All Forum Posts by: Jonah Selner

Hey everyone, I'm relatively new to BP and so far one of my biggest struggles has been in the education phase. I'm struggling to find the discipline to truly master deal analysis and understand all of the various real estate investing formulas. But I also know that that's what separates the successful from the unsuccessful. There's such a difference between understanding these things conceptually and actually having experience doing them over and over again until they really "sink in."

I'm thinking of creating a free daily email to help keep me and others like me accountable for spending 10 minutes a day on expanding their deal analysis knowledge. It would start with the basics and move on from there, all in "bite size" chunks and using clear, fun examples with short answers to check your work.

Just trying to gauge interest--would anyone be interested in something like this? 

Also just seeing this thread for the first time and would love to attend, @Daniel Okon

I'm a BP Plus member, and love the Rental Property Calculator. But I'm struggling with estimating repairs when doing deal analysis.

In "The Book on Rental Property Investing" by @Brandon Turner, Brandon identifies and fills out estimates for 24 main categories of repairs (carpentry, electric, painting, siding, windows, etc.) on page 126. But he doesn't explain how he arrived at these relatively specific estimates (e.g. Garage= $500.) He just says you "might need to make some assumptions."

"Estimated repairs" is also a line item in the Rental Property Calculator.

My question is:

Isn't this "Estimated Repair Cost" a total shot in the dark? And if you get it wrong (and depending on how badly you get it wrong), wouldn't it completely change whether or not the property is a green light or red light for going to see in person/making an offer?

I understand it's an estimate and the point isn't to nail the numbers perfectly. And I'm sure it gets easier with time, as you get to know the area you're looking in. But are there any heuristics or tips for beginners like me who want to use the Rental Property Calculator to "qualify out" the 99% of deals that don't make sense to go see in person? I want to know how to even get in the ballpark of the same "assumptions" Brandon made on page 126 of his book.

As a newbie, I'm looking to gain action-taking momentum by analyzing 3 deals a day (as Brandon recommends), but I feel like there's no point when I could be tens of thousands of dollars off when it comes to estimated repairs.

Any advice? Thanks so much!