How to proceed?

Question

So you find a deal on a property ok now what? Do you take a contractor to look at the property with you? What if you cant get in to see it?  Do you walk through yourself  and come up with your own rehab cost? How do you proceed what is the next step. Im asking so that when i find that deal i can proceed thanks in advance.

Eric Mikesell · Answer

Thanks michael for your reply i'll have to look at the sticky post again.

Michael Bachman · Answer

Hi Erik,

I  was thinking of what you wrote earlier and if you have a contractor you can trust and find a killer deal  or fixer it would probably help to you have him walk through the house with you help you estimate rehab if s/he's available.  Maybe you can find one who wants to do a joint venture with you.  Best of luck at your REI meeting.  Keep us posted with your progress!

ps I also found the sticky threads at the top of this forum a big help.  Cheers!

Eric Mikesell · Answer

Thanks for the reply scott beck. I will look into the courses at a comunity college not sure if they have a program or not.  An i will be attending my first REIA meeting this month and hopefully i will find a mentor soon but if not i always have this site.

Scott Beck · Answer

@Eric Mikesell

It sounds like you are at a point where you might benefit from some mentoring. Do you have a local REIA or Real Estate Meet Up group where you can network with other real estate investors? If you do, that's great because you will get to meet seasoned investors that know your local market intimately. They can point you to good contractors and tell you which ones are not investor friendly. Some might be willing to walk you through your first deal.

Does you local community college offer real estate investment courses? In my county here in Texas we are fortunate to have a community college that offers classes for real estate investing. The classes here are taught by Realtors who focus on buying, selling, and renting properties. This is another good way to find local investor knowledgeable real estate agents and other investors.

Good luck!

Eric Mikesell · Answer

Thanks for your reply michael Bachman. I have done my homework, i have watched the youtube videos by bp and others that are part of bp. I have also written out my business plan for my investment future. As far as the books go. I will read some books when i get some extra cash but they bore the liveing crap out of me and put me to sleep. Now as far as which i would rather do buy n hold or flip. I am going to do both dont know which i will do first. I will make that decision when i need to. Im not going to put myself into a box to make everyone else feel better. Also if you have never done this how do you know what you want to do untill you try it. I have set up my key word alerts and use this site to the best of my ability (3 gen ipod). REIA meetings will be attending my first one this month already have business cards made up for it and my certificate printed out. I have not yet been able to view or attend the webinar yet. Brandon if you read this post would love to see them on youtube.   Please do not take this as a rant just me stateing facts i appreciate all the help i get from here so i say thank you one more time for your input.

Michael Bachman · Answer

Hi Eric,

Welcome to BP, I'm new here too...yet still green behind the ears.

It sounds like you need to do some more homework my friend. Some of the information posted above is great advice.  Read through it again maybe..this link below recommends some good books! Imho, you need to first realize if you want a fixer to flip, live-in then flip, fix and rent, etc. Take some time and write out what your current situation is, what your goals are and then actionable step listed in importance to achieve said goals.  Work down the list, rearrange if needed. Achieve your goals, hopefully. :)

Real Estate Book Recommendations

There is also podcasts, articles, blog posts, books and friendly people here will be able to help you more once you have a little more information on your goals, finances, and creative real estate ventures. I've also gotten a couple great emails from bp.com giving me information on how utilize this site and some great articles for aspiring investors.  Maybe you got these same emails too!

Brandon had a free webinar last night that provided good information for new investors.  I would recommend utilizing these valuable (inexpensive) resources as well as joining a local real estate investing group (perhaps check meetup.com) & looking for other local investors from this website. Watch what they do.  Ask the right questions, etc.

You can also create key word searches on here to include your area, etc. This will help you keep up to date and current to what's happening where you live.

One other thing I recommend is the podcast on maximizing productivity with David Allen: #117. Link for podcast.

Remember...the harder you work the luckier you get as they say.

Kind regards,

Michael

Eric Mikesell · Answer

Cool so as extra insurance got cha.

Ben Leybovich · Answer

Haha Cause you don't know shit so better safe than sorry. About a decade ago, before I knew shit, I added 20% and lost $10k :)

Eric Mikesell · Answer

Ok gotta ask why 40%? I know to add 20 to 30% for unexpected surprizes so or you saying 40% just for more Insurance?