I'm a Real Estate Loser

Good Morning World, I'm a Real Estate Loser.

So over the past few months we have been looking at investing into real estate again, we purchased our home, a multi-unit a little over a year ago, we were able to fix up the property using a contractor and have enjoyed having a touch of what we wanted in our unit, while still receiving rent to help with the mortgage.  Because we have had success I was looking for ways to purchase more real estate, most likely buying and flipping the property(the shows on HGTV add to the mix) or even a buy and hold strategy to pay off the mortgage and get a little extra cash on the side each month.

Despite my enthusiasm and reading biggerpockets a real estate website for advice, the fact remained we needed a down payment for these homes and in most cases since the market we are looking in is mostly comprised of all cash investors.  In a stroke of two worlds matching up, a family member was looking to invest and felt comfortable with our decision making, which would include there money expected to be paid back in full and our name being on the loan and ultimately responsible for both the loan and any money used in the transaction.  So you can imagine my excitement, someone was willing to gamble on us in the real estate market.  I was so excited, let's make some money, watch out Donald Trump, Richard Kyosoki ain't got nothing on me, I will own Chicago one house at a time!


REALITY hit just the other day.  We have put multiple offers on properties, some low, some high, some all cash, some loan, most REO, but overall we are batting a big fat 0.  I think the crushing blow came a couple weeks ago.  We had previously submitted an offer on a house, the asking price was 181K and recently dropped to somewhere around 155K.  We felt the right price for us was to get this property at just a touch below 140K, we submitted the offer and this was rejected through Homepath which is where the government sells many of the properties from mortgages that were previously backed by FHA mortgages.  I was a little bummed out but we were on our way to San Francisco and I felt like we gave our best offer.

Then about a month later, I noticed the price had been dropped again to almost exactly what our original offer was, so I contacted our real estate professional to submit our offer again and even increased our bid a couple thousand over asking to make sure we put our highest and best offer to win the property.  After more than a week we were told we did not win the property and later saw the house move to conditional, taking it off the market.  That was the last time I have really been excited for a house and have decided it is best to focus in other areas where I enjoy my time more.

So today I am a Real Estate Loser, lost multiple bids, feels like have seen 50 houses in person to no avail.  It's a little frustrating, but as my wife says if it were mean to be it would have happened.  I think that I need to focus more on other avenues that I enjoy, including writing on the blog, my ebay store http://stores.ebay.com/GQ-Casual and my Shopify store gqcasual.com, which I just started in the past week or so.  We are still on track for the 7 year retirement, paying off debt as we go, I really believe we can make it.  Cheers and enjoy the read.

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Are Your Parents Rich-Small Town Life

Good Morning Happy Friday right!?!?  So growing up as many of you know, we lived in a small town, I mean our school had like 6 towns combined and we were still considered very small.  One thing came to my mind the other day when a couple of friends and I happened to stop by in our old hometown to pick up some golf clubs.  What did we ever even do in this town?  No wonder we played sports or watched movies, the only businesses were a grocery store and 2 restaurants.  It's was unbelievable to me, I currently live in Chicago so that might have something to do with it, but I was almost taken back, and then I thought about it who is rich or wealthy in this town and area, it was definitely not my parents despite the subject.

So I started thinking how do any of us know how to be wealthy?  Do we take what are parents have done and mimic what they have done?  I don't see anyone as of yet running a hedge fund, owning a multi million dollar business, so how do we get there, who teaches us what we need to do to become wealthy?

Let me back track this a little, there are many people who have great jobs and professions who make a good or even great salary.  I have friends who are doctors, lawyers, nurses, construction workers, bankers, and I know they will do well, but will they be wealthy?  Do they have student loan debt, mortgage, are they debt free?  Because otherwise they/we are walking with a limp, during the race of being wealthy.  What are they doing to become wealthy?  What did your parents tell you to do?  Did they show you the path? 

Growing up I feel like very few friends or classmates had wealthy parents.  Without saying specific people although small town it will be pretty easy to figure out, here's what I have taken from it.  Insurance agent, Judge, Railroad worker, Restaurant owner, Business owner, these are the names that pop in my head that seemed to be doing above average compared to other families.  What do I see with almost all of these is that they had there own business in some way, these are the people who did well.  Yes there are certainly outliers and many people who work at a solid company and appeared to be doing well, but the outer appearance is small business is the way to wealth, there are other ways, but this sticks out.

Wealthy Farmer?

                                               

My parents have not taught me how to become wealthy, they have taught me many things that I am indebted to them for life, the list would be to long to even mention.  This is my goal, become wealthy.  I do not own my own business, strike 1 for me, I am in debt, strike 2 for me, however one topic that I did not cover, real estate, this is not a strike for me and feel like this maybe the home run of wealth. 

Please comment I love to read them even if it's this is terrible or great or your story, I love them!