All Forum Posts by: Chase Busick

@Kearan Tolles

Nice! Yeah if you are just fresh starting out, probably best to wait that way not spending a ton in consulting fees, business formation fees, etc. Becoming licensed is a very expensive process, and I think scaling correctly should be considered.

Not to say that those things are still important, because they are, I just wouldn't let that hold you back since it'll be more of a benefit later on.. Plus, never know if you'll like it or know how well you'll perform. The agent/realtor industry is very oversaturated... It's like everyone & their mom is a licensee haha. It'd very important to set yourself apart from the competition, but equally work well with others in the industry in order to help you succeed. I'd say prospecting for clientele is the most important activity to do, especially if you are not working elsewhere.

@Mike Schorah

Whether you’re an agent or investor it’d be good to do a blended approach. I’d personally do the time block where you have more time. Worst thing would be to get on an actual good phone call then it puts you behind for showing up to work at job.

You can do most of them, then probably understand that each are different & may call for better objection handling & communication.

If you’re an agent it may be good to come in & do better than the previous agent, with actual activities that will help them sell. If you’re calling in order to possibly buy, there may be some hard sells on offers.. Most of the time if they’re on market, they’re going for the highest price, & most likely may be hard to acquire if your numbers don’t work out depending on area.

The biggest thing is doing it. It is a numbers game, but just be real with people & connect with each person. They probably get a ton of sales calls. Prospecting is what will bring sales &  gains to your business, whatever the business is. Eventually you’ll get better all around & conversion ratios will get better. Stay consistent.

@Kearan Tolles, I’d always recommend consulting with the correct professionals for everything, as they’ll be able to help advise better after hearing your story, situation, goals, etc.

Usually most CPA’s will advise on doing it at the right time, that way it’s not costing you more if you haven’t met the general threshold of making it worth while. I’ve seen most opinions w/ crossing income/revenue limits like $40k. In general I’d ensure your revenue from sales is consistent prior to doing it & is still expected to grow. 

As a sole proprietor, you're still able to take most of the same tax deductions as a normal company, still obtain insurance for general liability & E&O, etc.

I wouldn’t let it hold you up from doing business, but there’s a time & place for everything. Scale when needed, don’t always have to have the perfect structure set up before to still make & save $. 

For asset protection, it still may be a good option to consider. Keeping your active business activity separate from your passive activity/business & personal life/assets is important because of inside & outside liability. Be weary of expensive programs & places that will charge a ton to help.

Curious on how much business your doing & if your doing any investing on side?

@Cameron Porter, like most of the others have said, you’d still go through title & you hopefully have a Buyer/Broker Agreement with the individual which will go over the services you provide.

With that said, you can still help facilitate the deal just like a normal on the market transaction.. Due diligence is much needed, helping the buyer understand that they may have to pay you additional money since the wholesaler may not is important. Helping through their internal processes like assessing most of the contract & disclosures, assessing scope of work that may need to be done, helping with comps & whether or not it’ll be a good deal for them by running numbers if it’s specifically for investment. Help with general loan advice, major events, how leasing might be  in that area, etc. For their protection, hopefully you recommend a home inspection especially for new investors/buyers just to get that additional perspective, see what’s old, what’s wrong (or slowly degrading from original condition), etc.

If they go behind back with the active agreement, that can still be grounds for reasonable compensation. You still want to be the middle man between your buyer & the wholesaler. You may even have to help the wholesaler too.

@Hoai Nguyen,

I agree with all the others. Can really go either way, but can be figured out by exploring both options a little further.

Dive deeper into whether or not it’ll make since to sell now, factor in all the costs & opportunity cost of selling vs keeping. It sounds like it’ll be a very nice property condition wise, but may take a lil to sell considering high price point, limited people in that buying pool (considering they can still buy a lot more affordable places), & higher financing costs.. But, selling to capture the gain would be nice! I’d definitely get a better idea on how much profit you’d actually be making, & most of all fits into what you’re wanting to do for strategy.

For keeping it, can be most of the same things.. Have people move in & pay down the loan & build up equity then sell later. Can do a 1031 exchange if find another investment deal, but don’t want to force yourself into one just because. Keeping it as a rental has its long term perks with write offs, possible extra cashflow (if expenses & debt service are too high). If debt service is too high, it may eventually impact your financials & what some lenders would be open to lend on. Sounds like it’ll be fairly good since got at a good price & have a rough budget with a lot of wiggle room.

Yeah, I’d just remove the shoes unless required for actual work that’d protect your feet. I do that at my home & parents for cleanliness.

If going to the back, carry them with you then put them on closer to exit. One of the plumbing companies I’ve utilized has their workers bring the shoe coverings & has them put them in prior to going inside for any reason..

From a health perspective, if you think about it shoes are gross, especially if you’re out walking on streets, yards, job sites, etc. then when people come home then walk all over the place it’s slowly spreading around making things less sanitary.. Will it impact you right away.. probably not, but it’s the principle.

Same principle to respect your tenants requests, in order to stay on their good side too & hopefully stay a lot longer in your rental! People need to be better people, & do the right thing even if it means sacrificing a little of our own personal comfort..

@Steve Balinski I have seen this as well & am following on here to see what others think.

I definitely recommend the infinite banking concept, although I went with Paradigm Life for it & have been very happy. I am sure him & his company would also be very good to go through as well. I have seen a lot & heard a lot of his content & really like how well they compose it.

I'd still recommend getting involved with your local community as well at the local REIA's or other investor meetups. Usually there are a ton of people that are looking to lend their private money. Although it may be a little more expensive, there's always a possibility for bringing on any of your friends/family on to it as well that may have money tied up in IRA's. They can always swap to a self directed custodian in order to have more stable returns as long as you keep on getting good deals.

@Andy Horobec, I think the co-living situation is great for some & indifferent for others that depend on the situation.

In general, I'd always ensure that any potential property consider still meets the general criteria for what you consider is a deal as if you were renting it out as a regular SFH.

Many people got caught up with this in regards to AirBnB, then I feel like oversaturated the market. Then eventually these great AirBnB's were a lot more upkeep, a much more active business than many people were expecting, then with the mix of market trends of lower occupancy during lower periods of travel crippled their ability to stay afloat for those just starting out compared to those that have been doing it for a while & have better quality residences at better prices.

For Co-living, the property has to be worth while, the layout has to be setup good, the tenant pool may be a little more limited due to people having to rent with possible strangers, etc. Not to say that it doesn't work, because it does. I have seen in California, Colorado & Oklahoma where people have done it in order to have a lower payment comparatively to renting something out by themselves. Most of the time it is like house hacking but for rentals. The Colorado one, happened to be a hostel style living house for travelers looking for a one night or longer stay. Some apartment complexes will do the co-living setup too in order to provide more affordable housing (I've only seen at apartments close to universities where most of the people are within the same age demographic - with the exception of onesies & twosies.

You may need to be mindful of the neighborhood, here & there.

Structuring the lease may be charging a flat rate for most utilities.

May want to follow the occupancy limits still for your local market.

Hope this helps, I'd still try to connect with more people in St. Louis market about it too, & hear about their opinions, experience or general outlook on co-living itself.

@Micah White, my first deal was on market in a great rental area.

I think that even though it was at a good price for the condition it is still somewhat great & how it has appreciated today. We bough the first, and it was rent ready. I think that it was still a great learning process, but I immediately was told that the best real estate deals are ones that are off market, are value add, & utilize little to no money. 

Looking back, learning the leasing process was good, but it definitely took a little bit longer than expected because of time of the year, location, type of property, and ultimately ensuring to find the right tenants that met the standard qualifications. Luckily it ended up going well, and a ton of lessons were learned. 

I can attest that the first big renovation deal I had was the same results of yours, learning more about construction, how to hire good contractors, ensure the right work was done, and piecing everything together. I think for those starting out, they can start out in many different ways. Whether house hacking, live in flips, or ultimately buying a place to live in, then eventually move out & rent. Or buying a single family house to rent from the get go, if they have learned quite a bit about the process beforehand. The best learning is still actually doing it, but one can avoid a lot of mistakes by hiring someone to help coach through it, deal with what to do for each potential property and more. With that said, buying criteria, knowing what a good deal is, then finding a great deal & making it work is what they should be looking for as there are a decent amount of other ways for them to safely make money with lower risk.

@Enrique Jevons great post!

A lot of beginners can benefit from reading this in order to save them money over the long run.

I think that many people jump into real estate because of the end result they hope to accomplish & the glamor they see of how great It can be. In general it is a very consistent business with a lot of moving parts.

Not to mention the fact that things slowly degrade over time, you have to deal with people, their usage and ultimately ensure they care for the rentals. All long term hold investors should greatly take pride in all their properties and stay on top of seasonal/preventative maintenance & checks in order to avoid huge expenses in the future.