All Forum Posts by: John Hein

@Derrick E. 

Holy.. this is the best news that I have heard all day.. actually probably all year. 

@Jerryll Noorden

Pm sent!

@Adam Fansler

I do not live in Columbus currently. I live close to Youngstown. I am moving to Parkersburg in June. I would love to buy a multi family and do just as you said. The problem is the Parkersburg market. It doesn’t look like a big city at all. It looks like the population has been steadily declining at about the same rate as the home value there is declining. The last thing that I want to do is buy a duplex/triplex etc and have the home lose value. I’m not sure if you know about the Parkersburg market. Is it bigger than I think it is?

1.5 hours is not very far for me to drive if it opens up much more opportunity. 

Thanks for the reply Michael,

The problem is that the area I will be moving to Parkersburg WV/ Belpre Ohio. Is not really a rental area. Very poor from what I understand. The population is declining, as well as home prices. I haven’t been there yet but this is what I have gathered from the web. My girlfriend just happened to get a high paying job there as a chemical engineer. 

We will definitely look into a duplex, but if the market and area is as bad as I believe, it seems like we could actually lose ALOT of money on that deal.

I am more interested in investing in Columbus Ohio, which is about 1.5 hours away. From what I understand the area is growing and there are great investment opportunities. 

So my main thing now is finding a mentor. Someone that I can provide value to. I can work for free while learning the business. I can help this person expand their portfolio or flip for cash. I would even do labor on during rehab. 

Finding this mentor is turning out to be a difficult process. I have signed up for a few meet ups. Hopefully they work out. The problem is that it looks like only a few people are going, we’ll see. 

First some quick background information. Currently, I am finishing my 3rd year of chemical engineering. I have one year left but only 2 classes. I am very interested in making real estate investing my full time career. My girlfriend is also a chemical engineer and graduating this may. She has a very good job lined up in Belpre Ohio/Parkersburg wv. We are both moving there June 1st. Obviously not a very hot area for investing, but is about 1.5 hours from Columbus Ohio. We both plan on working on real estate investing together. I can put in 80+ hrs per week, probably only 20-30 for her.

So anyway let’s start with some questions. #1 should we buy or rent a house? We don’t plan to stay very long. Maybe 1-5 years. We both hate the idea of throwing money away renting, but also don’t want to lose money in a market where I assume that it is hard to sell. We plan on living as cheaply as possible. From this we should be able to save ~40k per year after taxes and expenses. 

#2 where should I/we start. I have been listening to many podcasts, trying to get an overview. I have learned a decent amount but understand that I have a LONG way to go. Wholesaling seems like a decent option. I would like to find investors to work with. I can offer tons of energy and labor among other things. Ideally this would allow me to further understand the industry and become a partner on a few deals, also building my network. I am also willing to work to raise funds for an approved SEC investor. 

So basically my question can be summed up into, what can I do RIGHT NOW. I could read all day but I really think experience is much more important. Action is key. What action can I take right now to start my career.

Thank you very much.