All Forum Posts by: Dwayne Byrd

We currently have a meetup group the last Wed of the month in downtown Melbourne.  I have lived in the Melbourne area for 8 years or so. I understand the sports aspect (I actually coach high school football). The good thing about the Space Coast area is that you are very centrally located - as you can be in Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa or Miami within a couple of hours and with all of those markets, you will find whatever sport it is that you like from NBA, NFL, NCAA, etc.

It's a tough call. The thing about it is that if you are a new agent, it will take a few months to get things rolling after training. Make sure you have enough reserves saved up to hold you over for several months. You have to take the real estate course, take the state exam, choose a brokerage and then go through a lot of training. Obviously you are a smart girl who should be able to knock that stuff out since you already have formal business school training. But always remember, depending on your agency, if you were to sell a home today, outside of cash deals, it wouldn't close for 30-45 days. At my brokerage we get paid at closing, another one I was with gets paid a week or two before that. Being a Real estate agent is all about how hard you want to work at it. You are on a good path by already owning a property.

I started at a big brokerage assuming that the name would bring me a lot of leads. Nope. I received a little bit of training (how to fill out a contract, etc) although I have an MBA so I would have figured out how to fill in a pdf lol. But get some experience and training. I am at a flat rate - brokerage and absolutely love it! The big box place was taking a large percent after everything was said and done.

The other thing to consider is your income. If are looking to keep investing, you will likely at some point need some documented income for up to 2 years. If you work as an agent most get paid 1099 - basically independent contractor. That makes it tougher to obtain financing as compared to standard W2 work. Just a few things to consider!

@Edward Barretto,

Hey man, welcome to BP. Everyone had to start a 0 real estate experience at some point in their life. You have picked an amazing resource to use as a tool to start learning. I know many of us wish that BP was around when we first started learning!

As far as your question about selling. How it works is that you get the NET AMOUNT. (Well, technically in this instance your parents would since they are on the title). Any leans / mortgages would get paid off first as well as any taxes and closing costs, then the owners get paid at that point. I know it can be kind of confusing with people talking about downpayment etc, but when a person takes out a mortgage, that full amount is payed to the seller on behalf of the buyer at the time of sale, and any expenses gets taken out of that if that makes it clear.

Also, there are plenty of options. If you are not on title, it is true that you could go apply for a home loan today as you said you have good credit and verifiable income and would technically qualify for first time home buyer (you do have to check the specific program, many of them have caps on income and the amount of the future home).

The other option, would be determined on how long your parents have payed on the home. That will tell you how much equity you have in the property. If you have a lot of equity, you can get some cash out, etc. The only thing that gets interesting is that anything related to the home, your parents have to do it unless they transfer it to you which can be a sticky situation between family. For instance, if they have paid on the home for 20 years and find out there's 100K in equity that they have achieved, then they're probably not going to want to just fork that money over to you lol. Again, there are a lot of moving parts and without a lot more information it is hard to analyze the best path. Hope this helps.

Hello Evan,

I think everything revolves around your comfort level. I think you are on the right path (as bp is a great place to start networking). If you are able to connect with some people in the areas that you are interested in investing, they can help point you in the right direction. Honestly it is hard to confirm or denounce your initial thoughts. My wife and I own a few properties in several places in Florida and just sold our North Carolina properties. The key is finding the right people to help steer you and that are willing to be a part of your team. I personally think it is fine and have helped several bp members find great investment properties out of town (as far away as Hawaii). 

Where did you end up looking to move?

It went under contract in only a couple of days. I do have a few other off-market properties that are an amazing deal as well as know of a few good on-market good buys in the area.

Welcome to Florida (when you get here). It was my pleasure taking you out and showing you some properties. Bigger pockets is an amazing place! Get in touch when you get to town and we can talk about more real estate investing options I have for you.  :) 

We have a Palm Bay, FL listing that a very good value. It's listed at 179k and some comps out there are up to 203-205k. It needs paint and carpet. Already has tile and appliances in the wet areas. It also features a great, convenient location and a large fenced back yard! Let me know if you are interested as I don't think it will last long. 

http://www.flexmls.com/share/u6R4/740NWThuringerSt...

@Marcus Monroe

Great, Do that. I think there are a few of those in your requested area.

Hello Aaron,

In my opinion, everything in this life is subjective. What is normal for one person or family isn't normal for another. What one person considers to be crazy, another person says "I'm crazy NOT to do it. My advice is to calculate your numbers, if they are reasonable and makes sense, then go for your dream. We live one life, and one day you could look back and say "I wonder what would have happened if I would have tried REI or anything for that matter". We have a finite amount of time on this earth, and I want to maximize my experiences while I am here. That concludes my motivational minute lol.