All Forum Posts by: Aaron Hale

Welcome and congratulations on getting started @Ley Nezifort. Best of luck in finding your first deal. 

Welcome, @Gary WalkerWhat’s your experience in vacation rentals and commercial space? I’ve been interested in both and would love to hear your take. 

Hi, @Erica Davis.  Congratulations on getting started. Unfortunately, quality GCs are going to be in big demand and their time will be too. It will be difficult to get a contractor to  give you estimates on properties you don’t already own. When factoring all the variables; you may never bid on the house, you may be out bid, even if you get the house under contract you may not have the financing, the GC may get out bid by another GC. There is little incentive for the GC to invest his  time unless you have already developed a working relationship with him and he knows you’ll follow through.

I’d recommend building those relationships by going to your local meet-up(s) to network with agents, contractors, lenders, and other investors in your area. you can also get a more generalized estimate of work necessary  on a property from a good investor friendly agent or a property manager. Look for either who are investors themselves. They’ll have a keen eye for the amount of work involved and will be able to give you a ballpark guess. Again, they will be more interested in helping you out if there is some promise of work coming their way as well. All the more reason to get yourself out there and chatting them up. If there isn’t a meet-up in your area, start one. You can drum up interest in the forums and post it to the events section.

Good luck!   

Welcome @Jesse Lee Boyd IIIand congratulations on taking the first steps. Thank you for your service. I wish I had taken advantage of the VA loan far earlier than I had. Best of luck!

Welcome @Tom Lombardo and congratulations on getting started. You’re on the right track. Keep reading and listening to everything you can. I recommend you find a local meet-up to begin networking with other investors, agents, contractors lenders, etc in your community. These will make great contacts, mentors, and even business partners. Do what you can to add value to their endeavors and they will be happy to pay you back with OJT and knowledge not put in the books.

Best of luck!  

Hi and welcome, @Thomas HatcherAll the best in your endeavors. 

@Justin HolwellI don't know what your situation is, but have you considered an FHA loan on a multi-family? House hack, live in one unit as you rehab the other units. You can get each unit occupied as they are completed to offset the monthly mortgage.

BRRRRs are a tough find nowadays unless you are using some Jedi wholesaler skills.     You may want to begin considering good deals instead of just the great deals. Buy and hold doesn’t get your seed money back right away to complete the 4th R, but you will have completed your first deal. 

Welcome, @Rion Redingerto BP. One of the best intros I’ve read in a while. “Here’s what I’m trying to do and here’s what I can offer you.” You’ll do just fine. Best of luck!

...I hope that public school math doesn’t fail you when working with the ohms and amps! 

Congratulations, @Noah Gouldsmithfor getting started in REI! Great example of getting out there and making things happen. You can read the books and forums, and listen to the podcasts, but nothing replaces stepping out and building that network. Looking forward to reading about your first deal. Best of luck!

Welcome, @Rich. congratulations on getting started. While it is possible to buy properties without using your own money, generally that doesn’t mean no down payment unless you are a veteran and planning on living in the property.

Anything above four units is going  to be a commercial loan and not your standard residential  30yr fixed rate mortgage. 

Small multi-family, 2-4 units, ar still considered residential but lenders will want a 25% down payment. These are great because thy are the gateway properties to the large apartments. Before lending to someone buying their first 5+ unit anks like to see that the borrower has had experience managing multis. 2-4 units are great for the experience as well as the better deals on the loans.

Your best bet is finding a quad you. Can house hack, live in while fixing up the other units and renting out, with an FHA loan.

Good luck!