Rental Property Investor · Durham, NC · Member since 2016 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes
7y
@David Wrenn. No one else mentioned it, so I guess I’ll do it. You should currently do nothing related to real estate. Go find another job. You want to invest from a position of strength, not weakness.
Flipper/Rehabber · Oakland, CA · Member since 2019 · 30 posts · 18 votes
7y
Bandit signs, I know a new investor who only does bandit signs and is doing deals. Marketing is the heart of the business, it is the tool for digging for deals. You either dig with a spoon or a shovel but what matters is that you're digging, but the better the tool the better the result. Hope this helps cheers!
Specialist · Member since 2019 · 49 posts · 26 votes
7y
@Evgeni Romberg How do you feel about websites like Carrot and Flipster? I do have some experience building websites and like the idea of motivated buyers contacting me. Bandit signs do the same thing and are time tested however they’re only up for a few days before being ripped out of the ground by competitors. Thanks again for your time!
Rental Property Investor · Harrisburg, PA · Member since 2018 · 369 posts · 406 votes
7y
@David Wrenn Sorry about your job man, keep your chin up. Single dad here too (Long time ago) and it gets daunting. You have a good attitude and are still working your money into RE...Good Going!
Specialist · Member since 2019 · 49 posts · 26 votes
7y
Thanks @Doug Pintarch I appreciate your comments. How did you choose your marketing method to start? I’m driving for dollars now, but gas costs are starting to pile up. I feel like I can leverage my marketing skills with a website for the price of a tank or two of gas.
Thanks @Doug Pintarch I appreciate your comments. How did you choose your marketing method to start? I’m driving for dollars now, but gas costs are starting to pile up. I feel like I can leverage my marketing skills with a website for the price of a tank or two of gas.
We did the buy-and-hold thing here, David. Bought a Condo at the beach that we are short-term renting strictly through VRBO and after our first full year we are cash-flow positive after everything's paid.
Don't get discouraged easily and plug away, research your chosen method and ask questions in here. If I would have found this site before we bought I could have saved both time and money, and it has been nothing but beneficial since I joined. Always something to learn and absorb and get exposed to!
Rental Property Investor · Durham, NC · Member since 2016 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes
7y
@David Wrenn. No one else mentioned it, so I guess I’ll do it. You should currently do nothing related to real estate. Go find another job. You want to invest from a position of strength, not weakness.
@David Wrenn. No one else mentioned it, so I guess I’ll do it. You should currently do nothing related to real estate. Go find another job. You want to invest from a position of strength, not weakness.
This. Why can’t you get another high paying job? If you made it there once - chances are much stronger you can do it again.
Charlotte, NC · Member since 2018 · 5 posts · 6 votes
7y
@David Wrenn If you're anything like me, I am getting tired of the Corporate America rat race. You are a single father, and I know that spending time with your children is important to you. When you work for someone, they control when you can take off of work, how long you can have off, etc. I just put in my 2 weeks resignation at my current job about 2 hours ago. I am going to drive for a popular company , and in the meantime while I am driving around learning neighborhoods, I will be making money through giving rides, and D4$ at the same time. It's a win, win! Just a suggestion. Also, read Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, and watch The Secret and I guarantee you that you will be fine!
Specialist · Member since 2019 · 49 posts · 26 votes
7y
@Caleb Heimsoth Appreciate your honesty I actually just get a job yesterday however I’m not starting until April. I feel like when you hit rock bottom it makes you hungrier and the only place to go is up.
Specialist · Member since 2019 · 49 posts · 26 votes
7y
@Aaron Hunt You’re right and fortunately I just took a new position yesterday. It’s been a humbling experience the past few months for sure and I’ve had to adjust my lifestyle greatly but for the better and I’m going to maintain the new personal budget. Once your personal expenses are covered what percentage of the money left over would you save and the percentage you invest into your business?
Specialist · Member since 2019 · 49 posts · 26 votes
7y
@Lashana Corbett I feel similarly to your option on the rat race and lack of control over.... well your life. I went through two hostile work environments, it is what it is and is in the past now. I had to take another job, I definitely have mixed feelings about it however the consistent income when you have kids helps with sleeping at night. I’m actually rereading(well listening) Think and Grow Rich for my second time(it’s been like 10 years), it’s even better the second time around I have to say. I actually asked my last Uber driver to bird dog for me. That’s going to be my next thread question. Do you pay them on a sliding scale or flat rate?
Wholesaler · Memphis, TN · Member since 2019 · 26 posts · 27 votes
7y
@David Wrenn that's the best! I suggest to everyone new to find 1-5 investors to bird dog for. I made a full time living off it until I started wholesaling more. There's a Facebook group called Bird Dog Real Estate that anyone can join if they are looking for bird dogs or want to be one
@Aaron Hunt You’re right and fortunately I just took a new position yesterday. It’s been a humbling experience the past few months for sure and I’ve had to adjust my lifestyle greatly but for the better and I’m going to maintain the new personal budget. Once your personal expenses are covered what percentage of the money left over would you save and the percentage you invest into your business?
What would I save? I don’t.
I invest all our discretionary income into whatever I can and hide it from my current self for my future self.
I don’t currently have a true side hustle that creates money aside from RE rental income and crowdfunding investments.
RE is just my escape, but it doesn’t make me nearly as much as my day job.
I'm glad you found a new job. Smart move to keep living the way you are now. As for how much to save after personal expenses, save all of it. Give yourself and your kids a modest allowance. this will also help your kids learn to budget and handle money. Then look for good deals and use it to buy those remembering to keep some money for emergencies and repairs.
Charlotte, NC · Member since 2018 · 5 posts · 6 votes
7y
@David Wrenn I am going to quit my 9-5 sales position, and drive for Lyft so that I can focus on my Wholesaling full time. While working, giving other rides, I will also be driving for dollars and learning the different neighborhoods. I have heard that Uber and Lyft drivers make great bird dogs also. I am searching for bird dogs also. I am going to offer flat rate.
@David Wrenn I am going to quit my 9-5 sales position, and drive for Lyft so that I can focus on my Wholesaling full time. While working, giving other rides, I will also be driving for dollars and learning the different neighborhoods. I have heard that Uber and Lyft drivers make great bird dogs also. I am searching for bird dogs also. I am going to offer flat rate.
I drove for Lyft/Uber as my full-time source of income and you have to be online ready to drive otherwise you don't make any money.
I did this for about 9 months and was using DealMachine to add new properties to pursue. There were days when I spent more time searching for real estate opportunities than serving people as a driver.
Anyone who chooses to drive for either Uber or Lyft has to know what amount of money they need to make each day, in order to pay the bills and you've got to make more than what's put into the gas tank.
For example, if it costs $35 to fill up, a driver can't set a goal to make $100 and then call it a day because the net earnings is only $65. How much an individual has to make while driving is different for everyone and it depends on the city market they are driving in too.
Can driving for Lyft/Uber work? Yes. Would a more stable, salaried employment work better to support a family? Even more, yes.
If someone is going to drive for either Lyft/Uber, it should be evaluated just like a real estate deal and you need to know if it's going to make sense (financially) to do this. I think it works better as a side hustle rather than as a full-time source of income. Does that make sense?
Charlotte, NC · Member since 2018 · 5 posts · 6 votes
7y
@David Wrenn I am going to quit my 9-5 sales position, and drive for Lyft so that I can focus on my Wholesaling full time. While working, giving other rides, I will also be driving for dollars and learning the different neighborhoods. I have heard that Uber and Lyft drivers make great bird dogs also. I am searching for bird dogs also. I am going to offer flat rate.
Rental Property Investor · Montgomery, AL · Member since 2017 · 277 posts · 221 votes
7y
@David Wrenn $100 is not much, I would say the absolute best way to spend it driving for dollars then mailing all vacant/distressed looking properties you see. Also, use the money to skip trace and cold call those owners as well. This is the only method I could see resulting in a deal for just $100.
So I lost my high paying job and being a single dad my savings disappeared quickly. Boohoo for me right.
So with a $100 shoe string budget to start in NJ how can you go contract without earnest money? The start is usually $1000 I believe.
Last question, in addition to driving for dollars where would you put your last $100 for marketing?
Thanks you to the community, you’re all incredibly empowering!
David,
Sorry about your situation.
What I would do:
Step 1 - Find a job that pays the bills and give you extra money for Marketing and earnest money
To answer your question on where you spend the last $100 for marketing...here's the answer:
Step 2 - Network like crazy and get to know ALL the real estate investors (rehabbers, landlords, wholesalers) in your area. You spend $50 on business cards and the other $50 on gas for your car so you can attend all the real estate investors meeting or meetups in your area.
By networking, you will get to know the players in your market and you can play "matchmaker" (i.e., wholesaler) by finding a property from a tired landlord, then wholesaling it to an aggressive landlord who is in expansion mode.