All Forum Posts by: Derek Brandi

There is no right answer for this its all up to you. I personally look at buy and hold properties as investments in my future. Make small money now and big money later. If you were to sell it now you would pay a chunk in taxes as well as cap your self on the profit at the the time of the sale. If you were to hold on to it and rent it out then you can potentially make profit on this property for the rest of your life while your tenant pays off the rest of your mortgage thus increasing your gain if you were to sell it 15 yrs down the road. With that much equity in a such a small amount of time I understand the desire for the quick buck. On the other side of the equation if you were to sell now you do stand to make good money off of it and maybe tenants are not your thing. I know which route I would take because I know what I want to do with my real estate. Either way, good luck to you!

Every deal is a tad different. If your private lender is a sure thing then that part is already solved. If you need to show what real estate is securing the loan then you need to find property first. There are so many variables its hard to make a step by step every time guide. Personally I don't like to look at things I cannot buy. My first properties I secured the finances before making the deal.

Reading and going to seminars is good but its when you actually go out and do it that it all starts to come together. I think you always stumble through the first one. At least I did but that didn't slow me down six months later I got another.

As far as the rehab cost - don't skimp on your numbers to make it look good on paper. Things always come up and you almost always go over budget. The best way to get an idea of what the actual cost of rehab work would be is to talk to a contractor or handy man to get a more accurate quote. If I am fixing something myself then I just calculate the raw materials needed to complete that job. Generally if I am using a handy man or contractor I would take the cost of raw material and either double or triple it.  PLEASE NOTE to shop around if using a contractor you will find there many prices for the same job.

Finally, do not let things hold you back, instead look at them as challenges and come up with an action plan on how you can overcome those obstacles.

Hello David,

I am new to real estate investing myself. I have listen to many audible books and have heard about all the creative ways to make money and they all sound so appealing. I only bought one investment property so far but it cash flows nicely. Once I got into it a opportunity to be partner in a million plus apartment complex came up - it took a lot for me to say no because it looked so good on paper. The reason I say this is when I started in December I made a plan. I typically invested in the stock market 10k a year and after so many years of the roller coaster I decided that instead I would invest in single family homes, duplexes and triplexes using my yearly stock market money and cashflow from rentals.

I only post because I had to walk away from the deal because it didn't fit the plan I set up and being new to the game I feel until I get x amount of units under my wing and more expericance that I should stick to the plan.

I have had a lot of friends make good money flipping and I have some who worked there butts off for 14 cents an hour. When you flip a house you cap your profits at the point of the sale but when you buy and hold you create income as well as increase your net worth.

I am in no way qualified to give advice but just some of my thoughts from another newbie!

I have tried several. The three I most recommend are Mint, Mint Bills (formally pageonce and check.me) and Prism. Most of these are online bill pay service but also great for budgeting because it shows all of your account balances and transaction history in one secure spot. I do not use excel as these online services track every transaction automatically and really takes all effort out of the whole process. I will tell you I have used these type of services from the dawn of there existence and have had absolutely nothing but positive experiences. Mint and Mint bills are owned by Intuit which is the maker of turbo tax and a is a really large company so this is not a fly by night operation looking to steel your info! In the end make the decision you feel most comfortable with. If you have any questions about the services I listed inbox me ( I am not affiliated with any of these companies I just share because of positive experience).

I should also add that I listened to the book after I took the plunge so apparently I already made a mistake by starting with a multi family rather than single family homes. I don't thank that will hinder my growth though.

Hello all!

I am new to the site and in my introduction here I would like to ask for your advice! I began real estate investing at the end of 2015. I bought the house I live in and fixed it up which in turn tripled its value. I was going to take out 30 grand of equity and refinance to lower rate in order to build an in ground swimming pool in my back yard. I got the money and then started to realize that not only did this not increase the value of the property I owned (northwest OH) but it also increased my liability and monthly expenses.

So here I am with 30 grand in the bank that I really did not need as my funds were already stable. I found a triplex and decided after carefule consideration to take the plunge. Five months after I purchased the property the cash I have in the bank already exceeded the cash I generated in the stock market. This got me thinking and I did some math and found if I was a good landlord and kept my vacancies low then the return on the cash I had invested would way outperform any return I have ever made in stocks and IRA etc. I also felt a lot of pride as I drove by it on my way home from work. Seeing my money make money was very rewarding.

Now I want more. I generally would invest in an IRA the maximum of 5500 a year as well as contribute to a 401k .

Here come the questions.

Should I stop investing in my 401k since it never seems to make money? I have already stopped my auto deposits to my IRA and cashed it out to help me with my next real estate endeavor.

Second I listen to the audible book "Weekend Millionaire" by Roger Dawson and Mike Summey. While this book seemed to take a practical approach to investing and I feel there was great value to it does anyone have any suggestions on a good informative read or listen that was written in the last year or two that reflect todays market conditions and lower interest rates?