All Forum Posts by: Adam Widdicombe

@Jeff Petsche

Welcome to BP! It is a great idea to start connecting with people on here and honestly you can make some great friends and start to build trusting relationships that will help you start building a team. 

With that being said, I think you hit the nail on the head when you said build a team. I have 3 properties...1 I manage myself and its owned outright. The other two I am in the process of buying from a TK provider in KC. 

Although I think the TK model might be good for some, if you are really passionate and want to be successful at building a REI business, you need to take the time to research, travel, network and decide where this is the best place to be done.

Since you are in CA, you might want to look at place in the West...AZ, NV, or OK. My other advice would be to stay away from areas that everyone else is deeming as "hot" or where TK providers are buying and marketing homes. Find somewhere off the beaten path...Jackson MS, Fayetteville AR, Tulsa OK, Omaha NE, SE Wisconsin...

Good Luck..if you want to PM any questions about how I vetted people and different companies or just general questions from someone new at this too, please feel free!

Adam

@Tasha Beal

Congrats on almost getting through college! 

I would echo what a few people said here...live where YOU want and then figure out which model is right for you(TK, BRRRR, flip, multifamily...etc) Stay away from some of the obvious no no's, like CA, NY and NJ(not saying people don't make money there)

The nice thing about the Midwest is that taxes are low and the economy is on a steady incline. I am from Chicago, but never in a million years would want to live there again. With that being said you can move to Northwest Indiana and then be close to 2 "hot" markets in Chicago and Indy. Or move to N. IL or S. Wisconsin and be close to both Chicago and Milwaukee. 

I have one property in Eau Claire, WI(which is the best place I ever lived)reasonable size, college town and great schools. And I am closing on two other properties in KC within a month. With those I am using a TK provider. 

The nice thing where you are is that you can pick what you want to do right now! I am kinda jealous to be honest! If I could do it all over again I would do exactly what you are doing...but soon I am hoping through enough investments and research I can leave the W2 world and enjoy the financial freedom of REI.

Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions!

Adam

@Ryan Detig

Congrats! I take it you still work a W2 job as well? 

I own 3 properties and want to do more but am running into time issues. I can do some stuff at my day job(like write this post;) ) 

Do you have an advice for me moving forward...my wife is totally on board and is even willing to get her RE license if it would help. 

Thanks and CONGRATS!!

I live in Farmington and work in Edina. Lets get something going!

@Ami Sapir

I think Congrats are in order! At least you figured out all this stuff now as opposed to $250,000 in more debt down the road. 

Here are a few options for getting rid of those leases early if you are interested...

http://www.swapalease.com/

http://www.leasetrader.com/

Also, would your wife allow you to house hack your current house by putting it on VRBO or AirBnB? U an from Berwyn actually and know that the market there with being so close to public transportation is desirable. Maybe that could be a middle ground for you guys...

Best of luck...we're all pulling for you!

Adam

@Kyle Seidel

Hello,

I use CCF Bank in Eau Claire...I have used them for a cash out refi on a 2 rentals so far. They love investing in people all over Wisconsin that are doing REI.

Send me a message and I will get you the details..

Adam

I will definitely be following...

I live in Farmington, but all of my properties are out of state. 

We should do a meetup some time!

Adam

@Joshua Zapin

I am an investor much like you...and spent months researching places. First I figured out where--for me it came down to Cleveland, Indy, and KC. I ultimately chose KC because it is closer to where I live in MN and I could easily travel down for inspections and closings if I wanted too. I also think the weather, jobs, and accessibility of KC is convenient for people relocating. 

But I spent a lot of time on email and phone with investors, TK providers and networking so I could learn as much as I could about a particular place...and how different TK companies run their business. 

One red flag for me was the Pro Forma's I received from a few of the TK companies. CapEx is obviously important and for a company to purposely leave that off is in my opinion a way for them to inflate their cash flow.

I ended up going with Bridge Equity in KC. If you listen to Podcasts on here at all check out @Nathan Brooks, he is on a few and owns Bridge.

If you have any specific questions please feel free to send me a message...

Adam

@Vlad Bahatyrevich

Welcome to the site! I was in the same boat as you were a few months ago. I decided to go with a Tk company in KC. (I will do a full review of the whole process once it is complete)

The nice thing you can do is invest in Philly...I wish I lived in a market where I could invest more heavily. 

In my experience and research the companies that don't account for EVERYTHING are the ones that are trying to portray inflated number. I was dealing with a company that did not account for CAPEX and marketing or tenant placement. Those are things that will dent your cash flow...try and determine the most accurate number for cash flow using all of the categories.

Good luck...feel free to reach out if you have any questions!

Adam

@Sean Edward O'Brien

Welcome to the site! I was in the same boat you were in a few months ago and will be closing on 2 TK properties in KC in August. 

Just some things I have learned along the way...talk, read and listen to as many people as you can. I spent a good two months making connections on here and hearing people out through email and over the phone. The information is free, for me it was a detailed education into something I wanted to do. Obviously, some people wanted me to use their services and use them...but that is part of all the process. 

Next it was researching areas in the country that were invest-able...no easy task because there are easily over 50 that you could look into. Jacksonville, Cleveland, KC, Dallas, Houston, Indy...etc. Talk to TK operators in those markets, @Tom Ott who commented above is one of the nicest and smartest people on this site. Even though I did not choose to invest in Cleveland, I learned a lot from Tom and his articles and talking. 

I ended up choosing a TK company in KC where I did not feel like a number, but they took the time to understand my financial goals and the communication has been superb. I went with the KC market because it is within driving distance to me in MN and the market there is strong...many of those CA jobs are headed to KC, OK, and TX :-). 

Best of luck...if you need anything please feel free to reach out. 

Adam