Newbie - Dallas/Irving/Plano - MFH, SFH, Apartment

[Kyle Adam]

Hello BP folks!

My name is Kyle Adam.  I'm originally from Canada, and grew up in Arlington, Texas.  I currently live in Irving, TX.  I'm looking to enter the home owner and real estate world this year.  I work as a sales engineer Mon-Fri (8-5) in the Dallas area, have zero debt, and a modest savings.  I also have weeknights, weekends, and sweat equity to learn and grow in the community.  I thoroughly enjoy solving problems and helping others.  I hope to find people to work with and learn from throughout this process.

My immediate goal is to buy a multifamily home in the area of Dallas, Irving, Carrollton, Plano, Frisco, or McKinney this year (Oct/Nov 2016).  I plan to live in one unit and rent the other(s) out.  In 2017 I plan to rehab and flip two houses and buy a second multifamily to live in one unit and rent the others.  

I am reading regularly, listening to podcasts, and now searching to connect with others.  Things on my immediate list to learn are: how to find deals, how to purchase, and how to be a landlord.

What would you recommend as a next step given my situation and goals?  Join local investor clubs?  Connect with real estate agents?  I am open to suggestions.  I am teachable, and I want to learn.

Thank you in advance!

Kyle

[David Veeder]

Hi Kyle,

Welcome to BP. I started my real estate career by house hacking in a duplex before I even knew I wanted to invest in real estate. I just wanted to off set my mortgage payment and lower my cost of housing. Well I caught the bug. I joined a REIA but did not make much progress because the one in my area was 70 or 80% pitch fest for national speakers. I found a mentor in Dallas that I trusted and it enabled me to get the confidence up to purchase single family homes strictly for rental income in Dallas while I lived in Albany, NY.

Now I have 10 deeds, 18 units as well as partial owner ship in 80 apartment units (doors) and live off the cashflow.

I would suggest networking as much as you can in environments were investors have the abundance mentality and freely share information.   I agree the 2020REI club is a good event to meet people and vendors.

While it is technically possible to find a deal through a realtor is ti extremely unlikely. A better source of deals are wholesalers, or individual networking and making it know you purchase homes. A word of caution you need to do your own due diligence on properties wholesalers bring you. I would say the majority are marginal or bed deals once you really look at the repairs needed and actual ARV.

If you would like to talk please contact me.