All Forum Posts by: Andrea Lane

Gia

Before you put any money in the house I would investigate the zoning.  Just because they are putting an apartment complex down the block does not mean our zoning will change.

If you are going to move back in, then consider the lost rent in your calculation for the cost of the renovations you want. 

Are you planning on keeping this house and looking for another building, after you do your research see what numbers work best.

If you have a buyers list, find out what type of houses they are looking for, the locations and price range.

Depending on the area you are looking in, finding great wholesale deals takes time , effort, and usually some marketing budget.  You can drive for dollars and knock on doors.  The only cost is gas, but time consuming.  This is how we found our first deal when we where starting.

I have never been good at Facebook, but I understand you can find deals there as well.

Bandit signs are usually only efficient if you put up hundreds and they don't get removed from the local police or you don't get a fine. But you are probably not going to see a significant number of good calls.

The MLS may have some properties you are looking for, if you have access. You may be able to partner with a realtor interested in what you are doing.

Letters work, again this is not cheep.  It use to average us 1000 letters a month for 6 months to get 1 house.

There is no perfect way, but if you are consistent you will find the deals you are looking for.

Lisa

Sounds like you are off to a great start.  

Networking, letting people know you are serious about investing, and meeting other serious investors has been the backbone of building our business.

When you are in the Facebook groups, are you interacting with the people you seek?  Ask them for some time to talk and share coffee over the phone.  Ask other investors in the group who they use or won't use, other people's experience is a great way to learn what not to do.  

Go to all in person real estate network events and ask questions. Meet someone you are interested in learning more about and set up a one on one meeting. 

For agents, go to Trulia, Zillow, redfin,  and look for top producers.  Give them a call and let them know you are interested in meeting them (or good people on their team).

Brian

Like almost all questions the answer is - it depends.  Do you need the income to build a rental portfolio then maybe fix to sell makes sense.  Do you have the cash and want to build your rental portfolio quicker, then fix and hold makes sense.

Turnkey rentals is what we specialize in.  This not the same as fix and sell.  You'll want to build a client base and all the team members to support the purchase and sale.  Then you need to provide great property management going forward.

 If you have nay questions feel free to reach out.

Philip

You can certainly be a wholesaler to make money.  Please make sure you understand the market, the comps, the current market, and reasonable repairs.  We work with many wholesalers.  We purchase 50-100 units a month for properties in the Pittsburgh area.  The one thing we look for in wholesalers is how good are their numbers.  We will evaluate one deal with a new wholesaler, if it doesn't look like they understand the numbers, we don't look at their deals.

Does this make sense?  Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

Khane

I am new to the Houston market, but not to real estate. I have been studying the market for 7 months to start our turnkey company in Houston as well. If you have any non Houston specif questions please reach out. I am also starting a REIA group on September 22 in The Woodlands, let me know if you would like more information.

While what James says is true, if it is your first time investing and you are going out of state you should have allot of knowledge behind you.  

How well do you know the area.  I am from Brooklyn and the first time I saw prices out of state, my eyes lit up.  Don't just look for low prices.  Low prices are still available in some communities, but make sure they are communities you want to be in.  Know the area.

Make sure you have a good trusted property manager, make sure you ask them allot of pointed questions.  You are not going to want to manage properties hundreds of miles from home.

Let me know if you want to talk about this sometime.  

If you are just getting started I would recommend not spending allot of money testing things out.  Get a business card with your name, email, and phone number on it and start goin to in person network groups.  BP has great education.  Let me know if you want to have a conversation

Have you looked in the Beaumont, Freeport, or Corpus Christie areas?

Thomas

I can't help you with FHA. I would check out the ability to flip to an LLC. Most lenders do not allow it and may call the loan.