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Quang Tran
  • Sacramento, CA
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Investing In College

Quang Tran
  • Sacramento, CA
Posted Aug 22 2017, 15:33

Hello all at BP! 

Currently I am nineteen years old unemployed and attending college for the second year. I do have money saved up but all that is going to rent to keep a roof above my head. I am so eager to invest, but I worry that if I started investing now (keep in mind I have little knowledge in real estate and have no money to put down) I will run into problems and I don't think I can afford that. 

My first step to answering my question "how can I make a deal and succeed without having to worry about financial issues?" is to get Brandon Turner's book on investing with low to no money down. But with my financial burdens right now, would it be a bad idea to invest anytime soon? Should I wait until i've a stable job and income?

I am definitely going to continue to to branch my knowledge on investing in real estate, but should i be a little more patient before i start investing?

If anyone could point me out to someone or something who could help, feel free to message me, I would appreciate all the help i could get! 

Thank you,

Quang Tran

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Quang Tran
  • Sacramento, CA
9
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Quang Tran
  • Sacramento, CA
Replied Aug 24 2017, 12:26
Originally posted by @Jason Chen:
Originally posted by @Mateusz Prawdzik:

@Jason Chen@Quang Tran I am also 19, about to be 20 and I couldn't take another second of that ******** that they were teaching in College. It was my 3rd semester and I was sitting in calc 3 class (majoring in Engineering) and it was a 4 1/2 hour class and I remember literally getting up during our 10 minute break and telling the teacher that all this stuff that she was teaching was absolutely pointless and that it wouldn't help anyone in the real world. I went home dropped my classes and decided to do something else. At the time I was still working at a 5 star restaurant for 70 hours a week, I was saving every penny I had and investing a lot into the stock market and trading. I made a good chunk of money trading a couple of stocks I got lucky on finding but I also lost a lot. I decided to start wholesaling in September of last year and I wholesaled 3 properties in the course of 2 months. I quickly figured out that wholesaling was also not too fun because you can work a lead for quite sometime and it can lead to nothing. (though I was only doing it for 2 months, it sometimes felt like I was working a lead for years...) So then I started to flip. I had maybe a couple thousand dollars in the bank account, most of it I always park into the Stock market and I never pull out now because I don't want to get capital gains taxed, and I started to look for someone to partner with on my first deal.

This was all about a year ago... Since that time, I have done 5 wholesale deals, and completed 8 flips in collaboration with my partner. I am still 19. I am turning 20 in 3 days.... It was one of the riskiest decisions I made in my life and I had to put my everything on the line, if I didn't perform on my first flip and didn't stand up to my work for the people that vouched for me to the lenders and investors, that would of been the end of my real estate career. But now, everyone that at first didn't trust me, now are coming back to me to do business because of the volume that I am doing. All my guys that work for me (framer, siding, roofer, tile, kitchen, hvac, plumber.. Etc..) they all give me excellent prices on the labor for my jobs. I get better prices than most of the guys that have been doing this for years. 

With that being said, I am very lucky, I can't say I am not because I am that God chose me to be in the position I am in now. I am starting to market my company and advertise and brand my name, to start something new that will be built into a huge corporation one day doing millions in revenue a year. I have a big picture in the my mind, and that is the one thing that a lot of people don't have. They are afraid to take the risk that I took, they don't like to be outside of their comfort zone. Trust me, you will work, I work 18-19 hours a day. I wake up at 6, get to the sites, go to meetings, come home at 5 go to the gym, come back at 630, shower, eat, and by the time I sit down to do emails, marketing, instagram, mailers, BP, it's 2 am and it's time to sleep for a little bit. But that's part of the thing if you are trying to get to the scale that I am at. I mean its 10:15 now and I still have so much to get thru today before I go to sleep. 

Growing a company is no BS, you will work like a dog, but it will be worth at the end. I first hand experienced people screwing me and learned to deal with people like that. If you have ANY questions at all. please reach out to me. I will answer anything that you have to ask, I will let you know how I overcame problems you are facing.. I will lead in the right direction, I will make sure that you don't make the same mistakes I did throughout my process that will hold you back. Please connect with me, I am always hear for anyone. 

This is what I've been trying to say. Your goals and perspective and mine are geared towards highest possible success, whereas most of the people on this site just want to flip a few properties here and there, or get cash flow units to achieve a more financially stable life. Neither one of these choices are "better" or "worse" than the other. The bottom line is that if you want to get WELATHY and RICH while still somewhat YOUNG, you gotta put your safety on the line and tack on a HUGE amount of risk. Staying in college tells me that this person isn't willing to risk 99%-100%. Its one of those things that people consider a "safe bet", but we all know that can't be true since almost everyone thinks that way. And you know what the saying is - if everyone is doing it, there's no more money to he made there.

Just LOL @ competing with millions of other college graduates all looking for the same jobs in 2017, when people are on youtube literally lighting their law and business degrees from HARVARD on fire. College is most definitely a scam and its the most effective one because they brainwash you into thinking youre a loser if you dont go. Most parents themselves were brainwashed too. 

Now how many successful real estate investors look back and say "man, real estate investing was dumb, and if it were a piece of paper, i would light it on fire".  That's right, zero.

List of super successful people who didnt have a college degree

Mark Zuckerberg

Bill Gates

Steve Jobs

Michael Dell

my granddad (no high school)

The richest man in China (no middle school i believe)

this one dude i know who everyone said was dumb, but he has 2 successful stores selling used appliances and just bought his wife a new benz suv at the age of 26. hes got more money than any college grad i personally know.

And millions more

One of the biggest things i've learned in life is that having anti-college beliefs is one of the TOP indicators for financial success, and being pro-college is a TOP indicator for financial mediocrity or worse in the future. Yes, I know there are doctors and graduates like my uncle who successfully do solid real estate deals in his free time acquiring cash flow units and do quite well, but guess what? Hes old. I dont care about being wealthy by the time Im old. I care about being wealthy while Im still relatively young.

Just something to consider Quang

 Thanks for the thought Jason. I do actually believe college may not be for some people, and that college can be a scam as well. But i was raised in a society and family where college is a must if you want to succeed. Now dont get me wrong, I dont absolutely believe that, but what I do believe is that college can be a back up plan for anything. If real estate is a complete failure for me, I can always fall back on the degree ive made. But i doubt real estate is a failure for most who put their time and effort into it. 

With that being said, Ill stick in college but continue to work on my first deal. My goal is to have at least one or two deals before i graduate college. Just to touch the waters. After college though is when I will begin full time investing if all goes well. Maybe ill have a job on the side. I cant predict the future, but I can always try to make the future something.

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Pete Fiannaca
  • Wholesaler
  • Henrietta, NY
27
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58
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Pete Fiannaca
  • Wholesaler
  • Henrietta, NY
Replied Aug 24 2017, 13:19

If you're able to through your current lease, get a roommate or apartment mate. Sublet your bedroom and sleep on a pull out couch in the living room. Kill that major expense (rent) and start redirecting those funds to savings/investment. Assuming you live in Sacramento, CA and your lease allows for it, I would be airBnb'ing the sh*t out of that apartment.

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240
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Jason Chen
  • Tampa, Fl
153
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240
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Jason Chen
  • Tampa, Fl
Replied Aug 24 2017, 13:20
Originally posted by @Quang Tran:
Originally posted by @Jason Chen:
Originally posted by @Mateusz Prawdzik:

@Jason Chen@Quang Tran I am also 19, about to be 20 and I couldn't take another second of that ******** that they were teaching in College. It was my 3rd semester and I was sitting in calc 3 class (majoring in Engineering) and it was a 4 1/2 hour class and I remember literally getting up during our 10 minute break and telling the teacher that all this stuff that she was teaching was absolutely pointless and that it wouldn't help anyone in the real world. I went home dropped my classes and decided to do something else. At the time I was still working at a 5 star restaurant for 70 hours a week, I was saving every penny I had and investing a lot into the stock market and trading. I made a good chunk of money trading a couple of stocks I got lucky on finding but I also lost a lot. I decided to start wholesaling in September of last year and I wholesaled 3 properties in the course of 2 months. I quickly figured out that wholesaling was also not too fun because you can work a lead for quite sometime and it can lead to nothing. (though I was only doing it for 2 months, it sometimes felt like I was working a lead for years...) So then I started to flip. I had maybe a couple thousand dollars in the bank account, most of it I always park into the Stock market and I never pull out now because I don't want to get capital gains taxed, and I started to look for someone to partner with on my first deal.

This was all about a year ago... Since that time, I have done 5 wholesale deals, and completed 8 flips in collaboration with my partner. I am still 19. I am turning 20 in 3 days.... It was one of the riskiest decisions I made in my life and I had to put my everything on the line, if I didn't perform on my first flip and didn't stand up to my work for the people that vouched for me to the lenders and investors, that would of been the end of my real estate career. But now, everyone that at first didn't trust me, now are coming back to me to do business because of the volume that I am doing. All my guys that work for me (framer, siding, roofer, tile, kitchen, hvac, plumber.. Etc..) they all give me excellent prices on the labor for my jobs. I get better prices than most of the guys that have been doing this for years. 

With that being said, I am very lucky, I can't say I am not because I am that God chose me to be in the position I am in now. I am starting to market my company and advertise and brand my name, to start something new that will be built into a huge corporation one day doing millions in revenue a year. I have a big picture in the my mind, and that is the one thing that a lot of people don't have. They are afraid to take the risk that I took, they don't like to be outside of their comfort zone. Trust me, you will work, I work 18-19 hours a day. I wake up at 6, get to the sites, go to meetings, come home at 5 go to the gym, come back at 630, shower, eat, and by the time I sit down to do emails, marketing, instagram, mailers, BP, it's 2 am and it's time to sleep for a little bit. But that's part of the thing if you are trying to get to the scale that I am at. I mean its 10:15 now and I still have so much to get thru today before I go to sleep. 

Growing a company is no BS, you will work like a dog, but it will be worth at the end. I first hand experienced people screwing me and learned to deal with people like that. If you have ANY questions at all. please reach out to me. I will answer anything that you have to ask, I will let you know how I overcame problems you are facing.. I will lead in the right direction, I will make sure that you don't make the same mistakes I did throughout my process that will hold you back. Please connect with me, I am always hear for anyone. 

This is what I've been trying to say. Your goals and perspective and mine are geared towards highest possible success, whereas most of the people on this site just want to flip a few properties here and there, or get cash flow units to achieve a more financially stable life. Neither one of these choices are "better" or "worse" than the other. The bottom line is that if you want to get WELATHY and RICH while still somewhat YOUNG, you gotta put your safety on the line and tack on a HUGE amount of risk. Staying in college tells me that this person isn't willing to risk 99%-100%. Its one of those things that people consider a "safe bet", but we all know that can't be true since almost everyone thinks that way. And you know what the saying is - if everyone is doing it, there's no more money to he made there.

Just LOL @ competing with millions of other college graduates all looking for the same jobs in 2017, when people are on youtube literally lighting their law and business degrees from HARVARD on fire. College is most definitely a scam and its the most effective one because they brainwash you into thinking youre a loser if you dont go. Most parents themselves were brainwashed too. 

Now how many successful real estate investors look back and say "man, real estate investing was dumb, and if it were a piece of paper, i would light it on fire".  That's right, zero.

List of super successful people who didnt have a college degree

Mark Zuckerberg

Bill Gates

Steve Jobs

Michael Dell

my granddad (no high school)

The richest man in China (no middle school i believe)

this one dude i know who everyone said was dumb, but he has 2 successful stores selling used appliances and just bought his wife a new benz suv at the age of 26. hes got more money than any college grad i personally know.

And millions more

One of the biggest things i've learned in life is that having anti-college beliefs is one of the TOP indicators for financial success, and being pro-college is a TOP indicator for financial mediocrity or worse in the future. Yes, I know there are doctors and graduates like my uncle who successfully do solid real estate deals in his free time acquiring cash flow units and do quite well, but guess what? Hes old. I dont care about being wealthy by the time Im old. I care about being wealthy while Im still relatively young.

Just something to consider Quang

 Thanks for the thought Jason. I do actually believe college may not be for some people, and that college can be a scam as well. But i was raised in a society and family where college is a must if you want to succeed. Now dont get me wrong, I dont absolutely believe that, but what I do believe is that college can be a back up plan for anything. If real estate is a complete failure for me, I can always fall back on the degree ive made. But i doubt real estate is a failure for most who put their time and effort into it. 

With that being said, Ill stick in college but continue to work on my first deal. My goal is to have at least one or two deals before i graduate college. Just to touch the waters. After college though is when I will begin full time investing if all goes well. Maybe ill have a job on the side. I cant predict the future, but I can always try to make the future something.

You could just compromise and just dabble in a property or two each year starting at age 21, and do it as a more full-time thing when youre 28 or something. It would probably make more sense for you then to quit your full time job. At that point, you'd still be way ahead than most people. 

The smartest decision you're making is simply the fact that you're starting to seriously research at your age (19?20?). Most people don't really get involved with financial wealth creation until theyre age 50-55+ (when theyre old and arent as vigorous as in their youth age) and have kids to manage and college bills to pay for their kids. Time is of the essence and is the most valuable commodity, and it looks like you started at the right time.

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Jason Chen
  • Tampa, Fl
153
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240
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Jason Chen
  • Tampa, Fl
Replied Aug 24 2017, 13:22
Originally posted by @Pete Fiannaca:

If you're able to through your current lease, get a roommate or apartment mate. Sublet your bedroom and sleep on a pull out couch in the living room. Kill that major expense (rent) and start redirecting those funds to savings/investment. Assuming you live in Sacramento, CA and your lease allows for it, I would be airBnb'ing the sh*t out of that apartment.

 I like the student loan idea more. I don't like this one even though it would put extra money in his pocket.

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Quang Tran
  • Sacramento, CA
9
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40
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Quang Tran
  • Sacramento, CA
Replied Aug 24 2017, 14:26

@Jason Chen @Carl Pickens Ill definitely take student loans into consideration when trying to seal a deal. I think its a pretty good idea and could see why one would do it. But first I still want to learn the ropes on everything I dont know. Thank you guys for your advice and input! 

@Jonathan R. What you said about "You can defer the payments, forbearance, income based repayment, etc as you continue to build up your business" is all vocabulary i still want to know. Not just know but I want to apply it as well. Sure I can learn the simple definition but I also want ways to be able to explain what it is and why its there. Thats how little knowledge about real estate just to give you an idea. I appreciate your input though and ill definitely try to learn the terms in real estate and broaden my knowledge.

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Rick Versace
  • Investor
  • Boca Raton, FL
30
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19
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Rick Versace
  • Investor
  • Boca Raton, FL
Replied Aug 24 2017, 15:13

@Quang Tran I can't weigh in whether you should/shouldn't finish college. In regards to whether you should get involved in real estate investing or not due to your financial position, I would say start as early as possible! There are plenty of ways you can get into investing with little or no money at all. Brandon's book gives a lot of great example's. A few of which I utilize for most of my deals are through partnering with other people, or syndication. Syndication is a bit more involved, but if you are able to find a great deal in a great market, I am confident that you would be able to find an partner that would be willing to work with you to get the deal closed. You could most likely find someone on Bigger Pockets if you had a great deal. Again, there are a number of different ways and I would highly recommend Brandon Turner's book to open your eyes to all the possibilities - but don't get caught up in researching and trying to learn about REI for too long. Obviously you want to be as prepared as possible, but the only way to make anything happen and to have any success it to pull the trigger and try to get a deal done! Good luck in getting started. Feel free to reach out directly if you want to talk some more.

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Carl Pickens
  • Griffin, GA
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63
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Carl Pickens
  • Griffin, GA
Replied Aug 24 2017, 19:27
Originally posted by :

Ill definitely take student loans into consideration when trying to seal a deal. I think its a pretty good idea and could see why one would do it. But first I still want to learn the ropes on everything I dont know. Thank you guys for your advice and input! What you said about "You can defer the payments, forbearance, income based repayment, etc as you continue to build up your business" is all vocabulary i still want to know. Not just know but I want to apply it as well. Sure I can learn the simple definition but I also want ways to be able to explain what it is and why its there. Thats how little knowledge about real estate just to give you an idea. I appreciate your input though and ill definitely try to learn the terms in real estate and broaden my knowledge.

 your doing the right thing. Learn first, act later. The opportunity will be there and honestly it will probably be a lot better because a correction is likely coming. 

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Jonathan R.
  • Investor
  • Wichita, KS
812
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584
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Jonathan R.
  • Investor
  • Wichita, KS
Replied Aug 24 2017, 21:58

@Quang Tran :) the terms I was referring to- forbearance, deferred etc are student loan terms not real estate. Real estate is much more simple :). Buy something for cheap and rent it out for what the market will bear or sell it. Best of luck in your investing career.

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Ivan Barratt
  • Investor
  • Indianapolis, IN
950
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Ivan Barratt
  • Investor
  • Indianapolis, IN
Replied Aug 27 2017, 05:30

@Quang Tran mad props for being where you're at mentally already.

Currently I own 1250 units and it all started with the first duplex I bought (lived in one side and rented out the other) at age 23.  From there it's been a windy path. There's one dominant realization I didn't learn till around age 30. Once firmly implanted in my DNA it's been a game changer for growing my portfolio. Hit me up and we can chat for a few minutes.

Happy Hunting

Ivan

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Quang Tran
  • Sacramento, CA
9
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40
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Quang Tran
  • Sacramento, CA
Replied Aug 27 2017, 15:45

@Rick Versace Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it! I am currently considering to partner up with my roommate who Ive known for a year now. We've become good friends during our time spent together in college and hes actually the reason why i even put thought into real estate investing. However, he is on the same boat as me with little to no experience and knowledge in Real estate. Would it be a bad idea to partner with someone on the same boat as me?

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Rick Versace
  • Investor
  • Boca Raton, FL
30
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Rick Versace
  • Investor
  • Boca Raton, FL
Replied Aug 31 2017, 08:57

@Quang Tran That's great that you have someone like minded to help you get going. I have always found working with people who are equally as enthusiastic as I am makes the process that much more enjoyable! That being said, partnering with ONLY someone who has little experience such as yourself can be difficult to get much further than you are now. I would recommend trying to meet and work with some experienced real estate investors, either by going to local Real estate investing networking events in your area, or by continuing to build relationships on BP.

Working with experienced investors helps with a number of things:

- You can learn from their past mistakes, opposed to making your own and learning from them the hard way

- They will have relationships already built which will give you more leverage to get your deals done. (Brokers, Investors, Contractors, etc.)

- When working with different lending institutions, often times they will want to see that someone involved has experience investing in a similar type of venture. By partnering with someone who has been there, done that, you can use their experience while you are still working on building up your own.

I don't think it is a bad idea to continue working with your roommate, but I would encourage both of you to try to build relationships with more seasoned real estate investors. Partner with experienced people on your first few deals to build a track record, learn as much as possible, then start taking down deals yourself!

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Quang Tran
  • Sacramento, CA
9
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40
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Quang Tran
  • Sacramento, CA
Replied Aug 31 2017, 09:26

@Rick Versace Thanks for the comment, I appreciate it! Im actually in the middle of trying to connect with some people that I've introduced myself to on BP. One person who is about an hour from me is actually willing to allow me and my roommate to check on one of his projects so we can get a hands on feel of learning to flip. I dont plan on only working with my roommate because of course, Ill need other connections too. Eventually I hope to find a mentor and maybe even other partners to help me along this journey. 

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Elbert D.
  • Real Estate Entrepreneur / Investor
  • Chicago, IL
365
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688
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Elbert D.
  • Real Estate Entrepreneur / Investor
  • Chicago, IL
Replied Sep 1 2017, 00:18

A wise man once told me...."not taking risk, is the riskiest thing you could do" there is no blueprint to life......your going make mistakes in whatever you do. Learn from them and just get better. There is no such such thing as job security. The only guaranteed thing in life is death and taxes. 

I'm not going say what you or anyone should do but whatever you chose to do never give up and give maximum effort. 

Just my two cents. 

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Quang Tran
  • Sacramento, CA
9
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40
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Quang Tran
  • Sacramento, CA
Replied Sep 1 2017, 13:56

@Elbert D. I appreciate your input! Im willing to put in risk, take action, and stay committed, but before I put in risk, I need to take more action!