All Forum Posts by: James W.

In a word: No.

If they are as knowledgable as they say they are, they would be racing Trump to the top of Forbes, rather than wasting their time on "teaching" people who may or may not ever make a dime.

A better plan is to hunt, search, and find the people on places like BP that are actually making money in this business.

Here's a tip - the people who are the most successful are probably not sharing their secrets openly. You will have to take chances, invest your time, and be pro-active if you want to get ahead.

Good luck :)

I hear your logic there, but here's another angle.

You are obviously wise enough to know that a young(ish) person shouldn't be driving a brand new Maserati or something like that, but let's talk about the average home-buyer that OP might be catering to.

People like you already own a home, and you're not going to be hopping in the car with a 22 year old kid.

People that are using Realtors, rather than hunting on their own, are influenceable and I will stand by my opinion that a nicer car (but not too nice!) can have a positive impact.

I voted your post because I appreciate your respectful discourse. Best wishes to you :) 

 I think I first read the "1% rule" 20 years ago from Carlton Sheets. I'm assuming most people here (the younger ones anyway) don't even know who he is, so I was curious to see the current source. 

Thanks for the response :)

Nice job bud! 

Is there a link for this "1% rule" that I keep reading about?

 It takes thick skin to be in this business.

Millions, Billions, and More are made in the Real Estate Industry.

:)

Hopefully you have some good mentors. If not, then you need to seek them out. Find people who have values aligned with yours and are successful in RE... and then mimic everything they do. Ignore the critics, do good for your family and your profession, and prosper.

Good luck :) 

If I was going to be a realtor rather than an investor, and I had to pick between a 2 door sports car and a 4 door mercedes, the choice is easy - the 4 door. I would keep it meticulously clean and when I show properties, I would offer (close them on it) to drive them around.

This keeps the conversation going, allows you to spend more time with the clients, build rapport, discover what they do and don't like in a home, etc. I would ask questions that get them talking amongst themselves, while you are there to listen as you escort them to the next property.

You don't have that luxury if you are in separate vehicles.

And there is value in having a nicer vehicle - flash for cash, as they say. You will get more trust from your prospects if you're in something that says "I'm successful and you can trust me" than if you are in a beat up old Ford that says "I don't have a pot to piss in, but please buy a house so I can get a commission." ;)

Just don't spend more than you can afford. Cheers and good luck :)

 I wish I'd seen that advice a few months back, because I put 23 existing tenants on new year leases. What you say makes perfect sense and I'll definitely take advantage of that philosophy on my next deal.

Thanks for the post!

If you're not an accountant familiar with Quickbooks, I would not mess with it. It's insanely complex for the uninitiated.

With that said, my wife does my bookwork and we use QB for Desktop and she has our rentals as "classes", whatever that means.

I think the spreadsheet suggestion is your best bet right now, and since you're on a tablet just use Google Drive. (You do have a gmail account, right?)

Good luck!

Keep your cash on hand for emergencies, use other people's money to finance your deals.