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Posted almost 9 years ago

My Journey - The Beginnings - Episode 1

Hello World,

Today is Sunday March 29, 2015.This is my first post to my RE investing blog but it is also my first blog on the internet.  I never caught on to the blog train way back when it was popular to have a blog.  Well, now I’m starting one and really it’s for me rather than for everyone else.  The purpose is to encourage, entertain and lastly to educate.  The education part, well I don’t believe there will be much because chances are how much education can there be in 52 blogs.

Oh and that is the other part of this blog, it will be a series.  A 52 part epic saga of my first year in RE investing.  Let’s hope it’s not that epic :).  I’m not looking for that much drama.  My goal for this year is just to get 1 to 3 transactions completed.  You see, accountability is a big deal and if I fail myself it would hurt.  However, if even one person follow this blog not only would I fail myself but that reader as well.  Therefore, this blog will serve as a catalyst and energy source for me push forward through whatever obstacles may come this year.

So there you have it.  My goals?1- 3 transactions.  My method? Buy, Fix and Rent.  Somewhere in there will also be a buy, live in and fix, or as the famous Brandon Turner puts it, house-hacking.  Why this method?  Well, I’ve recently moved to my market and currently residing with one of my siblings.  I do want to move out, but I figure why not move into one of my investment.  This will serve as another motivation factor in my pursuit of RE investing success.  I’m also working a full time gig and wholesaling is just not an option as of right now.  

Each week I will try to record my progress whether it’s success or failure.  So what have I done so far? Recently, I’ve joined my local REIA and attended one subgroup meeting.  This REIA is huge and have at least 4-5 meetings per month.  Each meeting has speakers then follow with some networking.  So far, my network is only a handful of contacts.  I’ve also joined bigger pockets forum and have tried to reach out to a few local contacts.  Progress is slow but I think I’m going to be ok.  Patience is not my strong suit, and as result have already invested, once again, somewhat significant amount of money into my RE business.

My expenditures so far: website domain - $78(2 years), business cards - $22, REIA membership - $50, and lastly RE license course - $275.  I’m very excited about the RE class by the way.  It’ll run for about 2 months so in a few blogs, maybe I will sound way more pro :).  I honestly don’t think my expenses are that bad compare to the first time I venture into this world.  You see I titled this post the Beginnings because this is really my second beginning.

The first time was way back in the year 2009. (Yes during the recession) Long story short I spend money I don’t have (credit cards) to purchase a series of seminars.  They were EXPENSIVE but they did present solid information.  However, taking knowledge and turning it into action is a very difficult progress for newbie, at least it was for me.  On top of that, I was really attracted to wholesaling and guess what, that also takes time.  In the end, I consolidated my debt, ran away to another profession and nurse my wounds and slowly recover to try again.

It hurt and it hurt bad.  You see I believed!! I was running on pure faith, but that’s ok, no one learns to ride a bike without falling.  The worse part, I knew I was being sold to but I fell for the pitch anyway.  Today, I realized that my lost although still significant was nothing compare to other losses other people have faced before.  I have decided to listen to BP podcasts in order just because I can, and was surprised to learn that in the first episode, the interviewee had lost $8 million dollars.  That’s right he lost everything, but he came back.  And that is way MOTIVATING and very admirable.  

So here I am, coming back.  This time though I actually have a plan.  I have a market in mind and a methodology.Let’s hope I will succeed.No, forget hoping, wishing and yearning, let’s just do what needs to be done until I reach my goals.  To quote the famous Yoda, “There is no try… Do or Do Not.”  There you have it, blog 1/52.  To anyone who’s reading this, thanks and I hope you stick around.  I’ll see you next week.  This is Thang Cao signing off and I’ll see you at the top. Peace :).


Comments (5)

  1. In your corner Thang! Looking forward to monitoring your progress!


    1. Thank you for your support.. 


  2. Best of luck Thang!


  3. I'll be looking forward to reading your upcoming blog posts, as I'm in a similar situation. Good luck!


    1. @Matt Morgan, @Josh Eitingon, thanks for your comments.. Making me nervous :) but that's good.. Now I can't be undisciplined.