All Forum Posts by: Brook Davenport

"Things will take twice as long and cost about twice as much as you think they will"

A lesson that I learned the hard way, but glad I did too!

We have used Axis products before, and they have great support/installation services. If you check out their website, you can find a local Rep to come out and quote you on their products and help install.

Most of ours were hard wired, with quick install, to avoid the internet issue. Good luck!

Welcome Kareem! Best of luck on your investing journey! This place has been a wealth of knowledge to many, and I hope it is to you as well. 

Personally I have only used Propstream, and not knowing any better, I was very impressed. It did anything I asked it to do in terms of list production, along with skiptracing. Well priced too. I know there are tons of similar products on the market though. 

Welcome Jed! Sounds like you’ve got the ball rolling, best of luck with your investing journey, keep that cash coming!

My biggest roadblock early on with partnerships was having investors with low risk tolerance… hence I was just starting out so they needed more skin in the game incase it didn’t work. 

Instead of a 50-50 split, I would pitch a tiered split potentially, where they have a lower equity share but more (preferred) cash flow early? That way they get their money back early, you prove you’re the investor you know you are, and there is cash in everyone’s pockets. 

Congrats on starting your investing journey! 
When I started, I first wrote out my 3 main objectives for my portfolio, which was cash flow, appreciation, tax benifiets in that order. This allowed me to focus mostly on cash flowing properties, then the area, then tax as an add on. Others would have a different order etc. 

After that, I got super specific on a property type. I knew I wanted to be in the SFR LTR space, so I set all of my exploration efforts on just those property types. When other ones would come up (STR/Multi) it forced me to say no and focus.

Have a business close by as well, I found my most success in investing in a close market to myself. As I was juggling things at work, I could take an hour lunch to shop rentals, something I couldn’t do with a distant market. 

All avenues have their pros and cons in investing. It came down to my priorities, and main objectives. I wish you the best of luck!

A few options here! First I would start by determining the market price for rents in the area. Go on Zillow, type in your zip code and the bed/bath count, and see what is currently for rent. Divide the price of those units by the sqft, and you’ll get price per sqft. Apply that to your unit, and you should get a good ballpark for rental price. Realtors listing is a great way to market it, Facebook is also an underutilized method. I market in local groups on FB, along with running cheap FB ads if needed ($1 a day).  

A flyer put up at your local gym, store, work also goes a long way. Someone always knows someone looking for a place to live, and I’ve found they are more likely to refer if they know the owner. Hope this helps!

If possible, I always recommend using your own capital starting out to prove process and concepts before taking hard money for flips. A Heloc on my primary residence was where I started, and I was able to use all my own money. 

There are tons of beginner friendly hard money investors on here that will lend to a first time flipper, although it may be a higher rate, their expertise will be invaluable. 

I like to consult Zillow when first analying. Head to the "for rent" tab, mark your general criteria (bed/bath count), and check days on market for those rental listings. Quick way to see how long vacant listings are sitting.

Once you have criteria you are looking to purchase, Zillow recently sold data is also great for starting out. You can do a comparison of Price sold to rent per sqft and get a great idea of how the market is changing or what to expect from rentals there!