I was trying to sort and sift my laptop hard drive last night and came across this Cashflow Fax that I sent out a while ago. This was one of those page and a half that generated enormous amounts of email back to me – all saying “Gee you are describing me.” .

Is the Internet a blessing or a curse for Michigan real estate investors?

Here is it – I love the Internet – have been using it since AOL version 1.0 when you could actually go into a chat room and talk to “real” girls. :- )

I did it all when it came out – From 9600K modem to printing and reading 100% text web pages to waiting literally for 3 hours to download Netscape 4.0 . Those were the days where even offices were not equipped with high speed Internet access.

Now I use it every single day (MLS, comps, keep in touch with my black book, appraisals being emaled back and forth, DU / LP ) and cannot imagine any serious real estate investor not using the powerful tools the Internet offers to run their Michigan real estate business.

If you were doing active real estate investing 5 years ago like I was then you know exactly what I am talking about.

I used to “drive” every other day to 1200 North Telegraph in Pontiac – the Oakland County Courthouse to pick up leads, do my research in their title research system.

Also drove and paid hundred of dollars to park my car at 400 Monroe in downtown Detroit to go upstairs to the Registrar of Deeds office in Wayne County offices. On a side note – is that highway robbery or not? To charge $7 to park your car for couple of hours!

Well the Internet changed it all – we went from being glued to our phones, practicing how to talk to investors or buyers of our homes to a more easier battle cry – “go to our website – it is all there”.

But there is a dark side of the Internet for the new real estate investor. It is too much, way too much information. You can print reams and reams of paper trolling through the forums, reading the free articles that the gurus have posted not to mention the additional information available now on real estate chat rooms / forums / blogs etc.

Ever looked at 500 pages of information that you just printed and said to yourself – how can I buy real estate before learning “every” single thing that needs to be know about real estate investment on the Internet?

Paralyzed and sitting still and NOT making offers, making deals, buying houses – YET printing more and more “knowledge” is not going to make you any money.

How do I know that? Because I sat on my ass for couple of months also, printing and reading tons of information that made me $0 .

Getting off my hiney, buying a house and selling it on the other hand sent me a check even on my first deal.

Listen – I don’t mind buying and absorbing information. I doubt it that anybody who reads this blog has spent more money than me in the last 12 months on buying information to sharpen the “axe” so as to speak.

But you cannot let information stop you from making money. And the whole thing about knowing “everything” about real estate investment before doing your first deal – pure 100% nonsense.

The only way to become good at anything is to start doing it after you have learned enough to start. Then you learn more and more at the same time you are running your business. But START! Look at some houses; make some crazy low ball offers and see what comes back.

A private joke in Ijlal Inner Circle is that the best absolute shortcut to learning how to do profitable Short Sales is to actually DO ONE in the next 30 days.