All Forum Posts by: Sam Ally

Here's the 10 markets for real estate in 2020:

Austin, Texas

Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina

Nashville, Tennesse

Charlotte, North Carolina

Boston

Dallas/Fort Worth

Orlando, Florida

Atlanta

Los Angeles

Seattle

@John Thedford yes the homeowner/seller is prey as well but not just from the wholesaler but from more familiar names like Zillow and Open Door and all others to follow.  In general, our nation is financially illiterate so between the predators and sellers lack of knowledge that is a disastrous cocktail 

@Christopher Lyons
Ahh the wonderful world of wholesaling... This latest market cycle has been the season of the wholesaler, everyone and their brother "jumping in" to this arena having no clue how to spell ROI in oh so many cases. Greed is in abundance and most deals are not deals at all. Assignment fees are ridiculous and while buyer beware should always be our mantra, even more so now. The Central Florida corridor is filled with over zealous wholesalers capitalizing on the abundance of investors from China Brazil and the UK seeking opportunity and are sitting "ducks" for these predators. I see this daily from my perch as a local lender and its only when I break down the deal for these unsuspecting investors do they see the "light". It is comical in many ways, I saw two of our properties on 3 wholesalers lists whom I don't know, and marked up an additional 18k...

Separate yourself from the herd Christopher, know your numbers, know your market, if you build your buyers list appropriately you will be able to sell your offerings even before you lock them up.  Run your business with the integrity you have operated with as a Fireman and it will serve you well.  Thank you for your service.

@Eric Mayer  You bring to mind a question: When looking to invest in Central Florida or Florida in general what consideration do you give to the Hurricane factor?  I know one of the lessons we've learned over the years was about  "named storm" insurance coverage.  Many of us thought our investment props were "covered" for Hurricane damage etc, however, we learned that our policies did not include "named storm" (meaning any storm given a name that caused damage) and because of that any damage to our assets would not be covered, that was an expensive lesson to say the least. It also taught us to make sure our tenants were prepared & or evacuated, maintained their own insurance coverage and adhered to our storm policies.   I've been in the Ft. Lauderdale area throughout Dorian and to this day still find it fascinating that most are not prepared in any fashion. Perhaps due to the "cry wolf" syndrome the threat is there but nothing ever happens, but to me it would be like living in Chicago without a shovel come winter.  

As for the innocuous storm coverage, you have to remember that this is like the Superbowl for the Weather Channel.  Be prepared check on the activity throughout the day but turn off the television and stop searching for it on your phone, facebook etc...it will drive you absolutely bonkers!

Greetings all.  We have hosted several BP meetups & masterminds within our office over the years. Our business continues to grow encompassing most every facet of the industry including a wholesale division.  We've helped educate, provided tools and resources, & funding, partnered up with and acquired many properties from our partners along the way as well.  Many of your fellow wholesalers use our analysis tool to properly vette their deals.  We are always in acquisition mode.  Happy to assist in any way to get you on the path to profit.  

Big time players were once small time. You can use money as an excuse or a motivator, Yes it requires capital to start any business so if you have to work another gig to pay to fund your dream thats what you have to do.  And yes, perfect practice makes perfect. Starting your business like investing in R/E is difficult to do when under-capitalized. 

We must do & act with purpose & intention.  What we do requires doing multiple things to make a "whole" so what you must do my man is decide what area you want to focus in and master the skills and techniques to do so.  

@Matthew Rollo @Jay Hinrichs has a great point with listings in hand you have the world by the kahones. Everyone and their brother wants "in" this business yet too few have what it takes to stick it out. It's good you've tried multiple things to get a taste of what it is like but you are all over the map with no true direction. You've shown you are willing to work now it's time to do so intelligently. "Listings", off market properties is what everyone is looking for but only hustlers will uncover them and have investors begging for them. Most in your position try little bits of everything then burn out before they ever truly get started. rather than picking one arena and mastering it. Being former Military (thank you for your service) you understand Discipline, that is exactly what is required here along with laser focus like a sniper. As an agent you already have a leg up on most of the so called "wholesalers" in our market. Go find your own listings instead of calling bandit signs you should be putting them out. Target an area and go knock on doors, uncover those hidden gems then let everyone know you have them; build your own buyers list. Do what most wont do, HUSTLE. By now you should be aware, if you have a "pocket listing" investors and everyone else will be on you like "white on rice" as the saying goes, of course, provided the numbers are actually sound. Do you know what a good deal is? Do you know how to calculate ROI? Hone your skills run numbers, wholesalers, realtors, and most others playing in this pond have no clue how to do so. What we do is not hard, but it does take consistency as @April Crossley mentioned and focus on one thing. What will that one thing be for you?  

@Rob HakesFrom a lenders perspective the cash flow dictates qualification.  The asset must typically meet minimum debt service coverage ratios. Those are usually between 1.20-1.25 or for simplicity sake, for every dollar in expense you should return $1.25.  Lenders do not speculate, and yes indeed you may need to dig deeper into your pockets to lessen the lenders risk. 

Your job as an investor is to mitigate risk and that doesn't happen by limiting your exits as you mentioned.  There are viable assets all across the country and your best values are certainly going to be in secondary & tertiary markets so I submit, you should not need to "swallow" anything my man.  Market cycles drive everything, understanding what stage of the cycle we are in and what strategy to employ within that specific market is imperative.  

There are a number of advanced "wholesale" groups that have mastered their markets and offer a wide range of services. These groups have mastered identifying off market opportunities to serve  your needs and goals. Opportunity is still abundant as the major hedge funds now only account for 2% of rental purchases nationally as they have turned to lending, The smaller investor or "family group" investor dominates that space now.  Paying retail shouldn't be in your vocabulary ever.   I can still find assets in Tampa & surrounding areas for well under 100K and enjoy exceptional cash flow. In fact, last week I acquired a 3/1 for $47K added 8k in renovations and rent it out @ $950 and in a decent area.  There are numbers of areas that can do the same for you, do not settle!  

When it comes to appraisals or BPO's  as a buyer I love them as a seller I hate them, as a Lender I marvel at the inefficiency, and lack of knowledge of those performing the task.  When I was involved heavily in the short sale arena it was imperative to meet the inspector and walk them through all the negatives, as well as, provide them with my research on the area including apples to apples comps to get my acquisition price.  Today I furnish the appraiser or BPO vendor with my reno budget along with the balance of diligence mentioned above, simply to have a shot at getting a viable report. In most cases if we do the work for them they will cut & paste the info given them and submit it within their own report. We continually have to do the same for our funding clients.  That said it is important to review zip code specific info highlighting the area's activity over the past several years. Knowing the history of the market you are purchasing allows you to make sound value based decisions. 

Bottom line, don't swallow, don't settle, don't pay retail!!!!

@Rob W.

Your long term goals are what is in play here.  Have you considered the fact you can earn 8% or more secured  by real estate completely "hands-free" and not deal with any of the heavy lifting.? So is this option you're thinking about part of a diversified plan for your capital? There is no "best" in the equation as each area you mention is viable for the investor that has a plan, goals, is aware of their "risk tolerance" level, and of course, what strategy to employ during the current market cycle. After that it's simply all about the numbers; does it meet your requirements or not?  Sometimes we tend to make things more difficult than they are. If the numbers work you can choose to do the deal if they don't, NEXT!   

There are so many ways to diversify through real estate, make sure you are aware of all that is available to you, so you can make an informed decision on the best path for your capital.  After all, the goal is two-fold 1) make sure your money is working for you 24-7 secured, 2) Follow step 1 to make sure you don't outlive your money.  I've had friends, family, clients follow a variety of paths, flipping, taking proceeds from that to buy rentals, then from there to private lending which is your completely hands-free vehicle.  Others built strong rental portfolios and no matter how hard they tried to stay hands-off, as they say "It is the Business of directing and managing my money so there is no Hands- off"  

Hope this helps start the convo for you.  Wishing the Best in all you do!

Sam