All Forum Posts by: Adiel Arvizu

@Rosston Smith I did look it up on Amazon and while reviews are generally great the one star review has me a tad on the skeptical side. It said that it is all about hyping you up to be a millionaire or so. I will download an ebook and see if that person is right or not. Also, I did buy the four BiggerPockets books and I read and notarized them. But thank you for the advice just the same. 

@John Errico Thank you for your reply.

Since I work as a substitute teacher I have been educating myself further in real estate. And as such I have more questions and as such I also have hopefully more ideas.

1. The reason I said Jersey City heights is because that is where I live. I am aware of the gentrification that has been happening and the like. I also like the preference of being near places I can walk to or even bike to so I picked the heights as the place to invest if at all possible. So far the places I have looked at ranged from 440K to 980K. So I was wondering if those are good prices to begin my investment. One place I have been considering is one where it has a convenience store which is still on a lease and is still running and an apartment on top which could use some sprucing up it is valued at 450K. I don't mind also moving out into the ghetto but I also have my experiences having worked there for a very brief period of time. So I want to know if that would be a good investment.
2. As for that thank you very much. I can only hope I need $0 from my pocket so I can start making a trickle of money.
3. Yeah for me ideally a 3-family home would be ideal although I thought rent control only applied to 4 family units or more. I also saw properties with a business and an apartment on top. So I am wondering if rent control is exclusive depending on the property or is it only applicable to 4 or more units?
4. Yeah I will make sure to allocate the cash flow into repairs and the like. But I want to know the recommended allocation so that way I can pay myself some much needed cash. Apparently the recommended amount is 50% of rent.
5. Yeah the idea is to save up some money or use more loans to buy out properties and increase my cash flow. I have my real estate plans with me which I put up to download. https://www.scribd.com/document/328776986/Real-Est... And if that does not work then try this: http://www.filedropper.com/realestateplansv20
6. Yeah as much as I agree with you about investing more into properties, I would really like to get that monkey off my back since it isn't good debt like owning real estate would be. Plus it would enable my parents to sign off their property to me so that way they can collect more money through me, all the while collecting social security. 
7. So in terms of buying a property, would buying a foreclosed property or a property going into foreclosure be better for me or not?
8. Also, when do I make an LLC? I would like to make it if I own two or more properties that way I can separate business and personal stuff but what would you recommend?

So as the topic states I have a couple of questions about beginning my first dip into real estate:

1. I live in Jersey City in the heights. So I want to know if the heights is a good investment to make given the steep 300k-900k and more cost.
2. I want to know my financing options. I would go for an FHA loan but given my situation I really can't move away from my current residence. I want to also pay off my student loans so I can get another property signed to me. So what would be the best loan to start out with?
3. What type of house should I look for. Should it be 2,3, or 4 family houses or should I try to go for commercial rentals if they are in a good enough price?
4. How do I calculate expenses? For example, what percentage of the cash flow goes toward future repairs the like?
5. Once I get the nerve and make my first investment using loans how do I snowball that into owning more properties?
6. If I do this how soon will I be able to pay off my student loans?

I think I have a few more questions but this should serve as a start. Thank you for your time.

@Chris T.

I wouldn't mind starting one once I become successful in Real Estate.And yeah once I am able to work the nerve pull the trigger, I wouldn't mind calling up some investors and networking with them. I just need to find some time during the day between my day job and night classes. My financial situation won't allow me to just risk investing in anything in my area so I am not as flexible.

As for the podcasts, I have watched some of them although I am somewhat ashamed to admit that I watch them to help sleep but I did learn from some of them. I did buy the four books by BP: Rental Property Investing, Managing Rental Properties (mainly because my parents are landlords and I want to see if I can do what they do), The book on investing in Real Estate with No (And Low) Money Down (What I am currently reading), and The Book on Tax Strategies for the Savvy Real Estate Investor.

But thank you for everything so far because I think a plan is forming if I can get some investment capital.

@Chris T. 

It seems that is the only path I can take since while I do like getting some help and the promise of success it seems every person like this group, uses it as a smokescreen for to line up their own success. I have taken your suggestion of attending a Jersey City REI although those are few and in between, but better that than taking an hour to take the train to New York and wasting money. In any case, thank you for the advice and I will hopefully forge my own path to wealth.

@Chris T.

I did search for "Renatus" and found the results to be mixed. Either way, I am strapped on cash so I need to be creative and I do not have 10K to spend on any guru course. I have bought the BP books to educate myself. I am asking because it sounds too good to be true and the person who told me about this group is managing properties as well. In any case, I guess as soon as I get 10K to spend I may try it out. 

However, I want to know if this is something I should pursue given my somewhat bleak financial situation or should I just forgo it and see if I can make it on my own? My apologies if this all sounds stupid.

 That sounds like a great location for anyone to rent. Are the expenses always more than they come up to? Do you usually set aside a portion of the rent money for repairs and any other things that may affect you? Is it preferable to require a deposit slip on a 3 family house or should that be for bigger units?

So @Rosston Smith was the property inherited or did you immediately purchase it in your area?

@Rosston Smith thank you I am curious as to what made you pull the trigger on purchasing your first property.

@Anthony Susco My apologies I thought it was downloadable, here let me upload it on another link with some minor updates. I only wish I could attach files here but alas gotta make do with what I got. Also, I know the Jersey City market is going to be hard as well.

http://www.filedropper.com/realestateplans