当人们第一次决定购买的公寓大楼是他们共同提出一些很容易预防的错误。 最常见的错误，我看到新的投资者是没有，我想提及的“投资工具的胸部。 ”

例如，如果您想盖房子就需要几件事就可以开始。 你首先需要有一个蓝色打印的首页起草了一名建筑师。 其次，你需要有适当的工具，以实际完成的建设，您需要的钉子，锤子，锯和演练工作的原料。 值得庆幸的是，投资的公寓楼并不需要任何物理工具或技能。 然而，投资于公寓楼也需要同样的精神规划和在这种情况下，您的“工具箱”实际上是一个“工具箱”的知识。

成为一名成功的公寓投资者，你必须有一个计划！

最好的方式获得这些基本的教育工具是阅读许多书籍和杂志上的问题。 首先和最重要的工具，投资者可以拥有的能力，以确定投资价值的公寓大楼。 没有办法，一个投资者可以肯定的是他或她将购买摇钱树或钱坑没有必要的能力来分析价值的建设。 有一个无休止的阵列提供的信息对债务覆盖比率，第利率和房地产评估。 在我看来，第一次商业房地产投资者应与一个简单的心理“工具”或推定，这是确定的建设是值得给他或她和忽视几乎一切。 这意味着，投资者应几乎无视其他类似性质的价格最近已出售在该地区。 相反，投资者应该计算出的价格，让他或她购买的财产，使盈利和现金流，将使它成为一个很好的投资。

为了这个数字的代价是什么你应该支付的公寓大楼，假设例如要实现一定的回报，或第率，每年的投资，只需使用下面的公式：

净营业收入
__________________ =价格你可以付实现理想的第速率
资本化率

图片： jthetzel

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标签： 公寓楼当然 ， 公寓楼教育 ， 公寓楼的投资 ， 公寓大楼的消息 ， 购买公寓建设 ， 购买公寓

它是一个同时，因为我们没有我们的一个结识投资者面谈。 。 。 我希望我们会后这些更经常！ 考虑到这一点，我们将会有很好的采访为您的房地产投资者芬香威斯 ！

满足不动产投资芬香威斯

多久了你一直投资于房地产？

我相信没有多少成员的BP以上我！ 我已经参与了很多，看到的各个方面，房地产;衰退，通货膨胀螺旋，和起伏下跌的房地产在许多不同的地区。

我开始在房地产的事故在1972年。 我是在我3年的大学，并敦促辍学并尝试出售房地产的朋友。 他的经纪人和一贯试图出售我的妻子和我的东西。 我们没有钱，我正在努力为Alpha Beta版市场在其厨房清洁烤炉和奶酪传送带3至午夜十二时，和上学期间的一天。

告诉我们您的第一笔交易

我的朋友是非常持久和不断寻找性能显示我的妻子和一，我的朋友试图把我们的房子，但我们生活在一个恰当的，每月110美元。 任何房子是被排除在我们的范围。 最终，他发现这是一个复式二点四九万美元和每一方有2个房间和1个浴室。 他告诉我们的联邦住房管理局计划要求221名D - 2 ，只需要大约3 ％的总成本下降和闭幕式。 我们的付款将是215美元每月，他说前面单位租用140美元。 我们可以住在其他单位，一个车库和只支付差额每月75美元。 这听起来非常好，但我们没有3 ％ 。 我的经纪人达成协议。 如果我同意去为他工作1年，他想给我的销售佣金约750美元。 这将非常支付的首期付款，所以我表示同意，并参加了Lumbleau房地产学校在圣安娜的CA 。 我有我的推销员的'营业执照28天内，从开始到结束。 我们买了，搬进了全双工，我们的第一笔交易在330-334核桃，在La Habra ， CA台湾。

你是如何开始投资？

不仅我进入房地产的事故，但我成了一个投资者的意外，我的第一笔交易，这全双工。 我开始销售房屋，讨厌它。 工作主要是与妻子的情侣，显示她的家，我很快就意识到这是我没想到会。

关于此同时，我和我的妻子已经清理院子我们全双工，移走了常春藤和安装了木栅栏沿线的前端。 有一天，一位制止，并询问是否我想卖掉它！ 我认为我们会拥有这3个月。 我说，我并不这么认为，并解释我还是买了它。 他问了多少付费？ 我告诉他的价格和他问我是否愿意出售了5,000利润二点九九○万美元？ 在5公里是一个巨大的数额为某人赚取1.35美元一小时。 我告诉他，是的，没有实现我正要真正的教育。 他是真正的投资者。 他提出如下;

1. 了一套住宅，约1000美元的股票，他购买的同221 - D2类贷款项目。
2. 请注意1000美元的利息的八十三点三三美元钼和气球在2年。
3. 一个旧的倒浴缸风格保时捷汽车（ 60ish ？ ） 。
4. 1500元现金。

我想有轮子，在我的口袋里的现金，实际房子，每月83美元，以帮助住房支付补贴！ 我们只是不小心处理，并成为参与可再生能源的经验交流，并从一个真正的投资者。 这成为我的第一次投资，以及我的第一笔交易，第一次交流和首次销售。

是什么吸引你成为房地产投资？

我认为提出的这个个人的全双工激动人心的东西我想继续和我参与寻找其他属性。

这家伙是我的第一个大师。 我真的发现我的优势！ 我喜欢做买卖或交易。 这是很多乐趣不仅仅是显示家园。 我开始购买其他投资。 我的妻子和我达成了协议。 我们希望生活在她的收入，大约每月500美元和投资的一切，我回到房地产。 我试图说服其他国家也这样做，但他们看到我作为一个年轻的小孩，没有任何经验。 我出去，并没有为自己。 我的经纪人开始问我的问题，但正在采取的部分我委员会！ 我决定让我的经纪人执照，并开设一个办事处。 我遇到有人在房地产学校，我相信我的工作，还聘请了一位兄弟在法律。 3 ，我们开设了一个办事处，在一个领域的普拉森舍矮胖，钙。 并称之为“迈克威斯投资” 。 这是一个完美的时间在一个绝佳的区域！ 我们开始大量的钱财，主要是涉及我们发现，买了自己并获得佣金。 我买了一个崭新的红色凯迪拉克，人们开始注意到我进展。 我想住在同一地区的钙我的整个生命，来自下层收入和人们看到的差异。 这是1974年。

会怎样处理你的梦想是什么？ 有你有一个“梦想协议”吗？

在1974年我去寻找新的办公地点。 我想很大的时候。 这是我第一次真正可怕的投资。 我发现一个全新的空置面积30000英尺处复杂，决定我会尝试购买。 这是一百四十七点五○万美元和卖方是开发商和他想要的10 ％下降。 他有一个转换贷款大都会人寿保险项。 这将转换从建筑到80 ％时，常任理事国充分。 他列出了3 ％的佣金，并同意支付我$ 40K的。 现在我只需要大约为10万。 我已经购买了17个单位的惠老年人， CA和问他，如果我可以创造一个注意到为60K 。 他说，没关系，但希望它作为第二为40K的和2万美元的3 。 这给了他的灵活性，如果他需要卖1对1或借阅。 现在，我是到四十七点五零零美元需要。 本人深信我的父母和我妻子的父母每把2万美元。 我仍然需要$ 7500 。 第一人，我已经聘请加入我的房地产，我的朋友同意这样做。 我提出的提议，并已被接受。 我们的付款一十四点九零九美元左右。 我希望通过谈判达成协议的建设者将管理建设，租赁，并支付我8 ％的现金，现金回报为一年。 年底的一年，这是我的问题，如果还没有出租。

命名建设“威斯金融广场” ，把我们的新办公室英寸现在我真的期待成功，人们开始来找我，这两个推销员和投资者。 这些人交谈，我想之前，现在有兴趣了我的说法。 我开始举行讨论会在我们的建设和它刚刚起飞。 人书面检查，并开始我的销售禽流困扰性能在许多西方国家。 我开始做房地产联合供稿（花式名称有限合伙） 。 我们做了大量的二氧化碳，所以我获得了经纪人的执照，并开设了一个办事处，并聘请了一批禽流狗。 我们买了156个单位在丹佛以及一些较小的，以及202和161在科罗拉多斯普林斯。 我们还买了许多在亚利桑那，德克萨斯州，加州和确定。 在很短的时间内，我累了，但小康财政。

哦， btw ，在不到一年的时间里，在“威斯Finanacial广场”建设为95 ％ ，充分，并投掷了一个不错的现金流。 我给我爸爸的工作现场经理，他喜欢它。 大代管公司，首选托管，进入我的建设和问我是否愿意出售它的份额。 在购买后11个月，我出售的为220米！ 我在一个大型的说明，我分裂与合作伙伴，保持30 ％的所有权和建设获得了$ 70K委员会。 这是我第一次“梦协议” 。

什么是您最艰难的处理？

我最艰难的交易是在1975年，我从来没有能够重复一遍。 这是一个26腿交换包括物业从4个不同国家和许多业主和合作伙伴关系。 我花了3个月以上，白天和黑夜得到它完成，而且是一个巨大的成就。 再次，有一个汽车参与！ 一个投资者缺乏足够的现金来资助他的总收购一部分。 他拥有1965年捷豹XKE兑换，并提供给抵消了现金短缺。 我把车的一部分，我的委员会。 汽车，本票和委员会收到的现金总额中的非常高的6数字。

我被提名为房地产Exchangor的一年，国家对CA的话，但没有获胜。

有多少交易你做你的事业？

就个人而言，我的妻子和我本人拥有1000多个家庭的住宅。 我一直在业主或合伙人数以千计的公寓和一些办公大楼。 我不知道总人数的交易我一直在参与英寸的高度，我的职业生涯中，我已经206投资者和一些退休前是在多达6伙伴关系。 我几乎买下了冯里希特霍芬在丹佛城堡生活在和举办研讨会30年前，但我的提议是在第二。 这是真的。

你有房地产执照吗？

我是一名持牌经纪人在加利福尼亚州和科罗拉多州在70年代初的7年。 我决定我的快乐无监督销售人员，让我的许可证失效。 有一定的好处，被授权的一个委员会的观点。 还有其他的好处没有得到授权，在我看来。

什么是您的重点（专业领域） ？

我不认为我有任何一个领域的专业知识。 我已经差不多完成这一切。 经纪，没有钱出发，物业管理，赎回，杂工公司，建立44个自定义的家园圣乔治， UT斯达康，挑选3蓬勃发展的地区，正确的时间（ so.晚上， UT斯达康，卡萨格兰德AZ ）和觉得我在我的第4和第5 ，目前得克萨斯州南部和MS 。 我是原来的大师电视机前，和发言的研讨会公司以及商会Commerces ，扶轮社等在CA ，幻影酒店和拉斯维加斯湖，内华达，盐湖城， UT斯达康，凤凰城和图森，亚利桑那和Rio格兰德河谷，美国得克萨斯。 我还出版了一本书自我国早期的房地产经验，所谓的“从看门人到千万富翁” 。 我从来没有为它的销售，但自由给予它的那些要求。 我继续购买和开发房地产近40年，并有一个长远来看比许多短期投资者或新手。

你怎么找的投资？

我期待已久的良好投资，将有利于从长远来看。 我主要是购买和长期持有。 我买一些赎回并保持和销售一些交出钱。 我不是一个坚定的现金流。 我认为这是一个领域已经否定了许多真正的投资者。 没有税收优惠本身，通常老年人矮胖性能几乎没有希望的赞赏和不负担多少折旧。 我建议大多数新投资者试图购买收支平衡属性，就像垄断，购买多达可以。 让他们，再融资和购买更多。 让您的主要工作结束的收入和建立基础物业第一。 现金流作为租金将增加，但不会牺牲经济增长的愿望选择在现金流量开始。

有太多的大师有说教的现金流量和“取代您的工作，房地产收入” 。 我对面的人。 现金流量恰好，在时间，但不值得牺牲购置额外属性不得不投入更多，以获取现金流。

有4个主要好处拥有房地产：
1 。 赞赏
2 。 折旧导致税收优惠
3 。 主要支付
4 。 现金流

图表将不断表明， ＃ 1和＃ 2的关键是创造“真正的财富”在房地产，和远的距离上2在短期或长期的。

有什么最大的错误您所做的或看到的？

对于我来说，我最大的错误是在29岁退休。 我已经取得了数以百万计，成为懒惰上继续投资和饲料的机制房地产。 我本来应该更积极地交流和获取更多的房地产不是生活在过去。 从29岁到58岁，我基本上是退休，并提出我国6孩子。

58岁时，我改正了错误，并开始投资了。 在过去15个月里，我已购买了59家，其中13个国家销售，并继续购买更多的每个月。

什么忠告给你一个开端投资者？

我的建议是给投资者开始将有所不同，这取决于投资者的年龄，收入，风险承受能力，目标投资（现金流量，税收福利，退休等） ，妻子的态度，都将进入我的劝告。 我很保守的性质，虽然我花了很多“风险”时，年轻的。 我想敦促谨慎行事，以新的投资者，我想问题的所有数据提供给投资者的卖家！ 确定其动机，如果任何的意见给您。 研究那些已经非常成功。 不会成为研讨会贩毒！ 最重要的是，总是有一个撤出战略，并为您的投资计划，未雨绸缪。 它将雨！

什么建议您给投资者，鉴于目前的经济状况和贷款的环境？

• 第一：请仔细检查和三重检查所有收入和支出的一个主题财产给你们，以供审议。 最被夸大和不准确的。
• 第二：不穿粘结剂或隧道的设想。 有许多可供选择的房地产游戏。
• 第三：记住有更多的钱在下跌市场都房地产和股票市场。 虽然大多数是拉动其头回在其外壳，智能的是，并环顾！
• 第四：没有人会需要照顾好您的钱，你会。

总会有挑战和变化，以房地产和金融市场。 是灵活的，并准备在必要时改变。 创造性的融资将除了成功地从非成功。 学习新的战略和把它们转化为行动。 不要以为“这不能做” ！ 恰恰相反。 承担“这是可以做到的” ，然后找到办法做到这一点。

是否还有其他您想要的份额，其余的我们呢？

我希望能够分享我的激情的房地产和说服他人的令人惊叹的事情会为你做。 其他地方可以找到一个机会，如果有人（银行）将贷款的钱购买你的东西和别人（租客）将支付你。 最终，您将自己的一些自由和明确的，这将是值得X数额美元。 我不知道X将，但将超过您支付和1000 ％的回报实际投资由于权力的杠杆。

BiggerPockets进行我们结识投资者的电子邮件采访。 我们无法验证的信息，并打印包含在这些访谈刺激的思想和健康的讨论。

标签： 翻转 ， 业主 ， 满足投资者 ， 房地产投资 ， 丰富的威斯

其中一个最大的问题是一个公寓楼的主人是能力的拥有者已经增加值在各种不同的方式。 所有这些方法，增加值并不适用于每一个公寓楼，但是，我冒昧地提出，没有一个公寓楼在任何国家在这个国家，不能至少使用其中一种方法，以创造更多的价值非常很容易。 如果你比较有能力像其他投资股票或债券可以真正开始认识为什么有那么多的财富已经建成，通过投资于多种家庭财产。

被迫欣赏-强迫赞赏是修复上取得任何商业房地产的“势力”的财产的价值升值。

化妆品修理：

制作化妆品修理使知识产权更有吸引力的潜在租户，同时维持目前的租户快乐。 修理，可以产生巨大的影响外观包括外墙油漆，油漆墙壁，修理建筑物周围的景观和更换老化，肮脏和破旧的电器。

提高租金：

这似乎是一项显而易见的方式，以增加价值的一座公寓楼，但它确实是令人惊讶的多少租金楼宇收取租金的10 ％至20 ％低于市场利率。 许多较小的公寓大楼业主管理自己的财产，从而能够更容易地保持低于市值的租金，保留租户。 这一理论在实践中是有缺陷的，因为它没有考虑到，现在是，许多人将从公寓的原因，这样的租金。 例如，许多人迁到更好的就业机会，在另一个城市。

更换工具设备：

如果一栋公寓业主支付电费，共同地区照明他或她可以节省很多钱每个月只要将所有的灯具与节能灯泡。

标签： 公寓建设投资 ， 公寓楼的价值 ， 购买公寓建设

我们有一个美好的面试，每个人今天！ 基督教Malesic是一个相对较新成员BiggerPockets ，但在这短的时间内，使相当多的自己，帮助别人！ 他的知识，热情和精力是迷人的，我认为我们应该更多地了解该名男子。 基督教主要集中在购买和持有投资战略中的美国宾夕法尼亚州地区。

满足不动产投资基督教Malesic

多久了你一直投资于房地产？
第一回合到1994年至2002年。 第二轮于2006年开始的势头日常生活。

学习电子工程利哈伊大学在伯利恒，巴勒斯坦权力机构，我是一个空军少年与梦想成为职业军官和一名领导人之间的男子。 本人擅长的少年，是一个好于平均水平工程的学生，尤其是在数字系统和计算机硬件和软件，使我十分可取空军资产。 部分原因是由于这一点，但主要是因为我们有同样想法的生活态度和领导下，指挥官的学员把我在他的机翼。 我学到很多在他的指导;最适当的，以本次讨论的（我在这里意译） ：

购买住房的每一个工作地点。 住在这。 租金动作时，你叔叔一起。 您的租户将还清贷款。

我完全执行这一计划的财富战略在我第一次转让给迈诺特空军基地，北达科他于1992年。 没有什么不出售，没有任何新的建设和租金极低。 本人租了一个好1个房间的房子，有个像样的码和两个车库大约每月350美元。 我研究了，并开始规划在未来的任务。

购买我的第一个单一的家庭住在1994年，三个卧室和两个浴室的_英亩的郊区社区棕榈湾，美国佛罗里达。

我一直在这个属性了将近10年为我的生活改变了。 我决定，近6年的服务中，我国超过了我的'义务' ，并促进自己'平民' ，开始我自己的建筑公司在家乡哈里斯堡，巴勒斯坦权力机构。

是什么吸引你成为房地产投资？
我的父亲-简单明了的-是我的灵感和父母双方仍在我最大的球迷。 爸爸花了无数个小时出席罗哈斯优固工业研讨会，阅读，而且大多谈论投资。 他宏伟计划，他将阐述我在凌晨，当世界其他地方是睡着了。 他从来没有扣动扳机。 尽管如此，他是一个伟大的成功，特别是如果您的测量棒是教育，他给他的儿子。

你是全职或兼职的投资者？
通过这本书我是一名兼职投资者。 截止本文件的编写，我们租住单位28日举行的14个属性。

你是如何开始投资？
第二回合（见以前的回合1 ） 。 我的兄弟和我拥有的电力公司签订合同，并非常密切的日常工作。 我们曾研究和讨论多年的罗哈斯优固工业公司将是完美的电力业务。

更重要的是，由于我们是我们自己的老板，我们可以做任何管理的罗哈斯优固工业公司需要时，我们觉得感动。 因此，罗哈斯优固工业公司不一定会服务只有在晚上或周末，而是什么时候可以工作到对立面。 现在，它是一个现实，我只是按计划进行。 虽然两家公司独立和独特的，我的工作流程在白天穿过两个，进出，几乎没有区别。

告诉我们您的第一笔交易。 。 。
第二回合。 我们花了许多年准备...实际上我们整个生命脚下的亲爱的老父亲。 我已经学到了一些以往的经验教训。 我们决定认真。 我们排队融资，我们的战略计划的戒毒或改造，开始建设的帐户供应商，并开始寻找。 那么它发生...

本杰明富兰克林： “我工作的难度，我得到的幸运。 ”

我们买了城市财产。 该协议：半砖，三层复式为$ 25000 。 一位老人已经在那里生活多年，他的权力的律师目前正在协助他的生活。 它不被滥用，但没有几十年来一直保持的。 它需要的工作。 所有者（校）让我们开始删除该男子丢弃的东西之前解决。 我们知道这是有风险的交易可能落空，我们将'失去'所有的劳动力，我们做到了。 但是，批评了。

邻居从两扇门下跌接近我们前三天，我们的解决方案（我们没有自己的财产尚未）要求，如果我们拥有的财产。 迟疑地，我们回答说，我们购买和持有的投资者，并计划对固定起来，租用了。 他想知道我们是否会考虑出售原样，停止工作ASAP项目，并让他的朋友看到的地点和时间有关。 他提到的价格大约为50k的（请记住，我们已经支付，或即将在三天内支付$ 25,000加闭幕费用） 。 长话短说，我们从字面上闭幕表到他家三天后签署的合同（当然，我们不能签订合同之前，我们甚至拥有的财产） 。 我们清除一点八五零万美元上说，第一笔交易，也只有几个小时的清理劳动。

我们真的很幸运...或努力（取决于如果你是从外部观察，或者我们的工作时间长，远离我们的家庭在晚上和周末的周结束得到自己编写的这个新的合资公司。 ）

什么是您的重点？
购买和持有住宅。 我们租金清洁，更新，尼斯公寓上下层或降低中产阶级人士。 我们经常听到的角度说，我们的租户是最好的公寓，他们已经看到在所有的时间，他们一直在寻找。 我们喜欢这一点。 我们正在建立的声誉，并已开始自己的品牌。

你喜欢的住宅或商业方面的投资？ 为什么？
住宅。 我们的经验与商业是有限的。 我们购买办公楼电力公司对我们的巨大增长潜力的1英亩沿着一条繁忙的街道，一个伟大的增长领域。 以外，我们并没有做什么步行以外低于可取的商业机会，但我们将继续对其进行审查。

你怎么找的投资？
至于购买并持有的投资者，我们认为长期的。 现金流量为王，但...我们有时愿意牺牲的现金流为“添加到清单财产” （一个中立的现金流量或小积极）如果它是正确的形状正确的地理区域。

有多少交易你做你的事业？
截至3月21日08 -完成交易的公司名称只是： 17购买和销售3 。 添加我的第一回合我们的个人财产和家园，它跳跃至21日略有购买和5个销售。 我仍然是一个新手，这就是为什么我深感荣幸能选择这个结识投资者面试。

你有房地产执照吗？
我不。 我的妻子不。 她的代理人在2007年初和服务主要是一个客户-我。 这是/是我们的战略。 我已经写在此线程在BiggerPockets题为“ 不依赖代理商，成为 ”一般房地产投资论坛3月12日08 。 请一探究竟。

什么忠告给你一个开端投资者？
我的做就是了！ 它确实花了几十年的Malesic部落下车我们的集体枪托和失控的。 不要那样，不要因为我说。 我学到更多的第一年罗哈斯优固工业实际上是一个比我从所有书籍，录音带，论坛，会议和会谈的父亲。 从小处着手。 不要购买12或7 ，甚至2 。 得到一个和工作通过。 学习。 使您的错误。 来这里咨询。 恢复。 然后，我的朋友，那么你已经准备好自己的世界。

什么是您最艰难的处理？
玻璃是半空思维：每个交易是艰难的。 我知道这听起来像一个最终解决，但我并不意味着它本身。 每处理是控制所有的时间表。 每处理是提醒大家，以完成他们的工作。 每处理大约填充暂日期，以便当他们错过它不搞砸交易。 我们得到擅长。

也有一些是，我记住每个交易在最后一刻，当我们正在使一切发生。 一旦交易完成，交易完成。 “我们可能再也看不到这些人，我们再次接近， ”我要告诉我们的团队。 我尽力不去以往任何时候都让它给我。 我一直微笑着与我的下巴高举，保持专业，我的袖子卷起来，并开始工作。 所以，我想你可能认为玻璃是半满的，每一个做交易是一笔好买卖。

会怎样处理你的梦想是什么？
达成协议，不用顺利。 我注册的有关合同的开始和结束时的文件（闭幕） 。 其他人没有自己的工作和获得报酬。 木已成舟。 胜利对我们来说。 胜利的买方/卖方。 赢得所有的人帮助我们做交易。 赢-赢-赢。 这是商业，美式（所有获奖者，没有失败者） 。

你对此有何看法的当前状态的房地产市场或经济？
它确保好像完美风暴购买我们的领导方式。 卖家和蛙鞋当心！ I am taking advantage of the current economic climate to hunker down, ensure the fundamentals of my business are sound, and prepare to buy the heck out of my target market in the very near future.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with the rest of us?
It is difficult to go it alone and expect that you have the talent, personality, education, and perseverance to do EVERY PART of this business. It may not be possible for some, but where it is – get a partner.

My brother is our Construction Manger. He estimates and manages rehabs, repairs, and remodeling. He does the small maintenance himself and manages the contractors for the larger jobs.

My sister-in-law is our Property Manager. She handles tenant relations; that is: showings, lease paperwork, complaints, evictions, etc.

My wife is our Bookkeeper and Office Manager. She does the filing, research, and general paperwork as well as enters in the bills, receipts, and rents. She works with deposits, withdraws, and general banking.

I am the President / CEO. I do everything else. I buy and sell, which includes all negotiations, paperwork, and closings. I work with the accountant, insurance broker, and lawyer. I network.

We are all different and so should be our jobs. Keep this in mind as you are formulating your company or growing it.

Finally, in a bit of self promotion, I wanted to ask what do you think about BiggerPockets.com?
Even though I am a relatively new investor, I do consider myself ‘advanced’. I have: a college education, tons of experience with construction, lots of management background, am a fast study, and just can’t get enough (sorry to brag).

It was not until I found BiggerPockets that I found myself among others like myself. It is an environment that is honing my skills everyday. I am glad to play a small part.

Tags: buy and hold , landlord , real estate , real estate guru , real estate investing , real estate investor , real-estate-deals

It has been a while since we’ve shared one of our investor profiles with everyone . 。 。 I’m excited to say that this one is worth the wait!

Connie Brzowski, soon to be a contributor here on the BiggerPockets blog, has shared some incredible insight with all of us in her interview. A relatively new investor / landlord / rehabber out of East Texas - Connie has proven that anyone can become successful in real estate investing if they put their mind and energy into it. She has developed her own plan and systems through trial and error, which will help her continue to make money where others may fail.

Everyone . 。 。 get some great tips and . 。 。 。

Meet Real Estate Investor Connie Brzowski

How long have you been investing in real estate?
Almost 4 years. We organized and started our company about a year before that, but we closed on our first property in November of 2004.

What attracted you to becoming a real estate investor?
My dad loved old houses and from the time I was just a little sprout, he took me along to look at prospects. That sort of thing sticks with you. Dad worked construction to pay the bills, but he remodeled houses for extra cash. Now I think they call it “leapfrogging” — buy a house cheap, remodel, sell for profit and move on to the next dump. We moved every 2-3 years and dad spent every spare minute looking for the next place. I never could swing a hammer, but I got pretty good at spotting what needed fixing

My husband works full-time in the petro-chemical industry and we began to realize there was no such thing as job security. He works a rotating shift with a 7-day long change each month which gives him blocks of time to devote to projects. We had 20+ years of repair, remodeling and rehab experience both working with my dad and his various projects and our own homes. For about 10 years, my husband made extra working part time doing home repairs and remodeling. When we decided to start investing, real estate with an emphasis on rehabbing was a natural choice. And it fits perfectly with both our short and long term financial goals.

I take care of the business end—looking for houses, running the numbers, making offers, handling tenants and keeping the books. He deals with contractors, does some of the rehab work and scares the tenants silly when necessary. Actually, he’sa fantastic landlord—a natural. He’s particularly good at the initial lease read-through—you ought to hear him go over the late-fee clause!

Are you a full time or part time investor?
Part time although I’m pretty sure that’sa trick question . 。 。

How did you get started investing?
We spent 3 years getting out of debt and learning about real estate. I visited forums, asked questions, read articles and spent way more than I’d like to admit on books. During that time, I also became an expert in our local market and established relationships with a real estate agent, mortgage broker, lawyer, accountant and the folks at our local bank.

I learned to work a financial calculator and compulsively ran the numbers on every house that came on the market until I knew the price we’d need to pay to make a profit. For fun, I’d write up imaginary offers with all types of creative financing. Every week, I’d make a list of homes for rent from the paper and drive by to get a feel for the market rate for each neighborhood.

One day, a house finally came on the market in a good neighborhood that made sense. Because of all the homework, there was no hesitation—we wrote the offer without looking back.

Tell Us About Your First Deal . . .
Our first rehab was a 3/2/2 brick, 1500+ sq. ft. single family home in an excellent school district listed for $100K. The place was a dump—complete tear out, all the way to the sheetrock. We offered $83K and the owner accepted without countering. (We learned at closing that two offers came in the same day and ours was $500 higher.) The plan was to rehab the house ourselves to save money, then rent for $1100/month.

We bought with 80/20 financing and paid for repairs using credit cards—Lowes and Home Depot both were offering 12 months, no interest, no payments. We intended to have the house reappraised and refinance to pay off the cards. It didn’t quite work out that way.

Our primary residence was destroyed in a storm the day after the house was finished. Friends showed up with a horse trailer and moved us into this little jewel on Memorial Day weekend of 2005. We lived there 18 months and refinanced with owner occupant financing which lowered the monthly note by $100+. Now, the house rents for $1150/month and has positive cashflow of $400/month. Recently, it appraised for $130K and we opened a $30K HELOC that we use to make cash offers on smaller houses.

What are some of the biggest mistakes you’ve made or seen others make?
We’ve been very fortunate, but we’ve also been cautious and moved slow. Our biggest misconception was thinking we could save money by doing all the work ourselves… forgot about those nasty holding costs—mortgage payments, higher insurance rates for empty houses, payments on the credit cards and months of lost rent. The day we realized we could’ve hired out the work and turned the place around in a fraction of the time (and saved a bundle in the process) was a big day. It changed everything.

We see new investors who’ve learned about real estate in general but haven’t taken enough time to thoroughly understand their local market. Also, we get out-of-state investors who’re seduced by our prices without taking into account the higher operating expenses. We live in an area with sky-high property taxes and hurricane-influenced insurance rates. If you don’t account for that, you can get upside down fast.

What is your investing focus (area of expertise)?
The only thing I’m an expert in is our local market. Otherwise, I’m just trying to learn like everyone else. We shop for single family homes, fix them up and rent them out. Our goal is to have 20 SFH’s with half the mortgages paid off by the time the mister retires.

What do you look for in an investment?
We look for dumpy houses with good bones in stable neighborhoods. Big fixes don’t bother us as long as the numbers make sense—we’ve got a great contractor. To reach our current goal, we want $250 or more positive cashflow from each unit with as little of our own money in the deal as possible.

How many deals have you done so far?
Three. We spent almost a year looking for each one. In the future, I’d really like to speed things up! At present, we have four rental units—3 houses and a garage apartment.

Do you have your real estate license?
No—

What advice would you give to a beginning investor?
Be honest, keep your word and guard your good name even if it costs you. In the end, it’s worth more than the few extra bucks in the bank you might gain short-term.

Be willing to work for nothing to learn the business. Help others and others will return the favor. Be generous, be kind, control your temper, act like a professional. Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not, but don’t sell yourself short either.

Sometimes people forget how important integrity is—but those you do business with need to know you’re trustworthy. Once trust is established, opportunities march right up the front walk and dance the maranga… you don’t have to go begging.

On another note, have your systems in place ahead of time. Set up your office, your books, put your lease together, line up financing. Develop relationships with professionals you trust. Take them to lunch, give them your card, ask about their kids, don’t waste their time.

What was your toughest deal?
We bought the second house before rehab on the first was complete. At the last minute, the financing fell apart because someone from another state decided the house was in a commercial zone. We switched to a local mortgage broker and the deal went smoothly from there.

What would your dream deal be?
A package deal of 10-20 homes from a retiring investor who’s begging to owner finance.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with the rest of us?
Some people talk about real estate investment like its divination—read a few books, say the magic words (I’ma winner! I can do this!) and leap into the Great Unknown.

Real estate is a business. Nobody in their right mind would open a pizza parlor or dry cleaners with as little market research and preparation as some give real estate.

Having said that, I firmly believe almost anyone can build wealth and financial security if they’re willing to do their homework.

Note: Connie can be reached through her blog found at: http://www.conniebrz.com

Tags: Connie Brzowski , landlord , rea , real estate investing , real estate investor , rehab , texas real estate

Some people are all about business, and others are all about people and business. Jim is one of the latter.

Not only has he been an active investor in his own right, but he has also established himself as a mentor and a leader. He has created 2 different real estate networking groups and continues to help others invest and learn. Additionally, he’s the kind of guy who likes to get his hands dirty. If you don’t want to do that in this business, then you’re really missing out on some of the most fun aspects of it all.

Meet Real Estate Investor Jim Watkins

How long have you been investing in real estate?
About eight years. I started in 1999.

What attracted you to becoming a real estate investor?
My cousin showed me a foreclosure list and I got all excited seeing how much equity some of the properties had.

Are you a full time or part time investor?
Yes…And then some. In the past year I have rehabbed two houses myself, teach real estate investment classes and have a mentoring program.

How did you get started investing?
I didn’t know a single thing about real estate back then, armed with a foreclosure list, I went knocking on doors of houses in pre-foreclosure. Looking back on it, I think it helped not knowing anything because I didn’t know that it wasn’t easy and I hadn’t adopted anyone’s negativity or bad habits. So I guess you could say I learned the old fashioned way, I jumped in with both feet and learned to swim.

Tell Us About Your First Deal . . .
The Rat House. I took over the mortgage for a house that was in pre-foreclosure and secured it with a Warranty Deed. The square footage was only 1,100 with a 2-car garage but, the house was so full of garbage that it took five 30-cubic yard roll-off dumpsters to empty it. I call it the Rat House because it had once been infested with rats and the owners never cleaned it up. I pulled six mummified rats out of it. It was just disgusting. I tried to flip it initially but no investors would touch it.

I ended up doing the rehab myself and I ended up making about $12,000.

That deal has proven to be a blessing to my career. I learned so much about rehabbing from that house that I couldn’t have learned anywhere else. The funny thing is, because that house was so disgusting, nothing I have looked at since has surprised me. Did I forget to mention that the owners were still living in it when I bought it? The overall experience of that first deal was far more valuable than the money I made with it.

What is your area of expertise?
Pre-foreclosures and abandoned houses. More specifically, helping the homeowners in pre-foreclosure. Even though I teach about this subject, it is a market that is so easy to pursue and virtually ignored by investors.

What do you look for in an investment?
To quote Gordon Gekko from the movie, Wall Street; “A sure thing.”

Sadly, there is no such thing. Obviously I look for big equity spreads but more importantly I look at things that most investors don’t. I look at which direction the house faces. Houses that face East or West are hotter because of so much direct sunlight. I look at how much natural shade a house gets from trees. I look at the lot to see how the drainage is. I drive by the house at night to see how noisy the neighborhood is. I pay close attention to the condition of the neighbor’s houses and I try to talk to them as well. It’s not fun trying to sell a house when the neighbors have trash all over the place and never maintain their landscape.

It’s the little things inside and out of a house that can make a huge difference. Sometimes it’s the forgotten small things that can make or break a deal.

How many deals have you done in your career?
It’s hard to say. If I include deals that my students have done but I have had a helping hand in? I would say around 150. Deals that I have done for myself? I would say about 50. Keep in mind that I tend to do the labor myself when I rehab.

Do you have your real estate license?
No. I have enjoyed many advantages thus far by not having a license. At the same time though, licensed investors have benefits that I don’t have. Since the state of Texas has been on a rampage with real estate investing restrictions, I decided I will get licensed soon.

What advice would you give to a beginning investor?
Be prepared to work. The media and all those home repair and flipping shows have really given the public a false impression of the industry. It’sa job. It takes work and I don’t care what anyone else says about that. The payoff’s can be substantial but it takes dedication and a good amount of common sense.

What was your toughest deal?
I hate to say it but that would be my current rehab deal.

There have been several mistakes made by the title company that still linger. For example, they collected back taxes from the previous owner for 2006 but, they didn’t pay the City or ISD portion. They paid it all to the County and now they are waiting for a refund. The problem is the penalties and interest have been increasing and the house is currently on the market. They also got the legal description wrong when they submitted it to the County so now I have to get that corrected.

On top of that mess, the house itself was the hardest rehab I have encountered and it was supposed to have been the easiest. North Texas had an extremely wet spring and summer and the humidity has been very high. All the exterior work was very difficult to do because the weather made working conditions next to impossible.

Now that it is for sale, I have had to deal with a neighbor four houses down that listed a similar house for $20,000 under market value and just lowered their price another $10,000. That’s hard to contend with.

And just last week I find that the air conditioning condenser was vandalized and the copper was stolen from it. It’s hard to sell a house when the upstairs loft is 110 degrees. It frustrates me when negative factors come up that I have no control over.

What would your dream deal be?
a dream deal? That would be one where the first closing goes smoothly with no glitches. Where nothing unexpected comes up during the rehab and the house sells for the full asking price within days of going on the market.
Unfortunately the end result with a dream deal is… Waking up.

Some deals go fairly smooth and some are difficult. To me, being able to do the work I do and advance as I have… Now that has been a dream come true.

Why did you set up a local networking group? Has it been effective for you?
Actually I have two groups. DFW Mentor is a mentoring program for investors wanting guidance and/or help. I started it so I would have a personal group of investors that I could go to with real estate needs and they, in turn have access to everyone else in the group. I don’t accept just anyone into the program though. I interview prospective students prior to them enrolling so I can get a feel for what they want to achieve and most importantly, I want to be as sure as I can that their character is good and that they don’t have a criminal history. There is so much fraud out there today. It’s important for me to surround myself with honest, trustworthy people and being able to offer the same to students is vital. I started DFW Mentor in 2004 and today the program has over 160 students.

The other group is IGOTEX or Investors Group of Texas . This is a brand new real estate investors networking club that will have its first meeting on October 9th in Frisco, Texas. In a way it is a larger version of DFW Mentor. The club will feature national and local experts as monthly speakers.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with the rest of us?
“It’s not what you know. It’s who you know.” I have found that to hold true.

If I can offer this advice… Do whatever you can to surround yourself with honest, trustworthy people in this business. I hate to hear about new investors that get mixed up with dishonest people who are involved with fraud. Fraud has really hurt the image of our business and it is usually just a few bad apples that ruin it for the rest of us.

I can honestly attribute my success and advancement in this business to having met good, quality people early on. It’s not always easy to find good people like that. So I would suggest to anyone new to the business to actively network and ask others about someone you might do business with. As George Roddy (mentor) once told me, “Bad news travels fast.” The dishonest people don’t tend to stick around very long. So protect yourself by asking around about someone. Good people are out there. Hopefully everyone reading this is or will be among them.

Any last thoughts? Have you found BiggerPockets to be helpful to you and your business?
Honestly, it’s not just a great real estate website. It’s also a great resource. The size of the site often times intimidates me but that is only because it offers a wide variety of investment topics. There are many other real estate investment websites out there but what caught my attention early on was the fact that Josh Dorkin (owner of BiggerPockets) frequently posted on the forums to let people know when someone posted valuable information. He also personally scans the boards to eliminate spam and sweep away self promoters. I have had his banner on my website for over a year and I continue to let people know about the site. As I said above, it’s important to surround yourself with good people. Josh and BiggerPockets IS good people.

Note: Jim’s Club, IGOTEX, can be found at: http://www.IGOTEX.com

Tags: DFWMentor , foreclosure , George Roddy , IGOTEX , Jim Watkins , pre-foreclosures , preforeclosure , real estate , real estate investing , Rehabbing

Every once in a while, a person comes around that is just a no-nonsense, straight shooter. Michael Rossi is one of those guys. For as long as I’ve known him, he has offered real estate investing advice freely to all those who ask for it. While some may disagree with his style, they can’t argue with his logic or his investment strategy.

Mike has developed a strategy for investing in income properties that has allowed him to build a large portfolio by most people’s standards. He is a full-time investor who has mastered the art of buying properties at a steep discount, with substantial cash-flow, and has shared the wealth of knowledge he has accumulated on both our forums, and in his book, 1 Minute to Rental Property Riches.

Meet Real Estate Investor Michael Rossi

How long have you been investing in real estate?
I started my rental property business almost four years ago. Prior to that, I was self-employed and was making good money, but didn’t have much set aside for retirement. To correct that situation, I decided to transition to a rental property business, which would not only provide income for my family to live on, but also provide wealth for retirement.

What attracted you to becoming a real estate investor?
The big attraction for me was the ability to generate more passive income and of course the opportunity to build my net worth. Income is great, but wealth is the factor that allows you to continue living a nice lifestyle without working continuously. That is very important to me.

Are you a full time or part time investor?
I am a full time investor in that my rental property business pays the bills and allows me to keep eating! However, “full time” isn’t really quite accurate. In the past 3 1/2 years, I have built a rental portfolio of several dozen rentals. I do all the management and maintenance myself, but this only takes about 12-16 hours per week. During a typical week, I will work 3-4 hours per day, 3-4 days per week. So, while my rental business gives me a full time income, I don’t actually work a full time, 40 hour week.

How did you get started investing?
I got started investing in real estate almost by accident. I had purchased 2 acres for my business and was only using one of them. One day, I had the idea that I might want to buy a double-wide and put it on the spare lot. I did some looking and found a double wide that was in new condition for only $20,000. I put the double-wide on the spare acre and did all the work myself: pouring the footer, laying the blocks, electrical work, plumbing, etc. I found a renter and decided that this entire renting thing was EASY MONEY! Of course, that was just silly, but that’s what I thought at the time.

After I completed this first project, I decided that it would be a LOT less work to simply buy a distressed house and rehab it (no laying blocks). That’s exactly what I did about a month later and I haven’t looked back since!

What is your focus (area of expertise)?
My entire focus is the rental property business, although I have flipped a few houses on a couple of occasions when I had too many deals come together at once.

What do you look for in an investment?
I will only buy rentals that provide at least $100 per month per unit positive cash flow AND 30% equity at closing.

How many deals have you done in your career?
I have acquired several dozen rentals in the past 3 1/2 years. My original goal was to purchase 10 rentals per year, but I have actually surpassed that.

Do you have your real estate license?
No.

What no-nonsense advice would you give to a beginning investor?
Being successful with real estate investing (or any other business) requires a lot of work. You need to study hard and learn the business before you buy ANYTHING. You also need to be sure that you only buy properties that WILL make money. I never buy a property “HOPING” that things will work out. I must be SURE that each property WILL make money before I buy!

What was your toughest deal?
I can’t honestly say that I’ve had a “toughest” deal. Nearly all deals involve frustrations and challenges. Deals frequently don’t close on time and little annoyances are always arising. That’s just part of the business.

Now, if you want to talk about my toughest tenants, I could write an entire book on that subject. I have dealt with a lot of TERRIBLE tenants. In fact, I specialize in buying problem properties, often from disgruntled landlords. On many occasions, we have taken over apartment buildings that were absolutely infested with drug dealers. I’ve been threatened and I’ve had many rentals trashed by the tenants. This can seem very traumatic in the beginning, but it’s really just part of the business.

What was the most difficult thing you’ve faced as a landlord, and how did you deal with it?
I took over one 4-unit apartment building that was occupied by 3 drug dealers. I immediately started eviction proceedings, but it took about 5 weeks to get them out. During that 5 weeks, the police were at the property nearly every day. There was a fight with baseball bats; about 15 crack addicts lived in one of the apartments; there were many, many arrests; and there was constant drama. I received calls from the neighbors and the police nearly every day and made a lot of late night trips to the property. The drug problems on this street had been going on for nearly 5 years and the neighbors were terrorized.

To make a long story short, we ended up taking over 4 buildings on that street and kicking all the drug dealers out. As a result, that entire street has completely turned around and the neighbors love me!

Income or Appreciation?
I operate my rental business for income and instant equity. I MUST have positive cash flow and I MUST have instant equity at closing. While appreciation is nice, I consider that the icing on the cake. Why hope for appreciation when you can have instant equity NOW?

Is there anything else you’d like to share with the rest of us?
Investing in real estate can be the best decision you ever make. It was certainly one of the best decisions I ever made. There is nothing better than the freedom that my rental property business provides: the freedom from a 9-5 job; the freedom to set my own schedule; and the freedom to grow my business and generate whatever income I EARN! It doesn’t get any better than that!

What do you think about BiggerPockets.com?
Participating on BiggerPockets.com is certainly one of the best decisions a new investor can make. Having the opportunity to actually interact with successful investors and follow in their footsteps is extremely valuable! I encourage the new investors to spend some serious time in the forums. They should read every post in their area of interest and ask a lot of questions. There is no excuse for making a bunch of costly mistakes when there is such a valuable resource at their fingertips.

Additional Information:
Michael Rossi ( MikeOH on the forum ) is a full time investor and author of “ 1 Minute to Rental Property Riches “, which is the one and only book that gives the true story of operating rental properties. Most books on the subject of rental properties contain mostly generalities; motivational nonsense; and promises of instant riches without work. 1 Minute to Rental Property Riches provides the truth about operating rental properties: from the formulas you need to determine the maximum purchase price and cash flow, to procedures for dealing with the “tenant from hell”. No motivational nonsense, just the facts that you need to succeed! 1 Minute to Rental Property Riches is available from the investing store on BiggerPockets.com.