All Forum Posts by: Brandon Leong

@Jeff

Thanks for the quick reply! This helped a lot, I will go out to get a POF and an Approval Letter.

Since I live in New York City, I'm looking to invest out of state, because the RE prices here are insane. If I was to buy out of state, then what should I be looking for in terms of a team? Should I fly there to actually vet a team out?

And I am definitely trying to get my deal analysis skills up to snuff, at this point, I'm still pretty slow at it.

Hello, everyone!

I am starting out in my REI mission and am currently scrolling through the MLS looking for deals and practising how to analyse the numbers of some of the properties that I find. However, I'm worried that when I find a deal, I won't have everything thing in place to actually make a move. Some initial questions that I have are:

• Should I go to a bank and get pre-approved so I know how much I can actually afford? I'm currently looking at places that are less than $100k, so I'm sure I can cover it if needed but is getting pre-approved a good thing to do? Does that make the purchasing process quicker?
• Should I already have a CPA, RE attorney, contractor, property management firm already in contact in case I do find a deal? Or is finding these people afterwards what usually happens?
• What else should I do (apart from due diligence, like educating myself etc.) Should I remember to do before actually making an offer?

Thanks for whatever help comes my way!

@Douglas Orr - What is the most popular rental properties around that part of Indiana? I'm looking at multi-families, but there doesn't seem to be THAT many options.

Single families look interesting.

If I request background checks, and they refuse, is that grounds for eviction?

What are the costs associated with eviction?
- Lawyers
- Government fees

Anything else that I'm missing? What if they don't pay rent during the time in which I post an eviction notice?

Hello everyone! This is my first foray into investing into rental property. I have a friend moving to Columbus and I thought it might be a good opportunity to invest in my first rental property since I know I could have a good, responsible tenant (my friend).

I have about $50,000 at this point which I can use to throw down on a down payment, and I have a job so getting financing should not be a big issue (I think) since this would be my first property. On that note, should I get pre-approved?

Regardless, I was wondering about the Columbus area, any tips on neighborhoods that I should look into? What is the rental market like? My goal is to generate some passive income so I can start building up my wealth and assets!

I found an interesting property, which is a 4 unit multiplex. I contacted the agent and requested some information about the property. She mentioned that the place is currently fully rented out, which in my head, is a great thing.

After we conversed a little more, she asked me if I was planning to do renovations on the house, stating that the house was in good shape, but the tenants "are a little sketchy" and now would be a good time to evict them all, renovate and get fresh tenants.

The vacancy rate is lowish - but I'm not too sure, I want to do my due diligence on what she said. But evicting tenants, renovating and getting new ones sounds like an expensive process. I don't own anything yet and this is my first foray into buying rental property. What would you guys suggest? Should I just move on from this?

@Rick K Richardson - I am starting to look all over the place in NYC. Didn't know Staten Island is developing quickly. Looking for 2+ family homes!

Hello everyone, so far I've spent my whole day on BiggerPockets and am soaking up as much as possible. My goal is to begin investing in multi-family homes in and around New York City, it sounds intimidating and I'm not too sure how to start, but BiggerPockets seems like a good place to start!

Anyway, I'm excited to see what I can glean from this website and forums. If anyone wants to connect, I'm always available through my e-mail.