John Locke Sub 2 Manual
hey all I have my credit card out and am ready to purchase johns manual. I have a good knowledge of real estate processes and terms, just wanted to know if people have been succesful with just the manual. I just want some sorta confirmation that it will be suitable for someone wanting to jump into sub2, does he offer any discount for people who may want tpo buy the course afterwards.
John's Subject To manual is a self-contained course. I have a copy of his manual from 2002, 2003, and 2004.
The 2004 version did not change any of the primary content but it does incorporate some additional material that addresses many of the questions John's students have asked in the early years.
Whether the course is suitable for you is a question I can not answer. I heartily endorse John's material, but I would not recommend Subject To for the novice as a first investment approach. If you have never done any real estate deals, this course may not be for you, yet. If you don't have any cash reserves on hand to cover maintenance, marketing, and the mortgage payments until you get a buyer in place, this course may not be for you, yet.If you don't have the financial strength to refinance the mortgage in the unlikely event the lender accelerates the note, this course is not for you, yet.If you don't have the cash on hand, or discretionary income, to cover the mortgage payments when your buyer is late or defaults, then this course is not for you, yet.If you expect to receive state specific forms and contract blanks, then this course is not for you.
This manual (course) is for you ifyou have done some deals and want to add a different creative investing technique to your repertoire.you have sufficient cash on hand or enough discretionary income to protect your subject to seller when the property is not producing any incomeyou have some background, experience, and cash reserves to manage the deal, but you just need a little extra hand-holding while you get through that first dealyou have run into a problem and need John's advice or assistance -- by telephone 24/7.
Well that actually has got me thinking alot right now, since I more then anything fall into the category of "this course is not for me"
I have yet to do any deals.
I make a good income, but also have relatively high debt, and do not make enough too cover or possibly pay for a mtg that is called due.
Maybe I should get one or two deals under my belt first , I assume.
Can you suggest the route I should be going thru, wholesaling seems to be the ticket.
I would say that Dave's approach is the conservative one and your approach would depend on your abiltiy and willing ness to deal with risk and stress. I am more comfortable with Dave's approach, that said, I know some who get going on a shoe string and seem to deal with teh stress and risk just fine until they build up some capital.
What about Sub To-ing your own home as you are paying rent/ mortgage anyway?
Len,
First study - goes without saying.
I am in the same boat, but the interesting part is, just start taking about what your doing where ever you go. There will be people who will say your crazy, but the majority of the people I've talked to want to or are interested in REI. They just don't want to do it for themselves. So they are willing to put up money (which is always a good thing). So until I have the cash in my account to do my own deals, I have it worked out to something like this:
Money man: pays downpayment (if any, sub-to), and holding expenses.
I do the repairs, advertising, and getting it sold to tenant/buyer.
at time of sale: Money man gets back all money spent + 1/2 of profits thereafter
me: 1/2 of profits
Granted its not the best senario, but it will get me some to get going.
LenNJ,
DaveT has some valid points. I consider most investing methods not all a risk vs reward stituation.
My first month I did about 8 deals and had $100K in my trust account at the loan servicing company from doing these deals, so I felt comfortable that I could handle the contingencies should they arise.
I will also point out that I was totally new to subject to investing when I started. As a matter of fact it took me 5 years before I knew I was doing subject to.
I was reading a discussion board for the first time about two years ago where people where talking about subject to investing, it really looked familiar. Then I realized that was what I had been doing along. Thus the title to my manual "Subject To, that's what I do." after I figured out what I was doing.
I swear if I started reading discussion boards before I started investing I don't think I would have. The "information overload" at some times can seem over whelming. It ain't that tough to become a successful investor.
John $Cash$ Locke
[ Edited by JohnLocke on Date 02/24/2004 ]
Hello John
thanks for getting in on this as well. I must admit the points brought up did make me think twice about getting the manual. Since I have yet to do any deals yet. I make a fairly good living, am also a licensed agent...and I am trying to find the right fit, and also to finally get a grasp on a REI technique...beyond what I have learned from books, and etc. I think that with your help I can do this, and also the accesibility to you thru phone and email sounds very helpful. Can you tell me if you had similiar students in the past, with no REI experience, and they still were able to be succesful with sub 2?
If you really are serious regarding REI, we suggest 90-120 days @ 10-20 hours per week as a bird dog for an active local investors group. The knowledge gained will boost your newbie confidence and create a solid foundation of industry contacts. The knowledge gained will EASILY migrate into other RE investing techniques.
Eric & Rosa
[addsig]
I have a question, Dave T I was wondering what amount of money would be enough to start out with,, without haveing to sell my arms and legs. I'm sure the more the better but would $2000 be enough..Or are we talking about $5000 and up.... [ Edited by mjdreal on Date 02/24/2004 ]
LenNJ,
At one of my workshops was a young lady from MN who was a real estate agent. She was the number one seller of condo's in her state as a matter of fact they called her the Condo Queen.
She felt she was missing something with some of the people who were asking for help and she did not know how to help them, so she came to me.
After her training the light went on and she is now using the Subject To method along with her real estate license when doing conventional deals.
If there is no or little equity in some deals, I build the equity in when I purchase the property, which builds capital fast. It is about structuring the deal so everyone winds up with a win/win.
John $Cash$ Locke