All Forum Posts by: Amie Lamb

@Andrew Martinez, welcome to BP and the world of real estate investing. I am sure you will find this website extremely helpful in learning the ins and outs of investing. 

As, @Andrew Davis said, the podcasts are great. I highly recommend them to start learning the REI terminology and basics - this will help a lot when you talk to a seasoned investor.

Also, try and attend one (or more) of your local real estate investors clubs or meet ups. Being around like minded people on BP and investors will keep you motivated and get you to your first property!

Wishing you all the best!

@Jeff Joachim, I love reading posts like this. Excited and inspired by your success! Thank you for sharing with us. 

Hey @Molly S Ringer, will this be your first meetup meeting? I think smaller networking events are a great idea. 

Hi @Samantha VanNorman! I attended the last CFRI meeting and thought it was great. Lots of good networking opportunity and good content provided at the meeting. 

You can print out a pass for your first meeting on their website. Here's the direct link. https://www.cfri.net/Events.aspx?ID=September-General-Meeting-with-Guest-Speaker-Chris-McClatchey-26-9-2-2015

Hope to see you there!

@Chris Solis Please let me know if you get any leads on this. I am looking an attorney that specializes in RE to help me set up an entity as well. 

@Derek Gendig 

I have been wondering this as well. I am not that sure you can. 

I do know that if you initiated the forum, you can edit the title by clicking the "edit" button right under the title. This only lasts for a short time after posting. 

@Allen Maris, thanks for posting this. I am working on getting my RE license and finding an investor friendly broker now, so this is a great reminder for me. 

Welcome @Jose Rodriguez, I am getting started in Orlando as well. As I'm sure you have discovered, BP is an amazing resource when you are getting started. Be sure to set up 'Orlando' in the Keyword Alerts so you can stay aware of what is happening in around here!

Best of luck to you. 

@Joshua D., I was back and forth about getting a license for awhile. Recently, I decided to just go ahead and get it. Right now I am in the RE class and should have my license in a few weeks. The amount of information I have gained already is worth the few weeks and couple hundred dollars to get a license. From my perspective, there is no harm in having a license! Even if you never sell a house, it will help you understand what is going on before, after and during the sale. You can never be too educated when you are investing your hard earned money!

I am wondering if any of you would share the numbers YOU use for estimating repairs, vacancy, capex and PM? I have used the BP calculators and things I have learned in the podcasts to come up with my own deal analysis spreadsheet. This would be for an initial analysis of the property before really viewing it or gathering house specific data. 

I am thinking that these percentages may be off (hoping they are high...). Would love to hear what you use to estimate variable costs in your own deals.

Percentage of rent:

Repairs: 15%  (Targeting an area with older homes at this time)

Vacancy: 10% 

Capex: 15%

PM: 12% (I will be doing my own PM but want to build this in so I have the option in the future)