All Forum Posts by: Benjamin Ford

Is there a meetup happening in Palm Coast any time soon?

I own 8 units in Palm Coast and am looking to expand. I would like to expand my network and want to find a single family to BRRRR in the Palm Coast area. Please let me know if you think we could work together.

I don't think that an agents vetting processes is necessarily better than some of the other vetting services out there. It's all based on the same information (e.g., credit score, criminal back ground, income verification, rental history). I think it has more to do with access to HAR and HAR's dominance among similar type websites in the Houston area. One month's rent as a placement fee is probably the most expensive in the country, and in a lot of cases seems excessive for the level of work required.

I am wondering if Houston investors have found an alternative to HAR/real estate agents for tenant placement. It just seems like a full month's rent as a fee for tenant placement is excessive. I have been posting on zillow and apartments.com with little success. I am not opposed to paying a reasonable fee. Just curious what others have done.

@Caleb Heimsoth Thanks for the scrutiny. I am not trying to seek the approval of the masses regarding my strategy. I don't know you and I am not going to provide a bunch of personal information so that you can tell me if it is too risky for you. I posted to tell people a strategy that is working for me. Take it or leave it. It sounds like you don't have any student debt and are probably unfamiliar with how lenders look at it when determining whether or not to approve a loan. From my experience, it is not treated the same way as credit card, auto loans, or other debt. It also sounds like we have different view on debt and that's okay. I am not scared of debt that helps me to buy assets that provide more revenue than their expenses. Best of luck to you.

@Jaron Walling it is an 8 unit apartment complex that I am buying with partners. Yes, we do have a plan to add value. I understand why you might think it would be dangerous to take on more debt, in fact I think I addressed that in my post. It may not be a strategy for everyone. We all have different situations that provide different advantages. I have found a couple  advantages from my situation that have allowed me to try a different strategy than most. I feel comfortable with the risk I have taken on whether that means student loans or mortgages for properties. The risk that I am not comfortable with is delaying investing. I know my personality and I know that if I don't put my foot down and start today, I will probably always find a reason why it is not a good time to invest.

@Caleb Heimsoth DTI and student loans is something that always comes up when acquiring financing. However, by doing a proper analysis and buying properties that cash flow, I am working to move my DTI in the right direction.

@Taylor L. We are investing in Florida near my parents house.

@Caleb Heimsoth That is a tough question that, in my opinion, is a function of your end goals, your plan to get there, the cost of the education, the intrinsic value of the education, the opportunities that will be become available because of the earned degree, the opportunities available to you without the degree, and your risk tolerance. For most people, I am inclined to think that it is probably not worth it. For me, if I had known then what I know now, I probably would have done things differently. However, I am comfortable with my situation and don't hate going to work every day. I don't know that I would continue to be a patent attorney, if I were financially independent, but that is a choice I don't get to make yet. 

@Daniel Haberkost I am not currently investing in Virginia. In my area of Virginia, it is difficult to make the numbers work. That being said, we bought our current house with the plan to do the same thing as our first house described above.