All Forum Posts by: Matthew Perry

@Jason Turgeon  beat to it, but the back bay historic district is one to keep an eye on, and there are also a couple of other little smaller community organizations who are small as can be but will raise hell if they dont like what you are doing. 

When I got started in real estate I got started in the triad area- then moved out to the research triangle area. Near and dear to my heart. I think the triad market in particular is a great market to really focus in on. 

we have a VA for nearly every aspect of our business. One VA runs our text message application, another handles all of our cold calling and appointment setting, and the third handles all our social media, videos, and facebook posting. We spend a lot a lot a lot of time just going through the interview and selection process making sure we have the person. Once we have someone though they are a part of our team, they can join us via videoconferencing for our weekly meetings and I am logged into Skype every single day working with them, answering any questions that might come up. We target Upwork when we need to hire one, and find them to be the best.

Let me clear- this would be non guru centric. 

If you could ask one question to a real estate investor what would that be? 

First let me commend you for making me a large jump. You are moving into the largest and most competitive marketplace in the northeast outside of NYC, and even within that the super competitive Back Bay section. Be prepared to have a lot of people begin to question a lot of things, the back bay neighborhood association is one of the toughest community organizations I know of in the US, and I have done projects all across the country. As mentioned the parking is a huge concern right now especially in Back Bay, the dumpster issue is also a big one though in the grand scheme of things it is the hurdles that will come before that will be more dependent on getting to that point in the entire process. The biggest piece of advice I can mention is to make sure that every single I is dotted twice, and every T is crossed multiple times because once the city of Boston is aware you have taken on any sort of project be prepared to become every well introduced to city inspectors who are going to come knocking frequently. Just think top down what would need to be checked, and I will tell you that sprinklers are always the ones people forget and then get nailed for it. Best of luck! 

Just add in my two cents here, I would say that while I do not think it is the hardest part of real estate investing- that title belongs to buy and hold investing just based on the dynamics of risk involved- I actually believe it is probably the most time consuming, and potentially cost adverse. 

1) To say that you can wholesale with little or no money down is a fallacy, and a huge one at that. You do need money for marketing tools and other minor costs already mentioned like EMD. Where the fallacy comes into play is that since you are not actually closing on the property and you assigning the contract you can do not actually need the money to close on the property.

2) Marketing to find off market properties and finding sellers who are motivated to sell is not free unless you just drive around your neighborhood and knock on every single door, but is that really free because what are you paying yourself for the time you have committed to that? 

3) The cheapest probable way to begin to market is probably postcards, but be prepared to commit to at least a six month campaign for that to prove even remotely worthwhile. 

Do not mistake what I am saying for saying that wholesaling is not a great place to start, because truthfully I think it is THE place to start. What I do believe however is that you need a plan in place to start, and figure out what course of action you are going to take. Know how many hours you can commit to each week, know how much money you have to work with, and how long you can last without having any new money come in. Create a list somewhere of all your expenses, your household expenses, your marketing expenses, and know how long you can go. Then push yourself and figure out what your message is going to be prospective sellers. Then get out and do it! Do not be afraid to start small, the important fact is not how much you begin with but rather that you are doing it. Your present circumstances have nothing to do with where you will end up only where you begin. Find local meetups in your area that are real estate investment centric and anchor yourself to those groups, stay active on the forums here, and listen to various podcasts (there are too numerous to mention here, but find the ones that you connect with) Best of luck to you! 

What do you do to create a culture of success within your business and company? 

Hi Jameson,

I am trying to understand this post and I have read five or six times. Can you clarify it a little more? Is a bank willing to float you a loan on cash you raise? Are you looking for cash? 

@Kate Murphy impressive deal in the super uber competitive market of Boston. Way to survive the jungle.