All Forum Posts by: Aaron H.

@Logan Gill If you like the outdoors, you'll love SW Colorado. Depending on where you're headed, consider coming over from Utah via the back route through Dinosaur instead of just the freeway - it's a lot more scenic. Or swing through Moab on the way.

Make sure to do the drive between Silverton/Ouray and Durango. Plenty of outdoor activities in that area as well. Also strongly suggest making a stop in the Telluride area if you've never been.

In terms of property, you'll find an endless supply of small farm towns in that whole corner of the state you could use as a base - for the actual investing, there's not that many larger markets - Grand Junction, Durango, the I-70 corridor. Maybe Montrose, Pagosa Springs, or Cortez.

Feel free to PM me if you want to talk more details on either the adventuring or the investing.

If you're still asking "which strategy should I pick," it's often the result of still needing to do more self-education until you have a strong enough foundation to truly understand all the pros and cons of each. Nobody can tell you what to pick - there's no "right" way, just the right strategy that fits with your situation and goals. If you don't know what that is, you might not have clearly defined your own goals yet. Podcasts are a great first start, but you should spend a significant amount of time reading some books, the forums, etc. Take a look around BP for the "90 day challenge" - plus I would bet on a number of upcoming resources and webinars designed to help people with buying their first property by the end of the year.

If you've already done all that and are still struggling with which direction to go, the bottom line is that it doesn't matter. Just pick something and do it. Once you have a few deals under your belt, you'll have the experience necessary to decide if you need to switch strategies. My suggestion, find a cheap SFR that needs some rehab that would work as a rental, and just go do the deal.

2c, though - stay away from the tiny home idea. Very hard to make profitable, plus all kinds of issues with e.g. zoning. Search the site, there's plenty of forum posts on that exact topic. Buying land or doing any kind of new development is also going to be riskier than just wholesaling, flipping, or buying a rental.

Don't limit your comps to just duplexes - 4 units and down is just considered "residential." Pretend it's just a SFR with more square feet/bedrooms and run the comps that way. If there's literally no sales, expand your search area or time.

Whether you can pick your own title company depends on the specific auction/bank/property/state you're in - make sure that you read the fine print and have the option to select your own instead of being stuck with the bank's choice.

Title insurance covers you if the title company says "no problems with the title" and then it turns out something was missed down the line (e.g. an outstanding lien or something). It's not a blank check to pay off any existing problems with the title. So some people will pay a title company to research the title and figure out if there are likely to be any problems prior to bidding, so there are no surprises. Especially because with REO's, the form of title/deed the bank actually gives you may vary. I would guess nobody is paying for the actual insurance on the title prior to owning the property though.

Depends on the specific auction as well as the contract you sign once you win the bid - the terms vary based on the bank, the state you're in, the property, etc. Some Auction.com properties even sell without an inspection contingency.

Highly recommend you read the fine print, and contact Auction (or the listing broker they're working through, if you can find it) to double check the details on your specific property.

In general, though, yes - you usually get your earnest money back if the deal falls through.

The price a buyer is willing to pay for the house is the definition of "market value." If noone will buy at the price you want, it's priced too high. That can certainly be frustrating, but it's also reality.

Read the BP Ultimate Beginner's Guide, then as many books, forum posts, and podcasts as you can get your hands on. Also attend one of the BP webinars specifically geared towards finding your first deal. There's a wealth of information on finding your first deal already on the site, just start digging around.

Best advice I can give is to click "Store" at the top of the page and buy David Green's new book here on BP, called "Long Distance Real Estate Investing". It's very good, and will answer all the questions you have. Absolutely worth purchasing.

If you set it up right, you don't need to travel out of state at all. You'll likely want to on your first deal just for peace of mind, but it's not a requirement for any of the steps you listed.

In my opinion, the only strategy is honesty. If you didn't do much, you didn't much. Stop feeling guilty about it - if you got a property with minimal rehab needs for a great price, good for you. Your resale value should be based on the market price and a solid understanding of the comps. If it's priced in line with the comps, you should be able to find a buyer at or near market price, no matter what you purchased it for.

The first step is education. Read the BP Ultimate Beginner's Guide, then read as many books, forum posts, blogs, podcasts etc. as you can. Do that for a few months, and you'll have a million tips on what to do when starting out. Without a good foundation, you'll have a tough time succeeding.