New CA investor looking for passive ways to get into real estate

New CA investor looking for passive ways to get into real estate

Irvine, CA · Member since 2017 · 1 post · 2 votes

Hi Bigger Pockets community!  My name is Patrick Wu and I am based in Orange County, CA.  I am a 32 year old who is satisfied with my career but am looking for a way to park my extra income aside so that I can one day have a stable stream of passive income that will allow me to retire early or at least let me take some time off work and travel with my family or spend time doing the things I love doing (my hobbies unfortunately don't pay the bills!).  I love the idea of real estate investing because they are tangible assets that have some tax benefits, but I am a little intimidated (and frankly not totally interested in) the downsides of being a landlord or assembling a real estate team to make deals happen.

Shoot me a reply if you're interested in the same and maybe we can exchange ideas.  I'm looking into investing with crowdfunding real estate sites like crowdstreet.com or realtymogul.com.  I am real curious to see if anyone else has any experience with such sites or any advice on the risks involved.  Regardless, I'm excited to share my experience as it comes with the rest of the Bigger Pockets community!

Thanks and look forward to not only getting advice but eventually giving advice too!

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Rental Property Investor · Miami, FL · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 911 votes
8y

Patrick. 

Welcome to BP and I can't wait for you to get started. While being a landlord might be intimidating. I think that once you've learnt a little more about it and you're comfortable with it then it will be a walk in the park. You just have to learn more about it to get comfortable. 

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  • Rental Property Investor · Miami, FL · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 911 votes
    8y

    Patrick. 

    Welcome to BP and I can't wait for you to get started. While being a landlord might be intimidating. I think that once you've learnt a little more about it and you're comfortable with it then it will be a walk in the park. You just have to learn more about it to get comfortable. 

  • Ian IppolitoBusiness Member
    Investor · Tampa, FL · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    8y

    Hi Patrick, I've done an in-depth ranking and review of the top crowdfunding sites which you might find useful. I'll private message you...

    The Real Estate Crowdfunding Review
    View Page
  • Oklahoma City · Member since 2016 · 14 posts · 9 votes
    8y

    @Patrick Wu, real estate crowdfunding can be a great choice for investors like you who don't want to be involved in direct property management.  I'd love to connect with you about my own experiences in that space.  Good luck!

  • Real Estate Investor · Spring Valley, CA · Member since 2016 · 288 posts · 98 votes
    8y

    welcome Patrick. you wouldn't necessarily need to be a landlord if you had the right property management. or you can be a private lender, or turnkey investing. all of those are fairly passive. good luck w/ your journey

  • Jo-Ann LapinPro Member
    Loan Officer · Tustin, CA · Member since 2015 · 3k+ posts · 713 votes
    8y

    Hello Patrick you are real close to us here in Tustin happy to speak further you are welcome to pm me.

  • Wholesaler, Rehabber and Landlord · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    8y

    There are more and more crowdfunding sites around. You could skip the fees or commissions that they charge and lend money directly to other investors. I have had a few friends and family members lend me money for projects. They get a pretty good return and I get easy financing. My friends and family members know that I have been doing this for almost 15 years and there is a strong level of trust. Make sure that you feel the trust and integrity if you lend to a friend who is also an investor.

  • United States · Member since 2015 · 401 posts · 394 votes
    8y

    Hi @Patrick Wu, although there are some limitations, syndication seems right up your ally if you're qualified. Check out my blog on why it's an appealing investment vehicle:

    https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/10191/66365-8-...

  • Investor · San Jose, CA · Member since 2017 · 343 posts · 102 votes
    8y

    @Ian Ippolito and @Ashley Smith - It would be great service to the community if you share your experience and expertise on crowdfunding so that the larger audience get benefit. 

    It seems you both make living out of recommendations?

    Thanks
    Vivek

  • Ian IppolitoBusiness Member
    Investor · Tampa, FL · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    8y

    Hi @Vivek Khoche, 

    Actually, I've already done exactly that and given away all the information on the different sites to the community on my website (for free). However, I cannot do what you're asking me to do and post a link to it, because BiggerPockets does not allow publicly posting a link to anything on your own website (even when it's free).

    And no I do not make a living making recommendations. I'm a serial tech entrepreneur and have retired and make my living by deriving income off of my investments.

    The Real Estate Crowdfunding Review
    View Page
  • Investor · San Jose, CA · Member since 2017 · 343 posts · 102 votes
    8y

    @Ian Ippolito- Checked your profile and dropped connection request. I come from Merchant Banking background to tech after crowdfunding of yesterday busted 20+ years ago. I have many C level executives friends who lost money in similar ventures. 

    Wondering if 40 million wealthy CA investors loosing part of their fortune  make these platform successful? I don't not believe in passive income in investment world only return is experience.

    Thanks

    Vivek

  • Rental Property Investor · Miami, FL · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 911 votes
    8y
    Originally posted by @Alex Shaughnessy:

    welcome Patrick. you wouldn't necessarily need to be a landlord if you had the right property management. or you can be a private lender, or turnkey investing. all of those are fairly passive. good luck w/ your journey

     Very true Alex. Plenty of options. 

  • Rental Property Investor · Miami, FL · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 911 votes
    8y
    Originally posted by @Rick Pozos:

    There are more and more crowdfunding sites around. You could skip the fees or commissions that they charge and lend money directly to other investors. I have had a few friends and family members lend me money for projects. They get a pretty good return and I get easy financing. My friends and family members know that I have been doing this for almost 15 years and there is a strong level of trust. Make sure that you feel the trust and integrity if you lend to a friend who is also an investor.

     Rick.

    That is what I would recommend as well. Plenty of investors looking for funds on bigger pockets. 

  • Oklahoma City · Member since 2016 · 14 posts · 9 votes
    8y

    @Vivek Khoche, I don't make recommendations; I provide data aggregation for real estate crowdfunding, and I follow the industry closely.  I've been part of a sponsor group that raised capital on one of the platforms, and was very satisfied with the process.

  • Real Estate Coach · Venice Beach, CA · Member since 2012 · 6k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    8y

    Hey Patrick! I'm just north of you, up in LA/Venice. So one thing you want to think about with crowdfunding is the difference in that between owning real property for yourself. A general article about the benefits of owning real property-

    https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2016/02/0...

    I hear you on the lack of interest in landlording, and the intimidation of it. I've never wanted to do it myself. I do, however, own a lot of rental properties. One option to realize is you can always use a property manager. Then your only job is managing that manager. That can take minimal to no time with a good manager, and even if you stumble across a bad manager, it's still not nearly as much time or effort to find a new manager and deal with all of it as it would be to landlord. If nothing else, using a property manager to start is a great way to get more familiar with rentals in general, and then you could always switch to being your own landlord if you wanted to.

    My point is- there are plenty of options! Ranging everything from easy to difficult and risky, rather than necessarily having to get out of the benefits of owning real property.

    Reach out anytime if you want to chat!

  • Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2013 · 933 posts · 1k+ votes
    8y

    Hi Patrick,

    Here's something to review re: syndication / crowdfunding and what's right for you.  There are advantages and disadvantages depending on your qualifications / needs.  Wish you the best.  

    https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/9145/63405-syn...

  • Ian IppolitoBusiness Member
    Investor · Tampa, FL · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    8y

    @Vivek Khoche, thanks for the add. But you don't believe in passive income? You do realize you could put your money into a public REIT with your broker right now and you would be investing passively in real estate. It's actually quite common. Also, sorry to hear people you know lost money 20 years ago, but there's no way that has anything to do with crowdfunding today, since the rules for crowdfunding were only created a few years ago.

    The Real Estate Crowdfunding Review
    View Page
  • Ivan BarrattBusiness Member
    Investor · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2015 · 764 posts · 953 votes
    8y

    Hi @Patrick Wu. I like realcrowd because the investor pays no fees and invests directly with the sponsor group (no middlemen). That's why we're "testing" it now on of our midwest apartment projects.

    Happy to chat sometime...

  • Real Estate Broker · Cleveland Dayton Cincinnati Toledo Columbus & Akron, OH · Member since 2013 · 30k+ posts · 20k+ votes
    8y

    Welcome to the site @Patrick Wu

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