Possible to Get Started with No money, and having bad credit?
Wholesaler · Council Bluffs, IA · Member since 2017 · 28 posts · 23 votes
Title kind of says it all. My father wasnt a great guy destroyed my credit and it could be years before i finish fighting all the damage he did and getting it removed from my credit history, and then actually establishing good credit after that. Last i checked my score was in the low 400's for all 3 credit agencys so financing is completely out of the options. As for savings even with a full time job making $12/hr and living in the cheapest 2 bdrm apt. i can find (I have a wife and son) i barely am able to afford bills and food/necessities. and thats working 60 hours a week. Im tired of being stuck. And real estate has always been something ive been interested in but always seems like a pipe dream for me due to the above reasons. I recently read a few articles about it being possible to get started without any money at all, and inability to finance. Is this true, or were these articles just blowing smoke up my arse?
Why not look into switching careers into something that can compliment your future real estate business? Possibly become a realtor, or go to the trade school and learn HVAC/plumbing/electrical work? If you did those, you can then do side jobs and get extra $$$. Wholesaling is an option, but I think you need a more permanent solution than a quick fix. Look for a silent partner with financing, and you do all the work? Go to your local REIT meeting, and try and find someone you can help for a day and learn the business, surround yourself by people who you want to be like! Also, don't forget your wife, how is her credit?
If there's a will, there's a way, make it happen!
Mindy beat me to the punch - wholesaling is actually one of the most difficult fields in REI. So you'll need osmething else. Have you looked into house hacking? Pleanty of posts here to explain. It's probably the best and easiest way to get started. The good news is you are already on the right path: 1.) you are getting a new SSN. 2.) You are reading on how to fill your credit report with positive entries (to offset the negative ones) 3.) You are on BP. Next thing you know is that you are in the position to buy a duplex with a 3.5% FHA loan, stop paing rent, learn how to landlord, fix up a house, continue to build your credit, grow your income, safe up some cash and are on track to buy a second property down the road. It's not going to be easy, you won't make $100k a month (LOL) and it will take some time - but you can do it! Many have been down this path before you.. and succeeded.
"Most people overestimate what they can do in one year, but they underestimate what they can do in five years!"
Check out CreditBoards.com... They helped me with my credit repair. I had low 500s about 5 years ago and I am in the high 700s now. You're doing the right things, but they have it down to a science, and you can get most of the crap your dad did just through certified letters from the credit companies; they have to prove it's YOUR debt.
Good on you for taking the initiative to change your circumstances for the better.
Getting that new SSN is imperative so you can start with a cleaner slate. If you have any debt I would focus on paying that off first then start paying yourself (Savings,Retirement,Emergency Fund) first before any other bills. You will find a way to get everything paid because of your hard work ethic.
Most of all the information you could ever want is found via YouTube, BiggerPockets, great books that are sold cheaply on Amazon/Ebay.
If you're working that many hours could you ask for a raise or go to another job that pays more and values your hard work better???
I would attend some local Real Estate meet ups and talk to as many people as you can. They will be happy to give you advice and valuable information. Bring your wife along as well so you can learn and grow together.
It sounds like you've had a series of misfortunate events, but you have the right mindset to power through it. As you can see there are many people who will be glad to assist and offer advice so keep pushing through. There is a shining light at the end of the tunnel my friend!!!!
Good luck!
@Ian Walsh made an interesting suggestion. There are a lot of folks who suggest wholesaling as a way to get started in Real Estate with little/no money, but as has been discussed ad nauseum, wholesaling is basically like having a second job. So there's always the option to become a licensed agent, loan officer, or appraiser, all of which would provide supplemental income (perhaps eventually better full-time income) and help you network in real estate.
The Book on Investing in Real Estate with No (and Low) Money Down: Real Life Strategies for Investing in Real Estate Using Other People's Money
This book has a whole chapter one Wholesaling and other creative ways to get started...the site and podcast has tons of information on different ways to get started as well. Good luck and don't get discouraged.@David White , you do face an uphill battle having such bad credit. Tackling that by changing your SSN is a good first step.
I'm going to jump in and say that Wholesaling is NOT the answer to your problems. There is this myth that wholesaling is easy, fast money. It isn't. It's hard work, there is temptation to be less-than-honest with sellers in order to get their house under contract at a price that makes money for everyone, and the entire concept is being looked into legally because of rampant abuse.
What sort of real estate do you want to get into? Do you want to be a landlord? You have a wife, what does her credit look like? What sort of job does she have? You're working 60 hours a week at $12/hr? Can you increase your income? What is it you do? Can your wife work more hours?
What sort of debt do you have?
So she has no credit, which is something we are working on is getting her credit established. She currently has a secured loan and secured credit card she uses sparingly to help get her credit score going.
as for work, she does work part time, but we also have a 5 year old son, and daycare is expensive so until i find something that pays more shes only able to work when im not working so that one of us is able to take care of our son. Its frustrating but its something we are working on. As for me i work with adults with Developmental Disabilities, its a fulfilling career, but significantly underpaid no matter what company you work for. And where i live this is kind of the max tier income you can make w/o a degree and relevant experience. Even trades like construction, carpenters, etc. dont make a whole lot here.
I have no problem with hard work or time so its not an issue for me. and afaik, after talking to a couple wholesalers in the area and with a couple agencys and attorneys, wholesaling is 100% legal where i live. Im an ethical person, so theres no temptation to lie for money.
holy moly....this is a big hill to climb. However, if the problem presents itself, it is asking to be solved. I didn't bother reading all of the posts, but I would first start with a credit freeze with all major credit firms. Then get LIFELOCK to guard against your father's actions. Getting a CD may be difficult, however productive if you can put together 1000. At 12 bucks an hour, you're likely only taking home $9, which would take quite a bit of effort. Either way, maximize your tax deductions and put away $500 to $1000 in savings. It doesn't look like much, but it shows the intent to save and build. As indicated in much of the postings, you will need to network, go to your meetups in the area (or create one) and get to know those who have been in your situation. I am not sure how old your son is, but if it makes sense financially, put that dude in subsidized day care and put your wife to work as well.
holy moly....this is a big hill to climb. However, if the problem presents itself, it is asking to be solved. I didn't bother reading all of the posts, but I would first start with a credit freeze with all major credit firms. Then get LIFELOCK to guard against your father's actions. Getting a CD may be difficult, however productive if you can put together 1000. At 12 bucks an hour, you're likely only taking home $9, which would take quite a bit of effort. Either way, maximize your tax deductions and put away $500 to $1000 in savings. It doesn't look like much, but it shows the intent to save and build. As indicated in much of the postings, you will need to network, go to your meetups in the area (or create one) and get to know those who have been in your situation. I am not sure how old your son is, but if it makes sense financially, put that dude in subsidized day care and put your wife to work as well.
Currently working on the subsidized day care. Fingers Crossed, unfortunatley because I make $12/hr even if take home is realistically closer to $9 lol i probably wont qualify. because our state cutoff for a 3 person family income wise is like $2200/mth. Which is ridiculous seeing as the cheapest cost of living here is like $2100/mth so you better hope $100 is gonna feed you lol. Its so backwards haha, but yeah, i think im up too $250 in savings, i Squirell away $10 into my savings every check, and add more here and there when i can, it aint much but its a start.
As I am sure you have probably heard already, your best strategy to get started is to save money and learn while you save. REI is not get rich quick. Sadly there won't be any hot deal just laying there for the taking. (Unless you get extremely lucky) Try to cut costs where you can. Increase income if possible. Omaha may have higher paying jobs? Saving will simply take time. But don't give up! Educate yourself and network while you're saving. Learn the markets you are interested in and analyze deals. The weekly podcasts here on BP are super valuable. Listen to them on your drive to/from work and during your free time. You have to decide if REI is something you want, or if it is something you are committed to. If you just want it, you probably wont go very far. But if you stay committed, learn something valuable every day and start building your plan out for you path in REI you'll have enough money and knowledge to gain some traction. Keep networking! Meet people in your area that have done what you want to do. See if one can mentor you, maybe you bring something to the table that they can use. Keep grinding and before you know it you'll be ready to do your first deal and start gaining momentum. Best of luck to you.
I second Mindy in that I don't think wholesaling is the right solution for you, it takes a lot of time, work, skills and commitment. Also funds for your sustained direct mail or web operation. If you insist on wholesaling, @Kory Giddens had a great suggestion for doing a JV wholesaler - to do that you go to your local REIA.
Assessing your situation, I think your best bet would be to change SSN and look into joining a property management company as a property manager. A lot of mid-size complexes let the PM live rent-free. Make sure you join a company that actually trains you on how to be a PM. Once you learn how to be a PM, you can partner with a broker and branch out.
The hardest thing to find is a good PM in real estate, lots of dishonest ones that screw their customers. A good one grows super fast because everyone's looking for a good one.
Please look into becoming an ethical property manager. Or ask yourself, how can I add value after attending some of your local REIAs and seeing different ways people serve their community through real estate investing.
Real estate is about service. The bad apples look for a quick buck and create a bad name for all of us. I see wholesalers/coaches with blatant lies to homeowners in their FAQs and I just *SMH*
I second Mindy in that I don't think wholesaling is the right solution for you, it takes a lot of time, work, skills and commitment. Also funds for your sustained direct mail or web operation. If you insist on wholesaling, @Kory Giddens had a great suggestion for doing a JV wholesaler - to do that you go to your local REIA.
Assessing your situation, I think your best bet would be to change SSN and look into joining a property management company as a property manager. A lot of mid-size complexes let the PM live rent-free. Make sure you join a company that actually trains you on how to be a PM. Once you learn how to be a PM, you can partner with a broker and branch out.
The hardest thing to find is a good PM in real estate, lots of dishonest ones that screw their customers. A good one grows super fast because everyone's looking for a good one.
Please look into becoming an ethical property manager.
Real estate is about service. The bad apples look for a quick buck and create a bad name for all of us. I seem wholesalers/coaches with blatant lies to homeowners in their FAQs and I just *SMH*
Hey ray so I actually used to work for an apartment complex started in maintenance and ended up as an assistant property Manager. I do have some experience it's what sparked my original desire to do real estate. I ended up leaving that job because the company sucked. They were unethical, there was a lot of favoritism with renters, and they would turn people down for illegal reasons but obviously wouldn't tell them that they would make up excuses or charge a ridiculous deposit so they would go elsewhere. After a few years I got sick of it and left. Since then I've been learning a variety of skills such as web design as every business needs a good website, taking some business classes, and here recently I drove into financial stuff which was when I discovered that my father had been using and destroying my credit. (Found out when I went to apply for a business loan.) Immediately turned around and have started the process to fix it. What brought me here was reading some articles about wholesaling and wasn't sure if they are legit. As for start-up money I agree I have very little. But I do 3d Printing on the side so if I actually pushed it I could more then likely afford the costs for letter campaigns and email campaigns. I do also program so one thing that will be easy is automating my email campaigns.
As for now. My course of action is too continue reading and learning. I've connected with a mentor, local to me who I will be meeting with Sunday and assisting him for 6 months part time while I save up money.
Secondly being fighting my credit.
Lastly. i already own an LLC. For my 3d Printing business so if I continue to build that and steady income in the future I'll be able to take a loan out against the company.
Wholesaling is where I want to start because eventually I'll probably end up buying a few houses for the brrrr strategy as well as possibly some fix and flips. I in no way expect it to be easy, the best things in life seledom are. But I am dedicated and committed.
I second Mindy in that I don't think wholesaling is the right solution for you, it takes a lot of time, work, skills and commitment. Also funds for your sustained direct mail or web operation. If you insist on wholesaling, @Kory Giddens had a great suggestion for doing a JV wholesaler - to do that you go to your local REIA.
Assessing your situation, I think your best bet would be to change SSN and look into joining a property management company as a property manager. A lot of mid-size complexes let the PM live rent-free. Make sure you join a company that actually trains you on how to be a PM. Once you learn how to be a PM, you can partner with a broker and branch out.
The hardest thing to find is a good PM in real estate, lots of dishonest ones that screw their customers. A good one grows super fast because everyone's looking for a good one.
Please look into becoming an ethical property manager.
Real estate is about service. The bad apples look for a quick buck and create a bad name for all of us. I seem wholesalers/coaches with blatant lies to homeowners in their FAQs and I just *SMH*
Hey ray so I actually used to work for an apartment complex started in maintenance and ended up as an assistant property Manager. I do have some experience it's what sparked my original desire to do real estate. I ended up leaving that job because the company sucked. They were unethical, there was a lot of favoritism with renters, and they would turn people down for illegal reasons but obviously wouldn't tell them that they would make up excuses or charge a ridiculous deposit so they would go elsewhere. After a few years I got sick of it and left. Since then I've been learning a variety of skills such as web design as every business needs a good website, taking some business classes, and here recently I drove into financial stuff which was when I discovered that my father had been using and destroying my credit. (Found out when I went to apply for a business loan.) Immediately turned around and have started the process to fix it. What brought me here was reading some articles about wholesaling and wasn't sure if they are legit. As for start-up money I agree I have very little. But I do 3d Printing on the side so if I actually pushed it I could more then likely afford the costs for letter campaigns and email campaigns. I do also program so one thing that will be easy is automating my email campaigns.
As for now. My course of action is too continue reading and learning. I've connected with a mentor, local to me who I will be meeting with Sunday and assisting him for 6 months part time while I save up money.
Secondly being fighting my credit.
Lastly. i already own an LLC. For my 3d Printing business so if I continue to build that and steady income in the future I'll be able to take a loan out against the company.
Wholesaling is where I want to start because eventually I'll probably end up buying a few houses for the brrrr strategy as well as possibly some fix and flips. I in no way expect it to be easy, the best things in life seledom are. But I am dedicated and committed.
Wow, you have the skillset but you worked for a shady company. Much easier to find a reputable company that offers a free-unit and pays you a stipend while you manage the property and can work on your campaigns while working with that mentor! That's a lot of flexibility. There are a lot of great posts on how people got started in property management. If I could go back in time, I think I would've done it myself after reading about people's experiences with it.
3D-printing is pretty rad, you have quite a few good strategies to work with.
Feel free to add me, I'd like to follow your progress. You sound like a driven person and I look forward to hearing your success stories and will be following you.
@Ray Lai Sent you a request, and idk im gonna have to do a lot of searching, ive got pretty high moral standards haha, so Its hard in a society that has become so fervently lacking in morals, to find company's that are honest and true to work for. But thats a whole other discussion haha ;) but yeah if i can find a good one, i definitely would not be opposed too it. One of the greatest parts of Real Estate is meeting new people and discovering how diverse and amazing people can actually be!
@David White Your first step is to get your mind right. Intense mindset training is what you and everyone else in your situation needs. It's going to take A LOT of effort. Good luck.
The validity of whether anyone can make $100,000 a month wholesaling has been followed up in a specific post - with visual proof. The title of the article is ...
Making $100,000 a month Wholesaling HousesI tend to agree with Mindy. Wholesaling involves a steep learning curve, it's time consuming and hard work! From what I gather so far from your posts, you seem to be on the right track in regard to acquiring knowledge in investing before anything. Knowledge is king in real estate! I suggest heavier concentration on types of contracts and negotiating profitable deals. I believe, that's your 1st order of business. Your 2nd order of business is to find that experienced well established JV wholesaler that you can share information freely with and work in unison. To find properties, I agree with Brandon, at the start of this thread, who suggested "Driving For Dollar" -You'd be locating ugly houses functioning as a bird-dog. When you're right outside of the ugly house you just found, simply write on a sticky color post-let, "I am interested in buying your home, please call me at...) and stick one onto their front door and one onto their garage door. When you get back home, check owners' mailing address and if different from the house address, send them a handwritten letter too. Keep at it. Your JV wholesaler will also guide you with what has worked in your market. Good luck!
Some bad advice in here, i.e. "wholesale houses" and some good advice, i.e. "switch jobs to real estate" and work on increasing your current take home pay while you learn and improve your overall situation.
I've been a full-time investor for going on 5yrs now. I consider myself moderately successfly. I started not far from you. I had a college degree and $30k in student debt, I HATED my first job out of college so quit and worked as leasing consultant at a 200unit apartment complex for $9/hr. I lived below the poverty line for most of my 20's in fact. Now I had some fortunaye opportunities that I seized that got me to where I am today but my point is this.
If I could go back in time I'd have went and gotten a job with someone, with an agent, investor, the right company, etc and learned from them. I was so focused on educating myself and making it on my own I completely ignored the fact that working under someone would have gotten me better pay and accelerated me towards my goals quicker. I grew up in a family that always ran their own businesses, I hated the idea of working for other people and refused to do it but it made it tougher on me.
Don't stand in your own way like I did. Keep the 3d biz going, improve the credit, but get another job and surround yourself with this business, even if that's on a small level initially. You're going to have to work for other people for awhile and that's ok. Good luck.
@Ken Breeze Thank you Im signed up for the webinar, are there any Guides/Courses you would personally recommend starting with?
All of them on this site. I started with Brandon's free "The Ultimate Beginners Guide to Real Estate Investing" to get a refresher and overview. Then I chose the topics I thought were most attainable even from a remote location - wholesaling/flipping. But it took a while to notice (after getting into it for a few months) that it is not the way to go to attain passive residual income - it's more like a very competitive job. Plus I'm not interested in the fixing and DIY anymore - it's tough, no fun, has no leverage and doesn't buy me the most valuable asset of all: TIME. Been there, done that, not very scalable and doesn't build nor sustain wealth. Reading Robert Kiyosaki's "The Cashflow Quadrant" comes to mind. That guy changed our lives and thinking - big time.
Other than that, as mentioned before, read, listen to and watch everything here on BP systematically. Don't worry about making money in real estate any time soon. People of our kind set ourselves under enough pressure as it is. It takes time to learn and build a support team first. To do so, attend any REI meet-ups in your area. Most are free. Evaluate their quality and stick with the good ones. Build your network - "Dig your well before you're thirsty." This activity is very important on many levels, one of them is being able to get out of your head - "With silence comes the devil." ;-)
Cheers, Ken
@Ken Breeze Yeah i looked into meetups for my area they want a $450/yr Membership fee, otherwise if you want to attend a meeting as a non member its $50 a meeting. and they meet once a month. Think im gonna pass, because based on the bar they set for entry i dont think their really looking to mentor anyone lol.
@David White I am so jealous of you. Do you know how many times I have posted online and gotten this type of response - ZERO. You have a talent that will lend itself to any industry including real estate. I have another guy I'm jealous of. He called every successful real estate team in the country and he said he would work for them for free so he could learn real estate. He was in Ohio and started working for a big deal team in California. They paid him $5000 for the first deal he helped bring across the goal line because they were good people and now he is killing it in Ohio (deal netted $2M). If you don't have a Filipino accent you can stand above the crowd as a free or low cost Real Estate Virtual Assistant. BTW ... Hope your dad had a horrible Father's Day.