All Forum Posts by: Brett Woodall

Dear Smart People,

As I embark upon my REI journey, it occurs to me that there is an impending presidential election this year that may or may not effect the outlook on the real estate market. I'm just starting out, so I'm still learning the basics, but I thought it might be an interesting and informative discussion to pose the following questions. Historically, how does the real estate market typically react during an election year, or shortly thereafter? Are there policies of the various candidates (and/or parties) that may pose more of a threat than others to REI in general, i.e. immigration/amnesty/deportation, minimum wage increases, etc? How might your strategy change depending on the results of said election?

While I realize I'm tiptoeing on the precipice of paralysis by analysis (I once spent a month researching my coffeemaker), it seems like a pertinent discussion to have before I finalize my decision on which niche and strategy I'm going to pursue first. If the election is going to potentially effect the market for the next 4-8 years, I'd like to be armed with that information as I move forward in order to mitigate my risk. Please refrain from political views, I'd really like to keep the discussion cordial and strictly financial/REI related. Thanks in advance for any insights!

Thanks,

Brett

Thanks for the input everybody! Sounds like in this scenario that Quad #1 is the clear winner, which is the way I was leaning as well anyway. I'm probably going to go take a look at it on Saturday, but I don't think I'm mature enough yet in my REI journey to make this large of a purchase just yet. You never know though, gotta start somewhere! Thanks again BP community!

Hello all!  I'll try to make this quick.  In perusing the local listings for fourplexes, I've found a couple worth taking a second look at.  Each has their pros and cons, but both are in the same price/cashflow range and are fully occupied ATM.  The main concerns I have are as follows.  

Quad #1 is in the city in a so-so neighborhood, older but half-renovated with solid curb-appeal, and has several tenants that are Spanish speaking only.  Quad #2 is two blocks from the sheriff's office in the heart of a rural town, is a newer building that also has great curb appeal (though with fewer updates), and is in the middle of a community that sadly is currently battling a heroin epidemic.  

The small town of Quad #2 is a nice little town with a lot of solid folks, and it's right on the river by a marina, but news reports are definitely concerning with the amount of intimidation/violence occurring in various pockets.  The language barrier of Quad #1 is definitely a concern as I don't think "Una cerveza mas?" will be very helpful in collecting rent (is it safe to assume that prop mgmt companies would have bilingual folks?).  Which property would all you wonderfully seasoned BP vets be more concerned with?  

Pete,

I found your question to not be answered when searching for this answer myself.  Assuming you found your slides from four months ago already, maybe this will help somebody else out who might be searching for webinar slides.  As a Pro member, I was able to find the slides for my desired webinar at the following location, "www.BiggerPockets.com/930Slides", where "930" appears to be the number assigned to that particular webinar.  Replaying and skipping through the webinar is a surefire way to figure it out as well.  Hope that helps somebody.

Thanks,

Brett

Thanks for the advice, @Dustan Marshall! I've found that the more I educate myself on REI in general and the more I assess my surrounding market, the more the details of my strategy seem to adjust. Which is a good thing I guess. I've been known to take as long as a month to research a toaster oven before purchasing, so I think I'll be able to resist the urge to buy a pig just to get a deal done, ha!

@Sean Cole, yeah, I've pretty much found the same. Cash flow and occupancy with those quads in the $120k range is pretty enticing. I'm just not sure I'm willing to deal with all the headaches just yet. Don't want to sour myself on REI before I even get started! I'd definitely like to meet up and talk shop though, I'll take that convo up offline with you.

@Sean Cole, thank you for sharing your story! $100k is a hard lesson to learn, I'll definitely keep it in mind as I navigate through my own self-education. We might have to get together and chat if you have some potential leads. I'm slowly but surely learning that spending all hours of the night on realtor.com/auction.com/zillow.com/etc is not the most streamlined approach to finding deals worth rehabbing. It's a feeding frenzy out there! My short term plan (which is constantly evolving as I learn) is to either flip or BRRR some houses starting out, then use that capital to boost my purchasing power on some multifamily properties. I looked at a quad yesterday in the $120k range to get an idea of what that would look like and quickly determined that I want to get into a little higher pricing bracket to be more comfortable with cost of repairs, CapEx, quality of tenant, potential for appreciation, etc. I agree, flipping houses is just a means to an end, with the end goal being enough passive income to concentrate on the finer things in life. Rome wasn't built in a day, right?

@Brandon Moryl, I'll definitely reach out to you and @Theo Hicks once my head stops spinning and I can get some sleep, ha!  Thanks for reaching out, will hopefully talk soon!

Thanks @Darrin Carey and @Sean Cole. I have to keep myself in check, and hearing this from you guys encourages me to pump my brakes a little! I'm learning more and more every day. I just did a trial run at a potential flip (gut job due to mold) with a contractor that's done around 200 flips himself. Estimated about a $100k rehab (all in, including estimated holding costs) on a $220-240k ARV job, but the bank isn't budging off their $99k asking price. Even if it was my 100th flip, the numbers are telling me the risk/reward is just not there. I think it's still valuable to go look at properties while I'm learning to get a better idea of rehab costs, assess risk, build relationships, get my team together, etc. This stuff is so addicting! Once I do decide to start purchasing, I think I'm going to stick to homes in the $100-150k ARV range to mitigate my risk while learning the ropes. I'm getting to the point where I think I need to start getting financing options lined up so I can have all my ducks in a row when the timing is right. I'll definitely be reaching out as my thought process matures, but I'll learn as much as I can on my own before bugging you guys! Thanks again for all the help everybody!

Thanks @Theo Hicks! It's amazing what one can pick up on REI just by paying attention on BP! Only time will tell of I'm getting the hang of it or not. I'd definitely be interested in grabbing a coffee sometime. I'm currently trying to line up some financing and a decent contractor who's well versed in the ins and outs of flipping, so if you have any solid recommendations, that would be great!