BiggerPockets

I opened this message on a few other forums and it seems to really be helping people so I figured I would do it here.
-----------
A brief background and why I am doing this. I started investing in real estate 4 or 5 years ago and learned everything to get started on the internet. I probably spent under $500 on my education per courses and books. Now I run the largest wholesaling company in Philadelphia with my partner and would like to give back to help people that might have questions. I know it would have helped me when I first started. I will answer questions on things I know well and for the things I dont know well, I will just let you know. I have a niche and know a lot about it and won't B.S. you on what I dont know well enough.

Great question Jon, I want to wholesale a lot, but short term capital gains tax is a MONSTOR lol!

What info do you use to analyze your market?

By the results of that info does it tell you it's best to "wholesale or rehab, or buy and hold etc..?

Did it tell you it was best to wholesale in Philly?

Where do you get that info from?

Any other info on what strategy to use in markets based on the "market info"?

As far as tax efficient, can you be more specific.

To answer what we do, we wholesale 8-10 deals per month, hold properties, flip and manage properties.

To analyze our market we look at DOM, crime and owner occ vs non owner occ to determine flip vs rent. This didnt determine if we wholesale or not, it determines the best exit strat. You can wholesale either way.

I can't figure your intentions out, Ian. Is there some kind of time limit on your participation here on the site?

If you want to answer questions, there are thousands of discussions that you can jump into. I'm guessing this was your intro post, so I'm moving it to our Intro forum.

Thanks, Josh

My question is like Jon's, what are you presently doing to keep taxes down with so many wholesale deals?

Thanks.

Originally posted by Ian Patrick

When you say, keep taxes down. What are you referencing? How our company pays out to us as the owners?

I think what they are asking is this:

1. You make money in your business (hopefully)

2. The government wants to take some of that money (taxes)

3. You want to give the government as little as possible, because you want to keep as much as you possibly can (presumably)

Assuming that sequence of events is correct, how do you accomplish #3?

It is run like a normal business and we dont have a creative tax structure. Our consulting fee/ assignment fee is to the company. We have normal overhead for marketing and such. We pay normal LLC taxes from there. This is not an area I would be considered an expert on. Our accountant is very REI savy and we trust him.

Originally posted by Ian Patrick

My intentions? Primarily to help others if they have questions as I would have liked the same when I first started.

Ian - I am new to REI(6 months) but have been getting all my education much like you via the internet. I have purchased a couple of books and DVD's and been on numerous REI forums gathering info and learning. But now I want to do. I do not have money now as I have used it for another investment I got into back in December. I am interested in flipping/wholesaling right now as that seem to be the way to get going quickly. My question - and I know it is very subjective - is what can I focus on right now that will allow me to do this considering this will be my first flip/buy. Should I try REO's and bid on FNMA since they seem to be easier to get around the seasoning issue and also the 120% rule. Or can you give me some other advice? I need to get rolling and hopefully be in a position to help others someday soon.

Thanks for all your help in advance.

Joseph Arredondo

Sounds like you should come here for some help. You should participate not offer to answer questions and teach like you are a guru who is doing community service. There are several people here who do very well for themselves and do not start out by saying they will be taking questions for the lucky few who will get to ask this week. We dont even know who you are or if you even know what you are talking about. From your posts so far, it seems you know very little about your business.