All Forum Posts by: Tina Tsysh

You can get a secured credit card at the bank. Basically what this means is that let's say you deposit $200 on it, which means you can use up to $200 on your credit card. But, remember that your credit utilization is a big chunk of your score, so try to stay below 30% of that available credit ($60 in this case). I believe that you can get approved VERY easily for a secured credit card and it is an awesome way to start building your credit! 

I would have to agree 100% with @Brandon Rush and @Christopher Hill. I was in your shoes 2 years ago exactly. I just turned 21, finished my degree and getting ready to purchase my first deal in the next few months. What helped me tremendously was getting a job so that you are able to show that income to your lender and get pre-approved. Also start by getting credit cards (if you don't have any) and build that credit because credit is vital. Read as many books as you possibly can and try to get a few internships under your belt. What is so great about being young and in college is that people WANT to teach you and show you things. They feel honored when someone young wants to learn from them. So take full advantage of that. I had 5 different real estate internships during my time in college and I cannot tell you how much I learned at every single firm. 

Things above definitely gave me a leg up in my real estate journey and I hope they will do the same for you. Good luck and feel free to reach out with any questions! 

Whatever you buy, make sure you are comfortable with the area that you are investing in. Remember that the area and the neighborhood condition / home prices in that neighborhood tell you a lot about what kind of renters live there. I remember listening to some of the episodes on BP where investors bought a property because it was cheap and the tenant was a disaster so they had to sell it off asap to minimize their losses. If you buy in D class area then that's the kind of tenant you will attract. I wouldn't sacrifice quantity for quality unless you have the time on your hands to deal with mess. 

Congrats on running a successful business at such a young age! In order for investors to take you seriously at a young age, you have to show them some track record. I would make a simple presentation which outlines the success of your business (how many projects you do, your expansion, your financials etc) because this will help you to establish credibility. In order for them to do a deal with you, I think it would help if you put in a chunk of your own capital into your first deal. This way you have some skin in the game. After highlighting the success of your company, I would make a pitch on a particular deal and show that you did your due diligence - the exact numbers, strategy, timing, returns, distributions etc you and your investor would receive from the deal. If you plan on rehabing a property, I would do some research on which contractors / subcontractors you will use on that rehab. You want to persuade the investor that you know exactly what you are doing. 

Hope this helps and good luck on your journey! 

Being at a such a young age, I would put everything I could towards real estate. We have this principal built in the back of our heads from a young age that we need to put money aside every month and put it into savings so that when you are old, you can use that money. But think of the opportunity cost here - rather than getting a 7% return (on average) on your Roth IRA, you can be doubling and tripling that money by investing in real estate. Even if you lose a couple thousand on your first deal - those lessons are worth much more and you are able to learn those lessons in your 20s and not in tour 40s. If things go sideways, you have the ability to withstand the financial shock because you are young. As my mentor said to me - take the biggest risks in your life while you are young, because it is much easier to recover from them when you are young.

By maximizing your contributions to the Roth IRA account, you are robbing yourself from the knowledge and financial freedom that you can achieve by investing in real estate from a young age.

Good luck! 

Congratulations on selling your first deal and getting your capital ready! I have worked at a multifamily firm here is SoCal as well as a research firm and learned a lot about multifamily investing in different markets, especially California because this is where I am looking for my first deal (SFR).

I have mixed feelings about California. It is definitely less scary to invest somewhere you live rather than going out of state, BUT here are my concerns with investing in multifamily in California: 

1. Cap rates for multifamily in CA are at an all-time low. If you are unfamiliar with what cap rates are, this is a metric that investors, buyers, sellers, and other real estate professionals use to value commercial real estate. Cap rates and property values move in an opposite direction, meaning that the lower the cap rate, the higher the property value is. In short, multifamily prices in CA are extremely high right now. 

2. Laws in CA are extremely friendly for tenants. If someone is not paying you rent, it is extremely hard to evict them and it takes a very long time (even longer now because of the virus). If you are trying to do a value-add strategy, you need to get the units vacant before you start renovating. You cannot renovate the units if the tenants are still there. In short, it is extremely difficult to deal with evictions in CA for landlords. 

3. Instead, focus on markets that are experiencing high migration from places like CA. The truth is that a  lot of people are leaving CA because they are able to work from anywhere. These people are moving to places like Phoenix AZ, Nashville TN, Austin TX, or even places in FL or NV. These would be my markets where I would start doing my research. In short, CA is experiencing out-migration and markets like Phoenix and Austin are benefiting from this shift. 

Hope this is helpful for you as you are thinking of where to begin building your real estate empire! 

I worked for a multifamily developer and they were thinking about adding ADUs onto a poorly performing apartment building. While getting a tiny home from Amazon for $11k seems like a good deal, it may cost you an additional $20k-$30k to connect utilities to the ADU. In addition, permitting and inspections can cost additional few grants.

My advise is that you should not be putting in more money into a deal that's already sinking. Limit your losses, get the money out, learn from your mistakes, and apply these lessons to the next deal. Good luck! 

I think a few of the factors that can help you figure out which strategy to execute in a particular market would be things such as your risk tolerance, your investment horizon, your capital, your desired outcome (Do you want to quit your job ASAP? If this is the case, then to get the most cash you would probably have to flip homes. Do you want to slowly build equity and cash flow is not an important factor? If this is the case, then you can buy a rental, rent it out and slowly increase your portfolio. Do you want to decrease the cost of your housing? If this is the case, then you can execute a house-hack strategy). 

I am sure that there are more factors than the ones I have listed, but these are the main ones I think of right way. Hope this helps! 

Bei, 

I agree with what other members are suggesting. Look into her credit history in more details, in particular, see if she has been late on previous rent payments. If her reference check says she is a good tenant and another person is willing to co-sign on the lease, I would move forward. Especially since the neighbor downstairs is an older couple as well, you want someone with a similar life style to be their neighbor. 

Hey BP Members! I am a senior in college and new to real estate investing. I am looking to learn more about what goes into rehabbing a property, the process, cost estimates etc. If you are a house flipper, investor or a general contractor in Orange County or Los Angeles area and can use an apprentice / intern, please let me know. I have held internship positions at 4 different real estate firms throughout college and am willing to contribute my knowledge and skills to your business 😊