All Forum Posts by: Tom Hacku

@Miguel Rodas I've been on the search too, so interested in what other people are saying. After combing through the forums, I've seen others recommend Sean Tluchak as an attorney. Through networking, I've also come across Lingle Law, Page Allen, and Alex Simon as attorneys that have real estate experience. I haven't personally worked with any of them but for me it's where I plan to start my search and do my due diligence

@Farheen Naveed Yup checkout the meetup.com website. Some have been online and some in person but all the info about them will be on the event page

@Baha Acuner I agree with @Sarah Stamper that turnkey might be a good option to consider. It could decrease risk without having the "boots on the ground" here in Richmond. Check out the facebook groups for Richmond investors (search Richmond Real Estate, Richmond Wholesale Investors, etc) because I see a lot of people selling turnkey things there <150k. From there, you can even find a ton of websites for wholesale and turnkey properties. I'm still new but happy to look over anything you find as a second set of eyes, just PM me any time  

@Farheen Naveed A lot of great groups on meetup.com. Actually there's one with the Chesterfield REIA tonight at 6:30 if you're interested, can just search it on the website. But as a fellow newbie, I'm starting to realize how important relationships are in Richmond so networking is key. I've been here a month and so far everyone's been an incredible help in getting started

@Robert Stamper I agree with the conventional route. On our first home (this was in TX) we put down around 3.5% for a conventional loan so we could have cash on hand for renovations and increase the value. We sold that home when we moved to Richmond but are in the processing of closing on our new personal residence with roughly 5% down 30 yr am at 3%. PMI is around $200 or so, worth it to have cash for reserves and other investments, but PMI will go away in a few years. If they plan on renting out the SF home after a year, do your research on any eviction protection for renters living in a home with a FHA loan. Granted that would be a year from now but doesn't hurt to be aware of potential complications in the future

@Matt Lewis @Dawn Roy Thanks so much! This definitely gives me a little bit more of a game plan going forward. I appreciate the help

Hi everyone, I've been driving around the Richmond area trying to learn the in's and out's of each neighborhood since I'm new to the area. As I do so, I figure it's a good way to look for potential properties in an effort to improve deal flow. So I'm just wondering whether or not people have had success driving for dollars in Richmond and if so, what are your criteria when driving around looking for properties? Is it more of a stumble upon something that sticks out method, or do people use apps like Deal Machine to find things?

That being said, are there any investors or wholesalers interested in receiving information that I come across if it fits their criteria? I'm planning on purchasing my first single family rental for a BRRRR Nov/Dec since we're closing on our personal residence end of October, so I'm looking to learn, network, and help out wherever I can in the meantime. Thanks!

@Matt Carozza I'm signed up for the the one's on meetup.com, haven't been here in Richmond too long so haven't attended any yet. But I'm planning to do the virtual Richmond Wholesaling Real Estate meetup 8/1 then go to as many as I can from there. I'm going to shoot you a PM about coffee or something if you're free at all this week. 

But if any other new (or even experienced) real estate investors in Richmond, VA are reading this and want to meet up for coffee feel free to message me or reply to this. I get it that the real estate world can sometimes feel intimidating, especially when we're meeting people a lot further in their careers. I figure getting together will give us a chance to talk over what's working and what's not working as new investors starting out. It'll even give us some familiar faces for when we get back in the swing of in person meetups too. But I guess overall just looking to connect with people who are in a similar stage of the game (and still definitely those way beyond me). Let me know

Hi @Ali Croft, thanks for posting. I'm new to Richmond and in a similar situation, but looking into SFR so as far as advice goes I'm curious to see what others have to say. But I will say the podcast that just came out on Thursday had some great info on house hacking if you haven't already listened to it. Part of what was discussed was that if you can tolerate being in a place for a year, you can always move out and on to the next property, which is great. The ability to make a short term sacrifice definitely has it's benefits. But run the numbers for sure. It seems like more can be gained from the first property in terms of value add.

That being said, if you run the numbers on property B and things would cash flow (especially with the conventional 30 yr/15% down with today's mortgage rates), that could be your base hit right there. Definitely keep in mind whether or not it's challenging to get a qualified tenant in property A as well. Might be worth talking it over with a property manager to get an idea

@Matt Carozza Thanks for posting this one. I just moved to Richmond and right now working on building a team and networking as much as I can, it's great hearing everyone's responses. As a fellow newbie, I'm finding out that it's important to 1) narrow your focus on strategy to eliminate shiny object syndrome, 2) network a ton to learn from and help others as much as possible, and then 3) lock down your team. Hope to run into you at the meetups. Feel free to PM me any time if you wanna grab coffee (or a beer) and talk real estate