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Erick De casas
  • Real Estate Agent
  • San Ramon, CA
6
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New investor reaching out the BP community

Erick De casas
  • Real Estate Agent
  • San Ramon, CA
Posted Jun 23 2022, 21:12

Hey everyone! My name is Erick De Casas and like a lot of you (or all of you) i plan on investing in Real Estate in the future. Im in the California Bay Area but will most likely buy out of state to start. My goal is to do a few BRRRR's and a few short term rentals. Ive set a goal of spending 5 hours a week as of now to study different markets and analyze deals. I'm definitely looking to finding a mentor in my area. Im an electrician at the moment with 11 years of experience and I have a lot of friends in different trades, if you ever need help with anything electrical and don't mind showing me how you analyze deals id love to help! Thanks for all the value you all bring.

Erick

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Julio Gonzalez
Pro Member
#3 New Member Introductions Contributor
  • Specialist
  • West Palm Beach, FL
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Julio Gonzalez
Pro Member
#3 New Member Introductions Contributor
  • Specialist
  • West Palm Beach, FL
Replied Jun 24 2022, 03:06

Welcome to BiggerPockets, Erick! 

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Steven Foster Wilson
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Columbus, OH
3,437
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3,673
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Steven Foster Wilson
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Columbus, OH
Replied Jun 24 2022, 07:47
Quote from @Erick De casas:

Hey everyone! My name is Erick De Casas and like a lot of you (or all of you) i plan on investing in Real Estate in the future. Im in the California Bay Area but will most likely buy out of state to start. My goal is to do a few BRRRR's and a few short term rentals. Ive set a goal of spending 5 hours a week as of now to study different markets and analyze deals. I'm definitely looking to finding a mentor in my area. Im an electrician at the moment with 11 years of experience and I have a lot of friends in different trades, if you ever need help with anything electrical and don't mind showing me how you analyze deals id love to help! Thanks for all the value you all bring.

Erick


 Welcome Erick,

I think it is great that you are looking for a mentor. That is one of the biggest first steps that really helps. The bigger podcasts are really good as well as the book Rich dad Poor dad. 

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Anissa Olivares
  • San Antonio, TX
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Anissa Olivares
  • San Antonio, TX
Replied Jun 24 2022, 09:53

Erik, 

Welcome to BP and to the world of RE Investing. I applaud you on your due diligence and studying the markets. Especially since you want to invest out of state. 

I'm from San Antonio, TX which has a high rental percentage compared to homeowners. High in tourism, close driving distance to other major metropolitan areas and land. 

I encourage you to have mentors but definitely learn from everyone. Being an electrician you already know that there are costs that are usually looked over. The little things like fixtures, plug covers fire alarms, etc. These little things that newbies forget about can end up costing hundreds if not thousands. 

Just know that you always have the BP community as well as persona connections you will make to help along the way! GOOD LUCK !!

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14
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Erick De casas
  • Real Estate Agent
  • San Ramon, CA
6
Votes |
14
Posts
Erick De casas
  • Real Estate Agent
  • San Ramon, CA
Replied Jun 24 2022, 13:16
Quote from @Anissa Olivares:

Erik, 

Welcome to BP and to the world of RE Investing. I applaud you on your due diligence and studying the markets. Especially since you want to invest out of state. 

I'm from San Antonio, TX which has a high rental percentage compared to homeowners. High in tourism, close driving distance to other major metropolitan areas and land. 

I encourage you to have mentors but definitely learn from everyone. Being an electrician you already know that there are costs that are usually looked over. The little things like fixtures, plug covers fire alarms, etc. These little things that newbies forget about can end up costing hundreds if not thousands. 

Just know that you always have the BP community as well as persona connections you will make to help along the way! GOOD LUCK !!


 Thank you! And yeah I definitely understand the costs, especially hidden costs that can go wrong in Construction. Small things like making a list of materials for projects and estimating how long it’ll take me will help me in the long run. My biggest hurdle right now is financing so that’s what I’ll be focusing on. I’ll definitely check out the San Antonio market!

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14
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Erick De casas
  • Real Estate Agent
  • San Ramon, CA
6
Votes |
14
Posts
Erick De casas
  • Real Estate Agent
  • San Ramon, CA
Replied Jun 24 2022, 13:18
Quote from @Steven Foster Wilson:
Quote from @Erick De casas:

Hey everyone! My name is Erick De Casas and like a lot of you (or all of you) i plan on investing in Real Estate in the future. Im in the California Bay Area but will most likely buy out of state to start. My goal is to do a few BRRRR's and a few short term rentals. Ive set a goal of spending 5 hours a week as of now to study different markets and analyze deals. I'm definitely looking to finding a mentor in my area. Im an electrician at the moment with 11 years of experience and I have a lot of friends in different trades, if you ever need help with anything electrical and don't mind showing me how you analyze deals id love to help! Thanks for all the value you all bring.

Erick


 Welcome Erick,

I think it is great that you are looking for a mentor. That is one of the biggest first steps that really helps. The bigger podcasts are really good as well as the book Rich dad Poor dad. 


Of course, I listen to every episode along with the Real Estate Rookie podcast. Rich Dad Poor Dad was the one of the books that got me into this, but my personal favorite is The Richest Man in Babylon, thats the one that really opened my eyes and to seek financial freedom.  

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14
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6
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Erick De casas
  • Real Estate Agent
  • San Ramon, CA
6
Votes |
14
Posts
Erick De casas
  • Real Estate Agent
  • San Ramon, CA
Replied Jun 24 2022, 13:19
Quote from @Dennis Shirshikov:

Hey Erick, 

If you're just starting out you'll want someone that can work closely with you.

One of the best ways to start out is to have the analysis already done for you.

Browse the listings on Awning.com for an example of this.

Then you can analyze the properties and do your own math and research to see how it compares.

Let me know if you'd like to hop on a quick call!

Dennis


 I was looking at it on my break, I’ll definitely spend more time on it this weekend, thanks!

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318
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153
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Osazee Edebiri
Pro Member
  • Realtor
  • San Jose, CA
153
Votes |
318
Posts
Osazee Edebiri
Pro Member
  • Realtor
  • San Jose, CA
Replied Jun 29 2022, 18:32
Quote from @Erick De casas:

Hey everyone! My name is Erick De Casas and like a lot of you (or all of you) i plan on investing in Real Estate in the future. Im in the California Bay Area but will most likely buy out of state to start. My goal is to do a few BRRRR's and a few short term rentals. Ive set a goal of spending 5 hours a week as of now to study different markets and analyze deals. I'm definitely looking to finding a mentor in my area. Im an electrician at the moment with 11 years of experience and I have a lot of friends in different trades, if you ever need help with anything electrical and don't mind showing me how you analyze deals id love to help! Thanks for all the value you all bring.

Erick


 Hey Erick!

Welcome to the community. Hindsight is everything, if I were to start off over, I would focus primarily on getting multiple House Hacks here in California. Then after awhile get multis and still acquire a new house hack every year or two.

The reason why is because our Cali, especially in places like the Bay appreciate extremely well. Out of State is typically better for Cash Flow in the beginning, but even over time a Cali property has the potential to pass out of state because our rents are typically higher (rental appreciation, people don't talk about this as much). 

Also think if you get your first property and it cashflows $500 a month = $6000. If you get a $500,000 Cali property that appreciates say 10% that's $50,000. The out state property will appreciate too, but typically not as much. To me its a matter of what gets you your next deal quicker.

Amongst all the other added benefits - Owner Occupied financing is the cheapest way to finance your property purchase, at as low as 3.5% down. Most investment property loans will require a minimum of 25% down. So think about how your cash outlay looks as well.

Hope this thought process helps.

As far as mentorship, I recommend you attend local meet ups, that's what I starting doing in 2017 and you can meet some people that will really inspire you to action.

The David Greene Team Logo

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Matt K.
  • Walnut Creek, CA
2,916
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Matt K.
  • Walnut Creek, CA
Replied Jul 22 2022, 13:31
Quote from @Erick De casas:

Hey everyone! My name is Erick De Casas and like a lot of you (or all of you) i plan on investing in Real Estate in the future. Im in the California Bay Area but will most likely buy out of state to start. My goal is to do a few BRRRR's and a few short term rentals. Ive set a goal of spending 5 hours a week as of now to study different markets and analyze deals. I'm definitely looking to finding a mentor in my area. Im an electrician at the moment with 11 years of experience and I have a lot of friends in different trades, if you ever need help with anything electrical and don't mind showing me how you analyze deals id love to help! Thanks for all the value you all bring.

Erick


 I'll teach you everything thing I've learned if you help me update my ugly can lights lol

But on a more serious note, you got a huge advantage being in a trade and friends of others in different trades. The money side of stuff is different, but not that much different. You will have a better ability to see problems and fixes then most...and that'd give you an edge over a lot of your competition.

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Erick De casas
  • Real Estate Agent
  • San Ramon, CA
6
Votes |
14
Posts
Erick De casas
  • Real Estate Agent
  • San Ramon, CA
Replied Jul 22 2022, 14:00
Quote from @Matt K.:
Quote from @Erick De casas:

Hey everyone! My name is Erick De Casas and like a lot of you (or all of you) i plan on investing in Real Estate in the future. Im in the California Bay Area but will most likely buy out of state to start. My goal is to do a few BRRRR's and a few short term rentals. Ive set a goal of spending 5 hours a week as of now to study different markets and analyze deals. I'm definitely looking to finding a mentor in my area. Im an electrician at the moment with 11 years of experience and I have a lot of friends in different trades, if you ever need help with anything electrical and don't mind showing me how you analyze deals id love to help! Thanks for all the value you all bring.

Erick


 I'll teach you everything thing I've learned if you help me update my ugly can lights lol

But on a more serious note, you got a huge advantage being in a trade and friends of others in different trades. The money side of stuff is different, but not that much different. You will have a better ability to see problems and fixes then most...and that'd give you an edge over a lot of your competition.

That can be arranged!

User Stats

14
Posts
6
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Erick De casas
  • Real Estate Agent
  • San Ramon, CA
6
Votes |
14
Posts
Erick De casas
  • Real Estate Agent
  • San Ramon, CA
Replied Jul 30 2022, 21:06
Quote from @Osazee Edebiri:
Quote from @Erick De casas:

Hey everyone! My name is Erick De Casas and like a lot of you (or all of you) i plan on investing in Real Estate in the future. Im in the California Bay Area but will most likely buy out of state to start. My goal is to do a few BRRRR's and a few short term rentals. Ive set a goal of spending 5 hours a week as of now to study different markets and analyze deals. I'm definitely looking to finding a mentor in my area. Im an electrician at the moment with 11 years of experience and I have a lot of friends in different trades, if you ever need help with anything electrical and don't mind showing me how you analyze deals id love to help! Thanks for all the value you all bring.

Erick


 Hey Erick!

Welcome to the community. Hindsight is everything, if I were to start off over, I would focus primarily on getting multiple House Hacks here in California. Then after awhile get multis and still acquire a new house hack every year or two.

The reason why is because our Cali, especially in places like the Bay appreciate extremely well. Out of State is typically better for Cash Flow in the beginning, but even over time a Cali property has the potential to pass out of state because our rents are typically higher (rental appreciation, people don't talk about this as much). 

Also think if you get your first property and it cashflows $500 a month = $6000. If you get a $500,000 Cali property that appreciates say 10% that's $50,000. The out state property will appreciate too, but typically not as much. To me its a matter of what gets you your next deal quicker.

Amongst all the other added benefits - Owner Occupied financing is the cheapest way to finance your property purchase, at as low as 3.5% down. Most investment property loans will require a minimum of 25% down. So think about how your cash outlay looks as well.

Hope this thought process helps.

As far as mentorship, I recommend you attend local meet ups, that's what I starting doing in 2017 and you can meet some people that will really inspire you to action.


 Thank you! I’ll definitely keep that in mind. I gotta find local investor meet ups. 

User Stats

318
Posts
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Osazee Edebiri
Pro Member
  • Realtor
  • San Jose, CA
153
Votes |
318
Posts
Osazee Edebiri
Pro Member
  • Realtor
  • San Jose, CA
Replied Jul 30 2022, 23:25
Quote from @Erick De casas:
Quote from @Osazee Edebiri:
Quote from @Erick De casas:

Hey everyone! My name is Erick De Casas and like a lot of you (or all of you) i plan on investing in Real Estate in the future. Im in the California Bay Area but will most likely buy out of state to start. My goal is to do a few BRRRR's and a few short term rentals. Ive set a goal of spending 5 hours a week as of now to study different markets and analyze deals. I'm definitely looking to finding a mentor in my area. Im an electrician at the moment with 11 years of experience and I have a lot of friends in different trades, if you ever need help with anything electrical and don't mind showing me how you analyze deals id love to help! Thanks for all the value you all bring.

Erick


 Hey Erick!

Welcome to the community. Hindsight is everything, if I were to start off over, I would focus primarily on getting multiple House Hacks here in California. Then after awhile get multis and still acquire a new house hack every year or two.

The reason why is because our Cali, especially in places like the Bay appreciate extremely well. Out of State is typically better for Cash Flow in the beginning, but even over time a Cali property has the potential to pass out of state because our rents are typically higher (rental appreciation, people don't talk about this as much). 

Also think if you get your first property and it cashflows $500 a month = $6000. If you get a $500,000 Cali property that appreciates say 10% that's $50,000. The out state property will appreciate too, but typically not as much. To me its a matter of what gets you your next deal quicker.

Amongst all the other added benefits - Owner Occupied financing is the cheapest way to finance your property purchase, at as low as 3.5% down. Most investment property loans will require a minimum of 25% down. So think about how your cash outlay looks as well.

Hope this thought process helps.

As far as mentorship, I recommend you attend local meet ups, that's what I starting doing in 2017 and you can meet some people that will really inspire you to action.


 Thank you! I’ll definitely keep that in mind. I gotta find local investor meet ups. 

You can look here on BP or go on Meetup.com to find them.

The David Greene Team Logo

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463
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Becca F.
  • Rental Property Investor
  • San Francisco Bay Area
499
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463
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Becca F.
  • Rental Property Investor
  • San Francisco Bay Area
Replied Jul 31 2022, 01:16

Hi Erick,

I'm also in the Bay Area. My real estate investing started in Indiana. I rented out my house instead of selling it when I moved to California. You have great goals and allotting time to study markets and analyze deals is so important. 

Your experience and knowledge as an electrician will be really helpful when you look at potential rental properties. I just did a 4 month long renovation on a house in the Bay Area which initially was supposed to be mostly cosmetic. The contractor uncovered major electrical wiring problems after the demo. The electrician did a walk through with me and showed me all the problem areas (burn marks in the wood beams behind the sheetrock from the old knob and tube wiring in an older home). All the electrical wiring was updated in every single room and the proper number of smoke detectors and electrical outlets were also installed and it passed inspection. 

I also read Rich Dad Poor Dad. I get a lot of information on YouTube. I watch Morris Invests. InvestWithAce (Elliot@InvestwithAce) and Sam Primm have lots of free information. Ace talks a lot about tax benefits of owning rentals and how to register an LLC on Instagram. I would ignore the parts where they try to get to buy products and a mentorship program and listen to just the free information in their videos.Good luck!

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Erick De casas
  • Real Estate Agent
  • San Ramon, CA
6
Votes |
14
Posts
Erick De casas
  • Real Estate Agent
  • San Ramon, CA
Replied Jul 31 2022, 06:39
Quote from @Becca F.:

Hi Erick,

I'm also in the Bay Area. My real estate investing started in Indiana. I rented out my house instead of selling it when I moved to California. You have great goals and allotting time to study markets and analyze deals is so important. 

Your experience and knowledge as an electrician will be really helpful when you look at potential rental properties. I just did a 4 month long renovation on a house in the Bay Area which initially was supposed to be mostly cosmetic. The contractor uncovered major electrical wiring problems after the demo. The electrician did a walk through with me and showed me all the problem areas (burn marks in the wood beams behind the sheetrock from the old knob and tube wiring in an older home). All the electrical wiring was updated in every single room and the proper number of smoke detectors and electrical outlets were also installed and it passed inspection. 

I also read Rich Dad Poor Dad. I get a lot of information on YouTube. I watch Morris Invests. InvestWithAce (Elliot@InvestwithAce) and Sam Primm have lots of free information. Ace talks a lot about tax benefits of owning rentals and how to register an LLC on Instagram. I would ignore the parts where they try to get to buy products and a mentorship program and listen to just the free information in their videos.Good luck!

Thanks for the advice. Rich Dad Poor Dad is one of my favorite books, great recommendation. And whenever you hear knob & tube know that a full rewire is on the way along with zinsco panels and federal pacific! 

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463
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499
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Becca F.
  • Rental Property Investor
  • San Francisco Bay Area
499
Votes |
463
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Becca F.
  • Rental Property Investor
  • San Francisco Bay Area
Replied Jul 31 2022, 08:34

@Erick De casas

It scares me that so many people are living in older homes with bad electrical wiring. And that many people focus on how pretty the house looks (nice floors, cabinets, etc) when buying but there could be major problems underneath. The electrician gave me lots of helpful advice and that I could buy an inexpensive tester and that electrical outlets should be three pronged. I would have never known this - I almost decided to just have the kitchen cabinet doors refaced. Good thing I didn't. They did a new electrical panel also. Now the house is safe for renters and future buyers, if I should sell it in the future. Thanks!

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Erick De casas
  • Real Estate Agent
  • San Ramon, CA
6
Votes |
14
Posts
Erick De casas
  • Real Estate Agent
  • San Ramon, CA
Replied Jul 31 2022, 08:43
Quote from @Becca F.:

@Erick De casas

It scares me that so many people are living in older homes with bad electrical wiring. And that many people focus on how pretty the house looks (nice floors, cabinets, etc) when buying but there could be major problems underneath. The electrician gave me lots of helpful advice and that I could buy an inexpensive tester and that electrical outlets should be three pronged. I would have never known this - I almost decided to just have the kitchen cabinet doors refaced. Good thing I didn't. They did a new electrical panel also. Now the house is safe for renters and future buyers, if I should sell it in the future. Thanks!

That’s a good electrician right there, keep him as your go to guy. I definitely recommend you carry one of those testers whenever you walk a house. A lot of times they change receptacles to be three pronged but there’s no ground wire there so it’s not up to code. And make sure they install arc fault breakers in the sub panel, they’re the ones that have a white button on them and add another layer of safety. 

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Replied Nov 3 2022, 22:39

Hey Erick. My parents helped me in my initial real estate investments. They took out their home equity for helping me. I quitted my boring job 3 years ago and I am focused on managing my 8 rental properties. I am now financially independent. Big thanks to my parents!!! To jump start, you can consider tapping onto your home equity (or your parents' one) and make your initial real estate investment. Happy to chat more if you are interested.