All Forum Posts by: Craig England

@Vincent Grossi 

Generally those all look pretty good!  Similar to what James said those are decent budget numbers but may actually be able to do better on vacancy and property management.  What part of town are you wanting to buy in?  Older properties I would definitely want some more reserves saved for cap ex and maintenance.  The few single family properties that "cash flow" sometimes are the older ones that are going to need continual money put back into the cap ex.  I'd definitely check age of roof, appliances, hvac, etc so you have a good idea on rehab/cap ex heading into it.  Are you planning to rehab or something more turnkey? 

Congrats on taking action and moving to the next step!  I look forward to seeing your progress!  

Hi Hannah,  

Awesome that you are thinking that way and want to get into investing!  As others have mentioned the $5,000 will not go far for a down payment/ reserves.  I would recommend talking to a lender so that you can have a little more specific goal in mind to save your cash for.  Have you looked at any 4 plex's in springs?  What purchase range are you hoping for?  I know there is a big difference in cost even within town.  When I was looking at something similar a year ago the newer ones were in the 1.2 to 1.5 million range.  You can probably find something older and cheaper on the southwest side of town but then you may need to budget more for maintainance/repairs.  Message me I can get you in touch with a couple of really good local lenders if you would like!  I am a local insurance agent so I'd also be happy to help with estimating insurance costs for you as you start to look at deals!  

Happy hunting!  

@Daniel Hillman I am always interested in new meetups! Would love to join if you get something together. The meetup Colin mentioned below is excellent and would highly recommend trying it out.

@Randell Mullally Local banks tend to want at least 20% down but they work with you and your situation pretty well.  Integrity Bank and Trust,  State Bank of Falcon,  and First National Bank(Flying Horse or Monument)  are all good local banks if that's the route you want to go. 

I am currently purchasing my second househack and renting our current househack in Colorado Springs.  We also have some properties in southeast Co in the Arkansas valley.  Very good cash flow in that area but much harder to find reliable team members and much less appreciation.  Springs has been a good place for us on our flips.   

@Josie Gross welcome! Real estate is life changing! Glad to see you are starting your journey!

@James Carlson

Wow!  Those are good numbers!  Especially with both spouses working its nice to have it be more passive.  We are located around Dublin and Powers.  Which was another reason we liked the longer term as we weren't sure how much we could fill it in our area especially in the winter.  We rent if for $1,000 and could probably up it to $12 or $1300.  

Me and my wife were going to STR our basement. We were referred someone who was looking for something a little longer term so we put them in and they have yet to leave. They are fantastic tenants and I think it worked out for the best as managing a STR seems like it would be significantly more work. We are not apposed to the idea if we ever turn it over. We could probably get a few hundred dollars more every month if we did.

@Nathan Raisbeck I had a similar decision and decided to stop after two years of college. I don’t regret the two years I spent in college nor do I regret beginning to work full time after that. I was able to get into my career and real estate sooner. Maybe consider taking a year off and see how it goes. Possibly get a job in property management. Worst case you go back to school in a year but you may have a more clear understanding of what you hope to accomplish in school after that year or you may decide it’s unnecessary.

I think starting small is definitely a great thing.  Focus on getting one deal.  After you do that you will have a great idea of whether you want to continue with it.  It will also be fairly easy to get out if you decide it is not for you.

Have you tried connecting with other investors in your area?  As long as you have something to bring such as time, cash, or skills other investors may be willing to partner with you.  That would help you learn a ton and decrease your risk in some ways for that first deal.  Even if you don't make the lions share of the profit the education would be well worth it for someone in your situation. It is important to know that you can do one deal and stop there.  You don't have to try to be a billionaire or stay out of the game completely!  I would definitely work on getting one deal and view other investors as assets that you can learn from not as competition.