All Forum Posts by: Michael Guzik

@Marioly Toles Congrats on taking down the deal! What are the numbers on the property? So far it sounds good but the purchase price, repair cost and rents are far more important in my opinion than anything you gave. How much would it rent for Airbnb? Are you going to be managing it yourself? Did you factor in a PM fee in your numbers? I'm usually not a big numbers guy but that stuff is pretty important and should definitely be including in posts like this!

@Avtandil G. That's a great question my friend. I have met with several of them in the office and have grown up with some of the people they hired as agents. My personal feelings towards those people are negative due to how they were in and out of school but that has nothing to do with the company. For what it is, it is a great opportunity for someone with little or no formal education to make a decent living and theoretically provide value to investors. I have never done a deal with them yet, because the numbers on their deals just have never worked for me. I personally look at most of their deals and believe the prices are over priced and rehab is under priced. However that is just my opinion. Everyone comes across good deals, and they I'm sure they are no exception to that fact.

 There is an obvious negative stigma about them among real estate people here and I really don't know exactly where it stems from. One of the first questions I always get when I tell people I'm a wholesaler is "Are you with New Western or Net Worth?". It isn't said in a very positive tone, but maybe that is just me imagining things. Like with any wholesaler or deal you definitely need to do your own due diligence.  After reading through this thread I would just be cautious and make sure to read on exactly how they work and what it takes to go from beginning to end on a deal with them. 

I would definitely sign up for their list as you have done and make a decision for yourself. Evaluate the deals that are sent to you, call the agents and see how they are. There are always good and bad people everywhere you go. Maybe their goals will align with yours and you will have an awesome business relationship with them. At the very least  by working with them you will have an idea of what is going on in the San Antonio market and get a knack for evaluating deals.

@Jose Tamez Great job on taking action and continuing to learn my friend! My 2 cents is this sounds like a bad deal my friend. You will be over paying like most people in this economy at the moment. I don't know what side of town this is on but cash flowing 50 a month is nothing and isn't something to get excited about. You are basing your strategy on appreciation my friend which is a very foolish thing. Just because it has appreciated that much recently does not mean it will continue to do so. Please keep a level head and focus on all the reasons you shouldn't do the deal. You should be thinking worst case scenario when evaluating deals like this. What if your family member and friend don't want to rent there? What if something breaks or needs fixing? What if the market crashes? Do you have the money to pay for the mortgage and/or possible repairs? I know I may sound harsh my friend but you really need to think about this stuff. I would hate to see you take down a deal like this with such slim numbers and be in a very tough spot in a year or two. Continue to learn and interact with other wholesalers and agent and see what else they have. I'm confident there are much better deals out there. good luck!

@James Wachendorf Welcome to BP James. Not sure what the point or meaning behind this post is. Is this your first property that you have purchased yourself? What are the numbers on it? How much is needed in repairs? What do the rents in the area look like? How did you find the deal? Are you planning to BRRRR your way into the next investment?

Quick tip! Fill out your profile and put a picture my friend! Definitely start being active on here and continue to post and comment or at least read! Congrats if this is your first investment property! I'm proud of you for pulling the trigger! I hope to see you around the site in the future!

@Mauricio Davila Welcome to BP my friend and to the world of real estate. Good on you for taking action and joining BP. I would suggest filling out your profile and doing a few things. Join as many real estate groups on Facebook as you can, start seeing who posts on there and reach out to them asking for help, wisdom or advice. Message people here on Bigger Pockets and do the same thing. Go to real estate meet ups in your area which can be found at meetup.com. You can meet so many people by doing this and build such a powerful and great network! Many people come and go here on BiggerPockets. Don't be that new person that posts once and then never posts again. This site is just like any other area of real estate. You need to be consistent and patient. Continue to log on here, post, ask questions and read other comments and posts!

To answer your question about working with a title company, yes it can be a good thing. However title companies usually don't work with investors too often. There are some that are "investor friendly" but the majority of their work is not from wholesalers. So I wouldn't go into it believing that 50% of your work is going to be dealing with investors, unless you can specifically ask to only do work for those clients. I'm no master on title companies so I can only speak from my perspective and limited knowledge from the ones here in my city. It is definitely worth a look though! Good luck and I hope to see you around the site!

@Tuan Le Welcome to BP my friend and welcome to San Antonio! You moved to a great city and an amazing real estate market so consider yourself fortunate. I don't know where the idea of wholesaling came from, or who influenced you to go that direction, but be careful my friend! It certainly is not easy, and is in no way shape or form a get rich quick scheme. It is a job and takes lots of patience, time and energy. It is very manageable and feasible to do on the side as a "part time" job after your 9-5 or regular job. I would certainly not quit either of your jobs to go into it full time, because it does take a while to get the ball rolling. I don't know where the idea of it came from that it is this amazing opportunity for newbies, or people getting started, but it makes me sad because many quit and give up on real estate when it doesn't work out for them. Wholesaling is only one aspect and is a very small part of it to be honest. Don't let that quitter be you! Continue to learn, read and network. Ask others for their opinion and what they would do if they were you. Just be careful because many people prey on new investors and will try and sell you some course, or mentoring program. You definitely need to be in all the real estate groups on Facebook and start going to Real estate meetups! Those are great ways to network and figure out what the culture of real estate is here, and how you can fit in and find your niche. I wish you the best of luck my friend and hope to see you around town closing deals!

@Jason Lee Welcome to BP my friend! It is always great to see a fellow San Antonion on here. First of all CONGRATS on doing your first deal and house hacking! That's freaking great and I'm glad to hear it. It sounds like you are on the right path so that's great. There are so many newbies here in San Antonio and people looking to start nowadays because of the hot market so it will be hard to distinguish yourself and stand out to be honest. The best thing to do is join Facebook pages for real estate groups and go to networking meet ups. Shaking hands and meeting others is the best way to build solid relationships. One golden nugget I can give you is to have what you want in mind before you reach out to lender's, agents, brokers and/or wholesalers. Have the exact area, property, price range, and repair cost in mind. This will help you to be taken seriously and for them to actually add you to their buyers list. I wish you the best of luck my friend and hope to see you around town!

@Meshael Eady How much does she want to net from the sale of the property? That would be the big question. You also need to dive a bit deeper and figure out the real WHY. One possible avenue would be to find out the monthly mortgage and interest, maybe you can assign that note to a note investor? Would she consider owner financing it to you? I agree with you that from the details the best route is to sell to someone for cash, and hopefully you get a finder's fee or assignment fee. However there are still some possible missing puzzle pieces that could change everything my friend! Don't be afraid to ask questions and reach out to others in your market and ask them. Join Facebook real estate pages or message people here on BP in your area and ask for their opinion! Maybe you can find a partner or they will help you along the way! I wish you the best of luck brother!

@Gregory Lewis Welcome to BP my friend. First things first you need to do your research and ask better questions. You can't expect anyone to provide you value when you ask a boring and lame question like that. As @Hunter Fitch already said, wholesaling is HARD. It is not some get rich quick scheme and is not easy. There are so many people that fall off, give up and/or quit. If you don't know anything and basically want to get paid to learn take @Nick C. advice and find someone who will employ you and teach you the ropes. 

I'm not sure how much you know but you definitely need to be reading books, listening to podcasts, and networking. Join all the real estate Facebook groups in your area and message people asking for help, wisdom, or even to just have coffee with them. Go to networking events in your area that appear on meetup.com, and get your name out there. Shake people's hands, network and listen to others who have done what you want to do. I don't want to be a jerk but I don't want to lie to you. This real estate game especially wholesaling won't get you rich over night, and it isn't all rainbows and unicorns. It takes lot's of time, effort and patience. I wish you the best of luck and hope to see you on the forums with a success story soon enough!

@Roberto Ruiz That's a great question and believe it or not a pretty common one! @Jonathan Soto said it perfectly. Search for real estate deals and make connections while you pay the debt off. Join Facebook real estate groups, reach out to other people on BP that are in your area and just really dive into the business. If a deal comes up, and you have the money for it and the return is greater than the debt payment, GREAT go for it! If not worst case scenario you pay off your debt and have life long relationships and connections already established because you didn't just sit on your hands for years. Once you pay off that debt, save that monthly payment you would normally be paying for a future investment property!

The biggest mistake I believe people make is that they just say oh well I can't start now guess I'll wait until the market crashes, or wait 3 years to start. DO NOT DO THAT. START NOW!!! I wish you the best of luck my friend!