All Forum Posts by: Drew Clements

Hi BPers,

I've decided to get my real estate license (will be going with an online course) and have chosen the school I'll go with. I don't only want to pass the state exam, but I want to get a really strong understanding of the subject mater.

What are your top tips for effective study and achieving understanding? Any other tips are greatly appreciated as well :)

Thanks for the feedback @Brian H. and @Mike Gallagher. Both schools present themselves well, so good to know both also provide solid courses, too.

Hi @Ken Fricke,

Old thread, but curious if the investor club got traction? I'd be relocating up Cache valley from Colorado shortly and am looking forward to meeting new people in the area (you included).

I'm relocating up to Utah from Colorado and have decided to get my real estate license as both an educational endeavor and an investment in my career - it seems that everyone on the forums/podcasts that licensed has been glad they did. 

The online courses work the best for my schedule/location, so I've been looking at some of the different providers and Stringhamschools.com is my top pick right now. But wanted to get some feedback from the community here - any reviews? Pros/cons for this school? General words of wisdom as I prep for the test, etc?

Would love to get an experienced perspective on this. Thanks!

Thanks for the questions, @Mike Sedlacek

Some people have a "Big Why" that get's them started - I'd probably say that I have a big "Why Not?"...

My professional work up to this point has been in marketing, so wholesaling feels very comfortable to me - I also love to get my hands dirty (just finished rehabbing both units in my duplex and have it listed to sell), so flipping appeals to me. I like real estate because I find fulfillment in creating tangible value and like the wealth-building potential to provide for my family's needs.

So why not build a business focused on wholesaling, yet keep the best deals for flips/holds? That's what really inspired my original question - has anyone else done this and where do they find the balance between the two efforts?

"What are your goals for the next 10 years?" I think getting started is more important... once I get some perspective, I'll forecast and 10x it :)

"What is your business plan?" Focus maniacally on wholesaling... dominate. Then expand to flipping once I have a war chest built up. Vertically integrate with buy & holds + property management as I scale up.

"What is your retirement plan?" Build the system, step away, be a service missionary with my wife and kids (e.g. bring clean water systems to third-world villages, disaster relief, etc.)

"You have to have a reason and then a plan to go with it, a road map so to speak." I think any reason is a good reason... and minimal action-based plans are probably better than over-thinking it. I feel like I have enough of a starting point to start from - I'll figure it out as I go. Not ignoring the future, just not worrying about figuring it out right now - I'll figure out step two as part of step one.

Thanks again for getting my wheels turning, though!

Wise words, @J Scott, but easier said than done. You're spot on with that approach, but determining the outcome (accurately factoring in the profit potential and required time) clearly involves some significant experience - not the kind of thing I should attempt to plan for. So I'd suppose it would really be a matter of doing both, gaining experience, and then doing the evaluation as constraints are met (at which point it would be straightforward, having experience).

"All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them." - Galileo Galilei

I guess what I'm asking, mostly out of curiosity, is what the profile of some "tuned" models out there look like? Essentially what the big picture is so I can expand my perspectives (unfortunately I don't know enough to be more specific - LOL!)

Was just reading through Will Barnard's sticky post on wholesaling and one poster in the thread asked something like, "if Wholesalers are finding such good deals, why do they need to wholesale them? Why not buy them all?"

For all the RE marketing ninjas out there, I'd assume the response would be that deal flow is greater than capacity/desire to execute the rehabs/flips. Why turn the marketing off if the deals can be wholesaled, right?

I haven't gotten to the point where I have this blessed problem of too many deals, but assuming it can be done (and that I'll get there eventually), what are some strategies for balancing the keep vs. wholesale decision?

Bonus points if you fill in the blank in the title :)

Just bought your book... 'nuff said :)

Thanks again for all the responses to my original post! Just want to be accountable here (even if none of you read this) and give an update on where I'm at with things:

- Following my initial post/responses, I decided to move forward and transition to a different "role" in my company. I focused on building systems and resources that enabled my team to work without my day-to-day involvement. I negotiated a deal with my partners and transitioned out of active involvement starting in May and completed the transition on June 15th. I know have 100% of my time (no income from the business, but it's a net gain to have full control over my time).

- I've finished remodeling my duplex and have it listed for sale.

- Once our property sells, I'll be moving my family (didn't mention this before, but I have three kids under the age of 5, so having time is doubly important to me/them) to Utah (Logan/Smithfield) where I'll start building my real estate business (wholesaling and flipping).

- Why Utah? We have a family friend that's been in real estate for 30+ years (agent, property manager, contractor). I'll be working with him on his business (financing, sales, marketing... the areas where I have experience) while simultaneously building my own/getting experience.

I know there's a lot of wisdom to the contrary of jumping 100% into real estate without the safety net of a full-time job... but I'm going to make it work :) I'll post periodically on my progress and invite and value your feedback (including your thoughts on the above)!

Again, thanks for the support!

@Gary Parker, thanks! Will check out this firm as well.