All Forum Posts by: Gareth Fisher

Hello everyone.  I am a contractor in philly looking to expand my horizons.  I recently found my first investors and would like to know if anyone here has experience buying foreclosed properties here in Philly. 

@Gareth Fisher A little grumpy is good for us all. I'm pretty cynical. Let my greed take me on some roller coasters. Thanks for venting

As a whole, this community is better than most. So kudos to BP. That said, some of the pumpers, joker brokers and newbies who think they can outplay the market amaze me. 

Good luck! 

@Gareth Fisher I agree with most of what you've said, but look at it in a different light. 

First and foremost: Caveat Emptor applies in all business transitions. Call me a pessimist, but I have a healthy suspicion of everyone I meet in business. That is the nature of capitalism. You can only rely on yourself, your knowledge, skills, and abilities.  Like @Jonathan Twombly said, if you don't bring anything to the table, how to you expect to eat? 

Second: This industry has a low barrier to entry. You will get contractors with a step ladder and a mini van who do crappy work, I don't need to tell you that. Their existence can tell you a lot about where we are in the cycle. Eventually their work, or lack there of, will catch up with them and they won't be aground in another 10 years. A follow up to @William Hochstedler's great question to @Jay Hinrichs is how many people he was working with in before the S&L Crisis, 1990 Recession, Dot Com Bubble, and 2008 are still in the industry today? For every 10 investors that get started having two be successful is about par. The great majority of people are not prepared to be their own boss.

What separates a lot of those that could be successful from those that don't is education. How you get it, where you get it, how broad or narrow it is all play a role. Do I agree with the gurus of the world and the psychological tools they use on people? No, it is ethically and morally wrong, but I don't make the rules and legislating morals is a dangerous game. However no one put a gun to their head and made them spend $20, $30, $40k. More importantly they failed to leverage tools like the internet, BP, a book store or library, neighbors. They wanted things spoon feed to them. Why do my own research into "building my team" when I can use one provided to me by Dave Ramsey or Rich Dad. Never do the ask 'If this plan I'm paying so much for is so foolproof, why isn't the teacher out doing it themselves?' It doesn't take a genius to see that Hedge Fund managers like Mario Gabelli, Seth Klarman, or Bill Ackman aren't running investing clinics on the weekends at the Radisson by the airport and ask yourself 'why am I here listening to {Insert latest Guru}. Sadly, their mistakes and oversights create inefficiencies in the market which gives others the ability to create value.

Lastly, the things that make REI challenging and rewarding are not often preached, even on BP. How many podcasts/Forum posts have you heard about from 0-20 doors in 18 months or how I wholesaled my way to $100k? Now how many have you seen talking about cash reserves per property, when to walk away from a deal, debt pay down strategies or any of the other less exciting portions of REI? We all love to talk about making money and closing the deal, but capital preservation is just as important as capital generation.

your post as it relates to guru's sell how to is pretty accurate in your own way.

we are in a new age.. this is how folks in the business perpetuate your business because the new crop coming up watchs those pod cast  Myself I have never watched one and have not even listened to or watched my own.. I know what I have done LOL @Steve Vaughan  of Course Steve is my hero up there in gods country.. most investors if they followed Steve plan would be in very good shape over time.. and his point is its over time .. what we see now is 10X  so if you cant 10X or get 120 doors in 18 months some how you failed.. or the other one is I want to quit my day job and being a landlord is the BEST way to do that.. for some maybe for other probably not.. landlording is a tough gig for a lot of us..

in the day or my day you got your real estate license and worked in the business then figured out what to do which avenue to go down.. the wholesaling is propagated totally by the guru's selling the how to.

the guy with the lambo and Rolls just shows pictures of checks and his cars  LOL..  And when in fact NOTHING is harder than to make money at wholesaling .. and in some markets pert near impossible and most will just throw their money down the tubes.

As for contracting I agree that is the tough one...

I personally have pretty much moved from bigger rehab type stuff to only funding rentals.. and or building new construction.. big fix and flip you really need to be hands on that's were we see a lot of money lost..