All Forum Posts by: Eric O'Brian

Thanks, I will definitely let everyone know how it turns out. I am reading alot about yellow letters as well and developing my own system, I'll write up a post about it once it starts working out. I'm sending out about 250 letters / wk, and from those get about 10 calls / wk. I've been sending to both middle and lower class neighborhoods, playing with different fonts and envelopes, and its been interesting on how the response differs in each neighborhood.

Its encouraging to hear that getting mentored from my friend is a good opportunity, I've had close friends telling me not to do it, but its better to listen to people who are experienced with real estate.

As far as dialing in the arrangement, we'll be doing it on 3 levels:

1. I'll be his property manager for 15 units, and get paid around $100 / mo for each unit I manage, so $1500 / mo. I'll use this as a learning opportunity as well as a means of networking with potential sellers (landlords).

2. I will also do the yellow letter marketing for the property management business he is starting up. He's seen my yellow letters and likes the quality and the response they've been getting. We still need to decide on the compensation.

3. I am doing direct mail marketing to absentee owners (and possibly bandit signs again in the future) to generate leads. I consult with him on all the good leads, and he gives me guidance on how much the property is worth, how I should negotiate, etc. I do all the negotiating with the seller, and if I do land a good deal, we decided we will go 50/50 on both the money down and the profits, and create an LLC. He knows all the contacts for private lenders and how to structure deals, good contractors, etc, and will let me take over the process while guiding me. So basically he's mentoring me for half of the profits, which I think is fair. I know that there's nothing like hands-on learning, so I think its a good trade-off.

I've read about some successful joint ventures on here, don't know too much about them though. I'm still getting up to speed with local RE, but when I'm ready to expand into other markets I will definitely let you know!

Glad it worked out for you Bryan, I'm also working my arse off at my current job, I like the challenge but I'm ready to delve into RE. Sounds like you have the best of both worlds though!

Thanks Bryan! Just curious, are you still involved in Engineering or did you switch to real estate full time?

Thanks David, that's good to hear. He's been a friend at work for the past 3 years, and has given me advice on how to get into real estate. That's good to hear that splitting half and half is a good vote on confidence, I wasn't too sure how partnerships like this usually work.

I did mean 15 units, not necessarily properties. And I agree, the knowledge gained and learning his system will be good learning tools for the future.

How much time do you think it would take weekly to manage 15 properties, if they were well maintained and with good tenants? Is $1500 / mo a good amount to manage 15 units?

Cheers

I agree, the property management job I'm hoping will expose me more to real estate. My ultimate goal is to be an investor and hire property managers, but I am also hoping this job will be a good way to get in touch with property owners who are interested in selling.

Thanks Liam! That's encouraging to hear you only spend 5 hours a month on 5 units. I was reading somewhere else on streamlining, I see it is very necessary to have good time management in this field.

Thank you, I will be sure to get some legal advice before we get into a partnership. I agree, nothing worse than losing a good relationship over business.

Thanks Kyle! Yes he has a brokerage license.

Hello All,

I have been getting into real estate the past few months, started out posting yellow signs every weekend for 6 months, and have also been sending out yellow letters for the past 6 months, around 1000 / month.

I've gotten really close to closing on a triplex at a great price, however it ended up falling through.

I'm 27, currently work full time as a mechanical engineer, however I would like to quit my job and devote my time to going back to school and medical issues with my shoulder (rehab takes a few hours a day), while working part time.

I was planning on helping a seasoned investor I know with his property management. He said he would pay me $1500 / mo to manage 15 properties, and said since they are well maintained they will not require much attention. He said about 5 hours a week or so of work is needed, more when a property needs a new tenant.

Is this possible? I've heard horror stories about property management- this seems too good to be true.

Also, what should I watch out for when partnering with my real estate investor acquaintance? We were going to both invest $50k and split 50/50 on the profits on that triplex, which would have brought us both about $300-$400 / mo profit after costs.

I want to trust him, but I also want to safeguard against anything going wrong.

My goals are to simply buy property, both Multi-Family Units and SFR's, and create a passive income stream to help me with my goals of going back to school and creating something bigger with my life.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Thank you,

Eric