All Forum Posts by: Yael Lederman

@Jackson Halverson go to local meetups, meet other investors and ask plenty of questions. You might find someone that would be open to letting you shadow their process. Aside from actually diving in, I find that building relationships and learning directly from other is much better than reading / listening to podcasts.

@Nash Garceau bad reviews, bad communication, pressuring me to make decisions, not giving me multiple options. Those are just some off the top of my head.

@Nash Garceau Most people will tell you what you want to hear if you ask a question. You only really know based on actions. A great way is to ask around about them but nothing beats working with them on a small project and seeing how it goes. 

The biggest thing is trust – does my contractor have my best interest at heart or are they just trying to make a quick buck? This is hard to assess, but from my experience I know I can trust a contractor that's willing to tell me something about a deal that wouldn't be in their best interest, but would save me a lot of money / headache. 

@Melissa Jorgenson congrats on an awesome listing! I just looked through it and couldn't really think of any improvements. If you're struggling with occupancy, one thing to try is pricing software (if you aren't already using one). Same with building up a social media presence. 

@India Lewis honestly, reading Bigger Pockets forums will get you further than most books. "The Book on Rental Property Investing" by Brandon Turner is a good beginners book. I would also listen to podcasts – "The Real Estate Guys Radio Show" or "The Real Estate Investing for Cash Flow Podcast" are two I like. Basically, just immersing yourself in the real estate world will help a lot. 

@India Lewis Personally I networked with agents and asked them a ton of questions which is where I got my foundation. Most agents will be open to chatting with you since it's such a relationship-based industry. Every conversation will answer lots of questions and lead you to more questions that you can ask the next person. I did a lot of reading but that ended up being less useful. Eventually I got my license, which wasn't difficult just time consuming. 

While it might be beneficial to shadow an agent, I find that talking to different people gets you a broader perspective on the market, how to do business, etc. 

Not diversifying my portfolio enough! If you have a good experience with one property it can be easy to think you should buy as similar a property as possible. While that does have its advantages, as your portfolio grows you should think about diversification. Don't over-invest in a particular neighborhood, investment strategy, etc. 

@India Lewis congrats on taking steps to becoming an investor! 

You don't need a license to get started. In fact, I'd definitely recommend working with a more experienced agent first instead of getting a license and trying to save on commission. You'll probably pay more in mistakes in the long run. Once you have some experience working with agents and you feel comfortable with the process, it might make more sense to get your license. 

You can definitely gain market knowledge without it! I would recommend going to local meetups and networking as much as you can. Bigger pockets is great but in person trumps all. 

I would leverage Bigger Pockets and networking events to find lenders you feel comfortable with.

I've had great experiences with UpWork. You can find someone for pretty cheap outside of the US and you can check out their work and reviews prior to bringing them on. I've found that it's much more cost effective than using an agency that will charge you for placement.