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All Forum Posts by: Aahil B.

Aahil B. has started 5 posts and replied 8 times.

Quote from @Jonathan Klemm:

What's up @Aahil B. - You are are doing all the right things and off to a great start!

I think the thing you nailed was expanding your real estate network.  Check out some of the local chicago events posted on BP:  https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521-real-estate-events-...

I personally, knew I wanted to go more into real estate so took a third of my high paying W2 to join a tech focused real estate startup and it was the best thing ever did!

Follow your fire and what excites you...

Hi Jonathan,

Thank you so much! And I'll definitely take a look and check out some local Chicago events!
Quote from @Jarret Jarvis:

Hey Aahil,

You're off to a great start! If long-term wealth is the goal, scaling rentals strategically (better financing, higher rents, BRRRR) makes sense. If you need more capital, flipping can work—but it's riskier.

Mentorship can speed up your learning curve, but networking with experienced investors might be just as valuable. Join local REI groups, connect with agents/lenders, and shadow a developer if that's your end goal.

Keep building and stay focused—you're on the right path! #LETSGO

Best,

Jarret


 Thank you Jarret for your post and I appreciate what you said! I'm in a spot where I have funds but those funds are mainly used for a rainy day if something were to occur but in the past I was use acquiring my properties by putting everything I had in my bank account into the property and basically starting from scratch and I've learned that this is something I shouldn't be doing.

But you are right that my end goal is to one day become a developer and building properties with also being a landlord if possible and I should reach out to local groups and connect with others and ignore the fear of talking to others haha but thank you again! :)

Quote from @Drew Sygit:

@Aahil B. where did you find the two rentals you bought?

Guessing the MLS?

You'll rarely find great deals on the MLS:(

What you want to do is find a way to get a somewhat consistent stream of property leads. You can then determine if the property, and your current resources, makes sense to buy & hold, fix & flip, wholesale or pass.

It takes time to make this happen, but if you don't start today...

Some copy & paste advice below:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Why does everyone want to chase strangers – and ignore their own personal network?

Which do you think will be more competitive, buying from wholesalers or your own referrals?

Per this NY Times article, the average American knows around 600 people.
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/19/science/the-average-american-knows-how-many-people.html#:~:text=The%20average%20American%20knows%20about,do%20you%20know%20named%20Kevin%3F

Per the US Census Bureau, the average American moves 11.7 time in their life, which based upon an approximate lifespan of 84 years, works out to be about every 7 years.
https://www.census.gov/topics/population/migration/guidance/calculating-migration-expectancy.html#:~:text=Using%202007%20ACS%20data%2C%20it,one%20move%20per%20single%20year

So, if the average American knows 600 people and they each move about every 7 years, that means that the average American knows around 85 people that move in any given year.

How many of those moves do you want to be involved in?

To maximize the number of transactions you’re involved in you will need to:

  • Be Top of Mind when they think about moving - which requires consistent reminders.
  • Be seen as an Expert – which requires a consistent message and Evidence of Success stories
  • Gain their Trust – which requires communicating with integrity

So, start out by CONSISTENTLY posting what you are doing on whatever social media channels you currently use. Not on any? You better fix that! You may also want to figure out which channels your family & friends use the most and get on those if you’re not on them currently.

What should you post?

How excited you are about what you’re doing in real estate investing! Share stories about your successes AND challenges. Then, ask them for their help!

IMPORTANT: do NOT ask people for THEIR business, ask for referrals! Why? Because they will get defensive if they feel you are pressuring them. Remember, they can always refer themselves😊

Use one of the ideas below to trigger who they know that they could connect you with:

  • Just inherited a home
  • Had a loved one pass away
  • Is behind on their mortgage or tax payments
  • Has a relative that can’t take care of their house anymore
  • Has a house they’re having trouble selling
  • Is facing bankruptcy
  • Knows a probate attorney
  • Knows a bankruptcy attorney
  • etc

Putting this in OVERDRIVE

Create a spreadsheet (Excel or Google Sheet) listing everyone you can think of that would recognize your name or face.

Why a spreadsheet? Because later, you can easily upload to a CRM like Constant Contact to create an email list!

Create columns for Name, email, cell and even Street Address, City, State, Zip and then contact info: Last Contact, Relationship, Status.

Then start calling these people. Divide the number of people on your list by 20 - and that’s how many you want to try to target daily.

Whether you get ahold of them or leave a vm, use 1-3 of the above triggers for referrals.

Why only 1-3 off the list per contact? Because on average, we can only remember three things at a time. If you try to go over the whole list, you’ll lose the attention of the average person and they won’t remember anything!

It should only take you about a month or two to contact everyone on your list and then the tough part – you start all over again.

Be sure to also ask what social media channels they are on and connect with them there.

Why the repetition? Because it takes repetition for people to remember things and you have to be top-of-mind when they encounter a potential client for you!

Have you ever been to McDonalds? Of course you have! So, why is McDonalds still spending billions on advertising?

One more tip – people remember stories that trigger their emotions. So, tell a story of how you (or a fellow wholesaler) helped a seller out with their challenge(s). Change your story each month as different stories will resonate with different people AND use each story to emphasize one of your “who do you know…” questions.

One last thing – we recommended you create a Status column on your spreadsheet, now we’ll explain why. If you find someone that seems to know a lot of people needing your services, wouldn’t it make sense to focus more resources on them? Conversely, you will run into people on your list that just seem to be a waste of time, so you’ll want to avoid them. So, create status codes for both of these and a few in-between codes to help you work smarter, not harder.


MLS but I also had owners in the neighborhood ask me if I was interested in buying their condos so somehow that worked out and I'm very glad it did! Thank you for providing the information as I'm going to take all of what you said and read and understand and initiate on it so thank you! :)

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some advice on growing my real estate portfolio. My family and I own a couple condo rentals in Illinois, and I’m the main income earner (27 Years Old, graduated in 2023). My approach so far has been using my W-2 income to acquire one rental property per year. The properties have appreciated by about 60K per unit, but my cash flow is roughly break-even after mortgages and expenses.

I want to continue growing and learning more. I’ve been considering fix-and-flip projects, but I’m wondering if joining a mentorship would be beneficial at this stage. My long-term goal is to get into new developments, as I’m really passionate about that, but I know it’s not something that happens overnight.

I don't have much of a real estate network, and I'm the first in my family to get into this space. The properties I've bought so far have come from good timing on the MLS or opportunities within buildings where I already own units.

For those who have been in a similar position, what would you recommend as my next steps? Should I focus on scaling rentals first, or start branching into flips? Also, is mentorship worth it, or should I just keep networking and learning on my own? Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Post: Question on operating LLC's?

Aahil B.Posted
  • Illinois
  • Posts 11
  • Votes 9

Hey Everyone!

Happy new year!

I was wondering if I were to purchase a property under my name at a conventional loan and maybe 6 months to a year from now I rent it out and were to purchase an umbrella policy, should I create an LLC to mainly deal with the operating side for collecting rent/ and creating lease agreements, etc or what should I do? Curious for someone if they only have 1-2 properties and how they go about it and if they slowly grow their portfolio?


Thank you in advanced!

In my area, some listings for condos are sold individually stating they are coops. I am looking at a 4-unit building in the near future, (each having 2 beds/1bath) but I have seen that some listings state that the building is a coop, and I know in Illinois or at least I was told in the past that coops aren't familiar here in this state and that it makes it harder to get a loan for them. I was wondering what the costs would be or even an estimate on converting a 4-unit building that is a coop to a condominium? My goal for the 4 units is to rent each out and hold for the long run so some advice on this would be great!

Thank you in advance for the help!

Post: Question about Co-op vs Condo

Aahil B.Posted
  • Illinois
  • Posts 11
  • Votes 9

Hey everyone,

I am 25 years old and still new to investing into real estate. I noticed a listing having a 3 units being sold as a package. The building has 4 units total so the seller owns 75% of the units while the 25% is owned by a single individual. If someone were to purchase this package of 3, what are the pros and cons to buying a co-op vs a condo and can it negatively affect someone who is just wanting to rent the units out? Is the land owned by the individuals owning the units or who owns the land? I just don’t want to have issues down the road if I were to look for co ops. The property is in the suburbs of Illinois and not in the city of Chicago. Thank you so much in advanced for answering!
 

Hi everyone,

I am looking at options for getting into the Airbnb business. I just bought a 2 bedroom and 1 bathroom condo and I don't really use the second bedroom. Lately, I have been traveling a lot so I'm rarely home nowadays but I was wondering if I were to put my condo's 1 bedroom as a private room on Airbnb and give the customer access to everything in the unit except my own room, do I need an LLC? and if so do I have to put my property itself in the LLC or just the Airbnb business and leave the property under my name? I have a conventional loan. I spoke with an insurance rep at State Farm and they stated that I would keep the regular insurance I have for my unit and if I am not providing the entire unit for rental then I don't need an LLC but I wanted to hear anyone's input on this and how I would go about it especially since I just bought the unit.

Thank you so much for your help!