All Forum Posts by: Brandon Sok

Physical & Health Education K-12

MBA - Marketing Emphasis

I was a college basketball coach for 7 years. I started hating my job and trading hours for pennies. My wife and I started and marketing company, house hacked a duplex to reduce expenses, replaced my income, and I finally was able to quit.

I've got 2 duplexes and an SFH. Never would have dreamed this up when I was getting either degree.

Finally circling back to this. Thanks for all the feedback and insight! 

All my properties are in a small college town and I only want to advertise to the college and its students/staff. They have classifieds but I want to be able to showcase my properties digitally beyond the classified listing. Zillow and other platforms open me up to lots of calls, emails, and apps that I don't want.

I'll likely go Wix or Squarespace.

I turn 33 on Wednesday. 1 SFH and 2 Duplexes. Buy and hold for cash flow.

I want my rental listings, photos and applications online. Who else is doing this? Which platform do you love and why?

Great work @Joseph Breamer! Great numbers and a good job on the rehab!

I've heard that Simple Bank as features like this. You might look into them. 

Chase bank as auto-transfer amounts as well. On our personal acct at Chase, 10% of every deposit made goes into savings.

@Talisha Weeks Bigger Pockets has Youtube videos that teach it. Also, there are free spreadsheets available if you do some Googling. I always try to learn as much as I can for free and thanks to this BP and others, that is possible. Repeatedly evaluating various properties for their potential Income, Expenses, loan payments, and cash flow will give you the skills you need to dive into your first deal. 

Hi @Talisha Weeks, welcome to BP! I think you have a great plan. My wife and I started that way as well. We bought a duplex with an FHA loan and lived there for 1.5 years.

Here's a couple of things that have helped me:

- Start analyzing properties on a regular basis. Know the market so that when a deal pops, you're prepared. (we waited a year and waited for a duplex to drop from $139k to $89k. We offered the day it dropped for the 3rd time.

- Build relationships with lenders, real estate agents, etc so that you are informed on the market and prepared to make an offer.

- Don't rush into a deal just because you're excited about Real Estate investing.

Best of luck to you!! This is a great community as well.

Hi Edgar, 

I like the idea of reduced liability, personally. BUT I also like avoiding days of vacancy. If you are confident you can still rent it out in the 13 days after they move out, then that seems like a good option.

I was in a similar situation. I had 3 leases turning over on May 31 and I used this process:

- Coordinated with the current residents to have a video walk-thru of the unit recorded.

- Send the video to all interested parties and encourage them because of COVID to make a decision based on the video.

- If a qualified applicant on the waitlist is ready to sign but won't sign without a showing, I coordinate to have the residents prep for showing. I required the prospective tenants to wear a mask during the showing.

While interest rates are low, refinancing isn't a bad option.

I have heard from lenders of troubles for individuals who apply for the mortgage forbearance. The latest episode of the Rental Income Podcast covers this.