All Forum Posts by: Ronnie Galindo

BP Family,

As I have stated in several of my posts, I am very green and thus why I have questions and am always seeking answers for the experts doing it. With that said,

Do you all think I should invest into a website? PO Box? Email? Name Sake? LLC?

I am looking to start flipping (at least my first or second deal) to raise capital. I am driving for dollars here in Napa and will be sending out mailers and if that doesn't work, I will be cold calling. I want to be as professional as I can be but also still be personal and not come off as a big business that is there to squash the little guy. I was thinking of doing a PO BOX at least so people won't have my personal address when I am sending mailers and such but do y'all think I need to get a website going and create a new e-mail with my business name and all?

Any advice welcome!

@Hosmar Martinez, don't let neigh-sayers get you scared! Education and knowledge can make out of state investing less risky. Could you get burned, yes. Could you pay more money than you should, yes. Will it be worth it in the end because you will learn lessons that will follow you and help you overall get to financial freedom, YES! I am not saying be naïve and just throw your money away, but if you live in a market that does not make sense for your financial position, then you may have to find another market, as others have said. With that being said, I agree with @Cole Simpson, reading David Greene's Book on out of state investing will help along with reading blog posts here on BP and attending webinars. 

If you are serious about starting down this path, I suggest two things: 1) become a PRO member here (don't worry, I don't get any $$$ for suggesting this). The reason why I say become PRO is, you get access to all the webinars, which Knowledge=power. Also, you get the calculators. The quickest way to kill your mojo in REI is doing a horrible deal. Use the calculators to run the numbers and become confident in seeing what makes sense for you. 2) stay active here on BP and learn from those doing it! Network, don't be scared to chat with people and rack their brain to learn. Who knows, you may find a partner! Take care and good luck!

"Those who say they can't and those who say they can are usually both right." -Will Smith!

Hello BP,

As always, I have found the forums to be the place to go when you are confused or lost. I did a google search for Napa REIA and a Facebook group came up that hasn't posted since 2018 (I posted so we will see if anyone is active there). I also just searched on BP and everything is old news on here as well for Napa. I know that the Napa market is hot (very competitive with people moving away from SF), so it is baffling me as to why there aren't any networking people that I am finding. Anyone know of meet ups or REIAs in Napa? I already attend the Sonoma one.

If not, who wants to start one?! Anyone interested or would attend? I can host (virtually for now then figure it out in the future) or set it up! I am looking to network and get an investor group together (if one doesn't already exist) so I can learn as well as work with others to further all our goals! Let me know!

@John Mucilli, I am also looking to jump into the Columbus market. Let me know if I can help! Even if it's just bouncing ideas off one another! Take care and good luck!

@Matthew Tregoning, I see it says in your title that you are from HI. Do you live there or are you just from there. Are you going to be house hacking in OH or HI? This could make a difference in where you'd wanna go with your journey. Ultimately a lot of people have said good things such as BRRRR and practice analyzing. Ultimately its up to you how much risk you want to put in and what you need to be financially free! Just focus on the first deal, run all the numbers, and make your money work for you, then pull the money out and keep doing it! Good luck and if you need help, wanna run ideas together, or just chat, hit me up! I am also looking into Columbus, OH. See you around!

@Account Closed I get your idea of OOS investing but I would caution you that it takes a lot. Reading David Greene's book will help (I am 3/4 of the way through it). I am in a worse situation than you (don't have the capital to go into bigger markets) so I am looking at Columbus, OH and Houston, TX but if you have capital, I would look around your neighborhood. If you want a deal you're gonna have to put in the work. Drive for dollars using apps like deal machine (which I just started doing here in Napa) and you can find some deals for sure. Also, I would recommend signing up to be a pro here on BP. The calculators alone are worth it! Just sign up for a webinar and they almost always give a discount code to take some money off the fee (don't worry, I don't get paid to endorse BP or deal machine). 

Ultimately it will be up to you and how hard you work to get where you want to be, which I think we all are trying to get to which is being financially free. good luck my man and if you want to chat or anything, hit me up!

@Dana Adams it all comes down to capital and starting financing. Here in the Bay Area, the price to get in is substantial. I know the profit margin is better but trying to get anything without $50k+ to start in reserves is hard and so the OOS markets allow for someone that has only $20k to get in and do well, so it seems. I know there are options such as partners and such, which I am looking into but even having a market only an hour away can be hard to work when you have a W2 job. But I’m definitely up for networking and learning from everyone!

@Cheryl Blanc things you need to consider are the normal items you face with your vacation rental, i.e. capital expenses, maintenance, property management, and don't forget closing costs and any fees it takes to secure the property. Just work backwards to see if the property will work, take the $1,300 you have already said she will pay, minus the every month fees and the mortgage, then get to what number you would like to get per month to see if it works. Good luck!

@Inno Ekeh, When you say sizeable, what are we talking 6000sq ft? 1/3 acre? .5 acre? It all depends on how big and how much involvement you'd like. Depending on the size, you could house animals, if your city doesn't have a community garden you could create one and have people pay a small fee either up front or per month for a planter bed, like @Jill F. said maybe storage units or garages. As you can see, there are several ideas that can flow, just depends on what your area has a need for. 

@Dana A., I am just starting out watching the Sac market. I own my primary residence that I am house hacking and run my parents duplex rental here in Napa. I am also looking out of state. Would love to get on this list and connect with everyone!