All Forum Posts by: Richelle T.

@Joe Demonte @Ellis San Jose 

Thanks! I didn't think to look for LP owners...makes sense. 

What a genius idea to go the meetings where the investors are sold on the idea, then wait. Buying LP shares at a discount is what investor #34 did in the book. I do think this is an advanced strategy. Or one that takes very niche of specialized knowledge. I'll have to do some more research but purchasing smaller shares of larger deals seems like a great way to get into commercial without huge upfront costs. I also like to diversification it ads. But alas, as is the key to RE investing, motivated sellers are the key. 

@Joe Demonte @Phillip Cailey @Ellis San Jose 

I just finished the book today and had the same thought! In the book, he mentions marketing to the limited partners. Where would one find this information? I tried looking at the secretary of state website for my state but didn't have much luck. Albeit, I did not see the option to search for members of limited partnership. I looked for general partner filings but did not find those either. 

I would sell. I think @Joe G. gave some great advice here. 

:-( 

A financially unstable HOA is bad news.

Hi @Ursula B. Before you get too far gone, it's a condo so you as the owner should only be responsible for the interior of the property. The HOA should be responsible for the exterior. Check you closing docs to see if the HOA dues were paid up with the proceeds of the sale. If they are, then you should be able to talk with the president of the HOA to get your balcony fixed.

I would check out the financial health of the HOA before I purchased anymore condos in the building/complex if I were you.

For rentals:

1. Location

2. Price

3. market rent (price:rent ratio)

4. after repaired value

5. repair costs (I buy ugly and the uglier the better!)

@Dan Losh  If you want to take on that much risk you can.

I think you are missing the point I'm trying to make to you though. Go to school, study something profitable, save money, be conservative in your investing and the rewards will pay off. Don't use youth as an excuse to be reckless. I'm barely 10 years older than you but I've been in the game long enough to recognize that you can lose a lot of money in real estate. Tread carefully. Debt is to be respected and used wisely. 

@Dan Losh Here is some unsolicited advice. If I were you, I would focus on getting a steady income to show the bank as opposed to try to work FOR the bank or a real estate company. I think real estate is great but it's slow pay in the beginning. If you were to become an agent, for example, your pay would be spotty. Banks like to see consistent income. You don't have to study in school everything you are passionate about. Real estate is a great way to build wealth, however, at 18, I would focus on how to best set yourself up for a profitable career. (my educational bias is about to come out) Think: engineering, law, medicine, finance. You can build your portfolio when you have a career and steady stream of income. Then you can retire early. 

@Shayla Fletcher I don't have enough properties to justify paying for software so I use vertical rent. It's a cloud based property management and accounting program for landlord. I love it. It's better than an excel file because it generates the annual reports for you. No affiliation with the company, I'm just a happy user.

@Dan Losh I started super young also. @David Oldenburg gave you the secret, spend less than you earn and save as much as you can. I would also suggest getting a starter credit card. The sooner you can establish a good credit history, the better. Credit history does penalize youth because accounts that have been open for many years are favored.

How I got started: I studied engineering in undergrad - a discipline where summer internships are both encouraged and offer great pay. With that in mind, I saved my internship money from each of the four summers of undergrad. During this time I studied and read books about RE investing.  By my last year of undergrad I was set to purchase my first property in grad school. I bought my first property at 21.