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All Forum Posts by: Stephen Barton

Stephen Barton has started 37 posts and replied 261 times.

Post: Stop Comparing Yourself to Others

Stephen BartonPosted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Indianapolis, IN
  • Posts 322
  • Votes 238

You bet @Eric H.! I wrote this hoping I could help just one person and I hope it helps you. It is so easy to get lost in what others are doing. I wish you well in your career and hope you discover the path that only you can walk. Enjoy the journey!

Post: Stop Comparing Yourself to Others

Stephen BartonPosted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Indianapolis, IN
  • Posts 322
  • Votes 238

I have officially made it over two years investing in real estate. I have learned so much, and I find that I continue to learn more every day. One thing I have learned about being in this business is you cannot compare yourself to what other people have done or are doing.

When some of us started out, we literally had nothing except our own drive. My wife and I started out with little more than a thousand dollars. I was going to school for business, and had to make a choice. Stay in school and finish my degree, or get into real estate full-time.

Luckily, I made the right choice even though I still have plans to finish my degree in business. You might find yourself listening to the biggerpockets podcast and hearing these big investors (some who are much younger than you or me) talk about the hundreds of deals they have done.

If you are serious about getting into this business, you need to (at some point) -just unplug! Yeah, I bet Josh Dorking is saying NOOOO! right about now. Lol! have to reach a point where you realize that sitting around feeling sorry for yourself because you are not where you want to be is over. You have to get started somewhere. I mean, even the big investors had to start at some point themselves. What are you waiting for?

I have, by no means, "arrived" nor have I "made it" so please hear me out from a beginner's point of view. Just focus on: what CAN you do today to bring you a little closer to your goal. Of course, you must first have a goal in mind. Written on a piece of paper or somewhere on your computer- something. You have to reach a point where you "turn off" the noise in your head and just get on your own path. Once you do, you will see that you can move mountains and you will be that much closer to your goal. 

You also need to establish a network of people who are like you, and you need people in your network who are doing much better than you. Having these two types of people in your life is so important. I have my friend and mentor @Brett Snodgrass who has been a great friend when it comes to life as well as real estate. His friendship has been so important to my success, because I would have gotten involved in some pretty bad deals without his knowledge. I also have a friend @Account Closed who is good at flips, and Steve has helped me evaluate a couple of deals that could have been really bad flips for a newbie like me to do on my own. I have another friend Ryan Moeller is much like me and we get to cheer one another one when things go well, and we try to encourage one another when either one of us seems to be struggling. 

I write this article because I know how it feels when you hear or see other people doing big deals, or making big moves in real estate. I also see the stress that comes along with those big deals or huge amounts of volume. I have a lifestyle by design. I am in a worship team for my church where I sing, and because of real estate I have time to practice pretty much whenever I want. I also play guitar, and drums so I get to continue my passion for music because I have created this lifestyle that enables me to have the schedule I choose. 

Finally, we should all aspire to do great things in our lives. However, we should not lose touch of why we got into this business in the first place. I simply wanted to earn an income and have the best access to deals for my eventual goal of being a buy-and-hold investor. You really can have the life you always wanted, but do not look at someone else's life and try to match what they are doing. You will be setting yourself up for a big downfall if you do not make it. Instead, set goals for yourself that are best for you. You might even find that your goals you had in the beginning were a little easier to achieve than you first thought possible. The important thing is just get out there and be the best you possible. Once you start down that path, you will start to realize you have more potential than you could have ever imagined.

Post: Looking for Apprenticeship!!!

Stephen BartonPosted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Indianapolis, IN
  • Posts 322
  • Votes 238

We are simply stewards of this world. I feel relationships are so much more important than a "fat" bank account. @Shelly F.just give me a call. I put my phone number on my profile. Since I am not some guru I am really very accessible. You can always send me an email too. I look forward to hear from you and @Adam Rothweiler. Take care!

Post: Looking for Apprenticeship!!!

Stephen BartonPosted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Indianapolis, IN
  • Posts 322
  • Votes 238

Welcome to getting started in real estate @Adam Rothweiler. I believe you are in the same position I found myself in just over two years ago. Basically, what I did was I just got out there and started making things happen by educating myself on Biggerpockets and started to do my own marketing until I found a deal. Then, I found someone who was local in my area who I really looked up to and said, "Hey I think I have a deal here, can you help?" or something like that. If they are on biggerpockets then your chances are pretty good that they would want to help you because that is what good investors tend to do- we help one another. The ones who are greedy and only lookout for themselves just do not last in my humble opinion. I hope this helps. Feel free to message me anytime and I will walk you through some basics of what I did to get started and at least show you what I did to start. I am available anytime Adam!

Post: Over 500 direct mailings only one call

Stephen BartonPosted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Indianapolis, IN
  • Posts 322
  • Votes 238

Welcome to real estate investing @Shanda Brownyou now know that this is NOT easy. Just to give you an idea I sent out 1800 absentee owner mailers out and did not get one deal. It is all about the types of properties you are targeting and the type of people. In my case, I targeted more of a flip type area near Indianapolis. Which is a really tough crowd to please. Now, probates are probably the toughest market one could target. 

You need to keep in mind that it is all about numbers. I suggest trying to use an absentee owner list in an area that has more rentals than owner occupants. This is a great market to target. I usually see about 20-30 calls per every 200-300 letters I send out. There are so many options for types of letters used, type of area, type of properties to nail down what you could do differently. Feel free to just give me a call and I can tell you what works for us and what does not. Try to think of having your "hand" in a bunch of areas instead of focusing on one type of mailer. Try to do absentee, code violations, divorce, and probate to start off with. Most of the really good deals that I have done have been because of probate, and divorce. Those are our two hot items right now, and by the way they all came from an absentee owner list I purchased through listsource.com. Good luck!

Post: Rookie in Real Estate

Stephen BartonPosted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Indianapolis, IN
  • Posts 322
  • Votes 238

Welcome @Briana Echols. Glad you found this site. Get ready to launch your investing career!

Post: Am I the Only One NOT Watching the Game?

Stephen BartonPosted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Indianapolis, IN
  • Posts 322
  • Votes 238

Ben,

You are not alone buddy! I could care less about who wins what game, or who has the best half time show. The real "show" is in each of our own markets -setting goals, and attaining those goals one step at a time. There is so much more to life than watching a bunch of highly skilled athletes smash into one another. The real Superstars are the ones that I see here on biggerpockets that are not only setting their own goals and achieving them, but they are helping others too! @Ben Leybovich @Brett Snodgrass @Danny Johnson

Post: Newbie

Stephen BartonPosted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Indianapolis, IN
  • Posts 322
  • Votes 238

Hi there! Welcome to biggerpockets. You are so smart getting into this at such a young age. Do not let investing intimidate you or do not let anyone on here get you to think that you cannot do what they do. You can do pretty much anything you put your mind to. You just need to partner up with the right people to help guide you on the right path! 

Post: Newbie from Chicago, IL

Stephen BartonPosted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Indianapolis, IN
  • Posts 322
  • Votes 238
Welcome to bp Jessica T. . Make sure you start reaching out to people in your zip code! Everyone on this site (for the most part) are all very easy to talk to. Get ready for your life to change if you are serious about Real Estate Investing- Biggerpockets has literally changed my life!

Post: DOCUSIGN vs DOTLOOP vs other web-based signing platforms?

Stephen BartonPosted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Indianapolis, IN
  • Posts 322
  • Votes 238
Docusign is a great product! Just pay for a year in advance and save some dollars. First year is the most expensive but this second year using it only costs me around $250 for the yearly renewal. The time and gas this will save you driving to a clients location will easily pay for itself in a couple of months (depending how busy you are).