All Forum Posts by: Joel Harrison

@Brian Bandas,

Is Tuesday the 28th, or Wednesday the 29th?! I REALLY want to come meet folks, but I gotta know when to show up!

Waiting on solid confirmation of time/date, and I’ll be there, too!! I CAN bring my lady, right?!

An update. I've hooked up with a great investor-savvy agent who was referred to me by an investor friend. I went and looked at one duplex, but it was not the one. There was too much wrong with it for the first go-around. Even the steps up to the porch were crooked. If I were in the business of buying property and bulldozing what is there to build anew, I would have low-balled the owner and gone for it. I'd also have gone after the vacant lot next door. But, alas, that isn't the name of my game yet. I'm not ready for that kind of action. We're going to look at another duplex on Tuesday if it doesn't go away by then. Still keeping my eyes on the market, and the prize. I may not get to my first deal by the end of the year, but I have at least made some moves in the right direction.

So many great suggestions!!

@Avery Carl

@Avery Carl: I'm looking for a duplex first. I'd like to grow into more doors eventually, but I feel like a simple duplex would be the best place for me to start. I had been looking in the Greater Nashville area, but Murfreesboro is VERY attractive right now. I read an article not too long ago that said Murfreesboro is in the top 15 fastest growing cities in the US! My home town!! So, perhaps that should be my target city. I currently live in Murfreesboro and make an hour-long commute to North Nashville for work. I have been trying to get closer to work, but if it makes more sense for my financial world (particularly REI) to stay here, I'm willing to do that. The prices for duplex's that I've seen in Nashville have been around the $280K+ range. It's pretty tough to find any less than that in an area that I'd feel safe to live in.

@Jeff Greenberg

@Jeff Greenberg: I'm still unsure as to how I can make myself valuable to anyone in the realm of REI. Also, I don't necessarily have a ton of time. Quite the opposite, actually. Work keeps me very busy lately, which is a double-edged sword. I make decent money, but I don't have much time to dedicate to much else on some weeks. My current "mentor" is a BP member in Nashville who has been prodding me to get started since I met him three years ago. I'm finally doing it, and that's a good thing, but I feel late to the party. (Better late than never?)

I agree that I need more capital. I also agree with your "what it" scenario. My girlfriend actually sent me an article last week stating that the market in Nashville is about ready to slump again. I've heard otherwise from other folks, but I know that it IS incredibly flooded (the market, not the river again... yet), and it certainly seems like it's ready to fall apart again simply because prices are ridiculous.

@Chris Jensen

@Chris Jensen: Thank you for the well wishes! I need all I can get! I am VERY leery of putting all of my eggs in one basket. I've never had so much saved up, and I don't want squander it on more poor choices. I made enough of those with my money in previous years! I'm also leery of investing/partnering with strangers. Perhaps I need to get over that, and just make sure that anyone I might end up working with is well vetted. I do like the BRRRR strategy. It's all about finding that right property.

@Jamie Jones:  Have you connected with people here on BP?! I'm ready for the hard work part. Creative financing is something that I have a very hard time wrapping my head around. I guess I don't have a solid enough understanding of how money flows to begin with. It is, most certainly, another part of the puzzle that I'm learning.

Thank you ALL for taking the time to respond to me! It really means a lot, and is a great testament to the wonderful community on here. Cheers to you all!!

Hello all. I’ve been reading articles and listening to podcasts and attending as many webinars as I can on BP for about a month now. I’m learning tons, and I feel like I’m mentally ready to get a house hack going. However the tough market I’m in (Nashville) and my current finances are what is holding me back. I only have about $8k saved up (and that’s EVERYTHING), and from what I’m hearing from an agent I’m talking to, that’s about half of what I need to get going. (Down payment plus closing costs.) I know that closing costs are often either payed by the seller or rolled into the final price, so why would she tell me that? I’m also not super keen on the idea of using ALL of my current cash to get get going, but I am willing to do it for the right property. (I have a decent job, and I know I can re-coup in another 6 months or so.) I’ve considered getting a personal loan, but I’m not sure how to sell the idea of helping me get into a house-hack to anyone. My initial thought was to ask my father (who is living on his inheritance) for a $10k loan, but he doesn’t think that now is a good time to get into RE. He sees the market going up, and that it’s a sellers market, and says I should wait for the next crash to happen before I jump in. I say that the longer I wait, the more money I’m leaving on the table. I want to get going NOW! Do I offer a payback with 10% interest in 3 years to him? I feel like that’s VERY possible to pull off. Would another investor be willing to do that kind of deal? How do you approach an investor for help getting started that makes it worth doing for ALL parties? Should I just buckle down and save up for another 8 - 12 months? This seems like the most feasible option, but it also seems like prices and rates are going to continue upward in that span. I’m not at all attracted to the idea of a wholesale operation, but perhaps that would be the way to get started? I’m all-in, and all ears. Thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts.

Thank you for the resources!

This is my first foray into real-estate at all, not just REI, and I must admit that I am more than a little intimidated. I am, however, motivated and excited to move on to this next chapter in my life!