All Forum Posts by: Jimmy Watson

Hello BP! 

I'm currently house-hunting for a SFH (as a primary residence as well as an investment (rent out rooms)) in 92057 (Oceanside, CA), and think I finally landed on the one I want to move on! I just submitted the offer and it's looking promising... But I'm just trying to get my ducks in a row here ahead of time. With that being said, does anyone have any great recommendations for a quality home inspector as well as an appraiser?

Also- should I do more than one inspection? (i.e. the one my realtor recommends as well as another one on top of that)?  Any and all advice is much appreciated- and thank you very much for taking the time to help out. 

Love seeing your progress and the pictures. Good luck with the rest of the project and keep us posted! I'm looking at investing in GR once I purchase my primary residence out here in SoCal.

I've been doing a lot of real estate reading lately, and this is what I would recommend (in this order... as they somewhat go from novice to advanced):

Start out with Rich Dad, Poor Dad- not so much a real estate book, but it'll really get those gears turning and make you think a lot differently.

The Intelligent Investor- by Benjamin Graham-  This is a very tough read, and very boring at parts and mostly centered around stocks... but the principles within this book are applicable to ANY investment vehicle.  It's considered the bible of stock brokers and is an incredible read... if you can get through it.  It took me about two years because I kept putting it down and then coming back to it, until I finally forced myself to read 50 pages a night.  Truly is a must read though.

The Ultimate Guide To Real Estate Investing (for free on this website) is the next best step you can take, as it's a super fast read and very easy.

The ABC's of Real Estate Investing- by Ken McElroy

The Beginner's Guide To Real Estate Investing- by Gary Eldred

The Advanced Guide to Real Estate Investing- by Ken McElroy

The Book on No (and Low) Money Down- by Brandon Turner

HOLD: How to Find, Buy, and Rent Houses for Wealth

What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know About Cash Flow... and 36 other Key Financial Measures- by Frank Gallinelli

Confessions of a Real Estate Entrepreneur- by James A Randel

The Millionaire Real Estate Investor- by Gary Keller

TRUMP Strategies for Real Estate- by George H. Ross

Irrational Exuberance- by Robert J. Shiller-  This was written by a nobel-prize winning economist.  He's 'predicted' the 2001 tech bubble, the 2008 crash, and this is his third edition with his 'predictions' for the future.  I'm not saying he can tell the future, but he uses hard facts and illustrates his points beautifully on a number of different topics about the economy.  Again, not exactly a real estate book... but a fantastic read to broaden your perspective.  

That should hold you over for a little while... Keep me posted on what you think of the books!

Welcome, Lily!  You've definitely come to the right place if you're looking learn.  Lots of really intelligent people are always on the site with nothing but great advice to give...  I'm investing in Michigan, myself and I'm also a newbie. 

Welcome to BP, Andy! I'm in California right now but I'm trying to purchase my first multi family in Grand Rapids within the next few months. Good luck with your goals and you couldn't have came to a better site!

Wow, I learned a ton from your post- thank you so much for sharing exactly what your plan is. I'm in a very similar boat... 24 years old, looking for a multi family, and investing in the Midwest (Grand Rapids, MI). Keep us posted on your progress and good luck with your search!

I'm in the same boat as you bud... a very small savings account but I am probably going to sell my truck and a few other things that I don't really 'need' to be able to make the down-payment of 15% (using a VA loan). I just recently started using an app called 'Mint', and it's great for creating a budget and living within your means... and it'll really motivate you to start saving so that you're able to make that down payment on an investment property! There are obviously loads of other ways you can get started with little to no money down, and I learned a ton from reading the book on investing with no or little money down on bigger pockets... I'd start with educating yourself as much as possible and save, save, save! Good luck to you.

You guys were all awesome and thank you so much for replying to my post!  However, would anyone be able to answer the two questions I had in regards to this post?  I'll recite them here once more for clarification:

Is the following a good screener for real estate agents, or would you consider this to be too strict?  If these are unrealistic, please do tell me what a 'great' real estate agent's background would look like!:

-Has worked with many, many investors.

-Has 10+ investment properties of their own (preferably buy & hold types of my same niche (multifamily).

-Has been in the business for 10+ years and is a top-performing agent in my target market (Grand Rapids, MI).

-Incredible reputation with local investors, with lots of work done through referrals... and a reputation for integrity, tenacity, and professionalism.

-An agent that I could continually do business with for the long-term, and help me build my portfolio from 0 properties currently to who knows how many!

One last thing... to all the fellow investors as well as real estate agents out here...

What are some of the key questions you would ask when screening a real estate agent to make sure they are someone you would desire to work with for the long-term?  

Thank you all again for your time and patience.

Originally posted by @Chris Mason:

Originally posted by @Jimmy Watson:

Originally posted by @Chris Mason:

Welcome back @Jimmy Watson

EOD as Landlord: If your tenants get out of line, you can remind them of HOW you dispose of explosive ordinance and remind them that you know where they park their cars!

(For those unaware: EOD in theater disposes of explosives using... more explosives.)

Anywho, have you given any thought as to how you will check this box from the VA Loan Manual so you can house hack (eg, buy an owner occupied multi unit using VA 0% down, and rent out the other units until you deploy, at which point you can rent ALL of them out)?

http://imgur.com/8errrow

Shortly after I started doing mortgages and getting interested in real estate I saw that little tidbit... aaaand I immediately found a BS source of minimal side income that on Schedule C of my taxes showed up as "Property Management Assistant." Boom, box checked.

 Haha, I don't think that would be within the legal limits of what California would allow!  I just looked at that link you sent and I wasn't expecting them to look for any experience on my end in regards to the multi-unit.  What small side job did you get that was able to show up as 'Property Management Assistant', and where would you suggest I look?  I'm really only free on the weekends and M-F after about 4 in the afternoon.  

I'm going to remain silent on what my "Property Management Assistant" work consisted of. But it was correct on paper, tax returns, and everything.

How's that strip club next to the Oceanside bus stop doing these days? Do they need help with "managing rental units or other background involving both property maintenance and rental"? 

That was mostly a joke. Find some way to get your foot in the door that'll look right on paper. Maybe some landlord around here is 3 hours from Camp P that'll pay you to go do random odd-jobs at some of their SD/LA/Oceanside/etc properties and/or remind people in person that rent is due. I think we can call that Rental Property Assistant Manager without committing fraud, don't you? And if you find this person on BP and tell them that it's also to help you house hack, many will get giddy and be happy to help.

 Hahaha, I believe you're referring to what we like to call 'The Purple Church'.  Thank you very much for the advice... and I've got a little real estate investor meet up going on down in Vista next month that I'm going to attend, so I'll start asking around for opportunities.  Unless that person that you're talking about finding on BP is you?  Because I could certainly help you out on the weekends for little to no cost to you... the experience would be payment enough.

Hello BP,

I'm a beginning investor and waiting on my pre-qualification to come through from a lender (should find out on Sunday), and I'm working hard to build a really solid team that I can trust. A little background about myself is that I'm an out of state investor (living in California but looking to invest in Grand Rapid, MI), and I'm searching for small multi-family properties of 2-4 units that are less than 100K. I really want to find a stellar real estate agent to help me learn the market and find great deals (preferably before they even hit the MLS).

Please let me know if these are reasonable expectations (I have no idea what I should expect out of a real estate agent), but I would like an agent that meets the following criteria:

-Has worked with many, many investors.

-Has 10+ investment properties of their own (preferably buy & hold types of my same niche (multifamily).

-Has been in the business for 10+ years and is a top-performing agent in my target market (Grand Rapids, MI).

-Incredible reputation with local investors, with lots of work done through referrals... and a reputation for integrity, tenacity, and professionalism.  

-An agent that I could continually do business with for the long-term, and help me build my portfolio from 0 properties currently to who knows how many!

If these are unrealistic, please do tell me what a 'great' real estate agent's background would look like!  

One last thing... to all the fellow investors as well as real estate agents out here...

What are some of the key questions you would ask when screening a real estate agent to make sure they are someone you would desire to work with for the long-term?  

Thanks in advance for all the help BP!!!