All Forum Posts by: Ko Kashiwagi

Hi Rajesh,

Yes, we work with foreign nationals and there are a couple financing options you would qualify for. I'm curious to see if you have US credit score?

Happy to help and take a look. Let me know if you have questions.

Hi Richard,

There are a couple ways to determine rental demand and I'd recommend cross referring couple of them:

1. Use an automatic software - softwares like Rentometer and BiggerPockets estimator can show average rent prices and comps

2. Look at rented properties online - websites like RentCafe, Zillow and Apartments.com show currently rented properties and you can get a sense of what is going for rent

3. Ask local investors/realtors - confirming qualitative data with professionals in the area is very important and you can ask them about the rental demands

4. Ask property management companies - you can reference a property you are trying to buy and get opinions from property managers, and sometimes they will even tell you how much rent can be collected

5. Check statistical data on the specific city/neighborhood - FRED and other city/government websites publish the number of people coming into the city, population density and local news can tell what businesses are coming in

Hope this helps.

Hi Conrad,

STR is really neighborhood dependent. For Miami, it really depends on the type of STR, whether it's a condo, waterfront home and suburban home. Keep in mind that Airbnb's are not allowed in certain places - for example a lot of condo HOAs don't allow STR.

Make sure to read the city regulations well and note that it may change drastically in a short period of time!

Hey Stephanie,

I'm actually in a similar position - I've had long-debated dilemmas whether to continue in tech (W-2) or Real Estate (self-employed). Unless you decide to work in a large corporate mortgage company, you would have to start from the bottom. I'm sure the soft skills you developed as a PM can be transferrable, but it will require a lot of learning at the start.

I recently started as a loan officer in a mortgage broker, and there's 2 things I love:

1. Ability to directly help people and create win-win scenarios - as a lender, you can really help those in need (people with ballooning payments, difficult transactions, unconventional backgrounds) and help both professional and first time buyers. 

2. Ability to see other people's deals - if you're an investor, seeing where, how and why someone is investing is a significant benefit. As a lender, you get to see the exact process they use to invest. Additionally, cultivating knowledge about different loan products will definitely help when you want to invest.

Lastly, an important point to keep in mind is the company you are working with. Surrounding yourself with people with similar goals that are willing to help you make a huge difference. Some brokers will answer every question and push you to the best, while other may take a different approach.

Hi Marie,

Assuming a loan is a little different than a subject-to. "Assume" means the buyer takes on liability, and the seller is no longer primarily liable. "Subject to" means the seller is not released from responsibility. Subject-to is simply taking over the title and making payments.

There are 2 main ways to make payments in a subject-to deal:

• You pay through the seller's portal - log-in and pay or change the account to yours
• Pay through a loan servicing company - there are companies that takes care of the payment system for you with a fee

Hope that helps.

Hi Pedro,

 Ultimately, you can do all - flips, buy&hold, short-term airbnb, etc. But you can't start all at the same time so you'd have to choose one to start with. Here's some options for different types of RE investing and different loan products:

Long-term cash flow investing: DSCR loans, conventional loans

Look into short-term/AirBnb: short-term rental loans, dedicated airbnb programs

Fix&Flips, BRRRR: hard-money loans, cash-out refinance

Hi Erik,

You are definitely right in that the mortgage pay down is a significant advantage to buying real estate (you essentially own a house that your renters paid for after 30 years!). I would say, when looking at a span of 30 years though, the main benefit is usually appreciation.

Not to mention, there are 3 other benefits to owning real estate!

1. Cash Flow

2. Appreciation

3. Tax Benefits

4. Leverage

However, you should consider there are risks to account for:

• Your property may not cash flow as expected so you could be in negative cash flow
• Things break and you may not have enough cash to cover it
• Your money is tied to a relatively illiquid asset
• Stress and work (a lot more work than you think to buying your first real estate!)
• Vacancies, squatters, uncooperative rentors

Hi Garrick,

I would do both to get estimates. Another method is you can search for comps in the area to find a duplex that is similar to your subject property - check the rent of duplexes nearby and make estimates. Some rent estimators like Rentometer can also produce reports of comps for you to check.

Hi Taryn,

You can still find deals with $25,000 down. Many lenders have a minimum loan amount of $100,000, but there are a couple lenders that can fund loans as small as $75,000. With your $25,000 down payment + closing costs you should be able to purchase a $100,000 property. Feel free to message me with questions. 

Hi Jordan,

Are you calling sellers as an agent or as a buyer?

For buyers, Jerry Norton and Pace Morby has good live call videos and also publishes scripts.

For agents, Ricky Carruth and Brandon Mulrenin has good videos for cold calling.

Scripts are important, but the best way to get better at cold calling is to start dialing! Good luck!