Hey guys, my name is Chris and I've been watching the BP show on YouTube for a few months now and quickly became addicted.
Not sure if it's typical to ask a question in intro posts, but here it goes: what are the best resources to get a sense for a local market? I'd like to know where prices are typically at in certain areas, how fast houses are being bought etc. Is the MLS the best resource for this?
Truly appreciate what you guys do and look to be purchasing my first house via creative financing by 2017. Thanks to anyone for their thoughts on my question.
And with a little searching I found Brandon's webinar How to Find, Analyze, and Finance an Incredible Real Estate Deal! | BP Podcast 120 on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fcdBr2seBo
Thanks as always guys!
Hey @Chris M., welcome to the BP forums! It's an awesome place to read more, ask more questions, etc. The podcasts are a great place to start.
As far as analysis... Start with your own goals in mind. What type of property, what's your end game ideally? They all have different paths as you know, and different ways to analyze. Purchasing a buy and hold rental, most focus on cash flow and CoC returns. Very different analysis in any market than someone looking to flip.
There are always deals to be found in any area, and certainly better times in any market for different types of investments.
Your local MLS would be a great place to start as well digging into numbers in a given market. You'd need to become and agent to obtain access, or hire an agent to work for you on the purchase. That said, there are other places with lots of resources and data like a local REIA group, local forum posts here on BP, etc.
Best of luck as you gear up for your first purchase!
Hey @Shane Hedeen thanks for the detailed reply! Really appreciate this.
I'm interested in finding a real estate agent to get access to the MLS. Here is my idea currently (subject to change depending on continuing education/feedback): to get started in real estate investing I'd like to purchase a single family home in my local (Portland, Oregon) area. I'm looking to get a fixer-upper, but not a total overhaul. Basically something that needs no more than $30,000 in rehab, mostly cosmetic upgrades. I'm going to be primarily searching for owner financing deals (I'd like to avoid banks if possible). Then I plan on flipping the house within 24 months of the initial purchase.
That's my short and very rough outline of my plans. I'm living in North Portland currently which is a low income but up and coming area. I feel a sense of urgency to start investing soon, but as a small business owner who just showed a profit for the first time two years ago, disposable income doesn't come easily. I've started a house fund but am hoping that with owner financing/creative investing I won't necessarily need a down payment as large as 30% of the house value.
Shane, where can I find real estate agents in the Portland area? Is there a list, website or resource that has real estate agents' info?
Thanks again and look forward to your reply.
I wish I had the perfect answer to your question as to finding agents in your area, especially looking for an investor friendly one. At least in my area, I can't think of any "go to" places online. As far as browsing online, I would avoid searching on something like Zillow. Zillow makes their millions from agents, charging them for premium positions and placement on their site. Just because someone pays money to Zillow, doesn't mean that's where you should start.
One place that comes to mind are the real trends list. Here you can find the top teams, brokerages, agents by volume and sides. That certainly doesn't mean go find the top producing agent in your area and work with them. They are probably a high volume person by working mostly 'retail' transactions. I bring up this list because it could lead you to some of the top groups. Within those groups, you might find their website and start digging around and find a few agents who primarily focus on the investment side of things. Better yet, they invest themselves. You could pick a few out from there, and grab coffee and interview a few of them. Not a perfect answer, but one place online to start.
http://www.realtrends.com/rankings/real-trends-100...
Another place you could look in your area, actually on Zillow or somewhere, is for agents who are listing properties in the condition you are seeking. Make sure you focus on who the listing agent actually is, then you can go dig around in their profile and see how many recent transactions they have, types of properties and area, etc. The other place to look when cross checking or digging around on a consumer site like Zillow are the reviews. Say you see a person coming up and up over and over again in your area, listing a lot of properties you might consider buying. Then you check into it, and they have a lot of positive consumer reviews. That could certainly be a great place to check too.
Throw it out here on BP in a new forum post or the marketplace. You already have an audience of people here because they love real estate investing. You could also head to some of your local REIA meetups and ask other agents if they have someone they recommend.
I wish I had an idea of a single answer, but to be truthful most business relationships are built over time, and through recommendations from people you trust. What's more meaningful - a referral from a friend or family member, or an online review from Google? Both might lead you to the same person. It's the least tech savvy way out there, but might be the best one to start with if you have a few people in your area who just bought or sold and really enjoyed their experience.
If you find better ways - let me know! I'm sure I missed plenty. Best of luck!
Thanks guys, greatly appreciate it and will be looking into local meetups and agents. I'm definitely going to spend some time studying deals/the local market before I even think about buying in a specific location, although I'm hoping to stick in North Portland. I'm definitely the kind of guy who would not want to deal with tenants and am more interested in house flipping... get in, fix it up, get out. To me, rental properties aren't truly passive investments unless you use property management, but even then it creates worry where other interest-generating investments might not.
Maybe I'll find some rental property opportunities as I mature as an investor, but I feel like a simple fix and flip will be a good way for me to get started.
Thanks again for the feedback/detailed responses and I'll be looking into local meetups/agents this week.
@Chris M., Welcome to BP. I would also suggest that you look into the local real estate investor groups. Both Rarebird and Northwest REIA hold monthly meetings where you can meet like-minded investors. There is also a Portland BP meet-and-greet, on October 11, in Northeast.
Good luck.
Chris, a belated welcome aboard.
BP is a great conduit for RE investment advice and insights.
My company is a private buyer and private lender on lower ARV $ SFR properties throughout the country. Connect with us anytime.
Continued success.
Hey guys, thanks so much! I'm very excited about getting into real estate investing. I'm basically treating the rest of 2016 as a time for education. I've ordered a few BiggerPockets books and am reading a lot of other real estate/business books and of course watching every single podcast video that the guys put up on YouTube.
@Randy Johnston thank you very much! I've already signed up for the BP meetup and can't wait! Thanks for the heads up on the other groups, I'll definitely check it out.
Something that I've heard a lot from Josh, Brandon and others in the BP Community: educate yourself so you don't make the same mistakes they did. Well, that's exactly what I'm trying to do. While I know it'll be impossible to avoid all mistakes, I'm hoping that if I really focus on my investing education through books and online resources like BP for the remainder of 2016 that I can start 2017 with a lot more awareness and knowledge about what I'm getting myself into.
Thanks again guys!