All Forum Posts by: James York

All- to be clear, I fully agree with the points you’re making. I’m mostly curious if any of this noise still gets in your head and makes you think. 

@Dennis Tidwell I want to hear more about your products imported at $.30/$1. 

@Mike Gomez I would disagree that you should steer clear of new builds. This depends entirely on where you are and the partnerships you can form. It doesn’t sound like construction is your area of expertise so you’ll need to find that in someone else (or learn). If the numbers work in your area, new construction can be a great option. To date, that’s the only thing I do. 

@Kervin P. I use RentRedi. Their support is pretty good and I usually don’t have issues. I have one isolated issue, but I think it’s the tenant, not the program. 

@Zach Bright I think you’ve only painted half the picture. The answer to this probably depends on what you would do. If you’re working on a plan where that $40k would significantly change your equity or cash flow position, then it may be a worthwhile move to sell. I’d argue that after accounting for acquisition costs of new properties, it’s hardly worth selling a property to “only” get $40k out. Many investors have entire portfolios of 100 year old homes. I wouldn’t let that drive your decision making. All homes need work at some point. 

I drive around and identify empty lots to contact owners directly. It’s extremely labor intensive. I hand write each note to the owners. I have a very high (compared to normal standards) response rate and conversion rate because my cards specifically tell the seller who I am and reference their property. I don’t like the generic mailer idea as it will achieve the responses mentioned above. 

I suspect I’m not the only one drawn to all the internet gurus claiming the sky is falling. How do you balance awareness of an alternate point of view with maintaining your sanity? I feel the market is a safe place to be, but I’d be lying if I said sometimes the YouTube videos can make me feel like I should sell it all and brace for impact. 

Save yourself the money. Go to Secretary of State website and you should be able to do it for about $125. If you can fill out a form, you can set up an LLC.

I don’t believe lumber prices are tied to the housing market as simply as you suggest. Sure, there could be some correlation, but I contend this hardly indicates an impending crash of any kind. 

With residential it’s pretty easy to follow sales and develop an understanding of markets. Commercial seems much more difficult to find the comparable data. I don’t want to use a broker’s time yet because I’m just looking to educate myself. What’s the best way to start understanding what things sell for, rent for etc in the commercial world?