All Forum Posts by: Zachary Martin

So I went to my first REIA meeting (Traction) in my area with little idea of what to expect. However, I didn't expect there to be so much... "selling" at it. It started with a greeting, then into people sharing "success stories" of which only 2 were and the rest were people announcing things they're selling, then it was the time for members to announce things they have to sell (officially I suppose), then it was the REIA groups time to sell us the membership and going over all its benefits, then it was the main speaker to tell us all about his system and trying to sell that. (Larry Goins if you're curious) There was a part where they had a guy talk about market analysis of the DC area was the most informative part, but it was also short.

The information that Larry was talking about was pretty interesting, but it seemed a little "get rich quick"y for me to completely buy into.  That and I couldn't help but wondering that if he has all this experience and this large infrastructure to do many of these types of deals, and how easy it is to do it, why inform everyone of what you're doing?

Am I just a huge cynic or was I not far off from the mark?
While I feel as though I didn't get much out of it (other than feeling a bit discouraged), I have to admit that I didn't do any networking which may be the main purpose of these?  Being my first time with not much to offer other than cash (I know that's a large part to offer), I was a little shy, perhaps too much, and didn't want to be "preyed" upon.

I was hoping to get more out of this, and while this may not be the REIA for me, I do plan on going to others (Capital REIA and CAZA)

Sorry for the potential rambling, but I would appreciate any thoughts you may have.

So while looking over the MLS'y sites (FranklyMLS if you're curious) for properties in my area I found one for 100k that is going to be an on-site auction. I believe its worth far more than 100k and while it has some pictures and needs some cosmetic work and a kitchen re-work, it looks pretty good.

As I'm very new (yet to find a property yet or even an agent), is this deep water territory/high gambling and I should avoid it?  Do I need to put down more details ?

@Pawnee Davis Welcome to BP!

I second Brian on the suggestion on listening to all the podcasts.  They're all very informative and quite enjoyable to listen to.

Thanks @Lisa Arlt Escoto 

I plan on going to the Traction meeting tonight and I'll definitely keep an eye out.

@Lisa Doud Thanks for that list.  While I'm not really looking for section 8 housing, having to deal with all that makes me want to avoid it altogether.

@Weis Sherdel I know that @Lisa Arlt Escoto has some dealings with that area, you may want to try messaging her. 

I'm having some difficulty finding the first steps in obtaining a property so this seems like the logical first step.

As the subject says, I'm looking for an experienced real estate agent in the Northern Virginia(mostly)/DC area, who is familiar with the market and understands what investors are looking for, to assist me in finding investment properties.

I am brand new to this so I feel a little strange asking for something that it seems everyone wants but, if you don't ask, you'll never know, right?  (Feel free to laugh at me for this too) 

Any advice in finding one or even a "Yeah, you should be doing this first!" is great too.

  Thanks for your help!

I would like to know as well!

Sorry, I wasn't saying its not a good area necessarily for Buy and Hold, I was mostly referring to the issues relating to tenant and owner (if you get them), especially evictions.

While DC has some deals and can cash flow, arnt the tenant laws there really bad? (as in a huge hassle for the owner)  I've heard it from several sources including from the podcast.

Welcome @Kevin Barbera !

Just joined up here too and am glad to see another from Reston!