All Forum Posts by: Kai Van Leuven

@James Wise

You and I are cut from the same cloth. I am not looking for buddies. I don’t even have time for the friends I have.

I shy away from telling people I invest so much that it’s not on my social or any other form of advertising. I get tired of the constant tire kickers. Put a price on what I am worth is a good idea. It would probably cut down the amount of folks who want “advice”.

I have watched your channel. I have been messing with the idea for a while. Thanks for the feedback.

@James Wise

Can you talk more about your fee structure? I am constantly asked about “picking my brain”, taking me out to lunch, or some other way to get free info. There have been a few really rewarding experiences with some folks I have helped along the way but 99% of folks want me to entertain them.

@Jesse Daconta

Totally agree. I passed the 6 and 63 years ago. Was a good education but would not do it for the sole reason of being able to invest in something.

@Walter Fabiszewski

I started wanting to buy real estate when I was in my mid teens (12-14). My dad was just starting to buy and he was telling me all about it. I grew up working on his flips, brrrs, and LTR (before they were called that). My dad told me if I saved my money from working with him he would help me buy a place.

He paid around $50 per month. I did the math and it worked out to about .50 per hour. My dad ran me pretty hard in my teens. I remember the first time I worked outside of my parents and the contractor who hired me said, “why do you run everywhere?” I told him my dad expected that from me, lol. He raised my pay to 20 an hour and told me I was worth every dime.

Anyways I saved every dime I had in my teens. And when I turned 18, I found a place for my dad and I to buy. I put 10k down and my dad financed the rest. It was probably my worst deal to date but it got my foot in the door. My dad cashed me out at 21 and I have been doing it on my own since.

@Nicholas Weckstein

My lender usually works through the appraisal management company with bad appraisals. I don’t know if the bank has that same level of accountability. Usually everyone has someone to answer to. Might want to “burn your ship” on this one and tell the appraiser he is bound by some form of professional ethics. Some board or regulatory body governs his actions.

You have a fire lit under your ... tail, you should find a way to make that go both ways.

@Nicholas Weckstein

Sounds like a good problem to have.

My message to the seller,

“The home did not appraise. The price needs to be lowered to reflect the market value of the property.”

@Kaylee Pratt

At the beginning of my investing career my mentor asked me to “bird dog” property for him. He taught me everything there was to know. I found an 8 plex (4 duplex’s) and told him I thought it was a good deal. He said, it’s a great deal. I am going to buy it. Paid 580k for it. A few years later a developer (DR Horton) knocked on his door and he negotiated selling it for 2.58m.

He also put nothing into the property as far as renovations. The cashflow was around 5k a month and he was satisfied with that.

@Kirk Hawkins

Well your original post leads me to think you will be pitched by a million syndication folks looking to partner with you...

Personally, I would educate myself on real estate investing until it was 100% clear what type of investing is a good fit for you. You would not be the first to lose 200k on a nice idea pitched to you from a professional salesman. Probably won’t be the last.

@Todd Powell

Kelly Kubec was my wrestling partner. One of the best to come out Lake Stevens. He was a 3time state champ out of Washington. Wrestled 3 years at OSU, qualified 3 times for the NCAAs but left before his senior year.

I secretly pull for OSU out of the PAC 12. I feel like for some reason Zalesky just didn’t pan out. He came with all the credentials but really brought that program down a notch. They used to be a perennial powerhouse on the west coast. I am optimistic about Pendleton and the effect he will have.

@Russell Brazil

Could not disagree with you more. The market is so inefficient that to say that something sells for market price is short sighted. It sells for what someone is willing to pay. Assets that are "thinly" traded like real estate have tons of factors that weigh the buy/sell price. Those include marketing, emotion, perception, status, and then some quantitative measurements as well (lol). Look at what is required to be a "well marketed" property on the MLS, professional photos, 3-D tours, staging with mini furniture, a write up done with some jazz hands or something that will make you want to smell roses. If you can tell me which one of those 4 add value to a property, like actual value to the buyer, I would be all ears.

There once was a time when a 3.5 megapixel camera was all you needed to “show off” a house.