All Forum Posts by: Andrew Freed

I'm always looking for ways to be more efficient as a landlord. What is your top tip to save money as a landlord or be more efficient with your operations? 

I'm start.... I love leveraging the local landlord assocations for cheaper materials. At least in my area, my landlord association has a shared home depot account for their members resulting in serious savings. As much as 15-20% on orders. This saves me a ton in material costs. 

@Rajagopalarao Paidi - You can always get your license and list the property yourself. Nonetheless, there is definitely value in hiring an experienced agent vs. a novice agent. You will probably regain the commission in the form of a higher sales price with a expert level agent. 

Additionally, I normally build in at least 7% of the purchase price going towards transaction costs when selling a property. Agent commissions + closing costs. You should build that into your numbers and work your way backwards towards an offer price. 

@Miciah Furbay - Great first step. Biggerpockets was instrumental in my journey towards financial freedom. The podcasts, the books, the forums, the community, lean into it. Additionally, make a commitment today to at least spend a few hours a day learning about real estate investing. Just like wealth, knowledge compounds overtime to something much larger than you ever imagined it could be. Commit to the learning and compounding your real estate knowledge. Once you accumulate a good amount of knowledge, the key at that point is to move from learning towards taking action. I've seen so many super intelligent real estate investors make no traction because they can't move from learning mode to action mode. Just a few tips that helped me along my journey. 

@Eduardo Sandoval Ramirez - Absolutely, you are just trading paper for a profit. I would recommend, at least, opening up a LLC in the US and operating out of that under your wholesale business. Non-US citizens can have LLCs in the US which will allow you to have a business in the US, pay taxes, and comply with laws. It will also establish legetimacy.... wholesaling is a sketchy business hence anything you can do to increase your credibility will only help your chances at success.

Find a mentor and provide value to them. If you want to wholesale, find the largest wholesaler in your area and work to provide them value and expect nothing in return. Once you provide them enough value, they will take you under their wing and teach you the ways. It may take a few years but you're only 15 years old, it'll be great way to build sweat equity. 

@Zaid Mahmood - All good questions! I've invested multifamily as a LP and GP/syndicator and happy to provide some resources. The book on Advances Tax Strategies by Amanda Han and Matthew Macfarland is a great book to understand the tax implications associated iwth investing in real estate syndications. I also really like the Hands Off Investor by Brian Burke, that gives you a great understanding of what to look for as a LP. Additionally, the multifamily millionairre volume 2 by Brian Burke gives you good insight into the large multifamily purchasing process, the associated due diligence and underwriting. 

I know many others looking to get into the game join communities like Jake and Gino and other syndication groups. I personally learned it by finding a local mentor, joining as a LP, learning the ropes and eventually graduating to the GP role. Hope this helps! 

@Tim Callahan - I'd recommend hiring an experienced eviction attorney if you expect a fight and have them manage the process so no crucial steps are missed. In tenant friendly states like Maine and MA, a small error in the paperwork could result in the process starting all over again. Have an expert manage the process, pay a small premium, and ensure it does done as quickly and correctly as possible. 

@Zach Allard - Fantastic plan, I had a similar path on how I got started. I would highly recommend, if you househack a multifamily, you should target 3-4 unit properties instead since those will cash flow once you leave. It's hard to do that with a duplex. You're in RI hence there are a lot of markets with 3-4 unit multifamily including Providence, Woonsocket, and Pawtucket. I own some property out there as well so happy to point you in the right direction. Best of luck on starting your journey! 

@Lawrence Bland - Congrats on getting started! One of the main metrics you should look out for when it comes to multifamily investing is price per unit. You want to find a price per unit significantly cheaper than the pricer per unit relative to the area. That will ensure there will be built in equity that you can figure out a way to suck out equity via a cash out refinance, line of credit, cross collatorization, or selling the property. That is how you scale in multifamily investing, figure out ways to build forced appreciation and suck that out to buy more properties. I normally look to buy units at a 20-30% discount compared to the area and develop a business plan to create equity via forced apprecation, primarily on commercial properties (5+ unit multifamily). Best of luck on your search! 

@Tomas Maira-Litran - Are these residential properties or commercial properties? If commercial properties, you can seek loans from small local credit unions and banks that base it off of the debt service coverage ratio and regularly provide loans in the 7s.

You can also seek commercial loans on residential properties as well. Winterhill bank is one in your area that offers commercial loans on residential properties. GFA in Gardner might be another small local bank that offers this type of product. 

Your other alternative is partnering with someone who has the W-2 / who is loanable and they can make up your lack of W-2 / income. Good luck!