All Forum Posts by: Cornelius Charles

@Kimberly S.

My wife and I live in Oxnard and our home has a detached studio that we currently rent out.  With the rent we collect, we are actually paying less per month than we were when we were renting. So that being said, I would say your plan is definitely feasible, just a matter of your living preferences.  Please feel free to send a PM if you would like more details on what we are doing or if we can assist you in any way.

@Jason Malabute

I'm not quite sure I understand what you are referring to when you say you are not getting any leads. Are you saying that you're not getting the automatic emails or that you're not finding any leads in the emails?  If you're not getting the emails, either he has it set up wrong or nothing is meeting the criteria you set. If you're not finding any leads in the emails, that's a product of whatever market you're in.

If you're talking about leads in general and not specifically related to yoru email searches, you can drive for dollars, network, contact wholeslaers, do direct mail, pay-per-click, build your online presence, to name a few.    My humble opinion is that you either need a lot of money or a lot of time to start getting consistent leads when you are starting out.

@Jarrad Henry My wife and I are located in Ventura County. I'll shoot you a message.

@Brian C. We are located in Ventura. If there is ever anything we can do to help out, please feel free to contact me.

@Jason Malabute

If you are relying on a realtor and MLS properties as your source for leads in Southern California, you probably are going to have to adjust your expectations. I'm about 40 miles north of you, so I'm going to assume your market is similar to mine. Any "lead" from your realtor is also going to be seen by every other "investor" who watches flip or flop and attended a seminar. From what we seen, any "fixer upper" on the MLS is going to have 20 offers and be bid up to a price that has super slim margins.

Instead of waiting on him to bring you the leads, I would suggest having him set you up with a search that automatically sends you all new listings.  That way, you can go through them and tell him which properties you want to view instead of waiting for him to contact you with leads.

@Jason Malabute

Why would you need to show your agent your analysis?  He/she is supposed to be representing you and should be submitting your offers.  Obviously they can offer you advice, but in my opinion, you shouldn't have to be "proving" anything to them for them to submit the offer. 

Have you talked to this agent about your strategy? If so, they should understand what type of properties you are trying to buy and know that you are buying based off of your numbers. 

1) How do I find a mentor near me and form a mutually beneficial relationship with them, while still working full time at a retail job with unpredictable hours?

- you can attend the REIA meetings as you mentioned and then ask any potential mentor what it is that you can do to help them grow their business.  If you can add value to them, they may find a way to reciprocate or take you under their wings. 

2) Where do I look for deals? I've tried Trulia, and I don't have access to MLS.

- driving for dollars, craigslist, direct mail, SEO, pay-per-click, wholesalers, networking, etc. Just for the record, redfin.com has almost the exact same info as the MLS.

3) Should I get my RE license?

- My guess is 50% of people are going to say yes and the other half are going to say no. My question would be what are you going to do with your license if you get it?

4) What aspect of REI is best for building capital if I want to transition to full time REI and quit my job?

- probably wholesaling and/or flipping, but they are far from easy and take either a lot of time or money (or both). 

@Cody Hahn

Craigslist, driving for dollars, direct mail, SEO, Pay-per-click, wholesalers, networking, to name a few.

@Rick H.

My wife and I met up with Ellis last week. Thank you for the suggestion.  He offered up some great information regarding our direct mail approach. He is also currently looking at a lead we got for a property in La Conchita to see if there is anything that can be done with it that we didn't think of. if you're ever in the 805, please allow us to take you to your favorite Sushi restaurant in Ventura to show our appreciation.

@Angel Rocha

Welcome to bigger pockets.  My wife and i are located in Oxnard.  Please let me know if there is ever anything that we can do to help you out.  My wife is also a realtor, so please feel free to let me know if you need any assistance with your search for a duplex.