All Forum Posts by: Chris Winslow

Agree very much, with real estate you can have more direct control on your investment, there is an awesome ability to leverage to scale and grow more quickly, and you get some great tax and income benefits along the way

Congrats on the 100k, great start! I'm not sure if you're open to house hacking but that would be a great start to buy a 2-4 unit with a low down payment (like with FHA). That way you have something started up and can learn the game a little bit and save on living expenses and since that shouldn't take out a lot of your cash due to the low down payment, use the rest to buy another. As far as what 100k will get you though it'll be a pretty big variation in different markets. Personally, I would go for small multifamily though and as far as condition of the property don't get anything too deplorable for the first one unless you have a strong team in place. If you're looking to invest outside of your area make sure you have a connection with a great team in that area, may be worth a visit to meet with the boots on the ground there.

Hey Matteo- That’s awesome that you are wanting to get started in real estate, you are definitely in the right place and it sounds like making the right moves for learning. And also congrats on the $50k saved that is an amazing start!

You nailed it with condos on the HOAs. If you do end up going that route it might be a good idea to connect with somebody that is doing that locally and make sure you have all the watch-outs in addition to HOAs.

I would highly highly recommend starting with a small multifamily (2-4) unit and a low down payment (FHA or other) loan, that way you can save capital for the rehab or next property.

Connect with @John Warren -best realtor team in the area, it’ll be a huge help

@Jonathan Klemm I would be interested in hearing more!

@Aidan Driggers

- Rich Dad Poor Dad is an awesome start!

- The 4-Hour Workweek- Tim Ferriss

- Set for Life- Scott Trench

- Never Split the Difference- Chris Voss

Also any books that are specific to the strategies that you want to use and the BP Podcast is great for learning!

Hi Garrett! Awesome that you found BP, it is an excellent resource. Use this site and go through local forums to find active people in your area and try to connect with them.  On your questions:

I am struggling with how to calculate school tax and property tax when I am analyzing properties and am not sure if there is a preferred method in figuring this out? 

- Not sure what you mean by school tax there but for property tax what has worked best for me is talking with local investors/lenders to get a real feel for that but you can also look up properties on zillow/redfin/trulia and see what their taxes are to get a general feel, just keep in mind sometimes those bills are outdated and may be significantly less than they would be after a new sale for a higher price

Second question, what banks are recommended for FHA loans and why? I have done research on a few banks in the Albany area but would still like to hear what others have to say.

- Spend some time networking and talking to some local lenders on this one which it sounds like you have started doing. Usually, local lenders will have more flexibility and be able to work with you better as an investor. Lots of people offer FHA financing but having an awesome lender in your network is going to make your life way easier moving forward, even if the rate is slightly higher.

Hi Joshua, I don't know if this helps you now at this point or not but it looks like you are buying properties in a relatively short time frame between purchases. If you have extra cash (or can get some from selling/pulling money out) you might ask around and see if any lenders you know will do delayed financing where you buy with cash and fund the rehab up front but then quickly turn around a get a cash-out refinance without the typical seasoning period. I am not a lender so definitely ask around but I think it's an awesome strategy.

Hi Chris- I absolutely recommend working with a realtor, a great realtor will be able give general rent ranges for your area and also pull specific comps that are similar size/condition to the property you are looking at. Other than that yes Craigslist, Zillow, Apartments.com, Rentometer.com. I don't know of a specific percentage to add for a house vs apartment but there may be a general rule in your area

Hi Diego! Awesome you are ready to get started with real estate, connect with @John Warren he is extremely knowledgeable about the western suburbs

Heck yeah that's awesome!! Looking forward to in person!