All Forum Posts by: Trevor Camanse

Hey Brian, I'll send you a pm. 

March 11 at the Canopy in downtown St. Pete. Starts at 5:30 and it is strictly a REI networking meet up so no speakers or deal pitches.

I hear this question a lot from investors just starting out. Like the reply above, it is all up to you. I think the best advice I have heard about starting wholesaling is, it is the easiest way to enter the REI world but requires a very large skill set to actually be good at. I started in wholesaling and I have learned way more about real estate then any other available avenue. My two cents would be to check your current and future financial situation and your free time away from your current job. Both investing and wholesaling are going to require money and time. Investing is going to require more money and ideally less time, where wholesaling is going to require less money and more time. Personally, I started wholesaling to get into and then move to investing. However, this is what I do full time. If you can invest then invest. If you can't currently invest and have a good chunk of free time, then wholesale. But remember, it is too hard to build capital and if you aren't truly passionate about wholesaling then you may lose an investment on starting out something new and figuring out its not for you.

Depends on your exit strategy. Personally, I wouldn't hold a frame home due to hurricanes and insurance, unless I can buy for a very low price with a solid return. For bugs and pests, they can infest every property and if your structure is diminished and cost of restoration is blasting the rehab budget, then that's a no brainer. However, if you are flipping frame houses, then I wouldn't count out frame/wood construction. Far too many times I see people count out frame builds entirely (and I can see why) but end buyers are still buying frames at a solid ARV in my farmland. You really have to look at your structure of your project and if your bones are still solid, you may think twice.

@Drew A Roque Heres another one for paying off student loan debt. I read this whole forum and there is a lot of good advice on both sides. I am in the same type of situation and reading the advice for investing first are really informative. Right now you are living a frugal life style and keeping living expensive at a bare minimum for your age and situation which is great (I wish I could do the same haha). You are pulling in a good amount of cash flow by living this way and only have one debt to focus on. There are many creative ways to use a REI to pay off the student loans with ease but you should know all of the ins and outs of investing and confident on the deal. There are many things that can go south with REI that could potentially cost more money than expected. Personally, I'd rather have only one debt than potentially two. This is the biggest reason I say pay off student loans first. Buying first can be risky for many reasons and since you can pay off your loans relatively quick, then you will be in a far better situation to buy with nothing financially binding you down. Also, I am assuming that loans have already started and finding a deal takes time. Pay off the student loans as soon as possible. Student loans won't stop until they are paid off but REI isn't going anywhere.

@Drew A Roque Heres another one for paying off student loan debt. I read this whole forum and there is a lot of good advice on both sides. I am in the same type of situation and reading the advice for investing first are really informative. Right now you are living a frugal life style and keeping living expensive at a bare minimum for your age and situation which is great (I wish I could do the same haha). You are pulling in a good amount of cash flow by living this way and only have one debt to focus on. There are many creative ways to use a REI to pay off the student loans with ease but you should know all of the ins and outs of investing and confident on the deal. There are many things that can go south with REI that could potentially cost more money than expected. Personally, I'd rather have only one debt than potentially two. This is the biggest reason I say pay off student loans first. Buying first can be risky for many reasons and since you can pay off your loans relatively quick, then you will be in a far better situation to buy with nothing financially binding you down. Also, I am assuming that loans have already started and finding a deal takes time. Pay off the student loans as soon as possible. Student loans won't stop until they are paid off but REI isn't going anywhere.

@CJ Wine I would't start flipping in MI until everything is set and ready to go. About half of my family is in MI and a lot of my good friends are in MI. My friends are a group of real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and experienced handy men. Ideally, I would like to work with these guys but there a lot of things in work so nothing in MI is going to happen anytime soon. Most of my investing is going to be started here in FL. and once that starts rolling, MI and also the New England area is where I am interested in to expand. Like I said, there are a lot of things in the work and I totally agree with you that heading out of your territory with no contacts is pretty risky.  Defiantly  interested in connecting with you!!

I am defiantly interested in this thread and have enjoyed reading the inputs about MI. I graduated high school and college in Michigan and moved to Florida to pursue real estate investing. I think everyone is spot on with their opinions about location. Traverse City is a beautiful area and many Northern and Mid Michiganders would love to live in the area but that demand is driving up prices making it tough to pick up a good cash flowing rental. Downtown Detroit is back on the rise and though it is making very good strides, I think it is still going to take a few more years to put "MotorCity" back on the map. The suburbs around Detroit can be spotty so like most have said, having solid boots on the ground there is essential. In the next couple of years, I plan on investing in Michigan and the areas that I am focusing on are Lansing, Jackson, Kalamazoo, and Grand Rapids. I primarily plan doing flips in these areas. For rentals, I would look in Mid Michigan which would be north of Grand Rapids and south of Traverse City. I think Mid Michigan easily gets overlooked due to the fact that the majority of the area is land. However, if you focus on the right areas, I know you will find some solid cash cows for a better price then looking in areas that are rising quickly. I haven't done much research, but I would look in Midland and Mt. Pleasant. Midland doesn't look like much but it is home to Dow Chemical. Also, Midland and Mt. Pleasant has pretty popular colleges. I have more opinions about investing in Mid Michigan but since I haven't started investing there, I would love to hear other inputs!! 

My brokerage hosts a local meet up every 10th of the month at The Canopy in downtown St. Pete from 5 pm - 7:30 pm. No entrance fees and food is provided. Here is the address:

340 Beach Dr. NE St. Petersburg, FL 33701 (The Canopy is the rooftop of the Birchwood) 

All are welcome and we usually have a mix of investors, agents, wholesalers, and lenders that attend to network. Feel free to send me a message if you would like more information.