No Credit, No Money, No Problem! Getting Started in Real Estate Investing
By: Scott Ames
Despite what the “no money down” courses suggest on television, having money does make real estate investing much easier. In real estate, cash is king.
When you have lots of cash you can buy properties at a deep discount by offering all cash. You can rehab a property easily. You can swing deals that just can’t be done in time by someone applying for loans. Cash makes life easier.
What if you don’t have any cash at all? Worse, your credit is destroyed and you have to work at McDonalds at night to pay your bills. You don’t have much time, you don’t have credit, and you don’t have money. Are you just hopeless? Are your dreams of profiting from real estate dead?
No. You can still make money in real estate. Believe it or not, there are still lots and lots of ways you can profit. Let’s cover some of them.
Partnering or investing with another person or persons is on method. Find someone with credit or cash. You offer to do all the work of finding the property, and put the deal together. They put up whatever cash is needed, and then you split whatever profits are made. It’s much better to have 20%, 40% or 50% of something than 100% of nothing. Both you and your partner will profit.
Manage properties. If you have management skills you might offer to manage an apartment building in exchange for a management fee or even a free apartment. You can get a free apartment by managing storage units as well if you are willing to put up with constant interruptions.
If you manage a building successfully for a while, you might ask the owner for an option to buy the building should he or she ever decide to sell. They know you; they trust you, especially if you do a good job. A “no money down” sweet deal is in your future if you treat that owner right and do an excellent job.
Getting a license and working as a real estate agent is another way. A lot of people overlook this entry way into investing. There are many agents already in your area, and you would be new and inexperienced, so it could take time to earn a living. If you did it part time however you’ll still know the market well and you’ll have access to “players” or people that invest. They might be your future partner if you do a good job for them. Find an investor a few juicy deals and they will be your friend for life. Offer to partner with them in the future and they might just take you up on it.
Be a Notary Public. A Notary is just someone that has taken an easy test, licensed by the State, who can put their seal on documents to certify that the parties signing are who they say they are. It’s super easy to become a Notary. Why would being a Notary Public help you in investing: for the contacts. Investors need documents signed and notarized sometimes in the middle of the night. If they know you can perform this service for them, they will come to you. They will have your business card with them at all times. Having people with money, especially real estate investors and agents, knowing your name can launch you into a nice investment if you play it right.
Wholesaling properties or bird dogging can make you instant income without credit, financing, or the need for cash. A bird dog finds run down properties, or even just great deals, for other investors. They either get the deal under contract then assign it to an investor for cash, or they sell the lead to an investor. Whole books and courses have been written on this method of making money with real estate.
As you can see, if you have nothing, you can still make money in real estate. Don’t let anyone tell you it can’t be done. It can.
Scott Ames is publisher of BIrdDogCity.com a website dedicated to those interested in flipping houses for profit, either retail or wholesale. You may visit the site at
http://www.birddogcity.com