All Forum Posts by: Gina Tavizon

@Steve Vaughan Thank you! That is very helpful!

If I’m buying a property in California through a real estate agent and paying all cash (vs. private party), what’s the shortest time frame on closing that anyone has experienced. I know the mortgage/lender process is one of the things that drags this out, so I’m trying to find out how fast this can go with an agent involved.

@Nicole Obregon Just as a general “sound” business decision, I wouldn’t. Considering giving them a pass is more for their benefit than for yours. You’re in business to get ahead. Sure, we want to help in some situations, but I think this is where I’d draw the line.

@Axel Ragnarsson This Is amazing. Thank you so much for sharing.

@Axel Ragnarsson This Is amazing. Thank you so much for sharing.

Originally posted by @Ali Boone:

Hey Gina! Good for you for not letting the losses get you down! Perseverance, and learning lessons from mistakes, are truly the only way to succeed as a real estate investor.

Just a couple two cents:

• If you stick to your local market, where everything is significantly higher priced, you are at risk for significantly higher losses. While that can be okay, I'd hate to see you try one property with a huge investment into it and it not work and it's a huge chunk lost. So just be cautious of what you dive into when you're dealing with the big bucks to start.
• What have you found challenging about the idea of going out-of-state for investing? I live in LA and all I do is out-of-state.
• MOST IMPORTANT, way more than the other two: make sure in your journey that you really focus on learning exactly what risk factors are involved with any kind of investment strategy you are considering, and what mitigations for those would be. There is an endless scale of risk levels out there and available, and it's fine if people want to stay on the riskier side of the scale (in hope of bigger rewards), but more often than not people have NO idea what the specific risk factors are. If you know those specifically, then do your thing. But if you don't know them, that is the fastest way to lose your money.

Not sure that's a huge help, but reach out anytime if I can be of any help with anything!

Ali, thank you for all of this. I am cautious about my market and definitely know that a bigger risk can result in bigger losses. I've owned a few properties in Orange and Riverside counties (SFR). I've also done a couple flips and had good and things happen there because of risk factors. It's been awhile but I am going back in eyes wide open and doing my necessary due diligence. I don't have a lot of capital yet so my focus is: wholesaling, JV's, and OPM (accessing capital through other investors—I used to work for an investment group—angels, VC's, boutique, and traditional banks—some have interest outside of their typical business deals and are open to RE deals). Although I want to get to the place of owning several with my own $$.

Out-of-state challenges for me:  I just want to be closer to manage and be hands-on and learn. But out-of-state is definitely in my plan. I just don’t see it happening immediately. Send me a message though. I am open and interested in seeing how we can benefit each other. I would love to talk more.

Thomas: Thank you for your input. At the end of the day, it’s for me to say whether I’m ready to invest or not. I have quite a bit of life and business experience and I just had to work it out for myself when and how to jump back in. I actually am ready and am just out there searching for deals and marketing. I apologize if it didn’t come across clear in my post that it was more about the learning and wanting to continue to learn. And actually you don’t need to be wealthy to invest in my market. You just have to be creative. And that’s part of what I’m working on.

I've been trying to figure out how to become a legit investor again in my own market outside of the most common ways (big banks, traditional loans, etc.) and have been reading and listening (for quite some time now) to the many other ways to enter the market. I invested a little before and it was all traditional and very tough because there was no Bigger Pockets and I was on my own trying to figure it out. Figure it out I did, but at the worst possible time. Just as I was gaining traction, the market started crashing and I lost everything within a short period of time. I mean everything. Not enough time, not enough resources, not enough savings, you name it. It was me running everything (buying, rehabbing, budgeting, hiring, etc.) with one assistant and none of the online resources we have here. Toughest experience ever but best lesson ever.

I've been on Bigger Pockets for awhile and have been unbelievably afraid to jump in again. I'm in a pretty good position now, have reestablished myself, great credit, you name it--but moving past the fear of losing it all again has been paralyzing at times. I've worked so hard to get back up so I'm trying to be smart about my moves but I've listened to enough podcasts and read enough to admit that I definitely succumb to the affliction of "analysis paralysis" at times.

After finally using the calculators here, I literally wanted to cry because of how the BP calculators can help you avoid a whole lot of grief just by knowing if a deal is worth pursuing at all. So many details I overlooked when I bought properties before. I was younger, eager, and bent on winning. But it sure did cost me. These calculators alone would have changed my entire trajectory.

My market is Southern California, one of the most expensive, as many know. But it's my market and it's where I live and it will always be my main home. So expensive or not, this is what I got. And I know people are winning here in spite of the cost of real estate. So I finally said, "Why not me?" I had considered going out of market but it's too challenging at this point. Maybe later when I've acquired some properties and get better at this. And I was reminded that we can all win wherever we're at. I'm nervous as hell but I'm finally taking the baby steps. I'm learning more about my own market again, current landscape, all the nuances, and there is so much here. And sure the properties are higher than many markets but I'm learning more and more all the time on BP of all the ways I can get into them whether it be seller-financing, partnerships, syndication, or something else. I don't feel so limited anymore. And I am so grateful that I am no so alone anymore. I feel like I have thousands of friends here I can go to anytime. And one of the things that helped my mindset was a great tiny little book called "Acres of Diamonds". We can all find acres of diamonds in our own backyard. So, onward I go.

And I am MORE than open to any feedback and advice about any of this. Thank you in advance.

January 23, 2018 before midnight.

Bigger Pockets is going to be subject to the same issues and quirks as any business—a few not-so-great people, sales pitches, etc.—however, I find it to be one of the few business forums that is transparent and extremely helpful. I truly believe it’s like with anything in life—you get what you look for. You look for problems, you’ll find problems. You look for the good, you find mostly good. It’s worked for me this way in any business I’ve worked in (and life, in general). Just be smart about your engagements. Feel people out, vet them out, do your due diligence. I truly believe there is so much to be gained on BP.