All Forum Posts by: Ross Kalmbach

In my opinion you answered what you should do: 

I have two properties in the same situation as you.  I go ahead and do a pretty good rehab (only thing I didn't do that I wanted was replace paneling with sheet-rock). Also, you would be surprised at a premium you might be able to get.  I went 100$ (>8% for this property) over market rent for one and it went within a week (would have went faster but we had to screen).

Good luck!

I'm guessing this is just material cost.  They still have to move the printers to the site, set it up, pay the workers, etc.  My guess is a single house on one lot would end up costing a lot more (~50k or even more?).  However, for mass construction of affordable housing you can probably get closer to a cheap house - but still missing A LOT of cost. Also - wonder how materials compare to US prices.

It would be interesting to see what the final impact will be.  I know a company in the US already did one in Austin, TX:

3D-printed Austin house becomes international model

"According to Icon, the printer can cut the cost of building a home by 30 to 50 percent compared to the cost of traditional construction."

Seems more reasonable. This house was a tiny house too though but looks better than China's 2000 sq.ft. one :) 

Yeah I agree with @Art Perkitny

I haven't looked into if any of those sites (Hotpads, Craiglist, Zillow) have API's you can use but if they did that would be your best option. I wouldn't mind having the same thing in Tableau for sales/taxes/insurance data as well.  Let me know if you find anything interesting. 

I've also had no problems with Kwikset Smartkey locks.  Three SF rentals one being rented for over four years the last only one - but all have the locks and haven't had issues yet.  People with more units or longer rental periods might have different stories though.  Sticking with them till they fail me :) 

Hey Norton,

Here are my opinions: 

Would it be possible to not attend college, but to instead find the same textbooks that would be used in a specific college class, and study them, hence learning everything I would learn if I was in that class, without actually taking the class?

A) Yes, but it's not the same as actually having a degree from a college and would not satisfy the requirement for jobs that require a four year degree.  Since you want to go into real estate as a agent/broker - this might not be an issue.  However, I would strongly recommend getting a degree from an accredited university.  There are plenty of online cheap options that won't put you into debt and you can take your time.

This would save me loads of time, which would allow me to work more hours, and save up more money for future real estate investments. I don't want to drop the college education altogether, because having a solid understanding of things such as micro and macro economics in business would help me have a better understanding of the real estate market as a whole, and understand what influences the market, and etc.

B) If you decide to go the non-accredited route there are a lot of books that explain business in a simple and easy to understand ways; this might be better than the college textbooks.  Unless you really want to do complex models or really want to learn about M1 and M2 money supplies you can probably get away with some really good books by experts in the field (non-academia).

One more question unrelated to college: My ultimate goal is to make passive income off buy and hold real estate investments, but that isn't a day job I can start out with. My plan is to get a part time job unrelated to real estate when I am 17, then get my real estate license as soon as I turn 18, and work as a real estate agent. As a real estate agent, I would prefer to eventually work with investors and/or commercial property, instead of selling to regular home buyers(how would I go about doing this?). After I am making decent income as an agent, I would quit my original part time job and live off the income I made from real estate. After I have relationships with lots of investors and an understanding of the real estate market, I will move to wholesaling/flipping/buy and hold.

C) Good plan - I'm working on my license now and plan to do commercial real estate as well (also studying for the LSAT but need a backup).

My question; is this all a realistic idea? Is getting a real estate license and becoming an agent the best way to "break in" to the real estate field? Would there be too much competition as a real estate agent to make decent money? This ties into the college questions, because if becoming a real estate agent is not possible, my next best choice is to get a degree and work a regular job, until I have the money to start investing in real estate.

D) I can tell you out of the real estate agents I've dealt with very few are worth a damn.  If you work your *** off you will have no problem with a job or $$$.  You could also do the degree route and make 60+/year and do real estate on the side (weekends or house hacks).  It's up to you and only you can decide.

Sorry for so many questions,

E) Good luck!

Sure I'll assist :) Just let me know what's needed.

Thanks!

Welcome and hope you had a great Thanksgiving! 

I agree this needs to be broken down by region, property type, coverage, etc.  It would be nice to know if they (the insurance companies) allow public access to data but I doubt it. You also have to take into consideration the investor themselves.  Are add-ons factored into the total premium for the study (aka umbrella policies)? Then you might also have other factors such as flood zones. I'm not sure how hurricanes, tornado, and fires affect the regions as well.  

If you get the data I'll be glad to help with the analysis - curious as well as to what the normal investor has for insurance vs maybe a more risk-adverse one. 

Good luck!

I agree with @Brian Garlington - you get inquires based on the audience you advertise to.  

Craigslist < FB < Apartments.com < Zillow/Trulia/Hotpads

I only have a few property but we only post to Zillow where they can pay the application fee which goes directly to the background check.  Unless someone pays the fee and goes through the application process we do not do private showings.  We schedule showings Wed/Sat/Sun at various times for other potential applicants. Has worked really well so far.

Just curious did this podcast get published?  If so anyone know the episode #?  

Thanks,

- Ross