All Forum Posts by: Pyrrha Rivers

Hello @Derek Caffe, I see that your last post on this thread was 4 months ago. I am curious as to how you faired with your rehab. I hope your property is stable and rented by now. Best wishes for 2017!

Thank you @Andrew K. I will check out Pentagon Federal Credit Union.

Hello All,

I'm working with a broker to obtain a mortgage for a new rental property. The process has been extremely time consuming and required tons of paperwork. What brings me here is the appraisal. I got a message that the appraisal cost was $470 later got another message asking for clarification that it is an investment property. Once they got that verification the price went up to $735! Is this customary? 

Thank you so much!

@Chris Pohlson Congratulations on a job well done. A lot of good decisions were made by you and your contractor. Take it from one that's been burnt by a bad contractor. Treat this guy well because you my friend, have found the elusive unicorn! A contractor who is also an investor. That's a gem!

Can't wait to see the numbers!

Hello everyone,

We are resuming our meetups after the summer break and following the beginning of school. We are going to be discussing the following three topics.

Investing from abroad

How to apply your housing allowance to buy a house abroad

TSP I found a web cast I encourage you to view and come with your questions, comments or suggestions to participate in the conversation. https://youtu.be/ZSlBeSr3HcE

If you're able, let me know you're coming but even if you don't feel free to join us.

Hello @Michel Jean-Baptiste and @Roberto Cancel welcome to BP.

Just over 2.5 years ago I was exactly where you are today. Living abroad for 5 years and determined to start acquiring investment property. 

With the help of the BP Ultimate Beginners Guide I got the courage to make it happen. It hasn't been easy and I'm a self proclaimed turtle as I'm going slow but hopefully steady enough to reach my goal of 10 properties in 5 years. I bought my first in August 2014 and have acquired 2 more since. Currently looking for the next one. I've learned lots of lessons, good and bad, but I can tell you that my best decision was to get started, even when I felt and was unprepared. 

My oversimplified recommendation is:

1. Read the UBG from cover to cover.
2. Read the UBG with a highlighter and a notebook. Find two strategies that fit your personality and circumstances.
3. Search BP for those two strategies ONLY. Engage in the forums, read the blogs and listen to the podcasts. Only on those two strategies.
4. Decide which one of those strategies best suits you. By now you have been engaging in the forums and hopefully have been networking or have an idea of who is a good example to follow.
5. Analyze some properties! (I didn't do this early on, thus hard lessons learned). This will help you decide if turn key is for you or not.
6. Start making offers. Continue to network and you're on your way.

If you want the not so simplified story, feel free to PM me.

Best wishes!

@Carla Crutcher Welcome to BP and welcome back to GA!
I invest in GA due to familiarity with the area but live abroad. Let me tell you...Investing from a distance is challenging! But if you stick with it you will find your way.

I agree with those who caution you about mixing your business with family. Can get tricky but if you find that someone in your family shares your interest, it can be a very comforting situation if you know they have your best interest at heart. All of that being said, feel free to PM me for ideas of what has worked well for me and what has gone horribly wrong as well. I lived in Stone Mountain and feel familiar with the parts of Lithonia and Decatur that adjoin it.

Best wishes.

II am wondering what happened to this active discussion? I know that local investors are great at supporting others with this. In fact I've had great experiences with a very supportive BP member in an area of interest, however, that is not the case in every area so I am very interested in having this as a service. It could be a Go See service a college kid or newbie could do for a few dollars. Some of the things I need someone to do are:

1. Drive an area to determine it's not a war zone.
2. If not a war zone, go in with the Realtor and take pictures / video of the property for consideration.

What are some tasks you as an out of area investor need from a Go See service?

What compensation do you think would be fair? 

@Jermaine White We are planning our next meetup for October 20th at 6:00 PM. If you can make it, let me know so I can give you the location which we are still working on and share the topics we'll be discussing as well. Hope you can make it.

@Sarah Shockley Thank you so much for your generous sharing!