All Forum Posts by: Cody Smith

@Lien Vuong the military has gotten me used to verbal aggression, so maybe it is the right relationship? Lol I think the umbrella might be a good choice. Thank you!

@Russell Brazil it is starting to look like that may be an easy option for me to have something vs nothing. Thank you!

@Nathan G. Thank you for the reply! He did explain the reasons in some slight detail, not really much more than I already knew, however. I did agree with his opinion of the business mindset boost, but while I continue to increase income and ability to scale to more property, I don't want to increase costs unnecessarily, or damage my chances at getting a loan. I will definitely look further into the Georgia requirements for LLC and see what I may be able to gain. Thank you!

Hello BP community! I was given some new advice yesterday that I'm not sure how to take. I spoke to a financial advisor for the first time, and throughout our broad conversation, one of the main points he hit on was my need for either an LLC or an Umbrella Policy. I am a new investor with one main residence and one rental property, so I have been under the impression that I am not quite at a level yet where the extra effort/money/hassles of those options really apply to me. I can see the benefits of having them, I just feel like this might be a little overkill for my current situation. His exact words were, "I will know if I can take you seriously or not if by the next time we speak you either have one of those or you don't." For just a little more context, he was also harping very hard on the mentality benefits of taking one of these steps, saying it would help propel me forward into really adopting the business mindset more seriously. Do you agree with this advice? Thank you!

@Bruce Lynn Thank you for the advice! Those are some very interesting ideas, things I will definitely have to look into. I was hoping to take advantage of my time in the military to focus on a military client niche as an agent since I am very familiar with the lifestyle. I hadn't thought of referrals. Thank you! 

@Jennifer Lyles those are exactly my thoughts. I just needed some professional advice to make sure that was the right idea! I think already having acted as an agent through my own deals could really lessen the learning curve when I pursue it full time. Thank you!

@Dalyn Hazell Thanks for the reply! That’s great to hear. I’m a super independent person (arguably to a fault), and having full control over my offers and the agent’s side of things I believe would work well for me. The main concern I have with getting it early is not being able to fully focus on being an agent until I’m out of the military. I have an ego portion of that concern that makes me want top honors my first year as an agent. Whether that’s overzealous or not, that’s one reason I was planning on waiting, to have full focus on my work and make the most of it.

I'll try to keep this question simple.... do you think I can benefit from getting my license? I am planning to become a full time agent in 3-4 years either way, as soon as I separate from the military. This will be my primary income while I build my portfolio. I have further refined my closer goals to include building my wholesale business to allow myself access to deals which will either be wholesaled to provide capital for buy and hold, or just become buy and hold if the deal makes sense. Either way, I want an acquisitions based business. That said, I am imagining if I had my license, I would have the freedom of placing my own offers at free will, amending those offers, and representing myself in the deal if it comes to that end. Also I see the added bonus of acting as the seller's agent if they decide listing on the MLS is a better option. Does this make sense? Do you see any issues with this? Thank you!

With eviction pauses, market prices and everything else we are all very familiar with, are you still buying as aggressively as usual? Or are you hoarding capital and letting things settle down? Why?

@Marc Winter Awesome reply, and a great example! I’m sure you were excited to see that come through. 50% more income is certainly impressive. It seems like I’m the only one who sees the added value, even the tax records show the room not counting. I guess if everything I am seeing is true, I just need to confirm it with the appraiser, or at least see why it wouldn’t be counted.