All Forum Posts by: Craig Curelop

@Tony Hightower - I would be sure to confirm with the current lease how much the tenants are currently paying. Also be sure that the new appliances are of quality rather than "lipstick on a pig." Double check taxes (county tax assessor website), insurance (get a couple quotes), and utilities (call the utility companies) to get a gauge no how much you would spend on each. I would also look at comparable rents around your area to see if the $730 is market rate. 

Make sure to run the numbers through the BP calculators and if you're property cash flows make an offer, due your diligence, and close it! 

Best,

Craig

@Shawn Munoz - It is legal for banks to deny a loan for such a low amount. Usually they do this because it cost them the same to underwrite a loan for $50k as it does for them to underwrite a loan for $500k so it is just not worth their effort. 

To simply give up because a couple banks would not give this to you does not make any sense. Talk to private lenders, call other banks, friends and family, etc. If none of these work, maybe you use your funds (presumably $10k) and get a 10% down payment for a $100k property? Or FHA your way to a $280k multifamily property. There many ways to finance - take a look at Brandon Turner's Book on Real Estate Investing with No (or Low) Money Down. There's a lot to learn in there.

http://get.biggerpockets.com/nomoneydown/

Hope this helps!

Craig 

@Arthur Clark - If you can comfortably afford the 3.5% on a down payment for multifamily unit, then I would recommend doing option 1. Don't quit your day job, build the cash flow from the property, spend wisely, and save up for the next property until you have your second and third. Eventually you will be able to leverage your current assets to purchase larger and more properties. 

Option 2 is a little more risky if you are new to investing. You have to worry about controlling your rehab and if you're not super handy, it will probably cost you much more than you think. 

While there is no right or wrong answer to this as both align with your goals to accumulate property. I just think Option 1 makes more sense since as it is less risky, more units (likely higher cash flow), and will give you some experience managing multiple units. 

Hope this helps!

Craig

@Antonio Loscavio - BiggerPockets is a great place to start. Within the site are millions of forum posts, blog posts, etc. All of which can be extremely overwhelming. My suggestion would be to start listening to the podcasts daily (start from 1) and read the Ultimate Beginners Guide to Real Estate Investing (link below) 

https://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investin...

As you listen to the podcasts, write down the recommended real estate and business books at the end of the show and start reading those. Educate yourself for ~6 months then jump in and make your first purchase. 

@Jared Abbott - It is tough for me to gauge the relationship between you and your real estate investor/mentor. I would suggest having a conversation with her, see what her plans are, and then decide if you want to be part of it. Great success often times follows great failures and 5 months really is not THAT long of a time, especially if you are in the Raleigh, NC market. 

I would suggest picking up Uber/Lyft driving part time as a means to make some extra income for you and your family. You can save up some money and start doing a few deals on your own. 

Hope this helps! 

Best,

Craig

@Braden Downs - Given the contribution restrictions on the Roth IRA, I am going to assume you don't have more than $10k in there. Since it is a Roth IRA (as opposed to a traditional IRA), you are able to use that Roth IRA towards a down payment on your first property without a tax penalty.

My suggestion would be to use you Roth IRA in this way to jump start your real estate investing. As I'm sure you know, your net worth will grow exponentially with real estate and getting started is the hardest part. Once you've gotten past this first one and accumulated some property, that $10k (or whatever it is) in your Roth IRA will be mice nuts.

I'm pretty young as well (24 years old). I'm not sure what your goals are, but if you want to be amongst the wealthy, you'll have to take risks and learn from your mistakes. The younger you start doing this, the better. What do you have to lose right now? Likely a lot less than what you will have 5-10 years from now.

Hope this helps!

Craig

I agree with many of the responses above. Do one deal (maybe with your own money) and show her the magic that owning real estate can have on your net worth. After she sees the first one or two, maybe she will become interested. Also, slowly try to educate her as well. Maybe when you are in the car together, throw on a BP podcast. She'll inherently see the success many of the interviewees have had, hear that Rich Dad, Poor Dad has been mentioned millions of times and decide to pick up the book. Once she reads that, I'm sure her view point will change. 

Another thing you could do is reward yourself after accomplishing a goal. If your goal is to purchase a multifamily property this year. Tell your wife that if you successfully purchase a property this year, you will take her and the family on a week long vacation. That will incentivize you to accomplish your goals and hopefully get her on board as well. 

Best of luck!

Craig 

It all depends on what your goals are. 

Do you want to be an agent? If so, then of course you should get your license. 

If you want to just purely invest in whatever strategy you choose (buy & holds, flips, wholesale, etc.) then a license may not be necessary. The license grants you access to the MLS, which is a great wealth of information. However, it is likely that you can find an agent of your own that is responsive and can handle your MLS requests (and set you up with limited MLS access).

There's no right or wrong answer here, but getting your license will also give you more information and a bit more negotiating power when looking to purchase a property. Since you represent yourself, the seller would not have to pay your 3% agent fee, which you may be able to take off the purchase price. 

It certainly does not hurt to get your license and if ~$1,000 matters to you down the road, I'm sure there were bigger mistakes made than investing in getting your license. 

Best,

Craig 

Hi @Tony Choe, 

I just moved from the Bay Area myself and was there when I discovered Real Estate Investing was the way to go. Truthfully, purchasing any property in the Bay Area will be extremely out of your $5k budget. My suggestion would be to drive for Uber & Lyft while you finish up school and stash that money away for investing. 

While doing this, be sure to watch the BiggerPockets webinars, listen to the podcasts, and consistently read the books recommended in the podcast. As a beginner, I highly recommend BiggerPocket's Ultimate Beginner's Guide (https://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investin...) and from there just take the book recommendations of the interviewees mention at the end of the show. Rich Dad Poor Dad, E-Myth, 4-Hour Workweek, Millionaire Real estate investor to name a few. 

Once you've educated yourself and saved up some capital, then you can seek a low money down way to purchase your first property. You may need to head a couple hours away from your home base or invest/move to another area. 

Hope this helps.

Craig

@Tek 

@Tek Chai - Thanks for the advice. 

@Account Closed - I'll be sure to reach out to you all soon to catch up and chat.