All Forum Posts by: Robert Blazer IV

@Veronica Boyd, I'm extremely new to the industry, so I've been looking for the same thing. I used

http://www.meetup.com/deal-maker-session-rvareia/ and RSVP'd for that happy hour on June 7. I paid the annual $30 for the membership, but I THINK that was simply for meetup.com, and might have been totally useless. Hope that helps. 

EDIT: Upon further review, the $30 seems to be the annual fee for joining the association. All of the info can be found in the above link.

@Edward B. thanks for the response. I definitely see what you mean. I'm not very educated on this particular topic yet, but I'm under the impression that the main difference between the HELOC and regular financing is the HELOC takes place on the back-end, after I've already paid cash for the property. Perhaps I am mistaken. I would say the only reason for using this method is if I'm forced to pay cash. I would prefer to put 20% down and take the mortgage up front, and get a better interest rate along with it. However, wouldn't I be at a disadvantage when it comes to getting the deal if I'm bidding against cash-buyers while I'm using a bank to finance my purchase? Or is money just money, plain and simple?

I'll start by saying it is my understanding that when buying property in the $20k-60k range, I'll be bidding against cash-buyers. Let's say I find a $50k property I like and I pay cash, then take out a HELOC. Then I find another house for around the same price - let's say $40k. I proceed to use the money from my HELOC to purchase the 2nd home for $40k. I proceed to take out another HELOC to fund my next purchase, perhaps a $25k home. Is this an inadvisable way to get my foot in the door? What if I use the cash from my 2nd HELOC to pay off my first, so now I have about $40k outstanding and 2 rental properties. I'm just trying to learn everything I can about this strategy, so any input is greatly appreciated.

@Brian Gibbons ah thank you. I believe he was actually on one of my favorite podcasts. I'll definitely check them out.

@Jordon Schav awesome, thanks a lot.

@Jordon Schav Excellent advice. It seems like something with tremendous potential if the time is put in. Out of curiosity, how would one find the owner/seller if the home is vacant but not on the market?

@Bill Gulley thanks for the advice, I appreciate it. In that case, I'll ask you a question I've heard often since joining the BP community. What is your favorite real estate book?

And if you have a minute to explain what you meant by "if you want to start out ethically and legally, you won't be doing wholesaling as the gurus preach it," that would be appreciated - since I don't follow what you're saying, and ethics/law are both important to me. Thanks again.

@Alex D. I know we previously spoke about keeping in touch on one of my posts. As you probably know, Northern Virginia is only a couple hours from Richmond (I'm actually driving up to Arlington tonight), and I do see a lot of potential in this area. If you have any questions about Richmond and the surrounding areas, feel free to shoot me a message. I am new to the industry, but I know the area well.

Thanks for the response, @Jordon Schav. Driving for dollars seems like a daunting task from my uneducated perspective. Is this something you've done? If so, do you have any tips? What types of homes to approach, what ways to do so, etc.?

Like most people new to the industry, I'd like to get started in wholesaling. What are the best books to read for information/tactics regarding wholesaling? Also, being pointed to any BP posts that provide insight into the topic would be great too. Thanks in advance.