To continue, the next Friday morning, I got up early and left the house at 7am and arrived at the Marriott Hotel in Philadelphia at 9am and was eager to get started. I brought a pad and a number of pencils (In those days, pens were already coming into their own). I only brought clothing for the three days. Nothing fancy .. just a plain wardrobe.
My name tag was waiting for me at a large table outside a gigantic auditorium along with a “workbook” and the pads and pens with the name, Marriott Hotel on them. I was lucky enough to get a seat near the front and center of the big hall. There were long tables for the participants to write upon and a padded chair behind. There were bottles of water, cups for tea and coffee which were sitting on long serving tables on the sides of the room, which were made available for attendees.
The speaker wore a white, long-sleeved shirt and a dark blazer, a true professional who spoke slowly and clearly so the audience could hear his every word. He introduced himself and asked the attendees to hold their questions or comments until he asked for them when there was a break. He asked his audience which states they had come from. He got mostly Northeast nearby states, but got about ten who traveled from other countries! Japan, China, Germany, Sweden, Canada and United Kingdom were included in those countries. There were even a group of Marines who attended this special event.
I am sure there were some professional investors in attendance but, still, he kept it simple and understandable. I must have been nodding my head when he ended his first segment, because I noticed that the people around me looked at me as though I appeared to know exactly what was being taught. He started to teach, first, “What to look for” in terms of searching for the “right” residential properties.
When he first asked for questions, I had written down one right away, so I was ready and my hand shot up and, sure enough, he pointed to me. So I asked, “When is a good time to go out to look for the right properties?” He responded, “GREAT Question!” … He responded, “When the snow has just fallen and there are no footprints either leading to or coming from a particular house”. “Look for the worst house in the neighborhood or a boarded-up property, especially, one in a nice neighborhood ….. he added, “I will be covering foreclosures and also, pre-foreclosures, shortly”.
All my neighbors looked at me as though I was an expert. (They might have even though that I was a “plant” (someone who was connected with the program’s sponsors!). Of course, I was NOT!!! I was simply an excited student!
At the first break, he asked anyone with questions to come up to the stage and he would answer as many as possible. But can you guess what happened?? I was approached by at least twenty to thirty people who started to ask ME questions, to which, I thought the answers were just good old, “common sense”. I answered most of these questions and then the program continued. If I didn’t know the answer, I would say, “Sorry I am not sure of the answer to that, but I am sure that will be covered soon”.
It was at that first break that I realized that THIS WAS THE DIRECTION WHICH i SHOULD FOLLOW. This was my “coming-out” party!
Over the next two days, I learned more in that short time than I had ever learned in my life. The fact is this was a totally different subject for me. I took the day’s different points along with the ‘workbook’ I was given and studied until midnight on, both, Friday and Saturday after the daytime sessions. By Sunday morning, I was “woozy” with all the information in my head, which I had learned in this short period of time. All this information was packed into my brain! Again, the different facets of Real state Investing was almost instinctive and, to me became a ‘natural process’ of imagination and sensible direction.
At the final hour, I put my filled-out questionnaire card in a large bowl. We were told that a local investors’ club was just starting to form in the local areas around New Jersey and Pennsylvania and we could join if we chose to learn more about the subjects which were being covered during this special Seminar.
This event gave me the inspiration I was seeking which propelled me into a whole other world. I now had learned about the Stock Market, Songwriting, Playing Musical Instruments and driving the most incredible vehicle, “The EL” and was now on my way to becoming an expert in a thoroughly different subject, “Real Estate Investing”.
Stay tuned for: My Real Estate Beginnings (PART FOUR, “RED CARPET REALTY”)