All Forum Posts by: Michael Pison

Hey Stephen, I am a fairly new real estate wholesaler located here in Los Angeles area. I would be more than happy to connect and share what I have learned so far! 

However to get started, pull up a list of addresses with potentially distressed owners ( pre foreclosure, tax delinquency, probate, etc.) and whatever marketing strategy you use, start reaching out to them. Prequalify the condition, timeline to sell, motivation to sell, and price to see if they are a real lead. If so, get them under contract. On the Southern CA FB group there seems to be an abundance of buyers, so if you lock up a deal at the right numbers, then you should be able to find one. Ultimately take action and be consistent! Hope this helped. 

I want to reach out here first before I pull a random firm off the internet. I'd appreciate anyone who has the investor's best interest in mind and communicates the process well.

Thank you guys!

Sounds like a great plan, good luck!

Thanks for asking this question Ryan! I am new myself and this question hits home for me, I want to make sure I am factoring everything and doing the math correctly! What market(s) are you focusing on and what strategies are you considering?

When investing out of state, what ratios, rules, or equations should I be using to analyze a market? 

@Jennifer T. Thank you for sharing your experience! This information is useful as I prepare a DP on my first deal. However FYI, I did not follow up on this deal because I did not know that you have to pay rent for the lot space you take up. Adding that rent into the equation totally threw off my chances to profit. 

Just got the book, so far so good! Very excited

As I was practicing running numbers through multiple properties in my market, I stumbled upon a deal that I think is a hidden gem. The main approach is to turn this into a rental property. From the looks of it, it is a mobile home that was built this year and ready to go. What important questions should I ask the seller besides what's provided on Zillow? And what is the difference in rental prices for mobile homes compared to standard homes.

The plan is to take out a HELOC for 20,000 to cover 20% of the down. I am willing to go up to 40% if that will increase my chances of securing the property. What I'm factoring into my monthly payments is mortgage, property tax, home insurance and the HELOC payment. Am I missing something? How else can I better my chances to securing this property?

I have cash reserves that will cover potential vacancy for some months. If I secure this property, creating a lease and tenant screening will be my top priority before letting any one in. 

Besides the questions I asked, please provide any input that you see beneficial in my situation. Thank you so much BP

Thank you Dmitriy, I just added a few because you brought it up!

Hey Rudy, thank you for responding. You bring up a very real perspective, relationships can change and get messy when money gets involved. However, my family and I are close knit, in fact, the reason I am interested in real estate investing is because I want to establish something for them as they have done for me. When they retire, I don't want them to slowly eat through their retirement savings, what happens if they live past their savings? Also they have no investing knowledge whatsoever. I think planning and working with them will be an important asset. And being responsible of their money makes me more determined to find those right deals. 

I also agree on expanding my search for investment properties away from LA. My ROI/ Cashflow is nonexistent, I am mainly focusing on learning and I need to be more familiar with calculating those metrics.