All Forum Posts by: Teddy Smith

@Marty Gold There's more demand and students are willing to pay a hefty premium live near campus. My theory is that parents are likely paying the rent also so there's way more purchasing power going on.

This isn't always the case though so make sure to do good due diligence.

Pros: You usually receive a higher rate of return with college rentals. There's tons of investment opportunities near colleges. Positive outlook with people going to college more and more.

Cons: Lots of wear and tear since college kids don't know how to take care of a house and they can be destructive.

What you do is call each real-estate school and ask for the "pass rate" for the state exam. Choose the one with the highest pass-rate since it's the easiest.

You will be able to get MLS access after you sign on to your local board of realtors. You will have to pay fees to both your broker and the local board of realtors.

Any real-estate asset can be a great one, OP. You need to find something that interests you enough to devote the time and energy to make it great.

That's a very cliche answer, but there's people that have made fortunes in buying parking lots. Just matters how much you're willing to devote to it.

My first investment was a mobile home:

- The electricity/gas bill isn't true because they tend to be very small

- Never finance them

- Make sure you are buying the land underneath it also

- Be prepared because mobile homes are in that "affordable housing" category and attract bad tenants

-They break and people are reluctant to fix them

- Make sure you are getting a good deal and a massive return (otherwise don't bother)

Overall, I wish I had bought a single family, but I got a good deal and it has a huge unlevered return

It means two things:

1. There's something wrong with your letter

2. The market you are sending to is very competitive.

If this is your first direct mailer, you just have to be more patient. 1/700 is a very low rate of response though, OP (even for your first send out).

I know of no investor-friendly agents, but I know a few good ones in general brokerage. If you can't find anyone, send me an e-mail, OP.

I usually by them a book on investing. I bought one client "Aggressive Tax Strategies For Real-Estate Investors" because he was always talking about tax deductions.

I very rarely buy gifts though unless I see something that really reminds me of a client or something they would really like. I think the gift buying thing is a bit cheesy too.

@Joe B.

Rosemont, Kings Grant, Greenway Village, Pine Hills (the one near UNCW), and Belmont are all my favorites.

I'd avoid downtown really, but that's just me. Too much speculation, lots of crime, poor appreciation. 

All of those are predominantly near the university except for Belmont. Belmont has a huge amount of duplexes and is really popular with investors.

 The main concern is that 25K will get a nice down payment, but it won't let you have a nice "cushion" for mistakes, repairs, closing costs, etc. You could always find a cheaper property, but I wouldn't recommended it here in Wilmington. You want to stay 120K above to stay out of the trash.

Being an owner occupant will allow you to have a %3 down FHA loan that has a super low rate and will put you into nicer investment territory. After you live in it the first year, you can move out (but not have an FHA loan unfortunately) and do the same-thing with another property. And like you mentioned before, you can rent it out to your friends and you many even get some nice cash-flow while you live in it.

This is actually what I'm doing right now as I save up for my next investment (I'm 26 too lol)