All Forum Posts by: Cornelius Charles

@Marc Morgan

the 70% rule is just a rule of thumb. I think you will find that due to the market, it's going to be very difficult to find anything at 70% ARV minus repairs. Due to that, I've seen investors (mostly new ones) paying between 80 - 90% ARV. I'm not suggesting that should or shouldn't be done though.

@Bayra Batchuluun

The one thing i will agree with in John Webster's post is that everyone is different and most people who sign up probably never do a deal.  I am not familiar with his market, but i would be cautious about thinking it's easy.  Although i have not attended any of their events in a couple of years, i have never heard them say that they will bring you deals or money.  That has definitely never been our case nor the case of the other students we know.  You might want to PM John to find out what he's talking about, but please don't join thinking that deals and/or money will be brought to you. 

I always tell people that they have to do some self reflection.  If you are self-motivated and have found success in other areas of life, you probably have a good chance of finding some level of success with FB. If you haven't done so already, i would go to some local REIAs and get an understanding of your market conditions before making a decision.  There are quite a few people who joined around the same time we did a few years ago who are only breaking even (or losing money) on flips because deals are so hard to find in our area and they are buying at elevated prices.

@Mark Kipling

gotcha. I'll send you a PM with some information for someone who may work out for you.

@Mark Kipling

How much work needs to be done to the condo? Just curious as to try and find a good recommendation. 

@Matthew Schwenke  I don't know if "deal" is the right word.  We are looking at it as more of our primary residence than an investment.  If we were to turn it into a rental, it would cash flow, but we also put over 20% down on it.  

@Matthew Schwenke My wife and i were able to purchase a SFR near the Collection in Oxnard as our primary residence that has a studio in the back which we are now renting out. With that income, we are now paying less per month than we were back when we were renting a place before we got married. My wife is a realtor and just helped one of my coworkers close on a SFR that he will be house hacking as well. Please feel free to reach out if you would like any ideas. Best of luck.

@Michael Halow  Southern California is a huge area.  Do you already have strategies for dealing with leads that could be quite a drive from you?  Hate to see you spending time and money on marketing and then not being able to do anything with the leads you may end up getting.  How effective can you be in a city that you don't know anything about or have any boots on the ground?

Why can't use you use 5 - 10 cities in San Diego County as opposed to all throughout Southern California?

@Alex Young

it sounds like you "'desire' to have a bed to sleep in and the comforts of money," without wanting to work for it. I'm sure everyone would like to make a living off of their hobbies.  Hell, i'd rather be in the NBA than anything, but at only 5'11', that ain't happening.  

@Mario Lara That's not necessarily true. We bought our first fix and flip for $500,000 and put $93K into the rehab with less than $20K out of our pocket.  I would counter that you need to be able to find the money, not necessarily have it on your own. 

@Alex Young

I love the enthusiasm, but i think you have to be realistic at some point. My wife and I both have pretty decent day jobs, and we are struggling to get our real estate investment business moving in this southern California market. We have been at it for about 3 years, and have only done 1 flip, one JV type deal, and gotten 2 listings for my wife. And that's with us having money to use for marketing. If you're really interested in real estate, maybe look at becoming a realtor to get your foot in the door. I'm not a realtor, but from what i can see from my wife's experience, that either takes a marketing budget or joining a great team to actually make an income you can live on. I've seen too many people who jumped at real estate the same time we did, thinking it would be quick/easy money. Most of them have since dropped out due to the difficulty finding deals in our county. My guess is San Diego would not be too different from us.