All Forum Posts by: Kory Thaut

@Robert Harmon I think it's all about personal risk tolerance. My strategy, whether it's for REI or my personal home tends to be longer-term. Knowing there are ups and downs and often have to take a step back to get 2 ahead, I really have had more confidence when I have equity as a buffer in all my homes.

I think for me, I make better decisions having money in the bank and equity in the houses. I think back to when I didn't, I made more decisions that had fear as a variable... when you have the ability to ebb and flow, I think you're more likely to make sound decisions based on facts and numbers.

With that all said, I personally will never mix my personal home equity w/ business and/or REI or other investing. I have a personal finance plan for my home that is way more conservative than my REI approach. (home is a liability, my REI are assets)

@Aaron LaSage First, thank you for your service.  I have so much respect for our service men and women. 

As far as getting going in the knowledge building goes, I'd first check out some of the free video's BP has put together here (link below)

https://www.biggerpockets.com/courses/a-beginners-...

I am pretty amazed by how much free content there is.  

There are ways to get going with out money and credit but it certainly makes it a bit tougher... but don't let that slow you or stop you.  As a side, I would work on responsibly building up a little credit history and make it a priority to keep it in check.  Good credit can make things a lot easier.  

Again, thank you for your service.   

@Alfredo O. I like to think of it more as gifts for some of the subs.  For example, I know what kind of wine / beer some of my subs like and I hook them up. I think it's all about the relationship building. Take care of other people first and they'll take care of you.  With that said, I've never paid more in direct funds (e.g. tips), just "gifts".   

It's gone the other way too.. I've gotten Costco gift cards before just as a thanks for using a specific company in hopes I do more business with them.  

@David Pierce The next RareBird meetup is on Feb 11th.  

http://myrarebird.com/events/

The next NWREIA meeting is tomorrow, the 4th.

https://www.northwestreia.com/

@Stu Johnson The building / getting equity / improving value / returns is the whole point of REI. What's interesting about this is that the prof doesn't seem to be providing any guidance on how to generate the equity or return... just buy something and "hope" or "pray" for equity? What makes this especially dangerous is that the advice to hope for good returns is aimed at such a massive scale (expensive dream house).

A better suggestion would be to house hack. Buy a duplex, live in one side, rent the other and let the renter build your equity for you and/or cover your housing costs. Simple strategy to build equity / ROI.

@Lane A. As a former baseball player myself (pac-10, well 12 now), I know the commitment it takes to be successful there... You'll do well in real estate as you'll just transfer the work ethic over.  I never made millions in the pros but have made a few million in business / investing and I think it's the result of transferring hours in the batting cage over to the next "obsession".  

The awesome part about your job is you get to be in a bunch of different cities throughout the spring and summer on the club's dime.  I'd pull out the schedule and do a little research on those areas and then when you get a little off time while your there, go check things out and do some networking with property management, other investors, etc... (just don't lose focus on playing ball, you only get one youth to spend on that my old catcher's knees ache just writing that)

You've got the perfect situation.. play ball spring and summer, and buy houses in the fall and winter.  I think you're going to need to get good at managing property managers though as I don't think anybody should do everything solo, especially if they have to be on the road a lot.

@Tony Ho First, thank you for your service.  It's such a blessing to the committed men and women of our armed services.  

2nd, wow, what a busy day for a part time investor.  Are you working with cash offers? That might sweeten the deal with the potential of a quick close.  You might need to use some short-term hard money but it works.  

@Erin Gilbert Curious what you mean by picking the right one?  Are you finding deals that the numbers work on but can't pull the trigger?  Or is it more that it's been tough finding the deals that the numbers actually work on?

I usually buy distressed properties, less to flip, but more to implement the BRRR strategy for a buy and hold. I think the hardest part is looking past some of the mess and seeing the potential but I've found that the more I look at and the more I get my feet wet, the easier and more enjoyable looking at rundown properties is. This can be hard when your used to looking at nice stuff all day (e.g. as an agent taking people to look at move in ready houses).

@Dontavius Pennington Welcome to BP!  I wish I had BP when I started out to get my first rental property.  I'd check out all the free video / training courses they have here (link below).  I haven't watched them all but I am amazed at how much good, free content is there.  

Best of luck in 2016

https://www.biggerpockets.com/courses/a-beginners-introduction-to-real-estate-investing

@Theodore Freeman I haven't watched them all, but I am blown away by how many free training videos BP has put together.  I've been directing some of my friends and colleagues to the BP training videos in the link below.  I think it's worth a shot.  

https://www.biggerpockets.com/courses/a-beginners-introduction-to-real-estate-investing