All Forum Posts by: Jake Wiley

It's not a silly question.    Assuming that you have a renter in part of the property that is paying the expenses?    If you are not having to come out of pocket, then I'd look at two things, one what would it cost you to rent somewhere else vs. two, what would someone else pay for your spot in the property?    What you are avoiding in paying rent somewhere else, is essentially your cash flow.    However, if you could get more (positive cash flow) for your property by living somewhere else and having a tenant take your place that would be optimizing your current property.   With all that said, you also have eyes on your current property and maybe optimize the value by being there, etc and the few additional dollars may not really make it worth it. 

Hopefully, that helps!

@Mohammed Nasser - 

First question, do you want to be an agent?   Is that your goal, or are you looking to become an investor?   

If you are looking to get into sales/brokerage, there are administrative roles that do not require a license.   

I am not sure where you are in the country, but you could likely take the necessary test prep, take your exam and hang your shingle with a broker in a month to 45 days.     The point I am attempting to make is that if your goal is to work in sales, you would likely be best served to knuckle down and get the license taken care of rather than spending time trying to find a role that isn't what you are actually looking for.   

The most important aspect, in either scenario, is finding a broker that you'd like to work under that will provide you great support, mentorship etc.    When you find the right broker, they will likely let you tag along, or work in the office along the way too.     

Good luck.   

Network and market like your life depended on it.   Tell everyone what you are doing.  

Join the local REIA, show them what you have, ask what they are looking for.

Get your properties out on craigslist, facebook, Instagram etc., answer questions.    

@Keith Brown - I really applaud your position.   Your savings are extraordinary starting early is such an amazing opportunity.    

Most likely you'll be best served to find someone, possibly a parent, that could cosign for you if you are looking at more traditional loans.    

Alternatively, you could contact Lima One they may be able to help you structure your deal, however, you'd need to set up an LLC for the investment, but that's not a bad thing.

The reality is if you can get one done, it can snowball on you.    

See if you can find a mentor that would look over your shoulder, ask questions here.   

I applaud your start, good luck.   

@Crispin Wong - You need to get out there and network and tell everyone what you are looking for.    Connect with brokers/agents in the areas you are looking for and make sure you are staying top of mind.     You need to be looking at as many opportunities as you can.   

As for getting a loan, that's generally advisable as it will let you stretch your investment dollars further.   

Good luck!  

Congrats on getting serious about your first investment.    

You are asking some good questions and the answers really depend on what you are hoping for here.

My thoughts are - you can always find a reason not to invest now, so try to get that out of your mindset.   With that said, I don't mean be irrational, but realize that if you can find a reason to not make an investment because something might happen in the future, it will always be there.

Next step - really understand the rental market and demand.     What are the rental rates for each size/type or property, think building by building if you can get there rather than a wide market analysis.

You should understand the opportunity for 1 beds vs. 2 beds so you can really see how financially viable the two options are and make an educated decision on how you want to approach it.    

What are the vacancy rates, is population growth on a positive trend.   If these numbers are positive, then it will derisk the downside.   It's really hard for rental rates to change dramatically if there simply isn't enough inventory.     However, if they are building condos like crazy right now, you'll need to get comfortable that the future inventory isn't going to create an excess of inventory, it does happen where building gets out ahead of the population and it could take several years to absorb the newer and likely nicer units.    

Stick with something you feel comfortable investing in.   RV's were/are hot, but they are also a depreciable asset.    If you have so much cash you don't know what to do with it, then buying for speculation is fine, but if you are looking to grow your wealth, always start with cashflow properties.     

At the end of the day, start looking, make offers that work for you.   You'll have to make a lot and it's actually fun when you are penning up a bunch of offers that will actually pencil out.   Eventually one will hit.   Since you are prepared to wait anyhow, get active and know it might take some time, but see what you can do and something good will happen.  

Good luck!   Welcome to Real Estate Investing!   

 

I can't speak to Cali - but in most states, you don't have a license unless you are either the broker or sponsored by a broker.   Wouldn't imagine it's different, but it's California.

Thus, once you pass your test, they don't send the license to you, but it "hangs" with your sponsoring broker.   All of your transactions are actually running through the licensed broker, their name/company name will be on all of your agreements, they have documentation and filing requirements and are where all the commission splits are handled.    

It sounds interesting.    My guess is you are going to have to see what the market will bear in terms of how many will take you up on that.    

Why don't you offer it up as a potential option to your clients on the higher end and see how many take you up on the offer.   For those that don't, you can go back and ask them why not and see if this problem is fixable.     Ultimately, you'll want to have a critical mass of clients to make it worthwhile, and before you get committed it would be great to see if you can get to that.  

I would put it out there as a potential option and see your response rate.  

Good luck.   

The rule is if you've lived in it 2 of the past 5 years you are good to go.    However, if you transferred the property to a business or started depreciating it for tax purposes, that could create an issue.    

If you have anyone helping with your taxes, I'd double-check with them as well.  

That's a really unfortunate experience.    Did you actually have a signed counteroffer or was it still in negotiations?    If it was still in negotiations, then there wasn't an actual agreement.   

It's not uncommon to have backup offers submitted, but to actively negotiate is not.   

With that said, you could likely file a complaint with the real estate commission to try and prevent that from becoming a thing with this agent.   

From a personal perspective, it's probably best to move on and keep focused on opportunities vs. getting bogged down in frustrating rear view mirror stuff.   

Good luck and keep moving forward.