0-25 units in four months and it all started with Bigger Pockets!

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0-25 units in four months and it all started with Bigger Pockets!

Collin Schwartz
Rental Property Investor · Papillion, NE · Member since 2017 · 398 posts · 1k+ votes

Its amazing that the morning of January 1st I knew nothing about real estate investing. Now after purchasing six deals with a seventh under contract I realize I have just scratched the surface and have much more to learn.

After reading Rich Dad Poor Dad on Jan 1st (and three days before my 32nd birthday) I had a realization… I needed to get my a** in gear, take calculated risks, and begin pursuing the lifestyle I have always dreamed of.

I started my real estate endeavor by reading numerous books including “Millionaire Real Estate Investor”, “The One Thing”, “Multi-Family Millions”, by David Lindahl, “Toddlers Are A**holes” (more on that later), all of Ken McElroy’s books and many more. I couldn’t get enough real estate insight by reading alone so I started consuming Bigger Pockets podcasts on my drives to work.

At the same time I took the advice of the books/podcasts I was reading and reached out to everyone smarter and more successful than me. That lead me to…. My wife’s, cousins, boyfriends, friends, friend….seriously! (I will include an ancestry chart in the appendix). This individual is now my mentor, business partner, and good friend.

First deal: 100% attributed to Bigger Pockets. Colton Luchsinger (great real estate agent!) reached out to me on BP and after some conversations he sent me a deal. Not having a clue what to do I reached out to my soon to be partner for his opinion (wifes, cousin, brothers, friend, etc.). On my own accord I would have said no to the property, being too fearful of the lackluster financials, he on the other hand saw an opportunity and he was correct. The property appraised at 20% over sales price and rents have been increased substantially after purchase.

Today I just closed on my 24th and 25th unit less than four months after my first deal.

I am so grateful and happy to be in the position I am in. The days since January 1st have taught me more about business and myself than nearly a lifetime of learning.

I hope to continue to connect with amazing individuals on BP and learn from others everyday!

(Below is a pic of 24 and 25.)

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Roshan K.Pro Member
Oklahoma City, OK · Member since 2017 · 258 posts · 215 votes
9y

Congrats on your success!!

Can you talk about how you made financing happen? Most people can't afford downpayment on their first door, let alone 25 doors in 4 months!!

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  • Colton Luchsinger
    Real Estate Broker · Omaha, NE · Member since 2016 · 44 posts · 22 votes
    9y

    @Collin Schwartz Wow this is very fun to read. Collin, you have been making leaps and bounds that are truly inspiring. I'm honored that our paths have crossed, and I will continue to service you to the best of my ability in our journey through the market. 

    I will be coming into a new lead for another portfolio of properties that I'll send your way once they make themselves available. 

    I know I've said this before, but if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

    (That goes for anyone here!)

    1Reply
  • Charles Frederick
    Boynton Beach, FL · Member since 2016 · 41 posts · 7 votes
    9y
    Congratulations!
    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    Project Management · League City, TX · Member since 2015 · 99 posts · 44 votes
    9y

    Huge congrats @Collin Schwartz! Now keep that momentum going!

    1Reply
  • Matthew Fitzgerald
    Acton, CA · Member since 2017 · 57 posts · 18 votes
    9y
    Congrats @Collin Schwartz. Are you investing in your local market or is this all out of state. Also do you self manage or have a PM?
    1Reply
  • Matthew Fitzgerald
    Acton, CA · Member since 2017 · 57 posts · 18 votes
    9y
    Collin Schwartz congrats again realized I have been posting names incorrectly.
    1Reply
  • Collin Schwartz
    OP
    Rental Property Investor · Papillion, NE · Member since 2017 · 398 posts · 1k+ votes
    9y
    Hi Matthew Fitzgerald My investments are local to Omaha. I actually am involved in the entire deal process from beginning to end. I will market to individuals, negotiate if an agent is not involved, writing up contracts, working with title/insurance, managing, and GC'ing remodels. I however do not do any of the physical remodeling.
    0Reply
  • Malachi Lindsey
    Dunbar, WV · Member since 2017 · 16 posts · 8 votes
    9y

    Great work! I love the enthusiasm.

    1Reply
  • Matthew Fitzgerald
    Acton, CA · Member since 2017 · 57 posts · 18 votes
    9y
    Awesome Collin Schwartz we are trying to close on our first deal, stories like yours inspire me. Thanks.
    1Reply
  • Collin Schwartz
    OP
    Rental Property Investor · Papillion, NE · Member since 2017 · 398 posts · 1k+ votes
    9y

    Best of luck @Matthew Fitzgerald!

    0Reply
  • Robert GuilfoylePro Member
    Mount Laurel, NJ · Member since 2012 · 125 posts · 36 votes
    9y
    @Collin Schwartz Congrats! I am getting close to settling on a four unit property in NJ. Will provide updates once settled.
    1Reply
  • Cameron Benz
    Puyallup, WA · Member since 2014 · 29 posts · 4 votes
    9y

    Awesome job! Certainly inspiring. I clearly need to apply myself and get some deals done.

    1Reply
  • Hersh M.
    Engineer · Carlsbad/San Diego · Member since 2014 · 285 posts · 97 votes
    9y
    Originally posted by @Collin Schwartz:

    Hersh M. I use commercial lending. It allows me to purchase using an llc, often times no appraisals needed, and much quicker turnaround.

     But arent you worried about rate risk after 5 years? 

    0Reply
  • Collin Schwartz
    OP
    Rental Property Investor · Papillion, NE · Member since 2017 · 398 posts · 1k+ votes
    9y

    @Hersh M. there definitely is added risk to having a fixed rate for either 5, 7 or 10yrs with a 5 yr price (my current funding breakdown). It does force me to purchase with more stringent criteria. Also my CPA recommended for some of the tax advantages. Also I have noticed that fast closings are enticing to a seller and can help strengthen an offer.

    Regardless it does worry me a bit, for my most recent deals I have done a 15 yr am to accumulate more equity in case of a major increase in interest rate.

    1Reply
  • Ray Lai
    Investor / Vendor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 949 votes
    9y

    @Collin Schwartz

    Congrats Collin, great job ramping up so quickly. Out of your 25 deals, how many were MLS versus other sources like DM / coldcalling? What did you use for putting together targeted lists?

    1Reply
  • Collin Schwartz
    OP
    Rental Property Investor · Papillion, NE · Member since 2017 · 398 posts · 1k+ votes
    9y

    @Ray Lai

    Eight units were MLS (2 deals), six units direct mail/cold calling (3 deals), and eleven units (1 deal) were brought directly to me from my partner as an off market deals. I actually pulled a list from listsource and targeted my ideal market. I then got phone numbers from zabasearch.

    1Reply
  • Ray Lai
    Investor / Vendor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 949 votes
    9y

    @Collin Schwartz

    Thank you for your quick response and demonstrating that multiple pipes to feed the deal machine is the way to go for speed and efficiency of scaling up! 

    @jenifer s wish I could tag you on this, this is a perfect thread for you to read after posting your question about lead generation

    1Reply
  • Torrey Reynolds
    Real Estate Professional · Austin, TX · Member since 2016 · 5 posts · 5 votes
    9y
    Awesome! Great job and keep inspiring.
    1Reply
  • Spiro Klonizakis
    Real Estate Agent · Toronto, Ontario · Member since 2016 · 16 posts · 3 votes
    9y
    Truly amazing story! Especially based on the amazing prices you guys have. Currently, In Toronto and surrounding areas it's not uncommon to see properties being bought/sold based on cap rates as low as 4-5%. The creative 100% financing is quite impressive considering your high amounts of cash flow. I was wondering if you could elaborate on the financing overall as a whole, and also how you are paying back the loans ? Is the majority of cash flow going back into pay off the properties, or do you plan to let them flow for a while longer ?
    1Reply
  • Anssi Viljanen
    Specialist · North Hollywood · Member since 2017 · 71 posts · 19 votes
    9y
    That is fantastic Collin Schwartz ! I am proud of you taking action like that!
    1Reply
  • Burke Ericson
    Valley Village, CA · Member since 2017 · 34 posts · 13 votes
    9y
    Congrats Collin, I read Rich Dad Poor Dad and it lead me to do great things as well, it really changed my life too. Anyways, I am new to this... but what I can gather is you used a LOC to finance one purchase with a mortgage , then rented that place out and took all the equity out of the new place to put a down payment on another place? Am I following? What type of down payments do you put? And how do you get funding for each additional acquisition? It's interesting because I am thinking about investing in the same area although I am out of state. I would really like to talk sometime once I get my ducks in a row. The biggest challenge I have is understanding how to fund each purchase, is there a simple way to illustrate that?
    1Reply
  • Alfredo T.
    Bowie, MD · Member since 2017 · 23 posts · 3 votes
    9y

    Thank you so much for sharing and i hope and pray you get bigger. Congratulations!

    1Reply
  • Mike Classen
    Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2014 · 5 posts · 2 votes
    9y
    Collin Schwartz - awesome to see man! Would you be open to sharing what bank you ended up working with, assuming you've used the same lender for all your financing? Is your bank only a loan originator or do they still hold all your mortgages? I've been talking with several Omaha area banks and credit unions and am definitely interested in expanding that list to lenders who have worked well for others. Thanks for sharing your insight and successes!
    1Reply
  • Collin Schwartz
    OP
    Rental Property Investor · Papillion, NE · Member since 2017 · 398 posts · 1k+ votes
    9y

    @Spiro Klonizakis and @Burke Ericson For all of my properties I am using a HELOC to fund all of my portion of down payments. The typical down payment is between 20-25%. The HELOC allows me to make drawers as I so choose to do. The terms are interest only payments, 5 yr fixed interest rate of 4.75%. There is no prepayment penalty, so to accelerate payoff I use portions of my salary and have reduced 401k contributions. Currently I have not taken any drawers of cash from the properties. All properties have required some rehab and vacancy to accommodate the rehabs. My plan is to start taking quarterly cash drawers (from cash flow) in the next six months to a year so that I can build up my reserves. I do however pay myself a 10% management fee, which also provides tax benefits.

    In a years time I hope to refinance some of the money out of the properties to purchase a larger property in the 20+ unit range. 

    0Reply
  • Collin Schwartz
    OP
    Rental Property Investor · Papillion, NE · Member since 2017 · 398 posts · 1k+ votes
    9y

    @Mike Classen I have used Equitable Bank in Omaha and Nebraska Bank of Commerce. Both are local portfolio lenders. They offer excellent service.

    0Reply
  • Dan Turkel
    Real Estate Agent · Central New Jersey · Member since 2017 · 135 posts · 37 votes
    9y
    Collin Schwartz , congrats! I've considered using a traditional LOC with a bank but after doing some research, I realized it typically doesn't work to use it as money for a downpayment. It sounds like you had better luck using a HELOC instead. Could you explain a bit more about how that worked and if any issues arose using OPM for a downpayment?
    0Reply
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