All Forum Posts by: Elisha Lowe

Great thread. I bank with a credit union and I believe you have to get a member to get you in. I forget really as I've been with them for a long time. I went to them when I wanted funds to renovate my home and it easy to get. I plan on asking if they will finance my rehab flip.

I love banking with ING Direct and have been a member for a long time. I can wire money online, pay bills, and I used to earn interest higher than what most banks offer but I haven't check lately so don't know. ING is a great savings tool because it takes a few days to get funds transferred back to your local account. By that time you may not feel the urgency to spend that money and may send it back to your ING acct.

Hope that makes sense...no coffee yet.

This site is great and I think the participation is exceptional especially form the standpoint of a newbie. When I am not traveling, I work from home and when I am traveling I get a fair amount of hotel time. Some people don't have that much time at the computer, however, I think we all appreciate when others participate. Like some have stated sometimes our questions have already been answered in other threads.

I really appreciate all of the advice and experiences shared here.

Originally posted by Ali Samana:

I like playing Cashflow. Although, the lessons are too simplistic for investors. The game had to simplify real life investing, or it would talk people out of investing in RE

Mitch, the game is not for people like you and I. It is meant for people like my cousin who has 10s of thousands of dollar in credit card debt (~70k) and just bought a beamer. It shows people in a fun entertaining way that you can be financially successful if you live wihtin your means.



Ali I'd have to agree with you and Mitch. I really do like the online version and the board game can be fun too especially if there's some discussion going on about building wealth in real life. You're right though it is more beneficial for people who don't yet get the concept of paying bills off, saving and investing.

Josh and Kevin thank you for replying. I have so many obligations right now and I need prioritize and spend my time wisely. Kevin I have a lot of windshield time in my travels so I will do my self a favor and get the CD.

Much appreciated!

Thank you Jon and Steve for replying. A few weeks ago I was thinking that all I had to do was go on Legal Zoom pay some money and voila it's all done. I would like to and plan on having a better understanding of the set up process and maintenance of this type of entity.

I've read both of your posts in the past and I appreciate the level of understanding that you have for your businesses and sharing it here.

Best

For starters, I am still in the process of researching and developing my business. I've read some articles on LLCs and have decided to form one in the near future. I have not sat down with a CPA and I plan to soon. I would like to get some references from local investors first.

I was in a discussion last night with someone who believes it is important to have a separate LLC for each property especially if you are holding. I've read that suggestion elsewhere and understand that it may be a good way to protect personal assets and other properties should something go wrong.

My issue with that is the routine maintenance of these things. They don't seem as easy peasy as some people make them out to be. The woman told me to let my CPA worry about that.

My question is how many of you pros actually leave all of that up to your CPA? Shouldn't smart investors have a basic understanding and continually educate themselves even in areas that are not their expertise. I would want to understand as much as I could.

Another thing that came up was all the things you can do within an LLC like purchasing a luxury car and it's a write off.

I don't know and maybe this is a silly topic but the more I read on this site it seems the most successful investors try to understand every aspect of their business.

Any feedback is appreciated.

Thanks

Starting out as a newbie I feel that it is very important to network with experienced and up and coming REIs. I am signed up for every meeting and meetup in my local area. I travel for work a great deal, study, attend classes, and have a busy social schedule. Like yours, my time is one of my most valuable assets and I hate to waste it on nonsense.

Last evening, I decided to meet with a group of people and play the Cashflow board game - I've only played it online before playing with this group.

I really like the concept of the game and was looking forward to discussing the different ways of investing with the participants especially since the organizer is a real estate agent. I'm sure his motives are to increase business and mine are to find people who I can do business with in the future or at least find reliable contacts through. Also, until my partner gets his RE license, I need an agent who is investor friendly so I figured this might be worth my time.

I arrive at McDonalds (location was changed from realty office) and find the group, introduce myself, and jump into the game. The whole time I am asking questions to the group about their work, experience as investors, playing game - networking. One guy gave me his card and we talked about his business which I can see myself checking out in the near future. The organizer shared how he flipped 2 properties after being inspired by Kiyosaki's books and game. I was surprised that I didn't get a card and didn't ask. I told a bit about myself, very little as no one asked or showed any interest. Everyone was helpful in getting me set up with the game.

As I said no one asked me anything about myself so when the organizer began explaining to me what a mutual fund was as he had to explain to another player how stocks work - I was probably rude. I am truly a diversified investor and enjoy the topic of investing and building wealth. I've been investing since I was young and I don't know everything but I understand the basics.

The other thing that rubbed me the wrong way was some of the advice given out while playing the game about real life investing in real estate; I found it to be questionable but no one was knowledgeable enough to challenge, including myself. So I am looking into that stuff now. I think it's important to read up on things yourself. Do your due diligence.

My advice to anyone who is new at this and looking for groups to learn with or from - vet them first. Ask questions to the organizer so that you feel like you are not wasting your time.

This group was a very nice and welcoming bunch and I do recommend playing Cashflow. I just don't think that we are on the same page.

Hello Kim,

I wrote this in another thread but I really like Google Voice, it's free, you can set up your message with your business name etc and the calls get forwarded to your cell phone and even transcribed to text.

I agree with the advice given. Some people will want to check out your business - I would. You might want to put aside the time for setting up your business as well.

Hi Larry,

The first post in this section lays a lot out for you and the author wrote about assignments as well.

http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/93/topics/53454-exit-strategies-for-wholesaling-what-is-a-double-closing-

You may want to pm the author or another wholesaler in your area for a copy of their contract.

Good luck

I don't know how or if you can remove inquiries but if you are asking about the accounts themselves; I did it by writing the agencies and asking that they remove them - they were paid up. I neglected to mention I REALLY believe in using credit cards wisely.

I put heavy charges that I have cash for on my credit card. I just had my basement refinished and everything went on the card. I saved up the estimated amount over the last year so that I could pay each amount charged immediately. I try not to charge towards the upper limit of the card. I don't know how fast that builds credit but it always works for me and keeps the card people offering up higher limits. I don't always accept though.

Years ago I started watching Suze Orman, saving, investing, and reading up on having excellent credit - it really is not as complicated as you may think to fix/build credit.

Don't be scared at all, If you apply and can't get anything they'll say no. Big deal.