All Forum Posts by: Isaac Geller

@Brian Burke Thanks for the informative explanation and for clarifying what are the critical aspects I have to dig into. thanks!

Hi BP!

I am an investor from Israel and recently had an offer to join a syndication for a buying of a multifamily unit in NJ. The offer sounds tempting since  the group has to finance about 3M$ (the rest comes from a bank with a low interest) and the building is bought about 1.5M below value, so when we sell we should expect a 50% return when selling which should be 3 years from now.

The thing that bugs me is the way the building value was evaluated, i am copying a section from the presentation:

"Market activity has shown similar properties consistently trading in the 4.75-5.25% cap range (refer to “Comparables” slide for specifics). Using this approach, keeping with

conservative rent growth and vacancy assumptions, and factoring in the fully matured real estate tax amount post-abatement, the Y1 projected cash flow of $570,561 ($670,561

adjusted down $100,000 to account for the fully matured RE taxes) would value the asset at roughly $11.4M at a 5% cap - a substantial savings from our purchase price of

$9.8M. This evaluation is further supported by a recent CBRE pricing opinion of $11.5-12M"

What they done is evaluate the price by assuming the return is 5% annual. From everything I know about US RE the returns should be much higher, but maybe certain markets has lower returns. What do you guys think?

Thanks guys,

really useful inputs.

Hi all,

I am an investor from Israel trying to get into the US market.

In Israel everything is done using cell phone. Lots of families doesn't use or evenb own a telephone. Moreover whatssup app is used by all, for messages and calls. However when I try to contact PMs or agents in the US the claim they don't use whatssup app, and the only way to contact them is by a telephone. This is very frustrating because calling from a cell to out of state is very costly, and with all the new technology around I just don't see any good reason to do that. 

Am I missing something? Do locals use free communucation apps that maybe I am unaware of? How do you contact your agents GCs etc. with a cell, in a cheap time saving efficient way?

Thanks guys!

Hi all,

I am a newbie, learned a lot the last few months and I feel ready for my first deal. However I have a pretty basic question but even though I read a couple of books, I still don't have a clear answer.

The basic rule of REI is make the profit when you buy. Mostly investros look for a property that need rehab or buying from a motivated seller. When you ask an agent for such deals they will call you and say that the got you a hot deal and the price is lower than market value

My question is how to verify the agent's information. How can I do the analysis of evaluating how much a property really worth, and be confident that I actually made money on the buy. What are the tools the pros are using? Without asnwering this question I cannot make a deal, so I need to know how to do it, and preferly do it easily and fast.

Looking forward reading your answers, and thanks for helping!

Thanks all for all the good advice! I  learned a lot and made some new connections that will help me to get more knowledge.

Thank you BP!

Hi friends!

I am a newbie living in Israel, been a member in BP for about 2 months now. I tried focusing in the Atlanta market but it turns out that you need about 100K to start investing there, while currently i can get 50-60K to start with. My main investing plan is start with flipping to expand my financial abilities, and slowly add rentals to get constant  cash flow. I want to focus on 1-2 markets for the near 5-10 years.

I some cardinal questions I am dealing with:

1. Do you know a market that 50-60K are enough to start making flip deals (Did some research and foun Cleveland is pretty cheap now but not sure how cheap)? If not I will be really happy to get an advise what to do then (really want to getstarted!!)?

2. This question is mostly directed to long distance investors. How do you find agents, PMs etc. in a distaned area? and more importantly how do you develop trust? how do you know that when a wholesaler offers a deal and says it's a good one, that he is honest? I an really interested in creating long term relationships with good and serious people in the market i choose to invest in, I am jist afraid that untill you know your market well people will take advantage and con me.

3. What books are recomended to long distance investors? I want to focus on what i need to know from my specifןc point of view (as i won't be the one in charge of managing the rehab myself) and get some insights of how I can be effective and proכessional (I am sure tht some long distane investors are!).

Thanks!

Hi,

i found a house in Atlanta which is in a poor condition and looks optional for a flip deal.

I live in Israel and i don't exactly know how to evaluate the ARV and figure out how much should i pay for the house.

I thought of contacting an agent and ask him what he thinks, but i don't really know anybody there. does any of you have a trustworthy agent i can contact, or some other idea that will help me evaluate if this is good deal?

thanks guys!

Thanks a lot. Mike your advice is awsome, i will definetly use it. 

Hi all,

my name is Tsahi and i am new here. really exited about this website.

I do not live in the U.S.A and from the prodcasts i have heared so far 2 question popped to my head:

1. I don't know america, the countries, the cities ect. so how am i supposed to define a specific area to focus is?

i mean, i know that that this are needs to have certain parameters that are important for me as an investor, but your counry is  H U G  E,

how can i even start looking, how can a make a filter or use profiling charachteristics that will help me to choose a specific location?

2.Iv'e been hearing a lot of sentences like "you have to look at 50-100 houses before you buy" and "only if you are looking inside the house you can eventually estimate the real value" and so forth. now, this sentences are very logical and seems true, but as for now i am not in the position to do that sort of stuff. i have to trust indise guys that will help me, and to be totaly dependent of them. and advise how can i overcome this obstacle?

Thanks for reading this, i hope my grammer is right:)