All Forum Posts by: Nancy DeSocio

Welcome aboard, Ethan!  It sounds like you are alredy in the right mindset to get your investing career started, so now it's just a matter of doing it.  Arm yourself with as much knowledge as you can from your network, books, podcasts, ets, and you'll be ready to go.  Accept that you'll make mistakes along the way and take them all as learning experiences.  Good luck on your path to success!

Welcome aboard, Josh!  I read that same book last summer, and not to be overly dramatic, but it did change my life in that we are soon closing on our second multi-family rental property.  What seemed impossible a year ago has come to fruition, and it's the small steps you are taking now that will lead you on your journey.  Best of luck in your adventure...you will do great things!

Welcome aboard, Ben!  Creating your account is a step in the right direction.  Every small action taken leads to more networking, education and opportunities.  Good luck in your journey!

Hi Lavaud,

I would highly recommend attending tomorrow's Webinar, How to Buy Your First (or Next) Rental Property in 90 Days or Less. Even if 90 days isn't your timeline, Brandon goes through analyzing a deal step by step, and you may find this as a helpful start. The webinar is free, and then you can just start analyzing deals off the MLS (also free!) and get some practice. That's how I started, and the only thing you need is a little time and effort. Good luck on your journey!

Hi Shane, if you haven't already done so, I would suggest scheduling a meeting with your CPA.  I did this before we bought our first property, and he provided me with the Excel spreadsheet to use.  Because we did this in advance, I already had the ss in the format that he likes, since he's the one that provided it to us, and I just update it monthly.  

If you don't have a CPA yet, now is a good time to get one.  We used to do our own taxes, but knowing we'd be investing, I found someone in advance.  I ask him questions every so often so that I can be sure to have everything in order for next tax season.  I'm sure any accountant would be happy to meet with you for the same purpose if it means that you won't be the guy showing up with nothing but a stack of wrinkled receipts :)

As for the receipts, I have a binder that I tape all the receipts onto standard size paper (if the receipt isn't already standard size).  I don't know if that's the most efficient method, but to me, it's quicker than scanning and uploading, etc.  I'm interested to hear how others manage this as well.  Thanks for posting the question, and good luck on your journey!

@Thom S., I did the same as you when introducing myself (and maybe for the same reasons), but once I told the tenants that I own the property, they referred to me as the landlord.   To me it's just semantics...I'm not too worried about what they call me as long as I focus on keeping my business running smoothly,  In my opinion, you have a good newbie "problem" on your hands...I anticipate the problems get worse as time goes on :)  Good luck on your journey!

Welcome aboard, @Jacob Gelinas!  As you probably have alredy found, this forum and the BP podcasts are great.  I'm not sure if you've attended any of the RIEREIG meetings, but there is a wealth of knowledge about local real estate in that group.

Like you, I'm new to this as well.  We bought our first multi-family in February and are scheduled to close on another one next month.  Mistakes have been made along the way, but it's all part of the learning process.  Good luck with your journey!

Hi Sean,

I live in Cranston (and love it), but I have yet to find a multi-family that cash flows. Maybe there are off-market deals out there, but I haven't found anything on the MLS in Cranston that works (unless you are going to house hack). I'm not saying it doesn't exist, but you'll have to work pretty hard to beat everyone else to find it!

I'm not sure if you've spent time driving around different cities/towns down here, but so far, I have found that my gut reaction to an area is usually on point when I ask other investors about the neighborhood.  It's difficult to invest time into doing that if you're working, but it's worth the effort.  And RI is small...you can do it in a day :)

Welcome aboard, @Sean Doherty!  There is a ton of information on the BP forums (though sometimes overwhelming, as it's so much information!).  The podcasts are a great way to make the daily commute to/from work more interesting!

I'd agree with @Matthew Charron that the RIREIG meetings are a great way to network with local folks who you will definitely need (i.e. property managers, contractors, home inspectors, etc).  I've met some great people there, and working with others who are investors themselves will help you accelerate reaching your goals....they just "get it" and understand the big picture of investing.

Good luck on your journey!

I would agree that based on the information provided, it's a greater advantage to you to go month-to-month.  As a newer investor, I'm interested in this thread to see if there are opinions in favor of having them renewing a lease.  Maybe there's something I'm missing!