All Forum Posts by: Blake Denman

@Michael Masters - Who do you use as a property manager?

Is it perhaps cheaper because 2.5% of the rent is somewhat equivalent to 10% of the rent in more expensive places, plus the tenants are higher end and don't cause many problems?

Welcome @Patrick Tavares!

There is so much information on here, it's crazy.  

One of my struggles is trying to prioritize learning what I need to know to get started, and putting off learning other things until I really need them.  If you try to learn it all, you'll be educating yourself for years and years, where you could have hopped in and gotten farther learning by doing.

I wish you luck in your path towards RE success!

Well, looks like we have a consensus.

However, my mom has actually had a guy paying discounted rent for 9 months now in exchange for work on a property. I don’t know how, but she managed to get an awesome guy in there and the arrangement has been working out so far. He’ll buy supplies or get free stuff from jobs, has his own tools/truck from his day job, and we work together on the weekends sometimes. 

The house is a strange situation though - half is gutted and awaiting money, permits, and reno, the rest is pretty junky too. My mom lets him customize stuff as he wants, and he can have his band practice in the gutted area of the house. I definitely wouldn’t copy the way she has managed the investment so far, but she does have a tenant who’s paying reduced rent so I just wanted to give a counterpoint that it could work.

A guy who has approached asking about it could work out really well, or terribly.

@Adam Sankowski - There are many trusted operators out there who invest in ways that won't lose your $$ during a recession.  

To clarify, I wasn't thinking about flips, I was thinking more along the lines of multifamily syndication.  The rents will keep coming in even during a downturn, and the value with commercial assets is based on income - not on the market.  So they won't lose all their money if a crash happens, if they just manage like professionals.

I think I just saw that Matt Faircloth's DeRosa Group is raising capital for a big purchase in KY.  Investors get preferred dividends and then a return at the end.  Finding trusted operators to invest with (that project is just an example) is very possible on BP, and talking with some of them about their business and your goals may make it a little more appealing to you.  

I just encourage you to look into it more! :)

@Tyler L. Makes sense - best of luck in your business endeavors!

Hey @Alison Crawford - If you can clear $200,000 by selling it, and can earn $6,000 a year renting it, you're technically getting a 3% return on your equity.  That return on equity isn't too great.

However, the upside is there, so the decision kind of depends on your long-term strategy.  Do you want to build up a big portfolio, or build up a lot of 0's at the end of your bank account?  

Because it's hard to find much that will cashflow in the area (and because I'm bullish on the area overall), as a buy and hold investor I'd probably keep it, and get a HELOC to hopefully fund another deal with.

Welcome @Tyler L.  !

Why Manchester, Nashua, and Providence?  Lower prices, or another reason?

Perhaps see if your landlord would be willing to do a lease-option with you (assuming he'll sell at a reasonable price).

If the owner is an investor, ask him to lunch and talk to him/her about how they got to where they are.  Talk to local agents and investors and see where in the area a househack may make sense (won't be easy to find around Boston, be prepared for that).  Research property costs and rental rates in your area and see what price you'd have to buy at to make the numbers work.  And most of all, continue to educate yourself, and that will help you see where you need to go and what you need to focus your research on.

Hey @Mike Burke

I would say read the ultimate beginner's guide on this website, listen to the podcast from the beginning, and read all the real estate books on the shelf in your local library.  Plus read all the amazing information on these forums!

That will give you a great foundation, and by then you'll know what direction you'd like to pursue in your self-education.

Once you know a bit, start going to local RE meetups or REIA meetings to improve your knowledge with face-to-face interactions with people doing work in the industry.

Everywhere around Boston is expensive, if you're still going to work in Boston and want to live within short commuting range, you'll have to do some aggressive hunting to find the right deal.  Others can speak better than I of neighborhoods/towns around Boston that still have deals to be found.  Like Charlie here^^^

Hey @Adam Sankowski  - what a great problem!

I'm pretty sure that your HELOC should have a cap for how high the adjustable rate can go. Check with your provider on this. If you use that money to invest in a property, you can be very conservative and run it as if you're paying the max rate the HELOC may rise to - if the deal still works, then no need to worry!

But, why are you not interested in note investing or private lending?  If you have, say, $500,000 to play with, and you get a 10% return (much more passive than buying houses too) - you're almost where you need to be to retire!