All Forum Posts by: Scott Beck

Welcome @Michael Reiche to Bigger Pockets and Texas!

A good place to start is the Ultimate Beginners Guide (https://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investing). The podcasts are also good to listen to - there are over 100 of them! (https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/category/podcast/)

You can add keyword alerts for topics and locations of interest to you at https://www.biggerpockets.com/alerts.

You might also benefit from local interaction. You can find local BP groups in the Forums (

https://www.biggerpockets.com). Another source of local information can be obtained at the monthly general meetings of the North Texas Association of Real Estate Investors (www.ntarei.com) which meets near Route 635. You can meet a lot of local investors and vendors at this meeting. There are also classes throughout the month on specific topics. The is a nominal cost associated with these.

FYI, my wife and I are former Pennsylvanians too (I grew up in Allentown and she grew up in Kutztown.) We currently live in Murphy, which is east of Plano. Last year we both became Realtors because of our interest in real estate investing. Our focus for both is Collin County and northern Dallas County. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Lots of good suggestions from @Chris Reed.

Do you have comparable information on the other rentals in the neighborhood? [Your real estate agent should be able to provide this to you.] This information will keep you from over-improving the property. Perhaps Formica is standard in the area rentals. Then you do not want to go to the expense of putting in granite or quartz. FYI, there are some companies in DFW that will resurface Formica.

Hi @Philip Hy,

You did not mention the quality of what I call the "big five": roof, AC, plumbing, electrical, and foundation. If you have a problem with any one of these you will consume your $5,000 budget. If these are OK, I agree with the discussion above that the focus should be on the kitchen and bathrooms.

You might want to consider replacing the toilets along with the plumbing fixtures. These are the things most likely to get you the middle of the night phone call from a tenant.

Since you are in Plano and the property is north of Fort Worth you could be more than an hour away from it. Are you going to manage the property or have a property manager? If you are having it managed, don't forget to include this cost in your analysis.

Good luck!

Hi @Karen M.,

Several suggestions:

• Have at least 6 months of living expenses saved up before going down this path. (FYI, it usually take about 6 months to close your first deal. There are some exceptions to this, but they are rare.)
• Set up meetings with local brokers and find out what is required to be an agent in their brokerage. Look at both the big and small players. Ask about their cost structures and expectations.
• Talk to local agents about how they view their job and how much time they spend on it. Also ask them about the brokerage they are signed with, as you will most likely get a much different perspective from what the broker told you.

Before making a decision I recommend reading the following:

• How much money do you need to save before becoming a real estate agent? (http://investfourmore.com/2014/06/how-much-money-do-you-need-to-save-before-becoming-a-real-estate-agent/ )Note that Invest Four More is a website by @Mark Ferguson. He has lots of useful information related to being an agent and doing RE investing. You might consider following his posts here on BP and looking at his website.
• The links at the U.S. Small Business Administration website (https://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/starting-managing-business/starting-business )
• "21 Things I Wish My Broker Had Told Me" by Frank Cook (Dearborn Real Estate Education 2007).
• "The Millionaire Real Estate Agent," by Garry Keller and Dave Jenks.

These will all give you different perspectives on what you need to know to be successful.

Good luck!

Welcome @Michael Flood to the BP community.

If you haven't already done so, check out the "Ultimate Beginner's Guide" (www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investing).

Take advantage of the keyword alerts. You can use these to find local BP networking events and to learn more about the local market.

Since you are in Dallas you might be interested in the North Texas Association of Real Estate Investors (www.ntarei.com). They hold monthly meetings where you can network with local investors and vendors. There are also individual training sessions on a variety of topics. (FYI, there is a cost for each meeting.)

Good luck!

Welcome @Danielle J. to the Bigger Pockets community.

On the subject of REI clubs:

• Check out the "Local Real Estate" forum under "Community/Forum Categories" above. There are several groups in the DFW area listed under "Texas Real estate Q&A Discussion" (www.biggerpockets.com/forums/585-texas-real-estate-q-a-discussion-forum)
• Set up keyword alerts for the cities where you want to invest. Club announcements will show up and you will get an idea of what is going on in those places.
• Do a web search. Several of the local BP groups are listed on Meet Up.

Since you are new to RE investing I highly recommend that you look at the free guides under the "Education" - especially the "Ultimate Beginner's Guide" (www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investing).

I see from a previous post that you are interested in wholesaling. You might want to read the "How to Start Wholesaling" guide (www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2015/01/31/ultimate-beginners-guide-real-estate-wholesaling-2/).

Let me know if you have any questions about the markets in Collin County or northern Dallas County, as this is my focus area.

Welcome @Asem AbuAwad to the BP community. This is a great place to learn and make connections.

In addition to utilizing the nice list of resources @Linval T. put together for you start to explore the markets that interest you. One place to get this information is the Texas A&M Real Estate Center (www.recenter.tamu.edu/research/market-research/). Another thing to do is find some of the local meetup groups (look under Community/Forum Categories) or do a web search for local RE investment clubs. These are good places to meet local investors and vendors.

Thank you @Jassem A. and @Jerome Harrod II. All good ideas!

Thank you @Phil Earley. I'll look into these.

I would like to hear from other real estate agents and brokers what methods have worked for them when marketing a rental property for another investor/landlord. That is, aside from placing a "For Lease" sign in the yard, and posting the property on the MLS and other websites like Realtor.com, Craigslist, Zillow, etc. what has worked to get the most potential tenants?