All Forum Posts by: Craig Curelop

Hi,

I recently went to a real estate meetup where a gentleman came in and gave a 90-minute presentation on why we should protect our properties with a land trust. Essentially he advised that each property should have its own land trust and the beneficiary should be the LLC that I (or the investor) own 100% of.

Does anyone have any experience utilizing land trusts when purchasing properties? If so, I'd like to hear some of the drawbacks as the gentleman presenting only responded with its additional paperwork when I asked him about the drawbacks. 

Also, it seems like each trust must have a trustee assigned. By my understanding a trustee acts as the legal owner of the trust's assets and handles all of the assets held in the trust which seems like a lot of work. Is there any scenario where I could ask someone (maybe a friend or family member) to be my trustee and not have to pay them? 

Thanks!

Craig 

@Hilary C., a few suggestions I have below:

1. Messages: It would be good to have the messages in chronological order with the most recent on top. Once a conversation has a lot of responses, it gets very annoying having to scroll all the way down to the bottom respond. 

2. Forums on the App: When responding to a forum post on the mobile app, it would helpful to be able to reference what other people said or what the initial question is. I think a lot more responses would be generated to questions this way. 

Thanks,

Craig 

Hey everyone,

When researching which market to invest in, what are some of the things you look for? My understanding is population growth, household income, construction, and vacancy rates are all important. However, I'm unsure as to how to synthesize all of this information. 

What are some positives and red flags that you all look for when assessing a specific market?

Thanks for your input guys....I appreciate it!

Hi John,

I'm pretty new as well, but here is my two cents;

1. Depends on how you're financing the property. If you go through a banks, they may take a few weeks to get you the loan in which case it may take a little longer. Whichever financing option you choose, my recommendation would be to start talking to lenders ASAP so you can get your financing lined up and ready when it comes time to purchase. 

2. @Rosston Smith said it right. Just wait until their lease expires. Maybe you'll have a good tenant in there? 

3. More units typically = more cash flow if you have the right deal. It's nice to close on one property with multiple units because you go through all the work in obtaining the loan, closing on the property, etc. only once while obtaining multiple units and therefore more cash flow. 

4. Always have multiple exit strategies. If you have the reserves to weather the storm, real estate market has historically appreciated over time. Otherwise, you can always try to flip it, lease option, seller finance it, etc. 

5. I don't have experience in doing either FHA or VA. However, you need to be a veteran to obtain a VA loan which I believe you can purchase for $0 down. With less money down, you'll have a higher loan, and therefore higher principal & interest payments which will eat into your cash flow. My recommendation would be to go FHA if you can afford it.

Hope this helps - best of luck! 

BiggerPockets Members,

I am a new investor seeking a location (or "farm area") to purchase my first multi-family property (2-4 units). My plan is to move to the location and finance with an FHA loan. My goal is to live for free (or maybe even cash flow $50-$100 per month) and pick up additional cash-flowing buy & hold properties as time goes on.

I am not tied down to any particular location and am a bit overwhelmed by the amount of options I have. My target price range would be between $100k to $350k with limited rehab (cosmetic stuff is fine). 

I have been looking into the following places and am having trouble making a decision: Chicago, Cleveland, Atlanta, San Antonio, Savannah, Dallas, Sacramento, St. Louis, and Kansas City. I'm open to other suggestions as well. 

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! 

@Madeline Burke - that sound awesome. I was thinking that by getting a job in real estate I would inherently grow my network. I guess dream scenario is a flexible, decent paying job at a real estate company. I'm also thinking about getting my real estate license on the side for a couple reasons.... 1) to get access to the MLS and 2) it opens up the possibility of putting together some deals on the side.

Thanks, Guys! Appreciate the help. 

Hi,

I am a new investor and have spent the past 4 months reading books, listening to webinars, podcasts, attending conferences, and meetups regarding real estate to get myself educated as much as possible. I am nearing the next step in the real estate journey which is taking action and buying my first property. 

Unfortunately, I reside in SF right now which is a market I want to steer clear of. I am looking in moving down to the Inland Empire area outside of L.A. to complete my first purchase via an FHA loan. However, to qualify for a loan (and make the payments), I will need to get a job down there. I'd like to fully surround myself with real estate so ideally, it's a job in real estate.

I wanted to see if the members of BiggerPockets had any suggestions as to what type of real estate job would be best for someone interested in buy & hold properties. I was thinking an agent, but am afraid the volatile income streams will make it more difficult to qualify for the loan. My next idea was to work for a property manager in the area, but not sure if that is the best value add. 

Any advice is much appreciated :).

Best,

Craig 

To the BiggerPockets Community, 

I have typed up my notes from the real estate summit in Oakland, CA this past weekend. Though the notes may be a bit shoddy, I'm happy to pass along. If you'd like to me to send them over to you, please just send me a message with your email. 

Best,

Craig