All Forum Posts by: Juan V Lopez

Hey @Chris Ortler, I think Ryan hit it on the head – where are you at right now and what do you want?

Flips are good ways to acquire lumps of cash in one fell swoop, but they take time, work, stress and it might be 4-8 months before you see a check. Would you and your family be OK with that? Higher risk/higher reward.

Turnkey properties are priced at retail (you're often paying price at or near the top of the market), but that's because someone has already invested the time and done the hard work. Lower risk/lower reward.

Additionally, the CO market is very high right now. Are you able to enter that market or would you be looking to invest out of state?

I think the more you can answer these questions within yourself and your responsibilities to your family, the clearer you'll be on the path you want to take.

It would be irresponsible of someone to advise you to flip your way up when they don't have 5 kids of their own and a full house to manage. Identify what works for you and start asking questions in that specific area.

Wish you the best, brother. Your children will be very grateful you started when you did.

Hey Chris, glad you're getting into the game. I've been investing remotely since 2018 (all of my portfolio is in Chicago, I was in Denver and now Las Vegas).

Aside from going to networking events to seek help, I would encourage you to ask direct questions in these forums. A lot of smart people who would love to help. "How did you get started? What mistakes did you make? What's the one thing I absolutely need? How do you manage a team? Do I need an entity in the state I'm investing in?"

So many good things you can ask here and add to your knowledge base. Wish you the best.

Good cash-flow states for me have always been the midwest – Chicago, Indiana, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Missouri, Kansas. Properties don't appreciate much there, but they also don't crumble as much when the economy takes a plunge.

The highs aren't too high and the lows aren't too low. They're stable markets with stable job forces and low barriers to entry.

Hi @Sandy Salazar, what a great predicament to be in. I actually refi'd a property recently and asked myself this same question beforehand.

I'll tell you this – when you have money at your disposal, you get a lot more aggressive in looking for deals and businesses/properties to acquire.

Yes, you could absolutely wait until you have a specific property you want to purchase, but then how long will the refi take? 30 / 45 / 60 days? Will the opportunity still be available after that?

You're absolutely right – if you pull the money out now, you'll be responsible for the higher mortgage. But you'll also feel more confident shopping for deals you know that you can move on immediately.

That's the perspective I take on these things. I'm very aggressive when it comes to potential good deals. They are far and few in between, so we have to be ready.

Wish you the best either way!

Hey Ethan, I just wrapped up a STR in Big Bear with an investment loan (10% down). All together, I was about $40K at down payment. I renovated the property with funds from a previous refinance I did, and then refinanced out.

If you have equity in a property, a LOC would be a great source to get funds from. A lot of people are backing away from refi's right now because of increasing rates, but I'm always in the opinion that if the money you would be making is greater than the difference in your interest rate, you're better off pulling the trigger (and refinancing again later when rates come back down.

Wish you the best.

Hi Corey, sounds like you have a good working relationship with your friend. If he's proven himself to you in previous flips, I see no reason to change your rates. Possibly 9-10%, but 15% seems to be a stretch.

If you're note comfortable lending big capital out in changing times like these, then I would just refrain from lending for a while until the market stabilizes. But I would use that against your friend to charge him double the rate.

Ultimately, it's your money and you can set the rules you want for it. It's your friend's decision whether to accept.

Looks like you're getting some good insights here. Wish you guys the best.

I don't think STRs are totally going down the tank with the recession, but the bad ones will. A lot of fat was built during the recent booming economy, so people could get away with a STR in a bad area, or poorly managed, or bad purchase. The market was just so good. But this downturn will weed out a lot of people who were getting away with poor execution.

I think now, as long as you stick to your buying criteria, create a desirable property and invest in strong STR markets, you should not have major problems. I own one in Big Bear and it's decently priced, so we were never gouging tenants. Just business as usual if you do it correctly. Wish you guys the best.

The main thing I would do differently would be to start earlier!!!! Real estate is not foolproof – but overtime, it darn-near is. Real estate is very forgiving. I wish I would've started in 2008 instead of 2018.

Lots of great recommendations here. I did all of my coursework through Kaplan, self-paced online. I blazed through it since I had time on my hands, so it worked for me. If you do any online courses, make sure to read the books they give you thoroughly. I learned the hard way through a few failed mini quizzes lol. Good luck, @Jeremiah Viray!

Chris, if you weren't able to find a plumber, let me know. My brother in law is a contractor and is well connected to many trades in Las Vegas. Hope it turned out well for you either way.