All Forum Posts by: Laura Shinkle

@Jonathan Breton Yes I worked full time as well while I was taking the course. Totally doable if you stay focused on your goal. I'd also recommend saving up some money for living expenses if you're planning on jumping in with both feet straight into real estate. I'm happy to hop on a call with you or meet up if that helps.

@Mindy Jensen that makes sense, it's just the wrong forum. Understood!

with condo HOA fees, I've found that as long as they are below the $200-ish a month threshold, it still makes sense as an investment. Once you get above that it starts to get iffy

@Jonathan Breton best of luck! It's been a while since I was in school, but from what I remember here are my top two pieces of advice:

1. Pay attention in class and don't zone out during the lecture. A lot of this stuff is a completely new concept, so my brain was hurting after a few classes (I took my classes on the weekends, 9-5 so it was a long day). You definitely need to know it for the test so listen to what the instructor is emphasizing and if you get those concepts down, you should be good to go. Some of it is just straight memorization.

2. Don't miss any of the hours in class. You're only allowed a certain amount of time anyway, but if you miss a key point, it's hard to catch up. There's a lot of material in that short amount of time. 

I went to Superior because they had the best passing rates for schools in the area. 

I don't know that being an unlicensed assistant would help all that much. As an agent, that would limit greatly what you could do for me. It would most likely be running signs and lockboxes, picking up checks, etc so I don't think it would be as much of a learning experience as you'd think. 

If you're truly wanting sales to be your focus, I'd start with being on a team. Like someone else said, interview a bunch of firms and see where you may be a good fit. But starting out, you don't make money for a while unless you have a pool of buyers and sellers waiting for you to get your license. Joining a team will accelerate your learning and the support is good to have. You give up more of your commission, but as long as you see the value in that, it's worth it in my opinion. You can always reevaluate when you've got your feet under you and feel confident on your own. 

As far as firms that might be best, Keller Williams has the best training that I've seen that teaches you how to actually run your business and scale it to be successful, not just 'how do I sell real estate'. 

#justmytwocents

@Satinder Singh I like the strategy. I think the part of SC you want to invest in depends on what return you want and what strategy you want. ie long term rentals or airbnb. Charleston has a ton of Airbnbs which would give you a higher cash flow. Especially if you want higher cash flow to get started and then acquire some long term ones to even out risk. I'm not sure what the zoning restrictions are or if there even are any. Something to chat about with an agent there if that's something you're interested in. 

With the coast, I'm sure they would require some sort of hurricane insurance. That coastline can get hit pretty hard during the hurricane season. 

As far as long term rentals go, there are a lot of good spots. Have you looked into Columbia?

I personally work in the Charlotte area, including the outskirts in SC but not anywhere near the coast so I won't be much help personally. I could connect you with someone if you'd like though

I agree with a lot of these points! I've found many investors are a bit short sighted, even long term buy and hold investors, when it comes to talking about a recession. If a downturn happens, just hold on to that property. It will eventually come back up. People always need a place to live. But of course, every market is different. Midwest towns where the economy has died with the manufacturing that used to be there, that market doesn't look great. But from a national standpoint, yes. 

In the Charlotte market, I don't anticipate it slowing down anytime soon. In fact, a lot of investors are looking in other markets since the cash flow returns and flip margins are getting smaller. Some nice appreciation, though. 

Hi @Aris Azar, good to know you! As far as forum rules, asking for referrals is fine and as far as I'm aware, welcome. We want everyone to be successful here, and that includes sending vendors we use business. 

We're excited to see how you progress towards your goals! Keep us posted

@Eric Bilderback I totally understand!! I welcome the day when multiple offers and craziness eases off and we get back to a balanced market! 

@Mike Dymski yes I know, these articles are a dime a dozen. Some offer different perspectives, though. I find it a little more reasonable than the ones that scream impending doom, saying a crash worse than '08 is imminent. I have clients and investors ask me about this almost daily. Anything is possible, sure, but I find it unlikely in my market. 

Hi @Aris Azar, welcome to BP and I'm excited for your journey!! Before real estate, I was actually in healthcare myself and worked at a hospital in Charlotte. What do you do in healthcare?

You mentioned you have an investment property already. How did it go? What part of Charlotte is it in? We'd love to hear more!

You mentioned you wanted to grow your team. Any recommendations we can get you?

There are a few meetups in Charlotte too, if you want to look into those!

Hi BiggerPockets community. I came across this article posted by the NAR about the economic outlook of the new year. With the trade war and certain industries struggling, there is some uncertainty there. This article is about the outlook and the impact it'll have on the real estate industry on the national level.

National statistics don't always reflect what is happening on a national scale. What are your thoughts and predictions from what you're seeing in your local market?