All Forum Posts by: Marcus Coleman

I'm working on flipping my first house.

How do you choose a real estate agent? I've been working with a buyers agent that seems to know what he's talking about. He's quick to point out what kind of work needs to be done, and where the problems are in the houses he shows me. I know he's not a house inspector, but he doesn't hold back in talking about the house's problem points and potential.

The problem is, he's new. He just started last year. But he is motivated.

How do I choose a good agent? From the things he's pointed out, it made me realize that I know less about houses than I thought. But what qualities do you all look for when looking for a real estate agent to work with?

Hey Felicia,

Welcome to BiggerPockets! I used to live in Flint, and can't imagine investing there. But my dad lives there now and he lives in a very nice area(compared to the rest of Flint). As I'm sure you know, there's a really bad part of Flint, and a not so bad part.

That being said, I suggest going for "nicer" areas where the houses look like they're being taken care of and the people are older. I know some others that live around that neighborhood and they take care of their house as well. It's a nice neighborhood.

But I'm very new to investing and I haven't made any investments yet, so this is just my opinion. The guides Paul Timmins listed will be helpful. Especially the Ultimate Beginner's Guide. You might want to learn about the 2%/1.25%/1% rule.

Good luck! And I'd be interested to know how things turn out.

Would it be illegal to send flyers out to tenants living in an apartment complex and in the flyer show the apartment complexes current prices compared to say... living in a mobile home? Or even an estimate on how much a house might cost(with an asterisk saying that mortgage rates depend on a number of factors)?

How do you choose which cities to invest in? I'm especially interested in rehabbing and house flipping, but I'd also like information on if I wanted to rent out properties.

Do you look at things like demographics? House prices? Population growth? Median income? And if so, which are the most important statistics to look at?

I've heard that you should invest in nice neighborhoods. But what about a nice neighborhood in an area with a low population? Or an area far(1hr+) from a major city? Does it matter?

@Felix Wisniewski Thanks! That's very inspiring, considering I'm a 28 year old college drop out. I'll look into finding a mentor.

@Larry Fried Good to know.

Hi, my name is Marcus and I'm just getting into real estate investing. I'm from Ann Arbor, MI. My plan is to become a full-time investor so that I can leave my job(I work in information security... a booming field I know, but I'm tired of being stuck in my office all day) in the next 4 months. That might be a bit ambitious, but I'm hopeful.

So, I'm curious how do you all feel about other investors in your city? I see 141 people from Ann Arbor on BiggerPockets and it freaks me out a little. I've read that you should try to invest within 2 hours of where you live, but seeing so many investors here makes me nervous. How do you all feel about this? 

Also, what are some ways a newbie can get a leg up on the competition? I may not be as knowledgeable as others, but are there other areas I could improve that would help me in investing? Something besides learning marketing(I'm studying up on it now), and I'd guess I should learn more about interior design. But is there anything else that might help?

My current strategy is to gain a real estate license, become a wholesaler to learn more about the world of REI, start flipping and get into renting at around the same time. But this could change as I learn more about REI. Any suggestions would be highly appreciated.

By the way, I just read(listened to) Brandon Turner's No Money Down book and I loved it. I'm planning to listen to it again. I've also just started listening to Rich Dad Advisors: ABCs of Real Estate Investing.