So what's holding you back?

[Frank Patalano]

When I help new investors with buying their first property I often want to know what is holding them back from pulling the trigger.

So I'll ask here. What is holding you back?

[Val Johnson]

Im an out of state investor from California and I'm in search of multi unit property in Cleveland! I found one that I want to purchase. The two things holding me back is my credit score and not being able to fly out to see the property due to COVID-19

[Brian Garlington]

If you argue for your limitations, you get to keep them.

[Val Johnson]

@Brian Garlington ? What does that mean?

[Jesse Boren]

Wow, there is a ton of good info here.  My problem is that I have a limited amount of money ($20k-$30k), or at least it seems that way to me.  It seems to me that I have a limited number of financing options and therefore would have to use all of my capital on a property that will generate limited cash flow and I wouldn't be able to recoup that money for roughly 4 to 5 years in which case I might be able to do something more lucrative with it.  The ultimate plan is to start buying up several properties at a much higher rate and hold. I'm just having trouble figuring out how I could make that happen at this time.

[Jaron Walling]

@Jesse Boren In my market $30K goes a long way. With that amount you could almost BRRRR in a C class neighborhood. After COVID-19 runs it's course be on the look out for deals.

[Whitney Hutten]

@Val Johnson I think I know what Brian was trying to get at ... so I'll try to give some actionable tips to help.  If you have an obstacle your way, the best possible thing to say to your self is not "I can't, because of XYZ" BUT "How can I?"  This one mindset shift can unlock your potential immediately.  

So if you say you "can't" because of your credit score and travel... How can you get around those obstacles?  For travel, could you find a local PM that will go to the property for you and do a tour?  Use a service such as WeGoLook?  Switch up how you buy the property so you can use the PM, contractor, inspector, appraiser as your eyes?  How can you get creative until you find a solution. For the credit score, there are some cool hacks you can do to get your score up in 60-90 days.  

Maybe it's money (I saw that post here too)... How can you rework your financial position? How can you earn more to save more? How can you tap into other assets?  How can you find lending to help you? How can you find partners who bring the capital?  

It's all mindset :)

[Jesse Boren]

@Jaron Walling So what would you suggest I do to get going? Is it a scenario where I just need to focus on one property and building momentum? It's the financing portion that is throwing me for a loop. Considering I can't do the BRRRR method because I'm not investing in the same tome that I live in, what would suggest I do?

[Val Johnson]

@Whitney Hutten thank you for the clarity! I love everything you mentioned! I’m going to look into all that today! Also what are some cool hacks that I can do to get my score up?

[Julia Reid]

Hi, I am a rookie to the real estate market so right now I am learning as much as I can. It is exciting to learn about all the paths to take, aside from educating myself I would say the biggest thing holding me back is location and deciding a target area to focus on as to where to buy my first property. I am located in NYC and that market is out of the question, I am interested in Nevada, Georgia, and Indiana. Looking into SFH buy and holds, I just dont want to get stuck where I am obsessed with researching myself to the point where I never go out and venture, I just want to be prepared.

[Caleb Brown]

What held me up was fear. I'd give myself the excuse of procrastinating and waiting. I am now looking for my first property, a 4plex. Even with the "virus" I am not scared to go for it. SUPER EXCITED!

[Jaron Walling]

@Jesse Boren If you're going to truely BRRRR you need just enough cash to buy a distressed DEAL and to pay for the renovation. I'm capitalizing DEAL because once you know the numbers (what ever market you choose) that's all that matters. Don't even waste time looking at remodeled, move in ready, or nice properties. The goal is add significant amounts of forced equity by remodeling it yourself. I don't know your budget or market but this strategy still works for investors even during the COVID-19 panic. The housing market has just leveled off in my opinion. People are still listing and buying in my neighborhood.

[Dwayne Sealy]

 I want to master this thing to the core and be able to set my self free from a J.O.B.

[Dwayne Sealy]

 I want to master this thing to the core and be able to set my self free from a J.O.B. I need help landing a deal.

[Juan Tercero]

@Frank Patalano

Saving up for the down payment, I'm a first time home buyer and I've been looking into FHA Loan and I need to put down 3.5% down

[Frank Patalano]

Originally posted by @Juan Tercero:

@Frank Patalano

Saving up for the down payment, I'm a first time home buyer and I've been looking into FHA Loan and I need to put down 3.5% down

 So Saving is holding you back? Or is it something else?

[Juan Tercero]

Yes, but I’ve read that I can get a loan with less money down from a lender 

[Jake Tansanco]

As a first time home buyer trying to invest out of state, I started reading as much as I can about real estate. Watched YouTube videos of people and how they did it. I got myself pre-qualified to determine how much I can afford. Every day, I would check properties and calculate their cash flow - I never thought it could get so addicting! I made a spread sheet of properties with ConC Return ranging from 7.1% to 19% - Of course, the higher numbers go on pending quickly and I think it's a good thing because it shows my calculations are consistent/correct.

What's stopping me is I'm having trouble figuring out which city/state to focus on - I'm all over the place. And the other trouble is that I need to find a team. I don't want to reach out to a lot of people in different markets since it wastes their time so I need to try and narrow down the area I want to focus on first...

[Jake Tansanco]

As a first time home buyer trying to invest out of state, I started reading as much as I can about real estate. Watched YouTube videos of people and how they did it. I got myself pre-qualified to determine how much I can afford. Every day, I would check properties and calculate their cash flow - I never thought it could get so addicting! I made a spread sheet of properties with ConC Return ranging from 7.1% to 19% - Of course, the higher numbers go on pending quickly and I think it's a good thing because it shows my calculations are consistent/correct.

What's stopping me is I'm having trouble figuring out which city/state to focus on - I'm all over the place. And the other trouble is that I need to find a team. I don't want to reach out to a lot of people in different markets since it wastes their time so I need to try and narrow down the area I want to focus on first...

[Thomas Calara]

Hi guys! 

My name is Thomas Calara and I am new to investing in real estate as well as to the BP community! I've already consumed a bulk of the BP podcasts and I am learning everyday by reading up on the forums. Me and my girlfriend have an amount set aside for a potential deal on a property to buy, hold and rent. (I currently rent in SoCal however the route we want to go is to add to our portfolio with real estate by purchasing in a different state)

I think the thing that is holding us back is the lack of knowledge, which I think I'm working on daily by asking questions and doing my research. 

Honestly this is just me putting myself out there to learn from all of you and your successes. (and mistakes lol)

Looking forward to connecting with you all!

Thomas

[Jodin Concepcion]

Down payment!! Arghh....need help with next property and not in the equity of my first yet. 

[Rohit Verma]

Whats holding me back is my lack of "boots on ground" network here in Longmont, Colorado.

All my properties are SFR class A type, so almost no maintenance in last 2 years (leaking vacuum breaker for sprinklers is the only little task I can think of). Also, I have First American home insurance and they say they will cover if there was anything in the house (electrical, plumbing, appliances etc) that breaks. Thankfully, I have never had to use them so far, but its just piece of mind.

What I need ground staff for:

Mainly showings to potential tenant if there was a vacancy. I only do month to month leases, offer less than market rents and that ways my vacancies are really low and I stay in _control_. Tenants know they have to fall in line or their nuisance will be dealt with very swiftly. Dont want to pay property manager first months rent and tenant finding fee every time there is a turnover.

Problem Im trying to solve:

Have somebody who is local and open to doing a side gig. I dont mind paying someone 100 dollars/month just to be on standby even if there is zero work. Work is only when showing needs to happen and for that Im happy to pay 25 dollars per hour on top of standby fee of 100/month, once the tenant moves in they again go back to zero work and get paid 100 a month. Ideal for teenagers, single mothers etc looking to make extra cash. But reliability has been a big issue so far.

Other thing I have done is tried to recruit people from rover.com (pet sitting service). My thought was well these people have time and resource (mainly a vehicle) and they are looking to get paid, so will they really care if I need them to feed or walk my dog or have them actually show the property to a potential tenant. I have have had some success there but reliability has been a big issue.

Startup idea:

1) Airbnb chewing up hotel industry  (anybody gets to be part time hotelier)

2) Uber/Lyft chewing up taxi services (anybody gets to be part time driver)

3) Rover chewing up kennel services (anybody gets to be part time pet sitter)

4) Ebay/Amazon chewing up brick and mortar retailers (anybody gets to be a part time retailer)

I need a platform where I can find part time property managers and by that I mean somebody who can show the property around. All other aspect of property management I feel I have automated except for showing the property. I have used neighbor's teenage kids, my already existing tenants from other properties etc in past and that has worked but Im looking for a more professional solution to this. I hate having to explain people on Rover that I have actually got no pets. I understand that with this model reliability will still be an issue but what Im hoping we could solve that problem by flooding the platform with loads of other part-time property managers. The sort of thing I do when my Uber driver does not show up, I simply raise another request on Lyft. If the driver from Uber shows up good or I go with the Lyft driver, point is my options stay open, I can throw a stone with blind folds on knowing it would hit a bird.

So thats what stopping me :-)

[Rohit Verma]

Found my answer to my below problem, the tool existed all along since 2016 but is not as popular as you would hope. Its called "Showami", its the Uber of showing agents. Simply enter property address, time window and how much are you willing to pay (min 35 usd) and you get licensed agents picking up the job.

"Problem Im trying to solve:

Have somebody who is local and open to doing a side gig. I dont mind paying someone 100 dollars/month just to be on standby even if there is zero work. Work is only when showing needs to happen and for that Im happy to pay 25 dollars per hour on top of standby fee of 100/month, once the tenant moves in they again go back to zero work and get paid 100 a month. Ideal for teenagers, single mothers etc looking to make extra cash. But reliability has been a big issue so far.

Other thing I have done is tried to recruit people from rover.com (pet sitting service). My thought was well these people have time and resource (mainly a vehicle) and they are looking to get paid, so will they really care if I need them to feed or walk my dog or have them actually show the property to a potential tenant. I have have had some success there but reliability has been a big issue."

[Seda Howe]

Hi! What's holding me back is my credit score and not knowing where I want to invest first. Currently I am working on increasing my credit score. Once it's where I want it to be, I am hoping I'll decide where I want to buy my first property. 

[Steve K.]

Originally posted by @Rohit Verma:

Found my answer to my below problem, the tool existed all along since 2016 but is not as popular as you would hope. Its called "Showami", its the Uber of showing agents. Simply enter property address, time window and how much are you willing to pay (min 35 usd) and you get licensed agents picking up the job.

"Problem Im trying to solve:

Have somebody who is local and open to doing a side gig. I dont mind paying someone 100 dollars/month just to be on standby even if there is zero work. Work is only when showing needs to happen and for that Im happy to pay 25 dollars per hour on top of standby fee of 100/month, once the tenant moves in they again go back to zero work and get paid 100 a month. Ideal for teenagers, single mothers etc looking to make extra cash. But reliability has been a big issue so far.

Other thing I have done is tried to recruit people from rover.com (pet sitting service). My thought was well these people have time and resource (mainly a vehicle) and they are looking to get paid, so will they really care if I need them to feed or walk my dog or have them actually show the property to a potential tenant. I have have had some success there but reliability has been a big issue."

You could also just set up a digital lockbox and cameras at the property. 

[Racquel Ortiz]

Funding and a team