All Forum Posts by: Gregory Schwartz

@Taylor L. very good points. LPs need to act like the Sharks on Shark Tank. How hard will the GP work to get that extra 2-3% IRR?

@Giovanni Moreno dude you're in the right place. Read "Set for Life" then "The House Hacking Strategy". If I were just starting out I'd find a landlord with a few rentals in my college town and volunteer to mow his lawns or do general maintenance for him. I don't know any landlord who would turn down a young man who'd be willing to paint an apartment for $10 per hour. And then after you've provided that value start to pick his or her brain about their business. 

From there you can start to look at house hacking, flips, wholesaling, or any of the 1 million other strategies in real estate. 

@Taylor L. I find this interesting, "If GPs invest $300k but get $200k in acquisition fees, then we don't really have $300k skin in the game." If the acquisition fee is earned income that is then being invested in the deal then how is it not viewed as skin in the game? Would that be any different than the LP making $200k at a W2 and investing it? In both cases, the 200k is earned income that that individual has decided to invest in the deal.

The reason I ask is that I plan on rolling my commission as the buyer's agent into a deal, and I feel that is my skin in the game. Now, this is a much smaller deal and will not be syndicated, not sure if this makes a difference. 

@Kevin Owens I’ll DM you. Thanks 

For those investors who work in the student housing markets. Have you attempted to get agency debt and had to deal with the 20% student housing hurdle? My understanding is that if the apartment is occupied by more than 20% students then it qualifies as student housing and has more difficult underwriting requirements.

@Nathan G. Is correct. I learn this the hard way. Your best bet is cash for keys. For others out there, this is my game plan going forward...

1. Prior to making an offer ask for leases and the tenant’s application

2. If you determine the tenant wasn’t well screened or doesn’t meet your criteria, request vacancy as part of you offer.

3. Budget for cash for keys and the added time required to remove tenants.

Lastly be prepared to walk away, just like a leaking roof, poor tenants can kill a deal.

@Joshua Ferrari thanks for all that. Pure gold. Glad to know your going all in and best of luck. Great reading, I’ve read most but you have a few on there that have been on my “things to read” list for too long

@Nicole Heasley Beitenman I wish I could tell you I had a super structured game plan with some fancy @Brandon Turner style funnel. My wife and I throw the dog in the back seat and drive around areas that we know have duplexes. Deal Machine will give you some basic info on the property and the owner. We shoot for those crappy "for rent" signs and deferred maintenance with hope of finding tire landlords. Snap a picture and click start mailers, Deal Machine does the rest. 

@Joshua Ferrari syndication is the end goal. But if we can build up a portfolio of 2 and 4 plexes along the way that's good too. How, when, and why did you make the transition? 

@Jesus Orbea whatever you decide keep posting so we can follow your journey. I can empathize with your dilemma, my first rental was a duplex, now a 4 plex. I feel comfortable with sub 5 unit properties but would like the scalability and growth that comes with larger syndicated deals. 

We received our first call from our Deal Machine campaign!!!!

After a little over a month of mailing to a very small specific group of duplexes and 4-plexes we received our first phone call. The call itself, slightly anticlimactic, "You sent me a postcard. How much will you pay?" I asked to visit the property so I can provide a more accurate number, at that point the owner decided he didn't want to sell. 

What did I learn? The mailers work, my ability to close... needs some help.

Baby steps. 

How was your first phone call as a newbie wholesaler?