All Forum Posts by: Derek Wheeler

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See, that's exactly what I need on my bank. I have Bank of America and I've been with them for so long but I've always wanted that feature. Ex. Shopping money, Emergency money, Grocery money, etc. Probably I haven't found out about that feature in my bank. I'll give them a call because it would definitely be helpful in allocating for future/unknown expenses. Thanks for the tip!

The website is Simple.com. The only downside to not having a brick and mortar bank is that they don't have instant deposits with checks or cash. Anything over $5,000 needs to be mailed in. If you want to deposit cash, you need a money order. They do check deposits through the app with a photo. Typically, anything over $5,000, I just do wire transfers for. They partner with ATM companies to get you waived fees on withdraws via ATMs. For large withdraw amounts, you can go to any major bank and request a withdraw.   

This is a good question. I am curious, as well. Currently, I bank through Simple. It is an online bank, and what I like about them is: 1. Checking with interest. 2. No fees for anything. Overdraft, new card, maintenance - nothing. 3. The best one - they let you create "goals" within your account that allows you to allocate money from your primary account into smaller side accounts housed under your primary account. You set your goal date, amount, and give it a name, and Simple automatically pulls a certain amount out each day to help you save for that goal without you doing anything but keeping money in the account. I use this option to allocate things like taxes, rainy day fund, etc etc. I am going to try to see if they do business accounts. I am sure there are better banks out there; I am just already established with them.

Nate S. Even people with degrees default on their mortgages. Banks care more about your ability to pay than where and if you went to college.

Tim Czarkowski KW is one of the most expensive brokers to be with, especially when you are new and considering the fact that 80% of first year agents don't make a single commission. They have great training programs, but beyond that, taking a $18,000 cut yearly PLUS a monthly office fee is a crazy money-pit for the beginning agent. Maybe your KW broker is different, but considering it is a franchise, I am sure it is just as expensive.

Lynn Montang That feeling comes from wanting to follow the crowd, fit in, and do what society says is the right path. But if you are just as successful or even if you aren't and simply feel happy with your life without a degree, more power to you. If somebody is the type of person with a need to follow the beaten path, they might not be cut out for the real estate investing world anyways. It requires a lot of "outside the box" thinking.

Becoming friends with a local real estate agent would be a better bet. Or even paying one a small fee to do a CMA. Zillow is okay for a ballpark value, but there are many things a realty agent is trained in to adjust the subject home to find a very detailed value of the home. For instance - if there is a difference in built years with the subject home vs the comp homes, it will give or take $1,000 off of your comp values. Sqft, amount of rooms/baths, and whether the house has a garage or not are only the beginning to finding comps on a home. If you're investing and looking to find comps, it might be worth it to pay an agent a small fee for a CMA so that you have optimal negotiating power when purchasing or selling a home. Investing is about fine-tuning your finances and making as much as possible. Don't leave that up to those commercial applications like Zillow.

If you can build a working relationship with a local credit union, you can typically get the loan officers there to get you the information. They don't want to keep it secret, if the notes are foreclosing, because they want to get rid of those mortgages. Also, Google something like "Alaska foreclosures". Alaska might (at least, Texas does) have a state site for foreclosures around the state. In Texas, it is public information.

Contact a real estate agent to do a CMA. There are so many variables to price a home, let alone a multiplex.. or a group of them. Never invest blindly. Having comp knowledge will help you negotiate the price, as well.

That is about the average rate of expected follow-up for direct mail campaigns. Spend your money on facebook ads, if you want effectiveness. Direct mail is too expensive compared to the other methods these days.

No degree - made $14k this month so far. Real Estate is the best field for making the most without relying on a diploma factory to boost you up the ladder. My wife and I are agents, by the way. Take the classes online for a small fee, take the state exam, and let your amount of work put in determine the amount of money you get back.