All Forum Posts by: Salvatore Lentini

@Rob Titus - definitely not necessary to hire any contractors as employees until you have a TON of properties.

1. Contractors are notoriously unpredictable.  You can be working with a contractor for years and then all of a sudden they disappear or their prices skyrocket or they become unreliable (has happened to me multiple times).  If they're a contractor, it's easy.  Just don't hire them for the next job.

2. Your business will ebb and flow over time.  Sometimes business is great and other times, not so much.  While you will learn how to handle those peaks and troughs your employees want to get paid on time every week, no exceptions.  I built 2 businesses and grew each up to 12 employees.  When I started my real estate business 10 years ago I vowed to never hire an employee ever again.  Managing employees is a business in and of itself (a business I did not enjoy!).  Any work I need in real estate that I can't do, I outsource (accountant, lawyer, contractors, handyman, property manager (on some properties), software, brokers etc.  

@Ricky Nunez - find a local real estate investing group/club near you and start attending.  Once you start meeting other like minded individuals it will help you get started.  I've found this industry to have people that are very supportive and willing to help others.  It's not as big and scary as you may think.  After you buy your first property you'll wonder why you ever thought it was difficult :)

@Jinesh Patel - whatever you do, don't go with one of the national snake oil salesmen....I mean "gurus".  Go with someone that currently invests for their livelihood and avoid the ones that have books and try to upsell you on weekend workshops that cost tens of thousands.  They try to make it seem like it's more complicated than it actually is.  The reality is, it can be very simple.  You're just feeling overwhelmed and that's normal.  Remember, you don't need to have it all figured out before you get started.  And there's not ONE right path to success in real estate.

@Jason Carter - find a local real estate group near you and start meeting people face to face.  Offer to volunteer at the meetings.  My first 10 deals were done with someone I met at a real estate investment group meeting.  I wholesaled 3 deals to her, then I kept one for myself to flip and her list it as my realtor, then I bought 5 single families through pocket listings she had, then a 10 unit apartment building.  I've bought properties, gotten private lending and have built up contacts in my phone for a bunch of investment friendly contractors, from people I've met at those meetings.  

@Michael Zandona - My most recent one was $7,600 on a $3.1M property.  Not sure what the cost would be a for a smaller property.  If you message me I can give you contact info for the company I used to get a quote.  Not sure what size or types of properties they do.

@Nathan Gesner - doesn't have to be Grant Cardone?  How about, avoid the "Grant Cardones".  Other than that, I agree.  Finding someone in person and/or through your local network is best.  Even people you know that are successful in business may also have a portfolio of properties as investments.  I know several people that own HVAC companies, plumbing companies, are mortgage brokers etc that all have a bunch of properties "on the side".  You don't need to find a guru just someone who has experience.  In the end, it's not rocket science and most of it you'll learn as you do it.  Meaning, you can try and learn for years, reading, watching videos, talking to people but once you put an offer in on a property and it gets accepted....you'll learn more in those next few months than all the years of research before that.

@Michael Zandona - as far as I know, you can do a cost segregation study on any investment property.    If you're looking to offset income this is a great method.  I've used it as a motivator to grow my portfolio, the more property I buy the more I offset my income and my wife's income.  At some point in the near future I will sell everything (small to medium properties in the $300K - $7M) and do a 1031 exchange (so I don't get slammed with taxes) into a handful of large income producing properties...hire a management company and call it a day.

@John Ciallella - for protection you can buy in an LLC or you can buy in your name and get an umbrella policy for $1-2 million. Unless you run your LLC properly with complete separation between it and you, the LLC veil of security can be pierced. So either buy as an LLC and make sure you dot your i's and cross your t's or buy as an individual and make sure you have adequate insurance coverage. Because in the end you're trying to mitigate your exposure if sued.

@David Shultz - Welcome.  You made a good decision joining BP.  Lots of knowledgeable and friendly investors one here.  Feel free to message me with any specific questions.  I'm closing in on my 10th year of investing.  Started with a $60K rowhome and now I'm buying multi family, office, retail and developing a townhouse subdivision.  It's been a fun and wild ride :)

Anyone able to predict crashes in the housing market, stock market, gold market, crypto market.... any market, would be the richest person on earth.  People seem to forget that markets don't need to crash to correct themselves.  They can slow down or go flat for years until inflation/the economy catches up.  Doesn't have to be a crash.  I'm not saying it won't, I'm just saying, the options aren't just boom or crash.