All Forum Posts by: Ryan Baker

I agree with Chris (and I'd love a $150 fixer upper).  I'm trying to save up for a buy and hold in this area.  I'm probably going to have to start outside of town a ways other wise it's going to take me years to save up for a place locally.  My wife and I were renting a 900 square foot condo for over $2k a month that goes for around $400k, and our landlord couldn't wait for us to move out so she could raise the rent. 

I'm actively (as I type this) reading "what every real estate investor needs to know about cash flow... And 36 other key financial measures " by Frank Gallinelli. A great book as it goes over details of various calculations and rules of thumb. Fantastic book for a numbers junkie like me, but may be a thick read if you don't like doing calculations.

Welcome! I'm also in Sarasota and have just started learning about real estate investing. The local REIA is great, but tough to make of you have a full time job. Hope you enjoy both Sarasota and BP as both tend to be very friendly!

@Chris Raney

Great advice, thanks so much for the tip.  I'll get started on that spreadsheet now.  We're trying to save up for a down payment, hope to have one my the end of the year to mid next year.  My goal is to buy my first property in 2016 and one a year for the next several years after that.  I'll definitely text for any help, thanks again!

Congrats!  I'm also close to you in Sarasota, FL.  Looking forward to the numbers!  @Josie Sales The Sarasota County foreclosure auctions are held exclusively online.  The site is 

https://www.sarasota.realforeclose.com/index.cfm

My biggest challenge is coming up with a down payment for a property.  I have great credit, but I don't have the 20% to put down, and in my area that's going to be about $15-20K.  I'm particularly interested in buying and renting single family homes within a 30 minute drive in my city (Sarasota).  I don't have the cash for a down payment.  I'm also nervous about my ability to find the right property.  How do I estimate rents?  vacancies?  maintenance costs? etc.  But right now cash is definitely the biggest obstacle.

@Timothy Decarlo

I'm not sure how far outside the area you are in, but the Sarasota REIA meets weekly on Wednesdays at noon. They're a great group, have been very inviting, and very knowledgeable. Let me know if you're interested.

Welcome to BP and congrats on your success!  Very inspiring!  I'm a newbie in Sarasota, FL with an unrelated full time job, and look forward to your contributions on the forum!  

I have never personally done this strategy, however I have read about it.  As far as I've been able to find, attempting to purchase through a corporate entity will make it much more difficult for you to get a loan.  You'll probably have to go through the commercial lending department, or pay a higher interest rate or balloon payments.  Based on what I've read (both about real estate and about asset protection), unless you have substantial wealth or equity in the property, it's not worth it to use a corporate entity to purchase investment real estate.  Hopefully this is at least mildly helpful, I'm sure someone with more real world experience can offer more insight.

Congrats on your first deal!  Definitely an inspiring story, can't wait for my first!