How I Got Started In Real Estate

I purchased my first home when I was 26. I had been working as an office assistant for approximately 6 months, making $30,000 a year salary with $20,000 in credit card debt and no money in the bank. When I say no money, I mean NO money. Zero, zilch, nada. I was living paycheck to paycheck, all my earnings going toward the interest on my credit cards.

I had taken a year off previously (as I often do in my life) to pursue some personal goals. That year it was to write a book, which I did. In exchange for being able to take that year off, I had to dip into my savings, and when that was depleted, I began living off my credit cards. By the way, I do not recommend this to everyone, but I must admit it was well worth it for my own sense of purpose and personal growth (see A Word About Credit Cards for more information about the myth of credit card debt).

I’ve never been one to follow the norm. Though I’ve tried several times, thinking it might be easier to just be like everyone else, it has always caused me more pain, frustration and inner turmoil than when I was struggling to listen to my inner voice.

My inner voice told me that I did not want to work in an office for the rest of my life. It told me I did not want to earn a salary set by someone else with the chance for a measly 2-4% raise every year no matter how well I performed. It told me I did not want to have to ask someone if, when and for how long I could take a vacation or whether or not I could even be sick for a day. My inner voice told me I was destined for something larger and it simply would not, no matter how hard I fought it, let me settle for anything less.

I realized I wasn’t going to get as far as I was meant to on $30K a year working for someone else. So I decided to buy real estate. It wasn’t so much a decision, actually, as it was a calling. I was simply following orders from my nagging inner voice. Of course, that voice never tells you HOW to do something, it just tells you to do it. And another thing about inner voices, they sure aren’t very reasonable and practical, are they?

How in the world was I going to afford a house when I had no money to put down or pay for closing costs, my debt-to-income ratio was sky high and I didn’t even have the history of a stable, long-term job to satisfy any potential lender's fears of defaulting?

As luck would have it (yeah right!) I received a phone call from someone I had known years ago. She was a friend of a friend, had moved several times throughout the years and was trying to regain contact with our mutual friend. The only number she was able to find linking her to the friend was mine (which is weird considering we never chatted outside the presence of our mutual friend), so she called to see if I was still in touch with this friend. In the course of our conversation, she told me that she had just received her real estate license and was looking for new clients.

At around the same time, I mentioned my plans to my sister, who is every infomercial company’s dream, and she said she had just purchased a real estate program from an infomercial she saw. She hadn’t had time to look at it though and it was sitting on the shelf with all the other infomercial products she bought but hadn’t yet had time to look at either. I asked if she could send it to me, told her I’d look at it for her and give her the Cliff’s Notes version of what I learned.

The program was “How To Buy Your First Home or Investment Property With No Down Payment” by Carleton Sheets. Aside from the many practical steps this program outlined, the best thing it did for me was to open my eyes to the mere POSSIBILITY that I CAN do it. Had someone with a similar message come along and told me this, I would have just as readily believed them. But no one had. Everyone else told me it was impossible. Yet, deep inside me, where that inner voice resided, I knew it was more than possible, it was in fact already heading my way. I just didn’t know how.

So I read through his book like a bible. I took the course, did the exercises, studied the terms and immersed myself in anything and everything that had to do with not only real estate, but also positive thinking and what I call motivational supplements. Motivational supplements are anything that increases your motivation (books, music, prayer, workshops, seminars, quotes, affirmations, role models, stories, speeches, material objects, etc). Anything that affirms “YOU CAN DO IT” is a motivational supplement.

Within a few months, my agent (the friend of a friend who called out of the blue) found a townhouse that I absolutely LOVED for a price that I absolutely LOVED from a motivated seller who was looking for a quick & easy close. I had already found a broker who pre-qualified me for an awesome loan.

My first call to a broker went exactly like this: "I want to buy a house. I have no collateral. I have zero money to put down, little money for closing costs and I can't afford more than an $800 payment per month. I make $30K a year before taxes, have $20K in credit card debt and I've only been at my job for 6 months. Can you help?" It took many calls before I found one who didn't laugh. Hey, why waste time? Just lay it all out up front. The kind of person who will welcome this as a challenge and accept it with a "YES I CAN" attitude is the kind of broker I want! All else need not apply.

He had found me a loan through a state program that offered extremely low interest at the time (6%, the prime was around 8%), no down payment and required the seller to pay for most of the closing costs, but I still had to come up with some cash (approx. $2K) to pay for the rest.

Though Mr. Sheets’ program offered numerous ways to avoid paying a single penny, I was so elated to have this wonderful opportunity of home ownership that I jumped on it and decided not to negotiate with the seller or seek out a different lender who could fund me in a more aggressive and creative way. It was my first purchase and I simply didn’t want to press my luck.

Thinking back, with what I know now, I could have done it. It would have taken a tad longer perhaps and created a little more work on my end, but it definitely could have been done, if I was willing. But I wasn’t. I felt blessed enough to get what I was getting and for my first home, I didn’t want to complicate matters too much especially since going through the process of buying a home can be stressful and confusing enough, let alone becoming a financial real estate mogul overnight. Not that it can’t be done, mind you, I just wasn’t ready for it.

If you’ve been paying close attention, you might be wondering how I was able to pay for the portion of the closing costs that was not required of the seller if I had zero, zilch, nada in the bank. Excellent question!

Click here for some tips on how to pay closing closts (even if you have zero, zilch, nada in the bank) and how to make more money (without getting a raise or a 2nd job) to help pay those new mortgage payments.


	HOW I GOT STARTED IN REAL ESTATE A Personal Story
	I purchased my first home when I was 26. I had been working as an office assistant for approximately 6 months, making $30,000 a year salary with $20,000 in credit card debt and no money in the bank. When I say no money, I mean NO money. Zero, zilch, nada. I was living paycheck to paycheck, all my earnings going toward the interest on my credit cards. I had taken a year off previously (as I often do in my life) to pursue some personal goals. That year it was to write a book, which I did. In exchange for being able to take that year off, I had to dip into my savings, and when that was depleted, I began living off my credit cards. By the way, I do not recommend this to everyone, but I must admit it was well worth it for my own sense of purpose and personal growth (see A Word About Credit Cards for more information about the myth of credit card debt). I’ve never been one to follow the norm. Though I’ve tried several times, thinking it might be easier to just be like everyone else, it has always caused me more pain, frustration and inner turmoil than when I was struggling to listen to my inner voice. My inner voice told me that I did not want to work in an office for the rest of my life. It told me I did not want to earn a salary set by someone else with the chance for a measly 2-4% raise every year no matter how well I performed. It told me I did not want to have to ask someone if, when and for how long I could take a vacation or whether or not I could even be sick for a day. My inner voice told me I was destined for something larger and it simply would not, no matter how hard I fought it, let me settle for anything less. I realized I wasn’t going to get as far as I was meant to on $30K a year working for someone else. So I decided to buy real estate. It wasn’t so much a decision, actually, as it was a calling. I was simply following orders from my nagging inner voice. Of course, that voice never tells you HOW to do something, it just tells you to do it. And another thing about inner voices, they sure aren’t very reasonable and practical, are they? How in the world was I going to afford a house when I had no money to put down or pay for closing costs, my debt-to-income ratio was sky high and I didn’t even have the history of a stable, long-term job to satisfy any potential lender's fears of defaulting? As luck would have it (yeah right!) I received a phone call from someone I had known years ago. She was a friend of a friend, had moved several times throughout the years and was trying to regain contact with our mutual friend. The only number she was able to find linking her to the friend was mine (which is weird considering we never chatted outside the presence of our mutual friend), so she called to see if I was still in touch with this friend. In the course of our conversation, she told me that she had just received her real estate license and was looking for new clients. At around the same time, I mentioned my plans to my sister, who is every infomercial company’s dream, and she said she had just purchased a real estate program from an infomercial she saw. She hadn’t had time to look at it though and it was sitting on the shelf with all the other infomercial products she bought but hadn’t yet had time to look at either. I asked if she could send it to me, told her I’d look at it for her and give her the Cliff’s Notes version of what I learned. The program was “How To Buy Your First Home or Investment Property With No Down Payment” by Carleton Sheets. Aside from the many practical steps this program outlined, the best thing it did for me was to open my eyes to the mere POSSIBILITY that I CAN do it. Had someone with a similar message come along and told me this, I would have just as readily believed them. But no one had. Everyone else told me it was impossible. Yet, deep inside me, where that inner voice resided, I knew it was more than possible, it was in fact already heading my way. I just didn’t know how. So I read through his book like a bible. I took the course, did the exercises, studied the terms and immersed myself in anything and everything that had to do with not only real estate, but also positive thinking and what I call motivational supplements. Motivational supplements are anything that increases your motivation (books, music, prayer, workshops, seminars, quotes, affirmations, role models, stories, speeches, material objects, etc). Anything that affirms “YOU CAN DO IT” is a motivational supplement. Within a few months, my agent (the friend of a friend who called out of the blue) found a townhouse that I absolutely LOVED for a price that I absolutely LOVED from a motivated seller who was looking for a quick & easy close. I had already found a broker who pre-qualified me for an awesome loan. My first call to a broker went exactly like this: "I want to buy a house. I have no collateral. I have zero money to put down, little money for closing costs and I can't afford more than an $800 payment per month. I make $30K a year before taxes, have $20K in credit card debt and I've only been at my job for 6 months. Can you help?" It took many calls before I found one who didn't laugh. Hey, why waste time? Just lay it all out up front. The kind of person who will welcome this as a challenge and accept it with a "YES I CAN" attitude is the kind of broker I want! All else need not apply. He had found me a loan through a state program that offered extremely low interest at the time (6%, the prime was around 8%), no down payment and required the seller to pay for most of the closing costs, but I still had to come up with some cash (approx. $2K) to pay for the rest. Though Mr. Sheets’ program offered numerous ways to avoid paying a single penny, I was so elated to have this wonderful opportunity of home ownership that I jumped on it and decided not to negotiate with the seller or seek out a different lender who could fund me in a more aggressive and creative way. It was my first purchase and I simply didn’t want to press my luck. Thinking back, with what I know now, I could have done it. It would have taken a tad longer perhaps and created a little more work on my end, but it definitely could have been done, if I was willing. But I wasn’t. I felt blessed enough to get what I was getting and for my first home, I didn’t want to complicate matters too much especially since going through the process of buying a home can be stressful and confusing enough, let alone becoming a financial real estate mogul overnight. Not that it can’t be done, mind you, I just wasn’t ready for it. If you’ve been paying close attention, you might be wondering how I was able to pay for the portion of the closing costs that was not required of the seller if I had zero, zilch, nada in the bank. Excellent question! Click here for some tips on how to pay closing closts (even if you have zero, zilch, nada in the bank) and how to make more money (without getting a raise or a 2nd job) to help pay those new mortgage payments. And legally, too!	Read our Owner/Builder Real Estate Blog Click here for FREE info to help you get started in Real Estate!
	Inspire A Friend Inspire Me Pro-Privacy Pledge About/Contact