All Forum Posts by: Dan Guenther

@Neal Stout

There are endless sites out there for looking at properties (redfin, realtor.com, xhomes, are the ones I use most). If you are talking about multi-family apartments you can use loopnet.com which is for commercial real estate. To get the most accurate and up-to-date information your best bet is to get in touch with a realtor in the market you're looking to get set up with direct access to the MLS.

@Robin Brown

Welcome to the community! You're in a great place to get started. Are you looking to invest here in the US or back home in OZ? 

@Alethia Hines

Welcome back to the community! 

You should connect with my teammate @Kayla Govier, who does great work in the sober living space. I bet she'd be able to provide some advice!

Good luck to you and your journey. 

@Pablo Cuevas

Congrats on taking the next steps towards your first investment. There are a lot of factors to consider and it can be very overwhelming at first. It will be helpful for you to take a step back and look at your big-picture goals/long-term goals? Are you going to want to hold this place long-term and are you comfortable renting out as a student rental 5-10 years from now? 

I'd think about your exit strategy and decide on a location first. Once you determine that you can start thinking about what house fits your crietra. 

Let me know if you have more specific questions and I'd be happy to help narrow things down a bit for you.

@Ryan Lloyd

Welcome to the community! Take advantage of your pro membership and use the analysis calculators here on BP. A really basic method is to just jump on Zillow, choose an area/neighborhood, take note of the average price to rent say a 2-3 bedroom house, or whatever your criteria are. Once you've got an idea you can switch to look for houses for sale in that neighborhood or close to it. Then use the rental property calculator to punch in your numbers. Again, very basic method but it's not a bad place to start. 

Let me know if you'd like to run through a couple of practice properties together and I'd be happy to help out!

@Mackenzie Plunkett

Welcome to the community! 

Your book recommendation will absolutely help give you a head start on being an honest and ethical landlord. What are your goals when it comes to your first property and house hack? I'd be happy to offer any advice and answer any questions you have at this point in your journey. Feel free to reach out!

@Brad Crye

Welcome to the community! I'm not in your area but still happy to connect virtually. If you haven't already you should use the network tab here on BP, check out Meetup.com, and also look for FB Groups in your area. 

@Jameson Vaughan

Not a problem. DM me with your questions and we can go from there.

@Ryan Rotz

Yeah, that's a tough one. You could also keep an eye out for a large heated garage and maybe convert part of that to an office space. 

@Colin J Parks

Welcome to the BiggerPockets community! No matter where you stand in your real estate investing journey, BiggerPockets is the ultimate resource for all of your investing needs. I’d suggest starting out by networking with as many other investors as possible and be an active participant in the forums.

If you haven’t already subscribed to the BiggerPockets podcasts, do that ASAP. Look for meetups in your area (virtual) on Meetup.com or FB Groups, attend free webinars, start reading as much as possible on any and all topics related to investing and real estate. Use the forums to help you search for the answers to all of your questions. If you can’t find your answers, then create your own post!

I know you said that you want to start with a duplex for your first deal but depending on the market there at the moment, finding these deals where the numbers work in your favor can be tricky. I'd keep an open mind to other strategies such as house hacking a 4-5 bed SFH and rent by the room. Another idea is the non-conforming duplex. This is where you take a split-level home or a home with a walk-out basement and put up a wall and a kitchen/kitchenette in the basement to create two separate units.

Feel free to DM me if you want more specific advice. 

Good luck and get educated!