All Forum Posts by: Stephen Watt

Hi @Romain Amrani, I'm a fellow young aspiring investor, just like you. Whether you decide to study project management or become a part-time agent, I'd suggest to just take action each day. For me, I'm studying for the RE license exam daily and preparing to get my license later this year.

So what if it's tougher to become a commercial real estate agent? If that's what you want to invest in, go after it. I have no REI experience, but almost everyone says that real estate is a tough game to play (if they say it's easy, I raise an eyebrow). Since it's going to be tough whichever investing path you choose, why not follow the path you're most interested in?

@Andrew Ashby, thanks for sharing!

Can you talk about what it took for you to decide to quit your job? Were you looking for a certain monthly income or other criteria?

Welcome Art! I'm also a newbie in San Diego looking to house hack a multi in the near future.

Best of luck, and see you around the forums!

Glad to hear it's working out @Brandon Cravens! Are all of the units close to market rent now?

@Megan Greathouse Congratulations on your purchase and thank you for posting! This is inspiring.

Two quick questions about your journey:

1) How did you determine the numbers you used during your analysis with the BP rental calculator (utilities, taxes, etc.)? I saw a video where Brandon did an example rental analysis, and I've just been using the numbers that he used. Surely there's a more informed approach that you considered?

2) Can you talk about your process finding a property manager? It sounds like you connected with a fellow BP member, but did you interview several companies and how did it go?

Thanks!

@Nick G. Thanks for that breakdown, it makes sense (also an inexperienced REI here). How do you think more experienced investors prepare for that sort of risk you described? Presumably if you have enough cash set aside for a downturn, it might be worth weathering the storm.

This seems like a reasonable approach. Surely there were many investors that wished they had $500k+ in cash at the ready after the housing crash. You could make a killing buying low.

As for the risk of the commercial property, what kind of risk do you forsee for her during a correction? Since she's looking to hold this property long-term, having to lower rents and reducing NOI shouldn't be too much problem. And it seems like she's got plenty of cash for reno and emergency funds. Maybe I'm missing something.

@Michael Reyes Loving the statistics you've got (I'm an engineer, so math gets me far too excited). Are you using the NAR Affordability Index here? I don't quite understand how you connect a decline in affordability to a slow down in the market. Do you mean a slow down in purchases?

Just moved here to SD two weeks ago, and it's great to me another REI looking for multis. Let me know if I can help you out, from one tech professional to another.

@Cody L. As a newbie, I appreciate the semantics. If I'm interpreting you right, it sounds like you're saying the GRMs in San Diego are too high for you right now. In that case, are you just looking elsewhere for multifamily investing? Or maybe commercial multis for better ROI? I've begun looking at 5+ unit multis as a first venture into REI, but the couple of brokers I've spoken with over the phone seemed turned off (maybe appropriately so) when I told them I'm looking for my first deal.

@Adam Detig Still want to network and grow positive relationships. Also, I just moved to SoCal, and prices are quite high. I'm hesitant to jump in yet due to the chance that we see a market correction soon. Turnkey properties have been on my mind, so I'm starting to read more in that area.

@Andrew Fowler Sounds like you have a solid approach for the next year or so with your housing secured. Great deal.

How did you decide which company to go with for your consolidation? And you didn't consolidate your federal loans? I've been thinking of consolidating soon, but I don't know if it's worth doing (I've got one private loan at 6.8% and one or two federal loans at 6.8%....rest are <5%).