All Forum Posts by: Kim Stofan

Welcome to BP @Bradley W.!  Make sure you check out the podcasts and webinars each week.  They are great motivational tools and offer a wealth of information.  Sounds like you are on the right track.  House hacking is a great way to start out.  It's also to your advantage that you have a lot of contact with successful investors.  You are in a unique position where you are offering value to them with your photography business.  Hopefully through your work relationships you can find some valuable mentors.  Good luck!  

Hey @Anthony Navarro. It sounds like you are doing all the right things! Reading, learning, listening to podcasts, using the forums. Also, learning to live on the bare minimum of your income will pay off majorly in the future. The fact that you have experience in property management is a huge plus. I would say you are poised to be very successful in REI! I definitely think you are on the right track with househacking. You might need to put 20% or more down as some other members were mentioning but it really is a great starting point. Just keep taking steps every day towards your goals and I have no doubt that you will get there. Have you attended networking events in your area? There are many awesome people in the bay area and I'm sure getting to know them will aid in your efforts. Good luck, and I'll see you around the forums!

Welcome @Alester Thomas!  It's a great idea to get started in your 20s.  I work in the health care field as well as an RN.  I found the podcasts and webinars to be extremely helpful to get started.  Listening to those, reading,  and doing lots of studying made me feel comfortable enough to take the first steps.  

Hi @Andrew Gillings, welcome to BP!  Research is always a great way to start, but don't get stuck in the analysis paralysis zone!  Most new investors make many mistakes along the way.  It's part of being new and should be looked at as a learning experience.  Have you considered house hacking?   Buying a multifamily home, living in one unit and renting out the others is an awesome way to get started and helps you learn how to be a landlord too! 

As for finding a mentor... network with people on the site, or even better go to a local REIA and meet the big players in the markets you are interested in. Introduce yourself and find out how you can be of value to THEM. You mentioned that you have a flexible schedule and the ability to work for free. Those are major advantages for you.

Listen to the BP podcasts as much as possible.  They are so motivating and you will learn so much from them.  

Lastly, adding a profile pic will make a big difference in adding credibility.   

Good luck!

Welcome @Ryan Blake!  You are in the right place to gain lots of knowledge about real estate investing.  I've only been at it for less than a year but I have learned a ton through listening to many podcasts, watching @Brandon Turner's webinars, and networking with people on the site. The learning opportunities are endless on BP. I would definitely learn about all the opportunities available to you in regards to VA loans. I'm sure there's lots of articles written on the subject on BP. I remember there was a podcast I listened to recently that spent time discussing VA loans. It was #163 with Bill Allen. It was a really great show, I highly recommend it. Also, I would seriously consider house hacking if you don't already own a primary residence.

There's a lots of local REIA's in the area including the Capital City Wealth Builders in Sacramento and one in Rocklin organized by David Oldenburg. Their next meeting is November 1st. Good luck, and I'll see you around the site!

Thanks for this thread.  I had a question about mailing to a property that is titled in a trust...

I found a vacant home next door to my friend's house.  He told me that the owner had past away recently.  I found that the property is in owned in a trust.  Should I mail to the actual property address, the address of the trust, or both?    Thanks ahead of time!

You might want to start with just one or two neighborhoods that you are familiar with and that you like.  Spend time driving them and learning everything you can about that particular area (demographics, market values, rent rates, etc).  If you start too large you might get inundated with too many calls and leads that you cannot properly follow-up on.   

Hi there @Aaron Bry and welcome to BP!  I'm 31 now and I so wish I had started when I was your age!  Like @Penny Clark mentioned, house hacking is such a GREAT way to start out as an investor and landlord.  I so wish I had done it when I was younger.  Seriously look into it!  

Hi Anthony!

I would think that 2-3 K would give you a pretty large campaign.  You might not need to spend that much when you are just starting out.  Maybe concentrate on a smaller "farm" area and work up from there.  Have you decided which areas you want to target?  If you haven't already, listen to some of the podcasts about wholesaling.  They are VERY informative.  A few that concentrate a lot on wholesaling are podcasts # 18, 12, 42, 71, 91, 96 just to name a few (but there are lots more).  Also, if you haven't already, read the ultimate beginners guide to wholesaling.  

http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2015/01/31...

Hi @Andrew Luong, nice to meet you and congrats on your success thus far. I'm a newbie up here in the sacramento area. I suppose I'm stuck in the analysis paralysis position right now as I'm trying to figure out my first move in REI. How did you find your rentals? Did you use MLS, direct mail, or other avenues? Just FYI, there's a large REI Summit in Oakland coming up in August put together by J. Martin. Myself and several other BPers will be heading down. Should be fun. Lots of great speakers (several who have done podcasts and are very active on BP).

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521/topics/309746-huge-re-networking-summit-sf-bay-8-27-and-8-28-16---20-bp-greats