All Forum Posts by: Brian Walters

@Amir Hemmat start with what you know best. If you go local you can have eyes on everything and probably have contacts, or contacts that can recommend trades.

If you go OOS learn as much as you can about the area first. That extra time can save you a lot of money on the backend.

Go luck!

This thread has put out a lot of the same questions I've had and been trying to answer through research and the forums.  I can plug numbers in all day, no problem, happy to do the work.  But how do you know if the numbers you are using are accurate?  If you don't trust yourself with the data points you're entering how can you trust the result of the analysis?

My guess, and what I'm going to try and go with when I'm ready for that first purchase, is do as much market research as you can, be conservative if you aren't sure, and have an exit strategy.  

One thing I like most about REI is it's unlikely I will lose all the money I put in. Should I lose some, try and minimize that amount, and take it as paying for a lesson.

Any other tips, or orders of operations suggestions anyone may have, I would appreciate any help anyone is willing to give.

@Amean Galindo, @Miller McSwain, @Jeremy Wirths thank you all again for the thoughts and help.

I do have one other question (well there are a lot of questions) but 1 more on this piece.  When practicing analyzing deals, how do you know if you've done it correctly?  Without extensive experience in all aspects, the estimates on each piece would be educated guesses at best.  

How do you measure the success of any deals you analyze?

Thank you both @Miller McSwain and @Jeremy Wirths for the advice.  What do you recommend for the best way to start building relationships, from this distance (currently in NYC) and with everything going on with Covid?  Is it just a matter of finding people in these forums from the Las Vegas area and reach out introducing myself?

I am currently working to learn and do as much as possible ahead of me and the family moving to the Las Vegas area in the middle of next year. The goal is to purchase my first SFH investment in that area, using the BRRRR strategy, within a year of being there.

So far I have read multiple books, watched/listened to podcasts, on the BP forums, and anything else I can think of.  No one else in my family/inner circle invest like this in any way so trying to find as much as I can on my own.

Looking for any suggestions on what else can be done to learn more.  Obviously there is a lot more to be read.  Another goal is to start practice analyzing properties (though I admit I'm not 100% confident in that). My wife found some online courses through udemy.com that I'm currently looking into (any feedback on that would be appreciated).  But what else can be done?????

If there is anyone in the greater Vegas area willing to give any advice on the market, Vegas investor groups to join, seminar, or just talk, anything, I am interested.   

Thank you all for the time.

@David M. that credit card points.... point, is a great one. If expenses can run through a card that gives points, or cash back, that is added positive that you may not account for in the initial analysis but could serve as a nice bonus.  Or a way to fund time away with the family.

In the end it's clear that having access to a good lawyer and CPA are key in making this work regardless of going with an LLC or not. Either way my plan is to use a separate bank account to run all funds, and income through. I want to make sure the investments are separate from my personal income/expenses. The last thing I want are legal issues or hearing from the IRS.

Once again, thank you to all for the input.  It seems like there are definitely pros and cons and I can see the points made by both sides.  

I am a little curious how those that don't go the LLC route clearly separate the personal expenses from business, though I'm sure this is more for a CPA to help determine. The umbrella insurance does sound like it would provided the protection which was part of my initial thought around going with the LLC(s) and something I will look to learn more about.

On the other hand, keeping it outside of a LLC does allow for the better loan terms, which is a big plus.

My plan right now is to BRRRR single family homes, using a property manager. I would be the investor, no partners, and want to keep myself separate from the business and tenants so I can focus on growing the business and buying more properties. The areas I'm looking into have properties between $150K-$400K. Not sure if that sways anyone's opinion on what they would do.

@David M. @Marcus Auerbach first, thank you for the input, much appreciated.

The loan piece is a big part that I left out of my initial post, but is definitely something that needs to be taken into consideration.  If the higher rates from a commercial loan are going to eliminate the cash flow, the benefit is gone.  Though it does sound like there is still a way to make it work if done carefully and correctly.  This is 1 part that keeps me on the fence of which way to go.

One thing I don't really see anyone speaking much to on this thread to this point are the tax benefits of the LLC. Aside from keeping the finances separate from my individual, there's also the ability to have expenses (valid expenses) flow through the LLC rather than personal expenses no? For example, if a new computer is purchased, couldn't it be paid for by the LLC rather than by me individually? Same could be true for a car, phone bills, etc. if the items are necessary to run the business. I'm sure everyone here has read Rich Dad Poor Dad and this is one of the many points that stuck with me. As long as I have a good CPA on my team, couldn't this be a huge personal benefit as well?

@Juan Hernandez what part of Queens?  Queens lifer here and know how tough it can be to even think of investing in this area with how prices have been the last 5-10 years.  House hack seems like a great way to go if that's an option.

I don't really have experience in this but I would agree with the above, do the check.  The way I would look at it is, what's the worst that could happen, you put a little time and effort in and the outlook is still great.  To not do it and have something go wrong, you'll be kicking yourself and could end up costing you a lot more.  At least this way if something goes wrong you know it's on you, not because you just accepted what was given to you.

You built a process, best bet is to stick with it.