All Forum Posts by: Brad Jacobson

 Hey Niece,

I fully agree with what you said here.  My work as an investor before getting my license was fine but as soon as I got my license I saw my portfolio and skillset dramatically improve.  I'm a big fan of getting your license and would encourage you to do so!

Good luck!

Hey @Bevaughn G Grey,

My answer is always the same for this common question!  I found my mentor(s) via the local real estate meetups.

Mentors don't want to invest in you unless you're bringing them value.  I found a way to bring value to real mentors by being a usual face at the local meetups and always volunteering to help out.  Soon I was checking people in at the door to the meetups, then I was elected to the board, years later, I was the president of the meetup!  

This blessed me with more mentors than I could use and really kickstarted my real estate portfolio and career.  I'd suggest you do the same!

Good luck,

I'd guess the majority of serious RE investors got that way by leveraging property to buy more property.  You should absolutely be considering harvesting that equity.

Just note that with debt comes more risk and liability. Don't go for broke on your first few deals but I would absolutely put that money to work and go buy more.  

Buy smart and you'll do amazing.

Good luck!

Depends on your motivation!

Highest profit, lowest living standard: small multifamily house hack

Middle profit, middle living standard: single family with FHA loan

Low profit, highest living standard: investment property with 20%

Personally, I've found a nice niche in-between options 1 and 2 where I like to live in a nice single family residence (with a 3-5% down FHA or conventional) but that includes a mother-in-law apartment that I can rent out but live with a nicer standard of living.

You can also do these options over and over with the "nomad" strategy where you live in each for a year, turn it into a rental, and repeat with another new purchase the next year.

Good luck!

Hey Cameron,

You're starting along the right thought process but I'd take it further!  If you don't have time or the commitment to work as an agent yourself, your best revenue stream will come through giving referrals to other agents.  It's normal for a referring agent to get 25% of the commission, at least in my experience.

The reason you'd host open houses for others is to find new buyer clients that you could then refer out.  

If you want this side hustle to be profitable, you should consider doing all the normal things an agent would do to find clients which includes: social media, meetups, networking, etc.

Get in the mindset of finding new clients 24/7 and refer them out or take care of them yourself!

I got my start in real estate by attending all the local meetups I could find.  That's where I met a lot of the major property managers in my local area.

My advice would be to attend these meetups and see if you can befriend people who are willing to take you under their wing as you go work for them in PM.  I did the same with my brokerage and broker when I got my RE license and it paid huge dividends.  

Find that mentor and prove to him or her that you'll be the hardest working employee they'll ever have!  They'll invest back into you if so.  

You're doing everything right.  I've found that I'll usually have 4-5 people reach out before I'll get an application.  Then I'll need to get 4-5 applications before one checks all the boxes.

The criteria you've outlined and the places you've posted should suffice.  If you don't have any serious prospects after the first half of January, I'd either throw out a "first month free" or lower the rent 10%.

Good luck!

This is probably an oversimplified perspective but with my personal STRs, I got spoiled with a lot of expensive, long, and unprecedented stays thanks to Covid.  The numbers were far better than I expected them to be when I bought the properties. 

Now that Covid is not a driving factor in travel or stays, we're simply going back to the traditional STR supply and demand. If investors were basing their numbers of the Covid boost, they're going to be underperforming. If they're crunching numbers like we all were back in 2019, they'll be fine.

We're just cruising into the new normal like any other faucet of real estate.  Demand and competition will continue to grow as the market levels off.

I love this topic because isn't the reason we all love real estate is mainly to achieve some sort of financial freedom?

A few years ago, I sold a property I held for a while and made the biggest paycheck of my life.  My broker then surprised me and encouraged me to take AT LEAST a month off of work to enjoy and celebrate!  Find joy in the financial independence journey.  FI can wait an extra few years if you absolutely love the path there.

If you've been blessed with the means to do so, I'd suggest prioritizing happiness and fun over burnout.  No questions asked.

Good luck!

Hi Erica,

I'm not a lender but can confirm that I've seen this done in the past many times.  

Your sister would check the box for owner-occupancy and if you're both on title, you both can qualify for the loan.

This is common when parent's help their kids buy homes but the kids might not qualify.  I've also help brothers buy a house-hack and only one of them occupied.

However, it's best to talk with a good investor-friendly lender!  Ask the local investors around who you they recommend.

Good luck!