All Forum Posts by: Jared Garfield

@Jay Hinrichs you certainly post a lot here and are an active contributed for sure, that's awesome!  I know on most sites, if you follow someone it alerts you when they post? So if you like what they are sharing you can get easier access to their posts.  

We buy a lot of properties for sure, but are not a turn key business primarily, we have a fund and buy and hold.  I'm glad you are following Melissa she is a great resource.  

When someone is a colleague, from what I can tell, it gives you a much easier chance to email each other back and forth helpful resources.

Buying from a farmer is great so long as someone really knows how to evaluate deals, and markets, how to project after repair values, accurately assess repair costs and proper scopes, and provided the farmer isn't marking up to much.  

I actually got my real estate license and brokers license because I felt that 95% of real estate agent know a lot about selling retail homes but almost nothing about real estate investment.  If you can find the 1% agents that really know what they are doing then you have a goldmine.  Otherwise, agents, wholesale and turn key providers can come from all areas of the spectrum. Good, bad and ugly.

To me the key with wholesale farmers is about how accurate their comps, rehab needed projections, and ARV and rent amounts are. How much are they making? Did they do nothing but tie up the property, and if so what are they trying to make for the contract?

For turn key providers someone should ask to see the closing statement, the total rehab scope with before and after pictures and know exactly what the profit is.  Anyone willing to share all of that is usually pretty legit.  If someone can sell you a property turn key for about the price you would be all in, why not take a look?  If someone has much cheaper rehab costs, materials cost and they are a better negotiator, they may provide the property finished at a better cost than what a rookie could get going through an inexperienced agent.  There are a lot of profit monger a in both the wholesale and turn key spaces, and one must be careful to be sure.

I also 1000% agree with your point on making an introduction when doing a colleague request.  People should know what you can do that relates to their goals and how you are willing to help.

Great points Jay and thanks for the post!

Michele, 

We buy C+ or better properties in the greater Birmingham, Huntsville and Montgomery AL markets.  Connect with me and send me deals you have and I'll look at them.  We have $30,000,000 in lines of credit and are buying 35  homes per month in AL at present.  There is no guarantee that we will take every deal, but if it has merit we would love to take a look!

Thank you Latasha, and thanks for the connection!  I should have mentioned in the post that it's a great idea to follow people as well.  If you can find a thought leader, follow them so it will alert you when they share wisdom.  What are your goals, and how can I help?  If you have one question what would it be?

I'm new to Bigger Pockets and so far absolutely love the site, it's so well laid out and everything has been thought of.  The wealth of knowledge from experienced investors that care to take time out of their busy schedules to give back is tremendous!  The podcasts are excellent, the tools are amazing, ebooks, investment calculators, the ability to network with other local investors doing what you do in your own local area, and even the ability to find a mentor easily.  We have had some great meet ups that have had 20-30 people come to have free training and network.  Already we are doing deals with friends we have made here!  For new investors this site is a goldmine!

Don't Die of Famine When There is  A Buffet In Front of You:

As a Pro Member, I found enough value that I thought it well worth buying the premium membership, having the ability to read people's profile and find out what they are looking for and exactly how you can help is a great thing for everyone.  Providing great advice through replies to posts and showcasing your knowledge through blogging builds credibility.  However, it's amazing to me when people will reply to your posts, thank you for great insights, inbox you questions, view your profile and then not accept a connection request?  I notice so many people who are actively on the site, there are 470,000 or more people who have accounts, and yet the number of people who have 3, 5 or only 9 connections is amazing to me.  It's like realizing there are stocked fish in the barrell and being hungry and saying, "Nah, I don't want to take a shot, I'll just stay hungry!"  

You Miss 100% of the Shots You Don't Take

It's not as if this is a dating site, lol!  This isn't Facebook where you are sharing pictures of your kids and you might not want the general public to know everything in your personal life.  The rules for engagement have been clearly stated, and anyone who spams  you loses their messaging privileges. If people are trying to unabashedly market to you, and are abusing the site, certainly having a way to stop it is great!  However, if you are here for free because you are just getting started and can't afford the premium account yet, or if you are a Pro Member, why in the world would you not want to take every opportunity to connect and provide value to other people.  There are people here that can not only provide great advice to your every question, but  you can get multiple and differing opinions as well.  People say they are looking for mentorship, wholesale deals, flips, to network, to find meetups, etc, so when someone sends you a detailed connection request offering to help with what you stated in your profile, why would you stay at 3 connections and say, "Nah, but I'll gladly pepper your inbox with questions to make sure you are legit, and have you privately help me when I could be following your blogs and having you answer these questions for everyone?"  

 Here Is the Thing:

Having had mentors and people who helped me for free when I got started, I'm glad to help give back.  I'm amazed to get dozens of views in a day from people with no connections, no experience who look kick tires but don't make an effort to connect.  More amazing is when people pat you on the back and then don't ask for a connection or respond to yours?  

What are you scared of? Why are you not connecting?  

Jeffery, 

Great to meet you, and welcome to Bigger Pockets, it's a great resource!  I worked with Robert Kiyosaki and trained his coaching staff and coached his clients for three years.  Getting some assets to get out of the "rat race" is a great start.  Winder is a wonderful town, and Athens is the best, GO DAWGS!  If you are still looking for your first multifamily property, or  need Power Team members I'd love to introduce  you to some great folks.  I'm also glad to help if I can in any way.  We have properties that can be wholesaled, as well as access to the best foreclosures, home inspectors, closing attorneys,  full rehab teams, construction crews, management and more.  If you would like help with your first property, we've done over 3,000 in 5 states and I think we could help you avoid a lot of risk.

@Jack Forester, 

I've had deals fall through because appraisers won't give "average condition" to the property, regardless of how much equity there is.   Try the following:

•  Construction loans from a small bank can be a much better route, you will have some extra closing costs, but usually the same bank will just refinance you to a permanent loan.  
• Hard money can be a good source if all else fails, and high interest rates don't matter if you refi three months later, but the points can shave $4,000 off of your profits.
• See if the seller can get a friend or family member to loan them $5,000 as a second position note against the house.  Knowing that they have you under contract and that the note will be paid with 10% annual interest  in 45 days should make it easy to get someone who will go for it.

Also, I'm in Buford, and Dawsonville isn't too far,  let's network and see how we can help each other.  Is there a reason in particular you are focused on Augusta?  I've researched and spent a lot of time there and found other markets that have 20-25% cash on cash returns with better pricing, stronger economies and aren't any further away.  Send me a connection invite and let's chat soon.

@WarrenHiggins,

Thanks so much for taking the time to read the post and to comment!  I love helping people succeed in real estate!  Since you are right here in Atlanta, we should connect sometime.  Feel free to reach out and connect!  We get some really good deals here for sure.!

Rick, I live in Buford, close to Lake Lanier Islands if you are familiar with the area? How about you? What are you doing these days in real estate? The Atlanta market is a little crazy right now! We just picked up a $110,000 house in Marietta for $65,000 but it's a tight market generally! We like the outer suburbs that aren;t the feeding frenzy with the funds. We also like to buy properties that are just below the price range or age range that the billion dollar hedge funds focus on. If they want a property at a 5% CAP rate, better to let them have it! Are you buying in Atlanta? New Jersey is expensive! Rick, what are your main focuses?

Jon, you read right $35,000!  Then we rehab.  We are doing a little in Atlanra and Macon GA right now.

Jon, in fairness, when you can get 3/2 homes that are 1,200 -1,500 sq feet for $35,000 (in C+ neighborhoods) it's a lot easier to do volume.  I'm sure in Washington the deals are a lot more expensive!  We don't kill it on each deal, rather just try for volume.  Hitting a 20+% Cash on Cash Return is the goal.  I started one deal at a time, then two to three, then 8-10 per year.  Finally after the crash we were providing up to 25 per month to major hedge funds.  From there things snowballed.  Having the right team makes all of the difference.  What are you doing in Kent?  Feel free to connect if I can help!  I'm trying to share a new post two or three times per week, maybe you'll benefit from them?