All Forum Posts by: Konstantin Ginzburg

@Alena Diaz

I think that depends on your definition of collaboration. I am always interested and willing to collaborate with anyone on this forum by providing referrals, advice, and information and most members that I had gotten in contact with on here have the mindset. Information is freely exchanged on this forum and any questions I have seen posted get replies very quickly. 

If by collaboration; you mean entering into joint ventures; then I have not personally been involved in a joint venture with someone off this forum but I have heard of others who had done so. It's possible to find people with funds to collaborate with on here if you have a good that that's been verified but I don't think you would find too many people who are willing to jump into something like that based off one forum post. Once there is actual capital on the line; people typically collaborate with people that they know and trust. Those two factors take time to build and are not likely to be developed from a forum post or two. 

If there are specific questions you have or a specific collaboration you are looking for; then I encourage you to post it on here. Many on here, including myself, are always interested in new collaborative opportunities. 

@Nicholas Glatter

Good afternoon,

I am an investor within the New Orleans market. I am not currently in the market for another property but I would be thrilled to connect with you so that we collaborate in the future and help one another. I would also like to invite you look into joining and attending some of the real estate investor meetups in the area. I am an active member of the New Orleans Real Estate Investors Association and I know the West Bank Investors Association is also very active. There are often investors there as well who may be interested in the deals you can provide for them. I look forward to connecting with you!

@Joshua Amezcua

It's not just you. There has been a rush of new investors over the last few years (that includes me since I only jumped in 2 years ago). There have been a lot of factors that contributed to it. Low interest rates making real estate a more lucrative investment for both small operators as well as corporate investors. The prevalence of inflation and rising home prices on the news has also encouraged people to jump on the bandwagon. AirBNBs and other STRs have also attracted real estate investors as the travel industry really took off after the pandemic. There are many factors that contributed to this. I wouldn't say you are too late to the market. You simply need to be patient and don't rush into a deal. Educate yourself by reading and listening to podcasts to ensure you are able to identify a good deal when you find one and then be persistent in searching for a deal and be ready to make an offer when a deal is presented to you. Good luck and don't get discouraged. Real estate is a marathon, not a race!

@Matt Anderson

While you do have the option of getting a commercial loan; any rental unit that is between 1-4 unit is classified as a residential unit; which means it can be financed in the same manner as any residential property. The loan can be taken out in your name and you would qualify for the loan in the same way you would qualify for purchasing a primary residence for yourself. The main difference is that while there are finance packages for primary residences that allow for 3.5 to 10% down payment; most investment properties will require 20 to 25% down payment but there are plenty of financing packages that will still provide a 30 year fixed rate loan.  

@Michelle Medina

Welcome to BiggerPockets. This is an excellent place to learn everything you could hope for about real estate. You are doing the right thing by reading books and listening to podcasts on the matter. That is the same way I started. I spent a year doing nothing but reading real estate books before I finally took the plunge on an investment property. Education is the foundation for success in any venture. If you ever have any questions, this forum is very active in responding and I would be happy to connect as well. I am in the New Orleans market but am researching Florida markets for the future. 

 A real estate license is one route you can go but when I said education; I was more referring to things such as books, podcasts, or this forum. Education doesn't need to be formal; simply any thing you can do to get a baseline knowledge of real estate. You can look for a mentor on either this forum or at local real estate investor meetups (this would be my top choice). However, most mentors would prefer if you have a baseline knowledge of real estate. This would showcase to them that you are serious about this industry and doing your part to learn as much as you can about how the industry works. 

@Erica Thorstenson

It is completely acceptable for you to set limits for your tenant and ask her to not text you if its not related to business. Getting too friendly with a tenant can have long term setbacks such as awkwardness if rent is late or you have to move forward with an eviction. It is very advisable to maintain some distance between yourself and tenants and keep the relationship strictly business. 

@Katelin Eberhard

We have 3 properties that we self manage and one that we use a property manager for. The main thing that helps us determine whether or not to use a property manager is how much of our time is required to maintain and manage that property. If we have difficult tenants that either need constant management due to either chasing them for rent or repairing damage they cause; then we use a property manager in this case so that we are able to protect our time. The property we use a manager for is in a C class neighborhood which is the likely reason it requires so much time to maintain. Our other properties are in sold B or A class neighbors with tenants who are more self sufficient and proactive about taking care of the property and paying rent on time so they do not require a large time commitment. As a result, we are easily able to manage these rental units on our own without a property manager. 

@Travis Rampersad

Research and education would be the first step I would take if I am brand new to real estate. After that, it would depend on what your personal goals are for getting into real estate. If you want to build long term wealth, than acquiring a property as a rental would be a good strategy. House hacking is a great way to do that. You would purchase a multi-family property, reside in 1 unit while renting out the remaining units in the hopes that the other units would provide enough revenue to cover your expenses. If your goal is quick cash; then either wholesaling or flipping houses would probably be a better choice for you. There is no wrong answer with real estate. It is more about identifying what your goals are and building a strategy to meet those goals. 

@Aaron Dixon

I think that this could work if you find the right property and a favorable lease but I would be hesitant. Many people who got into arbitrage are struggling at the moment since books are down for many. I think that the profit margin between an arbitrage with MTR instead of STR is also likely going to be lower. Again, this will be very dependent on finding the right property that will still allow you to cash flow. One of the downsides to arbitrage is that the return on investment for it is completely dependent on cash flow; unlike other real estate investments where you can also take advantage of debt paydown, tax benefits, and equity accrual. I think your idea is absolutely possible to do and if you go through with it; I really hope you are able to succeed.