In desperate need of guidance

[Abdi Muya]

I first joined bp nearly a year ago as a way to just start and see what I can learn. I had plenty of questions with no real plan in mind or even resources for that matter. Since then, I’ve basically stayed off the website to focus on setting myself up to actually do something and make moves and not feel like I’m wasting anyone’s time. My biggest hurdles included being in an extremely expensive market (Vermont) and understanding that if I wanted to get involved in real estate I’d have to look out of state. The other hurdles was getting together funds and feeling like I was on my own. I’m now returning nearly a year later and teaming up with my mother who also caught the real estate bug recently. She bought a large home in a great area before the home prices surged to what they are now. She also put in thousands of dollars to make improvements which include a bathroom, and two more bedrooms. She has lived there for about 8 years now and has a good amount of equity in it. We recently spoke with a broker just to get some numbers and are planning to take out about $80k of equity so that we can purchase an out of state multiple unit property(or multiple). With the broker we spoke to, he can only work with Vermont, North Carolina and Florida properties. We aren’t 100% sure if we want to work with him only because we haven’t decided on a market, although North Carolina has always been in the list. At the same time, we don’t have much experience with brokers or investing and feel almost pressured to stick with him to avoid having to go find another one. North Carolina has been on my list of states I’d love to invest in, but the only real area we’ve been able to find something within our range has been the Winston-Salem area, but we don’t know enough about it to figure out how successful we could be with rentals there. 

Other states I’ve got interest in are Indiana, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia and Connecticut. This is a list I came up with using YouTube and Google so I don’t even know if they would be good areas if I’m being honest. As an out of state investor, I’m not limited to those areas. I feel a tremendous amount of pressure because my mother isn’t from here and English is her second language. She’s never studied or educated herself in real estate and is hoping I can figure out the details as long as she can assist with funding. I’ve wanted to do this for so long and this almost feels like a life line from my mother. I don’t want to fail, but I’m terrified I might pick the wrong market, work with the wrong broker, hire the wrong property management company or choose a property that ends up needing more work than expected. I just really need someone who I can openly ask all the questions that I’m too nervous to say out loud out of fear that I look like I don’t know what I’m talking about. I’m hoping to connect with someone experienced who has done what I’m trying to do successfully, and almost be like a mentor for me. I apologize if that was a lot and I welcome any and all feedback. Thank you in advance for your time! 

[Scott Trench]

Hi @Abdi Muya - Thanks for posting the concern here! 

First things first - you are the client, and your agent serves at your pleasure. You and your Mother are a serious buyer, with cash to invest. YOU get to decide where you want to invest, and there are investor friendly agents all over BiggerPockets and each and every major market in this country. 

I’d suggest you really dial in where you want to invest for the right reasons for you, not this broker who doesn’t sound like they have much experience working with investors. 

You can browse markets for cash flow here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/markets

At each of those markets, you can find Investor friendly agents at BiggerPockets.com/agents to interview. 

If you go to BiggerPockets.com/resources, we have a list of the top 100 cash flow markets in this country as well. 

There’s no reason to rush this process. Real estate is a long term commitment, and not feeling comfortable or rushing into a market for the wrong reasons can spell disaster. I’d take your time and make sure you are completely comfortable before acting.