All Forum Posts by: Manny Vasquez

Charity - Welcome to the BP community! This is the best place for all things real estate related. This is what I recommend for you to get started in your real estate journey:

1. Start saving as much as you can. Depending how much you earn you can step up those savings by getting a side-hustle in any part of real estate....working for a top Real Estate office on weeknights and weekends, working for an RE Investor, working for a General Contractor and learning a few skills, etc. This way you can ramp up your savings AND learn some RE skills.

2. Read as many RE books as you can get your hands on. Here are a few I recommend: "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Roberto Kiyosaki; "Set for Life" by Scott Trench; "The Unofficial Guide to Real Estate Investing" by Spencer; "The BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginners Guide" found here on BP; "The Book on Rental Property Investing" by Brandon Tuner. This will give you a good starting point.

3. Buy a property as soon as you can. The earlier you start in your RE journey, the better off you will be in the future. Almost everyone here on BP will tell you that they wish they had started earlier, myself included.

4. Decide which game you want to play. Do you want to be a house flipper? BRRRR? Real Estate Agent? General Contractor? Buy and Hold? Do you want to LTR, MTR, or STR? Or maybe you want to do a combination of the above?

5. Attend meetups and meet as many people in RE as you can. Since you are just graduating college you may already realize that it's not what you know, but who you know (as a personal note, I had college friends that were barely passing their classes however they ended up with really good paying jobs due to "who they knew"). As they say, your network will be your net-worth.

6. Timing the market does not work. However, time in the market makes all the difference in the world!

I hope this helps and good luck on your real estate journey!

Birkan - Welcome to the BP community! This is the best place for all things real estate related. This is what I recommend for you to get started in your real estate journey:

1. Start saving as much as you can. Depending how much you earn you can step up those savings by getting a side-hustle in any part of real estate....working for a top Real Estate office on weeknights and weekends, working for an RE Investor, working for a General Contractor and learning a few skills, etc. This way you can ramp up your savings AND learn some RE skills.

2. Read as many RE books as you can get your hands on. Here are a few I recommend: "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Roberto Kiyosaki; "Set for Life" by Scott Trench; "The Unofficial Guide to Real Estate Investing" by Spencer; "The BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginners Guide" found here on BP; "The Book on Rental Property Investing" by Brandon Tuner. This will give you a good starting point.

3. Buy a property as soon as you can. The earlier you start in your RE journey, the better off you will be in the future. Almost everyone here on BP will tell you that they wish they had started earlier, myself included.

4. House-hack, house-hack, house-hack. This will give you several benefits. The most obvious is that you will be able to offset your mortgage with renting out a few rooms. You will then have a few options with that rent money....you can put it into principal or you can start saving it to purchase yet another property. House hacking will also give you some personal "property management" experience. This will come in handy as you begin to scale.

5. Decide which game you want to play. Do you want to be a house flipper? BRRRR? Real Estate Agent? General Contractor? Buy and Hold? Do you want to LTR, MTR, or STR? Or maybe you want to do a combination of the above?

6. Attend meetups and meet as many people in RE as you can. Since you are just graduating college you may already realize that it's not what you know, but who you know (as a personal note, I had college friends that were barely passing their classes however they ended up with really good paying jobs due to "who they knew"). As they say, your network will be your net-worth.

7. Timing the market does not work. However, time in the market makes all the difference in the world!

I hope this helps and good luck on your real estate journey!

Connor- Welcome to the BP community! This is the best place for all things real estate related. This is what I recommend for you to get started in your real estate journey:

1. Start saving as much as you can. Depending how much you earn you can step up those savings by getting a side-hustle in any part of real estate....working for a top Real Estate office on weeknights and weekends, working for an RE Investor, working for a General Contractor and learning a few skills, etc. This way you can ramp up your savings AND learn some RE skills.

2. Read as many RE books as you can get your hands on (you said you have been doing this, so congrats!). Here are a few I recommend: "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Roberto Kiyosaki; "Set for Life" by Scott Trench; "The Unofficial Guide to Real Estate Investing" by Spencer; "The BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginners Guide" found here on BP; "The Book on Rental Property Investing" by Brandon Tuner. This will give you a good starting point.

3. Buy a property as soon as you can. The earlier you start in your RE journey, the better off you will be in the future. Almost everyone here on BP will tell you that they wish they had started earlier, myself included.  Don't wait for the perfect property, it the numbers work out then buy it!

4. House-hack, house-hack, house-hack. This will give you several benefits. The most obvious is that you will be able to offset your mortgage with renting out a few rooms. You will then have a few options with that rent money....you can put it into principal or you can start saving it to purchase yet another property. House hacking will also give you some personal "property management" experience. This will come in handy as you begin to scale.  If you can buy a multi-plex and house-hack, that would be the ultimate play.

5. Decide which game you want to play. Do you want to be a house flipper? BRRRR? Real Estate Agent? General Contractor? Buy and Hold? Do you want to LTR, MTR, or STR? Or maybe you want to do a combination of the above?

6. Attend meetups and meet as many people in RE as you can. Since you are just graduating college you may already realize that it's not what you know, but who you know (as a personal note, I had college friends that were barely passing their classes however they ended up with really good paying jobs due to "who they knew"). As they say, your network will be your net-worth.

7. Timing the market does not work. However, time in the market makes all the difference in the world!

I hope this helps and good luck on your real estate journey!

Katie - Yes, you can definitely sell a property with tenants in place.  This happens all the time.  However, like @Ellis San Jose mentioned above, you will command more $$$ for your property if it is delivered vacant (unless you are getting top market rent for that unit).

If you do sell with tenants, be prepared when the prospective buyer requests rent rolls, estoppel certificates, rent history, existing leases, rent due dates, security deposits, and any other written or verbal agreements.

I believe a 529 plan can only be used for educational purposes, like tuition, books, laptops, etc.  You might also be able to use it to pay for room & board, although I'm not 100% certain.  I don't think you can use a 529 plan to purchase real estate.

Cassiem - Welcome to the BP community! This is the best place for all things real estate related. This is what I recommend for you to learn more about real estate:

1. Read as many RE books as you can get your hands on. Here are a few I recommend: "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Roberto Kiyosaki; "Set for Life" by Scott Trench; "The Unofficial Guide to Real Estate Investing" by Spencer; "The BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginners Guide" found here on BP; "The Book on Rental Property Investing" by Brandon Tuner. This will give you a good starting point

2. Attend meetups and meet as many people in RE as you can. Since you are just graduating college you may already realize that it's not what you know, but who you know (as a personal note, I had college friends that were barely passing their classes however they ended up with really good paying jobs due to "who they knew"). As they say, your network will be your net-worth.

3. You could also get a Full-Time or Part-Time job in any part of real estate....working for a top Real Estate office on weeknights and weekends, working for an RE Investor, working for a General Contractor and learning a few skills, etc. This way you can ramp up your savings AND learn some RE skills.

4. Timing the market does not work. However, time in the market makes all the difference in the world!  Put what you learn into practice!

I hope this helps and good luck on your real estate journey!

Morris - Welcome to the BP community! This is the best place for all things real estate related. 

Cedric - Welcome to BP!   I believe California does have some great opportunities. However, these properties won't be low hanging fruit. You will have to do a little more research, dig a little deeper and turn a few more stones. You may also have to get your "hands dirty" in order to make these properties cash flow. Just last year I expanded my property portfolio in California which now includes Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside and Kern counties. Depending on where the property is situated and the "local market conditions" I have them rented out as either long term, mid-term or short term. Some cash flow more than others, but they all cash flow pretty well. I don't agree with all of the local laws and politics in California, but its still a great place to invest. Property appreciation is second to none and rents always go up here. You get the best of both worlds.

Like @Harrison Colunga mentioned, you don't have to look out of state.  Look at Riverside, San Bernardino, Kern, and Tulare counties.  There may be some excellent opportunities there. 

Since you mentioned that you are getting started, I highly suggest you house-hack (this is how I got started in Costa Mesa, Orange County). I did this for a few years and then I started to scale. If I did it, and I'm no one special, anyone can do it. You'll have to make some sacrifices, put in some work but I promise that its all worth it in the end.

Becareful with BRRRR-ing out of state. If you plan to be there for the entire rehab process, then go for it. But if you plan to travel back and forth, just make sure you that the people you have working on your property are highly reputable and trustworthy. Establish some "safeguards" to keep them honest and consistently check their work. I had a project bte me in the butt because I wasn't more diligent in "checking in" on the contractor.

If you need any help or additional advice, feel free to reach out  I have helped a lot of my investor friends (some that live in Orange County) purchase properties in other counties in California. I hope this helps and good luck in your journey!

Cecil- I believe California does have some great opportunities. However, these properties won't be low hanging fruit. You will have to do a little more research, dig a little deeper and turn a few more stones. You may also have to get your "hands dirty" in order to make these properties cash flow. Just last year I expanded my property portfolio in California which now includes Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside and Kern counties. Depending on where the property is situated and the "local market conditions" I have them rented out as either long term, mid-term or short term. Some cash flow more than others, but they all cash flow pretty well. I don't agree with all of the local laws and politics in California, but its still a great place to invest. Property appreciation is second to none and rents always go up here. You get the best of both worlds.

Since you mentioned that you are getting started, I highly suggest you house-hack (this is how I got started in Costa Mesa, Orange County). I did this for a few years and then I started to scale. If I did it, and I'm no one special, anyone can do it. You'll have to make some sacrifices, put in some work but I promise that its all worth it in the end. 

Becareful with BRRRR-ing out of state. If you plan to be there for the entire rehab process, then go for it. But if you plan to travel back and forth, just make sure you that the people you have working on your property are highly reputable and trustworthy. Establish some "safeguards" to keep them honest and consistently check their work. I had a project bte me in the butt because I wasn't more diligent in "checking in" on the contractor.

I hope this helps and good luck in your journey!

@Kirstyn Indy - I would start off by calling the credit card(s) that you wish to add your child as an authorized user.  Simply ask them if they report to the credit bureaus and if yes, which ones. Not all credit cards report activity to credit bureaus, and some may not report to all three major credit bureaus. Credit reporting is voluntary, and some credit card companies choose to work with only one or two bureaus, or even opt out entirely. For example, cash advance apps don't report activity to the credit bureaus unless you are seriously behind on your payments. Many credit card issuers report account activity to all three major credit bureaus, but some don't. For example, Capital One reports authorized users to all three of the major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion). 

Creditors and lenders are not required by law to report to credit bureaus. However, many businesses choose to report on-time payments, late payments, purchases, loan terms, credit limits, balances owed, and significant events such as account closures or charge-offs. Generally, you can expect credit card activity to be reported to the credit bureaus every 30 to 45 days, usually at the end of the billing cycle. 

I think its a great idea to add your children as an authorized user to start building their credit.  However, more important is to TEACH them the nuances of credit so that you can enable them to become responsible credit users.

I hope this helps and good luck!