All Forum Posts by: Chris Winslow

If water bills do not get paid, then the City of Grand Rapids can put a lien on your property even if the tenant is supposed to be responsible. I think this is still true but maybe somebody with more experience here can let you know. It seems like the norm for most of the area is that the landlord pays water in small multis but you could set the water up in your name and bill tenants to avoid any lien concerns. 

There is also a meetup on the third Wednesday, if you are specifically interested in multifamily

I think real estate is the better choice for the long term investment but I think Amazon FBA or other online business models can be a good way to make some extra in the meantime to invest in real estate as @Anthony Solis was saying. Not saying that online businesses are necessarily "easy money" though. Overall, real Estate gives you more control over your income and offers cash flow along with these other wealth generators:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/2016/02/10/4-po...

Welcome to BP, the Ultimate Beginners Guide by BP is great info for getting started but for more specific topics like that I would second the reply from @Jay Kadlec about the forums and discussions.

Beginners guide:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investin...

Seems like a cool idea in theory but seems like there may be a significant amount of risk in unknowns, especially for a 6% return (there are many people on this site that would be happy to give you a 6% return on your money by the way if you are interested in lending to others). I think a garage may be appealing, especially during the winter months. However, you may be able to save some money but still get some of the benefits by going with a carport. 

@Sam Hoesch this may be unrelated to your specific question but if you are paying 7% on student loans and have decent credit you can definitely look at refinancing. There are places that offer refinancing with no origination fees or early payoff penalties and could probably knock off at least a good 2% on your rate. This will help you save more for your investments over time.

Hey @Tipu Sultan I am a new to the area and a newbie with real estate (also still in the learning phase) but have been looking around the GR area at properties with @Jake Thomas, he has been a great resource and is very knowledgeable about the area. Good luck getting started!

- Also from your earlier reply, if you are still looking to get in touch with people from the site you can click their names and it will bring up the info about them and will allow you to message them directly

Hey everybody! I am new to real estate and am looking into purchasing my first deal in Grand Rapids, MI or one of the surrounding areas. Does anybody have advice on investing in the area or specifics I need to know before jumping in?