All Forum Posts by: Sandy RL

Kate Brown, I started in land investing in 2017 after hearing an interview with a land investor on the Bigger Pockets podcast. Back then there were 3 or 4 people with education programs. Between then and 2020, a few more popped up with copycat courses of the original 2 programs. Since 2020, dozens of programs have popped up. Some have improved on the original 2 programs by using new technologies and services. However, the core remains the same. (Please note that there have been A LOT of new programs from people who have only been doing this for a few years.) I sat through the webinar that Kris Thomas has for the program you are talking about. I even asked why so much. (Correct me if I am wrong but the program costs $30K to start PLUS 50/50 split of your deals until the total reaches a minimum of $60K) Apparently they offer you their trained team in order to learn and do those deals. But it still does NOT justify the price. The original 2 players are Jack Bosch and Land Academy. Both of them have different levels of education from beginner to advanced. Nearly every education program is a copy of one of those 2. But to give you a little tip, look up a guy named Pete Reese. His podcast is called "Turning Profit". Also, he offers the entire education for free. It is a beginner's education. He makes his money by offering his own versions of technology and services that will help you streamline and grow your business. I am not suggesting you use his products or services as I think he has them overpriced. But his education will get you started so that you can see if you even like the land business. 

Welcome to NWI! I am working on vacant land right now but intend on getting back to SFRs in this area as well. If you need anything, just ask. There are a bunch of NWI people on this board. Everyone is very nice and helpful.

@Kyle Galloway 

From my understanding, they try to get someone to speak on a topic of interest. But it's more about networking. The idea is to match up with like minded people. Also find people you might need. Lawyers, bankers, accountants, service people. Plus you can get on the local FB page and ask questions all the time. I haven't been to one in years because they changed the time and place that just didn't work for me.

You just need to pay attention to the costs. The last time that I looked, the cost on one of them had shot up. The group started out over a decade ago with a few guys getting together for coffee. But over the years new faces came in, pushed out the originals. The speakers went from local people tryig to educate to national gurus who are trying to sell their product. A lot of people got sick of this and a lot of smaller groups started popping up.

When I was on the Realtor side, I had an investor ask me not to just comp but analyze every property on the MLS to see if anything met his very specific criteria. Then I was supposed to "tell" him about the property so he could contact the seller. (No mention as to if/how I would get paid.) And I needed to do that for EVERY new property that would come to the mls if I wanted to continue to work "with" him. Then he finished the phone call be saying something about all Realtors being lazy and stupid.

 Needless to say I understand both sides of the argument. But I do see a lot of broker/investor relationships that work very well.

@Daniel Guerra So I think Lake and Porter Counties are ridiculously overpriced. But I think that is because they are considered more Chicagoland than Indiana. If you are wanting to stay in this area and play at that price point you might find a deal at tax sale. If you just want cheap properties, move over to LaPorte County. LaPorte County (specifically Michigan City) is significantly cheaper. So are rents. But I just thought I'd throw that option out for you.

The mentoring sites like to talk about how easy it is to get access to the MLS; but, it just isn't true. When I started looking into real estate in NWI many years ago, most realtors hung up on me as soon as I told them I was an investor. So I just got my license in order to access the MLS. But I'll be honest with you. I am going to try to find some time in the next few months to analyze comps in GNIAR MLS and compare to Redfin, Zillow, Realtor.com and Data Tree. If I find that they are close, I'm going to park my license. I am expecting that they will be close because GNIAR feeds into them for the listings. I just don't know how much for comps.

Welcome!

Welcome! 

I'm originally from Michigan City. How big of a rehab are you looking for? I had a line on a duplex in Michigan City but couldn't find anyone for it. (And I am already swamped) This baby would need a lot of plumbing work as the last tenant left in the middle of winter and turned off utilities. 

We should get together. Also Michigan City has NILA (Northern Indiana Landlords Association). You might want to look into that.

Sandy

Thanks so much for your input. I really like the idea of cash for keys. And under normal circumstances, I think any reasonable tenant would jump at the idea. However, the step-daughter is over 50 years old and has never paid rent. I don't think that she will comprehend the idea of having to support herself. I'm leaning towards dropping this whole thing. But I might have a conversation with the owner. The ARV is probably $90-$100K. He wants $60K. The $60K is really too high without the tenant problem. Once he gets a better idea of what I am willing to pay, he will be the one running from the deal.