All Forum Posts by: Matthew Maggy

Welcome to BP...investing aside, RVA is a great place to live in general!

IMHO, and I'm no expert on the market, but under 100k you will not be looking at student housing for VCU that is walking distance to anything. There is a possibility for under $100k around Virginia Union University, but still probably a tough go. 

Agreed 100%

 Accountant, Attorney, Realtor, etc., all of these guys have to also be real estate investors for me to use them.

If Real Estate is my business and the dominant aspect of my portfolio; the planner must understand that. 

I don't know if you're commission or not. Personally I will never use a commissioned financial adviser again. In my early 20s I'd been burned by commissions and being steered toward certain funds with higher compensation for the "Adviser," rather than what was best for me. I would imagine (although I don't know) that most higher net worth RE investors would feel the same.

I haven't been  a landlord before (starting in 2 weeks), but as a business owner, sometimes you just have to decide what's best for you and do it. As long as she's been given plenty of opportunity; then it's on her. If she didn't have much stuff, personally, I would pay for a mover, but I'm also a little too empathetic. Bottom line is, it's you or her, and your guilt will kill your business.

Welcome to BP! My increase in knowledge has been exponential since joining BP. Lots of great resources and people willing to help.

My advice as a novice (not newbie!) investor is not to hesitate too much. Do analyses and due diligence. If you see numbers work from an objective perspective-, go for it. Don't let fear be a factor in no investing or you'll never buy anything.

JJ Ballard at Realty World Ballard Company in Reno, NV. Company has been around for over 50 years, JJ for about 30. Helped me buy and has been managing my condo for 5 years. Also a mentor and my go-to for advice and perspective.

(775) 688-4656

 But there's some pretty decent opportunities in marginal areas if you hunt.

I bought and rented out my first property while renting somewhere else. It's not ideal, but if a tenant is paying your expenses, you have nice cash flow, and the deal is good then why not? You will have your money going to work building up cash from cashflow, plus getting equity. Richmond, from what I understand, is getting a lot of development money from Chevron and Kaiser. Where is it in Richmond? The barrio? Is it in a Suburb like El Sobrante? Hercules?

The only drawback to this strategy is that you will have to drive 25 minutes (45-1hr with traffic) to manage it. 

I used a property manager right off the bat (totally worth the 10% because I knew a good one)  and only lived 15 minutes away, so it's not the same situation.

I'm always of the opinion that if it's a good deal, it's a better use of your cash than sitting around collecting .001% interest in a savings account.

Disclaimer: I am far from an expert and this is all just my humble opinion.

One thing to look at might be the laws. I'm not sure if Baltimore is land-lord friendly or not, but Richmond is very landlord friendly. 

Welcome to BP. The hardest thing to do is get back up when you've fallen, especially in a confusing market like our current one. Best of luck.