Investor/Agent · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2016 · 77 posts · 25 votes
Hey guys, I'm Armand and I'm from West LA, California. I recently started listening to the podcasts, reading books, and studying for my agent's license.
I launched a company 1.5 years ago and had some tremendous success, winning USC's Top Business Venture and Entrepreneur of the Year awards. Unfortunately, we are now transitioning to closing down operations.
Personally: I have a whopping 6-digits of student loan debt. I'm battling between going corporate again vs. becoming an agent. I know I'd love the agent side with my entrepreneurial roots, but income is a big concern to me.
Any advice on both investing with student debt and the agent career choice would be awesome.
I'm also interested in learning more about the best areas in Los Angeles for "buy and hold" as well as the best places to buy a multi-family under an FHA loan.
@Armand Farr welcome to BP! I would highly suggest reading the Millionaire Real Estate Agent. With your background I bet you fall in love with the business model. You may also decide after reading it that an agent career is not for you. It does a good job explaining exactly what it takes to be successful.
You can make a lot of money in LA with an entrepreneurial mindset, and it is a great way to fund your investments. Your income is based on what effort you put into it. If you look at it as a business and put 100% into growing your business, money will not be a problem.
hi armand, welcome! just wished to introduce myself. formerly from washington, dc, i'm just getting started in the staging arena in california and i'm looking to make some connections. thanks and sincerely, sydney
Based on what you have said, you will need to take massive action and connect with the right people to gain momentum back to success. If you need quick and good returns be very careful where you buy and hold. So it all depends on how much you want to invest. Lots of hard and smart work is requires, but yes you can make it back to the top. Good Luck.
@Armand Farr Congrats on your success! It depends what you're trying to do. IMO I would do both. Return to corporate for the income while becoming an agent on the side(this gives you access to the MLS). You can use the income from the job to finance your real estate endeavors while also gaining extra income (commissions) from home selling. Do your homework, make a decision, and take action. All the best!
@Ayodeji Kuponiyi my only concern with double dipping is that it'd be tough to build a real practice while working a full-time corporate job. If I was going to become an agent, wouldn't it only be worthwhile if I fully dedicated myself to building a clientele?
Armand Farrokh What happened to the business, why weren't you able to pay off that 6 digit loan while you were at peak? Corporate only has its fixed income and nothing more. To me a day job is like a buy and hold thing, monthly income; I like my income to be flipping, large short bursts. I'd say having your skills as an entrepreneur, and location, you're better flipping than that of an agent.
@Manolo D. things were never tremendously profitable unfortunately and we've begun to sell off company assets.
I appreciate the feedback - I'd just have to get some income first before I started flipping because no-money financing is hard to pull off without the experience. That's why I was thinking of going the agent route (plus, it's just really fascinating to me) or possibly corporate.
Check out the free BiggerPockets Podcast - A weekly podcast with interviews and a ton of great advice. And you get the benefit of having over 100 past ones to catch up on.
Locate and attend 3 different local REIA club meetings great place to meet people gather resources and info. Here you will meet wholesalers who provide deals and rehabbers (cash buyers). Find them through Google and meetup.com
Consider checking out HUD homes for small multi's owner occupied gets first crack.
You might consider Niche or Specialized Housing like student housing. Rents can be 2-4 times more. Remember you don't have to own a property to control it.
Download BP’s newest book here some good due diligence in Chapter 10. Real Estate Rewind Starting over