All Forum Posts by: Edward Cervantes

I discipline myself to read a chapter or two on books related to investment every day, except for Sundays. I am currently finishing up Creating and Growing Real Estate Wealth by William Poorvu. 

Occasionally, I jump on the forums like this or listen to a podcast. Most importantly, I spend time scouting for deals.

Welcome to the community, Trevor! 

As a millennial, I know where you are coming from. My first investments—whether stock or real estate—inevitably shaped my view about the markets and industry. Since you already have a corporate background in portfolio management, or as you say a personal finance nerd, you already have the proper mindset to mitigate any risks. 

Obviously your strengths are in stock investing, but diversification can help you when either market corrects. Kudos for thinking outside the box to invest in Europe. Although I consider myself a strong risk-taker, investing in Europe may be too much of a commitment. You must know the laws, taxes, and occasionally travel for maintenance unless you are a limited partner or have boots on the ground. It's best to keep the first few deals local, then we can remove the training wheels so to speak.

@Martin Mondejar  It was great speaking with you briefly at the meetup, and congratulations on the baby! Having a support group is a huge leap in the right direction.  I personally believe that your background as an architect is a tremendous asset giving you "hands on" experience, not to mention established connections. It will help you either start quickly or seamlessly transition into wholesaling office and commercial properties.

If I were in your shoes, I'd first save towards a nice place for your growing family, while learning the wholesale trade, and then focus on realizing your goals as a wholesaler. In the meantime, feel free to share your successes and either mistakes or sticking points with fellow wholesalers, lenders, and peers. We would like to have and architect in the team and hope to see you again!

Good grief, I can't recall milk ever exceeding $4 a gallon here in AZ!  Anyway, I live in Peoria, I considered Boston and returned. Nothing against Boston. Peoria is private, quiet, and perfect for my current budget. Welcome back!

@Kevin Moules my recommendations truly depend on your budget and your risk tolerance. For instance, a fourplex in Chandler 85225, S of Gilbert, is offered at $340 thousand. It has a monthly ROI of .824% and a cap rate projected at 9.8% as it is fully leased. Just around the corner, at 85225, a 17-unit sells at $1.360 million. That has a monthly return of .875% but the cap rate is projected only at 7.14% in the MLS. So you get more bang for your buck with the 17-unit but factoring the vacancies should drive down its value in your scorecard.

If your risk tolerance is low, I'd focus primarily on properties with higher cap rates, then zip codes and other criteria should follow thereafter. As long as you follow proper screening protocol, you should be just fine.

I've had terrible tenants in affluent neighborhoods and excellent tenants in not-so-affluent neighborhoods. I started investing in a central Phoenix property and it still pays 1.75% - PLUS my tenant is a handyman. Properly screening tenants is key.

Sorry about the separation ... thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family. 

I know plenty of Minnesotans that really enjoy east Mesa. I have lived in east Mesa/Gilbert for nearly 10 years. A few words of advice: commute times may double in the winter than in summer.

Properties in the more distant Apache Junction are generally cheaper as there is still plenty of undeveloped land. I still own land in that area, and investments elsewhere in AZ. If you need someone to show you the ropes just give me a shout! 

I invested first and then paid off my student loans. The extra cash flow from the rental helped pay down the loans and I would personally take that approach again.

Since you are engaged and are saving for the day, it makes sense to simultaneously pay down loans with the highest interest rates first or you can use the snowball debt reduction method.

It can be easier to connect with a quality mentor at a local meetup. Eventually, they may be willing to take you on. If you're interested in joining me at my networking events in the east valley, just give me a shout! I also have a solid background in finance. Your homepage may display some local investor events in Phoenix/Scottsdale, or you may even join the AZ REIA.

I hope to make it to this party!

Ty, I applaud your decision to not get emotionally attached to the property. I've passed up similar major fixer-uppers and I'm thankful that I waited until I better understood rehab projects. 

If you want to network with folks that are in the business of rehabbing distressed properties, your homepage may display local events in Gilbert or the Phoenix area. Best of luck in your purchase!