All Forum Posts by: Tadd Bennett

I'm working out my first deal through a Real Estate Agent. He actually called one of my bandit signs for a property he didn't even think he could sale. He introduced me to the seller and let us work it out between one another. He turned out to be a cool guy and now has been running comps for me. He also said next property that comes up he will shoot it my way, not to mention he works out his fees with the sellers, not me. It was a good find.

Well you've located the mother-load for Investor info. There's enough knowledge and experience on this site to fill up a public library. Good luck and dive in.

I appreciate all the responses greatly. Unfortunately i do live in El Centro which has the highest Unemployment rate in the Nation. We have a good amount of foreclosures and myself have never heard of a wholesaler in my area. Bandit signs are not messed with because.. well theres just mine out there, lol. I have had success finding investors tho, I have accumulated a buyers list with about 8 people on there. Flippers, buy & hold, to a multi millionaire farmer who owns over 120 homes & properties. I even met a guy from Georgia who came here for the market, why he did that? i have no idea.

Non important info for you :D ..

El Centro is located in the So Cal desert bordering AZ and Mexico, and about a 1hr 45min drive to the nearest big city (San Diego). Population is a little over 44,000 last i heard, and with a population of around 170,000 for our hole valley. This year there has been over 300 homes sold in El Centro alone so properties due sell, altho a high % are foreclosures. Being close to the border we have a big population of US Customs and Border Patrol stationed here, as well as 2 State prisons. Since most of these employees dont orginally live here, upper high end rentals do relatively well here. Now the unemployment rate is thrown off a lot from our Mexico friends to the south, since they tend to come work for sesonal work then collect unemployment for 6 months out of the year, all while living in Mexico. Imperial Valley is huge for farming, put it this way, more than 2/3 of the vegetables consumed in the United States during the winter months are grown here in the Imperial Valley.

Anyways im not sure why i shared all that but that's where im from so i just gotta work with what i got or move on. The market is so up and down here its just hard for someone with no experience to understand it all. Hopefully it works out but im determined to make it work in some way of fashion!.. Even if i have to move...

Again Vikram, Rich & Steve thank you for your insights. Any other words of wisdom & experience will be greatly appreciated & absorbed.

Hey everyone I'm relatively new to REI and have been cramming as much knowledge as i can over the last few months. I'm highly motivated but the more i research and the more people i talk to i hear the same thing. "You should move", "Theres no money in California", "Start investing out of state first to get started". Now I'm at the point in my life where i would not have a problem moving for greener pastures but not totally excited to jump up and leave my family( altho i will). I myself have leaned more towards Wholesaling to start out and get my feet wet but would like to hear my fellow BP members thoughts and opinions. Thanx, Rian