All Forum Posts by: Kevin Cook

In the end, my answer would be... BECOME ONE. Though not every investor will, the skill sets you need to be an exceptional investor are worth the investment as an agent (even if you only took the training). Further, while you may find an investor-friendly agent here and there, agents must remained focused on their bottom line, and that takes a lot of work. Generating relational clients and developing a client base through traditional real estate sales are always going to be at odds. This is also why REIAs, though very helpful, most often allow agents and brokers the chance to serve the investor/flipper on the end buyer side. The key is to lock arms with agents that are actual investors - those who take your risks, speak your language and do more walking than talking. If they got their license to be and serve other investors, then you probably have a relationship of professional substance. Just sayin'.

@Doug is a juggernaut! He's a great help here and in person.

@Greg Appelt, Welcome to Tampa! Thrilled you're here. All the very best to you in your future endeavors. We're honored to help you grow as we all learn together. Tampa is a great place to thrive.

Congrats, @Bruce Harney ! Well done. All the best on the next property.

As @Doug Merriott and @Sam B. expressed, I'm not an authority... just a guy who loves real estate and people.

@Lakeisha Black  Welcome to real estate. While I say that tongue-in-cheek, we've found that the level of preparation we've invested in the property (finishes, curb appeal) and the systems we've put in place to vet applicants provide ideal tenants regardless of location. You can be like any other landlord or you can place them in a home as a potential buyer... two very different approaches with often different outcomes. In my personal experience there are very few streets (notice I didn't say neighborhoods) I would completely avoid in Tampa. This is certainly not one of them. You can literally make money on any street in Tampa with integrity if you know what you're doing. Remember, the value in rentals is buying them as assets from day one.

I'm thankful you've done your homework; it will serve you well as your business grows. Since you will make mistakes, be sure that you have enough cash reserves to learn from them (6 months of full carrying costs minimum on each property). I also strongly suggest you sign up and attend the Tampa Housing Authority's Landlord Orientation (see http://www.thafl.com/Departments/Assisted-Housing/owner-information.aspx). They are very helpful and will assist you with your successful start. If you have time and the resources, Chavis is local, fantastic authority on rental property at www.landlordacademy.com and can help you in a big way. All the best!

Welcome, @Tanya Lee Looks like you're getting a great start here. There is a wealth of knowledge in this virtual room; great people to work with. All the very best as you develop your strategy and start digging in!

@Wayne Brooks you are correct, Wayne; we're funding the 2nd appraisal, to be done after A-B. It is a crazy deal but I've been assured that my lender will work with me as long as my end buyer is committed to purchase and remains qualified (I have two back-up offers as well, which is helping him a lot). I may end up pushing closing back and reverting to a straight hard money loan and closing "traditionally" with the end buyer. I don't like surprises, and I'm expecting a few already.

CFG does it but it is a little expensive. I may delay closing to the 16th, which should give us plenty of time and save me quite a bit. Thanks so much for the advice, @Manny Cirino!

While I've done a couple of back-to-back closings on a couple of deals, I've never done one where there was some work to be done for the end buyer to close with a conventional loan.

A-B contract to close Friday, May 9th. End buyer wishes to close B-C on or before May 30th.

Property is in need of a new HVAC and water heater to meet FHA requirements. I wanted to save money ($ 3,500 versus $9,000+) and time and do transactional funding for the deal, have the units installed over the weekend (scheduled and paid for by me) and have it inspected on the following Monday or Tuesday to satisfy the issue and close quickly. Have any of you done this or worked with transactional lenders for this type of transaction? I am currently consulting with one who will do the deal, but wanted to solicit feedback in the event that a more experienced REI had more insight (after the fact... of course; I'm already behind if I've screwed up).