All Forum Posts by: Jason Howell

 Hi Jonna!

Being from Boise ID myself, and with family in the area, I'd love to do some investment there. The margins are pretty slim in my price range. Wish I had jumped in there 5-7 yrs ago but real estate wasn't even on my radar then. But I'm very familiar with the area (though it's changed considerably since I moved in 98). How competitive is it for investors from your perspective?

 No doubt there is risk (as there is with everything, to varying degrees.) But I fully intend on building a team to make it happen effectively, and traveling as needed. I want to do this right.

Hey @Mike D'Arrigo ! (Working with Mike on my fourth property in Indy, BTW)

So, it's not that I'm NOT considering Indianapolis... I suppose where I'm at is knowing that Indy is a super competitive market (and not wanting to step on any toes like yours!) that I might be wise to at least consider other markets before committing. Though you are absolutely right that it makes much sense to not spread myself outside of where I am already embedded... On one hand, I get it: do one area REALLY well... But on the other hand, diversity in market investment isn't a horrible idea either, right?

I'd love your thoughts on this!

Hello to the fantastic BP community! Life changers, you all are. But you know that. :)

I'm near completion of finalizing my fourth buy-and-hold property in Indianapolis via turn key and I continue to get this feeling that it's time I take the entire process into my own hands. Tons of reading, lot's of books (my current fave is Long Distance Real Estate Investing by David Greene, SO inspiring and information--dense!)

I have a new morning ritual that gets me up an hour before the kids. That time is 100% devoted to researching markets to get comfortable finding something that can work for me with the BRRRR strategy. No better time than now.

What is YOUR favorite strategy for market research? I have a huge list of markets that, each morning, I pick one and just start searching/reading/taking notes on any random bits I find about the area. But it feels a bit broad at the moment.

- How do you BEGIN to find something that hasn't been on your radar?

- What are the things you look at FIRST that matter MOST so you don't waste your time? (property tax? landlord laws? etc)

- What process do you go through when researching a new market? I really want to systemize my approach so it's thorough, cohesive, and not a waste of valuable time.

Areas on my list currently: Akron OH, Albany NY, Birmingham AL, Boise ID (I'm from there so there's familiarity), Cincinnati OH, Cleveland OH, Columbia SC, Delaware County PA, Memphis TN, Oklahoma City OK, Philadelphia PA, Pittsburg PA, Richmond VA, St Louis MO, Tampa FL, Wilmington DE

So yeah, a lot there and I know I'm missing many. But that's what I mean. The country is so vast. Knowing where to begin and HOW to best begin there is the big challenge at this stage.

Strategies that work for you?

@Jonathan Twombly Fantastic advice re: following large trends as opposed to small events. As a newbie, that is an important lesson. When I saw the Foxconn news, I immediately thought it might be an opportunity for SOMEONE to jump on. But also realized that there's a whole lot more to this than simply "new plant brings more jobs to the area."

Thanks so much for your thoughts! (even the cynical ones) ;)

Hey all. I'm wondering what you think about the news that Foxconn is planning to open a manufacturing plant in Wisconsin, and it turns out might be also working on another facility in Dane County. It will bring thousands of new jobs to the area if/when it is built.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/26/business/foxcon...

http://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2017/0...

When it comes to REI, how is Wisconsin? I've read that the taxes are pretty high there. Anyone have experience they can share and do you think something like this Foxconn investment might change the local economics in a positive way for investors?

Hi all! I am re-listening to the BP podcast episode #211 with Tim Shiner which was so information dense. He touched on one thing that struck me, but didn't go further into depth on it, so I thought maybe someone else might understand the logistics:

Tim spoke of a friend who had taken a ton of vacations with his family and had pictures everywhere of all their travels... and how his wife may or may not have been completely on board with the risks involved in investing. Tim recommended to his friend that he combine goals: Investing and vacation.

The scenario he spelled out involved his friend having just bought a house for $55k, he said it was worth $80k. Tim advised his friend to "factor in another $5 grand and take your family on a vacation every time you buy a house." That turns the dialogue from "oh no, we just bought another house" to "yeah, we get to go on another vacation!"

Explain how this works exactly. Am I understanding this right that he's advising that his friend take on an additional $5 grand to the loan that he secures for the house? I didn't realize this was possible. How is this fiscally responsible? Or is it one of those things where sure, it's not as responsible as NOT taking out the additional $5 grand but its better than defeating yourself due to the potential risk involved and not doing a deal at all? Or maybe that the tenant will still be paying it all down regardless, so he as the owner wouldn't feel it anyway?

Any help understanding this would be awesome. I like the idea of it (though honestly, my wife is all in on investing already... no convincing needed... but I know from experience that little wins... little rewards go along way in keeping us motivated with things like this.) But I don't want to go this route at all if its actually a horrible idea for a number of reasons.

Thanks BP!

Man, this episode was incredibly inspiring. I have a question for those who listened:

I can't check right now, but I'd love to explain this to my wife so she understands...

He mentioned at one point how he began to reward his family with a vacation every time they picked up a new house, to act as a kind of short term win to go along with the investment strategy.

How exactly did he achieve this? I feel like maybe I missed the HOW in his explanation. Is that by tacking on an additional amount to the loan? (I'd assume not but again, I can't recall)

I love the idea of rewards associated with these sacrifices along the way. That really stuck with me. Thanks yall!!

Thank you so much for that info @Chris Clothier. That makes perfect sense: If it's so good, why need a guarantee. I've seen that in other industries as well.

I'll keep my eyes out for this!

Thank you @Jay Hinrichs. That's what I figured. Curious to know what @Chris Clothier has to add.