All Forum Posts by: Ryan Hill

@Jeremy Helsabeck that's great you took the plunge and got started. A lot of investors aren't in such a fortunate spot as you with a high paying job. You're definitely calling out one of the more challenging pieces of the BRRRR strategy. Steady,reliable contractors are hard to come by and a lot of the good ones are really busy. Nature of the game. There's a lot of people out there doing it successfully though. A lot of it comes down to setting guidelines up front and understanding the process you need to take to retain leadership in that relationship. Would recommend hiring a project manager (someone you can trust and has experience) to handle all the direct communication with the contractor to keep it professional and take work and hours put in off your plate if that's what you're looking for.

Another thing to note: things will come up, you need to be prepared for that mentally and have unexpected events factored into the numbers when buying a property to rehab. The numbers still need to work after something takes longer than expected or a project that goes 10-15%. Point being running a clean analysis, understanding where the ARV will be and FINDING A REALLY GOOD DEAL are important parts of the process.

@Jordan Rabb it depends how you want to spend your time. Do you want to canvas neighborhoods and spend time talking to people? Does it work for what you're trying to accomplish?

I've grinded the phones a fair amount and had success with finding some rental properties to buy. When you grind the phones or go out and talk to people you get out what you put in. There is some timing and luck involved as well as inconsistent results. I still grind the phones from time to time but invest in direct to seller marketing so I get calls from motivated sellers. It's an investment but it pays off as long as you do it correctly and your messaging is clear. 

Welcome to the party @Reese Bake! Congrats on being so close to retirement from the military. What're you trying to accomplish with real estate? Is that what is drawing you into flipping/wholesaling? I've gotten a lot of value out of the podcast over the last few years and found connecting with people on BP in my local market to be helpful in getting started as well. 

@Morgan Hill good question. I agree with you wholeheartedly in regards to your comment about investing outside of CA. Texas and Ohio both have some good rental markets, I know a few people who are investing there. Have you narrowed down your search at all as far as what cities in Texas and Ohio? 

In my honest opinion there is always going to be a reason you can come up with to not invest in real estate, same goes for the stock market. If you focus on long term goals (buying rentals) then I believe getting started as soon as you can will yield the best results as long as you are clear on the steps to take. I'd say you're more likely to fail and become discouraged because of a mistake you made because of a lack of understanding of the process, lack of due diligence/analysis on a property you purchase than going through an eviction or someone not paying for a month. Vacancy should be something you factor in when you're running your analysis. It will happen and it shouldn't be a surprise or completely take you out of the game. 

How long have you been considering pulling the trigger? 

Welcome @Cheryl Moore! Are you going to be investing in Dayton? Are you eager to learn more or are you eager to start investing? 

@Jeff Pearson you aren't crazy - you're smart for thinking this way! Curious what the moment was where you decided you were done trading time for dollars? Are you missing out on something by being in the dental chair?

I didn't do the realtor path personally although the folks who have done it that I've talked with at length tend to say there is no real correlation to getting your real estate license and investment success. If being an agent is a true passion for you, great. Do it. But it likely won't be the reason you kill it on the investment side. There's a chance it may take valuable time away from your investing and limit your growth. Just a thought. Which means you'll be doing good work on the realtor side, but again, that's trading time for dollars in the end. 

Do you know where you'll be investing? How you'll be finding off market deals? Some of the more important questions you should work on getting answered in the beginning. 

@Joshua Beneventi congrats on the wins you had in trading as of late. Definitely going to take you a lot more capital to invest in San Diego than another market in the US. If you're open to it, I would definitely look into investing out of state. Opens up an opportunity to find some properties you can get for sub 100k (not spend all your money) and with the opportunity to appreciate over time if you choose a strong market. There's also cash flow to consider as well, which is a lot of peoples number one decision maker. 

Inventory is low in a lot of those markets with sub 100k but you can definitely find some good deals if you set up direct to seller marketing. In my opinion, the best way to get rentals at the moment if you're aiming for over 1%. 

Hey Tony! That's exciting you're exploring the idea of BRRRR investing - I would definitely say that would be a good start. Are you investing in state or out of state? Managing the rehab and property yourself? It's fine if you don't know the answer to those questions already.

If you're out of state - definitely want to have some boots on the ground (project manager) who can manage the rehab for you. If not you can (and I have) get into some trouble with keeping a contractor accountable. 

If you're hiring a property manager - consider calling them to 1)interview them to see if you want to work with them 2) Ask them if they know any local contractors they would recommend 3) if they do any project management for rehabs. 

@Xela Batchelder sounds like a cool deal - what else are you investigating about the houses? Any idea why he's willing to part with them? Just done being a landlord? 

Don't have too much for you on the portfolio loan side of things through an institution though I just bought three houses with seller financing package. The seller asked for 20% down so we found private money (through and individual) to pay for the down payment. I would need to know more about your situation to know for sure but it seems like that would be a good option for you. Not everyone has a private money contact but you'd be surprised who you may get introduced to just by floating the idea to your circle of friends/family/colleagues. 

Don't live there personally - my brother lived in CT for the last five years. Are you planning on buying rentals there? Curious what drew you to the area...I thought CT was going downhill. That's just what I have heard!