All Forum Posts by: Brant Richardson

As Shawn said above. Also, once you have a property under contract the seller can not sell to somebody else, even if they offer more, so you are safe from loosing the deal.

Unless your investment properties are in a LLC your personal residence is already at risk because of your investment business.

With multiple loans your debt goes up, but hopefully your income goes up even more. Banks will not count your rental income for the fist two years you are a landlord because they want you to prove that you are effective at it.

Long term or short term is up to the lender. Most people only use hard money short term because the interest is much higher than from a bank.

Agreed with Bill S. This looks like a pretty good deal for an owner occupier. They get a 40k discount after the rehab is done and they come out with carpet and paint of their choice. See if you can get an owner occupier to bite.

For flipping, I don't really see the 70% rule working with 300k properties. You can't really expect a 90k profit on every flip.

I'd say you dodged a bullet, actually you dodged two bullets since you ended up needing the money for other more important issues.

Your an electrician... and you think you don't have anything to offer a mentor?  Not only your electrical skills but I bet you could give referrals on which carpenters have quality work that you like to follow.  I'm sure you know some good guys in other trades too.  That is valuable knowledge.

There is a lot to know about real estate.  Think of educating yourself along the time line of learning a new career.  As a newbie electrician you couldn't go bid a job and wire a house after reading in your spare time for a month. You need to read many books.  Analysis paralysis is taking several years or never making a move, don't worry about that at this point.  Get in the forums and ask questions when ever you can't find an answer with a quick search.  Start a post of your own if you need to.  Do not be embarrassed about asking a question you think might be dumb.

In a couple months start analyzing deals for practice.  Post the details in the forums and see what people think of it.  They will pick it apart and find all the bits and pieces you didn't consider.  This is a great learning tool.

Find a local real estate investing meeting to go to.  You might get some business for your electrician business, and that business could just turn out to be your mentor.

Also I think the comment about negativity was in regards to your in-laws not you.  Don't let THEIR negativity or any other naysayers get you down.

2% is thrown around without the proper clarification it needs, no doubt there.  Being in good neighborhoods, good enough that they are at low risk of becoming bad neighborhoods for a long time is top priority for long term buy and hold.   Those deals are unlikely to by lying around waiting for new investors. 

When looking for 2% in good neighborhoods - "most are found through direct mail, tough digging, great negotiating as well as really good relationships with those that helps find those kinds of deals."  I think that's the part of the 2% rule which does not get clarified to people hearing about it for the first time.

  With out starting my own direct mail campaign I don't see 2% in a great neighborhood being likely for me as an out of state investor, I shoot for 1.5% but I still have hope of finding a 2% deal eventually.  It's a personal goal actually.

When a seasoned investor holds out for 2% in a good neighborhood and eventually gets a property every now and again I don't see how it will keep rents from rising or property values from appreciating.   

Then there are those who are comfortable investing in bad neighborhoods and know how to make it work.  They should demand 2%, they deserve it for their hard work and the lack of appreciation.

The Millionaire Real Estate Investor by Gary Keller and Dave Jenks

It's on Brandons list and recommended repeatedly in the Podcasts. It is great for looking at the big picture and really setting yourself up for long term success. Not an in depth study of one little niche.

Know immediately when it comes on the market, go look at immediately, make an offer immediately. That would be very helpful for flipping.

If you are looking at 130k homes, you only need 30k. At 10k/month to devote to investing you will have downpayments every 3 months. I wouldn't bother messing with the financy of your other homes, but as said previously, you can get a HELOC instead of refinancing, buy the new property, then once you get it financed you pay off the HELOC.

Addicted to podcasts, I know that feeling. Until I got through them all, I would get grumpy if a day went by that I couldn't listen to one.