Rookie Questions... Please Help...

[Anthony White]

Hello All!

I am ready to start getting serious. BUT I have tons of questions and I don't want to put my family in financial jeopardy.

So I have some random questions hopefully I can get some answered:

1. I was originally looking at single family homes, but now I am thinking of nothing less than a 4-plex. Is that too much to take on as my VERY first property?

2. I see and hear from the podcasts for people to list deals on here to get feedback. Is anyone scared someone would just read and try to steal deals? I may be paranoid, but it would really help if I could list some properties  without worrying about someone saying "thats a great deal!" then stealing it! HAHA

3. I have $10k in personal Cash that I have set away - but I do have $300k in equity in my home therefore I feel comfortable in taking out a HELOC of up to $150k to buy a property. $10k may seem like chump change but thats when I was looking at single family homes in the $30k-40k range. Basically I would like to know more about what they think the best option is. I can even refinance my home and take out $100k and it would only increase the payment $400 a month. etc. Basically... Where financially should I start?

4. I am looking in the Memphis area, I love in SoCal. Any other area's to look at?

5. Also - HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT BUILDING A TEAM - If Investing Out of State? Cold Calls? Use the realtor that is selling as my buyer agent? etc...

Thank you!

[Shahriar Khan]

Let me take a shot at it from Texas 

1) Nothing wrong with 4 plex. Typically a new investor will grow from Single family to multifamily and there is absolutely nothing wrong with getting started with 4 plex. It would be easier since you will have more room to make mistakes and get away with it assuming buying price is right. 

2) Lets be real, if its a good deal .. everyone would want that and we have both great&****** people in this universe.  I personally talk about deals when i need to . RE world is small and i would rather find out those bad apples early on so don't be afraid to talk about your deals. On that note,  you should think about it from wholesaler perspective. If a deal that has been blasted out via email then highly unlikely that a new investor would be able to pick up that good deal since a lot of seasoned investors will pull the trigger faster. On the flip side, if you get a tap on your shoulder for a deal as a preferred buyer then you would have more time to make decisions. 

3) I am a big believer of getting funds lined up before looking for deals. keep in mind, everyone is looking for a deal and the hard money lenders as well. More motivated you are to make a deal and less time you have , the more you would pay. I would suggest, get your funding lined up and get the HELOC approved and go hard on your buying rules. Everyone wants a good deal and buyers needs to pull trigger faster .

4) Dont know about those areas. I look at things as risk adjusted ... riskier the area more the return and then how much risk you would want to take would help to decide how much return you would get. 

5) Really easy, hang out here online and offline in local RE meetings and you will find folks that you would be comfortable with . If new investor, try investing local , then go driving distance and then try flying distance 

Wish you the best :)