All Forum Posts by: Dan Bryskin

@Russell Brazil

I also heard a cool quote attributed to someone famous. "The only mistake I ever made with real estate was selling it" With unlimited funds - buy, buy buy. Over time you will come ahead. In my situation - I got a number of people I am paying salaries too. I'd like to keep them employed. Funds are limited, and I want to avoid a situation people ended up in 2006-10. I have 2 advantages: 

1. I am a good buyer. 

2. We run a competent construction / remodeling operation.

My challenge is to find a way to do business, leveraging our advantages and minimizing our risks. So, while we are buying, we are also selling, doing flips and dabbling in new construction. In 2009-2014, strategy was simple. Buy as many cheap homes as possible. Then go out and buy some more. Today, I believe there is still a possibility of arbitrage, but the story is very different, hence I am interested in everybody's thoughts on the strategy.  

@Kyle M.

I would disagree with you. Here is how i think about it. Come crash. People who can't afford a house, will rent. People who can't afford rent will move to the lower tier. Safest place to be is along lowest tiers. Because there is always a demand. In 2010 10-20k  a month mansions were sitting empty. But section 8 people could not find housing. Section 8 max up to section 8 max + 10-30% was doing a brisk business. Personally I feel better with 5 100k rentals then with one for 500k. Had a chance to get one today, but if did not feel right.

@Nick Brogren 

I am not saying we are in the bubble yet, nor am I saying we will be. I do believe in time we will have a correction or crash. So my question is about the optimal strategy in rising / uncertain market. My line of thinking is: with the correct strategy for the given phase one should not have to worry about peaks, crashes & timing markets. Now if I am to speculate on market fundamentals, as @John Woodrich has pointed out, rising interest rates will in time soften demand. And cyclical nature of the economy leads me to believe market will have a correction at some point. 

@Joseph Lucido

Sir, thank you for your service. Money is money, you can invest same amount in your duplex, stocks or Rochester Minnesota. Look for velocity. Say somebody came to you, and sad they have 200k to invest and looking to get 1800 a month back. Does it sound like a sound deal to you? Doesn't to me. Take taxes, utilities, what not out - your 1800 is 1500. Now look at Kansas or Milwaukee, Minneapolis or Tallahassee. How far will your 200k go, and what kind of return can you generate? Good luck.

@Account Closed

1. You are same as every newbie. May be a bit more prepared. I was one once. Here is what I learned. Don't be focused so much on the financial model. There is more to it then math. It is not a passive investment, it is a business. Today, say you have 10k in capital and opportunity to make $300 a month a door. If in 3 years you have 30k in capital and opportunity to make $900 a door - that sucks. Do you really think it will take 84 doors to generate 12k a month? I get that from 3 single family rentals .... Think about it this way. Say it takes 4 things to run a business: capital, opportunity, persistence and ideas. Opportunity can generate capital, ideas can generate opportunity, experience can generate ideas or capital and so on. The model you are starting up with and what you will be looking at a few years down the road should be 2 different things. Don't look for perfect deal. Make sure you won't loose a ton and get started. It is a process of self discovery. Discover if it is for you, discover your advantages, discover things you excel at. It is a cool journey. Good luck.

Your first question is zoning. Is the parcel zoned for low density multifamily and if it is, is it how many units can you have on the parcel. To figure that out, talk to zoning department ( bigger cities) or city planner ( smaller cities).  

While you talking to the city, ask them for an architects / builders of the similar type of the property. Ask them to suggest you people they had least amount of problems with.  That's your start. 

@Jesse Flores

I don't think it is about $250 a door, $175 a door or $78 a door * 100 doors. It takes a combination of the few things to be successful in business: ideas, opportunities, capital and execution for example. Say today you have 10k in capital and opportunity to make $250 a month. Capital can generate opportunities. So can experience. Opportunity can generate capital and so on. Well, say you are in business for 3 years. If you still have 10-20k in capital and opportunity to make few hundred dollars - it probably wasn't for you :)   If you are not looking for business, that's another story. Join investment club or buy treasuries. Good luck.

@Ryan Tuleja 

Find a knowledgeable realtor. I'd suggest someone who has investments similar to what you are looking for or had them in the past. It will save both of you tons of time. And if you find one with some understating of construction / costs, you will have a lot less questions to ask here :)  But in this business, question everything. Listing could linger on the market for number of reasons. Two most common - price and condition of the property. So for example agent can overprice bank owned property and it may seat on the market for months, while they reduce price by a few thousands every couple of months, till it will even start register on peoples radars.  

At least for initial analysis, assume what ever is not in the pictures needs love. No picture of the bathroom - probably needs a new one. No pictures of exterior - no curb appeal. No picture of hvac - could be ... - you don'd want to know :)  

@Kenneth Garrett, yes. 1099 income can always go through corp to become W2.  

Here city jobs are good. Insurance, 401k, pension, cost of living & seniority increases, credit unions with ridiculously loose guidelines. And next crisis can't be that far away. Don't worry about a proper time to make transition. It will be apparent :) Say you make 10k a month and you spend 20-30 on the construction - at this point your time should be spend watching your money. At some point it's not about another 1500. It is about time and things you want to do in your life / with your life. Good luck.