Seattle, WA · Member since 2008 · 7 posts · 0 votes
:protest: I will be new to this investment in rental properties. I hope to be trading my land in the rural area for apartments in the city. Out here, the government keeps taking our land through regulation so they won't have to pay us. They took 65% of all rural unused property in 2004. They keep on "planning."
So, I am glad I found this site. It has tons of information. I am a little jittery and would like to find a partner who already owns apartment buildings. Does anyone have a thought on how to go about that?
I am joining a rental association and will use a real estate agent that owns apartments already. Meanwhile, I will keep reading books and this site and trying to meet people to ask questions about doing business in this area.
Where in Puget Sound are you located? There are some big cities on the Sound and some more remote areas.
One key to investing in RE is to become less concerned about government taking land from planning decisions. Investing many times benefits from planning changes. Motivated sellers many times are people who do not understand how to deal with regulations so they miss out on opportunities.
Apartment investing is tied to demographics and other trends. Planning and other factors will have a big impact on the demographics.
Investing with a partner can be more of a nightmare than a solution to lack of knowledge. If you do not understand something go slower and learn. If you want a partner then find one but one that complements your skills rather than fills in gaps. By that I mean that picking a partner because they know more than you is almost like saying that you want to be taken advantage of. Even if they do not do so directly you will lack the perspective to understand why they make the decisions they do.
I am confident you can come up the learning curve. Partially because you took the time to find and then join BP. That says you are interested and willing to do the homework.
I will learn from this site. I found it by looking for RE investment associations in my area so I can meet owners. Also, I will interview a lawyer/owner and an accountant who does taxes for the wealthy.
I have a stack of books to read. It is important to know what to look for when you are buying.
Your message was very encouraging to me. There is no substitute for advice from the experienced.
Thank you, Josh, for the welcome. I noticed quite a few of your very helpful messages on BiggerPockets. I will keep you all posted on my progress and findings.