Thirty-four years ago, I started an adventure. No, I did float down the Amazon or climb a mountain (though some days seemed like it). I didn’t buy an island or fly on the Space Shuttle, no, I started investing in real estate. OK, too much build up? Hear me out. If you’ve tried something you had never done before you may be a bit like I was, cautious. Maybe a little apprehensive, and probably a little scared. Those of us who have been in real estate forever are likely a little amused by our beginning days. There is a lot to learn and a lot to experience.
When you take on a new adventure, like real estate investing, let me caution you to pick and choose your confidants
carefully. As a young investor, I had no money. So, the only way I could invest in real estate was through no money down purchases. During that time, I ran into Robert Allen’s book, No Money Down. I read it, and read it, and read it. Eventually, I was convinced I could do it. It made sense. I was pumped and looking for my first deal.
One day while stopping by a convenience store, I ran into a realtor friend. He asked me how I was doing and what I was doing. I told him I was getting ready to buy houses with no money. He laughed and said, “If people could do that, I’d be doing it.” That was deflating. With one comment, he took the rug right out from under me. It took me a couple years before I went back to the idea. That time, I kept my mouth shut. I didn’t even tell my family.
I interviewed agents to see who had the strength to work with a creative investor with no money. Not many qualified, but I eventually found one. I promised her I would give her every purchase and every sale when the time came to sell. I only asked her not to question everything I was doing. Nothing was dishonest or illegal, but she didn’t understand, and I was just getting started. In that, I had no experience showing her how it worked. She was a rock.
Well, the years were good for her. I ultimately bought 26 houses. Not all were in her area, but everyone in her area was with her as an agent. I taught her the mechanics of buying with no money and eventually I taught her son as well. Of the 26, I only made a down-payment on one. I also bought an 8000 square foot commercial building with no money. I was able to get the seller to finance the down-payment and give me a moratorium on payments for a year so I could remodel the building. I was able to get the bank that financed it to give me a greatly reduced payment for a year. I think my total payment was just under $300 for a nearly million-dollar building.
It was an adventure. It didn’t end with buying property. Because I had so much trouble finding agents to work with, I decided to become that agent and eventually a broker. I work with investors all the time, and I’m never surprised when they come up with a creative way to buy a property. I’m more likely to ask questions to get them to think their idea through before making an offer. My life has gone in a radically different direction than I planned, but what an adventure. It has been way more than I expected, and I have had a lot of fun. I recently had a client ask how I got started in real estate. I told her my story and she said, “Oh, people don’t do that anymore.” I just laughed and I immediately went out and bought two properties with no money, remodeled them both and flipped them at a substantial profit. I laughed all the way through the projects. Life is an adventure. Don’t fight it because it will take you to places you never thought possible. And, be sure to pick your confidants carefully.
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