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Posted almost 5 years ago

The Truth About Real Estate Investing...Part I

...It's not as easy as the Gurus make it out to be.

Part I: A little history about me.

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I grew up in Mississippi and Tennessee where I watched my mom work really hard to pull us out of poverty.  After getting her GED, she took night classes at the local community college while my grandparents took care of us.  After graduation, she took a job in her acquired field of X-Ray Technology, where she worked for almost minimum wage.   She continued to work hard, gaining more and more knowledge in her field until she was asked for by name to a better job, with better pay based on her credentials and scores.   Of course this meant we all had to move.  Over the years, she continued to expand her horizons, and I got a front row seat for all of that.It’s because of her that I learned the value of education and hard work.  One thing that stood out to me about my entire family was that even though we had little means, almost everyone owned their own homes (some of those were trailers, but they were not the ones in the parks).

I decided to go a different route.  I enlisted in the US Navy in 1995 as a Nuclear Trained Electrician's Mate.   I volunteered for Submarine Service, and deployed numerous times on various different submarines.   I enjoyed my job, but I always knew there was something more that I wanted.

One late evening, while I was on shore duty, I saw an infomercial for Carlton Sheets’ No Down Payment program.  I got excited because I just found what’s been missing from my life all these years, so I called, I ordered, and I waited.

The package showed up, and I began reading everything.  I finished all of the material in about a week.  I bought hanging file folders, and started creating files for houses I didn’t own.  I made business cards for a business I hadn’t started yet.  I even told all of my friends and family that I’m a Real Estate investor now.  Of course most of them (coming from poor backgrounds) thought that I wanted to be a slum-lord.  I knew that’s not what I was saying, but I let them have their thoughts.

I found a Real Estate agent, and told her my plan.She showed me four or five houses, and I decided on one that I wanted.  When I failed to qualify for a mortgage due to my lack of savings, and a really bad credit score (I’m talking sub-600), she recommended I wait a year, build my credit and savings and try again.

I thought my dream was over, but I didn’t give up.  I paid my bills, I paid off my debts.  I pulled my credit reports, and disputed things I didn’t agree with.  I even managed to put back some savings.  The next year, I was ready for round 2.

Come back later for Part II of the story.

Click here for Part II


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