All Forum Posts by: Erica Osborn

I have had a great experience with Alan Holden of Regal CSI LLC down there. He tore down a house I needed demo'd on a lot I own and I just had one unit of a duplex of mine down there redone, new kitchen, updated bathroom, new water heater and a few other things done by him and his crew. He's a great communicator and I am a big fan! I am happy to give you his contact info if you send me a PM!

@Stephanie P. I know you have a property here locally and personally I LOVE Portsmouth for it's cash flow ability and have an 8 unit there myself, but Portsmouth even though close, is drastically different from the Chesapeake market and certainly in the eyes of the renter! I believe there were a few other things about this deal that brought the $/unit up as well.....Paul didn't it have water access?

@Paul Wilcox I know Phil, Anthony and Darren who are all in on this deal, I believe. He certainly does know this market and creative ways to get into and appreciate deals. Nice work!

You've gotten some great advice here. It's pretty simple (in theory). Figure out the niche you would like to pursue and connect with those pursuing, exceling, or established in it. Example being, if you want to try your hand at flipping, go to the meetups, connect with the flippers and listen to and learn from their stories. Bring something to the table and you may have your future partners to work with along the way. The best way to learn is by jumping in alongside people who have been doing it for years. 

These ways will most likely cost you money at the start (but what doesn't, right?), but you could also put your skills to work in the corporate world in some capacity with a real estate firm and get paid while you learn. You could work in the industry in a wide variety of positions and learn from some big dogs. I worked for many years in the commercial real estate world for developers, syndicators, property managers and commercial brokers before jumping into investing full-time myself, but knowing that is where I wanted to go. It helped me establish relationships that supported my investing aspirations and the leadership helped me along the way. If you have your end in mind (investing full-time), your time working in one of those companies will be much more valuable and the sky is the limit!! Good luck out there :) and thank you for your service!

@Melody Robinson

Hi Melody! I'm in the Hampton Roads area. There are a lot of great local meetups around here to get in the mix with the local investing crowd. If you are looking for recommendations or just a friendly face to know in the crowd, shoot me a message!

We exist in Hampton Roads, VA!!!!

@Taylor Hudgins

Go on Loopnet & Crexi and look at the current active deals. Who are the brokers listing those deals? Call them! 

Dwayne! A few things to be careful about w/ your townhome.

Is there an HOA/POA w/ a monthly fee? The association could change the fee and any cashflow may be immediately eaten up or you would be paying in every month.

2 bed/3 bath? Interesting mix, 2 bed won't be as easy to rent as a 3 bedroom so your tenant pool narrows and rent is at the 2 bedroom rate. The goal is to have the largest tenant pool possible.

Make sure you are in a market that supports an appreciation purchase rather than cashflow. If you are a cash heavy investor, then it might be alright, but you are gambling on appreciation and that is something that you can not know for sure. As a newbie investor, my advice is don't invest for appreciation invest for cashflow and reap your rewards now, if you invest for appreciation you may never reap those rewards and that is no fun. Good luck out there!!!

Who: Anyone in the Hampton Roads area excited about expanding their mind about personal finances and wealth generation! I have 4 boards, so I can fit 24 people!

What: If you don't know what CASHFLOW is, it's the Rich Dad Poor Dad* board game to help you change your mindset about money and getting out of the rat race by compiling passive income generating assets and generating true wealth. All of this in a board game!!!!! *I am not affiliated with Rich Dad Poor Dad, just a fan of the game.

When: Thursday, February 27th, 2020; 6:00-9:00

Where: Traditions Brewery, 700 Thimble Shoals Blvd. Newport News, VA

@Claudio Valdivia

@Taylor Hudgins

Feeling lucky? That doesn't matter in real estate investing! Create your own luck by learning how to analyze investment properties so you can make educated decisions in your real estate investing journey. We'll be going through small multifamily properties (2 to 4 units) and how to run numbers on them, we will also cover how to analyze them for the house hacking strategy! Come and join us and get moving toward that 2020 resolution to grow yourself and your REI knowledge! See you there!