All Forum Posts by: David Malik

Actually, my initial post on this thread was made without reading any of the thread. It has been one of the most enjoyable threads of any forum, anywhere, I have read. As a finance guy I represent a may different financial instruments: from MCAs to SBAs I like to say. I added seriously HM after COVID did a job on my working cap business that told me to be more diversified next time.

I share in Jerryil's frustration from this standpoint for sure. For some reason folks are posting that all a person has to do is read some books, hang out at Bigger Pockets, YouTube and other websites and they are going to be on their way to riches. Do you folks realize that in a VC fund 7-8 of those startups within that fund will fail. Mind you that those funds are managed by college educated/college dropouts  --- and probably some with no college --- experienced investors, and out of some of these funds Google and the Facebooks of the world are created. No one ever mentions the 8 that failed or are just adrift with no further hope of another level of funding.

Sausage smells and taste good but believe me you DO NOT want to see it made!

Look, one of my business heroes is Bill Gates. I'm a old database guy (Paradox)  and at one time resold MS products so I get that a college education IS NOT the only path to success BUT do you want to compare most folks to Gates. So what if the young man/lady takes your recommendation of never considering college. Is there a path that is easy for him/her to follow than just pointing to YouTube or the Web? There is some great stuff out there for sure but knowing what you don't know is the beginning of learning, the middle and never ending.

I tell prospects and clients all the time that there is a downside and a upside to every financial instrument that we represent including bank financing of even a 1% APR loan. Experience taught me that but college is what gave me the foundation to realize it. Or the fact that very successful people, one my college professor, who would speak about the expense of the financial instruments I represent WITHOUT pointing out that as an angel investor his cost of capital was the highest of all. Toughest instructor in my major, division head, and has been well off a very long time. Damaged the crap out of my GPA but we are still friendly to this day.

I enjoy this forum but really guys/gals are you going to be the ones holding the hands of these people you claim should just jump in the ocean and swim during a storm. No, most of you are not BECAUSE you are busy building your empire. That is real money and real time they are risking to get into this game. I can assure you that some of the people I have spoken to are not ready to swim even with a life jacket and a floating device.

Great discussion on both sides.

 Also, unfortunately, they do not all end up like Magic Johnson or Junior Bridgeman once their playing career is over. Many lose everything, one declared bankruptcy after using some of his millions in RE. He also DID NOT manage his money well BTW. He played for Kentucky and Boston among other teams, originally from Chicago but I can't remember his name.

There are colleges that have RE as a major. Look for the best colleges that offer it. I was a Econ-Finance major and it has helped me in understanding many different financial instruments including RE investing. Furthermore, just in case RE is not his/her thing that degree in accounting or finance would be great for many other areas in business. If you are going to market financial instruments, a minor in marketing is helpful as well. The networking aspect of a good college helps too. Lastly, a class in critical path my be good if you are going to get into construction. I was forced to take the class at my school, hated it, but admit that it has some relevance to business I'm in for sure.

Experience is perhaps the best teacher. It is just a matter of where you pay for the experience because you will pay for it one way or the other either in college or sidewalk university or both.

Good luck!

 You're welcome, my pleasure.

You have listed important pain points here. We may be able to help you with this opportunity. We added a new lender that specializes in the self-employed. 

I'm a little confused here but I am assuming that you need a cash-out refi to purchase a house for your STR business. Unfortunately, we couldn't do it in days if it could be done. We had a borrower that had a similar issue but they didn't move forward with us for different reasons. However, all my lenders are hard money lenders.

Good luck!

IMHO, Leo Ray had the best answer here although there weren't any bad answers. I am a little prejudiced as it is what I would have posted if I gave an opinion. I think he covered most, if not all, of what I would have contributed here.

Unless you have contractor experience and depending upon the complexity and amount of the work, I would have a contractor look at it before any bid, if possible. The simple reason is that it could impact your profit significantly.

Good luck!

Yes, we have lenders that will do a bridge loan if everything lines up.