All Forum Posts by: Ben Morand

@Jason Taliaferro I appreciate that Jason! House hacking seems to be a common suggestion so I will 100% go for it. Thanks for the advice!

@Katalina Mendoza So far, I’ve read:

- The Book on Rental Property Investing

- The Book on Investing in Real Estate With No (and Low) Money Down

- The Book on Managing Rental Properties

- The Book on Flipping Houses

- The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs

and I am planning on reading these next:

- Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat

- The Book on Negotiating Real Estate

All of these books have been incredible tools, as well as the various BP podcasts and bloggers. I’d also recommend mixing in some motivational/business books such as:

- Rich Dad Poor Dad

- Cashflow Quadrant

- Think and Grow Rich

- How to Win Friends and Influence People

- The 4-Hour Work Week

- The Richest Man in Babylon

Once you've read a lot of these books, listened to the podcasts, browsed blog posts, posted on the forums, attended local REI clubs, talked to other investors, analyzed several properties, etc. you should feel a lot more confident with your knowledge. Also, it's awesome that you are looking to become an agent. The pre-licensing course really helped me learn some of the underlying principles as well.

Really hope this helped! I’d love to stay connected going forward!

@Katalina Mendoza For sure! From what I've heard, house hacking serves as the best entry strategy for new investors, especially with little money because with the FHA program, you can obtain loans for very low money down. And on top of this, it is a solid way to learn the process without diving straight into the deep end. However, I've also heard that it's smart to have at least $10,000 in cash reserves before investing. This way, you can cover 6 months of PITI payments just in case (also this is a requirement from most lenders) and have extra cash to handle any unforeseen circumstances.

For me, I am planning on starting as an agent (I take my exam in August, fingers crossed!) so that I can build some stronger cash reserves, as well as knowledge on the market I’d like to invest in. Also I’ve been doing hours of educating myself every day haha! By any chance, have you read any of the BiggerPockets books? If not, I’d love to recommend a few.

@Katalina Mendoza Hey Katalina! That's awesome to hear of another aspiring investor my age! I'd definitely love to connect. There are a ton of strong markets in Florida worth considering. Orlando, Tampa/St. Pete, and West Palm Beach are some of the strongest that I hear of for a variety of aspects. All have different strengths depending on what you are looking for. Do you have any idea of what kinds of properties you are looking for and what you want out of your REI journey? I'd love to keep in touch going forward!

@Thomas Enright Thanks Thomas! I agree, starting with $4000 is a bit ambitious. I actually recently completed my pre-licensing course, as well as my application and fingerprinting to become an agent, so I am planning on focusing on that, and hoping to get a sale or two in the next year. With that, I will be able to build additional cash reserves as well as greater knowledge on the market.

Thank you for the podcast recommendation! I’m an active listener of the real estate one and the rookie one, but have not yet listened to the money one. I’ll be sure to listen to that one starting today! Funny enough, I actually do Uber Eats right now like you mentioned. It’s a great way to make money on your own schedule (and a lot more than minimum wage at that haha).

Again, I really appreciate your insight and I’d love to connect!

@Ryan Deasy Hey Ryan! Thanks for your insight! So where I live permanently, there is a lack of small multifamily (however, there is a lot of large MF opportunity). By my university, though, which is about 2 hours from my permanent residence, small multifamily properties are very common. I have considered investing in this market, especially with the option to house hack while I’m still in school there. I appreciate your insight. It’s cool to hear from people that already have experience in the industry!

@Mikael Winkler Thanks so much Mikael, I’ll PM you with some questions if that’s okay?

@Katie Haman Thanks so much Katie! I appreciate your insight!

@Jon Kelly Jon, thanks so much for those words of encouragement! I completely agree, taking action is the key that holds so many people back.

@Ryan Howell That is such a valid point. And yes, that quote is definitely from Rich Dad Poor Dad haha! I’ll look into it, but I’ll also have to talk to my roommates, as they’d also need to find someone to fill in for me. And make sure I would be able to acquire a deal as well. Lots of boxes to check off but who’s to say it can’t be done, right? Thanks so much for your advice and encouragement Ryan!