All Forum Posts by: Michael Henry

Let me know how I can be of service. 

I like to think of the real estate decision process in terms of “go/no go”.

You will set the criteria for whether or not you move forward and is tailored to your needs and the asset class you want to be in. Each “go” moves you closer to your goal and every “no go” means something needs to be fixed (like one's credit, net worth, or capital availability) or learned (like how to purchase real estate with no money down or how to manage the property). What you need to remember is when you hit a “no go” you are not stopping or abandoning your goal but you are halting it temporarily. You will pick up where you left off once you resolved whatever needed to be answered.

For example.

Step 1. Get pre-approved; Go

Step 2. I need to fix my credit; No Go

Step 3. Get credit repair: Go

Step 4. Got pre-approved for $325,000.00; Go

Step 5. Etc….

I would start by trying to get pre-approved for a loan. Through this process, you will understand your financial capabilities.

Once you know what you can afford based on creditworthiness and down payment ability you can pick a market (city) and then a neighborhood to make your first purchase. Prices are going to vary depending on the city and neighborhood you pick. This is where your pre-approval will come into play. You will be limited to what your options are based on this pre-approval.

After you have identified what you can afford, what you want to purchase, and where; then you need to start building a team. Your team members are all the people you can call on for paid or unpaid services. People like handymen, property managers, attorneys, etc.

As you get stuck come on here and ask some more questions.

@Remon Rasho you are on the right path. The fact that you are seeking help here shows that.

You mentioned two problems you think you have i.e. income and credit. Those two things can be solved by budgeting, finding a second job (hustle), and/or slowly taking on small amounts of debt like a personal loan to build your credit profile. 

In terms of market prices, investors are finding deals every day just not as many as in months past. To get the best pricing you will need to buy direct from the seller; neither wholesalers nor realtors provide this discount opportunity, even though, there are other benefits for using them. You can use this strategy to buy your duplex to move into as well. 

Direct to Seller will apply to out-of-state too. The challenge will be building a system and team to be successful. Because you work remotely, staying a few days or weeks in the city you select makes it a lot easier to accomplish that goal quickly. 

Don't wait to buy real estate. Buy real estate and wait. 

Hint my line if you have more questions. 

I have done more than a few in St. Louis, one in Detroit, and have a new construction in cape coral, Fl that is underway. As mentioned above the "team" is everything. Building your team is easy said than done. Here is something I have done in the past and continue to do. I like to do a profit split to give the GC/project manager extra incentive. Try to have checks and balances in place so you don't get taken advantage of. 

Hit my line of you have any questions. 

When starting out it is very hard to find good help. You might ask for a referral from someone in the business for a property management company, constructor, and handyman.  Your trust in this business might increase because it comes from a reliable source. Stop; your trust factor shouldn't change based on where the referral comes from. You should use the same verification process and checks and balances. Here are a few that I use: 

1. I hire additional eyes and ears. This can be any third party that will not gain from the transaction. This person's job is to make sure things are done that suppose to and done correctly.  They don't need to be an expert, they just need some general knowledge of the way things should be.  

2. When selecting a property management company ask for a past client that changed companies and a current client.  In this business, most of the time, past performance does predict future performance. 

3. When selecting a constructor or handyman, one of the things I look at is the vehicle they are driving. If it is a new vehicle they might be too expensive. If it is an old beat-up vehicle they might be unreliable. 

Reach out to me for more. 

Please add some of yours below. 

Are you interested in Birddoging or buying deals for yourself? 

If I can piggyback off of the above response. I would also second the idea of keeping your job. You should try to leverage your job to the max (loans, lines of credit, etc.) and anything that will require a tax return. Once you have exhausted your current income and your cash flow is adequate to support your lifestyle; at that point, you can consider leaving your job. 

Just getting back active on BP. Inbox me if you still need help. 

@Matt Corse

There are 30 year amortization options with a lot of lenders. @Eran Linker is a good contact for loan options. If you still need help inbox.

Looking for an investor-friendly real estate agent. Any referrals would helpful.

Thank you,