Kansas City, MO · Member since 2018 · 5 posts · 4 votes
Hi I’ve recently become interested in finding way to invest my money. I’m already in the stick market but the more I read it sounds like real estate is a great way for me to invest in my own. I’m here wondering what is a great first investment.
Hi I’ve recently become interested in finding way to invest my money. I’m already in the stick market but the more I read it sounds like real estate is a great way for me to invest in my own. I’m here wondering what is a great first investment.
Thanks in advance for the help.
Turnkey is really setup as a great way to streamline the buying & management process for investors who need to buy outside of their market as their market is expensive as all hell. Think Los Angeles or pretty much all of California for that matter. You my dude happen to live in Kansas City so you've got a leg up on the west coasters.
You can simply invest in your own town with relative ease & low cost. Hook up with a Realtor who works for a Property Management company. You'll be able to buy right off of the MLS & have all the management done for you. Passive & affordable. Good luck to you & I'll see you around the forums.
Hi Xavier - it's really hard to answer that question without knowing what your goals are. My first investment was a house hack and my second was an out of market turnkey. I definitely learned a lot from both of those opportunities and made a lot of connections that help me today. With that said - the turnkey was definitely not a great investment from a dollars and cents perspective.
Looks like you are in a great investment market. Are you open to doing your own research and pounding the pavement? If you are - then I wouldn't recommend a turnkey. If you are looking for something more passive, then consider the turnkey route.
@Nick Giulioni that’s was actually the kind of info I was wondering about. I think right now I do want to be more passive. I don’t think right now I really have to time to “pound the pavement”.
@Xavier Williams if that’s the case, then make sure to look for lots of reviews of whatever turnkey you want to use. The community up here is good at weeding out the bad ones.
@Nick Giulioni I live in California too ( Orange County ), do you buy rentals here or out of state? Sorry to ask I’m newbie, business owner working long hours and leaning towards turn key too for the first rental but at the same time concern to do business out of state where I can’t check in person the property. Thank you guys!
Hi I’ve recently become interested in finding way to invest my money. I’m already in the stick market but the more I read it sounds like real estate is a great way for me to invest in my own. I’m here wondering what is a great first investment.
Thanks in advance for the help.
Turnkey is really setup as a great way to streamline the buying & management process for investors who need to buy outside of their market as their market is expensive as all hell. Think Los Angeles or pretty much all of California for that matter. You my dude happen to live in Kansas City so you've got a leg up on the west coasters.
You can simply invest in your own town with relative ease & low cost. Hook up with a Realtor who works for a Property Management company. You'll be able to buy right off of the MLS & have all the management done for you. Passive & affordable. Good luck to you & I'll see you around the forums.
We have quite a few local KC people that invest with local turn key companies. They don't have to do all the work and can do what ever it is at their day job and get the rewards of rental property ownership.
@Nick Giulioni I live in California too ( Orange County ), do you buy rentals here or out of state? Sorry to ask I’m newbie, business owner working long hours and leaning towards turn key too for the first rental but at the same time concern to do business out of state where I can’t check in person the property. Thank you guys!
Just moved from OC and love it there. I don't currently buy any rentals in California but do buy out of state. Started with the turnkey but now going a different direction (buying with an agent). Generally there is more meat on the bone but ti does take additional work on my side.
@Xavier Williams I was once in the same boat you are in. I started with turnkey’s based on the fact I bought them from a reputable company and had a one year guarantee on the renovation. I also have a career however this Avenue gave me the opportunity to learn different aspects of investing, property management, the city of Baltimore and the various programs for section 8. Everyone would and should have a different perspective based on the differences in markets. I will admit I have had issues that kept me up at night that being stated having mentors is the key. The issues that would keep me up at night were actually minor to my mentors and they don’t mind providing assistance or guidance. (example: hole in the ceiling or flood in the basement).... I would say to you to do your homework and if it makes sense perhaps make the move. Just remember 2 things if you don’t remember anything else: ensure you manage the cash flow properly so “when” something major happens you won’t sweat it and 2nd don’t be afraid to think and of the work. It’s all a process... Best of luck to you!!!!
@Nick Giulioni thank you! I might need to start with turn key to learn then go with a realtor. Would you mind sharing your experience with turn key company and referral too? Thank you once again Nick!
Hi I’ve recently become interested in finding way to invest my money. I’m already in the stick market but the more I read it sounds like real estate is a great way for me to invest in my own. I’m here wondering what is a great first investment.
Thanks in advance for the help.
If your goal is "cash flow" and it should be if you want to live a comfortable life from now on, you can take a look at a couple of spreadsheets that give you insight into how the numbers work. I did the following spreadsheet for a client so he could picture the process and the results:
If you are local we can sit and have coffee and sort out your goals. Just PM me or email me.
I wouldn’t do a rehab for a first time investment, but it doesn’t have to be totally turnkey to make money and also avoid stress.
If you’re house hacking or self managing and don’t have a repair network you trust, closer to turn key will suck up less of your time. Making decisions on what needs addressed and who should do it can be taxing.
If property management will handle the little things that that pop up then you don’t have to get something that’s been totally remodeled. Just make sure you know how much life your water heater and HVAC have left and that you’ll have the cash or a home warranty to replace those items when they go.
Turnkeys are often poor investments. I'll make no further comments on this.
Kansas City is a place where there are cash flow opportunities, unlike California and NYC. So start in your backyard. Investing out of state brings many risks anyway.
I would really recommend the househack first. Don't do what I did, buy a townhouse condo with a steep monthly HOA fee in a tony neighborhood full of wannabe social-climbing trash with a pool and tennis courts. This is why I obsessively write about cutting your housing expenses in so many of my BP posts.
I tried to right my course about two years ago and move to a low-cost duplex in a low-cost neighborhood with neighbors who are not dead from the neck up about money. I'm still working on that duplex and still living in the condo because a whole lot of other crap keeps getting in the way. I would have been able to move a lot faster if I had just started with the duplex. As I get wiser about real estate and learn more, I'm getting sicker and sicker of the people I'm forced to live so close to in these sardine can condos and their ridiculous pretensions. My wife write unprintable things in a foreign language on every HOA check we submit every month to express her frustration about being robbed every month.
The ROI in NKC, where you are, is better than JOCO. Jackson, Wyandotte, Clay counties are more lucrative than OP, Leawood. We're in Jackson cnty, local KC broker/property management co. Good luck!
@Andre Pinheiro Hey, I am not going to give you a recommendation to turn key I used in Indianapolis because they did a pretty god awful job. Wish I could give you a referral, and wish I would have asked people here on the forum about it first.
@Andre Pinheiro Hey, I am not going to give you a recommendation to turn key I used in Indianapolis because they did a pretty god awful job. Wish I could give you a referral, and wish I would have asked people here on the forum about it first.
Why market do you want to invest in?
i'm still researching the market. I didn't decide yet and that's my concern about turnkeys I see so many complaints its pretty bad. I think the best thing to do now is decided the state to invest and then ask for referrals
@Andre Pinheiro Hey, I am not going to give you a recommendation to turn key I used in Indianapolis because they did a pretty god awful job. Wish I could give you a referral, and wish I would have asked people here on the forum about it first.
Why market do you want to invest in?
i'm still researching the market. I didn't decide yet and that's my concern about turnkeys I see so many complaints its pretty bad. I think the best thing to do now is decided the state to invest and then ask for referrals
Really smart approach. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help.
I prefer the ones that need a little bit of work as you can often get a better deal, but if you're going to get a loan - usually 25% down, you can actually end up spending more actual cash this way. 25% down, plus some rehab instead of 25% down with no rehab, but a higher PP. Just depends on the specific deal. Give me a shout if you want to discuss.
@Xavier Williams it depends on your definition of turn key. Usually when people say this, they are referring to companies that specifically buy and rehab, then often even find renters before selling to investors. Another definition of turn key is simply buying ready-to-go properties directly from another owner. So instead of using a turn key company, you are just shopping for properties that don't need rehab.
There is a good argument to be make that buying rent ready properties is a good strategy. It takes time and money to manage rehab. If you can buy a property where all the work is done and it is cash flowing day one, it really simplifies things and reduces risk.
Hey, @Xavier Williams, the fact that you're looking to invest in your own backyard already gives you a leg up compared to the out of state investors. There are many ways to get involved in real estate investing here. It depends on your goals, your risk tolerance, what arena you want to play in, and how much or how little capital you want to invest, among many other things. I call BS on anyone that states you have to have money to get started. Understand me correctly here, it certainly can help if you do but it's not necessary to get started. At some point you WILL need to connect or work with people who do have the money in order to really grow & scale things up but as you're getting rolling you won't necessarily need the money quite yet. What you REALLY need is the willingness to learn and the desire to grow. You can get involved in numerous ways to help you learn the ropes. One thing I'd recommend to ya is to get around the MAJOR PLAYERS. Whoever you can find that is CURRENTLY doing what you'd like to do, go seek them out and offer to assist them somehow. Get around the networking groups where they attend and keep asking around like you're doing. Who's REALLY doing lots of the types of deals YOU'D like to do; in a legal, moral, and ethical way, and what can you learn from them? You'll pick things up rather quick... I'd be happy to tell you about some of the experiences I've had and the realities of investing here. :)
It all depends on what you are trying to accomplish along with how comfortable you are with DYI projects. You can save a lot of money by doing the work yourself compared to hiring a contractor but at the same point you want to make sure it is legitimate. You obviously will get better deals with fixer uppers but expect to put in some sweat equity whereas turn key will generally save you time + energy. Get your feet wet in your area to be able to learn from experiences at an easier pace especially if you are the one managing it. Best of luck!