All Forum Posts by: Christine Oliphant

I've thought about checking out the Warrenton area but I don't know anything about it. It's crazy how different the scenery is only driving in that direction for a couple of miles from Gainesville. Totally different!

2 calls doesn't sound bad especially for your first mailing. I haven't done any DM myself yet but I listened to a podcast on BP the other day and the lady said she finds most success after her 5th mailing and from what I've heard the first couple months are slow, you just have to keep at it.

I'm looking either in the Woodbridge area (I have property there) or the Gainesville area for buy and hold properties. I have a homeowner I'm going to contact next week that moved 6 months ago when she retired and her property is just sitting. I know it needs work so I'm debated on keeping it or fix and flipping it. Depends on what I can do with financing!

Hi Brock, welcome to BP! I'm just down the road from you in Gainesville, VA. I've started with buy and hold but am interested in fix and flipping to help fund my buy and hold deals.

That's great you've already started with your DM campaign! Have you already started getting calls?

Thanks for breaking this down Jay. Very helpful!

Does your lease have anything about your expectations of them - what they are responsible for doing to keep up the house? I don't have a legal background at all but I wonder if this would be considered a violation of the lease and you could give them 30/60 days notice to move.

I certainly wouldn't extend their lease again but I'm sure you're not going to. I always tell tenants I will allow them to renew if they 1) always pay their rent on time and 2) keep the house in great shape.

I agree with Ann. It definitely sounds like routine inspections need to happen with this tenant. I have inspections built into the lease, sometimes I do it, sometimes I don't - it just depends on the tenant I have and how responsible they are.

Just as Andrew said, you'll need money for the domain name and hosting but that's not too expensive depending on what company you go with. GoDaddy, BlueHost or HostGator are all good options.

Once you have your hosting set-up you can always install WordPress and build your site without any coding required. Search Google or YouTube for instructions.

Thanks, Jay. Do you recommend an LLC to start with even if you don't have assets yet? And do you recommend it regardless of whether you buy and hold or wholesale/fix and flip?

One of the BP podcasts I recently listened to said if you're unsure about the neighborhood to come back and night to see what's going on. I thought that was a great idea especially if you are unfamiliar with the area.

He was probably joking about Detroit :)

It would be great to hear how things went and what you learned once you make the calls. Keep us posted!

I agree with Andreas. I am new myself and have been conflicted with whether or not to start an LLC. Ultimately I have decided that I am not going to do that until down the road if necessary. I'd rather focus my attention on getting out there, finding deals, and learning.

Hey Everyone, my name is Christine and I am a somewhat of a new investor. I am a native of the Northern Virginia area and I am currently a landlord. I currently own a small web design company and I have decided to get more involved with real estate as well.

My long term real estate goal is to buy and hold many properties to produce cash flow for retirement. It will take time to get there so in the short term, I am interested in wholesaling properties to help finance such deals. I am working to not only learn more but also put what I've learned into action so I can buy and sell a handful of wholesale properties in 2014!

I am really looking forward to being a part of the Bigger Pockets community and I can't wait to learn so much from everyone. I've been reading through the forums and the 'Best of BiggerPockets.' There is so much great information to soak up!

I look forward to meeting everyone and I'd love to connect with other investors in Northern Virginia!