All Forum Posts by: Jason Hanson

Tim,

You are right, this business is not complicated. However, paying attention and perfecting the small details will make you rich.

Since Mike wants to know where I spend my money on education, I will be happy to oblige.

First off, realize most of us start off broke and don't have money to invest. However, as soon as I started making money in this business, I invested more into my education and the more money I made.

First, I invest in real estate courses and bootcamps and training. There is a lot of material out there and I constantly want to stay on my A game. Of course some of the stuff I buy ends up being crap, but if I just get one good tip from it, I know it will make me a ton of money in the long run.

Second I invest money in sales books, audios courses (Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy, Tom Hopkins.) This increases my sales skills and closing percentages and I am able to have a high percentage rate of closing sellers when I meet with them.

Last, I invest in marketing materials. I invest a lot of money in direct response advertising and how to write effective sales lettes. My niche is absentee owners and while the average response for direct mail is 2-4% many of my "landlord" letters get response rates of 20% +.

So when I say education, I don't just mean real estate, I mean marketing, sales, negotiation, all of aspects of becoming a good real estate investor.

I am a damn good real estate investor and I have made a lot of money in this business. However, I know that I will never know it all and that I will be learning until the day I die. The worst thing and investor can do is to stop learning.

Tyler,

Don't go to the bank. Learn about subject-to and lease options. You never need to go to the bank to purchase a primary residence or investment property.

Real estate investors are creative folks. Banks are for "regular" people (AKA retail buyers)

If the property cash flows $200 a month then you are good to go. The name of the game is cash flow, so I would ignore who ever is trying to sell you their book.

If you can pick up properties that cash flow $200 after PITI, then I would do that all day long.

The name of the game is motivated sellers. If a seller is motivated they will let you take over their payments.

Since I am a sub-2 specialist, when I am talking with a seller, I simply ask them if they would be willing to allow me to take over their payments. If people are motivated then they say yes.

When you do subject-to, just make sure you have all of the paperwork and disclosures to CYA.

The best way to advertise is to say "we take over payments, immediate debt relief."

First off, congratulations for knowing that you will never quit and that you are going to survive no matter what. 95% of people quit this business before they ever do their first deal. I wanted to quit dozens of times early on, and never did, that's the key to success.

What you need to do is start out wholesaling. The best ways to market for properties are:
1. bandit signs
2. direct mail
3. door knocking.

Since you said money is tight, I would start off door knocking. Most investors are too afraid to do this, however this is the quickest, easiest and cheapest way to get deals.

Simply pick a neighborhood and knock on every single door.

Good luck and remember this business is a lot of hard work, but certainly worth it.

Go to your local REIA meetings and network like crazy. If you want to be a bird dog, then you need to learn your areas (zip codes, neighborhoods) like the back of your hand.

Check out www.NationalREIA.com and www.meetup.com to find groups to network with.

You need to be close to your rental properties. No one will take as good of care of them as you will.

If you don't want to buy in Chicago, then move to somewhere else. But don't be a long distance landlord.

Check out books by Roger Dawson

I am with Mike, in that I highly recommend "The Millionaire Real Estate Investor" by Gary Keller.

It is the most complete book out there.