All Forum Posts by: Chris Trupiano

Hey BP,

I'm looking to get my second property and am looking to buy a 3/4-plex. I recently got some advice from one of my mentors to open an account with a credit union and establish relationships there for the financing on it. Would it be better to use a credit union or find a portfolio lender for the purchase? I'm looking for a value-add property in need of moderate repairs. Also I'm possibly looking for FHA/203k financing, is this possible with a credit union?

Hello BP,

I'm looking to the community for a little advice on which direction to head in my real estate career. I'm a 19 year old college student with one deal completed, a single family home in Kansas City that is rent-to-own. 

Looking forward, my belief is that working up to large apartment building would be the end goal for the passive cashflow. My problem is the steps to get there. My current thought is to move away from using rent-to-own and acquire smaller, multi-unit properties to build up equity and cashflow then continue to pyramid up to larger properties. Again I'm unsure on the steps to complete this. I have thought about using a FHA loan to acquire a quad in my current college town of Lawrence, KS, and also try to find a local mentor to flip houses to get capital for down payments. Would either option be viable?

I'm looking to the BP community to ask, with the time I have starting out young, what path would you take to build up your portfolio and passive cashflow to not have to work the 9-5?

I recently got my first tenant in my contract for deed property. I had told them that i require online rent payments. As much as I remind them and ask them to sign up they will not. They sent last months rent as a check. I ultimately prefer online rent for the automation by requiring recurring payments with erent. How should i go about getting them ti sign up? My only real idea is offering something like $50 next months 

Hi Reggie I just posted a few weeks ago about my first property. Check it out if you'd like.

Hi BP!

I'm happy to finally share a story in the success stories section! I closed on my first house two days ago at the age of 18. It still feels crazy to me. It all wouldn't have been possible without my great mentor. That was invaluable doing this deal so young and having no experience. 

So the house. It's located in Kansas City in a lower income but not horrible area. It's mostly families that have lived there their whole lives. The purchase price was $43,500. My intention is to do a contract for deed/rent to own deal like my mentor does, the reason being that I'd still have his mentorship in the process, great cashflow, and very low level of maintenance as I'll be around a hour away for college. This is not my long term strategy.

This deal really showed me and I think everyone should know you don't need to know it all before you jump in. You will learn as you go. Yes my mentor helped me so much and that was invaluable but even so I have learned so much more concrete things about real estate than I have from all the books I've read. BP has been a great help for me along the way also. If anyone is still thinking about getting started, even if you don't have a mentor, do it. You will learn as you go and BP members are always willing to answer questions (thank you so much to all that did this for me).

If anyone has experience with contract for deed/rent to owns I'd love to connect with you. I'm always looking for advice and willing to share what I or my mentor has done. Also anyone in Kansas City or Lawrence I'd love to talk anytime.

@Ron Szmik I'm between cozy and erentpayment. I'm favoring erentpayment for the automatic late fees and reminder emails. Does cozy offer anything similar?

@Devin Morgan what quality of tenants do you have. Mine will be lower income so unsure if they will have computer access? Who do you charge the fee for this service? If it's the tenant does this ever cause a problem?

@Mike Jones do your tenants just drop a check off at a branch of your bank? And how can you tell which person has paid?

@Nancy Curran which bank do you use and how did you set this up?

Hey BP, I'll be closing on my first property on the 20th. I'm unsure the best way for me to collect rent. I'll be living around an hour away from the house so I'd prefer not to pick up checks and mailing isn't the best option for me. I'm between having the tenant deposit it at my bank which has a branch only about 2 minutes away from them or use an online payment such as erentpayment (or any other site suggestions you guys have). In your experience which would be best? Thanks

@Giovanny Alfonso

It is a investment.