All Forum Posts by: Noah Scott

Want to scale your real estate investing portfolio quickly? How about achieving infinite returns on your money invested? If either of those options sounds like something you'd be interested in then please join us this month to learn from Rich O'Neill of Fleming Project Management to learn how he used the BRRRR method to scale his real estate investment portfolio quickly.

As always we will spend some time networking at the beginning/end of the event. Come prepared to share during our have/needs section where we open up the room to discuss anything you may have that could help the group or anything you may need that you are looking for help from the members.

Open to any level of real estate investing experience, we look forward to seeing you at this month's event!

Please reach out with any questions about the event, happy to chat.

Join us February 10th (2/10/21) to learn about investing in commercial real estate with Tommy Ciccarone of Precision Realty Group.

We will be discussing:
- The state of the tri-state area commercial RE market
- Current trends that an active commercial broker is seeing/experiencing in 2021
- Scaling from 1-4 unit residential into commercial properties
- Best practices in creating relationships with commercial brokers as an investor

Whether you are an active commercial real estate investor, building your portfolio up through residential properties, or just getting started in real estate investing you will NOT want to miss this opportunity to hear from an active commercial real estate broker with extensive experience in all aspects of commercial real estate including office, industrial, retail, land development, and investment sales.

If you've got any questions please feel free to reply down here or message me directly, and if you plan on attending please RSVP as it helps us get the right amount of space set up in our venue.

Look forward to seeing, meeting, and connecting with everyone!

@Zach Weaver sorry for the late reply! The meeting is always open to everyone, with no requirements!

Come out November 11th to the monthly Vanguard Real Estate Investor Meeting in West Chester, PA.

As always, this event is free to attend, we just ask that you tip your servers well :)!

We bring experienced real estate investors and professionals to share their knowledge and contribute to the group. Need financing? Want to find off-market deals? Need a contractor or another A+ team member to be successful? Come out and network!

This month's meeting will host a panel of experienced contractors/investors discussing their experiences flipping and rehabbing properties.

Whatever your niche, chances are you will have to rehab a property at some point down the line and there is no better group to learn from than those actively doing it!

Come out to learn from this expert panel and stay for the networking.

Feel free to message me with any questions you have about this or future events.

@Joe Scaparra I completely get your point, no argument there at all!

I guess the only thing I would add to my point is being open to building relationships with great agents (regardless of their position i.e. buy/list side). I bet you already do this...or at least they are trying to do with you haha!

Reason for this is just being "top of mind" for them when they come across an opportunity that they get prior to it being on the market.

The amount of agents that must pass up on great deals because they don't know how to make it work for themselves is mind-boggling to me, but if you can position yourself as their guy for "xyz" type of property...maybe worth it. Hard to quantify those sorts of relationships.

Regardless, I'm always open to different opinions and I certainly appreciate yours, because, with your experience/knowledge it probably is best for you to do it on your own.

Good luck on the next one!

@Frank Jiang I can definitely understand that point, but I think it's worth noting that most buyer's agents who are saying that are NOT talking about working with an experienced investor, and for that reason, it is still valid. I'm an agent, so my PoV may be a bit skewed, but allow me to explain...(I'm going to jump on my soapbox...this comment is not targeted at you, just my .02)

Most people I work with on the buy-side are not @Joe Scaparra. Joe even mentioned this in his response that an agent can provide great value to their client on the buy-side...but of course, that's all contextual. He has the experience/know-how to navigate the process and make it work in his favor. Most people are not Joe. Even newbie investors who say they are looking for an "investor-friendly" agent most times wouldn't be able to discern the difference. In my opinion, there are good (or great) agents and there are those that are just average/bad. A good or great agent can discern what his clients need, work within their parameters, and help them accomplish their goals (whatever it may be: investing, buying retail, etc.). An average/bad agent just helps paperwork get pushed through and deadlines get met.

I think we can agree that a retail consumer can benefit from working with an above-average buyer's agent, they may reduce their own out-of-pocket costs...heck they may even put money in their pocket by doing so. Why? Because they don't have the understanding, the resources, or the experience to act in their own best interests in these situations.

Now let's also take a look at the experienced investor...why should they work with a great buyer-agent? Focusing on their Return on Time (RoT). We all know about RoI, but we often don't think about the usage of our time and how it can relate to $$ in our pockets. If you are primarily finding your deals on the MLS you (in my opinion) owe it to yourself to find a great agent to work for you. The amount of time spent finding the deal, writing your paperwork, negotiating back-and-forth, coordinating conveyancing, etc. is better spent for the investor on higher $/hr activities.

I truly believe that great agents are valuable for anyone; however, with the barrier to entry in the industry so low the "average" is pulled down quite a bit. The way that technology is disrupting the real estate industry, I believe that agents will either have to get better or get out...and that is a good thing for everyone!

I'll second (third?) what the above posters have said.

The main advantage of having a single agent is the ease of communication in the transaction. There are already enough parties involved throughout a transaction. Agents may have their own transaction coordinators, team members, etc. Adding an additional party can essentially double the number of people involved in a transaction.

You should talk to a few agents and discuss with them their strategies/experiences helping people that were in a similar situation. The reality is that most agents won't have much experience or a well-defined understanding of how to help their clients "win" in these situations. Vetting who you work with and making a smart choice is imperative.

@Franklin Urbaezj I'd definitely take that next step and get yourself involved in the local REI community by way of those meetups.

The reason I mention DFD is that it is a great way to develop your own "list" of distressed properties in and around you. Mind you, just because you see physical signs of distress does not mean someone will want to sell...but it may be a good indicator there is some pain associated with that property.

As you build up that list you can start to go direct to those sellers by way of mail, talk to neighbors about any abandoned properties you may find to get more info. I'd check out DealMachine if you're interested in making it a core part of your strategy. It's owned by a fellow BP member David Lecko. 

If you want to start going direct-to-seller more, I'd check out @Ryan Dossey's YT channel. He shows how to pull specific lists from ListSource step-by-step, as well as giving out great free advice.

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Worth noting, I'm sharing all of this experience as a guy in much of your same position. Hopefully, some others can jump on the thread that have done a bit more. I'm still gunning for my first deal for myself (I've helped out as an agent for clients). Just hoping my extended 2 cents helps!

Hey, @Franklin Urbaezj welcome to BP!

I'm in the greater Philly area in West Chester. From the little I know, Lehigh Valley is one of the fastest-growing economies in PA. A lot of investors from NY have been parking their cash there for great returns...

My suggestion about where to start: Start going to your local REIA meetings. Learning what LOCAL investors are doing that works around your area and networking with those people is a great horizontal step.

At a local REIA/meetups I can almost guarantee you may meet agents and lenders. If you invest in these relationships you now have people who can help you get access to the MLS and get pre-approved.

Do you know about Driving for Dollars?

@Nicholas Potocki, I'll echo what everyone else has already mentioned in getting out to your local meetups. If you are looking to network with landlords that are just beginning then your local REIAs or meetup groups will certainly be the best bet. To add to that, the ability to create substantive relationships (the whole point of networking...not just to be another business card in someone's stack) is much easier when you are meeting people nearby you.

Meet someone you really connect with or want to continue to learn from? Much easier to create a relationship when they are local. 

Going to a national/regional event is great and I'd totally recommend it! I've been to a few (MidAtlantic Summit most recently), and you can learn a ton and connect with some really great people. 

From what you stated as your goals, I'd focus on becoming a fixture at your local meetups! Hope this helps!