All Forum Posts by: Michael Cox

@Misael Carlos Vera I'm also a new investor, and I recently closed on a SFH that I'm house-hacking. Similar to what you're experiencing, my motivation comes and goes, but isn't that most emotions? Some days we feel better than others and vice versa. There are some quality responses in the thread already, but I figured I'd offer what works for me.

That thing that has kept me consistent was writing out my goals and corresponding habits. It took the guess work, will power, and emotional roller coaster out of the equation. I try not to rely on motivation, inspiration, or happy go lucky feelings to work towards my goals. If I have an extra pep in my step certain days, then great. If I don’t, I already set up the habits/infrastructure to continue moving forward. Essentially, I’m trying to make working towards my goal a daily subconscious habit like bathing/brushing your teeth/exercising/or whatever you do daily!

I would recommend reading Atomic Habits and/or The Power of Habit. It really helped me tremendously.

Best of luck! You got this!

@Drew Sygit This makes total sense, thank you.

@Jonathan Giglio I’m in Philadelphia and am experiencing the same thing. Home prices are sky rocketing, inventory is low and goes quick, and it’s just highly competitive.

The one common theme I see here on BiggerPockets is that deals can be find in any market. I always try to remember that when I get discouraged. With that said, keep pushing, keep searching for deals, and continue learning and networking!

Also, I ended up pivoting from my original strategy. I wanted a duplex/tri-plex to house hack as my first property. Due to low inventory, I ended up putting an offer in on a SFH and am using the basement as a STR. So maybe exploring different strategies could be useful too!

@Matt M.If it wasn't for the education part, I'd be 100% aligned. Ideally, I'd like to use the BRRRR strategy. But before I jump in, I figured I'd get my feet wet first to learn. Maybe, I'll look to partner up in PA and see if I can add capital to an established investor. Thanks again for your insight.

@David Nutakor and @Mark S. Thank you both, this was helpful. I'll make sure to do my due diligence before moving forward. I have David Greene's book, but unfortunately everything is packed up for my upcoming move. I'll add that book to the top of my list to read when I'm all settled in to the new place. 

@Matt M.Thanks for your comments! Yeah, the cons you listed seem to be recurring in everything that I'm reading. I've had seen a few success stories, but they don't pop up often. 

I'm curious, how you advise a new investor to get started. I'm in Philadelphia, and the market down here is super expensive. The SFH I'm closing on will give me some experience with STR, but won't really be a great learning experience. I've read the books, listened to the podcasts, and have the capital. I'm not exploring my best route to gain experience (and not lose a lot of money in the process-haha).

Thanks again and looking forward to hearing your reply. 

@Grace Wang Thank you sharing your experiences. This was really insightful. The market I live in is pretty expensive, so I've been exploring out-of-state investing and I thought a partnership with a turnkey company would be my best bet (positive, cash flow, seamless process, learning experience, a pre-existing team, etc...). But I'm nervous about getting burnt with additional rehab/maintenance costs as you explained/experienced. Hopefully with some due diligence, I can minimize the downsides and risks. 

Thank you again for your perspective!

@AJ H. Thanks AJ, I really appreciate the insight!

@Aaron W. , thank you! I’m definitely looking for more passive as I start out and learn. 
I’ve read that returns could be lower, but don’t really know what to expect. Would you have a lose range/estimate on what I could expect? 

Im closing on my first property next Friday (housing hack / using the basement for a STR). I'm looking to get my second property at the end of Q2 2021, and have been exploring turnkey properties.

I’ve done the general research on the pros and cons, but was curious if any one has any experiences, stories, insights and/or lessons learned?