Newbie from Chicago, IL

New Member Introductions
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Newbie from Chicago, IL

Kevin Tornes
Engineer · Wilmington, NC · Member since 2016 · 19 posts · 9 votes

Hello BiggerPockets!

My name is Kevin Tornes. I was born in beautiful Colorado Springs, CO, but moved when I was very young because my father was in the Navy at the time. My family moved across the US over the next 10 years to Edmond, Oklahoma (on three separate occasions), Montgomery, Alabama, Memphis, Tennessee and Norfolk, Virginia. Finally, we made our way back to Colorado for our final family move in 2004. My next 10 years were spent in Colorado until I moved to Midland, TX after graduating from Colorado School of Mines near Denver, CO. In Midland, I was working as a Field Engineer for Schlumberger performing hydraulic fracturing jobs throughout West Texas and New Mexico. I spent a year and a half in Midland before deciding to move on to pursue a different career opportunity with GE in Chicago, IL where I currently live.

As I mentioned earlier, my father was in the Navy and was a believer in purchasing houses every time we moved so they could be rented out once we left. He has been in the buy and hold business for some time now and it was a major reason he was able to retire earlier than most. He is the reason I first developed interest in the Real Estate game.

As for how I got connected with BiggerPockets, I read Brandon Turner's "The Book on Rental Property Investing" and the site was mentioned in there. I'm very excited to use this as a resource to help build my real estate knowledge base as well as a go to when I have questions or concerns.

I am a HUGE baseball fan. My favorite team is the Colorado Rockies. 2017 is our year! I am also an avid skier and enjoy getting outside and traveling with my girlfriend, Taber.

Thanks for reading this summary. Feel free to reach out! 

Kevin

2Reply
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Most Popular Reply

Michael Lee
Investor · Coppell, TX · Member since 2008 · 2k+ posts · 646 votes
9y

Hello and welcome to BP!  Your dad was smart to do what he did with those houses.  You need to know that life has changed and we have to make it another way because what use to work is different now.  I have learned that today is different than yesterday and education is really important.  Your father may have been lucky yesterday and enjoyed his success because of the cyclicisty that is definitely involved with real estate. I cannot tell you anything about the future but make most of your present time one of the present and the potential of the future is yet it is potentially just a guess so be careful of what you do and not sold on anything emotionally by a guru.

One of the most important things you should do is to know your prospective education that is into teaching you something and not into selling you something that turns out to be a waste.  Make your education is on learning financial knowledge and is close to what you do.  Those things will help you be dominating in your real estate niche and your market area.  I have read more than once that mistakes and fear are pretty normal.  Learn from your mistakes and turn any fear into a positive thing.  Just remember that your mind can be used as a benefit and you control it.

I know I have been pushing my opinion.  I am 60 years old right now and I appreciate what you have been involved in.  I found BP about 18 months ago while recovering medically.  If not "injured" I would probably never found this place and have been learning so much and knowing that I was not prepared for retirement.  I still have not made up my mind on what I am going to do for a living.  Eventhough I am still recovering and learning to walk again I have not given up.  I am lucky that I was married to a woman and she has been saving money for about 25 years.  Because of that I am not over stressed about being a contributor to my family.  We have a daughter who is in her 3rd year at the University of Arkansas.  Since my wife is a compuer programmer and makes a decent salary and has the financial ability to take care of all of us without going into debt.

There are several things you ought to consider doing before you start investing and after you have selected your niche and market area. One of those things is to form some type of corporation or a LLC. That should keep you personally out of any legal problems caused by your business. You might have to get your financing figured out so you can get a loan letter that states the average time it takes to close a loan and the maximum amount you qualified for. A copy of that letter can be included in your offers and give the seller a comfort factor that you could close. You might have to hire an attorney and/or a CPA to advise you the best way to go with incorporation.

Another thing you should consider doing is to make an office location that is convient and has minimal distractions.  You can locate that office in your home just be able to close it off and have minimal personal distractions for you to be involved in.  Always remember to do a math analysis and try to look at the prospective property before you make an offer or at least have a clause that allows you the time (about 10 to 15 days) to make a detailed inspection of the subject property in the sales contract and possibly back out of the deal without a penalty that does not hurt you too much. A good primary Team could help you solve problems.

Primary Team members are typically an Attorney, realestate Agent or a Broker, a CPA (or an accountant that knows everything), Inspectors, General Contractors, and Handymen.  Some of them can even help you decide if a property is worth buying.  Preparation of your potentiality property is one of the keys to your answer.  Do not try to do everything yourself.  Do not cut any corners to make a property look better on paper.  When just starting, do what is average for that neighberhood.  Be patient and do not get overwhelmed.  Do not let anything that fails to make you quit.  Hope that your positives are more in quantity than your negatives.  Track everything your company does on paper and review it regularly and by doing that will ultimately help you reduce your expenses and increase your income.  Do not assume that any professional knows more than you do.

Good luck to you!

3Reply
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32 Replies

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  • Norberto Villanueva
    Real Estate Consultant · Colorado Springs, CO · Member since 2013 · 325 posts · 117 votes
    9y

    Thanks for posting, Kevin. What do you see for yourself? Wholesaler, flipper or follow footsteps in the buy and hold segment?

    0Reply
  • Ron Dayley
    Clarksville, TN · Member since 2016 · 238 posts · 96 votes
    9y

    Welcome to BP. 

    0Reply
  • Kevin Tornes
    OP
    Engineer · Wilmington, NC · Member since 2016 · 19 posts · 9 votes
    9y

    @Norberto Villanueva Thanks for reaching out. Right now, the plan is to probably get into buy and hold. I'm thinking about the Indianapolis, IN market for now. I'm planning to take a trip down there in the next month to get some more information about the area. I might consider a house hack deal in Chicago, IL next year as well. Any words of wisdom?

    @Ron Dayley Thank you for reaching out! Do you have any tips to share?

    0Reply
  • Ron Dayley
    Clarksville, TN · Member since 2016 · 238 posts · 96 votes
    9y

    @Kevin Tornes nothing at this time.  Good luck and if you make it down to Clarksville/Nashville area we can grab coffee and share ideas.  

    0Reply
  • Kevin Hunter
    Rental Property Investor · Carlisle, PA · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 543 votes
    9y
    Kevin Tornes ,welcome to BP. Tons of info here and brilliant folks to help you on your journey. Start with the education and set your path. Good luck!!!!
    0Reply
  • Andy Rumple
    Wholesaler and Real Estate Broker · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2009 · 438 posts · 293 votes
    9y

    Kevin,

      There are a lot of good guys in Indy who will help you out. Feel free to run
    any deals by me for an opinion. Also feel free to talk fantasy baseball anytime.

    You have a good rookie shortstop there in the Mile High.

    1Reply
  • Michael Lee
    Investor · Coppell, TX · Member since 2008 · 2k+ posts · 646 votes
    9y

    Hello and welcome to BP!  Your dad was smart to do what he did with those houses.  You need to know that life has changed and we have to make it another way because what use to work is different now.  I have learned that today is different than yesterday and education is really important.  Your father may have been lucky yesterday and enjoyed his success because of the cyclicisty that is definitely involved with real estate. I cannot tell you anything about the future but make most of your present time one of the present and the potential of the future is yet it is potentially just a guess so be careful of what you do and not sold on anything emotionally by a guru.

    One of the most important things you should do is to know your prospective education that is into teaching you something and not into selling you something that turns out to be a waste.  Make your education is on learning financial knowledge and is close to what you do.  Those things will help you be dominating in your real estate niche and your market area.  I have read more than once that mistakes and fear are pretty normal.  Learn from your mistakes and turn any fear into a positive thing.  Just remember that your mind can be used as a benefit and you control it.

    I know I have been pushing my opinion.  I am 60 years old right now and I appreciate what you have been involved in.  I found BP about 18 months ago while recovering medically.  If not "injured" I would probably never found this place and have been learning so much and knowing that I was not prepared for retirement.  I still have not made up my mind on what I am going to do for a living.  Eventhough I am still recovering and learning to walk again I have not given up.  I am lucky that I was married to a woman and she has been saving money for about 25 years.  Because of that I am not over stressed about being a contributor to my family.  We have a daughter who is in her 3rd year at the University of Arkansas.  Since my wife is a compuer programmer and makes a decent salary and has the financial ability to take care of all of us without going into debt.

    There are several things you ought to consider doing before you start investing and after you have selected your niche and market area. One of those things is to form some type of corporation or a LLC. That should keep you personally out of any legal problems caused by your business. You might have to get your financing figured out so you can get a loan letter that states the average time it takes to close a loan and the maximum amount you qualified for. A copy of that letter can be included in your offers and give the seller a comfort factor that you could close. You might have to hire an attorney and/or a CPA to advise you the best way to go with incorporation.

    Another thing you should consider doing is to make an office location that is convient and has minimal distractions.  You can locate that office in your home just be able to close it off and have minimal personal distractions for you to be involved in.  Always remember to do a math analysis and try to look at the prospective property before you make an offer or at least have a clause that allows you the time (about 10 to 15 days) to make a detailed inspection of the subject property in the sales contract and possibly back out of the deal without a penalty that does not hurt you too much. A good primary Team could help you solve problems.

    Primary Team members are typically an Attorney, realestate Agent or a Broker, a CPA (or an accountant that knows everything), Inspectors, General Contractors, and Handymen.  Some of them can even help you decide if a property is worth buying.  Preparation of your potentiality property is one of the keys to your answer.  Do not try to do everything yourself.  Do not cut any corners to make a property look better on paper.  When just starting, do what is average for that neighberhood.  Be patient and do not get overwhelmed.  Do not let anything that fails to make you quit.  Hope that your positives are more in quantity than your negatives.  Track everything your company does on paper and review it regularly and by doing that will ultimately help you reduce your expenses and increase your income.  Do not assume that any professional knows more than you do.

    Good luck to you!

    3Reply
  • Mark Nolan
    Professional · Carlsbad, CA · Member since 2012 · 12k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    9y

    @Kevin Tornes

    Welcome to Bigger Pockets. The Bigger Pockets book store if full of great books: https://www.biggerpockets.com/store

    0Reply
  • Kevin Tornes
    OP
    Engineer · Wilmington, NC · Member since 2016 · 19 posts · 9 votes
    9y

    @Kevin Hunter Thanks for reaching out! I appreciate the advice.

    @Andy Rumple I appreciate the offer to help with the Indy area. I will definitely be in touch. As for the baseball talk, don't worry, we will have plenty to discuss on that topic. I am fired up for this season.

    @Michael Lee I really appreciate the time you put into the advice you have shared with me. I will be sure to reference it moving forward. I hope that you enjoy a speedy recovery. Good luck to you.

    @Mark Nolan Thanks for the tips on the books. I think my next purchase might be the book by J. Scott about estimating rehab costs. I feel like that would be an awesome reference to have. 

    0Reply
  • Norberto Villanueva
    Real Estate Consultant · Colorado Springs, CO · Member since 2013 · 325 posts · 117 votes
    9y

    @Kevin Tornes - thanks for responding. As for words of wisdom, if local conditions don't make it viable to start in your backyard, make sure to have contractors, licensed brokers, inspectors...all working on your behalf in whatever market you choose. And do your due diligence! Many turnkey operators tout strong rental returns, but will fail to illustrate the economic (employment, migration, infrastructure development, etc) projections necessary to make buy and hold viable in the long term. For all the importance of cash flow, it's only one part of the trifecta for building long term wealth that includes future appreciation and principal reduction. 

    All the best!

    0Reply
  • Kevin Tornes
    OP
    Engineer · Wilmington, NC · Member since 2016 · 19 posts · 9 votes
    9y

    @Norberto Villanueva Thanks for the tip. I have a question about the economic projections you mentioned. This is something I have been wondering about myself. I wanted to see if you have a specific website you use to pull statistics for these economic projections?

    0Reply
  • Norberto Villanueva
    Real Estate Consultant · Colorado Springs, CO · Member since 2013 · 325 posts · 117 votes
    9y

    @Kevin Tornes - not on a national scale. Start out with the respective local chamber of commerce, economic development councils and such. 

    0Reply
  • Kevin Tornes
    OP
    Engineer · Wilmington, NC · Member since 2016 · 19 posts · 9 votes
    9y

    @Norberto Villanueva Awesome. I will have to look into those. 

    Also, all of my family still lives in Colorado Springs. I'll have to look you up next time I make it back to see them.

    0Reply
  • Norberto Villanueva
    Real Estate Consultant · Colorado Springs, CO · Member since 2013 · 325 posts · 117 votes
    9y

    @Kevin Tornes - Thanks Kevin. I look forward to the opportunity.

    0Reply
  • Tom Ott
    Equity Raiser and Turnkey Provider · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    9y
    Originally posted by @Kevin Tornes:

    Hello BiggerPockets!

    My name is Kevin Tornes. I was born in beautiful Colorado Springs, CO, but moved when I was very young because my father was in the Navy at the time. My family moved across the US over the next 10 years to Edmond, Oklahoma (on three separate occasions), Montgomery, Alabama, Memphis, Tennessee and Norfolk, Virginia. Finally, we made our way back to Colorado for our final family move in 2004. My next 10 years were spent in Colorado until I moved to Midland, TX after graduating from Colorado School of Mines near Denver, CO. In Midland, I was working as a Field Engineer for Schlumberger performing hydraulic fracturing jobs throughout West Texas and New Mexico. I spent a year and a half in Midland before deciding to move on to pursue a different career opportunity with GE in Chicago, IL where I currently live.

    As I mentioned earlier, my father was in the Navy and was a believer in purchasing houses every time we moved so they could be rented out once we left. He has been in the buy and hold business for some time now and it was a major reason he was able to retire earlier than most. He is the reason I first developed interest in the Real Estate game.

    As for how I got connected with BiggerPockets, I read Brandon Turner's "The Book on Rental Property Investing" and the site was mentioned in there. I'm very excited to use this as a resource to help build my real estate knowledge base as well as a go to when I have questions or concerns.

    I am a HUGE baseball fan. My favorite team is the Colorado Rockies. 2017 is our year! I am also an avid skier and enjoy getting outside and traveling with my girlfriend, Taber.

    Thanks for reading this summary. Feel free to reach out! 

    Kevin

     Hello and welcome!

    This is a great place to get started! Biggerpockets is full of great information and professionals to help get you started. Feel free to send me a message with any questions.

    0Reply
  • Kevin Tornes
    OP
    Engineer · Wilmington, NC · Member since 2016 · 19 posts · 9 votes
    9y

    @Tom Ott Thanks Tom for offering support. I appreciate it.

    0Reply
  • Elbert D.
    Real Estate Entrepreneur / Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2016 · 688 posts · 367 votes
    9y
    Kevin Tornes welcome to BP, if you are getting into buy and holds, there are multiple ways to look for a good ROI. They are listed on the BP blogs so I won't go into them too much. But I have some things that you could look into if you PM. Let me know if I can assist you.
    0Reply
  • Kevin Tornes
    OP
    Engineer · Wilmington, NC · Member since 2016 · 19 posts · 9 votes
    9y

    @Elbert Dockery - I've been trying to dive into the blogs a bit as well. Thanks for pointing that out.

    0Reply
  • Frank S.
    Specialist · Chicago, IL · Member since 2015 · 870 posts · 345 votes
    9y

    Welcome to BP!

    0Reply
  • Kevin Tornes
    OP
    Engineer · Wilmington, NC · Member since 2016 · 19 posts · 9 votes
    9y

    Thanks @Frank S.!

    0Reply
  • Shawn AckermanPro Member
    Real Estate Entrepreneur · Mid West, East Coast · Member since 2015 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    9y

    @Kevin Tornes congrats on getting started on your REI journey. Persist and you will win!!

    0Reply
  • Kevin Tornes
    OP
    Engineer · Wilmington, NC · Member since 2016 · 19 posts · 9 votes
    9y

    @Shawn Ackerman I appreciate the vote of confidence. Good luck to you in your journey.

    0Reply
  • Brynn Misener
    Real Estate Agent · Chicago, IL · Member since 2016 · 98 posts · 33 votes
    9y

    Hi @Kevin Tornes,  I loved the inspiring story about your dad investing in real estate.  He knew what he was doing!  Best of luck as you start your real estate investing, this site is filled with information!

    0Reply
  • Kevin Tornes
    OP
    Engineer · Wilmington, NC · Member since 2016 · 19 posts · 9 votes
    9y

    Thanks @Brynn Misener! I appreciate you reaching out.

    0Reply
  • Dmitriy Fomichenko
    Solo 401k Expert · Anaheim Hills, CA · Member since 2012 · 18k+ posts · 6k+ votes
    9y

    @Kevin Tornes

    Welcome to the BP family! Here are some recommendations for you:

    Find and connect with other BP members that are in your area: http://www.biggerpockets.com/meet
    Set up keyword alerts to be notified of the topics that interest you:http://www.biggerpockets.com/alerts
    Read Beginner’s Guide:http://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investing
    Check out BP Podcasts:http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/category/podcast/

    Wishing you the best!

    1Reply
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