All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

The best thing to do to educate yourself is to listen to a ton of podcasts regarding Real Estate investing, and watch a lot of case studies, and Real Estate investing videos on Youtube(Strategic Real Estate Coach, Max Maxwell, Nick Ruiz, Freedom Real Estate investing, Antonio Edwards,  The Derosa group, Master investor 1, Benjamin Blackburn, Clever investor, Mark lane, Jerry Norton, The kwak brothers, Flip Your First House, Kris Khron, Morris Invest, and last but not least Bigger Pockets youtube channel). The best way to network with agents, wholesalers, lawyers, lenders, contractors and etc is to go to Real Estate investing networking events(You can find them on Meetup.com), Get active on Bigger Pockets, and LinkedIN. You can also network with these individuals by calling those " We buy houses cash" signs on the side of the road in your area and let them know you're new to the business, and are looking for investors to work with. Don't be afraid to ask them if they know any great investor friendly realtors, accountants, or even attorneys.  

Another way to do it is contact the realtor in your area who get's a ton load of REO, Foreclosure, Bank-owned, etc properties, and let them know you're looking for a realtor to work with to find great investment properties. They would be happy to hear this, and would love to work with you because they would love to add more clients to their list because that way they can move properties faster, and gain more commission. Once you network with a realtor who's getting a ton load of investor property they will help you find  attorneys, contractors, and etc because they work with/sell properties to investors who are doing tons of deals; so they have access to that investors power team as well you could say.

I also noticed you asked what you should say to a realtor. The thing you should tell them is " Hi I'm (Your name) and I'm a local investor in the area. I'm looking to purchase my first investment property in the next 5 months, and I'm looking for a realtor who is willing to help me achieve this goal! I wanted to know do you work with investors? Do you know what it takes to succeed in this market? And what is the current status of the market? Is it a sellers market or a buyers market?" Ultimately Jordan, you just want to get a good feel for a realtor before you work with them. Also ask them how how many sales they have done in the past 12 months, and if they or their brokerage gets a lot of investment properties.

Also put out some We Buy Houses bandit signs, tons of investors, contractors, and realtors will call you off of that sign alone. 

If possible, find an experienced investor to partner up with who has a lot of knowledge, and access to the capital, lawyers, accountants, realtors, etc. They can be very useful, and could benefit your business tremendously!

What's your main investment strategy?

If you have any questions feel free to PM me man! Thanks

@Jeffrey Stasz I would first like to start off by saying Thank You for your valuable input! It's always great to learn different aspects of this business from other investors view points. The requirements to be a GC in South Carolina are different than New Jersey. Based on your post General Contractors are required to take an exam in South Carolina, but in New Jersey there is no exam; all you need is proof you have liability insurance of up to $500,000 and BOOM! You're a officially licensed General Contractor in the state of New Jersey. 

With that being said, anybody in the Garden State can be a General Contractor; also meaning anybody can screw you up in New Jersey with your project. Many flippers/builders/developers in New Jersey don't even use a GC for a project because we know the risk we would be taking. 

Since this is a Real Estate forum, it would be great to compare this issue to individuals who rather use a title company to close a transaction, or those who go straight through an attorney to close a transaction. Many see the advantage of going through an attorney directly because you get a better price, but many rather use a title company because it's what they are more comfortable with. To me, personally it doesn't make a difference, an investor has to do what's best for them; meaning if they feel they have the capability to manage their own project then by all means let them.

As a new investor based on my experience it's never smart to just leave a GC at your financial investment, and something that you have money tied up in to just manage the whole thing. What if they pick up more jobs, and stop coming to your job? or even worse start using the material you bought at other jobs? That's why I always buy material, and just pay labor to my sub-contractors. Though many may argue "what if you work a full-time job, and cannot be present at the flip ?" I always say Real Estate is not the type of industry that you want to put in Part-time effort, there were nights I didn't even get to sleep because straight after I finished my 7 Hour college day, I was driving 40 minutes right back to my project to make sure my guys were completing their job.  I would never feel comfortable knowing I paid $130,000 for a house, and had interest payments on a loan each month, plus taxes, and insurance and gave a contractor money to start a job, and was never there to make sure my work on my investment was getting done. That's completely careless. Even if you decide not to be a GC at your project, I highly recommend you're always there at the project to manage it, and see what's getting done so you can learn the construction process yourself!

 Also in New Jersey, if a GC files a permit for you, and let's say it take about 4 weeks (A Month) for the permit to be approved, and when the permit get's approved the GC stops showing up to the job. You're pretty much screwed because in order to get a new GC on board, you have to file a new permit which will take another MONTH! Obviously, if you're your own GC, that cannot happen because you can simply fire a SUb-Contractor, and hire a new one.

Also as a new investor many GC's take advantage by bulking up prices. When I first started and needed a GC to give me a price to do A HVAC,Flooring, a Kitchen, 2 Bathrooms, Paint, doors, window, and water heater his price came up to $110,000! But when I went straight to sub-contractors, I got a price of only $40,000 to do the whole job!

Jeffrey, based on your post you seem like a man built on integrity and honesty, but many contractors like that are hard to find; especially in New Jersey. Thanks!

Not a problem my friend!

Originally posted by @Nick Curtiss:

That's awesome Davian! Thanks for the advice I appreciate it. It's nice knowing that there are other young people out there aspiring towards the same things!

Hi Nick: 

     You're not alone. I'm also a sophomore in college; and I started in this business in 2016 flipping houses when I was only a senior in High School. The best advice I could give you is to dive in head first, and don't look back. The time you would use educating yourself, and " waiting" until you know enough to hop in this business are some of the worst things taught in this business. No amount of education can compare with the real world experience you would learn in this business. With that being said, network as much as possible to find Sub Contractors,Lenders,Attorneys,Realtors,Wholesalers, partners, and etc to build your power team. Without networking and implementing the right individuals in your business it will be hard for your business to succeed. Also do not let being young be an issue, AGE is just a number and anything is possible if you have the ambition, and the right hustle. Please connect with me, and if you have anymore questions feel free to reach out to me so we can discuss further!

@Jordan Champion Hi a Jordan: The first thing you should do is educate yourself, and network. That’s the biggest move anybody could make when just starting out. When you network with agents, wholesalers, lawyers, lenders,contractors and etc you will find the deals, the money, and the people to complete the work. Please connect with me, and feel free to reach out if you have any questions!

Hi John: 

I prove I'm a cash buyer by providing a bank statement showing I have the funds in my account to close on the subject property. When I first started I presented my partners/private lender bank statement that's something that your friend could provide if he's going to be a PML for you. If I know I can't go All-Cash on a deal I sometimes show a POF from my hard money lender, all depends on the route that you want to take.

As far as the process for your friend to become a PML, I suggest you reach out to a local Real Estate attorney that is investor friendly, and he will help you with everything. 

@Michael LaVan Hi Mike: The best way to locate private lenders is to look around your network, and to network to find individuals who have money in 401ks, CDs, Stocks, or even Real Estate. I find a lot of private investors/lenders at meet-ups and networking events. I’m also very active on LinkedIn with my current flip projects, and track records so I attract lenders through that as well. You can also check family,friends, and other Investors who may be interested in partnering up with you. The key is to always talk about your passion for this business with any and everyone, and you would be surprised who ends up becoming a private lender for one of your deals. I hope this helps. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions!

Hi Rebecca the letter I use for Direct mail is below. It usually works but instead of doing the leg work to send these letters out; I rather just cold call a seller on spot, and get a answer the same day instead of waiting. Let me know if you have any questions.

Dear HomeOwner:

I’m a Real Estate Developer in the Central Jersey area and I buy houses for CASH! I’m willing to make you an ALL CASH OFFER on the property that you own located at "...." We can buy in ANY situation and As-Is condition!

We can close in as little as 30 days, or less and even pay ALL closing costs! Meaning, no money out of your pocket and the offer I make to you is going to be the check you walk out of the title company with on closing day. We charge NO Fees, and NO commissions for our service.

I would like the opportunity to speak with you about potentially being a solution. Please give me a call ##### at  so we can set up a time when I can come out, and look at the property. I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Sincerely,

Your Name

CEO Of Your Company

Feel Free To Contact Us:

Website:

Email:

Number:

Hi Marvin, the mistake I made on my first flip was hiring a General Contractor to manage the whole project. This turned into a headache because many General Contractors are very greedy, and do not turn jobs down; so that eventually leads to them stop showing up, or dragging out your project.  What I suggest is that you become your own GC, and manage your projects yourself. I like this because you learn the ins and outs of the construction process, and you get a better rate when you go directly to the sub-contractor rather than going through a GC who puts their prices on steroids. If I were you I would go and find a Demo crew, Rough guys(HVAC,Plumbing,Electrician), Framer, Drywaller, Siding and Roof Guys,  Flooring guy, Kitchen guy, bathroom guy, and the list goes on. Also being your own GC you also have the advantage of pulling  permits with your license. So If a contractor stopped showing up to your job and a permit is already approved and the city is giving you hell about switching contractors you're pretty much screwed. So it's to your advantage to become your own GC, rather than taking a risk with your investment by hiring a GC to manage the whole thing.

Not at all! I started in this business when I was 17 still being a senior in High School.  I started out wholesaling but I completely hated it because a lot of buyers are not serious, and in the New Jersey market many leads that I attained that I intended to wholesale would take forever to close. Though I did learn many ins and outs from wholesaling and gained a bit of success in this aspect of the business, I eventually started rehabbing when I was 18. The only issue you may encounter being 18 in this business is convincing individuals to partner with you, or convincing a home owner to sell you their house. Many may not take you serious because of your age but know that AGE is just a number, It only takes one person to believe in you for your career in this business to sky rocket! Though I only been in this business for two years, the 2 best pieces of advice I can give you is get your GC license, and sub out jobs so no "General Contractor" can screw you, and the 2nd piece of advice is to NETWORK as much as possible, because in this business your network is your Net Worth. If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to me. I love seeing other young people getting  in this game, and BTW what market are you in?