All Forum Posts by: Kylie A.

Quote from @Kylie A.:

Quote from @Andrew Syrios:

Quote from @Kylie A.:

The hate for wholesalers on BiggerPockets is insane when there are still genuine, good wholesalers out there who aren’t selling a dream.

There are good wholesalers out there, but unfortunately, there are also a lot who have no idea what they're doing and some that are just scammers. Also, a good number of people see wholesaling as acting as an unlicensed agent getting net commissions (which are illegal for agents) so some see it as illegitimate entirely. 

That being said, I don't know if what I've seen is "hate." Seems more like criticism for the most part. But maybe I've just missed the threads you're thinking about. 

 waiit so how are they scammers, they locking it up legally 

I didn't say they were scammers, I said some people look at them that way. And I'd acknowledge they're riding the line of what is and what is not acting as a real estate without a license (and doing net sales which are illegal for agents).

I think the argument doesn't work because even if you banned wholesaling, people could still do simultaneously closings, which are just about the same, just a little more expensive. 

But if you want to see the whole case fleshed out for why wholesaling is wrong, you can read this article from a while back: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/i-will-never-trust-real-e... (Again, I don't agree with it, but do acknowledge wholesalers are, as I said, riding the line a bit.) 

money dont care

Quote from @Kylie A.:

The hate for wholesalers on BiggerPockets is insane when there are still genuine, good wholesalers out there who aren’t selling a dream.

There are good wholesalers out there, but unfortunately, there are also a lot who have no idea what they're doing and some that are just scammers. Also, a good number of people see wholesaling as acting as an unlicensed agent getting net commissions (which are illegal for agents) so some see it as illegitimate entirely. 

That being said, I don't know if what I've seen is "hate." Seems more like criticism for the most part. But maybe I've just missed the threads you're thinking about. 

Investing in "small towns" is actually a very broad term. Some people call small towns those with 70,000 people, others those with 10,000 or less. There are small towns that are just 20 min outside a larger city, so the town is small but an easy commute to a larger city for supplies and jobs. Then there are small towns that are more than an hour away from larger cities, so not commutable and Home Depot is more than an hour drive away. 

Some things to look at are what is the job source for your tenants? If you are close to a larger city then that can be your job source. If you are far away from a larger city, is there a major employer that is a significant portion of jobs and if they close down will that have a huge impact of that town? I have a number of properties that are on the Oregon coast in towns that are 10,000 people or less. I am not worried about any major employer as tourism is the major employer and people will always be wanting to be close to the ocean. 

As far as financing goes, I have been told to look at the local banks as they want their money invested in the communities that they are in. I have not had to do that yet.

Getting good contractors at decent prices can be a challenge in small towns if you are not close to a larger city. For example; I recently had to deal with a sewer line backup. I called every company in town to get someone out to cable or hydrojet the line. They were all booked up and it took me 5 days to get someone out there. In major cities I can get someone out for emergency service typically same day, even if I have to pay overtime for after hours work. It is not possible there. I am lucky that I can and like to go to my properties and do most of the major renovation work myself. It saves me a bunch of money and time.

In one of the towns the only hardware stores are Ace and True Value. In that town none of them are open on a Sunday, so the closest hardware store for an emergency on a Sunday is 1hr 20 min away. I make sure that when I am doing major work that I plan to avoid potential problems on a Sunday. ie I am not replacing valves and faucets on a Sunday in case something breaks and I need to shut off water and go get a new part to fix it and they are all closed until the next morning. 

I only invest in small towns. I've got properties in (2) towns currently that are around 10k people in each town. They are both 45 minutes - 1 hour outside of the closest city. They also both have declining population over the past 10 years. Huge red flags, right? What I've learned is that population, job growth, and proximity to large cities are surface level indicators but don't always tell the whole story. 

These small towns are a niche market like investing in STR or trailer parks. I've learned a lot over my time investing in small towns and have found some great opportunities but just like any other niche market you better learn what you're dealing with or you'll get burnt.

Hey, I have a group that has invested in a rural area, and there is such little development going on there that there are literally zero vacancies. Most of the industry is blue collar work and some of our tenants have their rent paid by their corporate HQ, our all in cost for a new home there is $250k and we are bringing in $3k a month in rent and have had zero vacancies. 

All of our cash has been going into a larger development so we haven't built on our remaining 8 lots yet, but if you are interested in getting involved I can send you more information or set up a call with our partners. 

Another item to think about on this when getting into flipping or rentals in smaller communities is the vendors or contractors that are in the area. Before you get a flip under contract it is important to know that you have a vendor/contractor you can trust that will do the work needed.

Quote from @Kylie A.:

Quote from @Kerry Noble Jr:

Im reading the book....."Inflationary 80s" and it spoke on investing in smaller towns with growth....Im definitely open to it...

 have u bought anything yet?

 I have not.....but I'm looking to.

@Kylie A. The largest town I invest in has about 7000 residents. It has a Walmart, Lowe’s, Home Depot, Applebees, and a 99 Restaurant which is a New England chain as well as tons of other businesses and restaurants.

If you find the right small town area it can work out well.

Im reading the book....."Inflationary 80s" and it spoke on investing in smaller towns with growth....Im definitely open to it...