New member from Dallas/Lubbock area

[Devin Harris]

Hello everyone!

I'm really excited to finally be a member on BP! Ive been using it as a reference for quite some time but just lately I decided to take the next step. My goal is to buy rentals of all types in order to establish enough passive income to replace and eventually exceed my current income. Im interested in all aspects of land lording and property management and I would love to manage my investments as a full time job in the future. I am new to the real estate game as far as practical experience goes but I have been educating myself for years on the numbers aspect of it so I feel very confident going forward with future projects and I look forward to talking and learning from everyone on this site. I am primarily interested in the Lubbock/Dallas, Texas area because I am from the Dallas area originally and I lived in Lubbock during my undergrad and now I am back there again to get my masters after serving in the military for 4 years.

Happy hunting,

Devin Harris

[Michael Lee]

 Hello and welcome to this BP!  I live in Coppell so we must be close and I am still deciding what to do while I medically recover from a brain annurism and a stroke.  Your military service is greatly appreciated and trained you well for making money the right way.  My wife works at 35 and Valley View.  We have a great daughter who goes to The University of Arkansas.  She is now in her third year and is tutoring for the university and specilizing in computer stuff.  

There are several things besides selecting your niche and market that you need to do. You need to have your Fiancing done and get a Pre-approval letter. Depend on your net worth you might want to form some type of corporation or a LLC. After you are ready to make a choice on the niche and market you might need an attorney and/or a CPA (or tax accountant) to get their advice. You might need a local office that has little distractions. You can use your own place if you have the closing-off ability and the space.

I am 60 years old and have a bunch to say.  Practice makes perfect.  Any time you can spend on estimating and offering will help you get started investing for real.  Always have a math analysis and try to look at your prospects before you make an offer or at least have a clause in the sales contract allows you the time (about 10 days) to make a detailed inspection and possibly back out of the deal without a penalty to hurt you too much.

Do what is average for the neighberhood.  Do not try to do everything yourself.  I know you are looking forward to property management you might want to consider hiring somebody else to do that and give you more time to be income productive and be afraid to answer the phone because of a tenent complaint.

Do not hire the cheapest property management company to do your business.  This is not a good way to go.  Being in their market and their experience means a bunch.  The overall looks of the neighberhood is very important.  Do not try anything unusual.  Be patient and consistent.  Hire a local and experienced Team to help you.  I got a college degree in business that emphasized real estate and I graduated with honors.  I held a real estate broker license for about 30 years but I never did that full time.

Regardless of what I had I felt more comfortable in the construction business back then (1980).  I have been in the construction business since I was 17 including those college years.  My father was buying and selling real estate (mostly commercial) for about 45 years and he taught me a little bit.  If I can help you anyway please contact me through BP at any time.  Good luck to you!