All Forum Posts by: Brian Formulak

@Justin Lentz check out areas around Indianapolis, Lafayette, and South Bend. 

@Andrew Zannotti absolutely. Send me a message.

I have had better experience with REO properties than auction properties. We may be entering a period where there is an increased supply of REO properties, so I would do your homework on those and network with other investors who also invest in REO properties in your target location.

@Matt Wells 

I wrote a forum on how I invest my entire investment portfolio, especially in times of volatility. Below is the link, however, I would discuss further with a financial advisor to put together a diversified plan for you. In addition, you need to think about your overall goals - investing in the stock market may give you the potential to have higher annual returns (although a lot of real estate shows over a long time horizon it can have higher annual return rates), but the stock market won't give you as much cash flow as if you paid off the principal of your rental properties. You need to determine what your cash flow goals are and then you can be equipped to discuss this with a financial adviser. 

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/817098-thoughts-on-investing-in-times-of-volatility

@Justin Lentz 

Indiana is a great market for the $60k-$100k range. Single family rentals offer a nice return on your investment with monthly cash flow with low property taxes. I don’t do Airbnb, I have long term tenants in place, and in my experience seen very high tenant demand the markets I invest in throughout Indiana.

If you are specifically looking for cash flow positive properties, Indiana is especially strong - year after year I see 10%+ annual cap rates on my rental properties, and I won't invest unless my numbers match up to that number. 

Welcome. I am an investor with 25+ years of experience investing throughout Indiana. Let me know if you would ever like advice. 

A lot of investors in pretty much any market have been trying to raise cash as quickly as possible so they have plenty to take advantage of any dips in the market. This includes both the stock market, as well as the real estate market. Also, with the unemployment rate skyrocketing, there is unfortunately likely to be an increased demand in financially stressed homeowners to sell their homes quickly. I would guess that this increased demand in your leads is either from rental investors wanting to raise cash and sell their properties or from financially stressed homeowners needing to sell quickly. 

@Greg Yunov this is a good question. Over the years I have developed a criteria of the neighborhoods I will consider. These are B class neighborhoods where the crime is low, schools are decent, and there are strong rental rates. After you have your neighborhoods narrowed down on the crime/economical level, you need to start with the going rental rates. I base all of my investing based on cap rates so I know what return I will be getting year after year, after all of my expenses (using conservative numbers). 

What you will find is that this is not easy, and it takes time to find the best combination of neighborhood, rental rates, house prices, etc. There are very few places that all of these align to make it a viable and lucrative cash flow investment, but it is possible. Take a look at Indiana, there are many places throughout that are possible for this and let me know if I can help you in any way. 

One last piece of advice, do not force this. It is not easy to find a property where everything aligns, but if you are patient and keep at it, you will find it. However, the worst thing you can do it force it and buy a property that doesn't make sense. 

Relationships are key in real estate. I would look to network with local investors, agents, lawyers, lenders, etc. That has been very valuable for me throughout my career. 

@Alexandra Feig 

As you have on your list, I would take a close look at a few different markets in Indiana. Indiana is a great market for the $60k-$100k range. Single-family rentals offer a nice return on your investment with monthly cash flow with low property taxes. I have long term tenants in place, and in my experience seen very high tenant demand in the markets I invest in throughout Indiana. 

Also, I am not sure where you live abroad but I would suggest working with your adviser/accountant to determine the best course of action for the currency exchange that will be involved. 

@Jack Plantin as everyone has said, get very detailed with your due diligence numbers. I would look at the Bigger Pockets files and download a couple of different spreadsheets to practice. I determine my decisions all around the hard numbers.