All Forum Posts by: Greg P.

@Ned Carey

Thanks for the advice!  Now that I have my little farm area nailed down I'll definitely be getting comfortable with the market.  Thanks again!

Hi BP!

I have been constantly researching how I want to break into real estate investing and think I'm pretty much there.  I was hoping for some advice and feedback on my plan.

My focus is on building a real estate portfolio through slow but consistent multi-family house hacking. I'd like to leverage my W-2 work to maximize tax saving opportunities, and leverage my "primary residence" advantage by focusing on low upfront FHA/203k mortgage funding. I'm also looking at investing in HUD homes because it seems like I would have an advantage in purchasing these units since I'd be living in one.

Only other thing on the "deal finding" side -- I had also been considering researching short sales, as I understand that the downside of these deals is the time it can take to close.  Since I am in a lease for ~10 months, I'm hoping to leverage my longer time frame to buy.

On focusing where I want to invest:

Since I'm new to Dallas I've been researching the Frisco area, but am now turning my sights on the Oak Cliff area because of the gentrification in the area / future equity valuations.  My concern with the area is that I couldn't find great schools, and am scared it would drive away the tenants that I'd want to keep (families, responsible renters).

I like the area because I work downtown and it would be a short drive to work, and because I'd be able to take different routes to work everyday and effectively "drive for dollars" on my commute.  I LOVED podcast 86 "House Hacking Your Way to 97 Units" with Cory Binsfield. I thought his "buy within 5 miles of your residence" requirement is a great idea.  I also LOVED his plan to "podvest" by buying multiple duplexes on the same block / area, so if you had to repair one you could easily check up on the others.  His feedback seems incredibly important to maximize efficiency, especially if you work full time.

I still have a huge checklist to make this all happen, but I'm trying to take small steps every day:

1.  Find great deals (#1 -- have to make money when I buy.. very concerned about doing this correctly)

2.  Ensure financing (not an issue for the type of investing I'm looking at.. can easily cover a down payment)

3.  Create a network and team (I'm not "handy" in the least.  The part where I find a "fixer upper" and use a 203k loan scares me because I'm not comfortable with costing out repairs.  And I don't have anyone to trust in this department -- don't want to get taken!)

4.  Understand landlording - I'm sure I'll make mistakes.  But I've read a lot about creating a strong rental agreement and being fair but firm.  I loved podcast 86 that covered creating a business purpose / motto when leasing.  I thought the idea of saying that you "strive to create safe, comfortable, and quiet living" for your tenants is a great way to think about the business.

5. Understanding taxes / legal implications - My plan to use my personal FHA loan and "house hack" should help me minimize W-2 taxes. Still have a lot of questions on ability to "depreciate" the investment side of the house and treat part of it like a business. Also have concerns about being sued / not doing this in a business entity.

Anyways, just wanted to say THANK YOU to Biggerpockets.  I "think" about real estate investing all the time thanks BP.  Now I'm really excited about turning "thinking" into "doing"...  As long as I do it the right way.  :)

This is amazing!  I am interested in buy and hold as opposed to flipping - but regardless, the thing that probably intimidates me the most as a newbie is the renovation/construction/cost estimates/general know how to do something like this for a distressed property when you find a good deal.

Do you have suggestions on learning the 'general contracting' side of this world?  I would love to contribute free manual labor in order to learn.

Good luck on your flip! 

Bummed that I missed this -- would love to hear about any new opportunities in Dallas to network!

Hi!  Hope everyone is well.  I recently became a Pro member after listening to the latest webcast, and thought I would drop by this forum to introduce myself.

I have been avidly interested in real estate for the last three months, and have been getting my hands on every book/podcast/audiobook that I can to expand my knowledge base.  

One book I really have enjoyed was "Building Wealth One House at a Time" by John Schaub.  I'm sure Brandon's books will be very enlightening when I read through them this weekend.  

Anyways, wanted to network with like minded folks here, and hopefully in the Dallas area.  Being brand new, I have SO much to learn (and sometimes it feels like an uphill battle).  I am really interested in buy and hold single family homes, and maybe low unit multi family homes (such as a duplex).  I currently just live in a studio apartment, so finding a way to house hack or live in part of a duplex I own seems very attractive to me.  I'd be really excited to network with more knowledgable folks, and I'm happy to connect and do any type of work that might help others be successful in the Dallas area (driving around properties you might want to look at, construction work -- whatever)!

I am still working full-time (and really like my job, actually), and am trying to learn and network either before work or in the evenings.  Subjects that I'm really trying to tackle:

1.  Understanding the macro-level Dallas market.  Where is the market today?  Very hot/good time to buy, etc.

2.  Ideal areas in Dallas for me to start looking -- Ideally looking for 3 bedroom/2 bath homes with a garage and a good backyard in a good school district.

3.  Better understanding what I'll need to get going:

Finding deals/analyzing (need to start practicing with the tools here). Do I need to have MLS access to be successful?

4.  Deciding on a team / networking.  I was listening to the latest podcast and it seemed like having a lawyer/inspector/general contractor all seemed to be like parts of a team that you may want before you get started.  Of course being brand new this seems really hard.

5.  Understanding how to price repairs, accurately find rental estimates and pricing (from what I've read it seems like just driving around and researching rents seems to be the best way).

6.  The whole tenant thing.  From finding them, to lease documents, to having someone on call to solving problems that might come up (although I have read a lot on this part, and I'm sure Brandon's book will help).

7. Making the deal. I will probably have ~20k that I would want to start with, and would qualify for a FHA loan if I needed to go that route, but trying to figure out what the mortgage insurance may do to my cash on cash return... and if it would be worth it to even do it.

Anyways, as you can see, I have a ton to learn and I'll be checking off these different boxes as I go.  Look forward to meeting some like minded folks.  Have a nice weekend!