All Forum Posts by: John E.

20 year old investor just getting his feet wet in the Boston area. Need advice on finding comprehensive lists of properties in the 0-300k range with rehab potential. I want advice on where to look for property (foreclosure, probate, tax liens, etc) lists. I'm looking to rehab a property or two this summer and walk away with a profit for me and my team.

Any advice from Boston investors/those with experience in the market would be appreciated.

@Account Closed Hey man! How's it going? I'm sorry I didn't respond to you message last week... Anyways... I definitely agree with you that you should probably go after the one 40k deal as opposed to a bunch of smaller, tedious ones that are a lot of work. I do however have to make the point that deal flow is key! You need to have those wholesale deals in the pipeline to be making money now. If you can consistently find them then great! However, if you don't have great commercial wholesale deal flow then you've got to make money from the smaller ones as well. I think we can both agree a quick nickel always beats a slow dime. 

I agree with you 1000%, but I just wanted to put that tiny caveat in there.

Agreed?

I agree with @James Wise . Let it slide, but I think you should mention you know he's there, but so long as he doesn't cause any damage then you'll be fine with it. Don't let this be the proverbial foot in the door for more things you'd be a bit more uneasy about. 

@Tony Cavalli 

Keep the good tenants though! Remember it's not really the house that's your asset, but the folks inside who are paying you every month. If you don't believe me then don't rent a rental property... Then tell me how you're doing. LOL

Good tenants= Asset to keep!

@Bryce Hinton Oh no dude, I'm not even remotely close to that. I'm more like... 

@Jon Holdman Can you even get a bank to loan you 10k? It's sounds a bit under their threshold!

@Christopher Leon Does thou speakest of the Oracle at Omaha?

Look at how he waves his wand and casts a spell !! Haha

I definitely agree with you on that Chris! Warren is super close to his 84th birthday and the guy plays bridge in his spare time. His investing reflects him! It's nothing crazy, flashy, or the new 'it' thing. It's based on sound fundamentals and principles that have been applied for half a century. It's pretty cut and dry, but it works and now he's worth enough to buy every man, woman, and child a nice sandwich and a bag of chips. 19.7% annualized gain in book value isn't as sexy as day trading, but BRK/A just closed at 190,500 a share!

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@Cory Mickler If rentometer says the rents are worth that it's a pretty good indicator, but Iike @Loren Whitney already mention to you on your previous question do the following... It's gold btw!

Here's how I would start figuring it out:

1. Check Craigslist and see what other people are asking for similar properties close by.

2. Check the local newspaper and classifieds for similar listings.

3. Visit rentometer.com, a rent comparison website.

4. Go check out local rentals and pose as a potential tenant. This way you can see first hand what the competition looks like.

At the end of the day, the idea is to offer a better deal overall.

I haven't read any real estate specific books on marketing rental properties but any marketing book on the concept of pricing and value will give you good ideas.

 I was just about to start a late night podcast! Great minds think alike, eh? Haha

Yea, I definitely seem like I know a lot, but keep in mind I'm only 15, and that a great man named @Joshua Dorkin made this whole interaction and a huge component of my learning even possible on this site. It's thanks to him and a lot of others on this site (including moderators like Ned)  that I can even tell you what a cap rate is or list a 1000 reasons why you shouldn't invest in Detroit.

Oops.. Did I just type that? ;)

@Ned Carey Wow... Hold your horses! I'm only 15 and I can't even sign my name on a legally binding contract! I'm definitely not even close to being podcast ready... yet!

 I'm still only in this stage of my real estate plan! LOL

@Naseera Mohamed Don't look at that 25% as extra money you're spending on a house. Remember that's 5% in instant equity in real property you will own and not have to pay interest on. See the difference in perspective? Also, Naseera hit the nail on the head when mentioning the tax advantages. 

Note~ I'm not an expert, so by no means should you take tax, legal, or investing advice from me as truth. There are a lot of people on the site who are waaayyyy more qualified than me in those areas. :)

@Ned Carey I love it Ned! That is another prime example of kind human beings making wonderful things happen on this site. I wish you the best in your business! :)