All Forum Posts by: Ben N.

Thank you all for the warm welcome!

@Roy N. that is exactly along the lines of what I am hoping to do!

and @Brittany DeWitt thank you for your offers, I'll definitely have to ask you a few questions once I'm about ready to look into our first purchase.  I am certainly open to any referrals you may have.  Currently I am in the research, education and down payment saving stage.

@Paul Timmins I really appreciate your time in giving me some good places to start!  I believe I'm at the point where I need to start developing a business plan so I can have a hard target to aim for as I accumulate my first down payment!  Do you have experience in renting to students versus non-students?  Even though I live in a college town, I think I'm a little leery of renting to college students.  Should I be?  And is it any riskier that any other type of tenant?

Thanks again all!

-Ben

So here I am, age 25, new family ... starting to plan for and look into buying my first live-in, multi-family, rental property.

Part of my learning process leads me to talk with some very close friends (three of them, to be exact) about my ideas.  And surprise, surprise each of them is also interesting in the realm of real estate investing!

So here's my QUESTION: What are the pro's and con's of partnering with other investors versus going it solo?

Here are my basis points currently:

1) I really trust these guys, and they all have pertinent experience with construction, remodeling and HVAC.

2) We are all in the same stage of life... mid 20's, currently renting, new family's, and most importantly low personal capitol.

Here is what I'm weighing:

1) Is it more helpful or more harmful to have cost/profit sharing? (an insurance of sorts)

2) If we were to partner together... is it better to start together? ...or start separately and bring our initial investments to the table later?

3) If we did partner, at whatever stage that is... what business model is best for property investing and management as a partnership? (i.e. general partnership, LLP, LLC, or an incorporation)

Some things I'm looking for:

1) What are the financing options for an individual with low initial capitol?  And what are the options for a partnership with low initial capitol?

2) Are there other smart ways for us to partner that would't require a legal entity to be formed?

I know this is a broad and complicated discussion.  And I may not even have all the right questions.  But don't feel like you have to tackle every point.  I'll appreciate input on any of these areas from those of you with practical experience.  Thanks for your time!

Hello BP community!

My name is Ben Noe, I'm 25 and plugging in here from the city of Lawrence, Kansas.  I currently work for an engineering firm designing building systems for commercial, retail, hospitality, education and healthcare markets.  I am also married and have a kiddo on the way!

I have been on the paying side of rental properties for almost six years.  Four of those years were during college, co-renting with room mates.  Now, I am currently starting into my second year of renting as an individual, while supporting a family.  But looking forward, I would really like to be on the OTHER side... investing to own & renting out!  My background of engineering along with an entrepreneurial bone in my body (starting & running a lawn care service for 9 years) has had me on a search to find a good way to take hold of my family's financial future.  And I wanted to find something I would actually enjoy! 

I've been interested in learning more about real estate investing for quite a few years now... but I never had a specific direction or the right words to describe what I really wanted to do.  My wife and I really enjoy watching all the house flipping shows on HGTV, but that always seemed too far fetched for us financially.  That is, until my search brought me to articles put out by BP!

The very first articles I read were "How to Start Investing in Real Estate at a Young Age" by Brandon Turner, followed by "New Investor Strategy: How to Buy Your First Multi-Family Investment Property & Live Rent Free" by Frank Defazio.  Those two articles put real words and real ideas to what I had been trying to find and understand!  And I said to myself..."I can do that!"

Based on that journey, my hope and goal is to now start by purchasing a live-in multi-family property.  I'll dip my toe in there and then see where it all leads.  I hope to at least make buy and hold investing a side business outside of my full time job.  But I guess time and experience will only tell where all this can lead.

So here I am...I still have allot of learning to do, and I still need to pull together the finances for a first investment.  But I'm excited to have a direction and I'm excited to be here connecting to the BP community!