Has the Train of Wealth Pulled Out of the Station and You Are Left on the Platform with Fear?

There I was standing on the side lines in one of the hottest housing markets scratching my head as to whether I should buy and get in the game. I was new to the real estate game. I had been buying for a few years. I had limited access to money. The year was 1991. I was wondering what I should do to get more money (that still has not changed I need access to more cash).   I was wondering what I needed to do to get the great deals. I did not think about learning new tricks to buy houses. Then again there weren’t any seminars or real estate investment groups I could attend. So I missed it. Do I regret it? I got an important learning lesson.  The lesson was easy to understand and hard to implement. I needed to get more people involved in my investing business. I put an ad in the newspaper. “I am looking for a few good partners who are looking to take advantage of this incredible market. People who are willing to take calculated risk to get a reward of money.  Those individuals who want to earn wonderful rates of return on their money while enjoying a hands off approach have an opportunity to hit it big in this real estate market.”

The market is hot right now. There was a recent article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution that stated Atlanta was the hottest flipping market in the country. The bad news is a newspaper reporter picks up on the market when the market tends to be at the peak.  I have wholesaled more houses this year.  I have done more flipping this year than in past years. I wrote an article in 2012 that said the market had turned in Atlanta. So where are you? 

What should you be doing to capitalize on this market?  There are five things that I recommend to get you started, and a few other things for those of you who are more seasoned.

If you are starting from ground zero: (no cash, no down payment, no education, no budget for investing, no credit, no paperwork, but you have a burning desire) then follow the five steps below.   If this is not you, then skip to the next section “you have some experience in real estate” that follows.

1. Create inventory: Get your name out there. Call everyone in your phone and ask them if they know someone who is wanting to sell their house. The house can be trashed or upside down and I will still buy it, forget buying through a FMLS.
2. Make phone calls off of craigslist. Eviction list, foreclosures, probate or drive for dollars looking for vacant and distressed houses. Leave fliers to let them know you are ready & able to buy property.
3. Creating money out of thin air: Partnership with someone who has money or experience.
4. Get an education: Learn the best buying technique in this market when you have no cash. (lease option, subject to, lease option, wholesale)
5. Take Action: Work the real estate business 1 hour per day. Football season is coming and there are some of you who are reading this that will spend 4-8 hours watching TV and then wonder why you cannot pay off your bills, put you children through college so they don’t have any student debt, or better yet to pay off your own student debt!

If you have some experience in real estate:

1. Read the above techniques for creating inventory. Since you have a budget for marketing make a decision on where you will spend the money to get your name out there. If you are spending $500 a month sending out mailers, Internet, flyers then you should get 1 deal each month when you spend this amount of money.
2. Read the above Creating money out of thin air: talk to everyone about funding your deal. Understand that a bad deal will never get funding. A fabulous deal will get funding. Spend money getting training on how to ask and get your deal funded. Get a shrink to remove all blocks to your money fears.
3. Read the above Take Action: To create cash flow the market is red hot for the buy fix sell or flip.
4. Go to open houses of the new builds to find the latest in color schemes, floor plans, trim, and appliance packages.

The reason why this market is going to pass you by is simple… no action. When you work on your fears to overcome failure or even fear of success, the chance of your success dramatically goes up. When we market to get our name out there it works. You will get paid. Your ability to get an education will solve your problems, while building confidence and self-esteem.

The choice is yours! The opportunity is here. You have three choices:  not at this time, not for me and yes I am willing to do what it takes to get my share of the pie and profit. The last option is the one I use. Even a bad decision is better than no decision. Make a decision.