All Forum Posts by: Joe Aiola

@Eric DeVito congrats on the sale! Appreciation can truly build wealth quickly. Here are my answers to your questions:

1) Start by reading David Greene's book on Long-Distance Real Estate Investing. It will give you a good foundation and get you started.

2) Real estate agents will be able to help you with this - just make sure you talk to a few and find one that works with flippers.

3) Talk to investors in the area. You can also call contractors in the area to get ballpark figures. Not all will be willing to give you blind estimates, but some will and it will give you a good starting point with the rehab budget.

4) Be clear on your scope of work to avoid mistakes and have a good team - good contractors (use Facetime often to check in on them), good agent / property manager / supervisor that can check on the property for you and send you pictures of the work. David Greene's book goes into all of these questions in detail.

Hope this helps - best of luck!

@Sierra Sonenrs Congrats! That's a big first step. Remember, making offers is a lot easier when you're making them based on what works for you! Don't get too caught up on the listing price. Trust your numbers and the fear of making offers will start to go away.

Best of luck on your journey! Hope one of those deals works out for you :)

@Kyle Martinez Get into the habit of telling everyone what you do. You want to be the person they think of when real estate comes up or when they need an agent. 

When people ask "how are you?" in a conversation, take advantage of that opportunity. Instead of just replying with "good" you can say something like, "I'm good - a little busy lately. I'm actually in the process of getting my real estate license." You will be surprised where this can go. People like to help and often know people who would be great connections for you. Brokers, investors, potential clients, etc.

Hope this helps. Best of luck!

@Andrew Pettit I used prep agent to help study and thought it was worth it. I don't know the pricing of prep agent now, but I remember it was fairly inexpensive when I signed up. If you don't feel like you're ready then it certainly won't hurt to try it out. 

Best of luck!

@Andrew Shumate Congrats on starting your journey! I would suggest seeing if there are any real estate meet ups in your area - it would be good for you to connect with other investors in the area.

I would also recommend looking at the market and analyzing deals every single day. This will help you learn the market and will be able to help you spot a good deal when one comes up.

Once you have a good understanding of the numbers and what you're looking for, connect with an investor-friendly agent who can help you find your first deal.

Best of luck!

@Jesse Easter I meant to make sure that the building allows rentals. Some don't allow it and some have rental rules (can only rent for X amount of time, have to live in for X amount of years before renting, rental fees, etc.)

@Jesse Easter Congrats on getting started! Like everything else, there are pros and cons with condos. Some investors don't like them because of the HOA fees and the changing rules, while other investors like them because they are a little more passive.

If you're brand new to real estate then I would suggest continuing to grow your capital while you learn - this will only put you in a better position to buy. I don't think there's anything wrong with starting with a condo, but just make sure you can rent it out. Your first deal doesn't need to be a home run.

Best of luck!

@Kai Zhou Welcome to BP! You can make real estate investing as time-consuming as you want. It's fine if you have a good W-2 job that you don't plan on leaving - there are still ways to invest in real estate. @Marlen Weber brought up a good idea for some passive income. Also, what about a house-hack? You're going to need a place to live regardless, so you might as well make it into an investment.  

Best of luck!

@Gerard Peacock Hey Gerard! I think it will be beneficial to first determine what your goals are as an investor. For example, if you have a full time job and just want to buy a few rental properties on the side, then getting your license may not be the best move - you can just work with an agent for those few properties. If you think you will want to be full time in real estate, then maybe getting your license makes more sense.

I don't recommend getting it "just to learn." You can learn more than enough through BP, books, podcasts, other investors, etc. You should view getting your license as an investment.It takes time and money to get a license, so you want to make sure that you will see a decent return on that time and money.

Hope this helps. Best of luck!

@Mark Franklin way to take advantage of the COVID quarantine! BP has a lot of people and resources that will be able to help you along your journey. 

Best of luck with your move to Baltimore. My recommendation would be to study that market a bit before jumping in. Talk to a few investors there and see their strategies. Different types of investing works in different areas!