All Forum Posts by: Kyle Baker

Hey Leandro! So many great suggestions here. You definitely came to the right place for information and advice. The strategy I used was the live in each property. I would buy a property with a small downpayment 3.5-5% and live in the property for a year. After that I would find a second property and do the same thing and move into it. When I would move I would make that first property a rental. You could do this with single family or mutli family. I did it with single family but decided to rent out a bedroom to supplement my income even more. If you are handy you can purchase something that needs some cosmetic work which will allow you to add some sweat equity during that year of living in the property. Good luck and you are in good hands with the BiggerPockets community on your side. 

Hey Evan! 

Indianapolis IN is definitely worth a look at as well. I currently have a client who is looking to break into the real estate investing game so I've been on the hunt for multifamily properties for her. I just sent her a property this morning as soon as it hit the market for a fully renovate duplex that meets the 1% rule. Purchase price of 245k and each side will rent for around $1200 each unit. Shoot me a message if you'd like me to email you over this property or others similar to it. Cheers! 

Hey everyone! Long time listener, first time caller....wait that isn't right haha. 

My name is Kyle Baker and I am a real estate broker in Indianapolis IN. I service all of Indianapolis and the surrounding counties. 

I first found bigger pockets after purchasing my first home back in 2018. At that time I had no idea about real estate investing. I simply needed a house to live in so I bought one. At that time I had a successful career in the bail industry as a licensed Bounty Hunter. I traveled the country looking for bad guys. 

Shortly after that purchase I stumbled across Rich Dad Poor Dad and decided I wanted to become a real estate investor. I started to do some research and very quickly came across BiggerPockets. I read several BiggerPockets books and listened to countless hours of the BiggerPockets podcast. I was able to pull little bits and pieces from each episode I listened to. It's been so long ago now that I can't remember the episode number or speaker but I found my loophole to acquire properties. 

I had a successful job and made good money but not enough to be able to buy properties with 20% down as investment properties typically require. I was familiar with the BRRR strategy and loved the idea but I didn't really have the knowledge base for the rehabs or the time as I was gone on the road (looking for bad guys) 3 weeks of each month. Instead I decided I would buy a property each year and live in it for 12 months. This allowed me to get properties with minimal downpayment ($0 down on my first two as I used a VA loan) as well as better financing terms. So thats exactly what I did.

12 months after buying my first property I bought my second and moved into the new home. I picked a real estate agent who was also a property manager. I proceeded to rent out the first home while I lived in the second. I did this a third and fourth time with each oncoming year. My first purchase was in 2018, second in 2019 and third in 2020. 

At the end of 2021 my wife and I decided to relocate from Charleston, SC back to Indiana to be closer to my family. We purchased our fourth home in Indianapolis leaving us with 3 rentals in Charleston, SC. 

I am now a licensed real estate broker in Indianapolis.

I am writing this post to hopefully help some new investors with a strategy that worked so well for me without costing

a lot of money out of pocket. The other reason is to introduce myself and let everyone know how much I would love the opportunity to help anyone in the area in the purchase or sale of their home. This includes investors. I know the entire midwest is such a HOT market for real estate investors and Indianapolis is no different. 

Please feel free to reach out with any questions you may have. Thank you for taking the time to read this little blurb and hope to hear from you all soon!!  

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $224,000
Cash invested: $12,000

Third investment property purchased in mid 2020. Started as a primary residence and turned into a rental after a year and a half.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Continued to build investment portfolio.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I used a real estate agent to find this property.

How did you finance this deal?

Insured conventual financing.

How did you add value to the deal?

I lived in this property for a year and a half and then turned into a rental.

What was the outcome?

This is still a current rental of mine and continues to bring in strong cashflow each month.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I learned the hard way to get sewer scope inspections with this property. Within a few months of living in the property we started noticing plumbing issues. Long story short and $10,000 later we had to replace the sewer line from the back of the house all the way to the front to connect with the city sewer.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Yes. I used Ashley Cochran with this purchase and she is amazing. She is also my property manager which makes everything super easy and convenient.

Investment Info:

Townhouse buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $179,900

This was my second purchase. I lived in this property for a year and then bought another property and moved into the next while renting this property out.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I wanted to start to grow my investment portfolio and this was my second property.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I used a real estate agent to find this home.

How did you finance this deal?

I used a VA loan to buy this home

How did you add value to the deal?

I lived in this property for a year and then rented it out

What was the outcome?

This is still a strong rental property for me

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Yes I used a real estate agent for this deal. Her name is Ashley Cochran and she is amazing. She is also my property manager for all my properties. Can not recommend enough!

Investment Info:

Townhouse buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $159,900
Sale price: $245,000

Primary residence for a year then converted to a rental property. Held until early 2022 when I decided to sell as it was my worst performing property in regards to cashflow and the HOA continued to increase year after year.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I needed a home to purchase so my original intention was just as a primary residence.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I used a real estate agent to find this property.

How did you finance this deal?

VA loan

How did you add value to the deal?

No value add was used other than living in it for a year and then renting it out.

What was the outcome?

I held this property for 4 years and then sold it as the HOA continued to increase each year and this was my worst performing property in regards to cashflow. I sold this property in the first part of 2022 for $245,000.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

I used a real estate agent with this purchase.