All Forum Posts by: Duane Smith

I think part of what is being discussed is what is the current standard in terms of achievable goals, and expectations.

My response is "Well, a quick nickel is better than a slow dime.."

My understanding is that rough draft moves are what separates those who find opportunities vs those who don't. I understand mastering a craft can pay huge dividend in the long run, but everything is still lifetime learning. You'll never know enough and you can never plan enough. I want to take as many "short cuts" and capitalize on any advantages as I can.

So in these books and podcasts where you're basically shooting for the stars is alright with me. Shooting for the stars and missing by a mile is still making huge progress in my eyes. As long as the person doesn't get discouraged and is willing to adapt, there's really no issue in how you go about setting goals and achieving your ambitions.

This thread is magical hahahahahahaha

Hi Joseph,

I'm located in MN but my first "investment" deals were lease options.

They are a great way to get in with little to no money down and do some wholesaling.

There's potential for a decent amount of upside and your downside can be minimized due to your ability to simply sub-lease :)

Have you tried them before?

Duane

Hi Charles,

@Carlos Zapata said it well, you want to know your exit strategy first. Are you going to buy and hold (portfolio income), house hack (portfolio income), wholesale (liquidate), rehab (liquidate), or finance (portfolio income)?

Getting started you want to know what how you plan on making money. You don't make money going into an investment, you make money coming out. That's either finding renters or finding investors/buyers.

Develop that strategy before you start putting money down for investments :)

Hope that helped!

Duane

@Mindy Jensen

Ah I see, Thanks Mindy!! Love your new Bigger Pockets Money Podcasts by the way!!!! Feels like I'm chatting with a celeb ;)

@Mindy Jensen

Quick question, on the section to the right where it says "top contributors", what do the score represent??

I've seen the same people on different posts, and their scores will be different.

Thanks!

Hi Sara,

Congrats on your new journey, I'm at the start of my career as a full-time investor and real estate sales agent as well.

For me, doing it online was the way to go. I understand that with multiple people learning together, interesting questions and scenarios can arise that just wouldn't necessarily spawn when you're learning on your own.

However, there are wonderful online courses now that actually take time to give you real life examples and scenarios of why a topic is important to learn.

I took Continuing Ed Express for my real estate license courses and it was an amazing experience. I studied at my own pace, and each section highlighted essentials that will give you the exact info you needed to pass the exam (which comes in handy when you're on a subject that doesn't much interest you, giving you more time to strongly focus on the sections you like).

Other online programs may be different, but I can say with a certainty that my online classes had a wealth of information, and I go back to sections even to this day to go over certain nuggets :)

I hope that helps,

Duane

Hi Sitaram,

I'll add that you should also (if you can) come with a pre-approval letter so these brokers can know how much you're qualified for by the bank. They'll appreciate you taking that extra step. It shows you're not there to waste time :)

Duane

Yes I noticed! haha Confused me at first, but it looks better

Without reading the other replies I would suggest getting creative. It's a beautiful home. One that your kids and grand kids would love to comeback to when they get older and possibly take over. 

It may not be much of an asset, but you can trying renting spaces to friends and relatives to limit the liability of it in the long run. Seems like a huge place :)

Hope that's some encouraging words

Duane