Newbie to 5 units in 7 months!

Newbie to 5 units in 7 months!

Contractor · San Jose, CA · Member since 2018 · 262 posts · 407 votes
I want to personally thank the BP Community for being so helpful and very humble with all of the questions us newbies always have. With the help of this great network my wife and I were able to start our OOS investing career at the close of 2017 and we are very blessed and thankful to say that we currently have 5 units under our belt and are in the midst of acquiring 2 more before the close of this year with the amazing growth that we gained from our first unit which we are in the process of doing a cash out Refi on. Alot of people here in the Bay Area think that OOS investing is crazy, that I'm out of my mind and that you can never grow wealth this way and that you should invest here in the Bay and blah blah blah so it was very difficult to learn and go at this alone until I found this beautiful network of good folks doing it everyday! My thing was always, sure I can invest here in the Bay Area but by the time it would take me to acquire $150k down payment I could have taken the opportunity and purchased 5 properties out of state that cash flow positively getting more bang for my buck. All I needed was a good team in place which I'm blessed to say I have in the 2 markets that I'm currently vested in. Our first deal (SFR ranch is sitting at a 10% COC return after all expenses, vacancy, maintenance, capx,property management, PITI etc.. our second deal (4plex is sitting at an 8% after the same expenses with meat on the bone to get me closer to a 9.5%) For all of those that were newbies like me hearing negative things and that you cannot build wealth, I'm here to tell you that yes you can! We have so much valuable information at our fingertips to make this possible especially with the amazing community here on BP! Thank you again all, I'm humbled and very much appreciate all of you! Junior
124Reply
1,319 views

Most Popular Reply

Real Estate Investor · Palm Beach County, FL · Member since 2017 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
8y

You never mentioned where you are investing out-of-state.

See this reply in the discussion

227 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Member since 2017 · 2 posts · 0 votes
    8y

    Hey junior, I am also from san jose and hoping to start into real estate investing OOS as well, but I'm still trying to learn the beginning steps. I am only 21 and I only have about 8k personal cash and another 5-7k that i can borrow from a friend. What do you recommend , or what tips do you have for a beginner trying to get into it from scratch from the bay area. I keep getting alot of negative feedback from my peers saying that I don't have enough money to even get started into anything like that, would you agree ? if so, what should be my first steps to jumping into the real estate investing game? Thanks !

  • Real Estate Agent · Goleta, CA · Member since 2017 · 73 posts · 92 votes
    8y

    @Junior Picano congratulations! Sounds like your hard work has paid off. I'm in the same boat living in CA it's a difficult place to cash flow...I too invested OOS, North Carolina. And plans to do multifamily OOS as well. 

    Cheers and applause!!

  • Stamford, CT · Member since 2018 · 91 posts · 34 votes
    8y

    @Richard Alvarado  

    This is the advice I have for you.

    Step 1.  Create Wordpress site. (I Buy Houses)

    Step 2.  Create PPC campaign in BING and Google (Adwords) targeting motivated sellers.

    Step 3. Create thought leadership (for example your own REI network).

    Step 4.  Crack deal = money equation (so you know how to get deals under market and raise money)

    Step 5.  Co-wholesale with others.

    Do these 5 steps and you are golden.

  • Austin, TX · Member since 2018 · 12 posts · 7 votes
    8y
    @Junior Picanco Where so in Texas? We’re in Austin. We just picked up our first deal!
  • Specialist · Pasadena, CA · Member since 2017 · 40 posts · 4 votes
    8y
    @Junior Picanco thanks for sharing that’s great news keep going
  • Contractor · San Jose, CA · Member since 2018 · 262 posts · 407 votes
    8y
    Originally posted by @Amanda Swetman:
    @Junior Picanco Where so in Texas? We’re in Austin. We just picked up our first deal!

    Hi Amanda, We are actually relocating to the Austin area. We are looking at Cedar Park, Leander, Round rock area for our relocation. 

    Congrats on your first deal! 

    Best, 

    Junior 

  • Real Estate Coach · Round Rock, TX · Member since 2015 · 431 posts · 235 votes
    8y

    @Junior Soares Great to hear! Look me up when you get to the Austin area so we can connect for a cup of coffee! 

  • Contractor · San Jose, CA · Member since 2018 · 262 posts · 407 votes
    8y
    Originally posted by @Jeremy VanDelinder:

    @Junior Soares Great to hear! Look me up when you get to the Austin area so we can connect for a cup of coffee! 

    Absolutely Jeremy! we were just there a couple weeks back shopping around and we're returning in December to walk a few properties with our realtors. I will definitely connect with you. Thanks for reaching out! 

    Junior 

  • Real Estate Agent · Charlotte, NC · Member since 2015 · 70 posts · 25 votes
    8y

    Awesome to read through! Wishing you continued success, and hoping to replicate her in North Carolina

  • Member since 2018 · 25 posts · 3 votes
    8y

    Wow this is amazing. Good job!

    I too am in the same position. My family in San Jose tells me to invest there and my family in Los Angeles tells me to invest local as well. They can’t wrap their heads around OOS investing.

    I am a newbie with a baby on the way. I NEED to make this work. I am looking to invest in OOS. How did you pick your markets? How did you research it? Did you visit those markets? How did you meet and find the right team? I’d love to have a conversation with you and learn the details of what you did. 

  • Rental Property Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2011 · 122 posts · 67 votes
    8y

    @Junior Soares

    Congrats! Apologies if my question has been asked in the previous pages. Are these properties solely owned by you or did you partner? If you partnered, what was your role in the partnership?

  • Contractor · San Jose, CA · Member since 2018 · 262 posts · 407 votes
    8y
    Originally posted by @Jeffrey Almonte:

    @Junior Soares

    Congrats! Apologies if my question has been asked in the previous pages. Are these properties solely owned by you or did you partner? If you partnered, what was your role in the partnership?

     Hi Jeffrey, 

    These properties are all owned by an LLC

  • Contractor · San Jose, CA · Member since 2018 · 262 posts · 407 votes
    8y
    Originally posted by @Richard Alvarado:

    Hey junior, I am also from san jose and hoping to start into real estate investing OOS as well, but I'm still trying to learn the beginning steps. I am only 21 and I only have about 8k personal cash and another 5-7k that i can borrow from a friend. What do you recommend , or what tips do you have for a beginner trying to get into it from scratch from the bay area. I keep getting alot of negative feedback from my peers saying that I don't have enough money to even get started into anything like that, would you agree ? if so, what should be my first steps to jumping into the real estate investing game? Thanks !

    Hi Richard, how are you brother? 

    You may not like to hear what I have to say here but this is just my own personal opinion what how I prepared myself to get into this game. It took me 5 years to accomplish all of these things before I started doing RE. 

    Below is a list of everything I made sure I did before I started investing. 

    1) Paid off all of my bad debts. (Credit cards and a couple of high interest loans, (I still hold my school debt for tax purposes)

    2) I drove lyft, bought and sold cars whatever I had to do on the side to make more money!

    3) I worked hard to create a 6 month emergency fund that covers all of my finances in the event the life happens, which it will. 

    4) Then I started saving for a down payment on my first property. 

    During these 5 years of straightening out my finances and prepping for the first purchase, I read a ton of books, attended seminars, analyzed hundreds of deals just to get myself familiar with all of the numbers and what works and what doesn't.  Only when I was for sure items 1-4 above were met, did I start the hunt. 

    As for my second property, I didn't start saving for it until I had at least 3 months of expenses for my first property! 

    Some people will tell you to just dive right in and that's completely up to you because you can totally do that, but I personally am a little more conservative and error on the side of caution as best as I can. i'm not in a rush, and i'm not too concerned how many doors I have, as long as i'm profiting and keeping the ball rolling, eventually my freedom number will be met and then I can jump into this full time. 

    Junior 

  • Rental Property Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2018 · 13 posts · 8 votes
    8y

    @Junior Soares love your phylosophy of looking at it and I think that was the right way to go. Definitely learned from it. Thanks for sharing. 

  • Contractor · San Jose, CA · Member since 2018 · 262 posts · 407 votes
    8y
    @Brian Zoh-neseh Mbangwana Absolutely, thank you for the comment. And I agree, this game is definitely something that needs to be prepared for. I'd hate to see someone put all of their money into getting that first deal with no safety net on the side and end up losing their shirt during an economic downturn. You have to have that safety net to hold down your portfolio in tough times.
  • Port Jervis, NY · Member since 2017 · 9 posts · 6 votes
    8y

    Great job!

  • Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2018 · 48 posts · 20 votes
    8y

    @Junior Soares Smart man. Better to feel *mostly* prepared than to rush in. There are so many potential points for failure in this game, and even though mistakes are inevitable and can provide a good education, there are other ways to learn that don't hurt quite as badly. Good on ya.

  • Member since 2016 · 8 posts · 6 votes
    8y

    @Junior Soares

    You should be so proud of yourself. This is inspiring. Is there a method that you recommend when it comes to assessing whether there is a good rental demand in any given area? I know that ultimately calling a local PM in that area would be helpful but I wonder if they are being honest. Thanks again for your story

  • New to Real Estate · San Francisco/Los Angeles · Member since 2021 · 5 posts · 2 votes
    5y

    @Junior Soares appreciate you sharing this man. Coming from a first-generation american and hungry background (currently in tech sales), I'm trying to explore how to do this from the bay area as well. Wondering if you might be opening to chatting for 5-15 minute ? Would love to learn more about you if you'd be up for it. Cheers,

    Dennis

  • Member since 2021 · 46 posts · 13 votes
    4y
    Originally posted by @Junior Soares:
    @Jacque Sacramento Good morning Jacque, sure no problem: Michigan SFR Ranch: Purchase Price: $85,000 DP All in: $17,000 including a few repairs Currently rented at $925 (3% below mkt) PITI: $550 Property Management: $90 Vacancy 5%: $45 Maint 5%: $45 Capx: $50 (will need roof in 10 yrs, all else fairly new) Net income: $145 (10% COC) Just got it appraised at $105k and in the process of doing a cash out refinance and purchase another property. Ohio 4 plex : Purchase price $106,000 Paid cash 106k Currently rented at $2,050 Property Tax: $210/M Property Mgt: $200 Insurance: $100/M Trash: $85 Water/Sewer: $200 Vacancy: $200 Maintenance $200 Capx: $200 (interior completely renovated, roof in about 5 years) Net income: $655 (on track for 8% this year with a few minor adjustments) I plan to do some minor exterior remodels, including paving 4 parking spaces in the back for the tenants and bring rents up to market at $2,250 within the next year and sell to get into a larger multi family. Both properties have 3 months worth of all expenses in each of their bank accounts.

    It seems like the second deal is less of a coc return than the first one percentage wise but dollar amount is more. I’m looking for my first oos property as well and is very challenging as I have to look far out of ny where I am for those 100-200k deals. Would love to know how you narrowed down to those markets. 
     

Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.