All Forum Posts by: Jeremy Carl

Good evening everyone, 

Just wanted to see if any fellow Orlando investors would like to meet up sometime? I have attended a CFRI meeting and plan on attending the general meeting on January 7th but I would like to see if we could get a group of investors together to all hangout and bounce some ideas off of each other without having to pay for it. 

If anyone can give me some ideas of when they would be free, I would be more than happy to set something up for all of us to go to and do a little free networking. Bring your business cards, your ideas, and your positive energy and find other people who are like you that are trying to make something out of investing in real estate... 

I would love it especially if we could get a group of newbies together that have not done any deals yet, (like myself), and see where each of us is at as far as coming up with creative ways to finance deals, or putting our heads together and teaming up for a couple of first time deals. 

If you don't want to respond to this, shoot me a text message with your first and last name at [REMOVED] and I'll include you in a list to maybe get something going in January. 

Just a quick question that I couldn't quite find the answer to but I think I know the answer, I just want to see if anyone has heard of this being done successfully or something similar to it being done successfully. 

I live in Orlando, FL. I have a lease at an apartment complex that I really like and I still have 11 months on my lease. I want to buy a multi-family property and rent out the units to make a positive cash flow. Can I buy any form of housing (whether it be multi or SF) using FHA financing as a first time home buyer without living in the property for the first year?

Like I said, I think that the answer is "NO" but if there is something similar to that situation that someone has done, I would love to hear about it!!! 

Don't forget to tag me in your replies so I know when someone has replied to the forum. Thank you for the help! 

Thank you everyone for the advice! 

@Mary B. 

Hey Mary, thank you for the advice. I actually have had my license hung with a broker for the last 2 years and been actively selling; however, I just took it down for a while while I finish my bachelors degree since I have less than a year left. As for the restaurant job, I make about 4 times what minimum wage is on a bad day. I'm making anywhere from 40K-50K a year and that's working part time. 

Your 2nd paragraph is exactly what I'm looking for. I would love to have an investor/agent/business person with some money come along and take me along for a journey in which I could help them out and they could return the favor with a small percentage of profit as well as the knowledge that I need to get out and do things on my own. 

@Mario Lowe 

Mario, excellent tip! I have definitely been scouring the MLS for properties to see what areas are selling at what price points and what the homes look like on the listing pictures as well. Here is a tip for you since you said you are trying to save to get your license...

SAVE MORE THAN YOU THINK YOU WILL NEED! I made the mistake of only saving enough to pay for my class/my finger prints/ my test/ and my national/state/local dues, MLS fees, and SupraKey. I got into real estate as an agent, fresh off the press at a nice ripe age of 22, and all of my friends immediately came to me and said what............"JEREMY! I need your help finding a house. I want to RENT close to UCF, or close to Universal, or wherever. I didn't make a dollar my first 6 months. I'm actually back in school because I went about being an agent completely backwards and I couldn't afford it anymore. That's also why I finally got the better serving job. Best of luck to you in your endeavors Mario!

@Ned Carey 

You're right, thank you for the positive feedback and enthusiasm! I'm gonna try to buy my first place by this coming April.

@Dave Bingham 

Dave, thanks for the advice. That's kind of what I'm leaning towards! I think the 4 plex is going to be my route.

@Cal C. 

I've been working on the credit score. I've already gotten it to go up a little since I posted and I'm getting some of my negative factors paid off in the next few weeks. Already have a lender from when I sold real estate. He was my in office lender and he can go as low as a 580 so I'm already set with him. As for the 2nd job, I want to get one but I want to work for another investor in Orlando if at all possible. One who has been doing it for a while, that I could provide a service or help to, and get paid plus get experience in return. My current job I bring in 40K/year as a server so it's not terrible. As for finishing the degree, I have less than a year left. I wouldn't mind having it just to see if I could find a salaried position because then I can use a guarantee or welcome letter and my first pay stub as proof of income for my lender and get in a lot quicker. I also have financial aid which pays for my classes and books, (and I actually get money back usually), so it's not an expense. 

@Christian Marin 

Christian, excellent advice. I've got my end game in sight...I've never written it down or anything though. I was wondering; however, that since you live in Orlando; would you be willing to meet sometime and discuss with me what you have done over the last year since you were in the same position. I'll buy you lunch or a beer, or both! I'd love to hear what you have been able to do though, even if it's only 1 or 2 things. If they can help me, it's worth it to me. PM me if you would be okay with that

I'm in need of a little help in figuring out the right path to take. I've studied real estate since I was 13 (11 years ago) and I've always wanted to be a landlord. (Or have a management company that I own do it for me preferably). I'm actively licensed in Florida as an agent but I don't have my license hung with a broker. I'm going back to school to finish my bachelor's degree at the moment. As of right now, I barely have any money, my credit is teetering on a 600, and I just recently got a good job as a server at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. at Universal City Walk in Orlando, FL. My tax return for this year though won't show much because of just getting the job, and having awful jobs before it that I barely claimed anything at.

I've listened to the first 20 BP podcasts and taken all of it in. They are right, starting out in investing is definitely NOT easy. I attended my first REIA meeting last night in Orlando and it got to me a little bit. There are investors out there that have been doing this for 1, 2, 5, 10, and even more years. When a good deal comes along, how am I supposed to compete with someone who has cash in hand and who can close without even seeing the property?

The advice that I would like to have is about my idea on where I should go with real estate. I've already spoken to my lender and he says that he can get me a loan right now with where I stand. I just need to show him a proof of income which I could show in January and buy something after that. (Probably for less than 60K because if I did my math correctly, that's about all I could afford)

My question is this...do I wait until I have more income and better credit to buy a multi-family property that I can live in 1 unit and rent out the other 3 or 4 (MF's are where I want to end up in the future), or do I buy an awful SF home in a depressed area for 15K or 20K, put a few bucks into it, and hope that I can turn a profit?

Start small, and try to make small profits until I can afford bigger and better properties...or wait until I can afford bigger and better properties from the get go? Any advice would be awesome.

I'm in need of a little help in figuring out the right path to take. I've studied real estate since I was 13 (11 years ago) and I've always wanted to be a landlord. (Or have a management company that I own do it for me preferably). I'm actively licensed in Florida as an agent but I don't have my license hung with a broker. I'm going back to school to finish my bachelor's degree at the moment. As of right now, I barely have any money, my credit is teetering on a 600, and I just recently got a good job as a server at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. at Universal City Walk in Orlando, FL. My tax return for this year though won't show much because of just getting the job, and having awful jobs before it that I barely claimed anything at.  

I've listened to the first 20 BP podcasts and taken all of it in. They are right, starting out in investing is definitely NOT easy. I attended my first REIA meeting last night in Orlando and it got to me a little bit. There are investors out there that have been doing this for 1, 2, 5, 10, and even more years. When a good deal comes along, how am I supposed to compete with someone who has cash in hand and who can close without even seeing the property?

The advice that I would like to have is about my idea on where I should go with real estate. I've already spoken to my lender and he says that he can get me a loan right now with where I stand. I just need to show him a proof of income which I could show in January and buy something after that. (Probably for less than 60K because if I did my math correctly, that's about all I could afford)

My question is this...do I wait until I have more income and better credit to buy a multi-family property that I can live in 1 unit and rent out the other 3 or 4 (MF's are where I want to end up in the future), or do I buy an awful SF home in a depressed area for 15K or 20K, put a few bucks into it, and hope that I can turn a profit? 

Start small, and try to make small profits until I can afford bigger and better properties...or wait until I can afford bigger and better properties from the get go? Any advice would be awesome.   

@Mike Watkins Excellent advice! You are exactly correct in your second paragraph that I'm looking to help an investor find deals with my own resources and be compensated with a small % from each deal as well as get the on the job training. I love the idea about meeting with a few investors and seeing who might be a good fit for me to work with. As I told Mike, I am going to the REIA meeting in December for my local group for the first time. I will be on the lookout for people that I can network with and see if I can follow up with a few of them later to possibly work with.

Thank you both for the replies, you both have helped out a great deal! 

I know that a lot of people on BP are young fella's and ladies who are trying to do the same exact thing that everyone else is...create a cash flow for themselves (or families) and not have to answer to their typical 9-5 boss. 

I want to dive into investing full force but I feel like it's not the best option for me right now. I'm a server at a restaurant on Universal Studios property in Orlando, FL and I make almost 50K a year as a server working part time...where's the problem with that? I want to do more than just be  a server, I want to be an investor. 

Becoming a "Bird Dog" was always something of interest to me, especially in starting up with investing. I'm currently actively licensed in Florida, and know a ton about the Orlando market. Where is the best place to find someone who may be looking for a "Bird Dog" to help them find properties that they could rehab, rent, wholesale, etc.? 

Any information would be awesome, I'm still new and trying to weigh my options for entering into investing. 

Hey everyone, 

My name is Jeremy Carl and I currently live in Orlando, FL. I am one of the few people that was born and raised in Florida. I started studying real estate at the age of 13 and have never lost interest in it yet. I stopped going to college when I was 21 to get my real estate license, and sold real estate for almost 2 years here in Central Florida. I just hung my license up for a little while; however, it is still active and I still have MLS access, while I go back to school to finish up my Bachelor's degree at Seminole State College.

I would like to get into buying and holding to create a positive cash flow for myself. I'm hoping to buy my first multi-family in the next few months if I can get the appropriate funds and the right financing for the deal. 

I hope to meet some avid members on the site, especially locals, and I hope that I can eventually be of help to other new members as well.