All Forum Posts by: Joe Aiola

@Jacques Edouard Dessejour Lapierre Can't speak for Florida fees, but getting your license needs to be viewed as an investment. The fees you will have to pay are worth it if you commit to being a good agent.

If you are strapped for cash, I would advise to continue to learn about the business as you save. Just my opinion, though!

Best of luck!

@Jason Malabute Haven't personal used them but know people who do. It seems like anything else - if you do a good job clearly describing the job description / work that needs to be done and then properly screen the applicants, you should be able to find a good fit. 

Hope it works out for you, man! Best of luck.

@James Jones With interest rates so low, using a low down payment option on a primary would make a lot of sense if the rental numbers worked well on your current home. This will let you keep your cash, which you can use for other investments or as reserves. Just make sure you're not over leveraged!

When you're dealing with a primary residence, though, you have to look at it slightly different than just an investment (unless your whole family is on board!). You want to make sure you're living in a place that makes you and your family happy. If your family is happy where they are now, then I would do a BRRRR on a different property if you're trying to avoid leaving 20% in the deal.

Best of luck!

@Seth Twyman Congrats on getting started! In my opinion, the first thing you'll want to is to decide what it is you want from real estate (a job, passive income, build an empire, etc.). Then you can start learning about all the different avenues real estate investing brings (wholesaling, buy and hold, flipping, etc.). Once you have a broad understanding of each, see which one lines up to your goals and then learn as much as you can about that one area.

This doesn't mean you can't change your goals or strategy, but it's a good way to get started. Also, talk to as many people as you can in the real estate field. Building a solid network helps.

Best of luck!

@Rebecca Francois You've received some great feedback on this thread and should definitely listen to the advice given if you're not working with an agent yet. Learning price points as a new investor can feel overwhelming, but it's just something that takes time. For example, I'm sure you know how much gas prices in your area are because you see it all the time when you're out and about. Home prices are no different - as investors we need to constantly look at the market so we know what's selling for what price.

That would be my advice in addition to the posts above - look at your market every day to see what's coming on and what's being sold.

Best of luck!

@Kyle James Horstmann Congrats on getting started - BRRRR is an excellent strategy to go with! @Melvin Powell and @Kenneth Garrett are absolutely correct about looking into private or hard money lenders. Buying a house for cash doesn't mean it needs to be your cash. You will pay more for hard money vs. private money, but if the deal is good enough then it's worth it. You will also pay a bit more since it will be your first deal - hard money lenders usually look at experience, but again, if the deal is good enough then you shouldn't care too much. 

Keep learning, networking, and saving! You'll get there if you're consistent and persistent. Best of luck!

@Nicholas Aumua Congrats on taking the first step! The next step, in my opinion, is to consume as much information as you can. This will lead you towards a certain type of investing you're interested in (wholesaling, flipping, commercial, etc.), and also better prepare you for conversations when you start to network. It's much easier to talk about real estate when you have knowledge on the topic. 

While you're educating, it's important to get your finances in order. Save as much as you can and try to eliminate debt. This will put you in a strong position when you're ready for your first purchase.

Best of luck!

@Makila Steed Congrats on getting started! @Kenneth Garrett makes a great point about learning as much as you can. Once you consume enough information, you'll start to lean towards a certain strategy that you want to use (wholesaling, flipping, buy and hold, etc.). Once you have the strategy nailed down, you'll want to start coming up with a criteria. You need to know what you're looking for from the deal otherwise you won't know if it's a good deal after you analyze it. 

For example, you can analyze a flip and see it will produce a 5k profit. With no criteria, who knows if 5k is good for you or not. Now if your criteria said you need to make at least 30k, then you know you're either not analyzing a good deal or you need to adjust your offering price. 

Hope this helps and best of luck!

@Stephen Spradley the three that @Kim Meredith Hampton suggested is a great place to start. Obviously, if you're working with an agent then they will be able to help you with this as well. 

One thing I will add is to look a bit deeper into the rental prices you're finding, and try to determine why the prices are the way they are. It's easy to just look at prices and think you can get the same number, but it's important to look at all aspects (location, condition of property, amenities, square footage, etc.) to really narrow down that price range.

Best of luck!

@Richard Garcia I would definitely follow up with @Adam Cherko!