All Forum Posts by: Mark Limke

Welcome to BP, Mrs. Lane. You didn't mention your name, sorry.

What type of investing are you planning to do? Buy and hold for income, flipping, wholesaling?

My first advice would be to read the guide for new investors (look under Education, then Guides). Start listening to the podcasts. Ask questions on the forums. Spend enough time so you know some specific things to ask, then ask. There are a bunch of forum threads with help for brand new people, and I'd say start there.

Good luck to you both!

@Chelsey Hamill, I have no Denver knowledge, less than you, probably. There's wisdom in the earlier advice, for sure. 

But don't forget what success coaches say: Don't say, or let others say for you, "I can't," but instead say "How can I?" Mindset is so important, and you sound like yours is in the right place.

If you have a dream/goal, figure out a way. Leverage, partnership, working your way up to it, live farther out and gradually move in, who knows?

Being a Realtor in a new town, you'll want a mentor right away. It's easy to blow a lot of money getting started in real estate. I can hook you up with someone helpful, if you want. 

Good luck!

@Clarissa Nesbitt, I feel your pain! This is the fear I have every time I hear the advice to "stop learning and just get out and DO it!" But what a great problem to have, right?

You're trying to buy and hold, is that right? Or flipping? Your profile mentions about everything. One general piece of advice is to learn to use the online analysis calculators available to pro members. Plug in what you know, use conservative estimates for things you don't, and perhaps you'll have a better feel for what you are doing. Make an offer, and get it out here on the marketplace, and see what you can accomplish!

Another idea is to quickly get a partner, and split the deals with them for a bit, until you catch on. Better a little piece of something than 100 percent of nothing.

Best of luck to you!

My advice is general in nature. Be sure to get a competent attorney involved once you settle on what you want generally.

I advise you to have a frank discussion with your potential partners, and everyone talks, without holding back, about what they want out of the partnership, what they can do and cannot do, and their expectations of revenue and cost sharing.

Also, brainstorm, and come up with as many "what ifs" as you can. Anything you can think of, good and bad. Like what if partner X says he's going to do all the inspections, but he gets busy at work, and can't: who's going to do them, and who pays for that, us or X? Just anything that could go wrong or cause a ripple. Search BP for partnership problems, learn from them AHEAD of time.

It wouldn't be the worst outcome if after such a discussion, you find that maybe you don't like these folks as partners anymore, or one of them drops out. Better up front than when you're "in bed" financially with them.

Good luck, and do get a detailed partnership agreement in place!

I've been thinking along similar lines here in my area (Iowa). We've got two local group, but one rarely meets, and the other charges for attending. I admire your initiative, and wonder how you plan to guide the meetings. 

One of my biggest turn-offs at groups such as this is organizers who don't control the meeting. There will always be people who have no 'off' switch, and will dominate the discussion time-wise, without adding value. People usually quietly sit there and suffer, then don't come back, figuring it will be more of the same. So watch for that. Make sure everyone gets a chance to participate, take charge, but don't be the main speaker, the one people wish would shut up for a bit.

Good luck, Tyrone.

I don't know anything on the topic, but my thought is that you might try searching for Solo 401(k) rather than solo401. There are a ton of hits on that topic.

Best of luck investing, my friend!

Joseph, welcome! I'm a former Army aviator, and loved my time in the service. Happy to have you on board here at BP, and I wish you the best of luck!  Keep us posted on your deals and experiences as you master this.

No idea of tenant rights in your state, but a general concern is: what if the landlord lies? What if this month they are up to date, but stop next month? Is the tenant going to ask every month for proof they paid? I'm not sure there is a sure-fire way to know this with certainty, other than the landlord giving their monthly loan statement to the tenant (yeah, right).

The tenant can always tap into public records and watch for signs of foreclosure. Beyond that, not sure. Sounds like a good business niche to exploit, landlord monitoring.

I think you're saying you want to borrow money from a lender to pay the seller all his proceeds up front, rather than through seller financing. Right? Meaning you intend to borrow from someone to pay the seller, using your brother's money as down payment etc.

I don't understand what you mean by a bank loan being impossible to cash out. What do you mean by 'cash out' here? Getting a loan that includes cash to you?

Are you meaning you want to borrow the purchase price plus rehab costs? You might want to investigate a 203(k) loan. Just Google "203(k) HUD" and you'll get some good links. Or search here on BP. And yes, you can borrow from private lenders or hard money sources too.

If that's not your question, maybe you could say it another way?

I'm licensed back here in Iowa, so tagging this on just to stay compliant:
Mark Limke, Realtor, Licensed in Iowa (S62409000)
Keller Williams Greater Des Moines (F05542000)
4001 Westown Pkwy, West Des Moines IA 50266

Welcome, Mayra! You've picked a great spot to start your real estate investing trip!

If you haven't read this one yet, grab it first, it's free: https://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investing

J Scott has a well-regarded book on rehabbing, and he's a member here.

Try the MREI, which is Millionaire Real Estate Investor, by Gary Keller et al.

Listen to the BP podcasts, working through back episodes until you're caught up. A great way to learn!

And above all, don't spend too much time trying to learn everything before you act! Fatal flaw, that one. And invest in your backyard before you go remote, I'd say. If there are opportunities, that is.

Good luck, and have a prosperous 2016!