Can you buy real estate with bad credit and no cash? Absolutely! Is it going to be easy? Probably not. There are a couple of realities we should point out. The first is that there are many, MANY examples of people who have grown wealthy in the property business without the advantage of having a big pile of cash or perfect credit when they started out. In fact, the absence of both of these critical factors likely describes a large percentage of the people who want to invest in real estate as a way to wealth, and who could blame them?
Real estate is, hands down, the best wealth creator in the history of our planet. From King Solomon’s abundance in Biblical times right down through the ages to the rise and fall and rise again of Donald Trump, it’s always been real estate, baby. So, how can a person of modest or even, shall we say, paltry economic means get started in this high dollar entry field?
Did we already say this? If so, it bears repeating; it’s not easy. However, if you let the fact that you’re going to have to work at it dissuade you from trying, you’ve already proven you don’t have what it takes because the likelihood is you’re going to get bruised, bloodied, and there’s a real good chance you’ll hear “no” dozens, maybe even hundreds of times before someone finally says “yes.” Horror novelist extraordinaire Stephen King figures he got more than 200 rejection slips over a decade from publishers before he sold his first story. Can you say tenacity?
Here’s what you need to buy real estate with bad credit and no cash.
1. A loathing for the status quo: If you either like or are sort of okay with your present financial condition, it probably won’t change. You really need to feel a deep down burning desire that you were meant for more in this life and, by gosh, you’re going to take it if you must. Legally, of course.
2. The need for increased abundance: Call it money, wealth, or filthy lucre. If increasing your net worth isn’t included in your hard wiring from the get-go, it’s hard to put it there.
3. Desire for achievement: Forget the lack of credit and absence of cash. What you really need to get ahead in the real estate business is the internal drive to achieve. Do you think Donald Trump is ever satisfied with the extent of his real estate holdings or the latest Neilsen ratings for Celebrity Apprentice? We don’t know The Donald personally but we know his type and the answer is a big, fat “No!”
4. Tenacity: Remember the story of the guy who tunneled out of Alcatraz using a spoon or some such other ridiculous instrument of escape? Took him years and then he got eaten by sharks (allegedly) on the swim back to the mainland, but the point was he set a goal and would not be shaken from it.
5. Resiliency: We’ve said it before in a round about way but here’s the straight scoop. Get used to hearing the word “no.” Seriously. Unless you just get really lucky, you’re going to hear it more times than you can count. You’ve got to shrug it off and keep moving forward with confidence and zeal. It sounds corny but more than one salesman approaches his day with the goal of getting a certain number of negative responses. He knows it’s simply a numbers game; the faster he can accumulate failures means he’s getting closer to success. Perverted? Maybe, but it’s true.
If you have the previous five character traits embedded in every fiber of your being, there’s almost no way you won’t succeed eventually. Of course, when it comes to the real estate game, it helps if you have selling skills, a professional demeanor, and a solid grasp of real estate financing. And, yes, good credit and a pile of cash are nice, though not critical. And now here’s where we tell you exactly how to go about grabbing that brass ring when starting from square one. Sorry, we couldn’t do that if we wanted to. There are as many different scenarios as there are people applying them. You’ve got to find what works for you.
Here is one nugget, though. Try bird-dogging properties for property investors who do have a pile of cash. Earn those finder’s fees, save them, and soon you’ll have enough to put down on a small property of your own.
The Jason Hartman Team
Flickr / ASurroca
