1) How long have you been involved in real estate investing? What were some of your jobs before doing real estate full time?

I started looking for Real Estate to invest in about two years ago.  I don’t have a lot of money so I needed to find cheap property that could be turned around quickly.  Fortunately for me, I found a Realtor willing to work with me in the lower price ranges.  That is not easy to do.  I also found someone with experience in renovating homes to re-sell.  Knowing someone with the knowledge you don’t have or how to find answers to your questions is absolutely necessary.

I do not invest full time.  I need more income than I am currently able to produce right now.  I am a full time Letter Carrier for the United States Postal Service and invest when I am not working there.  Hopefully that will change soon, but for now, that is what pays the bills.

2) How did you first get started in real estate? What strategies do you use and why?    

I first started looking into Real Estate investing because I knew so many people did well with it.  There was a house on my mail route that was for sale.  It had great potential, but would need some work.  To make a long story short,  I didn’t get that property, but did find a great ally in the Realtor I ran into while looking at this first property.  I have done a lot of reading about investing.  It is important to learn from others who are successful, and learn some mistakes people have made so you can avoid them.  Right now my strategy is to look at MLS listings in the areas I am familiar with to find a deal.

I also look at foreclosure announcements in the legal news, mortgage sales, tax sales, people who are behind on their taxes etc.  Sometimes I drive around to look for notices posted on homes that warn of a pending mortgage sale.  I am building a network of those who invest.  Word of mouth is a pretty good ally.  Sometimes I run accross a property that I can pass along, or one is passed along to me by someone that just can’t deal with it right now.  I never hurry into a deal.  I always keep in mind that I do not have to buy a property, it is the seller that needs to sell it.  Cash is king here.  If you have cash available and can close fast, deals will come looking for you.
                     
3)Which property types interest you? (Apartments, Commercial, Duplexes/Fourplexes, Land, Multi-Family homes, owner finance, etc) 

Right now I am concentrating on single family homes that need renovations and can be sold again.  I don’t have money to hold an investment for a long period of time so I need to turn properties rather quickly.  I may diversify in the future as money permits.  I have some plans for commercial and mixed use developements, but those ideas are a long way off.

4) What types of financing do you regularly utilize? Have you ever used Private mortgage or private fund?  

I borrow money from the cheapest source to finance what I do.  I have excellent credit so it is easy for me to get good rates.   Currently I use a combination of an interest only HELOC and borrowing from my retirement fund for projects.  I am hoping to get to the point where I don’t have to borrow to get a project going.  It doesn’t mean I won’t borrow if the terms are right.  I just don’t want to have to borrow.

5) How did you go about finding properties? 

Any way I can.  Word of mouth.  Real Estate listings.  Driving around desirable neighborhoods.  Foreclosure listings.  Keep ears and eyes open.

6) What is your average purchase price? 

Righ now, about $45,000

7) How do you typically sell properties? 

My Realtor.

What is your average net profit per deal? 

$5700 so far

9) Describe your first deal and how much you made on it? 

My first deal has taken awhile.  I looked for the right property for some time.  Five months ago I saw a house I was interested in for sale in the MLS listings.  It was a bank foreclosure, and they wanted way too much money for it.  I made a very low offer that was not even responded to, and waited.  

Two months later they lowered the price a little, so I looked at the property again.  Still too much money for the property, and I didn’t want to make another low offer this soon.   Another month and the bank lowered the price again.  This time I made an offer that they countered.  Still too much.  With a little investigating, I was able to find out how much the bank foreclosed the property for.  I offered them that.  They took it.

I has planned to renovate the house and sell it for a $10,000 to $15,000 profit, but before I closed on buying the house, someone else came along and offered me $8000 more than I paid for it without renovations.  Of course I took that.  After all of my expenses for the deal, I made $5500 with very little work.  I never could have done it without my Realtor friend that I met accidentally.  She made both deals work.

10) Describe your biggest deal (purchase price) and how much you made on it? 

That would be the one I just described.

11) What is your goal one year from now? 

One year from now I would like to have bought and sold at least four houses at a good profit.  Hopefully more, but four is the goal.
 

12) What are some of your philosophies on life and success? 

Be honest about your dealings.  Never try or even successfully cheat people.  It will catch up to you.  Build a good solid reputation in your investment community and people will want to deal with you.  Your reputation WILL proceed you in all your dealings.  Sleep well with the money you make.  There is a lot of money to be made by helping people in this business.

13) What are some of the pitfalls of real estate investing, especially when starting out? 

Haste is the number one pitfall.  That and ignorance.  Don’t be in a hurry to buy and by all means don’t believe everything someone tells you about a property.  Do your best to find out everything you can yourself.

14) What is the one thing you love most about being a real estate investor? 

A good deal that brings in profit.  The money is really good if you are careful.

15) What is the most important quality someone can have to be a successful real estate investor?

Honesty and knowledge.

16)Any favorite real estate web sites, books, software, mentors etc.? 

I like the REI Club.