All Forum Posts by: Obi I.

@Dominique B. Congrats and thanks for sharing this great summary on your first deal! Look forward to hearing about deal #2!   

@Rich Baer There's definitely risks/rewards with every city, including Baltimore. 

@Vina Real Your cash flow seems a bit tight at ~$241/mth and ~5% cash on cash return. Ideally, you'd want to a bit higher return and more cash flow. Depends on your investment criteria. Good luck!

@Gayle Melnick thanks for the update. Very helpful. Great job on your first deal. Keep up the good work.

Hello BP,

I'm looking at a 4-unit deal in DC that needs a complete gut rehab. The building is just a shell and is +1100sq ft above grade. Looking for estimates on rehab costs from contractors/rehabbers with experience with these types of deals. Any other tips/advice with such deals are welcome.

Thanks in advance, Obi

@Larry Pendleton Congrats on your deal and thanks for sharing your update. 

@James Kandasamy thanks for sharing this. This is a great story and shows how to use the BRRRR strategy in multifamily deals.

@Ryan DeVore Quite a few sites out there with real estate market info. Check out these for starters:

https://www.deptofnumbers.com/employment/metros/
https://www.bea.gov/news/2019/local-area-personal-income-2018
https://www.bls.gov/lau/metrossa.htm
https://www.nmhc.org/research-insight/

@Lauren C. Condolences on your loss and congrats for taking a good first step by reaching out on BP. Here are a few things to consider:

1. What's your long-term strategy? Do you want to stay in NYC? Or will you move in the future? This could be a factor for markets you choose to invest in. Your short-term strategy is cash flow, so looking for good cash flow markets will be key. 

2. Do you want to be an active investor and build up your portfolio deal by deal? Or do you want to be passive and partner up with experienced investors/operators?

3. Do you want to be a lender or an equity investor? Lending will cap your upside but your ability to be secured in the properties you're lending against provides some downside protection. Equity investing allows you to achieve unlimited upside but there are risks with every deal.

4. Do you want to buy and hold or do you want to flip? What type of properties are you most interested in - single/multi-family, mobile home parks, self storage, etc?

5. What kind of research have you done on markets, strategies? BP has a ton of books and podcasts that can help you out. Here are a few books to add to your list:

1. Multifamily Millions by Dave Lindahl
2. The ABCs of Real Estate Investing by Ken McElroy
3. The Complete Guide to Buying and Selling Apartment Buildings by Steve Berges
4. Commercial Real Estate Investing by Dolf De Roos
5. Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received by Donald Trump
6. Tax Free Wealth by Tom Wheelwright
7. Commercial Real Estate 101: How Small Investors Can Get Started and Make It Big by David Lindahl
8. Raising Private Capital: Building Your Real Estate Empire Using Other People’s Money by Matt Faircloth
9. The Definitive Guide to Apartment Marketing by Josh Grillo
10. Investing in Apartment Building by Matthew Martinez
11. Crushing It in Apartments and Commercial Real Estate by Brian H Murray
12. The 7 Secrets to Successful Apartment Leasing by Eric Cumley
13. 2 Years to a Million in Real Estate by Matthew Martinez
14. Burn Zones: Playing Life’s Bad Hands by Jorge Newbery
15. Commercial Mortgages 101: Everything You Need to Know to Create a Winning Loan Request by Michael Reinhard
16. It’s a Whole New Business!: The how-to book of syndicated investment real estate by Gene Trowbridge

6. With $400k, you could carve out some of your capital, build a team, pick a good cash flow market, do 1 or 2 smaller deals, get some experience and then start to scale as you get more comfortable. 

@Jaye Crockett A couple of ideas for you:

1. Look for Texas-specific forums on BP to join and start networking with folks virtually. You can get to know folks and then build a team over time

2. Read David Greene's book, Long-Distance Real Estate Investing, for the blueprint on how to invest virtually.

3. Check out some of the flipping-specific interviews on BP Real Estate Podcast. Here are a few I like:

• How to manage GCs like a boss
• 70+ Units Per Year and How Exactly to Make a Lowball Offer with Ryan Dossey
• 18 Houses in the First 18 Months with Paul Thompson
• Want to Work Less and Earn More? Think Like a Pilot! With Steve Rozenberg
• How to Build a Deal-Finding MACHINE With Adam Johnson and Brent Moreno