All Forum Posts by: Trent Otts

Pierre,

Not that I'm experienced enough to give you an answer with the confidence you deserve, but the sweat-equity you're referring to comes from hustle and knowledge according to Brandon Turner. That seems to mean finding deals, knowing the good from the bad, managing renovation, and even screening prospective tenants; you know, being the point man and handling the phone calls and oversight, basically everything but the money. 

As long as you're reading, I think the natural recommendation is Investing in Real Estate with No (and Low) Money Down by the same Brandon Turner. I would add Long-Distance Real Estate Investing and Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat both by David Greene. Not because I'm recommending either or both of these strategies, but because they're both well-written, they both cover how to have a good team and how to find them, and BRRRR covers all of the bases of Real Estate.

Sharpen your saw while you wait and come out out swinging, I know you can kill it.

-Trent Otts

I agree, I think the same can be said of the BRRRR book by David Greene and many of the podcasts. Sure they answer complaints from nay-sayers who see it as too good to be true, but they don't act like it's a get-rich-quick scheme either. They generally say, "it's simple, but not easy." And the book goes much further in explaining the risks and the importance of a good and trustworthy team as well as accurate numbers. They don't pretend that BRRR-able properties are easy to find either.

I think the criticism here is just a knee-jerk reaction to what is simply the surface-level presentation which no investor should still have at the front of their mind when it's time to put their money on the line.

That said, maybe I'm being too charitable.

Hello BP Family,

I joined last year shortly after stumbling upon the Bigger Pockets Podcast, bought some books, considered going Pro, read Set for Life, and decided I'd pay off some debt first. Well, I'm back! I paid off more than $40k in debt in the last 12 months, and now I'm excited to get started putting my reps in analyzing properties and choosing/learning my market. I know, I know, I should have been doing this for 12 months by now. I hear you, but I intend to put my reps in using BP's calculators and I only had 5 uses, AND I did a lot of overtime... like, I earned $114k in a job with a base pay of ~$60k. So, I hope you'll forgive me. 

To introduce myself, I am a 29yo formerly an active duty Marine who's married with 4 children and enthusiastically devoted to self-improvement. 

To make clear my position in the near future, though I'm a believer in hard work, I'm also a believer in keeping one's priorities straight which is why I plan to invest in Real Estate only insofar as I can do so without committing too much of my time to it. That's not to say that I intend to only contribute my finances, and I'm not a lazy person, I just know that for now between my "day job" and my family I'm not going to have time to hustle and deal with contractors, etc. So, when I'm finished building my financial runway/launchpad, I'll be investing primarily as a deal-finder and financier, not so much as a hustler. In the meantime, I look forward to networking, reading, and otherwise preparing myself. 

See you in the forums, 

Trent