All Forum Posts by: Alex Kenneth Swindell

Hello! 

My name is Alex Swindell. I am currently looking for a role in which I serve a team or investor and  can continue my real estate investing education by utilizing the skills and experience I currently have. 

My  Professional Background: 

     When I graduated form university, I landed a job as a Staffing/Sales Manager. After a short time, I knew that this role wasn't for me and started doing some internal investigation. I became passionate about real estate and over the course of the last five years, I have worked towards a career where I could learn the skills to be successful in real estate investing. I sought out a career in project management. However, I didn't have the qualifications to get in the door and at the time, finding a job wasn't easy. I got similar feedback from a few different interviews -  'you don't have the relevant experience'. To break my way into a role where I could become a Project Manager, I took a job as an electrical trainee. I did that for a few months until I was laid off due to COVID. I began to interview again and found a position with the company which I currently work for as a Field Coordinator for a utility scale solar manufacturer. I told the interviewer the first time we spoke on the phone that what I wanted was to be a Project Manager. He assured me that this could lead to that role within the company. I took the job and six months later was promoted to an Assistant Project Manager. That is my current role and I have been doing it for the last two years. I have ran a project as a project manager, managed budgets, instructed incoming Assistant Project Managers and trained them for their role, managed subcontractors, tracked project deliverables from start to finish, and worked on contract revisions. I have been on teams which aimed to role out new software which would be the new standard for streamlined communication internally. I have learned a lot about company internal organization, stakeholder management both internal and external, change orders, file structures, contract negotiations, record keeping, risk mitigation, and more. 

Whilst in my role as an APM, I have also started other work with a partner and close friend of mine of the last 20 years. We have the same objective: an early retirement via real estate. We have done research and performed property analysis on single and multi family properties across the United States, market analysis,  identified and started to work towards a creative investment opportunity with a vacant lot in the Sacramento, CA area in which we intended to place a tiny house. I've learned about building up a team, sourcing deals, rehabbing property, creative financing, and more. 

I want to continue my education in real estate in pursuit of my highest goals.  If you have any suggestions as to roles that may be a good fit given the above information, I would greatly appreciate hearing about it. 

Thanks and Regards,

Alex Swindell

Heads up, I'm not an experienced investor... yet. However, I'd like to vocalize my opinion on here and it can just be taken with a grain of salt:

My intention here is not to guide you to any decision but to suggest considering if you can achieve your goals via other methods and consider the opportunity cost of both doing and not doing something. Then consider based on your goals, if you can get things still to work out favorably in a way that still solves the issues that you're presented if going one direction or another.

@Scott Mac mentioned the opportunity cost of not going to the property to meet with your contractor. In that instance your opportunity cost is missed free education and possible missed relationship development with your contractor. Makes a lot of sense and I can't really poke any holes in that because there is potential truth there. 

However...

There is opportunity cost to going and meeting them in person as well. You don't get your time back, and you aren't necessarily looking for how you could get the equivalent education and relationship development from home. (if you want to be operating remotely, it might be beneficial to learn how to operate this way) You probably could, but it will take more creativity. 

ex. Your contractor could video chat with you while you take the call from home and explain the materials and installation method. If you have a list of materials that are being used, you can google them and do the research yourself. You can send thank you cards and tip during the holidays to demonstrate that you value the relationship, etc. 

It depends on your goals and priorities, your time availability, etc. 

Food for thought... 

Hey Nicholas, 

I was in a similar situation to you not too long ago and with a similar goal. I had no established credit, and wanted to attain a high credit score. I now hover right around an 800 credit score. Here is how I made that happen: 

I got a credit card and I now pay for everything on that. I never let the balance on my credit card get above about 7-10% of my credit limit. I just pay it off every couple of days. 

I also became an authorized user on my aunts credit card. She has a good credit score. I did not get access to her card for any sort of use, I just was benefiting from her score. 

I don't cancel cards, ever. I don't apply for new cards but when I do, I'll also be asking for a credit raise on the card that I already have, so that way I only get one ding on my credit report. 

You'll build things up pretty quickly if you follow all these steps. I hope this helps. Good luck on your credit journey. 

Thanks @Account Closed. That is definitely very good information to know. I appreciate your response. 

@Mike M. I sincerely appreciate your response! I'm going to look into how to accomplish those things. I've been looking primarily out of my area because I made the assumption that I wouldn't be able to get into anything in my area, due to initial investment, in Sacramento, CA. Now, I'm starting to do research on Sacramento submarkets and assembling a team here. I have a lot to learn. 

If you don't mind, how have you typically gotten in contact with the owner of the house in pre-foreclosure? 

Hello Everyone! 

So, I found a property that is a pre-forclosure and is listed for $400,000. I'd like to understand how, if one were to try and assume the mortgage, how that works, and what the options are as far as acquiring the house? Would it be possible to offer to cover the past due default fees, have that be the initial cost then rent it out? Any insight would be helpful. I'm really just trying to get an understanding for what the possibilities are for investors when looking at homes that are in this general situation. 

I hope it helped a bit! I'm just getting started and engulfing myself with as much knowledge as possible. I'd like to hear how things go for you! It sounds to me like your getting really close. Congrats on the progress you've made so far! 

A couple of things I can think of right now:

  I picked this one up from,  Long Distance Real Estate Investing by David Greene. I don't have the book in front of me right now so I'm paraphrasing but, he mentions leveraging the network of the folks already working with you and offering incentives to those people. So, if your real estate agent works under a broker, or he happens to be one himself, you can offer an incentive to him and the people that he works with if they are sending you deals that meet your criteria. That way you have a team of people searching for you instead of just one person. 

Another thing I picked up listening to Bigger Pockets podcast that I liked, was: go onto Craigslist and look for homes that are for rent. If you see things that are posted by someone who is obviously a mom and pop property management co./landlords, you can reach out and see if they are interested in selling.  (Their contact information may even be posted right there for you) Because so many people manage properties incorrectly, they get frustrated and may want a way out. Also considering that they are investors, there is an okay chance that they would sell if they hear the right number. 

Those are what I could think of off the top of my head. I hope that helps!