All Forum Posts by: Shazia Chiu

We are soooo conflicted on whether or not to apply for this! We currently have another SBA loan in process for the purchase of a commercial property, but we hold 50+ units as part of another business that will undoubtedly get flogged by this crisis. Our SBA lender for the loan in process said he'd be wary about applying for disaster relief because it could look bad...but that potential 10K grant alone would really help right now. Not sure what to do at this point. :( 

@Marcus Auerbach thank you for sharing your insights in Milwaukee. We have a lot of rentals in that market and I'm curious to see how our tenants will be impacted by this situation. Many receive housing vouchers, but there are quite a few who pay on their own, as well. I like your half-rent idea; that's a nice approach that still shows some flexibility while still keeping some cash in your pocket (assuming the tenants can pay even that). We are also prepared cash-wise to weather out this storm, but it is a little unnerving to see how quickly this has all unfolded. I hope business continues to go strong for you in Milwaukee! 

@Danny Hinkle I was a reluctant wife once. I think what helped me was meeting other investors and getting the inside scoop on what they were doing and how it was positively impacting their lives. House hacking--buying a property and living in one side while renting out the other--was a great introduction to investing for me as well. It felt like a low-risk buy (since we could easily cover the mortgage even without renters), but since the unit was almost always filled I saw the full power of REI firsthand.

Above all, I think communication is the most important--if you have an open dialogue and address her concerns, I imagine you'll make progress :) Good luck! 

Haha I never have any luck with Facebook Marketplace--seems like the only inquiries I get are from semi-interested people who haven't even read my listings! Good to see that it works for some people though!

Wow @Michael Ealy! Can't wait to hear what happens next--you are a great story teller :) It's incredible to bounce back from the tough spot you were in; I'm sure you learned a lot from that experience! 

@Alex Bayer that's a tough one! My husband and I lived in a high-crime area (by Utah standards) for a couple of years, and the worst thing we experienced was having our car window shot with a BB gun. Other than that I never felt unsafe or uncomfortable. But there were shooting incidents nearby and other kinds of crimes. It's hard to say how it'll be for the renters who eventually occupy your duplex, but I'd just research historical data and keep an eye on the news as you move forward.

@Brian S. I've never heard of anything like that happening, that's wild and I'm sorry you're experiencing this! Consulting an attorney is probably a good idea. I see that you're from SLC, is this post about a Utah property? We have quite a few Utah properties in HOAs, I'd love more details about where this is happening if you're willing to share!

@Obed H. Bey I think that talking to people is a great way to get started! You can learn so much just from interacting with others and asking about their experiences. 

In regards to asking someone directly to be your mentor: I imagine some people get bothered by that, but I think that's kind of silly. Chances are that the people who have made it big had a mentor or two at some point in their journey! I do think that you need to build a relationship with someone you admire before bringing up a mentorship. Additionally, it's good to see if there's a way you can add value--say that you want a wholesaling mentor; maybe you'd offer to help them send mailers, to assist them in communicating with potential buyers/sellers, etc. That's just an example, but the idea is to provide value in exchange for their insight. 

I'd start by attending meetups in your area and socializing with active investors. That alone can get you quite far! 

Hi Alex! Congrats on being in a solid financial position, that is awesome. I invest out-of-state but I initially started buying "in my own backyard." Personally, I'd be nervous to buy out-of-state for my first rental. I've found that those 20K-40K properties aren't as cheap as they sound at the end of the day because of  major repairs/rehab work, closing costs and high eviction rates (common in some of the lower-cost markets where you'd find these cheap properties).  But buying out of state definitely can work if you do your research and have help from a knowledgeable team. 

I started out with a house-hacked duplex in my city, which was perfect--I was able to live onsite and get some experience as a landlord while minimizing my expenses, dealing with the quirks of being a first-time home owner and offsetting the costs of my mortgage by having renters. That experience gave me the confidence to keep growing. 

With 10K in savings, an attainable goal might be to get an FHA loan on a single-family home and still house-hack by renting additional rooms to others (if you're comfortable with having roommates). One of my clients started out by doing that and will soon be buying his second property. It's worked pretty well for him.

Good luck! I hope this is helpful. 

Hey @Obed H. Bey, I think the answer depends on what you want to accomplish. There are costs associated with becoming an agent and maintaining your license. They aren't large costs, but I wouldn't want to pay those fees if I was just wanting more knowledge about investing. To speed up your learning curve I'd consider:

• Joining local investing meetups
• Finding a knowledgeable, investment-savvy agent to help you do your first deal
• Finding a mentor and proposing a way to add value to their business in exchange for their mentorship
• Reading books, articles and reports to help you better understand investing in general/your local market

I'm imagine you're doing some of these things already, which is great. In my opinion the real estate licensing course was good for learning some of the procedural and legal aspects of real estate, but its value ended there for me. 

Good luck on your journey!