How am I to contribute?

Question

Hey All here at Bigger Pockets.

My name is Christina from Memphis, TN. I am new here at Bigger Pockets and new to real estate investing. My mom and I started a LLC in order to jump right into the business; however things have been moving slow, really slow. My mom already owns a rental property and it is doing well. I, on the hand, do not have the means to acquire property meaning no money and "bad" credit. My mom says she's in this business only to back me. How can I contribute to the business when I'm bringing nothing to the table? How do I use what my mom has to offer (great credit and money) without feeling guilty? How can I make this work for both of us?

Curt Davis · Answer

What is your business you are in meaning what is it that you and your mom want to do? If you are only looking to buy homes to keep for rentals then you will have to have your mom get bank loans to qualify with 20% down financing.

You could always learn to wholesale, that is a source to build up cash. Good luck

Gord Stevenson · Answer

if I was partnering with my son, and I was providing the money/credit, I would be happy if my son took the initiative to (a) find the deals and (b) handle the day-to-day "business".  (A) speaks for itself, but (b) may require explanation.

For my own properties I spend time each month looking at any bills being processed by the property manager.  E.g. Today I saw a work order for a loose/rocking toilet.  But a month or two ago there was a similar work order.  And I vaguely remember a similar one maybe a year ago.  What is going on?  Is the contractor not actually fixing it?  Is the tenant lobbying for a new toilet? I need to get to the bottom of that.  Also, at the end of each month I go through the reports for each property and update my own accounting to make sure I understand revenue and expenses for each and that there were no mistakes.

One of my properties is a vacation rental and for that one I am the rental manager and deal with bookings, cleaning schedule, setting door codes, communicating with guests etc.

At the end of the year I do all the US and Canadian tax returns.

If my son was partnering with me, and I was providing the money/credit I would be happy if he took all of this off my hands and managed the business.  Partly just to free up my time, but far more importantly because teaching him how to run a business would be the main objective.  This is the perfect learning-on-the-job opportunity and it would give me great satisfaction to provide him the opportunity to gain that skill.

If your mother is similarly motivated, make her proud!  And help make her some money!

Great question!

BTW! As it happens, my son took a finance degree and is smarter than his old man.  He and a friend have a four-plex that they manage.  I ask him questions now.  Maybe he will hire me for a nice cushy retirement job some day.  :-)

Shawn Ackerman · Answer

@Christina Goodman Identify your Niche market and strategy, source/network deals and potential partners, identify the deals then present them to your mother who has the experience.  You have in in-house mentor/financial backer in your pocket.  You are 90% there.  Finding deals is where you need to be focused at this point.  Take a look at the bigger pockets market place for potential deals in your market.  All the best!!!

Christina Goodman · Answer

I appreciate all the advice that I'm given. I appreciate Bigger Pockets for providing me with a platform to ask questions. One of the questions asked of me was what niche am I and my mother interested in. I'm interested in rental property of multifamily homes, as is my mom. She is interested in wholesaling but the politics of that strategy to us may be complicated because we get caught up in our likes and wants vs what anybody else may be looking for. A little maybe a lot of mentoring in that department is needed. I am right now thinking about owner-occupant however I have children and their routine and comfortability may be greatly compromised. I'm trying to look at the bigger picture of the future benefits for us all. My goal is to at least do 3 deals by the end of the year, all the while time is steady ticking and we have yet bought one property.

How am I to contribute?

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