Help with regaining order in my REI plan

[ryanpal]

Hello Investors!

After my other post, AroundTheWorld inspired me to share my thoughts with the forum. I'll try to use bullet points etc. to keep the length down.

-To date I've landed one preforeclosure property in which I currently live in
-My REI plan as been to land more preforeclosure/foreclosure properties and wholesale them in order to build some capital
-After saving enough money, venture into multiunits where monthly cashflow is enough to make a comfortable living

-My computer background has helped decrease the amount of manual labor involved.
-My "system" has been constantly evolving and continues to better as weeks progress. It looks very promising.

Here's the dilemna:
I've heard many gurus say "focus on one area and become an expert in this area". While I've made preforeclosures my main scope, this is not my intended future scope (multi-units are). Now while I've been mostly dedicated to preforeclosures, I'll hear a seminar which talks about tax certificates for example. This then gets me thinking of how I can pursue this line of investing as well.

It seems the constant battle I encounter is trying to specialize in one area, but then trying to do all of them. I like having many tools in the arsenal, but having too broad a range tends to make me lose focus and become scattered. To add insult to injury, it feels that I'm not sure what area I would enjoy most, hence why I'm all over the place.

Lastly, there was a post made on the RDPD site which really stirred things up. This post mentioned a way in which the poster contacted a few reputable commercial investors and worked for free to gain the experience. This caught my interest alot. Currently I'm learning through hard knocks and posting on forums, but I feel having a mentor to keep me on the right track and let me bump along could be just what I need.
Well there you have it.

I hope this doesn't come across as a rant. I'm very motivated and dedicated in REI. Some days I feel my focus is 100% set, and others I question if it is the right path. Hopefully some of the experienced investors on this board can share some advice so that I can get things a little more organized.

Thanks,
Ryan

 

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[Yankees338]

I'm kinda in the same boat as you, but probably a few years younger. However, your plan seems to make sense and it's one I've often considered. I feel like the real cashflow is made when you have the capital to start off with. Even when creativity is used and very little cash is put down up front, I rarely see many investments turn out with a high amount of positive cashflow. Therefore, building a capital reserve through wholesaling and flipping seems like a sound idea. Keep us posted on how your journey goes!

P.S. My name is Ryan too. :cheers:

 

[AroundTheWorld]

It sounds as if you have identified your weakness... lack of focus.... so, now you just need to figure out how to fix that?

Don't know what to tell you there - as I suffer from the same condition. Actually, I have conquered it somewhat... The biggest thing is to develop the ability to just pause and say to yourself... "I can do that later in life, but I need to finish/focus on what I am doing now first.

Make sense?

Also - how is the market in your specific area? is it flat or dropping? If so, you could still focus on foreclosures but rather than looking for capital gains deals you can look to turn them into rentals.... hold them and build equity that way. Then, later you can exchange those into multi-family.

ON Mentors... This is just IMHO, but let real life experience teach you. There is no better lesson then that.

 

[ryanpal]

Thanks for your reply again.

The market here is still dropping. I've been making foreclosures my focus, I just had a few things come across my path that made me think.

Seems I'm back on track now...well for the most part. I still have mixed views on mentors myself.

One, I agree that learning things on your own is a great experience. On the flip side, however, I feel you can avoid alot of mistakes and save some precious time by having someone to watch over you.

Ryan

 

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