All Forum Posts by: Marco Santarelli

@Brett Johnson — Welcome to BiggerPockets!

You bring up a good question, and one I cover often on my weekly podcast.

As a general rule, liquid cash is best. It depreciates and produces no income.

If you have available equity, as you do, to tap into to generate a rate of return from a portfolio of income producing real estate then that is often a great strategy. Again you need to run the numbers yourself, or with the help of another.

Many of our clients tap into their HELOC or pull cash from a refinance to use towards down payment on a portfolio that generates more than enough cash flow to cover the expenses and debt service.

If you live in an expensive market then this strategy can be even more beneficial to you!

Last but not least, you will have the tax benefits that will apply to your passive income.

Continued success!

CC: @Ryan Maguire

@Marco Morkous -- Be clear on YOUR Strategy.  Not all investment strategies fit everyone's circumstances  (interest, experience, available capital, risk tolerance, investment goals, long term plans, available time, etc. etc).

Define your overall Goals.  And ask yourself if you want to be an Active or Passive real estate investor right now.

Continued success!

Hi @Joe Melody -- Financing is an important part of real estate investing. It's a slow road if you plan to save and buy properties without mortgage financing. The leverage accelerates your wealth creation and magnifies your returns.

The only time I see investors get into trouble is when they make stupid decisions in the purchase (which my team and I talk about all the time), or when they are speculating on price appreciation over CASH FLOW.  That was the problem back in 2006-2008.

Mortgage loans today are not that easy to get, but not hard either if you have good credit. It's your best friend when you know how to use it properly.

I'd love to see you get started. Don't feel you need to know absolutely everything, or you'll never start. Work with a good team of advisors around you.

Continued success!

@Joe Melody -- I'm just guessing, but with all the income has from his businesses, it would probably be wise to *store* that income into real estate, for the many benefits it provides including tax benefits. When you have a lot of income and can buy a lot of real estate "all cash" then you don't really need financing to leverage your investment capital because you have so much of it. Leverage becomes less important. It's more about preservation and tax benefits.

In short, he's past the point of benefiting from mortgage financing (leverage).

But most people are NOT. So for most investors, they'll need and want mortgage loans to build up their real estate portfolios.

I do know from inside sources that he has mortgage loans, and has purchased properties in the past using mortgage loans.

Continued success!

@Alex Escorcia Jr — Welcome to BiggerPockets!

You have a number of options. Living in Southern California and having invested 2000 miles away over 16 years ago I can tell you some of the mistakes I made.

One of the biggest ones was investing in the wrong neighborhoods. That’s a big factor in your success or struggle investing in rental real estate.

Experience and reputation are two MAJOR factors in who you should choose to work with. Something we hear quite often.

Make sure proformas include vacancy and maintenance when you’re evaluating any deal. Those are must have line items.

Feel free to contact me anytime.

Continued success!

@Leah Richards -- Welcome to BiggerPockets!

I like your description of it being a "journey". It truly is.  However, it's also an investment and should be treated as a business. (I'm pretty sure you knew that.)

We have six Investment Counselors (going on seven) and I'd encourage you to have a conversation with one of them. That way you can ask all the questions you like.

There are a number of options out there, and it's worth your time to explore, LEARN, and ask questions. My #1 rule of my "10 Rules" is to Educate Yourself.

Anyway, best of luck with everything Leah.

Continued success!

@Taylor L. — thanks for the mention Taylor. :)

You are correct in that turnkey properties are not for everyone. They are great for busy professionals and those wanting the most passive form of direct investment.

I say it all the time. It’s very important to work with the right team of people around you.

Continued success!

Hi @Anthony Jasmine — Welcome to BiggerPockets.

Thanks for your kind words and comments. I truly appreciate it, and I’m glad you’ve been impressed so far.

I’m also glad you enjoy my podcast. Educating yourself is very important, so continue to do so. And Brandon‘s book is great as well, as many others out there.

NO CHARGE. What I mean is Norada Real Estate Investments does not charge its clients anything at all. Norada does not take a partnership role or a “cut” of anything. The properties are 100% yours alone.

I’m glad you see the value of being agnostic. Not just market agnostic, but service provider agnostic. The best way to be unbiased is to not be married to anyone.

There are more current Norada posts here on BP. They're just peppered all over.

Feel free to contact one of our Investment Counselors to get as many references and testimonials as you like.  Just ask!

You can also reach out to me anytime you like. :)

Continued success!

@Lee Ripma — Yes, that’s a good point, Lee. Because of the confusion around true turnkey properties I’ve categorize them as either truly “turkey“ or simply “rent ready“ properties.

Unfortunately there is no true industry definition of what a turnkey property is. I marketed the heck out of the phrase back in 2004 and 2005, and now everyone uses it willy-nilly.

Continued success!

@Jerry Tsai — Welcome to BiggerPockets.

Those are all good questions and glad you’re asking.

I would encourage you to search the forums as there are many posts and threads written about Norada Real Estate Investments. Reputation is very important and something that takes years to build.

As far as the process, we’ve detailed that in the form of a thorough two-page checklist. Happy to give it to you.

Per your comment, it is not unusual to look at the properties. Keep in mind that you should look at the market first, the neighborhood second, and the property third. And this is all within the context of having the right team surrounding you.

To run your own numbers, as in different scenarios. But note that properties we post our actual figures unless the property is on the market for lease. In those cases the monthly rent is the projected amount from the management company. Those usually come in within $25-$50 of their projection.

Feel free to post any other questions you have… I’ve been investing out of state, over 2000 miles away, for over 16 years now. I’ve had my fair share of scrapes and bruises. ;-)

Continued success!