Newbie from Michigan! I've contracted the REI bug!

[Dennis J Marsack]

Hello all! 

Greetings from Port Huron Michigan! My fiance recently talked me into going to some real estate seminars locally and I have been hooked ever since! Turns out the seminars were nothing more than high pressure sales pitches promising over night success and riches beyond belief. They were very persuasive but in the end my gut feelings won out and luckily we did not purchase the $30k mentoring program! So glad we didn't! None the less it got me hooked! Trying to find and figure out that first deal has been all consuming for like the last month. I've been reading, researching and scouring the neighborhood every free chance I get! A friend turned me on to BP and I gotta give it up to Josh Dorkin! The info I've learned in just the last few days is priceless!! At this point I think our ultimate focus is going to be on rental properties, however wholesaling is triggering my curiosity is well. Mainly because I'm stretched pretty thin on extra cash! At any rate, I've been driving around looking for distressed properties, and yesterday I started searching public tax records to find homes with delinquent taxes. Today I came across a house (right down the street from where I live) that the owner is about $3000 behind on taxes. It looks like she's been struggling the last few years. She bought the home from HUD in 2011 for $10,500. It's a 4 bd 1.5 bth. and is most likely worth $75 -$90k as it sits. Good neighborhood close to the beach. My question is, it was purchased on a covenant deed... I'm sure that means there are restrictions on what she can do with the property.. should I pursue this lead or let it lie? Anyways thanks for reading and any advice is greatly appreciated!

[Jeff Kemmer]

Welcome Dennis..and Jake,

You guys couldn't have picked a better time to enter this industry. In my 19 years, I've never seen it this GOOD! 

Some of it is because of the technology we have now that wasnt even available 3 years ago. Some of it, of course, belongs to the economy as a whole. And some of it is due to the nature of the Asset Class of Real Estate (I could lecture on this one for hours). BUT, the biggest item that I believe is responsible for this industry's meteoric rise is the quality of people entering the business over the last several years! 

I'm talking about folks like yourselves that really understand (and believe) that the REI INDUSTRY is the last best hope for the Average Joe in this country to start a business, work hard and Literally become a millionaire....sometimes in less than a year! And, its TRUE!

I believe that the forces in our industry are so strong now that we will see the demise of the Traditional licensed real estate model within the next 10 years. If I was a licensed agent or a RE Broker, I'd be dusting off my resume and start looking for a different career, because just like the dinosaurs, taxi drivers and hotel owners,  they too will soon be extinct !!! And I mean no offensive to my many licensed friends.....it's just a matter of time. 

As far as your mentoring observation, you're absolutely correct......these guys who charge $30k for "mentoring" are, IMHO, doing a grave disservice to our industry. You can be trained for a fraction of that cost....in fact several of us (mentors) even offer an Earn While You Learn model. Partner with someone who knows what they're doing and then watch and learn! It's an Amazing experience and will develop in you a life long set of skills that will make you financially free.....never again needing to work for someone else, unless it's your choice! 

Best of Luck to you!