Ann Arbor, MI · Member since 2013 · 19 posts · 0 votes
hi i am a 29 yr old south east Michigan resident.. i am going to begin actively searching for my first real estate investment may 1st... i am starting by investing my own hard money .but i am still debating on weather to buy n hold or fix n flip
SFR Investor · Jacksonville, FL · Member since 2012 · 285 posts · 83 votes
13y
Scott W. J Scott You do realize he is in Ann Arbor, Michigan? Not exactly Illinois or Atlanta, GA. Maybe his market is not as hot as those in your locations. He may be able to do both as there may be more properties available to investors. It was a valid question and deserves the respect of appropriate answers.
Perhaps in order to get to know newbies, there should be a prerequisite to have everyone fill out a survey to list more about themselves so that we can help without commenting about Vegas, strippers, and answer in a constructive manner. We're all real estate professionals here, and would not respond if we did not care.
SFR Investor · Jacksonville, FL · Member since 2012 · 285 posts · 83 votes
13y
Noah Campbell I went to a tax seminar today by Al Aiello, and he knows a lot more about Real Estate taxes than I ever will in my lifetime. What he says is that we as investors, in order to (and you will learn more about this topic here and other sites) avoid being labeled a "dealer" by the IRS and instead being labeled as an "Investor", you will want to hold onto a few properties and use the capital raised from the buy/flip to feed the keepers. He has many more great strategies, but that is a good gist, to do both and when structured properly, the IRS looks more favorably on the Real Estate Investor.
I know no one gets into Real estate for the tax benefits, but paying taxes on capital gains are something we all have to do, so having a strategy for taxes is just as important as whether or not to buy and hold or buy and flip. I do both, so I am hopefully on the right path.
Ann Arbor, MI · Member since 2013 · 19 posts · 0 votes
13y
my original plan was to fix n flip for 1st yr to 2nd yr then start to acquire buy n hold properties .. the reason i want to start with fix n flips is to build capital to buy my buy n hold properties. but now i am second guessing that starting with 1 or 2 buy n hold properties might be a better beginner strategy
Investor · Sarasota, FL · Member since 2008 · 17k+ posts · 17k+ votes
13y
Asking that question is like asking, "What do I want to do tonight, go to a Vegas bachelor party or read a book?" There is no right answer -- it will very much depend on your personality, your situation, your skill set, etc. -- and most of all, it will depend on your short- and long-term goals.
Without knowing you and what your goals are, there's no way any of us can answer that question for you...
SFR Investor · Jacksonville, FL · Member since 2012 · 285 posts · 83 votes
13y
Scott W. J Scott You do realize he is in Ann Arbor, Michigan? Not exactly Illinois or Atlanta, GA. Maybe his market is not as hot as those in your locations. He may be able to do both as there may be more properties available to investors. It was a valid question and deserves the respect of appropriate answers.
Perhaps in order to get to know newbies, there should be a prerequisite to have everyone fill out a survey to list more about themselves so that we can help without commenting about Vegas, strippers, and answer in a constructive manner. We're all real estate professionals here, and would not respond if we did not care.
Investor · Sarasota, FL · Member since 2008 · 17k+ posts · 17k+ votes
13y
Originally posted by Jack Bobeck:
It was a valid question and deserves the respect of appropriate answers.
I'm sincerely confused why you didn't think my answer was "appropriate."
How could I possibly recommend one strategy vs the other without knowing a WHOLE LOT more information about him, his skills, his financial situation and his goals?
The "right" real estate strategy is a highly personal and subjective thing, and to advise someone you don't know ANYTHING about which one to chose (or to suggest they do both) is doing more of a disservice than saying you don't have enough information to even begin to have an opinion.
Perhaps in order to get to know newbies, there should be a prerequisite to have everyone fill out a survey to list more about themselves so that we can help without commenting about Vegas, strippers, and answer in a constructive manner. We're all real estate professionals here, and would not respond if we did not care.
I don't recall saying anything about strippers or saying anything even remotely inappropriate. My analogy was to make the point that the two strategies are relatively orthogonal (like a Vegas bachelor party vs reading a book).
Next time I'll use the analogy of choosing Chinese food vs burgers...is that less offensive?
Btw, if *ANYONE* else thinks my original reply was inappropriate, please let me know. If my appropriateness meter is mis-calibrated, I'll sincerely apologize for being inappropriate.
Ann Arbor, MI · Member since 2013 · 19 posts · 0 votes
13y
sorry i am new to b.p.... i am 29 yrs old n am currently living in a apartment .. i have paid my rent up for my lease which ends feb 11 2014 .. i recently came in to some money around $70,000.. i own my own car and do not have a car note.. i have the money to pay my bills on my apartment until my lease is up with out touching the money i have for real estate investing... this gives me roughly 9 months until i will have to start spending my investment capital on everyday life.. i have already hired a Realtor n have bin researching G.C ... i am currently unemployed n plan on real estate investing full time
Investor · Sarasota, FL · Member since 2008 · 17k+ posts · 17k+ votes
13y
Originally posted by Noah Campbell:
i recently came in to some money around $70,000....i am currently unemployed n plan on real estate investing full time
Those two sentences give a lot of information...
You have about $70,000 for real estate investing and you have no additional income. If you found a really great property to buy and hold, you could probably generate about 25% cash-on-cash return on your investment. 25% of $70,000 is $17,500 -- do you think you can live on $17,500 per year starting out?
If so, buy-and-hold is a viable starting strategy if that's the way you want to go.
If not, and unless you have the skills to target seller-financed properties, I would highly recommend NOT starting with a buy-and-hold strategy, regardless of any contrary advice you received above.
Rehabbing may be a better strategy, but again, without knowing more about you, your goals, your skills, etc., it's hard to say.
Ann Arbor, MI · Member since 2013 · 19 posts · 0 votes
13y
i am not trying to with hold any info that would help u give me any advice i am just not sure of the specifics that you would need from me to help me figure out the best real estate plan for me..
Investor · Sarasota, FL · Member since 2008 · 17k+ posts · 17k+ votes
13y
Originally posted by Noah Campbell:
i am not trying to with hold any info that would help u give me any advice i am just not sure of the specifics that you would need from me to help me figure out the best real estate plan for me..
Here are some questions just to get started:
- Do you have any real estate experience or skills?
- What type of investing interests you?
- How much time do you have to devote?
- Are you detailed oriented?
- Are you a creative thinker or more quantitative?
- How much money do you have and how much will you have access to?
- How much money do you need to earn?
- What is your local real estate market like? (there are about 20 more questions tied up in this one)
- If you were to pursue flipping, how much would a house cost in your area to purchase and rehab (in other words, what is typical for the types of houses that are flippable in your area?)
- What are your long-term goals?
Personally, I would suggest you spend some time reading and figure out for YOURSELF what the best strategy is...and then ask some questions once you have a basic understanding of the differences between investing techniques.
Ann Arbor, MI · Member since 2013 · 19 posts · 0 votes
13y
to be honest i have bin spending countless hours on b.p and reading books about flipping.. i have downloaded rehab spread seats from here on b..p . i have joined my local real estate investors group .. i have gone to home depot and lowes pricing materials.. i have spoke to different local G.Cs in my area.. i was focusi
Rental Property Investor · Phoenix/Lima, Arizona/OH · Member since 2012 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
13y
The fact that you are asking this question speaks very loudly the reality that you are not ready to put capital at risk. There are 2 speeds in RE, and reverse is fast and painful! Educate yourself - that's the thing to do right now... :)
Investor · Clarksville, IN · Member since 2012 · 226 posts · 96 votes
13y
Originally posted by J Scott:
Originally posted by Jack Bobeck:
It was a valid question and deserves the respect of appropriate answers.
I'm sincerely confused why you didn't think my answer was "appropriate."
How could I possibly recommend one strategy vs the other without knowing a WHOLE LOT more information about him, his skills, his financial situation and his goals?
The "right" real estate strategy is a highly personal and subjective thing, and to advise someone you don't know ANYTHING about which one to chose (or to suggest they do both) is doing more of a disservice than saying you don't have enough information to even begin to have an opinion.
Perhaps in order to get to know newbies, there should be a prerequisite to have everyone fill out a survey to list more about themselves so that we can help without commenting about Vegas, strippers, and answer in a constructive manner. We're all real estate professionals here, and would not respond if we did not care.
I don't recall saying anything about strippers or saying anything even remotely inappropriate. My analogy was to make the point that the two strategies are relatively orthogonal (like a Vegas bachelor party vs reading a book).
Next time I'll use the analogy of choosing Chinese food vs burgers...is that less offensive?
Btw, if *ANYONE* else thinks my original reply was inappropriate, please let me know. If my appropriateness meter is mis-calibrated, I'll sincerely apologize for being inappropriate.
... Runs to find dictionary .... Wow... Learned something new on BP today!
I thought it was funny and illustrated your point well.
Ann Arbor, MI · Member since 2013 · 19 posts · 0 votes
13y
i was focusing my plans on fix and flips because i can not live off the cash flow of one or two rental properties.. my five yr plan was to do fix and flips for the first two yrs of my real estate investing and then to acquire 2 buy and hold properties per yr after that while continuing to do fix and flips at the five yr mark i was going to re evalute
Investor · Howell, MI · Member since 2011 · 202 posts · 52 votes
13y
Noah,
BP is a great site. If you would ever like to get together to compare notes on the market, feel free to connect with me. I'm 20 min away from you. The market has turned in our area and you are getting in at the right time.
I invest in SFH 45 mins away from where I live because that area best suits my investment strategy; buy & hold. You are in the same market and have ample opportunities for either buy & hold or fix & flip.
Ann Arbor, MI · Member since 2013 · 19 posts · 0 votes
13y
i was focusing my plans on fix and flips because i can not live off the cash flow of one or two rental properties.. my five yr plan was to do fix and flips for the first two yrs of my real estate investing and then to acquire 2 buy and hold properties per yr after that while continuing to do fix and flips at the five yr mark i was going to re evaluate... in my market u can buy a 3 bdr 1 bt brick ranch style 1300 sq ft home in low crime area for $25000 ... flipping is harder to put a number on due to all the variables
Ann Arbor, MI · Member since 2013 · 19 posts · 0 votes
13y
geof that would be great but i am a newbie so i dont know how much u could gain from me but i would love to sit down n talk about are local market my email is [email protected]
Real Estate Agent · Henderson, NV · Member since 2011 · 1k+ posts · 550 votes
13y
I know we all hate this three letter word, but why not get a JOB to suppliment your nest egg? Buy and hold in your area can be done on a part time basis until you acquire several properties.