All Forum Posts by: Brian Wilson

 It's the principle. Time is the same for everyone. You just discussed all of the front end work associated with using contractors. After that period, it becomes quite minimal if you do a good job on the front end. 

I do this for a living, managing my sub contractors is such a minimal amount of time especially once a project gets off the ground. Which yes is on average less than 5 hours per week. It's effective time management which you'll become better at over time. 

Eventually this all boils down to priorities. If your desired 10 cap is only achievable by value add in your market, and you decide you don't have the time to do value add deals, well then your time is more important than that return. 

@Penny Lane

Use a contractor. If you're able to post on here you likely have the time to manage a contractor. 

@Tyler Sellars 

@Joe Villeneuve answered your question.. No short term debt. Not to not buy RE. Just not use short term debt. I agree with this 100% if your a savvy investor with deep pockets I'd say play the interest only loan / short term debt game all day long (better cash flow). But given history, ARM and balloon payments at the top end of a market... that's a no for me.

@Jonathan Cox Deployment money? lol

I would look into house hacking using your VA Loan. Buy one deal at every duty station you're at, make sure you have a solid PM in place before leaving and you're familiar with the area before you buy. So spend your first year at your new command looking around for good areas to invest, then buy a small multifamily with your VA loan, rehab rent out, and then when you go on to your next duty station, refi into a conventional loan with the 25% equity you built up the past couple years (this will reload your VA loan).

Then after doing that, you'll slowly gain experience as a land lord and eventually you'll find a market you like and the numbers make sense. Then you use the 120k (more by now) that you've saved up to buy properties for cash, rehab them, rent them out, and refinance (BRRRR). This will accelerate your growth rate.

But that's just exactly what I'm doing. Minus all the moving around (not active duty).

PRETEND YOU'RE BROKE WHEN YOU'RE FIRST LOOKING AT DEALS. Everyone I've talked to that didn't almost always bought a bad deal or a less than ideal one. 

Good luck brother.

@Anessa Salinas

Welcome to BP. The truth is, you need money in REI. Which is probably why you've considered becoming a wholesaler. Depending on where you live this can be illegal or in the gray area of the law (unless you are licensed). Another factor to consider is that wholesaling requires you understand all aspects of REI, which typically you don't as a newbie. It's not impossible, just a thought to consider.

If I were in your situation, I would consider a live in BRRRR (or live in flip) or just a house hack. By house hacking small multi-families (1 every 12-15 months) you can build a pretty solid portfolio with minimal barrier of entry. If you live in flip, you can sell your house every 2 years and use the profits to buy a rental. This would allow you to reload every 2 years (assuming you had no other way to generate a down payment).

If you want to own apartments, then I would buy rentals. Too many people want to do "x" so they end up doing "y" and "z" which ultimately dilutes their ability to do "x" the original reason they came to REI.

Figure out your goals and work backwards to determine what steps you need to take.

Education costs money, whether that's the books you buy or the internet you use to access this site; nothing is free. Just determine what you value most when determining how much you want to spend on your education.

As @Nick C. said. All the feel good motivation stuff fades eventually. Discipline is HUGE to anything you do. I spent most of my life as an athlete competing at a relatively high level. As I got older I started to hate fitness. But this past year I've been serious about my training. Finding reasonable ways to overcome your own laziness and excuses and then executing with frequency against the things you need to do.

For example in my fitness instance, in the winter I use the excuse of "I hate treadmills" and "it's too cold I'm not running" so I bough a rogue echo bike and literally put it at the foot of my bed. I've used it nearly every day since.

Basically having the self awareness to out work your faults (mitigate them), and then stick to these tactics. 

This is applicable to everything you do in life. 

I'm looking for an agent familiar with small multifamily properties in the Kansas City Northland area. I will be buying at least one property this year.

Property types: 2-4 units.

Price range: 150k-350k

Location(s): 64150, 64151, 64152, 64118, 64119

Most people have shiny object syndrome. I quit my job to pursue my REI goals and overall happiness 2 years ago. I was terrified. But now I'm successful entrepreneur using sales arbitrage to sell shoes on the internet. Just kidding, I actually chose a different career. One that I thought I would enjoy more and would provide some leverage in the RE space. I work as a construction manager now for a really great company, and the best thing? I have a stable W-2 that allows me to gain phenomenal skills daily that I can leverage toward REI, I make pretty decent money, and I'm happier. Too many people think they need to start their own business when in reality they just need to try different jobs until they find one they want to make a career out of.

Money is great, but mental health is important, so you shouldn't hate your job and just keep your head in the sand. Take a pay cut, find something you enjoy, and rebuild your career. 

It should be noted I haven't been able to buy my first property yet, BECAUSE I made the change but I'm okay with that, as It'll pay off in the long run and I'm just happier. 

Great post man.

@Dennis M.

I thought CoC was cash flow (after all expenses) in relation to capital invested in the property?

Am I missing something?

 Those jobs are just as boring. I was a contractor on the civilian side for a bit. My military function was way more enjoyable but it was because of the command/unit/ mission I supported. If you want do something high speed try to get attached to an SF element. Lots of JSOC opportunities out there. Just do your best, learn as much as possible and stay humble. 

Plus those civilian jobs don't pay all that well. Look at the areas they require you to live (living near DC and making 75k a year is not much, trust me). The intel community is facing compressed wages post 2011. The grass isn't always greener on the other side.