All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

@Ericka G., something about the way you asked your question tells me that you already know the answer...YES, it crazy to trust hundreds of thousands of dollars to someone you met from the recommendation of a guy on a plane!  Especially when that person works for Edward Jones. 

It's not a bad company but let's be honest, the advisors are commission-based salespeople (look into how they recruit and you can see for yourself...). You can do better on your own or you could always hire a real estate-savvy CFP that charges an hourly rate for a second opinion (find one at feeonlynetwork.com). 

Thanks, @Christopher Brainard. What would you consider a good track record? Personally, I'd find it difficult to invest with someone who hasn't been through a downturn, but I don't know if I'm being too picky. 

Hi @Anna M., I have to wonder what responsibility YOUR agent has in this. Realtors supposedly have to operate by a code of ethics, in addition to following all laws. What is an agent's responsibility when confronted with a clear violation by a peer, especially when it puts their client at a disadvantage? You mention that your agent did some advocating on your behalf in the form of mentioning your military service, etc., but what about mentioning the fact that the other agent was in the wrong? Your agent failed to address the real issue, and in my mind, was somewhat complicit. 

Those who aid and abet discrimination keep the cycle going, and it can be easy to overlook their part because they are often "nice" people who avoid confrontation.I wonder if you have the right person at the bargaining table on your behalf. At the very least, you might want to have a frank conversation about how you want to be represented in the future. I think he missed the mark...

For those of you who invest with syndicators, what is your vetting process? Analyzing a deal seems pretty straightforward to me, vetting a syndicator, not so much. 

No, not all people feel that way. It sounds like your friend/family member would be equally put off by someone talking about any number of things in their lives that fire them up - whether their jobs, kids, hobbies, whatever. Just consider the fact that you might be going overboard, and the jealous friend is just the first to get annoyed and say something. Find some real estate meetups and hang out with other obsessed people that would happily talk real estate all night long. Good luck!

@Shray Patel, in making your decision, you need to consider all of the assets you have at your disposal. People love to use examples of successful college dropouts like Bill Gates without considering some of the advantages they had. For example, Bill Gates had a successful mother who served on a board with the Chairman of IBM, which hired Bill to develop its operating system software. 

Depending on your situation, your parents might possible be a better safety net than a four-year degree. Are they paying for your education? Would they be willing to invest instead in your real estate deals instead? Are they willing and able to serve as a long-term financial back-up plan for you? That would change the equation.

One reason why I think so many of us are leaning on the side of "finish your degree" (even though we don't know much about you!), is the fact that you are so close already. From a value perspective, someone who spends time and money on 6 months of college is usually better of than the person who puts in 2 1/2 years without ever getting a degree. 

Thanks, @Account Closed! What do you mean by "subject to"?

Hi Shray, I'm adding my vote for completing your degree. Switching to a real estate major might not make sense at this point if that means more time/money before you get a degree. Most real estate jobs do not require a real estate-specific degree. But simply having a four-year degree has long-term economic value that will help give you one of the most important ingredients for building wealth: OPTIONS. Not having a four-year degree of some kind closes so many doors that you might want walk through in the future. HR departments are quite ruthless about degree requirements! 

Please keep in mind that many entrepreneurs and investors leverage stable, well-paying W-2 jobs while growing their portfolios and businesses (read the excellent Phil Knight autobiography Shoe Dog for a great example of this.)  Brian Murray, real estate investor and author of Crushing It In Apartments and Commercial Real Estate, is another example.

One thing you might want to do is ask an advisor to review your transcript to identify whether or not you are eligible for options that could reduce the time/money needed to complete your degree, such as pass/fail CLEP tests. (When I was in college, I took CLEP tests for Comparative Religion and Philosophy - feel free to PM me if you want to know more about how this works!)

I love you are already light years ahead of most of your college peers in terms of business and investing. If you keep up what you are doing AND finish your degree, you will have a very strong base from which to build your life and career. You are off to a great start!

One thing I've noticed about comparisons of real estate strategies is that returns of very active forms of investing are often compared to very passive forms of investing as though the time invested does not have any monetary value. 

This seems contrary to the idea of running your real estate investing like a business. In a small business, the way to calculate the owner's TRUE profit is to subtract all costs, including a market-based salary for the owner, from revenue. (This approached is laid out very well in the business book Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits!). 

The closest thing I've seen to this is real estate investing talk is the process of analyzing deals with a property management fee, even if you plan to do it yourself.

I'm very curious about whether or not anyone any part-time active real estate investors out there are paying salaries to themselves or family members (even if just on paper) and including that data in ROI calculations.

Thanks, everyone! I needed some perspective. : )