All Forum Posts by: Kenan Heppe

Hey there, Mark. You mentioned your debt levels, but you didn't mention your equity. Are you saying you have zero savings, and only debt?  If that's the case, then I would highly recommend you both find jobs before you invest in real estate. With zero savings and no job, you have no way to secure a loan in your name. You're also risking the family farm right from the beginning if that's the case. My personal recommendation is secure jobs and find a cheap place to live, so you can actually map out the next few years, or even months, of your finances. 

Great question! Many of these issues translate to a certain cost. For a majority of the issues, it would simply be if something makes the deal not financially sound anymore. Huge headaches like crazy neighbors or title problems that waste lots of time would probably be high on the list as well. I'm eager to see what other people write!

Hello everyone! My name is Kenan (pronounced Ken-in) Heppe. I studied Chemistry at Oregon State University, then moved to L.A. to become an actor. For the past three years, I've made a career in China acting in Chinese T.V. shows and movies (learned Mandarin while over here). I've always loved making money in entrepreneurial ways, and have consistently viewed real estate as one of the best ways to reliably build wealth. I'm SUPER excited to join this community, and I've already subscribed to the podcast and am reading your awesome posts!

I've sold my first house a few months ago, and am hoping to take real estate more seriously. As I'm studying, I'm finding I'm probably more interested in domestic or international deals that have high yielding short-term rental potential and long term capital appreciation potential.

Next week, I head to Montenegro to check out Old Town, Kotor. Montenegro is an up and coming country, friendly to foreign investors, high tourism, low tax, and is on track to join the EU in the next five years. For these reasons, I'm excited to scope out opportunity there and practice building investment analysis formulas.

My ultimate goal is to have a castle, because I'm a nerd. And I want to secure the lives of my grandchildren, and their grandchildren. So, there it is! Happy to meet all of you, and I love reading your tips. I'm currently moving through Udemy's online course in real estate, going through the BP reading list, and practicing building rental assessment models. I don't want to get pinned down into just one type of investing, but rather learn the ebbs and flows of the market and do what makes sense at any given time. But, from what I've seen, multifamily units in second tier seem like a decent place to start.

Hey Mike! I'm not discouraged at all by your input. It helps a lot! Have you specifically looked at Old Town, Kotor in Montenegro? It's a fifteenth century medieval town with year-round tourism, and in the summer months it's packed. Being a UNESCO world heritage site also protects it from new development, therefore one can essentially buy a fixed piece of history. I'm able to get a 50% loan there. Indeed, I'd be relying solely on tourism to fill the short-term rentals. But the tourism in Old Town is very high. What do you think of that specific area?

I want to invest more at home, but the U.S. market seems so confusing right now. Short term rentals, and long-term multifamily BRRRR plays seem great. I totally agree.

@Zeke Liston Thank you! It was a chance of a lifetime. I hope I can prepare for the next market cycle and keep the process going.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $375,000
Cash invested: $75,000
Sale price: $635,000

1100 sq.ft. condo in Hollywood, on Melrose and Vine. It was my primary residence as I pursued acting in L.A.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Building wealth at an opportune time

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

It was found on Zillow and through the help of a local real estate agent. The sale was a short sale, negotiated over a period of about five months. The asking price was 405,000, and I pushed hard to get 375,000. Eventually, we got it.

How did you finance this deal?

My father and I made a deal: use the money previously meant for Ivy League funds, spend only about 30% of it on college, and provided that I get outstanding marks at a state school, use the rest of the money for an investment in my long term wealth.

How did you add value to the deal?

The entire plan was my idea, but none of the money was mine. I proved to my father that, no matter what happens with my acting career, I'd be able to fully pay him back when the market recovers. If I am getting stable acting work by then, I'll continue doing that. If not, I can use the rest of the profits for grad school.

What was the outcome?

The outcome was amazing! I graduated with a 4.0 GPA in Chemistry from OSU, became the Lay's Chips Guy, I paid my father back, I'm acting nearly full time (although in China, so that' crazy), and I now have the resources to start many more projects.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Building wealth takes a lot of due diligence and A LOT OF TIME.

Hello everyone! My name is Kenan (pronounced Ken-in) Heppe. I studied Chemistry at Oregon State University, then moved to L.A. to become an actor. For the past three years, I've made a career in China acting in Chinese T.V. shows and movies. I've always loved making money in entrepreneurial ways, and have consistently viewed real estate as one of the best ways to reliably build wealth. I'm SUPER excited to join this community, and I've already subscribed to the podcast and am reading your awesome posts!

My parents wanted to pay for an expensive Ivy League education. But, when I was 18, I thought of a different plan. I made a deal with my father. I pitched going to an inexpensive state school, and using the rest of my college fund to buy a home in Hollywood after graduating, on the condition I graduate top of my class as a science major. He agreed. 

It was the end of 2011 when I graduated summa cum laude at OSU in chemistry, and we bought a short sale condo in L.A. I just sold it three months ago and paid my dad back for the college money and down payment of the condo. For the past eight years, I've lived very humbly (you're sort of forced to as an actor if you want to survive). To save money over the years, I ate nothing but oatmeal, egg whites, plain chicken breasts, and broccoli. But it has all finally paid off. I've now ready to start Phase 2 of the master plan.

Phase 1 was the condo. I lucked out in multiple ways, of course. My father agreed to the plan, and the economy crashed. But at 18, I saw it. I feel like I have decent instincts, but I want to sharpen them. In any case, I want to tell you what I'm up to.

Next week, I head to Montenegro. I'm a bit nervous about the U.S. economy at the moment. There are many factors that I haven't learned how to properly analyze. But Montenegro is up and coming, friendly to foreign investors, high tourism, low tax, and is on track to join the EU in the next five years. For these reasons, I'm excited to potentially start my rental income business over there (I know it's a bold move for a first purchase to be international, but I'm doing proper due diligence). 

My ultimate goal is to have a castle, because I'm a nerd. And I want to secure the lives of my grandchildren, and their grandchildren. So, there it is! Happy to meet all of you, and I love reading your tips. I'm currently moving through Udemy's online course in real estate, going through the BP reading list, and practicing building rental assessment models. I don't want to get pinned down into one type of investing, but rather learn the ebbs and flows of the market and do what makes sense at any given time. But, from what I've seen, multifamily units in second tier seem like a decent place to start.