All Forum Posts by: Aaron Keckley

My plan for 2015 is to build my foundation. to earn and pay off $20,000 of my wife and I's college and consumer debt. On paper, I can do this by listing and representing buyers in 6 real estate transactions. After that we will be out of "liability" debt and ready to invest in our first asset, a multi-unit property.

My wife and I are looking to move out of the Hampton Roads, Virginia area to somewhere new!  We are looking at Boulder and Denver as possible options.  I am currently days away from getting my license and joining a Real Estate firm in Virginia.  But it is not where we want to put our roots down.  We live very active outdoor lifestyles and ever since i visited CO, I wanted to go back.  From those of you who reside and work in the Denver/Boulder area, what is your opinion of the real estate market and overall economy.  Is it worth the jump?  Thanks

Thanks guys.  I am corresponding with a couple of firms right now.  I will definitely ask them about their relationship to investors.  Good point @Gerald Harris and @Bryan Kipke. I had already determined that I wanted my niche as an agent to be one that works with the investors. It makes sense to find a firm that has the same mindset.

OK, yes i know a lot of the investors on here are divided about whether to get a real estate license! To make this short, my employment situation was one I chose to leave due to some unlawful practices of my employer.  Knowing that my goal was to get into real estate investing, I decided to go ahead and get my license and find employment in the real estate industry.  I am weeks away from joining a firm and working as an agent for my day job.  I decided to make my career goals line up with my personal goals so that they would work together instead of against one another.  I was hoping if any current agents on the forum could share some insight on some key things that they learned upon entering the sales agent field. 

Hello! I'm a native if the area you are being stationed to. I'm just starting out as well but certainly will try to help. Unless you are going to have a duty station at the naval hospital in Portsmouth you will most likely want to look for something in Norfolk. Plus the Portsmouth Tunnel has just opened up a new toll so if you own property in Portsmouth and work to Norfolk you will have to pay for the toll every day. Portsmouth also has a lower income per capita and Norfolk does. There are numerous other variables however I would strongly suggest leaning toward Norfolk.

What is your end goal. Every strategy has a "mission accomplished." It is ok if it changes over time, but having one is critical. What do you want out of life? Do you just want extra cash on the side or financial freedom? I recently finished reading the ABC's of real estate investing, its a great read and I highly suggest it because it discusses goal setting.

The first step (this is what I am doing right now) is building your network. Join your local real estate investing association and attend the meetings. Get to know people and get a mentor.

Next, come up with your plan and execute. Know what niche you want to get into and go for it.

You may have done this already, but I wouldn't skip the important step of requesting the rent roll from the owner. It may cost you even less based on the operations of the property.

It all depends on what your long term goals are. Do you want to learn to flip houses as your investment strategy or do you want to Buy and Hold and have consistent cash flow. It all boils down to what you want long term. Flipping could give you a good profit, but you only get it once. I'm no expert, but if you can find a way to make your property stand out above the rest and make at least $100-$200 gross profit at the end of each month then you will have a solid investment. You should shoot to set the rent at 1 to 2 percent of what you owe on the house. (or more if you can)

Plus, if you really want to get into flipping later on, you could theoretically take out some equity from your current property to use for the flip and still have consistent cash flow coming in.

Really work the numbers to make it profitable if you can. If you can't seem to make any decent monthly cash flow however, then you could sell like you said. Just go with the numbers. Good Luck!

I am a young investor as well. I would say save as much as you can. But look into an FHA loan that only needs 3.5% down. Do your research and network. Coming up with a down payment won't be as hard as you think. Good luck!

Thank you, I believe I'm in the right direction now through all of your helpful comments.