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Hello everyone..My name is Nick and I am from Indiana. I found out about this website through a friend who is on here as well. I want to get in to buying rental properties and learning the do's and don'ts. I have a feeling many of you on this site do this as a living and from what I hear make more than enough money at it. Hopefully when I have any questions they will be answered correctly and will help me along my way to becoming successful.

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 07:04AM

Joshua Dorkin

BiggerPockets Founder · Denver, Colorado

10629 posts
46531 Influence
24 Awards

Icon_minipost Jan 27 '09, 08:20 AM

Welcome aboard, Nick. What do you do? May I ask what has inspired you to become interested in the wacky world of real estate?

If you've got any questions, don't hesitate to ask. That's what we're here for.

Please consider going to the Dashboard and filling in your profile a little bit, and adding a profile image so we can get to know you better.

See you around!

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 07:04AM

Joshua Dorkin, BiggerPockets, Inc.
E-Mail: webmaster@biggerpockets.com
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Don Levy

Real Estate Consultant · Orcutt, California

111 posts
22 Influence
1 Award

Icon_minipost Jan 27 '09, 10:25 AM

Nick, welcome to the forum. As the old saying goes you get out of it what you put in it. Get active and ask lots of questions and you'll learn a lot.

Good luck,
donrock

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 07:05AM

Nicholas Crum

Real Estate Investor · Plymouth, Indiana

3 posts

Icon_minipost Jan 27 '09, 08:24 PM

Thank you to the both of you. To Joshua I am currently a student with high hopes of becoming successful. I have been around real estate my entire life. My parents had a few rental properties but unfortunately had to sell them to make ends meet. That inspired me to start buying rental properties because I saw how many benefits there are (as long as they are managed properly) I joined the site to learn the hidden aspects of real estate that can be easily overlooked by someone just starting off. Long story short the 3 main NEEDS in life are : Food, Water, and Shelter. No matter how bad this housing market gets human beings always need somewhere to live. I hope this tells you a little more about me and my ambitions.

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 07:05AM

Jon Holdman

Real Estate Investor · Denver, Colorado

11857 posts
75509 Influence
15 Awards

Icon_minipost Jan 27 '09, 08:33 PM

Hi Nick, welcome to the boards.

Originally posted by Nicholas Crum

TLong story short the 3 main NEEDS in life are : Food, Water, and Shelter. No matter how bad this housing market gets human beings always need somewhere to live.

The "everyone needs a place to live", along with "they're not making any more" are two dangerous fallacies propagated by people with a vested interest in selling real estate or training. That makes it sounds like there will always be demand for housing everywhere. There are way too many ghost towns in the American west to buy that. When a town loses any reason to exist and people move away. The value of properties can fall all the way to zero. Detroit is looking like that now. Fewer jobs, falling population, lots houses that can be bought for a few grand. Are they good deals, though?

Be critical of what you hear. Read here and elsewhere. Learn the math and invest based on the numbers, not emotion. Don't fall for the platitudes or hype.

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 07:05AM

Jon Holdman, Flying Phoenix LLC

Jason Bentley

Real Estate Investor · Memphis, Tennessee

31 posts
174 Influence
2 Awards

Icon_minipost Jan 27 '09, 08:58 PM

Jon,
You bring up a great point. What I take from it is that it's super important to know your market and know that your current strategy of entry and exit to/from a deal matches what your local market is dictating for success. With that said, do you know of any online resources for up to date market analysis?

I've heard that sitting in on city planning meetings (or just keeping up with the info provided from them) is a good way to get a jump on emerging local markets. Etc. I also assume that local housing price trends, area growth, and rental price trends could be acquired by hitting up local R/E brokerages. But are there online resources out there to browse more quickly and inform our business decisions? Or is gaining this type of vital info a function of the strength of your personal network and just hitting the streets for the pulse of the market?

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 07:05AM by Jason Bentley

Nicholas Crum

Real Estate Investor · Plymouth, Indiana

3 posts

Icon_minipost Jan 27 '09, 09:25 PM

Thanks Jon and Jason...I get your point of ghost towns but I am looking to start buying properties in Chicago. I wouldn't want to risk starting where I live there is absolutely NO demand right now. The region where I live has 7 of the top 10 counties for unemployement. I am not looking to get into buying houses but more of buying apartments and apartment complexes in the Chicago area. Do you think that is a smart route to go or have any other thoughts on what to do?

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 07:05AM

John Moderski

Real Estate Investor · Elkhart, Indiana

1 post

Icon_minipost Apr 01 '09, 07:14 AM

Hello Nick,

My name is John, and I'm looking to start selling real estate in the Michiana area. I know that you said your looking to start in the Chicago area, but if you were looking at real estate here in Indiana what would you be looking to buy?

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 07:48AM

Jack Dada

1 post

Icon_minipost Apr 03 '09, 10:00 PM

Hi friends

Hello everyone! I am Joseph from London Newly visited this site. This site has very nice forums.

Joseph

Edited: 06/26/2010 at 07:50AM by Moderator