All Forum Posts by: Jason Hendrickson

I'd strongly recommend writing your own business plan. It's a critical exercise in understanding your assumptions and taking them to their logical conclusions. I can't count how many business ideas I've had that seemed like home runs in my mind, but once I fleshed them out in writing I realized they had fatal flaws - real estate is no different. 

That $175/sq ft estimate probably *is* for a no-frills construction. Add to that the hassle of design, planning, permitting, etc.

Off-the-wall question here but I think it's interesting: Let's say for the sake of argument that I have an estate of real estate holdings worth $5M. My wife and I don't have kids and therefore nobody to pass along our estate to once we die in 30-40 years based off life expectancy. Has anyone heard of a way to sell your estate in advance? If everything is in a trust, and the buyer of my estate becomes the beneficiary upon my death, then they'd inherit my holdings and get a stepped up tax basis as well. Anyone ever heard of something like this? Sort of like a reverse-mortgage but against a portfolio of assets I guess you could say.

The smartest thing is what works best for your unique investing situation. Nobody can answer that question for you - there are upsides and downsides to owning either type of property - it's simply a matter of which one best meets your objectives.

Look up each state's dept of real estate licensing and give them a call. At worst I assume you'd just need to fulfill the curriculum requirements and take the exam again. Even if that's the case it's still worth it in my book. 

I would absolutely get your license. Representing buyers and sellers and all the other stuff isn't the only reason to have a license. If you're wanting to flip homes it'd be a huge benefit - I don't understand the logic of saying it wouldn't. You're able to research homes on the MLS in greater detail and you can represent yourself as buyer and seller. Those benefits alone can add up to more cost savings than most "real" real estate agents make in a year. I got my license simply so I don't have to rely on an agent for my RE investing. One deal every couple years alone covers the cost of my dues.

What happens when your contract is up in May? Do you have another job lined up? Do you have money set aside to transition into a new job? Is the $70k all you have on hand (i.e. if you spend it you'll have $0 for any sort of repair/maintenance work)? I would not count on making enough in rental income from this scenario to quit your job, and most likely you'll be paying most of your rental income toward your mortgages and expenses.

If the numbers are accurate then it seems like a good deal. Not sure how you'd get 3% down and a 4.5% interest rate on an investment property, though.

Salt Lake City, Utah is a great location to consider. It's one of the fastest growing populations and housing markets in the country, it's incredibly easy (and cheap) to do business here, and the average CAP is around 5% (but you can usually do better). I have a handful of properties in SLC and use a great property management company, which is critical since I only live in the state half the year (and I don't live close to my properties when I'm in UT). Message me if you want more info or assistance.

You aren't finding deals *because* it's a booming market.