erholtz

I am a children's pastor with excellent credit. My wife, two daughters, and I live in a house we built in '03. In 2008, We took out a HELOC for a downpayment we made for a contract for deed on an 8BR duplex right next to the University.

Here's the "lowdown" on the duplex and the events leading up to it...

In the spring and summer of 2008, I kept hearing about "the bad economy" and "the bad housing market" and record foreclosures. I knew deep in my gut that this HAD to be a good time for investors to get in.

Then, as my wife and I were on vacation, I saw this infomercial on TV- This Dean Graziosi guy was talking about this "window of opportunity" to get in on real estate. I told my wife Sarah about this "feeling" I'd been having, and how this Dean guy was confirming what was in my spirit. My wife graciously allowed me to order the book, "Be a Real Estate Millionaire." I read it through quickly.

I started looking at the paper for property for sale and rent, to see what was going on in our area. I called one lady I knew who was going through a foreclosure. I started browsing this website.

One day I got a call from my friend from church about a rental for sale. The owner was another mutual friend of ours, and was moving out of town. He owned a duplex with 8 bedrooms, RIGHT next to Bemidji State University. He owned the property free and clear, and was selling for $125,000. He would take a contract for deed with $25,000 down.

I took my wife and her family to see it. Everyone thought it was a good setup for college students, and helped to convince my wife . We took out a Home Equity Line Of Credit (HELOC) from the bank for $30,000. We used $25K for the downpayment, and the extra $5K was for emergencies. We opened a separate checking and savings account for the rental. It is now full and things are going well, thank God!

There are many other details left out that convinced us that this was a good thing. God's timing was in it all.

You can read how things took off after that on my journal http://www.deangraziosi.com/real-estate-forums/investing-journals/13623/...

Now I am working with investors (the property is all over the place!) My income with real estate has surpassed my pastor's salary. Dean's teaching and this site have been a great source of info and encouragement- God bless you all!

Andrew