All Forum Posts by: Parker Cox

@Ned Carey  I appreciate your coverage of my post :)...what would insurance be without a few puns here and there

Brandon,

I am sure your well past deciding on insurance and I hope the rehab is almost done.  

But, I did want to say for the future, nrei as mentioned above is a very common product for the vacant property/rehab.  I would suggest you try to find an Insurance Broker with access to Atain.  Their policy is also specifically designed to cover flippers ie vacant and rehab.  

But, at least in California, it is roughly 15% cheaper and it comes with another added bonus.  Again, I can only speak for California, but I do believe it will be the same nationwide, the NREI product is going to be "month paid in full" meaning if your policy starts October 1st and you sell/rent December 3rd, you will be pro-rated, but you will be charged for the entire month of December.  Whereas the Atain policy will pro-rate you down to the day.  

Best of luck and I hope the rehab hasn't provided too many unwanted surprises.  

So, I have laid the foundation to build a strong niche in providing commercial insurance for Real Estate Investors.  

But, as someone who is looking to further themselves as an investor, and who has seen first hand how different (and complicated) even small investors portfolios and risks can be, I want to open a discussion where everyone can ask any insurance question that is either pertinent to their current situation or just something they have come across before and wondered about.  

My goal here is to work as a resource for any members who would like to use me and hopefully (self-serving here) get a better understanding of what really puzzles, annoys, excites, or confuses REIs when it comes to insurance for both their companies and their properties, so I can better understand my consumers.

Note, I am a licensed agent and my agency operates in the Southwest US but, more than 95% of our business is in California.  I am not selling a product or a company, just trying to give back to the BP users who have given a lot to me.  

And, please also recognize,(DISCLAIMER) that though I am licensed and experienced in this industry or REI, I am not claiming to provide set in stone, perfect information that you should live and die or even sell and buy by.

So with that being said.

Fire away...  

@Robert Seltzer What sort of investments are you looking for?

Thanks to everyone for all the responses, and its not so much a tale of complaining, but more genuine curiosity about what others feel works in our market.  

Recently, I came across the idea of subject-to and seller financing, which I thought was a very interesting prospect in the high priced areas like San Diego.  Any thoughts? 

@Justin R. I think its a great idea.  

Put it out there, see the feedback, if your only getting shady characters interested, then there you go.

But, with a little bit of word of mouth from here, I bet you will get quite a few legit interested parties, willing to trade time and sweat for knowledge.  

@Brian Gibbons I appreciate that...we all need a little inspiration from time to time 

@Joe Fairless

Ultimately, I think investors are surprised at the immense arrays of options available.  Insurance is surprisingly in tune with the Real Estate Investing world.  

@Ford Smith

There is a ton of positive and highly helpful information in the thread above, and you should implement as much of it as possible.  But, you said in your post that you get positive and willing to try things "until reality sets in or a new financial hurdle presents itself."

That happens, it happens to all of us, usually quite frequently, but success is not the ability to be positive when it all looks great, its stable positivity during the good and the bad. 

If I was you, I would try and add one of these things per week.  Start with a budget TODAY. If you can save just 50$ a month, you're gonna be miles ahead of where you are now.  

Next, week, find a job that has flexible hours and does not require extensive training you don't have (I am thinking tutoring with that expensive degree for whatever you majored in in college, you can get 12-18 dollars per hour no sweat working in your leisure).

Then, make a plan for how you will add value to another investor's business and start getting your beak wet at meetings, on here, offer anything you can, the more creative you are and the more willing to hustle you are, the farther you will go.  

Then finally, GET YOUR CREDIT UP.  "The man" has you by the you know whats until you guys can improve your income and your credit.  But there are quite a few easy ways to really improve your score quite quickly.  It only takes commitment and consistency.  

Ultimately, good for you for talking to the people on here, the community is willing to inspire you.  But, after you read this, you can't just have 10 minutes of empowerment.  You need to make a lasting decision for yourself today, that will still be there when things get worse and will still be there as things get better.  Don't ask for permission, just do it.  

Finally, here is what my economics professor in college told me when I was frustrated and disappointed that I went into debt to get a degree in history.  He said "you American's.  So weak." in a strong Turkish Accent "in Turkey, we say 'debt is a whip on the brave man's back, and shackles on the weak man's ankles."

Time to decide Ford: are you the brave man or the weak man?

Good luck  

What do you think is the best way to invest in coastal Southern California?

The median home price is gonna be roughly $400,000, the 2% rule is a dream think more like the .2 to .5% rule here.  

Do you buy small multi families for minimal appreciation and a chance to break even?

Do you try to focus on the city/county economic indicators?

Do you try commercial value add?

Compete with 1000s of flippers, and wholesalers?

What is the way to find a competitive advantage and bring something better or new to the table here?

Have at it guys.