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Alda Watlington
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  • Real Estate Agent
  • Orlando, FL
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RE-STARTING MY INVESTMENT JORNEY

Alda Watlington
Pro Member
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Orlando, FL
Posted Nov 2 2022, 14:14

I am a investor in a STR and a Realtor in Florida and Tennessee, I realized I've been doing things wrong, and not growing. I am looking to learn new ways of financing and investing and diversify.

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Nathan Gesner
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Cody, WY
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Nathan Gesner
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Cody, WY
ModeratorReplied Nov 3 2022, 05:04
Quote from @Alda Watlington:

I am a investor in a STR and a Realtor in Florida and Tennessee, I realized I've been doing things wrong, and not growing. I am looking to learn new ways of financing and investing and diversify.


 Welcome to the BiggerPockets forums!

The first step is admitting you have a problem. ;)

I don't know enough about you to provide much guidance. Here's some basic beginner advice. Maybe it will spur some more specific questions?

1. Start with BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginners Guide (free). It will familiarize you with the basic terminology and benefits. Then you can read a more in-depth book like The Book On Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner or The Unofficial Guide to Real Estate Investing by Spencer Strauss.

2. Get your finances in order. Get rid of debt, build a budget, and save. The idea that you can build wealth without putting any money into it is a recipe for disaster and the sales pitch of gurus trying to steal your money. A wise investor will not try to get rich quick with shortcuts. If you can't keep control of your personal finances, you are highly unlikely to succeed in real estate investing. Check out my personal favorite, Set For Life by Scott Trench , or The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey.

3. As you read these books, watch the BiggerPockets podcasts. This will clarify and reinforce what you are reading. You can hear real-world examples of how others have built their investment portfolio and (hopefully) learn to avoid their mistakes.

4. Now you need to figure out how to find deals and pay for them. Again, the BiggerPockets store has some books for this or you can learn by watching podcasts, reading blogs, and interacting on the forum. There is a handy search bar in the upper right that makes it easy to find previous discussions, blogs, podcasts, and other resources. BiggerPockets also has a calculator you can use to analyze deals and I highly recommend you start this as soon as possible, even if you are not ready to buy. If you consistently analyze properties, it will be much easier to recognize a good deal when it shows up. Find Brandon's videos on YouTube for the "four square" method of analyzing homes and practice. It doesn't take long to learn how to spot a good deal.

5. Study the market. You can learn to do this on your own or get a rockstar REALTOR to lead the way. I highly recommend a well-qualified REALTOR that works with investors and knows how to best help you.

6. Jump in! Far too many get stuck in the "paralysis by analysis" stage, thinking they just don't know enough to get started. The truth is, you could read 100 books and still not know enough because certain things need to be learned through trial-and-error. You don't need to know everything to get started; you just need a foundation to build on and the rest will come through experience and then refining your education.

You can build a basic understanding of investing in 3-6 months. How long it takes to be financially ready is different for everyone. Once you're ready, create a goal (e.g. "I will buy at least one single-family home, duplex, triplex, or fourplex before the end of 2019") and then do it. Real estate investing is a pretty forgiving world and the average person can still make money even with some pretty big mistakes.

  • Property Manager Wyoming (#12599)

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Alda Watlington
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  • Real Estate Agent
  • Orlando, FL
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Alda Watlington
Pro Member
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Orlando, FL
Replied Nov 3 2022, 09:01

Nathan Gesner,

I really appreciate your input. I am ready to start and ready to invest. I've done the Dave Ramsey program. I will be traveling for the next month, and I will be using the free time to go thru the podcasts and books. My plan is that 2023 will be year of transformation of our finances, and I don't expect to be easy. Let's get to work!!!

Thanks so much for the suggestions!

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Doug Spence
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  • Investor
  • San Diego, CA
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Doug Spence
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  • Investor
  • San Diego, CA
Replied Nov 3 2022, 09:56

@Alda Watlington Welcome to BP! One of the best things you can do is surround yourself with people who are already doing what you want to do, and find a way to provide value to them (without expecting anything in return). Joining a mastermind group is the best way to do this, in my opinion. There are lots out there for STR investing, being a realtor, and just general real estate investing.

Also go to local meetups if you aren't already!

Good luck and keep us updated on your journey!

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Replied Nov 3 2022, 10:08

Hi Alda,

I recently did the same thing. I had previous buy and holds and just changed my investing strategy to an STR. What helped me get motivated was a local Real Estate InvestHER meet up. It's a women's only investment meet-up. It's incredibly supportive and empowering. You could see if you have one in your area, and if you don't- you should start one! Check out the podcast and webpage.

https://www.therealestateinves...

Hope this helps!

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Alda Watlington
Pro Member
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Orlando, FL
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Alda Watlington
Pro Member
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Orlando, FL
Replied Nov 3 2022, 10:09

Doug Spence,

That's the plan! I will be connecting with other investors RE agents and mortgage professionals. Thank you!

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Alda Watlington
Pro Member
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Orlando, FL
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Alda Watlington
Pro Member
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Orlando, FL
Replied Nov 3 2022, 10:12

Thank you Traci,

I am already in a STR, we will keep it that way because it's successful, I want to branch to other types of investments, and learn how to finance it. I will check it out, Thanks!

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Trent Rogers
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  • Rental Property Investor
  • Louisville, TN
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Trent Rogers
Pro Member
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Louisville, TN
Replied Nov 10 2022, 08:04

I applaud your ability to analyze and pivot from your current business model. Most people operate under the mindset of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" and have a hard time stepping back to see things objectively. 

My wife and I are also restarting our journey after several years. I'm a native to the Knoxville/Maryville area and I'm glad to help anyway I can!

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John Williams
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Clarksville, TN
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John Williams
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Clarksville, TN
Replied Nov 10 2022, 10:01

Hello Alda! We operate an investment brokerage here in Clarksville. We are familiar with the STR space as well. I just wanted to reach out and offer myself as a resource to you in case you want to bounce some ideas off each other or talk about other growth strategies!

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Melissa Nash
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Orange County, CA
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Melissa Nash
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Orange County, CA
Replied Nov 10 2022, 10:34

Do you have good equity in your properties? Or value that you could do a 1031 exchange? This is how I expanded my portfolio:

This is the story of how I turned a property worth $260,000 into $2.1 mil

4 years ago I bought a condo in a ski resort town as and STR- the HOA got crazy and I wanted out even though it was cash flowing insane. I put the property up for sale on a Sunday night, and had 5 offers by Monday and we accepted the al cash offer. I called Dave and told him I needed his help asap. His team was extremely helpful making sure that I knew all the rules and timeframe. My profit margin was good and I didn't want to pay taxes on it. I wanted another STR...... I found one in another market, got outbid and continued to get outbid. I got creative (thats another long story) and finally got a property under contract. This property needed some work...... so I used the profits from property A, bought property B with the downpayment from profits of A. The new property was A LOT more expensive- but it covered ALL of the 20% down purchase price, the new property B needed work, and we got a great deal on it, so I pulled a BRRRR on it. We finished renovations in about 6 months, and I did a cash-out refi on it and purchased another STR (Property C). So, I got 2 properties out of selling 1 and both combined are valued much more and cashflow higher than just the A property; check out the numbers below.

The Deal

Property A profits: $180k (1031 exchange)

Property B purchase price :$700,000. (down payment from sale of property A)

Rehab property B

Refi property B at appraised value of $1.2 mil

Purchased property C with downpayment from property B refi.

Value of Property B & C = $2.1 mil +

Previous value of property A = $260k

Plus they are short term rentals and I make excellent cashflow.

And it gets even better.........I did a cost segregation last year on Property B and got $330k TAX CREDIT..... that is the power of Real Estate my friends! Happy investing!

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Dave Foster
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#1 1031 Exchanges Contributor
  • Qualified Intermediary for 1031 Exchanges
  • St. Petersburg, FL
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Dave Foster
Pro Member
#1 1031 Exchanges Contributor
  • Qualified Intermediary for 1031 Exchanges
  • St. Petersburg, FL
Replied Nov 10 2022, 18:59

@Alda Watlington, the 1031 exchange will let you diversify while not losing the use of any of your profits that would normally be lost to tax.  Using scale, scope and leverage along with 1031 can really help you ram up things.  Just like @Melissa Nash did.  And she did it like a champ!  Thanks for letting us be a part of your journey Melissa.  

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Melissa Nash
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Orange County, CA
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Melissa Nash
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Orange County, CA
Replied Nov 11 2022, 09:45
Quote from @Dave Foster:

@Alda Watlington, the 1031 exchange will let you diversify while not losing the use of any of your profits that would normally be lost to tax.  Using scale, scope and leverage along with 1031 can really help you ram up things.  Just like @Melissa Nash did.  And she did it like a champ!  Thanks for letting us be a part of your journey Melissa.  


 Couldn't do it without your team! :) 

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Alex Olson
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Kansas City Metro
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Alex Olson
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Kansas City Metro
Replied Nov 11 2022, 11:39

@Alda Watlington As @Dave Foster says, completing a 1031 exchange is a great, fast, safe way of growing your wealth. We have a lot of good examples of what investors have done with their 1031 exchange in Kansas City and I am happy to share those if you are interested?

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Paul Moore
Pro Member
  • Commercial Real Estate Fund Manager
  • Lynchburg, VA
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Paul Moore
Pro Member
  • Commercial Real Estate Fund Manager
  • Lynchburg, VA
Replied Nov 17 2022, 12:53

Hi @Alda Watlington! You got a lot of great advice above! 

I've been both a real estate broker and a real estate investor. Though it seems like they are closely related, I felt like the I was multitasking and I couldn't do either one to it's full potential. This may not be what you wanted to hear but I recommend that you consider eventually focusing all on investing or all on real estate brokerageThen do your very very best with that "one thing". Of course I recommend the great Gary Keller and Jay Papasan book "The One Thing." 

One way to pull off doing both well is making a lot of active income in real estate brokerage and investing in passive real estate. Through syndications, real estate funds, or being a local lender. Those who have taken this path have done quite well I think. Good luck and happy investing, have a wonderful year of education. 

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Alda Watlington
Pro Member
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Orlando, FL
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Alda Watlington
Pro Member
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Orlando, FL
Replied Feb 23 2023, 20:41

Hi @Paul Moore, thank you for the great advice. I will check it out the book. Having started in RE has been gratifying, I've learned so much, and that gives me more confidence on investing. And yes, we want to continue with STRs, maybe some LTRs.