All Forum Posts by: Spencer Cornelia

@Kent Caldwell we generally stick around until ~12:30pm so even if you can't make it until 10am, that's fine with us.

A cash flow positive property in Vegas?  Lmao, do they exist?

@Michael Ealy awesome answer, thank you.  I should be heading up to Cincinnati in the new few weeks and was going to let you know.  I'm not sure if you remember but we spoke on the phone a few months back.

You mentioned you thrived during this period.  Why do you believe you thrived and what do you think set you apart?

Your post slightly contradicts itself.  You say no one was lending which insinuates the retail buyers were unable to buy homes which is why rehabbers went from flipping houses to flipping burgers.

If that was the case, how were you able to sell the properties you rehabbed?  Or, if you weren't selling, why were you able to refi into a long term loan?

I told @Marc Winter in a PM just now that I'm mostly interested in "buying" properties in Cincinnati using creative financing and using my cash to fund the rehab portion.  What do you see as the risk?  I'm seeing the #1 risk as being my end buyer not being able to find a lender.  But if the spread is there, there has to be room to still make profit on flips, right?  There has to still be some buyers in the market, right?

In 2008, I was a freshman in college and completely ignorant to the real estate world, economy, lending, etc.  During the next few years, the big recession happened and the real estate world was hit hard.  Unfortunately, I only cared about throwing parties, playing baseball, and studying for exams so I missed out on studying the economics of a downturn.

For those who were real estate investors during the last recession and others, what is the lending environment like?

I'm asking selfishly as I am curious how I should position myself as a rehabber/flipper in the event that a downturn begins. But I'd also like to know what to expect out of the buyers in the market. If lending constricts, does that mean investors with less than 5 loan exits won't be able to get loans, or we'll just have lower LTV with higher fees, etc.? Are there the same amount of buyers in the market place? Are there as many transactions taking place, but at just a lower price point?

I always get the vibe that those who preach that they wake up at 5am or whatever are just doing it to sound high and mighty and like they're much harder workers than the "regular people" who wake up later.  The "entrepreneur" community on youtube and social media seem to be the preachiest with this topic.

The people who wake up earlier just go to bed earlier.  It's that simple.

The only metric that matters is hours of sleep.  If you're waking up at 5am on 4 hours of sleep and you're "HUSTLING BRO" and accomplishing the world, then that's great, I'll listen to how you're able to do it.

But just waking up at 5am isn't some magic.  You went to bed earlier.  What people accomplish in their day has ZERO correlation with the time they wake up.

@Andrew Rivera I bought lists from list source dot com.  I spent many hours writing hand written mailers to the property owners.  One called me back (among others) who owned his property without a mortgage and was open to doing seller financing.

If you do find someone who is open to the idea, I'd recommend the three offer approach.  Basically, make 3 offers to them with minor differences in each.  It's easier for them to decide to sell if given 3 specific options versus one 30,000 foot macro level view of seller financing while I (Andrew Rivera) buy your property.

If you're looking for some reading material this weekend, here is my post about the entire deal:
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/223/topics/646426-how-i-bought-a-seller-financed-4plex-in-las-vegas-part-3

@Brandon Bolen you have a HUGGGGGGE advantage: time

You're way ahead of the curve by investing time and energy into learning something that is very lucrative financially.  Even if you spent the next couple of years learning while in school and not buying property, you'd be ahead of nearly everyone on this forum.

So what do you do....

Attend every local meetup you can.  Forget Algebra homework, hang out with Rj and people you meet at his networking events.  When you connect with investors, find ways to hang out with them once a month.  Coffee, lunch, meetups, etc.

Hopefully you find a few people who are 1-2 steps ahead of you.  Learn everything you can from them by spending as much time as you can with them.  You will learn by osmosis (I'm sure you know this term from your BS science classes).

When you exit college, you're going to be a dangerous weapon: someone with a network and knowledge.

All it takes is a little effort to get the ball rolling...

@Andrew Rivera I would highly recommend not using a real estate agent when searching for seller financing.

MLS properties have the pro that the owner is obviously wanting to sell in that moment. The con is that they are typically selling to receive the equity in their house in cash and can move on to whatever they're moving on to.

I'd recommend going off-market to look for a property that you can purchase using seller financing.  My first deal was a 4plex purchased off-market using seller financing.

Seller financing is a win-win scenario IMO.  You are a willing buyer TODAY which means their days on market is negative.  They haven't even listed the property and they have a buyer.  It's a win for you because you can get creative with the financing and don't have to play by the banks' rules.

If you are able to convey the value of seller financing to the owner, then you will have a better chance at having them sign on the dotted line for some sort of creative finance.  The benefits that you should convey to them is that they will save 6% of the purchase price in agent fees because agents will not be involved.  On a $300k purchase, you saved them $18k.  They also can save money on capital gains since they won't be making their entire equity chunk in one day.  And, if the worst thing happens which is you not paying, then they keep your money + the mortgage paydown you've been making and take back the property.

So what are your options....

If the owner does not have a mortgage, then simple!  You just set the terms on what you'd like.

If the owner still has a mortgage, then ask for a lease purchase, lease option, or wraparound mortgage.  I'd recommend spending your weekend studying these three forms of seller financing as one of these three will likely be your best option.

@Jim Owens we meet at Einstein's at Sahara and Decatur 8am.  We like to weed out the slackers who sleep in :)

2570 S Decatur BLVD is the address.

We generally have around 15-20 people show up.  Everyone is invited.  It's super casual and friendly environment.  We just sit down and talk real estate investing.

@Matt hard money can be really valuable. Typically allows you to bring a low down payment and utilize OPM to make money. And make money fast.

downside is that it's really expensive when first starting out, monthly costs are high, and you need to exit quickly. Which adds stress.

but if you buy good deals, hard money is an asset to your business.

@Matt Huss 20% down on a $300k purchase = $60k cash.  This is a lease purchase so it's slightly different than normal.  I'll officially purchase in a couple months.