Beginner to Real Estate investing

[Monty604]

Hi everyone I just joined this site yesterday. I would like to introduce myself to everyone and let you know a little bit about myself. I am a 23 years old I work as a table games dealer in a BC Casino. I am aspiring to become a entreprenuer investing in real estate and also learn as much as I can about real estate (so eventually I will try to become a realtor so I can learn the market trends in my area). I took Trump University`s Wealth Building Seminar in January 2008. I think the seminar was really good but it did not tell people where to start etc. So I am looking to learn from people that are successfully doing what I want to do. I don`t own my own home yet! But am hoping that with some guidance and help that I will be able to. I was thinking of joining Trump University`s Real Estate Investor Training program but I haven`t been able to find out enough information about people in Canada who took it and what they had thought of it. I am asking everyone here to post some recommendations as to where I should start etc.

Here are my Goals:
5 Years: I want to have enough cash and cashflow(from Rental Properties) to support a Franchise that I want to open up in Surrey BC
10 Years: I want to start my own real estate company etc and sales training since I have a background in sales.
15 Years: I want to Retire and let my assets work for me and take up golf!

in the next 90 days I would like to purchase my first income producing property. This is the first step I don`t know to start so please help me out!
10 Years:

 

[EdRenkema]

Hi Monty,
Congratulations on setting some goals with timelines. The best advice I can give you is to educate yourself on RE in general and on your local RE market.
Several books I can recommend are: Real Estate Investing in Canada - Don R. Campbell
The Beginners Guide to Real Estate Investing - Gary W. Eldred
Additionally spend as much time as you can browsing this forum.
Two other books I might recommend that personally helped me change my relationship with money vs wealth building are by Robert Kyosaki, namely: Rich Dad Poor Dad and The Cashflow Quadrant, this last one especially considering your business aspirations.
Good luck!

 

[kopilas]

Monty604,

Good for you to set some goals, however i recommend a change of mindset to something more focused and positive from "I want to" or " I would like to" to something like " I will accomplish ....... by this date." Secondly start with the end in mind and work backwards to find what you need to do today and ask yourself the question "What do i need to do, what do i need to know (or who do i ask) to accomplish this goal?" For example if you are going to purchase a property in 90 days you need to know the type (Multi-unit, single family, townhouse, condo, etc...) who is going to use it (families, students, executives..etc) where am going to buy this property, how much cash is available to me, how much experience do i have, am i going to manage this myself, do i have a lawyer, mortgage broker, Realtor etc...

After you have the answers you need, you should be able to write down a plan to follow and start with goals you need to accomplish within the next 7 days, then the next 7, then the following month and so on until you get the your 90 day goal.

Here are some posts that will help you out further

How to get started?, Using your HELOC (or some real cash ..)

5 ways to make money, Are firing on all 5 cylinders .. or at least 2?

 

[Thomas Beyer]

QUOTE (kopilas @ Aug 19 2008, 05:50 PM) Here are some posts that will help you out further
How to get started?, Using your HELOC (or some real cash ..)

5 ways to make money, Are firing on all 5 cylinders .. or at least 2?

yes these are good starter reads ..

do NOT plan 15 years out when you are 23 !

Even 5 years out is UNrealistic .. plan to buy a property .. and learn .. then try another one and learn .. and maybe you meet a cute gal (or guy) and move to Indonesia and the 2 year plan is thrown out the window .. take opportunities as they come along .. be opportunistic .. don`t plan too much ! EXECUTE !

I came to Canada over 20 years ago with less than $1000 in my jeans .. and did not say "gee, I want to become a real estate mogul with 1000+ tenants .." .. it occurred to me only about 15 years ago that real estate is a fascinating and life enhancing experience .. I was doing fine in software sales/marketing for 10+ years before that ..

"Knowledge is Power" someone once said .. but it is incorrect !

APPLIED knowledge is power !

So, join REIN or apply Donald Trump`s deep and sometimes hilarious wisdom .. then apply it some more .. then learn some more .. re-adjust as you meet new faces or new situation ..

Planning is overrated !

Plans are nothing .. Planing is everything .. i.e. the thinking through the goals / ideas and the little steps required to actually get to where you want.

Dream, plan, act - that is the key ingredient to a successful life !

Remember also: Man plans .. and God laughs !

 

[DonCampbell]

Welcome to the world of grabbing control of your finances.

Starting with solid goals is great, now the key is to make them Compelling... so compelling that they drive you through the tough days (and there will be some).

Surround yourself with people who will support these goals and who have a positive mental attitude (but who aren`t out to sell you something behind it all).

Use the search function of this forum to find answers to questions you might not even know you should ask!

Enjoy the journey.

 

[MortgageRob]

These are all very good ideas. I was actually in a similar scenario myself a few years ago. It is good to have very long term goals (5-10 years and beyond), but I found that they would sometimes hamper me from understanding what I needed to do right away, because as they are so far away and so big, they can sometimes seem like a monumental step away from where you are currently at, which was frustrating because I didn`t know what steps to take to make action happen now.

One thing that worked well was to write a 1 year plan. How I did that was I wrote myself a letter dated one year from now (So, if you did it today, you would date it Aug. 20th, 2009). This letter would describe the accomplishments and goals you achieved for that last year(the year we are currently in). The letter should be written in the present tense looking BACK at what you did in 2008. Come up with 10 or more (realistic) initiatives that you have put into place and use this as your goal sheet for the upcoming year, before the year begins.

Once you`ve done that, you can break it down into what needs to happen first, in order for the next goal to take place. Doing this, you can make monthly, weekly and daily goals happen. Remember, nothing happens without ACTION!

Hope this helps,

 

[EdRenkema]

QUOTE (thomasbeyer2000 @ Aug 19 2008, 06:40 PM) yes these are good starter reads ..do NOT plan 15 years out when you are 23 !

Even 5 years out is UNrealistic .. plan to buy a property .. and learn .. then try another one and learn .. and maybe you meet a cute gal (or guy) and move to Indonesia and the 2 year plan is thrown out the window .. take opportunities as they come along .. be opportunistic .. don`t plan too much ! EXECUTE !

I came to Canada over 20 years ago with less than $1000 in my jeans .. and did not say "gee, I want to become a real estate mogul with 1000+ tenants .." .. it occurred to me only about 15 years ago that real estate is a fascinating and life enhancing experience .. I was doing fine in software sales/marketing for 10+ years before that ..

"Knowledge is Power" someone once said .. but it is incorrect !

APPLIED knowledge is power !

So, join REIN or apply Donald Trump`s deep and sometimes hilarious wisdom .. then apply it some more .. then learn some more .. re-adjust as you meet new faces or new situation ..

Planning is overrated !

Plans are nothing .. Planing is everything .. i.e. the thinking through the goals / ideas and the little steps required to actually get to where you want.

Dream, plan, act - that is the key ingredient to a successful life !

Remember also: Man plans .. and God laughs !

Thomas is correct in that planning is overrated. I`ve always been a goalsetter, particularly athletically. Untill I became a RE investor I never had concrete written goals or plans because of Thomas` point, details of plans go awry - Murphy`s law being what it is, however I expedited meeting my goals once I began making plans, writing down goals, and having a reason for taking action. Plan all you want, without action you will achieve nothing. These days I have dreams, hence written goals, and my plans change daily in order to achieve those goals.
I think the point is be clear in what you want out of life, realize what the price is and if you are willing to pay the price and be flexible enough to change course (your plans) when necessary.

 

[Wongus]

Hi
To invest money in real estate is reall a vary good idea. I want to say you that you have a very good plan for your future. Real estate investment always gives you good returns. Real estate income in future will help you in future like a pension.

 

[Adamsmith]

Hi
That`s very good that you have decided your goal in life, I am also a real estate investor. I have invested in it and I am getting good returns. For me real estate investment is a safe side to invest your money. It always gives good returns and if you invested your money in a better way you can get some regular income from it .

 

[Shinto]

I would say the best thing you can do right now is to find a mentor. Look for a person that is where you want to be. They say a smart person will learn from their mistakes. However a genius will learn from other peoples` mistakes.


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