All Forum Posts by: Alex Silang

I'm going to go to the BlackDiamond Worcester meeting and Boston North Real Estate Investors group.

Ann, thank you for the info. Hope to see you in a week or so.

I'm going to my first REI meeting this month. I'm a buy-and-hold investor. So what should my objectives be?

* I'd like someone to recommend a good property manager

* Likewise, I'm looking for recommendations for a real estate agent

* General information on being a landlord in the Wocester, Ma area.

Other than that, what should I try to find? I'm not doing a strategy like wholesaling, from my newbie point of view buy-and-hold benefits less from networking.

Thanks

How should an investor consider the factors involved in blighted cities?

Detroit comes to mind. But other cities (I believe Baltimore and Philadelphia as well) have shrunk over the past few decades. In some areas the rental market is essentially dead and properties are abandoned. I think that would be a nightmare for an investor.

Thanks!

Thanks Duncan.

Steve, I plan on getting a conventional mortgage. I have enough for the downpayment.

Hi All.

I'm a newbie that is in the stages of buying his first property.

What sort of operations work needs to be done?

* I assume registering an LLC. I'll meet up with a layer for this. Is LLC generally considered the best form of incorporation?

* Get PO Box? Is this necessary?

* Get bank accounts

* Have at least an initial meeting with an account

Anything else you can think of?

When I said 7 properties, I meant triplexes. So lets say 21 doors.

$150/mo profit per door.

21 x 150 = $37,800

I'm designing a ten year plan. At some point, I'd like to do RE full time. Once I got 7 or so properties, I'd be able to still have enough income leftover to expand my empire. But is it possible to get a mortgage without any w2 income? I read some posts on another forum saying this was close to impossible.

I don't think I'm the only one here who yearns to work full-time on RE. Lets discuss this.

Assuming 10% cash on cash returns, if you need an income of 50k a year you would need 500k in investment capital. Actually probably more because banks will require you to hold reserves. Lets say 550-600k.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of each strategy? Flipping probably requires less capital but in my eyes is risky and unpredictable. "Buy and hold" might require a long term investment horizon: 10-15 years (unless you are starting with 550-600k).

I think if someone was really motivated, they could join a RE management company right after college to learn the biz. Start networking like crazy, save money prudently and start buying properties.

Also are there people who do not want to do this fulltime? Having a job is a good way to diversify risk.

Thoughts? Any firsthand or secondhand experience?

About a month ago I posted in the "Starting Out" forum about mortgage limits and got contradictory responses:

http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/12/topics/105907-real-estate-limits

I've done some searching on the internet and am still unclear on what the right answer is.

I'm hoping this forum has more seasoned pros than the newbie forum so here goes:

Lets say a house has a monthly rent of $1000/mo while the PITI is $750. Is this good enough for a bank? Basically a wash.

Or are they going to take $1000 x 12 x 75%, add that to your other income to determine your total income. Then use a multiple of it to determine if you have passed your mortgage limit

Thanks!

Jon Holdman,

Thank you for the additional details. Why do you think the bank was so unwilling to budge? Did the property drop in value or profitability by a significant amount recently?