All Forum Posts by: Eric Martin

@Joseph Back Not bad at all for your first flip. Looks like you learned a bunch on this one too. Nice work!

Congrats, Donovan! If you haven't already, I recommend reading Craig Curelop's book, The House Hacking Strategy. It outlines everything you need to know about house hacking and could be a good reference even after finished. Also, listen to house hacking podcasts to further your education and prepare you.

One misconception I had when I purchased my first property was that finding the deal and closing it would be the hardest part and, once I got past that, it would be easy. In reality, tenant screening and placement were the most challenging for me. Check out Cozy for tenant screening, rent collection, and maintenance requests. 

I hope some of this was helpful. Good luck on your journey!

Crushing it, dude! Congrats!

Hi Justin, 

I do not live in Michigan so I'm not sure about local regulations, but I found this real estate investors meetup in Grand Rapids later this month: Meetup Link

Attending real estate investor networking events have been extremely valuable for me personally. You can ask other local investors if they know any wholesalers and you may even find a couple at the meetup! Once you meet a wholesaler, you can ask them any questions you may have as well as tell them your investment criteria and goals. Good luck! 

Hi Billy, Is this a tenant of yours who moved out and you need their new address for the purpose of returning a deposit? Would you mind elaborating on the context?

Happy New Year, Andres!

- I use MileIQ by Microsoft for tracking miles

- For tracking personal expenses, I use an app called Toshl. It was recommended on the BiggerPockets real estate podcast (Ep 305) and I have been using it everyday for over a year.

- I don't have any suggestions for time management tracking but I did find this article that might be helpful: link

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $95,000

Cash invested: $10,000

2 Bed / 1 Bath house near a college campus. Rents for $1,150 and cash flows ~$250/mo. Current owner had recently renovated the house to make it mostly "turn-key" with the exception of a few finishing touches.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

The ability to only put about 10% down and avoid having to get approved for bank financing.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I found this deal by discussing my interest in real estate investing at a wedding. The gentleman I was chatting with happened to have a house they were looking to sell. Since the seller was getting older I negotiated with him such that the owner financed $85,000 of the purchase price at a 5.0% interest rate amortized over 30 years with a 5-year balloon. The deal worked great for both of us as he gets a completely passive monthly income stream, and I purchased a cash-flowing house.

How did you finance this deal?

~10% of my own funds were paid at closing and the remainder was owner financed.

What was the outcome?

Cash flowing rental house with only $10,000 invested total. Expected cash on cash return is 27%!

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Talk openly about your interests and passions in life. The person you are talking with may be able to help you achieve your goals! One challenge I faced was that the seller still had a mortgage on the property. Since the down payment was not enough to pay off the existing loan, I signed a land contract that gives me the ability to rent out the property and produce monthly cash flow until I refinance to cash out the seller. I reimburse the seller annually for property taxes and insurance.

@Ryan Pozzi To quote the book Rich Dad Poor Dad, “If your pattern is to spend everything you get, most likely an increase in cash will just result in an increase in spending.”

If extensive saving is a common theme you have picked up on, it’s probably because it’s true. Saving money and wisely investing is what leads to wealth. Just like when you see someone in great shape running outside and you think to yourself “They are in great shape. They don’t need to run!” The reason they are in great shape because they choose to run and live a healthy lifestyle. Just like consistent saving and budgeting is crucial for a healthy financial lifestyle.

Aggressively saving and being able to have fun in life are not mutually exclusive. It is possible to build wealth and still indulge a little once in a while, but while everyone else buys luxuries first and saves/invests the remainder, those who are financially successful invest first and buy luxuries last.