All Forum Posts by: Edwin Leahy

I have an oppurtunity to buy an old church from my friend/coworker.
He used to pastor it and it was previously used as a mission.
It is approx 10k sqft or so but has become rundown.
Outer brick structure is fine,but needs new roof and some other stuff.

He simply wants out of the property,as it is no use to him anymore (he has new church and new shelter/mission building).

I can purchase the property for cash,he previously told me he would sell to me for 26k.
I asked permission to take a better look at property yesterday though (with brother in law who is in construction) and he said he would make me a significantly better deal.

I would like to convert the property to a 4-6 unit apartment,but I will not leverage or borrow more than my personal paid off house is worth (~150k).
I have no idea what it could cost to refurb this thing.

Anybody have an idea or possible cost's?
It is in small town ~10-15k people and tucked into quiet neighborhood of 30k-60k homes a block off main highway through town.
My brother in law builds additions for churches and his initial estimates are $150k+ probrably. But he is simply a laborer and not a contractor and is using the $1m+ budgets for the churches as his basis.

The wife and I plan to buy our first rental after the first of the year when we have enough retained cash to buy a unit ($10k).
This doesn't seem like a good starter project for us,being inexperienced in the business.

Any direction?
I can provide pictures of the property if it will help.
I'm not opposed to buying and reselling to an investor for a small profit if that is possible also.

Thanks for the reply Ned.
What i'm trying to do is find something I can do as a job,while also learning as much as possible about the rental business.

I like having as much information as possible.
Since my post i've thought alot more about it and think I might be more suited towards property management with my current skills.
It seems to be a better avenue to learn the business than simply getting a real estate license.
If I do get into it though,I would plan on getting my license simply to add an income stream if nothing else.
The courses and testing/licenses are very affordable and I love adding to my education.
Real estate law seems to be something really good to know if your buying/selling real estate for profit.

Honestly,I'm still not sure what I want to be when I grow up Christian.
I'm thinking of getting out of my current job anyway,and that is the reason for thinking about getting the RE license.
It's simply time for me to do something different.
I'm becoming miserable and while i'm not opposed to changes I am opposed to being miserable :)
The wife and I have discussed it and we aren't opposed to selling our current home.
With the cash from the sale it would be possible to buy at least 3 decent rentals.
We could rent out 2 and live in one for awhile while we look for more.
I've lived the high life with over 150k household income a year and the lowest in which I slept behind a chicken factory for a couple nights on the ground.

Even if we only end up with a couple houses it would add to the income stream.

I don't have a clue if this is what I want to do with my life or not.
I've weighed the pros and cons and even if I fail miserably it won't be an issue other than pride.
And i'm too smart to fail,I'm just hoping this time I won't get bored.

I should add that I wouldn't be doing it for the glamorous job of being an agent.
It would strictly be for education and experience with my own plan in focus the entire time.

I'm curious how many of you guy's have your real estate license?
I'm considering quitting my day job and going to school to get my real estate license.
Income isn't an issue,I simply would like to have all the education and experience I am able before I jump into something like this.

I have no exp. with real estate technically other than buying my own home,which was a new home and paid for pretty much with cash.

If i'm able to comfortably do it,would you oldtimers suggest I switch my day job and work at becoming a realtor simply to get more acquianted with real estate?
I hate to do anything halfway,and education is always the best investment overall I believe.
facts? opinions? spam?

I'm in eastern oklahoma,but travel to OKC often.
I am admittedly a newbie in REI though,and just getting started.
I would gladly buy you lunch sometime when i'm in town to get some advice.

Hi everybody!

I'm Ed from eastern oklahoma.
Currently I own no property other than my personal residence,of which I currently owe around 13k(worth ~150k)
I will be entirely debt free around the beginning of next year and i'm interested in real estate and RE investment.
I'm 29,married,with 2 children(1 severely disabled).
I currently work several jobs,Ford dealer tech by day,part time autozoner at night and I have a small side business programming GM fuel injection between those two.

Honestly,i've always been interested in auto's etc.. but this will be the second time in my adult life i've decided I don't want it to be a career.

I'm considering quitting my day job for Ford and getting my RE license on the side.
This is for several reasons.
I've always been interested in real estate,I love any kind of new education,frankly i'm tired of my day job and would like to try something different(even if it's drastic).

Depending on how all the financials work out with AIG,income shouldn't be a problem should I quit one job to concentrate on RE education.(currently? have around 500k in fixed AIG annuities,arrgghh!)

I live in small town OK,and have talked with a local investor/realtor that is known in the area recently.
Offered to take him to lunch if he will talk with me about REI,he liked the idea and gave me his card so I begin my networking and education.

My wife and I plan to invest in multi-family homes,apt's and mobile home parks. Due to the status of the surrounding areas most will be Sec 8,which I understand is great for getting paid but as a landlord you must work for it.

We are Dave Ramsey fans,and I read every book I can get my hands on that he reccomends.
We plan to start with a very small cash or half down property,pay off extremely quickly and keep going.
Our main issue is with our risk management due to our personal home situation with the kids,and is our main focus.

I look forward to learning what you guy's have to teach us. I have experience/cert/license in everything from being an E.M.T to accounting for the local best western and auditing in a casino.

I can do anything I set my mind to i've learned,with everyone's help here I hope to be a competent real estate investor with minimal problems.

Sorry for the long post,hope I covered everything.