All Forum Posts by: Jon McElyea

Getting a license comes down to opportunity, personal goals, and personality type.  I started as an agent because I work well with people and had an opportunity to start with a top producer at a boutique firm which gave my immediate and invaluable exposure as an agent.  It has also allowed me to get paid and learn about the real estate business at the same time which is an ideal placement for me.  That being said if you have no connections to get your foot in the door as an agent you will most likely end up at KW in a sea of other agents.  Plus you have to be able to eat a lot of crap and manage other peoples emotions if you plan on operating in the residential space.  Getting your license can be a great way to make money and learn about RE, but is not necessarily the best path if your end goal is to be an investor.  If getting your license aligns with your short and long term goals I would say go get it.  However if you are passing up a good income paying job for a commission only position in an extremely competitive field with no experience I would advise turning to books, podcasts, and local networking events to learn while still collecting a steady paycheck.  

P.S. Working as an agent takes time to build the right connections, client list, and skill sets to become a producer.  I would say it takes a minimum of five years even with good connections to become successful in your market.  So if you are thinking of just getting in and out this is not the path to take.

Hope this helps.

Ron Schafer of Schafer and Co PLLC is an excellent CPA.  Not sure if he personally invests in RE but he helps a number of real estate investors in the area and has a plethora of knowledge. 

What city in Montana is the cabin located? Area's like Bozeman, Helena, Missoula and Billings are all hot markets with no shortage of work for builders making those areas more expensive to finish a home.  Also if the cabin is in the boonies it will likely be harder to incentivize a crew to get out there as there is so much work happening close to city centers. @Alex Young may have been blunt, but he was not wrong, lots of variables at play when estimating construction costs.

Great to hear about the investing club at MSU.  My brother is studying finance there, Ill be sure to let him know about the club! I will keep you posted about the meet-up as we get a better idea of when and where it will happen.  Thanks for your interest!

Hello Montana,

I am posting this to gage interest in a meet-up toward the end of August in Bozeman.  Bozeman's market is hot, and there is no time like the present to be networking and making valuable connections for the future.  I am currently scouting out venues at local bars and restaurants (venue suggestions welcome) to find a suitable meet-up location.  I know of several local investors and real estate agents not on BP who have expressed an interest in attending such an event.  If we can get a group together I would like to have speakers with experience come and share insight at future events, however I think the theme for the first meeting is simply a meet and greet. 

Lets get the ball rolling!

Please feel free to reach out with any questions or suggestions.

I live in Bozeman MT, which is a charming relatively small city in the South West corner of the state.  The market here is hot, which is great for the broker business, but has consequently driven cap rates down making the area difficult to find cash flow.  The majority of the state has a smattering of small towns that range in size from 50 people to 10000.  There are a couple smaller communities near my primary market (sub 1000 in population) that provide an interesting opportunity to pick up cash flowing assets.  Does anyone on here have experience with investing in towns under 1000 people in size? 

Welcome to Bozeman Brian! I'm sure you will fit right in coming from Vail.  I am always interested in grabbing a coffee and talking RE, let me know once your settled and we can set up a time to get a beverage.

-Jon 

Hey BP community,

My name is Jon McElyea, I am an investor and Realtor in Bozeman Montana.  I am looking to learn from and make connections with out of state investors.  Specifically I am interested in hearing the success stories as well as the deals that fell short while investing in Montana from out of state.  I would love to hear any investing stories from any state, however I thought it would be nice to get a conversations started about my home state, MT. I hope this post finds the few Montanans active on the site, however my aim is to connect with people outside of MT.  I am also happy to field any questions about the southwest Montana market should they arise.  

Glad to have another Montanan on the site!  I was born and raised in Bozeman Mt, however I have spent many wonderful weekends skiing at the Whitefish resort.  I am a real estate agent here in Bozeman, if you ever have any questions about Bozeman's market or the surrounding markets please do not hesitate to get in touch.

-Jon

Thanks so much for your warm welcome @Jeff L., @Joshua D. and @Jill DeWit.  I look forward to becoming an active member of the bigger pockets community.