All Forum Posts by: Jon Coleman

@Tim Park That is terrific that you've found success that has allowed you to leave your W2!  Congratulations on that achievement!  

Making connections and attending (virtually) local REIA meetings would likely be a boon for you based on your goals and situation. It'd be an excellent way to get to know folks involved in that local market and for them to help identify potential partners for you. They'll likely be able to point you to someone who is looking to partner with an investor that can bring capital to the table and would be willing to take you under their wing in the project. You may also find some forums on BiggerPockets specific to both the San Antonio and Aurora areas where you can connect to experienced folks and forge a mutually beneficial partnership.

@Tim Park It sounds like you are off to a great start by asking a lot of smart questions and working to put together a comprehensive plan! You mentioned that your primary goals are to diversify some of your funds out of the stock market and to generate significant cashflow. You have many options to consider and it may help to narrow down what type of role you want for yourself in all of this. Is the goal to be as passive as possible or are you looking to take on certain aspects yourself? How comfortable would you be with a large MFH out of state as your first foray into real estate investing? If you are looking to build your team from scratch in a different state and are new to REI but have the benefit of a lot of capital available you could consider looking instead for an experienced partner who can do the bulk of the work while you provide the funds. You'd need to do plenty of due diligence on the potential partner and the deal but it may make it a lot easier for you to get started and gain a lot of valuable connections. Best of luck!

@Robert Pease Congrats on taking your first step!  The BiggerPockets forums can be a great place to build your knowledge and network.  As you start to learn more about real estate investing you can find answers even to very specific questions here on the forums or can get general suggestions as to where to learn more, such as what books, podcasts, articles, webinars and the like are recommended.  Best of luck!

@Matt Olson Welcome to BP! You mentioned that you are considering doing a rehab or a full flip for your first property. If you are wanting to take on a big project like that it'd be good to work through what you'd like to do in more detail, such as BRRRR, house hack, how much reno you want to do, which updates you are willing to do, etc. It'd also be good to work on building out a local team, particularly in areas where you don't have as much experience or don't want to get overly hands on with. One recommendation that comes up frequently is that when you are finding people to work with (agent, GC, property manager, etc.) to go for ones who are themselves investors as they'll better understand your goals and help you achieve them. Best of luck!

@Russell W. Thank you for sharing and pointing me to the other thread.  Can I ask how much the job ended up costing for having to replace supply lines in your 4 unit, 3 story property?  

@Liran Rotter Thanks for the quick reply!  I can imagine those are both costly and challenging to work through.  I appreciate the insight!

I am going to look at a couple properties in the Riverwest/Harambee neighborhoods this week that were built prior to 1900.  It seems that there is no shortage of properties over 100 years old in the Milwaukee area and I'm interested to know what experiences BP members have had with them.

Where do you tend to have the biggest issues with properties this old (foundation, plumbing, electrical, etc.)? For CapEx, do you use any rough estimates/formulas or do you go into detail assessing the condition/cost of all major parts of the property? Thanks!

I'm creating a site for the LLC I recently started for real estate investments and am trying to determine if there is any legalese or regulatory info I need to add. This could include a privacy policy, FHA, equal opportunity in housing, etc.

For background, the site is more of a placeholder now than anything else as I don't have any properties or tenants.  My thought is that since I'm not collecting rent through the site, listing properties for rent or doing much more than providing basic information about the company that it'll limit what I need to include but I want to prepare and be in compliance.  If you created a website, what (if anything) did you choose to include regarding regulations, policies and the like?  Thanks much!

@Conrad Scoville Great points on going the for-profit route instead of non-profit.  Having more flexibility and options can certainly be big benefits.  It will also be beneficial to have a comfortable cushion with profits not just to cover unexpected expenses but to be able to reinvest in improvements to the property that tenants can enjoy.  Speaking of renovations, I'm curious to know more about the scope and variety of work you tackle.  What are the main types of projects your companies do and what falls outside of that (such as foundation repairs, mold remediation, etc.)?

@Marcus Auerbach - Good call on potential issues from folks other than the tenants.  You also bring up a great point I hadn't considered about contractors being unwilling to work in certain areas.  I should have learned that lesson when I experienced it firsthand trying to get work done when I lived in Riverwest!  Thank you for the advice!

@Brock Mogensen - What has your experience been with Section 8?  I've heard strong arguments for and against.  I know there is a case for better chances to get paid since the bulk of the money is coming from the government but I've also heard a number of folks say that they've had issues with tenants falling off the program.  They've also shared frustrations with the inspections as well as having more challenges with the tenants themselves.  Have you found the benefits have outweighed the challenges with Section 8?