All Forum Posts by: Travis Benham

Thanks for the wise advice and tip about the soft offer!  I will run this by my agent before I take any further action.  

It's not commercial currently, it's residential.  I'm assuming I can get it changed to commercial (granted, I'm judging by the amount of commercial property around already, all along both sides of the same street this lot sits on).  

Assuming I can get it rezoned as commercial, then that's what I'm asking what I should do with it? "Flip" it by trying to sell it to outdoor advert company, or sit on it.

I've found a land lot in my local Oklahoma City market for about $15k.  It's currently zoned residential, but it is a corner lot on a major street, and there are plenty of commercial properties up and down on both sides already that I think I could have good shot at getting it rezoned.

Assuming I can get it rezoned as commercial, what should I do?  My initial thought would be to have a billboard placed and make money via outdoor advertising.  Or I could try and resell the property to an major outdoor advertising company, since that's not my business in the first place.

Or I can hold it, and see how time treats the area.  The area of town is older, and the commercial properties are a bit aged. 

Thoughts?  This is my first question regarding Commercial property so I'm all ears.

I just wanted to clarify that I had no intention of lying to anyone.  But I didn't know if I should automatically introduce myself as a new investor or if I should just ask more straight forward questions without elaborating on my experience if it wasn't asked.

So I'm a budding investor, looking for the first property.   When I contact others in the real estate industry (bankers, brokers, realtors, agents, etc)  how forthcoming should I bring up that I'm new to this?

Are people generally helpful for new investors or do you think they would take advantage of someone who may not know all the ins and outs?

 This house is a 350sf micro house on about 1/6th an acre in Oklahoma City.  It was bought in the 80s and has been handed down in estate 5 years ago.  It hasn't been well taken care of, but it's not destroyed.  I think it just hasn't been lived in because there is so much overgrowth of plants.  It's been put up  with a price of $10k, "subject to court approval".  One of the investor contacts I'm talking to said with a house that small and in bad shape I could probably get it for $5k to $7k.  (I should have stated $7k I know but I got punchy with the keys)

The neighborhood isn't great, but it's not ghetto.  Most are kept up, painted, with cut lawns. Cars are decent and modern.   Nearby houses range from 450-900sf, and have a market value of $63/sf-$88/sf.  

I thought I could get a cheap roof for this tiny house, some flooring, remove the vegetation,  new low-end appliances, for around $5k or so.  I've got a contact that will handle the vegetation part for a discount.  Planned on putting it on the market for $25k, hope to sell for no less than $20k.

If I've missed something, please let me know.  

I spent the weekend going through listings in what I call "practice" to see if I can find deals. I believe I have found 3-4 great deals, some rentals and some for a quick flip.

I am eyeballing one property in particular, a tiny TINY house that needs major repair but will only cost me $5k-$10k to buy and probably another $5k to rehab.  I expect a $5k-$10k profit.

Am I going too fast?  I have no attorney, accountant, or "team" setup yet.  I have a few local investor contacts giving me positive feedback, and I'm working with a realtor that someone referred me to.  I am incredibly green but maybe that's normal?  Should I take my foot off the accelerator?

I learn more from "failures" than success stories so thank you very much for sharing

I'm new, so I'm looking for everything I can on How to Raise Capital, Beginner Mistakes to Avoid, How to find a good Accountant/Lawyer/Contractor/PM Company/Etc

Also, how to properly look at a property and recognize it's a profitable deal.  They always say check your numbers and do your homework.  Still trying to make sure I've done it all and haven't missed an indicator before I pull the trigger for the first time.

Hello!  

(So I am trying to exercise the ACTION items I heard on the Podcast the other day.  One of them is to ask at least one question a week.  This is easy as I'm new, so I have LOTS of questions.)

I have some money available to me that could be used for down payment on first RE purchase.  However, I also have some Credit Card debt that could be paid off.  If I use the money on Credit cards, it will pay the debt off completely, but nothing will be left.  

To get started in REI, should I pay off my debts first or take what seems like an opportunity to build my asset column? What level of financial stability should I be in for the first purchase?

Thanks for any input