All Forum Posts by: Jerry Lucker

@Jonathan Giglio Food, clothing, SHELTER. 20+ years in the business in all kinds of markets. There has been one constant for me. I’ve always been able to see opportunities that others missed. There are always deals when you know how and where to look. Learn and persist. Someone is making money every day!

@Aaron K. I’m glad you were able to evaluate ‘most’ of the landlord associations. Must have been a lengthy and exhausting process.

Greetings and Salutations to my fellow investors and landlords,

First, BiggerPockets is an amazing resource. So thankful for them doing an amazing job. It dawned on me recently that just about all of us could benefit from a couple other entities also. I believe they can provide insights to most of the topics we’re all interested in. 20 years ago they helped jumpstart my investing career.

The first is Real Estate Investment Associations, Clubs, Communities, etc.. Investors of all kinds get together to share and learn about many kinds of real estate investments. There are people looking to invest, people looking for investors, people looking to learn, vendors including lenders, speakers on various topics, etc. Get a handle on what’s actually happening in your area from numerous sources that are out there experiencing the market. I could do pages on the benefits I’ve derived from clubs.

The second is Landlord Associations. The best one I’ve been involved with kept us up to date on any and all laws regarding tenants and landlords. We even had our own lobbyist to convey our positions to lawmakers. Every form needed in the business was constantly updated to reflect every law and ordinance concerning the business. Members included attorneys, accountants, engineers, and representatives of many relative professions. Property management, maintenance, tenant selection, evictions, property evaluation, funding, exchanges – nothing was missed. Guest speakers included state attorney generals, insurance commissioners, representatives from numerous state and local agencies, lenders, and many more. We even did our own in-house tenant background checks. I benefited by learning from many successful investors and landlords. The best always attended and kept current.

I sincerely believe that these two entity types could help with many of the issues I constantly read about in posts.

All the Best in 2021 Investors!

I would keep as much HELOC money working as possible. I wouldn't be surprised to see a repeat of what happened 12 years ago. Many lenders quit and even canceled HELOCS across the board, even if there were no missed or late payments. Hundreds of thousands of dollars that were available for investments disappeared overnight!

Seriously consider joining a landlord association. A good one will know the current laws, licensing requirements, furnish info on permits, maintenance, tenant background checks, etc. Many even have lobbyists representing their members. They have all the current forms needed to properly manage rentals. They also know how to find, evaluate, and fund profitable properties. 

Creativity

@T Sanch

Great question. There is a lot to consider. I concentrated on flips initially to accumulate cash. When you have cash in hand many other possibilities will present themselves.

One guys opinion backed by 20 years of doing (well). 😁

Michael,

Based on the limited info I'd say you've already done your comps. They're selling for retail. I don't see how you could buy and resell for a profit. When you're ready to sell any property advertise it or list it. If it's priced right it'll sell. There's always buyers for a properly priced home. 

Jacob,

Valuation to buy should be based on current income and expenses. Anything else is speculation/blue sky and prone for problems.

David,

I went to our state (WA) official gov website. It took about 1/2 hour to set up an LLC. Simple and straightforward. I suggest avoiding paying someone else; lawyer, Legal Zoom, or anyone to do it for you. Just not necessary.

Jerry Lucker