All Forum Posts by: Blaine Alger

Congrats on getting in early. I wish I could afford something in Austin.

I don't know a ton about the area besides the market is crazy hot/competitive and some are saying it is what San Francisco was 25 years ago. If yall want to continue investing in that area, I don't see any other options besides going after  more creative deals (pre foreclosures, tax auctions, etc.) and really putting in the hustle. 

If i were in yall shoes, I would look into getting a HELOC on the property that is paid off and then using that cash to invest in the surrounding areas ( an hour or so radius from where yall are). The competition from Austin will likely still be in those areas but I think this move would drastically improve your chances of finding the right deal.

I hoped that provided you a little bit of insight. 

-BA

You got the right mindset. If you start getting your finances lined up now, then you will put yourself in a good position to get in the game at 21. 

In my opinion, I think it is not possible/very unlikely for you to actual buy property now and I think you realize this.. This is because you of your age and for transactions dealing in real property, you will need to be able to form a binding contract. So i wouldn't listen to anybody, who says other wise. You could try to get creative and find ways to get it done but I still don't see how you can get around the contract part right now. I think your time would be best spent educating yourself, getting your finances looking good and building connections with other investors. 

Now even though you can't actually buy property now, you can still participate in the REI sphere to gain more experience/knowledge. I really like your bird-dogging idea, that is something I wish i would have done when I was your age. You just have to find someone in your market who would be willing to work with you.I would say the best way to do this would be to start messaging people in your area on BP and tell them who you are and what you are trying to do. There are a lot of investors out there who love to see a young hustler willing to put in the work and would love to work with you. You just have to find the right situation.

Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help point you in the right direction. I love talking with young investors looking to get started, gets me fired up.

-BA

I wish I would have had more courage to start reaching out to local investors in my market. 

It feels overwhelming to reach out to some one who is years ahead in their investing career, but you just have to take that leap of faith and make it happen.

When I started to meet/talk with more investors in my area I started to get a better feel for the area and built some great connections. I just wish I would have started doing that about 4 years earlier. 

If you got any other questions, feel fee to reach out.

-BA

Well if you want to close on your next wholesale deal this month, then you should have started 2 months ago, haha. 

Wholesaling is tough and it takes a lot of hustle, determination and grit to get deals done. Especially in the crazy hot market we are in now.

I am a big believer of learn by taking action. I think a lot of people will get carried away with the education phase and never make the jump. I would encourage you to take the jump and just try to get something going. There will be a lot that you don't know but if you let that hold you up then you will never learn. 

Try not to get sucked down the youtube rabbit whole. There are some great resources out there but be sure to get it, get the knowledge you need then go out there and actually DO IT.

Feel free to reach out if there is any other way I can help. Im always up to talk some real estate. 

-BA

Man! Congrats on the crypto gain seems like you should just double down (Just kidding).

I think that is a solid plan to take your gains and put them into a real hard asset. With the way to government is printing money right now, hard assets will continue to hold value. 

Only issue I see for you is financing. Given your age, i would make the assumption banks aren't too eager to lend you money. But if you have credit and have had a solid w-2 for the past couple years, then it might be a different story. If I were you, i would start with talking with a couple lenders and seeing what is possible. They will have better advice than me.

After you are aware of your financing options, then you will be able to plan with more concrete details. Feel free to message me if you have any other questions. I always enjoy talking some RE!

-BA

Edwen,

Wholesaling is hard. People are seeing these Tik Tok wholesalers and think they can make 10k the next week.  I'm not saying that it is impossible, you just have to realize what you are getting yourself into. 

The ones who succeed in this game are straight up HUSTLERS! You might be able to get lucky and get a couple deals under your belt but if you are looking to turn this into a sustainable business then you have to be ready to put in the work. 

My advice to you:

-learn how to communicate and build rapport. I got a fix/flip under contract yesterday just because the seller liked me better, even though my offer wasn't the highest. 

-Know your price points in the Market. Easiest way to comp a property is to find out what someone is willing to pay for it

-Learn how to estimate rehab costs. 90% of wholesalers out there have no idea what it costs to rehab a property. I am still figuring this out myself. If you can learn how to present accurate rehab estimates, that will help you stand out from the crowd and show credibility.  

Feel free to reach out if you want to chat. Always glad to talk with other investors.

-BA

Mason, congrats for stepping out of your comfort zone!  I know it is difficult to step out side of your comfort zone but that is when you see real growth happen.  Successful people live outside of their comfort zone because you can't get better if you are constantly scared of failing.

I used to be somewhat of an introvert myself and had a hard time talking with strangers. I think that is a normal feeling for most people, because it makes people feel UNCOMFORTABLE. However, in the RE business it is all about being a great communicator unless you are able to leverage another skill (general contracting, number crunching genius, etc) to give you an edge. For me, I can barely hold a hammer and still have to use a calculator to add up rents so I have no choice but  to rely on my communication skills. 

It's not easy by any means and I am far from a master communicator but I push myself everyday to step out of my comfort zone and TALK to people. The more I talk, the more comfortable I get and eventually I will have to find something else that makes me uncomfortable. 

In terms of the RE side of things, I know it is tough to get started when you are young and it can feel like an overwhelming feat to buy your first property. But it's all about gaining confidence and getting that first deal under your belt. Once you get that first deal, you will have a repeatable template that will allow you to copy and paste each deal after that. That first deal will also get you over the hump and show you that it is not impossible. 

I know that is fairly broad advice, so in the meantime I will give you some actionable steps in order to start making your way to being a RE investor:

 -participate and ask questions in the forums

- go buy a RE related book and read it

- start reaching out to people in your area on BP to introduce yourself.  Tell them who you are, what you are trying to do and ask them if there is anyway you can help them in their business. 

There ya go, get after it! Feel free to message me if you got any other questions. I would love to chat with you.

-BA

Main Problem I see is your lack of income history and credit. 

If you have had a consistent job since you were 16 then this might be a different story. But a lender is going to want to see that you have a consistent source of w2 income or at least 2 years of tax returns if you are 1099.

If you don't have a credit card, get one.  There are a number of different options out there for young people who are trying to start building credit. Check out nerd wallet to get you pointed in the right direction. However, treat your credit card like a debit card and pay it off at the end of EACH month.  DON'T BE STUPID and build up a bunch of consumer debt, because that will put you down in a hole.

Shoot me a message if you got any  other questions. 

-BA

I am joining the non-LLC side of the argument.

You do make some valid points with saying you want it in order to separate finances and provide liability protection but there are other ways to do this as well. 

I just set up a bank account the other day for a property that I have in my personal name. For banking purposes i set up as a DBA (Doing Business As) and that is what I opened up my account under. I just went down to the city and filled out a form, and that allowed the bank to open up a business account and now I can run all my expenses/revenue for that property through that account.

In terms of the liability side of the equation, I would talk to an insurance agent and get a quote for a liability umbrella policy which will provide adequate protection if someone try's to sue you. I don't know all the nitty gritty details so talk with an insurance person if you want more info. 

I am not totally against LLCs, I just think you don't need them when you are just getting started because it just complicates the transaction and I am a fan of keeping things simple. When you start dealing with LLC's you will be seeing commercial loans that often don't offer as favorable terms as a loan that will be in your personal name ( commercial loans tend to be 15-20 yrs and higher rates while personal loans will be standard 30 year with lower rates).

I hope this was helpful, feel free to message me if you have any other questions.

-BA

Hey Alyssa,

You have a bunch of great questions, I can tell you have been doing your research. 

The biggest hurdle to get over when you are young and looking to invest in Real Estate, is financing. That is because the banks want to see that you have a consistent source of income from a w2 job or have at least 2 years of tax returns to support a 1099 income/self employed. 

I think the best starting place for you would be to talk with a lender. They will be able to look at your credit score and financials and will be able to give you a better answer than my self. If they aren't able to approve you for a loan, then they will be able to tell you what you need to do in order to get approved later on down the line. 

If you don't want to wait for the banks, then you can always try to look for owner finance/creative finance opportunities. However, you need to know how to approach  these conversations and have to be willing to put in a little bit of hustle. 

Shoot me a message if there is anything else I can help you with. I am always happy to chat.

-BA