All Forum Posts by: Damon Smith

@Mike Garland Sounds good, see you Tuesday!

@Mike Garland, I'm with you, great combo.  Meetup.com is a website that many seem to use, you can search for meetups based on topics of interest and within geographic areas you set.

Damon

Welcome @Mike Garland!

I'm not the most knowledgeable when it comes to real estate deals, always something to learn and I've only done a few so far, but willing to share what I do know.  You can also try some of the real estate club meet-ups.    @Rick Pozos has one and I'm going to the Craft Brewed Real Estate of San Antonio on Tuesday at 6pm for the first time (figured we couldn't go wrong with the opportunity to have a beer and talk real estate) organized by @Chad Clanton.  They ought to be a good source of local contacts that might help you find your first deal.  I wish you the best of luck and hopefully we'll cross paths in the future!

Damon

Hi @Rick Pozos, my wife and I are planning to attend.  Looking forward to meeting everyone.

Thanks,

Damon

@Tyler Roicki @Brett Snodgrass and @Phillip Lanier, thank you for the welcome!  Obviously, I didn't know how to respond, see lots to learn!

Thanks again,

Damon

Mohammad,

It might be best to ask for a showing.  This will give you the opportunity to see the house, inside and out to determine if there is anything you can do to add value.  It will also give you a chance to drive through the neighborhood, take your time, check for other homes for sale/rent.  Take note of the other homes, their condition, etc.  Check realtor.com to see more about them, or Zillow.  

I checked the link you provided, and the description made it sound like there wasn't a lot you could do to add value at first blush.  Then I went over to zillow to see what else was around.  There are some homes in the same area for sale for less, one was $35k, one for $70k, but there were also some higher.  

Getting that first deal is exciting, but I'll admit, I'm pretty cautious and I really like to get to know the area as well as I can before making a purchase.  I wish you the best of luck!

Thanks @Tyler Roicki, I appreciate the welcome!

Thanks @Brett Snodgrass and @Phillip Lanier!  

This house we are working on is our first one in 3 years.  Kind of forgot how much we enjoyed it.  I'm a financial analyst by trade, with a degree in accounting and a MBA.  This house and the last one were brought to us by a coworker - both folks that just wanted out.  The one prior to this required us to remove 75 cubic yards of trash and "stuff".  As bad as it sounds, it was more satisfying than my 9 to 5 any day.  We just do the clean out, tear down, and contractors for repairs/rehab. 

I just feel like its time to get serious, but I'm letting the current state of housing prices intimidate me. I try to tell myself, if you buy at the right price and they are cash flow positive, it's all good.  That's one of the things I like best about BiggerPockets, the success stories.  

Done rambling, thanks again!  

I honestly thought I did this last year when I first joined Bigger Pockets, but apparently I didn't.  My wife and I just acquired our 5th investment property which is currently being rehabbed.  We also used a hard money lender for this house to see how it works and learn from it.  

Long term goals are to acquire enough SFRs for income replacement and early 9 to 5 job retirement.  

I've learned there is a tremendous amount to learn with regard to RE.  Looking for a CPA with RE knowledge and wholesale contacts to help us take the next step in our RE investment journey.

Thanks,

Damon