By Joe Firmin 2 Minute Read
Ouch. I had been bitten.
Bitten by the bug of getting additional income. I was taking responsibility for my family’s financial future and needed to make it happen.
For the past 6 months, every book, article and podcast I could get my hands on was about real estate investing. My hours outside of my day job were spent researching, then analyzing properties for cash flow.
I saw the power of multifamily and was laser-focused on duplexes, triplexes and quads. I paid someone $50 on fiverr.com to scrape the internet for all the owners of these assets in the Augusta, Georgia market.
I analyzed and analyzed properties, running the numbers on 1-2 per day for a few months until I started to feel very comfortable with what a “deal” looked like.
Then it happened. Ping. I saw an alert from Zillow on duplex in Augusta in an area that was perfect. I made an offer. Sight unseen with heart pounding, I called my agent. Sure, I saw some pics on Zillow, but I saw the potential and the numbers made a lot of sense for the area it was in. My offer was good, $95K for a duplex priced at $100K in an area that would rent each side for $900 – easy. Great cash flow.
Offer rejected.
The seller received a full price cash offer from another investor. Dang it!
So, I just went and binged The Office on Netflix…
NOPE. (but I do love The Office!)
I reflected on this… and here’s 3 Key Things I took away from that little experience:
#1. An offer is FREE.
Yep, you read that right, F.R.E.E. It doesn’t cost you anything to make an offer. Yes, you have to place a call to your agent and ask him/her to put it in and time is money, blah, blah, blah – excuses. But… to actually put a property under contract, it doesn’t cost you any $$$$$. In case I lost you… This means you can lock up a property – keep anyone else from buying it – by offering on it and getting it accepted.
#2. I knew a what a good deal looked like.
I knew the deal was a good deal because I had put in the work to know what a good deal looked like. There is no substitution for putting in the time and getting that experience.
#3. Cash is better than a conventional loan.
Yeah, I know, I hear you… “I don’t have cash.” Again, excuses. Had I known better then, I would have used “cash” meaning a hard-money loan, pooled my little cash with someone else’s, borrowed it from my 401K, started wholesaling, etc. There are ways to get it if you start to ask “HOW” instead of saying “I don’t know” or “I can’t” – you are limiting yourself.
Since this offer, I’ve made many, many others, 95% of them rejected. This one broke down some mental barriers for me that were super strong and wholly based in fear.
You might be saying, “Geeez Joe, that sounds like a lot of work…” Yep, it is. Not going to sugar-coat it. I’m an active investor and enjoy the nuts and bolts of this business with a passion!
If you’d like to invest in multifamily real estate assets, but don’t want the work, burning the candle at both ends and the hassles of being a landlord, please sign up for the True Freedom Investor Network. It’s free to join with no commitment. It’s also the only way we can send you investment opportunities. We help you pool your capital with that of others to purchase large properties that we can add value to thereby achieving high returns. Join now!