All Forum Posts by: Alex Grosvenor

Welcome to the BP community! I too am former military and previously "stubborn as a mule" myself. You have a ton of strengths that are going to help you be a great investor! One thing I would say is be open minded and not stubborn as a mule. As I said I used to be stubborn as a mule myself so I know how hard that can be, but mentors want someone who is teachable not stubborn and stuck in their own ways. I still have my wife check me when I'm still being stubborn, but it's good to have someone else hold you to a higher standard and be there to have a different perspective. 

Also in investing, there are no specific details or guidelines to follow. A lot of it is learning as you go and adapting to what you learned from somebody else. Then you take it and you can tweak it to apply it to yourself and your situation. It is not like the military where you constantly get directions to follow and guidelines that you need to put in place. That military experience will help you later down the road of your investor business. 

With that said if you're looking to work for someone for free or be an apprentice to someone to follow their company guidelines and criteria that's a entire different scenario. I would just try and clarify what you're trying to do and what your goals are. 

Either way, I believe you will be a great investor and whatever you want to do in life you will thrive. I hope your investment journey is long and full of money!

First United Bank – Jarrod Griggs 

He is someone who was just recommended to me in the investment world. I have not talked to him yet, however, the reference comes from a very credible investor with a portfolio of rentals. Try him out and see if you can build a relationship with him and work something out. I'd be happy to message you his information if you would like!

Hey Ricky!

When it comes to fix n flips compared to new builds you have to run two different formulas. New builds in South Dallas can be made at $85-$100 a sq ft then you have lending fees, realtor fees, taxes and a lot more. New builds in University Park or off the Tollway then you're paying $125-$150 a sq ft. because the homes are 3x or 4x more expensive. 

Fix n Flips can be rehabbed most of the time at $25-$35 a sq ft max. So most of the time they tend to be cheaper. It is more advantageous to tear down and make a new build is when the discrepancy in price is large between new builds and rehabbed homes. 

Example:

New Build ARV $1.2 Million

Rehabbed ARV $650k

I hope I explained it well and this helps!

Hey Michael!

As a person who is also in the beginning stage of investing, I would love to connect and share some knowledge! I am a fellow big time thinker myself as I want to achieve 1.2 million dollars a year in passive income by 60 years old. I love living in Dallas. So many things to do, the best food and so many great people. 

Hey Alysha. Just to tack onto what Clint said. Go on Facebook and look into DFW investment groups and wholesale groups. Put your email on every list you can find there(trust me there’s a ton). Then you will never have a lack of deals to analyze.

There are tons of local events happening in person right now in DFW I was just at one on Tuesday evening and next month there are some more so reach out to me or go on BiggerPockets Events and find an event near you. 

A huge part of being an investor is you get to make your own schedule right? What that doesn’t mean is that you have no schedule. Have a schedule that keeps you focused on your goals. Take a while and figure out we’re you want to be in 5-10 years. Write it down. Once you figure out where you want to be and work backwards. That way you have clear and defined goals and that schedule is a plan to hit those goals. 

I understand that feeling of “am I doing enough?”. The tough answer is probably no. Are you watching TV instead of analyzing deals? Are you going out with friends instead of growing your network of investors to connect with? Are you doing absolutely everything you’re supposed to do to get to where you want to be or are you one foot in and one foot out? I say those things just to get you thinking about your everyday activities. What are you doing every 30 minutes of your day. Is it working towards your goals or against them.

If you haven’t yet start listening to BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast start doing so.They release 2 episodes a week now and they are better than ever. Start from the end and try and catch up to the beginning.

Lastly, the biggest part of anybody success is their mindset. Get in a mindset that has healthy habits. You can have all of the knowledge in the world but unless you have a good mindset to go and take action every single day you won’t get anywhere. 

Hey Fang, You are already ahead of a lot of people who start on here at BiggerPockets. This is a community full of people always looking to help each other out and become more successful together so you are in the right place! Surround yourself with people who have the same goals as you and your wealth will grow exponentially.

Always remember to keep self educating by listening to the BiggerPockets podcast and reading books among other things. With that said, the next steps would be going to networking events in your area. Meet people, get your face out there and be consistent. Go over and over and over and make connections; a ton of people come and go from events they aren't serious investors. Outlast everybody else who started going then just stopped showing up. Bring value to the people you want to work with. Starting out go look for deals and bring them to investors. People do business with people they like. Bring value to people and get them to like you, they will help you with everything you want to achieve. 

All of these people have great ideas you should take into consideration. I 100% agree with them that Vacancy rates are way too low because college kids are unpredictable.

While in college there were a bunch of people I knew who broke leases or moved out without letting people know or secretly subleased the property to someone else. College kids are a wild factor and its because they just don't know and don't care. 

That same principle is also why your repairs and cap ex should be way higher. College kids ruin everything because they don't know that what they are going to do is going to ruin the house or they don't care that what they are going to do is ruin the house because it's not theirs. As bright as college kids are. They aren't very bright nor have any money, experience, or credit to help you fix the problems they've made.

In my opinion you seem like you're attached to the home which is very dangerous. You should ALWAYS run your numbers in worst case scenario and even then add a buffer for safety. This isn't a short term get rich quick. It is a long game. Make less cashflow now and have a safer investment. It seems to me like those are very best case numbers. So my opinion would be run new worst case numbers. Then re evaluate the deal.

Saying that you and your friends and yourself all have people move in the same time every year seems very off. No area, even college areas, have people move in at the same time every single year. Even if they do, depending on what area around the college it is determines the rents you charge. Property Managers should be the ones giving you this information, not your friends unless they are property managers. 

I only say these things to be the pessimist. I rather you be informed with all of the information and back out and find a different deal or even just have you take less cashflow. I just want you to succeed.

Hey Zachary,

It sounds like you’re in a VERY good spot to be starting off in real estate investing. I love the fact that you said you’re not looking for a mentor which is good because I don’t think you need a mentor but rather a partner. 

If you found a partner who has experience in flips/rehabs and maybe even a couple of new builds and then you come in with money, knowledge about construction, and a crew that can do work for cheaper than other crews because the work is done for your property, it would be a win win situation for everybody involved. You would avoid the mistakes you would make by yourself, accelerate your learning 10 times over and build even more connections.

Your knowledge about construction is very important. Having a good construction crew that doesn’t need to be checked up on multiple times a week is even more valuable for an investor's time. 

Network on here to find some solid investors as well as attend local networking events. There are some coming up in the Dallas area that I will be attending. I have no affiliation with these events, I just think they would be a great help to you.

@Joseph Porturica Yes sir I do. 

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/t... is one happening this Tuesday and is about Subject To's and Creative Financing. Held by Texas Investors Club. About 100 people showed up last month and a ton of knowledgable people there and the people who run it are very down to earth. 

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/t... is the second one is called The Event. Hosted by Donovan Ruffin and others. About 1000 people attended last month. A lot of information being put out. Happens on December 7th of 2020. 

I am not affiliated with any of these groups. I just love attending for the people you meet and the information that gets passed on at both of these events. I will be at both so if you attend feel free to come up to me at any time and introduce yourself or reach out anytime before or after then.