All Forum Posts by: Trace Garretson

Hey everybody, thanks for your time.

I am about 3 weeks or so out from taking my exam to become licensed as an Associate Broker in Colorado.

I currently live in Westminster, 11 miles north of downtown Denver, and about 13 miles from downtown Boulder Colorado (so somewhat right between the two cities.

I have stopped in to 4 brokerages so far, but honestly am lost as to what the right choice is.

What is your honest opinion on companies you have experience working with and for?

Also, iHomes in Westminster has grabbed my attention... can anybody tell me any more about them? They have hundreds of positive reviews, but I can't seem to find the negative feedback on them. I really just want to have a clear idea of the pros and cons of wherever I hang my license, ideally before I sign anything.

Thank-you so much, and I must say, please feel free to reach out if you care to network in the area!

Hello everybody, and thanks for giving me a moment of your time. I have finally saved enough to begin investing, but before I do I have a couple of questions regarding my strategy and how to start off on the right foot.

I have formed a partnership (by verbal agreement so far) amongst myself, and two other people close to me. We are prequalified, and between us have enough cash and experience to manage all of the operations. Two of us live in Colorado, while the 3rd partner lives out of state (which is where we will be investing). 

We are curious as to if we should put this property in our names, or under an LLC, and what the pros and cons of either would be. In general I believe an LLC might cost us more but provides a layer of protection for a worst case scenario where one of us cannot hold up our end of things later down the road. What are your thoughts?

Also I want to mention that that it is highly possible we will be intending to purchase multiple properties together down the line. HOWEVER, I am also interested in purchasing a solo investment myself in an unrelated market, and am looking for advice or understanding on how this will play out as far as an LLC or multiple LLCs are concerned.

@Alexandra Hughes Pailet Thankyou so much for the links you sent me. I now have a couple of gatherings on my calendar that I am looking forward to!

@Chris Lopez I didn't realize that keyword alerts was a thing. Thanks for setting me up with that networking hack. I definitely realize that I have to pay the bills. I built up a cushion to make it financially feasible to take a step back and reinvent the group of people I have around me influencing me. I intent to use this socializing in order to find another source of income (in the next several months) that will feed my associate broker and investing career. In other words, to gather a better sense of how to direct my efforts. 

@Matt M. I have heard several people mention that a larger brokerage will be a better foundation to get my career as an agent rolling. Are there any reasons I should not consider a larger brokerage? Initially it seems to be the best route, at least until I am more independent and confident with my abilities.

It means a lot to read each of these replies, as I know we all find ourselves feeling like we never have enough time in our days. Thanks for investing some of your time, into me.

Hello all, my name is Trace Garretson. I am 23, new to real estate, and live in Westminster, Colorado. I recently quit my dead end job and began to explore real estate more and more. As of 3 weeks ago I made the commitment to become licensed through CRESCHOOL.COM.

I am looking for 1 or more individuals who are willing to socialize on the topic of real estate. Unfortunately, I don't have any local friends interested in the topic. Any way that I can physically network with people and get out of the house would be awesome. Im just not sure where to start, so Im starting here.

I am sure there are already groups out there that do similar things, and if so I could use direction in finding them as well. 

Thankyou to anybody who took their time to read this. 

Wow, thank you all for such timely and detailed responses! I am extremely grateful for the community here.... always giving me all the guidance and tools I need to succeed. A lot of these concepts are foreign to me and you all have consistently helped me break the ice and learn new things!

Hello and thank you to anybody who helps me understand this a little better.

I am currently working through an online school to get my real estate license. It has been brought to my attention that in my state of Colorado, dual agency, or representing both parties in a deal is illegal here. I had a realization that this could be an issue I may come across.

For example: Imagine I have investor friends who are always looking for investment properties. Now imagine I am also marketing myself to help people sell their homes. When a client asks me for help in selling their home, if it turns out to be a great investment property, how would I sell it to an investor friend? Would I just give up that half of my commission and let the buyers agent get a free payday? (even though i constructed the entire deal). I guess a better question is: How would I maximize my commission without breaking any rules?

Thankyou so much to everybody for all your suggestions! In about 3 weeks I will have boots on the ground and be taking 5 days to get a feel for Jacksonville in person. The zip codes mentioned above will be a huge help in places to start looking. After hearing all of your opinions, considering the crime rates in certain areas, and doing our own due diligence as to where "work" will be for us, We are prioritizing east of the river. 

I will post updates when I arrive and begin my search in person!

@Marty True thanks Marty I'm looking forward to it!, and @Chris Carson I should mention that although we don't expect anything right on the beach, we would like it to be within 30 minutes or so. I tend to forget that Jacksonville is so large. I grew up in SoFLo and most of the communities I lived in were all much closer to the coast.

@Marty True Hi Marty, thanks for the quick response. 

Because the property is going to become a rental a year from its original purchase, we are looking for a neighborhood and house that would appeal to a mid sized blue collar family with children. We have the impression that this demographic may rent year after year, and is less likely to move when they are grounded with children in school and long term employment. The home should be a 3/2 or 4/2 with a back yard. Pools are something we would like to avoid. The neighborhood must have the impression of a safe place for people to raise their children, and preferably is zoned for a quality public school.

Our budget for a selling price is 175k, although we are happy to go cheaper. This however is an absolute max. We are looking to repeat this process in the future so the less we can spend now, the sooner we can get the next property.

My girlfriend and I are selling our current home in Colorado. We are relocating to Jacksonville, Fl this spring. 

We intend to buy one single family home to live in for the first year, that will transition into becoming a rental once we target our favorite area of town to buy our new primary residence in. 

Our biggest concern is locating the ideal neighborhoods to purchase a rental in, in terms of cashflow and high ROI, and appeal to families with kids that will hopefully rent long term and keep our vacancy very low.

Our budget on the first property is a max of 35k down.

Jacksonville is such a huge place that we really need suggestions on where to start our search. Although we live in Colorado at the moment, we will visit Jacksonville for a week with a realtor before new years, and will go once more if necessary in January to get boots on the ground and get a feel for the area in person. Where would you look to buy?