All Forum Posts by: Bryan Vukelich

Hi Clifton,I am realtor as well as an investor on O'ahu.  Are you under contract?  If so, I realize my post is late to the game and wish you the best, but wanted to share a few things and maybe reassure you or give you more clarity of situation in Hawaii and submitting an offer in this market.  

First, yes, market is crazy here as you are aware.  Here is an excerpt from my last newsletter I send last week addressing this crazy market. 

"How do you define insanity? Some say it is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Many would-be buyers are certainly feeling a bit insane as they continue to vie for property in today’s market. In fact, there is a term called “inventory insanity” that is being tossed out quite a bit these days.

Simply put, it is an extreme, unprecedented shortage in the market that is causing otherwise logical buyers and their agents to go a little bit crazy. In some cases, a lot crazy. As a buyer, you want to be competitive. By all means, sharpen your pencil to craft a strong, competitive offer. But, waiving all your rights to secure a property is quite another. In some cases, that is what we are seeing. Buyers are waiving home inspections, termite inspections, surveys, and giving up reasonable asks like cleaning and pet treatment to be competitive. To secure a property. Each situation is unique. Every buyer must decide what to do. And, on the advice of their agent. The point is that the shortage of housing is creating insanity in the market."

With that I'm guessing your realtor might have suggested you waive certain contingencies, or you offer to pay for them yourself.  It really comes down to what you are comfortable with, but if your agent is quality, he/she would have explained each item in detail and answered all your questions so you could determine how to proceed.  

And I'm glad you ignored @Lane Kawaoka post and did what is best for yourself.  And there are real estate agents who put their clients interests ahead of their own and are financially independent.  

Hi Ms. Buzzetta,

Based on what you wrote in your post, I don't find you a stupid person at all.  By you investing your time educating yourself on Bigger pockets and RE podcasts, reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and to never have any debt, I think you are very smart with all of that and way ahead of many people.  All you have to do is get educated in regarding real estate investing.  You just need time, and experience.  I recommend you continue what you are doing, and also practice analyzing real estate deals, look for opportunities and grow your network.  As I tell people, the hardest thing (in my experience) is finding attractive investment opportunities.  But once you find one, it is easy to get the money to acquire it.  

Regarding understanding the paperwork . . . several years ago I moved to Hawaii and got my real estate license.  This is after I'd been licensed twice in Washington once in California.  I even owned my own real estate sales company.  But despite my experience, I was somewhat overwhelmed by the paperwork they use in Hawaii.  I'm over 2 years in as a full time agent here and still ask my broker for help at times.  So it will take you some time to get comfortable with the language in real estate contracts.  And until you are comfortable with all the paperwork, I highly recommend you have a trusted mentor, or you hire a quality real estate attorney, to advise you in order to protect your interests.  

Wish you luck 

I am a big fan of the quality automatic car washes. Also like self storage.  Good luck 

Hi Joseph, as Nathan recommend, relative can be a good way to borrow money.  I also recommend trying to find attractive deals that other investors would be interested in buying and are willing to give you some equity for finding the deal.  Also, in my experience, wholesaling has proven to be a good way to make money while using only a small amount of my personal funds.  

Last, if you find a seller finance opportunity, see if you can get creative with the financing there.  

Good luck

Hi Onye, I used to own properties in Seattle Washington area but sold all due to regulations that were very pro tenant and greatly reduced owners ability to properly screen tenants.  I also owned a property management company and also have had other family members own a property management business, and we all agree that city, county and state regulations made it more difficult to manage units and also increased liability. 

So long answer to your question, is look for states that favorably treat landlords.  I'm currently invested in Idaho and very happy with how things are going.  But my partner and I have also look at Texas, Utah, and independently he has looked at Kentucky and I think South Carolina.  

Good luck in your search 

Hi Bryrick, the home is available.  Seller is asking $1.75M.  The listing agent is Mike Despard.  I can't post his contact info here so email me if you want.  

Hi Alan,

You are going to need funds from somewhere, so if you don't want or can't provide the funds, find a partner that you trust and can work out an agreement with him/her.

If you don't want a partner, you can try wholesaling in order to build up some cash.  Of if you find a great opportunity, get it under contract and find investor(s) that can buy it but will give you equity in the deal for finding it.  

Good luck 

Hi Jonathan - I use skipgenie.com - overall I get pretty good results and you can just search one property at a time if you prefer.  Good luck 

Hi Matt,

That seems like an attractive opportunity.  For financing, that really comes down to what you are comfortable with.  I've held multi family properties before in my personal name but always made sure that I had enough property insurance as well as umbrella coverage.  

Personally, and since my goal is cash flow as well, I'd do the investment loan.  Also, being a 2 unit that is in "very good" condition, I recommend you carefully screen your new tenants, try to keep the relationship with them positive and alway be proactive in addressing any concerns or issues they might have with their unit.  This will minimize any liability issues.  

Regarding tax strategy, I defer that question to an accountant who is knowledgeable in real estate tax planning.  

And also recommenced you speak to a real estate attorney (always valuable to have one on your team) and ask him/her if you can transfer the property into an LLC after closing if you did the investment loan.

Best to you, 

ok - I'll talk to the agent and see if the house is still available and if so, how he'd want to proceed.