All Forum Posts by: Ben Feder

@Ben Feder if you want to DM me, I’ll walk you through all of the ways financing works when you have no money up front. Also, if you’re gonna come to the forum, consider buying the book from Bigger Pockets. Go to the store. I think it’s like $15?

@Ben Feder It’s okay not to have any cash if you have good credit and no debt. One strategy I used was seeking Out of State Absentee Owners with 100% equity. (from List Source. Max Maxwell has a great video on the site)

I sent out a mailer offering the same thing to all of them: 20% down payment financed by the seller at 8% for 5 years with a balloon of 80% at 5 years. With a reasonable appreciation you'll end up with at least 75% LTV* at the end of the 5 years with a comfortable cash flow position during the seller financed period.

*75% LTV is because you have a principal reduction and conservative appreciation.

PS, if you’re in a huge market, you can filter that list to owners over 65.... who are most likely to want to exit their portfolio in a tax advantageous way, like seller financing.

Hi Ather, 

Your comment about San Fancisco's micro economy is an accurate statement. Every metro area has its own micro economy and every one is different from all the others. When you hear the news media talking about a coming recession, take all of that information with a grain of salt. They are generalizing and trying to sell news. Fear sells news. They may or may not be trying to make people think that the whole country's housing markets are all on the same cycle which they are NOT. They may be mis-informed or just, summarizing for breveity and convenience to make sound bites sound good.  

Flipping and BRRRR are good strategies for that area. Prices being very high there may scare off some investors. Financing is available one way or another everywhere becasue prices are relative to the individual markets and lenders who work there know what the numbers are, so that is not genreally a problem. You will need to have some operating capiital to take care of earnest deposits and more for down payments and holding costs or partners who are willing to cover those expenses.

I can show you where to find statistical information and data to better educate yourself on any market. If you'd like a free 90 minute mentoring session, please feel free to view my profile and reach out to me if you want to set that up. 

@Ben Feder

In today's economy, I look for a 4-6% cash on cash return on my Investment. Some think that's not good but mind you thats after all expenses including maintenance AND thats not counting the loan pay down as well as any future appreciation which is all positive cashflow in the end. IRR (Internal Rate of Return) is more important than the Cash on Cash return that most look for in the present.

Take what you read on this platform with a grain of salt. Although this is an AMAZING platform with tons of free knowledge from big players in the game, 80% of the folks on here will never pull the trigger and invest in RE.

@Ben Feder that’s a very loaded question, and for good reason. There are so many paths to financial success, especially through real estate.

My opinion?

Step one is to go through the steps of Dave Ramsey’s “Total Money Makeover”. If you’re already in a good financial position, that could be really quick.

Step 2 would be to take a little time to adopt some of the principals of the FI (Financial Independence) community. Minimize what you spend, saving more for investments.

Step 3 would be to buy your own home if you haven’t already. If you have, buy another one and rent out the first one. I recommend this because a 30 year mortgage should give you enough wiggle room to make mistakes as you grow. Keep doing that until you have 4 units and then start getting more creative.

Step 4 is “retirement”. Once your investments have replaced your day job income you should focus more on real estate and the things that truly go make you happy. Go volunteer, help the church, spend time with your kids, travel, etc.

Starting from a solid foundation is key in my opinion. I’ve watched a lot of people “jump in” and there’s a 50/50 chance of success when you do that. In fact, my first attempt failed miserably.

Hope that helps!

@Ben Feder The cheapest price of admission for investing is house hacking. Buy a small multi 2-4 units. FHA will allow you to put 3.5%, certain areas have programs for zero down. You live in it for a year and move out to another multi and get an owner occupied loan of 5% or less. Move 10 times in 10 years you can accumulate 20-40 cash flowing units.

@Ben Feder I would say start yesterday! What does your financial situation look like? What type of investing are you trying to do? I’d be happy to answer any questions I could for you about rentals and how to stack up a portfolio of small multi family units without a lot of your own money. If you are looking for advise on Wholesaling or Flipping then I’m probably not your guy. Good luck!