Newbie - Jacksonville, soon-to-be Orlando, FL

Newbie - Jacksonville, soon-to-be Orlando, FL

Member since 2021 · 8 posts · 3 votes

Good day everyone, my name is Brian and I recently began my journey into being my own business owner/investor. Real Estate seems like a good entry point which led me to Turner's "Rental Property Investing." I'm about 92% done with the book and it's left me pretty excited. 

I'm currently still in the military service and I'm using my last two years to get a Master in Business Administration degree (just started applying, been accepted to a few). Figured why not, maybe it'll help bring some credibility to my name and give me a foundation moving forward. 

Well, me and a partner are looking to get into rentals, flipping (if we're confident enough), house hacking, and maybe wholesaling. Our primary focus will more than likely be rentals (SFRs). 


We will be moving to Orlando in about 2 or 3 years to start this venture. I figured I'd start here early to start building relationships and knowledge, because Orlando is a beast. On one side of the town you have def As and Bs. And the other you have straight Fs (forget Ds). So navigating real estate will definitely have its up and downs. But, Orlando is still developing and attracting new people everyday. 


If anyone can provide insight on topics listed above, have specific experiences in Orlando, and to share your great wealth, please send me a message. Hopefully you made it to the end of this post. Thanks for reading.

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Shawn McCormickPro Member
Realtor · Central Florida-Orlando · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 892 votes
5y

@Brian Wilkins Welcome to BP.  I agree with @Doug Spence. I've seen sooooo many people wait and wait and wait and never pull the trigger. Saving for down payment is fine, but that only gets you so far. You could wholesale a couple deals and have a down payment in a few months, or find creative finance deals like subject to or seller financing. Granted, these are not easy strategies and can be difficult to find, but it will get you involved, keep you excited and move the needle forward. Life happens and I promise if you wait 2-3 years, something else will grab your attention, steal your time or take away your ability to purchase and you'll be right where you are today.

You should definitely utilize your VA benefits (Thank you for your service!!) of a Zero down loan to purchase a primary. You can get a duplex and house hack or BRRR if you are careful and patient. I'm in Orlando and would be happy to chat and try and get some focus or direction to get you moving along.

Good Luck!

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  • Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 975 votes
    5y

    @Brian Wilkins Welcome to Bigger Pockets and congrats on making the decision to take action and get started. There are lots of fellow active duty real estate investors on this forum, and probably a few in the Orlando market as well. I'm curious why you want to wait 2-3 years to start investing in the market? I'm confident you could put a team together there and at least get one property under your belt in 2021. Don't wait to buy real estate, buy real estate and wait.

    I also recommend checking out the War Room real estate mastermind group. I joined last spring and it has been the single best decision I made in the last year to improve my real estate knowledge and network. 

    Best of luck and I look forward to hearing your success stories! Reach out anytime if you want to chat more. 

  • Member since 2021 · 8 posts · 3 votes
    5y

    @DouglasSpence. Mostly because I need to research more and gain a better understanding of the processes. Dont want to get under before I start by making a bad decision. I'd also like to begin saving towards down payments or at least to have multiple options with some money saved for different ventures. Ill definitely check out the forum. Appreciate the response. 

  • Shawn McCormickPro Member
    Realtor · Central Florida-Orlando · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 892 votes
    5y

    @Brian Wilkins Welcome to BP.  I agree with @Doug Spence. I've seen sooooo many people wait and wait and wait and never pull the trigger. Saving for down payment is fine, but that only gets you so far. You could wholesale a couple deals and have a down payment in a few months, or find creative finance deals like subject to or seller financing. Granted, these are not easy strategies and can be difficult to find, but it will get you involved, keep you excited and move the needle forward. Life happens and I promise if you wait 2-3 years, something else will grab your attention, steal your time or take away your ability to purchase and you'll be right where you are today.

    You should definitely utilize your VA benefits (Thank you for your service!!) of a Zero down loan to purchase a primary. You can get a duplex and house hack or BRRR if you are careful and patient. I'm in Orlando and would be happy to chat and try and get some focus or direction to get you moving along.

    Good Luck!

  • Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 975 votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Brian Wilkins:

    @DouglasSpence. Mostly because I need to research more and gain a better understanding of the processes. Dont want to get under before I start by making a bad decision. I'd also like to begin saving towards down payments or at least to have multiple options with some money saved for different ventures. Ill definitely check out the forum. Appreciate the response. 

    I understand the hesitation - I've been there. You and your team will learn 10x more from doing 1 deal than you will from reading books and listening to podcasts for 2 years. Just take action, get your hands dirty, and learn along the way. Think about all the military training you've had. There's always a classroom/academic portion of the training during which they say "it will make more sense once you do it and get hands-on" 

    Fortune favors the bold.

    I would focus on figuring out what your long-term goals are, then use that goal to figure out your asset class/niche, then find your team (agent, lender, property management, contractors), and just start looking for deals. Set quantitative goals (i.e. Buy one property in Orlando by the end of 2021) and set smaller goals along the way to keep you on track (i.e. Decide on asset class by 30 APR). You and your partners should hold each other accountable for these goals using weekly meetings. If they're not interested in setting goals and keeping each other accountable, then you need to find different partners.

    Best of luck!

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