All Forum Posts by: Shawn Thom

I will try to make this short and sweet and to the point. I'm not into spilling my guts on the internet, but here goes.

I am looking into getting into real estate investing. My cousin who is very successful is coming over this week to talk to me about it and help me get started.

My background: A few things in my childhood and my dad's job loss(es) shaped me into hating debt. I am approx 23 payments away from having the last piece of debt (my house) paid off (approx $140k value). Some soul searching recently has made me analyze why I hate debt and led me to look at my fears and try to approach them differently. I have thus starting looking into creating an additional income stream from real estate as being a better alternative. I can go into more detail on that if you want, but don't want to loose too many people on a long post.

So my question is this... I have been thinking about taking some of the equity out of my home to use for fix and flips or rental property. If you were in my position what would you do? Debt free at age 38 is a dream of many people.... but I do feel exposed since the job market is a little shaky and my wife stays at home with the kids.

Has anyone on here had to make that decision? Any advice on what I should think about before taking the plunge? Am I being dramatic?

Thanks for everyone's help. He does seem to be genuinely wanting to help me out. Even offered to come to my house (30 miles away ) to talk about it...even after I offered to take him out to dinner to meet :)

I originally talked to him over a year ago and have been saving my pennies ever since. He was on vacation when i emailed him and he called me the day he got back.... so he is on top of it. I am looking forward to talking to him about it and am appreciative of his enthusiasm.

I am thinking about getting into real estate investing. My initial goal is to create an additional income stream since my wife stays at home and want some protection in case I have employment issues/laid off. I have always been interested in real estate. I am initially thinking of rental properties but am open to other things.

I hear alot of people talking about mentors and I don't know that I completely understand this relationship. I under stand what I can get from a mentor, but what do they get from me?

My cousin is very successful at a young age in real estate. he started with rent houses and has moved into fix and flips as well using wholesalers to locate deals for him. I have talked to him and he is willing to come talk to me about getting started. I don't know exactly what he is wanting to do and how engaged he is willing to be but I don't want to take advantage of his offer. What do mentees usually offer? How does this relationship work and how long does it typically last?

Thanks in advance.