All Forum Posts by: Aaron Bress

The one thing I would ask is are you working with or have collaborated with someone who has experience in the asset class you want to invest in? My experience is many newbie investors try to jump in on their own and it's very frustrating and you waste a lot of time wondering, analyzing, and potentially investing in something that's not a good fit. Try to find a more experienced REI pro that can help on a personal level, not just on blog posts. Coaching is so beneficial and can really accelerate your growth as well as prevent many mistakes.

Another thought is to make a video on how to do it. Put it on youtube and give them the link with the check in message. So they get the visual as well.

That's a lot of properties under one umbrella of a single LLC. One thing that could be considered if one property goes down in a lawsuit, the other 9 could be at risk. Any way you could separate those properties into multiple LLCs like maybe 3 or so under one LLC. Then, maybe talk to a lawyer about putting those multiple LLCs into an LLP. Nice way to hedge your risk.

Training, support, and culture fit are the 3 top things that come to mind. 

Commission splits are generally about the same and generally differ depending on how many "perks" the firm will provide. If the brokerage takes more money out of your commission, then you likely will get more "free" things such as marketing, signage, education material, etc. At the end of the day, it takes time to build your personal brand. 

Most markets have a glut of RE agents and to be a part of the 20% of agents that sells 80% of the real estate will be based primarily on your personal motivation and ingenuity for building your brand, finding leads, and helping clients progress through the sales funnel. 

Basically pick a strategy that has proven to work and run with it. I really liked David Greene's books on BP for agents, definitely worth a read.

Self directed are a great investment vehicle. It seems like the checkbook controlled may cost a little more upfront to start up but over the long run not as much since you don't have to pay for a middle man. Also, if you are self employed or have the ability to open an individual 401k, you can do that self directed, checkbook controlled too. Do a quick google search and there's a lot of info on these types of funds. You will have all the info you need and more!

The best way to get started is to get involved in real estate. Find a top thing you like for example does finding deals interest you, capital raising, or property management? Try to lock down what you think you would enjoy and ask a local rock star your area if you can help them. You could even just get your RE agent license and start selling homes to learn your local market. What you need to do is get out there and do something. The more something you do the more you will expand your network and grow eventually finding traction. 

Keep looking running the numbers. If you find a deal or a few run them by a trusted mentor who has a good bit of experience in REI. Then go for it if you get the green light. One bit of advice from my early experience is that there's no such thing as perfect in REI.

If the market tumbles and crashes I guess we as agents all will have to jump back on the REO, short sales, foreclosure band wagon. There's always a market and how you trade or transact that market will change. But I'm going to be investing whether it's up down sideways or otherwise.

The nice thing about being a RE agent/investor is that you are AROUND real estate all the time. The more you do the more you learn. Before we were agents, things felt a lot more overwhelming and no one really wanted to help or have serious discussions unless we had an agent. Now that we are agents, we have a network and a vision to build our portfolio locally as well as help others win in this market. My opinion is if you want to be actively involved in REI, then find a way to be "working" in the market. It will not only help you but others as well!

This may be a tough ask but it would be awesome to have calculators for bigger properties like large multifamily, storage units, and mobile home parks and why not even ATMs?

A benefit for being a pro member is for sure the ability to watch all the webinars. Love those.