All Forum Posts by: Michael Mazzella

Aloha @Ty Robinson,

Try reaching out to Victor Bell. A google search will bring him up pretty quickly.

Seize the day,
~Michael

Aloha from Hawaii Kai, @Jason Pasion!

I've always viewed the "lifetime passive income" thing as more of an end-game. ...and doing wealth creation (flipping, appreciation-type deals) is to me, a good way to create the liquid cash to later invest into those income-producing properties.

Oahu is a great market for wealth creation, so I take advantage of that. With only 1 exception, every house flip I've done in the past 24 months has netted a 6-figure profit. At this very moment, I've got 10 house flips in progress, with $1.3m in profits in the pipeline. That's not even a full year's worth of deals, but rather about 9 months to cycle through and get paid on all of these. So, we're on a trajectory to do $1.5m in the next 12 months (pre-tax), which brings me to my next point...

Last year, I took $1.5m and started buying up cash flowing properties in FL. Currently they are all renovated and tenanted, and produce a NOI of about $22k per month. The FL market I chose, and moreso, the segment within that market, supports cash flow really nicely, while still giving me enough market appreciation and increasing equity that I can also flip the portfolio if I wanted to, and make a substantial profit.

So a big key for me has been to look at the market first, rather than lead with a strategy first, and try to force a strategy into a market that does not support it well. The Honolulu metro is a weak market for cashflow, and a tremendous market for wealth creation. 

You're asking the right questions. All the best to you in your REI adventures, Jason!

~Michael

Aloha @Jason Pasion

Surrounding yourself with local experts is not as easy as you might think in Hawaii - to begin with, there are not many "local experts" here. Some of those who are experts prefer to fly below the radar, and are not much into networking, or have little need for it. REI MasterMind is a group that only allows members who are experienced. As a result, the meetings are small (25-40 attendees) but the quality is there, in the sense that everyone in attendance has actually done deals.

Most of the other groups tend to attract beginners. Some will even (believe-it-or-not), steer their members toward Multi-Level Marketing "opportunities." ;-)

If you want to find out about the next meeting, etc., reach out to @Cory Nemoto. 

Aloha @Claire Desroche!

Good to see you here on BP! Talk soon,

~Michael

Aloha @Christie F.,

Thanks for following my adventures on Facebook, and thanks for your kind words. Yes, Pearl City is way cool, too - central to virtually everything. How about this weather, huh?

I'm holding a free coaching session this month. I do these on occasion, together with another investor who's also very active and experienced in our Hawaii market. Its open to all investor enthusiasts, so OK to bring your partners, bird dogs, interns, etc. It will be an open forum, so we'll answer any questions, and work on whatever is holding you back. 

Monday, Sept 21st, 6pm to 8:30pm, at the Hawaii USA Federal Credit Union next to Kahala Mall. If you're not already on my mailing list, sign on for details and updates. You can do this from my website. Its good networking, good info, and you won't find the typical things that annoy people about the local REIA clubs, i.e., sales pitches, gossip & negativity, a bizarre diversion toward Multi-Level Marketing business participation rather than RE Investing, etc.

Carpe Diem!
~Michael

Aloha @Tyler O.,

That's absolutely right. If you've got a solid lead, we can tag-team it or I can step in and close it.

Seize the day!
~Michael

Aloha from Hawaii Kai, @Christie F.!

I enjoyed reading your post. Welcome to BP and wonderful world of Hawaii RE investing. I see you're in Kailua - we just sold a house flip there in August, have a 2nd house (old plantation style) on the market there, and my 3rd Kailua project is a new-build that overlooks Enchanted Lakes (where the storms are delaying our excavation!) So I'm out there in your 'hood every week checking on my crew's progress.

Feel free to reach out if you'd like to connect with me.

Create an Awesome day!
~Michael

Aloha @Bryan Brown,

I've not had any major problems renting to Section 8 tenants in Hawaii for the past 10 years or so. The section 8 office is not difficult to work with, and the tenants I've had tend to fall into the typical 'poverty-for-life' profile (uneducated single mom with way too many kids). 1 annual inspection to make sure you're not a slumlord, and the rents are generally at or close to market rents.

As a landlord I do have a bit of extra leverage in that, if they mess up my place, Section 8 will boot them from the program, and they'll be forced to live in the govt housing projects. And hopefully there's no wait list for that, lest they be homeless for a short period. Or at least, so I politely tell them, as they sign the lease agreement. ;-) The smart ones know its better to stay in Section 8.

Aloha @Vivianne Salazar,

You can simply go thru the Honolulu phone book, every 3rd person is a realtor over here - they are a dime a dozen! But seriously, if you're looking for one of the 'top guns' they are few... google Jeffrey Samuels. He's always in the very top among # of houses sold. Jeffrey charges only a flat fee of $3500 to list a house. From personal experience he's a good realtor to work with. 

All the best to you,

Michael

Aloha @Andrey Y.,

There is a Hawaii law that prohibits landlords from collecting more than 2 months rent from a tenant upfront. We are not a landlord-friendly state, remember?

Create an awesome day,

~Michael