Is there help wanted?

Question

Good day BP family, I am grateful to be apart of this vast online mastermind. I am Gregory George, an aspiring millionaire real estate investor, and I’m looking for like minded individuals that’s in the realm of RE in the Philadelphia area that I can help in anyway. I want to surround myself with powerful people who has weathered the storms of the real estate market and learn from osmosis; ergo,

Dave Van Horn · Answer

@Gregory George

Are you a member of our local REIA group, DIG (Diversified Investor Group)? If not, outside of BiggerPockets, I would suggest that be the first place to start to surround yourself with like-minded individuals in the Real Estate business.

Along with BP, DIG has definitely played a big role in my Real Estate investing career through networking and education. 1st meeting is free. They have a main meeting in Ambler PA and sub-groups all over the greater Philly/South Eastern PA area. Highly recommend checking them out.

Dave Van Horn · Answer

@Gregory George

1.) Well, that's tough question because...I know a lot of great people haha. I mean, it comes with the territory when you've worked in Real Estate for over 30 years. I simply couldn't recommend them all. Plus the Real Estate Investing world is so expansive, it really depends on what area you're looking to dive into. Even though I've worked within many parts of the industry, there's still so many areas I haven't touched so not sure I could speak to them.

That being said, speaking from experience as someone who worked their way up the SFR route with fix and flips, buy and holds, and other creative financing strategies, here's who you might want to know:

- Wholesaler/bird-dogs (or somebody who finds deals for you)

- Investor Friendly Mortgage Lenders (for financing)

- Investors in the areas you want to buy in. Either for guidance and/or to exchange deals

- You also want to network with the various tradesmen you'll encounter with your projects, like contractors, home inspectors, title companies, investor friendly realtors, hard money lenders (especially until you gain access to private money). My edge was I was a contractor and a Realtor when I started investing, so I had a lot of these people in my Rolodex right out of the gate.

2.) Go to these meetings. And a lot of them. When I started, I didn't know what I wanted to do exactly and these meetings helped me figure myself out. Learning both what you're good at and what you like is the first place to start. Then you work from there. You get educated in that space. You connect with others doing it. You shadow or mirror someone who is successful in the aspect of the business, and finally you  assemble a team to help get you there.

BiggerPockets and these meetings will help you to start learning the various aspects of the industry whether it's property management, flipping, rehabbing, etc. Identifying and understanding these strategies act as tools in your tool belt. This is important since you'll want to know when to use the proper tool for the proper job. Now you don't have to be good at every aspect you learn about, but it's vital in deciding where you want to go in this industry.

Brendan Markle · Answer

Hey Greogroy,  Welcome to BP.  I would highly recommend looking through as many forum posts and listening to as many of BP's podcasts as you can-  there is a wealth of knowledge on this site ready to mine.  If you want to connect, or have any questions, feel free to reach out to me.  I'm a Real Estate Investor who has worked with many investor clients in the region.  I also have my own investment properties- I don't just talk the talk.

Dave Van Horn · Answer

@Gregory George

I think it's a little bit of that old saying of, "you're putting the cart before the horse." Yes, eventually you'll probably need an entity or LLC to purchase and manage commercial real estate effectively, if that's the strategy you're looking to do ....but do you need to do it right this second? Probably not. I would focus more on getting educated in the space, finding a mentor, and building a team prior to doing so.

And I haven't heard of Mr. Reynolds, so I can't really speak to his services one way or another. You may want to ask around the forums or your local REIA meetings more to get an opinion of his work.

Gregory George · Answer

@Dave Van Horn

Once again I'm thankful for the guidance and I look forward to repaying you with lunch or coffee in the near future.

I took your advise and after hours of excavating the podcast and meeting some industry professionals ( as well as some prior knowledge from books and courses ), I came to the conclusion that my niche is commercial apartment buildings, that has middle class tenants, with mom and pop owners. I chose this because i'm looking for cash flow and looking to achieve financial independence before 30 -- I am 21.

Knowing my niche and some of my criteria, I was wondering if I should consider incorporating. I was told by a friend ( who's NOT in RE) that it is necessary, ergo he referred me to Ray Reynolds "the godfather of credit"; however, I am skeptical about the whole business credit thing and putting down 10% for a desired line of credit with-in 60 days.

Should I create a corporation? And have you ever heard of Mr. Reynolds?

Is there help wanted?

Most Popular Reply