All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Mertens

Hi @Nadine O., 

I live in Europe, so I'm not sure how helpful my advice will be. However, some general advice I could give you is to research and identify some cities that you are interested in. Since you plan to go live there, before you make the final decision, you might want to go spend some time there and see which of those cities you will feel comfortable living in yourself, how are the locals, do you see yourself becoming part of the community there, etc. 

There won't be 1 perfect city where all the money is. There will be multiple and each of them come with ups and downs. So better make sure that you will be happy living there as well. 

I hope this was helpful!

 That's very good advice! Thank you, this was useful for me too.

@Angel Moreno I'm an investor myself for not too long and together with my siblings, we own 2 properties. From the experience we got from these properties, I want to share that as a first time investor, it's very easy to overlook some fees or costs that you'll inevitably get. The biggest one definitely being any repairs or renovations you might have to do. If the duplex doesn't need any work for years to come, maybe it's worth it. However, be aware of any hidden damage. It could easily cost you tens of thousands of dollars (talking from experience) and then, the duplex simply seems like too big of a risk. 

Reading the answers of others in this discussion as well, I'd probably pass on this one. There will always be another opportunity.

Also, why not go for a 4-plex to begin with?

@David Trujillo If I may add my 2 cents to your question from my experience (though limited), it would be to compare different markets that you might be interested in. I invest in the south of the Netherlands, in Europe and we see the same thing here that property prices have gone up insanely. Personally, I believe this is happening almost everywhere, but that also brings along opportunities: For example, for some units we own, we are able to ask €100-150 more per month compared to only a year ago. 

So, my advice would be to compare different markets you're interested in, not only price per property but also which investment strategy and which market is most lucrative, and maybe you'll find that in the end Denver might still be most interesting to you in terms of ROI.

But great question! It got me to think myself and I've seen great advice from the others here. 

Anyways, I hope my addition was of any value to you!

 Thank you for the kind words :) 

I wish you also the best of luck in your real estate journey!

 Thank you for the information!

I understand how you would be skeptical when I tell you "Hey, stop dieting! That's not a good way to lose weight!"

The mainstream weight loss advice tells you to "eat less and move more". This sounds logical: You know that you're eating too many calories, and moving at least a little bit more couldn't hurt either...

Unfortunately, the "eat less, move more" advice forgets to take one fundamental question into account: 'Why are you eating too many calories in the first place?'
Your body is actually very capable at balancing 'calories in' vs. 'calories out'. However, with out current eating habits, we don't properly give it the chance to do so.

So, if you don't know why you're eating too many calories to begin with, I understand very well why you would be skeptical when I tell you to NOT diet heavily.

What are your thoughts? Do you believe losing weight is just a matter of eating less and moving more?

 Thank you!

Hey BP family, I'm Jonathan Mertens and I'm new here on BiggerPockets. I've been investing in real estate in Europe for 3 years now on a small scale (we only have 2 rental properties), but I'm looking to learn more about real estate and connect with a lot of you! I have the feeling I'm in the right place here... 

Next to that, I recently started my business in which I combine my experience and interest in real estate with my passion and expertise in nutrition. This basically means that I'm helping real estate agents and investors to lose weight without dieting, and they'll never have to diet again. I've build a system to accomplish this based on 3 pillars: Time, Energy, and Control. 

We're all looking to achieve financial freedom. I'm hoping to contribute in achieving freedom in health as well, so we can enjoy our financial freedom to the fullest.  

Right now, we are only focused on the south of the Netherlands, and unfortunately, there is basically nothing interesting at the moment. Though, we have been spending money and energy on massive renovations in the past year, which is already paying off. So, a little less active in the current market, but more active on getting the most out of our properties.