All Forum Posts by: Kevin Armagno

@David Waddleton Hi David! I am just starting out too! Maybe it would be helpful to see what ratings look like locally, like a 3 vs a 7 on greatschools, or how areas you know locally look like, given their own crime data. I cant say for sure that it would correlate perfectly, but it might be a good experience. Other than that, I would try Integra realty resources and other market sites to try and find a city that isn't peaking in its cycle (but the report is months old at this point, just a warning...I dont know if they release them more than once a year). I cant say thay my advice will work, since, like I said, Im also just starting out, but they are some ideas for you to maybe try (and they don't cost money).

Are there opportunities that will arise from Hurricane Florence passing through and all of the massive flood damage? I'm not looking to profiteer, but I could see a benefit to moving down and working with a contractor company just to meet the inevitable incoming demand (I have little experience, but want to learn), and I imagine there will be a whole new market of available properties to flip. Does anyone have experience with post-disaster job/investment opportunities that could shed light on how these opportunities could be seized, and in an ethical way? Thanks!

@Tara Daniels Thank you for the response Tara! Those numbers will help in factoring that cost of money into my deals to hopefully avoid failure altogether! I'm still very premature in my knowledge in how (or when) to secure funding. Though it is not really related to my first questions, I'd like to ask this while you are here: Do people have funding secured when they make offers? Or do they have to be under contract (contracts are another topic im hazy on), then find a way to pay for the property? To me, I have a better understanding of the conventional loan route, there being prequalifications before shopping for properties.

@Michael Randle Thank you for the reply! Richest Man in Babylon is great. I just read it earlier in the year and lent it to my father a few weeks ago :) Your answers were very insightful. I guess a large hesitation of mine is it seems like a "failure" usually means losing money, which seems like a bigger problem for new people who have limited resources (and just starting out trying to diversify their income). In my context, I am saving money for my first real estate deal and it is hard to know if I can absorb the negative impact of a failure without the long-lasting effects. If I had a few successful cash-flowing deals, it seems more realistic that I might be able to weather a bad deal easier. It stands to reason that anytime someone takes a big step forward financially (e.g. a first purchase, a multi-family unit, a first apartment complex), the risk may overcome them. I am kind of thinking out loud here; it seems like for some of these transitionary deals that would be why it makes sense to work with someone experienced to start, or theoretically house hack to save money, but otherwise only uphold an expense that can be managed.

I am new to real estate, and though there is loads of amazing information here on how to succeed, I am looking for more information on how to fail (Not that I intend to!). So, given that there was a crash 10 years ago (and some people forecast another big one soon) and there are plenty of investors that do ultimately fail in healthy economic times, what does that look like, and how do you recover? A coworker of mine recently told me to only use conventional loans and not do "anything weird" (he owns a duplex) . I would like to feel like I knew what I was getting into if I did use private or hard money. Does failure count as experience? Does failure destroy your reputation and your credit? What happens/what does it look like if you can't pay a private or hard money lender? For that matter, what are the lasting personal effects of foreclosure? I apologize; I know it is an incredibly vague question. I just want to understand my risk and better understand the whole process.

Hello @Molly Mayeux . Disclaimer, I haven't used this, or even purchased my first property yet, but Integra Realty Resources is mentioned in the bigger pockets podcast as a source of cap rates, I think it was episode 265 with Andrew Propst. The episode also mentions how certified property managers may be able to give superior advice on a region. Hope that helps!