When to begin building your team

Question

Hey everybody, My wife and I are saving, gathering information and lowering whatever small debt we have this year so we can hopefully buy our first rental property some time next year. I wanted to know from some experienced investors at what point along acquiring your first property, while saving and learning did you begin talking to real estate agents and lenders?

Caleb Brown · Answer

Sooner is good. Be upfront where you are at and timeline. If there is any meetups I would start attending those. Soak up knowledge and learn where you'll want to target

Dominic Rosato · Answer

Hi Jose honestly start talking to an investor friendly agent now even if you are a year out. A good one will help you get a feel for the market before you are ready to buy so when the time comes you can move fast. You will also learn a ton just from running numbers on deals together even if you are not buying yet. Lender conversation can happen a little later but sooner does not hurt especially if you want to understand what loan products fit your situation. Good luck to you and your wife.

Dominic Rosato · Answer

Just be upfront with them from the start. I wouldn't over think it. 1 year is not that far in the grand scheme of things and after your first conversation with an agent, they'll probably recommend a lender who can help advise HOW you can get your finances in order for the purchase.

If someone came to me 1+ years out from buying, I'd be more than happy to help.

Jose Mendez · Answer

@Dominic Rosato will they not feel like I'm wasting their time since my finances aren't 100% in order?

Shawn McCormick · Answer

Hi @Jose Mendez. I'm in Orlando and if you plan to invest locally you should really begin as soon as you can with deciding where you want to invest and why. Although Orlando is not that old of a city and many neighborhoods are cookie cutter, there are still areas to avoid and ones that will be stable, others that will see big growth in coming years etc. So understanding the landscape of what type of property you want, what your ideal tenant looks like and of course price point will all help you focus on the best investment to focus on.

Partnering with an agent and getting insight into data, trends and where opportunities may lie will be very beneficial if you use it. Understanding your 'buy box' and being disiplined to what is a good investment vs what you and your wife like will also be important. I see too many times where people want to like the house themselves and that gets in the way of evaluating the property correctly.

As for lenders, it's probably too early to seek that out now unless you want to learn about different loan types and maybe need credit counseling to make sure you are paying things off that actually need to be or it may be better for you to keep some of that debt until you are ready. Learn about DSCR loans if you think you want to scale into more properties.

Another thing you may want to consider is coming to REIA meet ups. I am part of CFRI (Central Florida Realty Investors) and its a great resource to meet other local investors, trades, lenders, property managers find off market properties and fine tune all the skills you'll need going forward.

Happy to have a call sometime. Reach out if I can help.

Best of luck!

Mark Thenhaus · Answer

Sooner then later. Connecting with a knowledgeable agent will help you gain access to all properties in the area you want to invest. This way as you save up money, you can watch the trends of that area and are ready to go when it comes time to invest. Definitely don't wait till you find a potential property to find an agent.