All Forum Posts by: Patrick Anderson

I'm interested in what other people have to say. I would also imagine that a lot of this decision comes down to your personal preferences, which other people may have a harder time helping with. Maybe ask yourself if investing in remote locations is something you would seriously do, for example. Or if you would consider moving.

Is all of California off-limits? I would blindly assert that there is at least one area of California waiting to be invested in, given the mere size of the state. On a different note, I have a few family members who seemed to achieve moderate success in Nevada.

I'm looking at deals right now out of state, because I want to buy my first investment with my business partner who is not in the same area as me and is more willing to check up on the place if that's what is needed.

So far, my rudimentary experience has been that searching for good deals is a lot harder. I simply don't know the areas as well, I feel like an outsider, I'm dealing with a physical asset from a remote location, etc.....it's disconcerting. I'm hoping that the more I learn about the areas I want to invest in, the more confident I'll feel.

Best of luck for whatever you decide to do @Curtis K Thomas

I would imagine that it has less to do with what you say and more to do with how you say it.

He already said that he likes your drive and your continuous pursuit of knowledge. Those are intangible qualities about you, and those are the things he is once again hoping to see.

So when you walk into the meeting, exuding drive and enthusiasm, they'll be impressed once again. Supplement that with anything you know and it sounds like that's your best shot.

House hacking seems like a great way to learn how to be a landlord. If the best deal I can find has me losing a little bit of money in order to live there, I still consider that worth the opportunity I have set myself up for.

That doesn't mean I'll chillax on finding a good deal. But the opportunity of house hacking itself seems like a very good way to start out.

Hey @Tasha Beal,

I'm a newbie, so a lot of my thoughts are pretty basic (and possibly uninformed!) right now. I'm still very enthusiastic about sharing them!

My thinking is that when I'm running the numbers, I will want to run them as if I have a property manager even if I'm managing the property myself. Anything can happen, especially at this time in my life, so I want a deal that I know will still generate positive cash flow with a property manager. That being said, I have heard assertions that property managers generally take 10% off of the rent, though I haven't actually talked to any in person to confirm this. That would be something I want to learn more about.

My business partner seems more interested in managing the property than I am, and since his dad is a construction manager it's better off if it's near him. My thinking is that I don't really care about how this first deal fits into my other deals. This first deal is my tutorial property in a sense. After this deal, I will have gone through the experience and will know much more as far as if I want to continue investing, at which point I will find a location to settle down in.

I have a couple years left until I finish my degree, and will probably leave Charlottesville after. However, anything can happen in two years!

I'm taking my real estate license exam tonight.

The information was interesting and informative. I also think that those 60 hours could have been better spent. I'm a new investor so I still may need an agent to help guide me through some of the processes during my first deal, as I will happily pay someone to be in my corner explaining everything to me in case my book knowledge isn't enough.

It seems like getting a license is a viable option for people who are more experienced than me, such as in the case of @Justin Owens, who seems to be gaining a lot of value from it. I'll be interested in what other people have to say.

I would rather spend 20k on the down payment of a property that ends up foreclosing than 20k on an over-hyped guru. At least I would have a horrible experience under my belt that I had the courage to endure, rather than staying in a nice, air-conditioned conference room yet again refusing to make a decision.

I'm being a little facetious. I do agree with @Eric H. though. The best of life's lessons, in my opinion, are the silent ones. Robert Kiyosaki talks about that in his book, "Rich Dad Poor Dad".

Hey @Gregory A.,

I picked up the audio version of Brandon Turner's book. I'm about 3 hours in and so far I have enjoyed it, since I am looking to buy my first investment property with a business partner.

Good to see other people in Virginia!

Hi @Megan Roche,

I'm looking to buy my first investment property and I am going to take my real estate license exam tonight.

I recommend getting a license. I will also say that there are better ways to spend ~60 hours of your time than on a license, such as spending those 60 hours figuring out how to find good deals or networking. It is nice to have the structure of a course, however it also covered a lot of information that is useless for investors. So the 60 hour investment is up to you. It wasn't necessarily in-depth by my standards--that's where signing up with a broker may come in handy.

I know I didn't answer your question....partially since I can't.....but what I will say is that you seem driven, and you also seem careful not to make mistakes. This post itself seems to display your willingness to ask questions and make well-informed decisions. I'm lead to believe that you'll take that same mentality into real estate, and will be a very thoughtful investor, even if you do miss a few things along the way.

Hey @Daniel Florence,

I'm a new investor as well. I don't have any advice for you, but good luck on your first rental investment! Looks like we'll both be doing a lot of similar things these next coming months.