Introduction
This creative real estate investing guide was created for the intelligent investor — or someone who wants to be an intelligent and successful real estate investor.
Unlike almost every other real estate investing guide, this guide doesn’t spend much time telling you why you should invest in real estate. That can and will be done in a few short paragraphs. Rather, this guide is intended to show you how to invest in real estate.
Equally important is that it shows you how not to invest in real estate.
My first experience with real estate investing came when I was only a senior in high school. My father had co-signed on a friend’s building. Unfortunately, that friend was unable to keep up with payments and the loan went into default and foreclosure. In order to salvage his credit, my dad stepped in and arranged a second-chance refinance with the lender. He then gave me the keys to the now-vacant building and told me that it was now my responsibility. He had no experience with or time for real estate, so that became my job.
Because cash was tight, I had to do all the necessary rehab and upgrade. It wasn’t too bad until the sewer backed up in the middle of summer. The plumbers said that they had to access the pipes below the basement slab and quoted me about $1,500 for the work — quite a lot of money back in 1983. Half of that amount was to break through the concrete floor.
It had to be done. But to save money, I decided to rent a jackhammer for $75 and break through the concrete slab myself.
Halfway through that muggy July day, my body was sore, drenched with sweat and covered with dirt; and I remember thinking to myself: “I hate real estate”!
Eventually, I did grow to appreciate real estate investing and wanted to learn as much as I could about its creative aspects. I also developed a niche providing creative financing for local beginning investors and teaching mortgage loan officers how to assist beginning investors.
I’ve spent thousands of dollars over the past two decades paying for guides, CDs and workshops, in my search for more knowledge about real estate investing. Inevitably, I had to do it the old-fashioned way: I learned as I went along. I have no regrets because I’ve learned from my mistakes and successes.
Through this guide, you should be able to learn from my mistakes and successes as well.
Next Creative Real Estate Investing Guide Section: Get Real About Real Estate Investing
About this Creative Real Estate Investing Guide
The Creative Investing Center’s Creative Real Estate Investing Guide is an in-depth property investment resource developed by the Creative Investing Center and serialized for public use. The real estate investing tactics, strategies and principles discussed in this guide have been gleamed from our own decades of experiences in the real estate and mortgage loan world. If you would like to cite any portion of this real estate investing guide for non-profit use, we would be honored and simply request a citation link.
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