All Forum Posts by: Jake K.

Hi @Jake K., First..Welcome to BP! I am a new member as well out of the Detroit area in Michigan. Reading your post, i understand exactly where you are coming from. I have been researching real estate investing for MONTHS now..without taking the action due to the dreaded analysis paralysis. I am in the same boat as you with limited personal funds and credit which has been a source of discouragement while I try to save. However, I have made the conscious decision to start taking the necessary steps in order to make my goal a reality. Wholesaling is one thing I would like to tackle, but BRRRR is a strategy I really want to get into.

The best advice I can give is to just dive right in. The goal is progress...not perfection. Continue to read as many blogs, books and articles as you can in order to educate yourself on the topic and to reach out to those that are doing what you want to do! Create a plan of attack..write down a list of steps that you want to take towards your goals and keep it somewhere that you can see it all the time. Look up and go to your local REI meetings or perhaps reach out to an investor friendly real estate agent who can give you some assurance to the types of options and financing that is available out there, and lastly keep notes of your progress. It is really motivating when you can see exactly what you have done, and can help drive you to want to tackle more.

I wish you the best in your journey. I look forward to seeing you around the Bigger Pockets site!

@Jake K. 

step 1 - area, size, purchase price in your range (all that research). Spend a full day on this.

The rest of this can be done on a Sunday afternoon:

step 2 - pull a list of exact sellers you want to mail to. For example, 3/2, zip code xxxxx, subdivision, lot size x, assessed value between x-y, no mortgage or less than x %, etc. You download a report in an easy spreadsheet with owner name, address, and all property detail. 

step 3 - scrub your list to remove duplicate owners, government agencies, anything out of ordinary

step 4 - "mail merge" list into your ready to go offer letter to purchase. (make a sincere, realistic offer and included your closing agenda)

step 5 - use a cheap, industry specific printer (we spend less than the price of a stamp to get the whole thing printed and mailed)

step 6 - wait for signed offers to come back and pick the best ones to purchase! Or put them under contract and pass the deal to your ready to go flipper and charge them $10k per deal like we do.

You should be buying at way less than "market value" so everybody wins!  Hope this helps.

There are defiantly fewer buyers out there looking for homes however the ones that are are serious about find a home. The best time to list a home for sale is just before the children break for the summer so around April / May.

Thats exactly right. Winter states are a little tougher for selling and renting. But that november thru february are typically some of the best months for finding deals that you'll get. There are very few owner occupants looking for homes and not as many investors looking at this time of year either. 

There are only a handful of us nuts willing to deal with the cold - both in terms of looking at houses (the heat is never on) and getting rehabs going (takes some time to get the heat on). :-) 

@Jake K. Hi Jake,

Hard money loans are not that difficult to secure, but they will require skin in the game as someone had mentioned earlier. This type of financing is best used for distressed real estate (i.e. fixer) with equity in the deal (a good deal will make up for the financing cost - usually 8-12% and then some). 

Keep in mind, these loans also come with origination fees anywhere around 1-3% of the loan amount. Since these loans are short term in nature, almost all are interest only payments. If you have a buyer lined up to payoff the lender as an exit strategy, this could be a good deal for you.. just keep in mind the fees and see if there are any pre-payment penalties if you intend to hold it for a short amount of time.

@Jake K.  You are welcome!  Well, we buy and sell wholesale, cash.  We look for owners who want to sell their land below mkt and we get there first and make a profit buy selling it well priced and quickly.

Hello all,

My name is Cal Douglass. I'm a licensed architectural engineer with 8 years of experience practicing mechanical, plumbing and fire protection design in Baltimore, DC and the surrounding areas. I currently live in Baltimore with my wife, baby and dog.

I purchased my first home as a primary residence in the Canton neighborhood of Baltimore in 2012. The area is attractive to young professionals, and I always knew that I'd be renting out the property when the time came to move on. I didn't have any real estate ambitions beyond renting out my first home, but when researching the rental process earlier this year I came across the Bigger Pockets website... Needless to say, my real estate aspirations changed.

I'm planning to shift more of my focus towards real estate in early 2018, when my three partners and I will officially start an acquisitions and holdings business following the BRRRR strategy. My team includes a licensed Architect, a CPA, and a residential contractor--we're energized and excited to get started. My team and I are aiming to acquire and hold 4 leveraged properties by the end of 2018. Our preliminary 5 and 10 year goals are $1M and $10M in leveraged assets, respectively. I view these goals as well within reach considering the diversity of knowledge that my team brings to the table. We each have a strong work ethic, and we are well positioned to push each other to achieve our potential.

I come to this community seeking advice, guidance and vicarious experience. My team has the resume and equity to acquire bank loans and hard money, and the only thing standing in our way is lack of knowledge and experience. We plan to jump in with both feet using Bigger Pockets as our springboard--we'll see how it goes! We anticipate that the first 2 or 3 deals may be a bit hairy, but by the end of 2018 we should be on track to achieve our 2022 goal of $1M in leveraged assets.

Please feel free to reach out with advice, $0.02, or even just a figurative slap on the arse for encouragement. Really looking forward to contributing to and learning from this group.

 Certainly the ones who have not had good experiences with wholesalers in the past.  They would be willing because it's a win-win situation.  Of course, keep in mind that they will only put time into someone they believe is up for the task, is eager to learn, and has the right personality.