All Forum Posts by: Scott Taylor

Don't buy a CD.  The diagrams are all on audible.com.  Just login and you should see a download link somewhere near the book (here's how I found it:  http://screencast.com/t/n6bb5HaU)

Thanks for the info @Assaf Furman!

@Jennifer Nguyen's question is also one I have.  Should I go Sfh at first just to "learn the ropes" at first?  Or will those headaches the first time around be different the second time around (second time being with a multi)

@J Scott Great advice.  I'm thinking actually there may be really good deals in smaller cities that no one is really investing in (like 100k population cities).  I've seen a few in one city on the east coast that seems to be returning ~25% with multi-families.

But thanks for the advice.  You mentioned a lot of avenues that I haven't even heard of (subject 2 and arbitrage) - let alone have explored.  Both you and @Ed Emmons have mentioned that it's going to take active time to get deals in the pipeline.  I never expected it to be easy or to be completely passive (at least before the deals), but did expect it to be a bit more formulaic.  OTOH - "Average returns are for average investors".  Thanks for pushing me to look further than the "formulas".

How do most people find deals out of market?

I'm aware of online methods - zillows, trulia, and craigslist.  But otherwise (aside from having a scout in that city) - how do most people find deals when they are out of state?  Should you look for a real estate agent in the city to find you deals?

Also, when contacting real estate agents representing the seller (from an online source) - what are the pros/cons of contacting the non-primary agent on the deal? I currently have one property I've run the numbers for and it's been very interesting, but I'm not sure on possible rehab costs. The primary listing agent hasn't been responsive to phone calls. Should I assume it's off the market? Is there a way to access MLS data without being a real estate agent? Does Zillows / Trulia have all properties on their site that are on the MLS?

@Ed Emmons Yeah, I've been meaning to play Cashflow - the one time I tried to play it, I lost immediately (!) and otherwise it was a ghost town.  I figured out, though, that I can probably register under a temporary email address and play myself - which will give me double the experience!

One of the real challenges here is that I can neglect my job somewhat (I probably work less than 40 hours a week now, but very hard when I do), but unfortunately I can't do a lot of the house hacking / flips / etc since I'm a high priced area and plan to invest out of state. OTOH - I'm considering the BRRRR strategy. I don't really know anything about housing stock arbitrage - thanks for opening my eyes to the idea!

+1.  I'd like to know more about this area as well.  @Solongo Otgon asks a lot of good questions.  Cap rates are really high in this area, especially for multi-families.

@Zach Mitchell Yeah, I've already done that calculation.  If I make $100k a year, and I net about ~$1000 each year, I'll need at the most 100 doors.  That's quite a few.  And clearly the math starts getting hard because you have to trade up / refi whatever to get there.

From what I gather, I take it that you think the SFH isn't the way to go about it?

@Brian Dayal In what markets are you looking?  30k in rent per year on what asking prices?