All Forum Posts by: Rickie Camarato

 I think it a certificate of occupancy.

A certificate of occupancy is a document that states the legal use type of your property, verifies that it’s up to code, and confirms that people can safely live there. The document will show the property address, a legal description of the property (including use type and square footage), the zoning code, the owner, and any notes relevant to the safety of the property.

Many agents are aware that real estate investors can be more difficult to work with. It's much different than working with people who are buying their next home. Instead of trying to see what aspects of a house impact a buyer emotionally, a good agent needs to understand the driving factors that motivate an investor to buy. That is, that its a numbers game to them.

My question to agents is: What is your ideal or "dream" investor to work with? What should we have already done and taken care of before we contact you? 

To make the question harder, what if this was a new investor who was trying to buy in your market from another state? 

So after I call you and we chat for 10-20 minutes, what do I need to have known and already done to make you think "Wow. This guy is new, but I know that he has done everything that he needs to do to prepare. I want to work with this investor because I know that he is not going to waste my time."

We have the same strategy. I live in San Diego. However I am leaning more to the BRRRR strategy. I haven't invested yet and I'm trying to figure out what market I want to invest in.

It's nice to hear the reality of this strategy during these times. Do you think that this is the result of not getting good enough deals? Or is it due to other factors? I hear that REI is super competitive right now, so finding a deal good enough to get 100% back could be the reason. Even if that's the case, it's still worth it right? How much would you have to leave on the table to make BRRRR not worth it?

Well done. The market crash caused so many to walk away from their properties and call it quits (including my parents who invested in AZ during the same time). Those who survive in business are those who can adapt and pivot when thrown into a blender.

@Brandon Rush Thank you so much! And thank you @Dan Schweit for verifying. That really helps clarify everything! I never knew that I would need to have an attorney/title company beforehand. Is an attorney/title company synonymous? Or is there a benefit to having one or the other? I'm guessing my real estate agent would be a good source for this..

Hey Ariel,

I would start with you "why". Why do you want to invest in real estate? If your reason is strong enough, you can determine the exact strategy in real estate that you should pursue. Do you want a passive form of income? Do you want to flip properties to build up capital? Do you want to build a business around real estate? 

Define your "why" and always remember it. Doing so will get you to the next step and get you through the rough times on this journey.

A more specific answer to your question would be education. Start with education. Podcasts, books, articles, forum posts etc. Find the source that you learn from the best and get after it!

Good luck.

This is somewhat of an embarrassing question, but what are the exact steps in the home buying process? A simple timeline would be very beneficial to help me gain some clarity on what exactly I need to do at various stages.

I have binged almost 200 episodes of the BP podcast and I still do not understand the process that goes into buying a home. When do you put in earnest money? What is earnest money? When do you get the inspection? Are you supposed to have your own appraiser? What the heck is escrow?

I want to buy a rental property out of state, but I still don’t know what I don’t know.

Thank you to anyone that can help fill in the gaps.

@Mark Frattini yes I am interested in hearing a bit more on your rental strategy. Could you give me a quick 40,000 foot view of how you invest in rental properties? How has becoming a licensed realator helped you be a better investor?

Hey everybody, I am an aspiring real estate investor located in San Diego, CA. I recently got into personal finance, which in turn drove me towards the idea of real estate investing.

I was looking at my retirement options and realized that I am not in good shape (financially) to retire at a decent age. I am 30 years old with no plan or savings towards retirement.

Thus...Real estate investing to the rescue!

Since discovering the amazing benefits of REI, I am hooked, locked-on, and driven to succeed in the world of real estate.

What's my strategy? Buy and hold rental properties. Since I live in San Diego, CA. I know that the most viable option is for me to invest in long-distance rental properties.

I have a lot of uncertainty of exactly where and how I will build a portfolio, but for now, education is helping me gain clarity. That's what I need, clarity. I have a very strong drive to do this but I'm not sure where to go or what the exact next step. I'm like a gassed up car ready to get to the destination, but the GPS is not exactly in working condition.

My goal is to build a passive portfolio that gives me the freedom time to work when I want, not because I have to. Then, I can cash out a portion of the portfolio to retire off of and leave a legacy behind me.

The last thing I want to say is thank you to all of those who took the time to read my first post and a thank you to the BP community in general. 

Feel free to ask questions. I tried to keep the post short.

Peace out!