All Forum Posts by: Danielle Hanson

Hi Keeya,

I can give a little info about licensing, since it looks like it is in your future. Hopefully it helps.  

I'm new to investing too however I'm going to flip homes for at least two years before moving on to buy and hold. I was advised to get my RE license as well solely for the purpose of unrestricted access to the MLS. There are many online schools and live classroom-based options, however I was encouraged to use Real Estate Express. (www.realestateexpress.com)

I'm in Southern California also (Pasadena) so my road to licensure includes three 45hr college level pre-license online classes (California Real Estate Principles, California Real Estate Practice, and California Real Estate Finance). Its about $170 for all of the classes. Once finished, you submit proof of completion to the exam unit for the CalBRE and get scheduled to take your Salesperson exam at a testing center.

Completing the classes can take around 2.25 months or as long as six months. 

Good luck with everything! 

Glad I came across this thread. I've come across a couple of properties that seem to be vacant and through some internet sleuthing I've determined that the owner is absent. I just didn't know what to do after that! Going to check out Brandon's video and look into wholesaling. Good info. 

I just finished reading J. Scott's "The Book On Flipping Houses...". I have not started flipping yet (currently assembling my team) but I can say that J's book is informative, thorough, and seems to work as a manual. I'll be using it as one for sure.  Not sure if you are too far into the process yet, but J's book "The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs" could be of help too. Good luck! 

Thanks @Omar Shareef and @Logan Chierotti. It's helpful to hear how experienced investors handle their financials. 

I just got off of the phone with D&B in order to establish my DUNS number. There was some advice but then there was about 35 minutes of confusing, hard sales pitches for their service packages. One was close to $1000, one was over $1500. I'm just going to try working with vendors/suppliers that report to DUNS...taking the advice of @Michael Wagner. 

@Craig Beverley

@Craig Beverley

Hi Everyone, thank you for your feedback. It's good to know how most are going about this process. I still have a lot to learn so for now, I will look into the idea of a hard lender. I'm not looking to partner immediately, however I will be sure to add those who offered to partner to my contacts list just in case! Again, I really appreciate your thoughts, especially those who are working in southern California! 

Has anyone started out as a small-scale (60K-130K) cash buyer in  Southern California? I'm going to start flipping properties within the next few months (looking for the right property now) and I've researched a great deal. However, most of the advice/information I've come across is about getting started and expanding one's portfolio via lots of loans. Has anyone invested independently? If so, do you have any suggestions for a newbie? To be more specific how did you get started and was the development of your portfolio/business different from other investors?  

Advice from non-SoCal investors is also very appreciated!