credit. Your credit report is a measure of your financial trustworthiness and you won't get far in this business with bad credit.

i am very interested in getting into rentals both res. and com but i've been told not to just jump into it, then i read books that say the best way to learn is to suit up and jump in

"Just Do It" or "Just Jump In" might be good advice if you're buying tennis shoes, but it's TERRIBLE advice for starting a business. You need to understand the basics of the business BEFORE YOU BUY if you want to succeed. Fortunately, you can get that for free right here on BiggerPocketss. Have you read EVERY post in the landlording forum? You'll get REAL information from REAL landlords here. Reading a bunch of guru books might get you hyped up, but it won't provide the information you need to start a business.

Good Luck,

Mike

not even close!!

think z's and then z's with roman numerals attached to that and then things will start clicking.

Rich dad is good stuff to get the mental juices flowing but by no means a "guide"

I do play his board game almost religiously with my older children, I think it teaches great basic "mental" fundamentals.

you can read all the books in the world but it won't compare to 1 ounce of real life experience. I'm not saying jump in, just be prepared that when you get started your going to learn more than you ever thought possible.

Get your mind right, get your plan right and then execute your plan like you have everything to lose and nothing to gain and be ready to always change/modify your plan to continuously improve.

Last thing you want to do is 10 yrs from now wish you got started 10yrs earlier

I'm new to the real estate game myself. The only advice that I give people starting out is that they should start small. Go through all the motions of a small deal before going after the big fish. I feel like after I did a couple of deals I felt more confident and know a lot more of what I want out of it.

Best of luck.

I agree that joining a RE investmnet club or two is also a great start. Just leave your wallet at home and don't buy the guru crap that is so often presented at these events.

Jamie,

I definitely agree with joining a local group! It's amazing how seeing others succeed helps you too realize that you can do it too. That was the best investment I made when I got started, and I wouldn't be anywhere near where I am if I hadn't done that.

Keep reading and learning. It took me 6 months of reading, learning, hanging around people, etc... before I got my first house under contract. I got it under contract for $20,000 CASH to close in 30 days, and my wife 'bout crapped her pants when I came home with the contract as we sure didn't have any 20K!! Thirty days later, (with about 8 hours of work) I had found a buyer for my contract and made $5K...it absolutely blew my mind!! Plus, I did everything wrong to begin with...I paid too much, showed it the wrong way, etc... so even screwing it up, I did real well!!

That's pretty much why I recommend people to get started by wholesaling/flipping...least risk, least cash out of pocket, and the easiest way I've seen for someone with little knowledge to make some cash fairly quickly. I've also found that once you do your first deal as quickly as you can, the belief builds very quickly thereafter!!

Congrats on finding the forums, and on finding a local group! Whether it takes you a month, a year, or 5 years to pull the trigger, you're already leaps and bounds ahead of those sitting in the lazy boy watching tv and hoping that someone else has their future taken care of!! You'll get there!!