All Forum Posts by: Ben Graves

There is no right or wrong answer. My personal choice is to find properties built in the late 90s early 2000s so that I can try to avoid catastrophic repairs, and avoid code issues. That defiantly doesn't guarantee that I will though. I will buy older if it's a good deal, but try to stay newer than 1978 to avoid having to do lead paint disclosures. Like a said there isn't a wrong answer, I've seen people get great deals on 100 year old homes. Do whatever you're comfortable with.

Buy a house that is undervalued with potential

Rehab it so that the value goes up

Refinance it and pull your cash out

Rent it out 

Repeat the process

It's a fantastic way to accumulate multiple rentals without coming out of pocket an arm and a leg.

I've been looking to remodel my bathroom for a while now. I have contractors I use on my investment properties. I'm stubborn and a little adventurous and I hate hiring contractors to work on MY house. I have some construction experience but not a ton. I am thinking of tackling my bathroom remodel myself and using a Wedi shower system. Has anyone has any experience installing one of these. I feel like it can't possibly be as easy as it seems in the videos. I think I'm meticulous enough to get the tile right as long as it's got a solid base to go over. Any input on Wedi, or tile, or anything really would be appreciated. Thanks!  

There's many different things that effect your score, so it's hard to say for sure without actually seeing yours. The basics would be:

A. Pay off any collections or judgments all the way and get proof from the collections company!

B. Pay your credit cards down as much as possible, try to keep each card below 20% of the available credit. 

C. Don't open any new credit and keep your oldest lines open, don't cancel the old stuff even if you don't need it.

D. Wait, it takes time if you've had hiccups in the past.

Good Luck!

Mi Michael, First off bravo for thinking this way at 19, Unfortunately it’s very rare. I know you said you have a good score but if there’s no depth to your credit the score doesn’t mean much to lenders. Most of the time lenders are going to want to see 3 pieces of credit and one of those installment credit, like a car loan. $450 a month seems like a big payment based on your income, and if you make your dads payments it won’t do anything to build your own credit. Have you thought about finding a 3-4 year old Kia or something you can get for under 10k and build your credit on a $200 payment? Keep up the good work and either way you go save as much as you can. You’ll be a Property guru soon enough! Ben

Thanks for sharing, Looks great! 

Hi Peter, Seattle is a red hot market for sure. I love about 30 minutes south of Seattle and really the whole are is great. As an investor my opinion is that the suburbs of Seattle are much better. I have a. Couple rentals in Tacoma are doing amazing. 5-600k in some neighborhoods in Seattle will get you a really nice parking place and you could get a nice fourplex In Tacoma. I’m not very confident Seattle won’t deflate some in the the future so I’m focusing on the Kent, Federal Way, Auburn, Tacoma markets. I’m also a broker here so PM me if you’re interested in having some good investment listings sent over to you. Good luck!

Hi Brandon,

My two cents... First I think it's great you are having a dilemma, it means you have a heart. And it's great you're seeking advise from other investors. I would give him the opportunity to match the 40k offer, but I don't think you're in any way obligated to give the man 40,000 dollars. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess yours isn't the only available property in providence. It wouldn't take you very long to help him find another place to stay so that your not booting an old man to the street. Then your not out anything more than a few hours, and you'll be able to sleep comfortably knowing that you've done all you can.

Good Luck

Hi Ronald,

It depends on what your investment goals are. One door will usually be around the same amount of headache to buy as say a 4-plex. One door will likely not be as profitable as a multiplex. One door has some advantages though. Typically it will attract a better quality tenant especially in the higher priced homes. It will also much easier to offload a single family home than a multiplex. If you don't plan on holding for very long that's a huge factor. So I agree with Cardone in some cases but like everything it just depends on you and your goals.

Good Luck 

Hi Tiffany,

I am on the opposite side of the country from you but let me know if you're interested in deals in Washington State. I'd be more than happy to scout properties out here for you.