All Forum Posts by: Brenden Mitchum

@Joy-anne Naughton Well I am not entirely sure of your level of real estate knowledge but since you said you're a novice I'll give you some good ones to start with. I highly recommend Gary Keller's Millionaire Real Estate Investor. I also just finished up Ken McElroy's ABCs of Real Estate Investing which was also a great beginner book but is definitely more geared towards multifamily investing. If you're thinking of going the rental property route, definitely read @Brandon Turner's Book on Rental Property Investing. His low money down book was great too if you plan on getting creative with financing. And if you're looking to save money and get started in REI ASAP, @Craig Curelop's The House Hack Strategy is a must read. There are also at least 100 other fantastic books so don't worry too much about "the best;" just start consuming as much information as you can.

As for meetups, you are in a great location for these. Many I have been to are within a 20 minute drive from you. There are tons of options so just check out biggerpockets.com/events and meetup.com and start attending whichever ones line up with your schedule.

Hi @Joy-anne Naughton! Welcome to the BP community and the wide-world of real estate!

Starting out, my tip is to just learn as much as you can. Absorb yourself in real estate. Read books, listen to podcasts, be active here on BP and get out to some local meetups in your area.

What area of GA are you located?

Hey @Patrick Slagle. I'd love to recommend a VA brokerage to you. I can't put contact info here but feel free to shoot me a message.

Not even a single Atlanta area landlord here to comment on this?

Hello everyone,

I know certain iterations of this question have been asked over and over again here, but I have not been able to find one that quite fits my situation.

I am in negotiations for a SFH in Gwinnett County, GA. There are 7 bedrooms in the house. 4 of the bedrooms have their own bathroom and kitchenette. I will be staying in one of those and renting out the other 3, plus a larger 3x2 living space. Right now the current landlord is dumping buckets of cash into the utility bill every month. My calculations have me breaking even every month if I do the same. This is not a terrible result of a house hack. However, this gives little wiggle room and I'd much prefer to find a way to make the tenants responsible, not only because it will reduce my costs, but also because it will reduce overall usage and be much more Earth-friendly.

Now I am aware I have two options here to have the tenants pay utilities: RUBS and submetering. I plan on discussing both options with the utility company once we enter due diligence. However, I would love to hear from some of you first.

If I could snap my fingers and make one happen, obviously I would take submetering. However, this may be very costly and I am tentative to do anything that would make the county think I am running some kind of 5-unit apartment or something. Does anyone have a solution to either of these points? 

In regards to RUBS, one of the tenants has been there 12 years without paying her utilities and the rest have been there at least a year or two without it. I am afraid they will argue about who is really using how much. Another issue here is that the controls for heat and a/c or only located in my unit and the 3x2.

I know this sounds messy but I have no doubt I will find a way to make it work. Any and all constructive advice and tips are welcomed! Thank you!

Hey @Patrick Enright! First off, welcome to the BP community!

You may have already done this and just did not mention it, but definitely take some time to figure out why you want to invest in real estate. What are your goals? Start big (10+ years out) then work backwards. This will help you develop a real plan that you can use to keep yourself focused and motivated. 

Next, you should definitely start attending some meetups. There are plenty in the Atlanta area and you can find them here at biggerpockets.com/events or meetup.com. I can't say which are "the best" but I'd be happy to give you a few I've benefited from. Just shoot me a message.

And just keep analyzing those properties! Drive over to the ones you think would be a good deal and see what you think about the neighborhood. Everything here in Atlanta is hyperlocal, especially closer to the city, so you definitely want to get familiar with the areas you're searching in. 

Please, feel free to shoot me a message anytime with questions or just to chat.

Hey @Nick Holland! First off, Welcome to the BP community!

I, too, am a new investor in the Atlanta area and just as @Sher J. mentioned, I highly recommend getting out to some meetups. These are a fantastic way to connect and surround yourself with like-minded individuals. I have not gone to a meetup yet that I have not learned something (or multiple somethings) at. Also, being active here in the BP forums is a great way to network and learn - we're all here to help each other. 

But it looks like you are coming into this educated and with a plan in mind so that is a fantastic start and better than most. One thing I will say is that you have an decent goal but your plan to get there is a little vague. There is nothing wrong with this because it's hard to determine exactly how you want this journey to go, but start by building a timeline. By when do you want to be free from that job? Now work backwards from there to really build your plan. While you probably won't follow this to a tee, it is a great way to stay focused and motivated.

Lastly, here is an article that just went up yesterday that I found very useful as a fellow beginner.

Please feel free to message me anytime if you have any questions or just want to chat!

@Mike H. Sounds to me like you shouldn't have a hard time finding what you are looking. There are plenty of homes being flipped in these areas at the moment so you could definitely find a nice, turnkey property within your price range (assuming you're not looking for a project).

Hey @Robert P.!

Yes, you can refinish a fiberglass bathtub.

There is a nifty company called Bath Fitter that I've stumbled across (I don't remember where). Anyways, I do not personally have experience with them but thought you may want to check it out. If you do, let me know how it goes!

If you have other questions or just want to chat, feel free to shoot me a message anytime.

Hey @Jason White.

In my opinion, the only major worry with implementing the BRRRR strategy, if a downturn were to occur, is the refinancing step. If the downturn occurs mid-BRRRR, dropping home prices could make getting that expected ARV impossible. This could be a huge problem because you would be forced to find another way to pay off that hard/private money. Now there are a couple ways to mitigate this threat. The obvious one is to use only your own cash in the deal. For me, and many others, this is not possible so another mitigation technique is to only buy great deals. For example, subtract 15% or more from your ARVs to pad yourself against a potential drop in home prices.

You may have to reduce rent rates if you start seeing vacancies. During a recession homes will be more affordable so many renters may look to buy during this time. On the flip side, you may see a decrease in vacancies as people are forced to rent out or sell their own homes. It really will depend on your market and renter demographics so just know your numbers and you'll know how much you can decrease rents and still cash flow. Historically speaking, well-managed rental properties that were bought right weather recessions pretty well. 

Diversifying has always been the best way to recession-proof one's investments. Not much else to say on that. 

Anyways, just my two cents. Hope it helped! Feel free to message me anytime if you have other questions or just want to chat!