Commercial Real Estate Investment Articles

My name is Brad Hawley. I am a Specialist in the United States Army. As a soldier in the United States Army, I have not had a lot of free time lately, but I wanted to share my first no money down deal.

As Ed Garcia put it: “You’re driving by the gold on your way to the silver if you don’t have the knowledge to really know what it is your looking for in the first place.”

This post is for all of you that have asked me to share my experiences with you. I hope you find it interesting and inspirational.

Today, I went to the escrow office to pick up the check for my first flip. I got the property under contract for $100,000 and flipped it (double close) to my seller for $123,000. There were a lot moments where I worried a lot about not being able to close the deal.

It’s time I told my story…To all those who helped me get started back a couple of months ago when I was a newbie: Thank you, thank you, thank you. You know who you are: gals and dudes who were real cool with their time and experience to help me with some questions I had to get me started.

A few months ago, I was looking at the CRE Online website because I have always been interested in real estate investing. There are always several very interesting articles and ideas with which to make money investing in real estate.

I started educating myself about real estate investing in mid-2000, almost entirely by studying CRE Online. I created a Sub-S corporation in June 2001 and started marketing in the local paper with “We Buy Houses” ads in July. Had a lot of calls and finally settled on two deals.

Ed Garcia and Terry Vaughan, This letter is long overdue. However, it’s partly your fault for providing such an excellent workshop on creative financing [How to Get Lenders Fighting to Give You Money].

First of all I would like to say “thank you” for such a great site to share and gather information on such a great business.

I was a recently laid off tech worker with over 10 years experience in the field. Even when I had a cushy, high-paying job, I never felt I had job security and hated relying on others for a paycheck.

This success story is long overdue and with the help I have got from CRE Online, I hope my story can encourage people in their own journey.

This letter is long overdue. However, it’s partly your fault for providing such an excellent workshop on creative financing [How to Get Lenders Fighting to Give You Money]

I just wanted to tell you about the deal that I got yesterday. A motivated seller has a house in great area in my community.

I’d like to thank J.P. and Terry Vaughan for this awesome site, everyone at the CRE Online Convention who was so caring and supportive and everyone else who contributes to this site. It truly is an amazing resource!

It’s time I told my story…To all those who helped me get started back a couple of months ago when I was a newbie: Thank you, thank you, thank you. You know who you are: gals and dudes who were real cool with their time and experience to help me with some questions I had to get me started.

Finding good deals really is the hardest part of this business, but sometimes, just by keeping your eyes open, one falls in your lap. That’s how I found my first deal, and here’s the story

Wow, where do I begin. I had a friend that had a property he bought at auction for $13,100. It was 1.3 acres of land with a well and septic on it. He was a friend of the family that had to sell it (estate auction).

I have been limping along with my 15 rentals for a while now. I also make good money for a corporation buying and selling electricity nationwide in realtime. It’s the adrenaline I like. So I still have my 50 hour/week job. I haven’t bought a property in 4 years–until this month.

I just closed on a 1.23 acre parcel that I have been negotiating to buy for the last five or six weeks. The owner had agreed to a price of $8,000 ($2,000 down and $250 per month for 24 months with 0% interest, which Ernest Tew helped me structure).

Here is a deal I did that made me a nice bit of pocket change. I went to see a house where the lady had seemed mighty motivated over the phone. But, after sitting with her and explaining the details of how I could help her, we both determined that she was not motivated.

I’ve netted over $30,000 after all expenses from my real estate investing business, wholesaling real estate in last six months just doing part time with my regular job. Not looking to “toot my horn” here in a success story.

Back in August, I moved my family to Billings, Montana from South Texas. As soon as I arrived I started riding the speed bumps, looking for mobile homes. I called on a manager of a mobile home park I drove by every day and inquired about any mobile homes for sale. I explained to her what I did, and she didn’t hesitate and gave the name and number of a gentleman wanting to sell his mobile home.

Since I wrote about the $27,000 Profit on My First Real Estate Deal, my opportunities have been growing. I’ve kept the three properties that I had purchased while I anxiously awaited the sale of that first deal. And in ONLY two months, since that sale, I’ve closed on the additional four properties that I mentioned were under contract, got another under contract, and BEST of all–got approved for a credit line!

My original plan was to buy and keep two or three rental properties per year for five years, for cash flow and equity growth. I was determined to find a property (or two) that would need a few cosmetic fixes for a few thousand dollars, in a good area, close to home, for a decent price, place decent tenants, and hold.

I am 18 years old and currently attending The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. Before I left for school, though, I did my first real estate deal. This site helped me a lot in my doing this deal. Here is how the deal went.