All Forum Posts by: Jared Johnson

Great news! Definitely going to be there. Thanks for setting this up!

Hey Damian,

Good on you for starting so early brother! Really cool to see. Earlier the better, even if its just you studying the subject for a couple of years before the first deal OR if you decide to jump on something and learn that way! 

The way I got started was that from the ages of 17-21 I had been saving like 80% of my income and eating like a dog. I knew I wanted to get into real estate but didn't know how to really get the ball rolling. I had been able to save up just shy of $25K with no debt at all, to help the DTI. Don't carry any bad debt.

Then one day I was talking to my mom about wanting to get into a house/rental property to buy and live in and essentially "house hack". My mom isn't the investment type but regardless of that, she said to talk to the broker they had used in the past for a home they bought for themselves to live in.

This broker just so happened to have 24 rentals which equaled 72 units at the time it ranged from commercial to small multi and single family. (something really cool is that she also started at 18!). You should find a broker that understands the space!

 So this lady knew what she was doing. She helped my find something in the multifamily space and I closed on a triplex.

I used an FHA Loan with 3.5% down at 4.125% interest. (to get into the property it cost less than $5,000)

Then the work started, LEARNING and GROWING PAINS (I knew zero about anything with this type of project) , rehabs, new leases, raising rents, etc. 

Fast forward to today its worth $130k more only after 3 years so far and I have a HELOC on it as well as a refi with 3.0% interest and am looking for my next one to get.

Just keep your eyes open and save your money, don't blow money on things you don't need. The seed you plant today will feed you later in life man. Don't get discouraged. 

Another obstacle which I think I have finally overcome, is the age factor. Could have been just me, but getting lenders and brokers to take you serious at such a young age is difficult. If you define what you want out of them and what you want the deal to look like, they will give more of their efforts to you. Like Brandon on the podcast keeps saying, make your crystal criteria of what you want. 

Hope this answered at least one question you may have.

(I have never done a wholesale deal, but I could have been doing it the hard way. not saying my way was the right way)

If you want to know anything else or have any questions feel free to reach out, Good luck!

@Lee Ripma

That’s great to hear! :) happy you got some deals while it was scary for the others.

Hello all!

How is everyone doing? Are you insulated for a big drop or are you over leveraged?? with money being this cheap STILL are you all seeking to borrow or hold off?? just curious.

I have just gotten a refinance on my owner occupied triplex. Got a really great appraisal and am going to pull a HELOC and go shopping for a new project rental to start on. What is everyones opinions of the looming doom of a huge crash??

I think we are due for something just based on history, but then again im not sure. my market in particular is SUPER HOT and it has been for about year or more.

Also im thinking if I buy something soon and the economy crashes I will have done the numbers on the higher price anyway so it should be fine right?

scary times we live in right now..

Id love to hear others opinions on this thought!! thanks!!

There is definite change coming to the world of cash and its scary. Bitcoin seems to be something that is not going anywhere and its becoming more common. Coinstar (the change machines that give you bills for a fee) are switching to being able to use and buy bitcoin at them. Also as others have said, a lot of places are stopping taking cash. A lot of local coffee places are doing this namely. 

Really scary times right now... it may not directly affect real estate but it still will affect A LOT of other things In life. This is going to be another robbery of privacy. Being anonymous with cash should be a right.

Hello Ryan,

This is a difficult one to decide on. 

Me personally, I feel leaving for the company would be a great option for a couple reasons.

You said that you could leave school for a time and come back and everything would be fine and it wouldn't be "dropping out". This could be a good back up plan if things just don't pan out.

You want to be a real estate agent and you also mentioned your interest in investing in R.E. later. working in the field of wholesale is a great way to get some experience and capital. The guy who is bringing the franchise to your town would obviously be a great resource for help and possible mentorship, it sounds like he likes you already anyway.

I don't want you to think you are wasting your time at school at all. Education is everything. But you can get your education in more places than one. Unfortunately in order for society to accept your education you have to have that piece of paper from a school saying that you have it. I have never been huge on school, but a lot of people are successful because they went to school. 

Hope this helped some. Best of luck with whichever road you take friend. You have some great opportunities either way.

Man Im happy that I'm not the only one with this problem. I used a cheap laminate board $.78 from home depot in one unit and it came out great. 

Then in my bigger unit I decided to use the $1.98 a sqft LVP and I have had nothing but problems. thought if I spent a little more and got the water proof stuff it would be better. But it slides apart and it was constantly chipping and cracking at the edges during install.

This stuff was terrible, of course I DIY the whole thing so I may have done some stuff wrong. 

Anyway thanks for the thread, made me feel better about the unit that has this problem.

without all the pieces here along with what @Rachel H. said.

Does it sit on its own lot? Is it a leased lot? Would the lot manager or company allow a non owner occupied mobile home? what would the COC be on a mobile home after purchase and holding costs if it is leased lot?

without being experienced at all with mobile homes, those are my first questions along with Rachels points.

Good luck!

Monica,

I feel your pain on this one, its a tuff thing to do especially when you're new to this. when I bought my triplex in Spokane I had a similar situation with a tenant I assumed with the property. This guy and his family were 18 year tenants in the unit they were in and 20 year tenants to the building.

LOOOONNNNGGGGG story short:

The 2 bed unit he was in was in a SLUM state when I bought it. It was him, wife, and their daughter. The husband was the problem just like with your situation, yelling at the family and tearing the property apart by not reporting maintenance problems so I couldn't come in or have a reason to. He thought he was handy, WRONG.

 They were on a voucher, he was very controlling and very smug about the fact that no one has been able to raise his rent in the past and he thought he ran the complex.

Me being green as can be but still firm set things straight for him and I made sure he knew I was in charge. After a year or so I raised his rent. From wayyy below market to right at or above market. 

(I was busy renovating another unit in building and liked his section 8 to make sure I didn't go broke in the process for the holding costs, it was the only unit rented minus where I lived)

Then section 8 didn't want to pay the difference and they also found out he was lying about a few things that affected his payments from them. So they very aggressively lowered their portion and shifted it to him.

He tried to skip out on his portion of rent the last month before he left but I ended up getting it and he left, place was even worse with trash everywhere. But he was GONE FINALLY

when they are on vouchers (at least where I am) if the tenant skips on their payment to you and it ends up in eviction they lose the voucher forever. (The only reason I got paid the last month) 

I hope your situation ends in a good place for you! Good luck!!

Wow never heard of the 203k, I am definatly going to research this.

I used an FHA to buy my first investment, wish I knew about the 203k back then, I wouldn't have $30-$35k of my own money in the deal, instead it could have been the banks money!! haha.

live and learn.

Thank you for sharing!