All Forum Posts by: Roger Lin

Thanks for all of your comments and advice so far.  I have sometime to consider this deal and I will think hard about it before pulling the trigger.  I think another important aspect of this question comes from where an investor is in the trajectory of experience level.  I am no expert but have been doing this for 7 years.  Over the years, I've accumulated experience, some expertise and resources.  I think it's interesting that if I had come across this about two or three years ago, I would've pull the trigger right away. One, the D.C. metro market was still in a depressed state, that there would have been at least a perceived appreciation potential.  Second, I didn't have the access to opportunities that I have today.

@Robert Leonard , I really appreciate "this would only make sense to me if you have no better options. I think there's always a better option."  Also, for the list you outlined.  I think the deal might actually be an exception to what you outlined.  My biggest concern is that I've been doing this long enough to know that real estate cycles can be unforgiving to properties within the weaker submarkets.  I've always invested in locations where I feel confident that when the larger market improves, they will be the forefront of that appreciation.  Those are also the last ones and the slowest to lose value in a down market. 

This property is not within one of the strongest submarkets. I think the 9% Cap cash flow gets me over the hurdle of potentially slow or no appreciation but I need to be confident that if I sell during a down market, the property will not sell for less than what I pay for. I keep comparing this deal to a hard money loan, which I do. With a loan, the 60% LTV affords me a 40% buffer for market fluctuations, I also get a better return than 9%. Sure, with a loan I also don't get that appreciation (except when the loan goes bad). In any case, I am enjoying this exercise. Thanks all for your feedback.

I recently found a property that will cash flow at close to 10% Cap but I think the prospect of the property appreciating in value isn't great.  The only potential upside is by increasing the rent a little bit at a time.  The more I think about it, the more it feels like a bank account with a 9% interest rate.  So, I think about this deal as a pure cash flow play.  The good thing about it is that it isn't very expensive.  Would you do this deal?

Still a few days before the meeting. We already have 22 people coming, there's room for a few more.

Roger Lin

Investors in the D.C. region:

The Capital REI Group is meeting on May 22 in Fairfax City. Join us!

http://www.evite.com/event/00E5P5MOPDXIW4ZXGEPD2WEUKGFK4E

funny you asked. I just got the space booked for May 22nd Thursday evening from 7-9pm. Please PM me with your email so I can add you to the evite.

Thanks

Roger

Welcome! The D.C. region is a great place to invest. While I generally agree that prices are higher here, you can still find niches that meet your entry point. You will need to know your market really well (down to the subdivisions and probably to the street level). This knowledge takes time to explore on your own and talking to other investors.

If you have a realtor's license, you have ACCESS. if you don't become fast friends with one. You need to know the market!

Paul said it well, locate and go to 3 different local real estate investment groups. We have a what I like to call "anti-reia" group that meets once a month in Fairfax that I co-host. We'll be more than happy to have you. We call it "anti-reia" because it is purely an exchange group, we exchange knowledge, skills, resources, deals, services. The one thing we don't do is sell training programs or boot camps. Feel free to PM me and I will put you on the evite list.

Steve's totally right! They are not even listed on MRIS or CoStar more than half of the time. If they are, they are gone in a couple of hours. I would recommend you get to know a lot of agents and make sure you have your resources lined up. That way you increase the likelihood of one of them finding out about one and letting you know and that you are ready to go when that property appears.

Sunhee,

I think you should think about who you would like to have as clients. Marketing takes time and persistence. Since you are here on BP, you should at least try working with investors because they are usually ready to buy and able to close.

I host a monthly meeting of real estate investors in the D.C. area. We are actually meeting tonight. Here's the evite if you are interested in attending.

http://www.evite.com/event/00E5YUEECDMLEYGU4EPDVGPWFHVJPU

Folks,

The real estate investors in DMV are meeting again! See the attached evite if you are interested in attending.

http://www.evite.com/event/00E5YUEECDMLEYGU4EPDVGPWFHVJPU

Brandon,

Welcome! You are at the right place. I came about real estate investments from similar places. I can tell from your description of your investments that you do your homework and want to really understand how things work. BP is the perfect starting point for that. I would also encourage you to participate in a local investment group/club. That's how I found my mentor 8 years ago and how I started investing in real estate.

There are a few local groups in the D.C. area. I also host a monthly group of BPers at my space in Fairfax if you are interested in attending. We've had four very successful and well-attended meetings so far. We are the anti-REIA (meaning we don't sell or let people sell programs and boot camps). It is an "exchange group" where people who actually invest in real estate get together and learn from each other.

Let me know if you are interested in coming. Our next meeting is on the 19th, it should be perfect for you, we are going back down to the very basics.

Roger