FAQ: Answers To The Most Asked Questions - Start Here

Which would be a better first investment, a house, duplex, or a quad? In our area, we have found many houses to choose from, one four unit appartment, and not too many duplexes at all, what would be the better beginning investment?

Shawn, It's a personal preference but here’s a few things to keep in mind;
-Single family homes cost less but only provide one person paying rent
-Duplexes cost a little more but not much and two people paying rent(If one is vacant or doesn’t pay you still have one paying)
-Quads are higher in cost but have four rents coming in

Keep in mind anything with five or more units is no longer considered residential but commercial

Just wanted to say thank you for the advice!

Hi. I was just wondering, what contracts would I need to actually purchase a property straight out (not assign one) and in what order would I need to have them completed.

Thank you.

How can you make this work, if you have no money, no vehicle and bad credit??

I am a college student -- sophomore, 19 years old -- with no car, no credit and little to no resources. I plan to buy Dean's book within a week and I am wondering, can I truly be successful in this deal while being an full-time student? I have high aspirations and I am learning more and more daily, money is vital.

I believe in myself, but really, could I be successful at such a young age?

Thanks and I look forward to your commentary.

B.J. Lowery

I found a short sale 3 family for 165,000. How do i get in for $0 cash down.Thanks Jeff

As for your age, well let's see Dean did his first deal at your age. I bought my first house at your age. I had a job paying me, I think, less than $5 per hour. If you don't know Dean's story you should read "Profit From Real Estate Right Now" you will see that he was a poor kid too. You should read that book anyway as it's a great place to start.

Can you do this and school at the same time? Oh yeah, it doesn't have to be a full time job. In fact most investors do this and work a job until they make enough to quit their other job, myself included. If I had a stock pile of money in the bank to live on while I focus on my business I would love to just do this full time. For most of us that is just not the reality though. If you can devote a few hours a week or better yet a couple hours a day to this you have the time to make this work. Obviously the more you put into any endeavor the more you will get out of it.

Does money and credit help? Yeah of course it does. It certainly isn't at all necessary though. There are lots of people like Greg Murphy and other students that are highly successful and have yet to use a penny of their own money. They started with techniques that did not require money, or credit, and because they were so successful with those methods they simply never stopped. Why fix what ain't broke, right?

Take my word for it, not only can you and should you do this and do it now, but if you really do your homework and find this is something you would like to do but don't follow through, you will only regret it later in life. I am not saying this is the life for everyone. If you decide you want to do something else than I wish you the best with that. If however you really think you could be happy with a career in real estate investing (REI) than I think you owe it to yourself to give yourself a chance at this.

Folks my age all wish they could hop in a time machine and go back to when Microsoft stock was around $1-$5 per share and stock up. Well this is one of those times in history again and we can jump in now or wait ten to twenty years and wish we had a time machine to go back to 2010 and buy some real estate. Not that you have to wait that long to see the money. There's a lot of short term and immediate money to be made as well.

I hope this helps and there are a lot of good people on here that will help you with any other questions you may have.

Best Wishes
Steve

don't know what it is, but I have been talking to pmi for 6 months now and still can't pull the trigger to join.what am I thinking?

What is your 1st order of bussiness, when you don't have any money, or good credit. I bought these books thinking you could do this to help get yourself together. But I don't know where to start, or what to do first. I have read the books and checked out the website, but simplly put(just confused). I have 4 children and had to move back in with my mother and take a part time job, if that aint bad enough. I don't have a penny to my name, or can't get anything b/c I have bad credit. So back to the subject:

Where do I start, or what do I do first ??

I AM FROM BROOKLYN NY.I AM STILL TRYING TO GET A BROKER, ALL I AM GETTING IS TURNDOWNS. IS THERE ANYONE IN THE DG FAMILY FROM THIS AREA WHO HAS A BROKER THAT CAN TAKE ON ANOTHER INVESTOR? IF SO, POST INFO HERE AND I WILL CONTACT YOU. DESPERATE TO START. THANK YOU .

first thing you should do is build your buyers list. find out what type of properties they are interested in and go shopping for what they want. With no money and bad credit i suggest you start with assignment of contracts. Build your buyers list by going to REI groups, contacting landlords in your area, posting ghost ads,etc. All this information can be found in his reading material. Also you could join his success academy.

LONG QUESTION.......I am so excitied and motivated. I recently got out of prison doing a 4 year bid for traficking cocaine. Something i have done for over 12 years.In that occupation the cash allowed me to buy a forcloser all cash but i wasn't interested in real estate full time back then.Well after a Rico Act seize of "ill Gain" all was took except my motivation to be financially Independent, especially after seeing so many die not just in drug game but more in the 9-5 stresss -to death trap,working per hour to live from hour to hour for a boss with self esteem issues. I saw that continious lifestyle way more scarier than drugs and guns. Now that I'm out and already completed parole i have chosen real estate and sovereignty rights not because of fear of drug game or police but the 4 years in prison i did the math. It is more profitable to flip a house than a , kilo.......But now with no money or credit, besides the Corporation i founded, filing all the legal articles of corporation,and no credit i have buyers but i keep running into the same issue on forcloseres in order to have a purchase contract locked i need proof of funds which I dont have but my buyers do but i cant pass the deals to them without a purchase agreement so i wont get left out of the deal because idont have credit or proof of funds and bank forclosures(cheapest prop.)wont give me a agreement and thats the loop- stuck in .I have buyers and great property deals every where yo see, but how do you lock a deal to pass to a buyer without gettin left out of the equity I create if all they say is i need proof of funds to get a contract. Even though I dont have proof of funds but my buyers do. Is there a method to not get left out of a deal when all i have is buyer seller, property equity,but no credit no job and nooo proof of funds?????? Can anyone show me the contract or method because i know its out there and i will find it sooner or later, Im just hoping sooner because i have 2 daughters and 4 years of catching up to do. In all humbleness is anyone out there with the knowlege i neeed???

Hey there. My names Amber. I just finished reading Dean's 2 books that I purchased about a month ago. I just got a call about a few weeks ago from deans success academy asking if I wanted to join for some added help. I am just wondering if it is really worth joining because it is expensive for someone like me who is almost completely broke!!! Does anybody know if you join, do the coaches try as fast as possible to get you making great money? I know if I close my first few deals in weeks, I can pay off the tuition, but I am already in a ton of debt. Any advice from you guys would be great. thanks!

Hello. I just finished Deans 2 books that I bought about a month ago. I got a call from his success academy asking whether or not I can join. But, I know the tuition is like 5000 dollars and I am in about 40,000 in debt with student loans, credit cards and my car loan. My credit is ok. It is like a 715 I think. Should I go ahead and join his success academy? I am afraid of failing on this and being even more in debt......because I was thinking of going back to dental hygiene school starting the summer of 2011 and I'd have to take out even more loans for that. I am afraid of not being able to make money if I join his success academy...I mean not everyone makes money at this right? But at the same time, I feel like I need someone to walk me through this and pretty much hold my hand through it all. I definitely think its too complicated to begin if you don't get the coaching...what are peoples opinions on this?

how do I paid for helping someone sale their house, without a realtors license

So, I just finished reading Dean's new book and I feel ready to get started as soon as possible. I think using assignments would be the best for me to start, because of the zero risk. I just find it a little sketchy to lock up a house on contract and find a buyer within 14-30 days... Am I just being naive?? I hope so, because I want it to work. Does anybody have any experience with a locked-up contract becoming void because they couldn't find a buyer? If so, how did you handle it?

In searching for properties, this tool is vey useful, although not sure if it's meant to be our price to pay and try and make profit from there, or theat should be our selling price and get the property at a much lower rate. If your sure, let me know...thanks so very much
Bobthehop

Found a property which will be on auction in a few days, the cost is in-between 75K and 140K naturally depending on how much everyone offers. The ARV is in the neighborhood of 240K I'm just getting back on my feet and have zero funds. How can I get this deal done? Any suggestions would be awesume. Thanks so very much for your time and efforts....best to you!!
Bobthehop

I posted on craiglist this week and got an investor. He emailed me about being a licensed agent/private investor with $5M in capital and he would work with me when I have a discounted SFR(Single Family Residential) under contract that need any level of rehab. I was wondering if this person is legitimate to work with? Thanks in advance!

Steve

In locking up a contract for a property, do you have to have proof of a way to purchase the property? This would be a contract for an assignment...

THANK YOU

If either bad credit or debt/income are the issue while looking for your first deal, where do you turn next? What is the best source in this instance for funding a duplex?

Hey D.G. family. I am stuck and need some advice.I looked at a property the other day--its a r.e.o. but heres the problem. I was turned down by 3 different hard money lenders. I think I found another one and the way it sounds like they are good. (I just want to do every thing right so I dont loose this one) Do I put the property under contract before I apply for the loan? If so what if they deny me? Also I have no money and they want a inspection before they can approve me. What do I do there? I'm scared to move forward on this deal because I dont know what the right steps are. Can someone please help?

I have read the first book a few months ago. im on the second book. I want to get started so i found two different couples who couldnt qualify to purchase due to credit score. They are in the process of mitigating and repairing the credit and rescoring within 6-8 months from now. Price range is $165 to 200K. I spoke to them in regards of doing a lease option to buy. I have obtain properties that have been listed for over five months which they are interested in. How do I structure a transaction of where I could make money and how much do I charge? Please help.

I was wondering if IEE assignment and regular cash assignment for short sale properties work?

I was wondering if IEE assignment or regular cash assignment for short sale properties work?

Reading in Think a Little Different, Dean says he couldn't purchase a property from the bank before it went to foreclosure, but they would sell him the lien. I know what a short sale is...I was just wondering since this was a pre-foreclosure, why they offered to do it that way? I did watch Talmadge with buying notes, so I was just curious as to ..Instead of doing short sales and putting that packet together for the bank would it be OK to offer to purchase the note from the bank if the property is a pre-foreclosure?
Looking for a little clarity?
Barbara

hello anyone there a property me and my wife are looking at has everything we need to get our business going and hopefully a better place to call home.this house is a reo deal .i dont have a computer at home . im doing this at the library near us. i try to get here daily to check things.i know all my quoats for fixing this place up . i know what bank owns it and i guess all i really need to know now is the web site to give them my offer and terms of the loan to meet my needs.

In my area, I have come across a 4 unit building. In this building there are 3 apartments and 1 store front. The building has been for sale for quite some time, I believe it has been over six months. I have spoken with the real estate agent in charge of selling the property and found out that the 3 appartments rent for $600 $650 and $700, and that the store front (which is occupied by a business that has been there for several decades) is rented out for $800. The asking price of the building is $349,900. The property is located right in the down town area of a city, which happens to be home to a university. My first question is; because there is a store front, does this mean that this is a piece of commercial real estate? If so, what would the differences be from residential when buying? I have decent credit and no money to put down, is there even a way that I could finance this place? And, lastly, would this be a good first investment?