First Time Real Estate Investor

[Braeden Gould]

Hello BP,

I am currently in the research/education phase of my real estate journey. After listening to podcasts, watching videos, and reading books, I think I have an idea of what I want my strategy to be (house hack small multifamily duplex, triplex, or quadplex in the DFW metroplex). Obviously, I still have so much to learn, but I wanted to set a goal in the meantime. My goal is to acquire 1 multifamily per year and scale as needed to ultimately make me financially free (Cash Flow at least $15k/month).

I just graduated college in December of 2022 from UT Austin with a degree in petroleum engineering. I am currently saving up money for a down payment on my first house hack. I am aiming to purchase sometime in the 2nd half of 2024. As I have been going through multifamily listings on zillow, realtor.com, and a few cre websites I have definitely found some quality small multifamily properties. The only issue is when I go to analyze the deal on the BP rental property calculator, it is cash flow negative. I realize that the current state of the market is most likely causing this, but I wanted to hear from some experienced investors on how to combat this? I am currently living in Midland, TX, but I visit my family in Dallas frequently. I have started "driving for dollars" and building a list of potential multifamily homes that I could inquire about in the future. 

If anyone has any advice (general or detailed) or even a simple story of how they got started, I would greatly appreciate that!

Thanks for the help!

Braeden

[Kevin Von Storch]

@Braeden Gould when driving for dollars, I found it helpful to make a note of the street name when I stumble upon some small multi-family, not just address. Then look up all addresses on that street in the appraisal district and look up length of ownership. If the property is non-owner occupied and has been owned by same owner for 15+ years, there’s a decent chance they own it outright and may be open to selling with seller financing.

I am closing on a duplex in Keller using the method above. Truthfully, I think I was just lucky and showed up at their door at the right time. Your challenge being in Midland vs. Dallas is the ability to make contact with the owner. I’d recommend creating short list where the numbers and location are best, then send hand written letters then follow through with a knock on their door the next time you’re in town.