All Forum Posts by: Brandon Turner

"Investing in duplexes, triplexes, and quads" by Larry Loftis. Thats what got me started. Good hands on and simple approach to real estate investing for beginners.

"The unofficial guide to Real Estate Investing" by Martin Stone and Spencer Strauss. This book helped me understand the numbers and how to actually grow wealth. I loved this book.

Rich Dad Advisors guide to Real Estate Investing. This is hands down the best book I've read on "big-picture" apartment buying. And since thats the direction I'm moving toward, its indispensable in my arsenal of books.

Good luck. If you have any questions about books, let me know. I've read way too many :)

I'd buy a 700,000 24-unit nice but slightly mismanaged apartment complex using a bit of seller-carryback 2nd mortgage and a commercial loan, live off $4000 of cashflow each month, and sell it in two years for 1.2 million.

Yep, that deal came across my "desk" yesterday. I called today and 2 offers came in today, and they accepted one. The only thing stopping me from calling yesterday - I didn't have the $125,000 for a down payment. I had my financing lined up today too.

So thats what I would do if I had 125,000 yesterday. :) Today? I'm with James - Going to Vegas.

I know a guy who does 2 and 2 - meaning 2 percent per month and 2 points down. thats more than 24% apr. Thats crazy, but I suppose on a super fast flip, the 2 points would be nice.

I haven't laughed that hard all week. European Style Wood Floors. I love it.

I'm assuming you are talking about wood floors (like hardwood) not plywood or OSB? Or would you paint them too? I can't imagine particle board looking good painted.

Thanks guys for the imput.

James - I hadn't thought of that idea - but I wonder, if I put the property into an entity, I think that would trigger the tax as well. But maybe not if it was transfered for $1.00 or something. Hmmm. Thoughts?

and Bill, I agree - churning properties is messed up. But I was curious about the question because of an apartment complex I am buying. The seller sold it 8 years ago and just took it back in foreclosure and we were trying to figure out if he would have to pay excise tax again (or Real Estate Transfer Tax as noted above) when he sold it to me. It seems a bit silly to pay it twice on the same property. And the tax is $8,000 so its fairly significant on this property. I just want to let you know I'm not a creepy slum lord takin' advantage of people :)

And to answer my own original question, I think we have discovered there is no way around paying the tax unless maybe doing what James said above. I will look into that.

Andrew - if you are looking for a hml, I think the best way is to talk to real estate agents/brokers. Especially the ones who sell a lot of REO's. They know which HML's that investors are using, and they would love to get you acquainted and sell you some property too. Good luck!

Also David, I looked at www.lakesidemoulding.com and am curious. Did you use the wood doors or the MDF doors? I have never heard of using MDF for cabinet doors. It seems with all the messy wetness in a kitchen they may get ruined easier.

I know this is getting a bit off topic, but

David, great job! I love the wall color too. I'll have to try it on my next one. Those are real hardwood floors, right (not laminate?). They look great. Did you refinish them or install them?

Eve (and others)- I read Dave's book and watched a lot of his television episodes and have a lot of trust in the guy but don't personally follow everything he says. As mentioned above, Dave is strongly against debt, referring to debt as "slavery". This includes Real Estate Debt. Dave also pushes the importance of living within your means, not on credit cards, and being financially smart.

As Jon pointed out above, ROI is not the best when you pay for a property in all cash. No one can argue with that, but it is definitely safer. One of Dave Ramsey's quotes is "100% of foreclosures last year happened to people with mortgages". Very True.

So we investors can argue all day that the ROI is better with leverage, but hundreds and thousands of "investors" are flat broke right now and bankrupt because of leverage. We are not beyond getting greedy during the good times, and losing it all when things get rough. And I know I and most every other investor will say "yeah, but I'm smarter than that" but in fact, nothing is guaranteed. Dave Ramsey's approach is not just for the paycheck to paycheck people, as others have said, but rather for everyone.

So my approach is this: Be smart, don't over-leverage (listen to people like Jon and pay homage to the 50% rule), and take Dave Ramsey's approach as much as possible: have an emergency fund, create a budget, tackle (snowball, as Dave says) your credit card debt, and stop living beyond your means.

I try to live "Dave Ramsey Smart" in my personal life but I treat my real estate investment exactly as it is - with risk. I understand that I may lose it all someday (I hope not though) but I hope to pay my personal house off and all personal debt as soon as possible so if I do go broke investing, I won't be on the street or working at McDonalds. Will I be as rich as the guy who leverages his personal house at 110% and reinvests it in his portfolio? Probably not. But I'll never lose everything and still will end up successful.

Well, I'll get off my soap box now. I highly recommend Dave's "Total Money Makeover" book if you get a chance. Let us know what you think.

Just curious, what do other people out there in Bigger Pockets land pay for Hard Money these days?

My main lender is 10 points, 10% APR, 2 year notes, LTV depends on the situation but usually around 75% ARV or cross-collateralizing another property for 100% ARV.