Auction Power Guide

My grandfather wants to buy one of those books on real estate. The ones advertised on TV. Obviously, you’re not going to get rich doing this, as they advertise, but is there anything to it? Can you make any money buying foreclosed houses, fixing them up, and reselling them, or however it works?

Let me first answer you saying that I am one of the people that has purchased one of these courses off of the television. I bought the Carlton Sheets course and found the material fascinating.

At the time I bought it I owned a Janitorial business and I was not at all happy with it. The business although providing me a decent lifestyle was not ultimately very fulfilling. I was also interested in diversifying my financial portfolio so it was very intriguing to me.

It took about 6 to 8 months after going through the course thoroughly to find the right first deal and I walked away from the escrow table with over $40k in cash. Since then I have been involved in over a hundred transactions, I have lost money on a few deals but by and large it has been a very profitable business. I still to this day do real estate investing. I bought and closed on a property @ 639 W 24th Street in Ogden, UT (I believe you can do an internet search on that address and find some documentation I have published on my progress) I bought this property for $42k it is worth $90k fixed up and I took home a check for $7500.00 from escrow so this for me is better than no money down I got paid to buy it. My intent is to fix it up ($14k to repair it) With agent listing fees etc… I stand to make $15k to $20k profit.

The reason I mentioned that deal is I wanted to sincerely tell you that you can do what they talk about in those late night infomercials. The deal I just talked about I have done multiple times and in fact I have 2 more similar set to close in the next few weeks.

What is misleading about those commercials is that it is so easy. Real Estate Investing just like anything else is hard work, you have lots of phone conversations, meet and greets, relationship building and lots and lots of research. It is a business that is not get rich quick but rather a slow and steady system for wealth creation.

If you buy the Carlton Sheets course realize that it is written by a gentlemen who has been out of the game for quite a while. The information is generic but it will get you the ideas of the basics. Even though real estate investing seems like a pretty specific term it isn’t. There are many types and strategies for doing it and each have their ups and downs. Buying and holding rentals, Fixing up and flipping them for profit, Short sales, lease options, seller financing, and brokering notes are just a few aspects of this business. That is why his course is so good because it covers so many of these aspects and gets you a really good overview of the real estate investing world.

Once you read through those courses you will begin to get a good idea of what specific type of deals you are looking to do. Even though I got started with the Carlton Sheets course I have expanded my knowledge considerably into other areas specifically relating to what kind of deal I like to do.

For instance my primary specialty is to buy foreclosed (REO) properties, remodeling them and reselling for profit (Otherwise Known as flipping). I am still aware and have tried being a landlord, and doing lease options but my most comfortable feel in the market is flipping.

Buying and reading these courses will give you a good overview of what you want to do and from their you can gain specific knowledge. I recommend before you buy off TV look on eBay for the same thing. Sometimes you can pick up a used real estate course for $50 and the information is still the same.

Once you decide what kind of investing you want to do you can begin to seek after specific knowledge. this would be best obtained in the field. I would join a real estate investor club and start attending their meetings. See what happens at these meeting and meet the other investors. Some of these investors will be open to an apprentice type relationship. I have taught many people this business from this very angle. I usually give them a small slice of pie to learn from me and then we do several deals together until they are ready to do some on their own.

In short though I will tell you to read, read, read, their are tons of books written on the subject and lots of materials to go over. Their are also tons of free resources so don"t feel the need to spend a lot of money.

Try the free resources first then look to spend some money when you are sure of the direction you wish to go.

Next go out and do a deal. Don’t get locked in analysis paralysis. Once you have enough knowledge to feel comfortable just do it. Find a mentor in the real estate investing club to help you out or give his advice. Some wont be willing to but some will. I am always willing to help out anyone in my market that has a real estate investing question.