All Forum Posts by: Steve Rozenberg

@Misael Carlos Vera

@Misael Carlos Vera

If you ask 10 people you will get 20 different answers on a subject. The problem is they are all right and they are all wrong at the same time.

Until you know exactly what you want do not ask other people their opinions. See they are giving you their advice based on their goals and strategy, not yours.

Get help and advice from people based on your goal and strategy after yours is created. Then you can compare their advice with your plan.

If you take everyone's advice you will be like a boat in the water with no rudder. You will aimlessly get pushed in one direction or the other and never know if you are headed towards your destination.

@Chris Clothier thanks brotha... Yes what he said 😀

Chris just says it better because he’s smarter then me

@Scott Wolf No Clue who or what that is. But I am sure it is someone smarter than me who has already figured it out. And hopefully did not go thru the last 20 years of trial and error like I did to get where I am today.

Hi Mark,

I grew up in SoCal in HB, live in Texas now. Out-of-state investing can be very tricky if you don't know what you're doing. My suggestion is figure out what the goal is you want out of owning real estate and then figure out the strategy and what Market gives you the strategy.

I did a series on BiggerPockets that you can see on YouTube that I help someone out of state purchase of property sight unseen.

It's a 9 part series on the BP YouTube Channel and the biggest lessons and takeaways were to make sure that we knew what the end result of owning the property was and then we could identify the market and once we identified the market we built the team and then we started finding the deals.

This person (Joe) had the team we built find deals basic on his criteria, purchased the property out of state , we closed on it, did a $30,000 rehab, got it rented, and he's never once been to the property. As a matter of fact he's a Marine and he went out on deployment shortly after and he still has yet to see the property and he's bought two more since he's been on deployment from having the right team and strategy and place

Mindset is SOOO important. At the end of the day you will realize buying real estate is really the vehicle to get you where you want to go. To get you the happiness that you want. Money just gives you the ability to have that.

When we buy real estate we're buying four walls and a roof there's nothing that says that four walls and a roof is going to make us happy or feel accomplished as a matter of fact I know many people who go their whole lives trying to own as much real estate as they can only to finally realize they have millions of dollars and they're more miserable than they were when they were broke.

Many of us focus on how to do things I think it's more important to figure out why we are doing something and understand what it is we want out of taking certain action and trying to realize what the end result is we want from doing any type of Action Real Estate included

I would say dont get your degree!!! :-) Just kidding. I came from another industry of being an airline pilot oh, and 911 is what got me involved in real estate. The biggest mistake I made over the past 20 years when I first started is I never had a final goal or outcome that I wanted if you ever hear me talk or speak to people that is something that I hammer in because I realize it's so vital for figuring out what the end result is you want from owning real estate. 

I purchased many many wrong properties because I never knew that those properties were actually taking me further away from what I ultimately wanted because I never asked that one question what is it that I want out of owning this piece of Real Estate.

I assumed buying properties below market value and if the property was Cash flowing then to me it was a good deal. The problem was it was not a good deal for me and what I was trying to accomplish so I failed miserably owning those properties and almost went bankrupt. The only thing that saved me was the fact that I still had an airline pilot job and that was supporting all the losses I was incurring with those properties.

My suggestion is always make sure whatever you purchase is part of your strategy and will help you achieve your goal. 

Also Have it written down with an end date

First of all congratulations I'm getting involved in starting the journey

First thing I would do as others in here have stated is figure out "WHY" you are doing this. Once you know that and you know your end goal then you work backwards. The goal has to have a finite destination and time limit on it.
For example you may say your goal is 20 houses in 20 years (paid off) earning $20,000 per month.. (20,20,20 goal).
Now you know where you're going and the timeframe for this to happen. From here you can build out your strategy, for example here you would want to have the 20 properties purchased the first 10 years so that they can use the final 10 years to pay themselves off. This means that you have to buy 2 properties per year which means you have to close on a property every 6 months which means that you have to find a property in 3 months to have it on the market and rented the following 3 months.
And the properties need to have a final cashflow of $1,000 per month after all expenses are paid. This will dictate where you purchase and look for properties based on that number alone.
My point is that you always start with the end in mind and work it backwards, this creates the strategy (Buy and hold, flip, Wholesale, Notes) which will be driven by the tactic (SFR, MFR, Mobile homes, Short term rental etc)
I always coach people and explain that the property is actually the last piece of the puzzle not the first.

Hope this helps

I would say that all deals in all markets are great and work and all of them don't. This is all depending on your goal and your strategy. 

My question is cashflow what you are looking for or is appreciation? Is this a short term value play property that will role into a 1031 so you were only going to keep it for a couple years? or is this something that you're going to hold for 5 or 10,20  years and let appreciate do its thing and use the cash flow to grow on.

Many people buy the property and then decide what the strategy will be without first checking if that property is actually going to take you closer to your goal or maybe it's taking you further away.

My suggestion before you decide what you want to buy figure out what your end goal is and what the final outcome is you want as a result of owning real estate. After you do that then you figure out what strategy meaning cash flow appreciation depreciation Etc will give that to you and then see what Market provides that strategy.

Take the time to figure out your own "WHY" in your head first. You have to learn to process of deselection and saying NO. By saying NO to all these opportunities that will not get you to your goal or intented final outcome you will actually speed up by slowing down.

I see so many of these people in their fancy cars and big houses, talking about all the wins they have in life and how much money they make on their deals.

But it's funny how no one ever talks about the losses or dark days, Almost as if they do not exist or they are just too smart to ever lose.

It seems to me like what I see online and I see all these people want to show you the tactic of HOW to do something.

Well that is great, but the problem is, WHO actually shows you how to think differently

I know a lot of people that make millions of dollars and they are freaking miserable, I would never trade my life with some of these people

First thing I would do as others in here have stated is figure out "WHY" you are doing this. Once you know that and you know your end goal then you work backwards. The goal has to have a finite destination and time limit on it.
For example you may say your goal is 20 houses in 20 years (paid off) earning $20,000 per month.. (20,20,20 goal).
Now you know where you're going and the timeframe for this to happen. From here you can build out your strategy, for example here you would want to have the 20 properties purchased the first 10 years so that they can use the final 10 years to pay themselves off. This means that you have to buy 2 properties per year which means you have to close on a property every 6 months which means that you have to find a property in 3 months to have it on the market and rented the following 3 months.
And the properties need to have a final cashflow of $1,000 per month after all expenses are paid. This will dictate where you purchase and look for properties based on that number alone.
My point is that you always start with the end in mind and work it backwards, this creates the strategy (Buy and hold, flip, Wholesale, Notes) which will be driven by the tactic (SFR, MFR, Mobile homes, Short term rental etc)
I always coach people and explain that the property is actually the last piece of the puzzle not the first.

Hope this helps