@Ben Leybovich your officially entered into a drawing for a New X for your referral of myself. if you win it we split it right ?
Haha we can split it for sure, Jay! But, I hadn't realized that this was the prize. When you asked, I simply logged into my Tesla account and gave you the code, because I know you're broke and could use $1,000 off that $125,000 X - but I have actually no idea which referral program is in force now...
Investor · Georgia, GA · Member since 2015 · 29 posts · 21 votes
10y
Most people are intrigue by how i got started and what inspired me.. I started watching a tv show about a family who lived in NY, they would live in the condo they renovate and sell it to multi millionaires. They move from one condo to the next and made millions.
Their was another T.V show about a REI company flipping houses through South Carolina and North Carolina. These tv shows inspired and motivated me to do real estate investing. Plus i was artistic so i had the vision. When the housing market collapse during 2011 (know there was before that), there was massive foreclosures everywhere. Houses were dirt cheap, most of these houses would compare to the value of great depression. I wanted to buy a house that i can afford. I bought a ranch house for 30k, i renovated it, and rent it out $1000 per month. Once the housing market gradually went back up, i sold it for 140k. Purchase more homes, did the same thing and grew my equity..... I believe real estate market is the same as buying stocks, you buy them low and sell them high.
Many people have unrealistic goals. The downfall of many real estate investment is bad evaluation and getting too attach with their REI. I seen many people who made bad purchases and pour tons of money into fixing the property. They don't analyze the comps in the neighborhood. They get overly too attach and customize the property with high finishes as if their going to move right in. Another thing is location, one guy i spoke to made a purchase in the ghetto because it was cheap neighborhood. He soon find out no one wanted to purchase or rent in that neighborhood. The thing that gets me most, is all these seminars. My friend signed me up for one, It sounded like a scam at first, but they did have a lot of valid points. I'm not trying to knock it down, but i didn't buy into it. I believe if you have that vision, then youre able to see the finish product. Most people dive in with no vision, steps to take, and only outlook on the money. . In short summary it' about analyzing the comps, forecasting the market, finding great people to work with, and not get too attach to something youre going to sell in a short amount of period. The list goes on... Their are people who watch from the sideline, and then theirs people who achieve their goals.
I am interested to hear some of of you got started in real estate investing and how much money you all had to begin.
Thanks in advance!
I was inspired by an investor that made a nice profit flipping the house next door to me in 2009. I thought I could do the same. I had virtually nothing to start with. I did a cash-out refinance on my primary residence for a few $, but most of my funding was in the form of 0% teaser rate credit cards (Google AOR, app-o-rama strategy). I quit my day job and bought a heavy fixer down the road. I renovated it, moved into it, and did a cash-out refinance to pay off the credit cards and help fund the next project. I'm buy & hold primarily, so my original primary residence became my first rental.
Using 0% credit card offers got me quite a ways down the road, then a few personal loans from family, now I'm evolving into getting beyond credit cards and into traditional mortgages on rentals.
Investor · Wilmington, NC · Member since 2016 · 80 posts · 43 votes
10y
To add to Ben's list: step 1: get your financial house in order, don't take on debt unless it's to buy RE, save some money. (it's a lot easier to buy investment property with 20% down payment).
Real Estate Broker · Denham Springs, LA · Member since 2016 · 7 posts · 2 votes
10y
Conventional loan on a 4-plex. Required 3% down. As a Realtor, my commission is 3% meaning most of the down payment is covered. So for (nearly) zero down, can buy multi-family with a conventional residential loan. There is a maximum number of units. Get with your local lender. As long as you have the income and right DTI to support the loan, there are small multi-family's that should work for you. We have 4-plex's in the Baton Rouge area in the $200k range
Rental Property Investor · MA · Member since 2013 · 46 posts · 7 votes
10y
I moved home to save money to buy a 3 bed condo. House hacked it for a couple years to save more money. In the meantime I had the good fortune of it appreciating close to 200K! Got a HELOC and got into multis. I now own over 20 units and am working towards a goal I find very achievable with hard work and persistence.
Real Estate Agent · Woburn, MA · Member since 2016 · 40 posts · 17 votes
10y
Hey, I started out with a 203K loan on a two-family home so I only needed 3.5% down. I've put some sweat equity in that and am taking some cash out now to fund a flip with a partner.
Certainly nothing that would help me quit my job, but it's a start.
North Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2016 · 11 posts · 8 votes
10y
Probably the most baby real estate investor here as I haven't even rented out my first property yet (preparing to do so by November at the latest), but it just seems to make sense for my husband's and my lifestyle.
We're both Active Duty, so we move around quite a bit. We've also got a Doberman, so you can imagine how difficult it was to find suitable rentals, at least stateside. We didn't have too much of a problem in Japan, which was weird considering how small the properties are there.
We get to San Antonio, and spent the first year renting out a RIDICULOUS property for 2 people and 2 dogs, because it was 1 of 5 places that would allow our dog (and I'm one of those "I'll live on the street before I give up my dog" types). It was a glorious house, but it was also a 4 bed/2.5 bath 2500 square foot house. It was expensive and we didn't use half the rooms.
That's when I got the idea to buy. At first, my husband wasn't on board, it's unsettling to get into a 30 year commitment when you don't know how long you'll be in one location. But eventually I convinced him, and we purchased an outdated but still structurally sound house, and we've been steadily making updates ever since.
Lo and behold, 4 years later, we get orders to Vegas, this fall. We're finishing up all of our unfinished projects, and as soon as we remodel the master bathroom, we'll be putting her on the rental market.
Thought about selling it, as we purchased this 3 bed/2 bath 1500 sqft home for 102K, and we were quoted by a realtor for 140K-145K. However, my goal now is to own 3-4 properties free and clear by the time we retire, and live off the rental income to subsidize our military retirement income.
Its too easy. Purchase a house every time you PCS, you're guaranteed a rental pool because you're also within an easy commute to a military installation, and you just live in it and fix it up until its time to move!
Allow large breeds, and bam! You've got an even better competitive edge. I don't know why more military members are afraid to do this!
Real Estate Investor · Santa Rosa, CA · Member since 2014 · 60 posts · 33 votes
10y
Keegan Thompson
What part of RE investing are you interested in?
What are the strengths you bring to the table?
What are you will to do? What aren't you will to do?
Mason, MI · Member since 2016 · 30 posts · 6 votes
10y
I just started talking to people. I have experience building and remodeling homes and would love to do the construction work while having an investor foot the bill for cost and then split the returns. Over the course of this summer I spoke with lots of people: co-workers, other dads of kids on my son's sports teams, friends. There are lots of people who have money and would love a 5-10% ROI. I currently have about three different guys that are interested. No deal yet, but that's okay. I have skill, time, and passion. Most guys that I've talked to just have money that they'd like to build.