He wrote a great & practical book – with Parkinson’s, dammit.

Mortgages for LLCs with personal credit under 680 are tough and expensive, and under 640 are typically not really economically practical for the borrower. 

So, I DON'T trust my ability to determine someone's character based on a few minute casual conversation and I DO trust my ability to manage even difficult tenants. 

thanks for your time and help rent to retirement works directly with build to rent developers like us around the country once they are framed up. you are buying properties pretty much at market value but with a hand holding. you can work directly with a builder or directly with them. they are just an intermediary. they take 5% on what we make as a builder but have a large list of investors and a systemized approach to selling new builds. if you want to get a better deal I'd recommend directly contacting builders and building it yourself. fly to the market. spend 2 days, tour new builds, get a feeling for how it's going. if your builder isn't building multiple at a time then I wouldn't recommend working with them. rent to retirement is a well oiled and well run machine. they've had their ups and downs with dozens of transactions in florida but modified their process. they are well known and established and transparent. if you have a more specific market and feel confident in your ability to vet deals try it out. happy to talk more my info is in my signature. we work directly with them to sell new builds and no organization is perfect but I have good things to say about them as a builder and potential build to rent developer that sells build to rent triplexes and single family homes through them to end buyers in California like the Bay Area, Los Angeles, and San Diego 

An attorney that practices real estate is a good choice, an attorney that invests in real estate is a better choice.

(Auctions and foreclosures can also provide great leads.)With $20K, hard money loans are a practical option, as they emphasize a property’s ARV over your financial history.

How do you really hold yourself or others accountable in practice?

Surrounding yourself with a team brings some risk, but the risk is on your ability to judge people and processes. 

Practice analyzing deals, explore surrounding markets if NYC feels too competitive, and stay persistent, closing your first deal takes time but is well worth the effort.Good luck!

Do you really have the ability to purchase this deal. 2.