All Forum Posts by: Ashton Levarek

Welcome @Erica Winship, sounds like a pretty good plan so far.  Since flipping is your goal I would definitely check out J. Scott's book, "The Book on Flipping Houses".  We don't flip homes ourselves but we do use quite a few of his strategies outlined in that book in order to find and rehab our rental properties. And we use his other one "The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs" even more.  But yea, there's a wealth of information here at BP.  

Best of luck Erica.

Ashton

Alright @Ray Alvarez, you may have just asked the easiest or most difficult question in the forums.  Where does one start?

And I'm going to give you the most basic one size fits all response - it depends on the person. It depends on your goals, both financially and in life. You must know your why. Why do you want to invest? Are you just looking for a safe investment or trying to make money? Are you trying to grow you savings? Create passive income to replace your current 9-5 job? Or are you just trying to create a secure nest egg for retirement?  These are all things you'll have to figure out.

My brother and I both invest in multifamily rental properties using the BRRRR method with the ultimate goal of eventually creating enough passive income from rentals to replace our day jobs. The reason we decided on real estate is due, in part, to something my brother coined (or found, he won't tell me) IDEAL benefits of real estate investing:

I - Income - Income generated from passive income(rents) through cash flow monthly.

D - Depreciation - Owning property allows owner to depreciate property assets thus decreasing tax burden by subtracting those assets from taxes.

E - Equity - Properties incur "loan pay-down" or mortgage pay-off by rental tenants. This steadily grows worth of owner as the equity in the property grows.

A - Appreciation - Due to economy and inflation, properties will rise in value at on average 3% per year, some much faster, thus increasing worth of property and value for owner passively.

L - Leverage - One of the only investment vehicles where you can leverage a percentage of your cash to buy an investment. This allows a much quicker buildup of wealth as you can invest in more investments. ie. 20% cash to buy a property. Stock Market for example does not do this, it is a dollar-per-dollar stock share purchase.

So thats the "why" or at least our reason why, now where should you start? Well I have heard its best to stay away from the coast, to invest in the midwest and southeast as capital goes further there. Hehe. But you're probably asking where in real estate to start.  Well I would start by educating yourself.  Check out all the Bigger Pockets reading recommendations, the podcasts and free webinars, they are a wealth of information.  This will give you insight into what will likely work best for you based off of your financial goals and disposition.  I would start with something like Robert Kyosaki's "Rich Dad Poor Dad", Scott Trench's "Set for Life" or "The ABCs of Real Estate Investing by Ken McElroy. 

Sorry for the long winded response but I actually get this question quite often. Where ever you start, know that someone has gone before you... and they're probably posting about it here in the forums. Ha. And if an old fire fighter and a retired ol war vet can do it... you can too.  Best of Luck Ray.

Ashton

@Ray Alvarez

Well @Michael J. Beasley Bigger Pockets is a great place to find people to join your team.  So long as you bring something to the table people will want to work with you, they'll be compelled to work with you.  

So the question you need to nail down is - What do you bring to the table?  Capital? Everyone needs capital, but of course... it costs money. :)   Education on the other hand, is free.  Or at least much cheaper. Bigger Pockets offers endless amounts of real life experience, books, calculators, forms, documents to use, etc.  Become an expert on where to invest and why (not that hard really)  Once you get good and educated then search for the people. Get on the forums, go to local meetups. Because you know what you're talking about now - people will want to talk and even work with you.  Start with the people that will work with you for free (or at least on commission) - the real estate agent, the whole saler, other investors that see your value. etc. 

With a little motivation and a lot of focus, that team will bring itself together. Best of luck Michael, hope to see you out there. 

Ashton

@Eric Koelling - Not to get to deep here but regarding decisions like this - I'm a fan of Occams Razor

"Occam's razor (or Ockham's razor) is a principle from philosophy. Suppose there exist two explanations for an occurrence. In this case the one that requires the least speculation is usually better." Another way of saying it is the easiest solution is often the best solution (correct solution).

I'm actually moving out to Oregon this summer but based off of everything I've read on BP I think I'll just continue to invest in North Carolina.  The easiest solution being the best solution, at least for me.  

Whats up Joe? My wife and I are going to try and attend, but at the very least I should be there.  Thanks for the heads up. 

Ashton

Short answer - Books, podcasts, and meet-ups.  

Long answer - I would argue that I found mentors in each one of those.  And the great thing about doing it that way is that 2 out of three of those are free.... We crushed podcasts and meet-ups relentlessly, I would even attend meet-ups in nearby towns just to see what people were investing in in that area.  But the great thing about podcasts and books is that those mentors can be referenced over and over.  I would read and reread books and listen to podcasts over and over if I felt they applied to my business model.  

But all the information and coaching in the world won't help unless you apply it.  And thats when the real learning takes place.  I was lucky enough, or unlucky (depends how you look at it) to be blessed with the jump first and learn how to parachute on the way down type of attitude. By product of the military maybe. I read books and listened to mentors but I didn't really learn anything until we purchased our first property.  

Its all been done before and there is plenty of free information and or guides on how to do it.  Best of luck Cameron.

Doesn't sound like a traditional HELOC to me. Maybe I'm missing something but.... You typically don't need to take money out of the HELOC immediately, you just use it as needed. Dont get pressured by timelines and or interest rates, find a HELOC that works for you not just for the bank.

Welcome to BP John.  

If your looking to learn about real estate investing then this is definitely the place to do it.  Meet-ups are great, the blogs have a wealth of knowledge, and their book selection is clutch. If you're interested in syndications and multi family investing I would definitely check out the book "Raising Private Capital" by Matt Faircloth.  Helped us out a lot at least.

Best of luck.

Ashton Levarek

Hey there Bigger Pockets, so I'm looking for general contractors in and around the Raleigh Durham area.  Anyone out there have experience with contractors in that region, whether good or bad?

Looking to rehab 2 neighboring duplexes, each unit is a 2 bedroom 1 bath rental.  Improvements will include interior/exterior painting, some minor plumbing, installing flooring, repairing wood stairs and deck, and possibly a wall removal to make into a studio.  

Any and all referrals would be welcome, as well as any great stories on who to avoid and why.  

Thanks, 

Ashton