All Forum Posts by: Neal Bratton

Welcome to BP. Glad to see you are learning about real estate. The BP podcasts are a great resource that won't consume too much of your day. Learn enough to get semi comfortable, and then take some action. I would give yourself a date to buy a property and then learn what you can before then and pull the trigger.

Wish you the best.

Agree with everyone above. I am a lot more confident when I know I can get financing and on what terms. I've only done conventional financing so I can't really speak for hard money or private lenders. I would assume you would have to have some people in mind already. At least talk to them about what kind of deals they would lend on and what they will charge. Shouldn't need to be a long process.  

Good luck.

As great of a resource this site is, You definitely have to limit the amount of time you spend reading blogs, forums, etc. It will suck up your time very quickly. I would set a certain amount to do and don't do any more. ex: Read one blog article and comment on 2 posts. Or browse for 30 min. Anything like a audio book or podcast that you can listen to while doing something else it a great use to time.  

Networking and actually looking at property would probably the most rewarding use of limited time. Knowledge and experience should complement one another.

Good luck on your first Duplex. I hope everything goes well.

@Ryan Redmond I plan on coming Wed.(tomorrow) Sorry for the late notice.

I would save as much as you can. As Dave Ramsey would say "Live like no one else, so later you can live like no one else" But you don't have to sit on the sidelines while you are doing it. This is a great place to meet people and network. Let people know that you have a real desire to learn the type of business that you want to be involved in. Think about volunteering if they need help or be a bird dog for somebody. That way you can be around it and then when you do have a little money you will know what to do with it. But you are in the right place. 

If you can find a place you want to live and don't already own a home, I would probably do the second option first. But if you buy it with a traditional mortgage...it will already be borrowed against so I'm not sure you would have any additional money to invest. But I guess it all depends on what your goals are and how much money you have to work with. @Randall Wildner You might post some more details about what you are working with and might get some more tailored advice.

Welcome to the Site. This is the best place to learn about real estate. Try and be active on the forums and spend a little time each day reading an article or two. You will be up to speed in no time. Also the podcasts are GREAT! Listening is always easier than reading in my opinion. And @Joshua Dorkin loves to talk about your hometown Detroit. :) So that's a win/win.

I know I would be upset if a PM or apartment gave out my info. Does it need to be addressed to the actual tenant or can  a "Current Resident" title be used? If the mailer does it's job, I think you would still get a read whether it has there name on it or not. But I'm really not to savvy on mailers, just my 2cents.

@Ryan RedmondI would love to meet some people in the area. I still consider myself new to Louisville so I don't know many good spots. But I do prefer beer over coffee if that helps.

Neal

Grayson,

Sounds like you got a plan and are well on your way. Just defining where you want to go is more than most people do. You can't get a better resource on real estate than BP. Good luck with your investing.

Neal