All Forum Posts by: Phillip Vera

Going to miss August, but will plan better for September!

Brian, will you be at the Bigger Pockets Conference as it will be in your backyard? 

Barely going to miss it, but looking forward to the next one!  

Ian, possibility I may be there on the 10th but would be late evening.  I’ll let you know.  Thanks.

Jeffrey, an LLC is generally a pretty simple setup. I did some research and set mine up for about $200 just paying filing fees. I've had friends set them up with Legal Zoom for around $300. An attorney is typically around $1,000.

I am in no way giving tax or legal advice. An LLC is a pass through and will hit both of your personal taxes. It should be the same with a single member or 2 of you split 50/50. There may be some slight differences on what you individually use as expenses. I think having both of you under one LLC will be easiest.

One thing to be cautious of is that the LLC should provide some level of anonymity. Many people create an LLC and then use their personal name and address in the Secretary of State documents.

They are not difficult to setup, but if you don’t have 100% understanding, I always recommend going to the professionals.  It’s worth the cost in the long run.

I'm going to go a totally different direction than everyone else...

Work your butt off.  Live on bare minimum.  Pick up side jobs, increase your income.  I currently own 4 rentals, all paid for cash.  Certainly leverage is the ideal scenario, but if you don't have credit, don't let that limit you from buying.  Cash is king!

Investing your $4k into a wholesale business is a great start.  Use this income to continue building and saving and you could get to a point to purchase a rental within a few months depending on your commitment level. 

The real estate market is strong, but don't rule out owner finance opportunities also.  They are still out there.

Good luck!

@Nathan Asher Robson what area are you purchasing in?  I believe a lot of this depends on where you are buying.  In my area, you can certainly get a class C turnkey for $60k.  Also, there's a difference in rent ready and turnkey.  If you're looking at all new major cap ex items and systems, it's possible, but that would be one heck of a deal.  All good points from the other members that there's a higher risk, but we've found success in properties in this range.

@Sam Mitchell and @Kurtis Montgomery would love to connect with both of you guys.  I help run a real estate investment brokerage with an office in Chattanooga.  We have a licensed agent and help with acquisition, renovation, and property management specifically for investors.  

@Doug Phillips just curious, why go back with window units?  I realize the cost difference between window units and central heat and air, but are you doing any remodeling?  A large reason residents move is due to high utility costs.  In my personal properties, I've installed new central heat and air when doing larger construction.  

On the construction side, I've never installed a ductless system, but we are doing our first for a client in the next month or so.  Unsure of the longevity, but event better in terms of utility costs.

BTW, if you go to Lowe's, ask about the QSP program and you should be able to get a bulk discount.  We recently did that with appliances and the cost savings is significant.

@Alexandra Fisher take a look at the Southeast.  I'm in the Augusta market and the cost of living in these areas is significantly less than other parts of the country.  In Augusta, we have a military base, cyber command, 5 hospitals, medical college, university, and major industry and manufacturing.  The greater CSRA encompasses 13 counties.

You can certainly find a good property management company that is investor based to oversee management and help you get started.  With $80k-$100k you could potentially purchase 2 houses in the Augusta market.  Let me know if I can help.  Thanks.

Phillip Vera