All Forum Posts by: Daniel Ryu

I will! And If I ever feel it waning, I know 10 minutes talking to you and hearing your energy will solve that. ^^ Thanks to you and the whole Ohio Cashflow Team for all your support. 

It took me a while.. but I found you guys! That's what counts ^^

Weird.. what's going on with Kakao?? Samsung phones should do a better job of working with Korean apps!

I'm looking forward to the chat!

Greetings Bob!

Thanks for commenting. Ben's already as big as they get.. and he knows it! ^^

Hawaii looks beautiful. Happy investing. 

Dang Ben.. you busted me! ^^ It's my cagey veteran trick!!

You are the bomb, Ben.. We'll have to plan something special with you in the future.

How was the Lima Meetup?

I know the forum posts that get all the 'likes' and 'comments'.. the ones that fire people up.. the success posts that begin, “I quit my job and closed my first deal!!” or “Finally reached our passive income goal!!”

I, too, get fired up reading those stories.

But today, I want to write about a different kind of success. A success that comes from overcoming obstacles and finding creative ways to get involved in real estate investing.

In 2014, I set out on a journey that had all the makings of a classic boondoggle. 

I wasn’t exactly sure where I was going. 

I wasn’t exactly sure how I was getting there. 

And I didn’t really have anyone to help me find my way.

But what I did have, if not a specific goal, was a clear VISION of what I wanted. It included greater financial freedom, greater location independence, more time to spend with my family and loved ones and the ability to contribute and help others.

My vision was to become a real estate investor. I wanted to someday syndicate deals like one of my role models, Rich Dad Advisor, Ken McElroy, and help educate others in the process.

Only I had a few obstacles in the way.

One - I knew nothing about real estate investing other than what I had read in Rich Dad, Poor Dad many years before.

Two - I was over 40, which isn’t necessarily old, but seems ancient compared to the many 20-somethings who dominate BiggerPockets. 

Three - I live in Korea, 7,000 miles away from the areas I wanted to invest in.

Fortunately, I had a few things going for me:

* 15 years of business & entrepreneurial experience having started two English institutes in Korea.

* Work ethic & drive

* And most helpful of all, my ’secret’ weapon, BiggerPockets and it's awesome community 

It was through BiggerPockets that the complex world of real estate investing began to slowly reveal itself to me and I started to connect with key people who would help me make my first investment.

I met two of my investing partners, @Maxwell Lee & @Kelly L., through BiggerPockets - They were colleague Request #16 & #17.

I met @John Van Uytven through BP, who had the brilliant idea of throwing our regular coffeeshop meetings on Meetup.com to see who else wanted to join us out here in Korea.

And little by little, inch by inch, that meeting has grown and grown into a full-fledged meetup.

I still remember @Joshua Dorkin , BP CEO, agreeing to speak at our meetup and wanting to Skype to work out the details. All my mind could think was: The. Joshua. Dorkin. 

The founder of BP was giving me 20 minutes of his day? During the call, I was so nervous about taking up too much of his time that I accidentally hung up on him while he was in mid-sentence saying goodbye.

And while, thanks to the hard work of Max and Kelly, local Jacksonville experts, as well my other real estate investing partner and meetup co-organizer, @Benjamin Hauser , I was able to make my first investment - a JV purchase of an SFR that closed at the end of 2014 - I am also really proud of my "non-investing" successes. Helping to organize a community of investors here in Korea through the Seoul Real Estate Investing Meetup.

Here are some of our victories:

* from 3 to 223 Members

* Virtual Guests that include a murderer’s row of who’s who on BiggerPockets: @Brandon Turner, @Ali Boone, @Engelo Rumora, @Matt Faircloth - (who now all have international speaking experience!)

* Gaining the use of the entire 2nd Floor of the YoungSamSung Life Cafe, located in Hongdae (very trendy and busy area)

(Also, I've been personally able help a few of our members overcome obstacles to out-of-country investing.)

This month, we were really fortunate that on Memorial Day Weekend, DeRosa Group founder and Syndicator, Matt Faircloth agreed to join us for a live Q&A. (Thank you to @Liz Faircloth for helping to set this all up.)

Matt was able to give us so many actionable tips and was a great sport despite the late hour on his end (past midnight) and technical difficulties on our end.

During the Q&A, we asked Matt, what enabled him to persevere in the beginning when he was just starting out and go from being a part-time house hacker to a full time real estate syndicator - (click below to hear his response):

Matt Faircloth Visits the Seoul Real Estate Investing Meetup

Afterwards, we had fellow meetup co-organizer, Ben Hauser, give a very informative speech on modular home building (factory built, premanufactured homes) and what he learned about land development from his research into BluHomes. He covered costs, challenges, opportunities as well as shared demographic info on a potential investing area for him - Seattle, Washtington.

(Have to give a H/T to  @Brandon Hall for his article on CAFR that helped Ben dig into the demographics of Seattle).

I just want to end by saying.. from my experiences, I feel like success in real estate doesn’t have to come down to a door count, especially in the beginning.

To other new investors - your first foray into real estate might not be a Flip or Rental Property or House Hacking. It might be, as Al Williamson mentions in this article, getting involved in your community and just helping to improve the neighborhood (and in the process, networking with other community leaders and investors - see comments). It might be starting a BP member’s blog. Or it might be helping to start a meetup in your community.

If you make success only about a door count, you’re letting a lot of potential valuable and enriching experiences slip by. 

And as real estate investors, we’re all about creating value, not leaving it behind.

Thanks BP for all your support in helping us grow our community in Korea.

Thanks to all our meetup members who are also BP members:

@Sandra Roddy, @Dustin Karns, @Paul Wurster, @Jacob Michaels, @Account Closed

Here are a few of the places in the US our members are currently investing in:

Jacksonville, Florida; Illinois; Kansas City; Indianapolis; Las Vegas; Nebraska; California; Yuma, Arizona; Seattle, Washington; Memphis

In Korea

Busan, Sokcho, Seoul, Gangnam, Samsung

Worldwide

Hong Kong; Ireland; Taiwan; Myanmar; Phillippines

And now for some pictures:

Thanks again to the YoungSamsung Life Cafe in Hongdae for the use of their main showroom.

@Andrew Nissen

Thanks, Andrew, for the kind words.

We're really excited about how it's grown!

It's really been an improbably journey. I wrote about some of the strategies we employed here:

http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/223/topics/185...

Also, feel free to reach out any time to discuss strategies.

I have some experience with internet marketing so I'll help out as much as I can. 

@Liz Faircloth

Yeah.. It'd be great to have you both!

Hope we're not interrupting too much of your family's weekend plans.

Thank you both so much for you and your husband's generosity with your time to help us out.

Don't miss the opportunity to attend the next Seoul Real Estate Investing Meetup happening on Saturday, May 23, 1-3p at the YoungSamsung Life Cafe, located right next to Hongik Subway Station, exit #8. (click on the link for a map with photos and directions). [Meetup is in Korea]

We are super excited to announce this month's virtual guest - none other than BiggerPocket's own: Matt Faircloth of the DeRosa Group.

Matt, as BP members know, is a featured blogger on BiggerPockets and husband to @Liz Faircloth, who is also a partner of Matt's in his business as well as sharing the blogging duties. They were both featured on BiggerPockets Podcast #88.

Matt has raised over $8 million for real estate deals and promised to dive deep into some of the nitty-gritty numbers on his deals.

Here's a sample of the type of in-depth, actionable advice Matt delivers from one of his video blogs:

How I Bought an 18-Unit Apartment With No Money Out of Pocket

While there's no replacing the experience of attending the meetup live and connecting with other investors, if you're unable to join us for any reason, we'll be posting highlights of the interview on Youtube and updating BP with a recap. 

In addition to Matt, we also have SFR Investor and BP Member, @Benjamin Hauser , who will be discussing his research into spec building with prefabricated housing manufacturer, BluHomes. 

(Not your typical mobile home, eh?)

Finally, we have a licensed Korean securities specialist who will be there to answer questions about the Korean real estate investing climate as well as her thoughts on investing worldwide.

It's going to be an action-packed meetup with lots of information as well as plenty of time and room for networking at the awesome YoungSamsung Life Cafe in Hongdae:

(Coffee and beverages are free!)

There will be a 5,000 W door charge to help us cover some of the costs associated with our meetup. 

More about us

You might have heard us mentioned on one of the BP Podcasts or read about us in a BP Post (this was by BP CEO, Joshua Dorkin: http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/25/topics/1519... )

Our group is made of investors working and living in Korea. Some of our members are military members stationed overseas. Some are civilian contractors. We also have teachers, freelancers, entrepreneurs, a film director, etc. Many of our members are interested in US investing, especially in turnkey, single family, flipping, and multifamily residences.

We also have Korean investors and members interested in investing in Korean markets. Our members are made up of people from all over including: Hong Kong, Uzebekistan, Taiwan, Ireland, England, Bali, Canada, the US, etc.

Our meetups are conducted in English.

Our members are currently invested in:

Stateside

Jacksonville & Miami, Florida; Illinois; Kansas City, Missouri; Canada; Michigan; Indianapolis; Las Vegas, Nevada; Nebraska; CA; Yuma, AZ.

Internationally

Hong Kong; Ireland; the Philippines; Taiwan; Busan & Seoul, Korea

(I'm sure I'm missing a few places)

Currently, our group is divided into three parts:

* EDUCATION, NETWORKING, MOTIVATION  

Interested in Speaking?

We welcome investors and operators who would like to build relationships with our members by first delivering value and helping to educate our members.

To Attend:

RSVP for the next event on Saturday, May 23, 1-3p (Korea time) by clicking on the link below:

http://www.meetup.com/Seoul-REI-Meetup/events/2223...

And here's a shout out to all our BP members (that I know of.. I know there are more!):

@Sandra Roddy, @Dustin Karns, @Paul Wurster, @Jacob Michaels, @Katie Kim, @William Strong, @Natalie Heo, @Dominic Jones, @James Wise, @John Van Uytven, @Robert Medlock, @John Kantola, @Richard Harrington

Thanks, and if you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

Dan Ryu,

Co-Organizer of the Seoul Real Estate Investing Meetup

More about me:

My BP Profile

Podcast Interview on my 17 years in Korea

Our Past Virtual Guests (Video Clips):

Brandon Turner

Joshua Dorkin

Ali Boone

Engelo Rumora

@Victoria Stone

Maybe these terms will help:

For renting out your property

Vacancy Rate = the % that a unit stay vacant, on average, in an area. From what I know of Costa Mesa, the historic vacancy rate is fairly low - about 4%. You could also survey some local property managers and explain the house you are buying, the area, and say you're thinking about renting it out down the line and find out the vacancy rate for them.

Many BP members mention the 50% rule which is 50% of your rent will usually go toward expenses (including vacancy). That includes:

10% Property management

5-10% Maintenance

10% Cap Expenditure (setting aside money for replacing a roof, etc)

Etc.

You can also use Craig's List to verify rent numbers. Enter your zip code and Craig's list even has a mapping function to let you pinpoint rentals near your property. Make sure to compare apples to apples (ie. similar square footage / rooms / etc.)

Zillow rental properties in your area and look at the history. You'll often see what the listed rents were and how long it was before it was taken off the market.

For Liquidity

There is an 'index' number that a real estate agent might give you that basically tells you how long a house is on the market before it's sold. I believe 6 months is a 'balanced market' - less than that a seller's market, more than that a buyer's market.

But I think price will always be the biggest determining factor. If your house is sitting too long, most likely it's overpriced.

If you want your house to be liquid, try to buy at less than market value based on comps (comparable sales within the last 6 months within a 1/2 mile of your property). Buying all cash might give you some bargaining room on the price. If you can get a 10% discount, and then later sell at a 5% discount, depending on your market and where housing prices are currently at, maybe that's one way to ensure it sells faster. 

You can also look up new permits to see how many new units might be coming into the market in the near future. 

I'm not sure it matters in an area like Costa Mesa since it's proximity to the beach and other amenities will always make it an attractive place to live. 

@Lonnie H.

And here's the full Engelo Interviews, if you're interested:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cKcF_A6_YQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ttin2chCGc

Let me know if you have any other questions!