BiggerPockets Podcast 006: Investing While Holding a Full Time Job

BiggerPockets Podcast 006: Investing While Holding a Full Time Job

Brandon TurnerPro Member
Investor · Maui, HI · Member since 2009 · 13k+ posts · 3k+ votes

Investing in real estate while holding a full time job may not always get the most discussion in the real estate investing world – but there are thousands (if not millions) of investors who do just that. On today’s episode of the BiggerPockets Podcast, we sit down with Arthur Garcia, a busy part-time investor who has massed an impressive collection of rental properties while holding a full time job.

This show is filled with a ton of really great tips to help any investor – large or small – be more efficient with their investing time. In addition – this was probably the most humorous show to date!

In This Week's Podcast We Explore:

- How to invest when prices are too high in your area.
- How to get started with “buy and hold” investing when you don’t have much money or time.
- How to use use “cost to rebuild” to predict the future of your market.
- Why Arthur and his wife sold their primary residence to live in an apartment while buying rental property.
- The “super creative way” to find flexible lenders.
- How to find “Portfolio loans.”
- A great way to legally get around the “10 loan” limit for mortgages.
- Why investing while holding a job gives you an advantage.
- Tips for finding a great property manager.
- The story of a topless 90 year old woman that finally convinced Arthur to hire a property manager.

Check it out and listen to the show directly at:
BP Podcast 006: Investing While Holding a Full Time Job

Also, we've now got 100 5-Star reviews for the show in iTunes! If you have a minute, please take a moment to leave feedback and a rating for us on iTunes. These reviews and ratings definitely help us get more exposure, so please do help us out!

Finally - don't forget to "subscribe" to the show in iTunes, which also helps the show's visibility! Thanks.

1Reply
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Most Popular Reply

Real Estate Investor · Muncie, IN · Member since 2012 · 28 posts · 15 votes
13y

Joshua Dorkin - Best tag line ever at the end of a pod cast!

"...please do not take offense if you are a 90 year old naked woman, shoeless or have missing teeth, you're still welcome on biggerpockets.com."

See this reply in the discussion

28 Replies

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  • Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2011 · 52 posts · 11 votes
    13y

    Great stuff Brandon Turner! I have been following Arthur Garcia's blog as well. He's certainly done impressive in accumulating his little green houses.. on the side!

  • Joshua D.Pro Member
    BiggerPockets Founder · HI · Member since 2008 · 16k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    13y

    Thanks for checking the show out, Ben A!

    For those people who do listen, first, there is a ton of great info, but also, there are some really funny moments. Be sure to listen until the very end of the podcast . . .

  • Real Estate Investor · Muncie, IN · Member since 2012 · 28 posts · 15 votes
    13y

    Joshua Dorkin - Best tag line ever at the end of a pod cast!

    "...please do not take offense if you are a 90 year old naked woman, shoeless or have missing teeth, you're still welcome on biggerpockets.com."

  • Joshua D.Pro Member
    BiggerPockets Founder · HI · Member since 2008 · 16k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    13y

    My man P.J. Hankins . . . I'm glad you caught it! I still crack up when I hear it. You've got to listen to the whole show, of course, to get it.

  • Investor · Wichita Falls, TX · Member since 2010 · 3k+ posts · 603 votes
    13y

    I'm definitely going to listen to this one as I work full time and am working towards my first deal in the next few months!

  • Joshua D.Pro Member
    BiggerPockets Founder · HI · Member since 2008 · 16k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    13y

    Please let us know what you think once you've listened to the show, Mehran Kamari!

  • Lexington, KY · Member since 2009 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    13y

    Brandon Turner, Joshua Dorkin, Arthur Garcia...excellent show gentleman. You have a great story Arthur and you tell it very well. I learned some things and laughed a lot, you can't beat that.

    P.S. The tagline was epic!

  • Seattle, WA · Member since 2012 · 51 posts · 9 votes
    13y

    What an awesome podcast! I really enjoyed the parts that involved getting traditional loans and establishing a relationship with your lenders.

    One thing that I kept wanting to know was how @Arthur Garcia finds his deals since he's working full time. Does he primarily find his deals through agents, direct mail, or other methods?

    Thanks again for the awesome podcast! I love listening to these!

  • Joshua D.Pro Member
    BiggerPockets Founder · HI · Member since 2008 · 16k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    13y

    James Vermillion - I'm glad you enjoyed it! It was a load of fun to tape and I also learned a lot from Arthur Garcia. Perhaps he'll drop in on the thread after all these mentions he is getting ;)

    David Gellner - Thanks a lot! That was the stuff that I found really valuable too. Unfortunately, we ran out of time and didn't get to those questions. Perhaps Arthur can jump in here on on the Show 6 page and fill us in a little?

  • Joshua D.Pro Member
    BiggerPockets Founder · HI · Member since 2008 · 16k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    13y

    Just a quick note -- it appears that this is a VERY popular topic, as we've had more listens today than any other day. In fact, we may even double our next best day's listens. Good stuff!

    Keep listening, and of course, please leave us those reviews and be sure to subscribe over on iTunes.

  • Real Estate Investor · Bismarck, MO · Member since 2013 · 32 posts · 1 vote
    13y

    Going to download tonight. Thanks, love the audio. How do you guys choose the topic for a podcast? Any chance of having a poll or something for us at bp to see upcoming podcast?

  • Developer · Garland, TX · Member since 2008 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    13y

    I'm headed off the the bank at WalMart now that I know they'll finance my deals!

    This is another great episode. Congrats Joshua Dorkin and Brandon Turner on the runaway success of these pod casts.

  • Brandon TurnerPro Member
    OP
    Investor · Maui, HI · Member since 2009 · 13k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    13y

    Hahaha nice Jon Klaus! My Wal-Mart sadly has no bank... but there is a McDonalds. So maybe I'll get some food. :)

  • Specialist · San Dimas, CA · Member since 2011 · 350 posts · 122 votes
    13y

    Hey guys!

    First off, doing the show was a blast. Next time, I'll spend a little less time talking about toothless people and more time talking about how I operate my business - lol!

    Ben A - Good to see you're still around. I'll be posting more stuff on the BP blog as well as my own so stay tuned. I'm glad you enjoyed the podcast!

    P.J. Hankins - I just about fell out of my chair when I heard the disclaimer this morning. Who would have thought I would be so "edgy" as to need a disclaimer - lol! Thanks for tuning in!

    Mehran Kamari - Please download the show and share your thoughts/questions on the blog or here in the forum. I'd be happy to fill in any gaps I missed on the show!

    James Vermillion - Thanks for the kind words, especially coming for you! I still remember swapping stories over a few cold ones at the last BP summit. We'll have to do again at the next BP event!

    David Gellner - I'm glad you liked the podcast. You bring up a good point. I didn't get a chance to get into much detail on how I scout for new leads. I'll write a follow up forum post on this thread to address that. Also, this is a great topic for next weeks BP blog post , so keep your eyes pealed!

    Chris Cox - Please let us know your thoughts on this forum or on the BP blog page.

    Jon Klaus & Brandon L. - there may not be a bank in your local wallmart, but they'll be plenty of older women - lol!!

  • Investor · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2011 · 1k+ posts · 450 votes
    13y

    Arthur Garcia,

    Great interview, man. I just ordered that William Nickerson book on your recommendation.

  • Specialist · San Dimas, CA · Member since 2011 · 350 posts · 122 votes
    13y

    Brian Hoyt - Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it! The Nickerson book is great. It is a little dated (numbers, etc), but the content still holds true. Especially for us working folk ;0)

    Take care!

    AG

  • Specialist · San Dimas, CA · Member since 2011 · 350 posts · 122 votes
    13y

    David Gellner - as promised a more detailed response of how I get deals.

    I get about 90% of my deals via the MLS. That being said, I think I've found a creative way of gaining access to good solid deals. I made an agreement with one of my property managers that if he gave me access to the MLS , I would let him manage any rentals I end up purchasing. I've found that the good deals, when they are on the MLS, stay "active" for a matter of hours before they go "pending". Needless to say, speed is the name of the game.

    To stay on top of it, I usually check 2xs a day, when I am in acquisitions mode. If the market is really thin (like it is now), I check 3-4xs a day. Once I see a listing, I call the selling agent directly and try to get them to represent me in the transaction. I typically try to leverage my past purchases to put the realtor at ease. I want them to know, I'm not going to back out of a deal and that I will be the lowest maintenance buyer they will ever have. It isn't perfect, as it requires me looking at my phone to check email a few more times a day, but it is manageable.

    I should also mention that I KNOW my market. I'm not just talking in general, I talking - streets, zip codes, landmarks, etc. I know exactly where and what I like. I typically stick to 2-3 zip codes and only certain types of homes. This makes the MLS search super short and easy to look up.

    If you don't have a relationship with a realtor or PM. Here is my advice, google the name of your market and add MLS to the end of it - XYZ town MLS. Typically, this will take you to a few URLS that have an open MLS access. They won't likely have the name of the listing agent, only the home address. Once you have the address, enter it in google or Zillow to see if you can find the listing agent's info. It requires a few more steps, but is definitely doable. I know, I did that for the first 2 years.

    in the past 6 months, I've started to get leads from past realtors and family friends. I just wholesaled my friend's grandma's house to an investor in my market. These two leads have caused me set aside some capital to put toward direct marketing to sellers. I don't have much more to report on that front, but stay tuned on BP. I be posting updates on the BP Blog as I make more progress.

    I hope that helps you!

    AG

  • Real Estate Investor · Riverside, CA · Member since 2013 · 42 posts · 8 votes
    13y

    I listened to the podcast on my drive to my job today and really appreciated the insight on balancing your work and investing. I enjoyed hearing your story about how you got started, and you follow up post about what it takes to find good deals. I look forward to reading more of your posts.

  • Joshua D.Pro Member
    BiggerPockets Founder · HI · Member since 2008 · 16k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    13y

    Hey John McCombs - We did a session at our conference on the topic and it was a huge hit. We wanted to be sure to get a show in on the subject . . . we'll definitely come back to the topic again, as this one has proven to be very popular. Thanks for listening.

  • Investor · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2011 · 1k+ posts · 450 votes
    13y

    Arthur Garcia,

    When you make these offers on deals that stick to the MLS for only a couple of hours, I assume you do so without having seen anything but pics on the MLS.

    How do you get offers accepted when you haven't even looked at the property - and the listing agent likely knows this? Is this where your leveraging of past deals comes into play?

  • Specialist · San Dimas, CA · Member since 2011 · 350 posts · 122 votes
    13y

    Brian Hoyt - This is a great question!!!

    Once I get a hold of the agent (this can be 80% of the battle), I send my contractor out to the properties to walk the units. As I mentioned, I work full-time and I live 2 hours away from my market. There's pretty much no way to do it myself. That usually puts the agent at ease, I also leverage my past purchases to further calm them.

    Another thing to consider is an offer is just that - an offer. It isn't a commitment to buy only a demonstration of your intent to purchase. Even with all cash offers, REOs, sellers, short sales all have a 10 day inspection period. Getting a property under contact just gets you in the diver's seat before everyone else bids up the property. As of late, most of my deals have been asking for Highest and best, so having the agent represent you can help in getting the property.

    If that doesn't work for your situation, call the listing agents for the properties that are "pending" every few weeks to see if anything's fallen loose or if they have something else in the pipeline. This is especially useful for short sales. Many buyers don't have the patience to wait out the process. If you are there at the right time, you can scoop up a great deal.

    I hope that helps!

    AG

  • Rental Property Investor · Manchester, NH · Member since 2013 · 447 posts · 81 votes
    13y

    Great Job Joshua Dorkin Brandon Turner & Arthur Garcia. Very funny and insightful. I especially like the metric of comparing possible purchase cost to cost to build (plus land value)... definitely a good way to stay grounded!

  • Joshua D.Pro Member
    BiggerPockets Founder · HI · Member since 2008 · 16k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    13y

    I'm glad you found it valuable, Sean Brennan. As always, we try to bring solid information to our listeners.

  • Rental Property Investor · Manchester, NH · Member since 2013 · 447 posts · 81 votes
    13y

    Not sure about the grandma imagery though ;) Also need to pick up the that William Nickerson book I keep hearing about.

  • Joshua D.Pro Member
    BiggerPockets Founder · HI · Member since 2008 · 16k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    13y

    If you rent property for long enough, you're bound to have stories like that one, Sean! Still disturbing . . .

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