All Forum Posts by: Karen Margrave

When we were building spec new construction in southern CA I had a lot of people wanting to pay us to mentor them. We wouldn't. Running a business and building is a full time job. Having time to train someone at the same time would have been too much of a distraction. I was always happy to give detailed information to help people move ahead, etc. Rather than looking for a mentor that charges you, maybe try to find a job working for someone in the business, a developer, contractor, realtor, etc. Take classes in business law, finance, learn to analyze deals, etc. Search for meetups in your area and go to them.  Get to KNOW your market so that when you find a deal, you'll recognize it. 

Quote from @Mike Williams:

Hello everyone.  
My son is 24 years old and has over a million dollars. (He earned this $ as an underground rapper and still earns about $40k a month)

I’d like to help him invest that money in real estate but I have no idea where to start.  

If you were 24 and had this kind of money, what would you do?

Thanks!

How exciting that your son is that successful doing something he loves! You must be so proud.  Real Estate is a great investment. Southern CA has some incredible markets. When the market crashed in 2008, we were in Redding, CA. My husband, adult kids and their families all decided to move to southern California, knowing it would be the first to rebound. All of us were in construction and real estate.  Once there, and not knowing anything about the area, I started searching online, and came across BP. I immediately was hooked and started consistently answering posts, etc, and soon was asked to moderate. 

Though there weren't really many other investors at the time on BP doing spec new construction, I saw a need for a meetup and started one in Lake Forest. I also got BP to add the forums for New Construction so that people could post photos of projects in progress, and I knew STR were going to be hot, so got that going too.  

We decided that being in a new market, though it was the most expensive, the coastal areas had the greatest potential for appreciation, high demand for rentals, etc. We ended up building in San Clemente, and Capo Beach. You can see our projects by going to my other website, 1stamericanconstruction   

The point is, whatever market, or niche you decide to invest in, do your homework, and mitigate as much risk as possible. Check licenses, etc. Good luck. 

First off I'd suggest not putting how much money he has on a public forum, as it can be a magnet for unscrupulous people. Anyone can track down a person with the tiniest bit of information. The advice given above is good, with the caveat of checking the references of any financial advisors, CPAs, etc. If you would like the post removed, or me to edit out the dollar amount, message me.  

You will want to find out what the regulations are for the state and for the area you live in. It also depends on the type of service you are offering. In CA there are transitional living homes for sober living. Some offer long term room rentals, others are short term. Then there are those that are associated with a type of program, licensed by the state, and require different levels of service for the clients, such as counseling, requiring they attend 12 step programs, parenting classes, etc. 

It depends on where you are, and what labor market is. I'd suggest calling someone that does drywall and see if they can give you a bid. If they're swamped, see if they can give you a ballpark figure off plans.  If it's for new construction, send the plans. If it's for a remodel, do a diagram of the room, with dimensions, height of ceiling, etc. and you should be able to get a pretty good idea. Some photos too. 

In southern CA sometimes subs could be in another town an hour away, so to save time I had my website, with a tab with info on the project (for buyers) and a tab for subcontractors, and I uploaded our building plans for them to access and give me bids. Worked great! 

@Account Closed Thank you for your detailed answer. Though I didn't have all the information, I was afraid that the process was as you described. I don't want to pay for lists that I have to weed through to find the few people that might be qualified buyers. On some of the lead generation platforms they ask if potential buyer has been pre qualified with a lender, and if not, they are assigned a lender as well as an agent. With real estate investors, many use private or hard money, so it's a little different process, but they still would know if they have financing lined up. I don't mind paying for high quality leads that have a good chance of conversion. Also with investors, there should be a qualifier as to the type of property they're looking for on the questionnaire. In my area everyone wants a multi family, and we just don't have any available for sale, so those leads would be a waste. 

Quote from @Caleb Brown:

Quote from @Karen Margrave:

@Brian Blosser @Caleb Brown @Corby Goade @Austin Johnson @Zander Kempf @Janel Kolbo @Benjamin Mavity @Manny Vasquez @Robert Finn

Overall are you satisfied with the quality of the leads on Featured Agent, in comparison to others? Is any prequalification of buyers done? 

My issue that I have is that I've been a moderator and member since 2009. I have posted thousands of posts, offering free, detailed advice for members on all things real estate development, construction and real estate. I did this to help others and as a side benefit grow my network and become the go to person for BP members in my area as a Realtor and General Contractor. I've started Meetups in Orange County, CA and in Bend, OR.  In other words, I've added value to the BP brand over the years. However; now whenever I do a post and put in "if you have any questions" or "if you need more information, I'm happy to help" my posts are taken down, and I'm asked to buy Featured Agent, depriving posters of helpful, expert advice. 

So my biggest question is, what value do the paid leads actually have over posting in the forums and consistently giving advice?  Over the years I have done deals with BP members that have joint ventured, funded deals, and purchased homes through me. However; since the Featured Agent push, there's now someone else in my area that's a paid featured agent, so apparently participating in the forums and answering questions will no longer be of value in picking up BP clients, they'll go to the Featured Agent that's only relationship with BP is paying his bill for leads. 

 I do both. I actively post on the forums and find clients through that. I also get leads through the paid part. Currently it has slowed down a little so I get 20-30 leads per month. You have to be careful about what you post, I haven't gotten my posts taken down in a few years(when I was a rookie). Maybe being a featured agent is a part but I'd say keep posting helping people and don't do self promos. 

I'm a moderator on BP, and have been for many years. I'm one of the people that take down, remove, or edit posts. It's pretty subjective, based on the moderator. Some are more rigid than others. Personally if there's a post that has a line in it that may be a promo, I will edit out that one line, leave the post and let the poster know I did that, so that the information given is still up.  Back to the Featured Agent info. 

My question was to try to get some feedback from members, on the paid Featured Agent ads. I've paid for leads before. I know that some of the providers do pre qualifications so the leads are hot leads, and others have simple forms that request a name, phone, and email and you have to weed through them. Where on the scale does BP fall?  

@Brian Blosser @Caleb Brown @Corby Goade @Austin Johnson @Zander Kempf @Janel Kolbo @Benjamin Mavity @Manny Vasquez @Robert Finn

Overall are you satisfied with the quality of the leads on Featured Agent, in comparison to others? Is any prequalification of buyers done? 

My issue that I have is that I've been a moderator and member since 2009. I have posted thousands of posts, offering free, detailed advice for members on all things real estate development, construction and real estate. I did this to help others and as a side benefit grow my network and become the go to person for BP members in my area as a Realtor and General Contractor. I've started Meetups in Orange County, CA and in Bend, OR.  In other words, I've added value to the BP brand over the years. However; now whenever I do a post and put in "if you have any questions" or "if you need more information, I'm happy to help" my posts are taken down, and I'm asked to buy Featured Agent, depriving posters of helpful, expert advice. 

So my biggest question is, what value do the paid leads actually have over posting in the forums and consistently giving advice?  Over the years I have done deals with BP members that have joint ventured, funded deals, and purchased homes through me. However; since the Featured Agent push, there's now someone else in my area that's a paid featured agent, so apparently participating in the forums and answering questions will no longer be of value in picking up BP clients, they'll go to the Featured Agent that's only relationship with BP is paying his bill for leads. NOTE:  Let's keep all comments geared toward things we think would improve the current system. 

You'll want to be sure that the seller is going to carry before canceling the loan in process. Each state has their own RE laws and regulations, so it's good to get familiar with them. If there's already been an appraisal or any inspections etc. done associated with the original loan, he will probably have to pay those fees. If you use an escrow company, you should be able to discuss it with them, and ask what you need to do to substitute the new lender (seller) on the escrow. 

Quote from @Chase Tompkins:

Quote from @Karen Margrave:

Loans are all about risk, security and reward. Loaning money to someone that has no money of their own into a project (skin in the game) and no experience building, wouldn't make any sense for a lender. On new construction, NOTHING is there to secure the loan, especially if you don't have the money to buy the lot. Private lenders are usually people that you know, and have a relationship with, that are willing to risk their money on you for some reason.  If you owned the lot, you'd be in a much better position to get a construction loan. 

A better first step for you might be to learn about the process of home building, from buying land through getting plans, permits, and construction loan. Maybe try to get a job working for a developer or contractor.  

 I agree with you 100% I plan on owning the lot first before trying to get a loan or acquiring any money. Thank you for your input it really helps!

If you don't own the lot free and clear, it's still possible to use the equity in it, if when purchasing it you have a healthy down payment, and the seller agrees to "subordinate to a construction loan", which gives the construction lender 1st position. However; that puts the seller of the property at a huge risk should you be unable to perform and finish the construction on time, within budget, and value be what you think it is going to be. Usually a seller won't do this unless it's with an experienced builder with an actual track record.