All Forum Posts by: Victor A.

Thanks Brandi. That sounds encouraging. I'm glad to hear that they welcome men as well.

@Caleb: The 50% rule is a conservative, "quick" method for estimating average maintenance cost of a property. It says that over time, your expenditures will average out to 50% of the gross monthly rent.

The 2% rule is a quick, conservative method to see if a property will cashflow. It states that the rent should be 2% of the purchase+rehab cost in order to provide cashflow.

I believe that's it.

As people have already mentioned, there are not any reliable automated tools for posting on craigslist. CL has a strict policy against it and they are always implementing ways to block and removing users who violate the policy.

There are services abound that you can pay to post for you, but I'm not sure how well they follow through.

You could also roll your own solution :)

@Steve L: Thanks Steve. I'll look into those links.

Thank you Mitch. I appreciate the in depth analysis.

I expect to develop the beginnings of a real estate network by attending a REI Club. I am financially ready to begin investing in cashflow properties, however, no one in my current network of friends/relatives/etc is involved in real estate. If I am to get started I'd like to get out there and meet local wholesalers, bird dogs, and other investors who I can develop a mutually beneficial relationship with or at the very least get good referrals to assist me in my endeavors. In addition, supplementing my RE education with in person seminars definitely can't hurt (as long as they aren't $300 a pop).

I work full time as a software developer, so funding, credit, and ability to educate myself are not my issues, however time is. Hopefully through getting myself out there I can make things happen and add value to a network wherever I can.

Does anyone have personal experience with what they consider to be a "good" REI Club in Irvine/OC or the Inland Empire. I live in Irvine, but drive into the office twice a week in the IE.

I found a few in directories such as
http://www.facebook.com/orangecountyinvestorsclub, but I'm looking for someone's first hand knowledge.

Thanks!

Has anyone used this site?

http://www.investornation.com/

It claims to sell "Turn Key Cashflowing Rentals." The only markets available for cashflow seem to be Memphis and Atlanta on their site. I imagine they are buying Bulk REOs, rehabbing them, and selling them at mark up for profit while supposedly still maintaining cashflow numbers.

However, what I'd like to know is if anyone here has used them and do their properties really stack up? Also, how does the whole process work? Their website is very general and it seems they want you to call, presumably so they can get a sales person on you.

As an additional note, a new user on here posted this website http://masonhill.com/, claiming the same kind of turn key rentals. The programs sound very similar in their operations.

As an avid iPhone user on AT&T I can quickly suggest to you...something else on Verizon. AT&T service is downright ridiculous in my opinion. I get "No Service" at my work and dropped calls at my apartment one city over. I'm moving this Saturday 60 miles away to a coastal city and people are already saying AT&T doesn't work at the new apartments. Great! To be fair, the buildings definitely cause signal degradation and maybe the iPhone doesn't have the best antenna of the bunch.

When/if the iPhone comes out on Verizon I will definitely switch. I'm not sold on the Android platform yet because I'm not a fan of the UI.

That's very exciting news Elisha! For awhile now I have been mulling over the idea of attending a REI meeting, but always shoot myself down. I come up with a host of excuses. I'm moving this week to a new area and have told myself that I'm going to break a lot of bad habits and get things moving again with my life. Reading your story pumps my motivation levels even more. I wouldn't mind having a mentor, but maybe more so, several good sources for property leads since I have the money and credit to make something happen.

As for the rent adjustment, you'll also have to compare that to the comparable rentals in your area. If you jack up the rents too much to cover the heating cost, you'll be fighting an uphill battle against the properties with lower rents.

As someone new to being "active" on this site and new to real estate investing entirely, I don't see anything terribly wrong with your original post. I will comment, as already mentioned, that the explicitly stated urgency and statement of your "greatness" was a bit off putting.

That isn't a personal statement about you since you seem to have a great following here. It is merely a quick glance comment based solely on the post.

Maybe more importantly though with regards to that specific post was the cost of the property and rehab. I've lurked here for many months and I would say the most common posters are always talking about purchases in the sub 100K department. That's not to say people aren't doing more, but that's just what I frequently see. For my first cashflow property purchase I'll definitely have to stick with sub 100K for a SFR type property. :)