All Forum Posts by: Ben Meisel

Welcome Travelle!  Read, listen, learn.... but most of all, don't be afraid to act.  It's all theoretical until you get your hands dirty on a deal!  That's when you truly learn!  Best of luck!

Look for hard money lenders in your area.  That's how some people buy foreclosures with "all cash."  These are short term loans, and it's not the cheapest money, but it gets you in the place (just make sure the numbers work out for you).  If you're planning to hold a long time, just focus on getting it refinanced as quickly as possible after the purchase.

There are a lot of variables in play here, especially where you are now financially and how much you plan to invest in order to hit that monthly goal.  If you can get into a 75 unit building that nets $200/door/month after all costs, reserves, etc... you're there, $15k/month!  But, without knowing where you starting from, it's hard to figure out how far you have to go in your desired timeline.

Hi, I am a RE Broker in Washington State, and I'm looking for a Denver area broker to refer some friends to. Specifically, they are looking in the neighborhoods of Candelas, Five Parks, and Lakecrest Cape, among some others around there.

If you are, or know of, an excellent RE Broker, please let me know! Thanks very much!

Without knowing anything about your background, that's a difficult question to answer. Real estate investing offers a lot of different opportunities to make (and lose!) money. What is a good place to start for one person might be a terrible place for you to start. I'd encourage you to start listening to the BP podcasts, and read through the various forums. Watch for an aspect of RE investing that intrigues you and sounds like a good fit for your skills, interests, and current financial situation. Learn what you can, and then take action to learn some more. Best of luck!

Hi @Blake King - did this sell?  Thanks.

Sometimes vacant lots don't actually have a mailing address until something is built on it. Your county may be different, but I typically look for the parcel number of the lot. Then, through the county you should be able to use that parcel number to look up who the person is that is responsible for paying the property taxes, along with their mailing address, wherever they live. Again, it may be different where you are, but that's how I do it up here.

Have you thought about simply getting your real estate license and starting there? Also, I'm assuming you meant 2,000 sf home. Either 20k or 200k sf are pretty huge.

I know that when I really, really want something, I tend to get a bit of a tunnel vision.  I get focused on what I want, and am quite blind to what I don't want to see (the risks or negative aspects). 

Similarly, I think is easy for newbies to get excited about flipping houses or building a rental empire and read all the success stories without realizing really what's at stake, or the horror stories.  Many of the posts, stories, and podcasts are based on success stories - because let's face it those are more fun to hear and talk about.  Overall, the forums are likely more weighted towards the success side of the business.  

Have there been any podcasts featuring someone who struck out in real estate and went back to a 9-5?  Probably not, but I'll bet there are plenty of people who have done that.  

Just encourage new investors to study both sides (the good and the bad), and determine if the (realistic) potential reward is worth the risk.  As always, caveat emptor.

Looking for a friend of mine who would like to buy around Prescott.  Does anyone have any referrals for excellent agent/brokers who work well with out of state clients?