All Forum Posts by: Trent Warner

@Steven Rodriguez, this is absolutely amazing that you are getting started with real estate this early on! I swear, man, you stick to it, take the correct, consistent and massive actions, you will be SET! Check out Grant Cardone's "10x Rule" and set the goals BIG.  Now is the time for big goals, man, you are in a prime position to gear the rest of your life for insane amounts of success!

As a genuine rookie myself, I don't have a lot to offer advice wise in terms of loans and investing-related stuff.  However, on the topic of credit.  It is tempting (especially young) to get excited over that credit score.  Coming out of college with five student loans, three of which I had been paying and two of which were in deferral (which appeared as "On-Time Payments"), my credit score looked "great!".  And then I was introduced to the concept of credit history, and how that is considered along with things like debt/income ratio, etc.  

Point being, the score is a very convenient, very quick reference of how responsible you've been GIVEN your established credit history. But it's just that, a quick reference, and institutions that are going to trust you with large sums of money are going to use a lot more to determine your "trustworthiness" than a number that pops out of an equation. 

Again man, this is so cool that you're starting this early! Do NOT cede ground! Get creative with your financing, hunt the deals down, do whatever you gotta do, but do NOT give up this golden opportunity! 

Holy cow! What an absolutely epic outpouring of support, input and wisdom! Thank you all very much for taking the time to chip in here.

@Corby Goade  If I had to pin my thought process to one single thing, it is honestly probably my level of inexperience with the world of real estate investing.  The intimidation of the price tags in Phoenix, combined with some other fear-arousing readings about the market there, easily tweak the anxiety of a rookie such as myself.  I appreciate the sounding board from someone with your level of experience!  As for timeline and goals, I'm looking at approximately 13-14 years of wealth-building before I get out of the Navy.  My goal is to accumulate cash flow over these next 13-14 years, which I would essentially consider "off-limits" until the day I walk off my last ship.  At that point, I'm hoping to have $136k per month in cash flow (in tomorrow's dollars).  This seems like an obscene amount, and is actually a Grant Cardone MASSIVE 10x form of what my original goal was, that I built based off what I want to provide for my wife and kids, our parents, and our livelihoods in general.  I'm still trying to digest the sheer immensity of a goal like this, and convince myself its possible.  But I do read stories about people reaching $10k per month in their first year of investing, so I suppose its possible.  I really have no interest in the appreciation, "icing on the cake" as Brandon says!

Would Boise TurnKey Investments be a possible springboard to help me get started?  Would really like to talk offline about it, if that's alright with you!

@Chris Levarek yea I guess I should look at it with the right lens! Rather than  fixating on the fact that it's so competitive and challenging of a market to enter, I think your point is spot on: that they are competitive because they are such lucrative/successful markets right now!  I will certainly take a look at David Greene's book, definitely looking to have at least a few books under my belt before the year is out! As for a team, I have already reached out to a long-time buddy of mine in AZ regarding exactly that!

I took at look at your investment record, and wow! Seeing you start at essentially ground-level where I'm at, with a $209k purchase of MFRs, and now recently wrapping up a $42.5 Mil purchase in Daytona Beach! Absolutely awesome!  Is this something you were able to achieve through being a syndicator?  Would I be able to discuss what all that means with you?

@Chad McMahan right?? Now imagine being a rookie hearing all of that! XD  I really do appreciate having highly experienced folks like you and Chris provide a backboard of reason and logic against all of it, though.  It is reassuring to be...well, reassured, that AZ is in fact not only doable, but very profitable.  If challenging!

If I'm reading what I looked up correctly, Realty One Group Mountain Desert is a real estate brokerage, is that right? Does that mean a REI works with an agent from your firm to help them (the REI) close on deals? Could I talk to you more about how this process works?

@Bob E.  First thing, Queen Creek => one of my absolute favorite places to be.  I feel like I don't know a lot of people that say that, but I have a lifetime of memories from that place!  Also, you can bet I have absolutely jotted down those resources in my collection, thank you!  When you say "get a yes/no answer in less than a minute", you have to have some kind of well-refined strategy for this?  To quickly knock out calculations in naval engineering, we'll often rely on "rules of thumb".  Do you have anything like this you'd be willing to share that lets you make these high-speed, on-the-spot decisions on a property?  I hope its not a "tell you, but then I'd have to kill you" kinda thing! 

Also, would definitely like to talk with you about the Milwaukee and Cleveland markets!  And as well, thank you! :)

@Luciano A. Thank you for the input! Houston was actually one of the first areas I looked at, following at webinar that Brandon hosted.  It seemed doable, but I will definitely keep in mind what you've said about the market out there.  As it stands, I'm primarily interested in MFRs, but would maybe do SFRs as well.  Also, will absolutely look into understanding syndication a bit better! Seems like a completely foreign world at the moment, but then again, so does most of real estate investing!  I think my why is pretty strong, and I'm working to push myself past the FOMO.  It's all about numbers, in my mind. An end state of cash flow, and the discrete steps to get there!

Your profile says you can real estate for hours.  I might take you up on that challenge! Could we connect and talk about what options there might be for investing in Houston?

@Rebecca Knox are YOU that good property manager??! XD Just kidding! I will definitely keep that in mind! Actually, my mother-in-law in AZ has been in property management for...ages, I think! Could be a good place to start, although I have been warned of the dangers of mixing family with business in a separate forum, lol.

What does Captain Save A Home do? I'm assuming...saves homes??

@Wale Lawal  I am definitely taking note of those resources, thank you!  As for goals, I think have the end-state pretty well defined.  $136k per month cash flow in about 13-14 years.  It's...a pretty egregiously huge goal.  Like, Grant Cardone, "10x what you think is possible" massive, lol!  I'm still not entirely convinced it's possible, but it's what I'm basing all my other planning/structuring around!  I'm working back from that now to see what the whole thing looks like between now and 14 years later, but I know it starts with the first purchase.  Just gotta break through that barrier!

As an investor-agent, do you work with relatively newer investors to help get them started?  Is your market primarily focused around Houston?  That being said, could I reach out to you to possibly work together??

@Ben Nelson if enough people express how important a team is, eventually I'll have to believe it! XD  No, I definitely get what you're saying.  Seeking out a team is not something I've ever really developed the skills for, however.  In the military, it's easy! Your team is given to you, and you are told plain-and-simple: work together! Having to seek out a team is definitely a foreign topic for me, heh.  It does make sense, though.  You can't be everywhere at once, after all!

I actually have a very good friend from the Navy that grew up around Oregon's wine country! She's in Livermore, CA right now doing something...super sci-fi with the fusion facility out there...but she always talks about wanting to get back to OR!  Could I talk to you offline about possibly getting some exposure as a rookie to investment opportunities, specifically MFRs, in Portland?

Again, thank you all so much for the sheer epic amount of wisdom! I look forward to chatting with and learning from you! 

@Taylor L. I appreciate the ideas. I didn't actually consider that before. Could I ask what your approach was to your some of your earliest out-of-state/long distance investments? Did you fly/drive out to each location? Or look for someone to do the scouting for you? Come to think of it, because of the Navy, I do have respectable contacts in a number of the big Navy states (VA, TN, FL, GA, WA, etc). That could be a really good route to go...Also, what do you mean by "notes"?

@Sam Yin I completely agree with what you are saying! A "big why" is absolutely crucial, and developing a few is something I've actually already done for another group I'm with (Nerd Fitness).  My biggest why is my baby girl, currently 2.  She fought very hard to be in this world.  The High Risk OB/GYN was convinced she was not going to make it.  When she was born via emergency c-section, I vividly remember them saying "One...One...One" over and over while they worked on her.  It was her APGAR score.  

She's fine now (see profile pic!), but giving her literally everything I never had (and more) is my driving force.  There are a couple others (one similar to yours, charting a new course for my family, better than my parents ever did.  The other, marriage-related with my wife).

Anyways, I think I have pretty strong "Whys".  The issue I have is...my brain.  My line of work (nuclear engineering), I view everything in incredibly strict, detail-oriented processes.  I have a hard time thinking outside the box.  If I see several sources (what we'd call in the Navy "corroborating indications") that AZ is a tough market, I have a hard time convincing myself to look at it from a different angle.  

I hear a lot of people say similar to what you said, that with your strong "why", the will and way will come with it.  But.  I have a hard time processing that, again I think just a weakness of the why I've been trained to think.  Even with my powerful "why", I still do not know the process for managing an out-of-state investment with limited ability to travel.  And it doesn't seem to be really just coming to me.

Also, can you tell me what you mean by FIRE?

Anyways, you guys now make two people that have told me in very short order that AZ is doable.  So, I will work on it!  And I'll work on brainstorming ideas!

Gentlemen, thank you for the input! I am really impressed by how supportive the BP community is!

Hey folks, loving the BP community thus far, hoping to make my first purchase soon! Stuck on a bit of a hard-spot though, might be over thinking. 

A lot of the education (books, podcasts, forums, etc) I've been taking in thus far seem to generally encourage a few things when looking for a market and a deal

-Get intimately familiar with that market. Drive around, call around, check out other properties, etc.

- Don't be afraid to explore outside your own backyard.

In my case, my 'backyard' is AZ. Born and raised there for 24 years. Currently in San Diego on orders, and it's a short drive away. HOWEVER, from forum reading thus far, and generally getting a rookie feel for it, AZ does not seem like a good place to start for a first time investor. Which is fine, because i really want to look somewhere else, like Houston.

Problem is, I'm starting a sea duty here shortly that's going to be 12 hour days, easily. Plus underways! Any home time, I want to have with the kids! Flying/driving to other markets, then,is practically out of the question!

So, how do you do serious, in-person market research and familiarity development if constrained by a demanding full-time job? For that matter, is it even wise to buy sight-unseen for a first-timer, given these constraints? 

Thank you all!

This was absolutely awesome! I had heard BP community was supportive, but I wasn't expecting this! Thank you so much, got plenty to think about on this one!

BLUF: Mother-in-law has spent many years vacationing in Mexico regularly, wants to buy a beach front condo in Puerto Penasco as a VRBO. Wants to know if wife and I would like to "go in" on it with her.

Hello all! Thank you so much for he opportunities you all provide with this huge collaboration of expertise, and in particular thank you to Brandon Turner for the awesome books that gave me the avenue to this!

I am determined to have a cautious, well-calculated approach to my rental investing. However, a somewhat hot opportunity sprang up recently, and I'm wondering if it's something I should go for. My mother-in-law has been in property management for ages, and has spent the past few years vacationing in Mexico pretty regularly. She now is pretty sure about wanting to buy a beach front condo there, probably in Rocky Point, and rent it out as a VRBO. She has come to my wife and I directly to see if we'd be interested in going in on it with her. 

Does this seem like an opportunity I shouldn't pass up? Or would i be rushing my own rental ambitions and generating too much risk with too little understanding?