Recommendations for a future real estate entrepreneur

[Frank Kratochvil]

hello everyone! My name is Frank and am studying real estate in the little free time I get. 

MY BIG QUESTION,.....

Is there anywhere in the industry I can hop right in and make enough money to cover my $1500/month bills while learning the ins and outs? 

I'm asking because I have been working In the North Dakota oil patch for the last 3.5yrs and have been making the best money of my life! But times are tough now. I use to only work half the year and gross $95k/yr. Well I work 30% more now and have been  making quite a bit less. They laid off 3 guys off my crew today! Great workers and one of them was a supervisor. They also just took away our flights and are trying to force us to completely relocate up here or quit! North Dakota is not my cup of tea! I love the mountains of NM and CO (pretty much where I consider home). I'm 28 and have a good brain in my noggin even though I don't have any college papers to prove it! But have passed 3 engineering tests in my field if that says anything! 

Please if anyone knows how  I can start making enough to pay my bills and learn real estate at the same time, I would greatly appreciate your advice! Thank you in advance for any responses! 

                                                   Frank Kratochvil 

[Dante Pirouz]

I guess I should add a little detail to my post above to buy in Michigan...I know people criticize Detroit specifically and Michigan overall but we don't actually live/invest in Detroit (although I would consider investing there too). We live in Port Huron which is a beautiful Michigan town on Lake Huron. The market has everything from turn of the century fixer Victorians for $15K to million dollar mansions. There is a really strong rental market where hard working families are willing to pay $800+ for a 2-3 bedroom. If you keep an eye on the market here you can pretty easily buy nice properties (we like built post-1960s, family neighborhoods with few rentals, good structural bones) that need $2k to $10K of renovation for $25K-$30K/per unit (of course all the way up to $100K per unit with less reno needed if that's your thing). We moved here from California because I'm a professor in Canada and commute back and forth and have fallen in love with the Midwest (never thought I would but I did!) You can't find these types of financials in California which is why after 20 years of dreaming of becoming a real estate investor, my dreams are finally coming true here because the numbers finally make investing worth it (and thanks to BP to give me the courage and know-how I needed). 

We now own 5 units here in Port Huron/Fort Gratiot and don't even put yard signs out to promote our rentals because the demand is so strong. I LOVE THIS BUSINESS! We've even been able to convince my brother in law who works in the movie business in Hollywood to come tomorrow to visit and take a first hand look at the opportunities to invest here. 

I would recommend to you that you reach out to some of the investors here in Michigan or in Minnesota (seems there are good deals there too) or some of the other Midwest markets and see if you can't partner with them. Hope that helps!!