All Forum Posts by: Jason Brooks

Welcome Scott! I'm over here in Western Mass just getting started on my first rehab flip. Maybe we can work together in the future! BP is a wealth of useful and honest information. No punches pulled here. You found the one site on the internet where active investors congregate. Hope to talk to you soon!

@Justin Fong I live and am starting out here in the Western Ma area, Springfield and the surrounding towns are in a fairly good market for fix n flips and I have been seeing some positive cash flowing multi hitting the market. In actually talking to a seller who has a two family that's cashflowing 2100 a mobth from section 8 tenants. Ample room for renovations and expansion and he NEEDS to sell. I am in the due diligence phase but we should talk, there is opportunity out here!

Another consideration is, how much is owed on the property? You may want to consider a lease purchase option...Get a down payment, increase rent and apply a portion towards purchase price...just a thought, Is the property manager a potential buyer?

WOW!!! It truly is refreshing to hear seasoned investors discuss this topic so honestly. I have been reading for over an hour and I must say it is amazing that this is so relevant and such an incredible resource years later! @Will You have earned my respect undoubtedly with such excellent content. I have learned so much from just the comments posted.

@Patrick G. That is truly no Casino I would ever want to visit. Sounds pretty sad indeed. Thanks for the feedback, I'm getting a pretty clear picture here.

@Jon Holdman It certainly is starting to sound like a long shot off a tall building...It certainly doesn't intimidate me either though. I don't foresee there will be some kind of economic apocalypse in the area thankfully, and I intend to shift my investing strategy if that ever does happen to be the case...(shift it to another area, lol)

@Charles Morgan I did a quick google search on the area you are speaking of and I am amazed! I really appreciate you letting me know. I am going to assume that my markets are going to perform based on demand, and investor interest, not on a potential Casino. Thank you for the feedback, I sincerely appreciate it!

@Mike H. I appreciate the feedback. I have been speaking with a local developer who is absolutely convinced that the casinos are going to create some kind of run on properties. I was getting a vibe that there was more speculation than fact in her energy about the matter.

@Mike Lacava: My pleasure, I can see that this is a wealth of great information as well as an excellent place to make connections.

@Ann Bellamy: I will indeed! I truly appreciate the feedback, thank you!

Hello all,

My name is Jason Brooks. I wanted to formally introduce myself to the investors and professionals who frequent this site.

I have been studying the "craft" for about five years, but only very seriously for about the last 6 months or so. I have found my "why", developed my business down to the desk I will use in my minds eye, and I am taking action every day and night towards achieving my dream.

I am a husband, a proud parent of 3, and I believe whole-heartedly in the American Dream. I have worked hard in my life and I have a great career, but it does not fulfill my desire to leave a legacy behind to my children (and one day grandchildren).

I grew up very poor in Holyoke, MA in the flats (very impoverished area) and the surrounding areas. My parents (like so many others) weren't ready to be parents. We had next to nothing, nobody in my family ever owned more than a vehicle (maybe). I wore hand-me-down clothes to school, never had a haircut, amd spent a lot of time defending myself. We lived on welfare, and Medicaid, and we ate ketchup sandwiches when we had to...As I grew up, I did the only thing I could think to do...and that was the exact opposite of what my parents were doing...I was like Rich Dad, Poor Dad, without the Rich Dad, lol.

Fast forward to high school, I worked full time while I went to school until I graduated high school. I helped Mom with the rent and the utilities, did the housework, and bought food and new clothes for me and my brother. I have worked hard in life ever since...

I married my lovely wife, we had children, as a full time mortgage broker I bought my first home, farmers porch and all, had two cars in the driveway, and too many credit cards. I put sweat equity into the house every single day for 9 months...that was in 2007. I achieved the American Dream.

Due to the housing crisis I lost it all. I lost my job as a mortgage broker, they foreclosed, one car was repossessed, we filed bankruptcy. I learned a very valuable lesson about what it means to be humble, and what leverage is! I also took a much deeper interest in the direction the markets were heading and what was happening in the upper levels of government...

Again, I worked hard every day. Today, I have a beautiful wife, 3 amazing children 10,11, and 16. I have a deep burning passion for this business, I work every single day towards it, I work full time in Medical IT, and I enjoy my family.

That is my story, I'm sorry for the length, but I truly wanted people to know who I am and what my motivations are. Considering my background, if I can do this, if I can get back on my horse and ride into the sunset a hero to my little ones, than any one of you can do it too. I would love to hear from the investors who frequent the site, how did you do it?

Hello investors and real estate professionals!

I just wanted to get an opinion from the investors here on BP and maybe make some connections in the process.

I feel I am starting my Wholesaling/Rehabbing business at the right time due to the potential construction of two different casinos in hampden county in the next two years give or take. I am assuming that there will be a period of above average economic growth that will follow.

I am looking for any feedback on the potential here, and looking to connect with anyone who is ready to make a move in this market. There are properties in this area that I am looking to make moves on now that I have done a pretty thorough market analysis. I feel there are several "hot" spots for single family homes, as well as some other areas that seem to be ripe for multi's.

Any advice, or anyone willing to share their experience with a driven newbie (hate that word, lol) please sound off. I am a mover and a shaker and I am out here getting in front of property owners almost daily, I would like to gauge if there is any interest from other investors in the area or investors out of the area.