Looking to Help Beginners ! (Investing , Financing, Managing)

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Looking to Help Beginners ! (Investing , Financing, Managing)

Account Closed
Upstate, NY · Member since 2016 · 200 posts · 277 votes

Hey all,

 I am on bigger pockets simply because I want to help beginners make that leap like I had to all on my own before I knew about bigger pockets.  A quick blurb on my experience : 

I am a serial House Hacker 

I am a Bank Manager for a large Bank 

My wife is a Real estate Agent specializing in Flips and Investment Properties

My friend and I have a total of 104 rentals in our area which are all self managed he owns the bulk of the 104 rentals

Also my father is an attorney and my mother is and has been a real estate agent my whole life.

I have lived with tenants , managed my own properties, helped grow and develop a property management team,  helped investors find deals,  helped investors get financing , and a bit more ! 

That all being said I have a bit of experience in buy and hold , financing traditional and creative , self managing, and MLS deals and using the MLS. I am still learning myself (always will be) but I feel like I can help people analyzing deals and making the leap into REI!

Please feel free to ask anything that comes to mind and I will try my best to answer all questions. 

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Most Popular Reply

Pao Yang
Real Estate Professional · Oak Creek, WI · Member since 2016 · 4 posts · 9 votes
9y

Hello,

I'm new to REI, just graduated from college, and fell upon Robert Kiyosaki's books. It lead me to start watching REI webinar, and and attend seminars. Learned a great deal, and they keep saying take action. Only problem is, where do I even start?! REI is and has so many strategies and topics, where does a beginner even begin to take action? I'm currently enrolled in Rich dad's seminar 3 day beginners real estate program ( Plan to stop due to high fees for the program). I've been reading REI books, mostly general strategies. And I've been analyzing properties mostly on the MLS. I'm trying to connect with local REI clubs, and meets with local BP, as well as local REI investors/agents. All of this is a load of great information, but doesn't really have a decent structure on where someone like me with no experience even begin. Any suggestions would help.

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  • Kevin Branin
    Real Estate Agent · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2016 · 115 posts · 61 votes
    9y
    Bryant Schur , I'm looking to do my first flip in Philadelphia. I have 2 Questions: 1. Do I acquire the deal first with earnest money in escrow and then apply for hard money? 2. How do you figure out what a reasonable profit on a flip is?
    1Reply
  • Account Closed
    Investor · Brooklyn, NY · Member since 2016 · 22 posts · 8 votes
    9y

    @Account Closed  

    Hello! Thank you for sharing your time and experience!

    I live and work in Brooklyn ny. I have excellent credit. I just lack financing. I'm interested in house hacking Where should I start. Who should I speak with in order to close that first deal. 

    1Reply
  • Diane Manders
    Flipper/Rehabber · Patchogue, NY · Member since 2015 · 73 posts · 29 votes
    9y

    Hey @Bryant Schur.  How amazing of you to do this - thank you! I am a solid believer in updating and beautifying the home and the area along with it so that while increasing the value of your investment, you are also changing neighborhoods for the better.  Love that you mentioned that in one of your earlier responses as its really nice to hear another investor say they'd like to use this vehicle as a way to give back - especially another New Yorker! It seems some investors loose sight of the fact that their investments are going to be someone else's home.   Since I'm in LI, I am looking for buy and holds up in your area as its only a few hours from me and would love to know what areas you'd recommend as being up and coming and places that investing in could make a great difference?

    1Reply
  • Michael Eng
    New York, NY · Member since 2016 · 44 posts · 13 votes
    9y
    Bryant Schur Hello Bryant, thanks so much for helping beginners like us. I'm from NYC but can't quite afford property in my area. I was looking out of state to get started. Would you recommend turnkey investing, or would you suggest a different method? I will visit the area I'm looking to invest in, but how would you make the most of the time there (what would you prioritize/set up beforehand) Thanks again for helping all of us, appreciate it!
    0Reply
  • Deonte Singleton
    New to Real Estate · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2016 · 48 posts · 9 votes
    9y
    Hello mr. Bryant I would love to get where you are I have started wholesaling but want to invest in rentals and would love to hear and learn more about how you got started!
    1Reply
  • Alan Ferrara
    Westfield, IN · Member since 2016 · 7 posts · 1 vote
    9y

    @Joseph F. the extra 70k may be taking into account the cost of the utilities run underground to the home (water, sewer,electricity and cable/phone) and if the basement is block and concrete, should be very salvageable if the fire was in the attic and upper floors of the home.  Its not cheap to have a basement dug in and built.

    0Reply
  • Kofi Boateng
    Lawrenceville, GA · Member since 2016 · 17 posts · 3 votes
    9y
    Question? How do I evaluate a duplex for sale in say the Austin market where the market is hot right now. Should I start from the ARV number less all the fixes that are identified during inspections/appraisal? What number should I use for the LTV? Assuming property is already rented. Let say ARV for a duplex is $300,000. What should the offer number be based on details above?
    0Reply
  • Jeff Efird
    Kannapolis, NC · Member since 2016 · 3 posts · 1 vote
    9y

    Any advice for a second generation contractor looking to get into flipping homes and BRRR

    0Reply
  • Bonnie LowPro Member
    Lender · Asheville, NC · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    9y

    Bryant, this is a very generous offer so thanks for putting yourself out there! I do have a question for you. I posted this in the forum a few weeks ago and only got one reply that was well-intentioned but not super helpful. Since you've been a house hacker, I'm guessing  you're going to have some great insight.

    My husband and I are investors - specifically flippers - but we're working our way towards buy and hold. We happened to find a property locally that we're thinking of buying to flip and make it our primary residence for the next 2-5 years. Up until now, we haven't been looking at owner-occupied properties. We were happy to stay in our current home and focus on investing in other properties. However, this house is in a great neighborhood, on a great piece of property that suits our lifestyle, we think it has great flip opportunity AND would make a great house for us for the next few years. So we're seriously considering house hacking. Holding on to it will also help with capital gains. My question to you is, how do you figure your soft costs on a long term house hack? Normally, we budget for commissions, mortgage payments, taxes, utilities, escrow fees, etc. Do you use these same numbers on a long term house hack? Seems like you would be paying a mortgage on your primary residence anyway and if you're holding the property for at least 2 years, it kind of skews your profit numbers. What would you suggest?

    [email protected]
    0Reply
  • Nick G.
    Investor · Plainfield, NJ · Member since 2016 · 21 posts · 4 votes
    9y

    @Jena Richards 

    I have done 2 short sale purchases in NJ. The first went pretty smoothly but the second took about a year to close. Some banks are better than others. On my 2nd deal the bank was extremely unresponsive and slow. In the end we had to go high up in the bank management to get things done.

    0Reply
  • Aqil Dharamsey
    Rental Property Investor · Rochester, NY · Member since 2016 · 303 posts · 154 votes
    9y
    Hey Bryant Schur thanks for help here. I am a seasoned investor looking for financing all the time. I mainly invest in rochester ny. Where are you investing and do you work in the area. I have been told that working with local banks usually help secure financing quicker rather then going to the "big box" banks. Thanks
    0Reply
  • Eddie Pina
    Mission, TX · Member since 2016 · 8 posts · 1 vote
    9y
    Bryant Schur i have a? How many times can u apply for a fha loan to house hack. And do the same benefits apply to 203k as fha loans. I just want to put less money and get multiple real estate. Also how many loans can u eventually acquire is there a limit. I have pretty good credit and ive been working straight for the past 5 years
    0Reply
  • Justin Young
    Investor · Honolulu, HI · Member since 2016 · 362 posts · 93 votes
    9y

    Thank you @Account Closed for reaching out to the community and lending your experience to us.

    I've become very eager to get started out of state with single family because it seemed as though it would be the easier route when compared to multi-family apartments. But as I go through the process of building my boots on the ground, its becoming clear that there is just as much work in going the SFR route as there is going the MFH route. My question is how would you approach a real estate broker to build that relationship with them to let them know that you mean business? I will be increasing my analytic skills to become more reputable when I speak with them but in the end, I'm still a rookie with one SFR at the moment. What would make them invest with me? I ask myself that question often and am torn on what route to take. The SF route seems easier in the lender's perspective because they would look at my financial standpoint whereas the MF road would require more research on finding the right property that has a value-add opportunity.

    I appreciate all that you've provided so far and am looking forward to hearing back from you.

    0Reply
  • Anthony Musi
    Coraopolis, PA · Member since 2017 · 5 posts · 0 votes
    9y

    Hi Bryant, I really need some expert advice here because I personally don't have many people to ask. I've been studying RE investing and following bigger pockets for quite some time now. I have my mind completely set on buying Duplexs/Triplexs or SFH in my area and renting them out and managing them myself. I'm 23 years old with a Full time job with pretty decent income over 50k.


    I just have enough saved to afford a down payment on a decent duplex/triplex, but I am looking to currently take a mortgage out for the small cheap house I have been paying rent for through college. I am afraid to take this mortgage out, will I then not be approved for a second mortgage if this initial house im living in is valued at 60,000 and I use a mortgage for myself?

    School debt is all paid off and my only payments would go towards my car and this small house and I could afford monthly payments on a initial investment property mortgage but will banks not accept me because I will have my own mortgage out soon? Any advice?

    0Reply
  • Clayton PlankPro Member
    Investor · Jacksonville, FL · Member since 2012 · 122 posts · 46 votes
    9y

    @Account Closed haha. I feel like you started your own "fire round".

    @Ryan Luby

    @Ryan Luby do you have a price on this property? Is it listed for sale? Have you talked with the owner? You don't know what kind of deal he may be up for. Maybe the owner is highly motivated and will partner with you since he is absentee. Never hurts to ask. Maybe you could look at finding a partner with the money and you can work out a deal where you would manage the property for a percentage.

    @Kevin Branin I would look at securing the money first. If you put that earnest money down and the hard money lender doesn't see the same numbers as you and won't loan then you will be out that money. Reasonable profit is for you to determine sir. In my first deal my reasonable profit was not to be in the red. Haha

    @Account Closed since you are looking to house hack try getting pre approved at a bank. This will let you know what your working with funds wise. Then go find a property that would fit in that range. I prefer to find a multifamily that I could afford on my own without any other units rented. That way if I have all vacancies I know that I can afford to pay the mortgage on my own.

    @Michael Eng turnkey rentals are good for out of state beginners. I would do my due diligence on them though. I have seen some that were advertised with tenants in place at a high rent so the numbers looked good and as soon as the property was bought the tenant moved out several months later and they were stuck with a property that would not rent at those numbers again.

    @Kofi Boateng ARV - (Repairs) - (Holding Costs) - (Purchase-Sales costs) - (Wanted Profit) = Offer

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    OP
    Upstate, NY · Member since 2016 · 200 posts · 277 votes
    9y

    @Ryan Luby 

    Having reserves is important because things can go wrong when you first by a rental . You do not want to put yourself in a poor position. I would check your area REIA and see if you can't find a partner that will help with the financial side of the deal. This will take a ton of pressure and risk off of the deal. Also ask around your family and friends . It seems the more I talk and get excited about real estate people who want to do a deal with me come out of the wood work.

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    OP
    Upstate, NY · Member since 2016 · 200 posts · 277 votes
    9y

    @Kevin Branin

    @Clayton Plank could most likely answer this better as seems to be very knowledge with flips !

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    OP
    Upstate, NY · Member since 2016 · 200 posts · 277 votes
    9y

    @Account Closed

    I would start with figuring out what your plan is .  If you want to house hack and stay forever you will be looking at different homes that if you wanted to house hack and move out in 1 year and make cash flow.  What I would start with is running the numbers of local houses on BiggerPockets buy and hold calculator to see what makes money and what doesn't in your area.  Once I plugged in a ton of homes I would most likely start looking at ones that are attractive and start to talk with an MLO at a local bank about my plan .  They will be able to assist from that point forward .

    The main point is make a plan , learn to run numbers , take action. 

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    OP
    Upstate, NY · Member since 2016 · 200 posts · 277 votes
    9y

    @Clayton Plank 

    You don't understand how much I appreciate your help!  

    I thought maybe a few people would connect and I would dig deep with them this is way more awesome though haha.  I hope more people in the community start to pitch in as well !  These investors all are looking for guidance and we can help them !

    Also the post is blowing up but you should see my inbox hahaha .

    Thanks so much ! 

    1Reply
  • Isaac Huerta
    Real Estate Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2016 · 21 posts · 10 votes
    9y

    @Account Closed Hello, Bryant! First of all, I want to thank you for your willingness to help newbies. I truly admire people who share their knowledge with others. 

    I am a newbie myself and have a lots of questions regarding Real Estate Investing. However, I see that you are a savvy house hacker and that is one thing I'm interested in doing. My question is, what would your best advice be to someone who doesn't have much financial capital (and therefore has to look for a money partner), but is looking to house hack the property? Would you recommend I tell my money partner that I can manage the property in exchange of their money? 

    Once again, thank you for your help and I hope to hear back from you! 

    1Reply
  • Account Closed
    OP
    Upstate, NY · Member since 2016 · 200 posts · 277 votes
    9y

    @Account Closed Clayton is spot on with his response as well!  

    You do need to know what you can get approved for . Just make sure you do this when you are ready to take action because you do not want to ding your credit score every 30-60 days for a new pre approval .  

    If you feel comfortable with analyzing deals and find a price point you are ok with being some comps to a MLO and see if they can make it work in that price range 

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    OP
    Upstate, NY · Member since 2016 · 200 posts · 277 votes
    9y
    Originally posted by @Diane Manders:

    Hey @Bryant Schur.  How amazing of you to do this - thank you! I am a solid believer in updating and beautifying the home and the area along with it so that while increasing the value of your investment, you are also changing neighborhoods for the better.  Love that you mentioned that in one of your earlier responses as its really nice to hear another investor say they'd like to use this vehicle as a way to give back - especially another New Yorker! It seems some investors loose sight of the fact that their investments are going to be someone else's home.   Since I'm in LI, I am looking for buy and holds up in your area as its only a few hours from me and would love to know what areas you'd recommend as being up and coming and places that investing in could make a great difference?

    Diane ,  look into the areas around Schenectady .  A huge Cassino is opening up in Schenectady next month and things are going to change big time around here .  We will probably have some new slums and some new prestigious areas due to the casino .  That being said I will refrain from saying specific areas for sure until I see the impact this will have.  One area I have my eye on is rotterdam , ny I think people will want to move a bit away from the cassino and this is an area that has a bunch of distressed properties for cheap .  Taxes are a bit high but some deals are still worth it ! 

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    Investor · Brooklyn, NY · Member since 2016 · 22 posts · 8 votes
    9y

    Thank you very much. I practice running numbers an hour a day. I haven't spoken to an mlo yet so that's my next step

    1Reply
  • Francis DaSilva
    Manchester , NH · Member since 2016 · 11 posts · 2 votes
    9y
    Hey Bryant Schur thanks for coming on here and offering to help hopefully when I become more literate on wholesaling and other aspects of the real estate business I would deff be doing what your doing! That's great keep up the great work! Success to all !
    0Reply
  • Tom Chen
    Real Estate Investor · Flushing, NY · Member since 2016 · 210 posts · 77 votes
    9y

    @Account Closed,

    Thank you so much for starting this thread. 

    I was wondering if you have any experience in Homestyle loans. Are they hard to qualify for, isthere a lot of paperwork involved, is it worth it?

    Thanks in advance!

    0Reply
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