All Forum Posts by: Dani Beit-Or

@Herman Wu simply answer is use property manager (PM).

They take a cut but also save you time, trouble, close to the property, no the law and create a "divider" between yourself and the tenant. 

Sine you said you are new to REI you can also think about using a PM for 1 to 2 years ad then consider taking over w/o the help of a PM.

Every transaction has many moving parts and sometimes it is better to let others do some aspects of the investment until you become more knowledgeable/experienced/comfortable doing it yourself. 

I'd start by attending RELEVANT meetings and searching for videos on YouTube. 

But more importantly I'd lay down my objectives first such as budget, cash vs. mortgage, type of properties, how much ROI and cashflow I'd like to get, and literately list my concerns so you can address them one by one.

And one more thing, Jan.of 2019 is 18 + months away. If you conduct market researches now they may not be relevant by 2019. I'd say start looking more extensively into the details about 6 months before. 

Hope this helps. 

I'd call few realtors and ask them the same questions and ask how much will they charge. 

If a realtor is not on the contract than s/he has no liability and possibly less work so they may agree to work for some "consultation" fee. 

Call a few and ask. 

I agree with @Joshua Fulenwider

I'd add that it is not a must to open a 2nd account but probably better way to go about it. 

I'd also add that proper accounting is also very important to have (and can help significant if you don't open a 2nd account). 

Do you offer loans for foreigners? 

@Woods Pepperman I run such a network (Simply Do It) and have been mentoring/guiding others for approx. 13 years. So far I helped/supported the purchase of a bit more than 3000 out of state rentals and about 100 flips. I sure hope we come across as legit, education and execution based and not like full of hot air. So many of the networks out there focus on educational products and coaching and very few actually focus on investing, like we do.

@Brandon Vannier

When we flip we don't loom for a tenant but for a homeowner. We have done so many and in different areas. Sometimes we had a buyer the same weekend we listed it and sometimes it took several months. That's one of the things I have found to be the bigger unknown in a flip. 

@Woods Pepperman

Keeping or flipping is entirely different filter/glasses.
A keeper would be something that matched my size, age,area, schools, price, rent, cashflow, and ROI pre-set criteria. The rentals we buy need no to minimal repairs.

In a flip we're looking for the improvement margins. How much can we sell a house after much needed renovations and what would we pay for it to get those margins/ROI.

There is no secret sauce for finding team. It requires time, experience, conversations and vetting. It is easier to line up teams when you have the power of a network w/ many buying investors, that's for sure. 

@Scott Hawley

"which areas do you invest in? Which ones met your criteria?"
These days for rentals: Nashville, Indy, Tampa, Houston, DFW and OKC

"Do you fly down for purchases? How challenging is it to run rehabs remotely?"
In close to 15 years I have never needed to fly out to take care of an issue. All was solved over phone/emails/Skype. I do suggest to at least fly out there once before you buy to see the area, houses, and mainly meet the team. I have learned that 85% of the investors we work with and guide (many from the Redmond, Bellevue area BTW) don't fly at all. 
I personally do fly but not mainly not to look at houses but meet w/ our local teams to help them develop better and find opportunities to provide better investment for our investors.

For the rentals we buy houses that need some make-ready. Meaning simple repairs tasks and not a full reno. All the property managers we have lined up locally will handle those make-ready w/o a problem. 

"Do you flip or buy and hold?"

Both. About 60% of our activity is rentals and the rest is flips. For flips we do have local contractors and project managers that are able to do a full reno job. We have about 15 flips going right no in Tampa, Chicago and Indianapolis. The smallest reno job is about $30k and largest s about $265k

Finding the right teams and having strong systems, processes and checkpoints is what enables us to work in a large scale and in multiple metros. 

Just for kicks . . . 

Here's a rental (closing on Mon)

Here's a house we are flipping in Indy (in rehab)

@Brandon Vannier I have been investing out of state for close to 15 years (full disclosure I do it for a living and assist others). I live in OC CA now, SF Bay before, and in Europe before that. I started investing in 2002 While living in Europe (talk about "out-of-state" :-) )

The way I go about it - first myself:
What's my budget

Will I be using cash, cash + a mortgage, etc.

I'd list down my top/main concerns

Second, I like to look at metros that are:

1. 1.5MM and up population 
2. Growing metros in jobs and population
3. Multiple industries present in the metro (diversification) 
4. Rent-purchase price +/- 1%/per month (a $150k house should rent between $1350 to $1500/ mo)

Once I find that metro start looking at houses BUT first make sure I know how to fully evaluate and financially analyze property. 

Hope this helps some

Good luck

Dani Beit-Or