All Forum Posts by: Dallas Trufyn

The idea of being an investor is to NOT go the traditional route (bank mortgage over 30 years). 

I quit my job, got into REI fulltime, and within 3-4 months had 3 fix and flip properties on the go. Can't 'qualify' for a bank loan, no job. Did I use my own money? Well, if I had used my own money on the first one, how would I fund the second and third ones? We did JV (to share resources), but used Hard money, absolutely! My 'skin' in the game was 2-4% down payment with the lenders (10.5-15.5% interest) for purchase, credit cards/lines for renos, fix them, sell them, pay off the credit cards, lenders get their money from the sale and on to the next ones.

If your flipping, it's all about speed. Banks are NOT our friends and they are not going to make YOU rich. Use Hard/Private/B Lending whenever possible. Make sure you run the interest numbers in your formulas and there is no problem whatsoever.

If you are holding long term, a bank may be the better solution, but you will probably need private/own money to start the deal rolling. Run (and re-run your numbers, get a good 20%+ Cap Rate, get PM and on to the next one).

The best advice I can (and do) give to new investors, is simply 'jump in' and get started. There is lots of good advice here and online, take a 'guru' course (I did, no regrets whatsever), line up private money and resources, get all your licences, etc, but all that is useless without action. You will make mistakes (and recover), you will form partnerships and most of all you will gain the confidence to do it over and over again. Above all, have fun doing it and keep us posted! 

I have designed business cards for years and will throw in my two cents...

- "White Space" is important in advertising. In other words, a sparse ad will always attract the eye quicker than a crowded/wordy ad. Your card is not crowded, per se, but it needs a space between Real Estate Investor and the phone number. That can be accomplished by taking out "Buy and Hold". The phrase in not needed and will give you space. 

- The fonts are a little too 'weird'. Try a simple Sans Serif font like Ariel or Helvetica. Simple, and quickly readable, is best in business.

Other than that, I think it's great! Colors are good, picture is fine (helps put a face to the name), love the in focus/out of focus picture. Good job.

@Maurice Graham  Sounds good. I'll get ahead a hold of you. 

My wife and I will be in Atlanta next week. Never been there, checking it out, wanting to invest there. We are looking to buy and sell some fix and flips properties and we'd love to meet up with like-minded investors, agents, general contractors and lenders. We can get together for coffee, would love to learn the area/market and start making some quality connections. Joint ventures possible. 

Would also like to hear about any REI meeting going on, please let me know. Also, would appreciate any leads/referrals of top notch people in the area!

Please free to contact me anytime!! Thanks

Normally I would thank the tenant for adding value to my property out of their own pocket, but in this case it is clearly not done right. Talk to them straight up and either rectify it or get rid of it. All part of being a landlord.

Good job, keep it up!

@Mary P. You are most welcome! I took Doug Hopkins' Property Wars course. I have also been to Scott and Amy Yancey's, Tarek and Christina's and Scott MacGillivray's introduction sessions but have not take their courses yet. It's good to keep learning all the time. 

The first two we fixed and flipped, and the third one we flipped without doing a reno, just cleaned it up. 

Welcome and hope you find answers to all your questions! This is a great forum with lots of wisdom and teaching available. 

Also, never worry about the money when it comes to REI. Through Private and Hard Money Lenders and partnerships with other investors, you can always find money. I took some RE training, quit my job 2 years ago and within 3 months bought 3 properties to fix and flip. No 'income', no job, no bank qualification. It's easier than you think, trust me!

We have 'house hacked' a couple homes throughout our marriage, but two years ago I quit my job (at 48) and started REI full time, after taking some 'guru' courses (have no regrets whatsoever). We are finishing our 6th fix and flip and looking to do many more. We plan on flipping in several different areas, which will allow us to 'travel' as well.

We are also on the hunt for hold (or BRRRR) properties with 20% Cap Rates to add to the portfolio and get them paid off in 5 years or less. Traditional investors are happy with a 3-5% Cap rate which is basically getting a 25 year mortgage. We have had rentals before with this type of 'investing', but it's a waste of time to us. It doesn't matter if you are 50 or 20, that strategy is just paying the bank lots of interest for 5-10 years before you see a 'positive cash flow'. I highly do not recommend it. Wealthy investors are wealthy because they make smart investments.

We have not used PM before, but would totally like to have someone take care of those hassles. We currently have great renters in one property, but we have had bad renters in properties before. Waste of time...

Life is truly short. Best advise I can give is just jump in. It is extremely important to learn numbers, formulas, areas, tips/tricks, etc. Learn form mentors/teachers, even from partnerships with other investors. You will also make (many) mistakes along the way, don't worry about it. Doctors/lawyer/truck drivers, etc all make mistakes that they didn't get taught about in school either. The biggest hurdle I see over and over again with people who want to be investors is fear. Just get over it and, trust me, investing just becomes second nature, and you get better and better at it. Have fun!

Fair enough. Flipping is work, that is true and I do see your point about the time, but in all the deals I have analyzed and personally done, a cosmetic flip generally does not yield the same ARV as a full blown rehab on the exact same property. So, say 20% on the light flip is not the same as 20% on the larger reno because you will make more on the larger one, but you are correct, it will take longer.

The deal only makes sense if the numbers work, whatever those numbers are!