All Forum Posts by: Tony Wooldridge

@Nathan McDonald, it is awesome to see that you are out putting in the work. That is exactly what it takes. Persistence is the key to success! Just stay the course, don't get discouraged (which you will), when you do stay plugged into your meet up groups as well as the BP community (it appears you have a good group within our above colleagues), this will give you the drive to stay the course. GR8 to hear you are taking action keep it up and here is to wishing you nothing but GR8 success in your future of REI! Take care and thanks for allowing me to share!

@Bekkah Vidal would love to give back how ever I can!  Thanks, Happy Investing!

@Kavin Kuykendall, its been along time Kav, how are you? I hope well! Were you able to get that place in CP done? I apologize I haven't been in better contact. I have had my head down working on that BRRRR in Dayton. I am happy to announce that we are about ready for the REFI and getting a tenant into it. You should stop by sometime would love to show you the final product as you saw it before we started. Hope all is well and hope to get the MEET-UP's in WW back up and running again very soon! Take care KAV!

Collected cans and bottles for the deposit.  Delivered news papers, caddied at the local golf course, picked up lost golf balls cleaned them and sold them back to the golfers.  Sorted cans and bottles at a local grocery store.  Worked as a bus boy at a nice restaurant, made and sold fishing weights to local stores.  Mowed lawns, dug holes for hunters to sit in while hunting, worked as a hunting guide (duck/goose), painted houses, framed houses, worked in a plant building interior/exterior walls for manufactured homes, worked as a traveling service technician for several manufactured home companies.  Was a service technician for a carpet cleaning / restoration business, later became the sales and marketing director for that same company.  Worked at a Walmart distribution center loading the back of semi-trucks with ALL the things that are sold at Walmart.  Went to college, ran out of money for college joined the Military to Serve this GR8 country and help get $ for school again (the GI Bill is a wonderful investment, so is serving this country, there is nothing like it!)  And currently my day JOB, I am a Tactics and Firearms Instructor.  But my true passion is Real Estate Investing.  

And every bit of my life's lessons have served me well in investing thus far.  Keep your chin up kiddo, and learn from the VERY smart and successful people here on BP (me excluded) and don't ever give up.  If someone tells you, you can't do it, prove them wrong by staying dedicated to your cause and have laser focus and determination and there is nothing that you cannot do!  Persistence is the key to success, if you fall down, get up brush yourself off and learn not to do it that way again.  If you master doing it that way, I guarantee you will be the master of what ever you put your mind to young man.  Continue to educate yourself on what aspects of life (whether its RE or something else) you want to learn!   Best of luck to you @John Moorhouse.  Thanks for allowing me to share.

@Mannan Razzak, as I am sure you are aware and have read and heard on the Podcast that being new to REI is difficult. The most difficult part IMHO is trying to stay focused on what your niche/strategy is going to be without getting distracted by all the various was to invest. It sounds as if you have put in a GR8 deal of time, effort and work to figure out if this 6 Plex is going to be a good deal. In no way am I saying you cannot do multiple things in REI or utilize different niche's and strategies but I believe you should put laser focus on one and do it until you become an expert in that area. There are shiny objects every where but with laser focus and determination you will learn to put blinders on and stay focused on what you need to do to become successful in your REI biz.

Its GR8 to read books and educate yourself but get to know your WHY. This will help you to stay focused on what you are trying to accomplish in REI (know your criteria, goals, your WHY). I wish you nothing but GR8 success in what ever you choose to do but pick a direction and stay the course until it doesn't work or the market changes and forces you to adjust your niche/strategy! Thanks for allowing me to share.

Just wanted to take a moment and thank everyone that was able to make it to the Walla Walla, Washington Meet-up today.  It is so cool to see this thing grow.  I have envisioned this meet-up for years and now to actually see it not only happening but growing is so rewarding.  So thanks again to all of you who attended, the Meet-up wouldn't be possible without you guys. Can't wait to see you all at the next one!  Happy investing.

@Scott Lang , if you look up at the very top/beginning of this forum post below the heading you will find the day and time.  Hope to see you there.  We will be having one every month if you can't make it to this one. 

@Chris Miller, thanks for the help! 

@Earl Gaines, Just wanted to congratulate you on taking this deal down. Sounds like you not only took it down but absolutely hit it out of the park. GR8 job Earl, glad to see you are doing good work over in Lewiston. It is always encouraging and fun to see guys in smaller towns putting in work in REI. If you are ever back over in the Walla Walla Washington area, I FINALLY got my meetup off the ground, would love to have you. Well, keep us posted on your progress and best of luck in your future investing!

Attention all Walla Walla / Tri-Cities Washington REI I am holding another Meetup and would love for you all to attend if you have the time and inclination. We held our first Walla Walla, Washington Meetup a couple of weeks ago and had a GR8 turnout. My goal is to continue to grow this group so we can share in our love of REI. So, please, come all come many, I will be looking forward to meeting you all there! Until then, I will see you around the site!

@Manmath D., Full disclosure, I am no expert by any means on Private $ investing.  However, I too am very interested in how the process works and how to go about starting that conversation with someone.  If you haven't heard about it I would highly recommend the book Raising Private Capital by Matt Faircloth (https://www.biggerpockets.com/store/raising-private-capital-ultimate ) hope you don't mind but took the liberty to post the link to the BP bookstore.

Once again, I have not done any deals yet with Private $ just my own. However, just like anything else in this world it is all about relationships. Your friend, I am assuming since he is your friend you talk with him about your REI ventures(?) If so what is his response? If not why haven't you(?) as you are passing up a golden opportunity if he is interested in what you are doing and would want to get involved. IMO, I personally believe that it truly has to become a mind set shift. We are always told that asking someone for something is an inconvenience to that person or we don't want to put that person out. However, when you think about the opportunity a RE Investor (such as you and I ) can present to someone with Private $ it now shifts your mind set to see that we are providing a GR8 opportunity to someone with money to make (potentially) ALOT more of if they are interested in investing in with us. We have something, a GR8 Opportunity to make their wealth grow. That Manmath in my humble opinion makes us a GR8 asset to people who see this opportunity for what it is and seize the moment! So it starts with a mind set shift and educating the individual on what you have to offer them.

Now, that is a lot easier said then done I am sure, LOL. But you have to lead by example and let people know about your love of REI and how it is impacting your life in what you describe in a positive way (I mean who pays off 40K of debt in two weeks and doesn't think that is AWESOME!!!!). Just let your friend know and if he seems interested educate him on the process. If not continue to lead by example and buy more properties and tell everyone you know about what you are doing as it relates to your RE investing career. My hunch is that someday it is going to payoff. Persistence my friend is the key to success! Best of luck to you in your approaching your friend. Please keep me posted as maybe I can learn from your successes! Thanks for allowing me to share.