All Forum Posts by: Kevin Kwiatek

I went to the Florida Real Estate Institute and I enjoyed it. I completed my Pre-Licensing as well as Post-Licensing with them and I felt prepared for both the finals and the state license test.

Absolutely I agree with @Aaron T. No one should misuse the VA loan. It's a benefit that allows military families to achieve their goal of owning their own home. The reason they allow you to rent out your home is to have the flexibility of choosing when you wish to sell. If you are forced to move because of orders in a down market you would essentially be forced to lose money on your home.

Thanks for the bit on proof of landlording. I did not know that.

@Aaron T.

Good morning Heyward,

The VA can be a powerful benefit to use in terms of investing but it's definitely not as short term as some people think because you have to live in the property for at least 12 months unless you have orders verifying you can't stay. You can use them for any residential purchase (up to 4 units) which is great. I spoke to a lender that said you can even go up to 6 units if you are dual military (both spouses are military and eligible for the VA loan).

Marriott just announced a plan to compete with Airbnb. They’re starting a pilot program with rentals all over the world.

This may be detrimental to Airbnb because they are going to have access to rewards programs, 24/7 customer service, much more consistency in product and services as well as competitive prices. It seems like Marriott will be better is every way. 

I’m curious to see how Airbnb will react to this because I’ve heard about an IPO for Airbnb next year.

These are just things you may want to consider when working your calculations into a plan for Airbnb investments. But of course most of this post is speculation, so I’d be interested in seeing what others expect to see.

Best of luck either way!! 

Hi Lauren,

I've been told that BP isn't crazy about posting company names but I know of a lender that focuses a lot on VA Renovation loans in Jax. Message me if you're interested in details.

Hi Desreal,

I enjoyed The Florida Real Estate Institute. I took the classroom version but I know they have online classes. 

Personally 6 months is not a lot of time and it could take you a few months just to get your license so I would say just shoot for getting your Florida license. California and Florida are two very different states in regards to real estate so I would imagine studying for both would just hinder your education.

As far as brokerages it’s hard to ask for advice because most people would obviously say their brokerage is the best. The best thing you can do is reach out to brokerages and interview to get a glimpse into fees, expectations, and most importantly, culture. Once you get your license your information goes public and brokerages will reach out anyway. 

I left the Navy last fall and my wife is still active duty here in Jax so if you have any questions, I can relate to your situation. Feel free to reach out if you have any other questions. 

Best of luck to you!

Hey Jake! I highly recommend the Florida Real Estate Institute. I took my 63 hour class with them and was very prepared. My instructor was extremely knowledgeable and opened my eyes to a lot of the Do’s and Dont’s of the industry that unfortunately often go unheeded. I enjoyed the class so much I went back to them for my 45 hour Post-licensing class and took it with the same instructor. Message me if you have any more questions. Best of luck to you!

That’s great! Best of luck to you

@Alain Labrada that’s great!! Sounds like you’re on to a great start. Just curious, did you happen to 1031 into the 3 rentals or no?

Financing will make a big difference when looking at cash flow numbers. If you put 20% down, or 25% down, which is what a lot of lenders will require for an investment property, then your cashflow is going to be better in terms of dollars, but lower in terms of a rate (%). I have a property I bought in Pensacola with my wife with a VA loan. We only ended up putting down a few thousand dollars and our cashflow is a little above $130/mo but our rate of return is almost 50%. It looks great on paper but with just one month of vacancy I lose a year of cashflow because we are so leveraged. I've found that you can always make the numbers change with financing, insurance, property management, etc. The trick is finding the sweet spot.

On the other hand I have a duplex in Chicago, we make almost $400 in cashflow according to the calculator, but we also put down 25% through conventional financing. So we make more in terms of dollars to cover any possible vacancies but our rate of return is on the lower end. We went to both extremes on our first properties it seems and it has taught us a lot. 

Also, 9% seems a little low in this area for management but I still don't have as much experience with property management in this area yet. Is that what you were quoted? I've heard 10% is on the low end with some managers going up to 12% or even 15% and even one property manager I spoke with said that with multifamily they charge $100 minimum for each additional unit. So in this area 10% for a single family seems like a pretty good deal but once you look into multi-family the numbers don't look as good. For example, you have a 4-plex renting at lets say $2500, but a manager that charges $100 per unit will ask for $400, instead of $250 at 10%. There's always something to learn. There's always a price that makes sense for every property, and there's different ways to come to that price and the expenses therein. Real Estate investing is both exciting and frustrating because its so subjective.

I know I've rambled on a lot but I hope you got something out of it.