All Forum Posts by: Austin F.

I got a got a business line of credit to my LLC secured with the equity in my rental. Works about the same as a HELOC as far as the bank folks told me.

Marketing, finance, management, construction management.

Most of the business owners I know that are just scraping by are bad at management, and bad at the books.

I learned a lot by watching other business owners, and working for them. Keep your eyes open while you're young and you can learn a lot more than you can sitting in a class room.

Go get an entry level sales job, get used to hearing NO and you'll be better off than most people your age who are scared to call in a take out order.

And because I didn't answer your question, to find money you may look towards a hard money loan, theyre pricy, but price that into your numbers.
Assuming you don't have your own money you may still be able to get a portfolio loan on it, assuming fanny/freddie won't touch this property.
Print your numbers out and go talk to banks, more than 2. If they say the can't do it ask them who can, or what you can change to make it work.

Jack nailed it. Be 100% sure in your numbers, then when you're sure, try and prove yourself wrong. Messing up either the ARV or the repair cost can be the nail in the coffin.

Why is the owner so interested in selling? What does he know that you don't? Why doesn't he just take it to market? Be critical of your deal and make sure to take off your rose colored glasses. 

One of the things I've noticed, especially with the podcast is that a lot of the content seems more "rah rah!" than nitty gritty investment talk. I can imagine why, I would *guess* that some disproportionate number (80%?) of folks on here are either working on getting their first deal, or have one rental and are dreaming of number 2.

I constantly hear trailer parks being plugged, various books being plugged, and more shows on generic "How I went from 0 to 1400 units in ONE YEAR!". Bring back the talk about the middle, bring back guys who don't have entire teams working for them but are out there hustling trying to turn 6 units into 10, or buy a small complex that may or may not work. It seems a lot of the technical talk has been lost, and that's what I always look to bigger pockets for.

Every time I come here it seems like someone is trying to convince me real estate is a good investment. I figured that part out already, now I want to know how to make my business better.

This varies by university. Mine has an "off campus housing list" on the university, and a Facebook group. I've also gotten students through Zillow.

Go on the school website, go to a Starbucks and ask a student. Pretend you're trying to rent a room as a student.

At my school the Facebook group is a home run for me.

Following. I would love to find a system that was better than keeping physical receipts, especially if it was cloud based.

I have a hard time keeping track of a mountain of receipts while doing large remodels.

Just another jumping in to say you don't need a realtor. If you understand the process, just fill out the purchase agreement and off you go

All 3 tenants refused a showing? Red flag.

Attorney? Red flag.

No pictures? Red flag.

In my state you do not need the tenants permission to enter, but there are laws about entry, harassment, and providing reasonable notice. I would be very surprised if all 3 tenants refused entry, one difficult tenant out of 3 sure, but all 3? Unlikely.

Threatening legal action to keep you out? Sounds like a big scary bluff that will keep a newbie investor from seeing something that would change their mind.

I would educate yourself about entry notice law, and try again. I would wager that there is something in one or all of those units that the owner doesn't want you to see.

30 year fixed at high 2's low 3's can't be beat. You can lock in a rate that's lower than inflation, it's basically free money.